Me revoici avec un nouveau cross-over Harry Potter & Bleach. A l'heure actuelle, cette fiction n'est pas terminée, seule la première partie est achevée. Si je devais finir les six ou sept suivantes, je ne la posterais sans doute pas avant plusieurs années. Par ailleurs, si elle ne vous plaît pas, ce n'est pas la peine non plus que je perde mon temps à la retranscrire car elle est très bien dans mon esprit. Je vous laisse donc avec 30 chapitres et environ 77 800 mots. N'hésitez pas à me dire ce que vous en pensez.,Bonne lecture !,Tôshirô Hitsugaya n'était pas un shinigami comme les autres.,Au niveau de son physique, il était déjà tout à fait remarquable. D'une taille ne dépassant pas un mètre trente-trois, il arborait une apparence juvénile qui ne manquait jamais de lui attirer des réflexions désobligeantes de la part d'inconnus, le prenant pour un simple enfant, ou de ses collègues, qui le sous-estimaient constamment. Ses cheveux, dont les piquants défiaient les lois de la gravité, étaient d'une surprenante couleur blanche, ce qui lui valait d'attirer les regards, surpris, curieux ou même méfiants. Cette teinte faisait ressortir ses deux yeux turquoises qui semblaient scanner tout ce qui se trouvait sur leur chemin avec une pointe agacement. Son regard, incroyablement expressif pour ceux qui le connaissaient bien, aimait fusiller ses interlocuteurs et en particulier ceux qui le contrariaient d'une façon ou d'une autre. Symbole de sa haute fonction, il ne sortait jamais sans son haori immaculé et son zanpakutô attaché dans son dos grâce à une ceinture verte.,Au niveau caractère, il était aussi changeant que le ciel. En temps normal, il était d'un naturel mature et posé. Bien avant l'obtention de son grade, assez dissonant aux yeux de certains avec son apparence, il avait développé une attitude froide à l'égard de ses interlocuteurs qu'il gardait en permanence. Très attaché à ses devoirs et à la politesse, il n'était pas du genre à perdre du temps en babillage ou en flagorneries, qui l'ennuyaient prodigieusement et avaient tendance à l'irriter. Il se contentait généralement d'écouter les conversations et n'y répondait que si c'était pertinent. S'il pouvait se montrer calme, il pouvait également entrer dans une colère noire en quelques instants. C'était par exemple le cas lorsque quelqu'un le traitait comme un gamin ou lorsqu'il retrouvait sa vice-capitaine, Rangiku Matsumoto, ivre morte dans son bureau alors qu'une montagne de paperasse restait inachevée. Il était cependant reconnu qu'il se préoccupait du bien-être de ses subordonnés et de ses proches, pour lesquels il n'hésitait pas à intervenir en personne lors de conflits.,En tant que shinigami, un terme suffisait à le définir depuis son entrée à l'académie : prodige. Ce titre, il le devait tant à son esprit vif qu'à l'incroyable réserve d'énergie spirituelle qu'il possédait. Il avait intégré l'académie à son premier examen malgré son jeune âge et en était sorti seulement un an après, avec les plus hautes notes de la promotion. Doué dans le maniement des armes, en kidô, en stratégie et même en combat à main nue, il n'était pas un adversaire à prendre à la légère. Il était d'ailleurs devenu le plus jeune capitaine du Gotei Treize peu de temps après l'obtention de son diplôme. Pour sa vice-capitaine et tous ses subalternes, c'était un capitaine remarquable. Gérant la dixième division d'une main de maître, il était très organisé et rigoureux, que ce soit sur le plan administratif ou sur le terrain. Tous le respectaient et ne manquaient pas de le défendre auprès de leurs collègues des autres divisions. Aux yeux des autres, lorsqu'il n'était pas simplement l'enfant prodige, il était un bourreau de travail toujours de mauvaise humeur.,C'est ainsi que personne ne s'attendit à ce qui allait survenir, lors de la seule journée de congé annuelle que prenait Tôshirô Hitsugaya.,Chaque trente-et-un octobre, le capitaine s'accordait une journée dans le monde des humains. Il s'y rendait systématiquement seul, malgré les demandes successives de Matsumoto, et sans corps artificiel, si bien que tous ceux au courant se demandaient ce qu'il pouvait bien faire de cette unique journée. Certains disaient qu'il retournait visiter les derniers membres de sa famille encore en vie, d'autres qu'il était amoureux d'une humaine et allait la retrouver, ou encore qu'il voulait simplement échapper aux affres de la condition de capitaine pour redevenir l'enfant qu'il paraissait être.,La réalité était tout autre. Hitsugaya se rendait dans le petit village britannique de Godric's Hollow. À chaque visite, il tiquait devant le nom de bourgade à laquelle il était tant attaché et qui pourtant portait le nom d'un des plus grands fléaux du monde des morts.,Cette année là, alors que la nuit venait de tomber et que le capitaine songeait à retourner à la Soul Society, une puissante vague d'énergie spirituelle le stoppa net sur place. Ce n'était pas l'énergie d'un hollow, ni celle d'un autre shinigami. Il était possible qu'il s'agisse d'un humain particulièrement puissant, mais il n'en avait senti aucun de tel jusqu'à présent. Incapable d'en reconnaître la provenance, alors qu'il connaissait pourtant chacun des habitants, il s'élança vers la source.,Il arriva rapidement en vue d'une maison, située au fond d'une impasse sombre. Bondissant par-dessus le portail, il identifia quatre énergies différentes. L'une appartenait à un esprit et les trois autres à des sorciers. L'un d'eux était la source de la pression spirituelle qui saturait les lieux. Hitsugaya passa le seuil de la porte pour tomber sur le cadavre d'un homme, et son âme qui s'éveillait à la mort.,- Arrêtez-vous ! cria une voix venant de l'étage. Vous n'irez pas plus loin !,Ignorant le fantôme, le shinigami courut à l'étage. Une jeune femme aux cheveux auburn, visiblement terrifiée, tenait en joue un homme de sa baguette. Celui-ci, âgé d'une trentaine d'années, arborait un regard cruel. Le capitaine le reconnut. Il avait entendu parler du mage noir qui terrorisait l'Angleterre depuis quelques années et envoyait un bon nombre d'âmes sorcières à la Soul Society. Voldemort.,- Stupéfix ! s'exclama la femme.,Son adversaire se protégea d'un simple geste de la main en secouant la tête de dépit.,- Tu ne m'intéresses pas, sang-de-bourbe, déclara-t-il d'une voix grave qui la fit frissonner. Écarte-toi et peut-être que j'épargnerai ta vie !,- Vous ne toucherez pas à mon fils, répliqua celle-ci en lançant un nouveau sortilège.,L'homme l'annula, de même que trois suivants, avant de pointer sa baguette sur elle.,- Endoloris !,Le sortilège la toucha en pleine poitrine et elle s'écroula en hurlant de douleur. Cette scène enflamma Hitsugaya mais il ne bougea pas. Il n'en avait pas le droit. En aucun cas il n'avait le droit de sauver un mortel d'un meurtre commis par un autre mortel. C'était l'une des premières règles que l'on apprenait à l'Académie. Il se contenta de serrer les poings, impuissant. Une nouvelle vague d'énergie le cloua sur place, attirant son attention sur le bambin qui, depuis son berceau, observait le couple en pleurant. Le shinigami délaissa les ennemis pour s'approcher de lui, la source de cet immense pouvoir. Les autres ne sentaient-ils pas l'air chargé de puissance sur leurs épaules ?,- Je ne peux rien faire pour toi… murmura-t-il en se baissant pour être à sa hauteur.,L'enfant posa ses yeux, d'une incroyable couleur émeraude, sur lui. Il fronça les sourcils, mais cela ne le surprit guère. Avec une telle pression spirituelle, il devait le voir parfaitement.,- Tout sera bientôt fini, ajouta-t-il à contrecœur.,Ce n'était pas la première fois qu'il voyait un enfant sur le point de mourir et il ne le supportait pas. Le mage noir prit quelques instants pour jouer avec la jeune femme, se délectant de ses cris et s'amusant de la voir se tordre à ses pieds, avant de jeter un coup d'œil à l'enfant sous l'œil coléreux d'Hitsugaya.,- Tu n'es qu'une idiote ! Avada kadavra !,La malheureuse victime mourut dans un dernier éclat de voix déchirant. Le sorcier lâcha un rire sinistre avant de s'approcher du berceau.,- Te voilà enfin, Harry Potter, siffla-t-il en levant sa baguette. Avada kadavra !,Le rayon mortel alla frapper l'enfant, mais le résultat ne fut pas celui auquel le meurtrier et le shinigami s'attendaient. Au lieu de tuer l'enfant, le sortilège ricocha sur son front et se retourna contre son utilisateur. Celui-ci émit un cri à glacer le sang avant de disparaître dans une décharge de magie qui fit littéralement exploser la demeure.,Hitsugaya réussit à se maintenir debout malgré la déflagration, ses mains levées pour protéger son visage, mais ne vit pas clairement ce qu'il s'était produit. Lorsque la fumée retomba, il ne restait plus que le petit, tombé endormi. Le shinigami rechercha une trace de Voldemort mais celui-ci semblait avec purement disparu, ne laissant pas même un cadavre. Pourtant, son énergie spirituelle était toujours bien présente dans l'air et pas seulement à l'état de résidu comme elle aurait dû l'être. Intrigué, il s'intéressa alors à Harry et ce qu'il ressentit le glaça. Deux énergies distinctes s'échappaient, calmement à présent, de lui. La sienne et celle du mage noir.,- Comment est-ce possible ? se demanda le capitaine.,Jamais il n'avait vu ça chez quelqu'un. Jamais il n'avait entendu parler de ça. Et pourtant, avec les abominations que pouvaient inventer la douzième division et son département de recherche et développement, il en avait vu de belles.,- Lily ! fit une voix désespérée derrière lui.,Il se retourna pour se retrouver nez à nez avec le fantôme vu quelques instants plus tôt, et qui devait sans doute être le père du garçon. Il se tenait près du cadavre de sa femme, n'osant pas la toucher. L'esprit de celle-ci se matérialisa alors, la laissant désarçonnée un instant. La mort était toujours une épreuve.,- Lily !,- James !,Les deux âmes s'enlacèrent un instant avant de se séparer, comme électrisées, et de se tourner vers Hitsugaya et leur fils.,- Harry ! s'exclama la jeune femme en tentant de prendre l'enfant dans ses bras.,Son visage se décomposa lorsqu'elle réalisa que ses mains passaient au travers de son corps. Elle tenta une nouvelle fois, puis une troisième avant de fondre en larmes en bredouillant le nom de son enfant.,- Qui es-tu, gamin ? demanda James en fixant le capitaine de la dixième division, tentant de paraître menaçant. Que fais-tu là ?,- Faites attention à qui vous vous adressez, répondit Hitsugaya d'une voix polaire en croisant les bras. Vous pourriez très vite le regretter.,Son ton surprit l'adulte qui jeta un coup d'œil à sa famille. Le shinigami se tourna ensuite vers Lily, légèrement agacé par ses pleurs. Mais son agacement ne cachait que l'impuissance qui le tenait.,- Vous êtes morte, vous ne pouvez pas le toucher. Mais ne vous inquiétez pas, Harry est sain et sauf.,Elle secoua la tête comme pour se remémorer ce qu'il était arrivé quelques instants plus tôt.,- Voldemort ? Où est-il ? demanda-t-elle finalement.,- Disparu, répondit Hitsugaya en fixant le bambin.,Les deux énergies étaient toujours bien présentes. Il devait contacter le capitaine-commandant Yamamoto. Mais tout d'abord, il devait s'occuper de ces esprits. Avec le niveau d'énergie qui avait été libérée et la présence de fantômes, les hollows risquaient de s'approcher du village. Il soupira avant de tirer son zanpakutô, faisant reculer les deux esprits.,- Ne faites pas de mal à mon fils ! hurla James en fonçant sur lui.,D'un coup du dos de la main, Hitsugaya le renvoya en arrière, dans les bras de son épouse qui lui jeta un regard horrifié.,- Je n'ai pas l'intention de lui faire quoi que ce soit. Vous, en revanche, vous allez vous dépêcher de rejoindre la Soul Society.,- Qu'est-ce que c'est ? demanda James, méfiant.,- Le monde des morts, expliqua le capitaine avec une pointe d'impatience. En tant que shinigami, c'est ma mission de vous faire passer dans l'autre monde.,- Mais… et Harry ? s'exclama Lily qui semblait toujours perdue.,- Vous ne pouvez plus rien pour lui. Il est vivant.,Ceci dit, et sans leur laisser le temps de palabrer, il apposa le pommeau de son zanpakutô sur le front de James. La seconde suivante, celui-ci s'évapora en une gerbe bleutée, ne laissant derrière lui qu'un papillon de l'enfer.,- Je ne peux pas laisser Harry tout seul ! se lamenta Lily. Je veux rester ici avec lui ! Les fantômes peuvent rester ici ! Il y en a beaucoup à Poudlard !,- Vous devez partir, répéta Hitsugaya, s'adoucissant légèrement. En restant près de lui, et même s'il peut vous voir, vous risquez de le mettre en danger en attirant à lui des hollows – des esprits corrompus qui s'en prennent aux morts, mais aussi aux vivants. Il a une puissance colossale qui lui attirera déjà beaucoup de problèmes, alors n'en rajoutez pas.,Un court silence s'installa durant lequel elle observa son fils.,- Vous… vous pouvez veiller sur lui ? demanda-t-elle finalement. Jusqu'à ce que quelqu'un arrive pour prendre soin de lui ?,- Je vais contacter ma hiérarchie, éluda-t-il en coupant leur lien visuel.,- Merci.,Elle embrassa son fils, du moins tenta-t-elle, avant de lui murmurer quelques mots, puis se tourna vers lui.,- Je suis prête.,Ses yeux démentaient ses dires et étaient plus que jamais brillants de larmes, mais le capitaine ne fit aucun commentaire. Il se contenta de hocher la tête et accomplit le rituel d'enterrement des âmes.,Une fois de nouveau seul avec l'enfant, il prit son téléphone portable et composa le numéro du Capitaine-Commandant. Après quelques tonalités, celui-ci décrocha.,- Capitaine Hitsugaya, j'espère que c'est important. Je suis en réunion avec le capitaine Kurosutchi et le capitaine Kuchiki.,- Mes excuses, Capitaine-Commandant. C'est urgent.,Il leur exposa rapidement l'incident avec Voldemort et la présence de deux âmes dans le corps de l'enfant. S'en suivit une grande discussion que le petit capitaine ne put pas suivre. En effet, un jeune homme brun, vêtu de sombres robes de sorcier noir, entra en trombe dans la pièce. Il se figea dans l'entrée à la vue du cadavre de la femme. Il poussa alors un cri de désespoir avant de se laisser tomber à genoux pour serrer le corps contre lui.,- Non ! Lily ! Lily !,Il aurait fallu qu'Hitsugaya soit aveugle pour ne pas remarquer que cet homme aimait éperdument la sorcière morte. Il resta ainsi un moment à pleurer avant de lâcher la jeune femme et de transplaner. Au même instant, un nouvel arrivant débarqua dans la chambre.,- Ramenez l'enfant à la Soul Society, ordonna finalement la voix de Yamamoto à travers le téléphone.,- Bien, répondit le shinigami sans se poser de questions.,L'homme qui venait d'arriver s'agenouilla un instant auprès de Lily avant de s'assurer qu'Harry était sain et sauf et de repartir aussi rapidement qu'il était venu en vociférant contre un rat. Il vit dans cet instant l'opportunité de fuir avec l'enfant, mais un craquement sonore retentit. Avec une pointe d'irritation, il vit apparaître un vieil homme à la longue barbe blanche et tout un groupe d'hommes armés de leur baguette. Des aurors sans doute. Lorsque le premier tourna la tête dans sa direction, Hitsugaya eut la désagréable impression d'être vu, mais il ne lut rien dans le regard bleu qui confirma son impression. Par mesure de précaution, il s'éclipsa pour écouter leur conversation depuis l'extérieur de la bâtisse. Il devrait attendre pour disparaître avec Harry.,Ce ne fut que deux heures plus tard, qu'Hitsugaya se retrouva de nouveau seul avec l'enfant, après un interminable voyage sur une moto bien trop bruyante pour lui. Le vieil homme, Dumbledore, avait décidé de le laisser chez sa tante. Plus précisément sous le porche de celle-ci. La pratique était déjà tout à fait intolérable aux yeux du petit capitaine, mais, lorsqu'il vit le sorcier s'en aller sans même prendre la peine de sonner pour avertir les occupants de la maison qu'un bébé leur était laissé, il eut du mal à retenir sa colère. Il récupéra le bambin, emmitouflé dans une simple couverture, et ouvrit rapidement un seikamon.,Une petite dizaine de minutes plus tard, Hitsugaya retrouva l'air chargé de particules spirituelles de la Soul Society. Il jeta un coup d'œil à l'enfant qui dormait profondément entre ses bras, puis fila en shunpo vers les quartiers de la première division. Il était déjà tard, mais il fut rapidement introduit auprès de Yamamoto.,- Voici Harry Potter, l'enfant dont je vous ai parlé.

Shaky hands opened the strange letter. The first letter that he could remember receiving. He ran his index finger over the seal. It was vaguely familiar to him but he couldn't quite place it. He opened the envelope and took out the letter. A white light engulfed Harry Potter and he collapsed on his small cot.,He wasn't sure how long he was unconscious. All he knew was, he remembered everything. Merlin Emrys had returned. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the door to his cupboard door was blasted away.,"Boy," Uncle Vernon shouted, waddling over to the cupboard. "What did you do?","Hello Uncle," Merlin said cheerfully. "Lovely day isn't it?",Vernon grabbed his shirt collar and threw him against the wall. "What did you do?" he snarled.,Merlin's eyes flashed gold again and Vernon went flying against the wall. "You know Uther may have hated magic and been willing to kill sorcerer's but he would never abuse a child, magical or not. I hated Uther for what he did to my kind. But now… now I think I hate you more." Merlin took a deep breath. "This is the last time you will see me. I am going to Hogwarts and I will never return.",Merlin left the house. He could feel the wards shatter as he walked down the road. He wasn't sure what it meant. It was something he would worry about later. Right now, there was only one thing on his mind.,Arthur.,His spell was supposed to keep him asleep until Arthur's return. He looked at his body. This wasn't part of the plan. He was supposed to wake up in his adult body, ready to search for his king. What went wrong? Merlin had no idea. Now he was eleven and magically weak. Not only that but he went by the name Harry Potter.,The only thing Merlin knew for sure was that Arthur had returned. The question was where was he? Merlin didn't know but he was determined to figure it out.,Twenty minutes, and some awkward looks, later Merlin found himself in downtown London. He wandered around the streets until he saw a building appear as if from nowhere. Merlin could feel the magic pouring off the building.,The building, the Leaky Cauldron, based on what the sign said, turned out to be a pub. He wandered through the pub. No one paid attention to him as he made his way to the back of the pub, where the magical signature was the strongest.,Merlin touched the brick wall. He could feel magic pouring off of it. His eyes flashed gold and the doorway to Diagon Alley opened.,Diagon Alley was amazing, Merlin decided. There were shops everywhere. He wanted to shop, and explore, but without money there was nothing he could do. There had to be a bank nearby. He wished he could remember where that bank… Gringotts if he remembered right… was located. He had stored things there long ago, before his centuries long slumber.,He continued along the alleyway until he saw the familiar building. Gringotts. It seemed they made Diagon Alley around the bank. Gringotts was exactly how he remembered, although it was a bit bigger.,He walked up to the teller. He was eager to see if Harry Potter had any money. If not, well Merlin Emrys, did. The goblin looked up when he approached. His eyes widened at the sight of him. That answered the question on whether or not he was recognized.,"Mr. Potter," the goblin greeted. Merlin's face fell. They didn't recognize Merlin, they recognized Harry Potter. Merlin frowned. How did they know who Harry Potter was?,"You know who I am?" Merlin questioned.,"Of course, Mr. Potter. Even goblins know of your story," the goblin confirmed.,"Right. I would like to speak to the director of Gringotts," Merlin announced.,The goblin's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think you have any right to speak to the director?" he snarled.,Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the quill flew from the goblins hand. The goblins eyes widened in shock. "You… how? There hasn't been one from the Old Religion since…","Since Emrys," Merlin finished. "Yes, I know.","You are Emrys," the goblin said in awe. "Follow me.",Merlin followed the goblin through the vaguely familiar corridors. This part hadn't changed in the last couple centuries.,"Griphook what is the meaning of this?" the elder goblin said from this throne.,"I apologize Master Goblin, that would be my doing," Merlin said stepping forward.,"Who are you?" the goblin demanded.,Merlin's eyes flashed gold again and the throne shook. It was a bit dramatic but Arthur always said he was a bit dramatic. "Merlin Emrys," he said with a slight bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you Master Goblin. I remember meeting Gring—" Merlin didn't have a chance to finish as a dagger was pressed against his throat.,"How dare you claim to be the great Emrys," the goblin snarled. The dagger pressed deeper into his throat.,"I am claiming nothing," Merlin protested. "My name is Merlin. I was the manservant and friend of King Arthur. I spent centuries waiting for his return. But I got tired of waiting. I did a spell to freeze myself until Arthur's return. Obviously, something went wrong as I was reborn as Harry Potter." Merlin shook his head. "As Arthur would say, I am an idiot.","Prove it. Prove you are who you say you are," the goblin demanded.,Merlin pushed the dagger away from his throat. "," His eyes flashed gold and Excalibur appeared in Merlin's hands.,"Emrys," the goblin said backing away from Merlin. "My apologies Emrys. I am Ragnok, Director of Gringotts and descendant of Gringott himself.","Well met, Master Ragnok," Merlin said with a bow.,"Come, take a walk with me Emrys," Ragnok instructed. Merlin followed Ragnok out of the room. "I must admit, we thought you were dead.","Century after century waiting for Arthur's return. I got tired of it all," Merlin said sadly. "My intention was to put myself into a deep sleep. Something went wrong and I am now Harry Potter.",Ragnok tapped his chin. "Perhaps nothing went wrong," he suggested. "Harry Potter is said to be a hero for defeating the Dark Lord at the age of one. There's been speculation of how this was possible. It makes sense if it was you.",Merlin looked thoughtful. "Only a blade forged in dragon's breath can kill me," he said. "Anything else would be ineffective. How was this Dark Lord defeated?","According to the reports he was defeated by you. He cast the killing curse at you and it backfired. This makes far more sense than Dumbledore's mother's love excuse.","Who is Dumbledore?" Merlin asked confused.,"Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Leader of the Light," Ragnok explained. "He is said to be the next Merlin. Those of us that knew of you, know this isn't true.","Is he Dark?" Merlin asked concerned. The last thing he wanted was another Morgana.,"Dark, no," Ragnok said thoughtfully. "We believe his intentions are good but his methods are questionable. For instance, leaving you with your Aunt and Uncle. Your parent's will forbade this but the will was sealed after their death. There are other things if you wish to discuss them at a later time." Ragnok stopped at a large vault. "Here we are.",The ground shook and a familiar figure flew over to Merlin. "Young warlock," Kilgharrah greeted.,"Kilgharrah," Merlin said with a grin. "What are you doing here?","I vowed to protect your vault until your return," Kilgharrah told him.,"My spell," Merlin began. "It was meant to make me sleep until Arthur's return." Kilgharrah nodded. "Does that mean…" he couldn't finish.,"Indeed, young warlock. Arthur has returned," Kilgharrah told him. Merlin's face lit up at the thought. Arthur, his best friend and king, was back. "But be warned Merlin, just as you have changed, so has Arthur.",Merlin frowned. "What do you mean?","Arthur was reborn as someone else, just as you were," Kilgharrah clarified. "You must figure out who he is.",Merlin nodded. "I can do that." He turned his attention to Ragnok, who was patiently waiting. "I apologize for wasting your time Master Goblin. I ask for one favor, to visit Kilgharrah whenever possible. In exchange I have some items in my vault that may interest you.",The items in questions were goblin made blades. Merlin had kept them for Arthur, for when he returned. But Merlin knew his request was a big one. Sure, he could go to his vault whenever he needed, but to hang around and chat with the dragon charged with protecting several vaults, that was a lot to ask. This is why he offered the goblin blades to Ragnok.,"I know of the items you offer," Ragnok said. "It is unnecessary. You are welcome to visit Kilgharrah anytime Emrys. We goblins are forever in your debt for what you have done for us.",Merlin blushed. He saved Gringott's life a few centuries after Arthur's death. It was one of the last things he did before casting his spell. Gringott had told Merlin about his desire to open a bank for sorcerers to come and go without fear of persecution. Merlin had liked the idea and given Gringott some gold and several items to store in the very first vault created. Ever since that day Merlin had been a welcome guest inside of Gringotts Bank.,"Thank you, Master Goblin," Merlin said with a bow.,Merlin walked up to his vault and muttered the password. The password was a spell from the Old Religion, a spell only he would know. It gave his vault an added bit of protection, not that it was needed.,The vault door swung open revealing mountains and mountains of gold coins. Interest had benefitted him greatly. The gold wasn't what interested him. It was the tome inside. A gift from Gauis when he moved to Camelot.,Merlin glanced around the vault. His eyes locked on the armour in the corner of his vault. Arthur's armour. He had taken it, with Gwen's permission, after Arthur died. "Kilgharrah," Merlin called.,"Yes Young Warlock?" Kilgharrah asked, poking his head into the vault.,"Do you think Arthur is magical?" Merlin asked.,"I cannot say," Kilgharrah said sadly. "Considering the nature of your spell I believe it is entirely possible he does have magic.","But," Merlin pressed.,"But he is the Once and Future King. His destiny isn't that of a sorcerer," Kilgharrah finished. "So, while it is possible Arthur was blessed with magic, I do not think he has it.",Merlin frowned. "Then how will I find him?","That I cannot say," Kilgharrah said moving out of the vault. "Your destinies are intertwined. When the time is right you will find him." Merlin followed Ragnok to the stairs leading them to surface. "Young warlock." Merlin turned around. "I am not a prisoner here. If you have need for me, call and I will come.",Merlin nodded. "Thank you Kilgharrah, for everything you've done for me.",Kilgharrah flew away leaving Merlin alone with Ragnok. "Emrys," Ragnok began. "What is your plan, now that you're back in the wizarding world?",Merlin tapped his chin. "Well I suppose I should buy some school supplies.",Ragnok chuckled. "Not exactly what I meant," he said.,"I honestly don't know Ragnok," Merlin said. "My goal is to find Arthur. I'm hoping Kilgharrah is wrong and Arthur is magical but Kilgharrah is rarely wrong. That means my quest to find him is going to take even longer." Merlin sighed. After centuries of waiting he was so close, yet he still felt so far away.,"Have faith Emrys," Ragnok said. "The Triple Goddess does not give you more than you can handle. Arthur's return… there's a reason for it.","You're right Ragnok," Merlin said. "What can you tell me about the Potter vault?",Ragnok and Merlin climbed into the cart that would take them down to the Potter trust vault. "The Potter's are an old family. Their line can be traced back to Godric Gryffindor.",Merlin's eyes widened. "Godric. I'm related to Godric?" Merlin laughed. He wished Godric was alive to see this.,"Yes, you are," Ragnok confirmed. "The Potter line comes from Godric's eldest son. Now the Potters have considerable wealth, which of course now belongs to you. Unfortunately, all you have access to right now is your trust vault. Once you're fifteen you can claim the family vault. Lucky for you your parents made sure you would be well taken care of.",Merlin nodded in understanding. He didn't feel like a Potter now that he had his memories back but he did appreciate what they had done for him. "How much is in this trust vault?","Over 100,000 Galleons at the last audit," Ragnok informed him. "Ten thousand Galleons are added each year on your birthday.",Merlin was at a loss for words. That was a lot of money for someone who grew up with nothing. Food was scarce in his village and there were many nights were his mother would give him her portion so he wouldn't starve.,"How much do you recommend I withdraw?" Merlin asked. He had no idea once how expensive things were in the wizarding world.,"One thousand galleons should suffice," Ragnok said thoughtfully. "Perhaps a bit more if you plan on getting a whole new wardrobe." He eyed Merlin's clothes in disgust.,"Yes. I will be getting new clothes," Merlin confirmed. He didn't want to think about how Arthur would react to these rags. Uther treated servants far better than the Dursley's treated him.,"Good," Ragnok said in approval. "I would recommend 1200 Galleons. That will be more than enough to cover everything you need.",The cart stopped and Ragnok led Merlin to the vault. While the Potter's were an old family Merlin's trust vault was only protected by a key. A key which Merlin did not have. "Oh bugger," Merlin grumbled. "I don't have the key.",Ragnok frowned. "We will have your keys recalled and new ones created. For now, I shall allow you into your vault.","Thank you," Merlin said with a bow.,Ragnok ran his finger down the center of the vault door. The vault door swung open revealing Merlin's trust vault. Merlin stepped into the vault. Despite being told how much gold was in the vault, Merlin was still surprised to see piles and piles of gold coins.,"Here you are Emrys," Ragnok said handing a small bag to Merlin. "A gift from the bank to you. This bag is enchanted with a featherweight charm, as well as an undetectable expansion charm. You can store as much gold as you want and the bag will never fill, or feel heavy.","Thank you, my friend," Merlin said. One thing he learned was Goblins never gave anything away.,Merlin's eyes flashed gold and stacks of gold coins flew toward Merlin's open back. Merlin didn't bother counting the coins. He knew his spell worked perfected and 1200 Galleons were stacking up in his new bag.,"If you are ever in need of anything Emrys, the Goblin Nation is here to help you," Ragnok told him as they made their way back to the lobby of the bank.,"There is one last thing," Merlin told Ragnok. "I made a promise to my relatives that I would never set foot on their property again. I intend to keep that promise. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to go.",Ragnok nodded in understanding. "The Leaky Cauldron rents rooms. One galleon a night, for five galleons a night you get all of your meals included.","Thank you Ragnok, for everything you have done.",Merlin made his way through the Diagon Alley. It had been a long time since he had gone to Hogwarts and a lot had changed. Half the items on his list he hadn't needed before. Some of the items, like the wand, were unneeded now. Merlin sighed. No wand would work for him. He learned that centuries ago. His power was too great. That was going to draw a lot of attention to him, attention he didn't want or need.,A small part of Merlin hoped he was weak enough at this young age to use a wand, even if it was just for a year. So, Merlin made his way to the wand shop, Ollivanders, based on the sign on the shop. The name was familiar. Merlin had met a man by the name of Geraint Ollivander back in the day.,Merlin walked into the shop. "Hello," he called when he didn't see anyone.,"I wondered when I would see you here Mr. Potter," a voice said from the back. "I am Garrick Ollivander.","I'm here for my wand," Merlin told him, not wanting to have a long conversation.,"Yes, of course," Ollivander said. He pulled a wand from the shelf and handed it over to Merlin.,Merlin sighed and hoped Ollivander wasn't attached to this wand. He waved the wand and it exploded in his hand. Ollivanders eyes widened. "Sorry," Merlin said sheepishly. "I didn't know that could happen.","It's no matter Mr. Potter," Ollivander said dismissing the apology. "Some witches and wizards react strongly to different wands. It's rare but it does happen." Three more wands exploded before Ollivander realized he was wrong. "Curious," he muttered.,"What's curious?" Merlin questioned.,"I fear no wand will suit you," Ollivander said sadly. "This magic hasn't been seen in centuries, since the time of Merlin. It is curious that you possess such a power. The last known sorcerer of the Old Religion was the great Merlin himself.",That wasn't completely true, Merlin knew. There were a few sorcerers throughout the centuries. The last two he knew of were Rowena and a young boy when he attended Hogwarts as an adult. Merlin had tutored Rowena and in turn Rowena tutored the boy.,"So, what do I do?" Merlin asked, feigning concern.,"Have no fear Mr. Potter. Your ability to practice magic will not be hindered by your inability to use a wand," Ollivander reassured him. He tapped his chin. "Perhaps there is something I can do for you. It will take time though.",That caught Merlin's attention. There was nothing that could be done, as far as Merlin was aware. Maybe something had changed. "I'm looking forward to hearing from you Master Ollivander," Merlin said with a bow.,Merlin left the shop and continued his quest to get his supplies. The next stop was Madam Malkin's. Here he got a completely new wardrobe. Before he left the shop, he changed into one of his new outfits. His old clothes were set on fire.,The apothecary was next on the list. He wandered the aisles collecting stirrers, his cauldron, a set of knives, scales and a mortar and pestle. With his tools in the basket he worked on his ingredients. Merlin took more than double of what was required for the school year. He wanted to be able to create potions on his own. He also added some of the rarer ingredients, just in case.,Once he had everything, he needed he quickly paid and moved onto the next shop, and his new favorite, Flourish and Blotts, a bookstore. This was perfect for Merlin. Not only could he collect his school books but he could also catch up on everything that had happened since he cast his spell.,Book after book was added to his basket. The baskets at Flourish and Blotts were like Merlin's money bag. They each had a featherweight charm and an expansion charm to make shopping easier. Merlin added several books on the history of the wizarding world, including ,and ,Next, he added a book on Occlumency and Legilimency. Something he had never heard of, or studied, but it sounded interesting. Last he added advanced books for all of his core subjects.,As he was making his way to the counter someone bumped into him. "Sorry," the voice muttered.,The person was vaguely familiar to him. Merlin turned to see the person that bumped into him, however, when he looked there was no one there.

Edward kicked the office door open as usual, nodded to Hawkeye and then sat down in front of the smug man sitting behind the desk.,"Alright, Colonel, what is it you wanted me for?","The Führer has requested that you go undercover at a school for the next year. I myself will be posing as a teacher.","What?! Why, Where?","It's a boarding school in Scotland.","Scotland?! What the hell?!",The Colonel sighed. "The headmaster will be arriving in the next few minutes to describe the circumstances.",No later than he had said it, there was a sharp CRACK and an old man with long hair and beard was standing in the middle of the office, looking pleasantly at them.,Ed reacted instantly. He clapped his hands and with a flash of blue lightning, he transmuted the protective plating on his right arm into his trademark blade. Two seconds later, the stranger was lying on his back on the floor with the blade pointed at his chest.,For some reason, the man chuckled merrily from where Ed had pinned him to the floor.,"What the hell! How did you do that? Who the hell are you? STOP LAUGHING, DAMMIT!","I'm sorry, dear boy, but that is the first time in about sixty years that anyone has even dared to jump me. I have to say you did a remarkable job.",Ed just stared. Who the hell was this man?,"I guess I should present myself. My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts. I was told by your leader to meet at Colonel Roy Mustang's office at East Headquarters in Amestris, I hope I got the location right?" he said pleasantly.,"You still haven't told me how you did that!","That is quite simple, dear boy, I apparated.","You what?","Apparition, the art of disappearing from one place, to almost instantly reappear at another. It's something that we wizards can do, after we have passed the test, of course.",There was only one word that had stuck with Ed.,"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC NOW TELL ME THE TRUTH BEFORE I HIT YOU!",The man seemed unperturbed. "I am telling the truth, dear boy. Magic is a very real thing, let me show you.",He then pulled a stick out of his robes and pointed it at the Colonel's desk, instantly transforming it into a wooden horse that began galloping in circles around the room.,Ed's jaw dropped.,That wasn't possible.,It just wasn't.,But the Colonel's desk was fucking neighing.,And the annoying man was chuckling at Ed and Mustang's reaction.,Ed had to admit, it was hard to pretend that magic wasn't real right now.,"Like I said, magic.","So you're the headmaster of this school in Scotland?","Yes, I am. Now who may you be? Are you perhaps the son of one of the people who works here?","I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric," Ed growled. He had worked damned hard for that title, he was not going to be patronised now.,"But how old are you?" His eyebrows had furrowed slightly.,"Thirteen.","And you are a part of the military?","Yes. And I'm a damn prodigy!","In that case, I am very happy to make your acquaintance." He extended his left hand so that he could shake Ed's who reluctantly took it, staring at the man who could be so calm about all this. "Now, if you kindly would get off my chest, I believe it is time that I put your superior's desk back to its normal way of not chewing on the windowsill.",Ed got off the man but still eyed him suspiciously.,The man stood up much more graciously than Ed would have expected of him. He then said some funny words and pointed his stick at the horse, which instantly trotted over to where it should stand in front of Mustang who was sitting there, terrified with his gloved fingers poised to snap.,The man waved the stick and the horse transformed back into a desk.,"Well, that was fun," the man said, grinning.,"I think this makes you Colonel Mustang?" the man said, extending his hand for Mustang to shake. "Albus Dumbledore, it's a pleasure to meet you.",The Colonel seemed to regain his usual manner of being, although he still looked slightly alarmed.,The two of them shook hands and then Dumbledore sat down on the chair in front of the desk. He then looked at Ed and smacked his forehead theatrically. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Edward. Forgive my manners in my old age." He then waved his stick and a chair appeared out of nowhere.,Ed just stared at it.,"Aren't you going to sit down?" Dumbledore asked.,"How the hell do you bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange like that?!","Magic is not bound by the same rules as your alchemy. There are a few exceptions of course, like Gamp's Laws of Elemental Transfiguration. But you need to understand that magic is not a science.",Ed was pretty sure he hated the man.,He sat down on the annoyingly comfy chair and crossed his arms, scowling at the man. "Now what do you want us for?","I'm interested in being able to put alchemy on the curriculum, and is it is far more advanced here than any other places, I figured I should ask for the best of the best. The State Alchemists are supposed to be highly skilled after all.","That does not explain what you want with me being undercover.","It just so happens that this year, Hogwarts will be guarding a certain artefact that would be best kept secret. As a student you would be able to keep a much less suspicious eye on both the staff and the students, should something be amiss.",Ed watched his eyes intently, trying to read what they hid.,"There's something else too," Ed concluded.,"There is a certain student that will be attending his first year at Hogwarts that I would like you to keep an eye on too.","Who is he?","His name is Harry Potter and I believe he has a deadly enemy just biding his time. It began many years ago as the darkest wizard that has ever been known, decided to target him when he was just a baby. His name is Voldemort and he killed Harry's parents, but for some reason Harry survived the killing curse and it rebounded instead upon Voldemort. Voldemort is by many now believed to be dead and Harry is famous for it. I, on the other hand, think that Voldemort is merely hiding, waiting to find something that can bring him back to his former self. The object that is being guarded by Hogwarts is something that can do just that.",Ed felt funny hearing this sort of thing. It sounded silly, really, but if an orphaned kid really was in as much danger as Dumbledore thought, it wouldn't be fair if Ed just dismissed it as the ramblings of an old man. Besides, the way he said it, made Ed instantly trust his words. There was something about his eyes and his voice that hinted at a frankly stunning intellect.,"So what's my story?" Ed said, deciding on believing the strange wizard.,"I was thinking something along the lines of you joining your uncle at Hogwarts as an exchange student.","Uncle?! No way in hell!","Then what do you suggest, young man?" Dumbledore seemed genuinely interested.,"Something other than that! I'm not gonna pretend that the bastard Colonel is my uncle!",Mustang sighed. "Fullmetal, it would be far easier to not arouse suspicion, especially seeing as how you are not a wizard.","And it would also help in explaining your alchemic prowess," Dumbledore supplied.,Ed groaned. "Fine! But I will not be sharing the same quarters as him!","Of course. He will be receiving a room of his own as a teacher, while you will be sleeping in the dorms with your fellow students.","And what about Al?","He will have to stay here, Fullmetal.",Ed felt his heart clench. "So you're gonna separate me from my brother for a whole year?! No way.",Mustang sighed, his face turning strict. "You will, and that's an order.",Ed growled, cursing. Dumbledore was humming, obviously turning deaf in order to give him some privacy. "Fine! But how do I keep in contact?","Owl post," Dumbledore said.,"What?","Owl post. It is the way we wizards communicate with each other long distance when it isn't too urgent or we don't know the recipient's location.","You wizards are mad, you know that?","It has been said. Now the school will begin on the first day of September, you will take the Hogwarts Express from London's King's Cross Station. Colonel Mustang will use floo powder as many of the other teachers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an urgent meeting with the Ministry.",And so the man disappeared with another CRACK and all that was left were two scrolls of parchment, one labelled "Edward Elric" and the other "Colonel Mustang".,"Did this conversation really just happen?" Edward said, picking up the scroll of parchment with his name on, handing the other to Mustang.,Ed opened his, and read through it quickly.,Ed picked up a small locket that had fallen out of the scroll, eyeing it sceptically. It didn't look too bad, actually. Ed didn't know how, but Dumbledore had managed to copy the flamel sign that was on the back of his coat, and somehow put it inside the red stone that hung at the end of the gold chain.,He looked at the book list and scoffed. Those titles sounded pretty far-fetched, especially when they were paired with their respective authors.,Ed smirked, he was beginning to like Dumbledore, slightly, because the desk had been looking rather like a certain wild horse, come to think of it.,Okay.,Ed began adding up the normal-sounding names he could think of within the military.,Mustang suddenly cleared his throat. "Fullmetal, it seems that we're going shopping tomorrow.","Why tomorrow?","Because I just want to get this over and done with while I actually believe that it's true. Besides, it says here that we need to use the fireplace and that it is only usable for this thing tomorrow between eight in the morning and four in the afternoon.","What "thing"?","Floo powder." He held up a brown bag with a piece of string knotted carefully around it. "We throw it in the fireplace and say where we want to go, and it will take us to a pub.","A pub.","At least I think it's a pub. It sounds like a pub.","What's the name?","It's called "The Leaky Cauldron.""

Dumbledore's PoV,The start of the next year is coming closer, the year that Harry Potter will come to Hogwarts, is coming closer.,Dumbledore sat in his office while petting Fawkes the Phoenix gently in the head. That was when the fire place in his office had turned green. Three important looking people walked through the fire place one by one. They were the ministers from three different countries. Norway. Romania. England.,"Welcome Ministers, how may I be of service to you?" Dumbledore greeted politely. "Hello Dumbledore, we're truly sorry for interrupting you so late." One of the ministers greeted back.,"Not at all, " He paused to look at them individually. "Now. What is it that is bothering you to come all the way to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore questioned politely.,"It has come to my attention that, Harry Potter shall be attending Hogwarts the upcoming year." The minister of Norway said. Dumbledore nodded his eyes twinkling.,"Yes, indeed he will be. And he will be in great hands." Dumbledore assured. The ministers nodded.,"We're sure he is, but we would like to offer you some help" The minister of Romania said. "Oh? What would you like to help with ministers?" Dumbledore asked.,"We are requesting for you to accept three new students to Hogwarts this year, they will be able to help protect Harry Potter...We can assure you that they are very capable, and are able to use most if not all dark magic." The minister of England said. He continued as he saw Dumbledore frowned nbut nodded.,"I see, what are they're names?","They're names are, Vladimir Popescu, Lukas Bondevik and Arthur Kirkland.","Kirkland? Ah, I see. This shall be an interesting year indeed.",The ministers nodded. "We truly apologize for taking your time professor Dumbledore. But we do hope you consider our request.",England PoV,He couldn't careless what happend to France right now, the bloody frog kept annoying the shite out of him. It was just another boring day at the world meeting, loud and everyone always fighting.,It of course all started with America suggesting something stupid and then Japan agreeing with him as always. But what was different this time was France accusing him of having imaginary friends. Which were real! Norway and Romania saw them too.,"For the last time, they are not imaginary!" England yelled irritated. "Of course they are Angleterre! It would explain why only you and your 'Magic' group can see them!",England was about to open his mouth to argue but was cut off by Norway putting a hand on his shoulder. England turned around to look at Norway.,Norway stared at England blankly for a few moments until he gestured towards the window, there were three owls flying towards the building. England ran to the window and opened it just in time for one of the owls to drop a letter in his hand. One of the owls flew over to Norway and stuck onto his shoulder, Norway held his hand out and the owl placed a letter on his hand. While Romania had an owl on his head, the owl bent down to look at him and used it's feet to smack Romania in the face with the letter.,A few nations laughed while Romania picked up the letter. The owls flew over to the table and sat there waiting to receive the answers. After they finished reading the letter, They looked up to see the curious looks they were receiving from the other nations.,"YES!" Romania suddenly exclaimed, then all heads turned towards him. "We finally get a break! And it's a googood chance to practice magic!" He continued. The other nations looked even more confused.,"Sorry everyone, but we don't have time to explain. The term starts on September 1st doesn't it? " Norway spoke in a monotone. "England what is the date today?" Norway asked.,"Give me a moment," England pulled out his phone and checked the date, His eyes widened. "August 29th..." He finally answered.,"Well we'd better hurry then!" Romania chirped happily as he ran to England and Norway and grabbed their arms and disappeared.,"...What just happened?"

It had been eight months, eight months since the end of the war with Voldemort. In those eight months Amelia Potter had finally gotten fed up with the way the wizarding world was. Sighing she placed her head in her hands as she sat at the kitchen table in her aunt's house. She had arrived three weeks ago asking for a place to stay just to get away from everything. She hadn't thought that her aunt would agree but there must have been something that had shown in her face or her eyes or both that had touched her aunt's heart in some way because she just nodded and stepped aside.,In all her time having to live with her aunt, she had never felt at peace or felt that this house was her home but she knew that she did now. Closing her eyes she let her mind wander back to what happened two weeks after the final battle. She had gone with Neville and Hermione to Gringotts to talk to the Director to make reparation's for the damage that had been caused by her Ron and Hermione.,It had come as a shock to her to find out that she had been lied to by people that she never would have thought would have done so. As a tear leaked from her closed eyes, she recalled the meeting that had taken place upon entering the Director's office.,She sighed again as she came out of the memory. She had spent the rest of the day there going through the records of her account's. She heard both her parent's will and Sirius' will and had broken down more times than she had cared to admit. At the end of it all she had not only enough money to live off of the rest of her life but also several homes to choose to live in including her family's manor. She had visited it a week after that meeting with Hermione and Neville and had been shocked to silence at not just the size of the place but of her parent's portrait.,She had spent two days filling her parent's in on everything that had happened since the night they died. She had also hung up Siriu's portrait that she had found in his personal vault. She had used the funds from what Sirius had left her to pay the bank for not only her part but also Hermione's. Ron she left to deal with on his own. She would have gladly helped him out as well but that day had not only revealed that Albus Dumbledore had been keeping her history from her but had also been paying Ron to be her friend. He had also paid Molly Weasley as well to basically take her in.,When she had confronted them with Hermione by her side, she had found out that Dumbledore had promised her to Ron as his wife on top of paying them, they were the only two out of the Family that had known what Dumbledore's end goal was and had went along with it. Though Dumbledore was not evil in the way that Tom Riddle had been, he was greedy and had wanted the Potter fortune for himself.,Amelia had left the Burrow after packing her belongings and telling both Ron and Molly that if she ever caught them anywhere near her again she would kill them. She also informed Arthur and the rest that she did not hold his son and wife's actions against any of them and she hoped that they would at least maintain contact with her. Arthur had of course agreed.,She left and never looked back. Her and Hermione had instead went to Grimwauld place and stayed there as they studied for the Newts and after they had taken them, Hermione had left to go to Australia to search for her parent's. She had offered to go along with but Hermione had told her that it was alright and instead instructed her to get herself away from the Wizarding World for awhile, to not stay cooped up in her Godfather's house. She listened after spending two weeks there alone.,It had been with a heavy heart and a weary body and spirit that she had shown up on her aunt's doorstep asking to stay for awhile. The conversation that followed the next day had done a lot to mend things between her, her aunt and her cousin. A slight smile crossed her lips as she looked into the cup of tea that she had prepared as she remembered that day.,Taking a sip of her tea before placing it back down, she thought over the rest of what happened that day. She had found out that Vernon had a heart attack a month after they had returned home and had died. Though she knew her aunt and cousin had loved him and would miss him, she knew they were both slightly relieved that he was no longer around. They had spent hours talking, Amelia filling them on everything that had happened over her years at Hogwarts and what she had found out after it was all over.,To say they were shocked and pissed was an understatement. Her aunt had told her that she had no knowledge of her fortune and if she had, she would have gone to Dumbledore herself and demanded to be provided the funds to make sure she had the things that she had needed. Amelia understood then that her uncle had truly not cared about her. Oh they had the money to afford another child, but he just hadn't cared. Her aunt informed her that if she had known, she would have found someway to make her life a little easier.,She had also found out that they were going to have to move soon. Vernon's life insurance had been just enough to pay for his funeral and leave them enough to live off for a year, after that they wouldn't be able to afford to stay there any longer.,Amelia had then done something that had shocked her aunt. Three days after that conversation, she had returned and handed her aunt an envelope. Inside was the deed to the house and a check that would allow her aunt to live the rest of her life in comfort. Her aunt had tried to object but Amelia would have none of it, she explained to her aunt that she no longer held her childhood against her or Dudley and seeing how they were the only family she had left and she had all this money that simply put she was going to use that money to help take care of her family.,Her aunt had broken down then and had given her niece the first hug that the young woman could ever remember. They had spent a good hour like that, Amelia finally crying over the pain from her childhood and soaking up the love and comfort of her aunt's hug. Even now, three weeks later things were still great between them. Dudley had spent a lot of time with her doing things that they hadn't when they had been children.,Days spent at the mall, playing video games, going out to eat with her aunt or to the movies. They had even made a trip to the beach together as well as Diagon Alley so she could show her aunt and cousin the wonder's that the alley held. Dudley had even struck up a tentative friendship with the twins when they had visited their shop. That of course was after Amelia had made them apologize to Dudley for the tongue toffee they had tricked him into eating which had gotten a laugh out of all of them.,At night when her nightmare's would wake her up, her aunt would be there with a cold glass of water, a hug and a listening ear as Amelia told her of the nightmare.,Overall the last three weeks had been more than she could have asked for. She was finally accepted by her last two remaining relatives and though she wished there were more out there somewhere she knew that there was no hope in wishing for something that would never happen. She knew that no Potter's except her remained and as far as she knew only her Aunt and cousin were left of her mother's side of the family.,She would soon learn how wrong she was.

THIS STATEMENT MUST ACCOMPANY THE STORY 'FRIENDEMIES' IF DISTRIBUTED. THIS STORY IS FREE OF CHARGE AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM. THIS DEDICATION MUST ACCOMPANY ANY DISTRUBUTION OF THIS STORY.,-COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER NOTICE-,",", it's characters, certain mystical devices and/or references to such, from the television show, are registered trademarks of, Mutant Enemy Productions and created by Joss Whendon. Characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of WB Network Entertainment.,", was created and is the creation of by J.K. Rowling. In other words, she owns the rights to everything! I will say that the original characters are of my creations. I am solely responsible for them as such.,This is my first Harry Potter story and I will of course make mistakes in this AU. Not every character will be identical to the book or movies. In addition, I will be focusing on some of the secondary characters more than the main ones so you will see them in the forefront.,There is another mix here as well which I will not reveal but you'll figure it out. ,but I am having a little fun and I hope you will as well.,Note: These chapters will be relatively shorter than my usual number of words.,Please enjoy.,Ginevra 'Ginny' Weasley practically floated towards the famous and mysterious wand shop , since 382 B.C. She couldn't believe it! She was finally going to Hogwarts and she was getting her wand today! She already had her school robes and some of her books required for school. Other supplies she'd get later but now it was time to get her wand! Looking at her smirking father, she tried her best to keep the smile off her face and failed miserably. Hey, this was a landmark event. She was about to officially become a young woman now!,Her brothers George and Fred were unabashedly smirking at her, a sure sign that they were in on the a of some sort that had to be at her expense. Being the baby sister, she sometimes received the twins unwanted attention and now, she was old enough to understand when she a victim of their pranks. They didn't prank her often; that was reserved for her older brother Ronald. Usually she was at the fringes of their pranking binges. Poor Ron though, received the brunt of their attention which usually involved some sort of food prank. The latest, which mother finally punished them for, had poor Ron's food changing colors to bright green and no matter what type of food was on the plate, it all tasted exactly the same.,Ron ,broccoli.,George and Fred thought it was hilarious and her father, instead of punishing them, laughed along with them and that was when her mother stepped in, hexing them both sending them to their rooms. Then she yelled at her husband for an hour. That did little to dissuade the twins from coming up with something else to torment their little brother. It was no wonder that Ron ate the way he did. It was his response for his brothers playing with his food. He ate like a slob because he had to get it down as fast as possible before something happened to it. she thought they were terrible to him and they thought it was funny. Not that she approved, of course.,But she had to admit, some of those pranks , really funny.,However, Ginny didn't like being the subject of pranks and today of all days was too important to her for her brothers to mess things up. Of all days, why father had to bring them with her, she'd never know. But she did have her suspicions.,"What's taking so long?" she whined. Since this morning, they'd been everywhere but the wand shop. Ginny was convinced that her father was holding off coming here on purpose as some sort of prank. Her brothers had to get it from somewhere.,Arthur Weasley was beaming as much as his daughter was. His baby girl was growing up and going off to school. It was a wonderful time but one he also dreaded. The children were growing up and all too soon they'd be off having their own adventures, getting married and having their own families. But first, he wanted to have fond memories of what it was like to be young and with family. Fred and George came up with the idea of prolonging the wait for Ginny to get her wand and he agreed. But they were being pranked, too. The twins hated shopping, so Arthur made them accompany him to every store they hated to step foot into. Shopping for girl's robes had to rank highest among their most hated thin to do. Three hours seemed long enough, he imagined. He would tell Molly about the looks on their collective faces. She'd be so amused even if she didn't show it.,They were within sight of the store now and his daughter was all but dragging him into the shop. Looking around she saw beautifully crafted boxes and cases filled with every type of wand on display as one could imagine. Those wands were for display only and weren't real ones, but they simply helped to stir her imagination. The smells of different woods, exotic oils, and other things permeated the shop, making everything seem that much more real. It was amazing and she couldn't wait. Her father couldn't help but smile as he saw the joy ho his baby daughter's face.,Moments later, her joy turned to disappointment. "It's crowded!" she wailed. "It'll be nighttime before I can get my wand. The store will close, and I'll have to wait until tomorrow! Father, it's all your fault for putting this off!",Grabbing his daughter, he tried placating her. "There, there, it's only one customer in front of us and I'm sure he'll be done soon.",'Don't worry," Fred told her.,"It shouldn't take more than two maybe three hours," said George.,"…Before you can get your wand," responded Fred.,This mindreading gift the twins shared was one thing that Ginny loved and hated about the twins. They were so close that they knew each other's thoughts to the point of finishing each other's sentences. Furthermore, they did it on purpose to confuse everyone.,"You'll have at least twenty minutes," continued George," Before the store closes.","That's plenty of time…" spoke Fred.,"Oh, yes. Plenty of time," finished George without missing a beat.,Ginny responded the only way she could. She started wailing. She had waited for so long for this day taking extra care to wear her best clothes because she wanted to look beautiful for this day and now it was ruined!,"Fred, George, be nice to your sister or we'll skip the joke shop today!" Arthur warned.,Both brothers immediately lowered their heads after a moment's shock. No way could they miss going to the joke shop. That was the reason why they came along in the first place.,"Yes, sir," both said in unison.,Ginny still felt miserable.,This was turning out to be a most interesting day for the owner of the wand shop. Garrick Ollivander's shop was busy today. Almost a dozen first years had come for their wands and he smiled fondly as he dutifully repaired his shop over two dozen times. All of the children were given fine wands, the best in the world if he did say so himself. That was the tradition, handed from father to son until the ownership passed to him. He loved his job because it was challenging creating works of art. Each wand was different and had to be matched to his or her owner. The art of wand-making was not only in making the physical wand but matching it to the person. Becoming one with a wand wasn't as easy as he made it seem. There was an art to it and he and his family were artists. Few and far in-between were the complaints he'd received over the years. He was proud of his accomplishments.,However, what the man before him asked for was as unusual as his appearance. It caused the elder wandmaker to take a moment to examine the man. He was in his early forties with brown hair speckled with patches of gray. all about six feet in height, about one eighty or so. He was tanned and had piercing brown eyes that complimented his almost lazy, relaxed smile. He looked healthy and beneath is strange clothing he hinted of well-used muscles. He had the look of a foreigner, possibly a new world colonial.,"Mister Harris, you're a yank, an American?" he asked as his curiosity got the better of hm.,"Yep, one hundred percent, born and raised.","Most interesting," Ollivander said, as his eyes gleamed. "The wandmakers in the Colonies are very good. Are you perhaps wanting a secondary wand for use? If that's true, the you've come to the right place.",Behind him, Arthur perked up. The customer in front of him was an American. How exciting! Maybe he knew about muggle devices and what their purposes were. He was always interested in muggle devices and how they worked. It was a hobby of his, one that his wife somewhat disapproved of. She complained that he was always leaving dangerous 'muggle' junk around. He of course, disagreed and she mostly left him alone. But this American might know what some of those things he had collected over the years were. So he couldn't help but try to listen in on the conversation while holding on to his anxious daughter.,"Thank you, I believe I have. This is the first time I'm buying a wand of my own.",That surprised Garrick. "You've never had a wand of your own? I believed that the wand specialists at Livermony would have supplied you with a suitable wand for your own personal use.",The customer nodded at the shop owner and his obvious prompt. "I didn't attend Livermony. I hear it is a good school. Me, I went to a private college in Southern California. It was very exclusive, and I received my training and degrees there. The wand I used was, you might say, a family heirloom and I had to return it. I just moved here recently. I have a small magic shop a couple of blocks from here. It's not opened yet," he explained.,"Most interesting," Garrick said filing that away for future use. "Well, back to business. Which hand do you prefer?" has asked as he prepared to make measurements to ensure a proper wand fit. Behind him Ginny looked on with intense interest and excitement. Soon, she'd be the one being measured for a wand.,"I prefer my right hand, sir. You can take the measurements, but I'm not here to buy a wand. I want you to make me one.",The shop owner looked up in surprise. "You want a custom-made wand? I must inform you that all of my wands are custom-made.","I know. That's why I'm here," the man answered. "I have the design here," he said as he presented blueprints to the very interested shop keeper. "This is a thirteen and a half inch, red oak and ash. And this," he pulled out a small wooden box and placed it on the counter, "is the core I want placed inside the wand.",The wand maker looked intently as the man opened the box. Inside, there was a small tightly braided set of hairs. Intrigued, he pulled out his own wand and waved it over the braid.,"What is this?" he asked. "I've never seen anything like this. It's human and something else." He waved his wand over it once more. "There is power here unlike anything I've seen before.",The American waved his hand and the braid separated into four strands, each a different color. Behind him, Arthur raised his eyebrows at the demonstration of wandless magic. "It's a braid consisting of four hairs, freely given. The blond hair is from one of the longest living warriors of her kind. The brunette strand is from her sister warrior, heir to the line. The next strand is red and white comes from their bond sister and my best friend when I was young. These are sister in all but blood. They strive together in friendship, adversity, though joy and sorrow. They are warriors against the darkness, and they are my friends. The last strand is from another bond mate, separate from me but never parted. She is a primal. Her strand was freely given to me. All; are Alphas, all are warriors and all of them are my friends." The American waved his hand over the strands and the braid reformed itself.,"It's a primal," Ollivander whispered. "I've heard of them but never in my lifetime have I ever seen an example of one. I've had many cores to use in my wands, even phoenix feathers and vampire hair. I've created a wand made from the hair of a werewolf and scales of a dragon as cores, but never a mystical primal. I didn't believe they existed.","They don't, not on this world.",The man said it in a way that made Ollivander look at him in a new light. 6"Yes, yes. I see," he muttered. "Not of this world.","Can you do it?" the man asked.,"I think I can rise to the challenge," the older man answered. "It will take twenty-four days.","Excellent," the man said as he clapped his hands. "Here is a down payment of thirty galleons, the rest upon delivery.","Excellent, is there anything else?","I think that's it," he answered as the shopkeeper completed his measurements. "Oh, here is my card. My shop will be opened in a few days. It's called Xander's Magic Shop and Curiosities. I'll also serve American style foods.","I look forward to visiting your store one day.",Thank you again. Now, I have to get out of the way before that young girl bursts open at the seams.",There was a gleam in his eye as he glanced at the young lady about to shove the American out of the way. "Quite so," agreed the shop keeper.,A grinning Alexander Harris moved out of the way before he could be shoved by the young, petite red-haired girl.,"Thank you, sir," she said to him, as she stepped up to speak to the shopkeeper. Turning to the American she said brightly, "I am getting my wand today!" and she promptly forgot he existed as Ollivander started to measure her.,"Good for you," Xander said but he was sure she didn't hear him.

NA: este crossover es mi primer intento para entrar en el mundo del fanfiction.,antes que nada quiero aclarar una cosa. Disfruto de cambiar las características (psicológicas) de mis personajes. Mis historia son SIEMPRE universos alternativos, dado que son los que mas disfruto a la hora de escribir.,la historia empieza en el capítulo 2

If you had been walking down Grimmauld Place in the cold waking hours of May 27th, you would have been treated to quite the sight. A diminutive creature exited one of the townhouses clutching a small bundle close to his chest, he muttered to himself in a voice that was rough and coarse like sandpaper, "Mistress mustn't be angry with Kreacher, He must only do as told.",The small figure stumbled along to the edge of the front yard, looking over his shoulder and surveying the area around him at frequent intervals; fear filled his bloodshot eyes. "Hush, Master." He said to the bundle as the new-born regained conciseness and threatened to expose his betrayal, "Kreacher will soon be done.",The house elf stopped in front of number 13 Grimmauld Place, he laid the bundle down gently on the welcome mat; he knocked three times with precision and force before he apparited away.,Christine Hummel was woken by the sharp knocking on the door; she could barely remember what she had been dreaming of mere moments before. She scaled down the stairs and opened the door, shotgun in hand. She stood there for a moment, wondering what sort of kid plays ding-dong-ditch at three in the morning but those thoughts were soon halted by the soft whimpering of unknown origin. When her eyes met the soft supple face of the new born, she melted onto the floor, "Burt!" she screamed, completely disregarding the fact that their neighbours were asleep, "Burt come down here!","I don't wanna!","Albert Bartholomew James Hummel!" Christina's voice was firm and strong, "Come down here this instance!",Burt stumbled down the stairs in a sleepy messy daze but all the sleep was scared out of him by the sight of his wife standing with a shotgun in one hand and a baby in the other, "Chris, when did we get a baby?","Apparently, just now." She smiled brightly.,Burt looked up and down the deserted street, looking them over with care, "Well," he turned to his wife and leaned closer to the bundle, taking in the perfect facial features, moonlit grey eyes and brown hair of the new born, "She's so perfect, we should name her Elizabeth.","Like my mother?","Like my grandmother.","Wait, we're not sure if it is a girl," she took a peak under the fleece blanket that was wrapped around the baby, "It's a boy.","I still want to name him Elizabeth.","How about Kurt?" She asked with a smile, "because of the full moon, it means wolf in Turkish.","Kurt Elizabeth Hummel," Burt leaned and kissed his wife on the forehead then his son, "My son.",~0~,Kurt began his day the same way he had the entire summer; he got up and prepared for the day ahead. He read his library books, watched his soap operas and he spent the rest of the day waiting for something he didn't know would come. The Hudson-Hummel household was abuzz with activity and Kurt would react to every little movement with optimism that it would put an end to this endless fruitless waiting. Summer was almost over and he had spent the entirety of it in the same regimental rut of waiting.,"Kurt," Carole said stepping into his personal space and breaking his concentration, "You want to come shopping with me? We'll go down to the farmers market and then maybe we'll go to Woollies and get you a new scarf for the winter.","Carole, Carole, Carole… poor naïve Carole," Kurt smiled sweetly and tilted his head to the side, "I'm eleven, you can't bribe me with a scarf, you have to offer at least three and a new messenger bag for school." Kurt relished in the distraction from the menace of waiting for something that would simply never arrive, this was worse than waiting for his parents to tell him he was adopted and that was obvious because he'd looked nothing like his dad or even his mom when she was alive. When they got to the market Kurt jumped out of the car and ran ahead of Carole enthusiastically, feeling free as the warm summer air grazed the contours of his face; it was truly a lovely day to be out in London and Kurt wasn't going to let it go to waste.,"How's about we make chicken pot pie tonight?" Carole said as she picked out a variety of vegetables for the week ahead, "Or would you rather have stroganoff?","Stroganoff!" Kurt said as he smelled the mushrooms sautéing in the back of his mind, he twirled on the spot and hoped from foot to foot with the grace of the ballerina he was in training to become. He danced on the sidewalk without a care in the world, it didn't matter that the new school year was almost upon them; the reality of returning to school wouldn't hit him till after he visited his grandparents farm in Sheffield. He carried on dancing from stall to stall and from store to store almost forgetting about that nagging anticipation that had plagued him all summer, almost.,"Let's hurry along sweetheart, Finn needs to be picked up from soccer." Carole then corralled him into the back of the station wagon. Kurt was looking out the window, watching intently as suburban houses passed by at snail pace with nothing on the radio.,Finn was sitting on the sidewalk waiting for them; his face lit up at the sight of his mother's Volvo but darkened instantly as he retreated into himself, Kurt knew instantly that this meant his brother was about to get into trouble for something big and took the opportunity to confess to his most recent transgression. "I broke that crystal vase your sister gave you as a wedding gift, it shattered and then I went over to Caryn place so I could use her as an alibi.","You?" she asked as she pulled into the parking spot, "How?",Kurt shrugged "I don't know," he thought back to the strange day, "I looked at it funny, because you know how much I hated it, and it spontaneously shattered.","Why didn't you just tell me?" she asked in a soft maternal voice.,"I was so confused that I wasn't thinking straight.","I blamed your father for that." Her voice suddenly distraught, "Aren't you sorry?","I am sorry." He said shyly.,"Sorry it happened or sorry it upset me.","Sorry it happened." Finn got into the car and sat silently, "How was practice honey? Did it end early because you could've called me?","No," he sat twiddling his thumbs, Kurt could smell the fear radiating off his older- only by a couple of weeks- brother and he was revelling in it. "Practice ran normally.","Then why are you here and not still on the field with everyone else?" Kurt asked with a devilishly crooked smile on his face.,"Are you hurt?" Carole asked inspecting him and showering him in kisses.,"No." he mumbled softly.,"What was that?" Kurt asked with pursed lips.,"I got suspended for fighting." Finn screamed at Kurt, "Kurt's buddy Arnold accused me of cheating because I scored a curved top corner goal over his head… from the centre line.","Did you cheat?" Carole asked calmly.,"No." Finn paused, "At least I don't think I cheated.","Well then why did you have to resort to violence?" Kurt asked seeing that Carole was too casual about this.,"I always tell you to be diplomatic." Carole said sternly, "No sticky toffee cake for either of you.",Finn gave Kurt a questioning look as if to say 'Why the hell was that so easy,' to which Kurt simply beamed 'you owe me,' but didn't say a word more on the matter for the rest of their drive home. He played his numbers game, trying to count to a thousand using the numbers on the licence plates of the cars he'd pass on the way home; once again he tried to prolong his distraction before he returned to the pointless endless waiting. As they approached their townhouse Kurt noted that his dad kept peering out the window in an antsy fashion. 'We are so dead.' Kurt beamed to Finn who simply whimpered in response.,Kurt helped Carole carry in the groceries, something he never did, in hopes that it would ease the imminent situation but he couldn't help but feel like something big was about to go down and he had the suspicion that it was beyond his control. They were greeted at the door by his dad who ushered Carole into the Kitchen with hushed but assertive tones; Kurt peered into the lounge to see a stern elegant woman who was a little along in her years, he didn't recognize her though.,Kurt scurried into the kitchen. "She says she's here to speak to Kurt and Finn?" Carole asked in a hushed voice, "about what exactly?","She said she wasn't at liberty to discuss the matter with me." His dad's brows were knitted tightly together and his breaths were shallow, "I only let her in because I wasn't about to leave an old lady on the veranda.","Hi, I'm Finn." came from the lounge; he saw his dad and Carole face palm simultaneously.,He immediately joined his brother because he knew that failing to do so would result in his exclusion from the conversation, "And I'm Kurt, it is a pleasure to meet you." He threw in his money making smile in for good measure.,"Good afternoon, it's a pleasure to meet you both;" as Kurt heard her stern yet maternal voice he was overwhelmed, the waiting and longing seemed to have reached its end, "I'm Professor Minerva McGonagall from ,and I am thankful to have been received so warmly.","There's no such thing as magic." Kurt said sternly, he gave her a piercing stare but when she didn't so much as flinch- he stepped down.,"Do you believe in magic Mr Hudson?" she asked, Kurt noted how she pursed he lips to punctuate her sentences much like he did and it unsettled him.,"Well…" Finn had his classic confused look, "I'm not sure.","What is there not to be sure about?" Kurt snapped at him, "Does this seem like a Disney movie? Because that is the only place magic is real.","Well, that goal today was phenomenally impossible considering I suck at soccer," He said in a soft voice, "you blew up a vase with your mind and we do speak to each other with our minds.","No. You have been working hard on your soccer skills; that vase exploding was not my fault and we read each other's facial expressions not each other's minds." Kurt quipped, he stepped closer to Finn, "if we believe this then we'll have Charles Xavier telling us we're mutants next.","Lemon flavoured Fanta.","What did you just say?","You're craving Lemon flavoured Fanta," Finn said confidently. Kurt considered for a moment the existence of magic and what it meant for him.,Their parents had joined them a while back but were yet to say anything; Professor McGonagall sat on the couch smiling to herself whilst Kurt ran the idea through his mind. She handed them each an envelope. Kurt inspected his envelope closely; it was addressed to him, the paper was heavy and clearly expensive, it was sealed with a wax seal like they did in medieval times, the letter itself looked to be ancient and somehow lost to time; Kurt read the letter inviting him to attend the supposed magic school but still he wasn't convinced.,"You're going to need more than twenty-five pence stationary to convince me." Burt said defensively shielding Kurt from the woman.,"I don't know Burt," Finn said with a smirk, "This looks like fifty pence worth of work.","Wingardium Leviosa." She said with a flick of a short little… dare he say, wand. Kurt didn't feel anything happening but then suddenly he saw the floor get farther away as the couch began to levitate; Carole and his dad held on to the armrests for dear life, Finn giggled and Kurt had an epiphany: Magic was real.,"Put us down!" Carole said in a panicked voice, "Please.",The couch gently descended and came to rest, "were my birth parents wizards?" Kurt asked quietly, he'd never cared to know much about his birth parents but now there was something he had inherited from them, a potential family tie, and it had his curiosity peaked.,"Yes, they were." Professor McGonagall let out a defeated sigh.,"Could you tell me about them?" Kurt asked gently.,"I'm not privy to such knowledge," The elder tried to reach out to him but he chose to stay still and listen, "I only know that they probably gave you up under the pretence that you were a squib, a non-magical being born of magical parents, hoping you would integrate better into the muggle world.","Why would they think that?" Kurt asked inquisitively, he didn't quite understand what she meant, "You don't know me and yet you know I'm magical, why would my birth parents believe otherwise?","Well, your case is quiet peculiar." Professor McGonagall looked him dead in the eye and spoke in an even tone, "When a child who possesses magic is born they are automatically entered into our books by a magic quill that detects your magical core; your name wasn't entered into our books until you were six and half, nobody on managing staff knows why or how because there has never been such an event in known history.","Will he be able to keep up with the other kids who've had their magic longer?" his father asked while he ran through what he was being told, he listened as Professor McGonagall assured his father that he was on par with the kids of his age in development. He thought about the year he was six and what might have changed but nothing seemed to click until his father said it, "Could his magic been drawn out by a tragedy because that was the year he lost his mother.","As I've said Mr Hummel, nobody is sure what the case is but we would be honoured if both of them attended our school.",Kurt took a moment, 'How are you feeling about this?' he beamed to Finn. He really hoped that Finn would be the brother he always was and keep him grounded because he was losing his mind.,'I have magic!' Finn happily sang, 'I'm going to be just like Superman! Aren't you excited?' Kurt knew that he couldn't tell Finn that he had never been so afraid in his life, it would ruin his moment.,"Kurt, are you okay?" Carole asked him.,He turned to her and with genuine enthusiasm beamed, "Finn and I are going to a boss magical boarding school! I'm over the moon!","We're going to be like Wiccan and Thor!" Finn said practically jumping out of his seat, his eyes shone with the excitement that fuelled Kurt.,~0~,Kurt held onto Finn as McGonagall lead their mixed family through an unsavoury London pub, he still questioned her sanity but followed none the less. They were led out into a small courtyard that was far too small for their little group. McGonagall stepped forward and tapped a series of bricks; before Kurt's eyes the wall separated and revealed what looked like a town square out of a medieval fantasy novel.,"Welcome to Diagon Alley," McGonagall said with a wide smile, "the shopping capital of magical Britain. This is where you are going to find everything you need for your first year.","This is your shopping epicentre?" Kurt couldn't help sounding disappointed, "You have so much to learn from the real world, have you heard of a shopping mall?","Kurt, be polite!" his father gave him a disapproving look as they were lead down a narrow path to a tall white building that looked like it was made of flawless alabaster, , the sign read.,There were hideous little creatures milling about the bank, 'Kurt, I'm scared.' He heard Finn's voice in his head and knew that his brother hadn't factored the possibility that this life of magic they had undertaken wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows. "Professor McGonagall, would you care to educate us about this magical species.",'I am here, you don't need to be afraid, they're probably harmless' he beamed to Finn, squeezing his hand.,"These are Goblins; they are highly intelligent and have an aptitude for finance. They have a history of conflict with wizards but with each side equally to blame." She smiled reassuringly before assuring them that they had nothing to fear. Kurt stood close to Finn whilst their parents and the professor exchanged their pounds for gold coins. They were in and out of the bank; as soon as they were outside Kurt felt Finn relax.,"That must be heavy," Finn said looking at my dad holding a bag filled with the gold coins.,"Funnily enough they're light." He threw the small purse to Finn who caught it with one hand, "see what I mean, it is like-","Magic?" Professor McGonagall said with a smile, "Let's start by getting you're books.","There are only eight books on the list," Kurt said as they were lead into a book shop, "Do you have any recommendations for enrichment that will help me get on par with the student who've been around magic their whole lives?",", could make for some useful reading." She said as she took books off the shelves in twos, "Here it is.","Just one copy, Finn isn't the enrichment kind of student." He smiled at his brother who seemed to care more about the fact that the books were floating as opposed to the fact that they were the gateway to a new world, "Unless there's one about sport that has lots of pictures.","I'm good with the standard books," he said scowling at Kurt's little joke.,", will also provide you with greater insight into the wizarding world." She said taking the book off the shelf; Kurt was bouncing at the prospect of spending the next month learning about a new subject.,"Next on the list is a wand." Finn said as they exited the book store, McGonagall led them to a store where she insisted they enter alone whilst she dragged their parents off to get the rest of their equipment, ",? After you.",Kurt entered the shop, it was dusty and baron which unsettled him slightly, the walls were completely covered by what seemed to be long narrow boxes. Kurt rang the bell and waited to be serviced, an elderly gentleman with wild white hair appeared from a back room and smiled at them, "How can I help you?","We'd like two wands." Finn said with a smile.,"Would two wands like you? That is the question." The man tested with a slightly crazy look, he pointed at Finn, "You first.",The man then measured Finn from top to bottom, taking close note of his great height, he handed Finn wand after wand for a good half an hour which bored Kurt out of his head. First he sat quietly in the chair in the corner but soon that lost its allure so he decided to take a look around, reading the descriptions on some of boxes as he danced about the shop. Finn kept destroying object after object and the old man kept repairing them. Kurt's curiosity was piqued by the wand sitting in the window display, it didn't have a description but it was so perfectly pale and beautiful that Kurt couldn't draw his attention away from it. He observed the wand for a moment longer before looking over his shoulder and making a decision, whilst the old man had his back turned he grabbed the wand; the moment his hand came into contact with the smooth cool wood a strong gust of wind swept through the shop causing the dust to spiral around Kurt, the furniture and store inventory began to fly wildly around the room. He dropped the wand, the air stilled and everything fell to the ground with a thud.,"That wand has been in this shop for more than two thousand years," the old man said as he stepped toward Kurt, "it is unknown how old it is but it was with my ancestors when they first arrived in England. Over the years many have come to try it out, including Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw who are both founders of Hogwarts, hoping it would choose them; drawn in by the allure of its mystery and after all this time the wand has made its choice." He picked the wand up and handed it to Kurt.,"I'm sorry; I know I shouldn't have touched what didn't belong to me." Kurt said remorsefully, "I didn't mean to destroy your shop.","Never you mind," Mr Ollivander waved his wand and everything moved back to where it should be, "I don't know much about this wand, it's an eleven and a quarter inch olive wand with a core that is an unknown red feather. I cannot guarantee its stability or anything because its core is unknown but I would be honoured if you would have this wand.","That is so cool!" Finn said draping his body over Kurt's shoulders, "say you'll take it, heck, if you don't I will!","Why not?" Kurt said with a nervous smile, "Thank you.","As for you," Mr Ollivander turned to Finn, "this wand is the only one you haven't tried in your size, if this one doesn't pick you then you'll have to struggle with a small wand all your life; it's a seventeen and three quarter inch oak dragon heartstring.",Finn cautiously took the wand and gave it a shy wave to marvellous results, Kurt saw Finn release a breath he knew his brother had been holding for a while.,~0~,Kurt anxiously held onto his new pet kneazle, furiously stroking her black fur as his parents lead him and Finn through King's Cross Station, he was so nervous about living so far from his dad for the first time. He had never been so grateful for the company of Carole and Finn, one for each of them, as they parted ways on platform 9¾. Kurt had promised himself he wouldn't cry but clearly Finn had made no such promises and was blubbering like a four year old on the first day of kindergarten, Kurt had been trying his best to comfort the bigger boy as they made their way through the narrow passage and into a compartment occupied by a girl and a boy about their age.,"Hi, do you mind if my brother and I join you?" he asked politely with a toothache inducing smile and holding his kitten in the least villainous manner he knew.,"Come in," the girl with wild bushy brown hair said with a smile that exposed her large front teeth, "I'm Hermione Granger, it's a pleasure to meet you both.","Kurt Hummel," he said as he hauled his luggage into the storage compartment overhead, "This is my brother Finn, he's suffering from separation anxiety, and this is Bombalurina.","Neville Longbottom," the fourth said in a voice barely above a whisper. Kurt looked at the shy boy and it seemed that the more he looked the more he retreated into himself and it intrigued him, "This is Trevor.","That cage is empty," Finn said suddenly halting his blubbering, "Or is it invisible? Is it both?","Oh no!" Kurt watched as the boy paled, panic written all over his face, "I've lost him again!","Don't worry, we'll help you look for him," Finn said with a goofy smile, thankful to have found someone more hopeless than himself, "if he isn't invisible.","What is Trevor?" Kurt asked cautiously.,"A toad," Neville said with a small smile. Hermione and Kurt yelped at the thought, jumping onto the seat and clasping each other, "Trevor is harmless, I swear.","I'm more worried about getting warts," Kurt said not letting go of Hermione; he strategically omitted the fact that he had an irrational fear of all things with a slimy texture.,"Frogs and toads don't give you warts," Hermione said with a chuckle, "That's just a myth.","A month ago magic was a myth," Kurt said with a raised brow.,"What about cootees? You aren't scared of those?" Finn said making kissy faces at him and Hermione; Kurt seriously worried about his brother's mental development because that was a comment he only expected from a first grader, "Kurt and Hermione sitting in the tree-","I will K-I-L-L you." Kurt sang along with a smile, Finn lost his cheer and mumbled an apology, "Let's find Trevor before he gets too far, let's split into teams; Finn you go with Hermione and I'll go with Neville.","Thanks for helping me look for him," Neville smiled shyly.,"Don't mention it… or him," Kurt shuddered as they went off in different directions with Bombalurina weaving between his legs as he walked down the narrow passage.,They went from compartment to compartment but it seemed nobody had seen the toad; Kurt grew tired of this fruitless search but carried on in the hopes that it was the first step to friendship. They came to the first compartment that was closed, knocked firmly and then forcefully slid the door open.,"Who do you think you are?" a boy with platinum blonde hair said standing to meet Kurt's gaze, they stared each other down for a moment before Kurt averted his gaze to check his nails.,"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, the pleasure is all yours." Kurt said with a sassy smirk, Two large boys with a loutish dim-witted demeanour about them stood to flank the little blonde, Kurt adjusted his hair and without acknowledging either of them carried on, "We're looking for a toad named Trevor, have you seen him?","Do you know who I am?" the blond protested.,"Nope but you know who I am.","And who the hell are you?","Kurt Elizabeth Hummel," he said in an emotionless voice to contrast the evident anger in the blonde's voice, "Are you hard of hearing or simply stupid?","Huh?","Definitely stupid," The three onlookers who had been silent throughout their little exchange each let out a laugh.,The blonde gave his lieutenants a dark stare which immediately silenced them, he drew his wand and stuck it under Kurt's chin by which time Kurt had his pressed to the blonde's temple, "I'm Draco Malfoy and you best take your fat friend and go before we have a problem.","Let's go Kurt," Neville said in a nervous shaky voice as he tried to pull Kurt away.,Kurt looked deep into Draco's eyes and leaned in close so his voice was barely above a whisper, "Jesus just saved your life." He then walked away silently.,"My name's Neville, not Jesus." Kurt was surprised by the statement having never considered that religion and magic were mutually exclusive.,"It's a muggle saying," he said with a soft smile as they braved on with their fruitless search for Trevor, "Now let's find Trevor.",~0~,Kurt stood awkwardly next to Neville in the entrance hall of the majestic castle; he was in awe of the beautiful architecture and the out of this world paintings that covered almost every inch of wall in the great monstrosity of a room. In that moment Kurt suddenly knew how magic could have coexisted with the muggle world for so long without being discovered; magic was simply beyond even the wildest of imaginations, too absurd and obscure to coexist with science and technology.,The energy in the room was electric and there was a hum of excitement; Kurt had gathered that for those students who came from all wizarding families this was a defining moment, they would be sorted into their houses and gathering how nervous Neville seemed to be, it must mean quite a bit. Professor McGonagall had greeted and welcomed them to Hogwarts, she had given them a brief introduction to the four houses and their role in the day to day running of the school- Kurt had been put at ease by the sight of her, adding a sense of familiarity to an otherwise foreign experience.,"So it's true what they were saying on the train," Draco said commanding the attention of everyone in the room, "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts.","Who the hell is Harry Potter?" Kurt asked Neville in a very irritated tone, he had read , cover to cover but had not heard of Harry Potter referred to personally or as part of a dynasty.,"Harry Potter is the boy who lived.","What'd he live through?" Finn asked what might be the only intelligent question he would ever ask.,"He survived an encounter with a killing curse from one of the darkest wizards of all time and ended the first wizarding war," Hermione said from behind him.,"How do you know that?" Kurt asked her curiously, "You were raised in muggle society like the two of us.","I read it in ,","Oh my gosh!" Kurt said in angry voice, "I asked Professor McGonagall to recommend any and all books that could help me integrate into the wizarding society and that's the book she chooses to omit?",Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, "Follow me into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your houses." Kurt was carried along with the crowd; the Great Hall was more beautiful than any assortment of words could ever describe it to be. He had read of the enchanted ceiling and the floating candles but they were much more intimidating and far more beautiful in reality than in what he had read in , which now seemed like a distant fallacy. They stood in the centre aisle between four tables that stretched the length of the room, before them stood a perpendicular table that seated a wide array of elder wizard dressed in a more academic and formal manner. Professor McGonagall stood in front of a brass podium with an intricately precise carving of an owl with its wings closed; the owl's eyes seemed to be penetrating his soul, which left him feeling vulnerable.,An elderly man with a long flowing white beard and the long straw hair to match dressed in flamboyantly patterned robes who introduced himself as Professor Dumbledore came forward to stand at the podium; the owl opened its wings which showed greater detail on the inner wing and made it even more fearsome and penetrative. He urged the student body to stay out of the Dark Forest as it was prohibited but that sort of made sense because danger posed by wild animals; magical and non-magical. Next he told them that third floor corridor on the right side was out of bounds to 'all those who do not wish to die a most horrific death', this made Kurt wonder what kind of school would have anything that is remotely dangerous around irresponsible teenagers.,"You will be called one by one, I will place the sorting hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting hat's decision will be final." She then called name after name, until finally a name he recognised, "Hermione Granger," Kurt watched as his new acquaintance climbed and took the seat in front of the podium, a worn shabby leather hat was placed on her mane of bushy brown hair. The sorting hat then went silent for quite a while as though in distant and profound contemplation, engaging in a mental conversation with Hermione until after five or so minutes the hat announced, "Gryffindor!",She happily skipped over to that house's table as the next group of strangers were called out. "Finn Hudson," Kurt's heart nearly stopped, he was nervous on Finn's behalf as his oversized brother ascended to be sorted.,He heard Finn's voice say in his head, he straightened up and watched as his brother swayed from side to side, swinging his legs to the sounds of ,by Toto that seemed to be booming in his head. The sorting hat seemed confused by his behaviour, taking a moment to recompose itself before booming "Hufflepuff!","Kurt Hummel.",Kurt had been preparing himself for this as he knew he followed Finn alphabetically but as he climbed the short flight of stairs and turn to see a sea of face looking at him expectantly. He missed the seat and fell to the ground with a bit of a thud, his pale alabaster tinged red as he picked himself up and sat on the chair, unable to meet the laughing faces.,Kurt heard the gruff unfamiliar voice of the sorting hat say in his head, , Kurt thought to himself, ,the hat seemed to laugh at him, ,Kurt was unsure how to respond to the statement, ,the hat was silent for a moment, ,"Slytherin!" the hat boomed with slight pride in his decision, "Trust me Mr Hummel, you'll be great in Slytherin.",Kurt was dazed for the rest of the sorting ceremony; he was seated next to one of oafs from the train, Goyle as he'd far from eloquently introduced himself; Kurt wondered what the sorting hat had seen in his mind that had changed his course so abruptly. He was now seated opposite that obnoxious brat from the train, he wished he was in Hufflepuff with Finn or in Gryffindor with Hermione and Neville but alas, he would have to do his best with what he was presented.,"So, are you a pureblood?" Malfoy asked; Kurt was silent as he wasn't sure who the question was directed at, "I'm talking to you Hummel!","Oh, I guess so." Kurt said with a shrug, "This house is known to be more selective when it comes to blood status and here I am.","How are you unsure?" Goyle asked looking really confused as he tore into his food with his hands in a manner that made Kurt feel uncomfortable.,"I'm adopted," Kurt was met by three blank stares, "I was raised by other people who aren't my biological parents.","That's strange," Malfoy said with a look of slight disgust on his face. Kurt so dearly missed his father and his home life that he wasn't up to challenging wits with the blond miscreant; he simply nodded his head as he picked at the unsavoury food in front of him. Kurt and the two louts were startled by the pale figure that was seated beside Malfoy; the figure wore a powdered wig and had a skeletal appearance, his robes seemed to be stained by some silver liquid.,"Welcome to Slytherin house," his voice was bristly and barely above a whisper. Malfoy had screamed off at the sight of the ghost, "I hope not all of you first years are as hopeless as this one, we've got a winning streak to up hold.","Charmed to make your acquaintance," Kurt said tilting his head and smiling, trying hard not to extend his hand to the ghost who would be unable to shake it, "Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, and you are?","The Bloody Baron, Slytherin House Ghost." He said with an air of superiority that Kurt didn't appreciate.,Kurt felt so out of place sitting amongst these kids who seemed to be discussing magical life as though it were an everyday thing and even though it was to them, they were successfully excluding him without even trying. He got up and walked around the table over to where Finn was sitting, "Hi, Could you please move up." He said to the girl who was sitting next to Finn, she complied and he joined his brother.,"What sup?" Finn said allowing a rouge piece of chicken to fall onto his lap; he picked it up and put it back in his mouth, "You missing BurtyBear?","Yes… No." Kurt let out a heavy sigh, "I just spent the entirety of the last month reading the books recommended by Professor McGonagall, only to find that it doesn't even scratch the surface of what the wizarding world is about or even the politics that drives, you can imagine how disgruntled I am at that.","Nope.","I was the first kid to learn to write their name in preschool," Kurt stopped to reposition a stray hair, "I've always been wildly competitive and now everyone has an advantage over me; I need to level the playing field and I have no idea how I am supposed to be going about that… my life is ruined.","Don't be so hard on yourself," Finn said with an encouraging smile, he laid Kurt's head on his should, "it'll get better.","How are you? How's Hufflepuff?" Kurt said checking his appearance in his compact, wiping away any sign that he'd been upset.,"I'm good, this house is pretty cool," he said still stuffing his face, "everyone here is so nice.","At least, everyone in my house seems to be a snob obsessed with pedigree," Kurt let out huff, "And I want to ring Draco Malfoy's little neck and I've only known him a couple of hours.",Finn laid a supportive hand on his shoulder and gave him a toothy grin, "You go do what you must and I'll be your alibi.","You've got spinach stuck between your teeth," he said beaming a thousand watt smile, "Also you are the best brother ever but I doubt you should be encouraging my murderous thoughts.","I just feel like this is something we could get away with," Finn said with a smirk, "Like how we got away with taking the entire jar of cookies with us to boarding school.","We've never be-" Kurt was astonished and pleasantly surprised by his brothers mischievous actions and the precision with which he had executed his plan, Kurt was upset that he had been excluded because Finn knew very well that Kurt had an aptitude for successfully breaking the rules, "You did evil without me! How dare you? And you call yourself my brother.","But-","Let it scab!" Kurt exclaimed as he stormed off to re-join his house, who were leading out of the great hall. He followed the house prefect through a network of changing staircases and a maze of corridors till they came to a bricked up door way flanked by a bookcase on either side. Gemma, The house prefect, stepped forward and said the password which was 'Password'.,As the first years assembled in the bowels of Hogwarts; he looked about the room with soft green lighting and bulky dark statement pieces in abundance, he let his mind wander into the adventurous worlds depicted in the tapestry that hung all about but suddenly he was drawn back to reality by the marvellous sight of a giant squid swimming by the window in all it's marvellous glory. Gemma was explaining the lay of the land and how things generally work; she then started allocating rooms at random, she divided the room into boys and girls and then started counting off groups of four, and much to his displeasure Kurt ended up being grouped with Dumb, Dumber and Asshole.,Kurt arrived to find that his luggage had arrived safely, the staff clearly had an appreciation for Louis Vuitton; he promptly started unpacking his stuff when he saw a shadow appear over him, "Can I help you?" he couldn't get the sass out of his voice but he at least forced a tolerant facial expression.,"I'm confused," Goyle said in a low raspy voice, looking from Kurt to his Luggage, "If your name is Hummel then why does your luggage say 'LV'?","Firstly; don't call me Hummel, that is my last name, my given name is Kurt." He said with a condescending smile that was clearly lost on the best of the trio, continued to say: "Secondly; 'LV' is a famous design house, don't you have fashion in the wizarding world?","What do they design?" Crabbe asked in a soft voice that was an outright juxtaposition to his gorilla like appearance.,"Obviously luggage," Draco screamed at him which seemed to immediately subdue the larger boy, "Idiot.","Okay…" Kurt thought to himself that he hadn't gotten on a first name basis with Dumb and Dumber but carried on with his train of thought, "If any of you touch my stuff there will be hell to pay." His voice was stern but soon turned as close to soft as your voice got when you were Kurt Hummel, "By the way; I'm first name person and I didn't get your names.","Vincent.","Gregory.","Now once more with greater impact," He paused for dramatic effect, "Draco, Vincent and Gregory," he gestured to his stuff, "No touchy!","What will someone with blood that isn't true do?" Draco snickered with knowing sneered, "You might as well be a mudblood.","I don't know what that means exactly," Kurt stood tall, short for his age but metaphorically tall, "But if I find out that it is bad then I promise you that my magical abilities will be least of your worries.",Kurt then let his words linger as his stare burned holes through Draco's bulbous head, he then turned and headed for the bathroom.,Hogwarts seemed to have a medieval vibe going on but Kurt was quite please to find that they hadn't failed to adapt to modern indoor plumbing and excellent water pressure. Kurt began his evening cleanse, as he had done since he decided to pre-empt puberty. As he exfoliated in small circles he saw Gregory approaching him, he didn't want to respond in an adverse manner without reason but kept his guard up.,"Whatcha Doing?" he said leaning against the sink adjacent to Kurt's.,"Exfoliating." Kurt went about his business hoping that their conversation wouldn't need to escalate any further but he could feel the blank stare on him, "it's when you scrub the dead follicles of skin off.","That sounds gross," he said with a giggle and goofy grin, "But so cool.","Yeah," Kurt supposed with an awkward laugh.,"Okay, the thing with Draco is that he wants to feel like he's the smartest and biggest person in a room," Kurt was caught off guard by Gregory's metamorphosis into an intellectually sound member of society, "just don't pay him any mind because he will try to bait you and get you to challenge him. I get the feeling that you wouldn't successfully execute the dull oaf method.",Kurt was at a loss of words, "Thanks.","Don't mention it," he smiled and left.,Kurt was soon left to his own devices once more; he refused to actually acknowledge what had just happened so instead he thought about the day ahead, his mind a buzz with questions. What would his first day of classes be like? He was going to be doing eight new subjects, would he be able to keep up? All these questions brought a certain feeling of self-doubt to the surface; he turned on his heels and went off to reread his text books because something told him he wouldn't be getting much sleep.

They had done it. Byakuran was defeated and the Arcobaleno were revived thanks to Yuni's sacrifice. Colonello looked at Lal. She was beautiful as always. Though the tears were new. As was the gentle hugging.,"I'm sorry for leaving you," Colonello whispered, leaning into her hug. Lal just shook her head and hugged him tighter. Colonello could feel the top of his head grow slightly wet with her tears. That made him feel horrible. He never meant to make Lal cry.,"Don't ever do something stupid like that again, Idiot Student," Lal muttered. Colonello laughed, although it sounded slightly forced.,"I can't promise that Lal. I would do it again a million times if it meant you were safe," Colonello said softly.,"Idiot," she pulled away, wiping her tears. Colonello immediately missed the feeling of her hug but refrained from commenting. He looked around at the others, who were giving them their privacy. He happened to catch the eye of Reborn (who was probably watching them the whole time) and nodded.,"Alright everyone. It's time to go back," Reborn announced. Everyone looked at him and gave varying degrees of agreement. The group travelled back to the base and made their preparations to return to their own timeline. Letter were handed to those of this timeline to be delivered and goodbyes were exchanged between both people and box weapons before it was finally time.,Colonello and the other Arcobaleno, using the powers that come with their part of the Tri Ni Set, began the process to send the memories of those involved in Byakuran's defeat to the past with the others. It was going like it was supposed to, although none of them had ever done this before, until something odd happened.,His magic was surging through him. Colonello hadn't felt the slightest hint of his magic outside of meditating since the curse was put on him. Hermione, when she studied the curse, had said it was because his magic was trying to protect him. It had retreated deep inside his core in order to compensate for his new body. The amount of magic he had full size would severely damage his core at the size it was now.,The surge of magic combined with the spell the arcobaleno were using caused him to black out. The last thing he heard was the shocked cries of his fellow arcobaleno. One voice stood out to him though. Lal. She was shouting his name. Colonello couldn't help but feel guilty for making her sad again. He was able to catch a glimpse of her before he blacked out. She looked terrified and was reaching towards him.,Then there was darkness. Colonello felt like someone had stuffed his head full of cotton and then put it through a blender. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes. What he saw made him blink. He had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation.,Standing above him was a man he hadn't seen since the battle of Hogwarts almost sixty years ago. Remus John Lupin stood above him, a hand outstretched and holding a piece of chocolate.,",Colonello didn't even realize he had slipped into Italian through his shock.

Quand je suis revenue de ma sixième année à Poudlard, après l'enterrement de Dumbledore et avec la certitude que les choses sérieuses commençaient, j'ai passé la soirée avec Papa et ma petite sœur, Rosamund. On a commandé mes pizzas préférés (aussi incroyable Poudlard puisse être, les pizzas n'égalent pas celles de Nona, un restaurant londonien) et on a regardé les 101 dalmatiens en famille. Quel bonheur c'était de retrouver mon père, apaisé. Il m'a raconté ce qu'il s'est passé avec la sœur de Sherlock, il m'a expliqué qu'il n'avait pas voulu en parler parce que c'était quelque chose d'encore compliqué pour les Holmes et que c'était plus simple d'en parler à vive voix. J'ai accepté l'excuse, je n'ai plus envie de perdre mon temps avec des histoires.,Le lendemain matin, nous sommes allés à Baker Street, Sherlock m'a accueilli avec une certaine timidité et c'est moi qui me suis blottie dans ses bras. Ensuite, je leur ai raconté la mort de Dumbledore, la trahison de Rogue. Mycroft leur avait déjà dit les grandes lignes, en effet. On a un peu évoqué le futur probable de Poudlard même si tout était de pures suppositions. Être en compagnie de Sherlock, Papa et Mrs Hudson m'a rempli de bonheur et de nostalgie. J'ai pris tellement l'habitude du sentiment de réconfort que m'offrait Poudlard que j'oubliais celui tout particulier que je ressentais à Baker Street. Ce sentiment de réconfort avec une certaine excitation, à l'affût de la prochaine enquête.,Papa et Sherlock avaient prévu une petite surprise, en soirée j'ai eu droit à une petite fête pour mon retour et même George était invité. J'ai pu présenté George en bonne et due forme à Lestrade, à Mrs Hudson et à Molly. Papa a été d'une gentillesse et politesse extrême avec George. Sherlock a été correct et, d'une certaine façon, c'est un exploit.,Lestrade a un peu parlé à George et à moi des disparitions qui augmentaient ainsi que le sentiment d'insécurité. On a pas vraiment été surpris. Je doute que Lestrade nous en ait parlé dans l'espoir qu'on trouve une solution miracle mais nous étions tous les trois dépités devant notre absence de solution.,Quelques jours plus tard, je suis partie pour le Maroc. Je n'avais que de vagues souvenirs du pays, et je pense même que certains de mes souvenirs sont des fantasmes auxquels j'ai tellement pensé qu'ils se sont inscrits dans mon cerveau comme souvenir.,George était vraiment inquiet de me laisser prendre l'avion, Arthur était terriblement jaloux : il est même venu à l'aéroport me déposer en compagnie de Papa et Rose. Faute de pouvoir envoyer des lettres à George, je lui ai acheté un petit téléphone et une carte prépayée : j'espère qu'il saura s'en servir.,Le vol s'est très bien passé et j'appréhendais beaucoup revoir mes grands parents. J'avais grandement sous estimé la chaleur et l'accueil marocain. À peine les bras de mes grands parents se sont fermés sur mes épaules que j'ai su que j'étais chez moi. Que tout irait bien.,Leur maison est tout ce qu'il y a de plus moderne mais les cafards y sont plus présents que ce que j'avais imaginé. Je me suis vite rendue compte qu'un stupéfix était suffisant pour les tuer. Mes grands parents m'ont fait visiter tout ce qu'il y avait visité, et même plus. Debout à 8h, au lit à 23h et une petite sieste entre les deux. Ma grand-mère s'est donnée comme mission de m'apprendre le plus de recettes traditionnelle possibles (ce que Papa espérait).,Mes grands parents se doutent de ce qu'il se passe en Grande Bretagne sans véritablement comprendre le degré de gravité, j'ai décidé de ne pas être celle qui leur annoncerait. Je réponds le plus vaguement possible à leur question. Ils ont été très surpris de savoir que j'étais amie avec Harry Potter, et même un peu inquiet.,Je passe mes journées à leur raconter toutes les années qu'ils ont manqué, et eux également. Tous les jours en soirée j'appelle Papa et ensuite George. Il a fallu quelques jours d'adaptions au téléphone pour George, mais maintenant il se débrouille aussi bien qu'un moldu ! Mes grands parents ont bien compris que j'appelais quelqu'un d'autre que Papa, mais leurs compétences en anglais sont plutôt limitées ce qui les a empêché de trop espionner.,Je leur ai parlé de Papa, de Rosamund et de Sherlock, leur scepticisme au sujet de Papa s'est envolé dés qu'ils ont vu une photo de Rosamund qui est automatiquement devenue leur deuxième petite fille. Personnellement, ça me rend ravie.,Je ne leur ai pas parlé de George, je pense que ces deux semaines en leur compagnie devraient consacrer à rattraper le temps en famille, les grandes présentations auront lieu plus tard.,Ces deux semaines ont filé, pendant deux semaines je me suis rapprochée de Maman. Ils m'ont parlé d'elle, de comment elle était enfant. Pendant deux semaines c'était comme si elle était à nouveau là, lorsque ma grand-mère me racontait ses bêtises, c'est comme si c'était un secret entre nous deux que nous cachons à ma mère. Ça m'a fait beaucoup de bien.,Le départ a été terriblement plus difficile que ce que je croyais, je sais que je peux aller les voir quand je veux mais je ne sais pas quand je pourrais financièrement me permettre d'y aller. Je ne sais pas si je pourrais … y retourner. Si je serais encore en vie. Mais je n'ai rien dis, j'ai gonflé mon cœur de tous ces mots d'amour et d'affection en arabe et je les ai gardé avec moi pour retourner à Londres.,Je suis dans l'aéroport, j'attends pour récupérer mes bagages et ensuite je vais retrouver Papa et Rosamund. Ma grand-mère m'a donnée pleins d'épices (malgré le fait que j'ai répété plusieurs fois qu'on en avait en Angleterre, même si les anglais refusaient de les mettre dans leur plat), quelques robes traditionnelles (et même une pour Papa et Rosamund), et des photos de famille.,Je franchis les portes de l'aéroport et suis accueillie comme une star :,- Beth ! Beth ! Beth !,- C'est moi ! Je suis là ! je souris en faisant une pirouette sur moi-même avant de prendre Rose qui tend ses bras vers moi.,Elle s'accroche à mon cou et j'embrasse tendrement son front. Papa attrape ma valise avec un sourire.,- Quoiqu'il en soit, tu n'as pas pris ma mélanine, constate-t-il en jetant un coup d'œil à mon bronzage.,J'ai attrapé un joli teint mat qui me donnera sûrement le droit à des contrôles supplémentaires dans le métro, on adore le racisme anglais.,- Ça aurait été un drame si ça avait été le cas, Papa.,- Et j'espère que nos enfants auront la tienne, susurre George en faisant une entrée dramatique.,- Tu as interdiction de parler d'enfants potentiels devant mon père, j'indique sévèrement en le laissant embrasser sa joue.,Mon père a en effet blêmit et suit George du regard qui sourit en coin.,- Pas d'enfants, hein ? se rassure John en se tournant vers moi.,- Non, pleins de chats en revanche, je souris en lui faisant un clin d'œil.,Nous nous mettons en route pour la maison. Dans le taxi, je leur montre les photos que j'ai prise. Papa est très intéressé par les différents plats et les paysages, George tient dans ses mains une photo de mes grands parents et moi devant la mer. Ma grand-mère est habillée en beige clair, presque blanc, sont voile est un peu dérangé à cause du vent mais ses cheveux sont bien à l'abris. Elle a passé ses bras autour de moi avec un grand sourire qui me rappelle celui de ma mère. Mon grand père porte une , et se tient bien droit, fixant l'objectif comme si il voulait impressionner celui-ci.,- Tu ressembles à ta grand-mère, sourit George avec douceur, tendant la photo à Papa.,- Fais gaffe à ce que tu dis, je grogne.,- Il a raison, confirme mon père. Et Emma ressemble beaucoup à sa mère.,Je tourne la tête vers Papa. Il parle si rarement de Maman. Il m'écoute parler d'elle, il confirme ce que je dis à son propos et rajoute parfois une anecdote mais il lance rarement la conversation sur le sujet lui-même.,- Tu trouves ? j'insiste.,- Oui, quelque chose dans le sourire, dit-il avec une nostalgie nouvelle.,Papa regarde la photo avec un regard doux, il observe la mer dans le fond de la photo puis me la rend, demandant promptement :,- Alors ? Tu as appris à faire quelque chose à manger ?,- Oui. Et je vais te l'apprendre le plus tôt possible. Hors de question que tu me harcèles pour que je te fasse à manger.,- Je ne ferais jamais une chose pareille, s'outre-t-il.,Même George arque un sourcil, c'est vous dire.,Arrivé à la maison, c'est Papa qui porte ma valise. George, par habitude et distraction, serait capable de transplaner avec. Les ventes du magasin n'ont pas trop baissé. Quand George vient nous voir il met ses vieux pulls qu'il portait pour les entraînements de quidditch et évite de mettre ses fringues aux couleurs criardes.,J'apprécie les précautions mais ce sérieux de sa part indique bien qu'on ne joue plus. Malgré tout, nous avons tous adopté tacitement un certain déni de la situation.,J'aime voir la relation entre George et Papa s'améliorer et même se bonifier. Ils discutent régulièrement à deux et cela dépasse les simples banalités. J'imagine que les visites de George quand j'étais à Poudlard ont du aider. Quoiqu'il en soit, c'est un plaisir de les voir s'entendre.,- Et maintenant, quoi de prévu ? me demande George alors que je me fais chauffer l'eau pour un thé.,- Maintenant un peu de temps en famille, puis le mariage de Bill et Fleur et … Poudlard.,- Ça ira Poudlard sans Dumbledore ? demande Papa, avec inquiétude.,George fait venir les tasses magiquement et sort les biscuits, il est ici chez lui. Papa me regarde, les sourcils froncés, sa ride du lion se creuse un peu plus tous les jours.,- Je l'espère. Je suppose que McGonagall va reprendre le flambeau, mais en y réfléchissant Flitwick le pourrait aussi.,- Et qui aurait la tête de Gryffondor ? souligne George.,- Bonne question. Je ne sais pas trop. Je me demande qui sera professeur des Défenses contre les forces du mal…,J'ai un sourire rêveur.,- Avec un peu de chances, Remus sera de retour.,- Remus est pris et il a déjà été professeur, fait remarquer George.,- Alors Tonks, c'est encore mieux ! je m'exclame. Et je sais qu'il est pris. Et ils sont terriblement bien ensembles.,- Ils se sont mariés, m'annonce George.,- Quoi ?! Ils n'ont rien dit !,- Maman et Papa étaient invités, mais c'était très petit, très intime, très discret.,Je suis heureuse pour eux, je suis heureuse pour Bill et Fleur. Il y a quelques semaines, George et moi étions couchés dans mon lit et on avait vaguement évoqué l'idée du mariage en général. Si tout les deux on était d'accord que le mariage « officialisait » les choses, il n'était pas nécessaire. Je vis encore chez mon père, je n'ai pas envie de me marier, j'ai envie de profiter des miettes restantes de ma jeunesse, de mon adolescence, de m'accrocher à ces moments qui seront trop vites de simples souvenirs.,- Je suis heureuse pour eux, je souris.,Je sais aussi que ces célébrations font du bien à tout le monde, pas seulement aux mariés.,- Tu es sûre que Poudlard sera aussi… sécurisé ?,C'est Papa qui a posé la question, la voix tendue par l'appréhension.,- Non.. je suis même sûre que Poudlard ne le sera pas. Et j'ai pensé à rester ici, à Londres… mais je serais encore moins à l'abris. Et je veux aller au château, je veux protéger les plus jeunes qui n'auront pas la chance à avoir une première année à Poudlard vide de dangers.,- Tu ne peux pas protéger le monde entier, soupire mon père.,Je sers le thé, George me regarde et ne dit rien, je sais qu'il est d'accord avec mon père. Une fois le thé servi, je relève la tête et souris à Papa.,- Non, je sais. Mais je mourrais de culpabilité si je restais ici sans même essayer.

The tomb was icy cold as Bill descended into the depths of the earth. This was not a tomb that was open to the public- in fact it was one not usually open to wizards either. Especially not wizards who were newly hired Curse-Breakers at Gringotts. But, considering he was the most talented of those working for them and after having to undergo a rather unusual-but-nonetheless rigorous test by the Egyptian Ministry, he had been given access to this long-lost place that only a few had entered.,The tomb was unusual for a number of reasons. It was relevant to what the Ministry referred to as the 'Shadow Era' of Egyptian History- an early period about 5000 years ago dating back to the early Dynastic period that was shrouded in several questions. Not much was known about this era and it was one that Bill had based his entire application for working in Egypt on. The paper had been panned within the modern world but the Egyptian Ministry had been intrigued and had invited him for a test that Bill wasn't entirely sure how he had passed. The first few stages had been simple- prove his skills as a Curse breaker, his abilities in general magic, his studies of Muggle archaeology and knowledge of local languages and dialects. Then things had gotten stranger: how far was he willing to go to keep a secret, how well did he tell lies and what did he usually lie about? And then one bizarre test where he had been forced to sit in a room filled with dark, whispering shadows until a little girl, clearly native to the country had approached him with a smile and said that he had passed. Passed what, Bill was still unsure, but he hadn't questioned it.,And now, here he was, descending into the tomb of an ancient Princess of a neighbouring kingdom to see what her tomb could tell him of the mysterious period of Egyptian History. Her name had been Haphiri, and there were more curses on the tomb than that of Pharaoh Set's. It was odd- the curses were numerous but Bill didn't need to disable them. In fact, they almost seemed to ignore him altogether. Bill was relieved that it was easier than he had expected but also ill at ease. Why were they ignoring him and why was he being allowed this far into the tomb? He didn't even have a guide.,Reaching another inner chamber and, at the other end, he was facing a doorway covered in gold leaf and stamped with various hieroglyphs. While he couldn't read them from here, Bill could almost , that this was the burial chamber. He was ,…,There was a far away groan, and the whole room shook ominously. The light from his wand flickered and died, leaving no light but that of an eerie glow somewhere high up above him. , Bill thought as he desperately muttered "Lumos!". Except, nothing was happening and the shadows seemed to loom ever closer. Bill had never been particularly scared of the dark but there was something oppressive about these shadows. Something that reeked of Dark Magic, of a kind that Bill very much did not want to interact with. Silently cursing the fact that magic was clearly not going to work down here, Bill did the next best thing and dived for the wall just as the tomb shook again. There was a loud grinding noise from behind him and then a dull , as some kind of door, triggered by a trap that Bill had unknowingly stepped into, sealed off the way he had come in. And with that, he was trapped, alone, in the darkness.,Swallowing, Bill reached out to carefully brush against the wall he knew was to his left. There was technically nothing between him and the door except… except the whispering was back again. It was faint at first- too faint to be made out in fact. And then, almost as if something had slithered down his back, they were almost as loud as if his younger brothers were there screaming at each other. Shuddering off the horrific feeling, Bill tried to make out what they were saying but it was either indecipherable, or some kind of language that he could not understand.,Whatever it was, he did not want to meet what else was in these shadows., Bill thought desperately to himself as he staggered forward, one shadow in front of him seeming to shift in the dank murky light, screeching in that odd tongue as it went. , That thought pulled him up short and, as he took a step backwards, the shadows seemed to slither away a bit, the cold dread that had settled in his stomach easing a bit. Clearly, something or some, wanted him to go somewhere in this tomb. But not into its most sacred chambers. An oddity, considering it was the Egyptians who revered this part of the ceremony the most, despite the fact that this tomb was built during a time of prolific pyramid builders. Not that it truly mattered- tombs from the Shadow Era were designed to prevent people from getting into them, with only a certain select few even knowing their locations. And if the Egyptian government had tested him in such a way to prove that he was worthy of entering these tombs then he must give them some evidence to back that up with. And so, against all advice his father had ever given him, he straightened up and prepared to enter into the jaws of whatever was about to throw itself at him.,"Hello? I know that there's someone here with me," he started, shuddering as the feeling of being watched, which had been a constant niggling sensation throughout his entire time in the tomb even if it had only been pushed to the back of his mind, intensified. "I won't enter the Burial Chamber if you don't want me to. But I need to know where you want… where you , me to go." The silence stretched on, as if this thing was waiting for something. But what else was there? And then… ,Bill thought. ,"My name is William Weasley," Bill said, pushing the shakiness from his voice, despite how bone chillingly terrifying this experience was and praying to every known deity that this wouldn't backfire. "Everyone calls me Bill though.",. Bill blinked as, suddenly and without warning, the torches mounted on the walls lit up, bathing the room in light and revealing exactly who had been watching him. Blood red lips turned up into a wicked smile as the girl from the ministry peeked around her waist, giggling like some great joke had just been said. And then those terrifying lips parted, the words cold as the air in the room.,"Well, well, Bill Weasley. Has no one told you what power a name can have?",His parents were arguing again. Bill internally sighed as he leaned back against the wall, waiting it out while the others were doing their best to subtly stay in the room. It wasn't as if it was an argument he hadn't heard before- as one of only three of his siblings of age, and the only one currently at the Order headquarters, he was used to being used as the reasoning why the others should be able to sit in on order meetings. Not that Bill was particularly bothered by these meetings- his adventures in Egypt had shown him far more terrifying dangers than even the threat of Lord Voldemort. And while he had sympathy for Harry and his friends, he was also tasked with something completely different than what his parents actually knew.,Something that he just knew was going to come back to haunt him soon enough by the sound of the conversation in the corner.,Turning away from the current argument he tuned in slowly to the whisperings between Severus and the Headmaster in the corner. Bill had a new level of respect for the Potion's Master- after that first terrifying meeting with , and a rigorous crash course in mental protections he had been banished back to his country to 'seek out the man with the best mental fortifications that she had seen in 5000 years'. After the first initial contact and what he had , was a discreet letter, he had been summoned back into the Potion Master's presence, dressed down on inept use of secret letters and a lecture on , being a complete dunderhead in the presence of 5000 year old half Akkadian princesses, and then sat down into an even more intense series of lessons on Occlumency. After that, Bill wouldn't have called them friends but he was certainly on more even ground with Snape than many of the other Order members.,"I don't think that is a good idea Headmaster," Snape was saying, eyes flitting over to Bill for a moment before returning to watching the others. If Dumbledore noticed, he didn't say anything but Bill was sure that Snape at least knew he was listening.,"Come now, Severus. You must see the benefits, especially considering that there will be others who will be new," Dumbledore said, tone reasonable but Bill could hear the slight manipulation underneath it. Something he hadn't heard, or been blind to, during his time at Hogwarts. Snape seemed to have heard it too as his lip curled.,"Perhaps you would be better off consulting those who know them better than I." Snape looked as if he wished to be anywhere else as Dumbledore just smiled genially.,"Ah, yes, but I want you to be aware in case any of them end up in your house…" Snape merely scowled all the harder, eyes hard.,"And if they don't agree?" There was silence at their end of the kitchen as Sirius finally managed to soothe his younger siblings into leaving with underhanded promises to share some information with them and loudly stating to his mother that they ought to know the essentials, even if they didn't divulge all details of the meetings. His father looked as if he wanted to agree but was also afraid of what his wife's opinion might be while his mother turned her rage on Sirius instead.,"Why would they not agree? All children are fascinated by magic," Dumbledore said quietly, a twinkle in his eye. Snape shot him a slightly disgusted look.,"Not those that have lived in such a technological country, they won't." Ah, that was what they were talking about. The attacks in Japan. Dumbledore had suggested, some meetings ago around the time that Hermione had arrived, that the four teenagers that had been attacked would be invited to Hogwarts for their 'protection' while they investigated what exactly it had been that Voldemort was looking for there. Alongside this, he had suggested that one of the teen's older sister come to help teach Divination as he could not convince her to teach DADA. Most of the others had been all for it while Bill had internally bashed his head against the table after seeing the list. He had dealt with the Ishtar's very briefly before- his posting rarely dealt with them after their father had been cut off and Marik's antics had pretty much distanced them further from the rest of their people until recently- but the name on the list that would be the most difficult, would be Seto Kaiba.,The man was a business tycoon and Bill had had to deal with him once and only once. A member of the corporation had come up to him and his charge, asking them to discreetly meet with his boss and after going they had been forced into signing several agreements that had left him with a headache and his charge in a bad mood. From what he remembered, he would be the least accepting of anything that he couldn't prove with science. Magic probably didn't exist in his vocabulary. The other two names on the list Bill was less familiar with. Bakura was a name he had heard in the muggle archaeology circuit, but he had never met the man and so hadn't even known he had a son living in Japan, and he had never really heard of Yugi Mutou until recently and it had been, of all things, about his hair. He wondered if the others had pictures of it- if not they would be in for a surprise that was for sure.,Snape and Dumbledore never got to finish their argument as the meeting began but it was clear that both he and Snape were outvoted. Although, by the sounds of it, he had even more people in mind to invite although why he had yet to figure out. And in the presence of the others, he couldn't exactly ask Snape.,"I believe now that we are all here, we may start?" Dumbledore said, standing up and cutting through Mum and Sirius' argument, not answering Snape's question. Or ignoring it as the case may seem. Mum started, while Sirius merely looked slightly abashed- but never apologetic. It was something that Bill had noticed in the man; he could be cowed but never ashamed, probably some leftovers from his time growing up in this house. It was a very , reaction, not helped by the fact that, by the sounds of it, Dumbledore had never truly punished the man for his past misdeeds. He got that he wasn't guilty of killing Harry's parents, but other stories that he had gathered from a variety of sources (some even from Snape although he took those with a pinch of salt) led him to believe that Snape did have quite a few reasons to not be fond of the man. It truly didn't help that Sirius had had nothing but his past to use to get through Azkaban and seemed to be stuck somewhere between still acting like a man in his twenties just out of school and the more grown up and responsible man he should have matured into. A fault not his own, but one that he just wasn't getting past and used riling up his old rival as some form of release of tension, an old fallback exacerbated by the memories brought up by the house they were in.,Another reason that Bill found to find issues with Dumbledore's reasonings of locking Sirius up here. There were plenty of places the man could have been hidden than his old house that would worsen his mental state rather than help it.,"Now that we are here, I have a small announcement. As of tonight, I have sent out some Order members to retrieve Harry from his Aunt and Uncle's house due to his upcoming Hearing with the Ministry." Bill started at that, blinking as the rest of the table erupted. It explained why some of the core members were missing, or at the least delayed, from this meeting. Once Dumbledore had calmed the table a little, he continued. "He was attacked by two Dementors and the Ministry and, therefore Cornelius attempted to expel Harry for performing the Patronus in the presence of his cousin in order to fend them off." Bill frowned as the table exploded again into noise. Even if the Ministry didn't accept that the Dementors were there- something that they should be easily able to find out- that it was done in the presence of his cousin wouldn't involve expulsion. Since they were family, exceptions were made to magic, accidental or otherwise, to magic in their presence but would result in some form of punishment. And none at all if Harry could prove that they were there at all.,"But is Harry alright?" Mum asked, over everyone else. Bill smiled, happy that out of all the things that she could be worried about, it was Harry's health. Typical Mum. Dumbledore gave her an assuring smile, nodding and waving away the rest of the questions.,"Yes, yes, Harry is fine. And Moody will ensure he gets here safely." The Headmaster then turned serious again, face grave. "However, there has been another attack. Death Eaters were spotted in Egypt." Bill's blood ran cold and suddenly that attack in Japan made more sense, if Voldemort had found out about the Shadow Era. The Ishtar's had owned two Millennium Items and he had heard rumours of a third falling in Bakura's hands and given to his son. He wasn't sure what Kaiba or the Mutou boy had to do with this, but if they attacked where he thought they had, he would be in trouble when he returned.,"Where?" he asked, masking the majority of the worry in his voice. ,"A site somewhere around the ancient city of Hierakonpolis," Dumbledore said and Bill's fragile hope drained away. "The attack was centered on a group of local magicians there, but they managed to fend them off long enough for help to come." ,. "They have agreed to send two young envoys to Hogwarts to learn of our magic and help with our research into what Voldemort is looking for." Bill could see the confusion in the others' faces and hoped no one looked at him too closely. Snape was watching him and he had no doubt that, had they been alone, he would be interrogated about what he knew; not that Bill could say anything and at the very least Snape would understand that. Especially with his own job. It was at this point that Sirius seemed to remember that Snape was supposed to be a spy.,"And why can't Snivellus just tell us? Since he's in You-Know-Who's inner circle." It was said with a sneer towards the Potion's Master and Bill winced but was glad for the distraction, wondering how he was going to get out of this. Because there were only two people within the Clans who were of age to be these envoys and he had the feeling that neither Dumbledore, nor anyone in the Ministry had any idea of the trouble they were about to dump themselves in. Snape's face twitched and he looked just as irritated by the attention as he always was.,"Because the Dark Lord has not deigned to explain to any of his followers what it is he is looking for. Except that it is something made of gold with the Eye of Wedjet on it," he snapped back at Sirius. , There was a flicker in the corner of the kitchen and Bill narrowed his eyes at it. For a brief moment, he thought that he had glimpsed a small figure in white but it couldn't be…,He was snapped out of his thoughts at the loud , from the hallway and the screaming of Sirius' mother. A moment later and Harry, looking as scruffy as he ever did in the muggle clothing provided to him by his family, stumbled into the kitchen. For a kid recently attacked by Dementors and now dragged to a strange house with a screaming portrait, he didn't seem anymore affected than perhaps bafflement as to why he was , rather than at the Burrow. And then he spotted Bill and confusion flitted across his face.,"Uh… hi Bill," he said awkwardly and Bill smiled warmly at him. They had barely spoken to each other, only having met the year before at the Quidditch World Cup briefly. And while he had heard all of Ron's stories about Harry and the fun they had at Hogwarts, he was sure that Harry had probably heard far fewer about him, other than perhaps his official job as a curse-breaker in Egypt.,"Hello Harry," he replied, gesturing for him to sit down. "They'll probably get her to stop shouting soon." Harry blinked, sat and then frowned.,"Where are we?" he asked, although the tone suggested he truly wanted to say ,"Grimmauld Place, the Headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix," Bill told him, not caring for his mother's stern rules about information regarding the Order and its activities. "Well, technically it's Sirius' parents' house, but while he's hiding out here he offered to Dumbledore to make this the headquarters when he wanted to revive the Order with Voldemort's return." Harry's mouth opened in an 'oh' just as his mother walked back into the room, eyes flashing in such a way that meant she had heard every word Bill had said.,"And that's quite enough of that!" she snapped at him and Bill shrank back in his seat. It wasn't often these days that he earnt his mother's ire, but it was just as intense as when he had been much younger. The younger boys might argue back but Bill was the eldest and therefore, had been given the harshest punishments since he was the one that was supposed to be the role model. "Harry's much too young to be any part of the Order!" She then turned to Harry, scowl dissolving into a sad smile as she looked over Harry critically, bustling around the kitchen preparing a meal for him. "Oh, look at you! Much too thin, what , those people feeding you?" she stated, piling food onto a plate. Harry didn't seem to mind, just starting to scarf the food down as quick as he could. Bill deducted that the answer to that was ,.,"Mum, it's not exactly as if we're discussing anything too important," Bill pointed out. Well, to them they weren't. "Besides I'm sure that Ron and Hermione will be telling him about the new students soon enough." His mother shot him a scathing look but Harry, mouth full of food, turned to look at him questioningly. Bill shrugged nonchalantly, fiddling with his wand. "For their safety apparently. Hermione probably knows more than I do- she's been investigating them like mad," he said with a grin. Well, if Kaiba did end up coming she would have a challenge in someone just as intelligent as her, if not more so. The man was a child genius billionaire after all, and it would be interesting to hear how he interacted with Malfoy. Harry blinked a couple of times and then smiled between bites, clearly thinking of his friend, before it fell a bit. Bill wondered at that, but the white flash caught his eyes once again. The had , not been his imagination.,"Bill, where are you going? The meeting isn't over!" Mum asked, looking slightly alarmed as he stood. He smiled at her, grabbing his wizard's robes from behind him.,"Sorry Mum, I've got to be getting back. Especially after the latest news. I'll be needed to make sure everything's in the right place!" He rounded the table to give his mother a goodbye hug and winked at Harry who was watching him curiously and obviously thinking he was being covert about it. "Tomb Robbers are an issue even in this day and age." He felt his mother relax in his arms slightly, probably thinking that he was going to reveal something to Harry that she deemed inappropriate. He'd leave that to Sirius.,After saying similar goodbyes to his father he slipped out of the front door of the building and, after turning the corner and making sure no one was around, he was about to disapparate when a pale hand tapped his arm. He turned to see Snape, hood pulled over his head, Death Eater mask in hand and clearly on his way to another meeting, standing in the shadows of an alley. Had this been five years ago he would have been freaking out but he had seen worse than this. He allowed himself to be pulled into the alleyway, knowing that Snape would not have done this if he thought they would be seen.,"You know what it is the Dark lord is looking for." It was not a question and Bill wasn't surprised.,"You know who the envoys are." Snape raised an eyebrow and merely nodded so Bill continued. "It's ancient magic and it won't give him anything like immortality. People have had their souls stripped from them for less. It doesn't help that the Princesses are on edge- Haphiri has been muttering about some travelling… person rising his head again." Bill wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. He had no idea what exactly she had called the man (when he had figured that that was what she was talking about)- the word she spoke was in her native tongue of early Coptic and all he had gotten from her sister was that it roughly translated to 'stranger from across the seas'. Whatever could scare her like that though, was not something that Bill wanted to meet. Snape didn't seem to either but he accepted without being told that that was all Bill could tell him.,"Akhefia Kheti and Atem Menes." There was the signature , as Snape disapparated and Bill allowed his head to fall into his hand. ,.

The mission is simple. Get the boy, bring him to his handlers, to HYDRA. There are to be no witnesses. The Asset does not remember his last mission, but the idea of not leaving witnesses is as familiar as the action of shooting a gun.,At 1824 local time, the Asset arrives at Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England. He has been out of the cryo tank for the past few days.,If the houses did not have numbers on the front doors, there would be no way to tell them apart, since this street, and many others around it, are lined with rows of identical houses. Each house is the same nondescript tan color with a brown roof, and the houses have only a few standard places of entry or exit- the front door and the back door, although the windows would work as a backup. The locks will be pathetically easy to break. Each house also has a perfectly trimmed lawn.,The Asset arrives at his destination, Number 4 Privet Drive- the residence of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, the Asset had been told during the mission briefing. There are two boys residing in the house as well, but HYDRA is only interested in one of them. The Dursleys' own son, Dudley, is of no use.,HYDRA wants Harry Potter. The Asset does not know what his handlers want with a four-year-old boy, but it is not the Asset's place to know the reason behind his missions. His job is to do as instructed, not ask questions. Asking questions results in punishment, sometimes the chair.,It's already dark outside, which makes things easier for the Asset, although the Asset is skilled enough to do this in broad daylight if required. It's easier to go unnoticed in the dark, and that darkness also means Privet Drive is empty of playing children. Most of them are probably eating dinner at the moment, but the Asset's only concern is what the Dursley family is doing.,Circling to the back of the house, the Asset finds a concealed spot in the bushes with an optimal view of the kitchen. Just because it is dark does not mean the Asset should stand in the open. The Asset crouches, still and silent in the bush, spying on the residents of Number 4.,Mr. Dursley and a boy are seated at the dinner table. Both the man and boy are in horrible physical condition and massively overweight. The boy is blonde, so he must be the Dursley boy, not Potter. The Asset was told in the briefing that the Potter boy has black hair, green eyes, and an unusual, lightning shaped scar on his forehead.,There's an even smaller, skinny boy with messy black hair and taped glasses by the stove. That is the target, that is Potter. Potter is so young and short that he requires a step stool to reach the pot that's cooking on the stovetop. The boy's ragged clothes are sized as if they once belonged to the Dursley child and would already be far too big for Potter if he was a healthy weight.,The Potter boy is not a healthy weight, but in the opposite extreme of the Dursley patriarch and child. His arms are like sticks waiting to be snapped at any moment.,The boy is small and young, not seeming like he could be of any benefit to HYDRA, although the family has clearly tried to find a use for the boy. The Asset does not think HYDRA wants Potter for his culinary skills- or lack thereof, since Potter is struggling at flipping the grilled cheese sandwiches on the pan.,Next to the Potter boy is a thin, long-necked woman who is scowling as she watches the tiny child struggle to cook.,The Asset's enhanced hearing means he can make out the sounds from the kitchen even though the windows are closed. "Flip it quickly or it will burn!" Mrs. Dursley snaps at the boy, slapping him on the back of the hand with a wooden spoon. Potter lets out a little yelp. "I won't have you messing up my precious Duddy's dinner.","You better not burn anything, boy." Mr. Dursley barks angrily, and Potter flinches in terror. Mr. Dursley seems to enjoy seeing that reaction.,"I'm hungryyy! Mummy, I wanna eat ,!" The Dursley boy's whining voice makes the Asset want to shove his fingers in his ears to block out the sound, but doing so would be mission noncompliant. Auditory input is necessary for complete surveillance. "Make him go faster!",Potter quickly moves to serve the grilled cheese to the Dursley boy before going back to the stove and putting a large steak on a plate for Mr. Dursley, along with some potatoes. Mrs. Dursley waits for Potter to serve her and then tells the boy to go stand in the corner.,The Asset is reminded of his handlers, even though he is never ordered to serve them food. At least Potter knows how to follow orders. Whatever HYDRA has planned for Potter, compliance will be expected. Failure to comply leads to correction. Potter seems to know that already. The Asset watches the boy hunch his shoulders and scurry to the corner of the kitchen, looking down at the floor.,Throughout dinner, Potter is not offered anything to eat despite his obvious lack of nourishment. The Dursley boy, on the other hand, demands several more grilled cheese sandwiches after gluttonously eating the first few.,Potter is forced to make the other boy more, but leaves them on the stove for too long, resulting in a burnt odor that the Asset's enhanced olfactory senses pick up.,Potter looks terrified as Mr. Dursley lurches angrily towards him. "What did we just tell you not to do, you freak?" He spits the last word like a curse.,"N... not to b-burn the food." Potter stammers out. "'m sorry, Uncle Vernon, sir.","Sorry doesn't change the fact you burnt it, boy!" Potter's uncle roars as he grabs the boy and presses the Potter's tiny hand into the hot pan, and the familiar smell of burnt flesh invades the Asset's nostrils. Potter screams, and something inside the Asset's chest burns as he watches.,The Asset is sure that, whatever this malfunction in his chest is, it will be fixed when he returns to his handlers.,Potter is trying to stifle his sobs as Mr. Dursley carries him into the hallway and dumps the boy unceremoniously into a small cupboard under the stairs. He slams the cupboard door shut and stomps back to the kitchen.,The way Potter is locked up reminds the Asset of how he is cryogenically frozen between missions. The feeling in the Asset's chest grows stronger.,After dinner and dessert- the Dursley boy had thrown a tantrum in order to have both cake and pudding despite having already eaten more than enough, and surprisingly he was not punished- Potter is called out of the cupboard to wash the dishes in the kitchen.,Potter obviously is not a master at working through pain yet, neither does he have enhanced healing like the Asset. The boy's burnt hand causes his progress on the dishes to be extremely slow and clumsy, since he has to do everything with his left hand. Potter is clearly worried about dropping something or not working efficiently enough. Of course such an act of carelessness would be punished harshly, the same goes for the Asset. Which is why he will not fail this mission.,The Asset can hear Potter's stomach rumble with hunger, but Mrs. Dursley watches the boy like a hawk to make sure he does not swipe any food for later. The Asset does not know when the boy last ate, but he is clearly not given enough sustenance to fuel optimum performance, like the Asset is.,Yet the odd feeling in the Asset's chest has only increased as he watches the Dursley's force the injured boy to do chores while the Dursley boy watches some sort of mindless program on a box with a screen in it, guffawing with yet more pudding smeared on his face. At the fact Potter is not even fed.,Then it happens. Potter drops a plate, and it shatters on the floor. This leads to Potter's second punishment in the evening.,As he watches Dursley beat Potter, where the boy's body had fallen on top of the shards of the broken plate, something briefly flashes through the Asset's mind. A mental image of an older, blonde boy who's not quite as scrawny as Potter, but close, getting beat up in an alleyway by some larger boys. The boy in the mental image looks familiar, even though the Asset has never seen him before. The image is accompanied by the overwhelming need to ,Whatever that strange vision, whoever the scrawny blonde boy was, the vision will be gone when the Asset returns to his handlers after completing the mission. Once he's in the chair, it will be gone.,The chair always hurts, but the Asset's pain is unimportant.,The Asset refocuses on the current target. Negligence and loss of focus are mission noncompliant, and usually punished.,As he watches Potter being punished by Dursley for those same offenses, the Asset thinks he may have decided to terminate the Dursley's even if , was not specified in the mission. It does not make sense that he would think that, when the punishment makes sense itself.,Potter is once again discarded in the cupboard under the stairs, and from the way the boy's shirt was staining red, he's sustained some injuries, probably both from the porcelain plate shards and the beating.,The Asset could barge in now, choke the life out of Mr. Dursley, but the man's wife or child might make enough noise to alert the neighbors. It will be easier to wait. ,is part of the mission.,The Asset moves only to pull a protein bar out of his backpack pocket and eat it mechanically.,At 2221, the majority of Privet Drive is dark and quiet, the residents of the street having gone to bed. The Asset continues to sit silently in the bushes, waiting. By 2248, the last light at Number 4 goes out as Mr. and Mrs. Dursley go to bed.,He waits until 2308 to allow the Dursley's to fall asleep, going by the average time it takes. Then, the Asset creeps out of the bush and to the back door of Number 4. Disabling the alarm and picking the lock are not even a challenge, merely a tiny inconvenience. The Asset is capable of breaking into much more secure places than a civilian house. He could have simply broken the door, but that would leave evidence of his breaking and entering, and would probably make enough noise to wake up the house's residents.,The interior of Number 4 is dark, and of course the Asset does not turn on a light, instead wearing a pair of night vision goggles from his backpack. His booted feet make almost no sound on the tiled kitchen floor. Most people would be clomping around clumsily, loud enough to wake the dead, but the Asset is highly trained. Staying silent is almost as natural as breathing.,He walks past the door to the cupboard under the stairs, noticing that is locked. He'll come back for Potter after he's dealt with the Dursley's. He can hear the boy sobbing almost silently in the cupboard, but when the Asset creeps up the stairs, making only the faintest sound on a creaky stair, he hears the boy hold his breath in panic. Of course the boy would hear any sounds on the stairs when he's under them.,Upstairs, in the first bedroom, the Asset finds an unoccupied bed and piles of toys, most of which are broken.,Is this bedroom Potter's? The Asset turns and walks out of the bedroom. It does not matter, since there is nobody here. That question is not related to the mission.,The next bedroom is much like the first, filled to the brim with toys, but the Dursley boy is snoring loudly in the bed.,The Asset follows his orders, but something in the back of his mind protests as he slowly smothers the Dursley boy, even though the Asset is fairly certain he's killed children before. Besides, the boy is expendable, only Potter must survive.,He then stalks into the bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. They are asleep, rather than engaged in other activities. The Asset would not want to see that. His mind does not protest as he simultaneously curls a fist around each of their throats. Their wide-eyed looks of terror and choked pleas mirror Potter's as they slowly stop thrashing.,He shuts their eyes so it looks like they're asleep, but they won't wake up again. He leaves their room without glancing back.,He can hear Potter's breath hitch as he walks down the stairs. The Asset quickly breaks the lock on the cupboard door and pulls it open, his night vision goggles letting him see inside without turning on a light.,Inside the cupboard is a small, stained mattress that is too small to fit any of the bed frames upstairs. There are some shelves lined with various cleaning supplies, a couple broken toy soldiers on the floor, and a decapitated stuffed bear. There is a bare lightbulb that the Asset does not turn on.,Potter is curled in a fetal position on the mattress, staring at the Asset with wide green eyes and clearly trying not to cry. The Asset can see the telltale lightning bolt scar on his forehead now. One of the identifiable features in the mission report. It did not say how Potter got such an odd scar, but that information is not important to the mission.,The Asset reaches into the cupboard and pulls the boy out, standing him up and quickly looking him over. There are a few shards of glass embedded in his palms (even the burnt one), and at least one in his side, having punctured his shirt.,"Stay." The Asset commands in English. He does not usually speak English, but he rarely speaks at all. His handlers mostly use Russian. Turning, he heads to the bathroom in search of a first aid kit. He does not find one in the downstairs bathroom, but the Asset saw a bathroom upstairs.,"You'll wake up da Dursleys." Potter whispers with scared eyes when the Asset starts to climb the stairs.,The Asset doesn't answer, but he knows the Dursleys will not wake. In a cabinet in the upstairs bathroom, he finds what he was looking for. The first aid kit comes complete with bandages, sterile gloves, tweezers, scissors, antiseptic cream, cleansing wipes, and more items that are irrelevant.,When he goes back downstairs with the first aid kit, he sees Potter has not moved a centimeter from where the Asset left him outside the cupboard. The boy does not know him and he still follows orders.,That trait will serve him well.,The Asset guides the boy into the kitchen and removes the boy's shirt, quickly checking to see if there is any more porcelain stuck in his small body.,Grabbing one of the boy's hands, the Asset pulls a shard out of Potter's palm with the tweezers. Potter whimpers.,The Asset knows what painful healing is like. Whenever his handlers work on his prosthetic arm, there is always a lot of pain.,He tries to cause Potter as little pain as possible as he first removes the shards of glass from the boy's palms and side. He cleans the cuts before bandaging them.,He then runs Potter's burnt hand under cool water and covers it with a sterile, non-adhesive bandage.,Potter stares at the Asset's prosthetic arm and eventually whispers "Are you a robot?" The boy tenses immediately after asking, as if expecting a rebuke for asking. Speaking out of turn would get the Asset at least a slap.,"No." The Asset says tersely. It is not critical to the mission that he answer the boy's question, but maybe he won't ask more. He was not instructed to slap the boy, so he doesn't. The part of him that protested killing the Dursley boy would have protested slapping Potter, as well.,The boy is quiet for a bit longer as the Asset finishes patching him up. He seems almost shocked that someone is bothering to do so. The Dursley's almost certainly hadn't helped him heal.,The Asset is not entirely sure why he is. The mission briefing had nothing about patching the boy up, just that he was to remain alive and relatively unharmed. Had his handlers known the boy would be harmed?,Delivering the boy in the best condition possible would be the most successful mission outcome. That's why he is doing it.,But there's also the thing in the Asset's head saying to protect the boy.,Once he finishes picking porcelain out of the boy's side and bandaging it up, he hands Potter his shirt back. It does not matter if his shirt looks like little more than rags, the Asset knows. It is not important.,The boy is skinny. He needs to eat. Proper nutrition is required for optimum performance. The Asset ignores the refrigerator- too cold- and instead pulls another protein bar from his backpack and hands it to the boy.,Potter stares at him as if he's not sure if this is a trick.,"Eat." The Asset commands. Potter does not need to be told twice, tearing the paper off and cramming as much of the bar as he can in his mouth.,The Dursley boy surely would have refused to eat it and complained about the taste. It is fortunate the Asset does not need to put up with the Dursley boy. At least Potter is well-behaved and knows how to follow orders.,"Thank you, sir." Potter says softly, probably about treating his injuries, or the food. The Asset says nothing, but it takes him by surprise. He is a weapon. Nobody calls the Asset ,Potter probably will not be thanking the Asset when he is delivered to HYDRA. The thought makes the Asset frown, but he does not know why. He will have completed his mission.,"Come," He mutters to the child.,"I don't haf'to stay here?" Potter asks in a hushed voice, eyes wide with awe.,"Come." The Asset repeats, trying to ignore the way his stomach twists at the thought of where the boy is headed. There is no reason for his stomach to twist.,The Asset does not want the boy to go through what he goes through. The chair, the cryogenic tank. The Asset does not want to go through them himself. No, the Asset is a weapon. The Asset does not have wants. The Asset completes the mission. Not delivering Potter would be failing the mission. Failing the mission would be worse, would lead to punishment.,The boy means nothing to him, he is just another mission.,Even if Potter goes through a similar fate as the Asset, it is none of the Asset's concern. His young age means nothing. The Asset might have been as young as Potter when he started. He does not remember, has no way of knowing.,When the Asset returns to his handlers, these malfunctioning thoughts and feelings will be wiped. They are mission noncompliant.,The Asset simply grabs the boy with his flesh arm and holds the boy to his side. Potter stiffens slightly, but does not try to wriggle free. Stopping briefly back at the cupboard, the Asset grabs the boy's taped glasses and puts them on his face. The boy blinks.,The Asset does not grab any of the toy soldiers or the bear. They are pointless.,He heads to the kitchen, still holding the boy, and fiddles with the stove, setting it to catch fire and explode. Then, he steps out the back door, closing it behind him.,The mission is almost complete. It will look like the Dursley's merely perished in a fire. The authorities will probably not know that Potter was even there. The Dursley's made that easy. There were no pictures of Potter in the house, but plenty of the Dursley boy.,The house explodes when he's a street away, and lights in houses flicker on around him. The Asset is already keeping in the shadows and he is not spotted as he stealthily moves in the dark, still holding Potter. It takes several minutes before the sirens of fire engines are audible.,With every step the Asset takes towards where he will meet his handlers, some malfunctioning part of his brain tells him to turn around and walk the other way.

Visit Hogwarts?,Start Date: January 5, 2018,Chapter One,"Thete! Let's go to another universe and mess around!" the Master whined for the fiftieth time. "You know, blow a hole through the universes the size of Belgium? Anyway, we , make a promise to visit every single planet in the galaxy. Why not just go to another universe?",The Doctor definitely wanted to go to another universe and cause trouble everywhere. Perhaps the de-aging wasn't the best idea for the inhabitants of the other universe's well-being. Well, it wasn't really a de-aging, just that they , younger. Both the Doctor and the Master looked eleven, which they both agreed was better for causing trouble. Everyone else had left already, leaving the two friends together, although some had thought it was a bad idea. They were correct, obviously, but Jack and the other Torchwood members had put guards on all exits surrounding the flight deck. Also, the TARDIS happened to be in another room.,"Let's do it," the Doctor said. "Glad your mind is cured from the drums, otherwise, we won't be having so much fun!",The Master nodded before smiling. "So…",",",",",The two ran from the flight deck of the Valiant (,, jumped off (,), and looked at each other as they hurled towards the ground. The ground, fortunately (but unfortunately), was still a very long way off.,The Doctor fumbled with his TARDIS key, summoned the TARDIS, and they fell inside. As soon as he got his bearings, the Doctor set the coordinates for Gallifrey, and the TARDIS disappeared.,-a little scene as he summons the TARDIS-,Jack looked up to hear the whooshing noise of the TARDIS as it slowly disappeared from sight. He looked at the guards, who were standing exactly where they had been.,"Did one of you let the Doctor out?" he asked Gwen.,"No," Gwen frowned. She ran into the room and yelled back at Jack, "They're gone!",Jack and the other Torchwood members ran inside and looked around.,"But they can't have left! The TARDIS was outside, and none of us saw them leaving!" Tosh said, or actually, screamed. "The Doctor and the Master are good, sure, but they can't teleport! Or turn invisible! In fact, we didn't even see the door opening!",By this time, Jack had walked to the window, which had been broken (and for some reason, despite being _ thousand feet in the air, the pressure wasn't killing them, maybe it's because of some air shield?), just in time to see the disappearing figures of the Doctor and the Master, with a TARDIS below them. They fell inside and the TARDIS vanished.,"They jumped out the window," Jack told his team calmly.,"Does that mean they're dead?" Owen asked.,"They used the TARDIS," Jack replied. "Probably off on another adventure.",The group stared out the window, just in time to see a gigantic portion of the sky just seem to explode. It was probably the TARDIS blasting a Belgium-sized hole into another universe, which somehow everyone could see. Fortunately, the hole closed up in a few seconds, otherwise Torchwood and UNIT would have problems for another few hundred years.,-back to the TARDIS (which, I guess, could be the future as well)-,"The coordinates are set at random, and she's going to fly into the schism in exactly 42.11 seconds," the Doctor yelled. "Let's get to the heart of the TARDIS, quickly!",42.11 seconds later, ,"Hey, I think we made it," the Master commented. "Ow...","Beats being exterminated any day, though," the Doctor replied, laughing as he helped the Master to his feet.,"You know, we're in this room full of angry-looking stick-pointing people, right?" the Master asked, hiding his grin. This universe seemed very fun, indeed.,"Hi friendly stick-wielders, my name is…" the Doctor began.,"," ,",", "And this is Koschei. But you can call us John Smith and Harold Saxon! I'm John by the way." The Doctor waved at the wizards.,Maybe the wizards didn't like being waved at, or maybe they didn't like the name 'John Smith' or 'Harold Saxon', but either way, they began shooting colourful jets of light from all sides. Yes, the Doctor and the Master were surrounded by a group of confused and angry wizards.,"Stop firing!" a really old looking guy yelled. Apparently, he was a man of importance or something, because the group of adults obeyed him without question. The two boys looked completely fine. In fact, they didn't even look tired at all.,The old guy looked at the boys carefully, after all, they could be with Voldemort or… no, Voldemort wouldn't use children, especially not muggle children. Well, they , be muggles…,"How did you apparate into Hogwarts?" a stern old lady asked. At this point, the Doctor and the Master had sort of been reading the old lady's mind, and figured out quite a lot of important information. For instance, her name was Professor McGonagall, they were wizards and witches, they apparently thought Theta and Koschei were non-magical people, and much more.,"Who in their right mind would name a school… Hogwarts?" they asked simultaneously.,The wizards and witches looked highly offended.,"Well…" Professor McGonagall began. "We're the teachers at this school. Believe it or not, magic exists. We are wizards and witches, and we," she gestured at the other adults and herself, "are the teachers of Hogwarts.","If, perhaps, you have magic potential, you can attend school here. The next term will start in about two weeks," a squeaky voice called out. A teacher stepped forward from the crowd, and the Doctor and the Master looked down to see - ", - they telepathed to each other at the same time.,"I'm Professor Flitwick," he said, introducing himself. "Just so you know, I'm part goblin, in case you weren't aware of any other species. That was Professor McGonagall, the deputy headmistress.",", the Master telepathed to the Doctor, both of them suppressing their smirks.,",," the Master growled at Professor Flitwick in gobbledygook.,"," Professor Flitwick asked, looking very surprised. "I can barely speak the language, and I'm part goblin!" He turned to the other professors. "They're probably not muggles. Perhaps they should come to Hogwarts for the upcoming school year.","I second!" Professor Dumbledore announced. They figured out the old guy was called Dumbledore thanks to his failed attempt at reading their minds. No doubt he would try again. "Professor McGonagall, please take the boys to Diagon Alley to buy their supplies. Thank you, and our staff meeting is over!","Come with me," Professor McGonagall said in her usual stern voice. "Do not fool around while you are with me. And hold on to my hand tightly.",They obeyed, and soon the professor disapparated and appeared in Diagon Alley (Dumbledore took down the barriers temporarily). Professor McGonagall barely hid her look of surprise when the boys looked completely fine.,"Do you not feel a bit sick?" she asked them cautiously.,"Sick? Why? The 'apparition'?" Theta, or John as he liked to call himself, asked.,"Yes. Most people throw up on their first trip. Others just collapse, but you two…" she trailed off.,"Oh," the Master said after a few seconds. "It was nothing, compared to Thete piloting the ship," he replied, sending the Doctor a little grin.,"Hey!" the Doctor yelled. "I'm not as bad as you are! Anyways, it's supposed to be piloted by six people! Mine is also a type 40, yours is a type 45!","Well, I'm not the one that landed in Cardiff instead of Naples, and 1869 instead of 1860!" the Master countered. The Doctor just glared at him.,"I'm just brought to places she thinks is important!" the Doctor said. "Um, where do we get supplies?",Professor McGonagall gave them a list of supplies for first years. "Meet back here by 4:00pm, don't be late, here's some money from Dumbledore," she said, handing them a small bag of coins, and giving them one last look before disapparating.,"Doesn't she know it's only 10:39am?" the Master asked, looking at the list in his hands.,"10:39:32am," the Doctor corrected. "Well, not anymore. But there's probably a whole lot of wizard materials they use at…" he paused, swallowing slowly. "Hogwarts." Unfortunately, his mini second of preparation did not help at all, and both of them burst out into laughter, which quieted almost immediately. They were used to silencing themselves, after all. It helped quite a lot when they met the aliens that hated laughing.,"Okay. Let's see… money," the Master read aloud. "Well, Dumbledore gave us some, since they have a funding for children that require supplies… And then we need… BOOKS!",They ran off to Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore, and promptly bought all the required materials for first year through seventh year, and a whole bunch of other books for fun. Actually… they just read the other books, super fast, so they wouldn't spend all the money.,Next, they bought the cauldron, and many other supplies, until the second to last item on the list: a wand.,"Cool!" they exclaimed simultaneously. Both ran to Ollivanders, and entered the small, dusty shop.,"First years, here for a wand?" he asked them. "Let's see… Which is your wand arm?",The Doctor and the Master looked at each other. "Ambidextrous, but prefer right hand," they said, looking back at Ollivanders.,", the Doctor thought. ",","," the Master cut the Doctor off mid-sentence, earning him a pout from his friend. Meanwhile, a magic tape was going around measuring them.,Ollivander took out a box, barely began opening it when: "Is that for him, or for me?" the Doctor asked.,"Your friend," Ollivander replied, taking the wand out.,"Wrong wand," the two Time Lords said at the same time. "The right wands should be near the back of your shop," the Doctor said.,"," the Master telepathed as soon as Ollivander left to see what exactly the Doctor had been talking about. ",","Finding paradoxes in another universe, brilliant!" the Doctor replied aloud, just in time to see Ollivander come back with two old and way-too-dusty boxes.,"These were the only ones at the back of the shop," he said. "Are you sure? My grandfather had them, he said two of his friends gave it to him.","Completely sure," they answered. The Doctor took the one on the right, and the Master took the one on the left. When they opened the boxes, they noticed the wands were nearly identical, with silver designs - Circular Gallifreyan - carved into the handle. The Doctor noticed that it was "Doctor" and "Master" respectively.,After a few minutes of silent wand-studying, Ollivander broke the silence. (Broke the Silence… would be better).,"You sure these are the right ones? When a wand chooses its owner, there's normally a spectacular display…" he trailed off, staring at the two wands, which were emitting a cheerful, warm-looking golden light, which faded after a few seconds. "Like that.",After they paid Ollivander for their wands, they headed off to the ice cream shop.,"Can't believe it's already a quarter to four," the Master said, buying some ice cream. "You have to admit though, those robes look horrendous!" The main reason why they had taken so long was because they had argued way too much with Madam Malkin.,"At least the ice cream tastes great," the Doctor announced. "Not half as good as the ones in the Alpha Centauri system, but still.",They had eaten their giant ice creams for fifteen minutes, having pleasant, not-threatening-each-other conversations, until Professor McGonagall showed up. When they spotted her walking towards them, they looked at each other.,"She's five seconds late," the Master said.,"Professor Dumbledore has decided that you will stay in the Leaky Cauldron, an inn, until school starts," Professor McGonagall began. The two troublemakers knew that a long speech was coming, so they tuned her out, instead focusing on some of the professor's possible futures. After all, if they just concentrated slightly, they could call up the entire 'conversation' from their subconsciousness. They began listening again in time to hear her say: "Remember, it's Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at Kings Cross Station.",She lead them to the Leaky Cauldron, booked a room for them, and then left to prepare for the start of the term feast. Meanwhile, the Doctor and the Master began studying the textbooks, learning all the information the first years would study. By five in the morning, they had mastered the first year charms, potions, defence against the dark arts, herbology, and transfiguration. They didn't bother with Astronomy or History - seriously, why would they? The Doctor and the Master, along with the other Time Lords, were literally the universal experts at that. They were. Even though troublemakers like Theta and Koschei never paid attention in class, they still knew just about everything.,Two weeks later, on September 1, they had finished the first year books through fourth year books. Sure, they could have finished the entire seven courses, but they just , to start an ice-cream fight, or release a dragon on the wizards - hey, it wasn't their fault they spoke dragon, and anyways, she was hungry. They were just bored!,Upon arriving at Kings Cross Station, they quickly found Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, casually strolling through the wall, and nearly getting run over by a redheaded boy who was pushing a heavy trolley filled with his supplies. The Doctor and the Master had backpacks, which were obviously bigger on the inside. An *cough, cough* undetectable extension charm, obviously.,"Watch it!" he yelled, turning to look at them. "Oh, sorry, first years?" he began to look a little nervous, and he seemed to be glancing at his friend. Most likely, he was in love with… ,, but whether or not she returned the affection…,"Ron! Don't be so mean!" the girl chided him. "I'm Hermione, by the way. Third year. You two should probably board the train, they're leaving soon." With that, Hermione ran off and disappeared onto the train.,The Doctor and the Master quickly followed, passing many compartments (including one with a ,), and finally sitting a compartment with a blonde girl in it. She was reading a colorful magazine, upside down, and looked up when they entered.,"Hi. I'm Luna Lovegood," she said dreamily.,"John Smith, and this over here is Harold Saxon",","Well… I tend to go by the Master," the Master began. "And he's the Doctor. But we chose our favorite aliases so we don't seem as...",",",",",January 10, 2018

Bobby and the two Winchester boys wearily sat down on the couch in Bobby's living room. Books piled up in every corner but some where knocked down in haste. They failed. The devils gate has been open and multiple demons have escaped. Now it was up to them to put the demons all back. Thing is, there was only three of them and millions of demons. It was going to be messy unless they got some help. Ellen was out of the question as she was still mourning over the loses at the roadhouse, Jo was with her. Most of their friends were dead so they didn't exactly have a lot of options.,Bobby had one contact who would probably help. He winced at the thought though, his friend was still a kid, no matter how old he got. Bobby really didn't want to drag him into another war but it was the best chance they had at surviving. Bobby fingered his phone, absentmindedly getting the boy's attention and pressed the speed dial. It rang for a couple of seconds and Bobby pressed the speaker button, not wanting to hide anything from Sam and Dean. It only took four rings before someone answered.,", A British voice asked before grunting, the sound of metal cutting into skin echoed through the receiver.,"Harry?" Bobby asked hesitantly, the sounds of the fight were loud even through small device.,",A shrill female voice shrieked, making the men wince.,",",", the male voice complained before giving his attention back to the phone. ,"Harry it's me, Bobby Singer?",It was quiet for a second before the voice answered, a bit timidly. ,Dean and Sam exchanged looks, especially as Bobby bowed his head in guilt.,"We are ok for now but something really bigs happened. I really hate to drag you into this kid but-",", The male voice sounded a bit sad before a nonchalant tone came from him. ,"We sorta opened a Hell's Gate.",It was silent on the other side before loud cursing blew through, making the men since again. A lot more explosions and yelling echoed as the fight seemed to be reaching its climax before the male's pissed off voice snarled at them.,", The call clicked to a close leaving two men shocked and one filled with shame.,"Bobby, who was that?" Sam asked, curiosity leaking into his voice. Bobby sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.,"Someone I used to know and left off with bad terms. But if anyone could help capture the demons and possibly save Dean from his contract, it would be Harry.",Exactly 20 minutes later the door to the kitchen slammed open. All three jumped up, pulling out their guns. They waved for a second as a teenage boy, probably only 17 walked in. He had unruly black hair, eccentric green eyes that were currently filled with anger and a small, lithe body.,"Harry." Bobby greeted.,"What have you done?" Harry asked, the harshness in his tone didn't go unnoticed. He gave barely a glance at Sam and Dean, hounding back to Bobby. "And why the hell do you need my help?","What do you know about Demons?" Sam asked. Just as Harry was about to answer, he was cut off as water splashed into his face. ,.,"I know enough." He announces, wiping his face. "Why?","A demon has been after our family for a while. We killed him just recently and accidentally opened Hell's Gate." Sam said sheepishly, guilt welling inside him as Harry rubbed his eyes.,"And I'm here because?","We need your help getting demons." Dean snapped feeling a bit pissed as Harry's tone. It was like he didn't care at all.,"And breaking a deal." Sam added. Harry blinked and started to laugh.,"You-You cant break a deal." He shook his head in disbelief at the Winchesters. "It's like an unbreakable vow. You try to ,it, you die. End of discussion. Who was stupid enough to make a deal with a fucking demon?!","Me." Dean snarled. "I was saving my brothers life. His for mine.",Harry was quiet for a few seconds before nodding a little. "I can respect that. Doesn't mean it was right, but I can respect that.","Please Harry," Bobby pleaded. "I wouldn't have called unless I wanted to patch things up and get your help.","Do you remember the last thing you said to me?" Harry asked, gaze hard and unwavering. "I was 14, I was scared and lost. You have been helping me out since I was 11. I could trust you. When I told you my secret, the most important part of me, do you remember what you said?","Harry-","You told me that if I ever survived, to lose your number.",Dean and Sam both gaped in shock and probably wouldn't have believed it if Bobby hadn't reacted the way he did. Guilt poured off the man in waves and he looked so sad.,"I'm so sorry Harry.","It's a little late for that." Harry sighed, looking back to the Winchesters before letting out a small whine. "Ok fine! We'll help you. But only because they are both ,good looking!",Sam blushed yet felt oddly proud while Dean just smirked before frowning. "Wait, ,"You don't know who I am do you?" Harry chuckled. "I would at least think you would let them know who they were dealing with Bobby.","Boys," Bobby cleared his throat. "This is Harry, leader of the Seven Deadly Sins."

—, —dijo Severus y se destransformó,Llegó a su habitación en casa de su tío Gabriel Agreste, hacía una hora que peleó contra un nuevo supervillano de Le Papillon al lado de su compañera y amor platónico, Ladybug. Eran las vacaciones de invierno y en dos días regresaría a Hogwarts; su kwami (una pequeña criatura mágica con la apariencia de un gato negro) salió de su anillo y voló hacía el mini refrigerador que tenía en la habitación completamente surtido de queso camembert.,—Me sorprende, y preocupa a la vez, que Le Papillon cree supervillanos más poderosos —comentó Plaga, sacando una caja de camembert del mini refrigerador,—Dímelo a mí —respondió Severus agotado y dejándose caer de cara a su cama,El kwami comió un pedazo de queso y voló hacia su portador, quien no se movía y respiraba tranquilamente, se había quedado dormido. Plaga dejó la caja del queso sobre el escritorio y vio un calendario, tenía encerrado en un círculo rojo el número nueve y abajo de este con letras del mismo color «MBD»; se sorprendió y miró a su portador, al día siguiente era su cumpleaños. Nunca le había dicho nada... Ahora que lo pensaba, no sabía nada de él; solamente lo alimentaba, lo ayudaba a transformarse y le se desahogaba con él respecto a su amor por Ladybug y su ira hacia los Merodeadores. De ahí en fuera, no sabía nada más.,Por primera vez se le fue el apetito y dejó sin terminar una caja de camembert. Escuchó ruidos en la cama y vio a Severus acomodándose en una mejor postura para dormir. Se veía más inocente dormido, sin esa expresión de desprecio en su cara todo el día o esa sonrisa coqueta acompañada de un antifaz negro que cubría la mitad de su cara.,De pronto se escucharon pisadas acercándose al dormitorio, Plaga se ocultó bajo la almohada de Severus. La persona que llegó, solamente se asomó por la puerta y miró en dirección a la cama, viendo al adolescente dormido.,—¿Si está en su cuarto? —preguntó una voz masculina, Plaga la reconoció enseguida: Gabriel Agreste,—Sí, señor —respondió su asistente, Nathalie—. Esta dormido,—¿Dormido? Mh... Extraño, apenas está atardeciendo. En fin, tiene muchas cosas con que distraerse aquí, así que el cansancio debe ser más psicólogo que físico,—Puede ser, señor,—Déjalo dormir un poco más antes de la cena,—Sí señor —y ambos adultos se retiraron,El kwami salió de su escondite y vio a su portador removerse en sueños. Hablando de manera económica la vida de Severus mejoró muchísimo, pero en lo que se refiere al calor del hogar... Plaga pudo darse cuenta solo que eso siempre lo careció el chico. Antes de que el Slytherin regrese a Hogwarts, el pequeño gatito negro quería que él vuelta a clases con una sonrisa.,Despertó a la mañana siguiente descansado y relajado. Se desperezó y se levantó de la cama; vio a su escritorio y se sorprendió de ver que Plaga no estaba en la pequeña almohada que le hizo para dormir, fue hacia el mini refrigerador y se sorprendió más al ver que tampoco estaba ahí comiendo camembert como un pequeño barril sin fondo.,—¿Dónde está? —se preguntó en voz alta, cerrando la puerta del mini refrigerador—. Sabe que no puede salir de mi cuarto...,—¡Feliz Miracumpleaños, Severus!,El azabache volteó y vio a Plaga flotando en medio de la habitación con un cupcake en forma de caldero y una vela encendida. Severus sonrió y se acercó a su Kwami.,—Muchas gracias, Plaga —agradeció el chico, tomando el cupcake,—Pide un deseo, cumpleañero —dijo Plaga con una sonrisa,Severus sonrió por la ocurrencia de su kwami. Cerró los ojos y sopló la velita; se escuchó el ruido de la puerta de su habitación abriéndose, Plaga se escondió rápidamente dentro de su pijama y Severus ocultó tras su espalda el cupcake.,—¿Severus? —era Nathalie,—Hola, buenos días,—Buenos días y Feliz Cumpleaños,—Gracias,—Veía a despertarte y saber si ya tenías todo listo para regresar a Hogwarts mañana,—Gracias. Y sí, ya esta todo listo,—Muy bien. Alistate y baja a desayunar,—Esta bien,Nathalie salió de su habitación. Severus suspiró aliviado a la vez que Plaga salía de la camisa de su pijama.,—¿Qué no sabe tocar? —preguntó ofendido Plaga,Severus solo se encogió de hombros y fue a alistarse. Quince minutos después, Severus bajó al comedor y no se sorprendió de ver que la mesa estaba puesta para uno. Suspiró resignado y se sentó a desayunar.,Terminó sus alimentos y salió del comedor de regreso a su habitación.,—Severus,El chico se detuvo al pie de las escaleras al escuchar su nombre, miró hacia arriba y vio a su tío con su típica expresión y porte serio.,—¿Sí?,—¿Tienes algo que hacer en la tarde?,Severus mentiría si decía que no le sorprendió la pregunta de su tío.,—No ¿por qué?,—Por nada. Si vas a salir, procura regresar a las cuatro en punto ¿entendido?,—Sí, tió,Gabriel Agreste hizo un asentimiento de cabeza y se fue. Severus lo vio irse, aun sorprendido por la actitud de su tío; le restó importancia y fue a su habitación, recogió a Plaga, se abrigo muy bien y salió de la casa a dar una vuelta, cumpleaños o no, no le gustaba estar encerrado.,Caminó sin rumbo por las calles perdido en sus pensamientos hasta que de pronto el grito de la muchedumbre lo hizo volver a la realidad. Miró por todos lados hasta que escuchó una explosión cerca de donde estaba. Corrió hacia un callejon oscuro y se aseguro de que no hubiera nadie en él antes de dejar salir a su kwami.,—Tal parece que ni en tu cumpleaños te dejan tranquilo —comentó Plaga,—Ya vez que a Le Papillon no le interesa este tipo de cosas —dijo Severus—. ,—y se transformó en Chat Noir,Trepó los edificios y saltando de techo en techo con ayuda de su bastón.,—Salut, Chaton,Chat Noir volteó y sonrió coquetamente al ver a su acompañante.,—Buenos días, Mi lady,Ladybug saltaba a la par de su compañero usando su yoyo mágico.,—Tal parece que Le Papillon madrugo —comentó la heroína,—Eso parece —concordó el héroe,—Bueno, a trabajar,—Te sigo, Mi lady,Y los dos saltaron a la batalla.,—, —exclamó Ladybug arrojando el objeto que su Lucky Charm le había dado para la batalla, regresando todo a la normalidad,—¡Ganamos! —exclamaron ambos héroes, chocando los puños y los Miraculous de ambos sonaron.,—Ya me voy, gatito —anunció la catarina, tomando su yoyo,—¡Espera, Ladybug! —dijo Chat Noir, sujetándola del antebrazo con delicadeza—. Quisiera pasar más tiempo contigo. ¡Solo hablar, nada más! —aclaró enseguida al ver la expresión de su amada,Ladybug lo pensó unos segundos que a Chat Noir le parecieron una eternidad.,—Nos vemos en quince minutos en el Big Ben —dijo Ladybug, y sin esperar respuesta de su compañero se fue,Chat Noir sonrió y se fue del lugar.,—¿Y bien...? ¿Por qué me citaste, gatito?,El héroe miró hacia el paisaje que les ofrecía el Big Ben; la verdad solamente había sido una excusa para estar más tiempo con ella, no quería sentirse solo en su cumpleaños.,—¿Realmente necesito dar alguna explicacion para pasar tiempo de calidad con mi hermosa dama?,Ladybug rodó los ojos a la vez que sonreía ante el comentario de Chat Noir.,Los dos héroes estuvieron hablando toda la mañana. Disfrutaron del paisaje y de las campañas del Big Ben, cuando este dio tres campañas, Chat Noir se dio cuenta que eran las tres de la tarde, en una hora tenía que volver a casa y honestamente no tenía mucho animo de regresar.,A las tres y media ambos héroes se pusieron de pie y se fueron del lugar por caminos separados. Chat Noir se ocultó en un callejón a dos cuadras de su casa y se destransformó volviendo a ser Severus.,—Realmente no quieres regresar ¿verdad? —comentó Plaga, desde el bolsillo de la chamarra de su portador,—No, ¿para estar solo en casa y pasar "mi día especial" como un día más? Desearía poder quedarme todo el día con Ladybug,—Recuerda que debajo de la máscara es una civil como cualquiera, por lo que también tiene una vida social,—Lo sé,Llegaron a la Mansión Agreste, Plaga se ocultó en la chamarra otra vez antes de entrar. Severus camino directo hacia su habitación.,—Severus, espera,—¿Qué sucede, Nathalie?,—Tu tío quiere hablar contigo, esta en el salón,Severus suspiró y regresó sobre sus pasos hacia el salón. Abrió la puerta del salón, pero su tío no estaba solo...,—¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Severus!,El chico brincó del susto al ver a sus amigos: le habían hecho una fiesta sorpresa de cumpleaños. El primero que lo abrazó fue Regulus, seguido por Lily y así poco a poco por los pocos, pero verdaderos, amigos que tenía no solamente de Slytherin sino de las otras tres casas también. Finalmente lo felicito Alex, quien estaba roja y nerviosa.,—Fe... Feliz cumpleaños, Severus,—Gracias, Alex,—Y si deberías agradecerle —intervino Lily,—¡Lily! ¡Callate! —pidió Alex, pero su prima no le hizo caso,—¿Por qué? —preguntó Severus,Alex iba a taparle la boca a Lily, pero la pelirroja la esquivo y se acercó a su mejor amigo de la infancia.,—Porque ella fue quien convenció a tu tío de hacerte una fiesta,—¿Qué? —preguntó sorprendido Severus,—¡Te dije que no lo dijeras! —reclamó Alex a Lily,—El cumpleañero tiene derecho a saber,—¡Estas loca!,—Alex —la castaña miró a Severus y se puso roja a más no poder al verse rodeada por los brazos del chico de sus sueños. Severus la estaba abrazando—. Muchas gracias,—De... De nada, Sev,El chico rompió el abrazó y le sonrió a la latina.,Aunque Severus no era de fiestas, se la paso muy bien con sus amigos; incluso se sorprendió de ver que su tío, Nathalie y su guardaespaldas "Gorila" se estaban divirtiendo también.,Se alejó del alboroto llegando a la mesa de regalos, vio los presentes que sus amigos y familia le dejaron, pero hubo uno en particular que le llamó mucho la atención: uno envuelto en papel rojo con motas negras y un liston negro. Miró sobre su hombro asegurándose que nadie estuviera cerca y tomó ese regalo; vio que tenía una tarjeta adjunta, la leyó y se sonrojó al ver que la firma era una catarina. ¿podría ser...? Guardó el regalo entre su ropa y volvió a la fiesta.,A las 10 de la noche la fiesta terminó, abrazó a tu tío agradeciéndole su aprobación por la fiesta y fue casi corriendo a su habitación. Vio que ya habían subido sus regalos a su habitación, pero el que escondió en su ropa era el único que le importaba. Se sentó en su cama y sacó el regalo moteado; pasó sus manos sobre este pensando que tal vez eran imaginaciones suyas, así que solamente había un modo de averiguarlo.,Rompió la envoltura del regalo y vio que era una caja negra mediana. Abrió este y vio una bufanda tejida a mano roja oscura y con dos eses entrelazadas de color negro; sacó la prenda y vio que dentro de esta habia una tarjeta de felicitación, la tomó y vio que tenía una pequeña nota:,Severus tomó la bufanda y se la puso. Miró la tarjeta y la acercó a su pecho.,—Muchas gracias, bugaboo

What If I'm The Death Master,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,Written By :,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,Harry Potter!AU,.,.,.,.,Cast :,Byun Baekyun!OC,.,.,.,Selamat membaca!,.,.,.,.,[ 19 / 01 / 2018 ],Halo!,Namaku Miguel!,Aku akan menceritakan sedikit siapa aku sebenarnya.,[January 2016],Aku hanya seorang anak laki - laki yang terlahir dari keluarga penyihir Bangsawan berdarah murni. Yang dulu selalu di eluk - elukan oleh banyak orang. Hingga akhirnya menjadi sampah bagi mereka yang pernah memuji kepawaian keluarga bangsawan ini.,Ya, tak lain dan tak bukan aku adalah seorang keturunan Keluarga Malfoy.,Semua bermula menjadi kacau setelah ayahku menceritakan perihal ketiga Saudara Peverell yang menjadi legenda adanya 3 benda relikui kematian.,Ayah ku semakin berambisius untuk mendapatkan ketiga benda tersebut. Yang bahkan sampai saat ini tidak diketahui oleh siapapun keberadaan benda legendaris itu.,Ibu ku pernah mengatakan, "Oh yang benar saja (nama ayahku), ketiga benda tersebut sudah tidak lagi dapat ditemukan" keluh ibu ku.,Akan tetapi, Ayahku membalas ucapan Ibuku dengan bentakan yang tak pernah kulihat sampai aku menginjak usia ke lima, dimana seharusnya yang aku ketahui hanyalah bermain, mendapatkan kasih sayang dan penuh cinta dari kedua orang tuaku.,Tapi apa yang kulihat sekarang adalah Ayah dan Ibu ku saling meneriaki, memaki sampai - sampai mereka melontarkan cahaya yang berpendar dari ujung sebuah tongkat.,Tongkat?,Untuk apa tongkat itu?,Apa yang sedang mereka ucapkan?,Bahasa latin?,Aku benar - benar tidak habis pikir, aku tiba - tiba saja menjadi sangat senang karena beranggapan mendapati pertunjukkan kembang api khusus untukku.,Namun, semua itu terhentikan ketika Ayahku tanpa sengaja atau mungkin sengaja melemparkan sebuah cahaya hijau tepat kearah ibu. Membuat ibu terbaring kaku secara instan.,Aku hanya bisa terdiam, bingung, mencoba memahami keadaan.,Aku menatap wajah ayah yang terlihat panik seraya berlari mendekati tubuh kaku Ibu dan beliau memeluk ibu begitu erat dengan membisikkan ucapan permohonan maaf.,Aku pun segera menghampiri Ayah, turun dari sofa secara perlahan.,Kedua kaki mungilku membawaku mendekat kearah mereka berdua, dan aku pun bertanya, "Ayah, kenapa ayah menangis?" tanyaku begitu polos.,Ayah menatapku dengan tatanpan sendu yang bahkan saat itu belum bisa ku pahami.,Ayah pun berucap, " Maafkan ayah nak, Ayah telah membuat ibu mu tertidur untuk selamanya" sesal ayah yang bahkan aku tidak mengerti, kenapa ayah harus meminta maaf hanya karena ayah membuat ibu menjadi tertidur... selamanya?,"Ayah, apa ibu akan bangun nanti pagi?" tanyaku lagi dengan tatapan dan nada yang lugu, polos, tidak mengerti akan apapun, terutama kematian.,Meskipun aku dikarunia otak yang cukup cemerlang seperti kedua orang tua ku. Aku tetaplah hanya seorang anak - anak yang tidak mengerti banyak hal negatif tersebut.,Yang aku ketahui hanyalah 'Apa yang aku boleh lakukan' dan 'Apa yang tidak boleh ku lakukan'.,1 tahun semenjak kejadian itu, akhirnya aku mengerti.,Tiga hari setelah kematian ibu yang akhirnya terekspos ke media massa dan disebabkan oleh ayahku sendiri. Ayahku di haruskan untuk tetap berada di penjara yang bernama Azkaban.,Ayah telah membunuh Ibuku.,Aku pun saat baru saja tiba di rumah usai bermain dengan teman-teman muggle yang usianya sebaya denganku di sekolah muggle. Aku mendapati sebuah surat di meja ruang tamu.,Mansion yang tidak lebih besar dari Mansion milik Paman Draco terasa sangat sepi. Kosong sekali, seperti tidak ada penghuninya.,Kedua tangan mungilku meraih surat tersebut, membukanya dan membacanya.,ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ,ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ,Wajahku terlihat datar membaca surat yang kugenggam saat ini.,"Aku harus masuk ke sana dan menemukan 3 relikui kematian yang ayah maksudkan" ujarku dengan mantap.,Dalam benakku saat itu hanyalah membalaskan dendam pada Ayahku karena telah menjauhkanku dari ibu dan karena telah menelantarkanku selama ini.,[ December 2017 ],Tahun ajaran baru pun baru saja dibuka untuk angkatan baru. Murid - murid penyihir pemula dari berbagai kalangan keturunan darah berdatangan dengan ditemani kedua orang tuanya ke Stasiun King Cross Platform 9 3/4.,Sedangkan aku? Hanya sendirian.,Aku terus mendorong troli besarku menggunakan tanganku yang mungil.,Lalu ada yang membawakan ku tas besarku ke dalam Kereta.,Aku tahu, maksud orang tersebut adalah berbuat baik padaku. Aku pun tetap mengikutinya dan duduk didalam kompartemen yang sama.,Aku ternyata di terima di Ravenclaw, aku sangat bangga bahwa aku terseleksi masuk ke Asrama Ravenclaw.,Kelas Sejarah pun mulai,,Seorang pria bernama Kenma mengajarkanku dan teman - temanku tentang ketiga saudara peverell juga silsilahnya.,Sejenak membuatku berpikir ulang mengenai niatku untuk mendapatkan ketiga benda relikui kematian.,"percuma jika aku mendapatkan Batu kebangkitan dan membangkitkan ibuku, sama saja aku menyiksanya","percuma jika aku mendapatkan tongkat Elder jika berakhir aku menjadi buronan karena aku membunuh ayahku nanti","Invisibility cloak? Kurasa masih cukup berguna, aku sepertinya akan menggunakannya dan memberikannya pada anak cucukku nanti dan menerima kematian layaknya kawan lama" ucapku mengulang beberapa kalimat yang dijelaskan Prof Kenma.,Aku pun terus memikirkan tentang ketiga benda relikui kematian.,sampai aku mendapatkan sebuah pemikiran jika aku mendapatkan benda itu. Aku akan menggunakannya untuk keseimbangan dunia sihir.,Tidak ada lagi perbandingan dari status darah atau status kekayaan keluarga.,aku hanya ingin membuat dunia ini damai.,baik antara para penyihir atau para muggle.,Aku akan menjaga mereka sampai pada generasi penerus ku dan lainnya hingga penghujung waktu nanti.,.,.,.,.,.,.

oOoOo,oOoOo,'Run, Draco!' Severus Snape snapped as he pulled the younger boy along with him.,'Professor… I can't…' Draco Malfoy coughed, trying to catch his breath. The front gates of Hogwarts were so close, but he felt his body starting to drag him down.,Draco stumbled on a stone, tumbling to the ground. Snape leaned down, deflecting the spells Harry Potter, who was chasing them, was sending their way. 'Come on! Get up!' Snape snarled, hauling the blonde Slytherin to his feet.,Draco forced himself to run next to Snape, and eventually, the two caught a break as another Death Eater attacked Potter. 'Stop! He belongs to the Dark Lord! We are not to touch him,' Snape instructed him, pulling Draco out the gates. 'Come, now!' he commanded, and with that, the Death Eaters Disapparated away from Hogwarts.,Draco gawked around the forest Snape had taken them to in uncertainty. 'This is not-' he started, but Snape cut him off.,'I'm well aware, Draco,' Snape snapped, shaking his head and sitting down wearily on the ground.,'Sir, why did you do it?' Draco asked Snape, wondering what was making the older man so distressed. Snape had his head in his hands, and Draco was stunned to see tears rolling down his face.,Snape didn't answer, he barely even perceived what Draco was saying. His mind was plaguing him with images of Dumbledore's face before he said those words. Snape knew it would haunt him forever. Eventually, he looked at Draco. 'Whatever happens, you will be protected, Draco. For now, we must submit to the Dark Lord and do anything he asks,' Snape told him seriously, lowering his hands.,'The Dark Lord will likely kill me,' Draco countered, shaking his head as the dread of what he would have to face overwhelmed him. 'I failed,' he whispered, annoyed at himself for not being able to kill the old man.,'You are not a killer,' Snape alleged, causing Draco to look up at him in anger. It was almost an echo of what Dumbledore believed.,'I have to be!' Draco roared, standing up and clenching his fists. 'I have to be, or the Dark Lord will kill my mother! I can't allow that to happen!' he cried, glaring at Snape heatedly. Draco felt the blame would be on Snape if anything happened to his mother.,'Your mother will be fine,' Snape replied, shaking his head and standing. 'Come, we must return and report back to the Dark Lord,' he ordered, placing his hand on Draco's shoulder.,Terror filled Draco's eyes at the mere notion of facing the Dark Lord after failing his task. Snape sympathised with him. It was expected Draco would be facing the Cruciatus Curse upon his arrival, but he would survive.,Just like Dumbledore said he would.,oOoOo,Severus Snape awoke with a sharp intake of breath. He scanned the area in a daze, grasping he was not on top of the Astronomy Tower with his wand pointed at Albus Dumbledore. Snape sat up, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.,A year had passed since that night, but Snape recalled it as if it transpired only yesterday. Unyielding nightmares tormented him as his mind forced him to relive the memory every time he closed his eyes. Snape had even thought about removing the memory and storing it in a Pensieve, but that was the easy way out, and he felt he warranted the suffering which had come with his transgression.,Snape murdered Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard and man he had ever known.,Snape cursed under his breath, still unable to believe he had agreed to follow through with it. Dumbledore had been his friend, perhaps even the closest thing he had to a father, and he had saved him from a fate worse than death on many occasions., Snape thought crossly, thumping his hand onto the ground. He hadn't wanted to do it.,Snape stood and lit the fire which had long gone out, before glancing over at his charge, Draco Malfoy, who was fast asleep on the frosty ground within the Forbidden Forest. Snape sighed, turning his gaze back to the fire as he recollected how they came to be here; hiding away like fugitives.,It wasn't exactly like they were on the run from the Dark Lord. On the contrary, they were supposed to be on a reconnaissance mission to watch Hogwarts and report back anything suspicious. However, Snape had elected to camp for a few days instead. Draco had objected, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the Dark Lord's Cruciatus Curse ever again, but the ex-Potions Professor had told him not to worry. Snape would take all responsibility and penalty, and this seemed to comfort Draco, but not entirely.,Snape looked back over at Draco as he stirred and rolled over without waking. Snape frowned at him, loathing the fact that Draco had been mixed up in everything that had happened. How could the Dark Lord have expected Draco to murder Dumbledore? Even with the threat against his mother and himself, Draco was no killer. Even to this day, Draco had still not killed a single person, and Snape knew the Dark Lord was becoming impatient.,Snape had agreed to the oath with Narcissa because he wanted to protect his Godson. Now, the Dark Lord purposefully sent Draco on missions which endangered his life so he could murder an innocent and become a "real Death Eater". Snape would need to be cautious. The Dark Lord's plan was getting close to fruition, and he had overheard him telling Lucius to kill Draco if he didn't step up soon. Snape was furious with Lucius, knowing full well he would proudly eradicate his own son for his beloved Lord.,Lucius had been disappointed in Draco, and he remembered the night he told the boy of the assignment set to him by the Dark Lord. Draco had scoffed in front of his father, assenting eagerly at the chance to prove himself and feel he was imperative to Lucius and the Dark Lord. However, once alone with time to take in the information, Snape saw the dread and fear in his eyes.,Snape observed him from afar so he could assist him if needed. Draco never requested support, and the burden on him became so much Snape speculated if he actually lost his mind by the end. Particularly when his task was upon him, and Dumbledore smiled even though he knew he was about to die. Snape saw it in his eyes, before saying the words himself, he knew Dumbledore was grateful. Snape wanted to hate the man for being so pleased to die. However, Draco could never have understood it, and Snape had never explained it.,Not yet, Snape would tell himself, knowing he would have to confront Dumbledore's plan soon and get the wheels in motion.,When Snape had found out about the mission Draco had, he had gone straight to Dumbledore and told him everything he knew and had overheard. Dumbledore was troubled, that much was obvious, but Snape was also kept in the dark about a lot of things he disclosed to him. , These were questions Snape knew he would never get an answer to.,Snape shook his head as he tried not to question Dumbledore's motives. Dumbledore assured him this plan would work, and he had to trust him. Snape closed his eyes, recalling the reason why he ended up killing his old friend and mentor.,oOoOo,',',',',',',',',',',Whatever happens, Tom must never know,,',',',','",',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',oOoOo,Snape opened his eyes and sighed, the memory was still so fresh. He had gone through so many scenarios of how he would get Granger to listen to him. He hadn't even given the letter to Draco knowing it was addressed to him as well. Snape deduced that whatever Dumbledore had written was for both of them to read and understand together.,Snape shook his head, wondering what on earth could have happened to throw Granger and Draco together, but he didn't want to question Dumbledore. The old man may have been missing a screw or two, but he wasn't stupid.,Snape reached into his pocket, pulling out the crumpled letter he had held for over a year now. He had always assumed only Granger and Draco could open it, so he never bothered to try in case Dumbledore placed a nasty jinx on it to ward off prying eyes.,Snape heard an explosion off in the distance and jumped to his feet. Draco stirred and sat up in panic. 'What was that!?' Draco yelled, getting to his feet.,'It's begun,' Snape countered, grabbing Draco's shoulder. 'We need to move,' he said, and Draco started gathering his things hastily, shoving them into his satchel.,The two ran towards Hogwarts hoping no one would spot them making their way to the front gates. As they reached the treeline, Snape looked up at the sky towards Hogsmeade Village where smoke could be seen covering the area.,Hogsmeade was burning.,Snape pulled Draco along behind him as they skirted Hagrid's hut and used the sparse trees by the Black Lake as cover. They made it to the front gate and escaped quickly. From this vantage, Snape could see the entire village was engulfed in flames, and he swallowed thickly.,The war had begun, and Snape knew this was the prelude to the final battle. Voldemort was ready to take his fight to Hogwarts.,A single tear rolled down his cheek, falling to the ground.

Le mauvais œil était sur Arthur. Il venait de se dépêtrer d'un conseil de guerre avec Caradoc, Perceval et Bohort. Tout un programme. Il croisa Guenièvre dans le couloir menant à la salle à manger.,« Je vous ai préparé une surprise, dit-elle.,- Je crains le pire.,- Ce n'est qu'un barde, pour rendre le repas plus… » Arthur vit rouge.,« Si c'est pour entendre encore les funérailles du Roi Loth mort dans son lit, ça va bien hein ! »,.oOo.,Guenièvre quitta la salle à manger d'un pas furibond.,« Ah bah ça c'est sûr, hein ! ricana Arthur. Payer trois pièces d'or et un repas chaud pour s'entendre conter sa propre mort… »,Nombre de mots : 109,"Atelier Drabble" du Collectif NoName : ,"Défi 50 Drabbles" du forum La Gazette des Bonbons aux Citrons : ,"Concours Super 2000" du forum La Gazette des Bonbons aux Citrons : ,.

"Once upon a time back before I knew how to tie my shoes, the sun came up. Now, I know any everyday sunrise may not seem like such a big deal to some folks. But, imagine for a moment: If instead of rising up like this one morning where you lived. She took a look around and decided to go back to sleep. It happened once to us. Let me tell you all about it.",One of the sun's rays rockets past and rushes north. It finally ducks under the atmosphere and swoops over a river, past a wind pump, passes through a field of cornstalks and an old fence gate, and arrives to a hill where Remus is crowing and yodeling loudly.,"Cock-a-dooooo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Whoa-Oh-de-lay-eeeee! Cock-a-doo, what a day! The sun is shining brightly! Cock-a-doo, sunny day! Down here on the on the farm! Cock-a-doo, stay away, you big ol' wet rain cloud, or I'll cry out loud with this voice of mine!","This was our rooster, Remus. And though it it was true that he liked to horse around some; fact was that boy could sing.","Sun do shine, sun do shine… Well, my daddy taught me how to sing, and that's why this voice means everything! Sun do shine…","We all had our jobs on the farm, and Remus' was to wake up the sun. And when he crowed, up she came.","You'd better shine! You'd better shine!","Hey, look! Here's me trying my shoes.","Hi Sirius, what you doin'?","I'm trying to tie these doggone shoes.",Remus Laughs.,"Again?",Chickens clucking.,"Well, hi ladies.","Oh, he's so handsome.","Sings like a dream.","He's a dream.","And he's single too.","He maybe wasn't the smartest bird that ever lived, but when he crowed, there was plenty of peace and harmony.","Well, my daddy taught me how to sing, and that's why this means everything! Sun do shine, you'd better shine!","You'd better shine!","Well, the sun do shine, you better shine!","Well you better shine!","You better shine, sun, you better shine! Digidigidigidowdow!",The farm animals laugh.,"There was no doubt about it. Old Remus kept us animals up and shining.","Good day, Mr. Remus.",During the night Remus where resting on the rooftop of the chicken coop.,"But all that was about to change. One morning, before Remus was even awake…",A rooster in biker's clothing leaps onto the seat of a horse-drawn plow and starts threatening Remus.,"Hey, Remus! Come down here.","A stranger snuck onto our farm to stop Remus from crowing.",Remus leaps from the rooftop to the field and fights with the rooster, who knocks him aside. Remus flaps out of the way to avoid a direct hit from the rooster's spears attached to his pant legs.,"Of course, Remus wouldn't give up without a fight. But what he didn't know was that this stranger had been sent by Lord Voldemort. Nasty fella.",Remus lands on the rooftop and grabs a tile as a shield, just as the rooster swoops down and busts through the tile, choking Remus, until they fall in a trough. Remus kicks the rooster aside, as the rooster slams his back against a barrel and loses consciousness. Remus leaps out of the trough, exhausted. His farmyard friends have gathered to see their winner, but just as Remus leans up on his arms, he gapes in horror as the sun rises without his crowing.,"The good news here was that Remus had won the fight. The bad news was Lord Voldemort's minion had done his dirty deed, for all the commotion, Remus had plum forgot to crow. And the sun was comin' up without him.",The animals gasp.,"When Remus saw this, it broke his heart. He reckoned maybe his crow never did raise the sun.","Look, it's coming up without him!","You're a phony!","He's a fake!","Hey, everybody, cock-a-doodle-doo!",The animals laugh at him.,"Lord Voldemort's evil plan had worked. He had turned us against our very best friend. And without a reason to crow, poor Remus left the farm to look for work in the city.",All the farm animals laugh still at Remus as he slowly lumbers away leaving the farm.,"Then came the rain, and our troubles with Lord Voldemort.",The farm animals leave as soon as rain clouds gather above the farm and pour down rain. On a tree branch where Lord Voldemort has watched the whole scene. He turns his head to face Neville and his mum that were looking at the storybook page.,"Who's that, Mum?" Neville points his finger at Lord Voldemort's monocle, causing a crake to appear.,"That's Lord Voldemort. He's the one who's causing all the trouble. He sent that mean old rooster to Remus'farm to pick a fight.","Hm, how come?","Because he didn't like Remus doing all that crowing and bringing up the sun.","How come?","Well, like most owls, he likes the darkness and the rain.","I'm not afraid of the dark." Neville gasps.,"Oh, it's you. You scared me!","Alice, we got big problems. Have you looked out there? If that rain doesn't stop. We're all gonna go floating down the river.","This is my favorite part of the story. His name is Neville. Of course, he didn't look quite like this when I first met him. Anyhow, we weren't the only folks having our troubles. Poor Neville's family was having their share too.","The river's widened too fast; we gonna reinforce the sandbags.","Oh, you think that'll work?","We'll make it work. I'll get the boys.","Me too!","You stop right there.","Aw, Mum, I'm one of the boys.","He meant the big boys.","I'm big enough.","Not yet you're not, darling.",In Fred and George's bedroom, the radio is left on.,"The U.S. Weather Bureau is expecting yet another- -",Static of the from the radio.,"Downpour in the area worst hit by this week's flooding.","Dad, Mum come on bring the stuff around to the front.","Governor Dumbledore declared a state of national emergency- -","Come on, guys, move it. I need some help, we've gotta get the animals inside.","So while Fred and George got to help protect the house against the flood.",Neville's farm is being flooded outside.,"Poor Neville was left behind where he'd be safe and out of trouble.","It's my house too, I wanna help.","Well then pray for the to stop, and that'll help.","Alice, I can't find the flashlight!","Coming! Now, you stay here where it's safe, pumpkin. I'm gonna help your father, and I'll be right back.","Come on, dad.","Great, let's go!","Hey, Dad, they said on the radio the National Guard might come.","I am too a big boy." Neville reads the book.,"And without a reason to crow, Remus left the farm. Then came the rain…",Thunder.,"Mom, here!","How is she, Fred?","Just start the truck, She'll be okay. Hey, Hey!","I know what we need here. We need Remus.",Thunder.,Water rushing.,Gasps.,"Mom!","Boys, the levee's breaking!",Neville shouts out: "Remus! Remus!",Explosion.,Neville gets knocked away by the lightning blast, as a gust of black clouds with skulls, snakes, and different shapes followed by a claw-shaped tree branch emerge in Neville's bedroom.,"Neville had the right idea to call for Remus, but he never coulda guessed who was gonna answer."

"Captain we are getting the signal again," Miime said as she appeared next to him.,"Well, we aren't doing anything right now let's see what the wizards want now" Captain Harlock stated as he leaned into his chair "to your positions prepare for landing.","Battlesuits?" one of the crew asked.,"Of course last time they tried to attack us and besides when do we ever land without a show?" Harlock asked with a smile.,"Right you are Captain" the crewman laughed.,Meanwhile,The Goblet of Fire lite a fourth time causing Dumbledore to jump and a name flew out just as he was hoping for that was until he saw what was added to the paper "for the Arcadia Captain Phantom Harlock, once called Logan, and before that was Freak or Boy, birth name Harry Potter" he yelled shocked as the ground began to shake.,"What's that" someone yelled causing everyone to turn to the window to see black smoke appearing above the forbidden forest just as a huge skull shot out of it followed by a huge flying ship.,"Is that a Pirate Ship?" a bushy-haired girl asked as the flag was just leaving the smoke,There was a bright light that shot out of the ship that hit the ground with a bang that revealed to be an anchor and as they watched the bottom of the ship opened up. Revealing hundreds of metal humanoid shapes that jumped out of the ship and headed towards the school.,Dumbledore as he saw them coming called the other teachers to help him protect the students with him at the front as they blocked the only door to the Grand Hall.,A chunk of the army of metal men came before the teachers giving them a full view of their golden color bodies with some in a more female form with black shielded faces when the others had seven glowing green eyes around their round heads. Every one of them was carrying a weapon from axes to guns.,They stopped only a few feet from Dumbledore and the biggest of the green-eyed metalman came forward and asked in a rough voice "why have you called the Arcadia, under the flag of Captain Harlock?",Dumbledore was shocked how could these things know Harry "Harry I mean your Captain's name was chosen by the Goblet of Fire to participate in the Triwizard Tournament or lose his magic" He stated causing the metalmen to shake causing the wizards to raise their wands again only to pause when they heard laughter start coming from the metal beings.,The one that spoke looked above the teachers and as the face started to move away revealing a humans face "Captain your right they are idiots" causing the teachers to turn around and look up to see a man in the rafters with shoulder-length dark hair with an eye patch over his right eye with a jagged scare going from his left cheek up into the eye patch. He was wearing a cape that was black on the outside and red inside. Under the cape was a black long sleeve leather-like shirt with a Pirate Skull, black leather-like gloves, black leather-like pants, and black boats. On the bleat of the pants sat a weird looking sword on the left and a gun on the right. As the man saw the teachers shocked faces he gave a slight smile as a blackbird with a ribbon thin neck landed on his shoulder.,Captain Harlock's view,'Seeing the wizard's shocked faces never gets old' I think as a slight smile forms as Tori-san lands on my shoulder. "So you didn't learn from the last time you placed me in your Tournament even after your people gave your word" I sighed "stand down men we are going to be here for some time.","Aye aye, Captain" the crew yelled as they headed back to the ship to drop off their armor.,"Names" I stated to the wizards.,"Harry, my boy, I am Headmaster Dumbledore these are Professor Severus Snape the Potions Professor, Professor's Sirius Black and Remus Lupin of DADA, Professor Minerva McGonagall the Transfiguration Professor, Professor Filius Flitwick of Charms….." the Headmaster continued as I felt my magic get drawn towards the two DADA Professors I decided that I will find out later since the Headmaster finished speaking.,"I don't know how you found out my birth name but I will not answer to that name since it has been over a thousand years since I used that name for I am now Captain Phantom Harlock the Immortal Space Pirate" I stated causing many to gasp.,"I knew your ship looked familiar" a bushy-haired girl yelled "your Captain Harlock of the Arcadia defender of Earth, chosen to judge the human race after the first Captain Harlock past giving you the detonator of the Genesis Clock, and my Great Grandpa's Captain.","What was his name," I asked as I notice how she did look like one or two of my old crew members.,"John Granger" the young Granger answered proudly.,"Ah, John my second in command and one of the few on my crew born on Earth and one of the only few able to die on their homeworld. He was also one of the few that knew of my past of before I fell back in time and was given my second name. You look a lot like John when he was your age are you keeping up with your sword and shooting skills young one?" I asked causing her to gain a huge smile.,"Of course Captain and my name is Hermione" Hermione answered.,"Hehe, I see your family kept his wish going." seeing the confused faces of those near her I explained "He loved ships and was always sad to see the ones we were forced to destroy. So he decided that every ship we destroyed he would write their name so he could give the name to his children. So in a way the spirit of the ships would live again but in human form. The ship called Hermione was a research ship that was taken over by the Garn an alien race that wanted to destroy the human race and they were planning on using the ship to sneak onto Earth to place a bomb to blow up the Earth. It didn't even reach Earth's Ozone before we destroyed the ship.","What did the Hermione research before it was destroyed," Hermione asked.,"Everything and anything they could find even the Dark Matter that runs inside of me that makes me immortal before its destruction another crew member raided it of all the research using her planets magic to collect it all before the Hermione exploded" I couldn't help it as I felt my smile grow "her name was Aqua your Mother's Grandma".,"You knew who my Great Grandma was and she had magic," Hermione asked.,"Yes, your Grandma June was very young when Aqua was killed. So when John had a friend that lost their daughter, he decided to give June to them since Aqua's planet and including her husband was destroyed the year before. John kept saying how he thought his son Jack and the young June should be more than friends but was very happy when their kids got together.","How do you know all this" Hermione asked.,"When his best friend Aqua was killed in front of him leaving June an orphan he asked to stay on Earth to be there and raise his Son. I gave him permission and gave him a communicator with direct contact to me to stay in touch and if the planet was attacked when we were away he could let us know.","Captain" my second in command Rain called causing everyone to turn to her "making friends again? You know how it ends in the end so why must you keep doing this to yourself?","Rain meet the Great Granddaughter of John and Aqua," I said ignoring the questions she asked causing her to glare at me before what I said sunk in and she jumped hug tackled the poor Hermione as I jumped down to join my rejoining crew that easily past the teacher that were still trying to stop them.,"Captain," Miime said appearing next to me causing the wizards, except Hermione, to jump "we have finished docking.","Oh wow your Miime," Hermione said once she got out of Rain's hug "your even prettier than what Great-Grandpa could describe.","The same for you my dear" Miime answered back then turned back to me leaving a blushing Hermione "I see we finally reached you original time since there are two here from your original family.",'So that's why' I thought as I turned to the two DADA teachers that haven't moved since they saw me only moving their heads when I jumped from the rafters. I noticed that one smelled like a wolf and the other smelled like a dog that brought out an old memory of playing with a black dog named "Padfoot?"

Hey everyone! Soooooo, thanks so much for the reviews to ,, I was really shocked that I got so many! Although, that was the first HP and Ghost Whisperer crossover there ever was, so … And now, here's the second! : ],Okay, so I wanted to warn everyone (which I forgot to do in the last story) that this fanfic contains spoilers – well, sort of. Oh! And remember how ,was technically my brother's idea, but my writing? Well, this one I can take full credit for, because I didn't use any of his help – mostly 'cause he didn't give me any, but still …,This story is for everyone who reviewed ,, especially ,who was the one to ask for a sequel x, I do not own Harry Potter or Ghost Whisperer; sad isn't it?,Melinda Gordon was exhausted.,All of her day had been spent unpacking boxes and arranging antiques, something that, thankfully, doesn't happen often. In fact, the cardboard boxes –filled to the top with millions of Styrofoam peanuts and , breakable, , ancient antiques– had been a complete surprise. Melinda had unlocked ,(her, quite successful, antique shop)that morning, coffee and purse in hand, without any knowledge of their arrival.,She had only just sat down at her oak desk, when a deliverer had knocked on the glass door. Of course, normally Melinda was always delighted to have some new items for stock, but the night beforehand, she's gotten hardly any sleep. Not to mention that today was, (Melinda's best friend and only co-worker) Delia's day off, meaning she would be unpacking all of the boxes by herself.,And now, Melinda was practically dead on her feat (excuse the pun). Her eyes were drooping and her hands were weak, and having all ready put all the antiques out in their rightful places, she was falling asleep in her chair. The coffee cup sat beside her laptop, now completely empty and used.,Opening one dreary eye, Melinda sat up from her slumped position. She checked her watch. 21:48. She groaned, thinking of how she had used up all of today by doing basically nothing, and to top it all off; she hadn't had one single customer. Melinda sighed and glanced at her laptop screen. The small writing was fuzzy to her tired eyes, only adding to her frustration. Pouting with annoyance, she shut the lid down on her laptop. She looked around her and gave another sigh. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, she thought.,She stood up slowly, regaining her balance when she wobbled dangerously to one side. She shook her head to rid herself of the bleariness in her vision and carefully walked out into the main area of her shop. She scrunched up her nose at the sight of a million empty cardboard boxes, which she had yet to throw away. I'll leave it 'til another day, she thought. She turned around to pick up her purse and suddenly, gave a jump.,"Oh!" she gasped as she clamped a hand over her heart.,Now normally, if a ghost just randomly popped up out of nowhere (like it just did), then Melinda wouldn't have reacted in this way, but then again, ,Melinda wasn't as exhausted as she was.,"Sorry," the ghost said, grinning as if he didn't even mean it.,"No, it's …" Melinda sucked in a deep breath, "it's all right. My reflexes are just a bit slow right now.","Ah," nodded the ghost. He glanced at his surroundings with a thoughtful look, pursing his pale lips.,Melinda took the time to access his appearance, and was quite horrified when she noticed that the man was barely 20-years-old, probably 19 at the youngest. Someone so young never deserves to die, she thought sadly, before continuing her assessment. He was rather tall and thin, but with a good dose of muscles. His handsome face had a few lines, as if he had been smiling too much, and his ginger hair flopped down into his eyes. At this moment, those brown orbs were now piercing through Melinda.,"So," he began casually, "my friend said that there was someone who could see ghosts, somewhere in this small, little town." He paused as a look of worry crossed over his face. "I'm assuming it's you, but just to make sure; you ,Melinda Gordon, aren't you?","Yes, I am," she confirmed with a cautionary nod. "And you are?","I, Ms. Melinda," the ghost said with a smirk, "am Frederick John Weasley: identical twin of George Weasley, son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, brother to William, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron and Ginevra Weasley, part-owner of ,, and all-time, legendary prankster." He frowned for a second before adding on, "Or at least, I used to be.",Melinda's head was rushing from all of the new information. What she did catch though, was the 'wizard' part. Sluggishly, her mind came up with the names Harry Potter and Sirius Black, as she remembered her recent encounter with the two magical beings – though one had been a ghost as well and the other a young adult.,"Right," Melinda said slowly, trying to let her brain catch up with what she was about to say, "so this 'friend' of yours, who are they exactly?","A Mr. Harry James Potter: more commonly known as , ,, ,or the saviour of the Wizarding-World, son of the late Lily and James Potter, destined (in my eyes) to be with Ginevra Weasley, best friends to Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, godson to the late Sirius Black, defeater of Lord Voldemort, member of–","Okay," Melinda interrupted, "I think I understand now, but thanks for all the trivia, Frederick.",He grinned. "You're welcome, m' lady, and you may call me Fred.","All right," she smiled. "So, what exactly are you doing here, may I ask?","Ah," Fred started, "I, as you most likely can guess, am dead …","So, you want me to cross you over?","No," he said. Melinda frowned. "Actually, I just wanted to see if I could scare you.","What?" she asked confounded.,"Well, as I said, I was quite the prankster when I was alive, and too be honest, being a ghost just adds more thrill to the pranks.","So, you're trying to make others jump by appearing out of no-where … because you want to prank them?",Fred grinned and nodded, "Precisely.","Right … well, don't you think you should be crossing over? I mean, I can't say what it's like up there, but I'm sure it's nice." Melinda's mind was reeling over the very thought of this visit, and as she was so exhausted, she really wanted to get into bed. Of course, if Fred was around, making her jump all of the time, she wouldn't be able to do that. This really was too much to handle for a stressed woman at ten o'clock in the evening.,"I'm good," Fred replied to her earlier statement, with a carefree shrug. He then perked up and smiled. "So, want to help me with some pranks?",Melinda let out the breath she was holding and rubbed her face, tiredly.,"Oh," said Fred, "you're sleepy. Maybe some other time. You know what, when I visit next, I'll bring Harry along. He said something about coming again …" He trailed off into deep thought.,Melinda stood there for a moment, waiting for him to carry on. When he didn't (and when Melinda's mind started to conjure up the image of a big, comfy, warm bed), she spoke.,"Uh, Fred?","Mhmm?" he asked distracted.,"I'm going to go home now, so …" Melinda shook her head at the still-lost-in-thought ghost. "Well, I'll see you when you come round again." She had all ready picked up her belongings and opened the front door. She paused before shutting it and looked back at Fred, who still stood there without realising she was leaving. "Bye," she called, uselessly.,With a shake of her head and a sigh, she closed the glass door and locked it. On the short walk to her car, she mumbled something incoherent about ghosts and then drove home.,Fred, who hadn't moved at all, suddenly snapped his head up. He looked around himself with a frown on his face. "Oh well," he shrugged, "I always did tend to loose women in some way." He chuckled at his own joke and then, in the matter of a second, he was gone.,Well, what did you think? I apologize if I got any of the facts wrong, or if I made any grammar/ spelling mistake. By the way, I made up Fred's middle name because JK Rowling never mentioned his. Anywho … REVIEW PLEASE! : ] I hope you liked my second HP/GW crossover, (notice how the initials can stand for both Harry Potter/Ghost Whisperer AND Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley? Weird :P),If you want to interact with me more and have input on future decisions regarding my stories (,) then head over to , – without the spaces obviously.

There was one thing that Harry had no way of knowing. That was that he was the product of his mother's experimentation. See, what Harry had no way of knowing was that his mother was not just a witch. No, she was also a doctor.,She was a doctor in the field of biology, in fact. She had worked alongside a very special man. This man was the founder of a special genetics research program in the past. This program's focus was on creating the perfect assassin. It was about the creation of a human that was not human at all. They were to be made without any of the emotions that would make a human, human. They were to be made without emotions.,They were called Agents - the perfect assassins. They were smarter than a human and had the distinct advantage of being able to take in and perceive the world with astonishing capability.,Lily Potter nee Evans was the only person that the older geneticist had taught how to make an Agent. She was the only one, a young girl that had been extraordinarily brilliant in the area of medical science, at the tender age of fifteen. She was the only one to be lucky - or misfortunate - enough to be taught the secrets of the Agent programme.,She was misfortunate in the way that agencies all across the globe had been hunting for the secrets of the Agent programme. She was the only one that the brilliant scientist had deemed deserving of knowing, deserving of carrying on the knowledge of the older man.,The man had once said that Lily Potter reminded him of his late wife. She had not known what to think of that particular knowledge. She had dubbed it unimportant, however, and so just had it in the back of her mind.,So, when it was discovered by her that she was infertile, she had dusted off her doctorate degree and had gotten to work in her home lab. She had been forced to create another Agent, as after a year of searching she had not found a solution other than creating an Agent.,So, she had used what she was taught by her mentor to have a child. But she wasn't a genetics prodigy for no reason. She had advanced her child's everything, really. Anything that she thought would advance her son's chances.,The first nine of her attempts failed since she had strayed from the original method. But the tenth was what she could consider perfect.,Her mentor had once told her that he had gone all the way up to ninety versions. How fitting it was that the hundredth version of the Agent programme was her son. Cent, french for one hundred and pronounced as 'son'. Her son was the one-hundredth version of Agent, and the most perfect she could get him to be.,He was even perfect enough, genetically and subsequently magically, to withstand a killing curse to the head.

The following Passages are taken from the personal journal of Doctor Dartanis Bloodstone.,March 2nd, 1988.,My name is Dartanis Bloodstone. I have been working just outside the modest town of Little Whinging for the last 3 years now as both scientist and Doctor. Most of the residents still consider me new and are slow to trust. Some, like Ms. Figg, are friendly and nice from the moment they met me. Today I was asked to perform the city blood drive, and test samples of the blood for any communicable diseases. I have found something very unusual. In the blood of one Child, a 7 year old boy named Harry Potter, i have discovered what looks like silver and gold blood cells mixed in with the red blood cells. they glow and sparkle under my microscope. Strangely, when i asked the boys guardians, his aunt and uncle, about his health and well-being in a attempt to discover if this had a source in living conditions, their reaction was...hostile. and frightened. you would think they were harboring a criminal, or some kind of monster of myth like a dragon. I will continue to study the blood samples. maybe the potter child isn't the only one.,May 10th, 1988.,Continuing from last entry. note: entries may be random due to my official duties. as well as lack of punctuation and capitalization and any misspellings are due to the haste of these entries. i have found 2 more samples of blood with the gold and silver cells. strangely, in these samples, the cells lack the sparkle and glow of the potter child sample. one is from ms figg, the other...is from myself. strangely they do not react to any kind of medical testing. bacterial, viral, no effect. remarkably resilient. i wish i knew my ancestry. it could be possible this is a hereditary feature. in which case, i would be somehow related to ms. figg. and the potter child. i will have to talk to madam figg at her earliest convenience about this.,june 7th: 1988:,this entry will be unusual. today i managed to visit ms figg, or should i say arabella figg, in her home. lovely cats, unusual breed. we talked for a long time. i mentioned the blood cells i been doing and she became...nervous. when i mentioned the potter child she became downright frightened, like i was about to expose some big secret. Then i mentioned the strange cells in my blood, her blood and the child's blood. Ms figg, being a practical and intelligent person, first asked how, as a doctor, i never noticed it in my blood before. i pointed out that doctors usually are prohibited to self treatment on health matters, due to being biased, and i only checked my blood after seeing the potter child's sample, in case this was in fact a airborne pathogen spreading or something in the water. She was satisfied with the answer, but said she cannot tell me anything until she consults with a...higher authority as she put it. i almost spilled my tea laughing. the idea of ms figg being a member of some secret cabal or organization or society is very funny. but she seemed serious. she said she wasn't sure if this would apply to a...i believe she used the term squib to describe me. she also said she thought i was something called a muggle. naturally i am concerned, since such terms do not exist, and i feared she was suffering dementia or a stroke. but the testing i performed, with her permission, proved her to be in sound health mental and physical for her age. she said she would get back to me, or someone else will. she also mentioned as i was leaving, talking to someone she respects from the tone of her voice. whoever this...dumbledore is, he apparently has a LOT of authority.,august 10th, 1988:,today is my birthday. sometimes its easy to forget i'm not only the doctor of this town, but the only scientist within miles outside of the major cities like London. i took today off from the medical to explore more fully my new property. i currently own a modest medium sized building (almost a castle) with a huge wall extending around it to include a forest and a small mountain in the middle. the reason for lack of entry in the month of july was due to moving from my apartment in town to this property, which is large enough to be both home, and office of my medical and scientific profession, and is close enough to little whinging and other nearby towns to where travel is 5 minutes at best and i can make emergency house calls if need be. how i got this property is...unusual. i was approached at the end of June by a large man with a bushy beard. such a huge fellow, and strangely enough, carrying a pink umbrella. this...giant of a man, who said his name was Hagrid, apparently was sent by one mr dumbledore, the man whose name i heard ms figg mention in June. anyways, apparently upon hearing about me, this dumbledore took it upon himself to try to find my family heritage, i'm guessing out of sympathy, and discovered i apparently am the last of a old family bloodline, and this building, named Darkmeyer, is my family home. and hagrid was sent to deliver the deeds of ownership and the key. but i digress. today i took off from my duties, explored the walled in forest. then i went to the mountain in the middle. what i found in the mountain is astonishing. carvings, of some ancient society of so called "wizards" depicting battles between beings with unusual names. names like zamorak, saradomin, guthix, bandos, armadyl. but in the middle of the mountain, accessed only by the one cave that leads outside, is a ancient mine. but the stones. round, semi flat, grey colored. the very air seemed charged with electricity. i felt..stronger entering the big hollowed mine in the middle. the carvings describe these stones as "pure rune essence" and go on to claim "they charge magik" crude. but when i touched one i got shocked. not harmed. but shocked. and odd words in my mind. what is a "wingardium leviosa" i will do more research on this.,august 11th 1988:,amazing. i took a "essence" disk from the mine to my personal lab. i had put it down on the table because the doorbell rang with a package (cute delivery person, named learth. cant tell if male or female. mental note, see if i can get more deliveries from them. something about them is almost..magical) and when i came back the blood samples i had sitting on my table were glowing, visible to the naked eye. some rudimentary testing proved the proximity of the "essence" somehow catalyzed the inert gold and silver blood cells in both mine and ms figgs samples to be equal to that of the potter child. strangely, his sample had no reaction, positive or negative. im going to open the package and eat one of the muffins from it as i work,august 20th 1988:,there was a incident last night. two burglars broke in, thinking i had riches. i heard the noises and went downstairs and surprised them. during the struggle, we ended up in my lab. a lot of damage was caused. one of them had a pistol. when he fired, i tried to use the essence stone to block it. the bullet did stop, but a piece of the stone pierced my skin and strangely was absorbed. i thought my head would explode. words, images, energy flashing like lightning. i saw the burglars running for the door. i don't know what i said next, something like abra cadabra...avada kedava thats it. anyways there was a green flash and one burglar fell dead. the other one almost got out but i screamed another word that flashed in my head. something called "crucio" and he just fell and kept screaming like he was being tortured. his screams wouldn't stop. luckily learth was happening by on a late night delivery and they stopped by. they said they seen this before and took the burglar to get help. they also said something else. "ill make sure you don't get in trouble over this" strange. it was almost like...i did magic. but magic isn't real...but..still...,august 22nd 1988:,i been testing these abilities. i do believe somehow, the essence disk pieces, combined with the silver and gold cells in my blood, somehow activated a dormant gene. magic. i can do magic. i see words in my head, written in silver, gold, and crimson. it seems like the crimson ones are powerful spells, curses almost, like that crucio i somehow did. problem is, all i know is the words, and whatever effects happen when focused and spoke on. side note: i discovered i have a second ability. apparently by concentrating on a image of it, and snapping my fingers, i can somehow bring back to life, foot tall versions of extinct prehistoric creatures. and they live, breath, move. the scientist and doctor i am is excited about this chance to study long dead species. and the child in me is excited cause dinosaurs. currently as i write this, i have entire herds of the creatures running and living in the forest behind my house. ending this entry early there is someone banging on my door.,august 23rd 1988:,spent the bulk of yesterday in a meeting. my visitors were one cornelius fudge, one albus dumbledore (quite like that man.) learth, and one scarred man with a unusual glass eye who only grunted, watched everything like it was going to kill him, and was introduced as "moody" (for the life of me i dont know if that is his name, or a description of him) summarizing the meeting. magic is real, there is a whole secret society of wizards. fudge apparently runs their government, dumbledore runs their school for children, and learth can produce a aura and works as a undercover security agent, able to move among "muggles" (none magical people) without notice because of it. (they compared learths ability to some breed of rare wizard called metamophagi, and even said the two abilities are related, albiet the metamorph ones can shape change. like cousins almost in terms of stealth) and apparently i am, or was, a wizard without powers, a "squib". normally what i did to those burglars would have me imprisoned. but learth apparently explained and fudge is here to basically give me a crash course on my new life. they seemed VERY interested in my theory on the essence stones and the blood cells of myself and ms figg. fudge actually became excited, saying that medical wizards would want to know this, cause it could bring squibs fully into society acceptance. dumbledore, i swear he can read minds. he asked me to demonstrate my unusual ability. one picture and a finger snap later, fudge is shocked, dumbledore is smiling like the cat who got the canary, moody looks ready to kill something, and learth is snuggling a foot tall woolly mammoth and wanting to keep it. Dumbledore also said that while i am too old to attend his school as a student, during the off season i should come by and get some practice lessons in, so i dont accidently perform magic. i will delay any further entries until i get a handle on this...magic. and the society it comes with.,final entry,date, july 30th, 1991.,amazing how time flies. 3 years since my last entry. so much has changed. i have resigned as doctor and scientist to little whinging, but found a good replacement,and one that is very skilled. i wish dr tato all the best. i have integrated fully into wizarding society by now, even to the point of having my own wand, although i honestly prefer my car to broomstick travel. my castle home, darkmeyer, and the forest and mountain with the essence mine have been moved out of muggle territory and into the area near a all wizard village called hogsmeade. Learth has moved in. at first they were my guide and mentor, now they are my best friend and i cannot see my life without them. the pure essence formula, now called "overload potion" is fully developed and being distributed to any of those who wish to have the magic awakened. not surprisingly ms figg took the formula and is now not only skilled at the magic she always has been unable to use, but linked to the feline world. in her own way she is in command of a army if need be. dumbledore has offered me a position at hogwarts nearby, as both a physician like madame pomfrey, and a teacher of muggle sciences in my own class. not to mention providing plenty of creatures for "care of magical creatures." i discovered my resurrection magic power, can be applied to extinct magical creatures if i have the picture or drawing they are based on. i already received a letter from one newt scamander, asking to study them for a upgrade to his fantastic beasts book. my new position will keep me busy so this is my final entry for the foreseeable future. dumbledore said a famous student will be joining our school this year, but wont tell me who. he just grins and winks and says ill be surprised. i also heard whispers of someone who cant be named. im confident my creatures will be adequate security addition to the castle. small size does not mean small attacks as some people discovered over the last few years. pity tho, lucius malfoy really should not have been so rude. at least his hand was saved. ending final entry, i hear learth in the hallway. i think i will take them out for dinner tonight. this journal will remain on the shelf for the foreseeable future. and probably be put in the hogwarts library as a piece of history for the formula. so to all readers of my journal, i bid you a fond farewell, and wish you a happy life.,sincerely,,Dartanis Bloodstone.

Demons and Angels,AN: inspired by Lupine Horror's omake Rituals and Horrors.,AN2: another plot bunny is abducting my muse!,Chapter one: Summoning the demon.,A seven year old boy was running. It was a common occurrence in this town, with the cookie cutter buildings to see said short and scrawny boy running, and the running boy being ignored... sadly this was also common... despite the fact that he was running from a group of boys much larger than his overly skinny frame.,The boy saw a house, one of two in the town that has been abandoned, but still had the upkeep paid for longer than he was alive. Turning a corner, he saw it, a window left open a crack, since the other boys were over a block away and out of sight, he opened the window the rest of the way, climbed in, then closed it and the curtains. The first thing he noticed was the smell of really old, imperfectly preserved leather. The second thing was the books. Said books numbered in the hundreds, some neatly on shelves, even more stacked haphazardly around the room.,The third thing he noticed was even odder, a circle with odd designs in the middle of the room that was incompletely smudged out. The young boy's curiosity spiked and he decided to explore the house to wait for his cousin to give up, and after wiping his scarred forehead he went searching the house, the first door he found had stairs leading downward, and he decided to start from the bottom.,The basement was obviously odd from the start. For the basement was empty except for six, now seven things. The first was the same circle that was on the first floor, except both complete and whole. The second through sixth things were five floating flames set strategically around the circle.,It was what the new seventh thing in the room did that would cause many headaches, cursing, violence, and cuddles.,He tripped and hit his nose on the ground on his way to look at the other things in the room. And some of the blood dripped into the circle.,Normally this wouldn't cause any problem, because power would need to be applied. The problem is that the circle was one of a pair that was kept in separate locations, and each of the pair had a similar structure.,The wizard that drew it was very weak, so he made part each circle absorb magic on its own, that he intended to utilize to activate the main part, a summoning array. He had wanted to keep it simple, so he linked the summon and binding aspects to a single catalyst, blood.,An explosion of smoke, harmless flames, and brimstone emerged, and at the same time the boy felt as if something latched onto him, in a deeper than physical sense. And when the pyrotechnics ended, he saw a figure.,The figure was female, looked around sixteen years old, and had a slender with a good, but not oversexed, exaggerated, or huge assets figure. Her face while pretty was marred by her current scowl, that showed her fangs, and her slit pupils. Her hair went to mid-black and was a deep purple. She stood around five feet two inches tall.,She was wearing a Victorian-style Gothic dress. The sleeves were red as was the majority of the dress. Only the center and the lace at the end of the sleeves was not, those were black as the void, only broken by the three red bows one across the center of the breasts, and two more between that one and the waist. The red from the sleeves stop just to the sides of the breast area and extends downward in a vaguely triangle fashion. The dress extended from just over her completely covered breasts, to a few centimeters above the floor, concealing her shoes. (look up red and black Victorian Gothic dress),"Okay brat, how did a squirt like you manage to summon and bind me?" she snarled out, while materializing her spear and pointing it at him, only to shriek in pain and drop it as soon as the weapon pointed at him.,"I-i-i, do-don't kno-know," the boy stuttered out afraid, but noticing her pain, he had to ask, "are you okay? Can I get you anything?",the summoned girl look at the boy, and took a calming breath. "Kid, I'm going for a walk to calm down, then I'll try and answer you k'?" the demon said and started walking away up the stairs, everything went fine at first, until she hit twenty five feet away from the boy. Then the pain started, and got worse with every step, until she hit fifty, then she stopped, not due to the extreme pain, but due to the fact that it was if she had hit a steel wall. She gnashed her teeth as she started back, realizing that she couldn't move too far. She was either bound to the summoning location, or, more likely, the boy.,When she got back to the boy her suspicions were confirmed, the boy looked like he was recovering from a bout of extreme pain. Ignoring him for the moment she looked over the summoning circle, and took note of the absorption array, the summoning array, the binding array, and the age of them all.,Sighing and sitting gracefully on the floor, looked at her new master. She considered lying to him, but decided that it was best to be mostly honest. "Boy, what's your name?",the boy started at hearing that hated name, but answered anyway for despite not liking being called boy, at least the person near him had no malice in her voice, "Harry Potter, mam.","Not mam, Master-Harry, "she paused looking like she had swallowed something particularly unpleasant as another aspect of the binding seemed to kick in upon learning his name, but continued, "My name is Hikari Krichevskoy, call me Hikari master. Please let me explain before you ask questions master.",That last comment stopped Harry from opening his mouth, so he got more comfortable, and waited while Hikari gathered her thoughts.,"You apparently accidentally activated a demon summoning ritual that summoned me, and bound me to you, as a virtual slave," she paused, and while still not happy, she was pleasantly supersized that Harry had a look of horror on his face at that comment, so she elaborated. "That means that I cannot disobey a , order, but I can still use interpretation on an imprecise order. We also cant seem to get too far from each other, and an even lesser distance before pain starts. As such, I'm going to have to stick very close to you, at least till dad finds me, and see weather we can get the contract broken. Any questions?",Harry thought for a moment then gave first order, an order that made her think this wont be , bad, "I order you to call me Harry, and not refer to me as master. Let's get out of here," he started and paled, "crap, how am I going to explain this to aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon.","Let me take care of that Harry, I can be very... Persuasive," she said with a smirk.,After the duo left the house Harry had two thoughts, and gave the orders, "i have two orders, if you have objections to an order, ,tell me before doing it so I can retract it, and two, could you destroy the circle and books to prevent a repeat?",The demon-girl smirked at both orders, they showed that this summoning might not be , as bad as she thought, and then the second order hit, and since she , no objections she automatically obeyed, causing the house to be engulfed in a tower of flame that left nothing but molten stone behind.,Harry blinked the spots from his eyes at the pillar of flame that had erupted in-front of his eyes in the dusk twilight, and reflected that he , needs to word his orders better, before turning toward 'home.',Thirty minutes later master and demon, found themselves at number four privet drive, and Harry took a deep breath before entering, only to receive a punch to the cheek that snapped the bone, causing him to try out in pain, fall back, and knock himself unconscious on the cement of the sidewalk. The very large man that had just struck him pulled his booted foot back to give Harry a kick for , to cry out in pain, unaware that, as he had done it in the doorway, that the neighbors, whom he had convinced Harry was delinquent and lair about the abuse he suffered, had witnessed it. He was also unaware that there was a demon not five feet in-front of him, and wouldn't be until she blocked the kick with a single finger. Not that he knew she was a demon, just that she was there.,A few minutes of her blocking attacks that someone of her frame shouldn't have been able to block, something changed.,A police car arrived to see a girl shielding a boy against a much bigger man, whom had just picked up a cricket bat and struck her across the head, only for the bat to splinter and the girl not even bruise or turn her head.,"Freeze, asshole," the police officer demanded, pointing his gun at the man. "You're under arrest for assaulting two minors, and possibly child abuse, now drop the weapon.",Vernon froze at the demand of the police officer, and the fact that the girl in front of his shook off his blow like he was less than a fly, and did the intelligent thing, well not really, but smarter than he could have done. He dropped the splintered remains of the bat stepped back, then slammed the door shut.,The officer walked towards the two children while speaking into the radio, "this is officer Peter, calling from the Pivot drive disturbance, I'm asking for backup to arrest one Vernon Dursley for attacking two minors, and for child abuse, as well as an ambulance. We have at least one child that needs to get to the hospital," as he finished his call he stopped by the boy's side, knelt down and checked his pulse under the disturbingly intent watch of the young girl, whom didn't have even the slightest bruise on her. He was relieved to find the pulse strong and steady, it was then he took a better look at the girl, and swallowed a curse. He was a squib and he had a sinking feeling why she had slit pupils and pointed ears.,Knowing he had a minute or two he asked, "Why does a demon care about a human boy?","He accidentally summoned me, using an array carelessly left primed, and so far his orders haven't been too bad, so fulfilling protection part of binding is no problem. He , be staying with me, or me with him," she explained.,"Got it, I have contacts that can get you proper Ids and emancipation paperwork, you'll be his guardian on paper, please don't cause too much trouble," the officer said in a resigned tone of voice, and put finger to lips as he heard the sirens of approaching vehicles.,It took little time after that for the two youngsters, by their species standards, to be loaded into the ambulance, and Vernon to be lead away in cuffs, and after a search of the house his wife and son joined him, after all, it isn't a very good thing for the police to find a cupboard under the bed to be set up as makeshift bedroom, with evidence that someone bled in there often.,The report from the doctors that treated him only confirmed the suspicions of the arresting officers.,XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,In a tower, an old man started swearing as multiple silver baubles started exploding, causing a fire that destroyed three priceless tomes, multiple stacks of paperwork, his sherbet lemons, and his teddy-bear that he absolutely can't sleep without.,Some of those complications will give him headaches later.,XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,chapter end,EN: blame my online chat buddy, we started throwing ideas round, and the idea kidnapped my muse.

The Godfather of Magic,Chapter 1: Vito Peverell-Flamel-Gaunt-Andolini-Corleone,1930,Liberty Island, New York, New York,America, Land of Opportunity,Imagination,Dreams,Magic,250 year old Vito Peverell-Flamel-Gaunt-Andolini-Corleone-di-Santa-Maria-Quixote-di-Monte-Cristo-di-Gryffindor pushed the brim of a hat worthy of that name down over his brow. But you can call him 'The Don", like everyone does. He wore only his dignified but well-worn jacket over a buttoned-down shirt and tie and slacks, muggle-style. His shoes he kept shined like his hat, but the rest of his clothes he kept carefully inconspicuous. He was not here to attract attention to his status, only to honor it. Ostensibly here to escape the seeming danger to his life posed by Don Ciccio's family, he was actually here to protect the man's life. And his own identity. Back in his quiet Sicilian village, his name was considerably shorter. He tucked the dusty old book he had rescued from the ruins of his villa under his arm as protectively as if it was bound in diamond and rubies and gold instead of ancient leather, ,The only odd thing about his appearance at all was the curious shape of his cufflinks. A line inscribed in a circle inscribed in a triangle. He had easily passed these off to curious muggles as a sign of his profession as a teacher of geometry, and that is what the port officials thought he was here to do. Muggles were never curious about important things like that. Vito Corleone was not like other 250 year olds. That is to say, dead. No, "The Don", as he was even to his closest friends, was to all appearances a spry young lad no more than 35. "The Don" was a Wizard. The most powerful Wizard in the world, or soon would be.,His father had been the Secret-Keeper of the Greatest Secret in History, one that took precedence as the mission of the Family even above such concerns as serious as honor and revenge. Last wills and legacies were that important. Antonio Corleone was no ordinary Sicilian, and Don Ciccio would rue the day he crossed wands with The Family. But not today. Not yet. There was important business to conduct. He would wait years. He had lived three lifetimes of ordinary men, his father had lived seven. He could be a very patient man. He came from very patient stock.,Many centuries ago, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded. That was when all the trouble started, really. The Baron. The Hallows. The Chamber.,Thus spake the seer of the Honorary Ancient and Most Noble House of the Sybils of the Wizengamot, one of the few Honorary Houses of that august body presented with their titles for gifts and prestige considered exceptional even by Wizarding standards, Cassandra Scheherezade, and was recorded by Merlin himself in the Hall of Prophecy. That prophecy had been removed and studied carefully by the first Flamel, one of the Ptolemies, founder and first Head of the Dept. of Mysteries, who had discovered he could remove it because it concerned his Family. He had then discovered it concerned almost every Family in the magical world, and that is why it had to be stolen, and destroyed. The only record of it now was in "The Don"'s Pensieve which he had magically shrunk to fit into his pocket along with the few other precious possessions he carried from his home. This was what had driven him away from the Old World, from Italy, and Scotland, from claiming his rightful place among Noble Wizardkind and hiding with muggles and the senselessly free rabble of America. He would bring class to this land, tame it, gain control and power, wealth and knowledge. And then he would uncover its secrets and take what should never have been brought here back to its proper home.,And then he would get his revenge.

Elle était là. Regardant au loin, sa nouvelle vie. Elle avait eu du mal à s'y faire. Mais aujourd'hui, elle observait la vie s'éveiller doucement au pied des tours. Si on lui avait dit qu'elle serait ici, avec les personnes qui lui sont, aujourd'hui, si chères à son cœur, elle aurait surement rit. Franchement qui aurait pût croire qu'elle vivrait ce qu'elle a vécu jusqu'à maintenant ? Personne, croyez moi !,Perdue dans ses pensées, elle n'entendit pas la porte derrière elle, s'ouvrir. Elle n'entendit pas non plus les petits pas discrets, ni les petits rires. Elle sorti de ses souvenirs quand elle senti une petite main lui attraper le bas de sa robe. En attrapant sa petite dernière, un léger sourire sur les lèvres elle se retourna vers ceux qui emplissaient sa vie à présent.,« Bonjour mes amours, que faites vous ici ?,- Dis maman, tu nous raconterais encore cette histoire ?,- Ne la connaissez vous pas par cœur maintenant ?,- Aller ! S'il te plait ! On veut réentendre comment tu as sauvé papa !,- Très bien mes petits monstres, faites moi une place. Tout à commencer il me semble, il y a des années de cela, dans l'école où j'étais…. »,Comme à chaque fois que ses enfants le lui demandaient, elle se mit à raconter cette histoire, sa vie, son avenir. Et comme bien souvent, celui qui faisait à présent son bonheur, les rejoignit dans leur petit nid douiller.,Voulez vous connaitre cette histoire ? Je vous laisse entrer dans ce qui fut sa vie.

So, awhile back, sometime in October... someone asked me to do a story with HP and Blood and Chocolate... I just now finished it. I like it, but hey... that's just me.,Warnings: Cussing, some slight adult themes.,Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter or Blood and Chocolate.,Nothing for Me Here,HP/BAC X-Over,By:,Kiyoshi Michi,"Hey Draco, did you know that I have always wanted to meet a man named Gabriel?",I ignored the blonde's strange look when I asked him that question. The young Malfoy should have been used to it by now, but of course not. It was not as if we'd been friends for years or anything, no. I suppose it was a strange comment, but we had just moved to America after growing up in England and spending our school years in Scotland, and I had not known a Gabriel over there. I hardly even cared was his last name was!,I just wanted to meet some strange guy named Gabriel.,I love that name with a fiery passion that's actually a little scary, even to me.,"By the way… why Maryland Draco? I like it and all… but why here?","I think I read a book once with Maryland as the setting and thought to myself, 'Damn… if the men are really that hot there, I should go!'",I laughed and shook my head, leaning back further into my spot on the couch and holding the Kindle high above my head. Other Wizards can frown upon Muggle technology all they want, but without it, Draco and I would be bored beyond comprehension. He had taken to bad actors with over dramatic plot lines – soaps, for those of you couldn't guess for some unfathomable reason – and I had taken to this beautiful, slim, dark gray little thing called a Kindle that gave me all the reading I would need for a very long time. We also had our own iPod Touches, iPhones, monstrous televisions that were almost too big for their spots, and my lovely little Samsung laptop that was a very enchanting silver color.,Kindle was my favorite though.,Hands down.,I let out an indignant sound when said device was suddenly ripped from my hands, glaring up at the blonde culprit. He stared at the screen and made a face. ", by Vladimir Nabokov?","'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the ton-'","Potter, shut up! Damn…","…'a furry warmth, golden midges.'","UGH! You're insufferable! Read your damned books then!",And then Draco was gone, probably to sneak around a gay bar full of boys who might be a wee bit too young to really have a one-night stand. Personally, not my thing. And I mean both of those. I don't like one-night stands and I would rather have a real man who knows what the hell he's doing.,"That's why I need a Gabriel.",I shook my head to the rhythm of the song playing directly in my ears from the iPod tucked safely into my jeans pocket. I hardly cared who stared, lost in my own world as Jacoby sang to me.,Oh, if only it really was only to me. I think I would die. Draco did not share in my delight over the singer, but that was Draco.,"YES!",The next song had come on – Breed by Otep Shamaya – and I loved to sing along, so that is exactly what I did. ",.","Well, that's nice to know.",I jumped a mile into the air and turned to face the man who had spoken, for it was VERY obviously a male. I liked what I saw. It was the body of a man who could protect me, and I was very good at doing that on my own.,Trust me.,"Uh… huh?",Oh smooth there Harry. But the man only smiled a smile that was some oddly sexy mixture of a smirk and a friendly, cheerful smile. I noticed he had his own headphones, but his were draped around his neck and I could hear Animals by Nickelback playing.,I really wished it were that way right that moment.,"Commenting on the song. What were you listening to anyway?","Otep… and her very strange musical inclinations.","… I didn't peg you to be the kind to use that kind of vocabulary.",From his expression, I knew he meant no insult in saying that so I only shrugged my shoulders. "Not really from around here. Just moved here with a friend actually.","I guessed from your accent. British?",I grudgingly nodded – every girl in fucking America seemed to hear a man's British accent from five hundred miles away. Worse though, they couldn't seem to tell when a Brit was gay beyond hope. I jumped again when the man suddenly bent over and got uncomfortably close to my waist…,Well, maybe not that uncomfortable.,"What… is something wrong?","What's with the notebook? And sketchbook for that matter.","I… write and draw quite a bit? Especially when I'm out among the normalcy of society? And I think it needs to be spruced up a bit and thrown back in everyone's faces?",The stranger only blinked a few times then started laughing. The sound made me feel much better about everything.,"You remind me of some family. Bit of a rebel, but her streak fizzled out. Hope yours doesn't.","It should-",It was at that very moment that I caught a smell that made my eyes go wide. The man was talking to me, but I couldn't comprehend a damn thing. I was hoping to never encounter another smell like that. I left because of that very smell.,"I… I'm sorry, but I need to go now. I-I'm late. Bye.",I bowed as he called after me, staring at the ground as I rushed away. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. There was bile in the back of my throat. When I made it home, I locked the door and rushed up to my room, locking the bedroom door, the closet door, and all the windows.,"Dammit.",I was sprawled on my couch once again… also reading again. Draco had left a few seconds ago because someone rang the doorbell. I could hear some male talking to him, but that was about all. I was too busy listening to Apocalyptica to really pay much more attention than that, but my interest was piqued when I heard two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.,I quickly had to turn the song before I started to tear up – it spoke true to me for reasons I didn't want to divulge to anyone but Draco yet.,"Hey Harry, you have some big guy asking for you.","What? Who? I don't know anyone here.",Draco moved aside and I nearly threw my precious Kindle just to get away from the man who filled my doorway. I scrambled up my couch and into a corner, curling my legs to my chest. I clenched my teeth and harshly hissed, "Draco!","I know! I know… but sometimes… you just need to face this shit.",I did feel sort of bad for the man since he looked so confused. Too bad. "But with him! I don't even know the man's bloody name!","Gabriel.","SHIT! FUCK THIS ALL TO MERLIN'S SOGGY BALL SACK!","Ha! Nice going, Potter. At least he has the shade of blue eyes you are so enamored with!",I threw an actual book at Draco's head as he ducked and walked out. I was so depressed that it missed and attempted to continue not to look Gabriel's way. How the hell did that asshole find me?,Oh wait…,Duh.,But if that was the case, did he wonder about my own smell? Not only did it smell heavily of magick, but it was most definitely not the scent of a normal Wizard, let alone a normal human. Though, from the confusion on his face, no… he had smelled that side of me just yet and that made me feel a little better than before.,"Look… what do you want? Fucking stalker.","Why did you run away a few days ago? You looked so scared.",From his face, I could see his fear, but not for himself. He was afraid I would tell everyone about his family – his pack – and get them all killed by some vigilante. Tch. Did he see some sort of murderous monster in my eyes, like I did?,"I know.",His eyes became wide momentarily. "What?","I know about you. Your pack. Everything. And before you go all 'protective alpha' on me, no one told me. I don't even know who's all in your pack other than you. I simply know from smell and the look in your eyes.",His eyes narrowed at smell and I knew I was in trouble. Of course, a normal human could not detect a Were-Wolf from a scant two inches away. "Don't give me a look like that! Who are you to judge when I don't judge you! Damn.","Sorry… but smell? Are you saying I stink?","I'm saying you smell exactly like I do!",Maybe not exactly, since I could tell from smell his kind were different than me. They could practically change at will while I was forced through a painful transformation every full moon that left me weaker and weaker as time went. As it was, I had lost a great deal of muscle mass, and I could hardly eat without throwing up. I knew why, but what could I do about it?,"You… you're…","I think we've talked enough, go away! I don't want to see you anymore!",I jumped up and tried to push the hulking man out the door, but being so small made it difficult. It was even more difficult since he was telling me 'wait' and planting his feet firmly into the ground. Damn him for being so fucking huge.,"Seriously, leave!","You don't smell like us.","Dammit! I am not exactly like you, all right! God damn. I was bit; I was turned; I go through the most excruciating moments of my life every full moon. I suffer pain like nothing else I've ever known and I've died! I am fucking dying now because of this shit! All you smell is death – death of myself, death of my family, death of everyone I ever loved! That blonde man is all I have left in this world and he doesn't fucking understand! He's a Veela! Everyone fucking loves Veelas! 'Oh, he's so gorgeous, just like his father.' So stop fucking bothering me, I'm not like you, and get the hell away, you bloody idiot!",For lack of a better term, he looked shell-shocked. He stared at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. He didn't understand either. His change was smooth, painless. He had a family, friends, perhaps even a lover, though the only female scent on him was faint, as if it had been awhile. Great, his kind did not mate for life like I would have to. Did no one completely understand the shit I had to endure!,I felt like crying, and I think Gabriel saw that as he bowed his head, mumbled a 'good-bye', and left. The moment I heard the front door open and close, I curled back up on my couch, covered in claw marks and holes from my teeth, and started sobbing uncontrollably.,I still couldn't escape who I was.,I sat in a park, staring up at the sun peeking through the leaves of a large tree. It was noon, but I was already feeling restless as it was a full moon that night. I was safe to be around people until four, but after that, I had to be locked away.,My wolf side always wanted to hunt someone down.,A specific someone.,I just never knew who that specific someone was.,"I can smell it now.",I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. Why did that man keep coming back? "What the bloody hell do you want, Gabriel? I am preparing for tonight.","I'm not very good at listening to people. Couldn't stay away.","I see that.",There was an awkward silence, during which the large man Gabriel took a seat next to me, practically dwarfing me in his size. "Do you always change alone?" I jumped, having not expected him to say anything, and looked his direction, one brow raised. "When this time comes and you change, are you always alone?","I have to be. My wolf is dangerous. I…" I didn't want to tell him, but I had to. He had to understand why I was always so scared. "I knew a man named Severus once. He was my teacher throughout school, and had been a good friend to my mother. However, he used to treat me like absolute shit. But, for reasons I still can't explain, I looked up to the man. I always wanted to cling to him – I wanted him to know all my problems and to help me through them.,"A few days before my sixth year in Scotland, he came to see me because my aunt and uncle were particularly cruel that summer. What they did that year… I don't like to discuss… but he saved me from them. He took me away to a secluded house and I spent a few years there, going to school when necessary but loving the time I had at his house.,"He was like the father I never got to know.,"But, I was attacked in the forest near the school and bitten by our kind of Were-Wolves. He fretted for months, toiling over a cure because he couldn't stand to hear me in so much pain once a month, every month. At the time, I didn't care so much that I was what I was. I only hurt myself, and that was that. It was only once a month anyway. I would have only lived to see my fiftieth year, so that wasn't too long.,"One night, I was already locked away in my safe room, in the form I have on the full moon. I heard Severus walking that way and thought 'he's just doing what he does every time and checking to make sure I am still breathing.' But… he opened the damned door. For some unfathomable reason, he opened the bloody door! You don't open the door!,"My eyesight went red. I lost all conscious thought. My night was nothing but black. I came to the next morning, curled in a ball on the ground and realized I was covered in blood. That had never happened before, ever. I never escaped. Horror sank deep in my bones as I looked around, finally spotting that… damned… body. So much fucking blood… there was no hope of survival… there wasn't even a throat left!,"That look on his face… I still see it when I blink. The fear of someone he loved… the defeat that he couldn't help me… what he must have thought as he died. People… they couldn't look at me. I was a wreck at the funeral… but only Draco bothered to help me. No one else wanted to be near the boy who seemed to only kill. Only nineteen and so many deaths under my name. Including my own. I have tried since… over and over… to just… end it. But, it never works. I never stay bleeding… I never stay sick… I never remain breathless… the scar around my neck? I cut off my own head – not even that worked!",It was only then I became aware of both the tears streaming down my face and the solid chest I had been pulled into. Gabriel was happy with his wolf – mine caused me only great suffering. I had not become suicidal until I got that damned wolf and killed the man I saw as my father. My decision had been made long ago that I did not deserve to live, but I couldn't die.,I realized after a few minutes that Gabriel hadn't said anything, he was only holding me to his chest, for which I was grateful as I hated having people see me crying. That and his warmth was pretty soothing to me, which was strange. I sniffled a few times and pulled away to sit up, rubbing the wetness from my eyes.,"Thanks.",He only nodded his head and kept his arm draped around my shoulders. I had to try so damned hard not to lean back into that comforting warmth. This caused me to blush pretty heavily. Gabriel only chuckled and pulled me back to his side once again, as if reading my thoughts. Damn him, but I suppose it was all right.,"There's nothing for me here… there's nothing for me here.","You're playing that song?",I stared at Draco as I pulled the dresser near the door that would close me in. I thought it pretty fitting for this time, but that's what I get for thinking around the blonde. He sneered at me as I disappeared into the room, listening to him push the dresser into place.,"Thanks Draco.","No problem. Not something you can help anyway.",That was the truth. But how could he stand me after I killed his godfather? I chose to just leave it alone as I lay on my couch, waiting the last few minutes before the sun would disappear and I would change. Oddly, I fell asleep.,When I came to, I noticed that I had already changed. Normally, I napped right before hand, but I always woke because of the pain and the fact the sleep was so light. How strange. Next, I noticed a set of bright blue eyes staring at me. I scrambled over the back of the couch, my still somewhat humanoid figure able to climb easily. When I looked again, all I saw was a wolf.,Not humanoid like me, but a wolf.,Its tail started wagging and I suddenly knew that it was there to help me through the night. My wolf never attacked another actual animal. Only humans. Thus, I spent the night with the wolf, lounging with him and playing with him, running around the room in a way I am sure bugged the living hell out of Draco.,Near the morning, we both curled up together on the couch and fell asleep, a long night having finally got to the both of us.,I woke first, feeling better than I had in ages. I also realized another source of heat was lying halfway on top of me. I blinked dumbly a few times and looked down to see Gabriel's head resting on my stomach. A long stretch of silence filled the room, my eyes growing steadily wider as I realized we were both naked.,"… the hell!",The man suddenly bolted up, one eye still closed while he looked around, arm raised like he was ready to fight whoever was in the room. However, when he spotted me, he only rolled his visible eye and flopped back down onto my stomach, going back to sleep.,"What! No, you can't just do that! How the hell did you get in here anyway!","Your blonde friend let me in.",Draco.,"Well, I'm going to fucking kill him. Now, get up or something… we're both naked and this is weird.",He only grunted and wrapped his arms securely around my hips, keeping his 'pillow' in place. My eyelid twitched as I tried to push him off, but naked, I could see all the muscle that would keep me from succeeding. But you know… I think what really kept me from succeeding was the sudden swipe of a tongue I felt on my hip, causing me to gasp.,I glared down at the man's head, slightly peeved to see the innocent look there. "The hell do you think you're doing?","Getting ready for this.",Before I could ask what, Gabriel had moved up my body and pulled me into a searing kiss. I can say I tried to fight it all I want… but I didn't. The man could most definitely kiss, but as I gasped again, I realized he could also multitask.,I was screwed.,"Draco, stop fucking staring.","But Harry… he's so hot.","You saw him a few days ago.","But now that I know he's gay…","MINE, BITCH!",Gabriel blinked off to the side, pausing mid-chew of his steak before shrugging and continuing to eat the food I prepared. In fact, he was practically devouring the shit whole, with a very pleased expression on his face, so I could safely assume I had some wonderful cooking skills.,Gabriel spent a great deal of time at mine and Draco's home since we were still deciding if I should move in with him or not. After the first time he did, literally, screw me, he declared right then and there that I was the only one for him. Apparently, he could be patient but now was not one of those moments.,I guess I am too desirable and everyone would want me if he didn't take me soon.,Well, that's what Gabriel told me anyway.,"… from what I heard, you're the bitch.",I sputtered and Gabriel laughed that booming laugh I was learning to love.,Damn Draco.,So, there it is~ R & R.

—Pero… papá —fue lo que Marlin escucho decir a su hijo cuando le manifestó que no le permitiría ir a esa escuela mágica.,—Estoy hablando muy en serio. Hogwarts es un lugar peligroso —el mundo mágico en general era peligroso, aunque Nemo ignoraba eso.,—Es solo una escuela, papá.,Cuando Marlin Fisher recibió la visita de un hombre en sus cuarenta que se hacía llamar Neville Longbottom, con una carta en sus manos y explicando que su hijo era espacial -pero no en el sentido en que un padre pensaba en su hijo como especial, no-, resultaba que su hijo Nemo era , especial.,Un mago, ni más ni menos.,Se preguntó qué habría pensado Coral sobre el don que había heredado a su hijo.,—Una escuela donde han muerto estudiantes. No. No irás allí y no me importa lo que esta carta diga —agitaba la carta de lacrado y roto sello rojo frente a Nemo.,Cuando Marlín recibió aquella extraña visita su estupor fue fingido, no así su paranoia. En la medida que sus preguntas sobre la dichosa escuela se hacían más demandantes, el nervioso profesor parecía más dispuesto a dar información y al final le había terminado contando sobre fantasmas de niños muertos, magos oscuros que buscaban a los de su clase y guerras horribles.,—Pero yo soy un mago ¡Tengo que aprender a usar mis poderes! ¿Quieres que suceda otro accidente como el que pasó con tu jefe?,Muy bien, Nemo tenía un punto y Marlín todavía tenía muy fresca la memoria del señor Sharker cuyos dientes blancos se trasformaron, poco a poco, en filosos dientes de tiburón. Fue aterrador y divertido a partes iguales.,—Esos desmemorizadores se encargaron de arreglarlo, ya escuchaste al señor Longbottom. Además, en ningún momento he dicho que no puedas aprender. Podemos buscarte un maestro personal, así será más seguro y tampoco dejarás la escuela secundaria.,Sobre su cadáver Nemo iría a Hogwarts.,—¡No! ¡Yo quiero ir a Hogwarts! —Insistió con vehemencia y esa mirada de ceño fruncido y ojos marrones que auguraban problemas cuya solución, encontraría Marlín, sólo haciendo valer su autoridad como padre.,—Jovencito. No me levantes la voz o…,—¿O qué? ¿Me enviarás a mi habitación?—Nemo se puso en pie de golpe, desafiante y dolido.,Marlín se detuvo en seco con el índice señalando a un punto a su izquierda, era exactamente eso lo que planeaba hacer. La resolución de Nemo lo hizo flaquear un poco, pero era sólo un niño ¿Qué sabía él del mundo? Cuando se hiciera mayor lo comprendería, o al menos eso era lo que esperaba.,Al final resolvió hacer lo que bien tuvo Nemo en predecir que haría.,─¡A tu habitación!,Pero su hijo no obedeció de inmediato.,─Es por mi mano ¿Verdad? No crees que pueda usar una varita.,Marlín quizo decirle que no era así, pero eso sería mentirle "Es solo un niño ", se recordó "y yo soy su padre, debo protegerlo".,—Será mejor que cuides tus modales. Yo...,Pero Nemo ya se había alejado a grandes zancadas hasta su habitación dejando a Marlín con la palabra en la boca.,—¡Te odio! ─exclamó con fuerza antes de cerrar la puerta de un sonoro golpe que hizo temblar las ventanas y resquebrajar un poco el corazón de Marlín mientras unos retratos que había sobre uno de los muebles paraban en el suelo. Si tan solo supiera la verdad acerca de lo que había sucedido con su madre y su hermano... No, definitivamente no podía permitirle ir a Hogwarts, era demasiado peligroso para él.,Suspiró con cansancio, recogió los retratos y se dejó caer en el sillón con uno de ellos en la mano.,─Crece rápido y cada vez se parece más a tí, Coral, te hubiera gustado verlo... ¿Crees que lo estoy haciendo bien? Yo solo quiero hacerlo bien.,APARTADO DE LOS DESCUIDOS: feels D:,Esto me ha dado idea para crear un OC así tal cual Nemo :3 ¡Gracias, crossovers!

Stephanie had al betere dagen gekend. Haar inzet ten spijt, stond ze nog steeds geen stap dichter bij de arrestatie van Joe Morelli, en daar leek op korte termijn weinig verandering in te komen. Vandaag was dat geenszins haar grootste zorg. Stephanie staarde nerveus voor zich uit, haar tijdelijke assistente – zoals ze zichzelf had betiteld – negerend. Hoelang kon het duren voor oma Mazur Stephanie en haar imago als premiejager voor schut zette? Met het incident van gisterenavond in het achterhoofd vreesde Stephanie het ergste.,'Daar zou ik toch eens mee bij de dokter gaan.',De vrouw die tegenover Oma Mazur zat, keek verbaasd op.,'Pardon?',Stephanie hield gauw een hand voor haar ogen, ongemakkelijk over wat komen zou. Het schaamrood nam reeds vorm aan op haar wangen. Ze gaf oma Mazur een stevige por, maar uiteraard haalde dat niets uit. Zelfs een bulldozer zou Oma Mazur niet kunnen stoppen als ze zich eenmaal wat in het hoofd had gehaald.,'Die bibberknieën van u. Daar heb ik wat over gezien op televisie. Denk dat het bij Oprah was. Wat u hebt, schijnt reuma te zijn.','Wat? Hoe durft u?',Verontwaardigd stond de vrouw op en ging wat verder in de metro zitten.,'Alsof ik er wat kan aan doen dat ze reuma heeft,' schudde Oma Mazur ongelovig het hoofd. 'Sommige mensen.',Stephanie vervloekte zichzelf omdat ze erin had toegestemd om Oma Mazur mee te nemen tijdens haar jacht op Joe Morelli. Evenwel had ze weinig andere keus gehad na dat voorval met de kip. Haar moeder had duidelijk te kennen gehad dat ze het even helemaal had gehad met oma Mazur en haar de eerste uren uit het zicht wilde hebben. Stephanie had zich daar niets van kunnen aantrekken en het hen onder elkaar laten uitvechten – ze had tenslotte belangrijkere katten te geselen – , maar dat was buiten haar moeder gerekend. Ze had Stephanie voor de onaantrekkelijke keuze gezet: ofwel Oma Mazur meenemen, ofwel een nieuwe date met Bernie Kuntz ondergaan. Nu was dat etentje met hem niet zo vreselijk verlopen als ze eerst had gedacht, maar ze wilde de man geen valse hoop geven door hem een tweede date in evenveel dagen te gunnen.,'Laat los!' schreeuwde iemand op de metro.,De oudere, broos uitziende vrouw stond bij de dichtstbijzijnde schuifdeuren, hevig in gevecht verwikkeld met een getatoeëerde punker die haar van haar handtas wilde beroven. Ze waren net aangekomen bij de volgende halte en de dief deed zijn uiterste best om de handtas in één stevige ruk te veroveren zodat hij gauw de benen kon nemen. De vrouw bleek zich echter beter te kunnen verweren dan je zou verwachten. Niettemin was het slechts een kwestie van seconden alvorens ze het onderspit zou delven.,'Vooruit Steph, pomp een lading lood in de borstkas van die hufter!',Stephanie wilde tegenstribbelen, maar dat was klaarblijkelijk niet naar de zin van Oma Mazur. Ze graaide in Stephanie's tas en diepte er prompt de revolver uit op. Stephanie voelde de grond onder zich wegzakken. Oma Mazur's laatste revolvergebruik zat tenslotte nog vers in het geheugen.,Plotsklaps sloeg de nervositeit in de metro om in regelrechte paniek. Vrouwen begonnen te schreeuwen, kinderen te huilen en de mannen keken alsof ze net in hun broek hadden geplast; enkelen van hen hadden dat waarschijnlijk gedaan.,De deuren schoven open en de chaos werd zo mogelijk nog groter. Mensen liepen elkaar onder de voet om zo snel mogelijk de uitgang te bereiken. Door de plotse mensenmassa op deze kleine ruimte hadden ze een slecht zicht op het gevecht tussen de oudere vrouw en de dief.,'Niet schieten!' riep Stephanie. Zelfs een ervaren schutter had vanuit hun positie een heel reële kans om onschuldige reizigers te raken. Ze had de woorden amper uitgesproken of Oma Mazurs schot deed al een van de ramen uit de metro sneuvelen.,'Jemig, wat een slecht wapen. Je bent serieus opgelicht, Steph. Ik mikte naar zijn arm.' Die zogenaamde arm bevond zich een tweetal meter verder dan het raam dat ze had geraakt.,'Hij gaat ervandoor!' riep ze plots uit. Zelfs als Stephanie het had geprobeerd, dan nog had ze haar grootmoeder niet kunnen stoppen. Ze stormde op de menigte af en wurmde zich er langs als een stinkdier tussen een bende leeuwen om uit de metro te komen. Stephanie profiteerde van het gat dat de paniekerige menigte had gelaten om ook naar buiten te glippen. Ze was net op tijd om te zien dat de dader de benen nam, maar te laat om te voorkomen dat Oma Mazur een tweede kogel afvuurde. Stephanie wendde haar blik af, vrezend dat ze iemand zou neerschieten, maar toen een schreeuw van intense pijn uitbleef, keek ze op. Oma Mazur had haar tweede schot in de staaf geplant waaraan het mededelingenbord voor dat perron was bevestigd. Enkele seconden bleef het hulpeloos aan een gehavend snoer bengelen, alvorens te capituleren en als een donderslag neer te storten. Stephanie was geen bijgelovig type en had bijgevolg geen boodschap aan loze termen als lot en karma. Niettemin keek ze verbaasd toe hoe het paneel regelrecht op de crimineel terechtkwam en de man bewusteloos sloeg.,'Als dat niet recht in de roos was, dan weet ik het ook niet meer,' grijnsde Oma Mazur vol trots.,Een handvol omstaanders liep op de dief af. Een van hen bukte zich om de handtas uit de slappe greep van de punker te ontfutselen. Niemand leek echter geneigd om de man te bevrijden uit zijn benarde positie.,Een hand raakte Stephanie bij de schouder. De geur van een goedkoop parfum en oudbakken cake drong in haar neus.,'Bedankt,' zei de oude vrouw die intussen herenigd was met haar handtas. 'Ik had zelf geprobeerd om hem tegen het hoofd te slaan met mijn blikjes kattenvoer, maar hij was te sterk voor mij.',Stephanie wees naar oma Mazur. 'Je moet haar bedanken. Zij heeft de dief gevat.','Ik zag het,' zei de vrouw onder de indruk. 'Waar heeft u zo leren schieten, mevrouw?',Aangezien Stephanie wist dat haar grootmoeder toch onzin zou gaan uitkramen, bedacht ze dat ze net zo goed zelf met die eer kon gaan lopen. 'Dat heeft ze bij Dr. Phil gezien.',Oma Mazur wierp Stephanie een verongelijkte blik. 'Wat bazel je nou? Ik kijk nooit naar Dr. Phil.',Ze richtte zich tot de kattenliefhebster. 'Dat heb ik te danken aan mijn dvd's van NCIS.',Het drietal werd vergezeld door een streng uitziende dame. Ze had haar haren opgestoken in een knot en straalde daadkracht uit. Het was meteen duidelijk dat er met die vrouw niet te sollen viel. Ze klampte de beroofde vrouw aan.,'Arabella, wat is er aan de hand? We moeten opschieten. Harry's hoorzitting kan elk moment beginnen.',Ze knikte kort naar Stephanie en Oma Mazur – Stephanie was er van overtuigd dat de vrouw met afkeuring de revolver had gadegeslagen die nog steeds losjes in haar grootmoeders hand rustte – en maakte aanstalten om verder te gaan.,'Ze hebben me gered,' verkondigde Arabella.,De stuurse vrouw wierp hen wederom een korte blik toe, nu duidelijk fixerend op het pistool.,'Werkelijk? Nou, daar zullen we dan maar blij om zijn. Kom je?',Stephanie wilde niet dat de vrouw het idee zou krijgen dat ze in gangsterpraktijken verwikkeld waren, dus stak ze haar hand uit.,'Stephanie Plum. Premiejager. Ik ben momenteel op zoek naar een gevluchte agent.',De vrouw nam Stephanie's hand aarzelend aan, alsof ze nog leek te twijfelen of dat een eerzame job was. 'Minerva Anderling.',Iemand vlak achter Stephanie klapte luid in de handen, zo plots dat Stephanie een sprongetje van schrik maakte.,'Wat een vertoning, Stephanie Plum.',Stephanie's nekharen gingen spontaan overeind staan.,'Jeetje, wat een spierbundel,' zei Oma Mazur vol ontzag. 'Ken jij die hete brok, Stephanie?','Onze paden hebben al gekruist. Jammer genoeg niet bij het juiste kruis,' zei Stephanie's grootste nachtmerrie met een vette knipoog. 'Het is een blij weerzien voor de kampioen.',Er liep een grijns van oor tot oor over het misselijkmakende gezicht van Benito Ramirez. Dat was precies zoals Stephanie Plum zich begon te voelen; misselijk.,'We hebben wat tijd in te halen, is 't niet, snoes?' verkondigde Benito, waarna hij met vlakke hand tegen Stephanies achterwerk sloeg.,Mevrouw Anderling wierp hem een afkeurende blik toe. 'Hoe spannend dat ook klinkt, mevrouw Vaals en ik hebben een afspraak na te komen. Nog een fijne dag toegewenst met je wederhelft.','Hij is mijn lief niet,' riep Stephanie ontzet uit. De gedachte alleen al bezorgde haar braakneigingen.,Mevrouw Anderling knikte, maar het kon haar kennelijk gestolen worden welke relatie ze precies hadden. 'Mijn excuses. Bedankt voor de hulp, mevrouw Plum.',De twee vrouwen hadden amper hun rug gedraaid of Benito Ramirez had zijn hand al in Stephanies broek laten glijden. Hij trok haar tegen zich aan en fluisterde in haar oor. 'Bij mij of bij jou thuis?','Hé hufter,' blafte Oma Mazur hem toe, terwijl Stephanie zich uit zijn greep probeerde te bevrijden. 'Waar heb jij je manieren geleerd?','Rustig aan, oma. Ga met je eigen vriendjes spelen. Ik ben niet geïnteresseerd.',Oma Mazur porde met de revolver in Benitos borstkas. 'Laat mijn kleindochter los, brulaap, of het zal je berouwen.',Een donderwolk kleurde het gezicht van de spierbundel. Stephanie had inmiddels al geleerd dat ze op haar tellen moest passen als hij werd tegengewerkt.,'Daag je de kampioen uit, grijze tante?' sprak Ramirez dreigend. Hij diepte zijn eigen wapen op en liet Stephanie links liggen. Oma Mazur liet zich niet snel intimideren, maar nu deinsde ze toch achteruit. Hij greep haar bij de haren, duwde haar tegen de grond en drukte haar hoofd tegen zijn kruis. Hij ritste zijn broek open. 'Oma moet wat respect kweken.',Stephanie probeerde Ramirez tegen te houden, maar kreeg een slag in het gezicht. ,Het was alsof Stephanies smeekbede werd aanhoord. Benito Ramirez werd de lucht in gekatapulteerd. Hij werd haast letterlijk van zijn sokken geblazen, want toen hij enkele tientallen meters verder neerkwam, was hij zijn kleren kwijtgespeeld. Hij krabbelde kreunend overeind, bloedend aan het achterhoofd. Omstaanders gaapten hem aan, sommigen konden hun lach amper inhouden toen ze de spierbundel in zijn adamskostuum zagen zitten. Voor het eerst zag Stephanie schaamte in zijn blik.,'Die plotse windstoten in ondergrondse tunnels zijn een echt gevaar,' merkte mevrouw Anderling op en ze knipoogde naar Stephanie.,'Heb jij dat gedaan?' vroeg ze verbluft. ,'Ik geloof dat Mevrouw Vaals' rekening hiermee vereffend is,' besloot mevrouw Anderling op norse toon. Stephanie staarde de twee dames met open mond na tot ze uit het zicht verdwenen waren. Het voorval zou haar nog weken bezighouden, maar de verklaring moest ze schuldig blijven.,Ze hielp haar grootmoeder overeind die prompt op de jammerende Benito Ramirez afstapte. 'Hier heb je je respect,' zei ze en ze trapte hem vol in het kruis.,Benito Ramirez schreeuwde het uit en begon te huilen als een baby.,'Kom, Stephanie,' zei Oma Mazur vol leedvermaak. Ze wierp haar de revolver toe en stapte resoluut de volgende metro op. 'We hebben een crimineel te vatten.'

Grand Councilwoman Kekoa was sitting in her office going through several different reports and finishing up her paperwork when something tickled the back of her mind and caused her back to straighten in alarm. The guards on the inside of the impressive office had been having silent staring contests when they noticed Kekoa suddenly standing up from her desk in alarm as a huge amount of magic gathered a little ways in front of the desk.,"What was that?" Kekoa asked straightening up when the magic let out a giant pulse that temporarily knocked her and the guards off of their balance. The two silent guards now had their weapons at attention and pointed towards the area where the magical pulse had come from as several more guards ran into the room with an alarm blaring outside somewhere.,"I-I made it. It worked." An ghostly looking woman with long white hair and golden eyes said panting from where the pulse had originated.,"Who are you? What is your business here?" Kekoa asked loudly as she forced her way past her guards, she was more than capable enough of protecting herself due to her magical and fighting prowess, it was the main reason why she had been the next Grand Councilwoman when the old one had died.,"I'm Magick, from the planet of Earth although many call me 'Mother Earth', 'Giga', or merely 'Mother of Magic'. I'm here because I needed to get Magicks child, my chosen child somewhere where she will grow up safe and loved. This was the safest place I could find for her." The ghostly woman explained while the guards and Kekoa blinked at suddenly noticing the sleeping infant in the womans arms. It was a tiny human infant of only one and a half if Kekoa had to guess with blood red hair that had small streaks of gold in it.,"Very well but why are you in my office instead of in the office of whoever is best suited to raise her?" Kekoa asked raising a thin eyebrow at Magick and causing her to laugh lightly.,"Silly Grand Councilwoman. I am in the office of the person best suited to raise her." Magick said grinning slightly as she offered the infant to Kekoa, causing Kekoa and the guards jaws to drop.,",the one best suited to raise a human child? That's impossible. I know nothing of humans or children, let alone human children." Kekoa said regaining her composure and giving the sleeping infant a wary glance as she motioned for the guards to leave the room. The guards picked up their jaws and didn't look happy but all but the two of them that were normally in the room left.,"Maybe not but my magic never lies, certainly not when it concerns my child." Magick said smiling kindly at Kekoa who retook her seat behind her desk.,"If she is your child then why do you wish to give her away to a complete stranger?" Kekoa asked logically causing Magick to sigh sadly.,"I did not give birth to her myself, I chose her to be my child. Her birth parents were murdered not too long ago by a deranged wizard on Earth. A barmy manipulative old coot by the name of Dumbledore tried to leave her with her birth mothers sister and her family. That manipulative old coot would have cost the child her young life. Those relatives of hers would have killed her before her second birthday." Magick said her eyes filling with anger at the thought of Dumbledore and the childs relatives while the armrest on Kekoa's chair snapped in her grasp at that.,"Children of any species are revered and protected and those…monsters would kill a child. Unacceptable." Kekoa hissed through her teeth in her anger while her guards looked just as angry, children were rare amongst all alien species and therefor were protected and cherished by all.,"Heh. Why do you think I took her away from there and brought her here?" Magick asked raising an eyebrow at Kekoa who nodded her understanding of this. The small infant let out a cute yawn and blinked her eyes open sleepily. Kekoa felt her breath hitch unnoticeably in her throat at the sight of the childs eyes. Where there would usually be white on a humans eyes the infants were black and the iris themselves were a golden amber color.,"Hehe. Looks like you're finally awake huh little Ali'i?" Magick asked smiling softly down at the child in her arms while Kekoa's eyebrows shot upwards.,"The infants name means Royalty?" Kekoa asked looking at Magick curiously, due to being in charge of all planets she had to know all languages even those hardly used off of their planet of origin.,"Her birth father was arrogant while her birth mother thought it was fitting since in her words she was 'there precious little princess'. Ouch!" Magick said snickering slightly before exclaiming when the child in her arms punched her right in the nose with impressive motor functions.,"I don't think she likes that title." Kekoa said in faint amusement as she noticed the small child glaring up at Magick cutely.,"Better than what she would do when her father called her that. I think she must have set his hair on fire at least half a dozen times before she was only three months old." Magick said snickering slightly while Ali'i turned her tiny head to look at who else had spoken. Looking at the now awake child full in the eyes Kekoa couldn't help but to sigh heavily as she felt her resolve against taking the child fall immediately. Magick and the guards watched curiously as Kekoa opened a screen in order to talk to her secretary.,"Ms. Slkifh? Bring me a crib and some baby supplies. I suddenly find myself taking in a young human infant of about a year and a half." Kekoa requested her secretary causing the secretary's, and guards, jaws to drop while Magick smiled brightly.,"Alright. Hand her over and get out of here before I change my mind." Kekoa said after closing the screen and holding her arms out to take the child from Magick.,"Of course. Before I leave though is there anything you want to know? Or do you wish to change her name?" Magick asked grinning as she stood up from the chair she had taken a seat in and handed over Ali'i to the most powerful woman in the universe.,"She will have magic right? So it will be safe for me to raise her with knowledge of fighting and using magic correct? What is her day of birth? No, I think her name will fit her now more than before." Kekoa said all of this quickly as she looked down at the small child that fit into her arms almost perfectly.,"Yes, she'll have incredibly strong magic both elemental types and generic. Yes it would be safe, and in fact a great idea since it will give her an advantage in her future. She was born on July 31st in Earth time. So long and good luck. You'll need it." Magick said grinning as she vanished with another magical pulse that didn't bother anything this time since it was much smaller than before, so small that no one even noticed. Magick kept on grinning as she returned to Earth and then she began to cackle. The Grand Councilwoman of the universe was in for the time of her life now. If there was one thing that Ali'i inherited from her birth father it was her love and talent for pranks of all kinds.

Lost Suffering,--C.S. Lewis,Harry stared at the veil in silence as he suddenly felt a stirring in his blood; it was the power again. It had always been there, really. Or that was what Harry liked to imagine because the presence within him was always so comforting. When there was no one else, there was always that power that would be able to save him. That power which stalled the Basilisk venom from spreading throughout his body as Fawkes flew to him and dropped his tears on to the wound. The power that allowed him to bat away a werewolf's claws…,When there was no one but himself…,A worried part of himself eased a little bit. The power was here with him now so he would refuse to worry. He hands formed in to fists as he listened to the whispers that came from the veil that he was staring at. They were saying something, but he was too far to really hear it. He glanced to his friends whom all had worried eyes pointed at him.,Harry pressed his lips together, glanced to the veil, to his friends before he murmured, "one moment…" He moved and hurried down the long staircase that led to the bottom of the dais that the giant stone arch was situated on. As he drew closer, the fluttering in the veil seemed to become more violent and Harry didn't dare move beyond the stairs that were attached to the dais. He wouldn't go up there, but he wanted to hear what the arch had to say.,He felt his friends crowd in silently against his back as he cocked his head to the side and listened to it. He power stirred in his ears and the whispered seemed to suddenly space and become legible. They were mournful laments of loss and pain and Harry felt his curiosity ease.,Maybe it was some way of talking to the dead? Harry considered the thought before he froze. To the dead? … if he could talk to the dead… oh, what he would give to talk to the dead. His parents! Harry felt the familiar aching hole of longing in his chest that hadn't been eased by time as he took another step up to the top of the stairs that led on to the actual dais.,Would they be proud of him?,Maybe… maybe… He ignored the way Hermione hissed his name worriedly as Ron muffled a sneeze behind a hand. But he was enamored by the idea and spoke, "Hermione… the voices, do you think… do you think you can talk to the dead with this arch?" He voice came out higher then he meant it to be, but that was fine with him as he removed his eyes from the arch and turned to look to Hermione. Hermione was giving him the look again, the look that said he had just done something abnormal, that he had done something strange.,"Harry… what voices?" Ginny asked, eyes wide as she held on to Neville's arm, her face pale and bloodless with worry that matched Neville's pinched look of nerves and pain. Harry gestured back to the veil. "They're from there. Can't you hear them?" Harry felt that spark of panic that came with incidents like this.,It was like learning that he could speak to snakes yet no one else but Voldemort could.,"Harry…" Hermione tried and failed to say something and Luna spoke softly, her cloudy eyes looking to the veil with a moment of startling clarity… "I can hear them too…",Harry turned back to the veil and focused again on the voices—they had suddenly meshed together in a sudden flux of sound and it firmly drew his attention from the group. Harry stared, green eyes focused on the veil as a faint win brushed through the chamber and tugged rakishly through his black hair. It took him a moment to hear the words through the sudden pounding of his heart in his ears.,A hungry groan amongst a series of animalistic growls and dreamy laughs.,Harry's blood ran cold despite the power within that was warming him. Harry ignored the fine shake within his body as he stepped back from the veil a little bit, moving back down a step. His friends cleared out from behind him and Harry soon followed as they made their away from the veil.,"… lets just get what we came for and get on." They didn't want to be caught here.,"Everyone! A circle, back to back!" Harry cried out as he pulled his friends on to the dais in the center of the room. They all pressed together—friends, classmates and now comrades in arms—and stuck their wands out, tips of spells ready on everyone's lips as they waited for the pursuing Death Eaters to show. Harry tried to ignore the voices beyond the veil but they were going in to a frenzy and Harry knew, he really knew, that they weren't going to be able to match up to full grown wizards.,They weren't all going to make out of this alive and he felt his eyes dart to his left, to Ron, and then to his right, Hermione while he imagined the scared faces of Ginny, Neville and Luna that were behind them. Was this… Was this how things would end for them? Cut down by a Death Eater's spell?,Harry didn't think of it anymore as a black wind scattered them apart and pushed them down, and he clutched the prophecy to his body and wondered if…,… he wondered if he used his power this time, would it disappear entirely?,He'd give anything to make sure that didn't happen.,It seemed to take an age for Sirius to fall. And Harry felt time freeze, he felt the chill run through his body as Sirius's back arched and curved delicately as his body tipped backwards in to the greedy arms of the veil and the veil whispered out—,The laughter mingled with surprise and a sudden growing fear was all Harry could see as he watched Sirius fall back through the veil and disappear in to the darkness of the ragged arms of the horrible voices that were chanting,Harry screamed, it was a name but he was unsure of what it was as he turned and darted away from safety, from comfort, from friends—this was something better then that. His only family had just fallen away from him!,He had said he would give anything, but he hadn't meant it! Not really!,Harry screamed as heavy, strong arms circled around his waist and stopped his forward momentum in to the veil after his godfather. He struggled, trying to push through on mere strength as his fingers tried to pry off the strong bonds of the arms that circled around him and pulled him back against an equally strong chest. He couldn't breath, he could think—and her cold, cold laughter drove in harsh spikes of pain in to his chest as the world blurred and… and…,The power shifted lazily around under his skin.,Useless.,Harry did something he had never done before and grasped the power inside his body, the power he normally waited to act on his own he took the reins and pushed his burnings hands down on to the arms around his body. A touch, or had he really touched those arms?—he didn't know, but the bonds, the arms restraining him released and he stumbled forward as the raggedly black drapes of the veil reached out and welcomed him in.,Ice—ice—ice; everything was ice and darkness within and he heard the power inside take on a voice…,Remus Lupin fell to the floor in a pain that almost equaled a werewolf transformation, he arms held ramrod straight away from his body as he choked on air. The burning was so intense and the smell of the burned skin clogged his senses—he couldn't breath, couldn't think and all he could feel was the pain and his body knew something that he couldn't comprehend. It knew that he had deserved it and the beast inside reared back in anger before its scream lowered in to a soft growl of submission.,Something had happened and no one had noticed. The fight and spells over head continued on without a though. No one tired to hit him on the floor as he writhed in pain. Some part of Remus, the rational side, stated that the Death Eaters probably thought someone had him under some kind of torture curse while the Order was trying to find the one holding him under and stop them. Not that anyone was holding him under.,The energy bled out of his body and he laid limply on the ground, panting. The battle, he saw through tired eyes, was nearly over. Stragglers. They were the only ones left and the Order members in the room really had overpowered the Death Eaters that had come. Remus gasped for air weakly on the floor and tried to think coherently again.,It truly struck him then…,Harry had gone through the veil.,Remus pressed his face on to the ice cold stone and held in the whimper that threatened to come out. The boy that he had been trying to protect had… had killed himself. Remus felt so… so damn tired. He curled his hands in to fists, relishing in the pain that he knew he now deserved that shot through his arms around the burned flesh on his forearms and he slammed a fist against the floor with a sob.,Was this really happening? Couldn't this be a dream?,Like the night that Lily and James had died—everything had felt like a dream then too.,"R-Remus…?" A voice questioned overhead before someone kneeled down next to him, a slender hand placed on his back in a comforting motion. Remus didn't look up from the floor as a sob choked up past his lips. The gentle hand became firmer as another one came and brushed his hair in a soothing motion he couldn't feel as the tears finally poured out of his eyes and on to the floor.,Two in one day, that had to be breaking some kind of law of the universe, wasn't it? There had to be some type of rule that you couldn't take more then one precious person a day, right? Sirius… Sirius had been so precious and Harry had been so young and now they were dead! He and Sirius had finally mended their strained friendship and together… together they had finally started to get to know the son that Lily and James had left behind.,And now they were both gone.,Remus shivered, pain clenching his stomach and he pushed down the need to be sick. They were both gone and all that there was left was the rat that had started everyone on to this path. Remus froze, stiffening and causing the person brushing his hair in comfort to cautiously call his name. Wormtail… Peter, was still alive. Wasn't that some type of cosmic joke? Everyone that was good and precious was dead and that worthless person was still alive!,He almost snapped his jaws on someone's hand when someone jerked his face up from the floor and it took him a moment to recognize Tonks. He blinked at Nymphadora's somber, scraggily black hair and nearly let out a hysterical laugh. She had tears in her eyes too and he realized that this woman was nearly the last descendent of Black alive. There was, of course, Nymphadora's mother and her two aunts to take in to consideration.,At the way things were going, Draco Malfoy would be the last person to have even a sliver of Black blood in their veins and it felt like something precious was going instinct. Sirius hadn't left behind a child. There really had been no time for the other to get around to doing such a thing. And now, look at what happened… there was nothing left behind. There wasn't even Harry.,Nymphadora wiped away the tears from his face and encouraged him to stand. Remus weakly did so as he turned to the veil that fluttered in the nonexistent breeze—and Remus imagined that it moved with contentment. Two lives… two lives…,Two lives that had both, never really had the chance to live. Sirius really had been a teenager at heart.,Remus stepped closer to the veil, shrugging off Nymphadora's hands as he stepped closer, and he ignored as Moody hobbled his way over to where he stood. He wasn't going to follow them in, he wouldn't be able to do that. He wouldn't do it while Peter still lived. Remus stopped in front of the arch and stared up at it. What really was this arch? It was obvious that it led someone to their death…,But where was the rest of the information? What if it was possible to bring someone back from it? Remus didn't let himself hope for it, but he imagined that if it was possible it would have been a lot nicer then simply being helpless in the face of the veil. Moody roughly grabbed his arm with a strong hand grip and Remus couldn't stop the way he collapse with a scream. His arm! The burn!,It was as if a touch was the trigger for the pain to begin again and Moody made sure to drop him as he hit the floor again with a closed mouth scream. He knew that he was being levitated away from the scene, he knew it and he continued to mourn his lose even as he suffered from the pain.,Was the price for love and friendship death?

The idea is simple.,Why do monsters fear children.,Anything goes, have fun, write on!,P.S. Will be making my own version and yours doesn't have to be a crossover with HP.,P.S.S. Tell me if someone picks this up,I don't own monster inc. or harry potter

The Masquerade of London: Magic Rising,Harry Potter/Luna (Gangrel Vampire),Alexander Potter (OC Gangrel and Luna's Sire),"Speech",A tall man stood on top of a block of flats. He was garbed in black from head to toe. Black boots, combat trousers, jumper with deep hood and trenchcoat with a deep hood also and on his hands were fingerless and thumbless grappling gloves. He may have looked only twenty, but he had been twenty since 1490. His name he went by in 2016 was Alexander Kain. But his birth name was Alexander Hadrian Potter and he was a vampire.,Alexander didn't even stiffen when he heard the sound of boots on the concrete floor behind him. "You're late kid." There was a snort as he was joined by a slender woman with short blonde hair, gleaming blue eyes, skinny jeans and a white bomber jacket-esque coat. "Fuck you old timer. Maybe you're just slow.",Alex smirked at that "Perhaps when you learn Celerity pup you can call me slow. So tell me how have you been these past forty years." The woman shrugged "As a life can be. Father, why are we here?" She asked curiosity evident in her voice. Alex grinned at her "Because my darling little Charlotte, his Royal dickness Crowley has fucked up. He dabbled with mages and as a result screwed a mage family over." Charlotte bristled "The name is Luna. Alex.",Alex grinned "I know Luna. You've proven your worth whelp. You've proven it enough to me for me to call you the name you've given yourself back in '60 and I turned you in '45." Luna grinned, she prided herself on being an 8th Generation Gangrel and her sire being a 7th. Those two were probably two of the strongest of their clan the Gangrel.,The clan Gangrel were one of thirteen clans that made up the population of the Kindred; Vampires. The clans were; Assamite, Brujah, Cappadocian's, Followers of Set, Them (Gangrel), Giovanni, Lasombra, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Ravnos, Salubri, Toreador, Tremere, Tzimisce and the Ventrue. Of them the Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere and Ventrue made up one group of Kindred known as the Camerilla. The Camerilla existed to protect Kindred from humans.,The Tzimisce and the Lasombra were of the opposite opinion. They formed the Sabbat, a group that opposed the Camerilla and wanted to show the world that monsters existed. As for the rest they were strictly independent and kept the hell out of the way.,For those who are confused about the generations this is it in simple terms. Cain is the Kindred God! He is the first generation, his three children are the second generation. Between two of them as one was still born they sired the the 13 Antedeluvians the fathers of the clans. Lots of shit happened that even the kindred aren't sure about but one thing for sure was that a flood happened wiping the 2nd out but not before the 3rd Generation also known as the Antediluvians were born. The 4th and 5th Generations were almost as powerful as their sires but their age was their weakness. These days the main Elders of the clans were of 6th and 7th Generation and were officially the beginners of Kings. All the rest of the generations gradually got weaker until they hit the 14th and 15th were cripples.,Alexander Potter was a rugged survivor, he was old reaching 520 years old. He was one of the luckier Gangrel to reach such an age. It also helped that he didn't sire too many of his own children thus that was why Luna was so powerful in a world full of 10th to 13th generations with spatterings of 4th to 9th's running around.,Each of the clans had a set of disciplines or powers that complimented them. The Gangrel had the powers of Protean- Shapeshifting, Animalism- Animal Communication and Fortitude-Allowing them to endure a large amount of punishment. However their were two mutations in the bloodline one of which for a bunch of them whelps in Alex's opinion who developed Celerity the art of moving out of sync with time instead of Animalism and another called Obsfucate instead of Fortitude.,Alex had spent time with both mutations mastering their five disciplines, before vanishing off the face of the earth. The Gangrel weakness was to gain animalistic traits when they frenzied, sometimes it was permanent. Luna sat on the edge of the building and Alex joined her. "Have you met with Crowley yet and found our Primigen of London father?",Alex snorted "Seen the Prince, we had words. Our Primigen will find us. I found his networks and sent a small message to him." Luna snorted "He won't be happy and he'll show it." Alex grinned "Of course he is. That is why I'm going to flatten him. I've forgotten more about our disciplines than he has learnt.","Who are you two punks." A voice called. Alex snorted "So you're the Primigen...At least you're not one of the Obfuscate. What are you 10th?" The primigen caught a misbreath "How did you..." He didn't finish as the girl popped up behind him and drove his leg out from under him and had her teeth on his throat. "My father is a 7th. Show him some respect.",The Primigen nodded "I yield...I'm Brutus, I'm the Primigen for London...what can I do for you two?" He looked and the 7th turned around pulling out several pictures "I'm looking for the descendents of these people.","I'll have to go to Uncle Lazaro of the Nossies to get confirmation. What will he get in return?" The 7th grinned "I'll tutor him exclusively in Obfuscate." Brutus stared "I thought you..." The girl grinned "I'm Luna. My father doesn't mind you City Gangrel as you have kept two of the traits that make us Gangrel and they are Fortitude and Protean. The others..." She followed with a spitting gesture "Forsake Fortitude for Obfuscate." Brutus winced. Fortitude had saved him more than once here. "Follow me please. London's a dodgy city at the best of times.",Alex grinned "Always has been my young friend." Brutus led them down the ladders into the sewers and they walked in silence. Brutus was in silent awe of his companions. "Hello Dave, what do you want Dave." A voice called from the shadows.,"This is Dave of the Gangrel, Watcher...I need an audience with Uncle Lazaro." The shadow convulsed and outstepped a Nosferatu "Dave..." The Nosferatu stopped when he saw them "You two come with me. Come with me. Dave go!" Alex took off at a swift pace with Luna following him. "This is Celerity your using Alex?",Alex grunted "Nope. Not yet." The meeting with Lazaro himself was profitable. Alex was in a seething rage, his entire family had been reduced to one! What was even better, Lazaro had tracked him to his house address.,(Same time),Harry Potter sneezed and he looked around the cafe he was in. His Uncle Vernon hadn't picked him up. It was only due to Tonks who had placed a shrinking and enlarging rune on his trunk and owl cage that kept hom from attracting strange looks.,"Mister, I'm not sure if you realised but you've got two people directly behind you. They haven't moved at all since you got here." Harry nodded and held the hilt of his wand. He got up and slowly began moving past them.,Six sets of eyes followed the boy. They could smell his power coming off him and they wanted him for their own. They were part of the Tzimisce or Tremere. More likely Tremere as Tzimisce tend to look like walking freakshows but not on the same scale as the Nosferatu.,The moment Harry stepped into the underground tunnel, he immediately headed down the stairs. The three stalkers followed at sedate pace but eventually caught up with him "Harry Potter?" Harry turned "How did you..." They surged forwards and everything dissolved into chaos.,Alex and Luna dodged another train. Alex marvelled at how much technology had improved as old school as he was, he was still a scholar at heart. Luna shook her head and dragged him along, they arrived at the station when Alex suddenly blurred forwards, he activated Celerity and his perception of time slowed to a crawl. The first vampire went into bite Harry but was thrown violently into the wall as someone was standing visibly over him.,"YOU! You should be dead! We KILLED YOU!" Snarled the vampire. Suddenly, fell to the floor twitching and thrashing as a multitude of rats erupted from the underground. Harry then made out a beautiful woman surrounded by rats and was evidently conducting them somehow but didn't see a wand.,The other two vampires looked at their target and began summoning balls of energy in their palms. Harry's protector smirked, vanished and reappeared in mid-air shifting into a wolf and effortlessly ripped the throat out of the vampire.,A barrage of pops, cracks and bangs reverberated around the station as Harry noticed his Headmaster, Head of House and several other witches and wizards. Harry watched as the stranger, saw the final one of his stalkers trying to flee "Luna, and everyone who likes their eyes sight don't look." Everyone shut their eyes and suddenly they felt the blast of heat. It felt like they were in the presence of the burning sun. As soon as it arrived it had vanished.,"Alex what was that?" Asked Luna. Harry's mind was making the connection Alex was Luna's superior and had a grudge against his stalkers. "That was Protean at its peek. You become a walking death ball." Luna pouted? "You can move in and out of time on a whim, soak of mortal tank rounds, summon any and every animal within a five radius, not appear in at all despite standing in front of them AND turn into our greatest phobia! Yet all I can do is control rats, become a bat and shrug off swords.","I offered to train you.","Who are you two?" Asked Dumbledore curiously, "They saved my life Professor..." Harry said. Alex grinned "We don't need a pup to defend us but thanks. We're older than you'd think Headmaster and I would STRONGLY advise not to rummage in our minds...I'm Alexander Kain and this is my student Luna. I'm looking for someone.",Dumbledore nodded "We may be able to help providing you step away from Harry." Alex stared the man down "Not until I get an answer mage...I'm looking for Harry Potter." That got ripples of shock running through them all.,Harry stared at him "Why are you looking for me?" Alex smirked coldly "You've been labelled for The Embrace, Harry Potter. Last of the Potters, Bane of the Tzimisce, Creators of the Tremere and most importantly my last descendant. My name in this current life is Alexander Arthur Kain and I'm your great uncle, many times by the way.","Then how are you so young? What is a Tzimisce? What is a Tremere?" Dumbledore's jaw tightened "You cannot..." Luna snarled and her eyes turned yellow "Don't tell my sire a damn thing you old coot. He's forgotten more than you could possibly know." Harry's eyes widened "You're both Vampires.",Luna turned to Harry "That we are. All of you. Welcome to the Masquerade."

My mother was Bellatrix Black-Lestrange. My father was Rodolphus Lestrange. I never met them because three months after Bellatrix had me and another child we were taken from her and she was later sent to Azkaban. The second child went to live in London and I was sent to live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,When I was just about to turn two a woman by the name of Casey Conway came in and adopted me right on the spot. I went home with her where I joined her two year old son Charlie. Until I turned eleven I had thought that Casey was my mom and Charlie was my brother. I still consider them my family of course and they know that I want to find my birth parents and my twin.,Eleven years later,"I want a cookie!" Anastacia yelled as her mother turned around to finish dinner.,"Anastacia I'm almost done with dinner and I told you that you can have a cookie after." Casey told her. Anastacia didn't listen and next thing she knew she was on the counter eating a cookie.,"Anastacia! How did you get up there?" Casey asked.,"I don't know. I know that I wanted the cookie and I just kind of hovered onto the counter." Anastacia told her. Casey was about to help her down when a back and white owl tapped on the kitchen window.,"Cool." Charlie and Anastacia said as Casey opened the window and the owl flew around their small kitchen. They could see the owl had two envelopes in its mouth. It dropped one in front of Anastacia and one in front of Charlie.,"What's this?" Anastacia asked Casey.,"Open them and find out." Casey said beaming with pride.,"It says that I'm a witch and have been excepted to two schools. One is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the other is Minnesota School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Anastacia said.,"I got the same thing except that I'm a wizard and I can go to either school as well." Charlie said. Casey beamed and hugged both her children.,"Are you a witch mom?" Charlie asked. Casey nodded and showed them her wand.,"Cool." They said.,"So which school are you going to accept and attend?" Casey asked.,"Well I don't want to leave my friends so I'm going to attend Minnesota School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Charlie told her. Casey nodded and got out two peices of partchment. She wrote to Minnesota School or Witchcraft and Wizardry that Charlie would attend.,"I don't want to be seperated from Charlie but I want to find out more about my birth family and to do that is to go to Hogwarts since it's in England." Anastacia said.,"Ana, don't just pick the Minnesota school because you don't want to be away from me. Pick where you really want to go." Charlie told her.,"Hogwarts." Anastacia said and Casey wrote to Hogwarts to tell them Anastacia would attend.

- Goteki, 'We Can Rebuild You' -Fight the Saucermen-,There are places where reality isn't quite so real; you could almost call them crinkles in the space-time continuum. Ancient people recognised these places, and erected great stones to enhance them.,The most famous such place in Britain would be Stonehenge, but there are many others – some of which are vastly more potent.,With the help of these mystic edifices, the greatest magics ever known could be cast; but the stones had an unforeseen side effect, gradually draining the magic out of the world's ley-lines and storing it away in the earth.,By the time of the Roman Empire, they had been all but forgotten, partially because the only magic they left in the world was old and stale.,Our story begins in one such place - a village called Avebury - in the years 1988, at the summer solstice, where a family named Dursley were stopping off on their way home from visiting Vernon Dursley's sister Marge.,Usually, the fourth member of their party would not have accompanied them on such a trip. The agreed-upon family opinion of the Dursleys was that Petunia's nephew Harry Potter absolutely ruined any holiday he accompanied them on; however, Mrs Arabella Figg (a batty little old cat-lady who lived just round the corner) had been taken ill and rushed into hospital a few days before the trip.,And thus it was that Harry was there, in Avebury, at the summer solstice.,Dudley Dursley being Dudley Dursley, this led to Dudley deciding to beat Harry up for ruining the holiday by breathing too loud or something, and this led Harry to be pushed over, falling straight onto one of the standing stones.,Harry's head hit the stone with an audible crack, and at that exact moment, the first moonlight of the coming night fell upon the other side of the stone.,Normally, blood on the stones would do very little. But, on the longest day of the year, at moonrise, the barriers between the levels of reality are at their weakest, and the stones are like a primed gun. All it takes is a touch of the trigger.,That touch - in the form of mortal blood - had finally arrived.,As Harry slumped forwards, the earth shook; the stones lit up, one after another, with an eerie blue glow, and wrenched themselves back into place, the years seeming to fall away from them like surf from the shore; Harry's limp body jerked off the ground and hung in mid-air, lit by a glow like St Elmo's fire.,There was a high keening noise, and a feeling as if the world had been on a train and the train had just crashed. Vernon, reaching out to grab his nephew, was thrown twenty feet as a great stream of coruscating blue energy burst from the stones, and connected with Harry.,For just one moment, the ley-lines of Earth flowed with their full force through Harry's body and soul, fed back into the ley-lines, redoubled, and hit him again.,Nothing could go through that without being changed. A muggle would have been stripped apart at the sub-atomic level, their very existence wiped from reality.,But Harry was a wizard, albeit immature and unaware of the truth. And, like all magical beings, his magical self - his core, as they called it - was almost sentient.,There was only one form of being it knew of that could take this level of energy and survive, and so it did what it could.,As the incredible burst of ley-line energy spread outwards, lighting up nexus after nexus, awakening the long-nascent energy pathways of the planet, Harry's body changed, gathering raw magical energy from the stream that flowed through it, bringing in bulk from unspace and, as the ley-line finally released him, he was no longer a small and critically underweight eight-year-old boy.,Thousands of miles away, in a well-hidden place, an immense eye opened and flicked around, quickly examining it's surroundings.,"What in the Hells was that?" an incredibly deep voice rumbled, in a rolling language that hadn't been heard in thousands of years.,A few moments passed without reply before the owner of the eye dismissed the peculiar feeling with a swift shake of his titanic head, and went back to sleep.,He was far too exhausted to worry about insignificant things like earth-shaking bangs.,What hit the deck was about eight feet long (with another ten of tail), would stand about six feet tall at the shoulder, and possessed wings that, if unfurled, would reach a span of nearly forty feet. It was also clad in scales as blue as a finely-made gun.,As Vernon slowly peeled himself off the ground, the black dragon hatchling likewise peeled itself off the ground and stood, on wobbly legs, peering quizzically around.,Noticing where Petunia and Dudley were standing, transfixed and gawking, it blinked a couple of times.,"Uh, Aunt Petunia, how come you've shrunk?" it blankly asked, sounding precisely like a post-slap slightly-dazed Harry Potter.,"B-b-b-boy?" Vernon stuttered. "I-i-is th-th-that y-y-you?","Um, yeah." the dragon admitted. "I feel kinda weird.",Looking at the large and rather scary critter that his nephew had apparently become, Vernon couldn't help but note four particular details. The first was a set of shiny metallic teeth that looked more like kitchen knives. The second was a set of three horns as long as Vernon's forearms and coming to exceedingly sharp-looking points. The third was the claws, which looked like they were designed to shred plate metal. And the fourth was the wisps of smoke that came out of the dragon's mouth whenever it spoke.,And thus it was that he came to what is probably the wisest decision of his life; he was going to do every damn thing he could NOT to piss this exceedingly-deadly-looking-creature off.,"Um, Pet, I think you'd better drive the car home." he said. "I'm going to have to go get a van.","A van?" Petunia blankly asked.,"A van." Vernon confirmed, his teeth chattering. "I don't think the boy will fit in the car, and, well, uh, we can't just leave him here.","But what'll the neighbours say?","What'll the rozzers say if they find a freaking DRAGON wandering around Wiltshire?" Vernon asked in a low voice. "And what'll the FREAKING DRAGON say if we try to ditch it?","... I guess." Petunia muttered.,And thus it was that, a few hours later and having made a short sharp visit to a nearby used-car dealership, they left the car (and the somewhat decrepit van) in the street and the dragon in the garage, and went to bed hoping against hope that it'd all prove to have been a bad dream.,It didn't, and neither Vernon nor Petunia could honestly say they were surprised about that.,To Vernon Dursley's experience dragons, especially very young dragons, live a two-mode existence.,These two modes are best summed up as 'Asleep' and 'Eating'.,As to what they eat, the answer is anything whatsoever as long as there is a lot of it. That first night, having been locked into the garage after having said something about being hungry, Harry ate the lawn mower, three bags of potting compost, Dudley's dirtbike, eight cans of paint and all the garden tools – along with everything else in the garage, including the freezer complete with it's contents, leading Vernon to come to the abrupt decision that they'd better feed the little bastard's face before he did something truly horrific such as eating the car or going on a damsel-devouring rampage.,The unexpected big winged lizard the Dursleys unwanted nephew had become proved more than capable of wolfing down two or three entire sheep every couple of days, and spent most of the rest of his time asleep.,He also seemed to make a point of growing at a downright alarming rate. So far, they'd managed to keep their nephew's alarming transformation into a creature straight out of legend a secret, but he was (six months later) significantly bigger than the car, eating two entire vanloads of meat (along with a couple hundredweight of coal and a quarter ton of scrap metal, and drinking a couple hundred gallons of water and forty or so gallons of petrol) per week, and getting increasingly pissy about being cooped up in the increasingly-cramped garage all the time.,Demands for things to read had joined the insatiable appetite and constant sleeping; the blasted dragon now had a three-mode existence, with reading being mode 3.,Simply put, Vernon and Petunia were getting desperate. His appetite was so utterly insatiable that they were in increasingly extreme danger of missing the next mortgage payment; the blasted dragon was almost literally eating them out of house and home.,Besides, he was scaring Dudley almost witless and the school people were getting more and more excitable about this 'long-term sickness'.,And thus, as Christmas approached, they came to a very difficult decision; Petunia dredged up some unpleasant memories, and sent a cryptic but frantic plea for help to a certain Albus Dumbledore.,"You're this Dumbly-whatsit fr- fellow Pet was talking about?" Vernon checked.,"Indeed, I am Albus Dumbledore." The old man replied. "Mr Dursley, correct?","That's me." Vernon said. Making nice to the freak grated on his nerves, but they were beyond desperate. "Um, come on in.",With a nod and enigmatic smile, Dumbledore accompanied him into the house; they showed him into the living room, and offered him a cup of tea, which he accepted.,After several rather awkward minutes, he finally realised they weren't going to broach the subject if he didn't, and so he said, "I understand something has happened to Harry.",Petunia nodded, cringing a bit.,"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that." she mumbled. "Um, we were passing through Avebury, at midsummer, and Diddy needed a wee, so we, well, stopped, and the boy, um, banged his head on one of those standing stones and then... lights... unnatural... TEETH! WINGS! THUNDER! H-h-h-h-he D-D-D-D-DRAGON!","I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore asked, failing to catch the gist of that but visibly aware that Petunia was becoming highly distraught.,"I think we'd better show you." Vernon said. "You likely wouldn't believe it unless you saw it with your own eyes." He certainly wouldn't if he hadn't.,"Very well then." Dumbledore said with a grandfatherly smile and nod, and rose to his feet and, becoming faintly bemused, followed Vernon out to the garage.,When he saw what was currently lounging boredly (and reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica) in the middle of the garage (or rather, taking up most of the garage) he was somewhat taken aback to say the least.,"Oh, hullo Uncle Vernon." the rather imposing black-scaled dragon (of a breed Dumbledore couldn't for the life of him identify) said, looking up from it's book. "I'm hungry.","You're always hungry." Vernon groaned, making a beeline for the garden shed and the chest freezer therein.,"Get some coal and a can of petrol while you're there, thanks!" the dragon called after the slightly stout man. Before Harry turned into a dragon, Vernon had been as fat as butter. The man had lost eight stone since then; the stress was getting to him.,"Harry?" Dumbledore asked, quite astonished. "Is that you?","How'd you know my name?" Harry asked. "Hey, why're you all glowy?","I was a friend of your parents, and you sound quite startlingly like your father did when he was young." Dumbledore admitted. He couldn't work out what the bit about glow meant, so he pretended it hadn't happened. "What in Merlin's name have you done to yourself, young man?","Well, I dunno." Harry said. "Dudley kinda shoved me and I banged my head on this big rock, and the next thing I can remember I'd turned into this." He took note of the entire frozen sheep Vernon had just dumped on the floor, picked it up, flash-defrosted it with a snort of fire, and happily guzzled it, then started in on chugging back the can of petrol Vernon had dumped beside the sheep. "Hurry up with that coal Uncle Vernon, I'm famished!",Vernon winced at the shout and hastened for the coal shed.,"And the ley-lines had gone quite berserk by the time you awoke, correct?" Dumbledore checked.,"Well, if you mean all that blue light and stuff, then yeah, I guess." Harry replied with a shrug. Vernon hastened in with a sack of coal, which Harry proceeded to swallow whole; he washed it down with an old oil drum full of water, set the empty drum down under the tap, and pulled the lever that opened said tap.,"Maaan, it's so boring here." he grumbled. "I swear one day I'm gonna..." He drifted off with a sigh.,"Well." Dumbledore said. "I suppose we'll have to see what we can do to turn you back to your old self, eh?","Nah." Harry said. "I don't wanna be small and hungry and get beat on again." He frowned. "I wouldn't mind being able to turn into a person when I want to, being able to go do stuff would be nice, but I like being bigger than Uncle Vernon. I don't have to be scared of him any more, because if he tried to beat me with his belt again I could just sit on him until he stopped trying.",Vernon let out a noise that sounded like "ZRXPLK!" and crapped himself.,"I see." Dumbledore said. "Mr Dursley, a little over seven years ago I left Harry with you, and requested that you raise him as your own." The old wizard gave the young dragon a side-on look. "I assumed that, as he was a member of your family – your nephew – you would automatically do so. It seems that my assumption of basic human decency was in vain.","Do I have to beg?" Vernon bluntly asked.,"... pardon?" was Dumbledore's response.,"He is eating us out of house and home, and I mean that literally. We've had to spend over two thousand pounds a month feeding him since that business with those damnable stones. Another six months and we won't have a home any more. We already had to sell all of Pet's jewellery just to make the last mortgage payment, and we won't be able to make the next. And... frankly, this is no place for a two-ton winged lizard. We're out of options. That's why Pet wrote to you.","... I see." Dumbledore said. "Very well, then; I have a friend who would gladly house Harry for the foreseeable future." He turned back to the dragon. "His name's Rubeus Hagrid; you'll like him, I'm sure. Delightful man; a little simple, but that's no crime, and he has always been quite thoroughly fond of dragons. Now, I shall need some assistance to transport you to Hogwarts, Harry; I shall have to assemble some of my friends. We will collect you tomorrow evening.","... okay." Harry said.,"Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!" Vernon declared.,"Save it." the old man said. "I am a little irritated with you and your wife, Mr Dursley; ah well, the damage is already done and there is no sense in crying over spilt milk.",'Something wrong with Harry Potter'.,That was all Dumbledore had said. Quite what could be wrong with the dratted boy that would require the attention of Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick and Dumbledore himself was beyond Snape; if it had been the minor ailment being blown out of all proportion he'd expected when he saw Petunia Dursley's letter then surely the headmaster would have set everything straight at once.,But no, it was the evening after the letter had arrived and, the students having been packed safely off to bed, they were now trooping down the street from Arabella Figg's house to the house where the Potter brat lived.,When the door was answered, it was by Petunia herself; she hadn't gotten any better with age, Snape noted, but her reaction to seeing them was quite contrary to his expectations.,"Oh thank God! Vernon, Mr Dumbledore's here with his friends!" the chicken-necked woman called, and this chubby great balding lunk of a man came stomping through the house, followed closely by an obscenely overweight brat.,"Through this way." the man, presumably this Vernon character, said, directing them to the gate into the back garden.,Snape raised an eyebrow.,"And where exactly is the blasted boy?" he growled.,"In here." Vernon said, opening the side door to a concrete outbuilding.,A decidedly not-human head about the size of a small man (a little bigger than Flitwick) stuck itself out of the side door, nearly bowling Vernon over.,"... great Scott!" Flitwick piped up.,"Bludy hell! Whit's a feckin' dragon doon in thar?" McGonagall boggled. The fact that her usually-slight Scots brogue had abruptly become impenetrably thick proved, to Snape's experience, that she hadn't been expecting this – a supposition borne out by her highly-unusual usage of coarse language. She only ever slipped into the thick accent when agitated, and if she started swearing it meant she'd had an extreme shock.,"Exactly what in Merlin's name is that dragon doing in there?" he complained, deciding to back his senior colleague up here.,The dragon then proceeded to give him the biggest shock he'd received since he heard James Potter's brat had managed to stop Voldemort dead in his tracks, by opening it's mouth and saying, "My name isn't 'that dragon', my name's Harry. Harry Potter, and, um, I'm kinda hungry again.","Oh God, not again." Vernon groaned, hastening for the garden shed.,"... this is some sort of tasteless jape." Snape said. "It has to be.","Um, no, I'm really hungry." the dragon earnestly told him.,"That's not what I meant! Blasted lizard! I meant that you cannot possibly be Harry bloody Potter, in case nobody had noticed both James Potter and his bride were quite thoroughly human!","Hollerin' at tha dragon disnae strike me as a guid idea, Sev'rus." McGonagall pointed out, apparently still a little het up.,"Well, I kinda was human until those funny standity stone thingies went all glowy when Dudley shoved me and I kinda banged my head on one of them." the dragon said. "And, um, you know how easy it is to, well, misplace stuff like being-a-human sometimes, right, but don't have a big, um, situation about it on my behalf, I'm mostly okay with it.","Preposterous! I refuse to-" Snape stopped, finally noticing a specific detail.,He marched over to the dragon and critically examined it's forehead from close range.,"Oh Merlin, it's got the damned scar...","Er, your head smells tasty.","Don't eat the nice fr- man, boy! Eat the sheep! Look, juicy and delicious sheep!" Vernon begged, dumping a sheep carcass between dragon and Potions Master.,"Oh, thanks Uncle Vernon." the dragon said, and proceeded to defrost the carcass with a quick blast of flame before devouring it, this display of mutton-guzzling causing Snape to suddenly realise just what a large dangerous-looking creature with remarkably sharp pointy spiky teeth this was and circumspectly back off.,"And how many, exactly, of those do you eat per day, boy?" the Potions Master asked.,"Dunno, I don't count them." the dragon admitted.,"That's the twelfth he's eaten in the last week." Vernon groaned. "And he's eaten five sacks of coal, and nearly two tons of scrap metal. And he's drunk, ye gods, fifty gallons of petrol and God-knows-how-much water, as if our water rates weren't high enough as it was! My God, man, and have you smelt dragon dung? The stench of it could knock a dog out, and he produces three wheelbarrows worth of the stuff every day!","It's not my fault, I mean it has to come out somewhere and you won't let me out the garage so I can't go poop in the woods.","Heavens, that first night he ate everything that was in the garage! Everything, even the lawn mower!" Petunia moaned.,"And my bike." the fat brat added.,"It tasted great." the dragon helpfully pointed out, not making it clear whether bike or mower had suited his tastes.,"We're at our wit's end; he's eating us out of house and home, and that's no exaggeration!" Vernon said, shaking his head. "If this goes on, we won't be able to afford the next mortgage payment, and if that happens Heavens know what we'll do – my God, man, he'll probably eat the car or go on the rampage all round town eating everything in sight!","Hey, I'm not that bad." the dragon complained.,"Yes you are." all three Dursleys firmly informed it.,It was right then that an almost unheard of noise blared across the Dursley's back garden as Snape burst into laughter. It wasn't a very pleasant laugh, and it didn't sound like he had much practise.,"Ha! I suppose we'd better remove the blasted lizard from the premises, eh Albus?","Yes, that was indeed the plan." Dumbledore gloomily stated.,"To Hagrid, correct?" Snape asked.,"Indeed.","Well, his expression might perhaps prove entertaining. Let us proceed.","Yair takin' all too much amusement frae this, Sev'rus." McGonagall grumbled.,"Minerva, I take my entertainment where it may be found. It is, as it happens, all too rare a commodity in this day and age.",As they arrived at the primary Hogwarts portkey point at the bottom of the castle lawn, the dratted lizard was sniffing as Snape's head again.,"Blasted dragon." the potions master muttered. Helping to power a portkey for a dragon weighing more than ten big men had taken a lot out of him, for all that he refused to show it.,"I, um, I think I kinda need to poo." the dragon said.,"Well, then shit in the woods, you imbecile!","Severus..." McGonagall growled, giving the Slytherin head a dire look. Snape stifled a wince; she'd probably have realised just how tired he was when he snapped enough to swear. (1),"Um, it's a bit close to that castle and, well, Uncle Vernon wasn't exaggerating, when Aunt Marge visited for Dudley's birthday the smell of my poo knocked her dog out." the dragon admitted, looking a bit embarrassed. "And, I, well, kindareallyneedtogo.","Are you able to fly in a straight line?" Snape queried, glaring at the dunderhead beast.,"Well, I dunno, I've been in the garage for six months so I haven't been able to try yet.","Well, I suggest that it might be best if you learn fast.","Okay!",With that, the dragon spread it's wings and started galloping up and down the lawn while furiously flapping. The first flap sent it twenty feet into the air, and yelling, "Hey, I'm flying! I'm flying!" it went soaring across the lawn, only to crash-land in the edge of the lake.,"You need to work on your landings! Dratted lizard!" Snape bellowed.,"Yair gigglin', Sev'rus." McGonagall pointed out, visibly flabbergasted.,"Oh; I hadn't noticed." Snape sneered as the dragon squelched out the lake and had another go.,"I say, Minerva; you have to confess that this is one of the funniest things that've happened here in some time." Flitwick pointed out; the dragon hit the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest with a bone-shaking crunch.,"... owie.","Height, boy. It's important." Snape pointed out.,"Um, yeah, I kinda figured that, and... oh dear." The dragon said. It didn't seem to have intended to finish like that, but a tremendous squelching noise interrupted it. "Um, I don't think I gotta poo any more...","Sweet Merlin!" Snape gagged, casting a bubble-head charm on himself in near-perfect unison with his colleagues. "That is positively abominable! Disgusting! I swear I have never had the misfortune to smell anything halfway as vile!... I don't suppose you would object if I were to take a small sample? For investigation of it's alchemical properties, of course.","... well, okay, I guess." the dragon said, giving the sloppy puddle of poop a dubious look. "Um, someone's gonna need a shovel.","That willnae be necessary." McGonagall said, waiting as Snape gingerly scooped a portion of the rancid runny dragon turd into a small vial, which he immediately wrapped up in a silk cloth and pocketed; she then cast a series of vanishing charms on the mess. "See?","... wow, that's cool. I, uh, I guess once I've got used to flying okay I should fly way over that forest and poo there, right?" the dragon checked.,"Aye, that'd be fair tha best." McGonagall told it.,"Okay then. Um, is it really okay for me to be learning to, you know, fly straight right here out in the open? I mean, Uncle Vernon says it's important that people don't see me.","As long as you do so after dark, I do not see it becoming a problem." Dumbledore said.,"Oh, okay. Um, I'm kinda sleepy; is there somewhere I can sleep? I'll try not to get in the way.","Ah yes; well, you remember that friend of mine I mentioned?" Dumbledore pounced. "His residence is just this way, and he surely has room in one of the outhouses for you to sleep.","Okay," and the dragon followed the four teachers towards the hut at the far side of the castle lawns wherein dwelt Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper.,"Why in Merlin's name do you keep drooling at my head, you blasted lizard?","Um, uh, sorry, it's just, well, that sorta waxy stuff in your hair really does smell very tasty...",Snape considered the dragon – which now looked embarrassed – for a moment, and eventually snapped off a disgusted shake of his head, flinching at the way the blasted beast's nose followed his motions as he abruptly decided to seek a new recipe for fireproof hair-cream.,Fortunately for Snape's remaining sanity (and unfortunately for the remaining sanity of a vast number of Potions students) at this moment they arrived outside Hagrid's hut.,If there was one thing Harry James Potter, currently a little over eight years old and wearing the body of a hatchling Greater Dragon of similar age, had learned for certain in the last twenty four hours apart from that trees hurt if you crashed into them, it was that Rubeus Hagrid was very nice.,The half-giant had been immediately and absolutely enchanted when the INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS dragon that the Headmaster turned up on his doorstep with said, "Um, hello, I'm Harry; can we be friends?" and the immediate friendship had blossomed from there.,Harry wasn't really sure why his new friend Hagrid's dog had hid, whimpering, under the table, because he didn't eat dog – they smelt okay but he was pretty sure they'd taste yukky because they were, you know, dogs. All dirty and stuff.,Once Hagrid had engaging in a twelve-minute lecture in Mr Dumbledore and his friends' direction about why it was very important that a young dragon's skin was adequately oiled, the huge man had promptly made himself Harry's very bestest friend by eagerly rubbing on this oil across Harry's skin that didn't smell much and eased the myriad itches that'd been troubling Harry for months; Hagrid looked like he should be a bit clumsy but his big hands were very deft, not that Harry was sure why hands that are good at doing stuff are supposed to be called deft or, for that matter, what deft really means.,After that, he'd asked if Harry was hungry and, on receiving confirmation, introduced the young dragon to the wonders of the Hogwarts cold-room, wherein Harry had spent a glorious twenty minutes learning all about the wonders of all the many and myriad meats he'd never tasted since he turned into a dragon, such as beef and venison and ham and – most unutterably yummy of all – bacon.,God, and he'd thought sheep was juicy and delicious!,Once he'd persuaded Hagrid that a nice sack of coal and some tasty steel would be just the thing next, and oooh was that steel Hagrid provided so much tastier than the stuff Uncle Vernon got, Harry had washed it all down with a great big drum of petrol, wondering at the fact that the petrol Hagrid had been able to find tasted even better than the usual stuff, and then, for the first time since he'd become a dragon, dozed off A) somewhere that wasn't cramped and B) without being the slightest bit hungry any more.,"So." Dumbledore said, accepting the glass of firewhiskey with a smile. "The boy-who-lived is now the dragon-who-lived and the question has become, what in Merlin's name are we to do with him?",The four teachers were now in Dumbledore's office, grouped round the fireplace; Flitwick had just got done handing shots round.,"I could think of a few suggestions." Snape said with a grimace. "But I am already aware you'll ignore them, so I might as well save my breath.","I think the important question just now is, how do we turn him back into a human?" McGonagall said.,Dumbledore firmly shook his head.,"No, Minerva. He has expressed his lack of desire to return to his former species; I have already failed him thrice, and I shall not do so a fourth time. He is, after all, the son of two members of the Order. That said, he has expressed a desire to learn how to temporarily transform himself to a human form; it might perhaps be provident to teach him a reverse form of the Animagus transformation. And besides, we all know that when Voldemort," Dumbledore spent the customary flinch-time taking a sip of his drink, "Returns, young Harry will be at the very top of his list of targets.","Don't tell me you planned this, Albus." Snape groaned.,"No, Severus; I am not omniscient. What we are dealing with is a, perhaps fortunate, accident. I had inured myself to the necessity of a small boy being caught in the firing line when Voldemort," and he took a sip again while everyone else flinched, "Returns. I had thought our situation dire; now, not so much.","A dragon disguised as a human as a secret weapon? That's..." Snape stopped, slowly shaking his head.,"That's a hell of an ace in the hole." Flitwick muttered.,"Once You-Know-Who gets around to returning, I think I shall visit Panama in the summer." McGonagall said. "I've always wanted to visit Panama. My great-uncle died there, you know.","... I beg your pardon?" Snape asked.,"Severus, I'm surprised at you. You have an incisive mind; how have you failed to understand that You-Know-Who is, simply put, fucked? Excuse my French. We just watched Harry eat five joints of meat, fifteen pounds of bacon, a hundredweight of coal, two hundredweight of Sheffield steel, and drain forty gallons of petrol. What exactly do you believe would happen to a Dark Lord if introduced to a stomach able to handle THAT?","... I shall have to engage in some tests before I may state that for certain. Some examination shall of course be necessary; stop looking so put out, Minerva, I believe Poppy able to perform the necessary examination and it won't do any damage to the wretched lizard, the required spells are closely related to the diagnostic spells used on unhealthy students. Once I have ascertained the internal conditions of the dratted dragon's digestive tract, I can easily perform some experiments to determine what, exactly, would happen on introducing You-Know-Who to said environment. And... perhaps we should see what exactly that wretched lizard is able to digest.","Maybe we should just tell him You-Know-Who is juicy and delicious." Flitwick suggested, a silly grin spreading across his face.,"Perhaps. I would prefer to be certain that You-Know-Who will not be able to thenceforth usurp control of the blasted beast's body." Snape mused.,"... true." Flitwick said.,"Then it's decided. Tomorrow evening we shall have Poppy and yourself, Severus, determine what conditions inside of Harry are like; then you should perhaps engage in these experiments of which you speak." Dumbledore said.,Snape nodded gravely.,"Indeed. Hmm... Albus, how are we to avoid the Ministry discovering the boy's, ah, transformation? I do not believe it takes a seer to predict how they would respond to all this.",There was an uncomfortable silence, and the assorted teachers glanced worriedly at each other. All were quite aware of how extreme the embittered man's views were, and although they agreed on principle there was some disagreement when it came to methodology.,"Well, to begin with he has taken his beastly uncle's word for it as concerns keeping his transformation secret." Dumbledore said. "I believe we should reinforce this; there will come a time for him to do as the goblins did, but that time is not yet now.",The rumours flew thick and fast. One of the prefects had seen the headmaster departing Hogwarts in the company of three out of four Heads of House the previous evening, and she reported that as of last night Snape had still had greasy hair – so why exactly was it now clean?,As the sun went down behind the Cuillins across the water on Skye, Harry Potter was one very excited dragon.,One of Mr Dumbledore and Hagrid's friends, this really nice smiley lady called Madam Hooch, had promised she'd help Harry work out how to fly without crashing into stuff!,They were going to go up onto the moor across the lake, and there Harry would fly! Really fly! Without crashing, hopefully!,Ooh, it was going to be amazing!,But first Mr Dumbledore said that one of his other friends, someone called Madam Pomfrey, needed to do something called diagnostics, apparently aided by that man with the yummy-smelling head.,Thus it was that, when a group of Mr Dumbledore and six of his friends – all three of the ones who Harry had sort-of-met the previous night, plus this little round woman with a big smile, plus a tall man with more scars than not-scar, plus Madam Hooch who Harry had properly met earlier that day – FINALLY came down to Hagrid's house, Harry was bouncing on the spot and raring to go.,Ooooh, this meant he'd get to go into that castle he'd seen last night and could see through Hagrid's windows! Castles were pretty cool, he'd seen pictures, but he'd never had a look inside of one and he was really looking forwards to that too.,When the dratted dragon looked slightly disappointed and said, "Your head doesn't smell tasty any more, what happened?" Snape decided that the fire hazard involved in ungreased hair was worth it.,By the time the group of eight Hogwarts teachers and one dragon were about to enter the castle, said dragon had calmed down a bit.,But it all went horribly wrong as soon as they were in the building, at the first turning on the way up to the infirmary.,"This way pl-" Dumbledore started.,However, Harry interrupted by yelling, "CNIGHET!" and blowing flame as hard as he possibly could, producing a cloud of blue-white fire that blasted down the corridor with a dull thump like thunder at point-blank range, the pressure of the blast blowing out the windows all along that stretch of corridor.,The unfortunate suit of armour that had just come within his line of sight when they rounded the corner was hit full-on by the fireball; a second later Harry let off and slumped a bit, panting for breath.,The group of teachers all stared, slack-jawed, at where the suit of armour had been. Little sign of it remained bar a streak of molten metal among the flambéed section of corridor; floor and walls were charred black, with the odd portion glowing red-hot, aside from a perfect silhouette of the suit of armour in less-charred stonework where the metal had momentarily shielded the wall.,"Bludy hell!" McGonagall emphatically stated.,"And what exactly, you dunderhead, was that supposed to attain?" No prizes for guessing the source of that acerbic query.,"It was a cnighet in shiny armour! It was going to hit me with a lance!" the dragon complained. "You didn't tell me there were cnighets here!","It was merely an empty suit of armour!" Snape snapped.,"I'm sure it was a cnighet! It was going to hit me with a lance!","Whit tha hames is a 'cnighet'?" McGonagall muttered.,"I assure you that whatever a 'cnighet' might be, there are none here!" Snape bellowed, going even paler than usual. Considering that he was used to angry people going purple, Harry justifiably mistook this for a sign of not-angry.,"It was a chnighet! I'm sure it was a cnighet! Cnighets wear shiny armour and ride around on big white horses and stick lances in dragons and do something called slay that sounds really scary! Cnighets are the murtle enemy of all dragons, everyone knows that! Even my cousin Dudley knows that and he's really thick!","It's pronounced 'Knight'." Flitwick helpfully provided, having worked out what all that meant.,"Um, are you sure? Because it isn't spelt 'Night'.","If you pretend the K doesn't exist it is. Incidentally, that wasn't a knight; it was a suit of armour such as knights might wear, but it did not have a knight inside of it." the pint-sized Charms professor explained.,"... oh. Oh yeah... Are you sure that wasn't a cni- a knight?","Quite certain." Flitwick said, nodding firmly.,"Oh." the dragon said, sounding abashed. "I'm, um, I'm sorry I flamed your armour but it looked really like a knight.","You will be forgiven if you promise never to flame indoors again." Snape stated, deciding that this was probably a good idea; the way his colleagues nodded firmly made it very apparent that they agreed.,"Okay." the dragon said, solemnly nodding. "I won't flame stuff indoors unless it's really really important.","That will suffice." Dumbledore said before Snape had time to explode again. "Now then, this way please.","Okay." the dragon repeated.,"Wretched lizard." Snape muttered.,To Severus Mercurio Snape's experience dragons, especially very young dragons, live a six-mode existence.,These six modes could be summed up as 'Asleep', 'Eating', 'Reading', 'Crapping'. 'Flying' and 'Asking all sorts of dunderheaded questions'.,Why exactly Dumbledore had decided that the perfect dragon-sitter during those times Hagrid could not dragon-sit was Snape was anyone's guess; Snape half suspected it was a part of a diabolical plot to get him eaten by a certain dragon.,That dratted dragon! Any time the little blighter wasn't asleep or eating anything that would sit still long enough, it was either demanding lots and lots of books, or bothering him while he tried to concentrate on his vitally important experiments!,"What's that, Professor Snape?" it asked, pointing at a bowl.,"Cold-pressed spungle oil, a common base for many ointments and creams." Snape sighed. How in Merlin's name was he to get rid of the blasted beast?,"It smells really tasty.","Everything seems to smell tasty from your perspective. Wretched lizard." In the three days it had so far been at Hogwarts, the damned animal had devoured an abominable quantity of meat, muggle fuels, metal, and Snape's valuable potions ingredients; Snape had never thought he'd encounter a creature not just capable of gobbling a whole bubotuber, but capable of doing so without boils or distress.,"Not everything, I mean, wood smells kinda yukky.","Dratted beast." Snape snapped, making a mental note to check if wooden clothing was possible, and shoved the nearest book – his copy of 'Moste Potente Potiones' – into it's paws. "If you simply must stay awake read this, and if you wish to eat something, ask for an elf to bring you a meal.","Oh, okay then." the dragon said, not at all upset, much to Snape's disappointment.,It shut up then, and the foul-tempered potions master was astonished to realise that he hadn't been so disappointed about his continuing failure to upset James Potter's brat as he should. Was he going soft? He'd only been dragon-sitting for three days – how on Earth could be be letting the accursed lizard grow on him?,Admittedly, it did have it's uses. It's faeces had proved to be a potent accelerator for potions usage, and at least it never went and asked the same question twice, apart from the eternal 'where can I sleep', 'can I have something to eat', 'have you got a book I could read' and 'um, where should I go poo' type of questions, and those ones were easy to answer; 'the barn behind Hagrid's house', 'ask for an elf to bring some food you dolt', 'here, read this and be quiet', 'the forest of course, are you an imbecile?'.,And at least the little bugger knew how to keep a civil tongue in his mouth.,"Um, Professor Snape, I've already read this.","Wretched lizard! And am I to assume you've memorised it?","Well, I kinda can remember stuff really well, right?","What, then, is the twelfth step of the brewing of Veritaserum?","Add the mixed ingredients to the dilute murtlesap base, and bring to a slow boil until the brew begins to bubble.","And the fourth step of the brewing of Skele-Gro?","Chop the antler finely. No piece should be bigger than the fore-paw of a shrew.","And the seventh step of the brewing of Post-Cruciatus Potion?","Add the bubotuber pus one drop at a time to the simmering mix; add each drop after the last has ceased to bubble.","Hmm. Perhaps there is hope for you yet; I shall reserve judgement until you have proven yourself able to utilise all of the knowledge you have eagerly crammed into that sizeable skull of yours, young man. Now, I appear to have run out of volumes within my private collection for you to read; what reading material would you desire?","Books about dragons would be nice.","Very well; I shall see if I can locate volumes that meet your exacting specifications. You must watch this brew carefully! If it begins to bubble, you must draw it away from the fire at once! Failure to do so will cause it to explode with great violence and waste six hours of my valuable time, and if that is to happen I will refuse to allow you books for a week! Is that understood?","When it starts to bubble I take it off the fire.","Only to a range of two hand-spans from the flame, remember!","Okay.","Care that you do it, boy. And do not interfere with it!",Magorain was currently one very worried centaur.,One score and two years of grave omens had passed, and now the Great Wyrm had been seen over the forest. (2) The ancients' calender claimed that there were four score years left to go before these events came to pass, and Magorain had expected to grow old and travel to the last hunting grounds in that time – so why was it happening now?,Either something had changed, or something was horribly, horribly wrong.,At least the Great Wyrm wasn't lairing in the forest. The old centaur dreaded to think what would become of the Black Wood Clan if that came to pass. The secret writings said it might become necessary to sacrifice fillies to appease the wrath of the Great Wyrm, and it was not as if the Black Wood Clan had a surfeit of females! Why, even Magorain's eldest son only had three wives!,What was to become of them?,He watched the stars steadfastly.,It has been claimed that the only thing that travels faster than light is gossip; a story or a mystery can spread through a closed community at an absurd speed, and that was very true of Hogwarts.,When you take several hundred children and teenagers, and coop them up in a relatively confined area for months, the gossip lines will develop quickly. Any rumour or wild story will spread iteratively, and everyone will know in a very short time indeed.,The current hot topic was – and had been for more than a week now – exactly what was distracting Snape, Madam Hooch, Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey and now McGonagall too? And, on a related note, what had caused the huge scorched spot near the postern gate where one of the suits of armour used to be?,With each repetition, the stories got wilder, taking on the form of what muggles would call conspiracy theories as the students tried to tie in Snape's still-clean hair and the outrageously nasty smells that were frequently issuing from both dungeon and Forbidden Forest.,By the time the next Hogsmeade weekend came up, the theories had gotten very strange indeed.,"So," Albus Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling, "Now you've all taken a turn as dragon-sitter, what does everyone think of young Harry?" He and the four Heads of Houses were once again clustered around the fireplace in his office, along with Madams Hooch and Pomfrey, whiskeys in their hands, while the dragon in question was asleep in the barn behind Hagrid's house.,Snape grimaced. "I wish he was quieter and a slower reader. I suppose I must be grateful that the wretched lizard only ever asks a given question once, excepting the ones about eating, defecating and acquiring more reading material.","Severus, really. He's polite, respectful, intelligent and friendly; what's your problem with him?" McGonagall asked.,"A bastard with the exact same voice as that wretched lizard tormented me for seven of my formative years; that dratted dragon sounds entirely too like his father for any semblance of comfort." Snape said, grimacing again. "I suppose if his voice was different his company would be... tolerable. As things stand, as soon as he opens his trap it's entirely too like being in a room with a dragon-shaped James bloody Potter.","Ah; I see." Flitwick said, nodding gravely.,"Yes. It is a... disturbing image.","When are you going to let bygones be byegones, Severus?" Sprout asked.,"When I receive a sincere apology from any given member of James Potters little gang of sycophants, and no sooner. Considering that two are dead, a third in prison and the fourth a hermit, I doubt that shall occur at any time soon.","Yes, well. Anyone else, your opinion of our dragon-shaped Boy-Who-Lived?" Dumbledore asked.,"In all my life I have never met a beast so hungry." McGonagall said. "By Hagrid's commentary, the laddie eats more than the giant squid; I would be quite interested to discover where he puts it all.","Indeed." Snape agreed. "Never had I thought I would encounter a creature able to devour a whole bubotuber without flinching or for that matter developing boils, and I had thought a creature that would then ask for some more was an impossibility.","I hadn't realised there was anything he can't eat." Flitwick said.,"He dislikes the flavour of wood, or so it appears." Snape helpfully provided. "And it appears that muggle plastics give him the runs.","You're a very strange man, Severus Snape. You dislike the lad, yet at the same time you're absolutely fascinated by him." Flitwick remarked.,Snape sniffed indelicately.,"Filius, his body is extraordinary. His stomach juices have proven able to dissolve anything – even glass, I have no idea how he avoids his own digestive tract digesting his internal workings. His physiology appears to largely be based upon metals, primarily iron and copper, though there are traces of rare metals such as titanium and gold throughout his central nervous system, and his skeleton seems to largely be composed of aluminium though it appears to be alloyed and structured in a manner I confess do not recognise. His bioalchemy resembles nothing so much as a furnace; it is no wonder that he inhales such massive quantities of coal and petroleum, his body quite literally burns through the stuff at a prodigious rate. Frankly, his physique resembles nothing so much as a living machine; he is a being built not of flesh and blood, but of living metal. To be quite honest, his morphology intrigues me.","Aye; he's a fascinating creature, isn't he?" Kettleburn agreed.,"Quite. I simply wish that he wasn't quite so... so... so annoying.","You're scared of him, aren't you Severus?" McGonagall asked.,"Can anyone in here honestly declare themselves not the slightest bit afraid of the blasted reptile?" Snape asked, raising one eyebrow.,Nobody replied to that, causing Snape to look slightly smug.,"I suspect," the potions master continued, "That Rubeus is the only member of staff who does not find a dragon behaving like a hyperactive child at least a little unnerving.","... indeed." Dumbledore admitted. "His, ah, lack of awareness of his own potential for mayhem is simultaneously a little disturbing and heartening.","Oh? How so?" Snape asked.,"Well, I suspect the fact that he hasn't realised he's capable of laying waste to everything in a wide area indicates that he doesn't feel any desire to lay waste to much of anything." the elderly man explained.,"True enough." McGonagall said. "If anything, he reminds me of my son when he was young.","A typical small boy with the body of a dragon. My nightmare is complete." Snape muttered, shaking his head.,"Yes; two tons of boisterous child is a little, well, disturbing, really." Madam Pomfrey agreed.,"Minerva, how go his instructions in self-transfiguration?" Dumbledore asked.,McGonagall snorted.,"Frankly? Albus, he's a quick and eager learner. He succeeded in transfiguring himself into a child-sized dragon last night; he can't yet maintain it for very long, but he's learning fast.","I suspect that to be a theme we shall see repeated ad nauseum over the coming years." Snape said. "He appears to have an eidetic memory; once I realised he had read every volume in my collection, I quizzed him on the material therein. I have done so several times, and I must say that if he were to take his Potions OWL today he would receive a clean O in the theory section; exactly how well he shall prove able to put into practise the information he has crammed into that sizeable skull of his I must confess to looking forwards to discovering.","I think we're all eager to discover that." Sprout said with a nod.,"What of the experiments to simulate conditions within his stomach, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.,"Ah, yes. I confess they await my discovery of a vessel able to contain a portion of his stomach juices for more than a few moments, especially whilst heated to a temperature sufficient to boil lead." (3),"His insides are truly that hot?","Indeed." They all noted that Snape had an odd gleam in his eye. "I am currently attempting to determine the composition of his stomach lining. From what Poppy has been able to discern, it appears to be a ceramic material of some form; we have a series of planned experiments to determine it, and Hagrid has assured me that he will immediately alert me if that wretched dragon ever throws up, in case there are pieces of stomach lining within his vomitus such as one finds within that of a human.",As the varied 'dragon-sitters' were discussing Harry, the subject of their discussion was sitting in Hagrid's barn and having a good think.,It hadn't taken him long to discern that the dragons in the books Mr Snape got for him weren't the same sort of dragons as he was since they couldn't talk and they didn't eat metal; and, in fact, no book about dragons any of Mr Dumbledore's glowy friends had been able to find at first had described dragons anything like Harry. Mrs McGonagall had, upon his request, gone down to the nearby town and visited it's library, acquiring a number of books about dragons written by the people who didn't glow any, and for all that she'd been adamant they were nothing but something called 'muggle fantasies' he'd found them very useful because they described all sorts of dragony things and they talked about the sort of dragons that knights go after, and Harry was pretty sure he was that sort of dragon.,Was there something about the people who glowed a bit that stopped them getting the idea about dragons? As far as Harry could see, dragons were pretty simple stuff, really; at least, so he gathered from the books Mrs McGonagall had given him.,He'd read them carefully, and made notes and everything about his findings and all that. All of those not-glowy-person fantasy thingies had to come from somewhere, and he'd found several common themes in the books that talked about dragons who could talk.,Dragons who can talk needed to have a lair, and it should have treasures in it and preferably some damsels. He wasn't totally sure what the whole thing with damsels was but most of the books had made it sound like something very important.,Almost every one of the books – excepting the ones he'd disregarded because they didn't sound like the sort of dragon he was – made the fact that knights were out to get dragons very clear, and he'd learned that the slay thing meant making the dragon dead, which sounded really nasty – as soon as he'd realised what it was about he'd resolved to flame any knight that tried to get him, very hard, and keep a sharp eye on those shining armours that were littered around Hogwarts as they were entirely too knight-like for comfort.,The thing about the books that really annoyed him was the way they made out that most dragons were baddies. The only ones that didn't were the books by this lady called Anne McCaffrey, who (from the photos in the backs of some of the books) had a really nice smile, and from the way the dragons in Mrs McCaffrey's books didn't talk out loud Harry was pretty sure he wasn't that sort of dragon. (4),How much of it was real and how much of it was made up? Harry really didn't know, but turning into a dragon was the best thing that'd ever happened to him since the first thing he could remember, everything good that'd happened to him had happened because he'd turned into a dragon, and he was absolutely determined to do this being-a-dragon thing right.,So, he needed a lair, he needed treasures, and he needed damsels. He wasn't sure where to get any of them, but he figured that once he'd found a lair he could work out how to get the treasures and the damsels; the problem was where to find a lair that knights couldn't get into.,He resolved to ask Hagrid. Hagrid knew lots of things about dragons and was really fun, surely he'd know where Harry could find a good lair – and seeing as how Hagrid knew all sorts of awesome stuff, the big man would probably know where to find a knight-proof lair.,Hmm. The world needed to know that knights were baddies. It'd make the world a better place for everyone if more people listened to that nice Mrs McCaffrey lady and called dragons the goodies they really were.,Harry decided he'd have to find Mrs McCaffrey someday and let her know what dragons were really like, once he'd worked that out, and thank her for telling people that dragons were really the goodies, because the more people who knew that the better, even if the dragons she wrote about to tell people that weren't very like real dragons. She had to be a very nice lady if she was brainy enough to realise how cool and awesome and good dragons really are.,"Evenin', Harry." Hagrid said, stomping into the barn. Hagrid stomped really well, he made the ground go clump and everything. Harry resolved to get Hagrid to give him stomping lessons someday.,"Hi, Hagrid. Um, there's something I was wanting to ask about...","... he wants what?" Dumbledore asked, perplexed.,"Harry sez he's wantin' a lair." Hagrid repeated. "He sez he's needin' it ter be somethin' he called 'knight-proof'. I were thinkin' about this cave I know about up th' crags at th' back o' th' forest, got a hunnert-foot drop in front an' all, onea th' burns feedin' inta th' loch runs outta it. Plenty space up th' back, at least that's what Madam Hooch sez; she had a look-see a couple years back, I ain't never bin up there","That would probably be a good idea." Madam Pomfrey, who had been discussing her concerns about Harry's health when Hagrid barged in, said. "The poor boy isn't getting enough exercise, having to spend all day cooped up in that barn, and the cliffs at the back of the Forbidden Forest are out of sight of the castle.","Hmm; I concur." Dumbledore agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "Rubeus, if you and Madam Hooch were to show the cave in question to him during his next flying lesson? I suppose that his tutors could fly to the cave for his lessons if it meets with his approval.","Ey, Harry, I've found yer a lair." Hagrid said.,This statement had an immediate revitalising effect on the formerly-dozing dragon.,"Ooh! Ooh!" he declared, popping off the floor and bouncing excitedly. "Where? Where? Can we go see now? Is it knight-proof? Where is it? What's it like?","Easy, easy." Hagrid chuckled. "S'up th' back of th' forest in th' crags, th' mouth's 'bout a hunnert foot offa th' gulley floor. I ain't never seen in it, but Madam Hooch sez it's huge inside an' there ain't no way inta it but flyin'. How's about we check it out ternight durin' yer flyin' lesson?","OOH! Oh, that'd be awesome!","I'm glad the idea fills you with enthusiasm." Madam Hooch, who had entered the barn behind Hagrid, said. "Well then, let's go.",A dragon the size of a small bus bouncing excitedly is a disturbing sight for anyone who isn't Rubeus Hagrid.,Sunlight hitting his closed eyelids gradually woke Harry up.,For a few moments, he found himself wondering where he was. This wasn't the garage or the barn, or his cupboard – this was open for the sun to stream in, and he could feel a cool breeze against his shoulder; where was he?,He opened his eyes and had a look around, and then he remembered about the WONDERFUL lair his friends Hagrid and Madam Hooch had shown him.,Situated halfway up a cliff, it's mouth shielded by an overhang, the ground about a hundred feet below the cave-mouth and the top of the cliff about a hundred feet above, it was perfect. A stream (called in local terms a burn, or so Harry had gathered from Hagrid's commentary) ran down the middle of the cave from where it emerged from a crack in the wall at the back, flowing through a deep trench it had worn in the floor and falling over the edge of the cliff to tinkle merrily on the rocks far below. At the mouth of the cave it was plenty big enough for him to spread his wings to take off, there was a huge hollow for the storage of treasures about fifty to sixty feet back from the lip of the cave, and he could see absolutely no way knights could possibly sneak in.,Hmm. He was hungry.,That rock looked remarkably tasty right now.,He took a big bite out of the rock, and as it settled in his stomach with a satisfying splosh, he realised something very important; he'd just made his lair one bite bigger.,The sheer bigness of it was already awesome, but now he knew how to make special chambers for his treasures and damsels and how to make it bigger when he grew more! The cave was in the mouth of a cliff on the side of this huge great mountain – in there was all the room he'd ever need!,He'd found such wonderful friends since he turned into a dragon!,Now he just needed treasures and damsels and everything would be okay. He was already pretty sure he knew where to get the treasures, he'd seen a rainbow earlier that day and he'd heard that you could find treasures at the ends of rainbows so he'd memorised where it landed – one end in the sea, the other on the side of a mountain – and was going to give those two places a good searching once he'd made sure his lair was right.,They drew straws for it. It was the only agreeable method any of them had been able to think of for the task of determining who would have to surrender a daughter now that the worst had come to pass and the Great Wyrm was lairing only a few minutes gallop from the Black Woods Clan's home glade.,Ronan had seen it first, the Great Wyrm alighting on the ledge of the hole in the cliffs where the river's child birthed.,When Bane drew the short straw he wept without shame.,Nobody wanted to do it, but it had to be done – the other option was the whole of the Black Woods Clan was fucked.,Proper fucked.,So at midnight they selected the fairest of Bane's daughters, clad her in the finest of soft furs and silks, bound her wrists, and led her to the edge of the forest opposite the mouth of the cave in which the Great Wyrm laired.,And there, each stallion sadly glancing behind, they left her, the other end of the rope tied to a tree.,There was no other way. The old tales were clear; they had no choice.,The Great Wyrm must be appeased, or everyone died.,No choice at all.,Another beautiful morning in the forest, and Harry was glad to be alive.,For a lad who'd spent the best part of his life cooped up in cupboard, garage or barn, it was incredible. Standing at the rim of his lair – his lair! His very own place! – he was master of all he surveyed.,Harry felt as if he could see to the furthest side of the world as he gazed out over the sea, and the mountains of Skye beyond, towards the ocean and, somewhere out there in the distance across the Atlantic, North America; the foothills to his left hid Hogwarts and Hogsmeade from here, and the nearest muggle town on the map was hidden by the mountain that rose to his right; all that could be seen of the world of mankind was a distant fishing boat and the railway line, the morning train for Mallaig appearing and disappearing between the trees as it rattled it's way west with the heavy growl of it's BR Class 37 diesel locomotive echoing up the glen.,All he gazed upon was his; for the first time in his short and unpleasant life, he felt as if he had come home.,Wait, what was that, at the edge of the woods below him, just the other side of the gulley the river that fed the lake behind Hogwarts Castle ran down? Something was moving down there, something all in greens and browns and greys.,He peered closer at it, and realised he couldn't work out what he was looking at.,So he spread his wings, sprang from the ledge, and glided over to a nearby open spot in the woods – the place he'd found where he could snooze in the sun – and approached the moving thing by land, all sneaky-sneaky because it had been sort of horse-shaped and he wasn't sure if it was a knight.,As he nosed carefully through the undergrowth, carefully avoiding any crash sounds, he slowly realised that what he was seeing was in fact a lady of some sort.,She was all dressed in browns and greens and greys, and she was tied up with a rope that was tied to a tree, and she had most of a horse where her legs should be.,Harry frowned a bit, trying to work out why the lady was tied up and how come she had horse instead of legs.,He really wasn't sure about the horsey bit. It might mean there were knights about; he had a cautious sniff at the wind, though he wasn't sure whether it would do any good as he hadn't worked out what knights smelt like yet.,(They probably smelt of metal and person. The horsey-lady smelt of horse and person. Harry wasn't sure if knights smelt of horse and person too.),Having ascertained that there was no shining armour in sight, he critically examined the horsey lady from between a couple of trees. Her not-horse parts – pretty much everything of a lady but legs – were dressed in that slightly shiny cloth made out of the same stuff as Uncle Vernon's undies, but with added on fur bits and some belts in not-belt places, while all the horsey bits (pretty much everything of a horse that wasn't head or neck, because the horse stopped where the lady's middle started) wasn't wearing anything. Her wrists were tied together behind her back, and there was a rope going from there to a tree.,Suddenly, it all clicked; the lady with the horsey bits where legs usually go was obviously a damsel and that made what to do very obvious.,"Grr grr GRR, I'm a big fearsome dragon and you're a damsel and I'm gonna carry you off to my lair, grr!" he declared, stepping out of the bushes.,Maybe damsels were a sort of treasure? If so it must be a very special sort since those books about dragons Mrs McGonagall got for him didn't seem to name the not-damsel bits of a dragon's treasures.,Suze was sure she was going to die.,She'd had a horrible feeling it was coming for one score and one weeks now.,When her grandfather, Lord Magorain, had grimly announced that he'd seen the Great Wyrm above the forest, she'd known what was to come at once; she'd avoided telling anyone the whole time, but it had happened anyway.,Her father had wept for her.,Oh Gods, she'd made Father cry. Maybe that meant she deserved this?,She hadn't tried to resist when they led her to the last place she ever expected to see; she didn't want to shame her parents. Death is a mere flash; shame is forever.,Father said so, and Father was always right unless Grandfather ever said different and Grandfather hadn't said different about that.,When she'd seen Father's shoulders shake, she'd wanted to reach out and tell him he didn't need to worry. What happened had to happen, none could have changed it, and she was glad to see her brothers walking away from that fatal place as she stood and awaited her assigned fate.,When the Great Wyrm emerged into the clearing, she didn't let herself quail before it. The last thing her father had said to her was, "Be brave for me, my daughter", and she would not disappoint him today.,"Grr grr GRR," it said. Not a growl – it said, 'Grr' like a colt pretending to be ferocious. "I'm a big fearsome dragon and you're a damsel and I'm gonna carry you off to my lair, grr!",It sounded startlingly young.,The rope her brothers had bound her to the tree with parted like dust beneath the Great Wyrm's talons, for all that it was woven from acromantula silk, the strongest and finest known; the Great Wyrm's claws severed that rope like a fine flint knife through a colt's hair.,Surely the Great Wyrm would eat her soon?,She didn't resist it as it wrapped it's mighty forepaws around her; fate had chosen her to appease the Great Wyrm's wrath, and to quaver would shame her father.,Oddly, it seemed to be being exceedingly careful.,Having picked her up, it proceeded to whisper, "Am I doing it right?" out the side of it's mouth.,"... what??" She hadn't quite dared say anything till then.,"Well, er, this is the first time I've done the carrying-off thing and I wanna get it right, right? Because doing it wrong would be really embarrassing because I'm a dragon and that means I'm supposed to know all about this stuff.",Suze considered saying he was doing it wrong for a moment – after all, she'd been fully expecting to get eaten – but came to the conclusion that saying no to a dragon was probably an enormously bad idea.,"I think you're doing it right." she said. "I mean, I've never been carried off before so, um, I'm not really sure how it goes, but, well, you've done a very convincing job of it so far, but I think you need to work on your growl.","Okay!" the Great Wyrm said, not seeming the slightest bit displeased by her commentary. "I, well, I guess GRR! isn't fierce enough? I've heard dragons should be very fierce when they're carrying damsels off.","Uh... I suppose so, but, well... um." Why exactly was the Great Wyrm asking her for advice?,"... oh. Uh, okay, I guess I've gotta make it up as I go along, right?",Her stomach lurched as the Great Wyrm launched itself off the edge of the gulley, then lurched again as it's wings slammed down; the ground spiralled dizzyingly beneath her, and a moment later the Great Wyrm's paws struck ground within it's lair with a tremendous bone-jarring SLAM.,"... um, sorry, I don't think I've got landings quite right yet.",Glancing around, she was startled to discover two things; firstly, there were Great Wyrm-sized bite marks in some of the rocks, and secondly there was a mound of somewhat sea-stained and barnacle-clad gold bars about as wide across as two big stallions were long, right smack dab in the middle of the cave.,"Are you going to eat me?" she asked, and the Great Wyrm looked quite thoroughly taken aback.,"Um, well, I kinda aren't gonna do that." he said. "Well, unless you want me to? I mean, um, it'd be awfully rude to eat anything that asked you not to, I think.",She considered that for a few moments, and then said, "Please don't eat me, Mr Great Wyrm.","Good afternoon, you dratted liz- What in Merlin's name is going on here?" A tall thin human – one of the wizards from up at the castle, though Suze had never seen one before; the human had long black hair tied back in a neat ponytail, a thin face, a hooked nose, pallid skin, and voluminous black clothing, and she had to wonder how one got by with only two legs – had just landed one of those broom thingies on the lip of the cave. "Where, precisely, did you steal that gold, young man? And what, precisely, is that young lady doing here?","Oh, hello Mr Snape!" the Great Wyrm said, obviously delighted to see this acerbic human. "I saw a rainbow the day before yesterday and it came down in the sea just over thataway so I remembered where it came down because I've heard you get gold where rainbows land and I went and explored it because a lair isn't a proper lair if it doesn't have treasure in it and there was this really old sunken ship jammed down in some rocks underwater but not much left of it and it was right near there though it was kinda cold getting to it and it had all this gold sort of scattered around it and since it was sitting in the sea I figured nobody wanted it so I brought it back here and this morning the horsey-people gave me a damsel! I'm a proper dragon now! Isn't it great?",The human, presumably called Mr Snape, spent a moment visibly considering that, and then dismissed it with a flick of his fingers and one raised eyebrow; Suze got the feeling he didn't want to know.,"I see." he said. "Now, I have brought you some reading material, and I and Madam Pomfrey have devised a small number of diagnostic spells that might perhaps allow me to discern more information concerning your remarkable interior. Perhaps if you wish to have a little read, I could cast the examination spells at the same time?","Okay!" the Great Wyrm cheerfully replied.,"And, Mr Potter? They are known as centaurs; referring to them as 'horsey-people' is unnecessarily impolite.","... oh.",Snape had just completed the first of the revised diagnostic spells, while the dratted dragon had his nose buried in a book that surely no child beneath seventh year should be permitted to acquire, when the female centaur spoke up in a soft voice with a melodic accent that the usually-misanthropic potions master found surprisingly pleasant.,"How old is the Great Wyrm?" she asked.,"He is a little over eight years old. In your people's terms, I am given to understand, one score and three summers.","... so he's just a colt?","Indeed." Snape confirmed.,"Hmm?" Harry asked, looking up from the book.,"Go back to your reading, you blasted reptile; I am attempting to hold a rational conversation with the young lady here, and we do not currently require your input.",The centaur girl recoiled, obviously expecting Snape to quite promptly be flambéed, and looked positively flabbergasted when the wretched lizard just chirped, "Okay!" and resumed reading.,"He is, quite frankly, a naive child." Snape quietly told the centaur girl. "And I do believe it would be provident for the continued health of the both of us if you were to see that his inevitable maturation is gentle... ah, this is fascinating. Quite fascinating. It seems that the dratted dragon's skeletal structure is composed of a material named Orihalcum. Fascinating... I can but wonder how it was grown...?","I know that if the right parts aren't in someone's food they won't grow proper... so how does he get the Orihalcum? Isn't it really rare?" she asked.,"Hmm; you're quite the knowledgeable one, aren't you? Indeed, until recently it was among the rarest substances known; the secret of it's manufacture had long been thought lost along with the creators of your kind, young lady, and for many years the only known source of it was the skeleton of a drake-dog. We have the muggles, of all creatures, to thank for it's return to this world; they unravelled the secret of it without knowing what they were looking at, and named it 'aluminium oxy-nitride', a term that only makes sense when one realises that Orihalcum is in fact a quite specific phlogistonic nitrate of the ignoble metal aluminium." (5),"Really? I... didn't know that.","Few did, until very recently. What is your name, young lady? You seem tolerably knowledgeable.","I'm Suze, daughter of Bane.","Daughter of Bane? You have my commiserations. Now, let us see what we can see about this young man's stomach lining... hmm, a form of glass? Curious; there must be something I am missing about it's structure.","... you want to know how the Great Wyrm's body works?","Indeed, young lady; indeed. I see naught but potential in discerning the function of his bioalchemy; his stomach alone holds the potential to revolutionise the art of potions as it is currently known. I do believe that when I succeed in learning all that is to be learned from him, I shall become quite remarkably famous and, more to the point, wealthy, though of course I shall have to make certain to share said wealth with the blasted beast; I have it on good authority that cheating a dragon is an enormously bad idea for those who prefer to continue to breathe... Quiet now; I must write these formulae down at once.","Mr Snape...?","What is it now? Wretched lizard!","I, um, I've kinda gotta learn to growl better; you're really good at growling, can you tell me how it works?",Snape paused, quill poised, then unleashed a heartfelt snort.,"Young man, if you are to be quiet and allow me to write these formulae before I forget them, I shall make certain that you are given growling lessons by the finest growler I have ever known.","Okay!",Time has a habit of passing when nobody's paying it any attention and that holds true whether you're child or adult, dragon or human, muggle or magical.,That said, when you're very young it travels slower. As you age, it speeds up – something that's noticed by everyone as they get older.,For an eight-year-old boy, a year is a very long time. For an eight-year-old who isn't in school and doesn't have people who insist on him doing chores, a day is a wonderfully long and full thing, and that holds true for any small child.,Even ones who've been turned into dragons.,In between lessons from varied Hogwarts staff when the weather was calm enough for them to fly up from the castle, hunting, scrounging for metal and fuel from Hagrid, seeing what sort of treasures he could root up, and inventing new games he could play with his centaur damsel, Harry was a very busy dragon indeed – and he liked it that way because it was just so much FUN! There was always something to do and none of it made his body hurt like chores at the Dursleys had, and it he didn't want to do stuff everyone listened – it was brilliant!,As days turned into weeks and weeks into month, the depths of winter hit the Cairngorms and clad the mountains in snow, transforming the hills around him to a winter wonderland. On still nights, his centaur damsel told him which star was what and what she knew of the meanings of their movements as they lay and listened to the distant rumble on the edge of hearing of ships' engines the far side of Skye echoing across the water; when the wind picked up and gales screamed in from the Atlantic, ripping the ocean to white and blasting trees from the ground – an awe-inspiring sight for anyone, especially someone who'd never even imagined such a storm before – she proved most glad of the furnace-like heat put out by his body as she sheltered beside him, cuddled up against his belly; for his part, he liked to lay out the wind but in such a position that he could see out of his lair to watch the clouds race past the moon. He quickly noticed deer (according to Mrs McGonagall, that was the name for venisons that were running around) on the hills, and after a while decided to find out if they tasted as yummy as they smelled – and that is how he received the second-biggest shock of his life.,He'd been flying around aimlessly just checking stuff out for a while and being disappointed that he hadn't found any more gold at rainbow-end places when he noticed the still-running venison. He'd been meaning to give it a try for a while, just because he knew not-running-any-more venison was tasty and the ones that were running around smelt really yummy.,So he landed, momentarily smug about how much better he'd got at landings, right in front of it and declared, "GrrRRrrr!",It snorted a lot, backing away and waving it's multi-pointed horns at him. He figured the trick was to get past the horns and that there was venison there.,Mmm yum, venison!,So he tried to slap it's horns out the way.,He was surprised to say the least when it's head splattered.,Harry's lair was oddly quiet tonight, Severus Snape noted as he set down in the lip of the entry chamber. It'd been so much smaller when the dratted dragon first moved into it – he was quite certain that the extra passages and chambers had been chewed out of solid rock.,Blasted beast had no idea of his own strength. He'd grown at an absurd rate over the few months he'd been here – it was early March now, and the wretched lizard was easily bigger than the Hogwarts Express locomotive.,At least he'd slowed his insane rate of growth.,The dratted dragon was usually at this time of day lounging on the lip of his lair after a full day's playing. Snape caught himself being sentimental, and reassured himself that the blasted beast was in fact a wretched lizard and honest hard-working potions masters shouldn't be sentimental about things like that.,Today, there was no sign of the dragon. The dragon's pet centaur was seated at the far end of the entryway, and she had a look of deep concern upon her pretty face.,Not just a pretty face, that one. She was, by the standards of the centaurs Snape had met, quite well read, and unlike her kin willing to learn.,"Where in Merlin's name is that dratted dragon?" he asked.,"He's through there." she said, pointing at one of the passages that were new since Snape's last visit the previous week. "He's... um, he's upset about something but I'm not sure what.","I see." Snape said, suppressing the desire to feel concern.,'James Potter's brat, Severus!' He assured himself. 'It must assuredly be nothing blown out of all proportion!',The passage was pitch black; he cast a Lumos and peered down it.,The gleam of gold and the sight of the dragon's tail met his sceptical eyes.,"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you, you wretched lizard?",A moment was filled by the rattle of shifting treasure, and then the blasted beast was eyeballing him with a frankly worried look.,"... um, hi, Mr Snape." it said. For once in the time Snape had known Harry, the dratted dragon didn't sound excited.,"I repeat; what, precisely, is wrong with you, young man?","... Mr Snape, do, um, well, do people squish as easy as deer?","What exactly brought this on, young man?","... well, I kinda thought I'd see if the sort of venison that's running around would taste as good as the sort that isn't running around, and, well, it kinda... came apart on me when I kinda tried to hit it's horns out the way, it, well, it went, um, it went splat.","I see." Snape said, getting the idea. "I am afraid that there is no gentle way to say this, lad; compared to yourself, most creatures are indeed quite remarkably fragile.","... oh. I... I don't think I'd better go anyplace any more.","Desist in being a dolt, you wretched lizard!" Snape roared, unutterably incensed. "So you're sizeable and a tad unnerving – don't you dare hide from yourself, you blasted reptile! Don't you dare! What would your mother think, young man? I'll tell you what she'd think! She'd be disappointed at her only child being a coward! So you're a large and physically powerful creature – you must use your size and power as responsibly as any being! I have the power to cast the Killing Curse, as do all wizards and witches – it is the power to bring destruction without fail to any who might anger me and I do not use it for fun and games! It is merely an option for when all else has failed and the choices are death or glory! So too is your strength, your fire and the edge of your talons – your physique is indeed a weapon, and like all weapons that might come into your possession you must treat it with a modicum of respect, but you must not be afraid of it! If you are afraid of yourself you will never amount to anything and that, young man, would be a quite astonishing waste! I have not spent days upon end attempting to drum a little valuable knowledge into your sizeable skull to see you sulk in this wretched cave like some introverted ignoramus! Do you understand me, boy? Well? Do you?","... I guess.","Don't guess! Know! Guessing is for those who lack the drive to excel!" Snape stopped, spent a few moments breathing deeply to calm himself, and then firmly shook his head. "Dash it, boy. You're a... a, a tolerable child, and I do not wish to see that go to waste over a dead animal.","... I'm sorry, Mr Snape. It's just... it really went splat and I don't want that to happen to any of my friends.",Snape shook his head, stifling a smile as he remembered the muggle comics he had, as a child, once enjoyed.,"A man I as a child respected once said, 'with great power comes great responsibility'. Like all of wizardkind, it behoves you to take that to heart, my boy. Ours is the power to change lives for the better... or to, in the same breath, end them. It is our choice in which way we shall use our power, and I can but hope your choices are wiser than those that most make.","Can you tell me how to be wise with power, Mr Snape?","... I am the wrong man to ask that question, my boy. You should ask that of Dumbledore." Crap, when had he started thinking of James Potter's brat as his boy?,"I will.","Good; see that you do. Now come out here at once, I have further spells of examination to cast, and some books that you might wish to read.",It took a lot of convincing on Hagrid and Dumbledore's parts to get through to Harry that dead deer was where the not-running-about type of venison came from, but by late March they'd managed, and after a while Harry found enormously (if briefly) surprised venison to his liking, although it didn't become the mainstay of his diet; that remained the preserve of Hagrid's scrap-dealership contacts and large quantities of fossil fuel.,Mr Snape and Mrs McGonagall and Mrs Pomfrey said that his body was mostly made out of all sorts of metals with interesting names, but burned coal and petrol to keep the fires inside him blazing; he reckoned that was really cool, it sounded like his tummy worked a bit like a jet plane's engines crossed with a steam train, and Harry couldn't think of many things cooler than jet planes and steam trains. When it came down to it, he reckoned that the comparison was pretty good since things that got in the way of steam trains or jet planes tended to go squish and it seemed that the same went for things that got in the way of dragons.,Winter turned to spring, bringing with it tremendous sheets of rain as the last gales of the season rattled the land, and the forest came alive from it's hibernation, green flowing as new leaves spread across the trees and bracken sprang up across the hillsides; Harry added wild goat (a pungent meal) and the odd stray sheep (which presented a fluffy mouthful) to his diet. The tremendous growth spurt, that he'd spent the previous months of being-a-dragon under the influence of, quieted itself, and with it his appetite calmed a little; no more did he add an inch or so every night, for all that he was still growing.,Summer slipped in, announced by a tidal wave of midges; for some reason, the mote-like biting flies found Harry's body almost unutterably appealing but dropped dead as soon as they tried taking a bite out of him, and Suze stuck very close as they fell in droves from his flanks; as his ninth birthday approached, Harry at last learned to change his form into a copy of what he'd once called his body, and shortly after that he found a wonderful new game called playing horsey with his centaur damsel!,On the evening of July 30th 1989, for the first time in his life he found himself having trouble getting to sleep because he was looking forwards to his birthday just SO much.,Birthdays were a special time, and everything was more special for dragons.,"She still lives." Bane said.,Ronan had to admit he was a bit worried about his cheiftain's heir. Bane hadn't been quite the same since they sent his fairest daughter to appease the Great Wyrm's wrath; the black-furred stallion's zest for life had seemed to drain out of him drop by drop with each step he took away from that accursed place, until as they upped camp at the Great Glade he'd been naught but a shadow of his former magnificence.,But now, something had changed. Earlier that morning, Celestine had galloped into the glade where they had sought refuge, his face ashen and his eyes wide, and demanded to speak to Bane in private; he and Bane now stood by the great hearth, and the fire was back in Bane's eyes.,"Your pardon, Bane?" Tiberius asked.,"Suze." Bane said, and suddenly Ronan realised what had happened.,"I swear it is true." Celestine said, bowing his head. "I saw her half a day's swift run towards dawn from here, not merely alive but playing like yearlings with the Great Wyrm itself, though the beast has learned to hide it's nature; it walks in the form of a human colt of perhaps one score and three summers, but it's scent is unmistakable and I swear that I saw it's transformation.","Impossible." Julius declared.,"Nay, brother; it is true, on my blood I swear it!","We must watch the stars carefully." Magorain stated. "What omen this may send us I cannot say, but we must decipher it lest we are to learn the hard way.","Agreed, Father." Bane said with a sharp nod. "I hold that we must maintain close watch of the Great Wyrm, that we might discern it's habits and nature – and, I pray, what we might do to avoid it's wrath.","I concur." Magorain said, and the warriors nodded their agreement.,And so, it was decided.,It had, Harry mused as he laid back on his hoard, been a truly wonderful birthday indeed.,Mr Flitwick had the previous afternoon given him most precise instructions for how best to enjoy a birthday, the most important part being that he was to lounge around and relax and maybe do some lazy-but-fun things like polishing his gold until the sun came out from behind the Cairngorms – the tiny man had been adamant that birthday mornings were something best savoured, and Harry reckoned he knew what Flitwick meant now.,That morning had been really quiet and relaxed and stuff, and now there weren't any barnacles or bits of seaweed left on his hoard at all; he figured that the thing he'd guessed about damsels being a very special and valuable part of a dragon's hoard was right since she'd proved so good at making the gold gleam properly, and besides the hoping he'd get presents was even more awesome when stretched out like that. It was a bit like chores, but good because you just knew there was something brilliant waiting at the end of it.,When the sun had started shining directly onto the lip of his lair, they'd headed down towards the castle. He wasn't sure why seeing his centaur damsel galloping had been so weirdly cool, but it'd been weirdly cool, so that was cool. He'd been a bit worried that knights would jump out and try to steal her, but there hadn't been so much as a glimpse of shining armour and she'd stuck right behind his shadow the whole way down the glen without any problems.,When he'd got to the castle he'd been pleased to find that they didn't have sets of shining armour sitting around any more, and then they'd got to the Great Hall and there had been presents.,And oh what presents they were!,Mr Hagrid had given him a special sort of petrol drum that didn't ever run out of petrol, and said that Mrs McGonagall and Mr Snape helped with it, but that didn't mean Mrs McGonagall and Mr Snape didn't have other presents for him – he'd never imagined so many presents in one place just for him! Even Dudley didn't get such a big pile of presents, but he'd been very careful not to count them because he didn't want to be like Dudley because Dudley was nasty.,Mr Dumbledore had given him a very special fuel drum that he said his friend Mr Flamel who Harry hadn't met had helped with. It had this greyish-red water-ish stuff that smelt yummy in it, and when you put steel in it the steel turned into gold! Real gold! Mr Dumbledore said it wouldn't keep working very long, but Harry reckoned that once it stopped working it'd probably taste very nice.,Mr Flitwick had given him lots and lots of books. All sorts of books – all of Mrs McCaffrey's books, books about magic, books about different sorts of metal, books about dragons, books about weird stuff that sounded really cool – all of them packed into a really big chest like the sort of chest that pirates bury treasure in, and Harry figured that books had to be a sort of treasure since they were packed in a treasure chest, right?,Mrs Sprout had given him a cauldron packed full of gems that she said were the fruit of a very special plant that grew rubies instead of apples or something, and he reckoned that they'd be just the thing to strategically scatter amongst his hoard, all gleamy and red and stuff.,Mrs McGonagall had given him a big gleaming sword that she said was called a Claymore and this little metal Rolls-Royce lady that flew and everything, made out of proper silver,Mr Snape had given him two things; a great big chest full of golden coins that he said were something called royalties – there wasn't much real gold in them but then Mr Flitwick said all coins were a mix of metals – and a very special saddle and harness for his centaur damsel, which would make playing horsey even more fun, it even had reins, but Harry wasn't quite sure why several of his other friends has seemed a bit angry about that; maybe they were annoyed that they hadn't thought of such a cool idea?,He got other presents too, books and paintings and treasure and stuff, but none of it the sort of awesome things his really good friends gave him.,And then there had been cake!,He resolved to get his friends really cool things for their birthdays, even though he didn't have many ideas and he wasn't sure when their birthdays were yet.,"Whit in Merlin's name whair yeh thinkin', Sev'rus?" McGonagall bitterly complained as soon as a certain dragon was out of earshot, at which stage Dumbledore's eyes started twinkling as he realised a certain potions master's somewhat questionable sensibilities had distracted everyone from any awkward questions about substances that could only conceivably be derived from a Philosopher's Stone.,Snape gloomily shook his head.,"I take it from your tone you have never had the misfortune to encounter the tremendous waste of skin they call Bane, then." he said. "You should count yourself exceptionally fortunate for that, Minerva.","Yer met Bane?" Hagrid asked, surprised.,"Indeed; it was during one of my ingredient-gathering expeditions within the Forest that I chanced upon that poltroon." Snape confirmed.,"... I'm nae gettin' yair drift." McGonagall growled, increasingly agitated.,"Frankly, Minerva, Bane is the most unutterably narrow-minded, anal-retentive, cretinous, self-satisfied, objectionable, twinkle-toed dunderhead I have ever had the extraordinary misfortune to encounter, and that is saying quite something seeing as how I used to associate with the likes of Lucius Malfoy." Snape informed her. "He is repulsive to the degree that if it were not for our local friendly hyperactive reptile's pet, I would believe the Ministry might have a point as concerns centaurs; and it seems that said pleasant young lady has in fact the grave misfortune to be one of that ignorant quadrupedal blowhard's daughters.","Punishin' a wain fair tha sins o' tha father isnae becomin' o' yeh, Sev'rus!","What kind of an imbecile do you take me for, Minerva? It's nothing to do with that – I would gladly pay a month's salary to see Bane taken down a peg or two, and considering the ten-minute frothing rant on centaur 'superiority' to which I was subjected when last I encountered that self-fixated popinjay, I foresee him objecting quite strenuously to his daughter being, to quote a certain lizard, 'played horsie with', especially as involves reins and a saddle – and considering exactly how extraordinarily resilient said lizard just so happens to be, it does not take a seer to predict Bane promptly receiving the attitude readjustment he so richly deserves.","... so this is a plot to get Harry to beat Bane up?" Dumbledore asked.,"Indeed, Albus; it is." Snape said, smirking to himself.,"You never do change, do you?" McGonagall muttered. "And what happens when he accidentally kills this Bane?","I sincerely doubt that shall happen; when all is said and done, he is quite the responsible young man." Snape informed her. "Or hadn't you heard what occurred when he managed to knock a stag's block off? Why, it took his pet centaur a week to persuade him to trust himself to lift her again!","Severus, you're not the only one who's quite fond of Harry, and-","I am not at all fond of that dratted dragon!","Severus Snape, stop lying to yourself. It doesn't become you." McGonagall said, making Snape feel like a naughty first-year again.,"Dash it Minerva! I want to hate that wretched lizard! I'd love to hate James bloody Potter's bloody spawn!",Everyone went quiet, looking at Snape, and he felt his face twisting up into a grimace.,"But," he concluded with an aggravated sniff, "I quite inexplicably do not, and not merely because he represents a chance for a more-or-less peaceful resolution to the goals I have been working towards my entire life.","You really think he'll manage to stop the Ministry's bigotry?" Flitwick boggled.,"Indeed I do, Fillius. You've recognised his kindly nature; how, precisely, do you believe he would respond to the facts?","... violently.","Indeed.",Murphy is a cruel but fair overlord.,He makes no exception to his Law; it is enforced without pity or discrimination. Young, old, rich, poor – none are safe, regardless of species or identity.,Sometimes, Murphy appears to take great glee in smacking down anyone and anything that gets cocky.,And thus it was that, as a small party of centaur warriors positioned themselves so as to be able to observe the clear ground across the river from the Great Wyrm's lair without themselves being observed, Harry was just finishing getting ready to try out that present Mr Snape had given him.,The fact that Bane was among that group of centaurs is, in hindsight, seemingly inevitable; after all, whoever you are, Murphy knows where you live.,As soon as he realised what was going on, Bane completely forgot what Celestine had said and saw red.,Seizing up a stout bludgeon, the towering centaur stallion went storming out of the bushes and made a bee-line for where some wretched human brat was treating his precious daughter as a mere beast of burden! He'd show the little bastard who not to mess with!,As he bore down on them, he barely noticed the human brat going, "HEY!" or the 'mglrph!' noise and warding gestures made by his daughter, but he did notice when he abruptly found himself no longer looming over a small human.,Instead, he was now nose-to-nose with the largest, scaliest and most unutterably dangerous-looking creature he had ever seen in his LIFE, and the warnings Celestine had been yelling suddenly registered – but it registered too late; all of a sudden he was no longer holding the cudgel. Rather, he was skidding along the forest floor with his ears ringing, no longer able to discern important things like what day it was, which planets were ascendant, or what way might possibly be up.,Peeling himself off the ground, he once again found himself nose-to-nose with the hot end of the Great Wyrm.,It was inhaling very, very deeply.,That was when he heard his daughter shout, "Please don't kill him!" and the Great Wyrm paused.,"... Oh. Um, well he kinda jumped out and tried to get me - are you sure he ain't some sort of knight?" it asked.,Odd. It sounded almost like some sort of a colt?,"Well, he wasn't one of those the last time I saw him." Suze told the Great Wyrm, coming and standing beside it. She still had those demeaning human-made things on her but, oddly, her manner didn't speak of someone who felt particularly demeaned and she no longer had that thing in her mouth.,"Are you sure? I still haven't figured out what knights smell like but the way they're described everywhere they've gotta smell like armpits and horse, and since all those books are so wrong about dragons I thought they might be wrong about what knights look like too." It peered at Bane from very close range, extending it's alarming quantity of neck so as to do so. "You're not a knight, are you?","No!" Bane declared, resolving to cease to attempt to stand up until everything stopped spinning.,"Oh, then you're just a big bully." the Great Wyrm stated, still glaring. "Well if you try to pick on my damsel I'll sit on you until you wee yourself!","Harry..." Suze said. "This is my father.","... oh." the Great Wyrm said. "Are you sure? I mean, I've heard kids and their dads are supposed to look like each other at least some, I mean, Dudley looks really like his dad, and you don't look anything like this big meanie.","She looks like her mother." Bane said, starting to get the woolly feeling out of his mind.,"Please be quiet, Father. You've done enough damage for today." When in the name of Mars had Suze become so... well, so outspoken?,"Damage?" Bane blankly asked. "The only one that is damaged is I!","Father!","Well it's not my fault you came at me with a big hitting stick like some sort of knight or something! I thought you were trying to slay me!" the Great Wyrm snapped, sounding oddly defensive.,"And you are the one who treats my daughter as a common riding beast!","FATHER!","It's fun and she says she thinks so too!","You disrespectful-" Bane started to bellow, once again starting trying to stagger to his feet, only to freeze up and go silent when Suze slapped him.,She'd been gentle and kindly ever since her first steps. She'd never raised her voice, let alone her hand, to anyone before.,The slap left him sitting, eyes wide, on the forest floor with his jaw slack.,"Father, the Great Wyrm is one score and four summers of age. He is a child, Father, and I will not stand for you to raise your voice to him for a child's games.",Bane opened and closed his mouth several times.,"... we had thought he would eat you." he said, utterly befuddled. "... when will he return you to us?","It's not my fault you're a poo-poo head!" the Great Wyrm declared, levelling a truly fearsome glare at Bane. "And it's not my fault you don't know anything about dragons! I don't eat things that politely ask me not to eat them and I never have and I never will! And you gave her to me even though you thought I was going to eat her so I don't see why I should give her back just because you were wrong and silly because it's obvious that you don't care any about her, you don't even care if she's gonna get eated, and that's not fair!",Bane, eyes bulging, prepared to blow his lid at the mere suggestion that he didn't care for his daughter's wellfare – but a warning sound and raised hand from Magorain deflated him.,"This is neither place nor time, son." the old centaur growled.,"... very well.",Magorain turned his attention to the Great Wyrm, to whom he inclined his head.,"I apologise for my son's outburst; he frequently acts without first thinking.",The Great Wyrm didn't reply to that, so Magorain kept talking.,"We meant no offence in our actions; the ancient writings foretold of a time that the Great Wyrms, such as yourself, would return to this world, bringing with them the eldest of magics; perhaps the timing of those prophecies was in error, for they predicted your coming to occur some four score winters hence at the shortest night. The ancient writings foretold that the Great Wyrm would have a great hunger for the flesh of maidens; when we sighted you dwelling upon the fringes of our lands, we feared you might perchance have come to destroy us.","... I guess that's another book that doesn't get it right about dragons." the Great Wyrm said, seeming mightily perplexed. "And, um, I think they kinda had all that stuff about magic backwards because I became a dragon last year at midsummer when the moon just came up and those lie-line thingies went all glowy when that happened.","Hmm; we must look to the stars to discern the meanings of these omens.","Father, why are you-" Bane started, but Magorain interrupted him.,"Bane. We gifted her to the Great Wyrm, for better or for worse. Let it rest; what's done is done, and naught can change it. It transpires that we were mistaken as to what he wishes of her; who knows what other misinterpretations of the ancient writings still remain to be found?","... that, I cannot say." Bane admitted, then directed his best father-glower (the one that'd always make lusty young stallions quaver) at the Great Wyrm. "Just do not dare to mistreat her, Wyrm, or I swear upon my life there shall be a reckoning, though I know not how.","Okay." the Great Wyrm said. "And you mustn't pick on her neither or I swear I'll sit on your head!","Peace, Great One, peace." Magorain said, and Bane was frankly quite astonished when the Great Wyrm reacted to that like any colt would have to a warning word from the great centaur cheiftain.,"... sorry. He, um, he just kinda made me cross.","He will atone." Magorain stated, giving Bane a commanding side-on look. "And naught more will be spoken of young Suze's dwelling within your lair.","Huh?" the Great Wyrm asked, sounding a bit blank.,"Chieftain Magorian means I'm to stay with you, Harry, no matter what my father might think upon the subject." Suze told the Great Wyrm.,"Well it isn't like anyone could make me send you away." the Great Wyrm told her. "You're nice and I'd really miss you if you weren't here.","I... thank you, Great One." she said, blushing prettily, but Bane didn't really notice; he was busy being absolutely flabbergasted at how very obvious it was, once you knew to look, that the Great Wyrm was a child.,"Great one, would you object if we were to return to our former holdings near to this place?" Magorain asked. "Our current lodgings are frightfully close to the Spider Plague, and the game is poor there.","Well, since you were here before me it wouldn't really be fair if I tried to make you go away." the Great Wyrm said, sounding thoughtful. "And I won't eat neighbours, that would be rude so you don't gotta worry about that because I'm not a rude dragon, my friend Mrs McGonagall says it's very important to be polite because it doesn't cost you none and it makes everyone's day nicer.","... I see." Magorain said.,"And if you've got neighbours who aren't poo-poo heads," and here the Great Wyrm gave Bane a meaningful look, "It's a very good thing because that means you might be able to be friends with them and friends are the best thing ever, well, apart from treasures and damsels that is because a dragon who hasn't got treasures and damsels isn't a proper dragon." It's expression turned wistful. "I guess it'd be nice to have more people to talk with... my friends down at Hogwarts are so busy so much of the time...",Was this daunting behemoth in fact merely a lonely child?,"Father... are you quite certain that this is a wise idea?" Bane asked. He and the scouting party were now jogging back towards the lodgings where they had dwelt since the Great Wyrm's coming to the forest, and he was pretty certain that every part of his body ached.,"Nay, Bane, I am not." Magorain stated. "But what choice have we? It is merely a matter of time before the Spider Plague is to discover our current lodgings, and we do not have the strength of arms to fight them off from such a poor defensive position, especially one so hazardously close to their lair.",Bane sighed and nodded. Their holdings at the side of the Great River had been a supremely defensible position against all but assault from the air – existing on the spur of land between Loch Hogwarts and the gully through which the Great River flowed, it had been approachable only via one direction as spiders, even the monstrosities that had dwelt in the depths of the forest since prior to Bane's birth, could not swim – then the Great Wyrm had come, and they had fled.,The Black Woods Clan had been caught between a rock and a hard place – and they still were, but now the rock seemed to be somewhat less hostile than expected.,If that mighty wyrm had wished for the flavour of centaur meat, surely Suze would have been devoured long ago? Or was it some elaborate scheme to ensure a ready supply of tender centaur flesh?,Just as Bane was thinking that, the thing all of the Black Woods Clan dreaded occurred – members of the Spider Plague dropped from the trees around them, spitting trails of web; half the centaur's number were ensnared in an instant, and those fell beasts closed fast on the remainder in a seemingly-endless wave of chitin and innumerable limbs.,"LEAVE MY DAMSEL'S DADDY ALONE, YOU BIG CREEPY MEANIES!",Following that unexpected bellow, a thunderous jet of blue-white fire rippled across the clearing, striking the biggest Spider dead centre and, with a terrible stench of burning hair, searing clean through and leaving naught but glowing cinders.,"AND HER GRANDPA TOO!",Bane's eyes threatened to burst from their sockets as the Great Wyrm crashed into the fray like a living landslip, slamming another of the Spider Plague from it's web with a mighty forepaw and rendering the fell beast naught but battered scraps of flesh; by all the stars, he'd been fortunate indeed to survive a blow from those talons!,"AND HER FRIENDS!",The Wyrm issued another blast of that shattering flame from betwixt it's jaws, and Bane would ever after swear he saw shimmering rings of greater intensity rippling throughout the jet of beautiful but deadly fire... (6),... and then, all of a sudden, the Spider Plague was fleeing.,"Mmm, tastes like scrunchy chicken in diesel, yummy!",... was the Great Wyrm EATING a Spider?!?,Bane decided that maybe Great Wyrms weren't such a bad thing after all.,As summer turned to autumn, bringing with it yet more rain and piles of dead leaves to jump in, and the students returned to Hogwarts, leading to less company from Harry's friends at the castle, the cook-fires returned to the headland between river and loch; by the time the Winter Solstice revels came round, the Black Woods Clan were almost used to the coming and going of the Great Wyrm, whether in the cute-but-hyper small human-looking colt shape or as several tons of somewhat unnerving scales and muscle.,In his human-looking shape, he was as agile as a mountain goat; in his true shape, he was like a gale and a landslip and a river in full spate all rolled into one. In both, he was cheerful, usually excited, playful, enthusiastic, helpful, full of questions, completely fearless, and energetic to a degree that rapidly exhausted anyone past five score summers, yet he was always almost exaggeratedly careful that nobody got hurt.,He'd swiftly taken to listening in with evident interest when the elders taught the Clan's children, and once they'd stopped being nervous around him (somewhat before their parents) he'd taken to joining in with their games – or inviting them to join in with his. The language of childhood play is near-universal, whether it involves myriad variants of chase (to which the centaur children all declared it wasn't fair that Harry could get up trees) or games along the lines of cops-and-robbers / cowboys-and-indians / playing soldiers / whatever local variant proves popular in whichever time period but essentially boils down to running around brandishing make-believe weapons and declaring, "Pow! Pow! You're dead!", "No I'm not!", "Yes you are!" etc.,The Great Wyrm had introduced the children to the 'Cowboys and Indians' and 'Playing Soldiers' versions of the eternal baddies-versus-goodies childhood games, and with it the horrors of cap guns and sucking-cup arrows acquired by said Wyrm from the toy-shop in the wandless human town of Mallaig. Bane wasn't sure that this could possibly be a good thing, but every time he started getting angry at the way the youngsters were trampling on tradition, he remembered that it was now a full season since the last time the Clan had lost a warrior to the Spider Plague, and that it was the Great Wyrm's enthusiastic friendship that was presenting a glimmer of hope for the future to the once-beleaguered Black Woods Clan.,Why, they hadn't seen the Spiders attempt to assail their defences in a full season, not since the time at summer's end that the Plague had attacked en mass, and the Great Wyrm had proceeded to gorge itself upon the corpses of the fell beasts.,He wasn't really sure when standing sentinel here – the bluff that allowed one to view the sole approach to the Home Glade – had gone from a matter of tense sentry duty to something merely a matter of form, but the thought that it showed that the Great Wyrm had taught the Spiders true fear brought a grimly satisfied smile to Bane's face.,Everyone in the Black Woods Clan had lost siblings to those fell beasts. Bane, and the twins – his younger brothers Firenze and Ronan – were the only sons of Magorian who still lived, and before the coming of the Spiders the old chieftain had called ten sturdy warriors son.,It seemed reprehensible that the changing of times could perhaps be a good thing, but Bane had never been one to shy away from the vicissitudes of truth, he mused as he steadfastly pretended to ignore the way most of the children of the Clan were sprawled in a snoozing played-to-exhaustion heap near the bonfire at the centre of the village behind him along with the Great Wyrm, the immense heat of it's massive body warming the little ones as they slept peacefully around that mountain of muscle and scale – when it came down to it, those little children were in perhaps the safest place they would ever know, for Bane held no doubt that if any were to seek to harm his playmates, the Great Wyrm's wrath would be terrible to behold – it was indeed a mighty protector.,In the end, it mattered not. The Black Woods Clan owed the Great Wyrm a debt of gratitude, of blood unspilt, and that Wyrm would be welcome among them until the stars grew old and dim.,He let his gaze stray to the stars a moment, examining their positions as he glimpsed them between the scudding clouds as he struggled to discern what message they might be sending him.,"Venus is bright this eve." That was his younger brother, Firenze.,"But Mars is rising." Bane said. "And the North Star shines strong.","I will stand the rest of this watch, brother." Firenze told him. "You have stood all too many of late – go to the fires and partake of a little warmth.",Sighing, Bane rose to his feet, gave his little brother a companionably clout on the shoulder, and jogged back towards home, Wyrm, strong drink, good cheer, and strange portents of things to come.,The Wyrm was, he noted, awake, and listening raptly as Magorian told the eldest saga of them all; the tale of the birth into bondage of the Centaurs, of Alpharias He-Who-Is-First-Among-Brothers, of the War in Heaven, of the fading of the Old Ones, of the disappearance of the Sun Elves, and of the once-unfamiliar taste of freedom. It was told once per year, at the Solstice, yet all knew it by heart.,He accepted a stein of mead from a comely lass – one of his nieces, Firenze's eldest – and settled himself close to the Great Wyrm as Magorian drew to a close.,"And thus, it was, and thus shall be, until the lines awaken and the blue fires light the sky and the Great Ones return to our world." the old centaur finished.,"These times are upon us, are they not?" Ronan asked.,"Perhaps." Magorian said. "I believe so. When spring comes, our Clan shall host the Great Conclave and we shall see.","It is indeed an interesting time to be alive." Ronan said.,"Our kin from the furthest east would tell you that to live in interesting times is a curse." Bane remarked.,"Yet does not joy hold the root of sorrow, and sorrow the root of joy?" Celestine asked.,"Perhaps." Bane allowed.,"Then perhaps a blessing might hold the root of a curse, and a curse the root of a blessing." Celestine pushed.,"Our Eastern kin look too closely to their navels." Ronan said.,"Perhaps." Bane agreed. "They pay too little heed to the stars.","Bane may have a point." Magorian said. "Mars had shone strongly these last few nights, but Venus grants us her light by evening and the North Star is strong.","That means that a time of lots of strife is coming, and there's humans involved, but there's hope in it, doesn't it Mr Magorian?" the Great Wyrm asked.,Magorian chuckled.,"You have listened well to the Elders, young Great One. Aye; that would seem to be what is to come. I cannot say with more certainty as we have not had a truly clear night in half a season.","But enough of this heavy talk, Father." Ronan said. "This is the longest night; let us warm it!","I concur." Bane said. "We have been all too solemn of late.","Then let the revel commence." Magorian said, smiling his approval.,Christmas, following hard behind the longest night, had been the most wonderful Christmas Harry could remember. Apparently all his friends at the castle had been busy until the kids who couldn't go home for Christmas had gone to bed, and then they'd met up at Hagrid's house for a special private Christmas.,(Present-counting had been right out. Harry still didn't want to be Dudleyish.),He'd mostly got treasure for Christmas and he'd been really glad Mrs McGonagall helped him get Christmas presents for all his friends, the way Mr Snape struggled to not look delighted when he saw the flask of big-spider poison was really cool and so was the way Mr Dumbledore went all twinkly-eyed at the all sorts of sweets. There hadn't been many of his centaur friends came, but that was okay – he understood that most of the centaurs didn't get on with the people at the castle so good because of all that stuff Mr Magorian had said poems about at the solstice and he guessed that was fair enough since it sounded like the glowy people's ancestors had been really mean to centaurs.,(Why would you want to do that? Centaurs were cool!),Relaxing in his lair, which Mrs McGonagall and Mr Flitwick and Mr Firenze had given him special things for – a big black-and-white fireplace-cooker thingy called a Rayburn from Mrs McGonagall, which was now pumping out warmth as the fire crackled merrily away, a special dragon-sized sort of a bed that fit his hoard from Mr Flitwick, and big-spider-silk hangings from Mr Firenze that worked real good to stop the wind getting in – Harry once again found himself musing on how much better life had been ever since he'd turned into a dragon.,Glowy people were cool, and so were centaurs, but dragons were definitely the coolest. His centaur damsel said that centaurs had to be scared of those big spiders because the big spiders ate centaurs, but because Harry was a dragon he could eat the big spiders and they tasted scrumdiddlyumptious.,He idly picked a piece of something from between his teeth. It seemed to be a bit left over from that huge and yummy Christmas roast Mr Hagrid had found and the little wobbly-eared squeaky people who Mr Snape called house-elves had cooked. It had got tangled in a nice tasty lump of axle that he'd got caught in his teeth, and the mix of prime beef and Toyota axle made for a delicious morsel, just the thing as a before-you-go-to-sleep snack.,He had to admit he was kinda sorry for people who weren't dragons. They'd never know how yummy a Toyota was since they couldn't get their teeth through it.,Yeah, this was definitely life the way it should be lived. He could do with a bigger lair, but that was easy because he just needed to bite off the right bits of rock. He could do with more treasures, but he just needed to find the right rainbows. He could do with more damsels, but he figured they'd come in their own good time.,For now, relaxing on his hoard, his centaur damsel's nice shiny new collar that Mr Snape got her glittering in the dull orangey glow from the Rayburn, in his now toasty-warm lair, with a couple hundred feet of sheer cliff-face to keep knights out and a full belly, Harry was one very contented dragon indeed. (7),The solstice celebration was a scant few score of days gone and still warming the hearts of the Clan when Bane once again found himself standing watch – and, as usual these days, using it as an excuse to peruse the sky.,He was watching Venus subsume herself into the light of the moon when the Great Wyrm landed nearby.,"Hello, Mr Bane." it said, sitting down beside him.,"Well met, Great One." he replied. He couldn't go allowing the young ones – whatever their kin – to go without learning proper manners.,"Watcha looking at?","Venus hides in the light of Selene." he said. "It is a conjunction seldom seen, and it's meaning is thus far hidden.","Oh." The Great Wyrm said. "Y'know, I'd really like to go there one day but I'm not really sure if I could fly high enough.","... pardon?","To the moon. The not-glowy-people flew rockets to the moon. They had to wear these big puffy white things called space-suits so they didn't go squish because there's no air up there, and they called going there 'Apollo'.","A fitting name." Bane said, astonished that the wandless humans had enough respect to grant such a portentous title to the grand endeavour that travel to the moon must have been.,"Yeah. I think it's kinda cool that they give really good names to space missions.","Indeed. Travel such as that you speak of must be a tremendous undertaking indeed, and it bodes well to grant it a title of such strength.","I dunno really. But it must've been really special to be up there looking down and seeing all the world like a treasure in the sky.","I cannot begin to imagine what it must have looked like..." Bane admitted. "So, what brings you here this night?","There's something I wanted to show you." the Great Wyrm said.,"And what might that be?","This.",The Great Wyrm's form flowed swiftly as ever. Bane was used to seeing it – the Great Wyrm often popped from one shape to another as the mood took it.,But this was the first time he'd seen it take a shape other than human or Wyrm.,Standing near the edge of the bluff was a centaur colt, looking to be perhaps one score and three summers of age, with features much like those the Great Wyrm wore when wearing the shape of a human.,"... remarkable." Bane said.,"... um, you ain't gonna be angry, right?","Of course not." Bane said.,"... well, Mr Snape kinda thought you might get a bit, um, annoyed.","Your choosing the form of Centaur merely assures me that at least some of the old writings are correct and Great Wyrms are truly wise beings.","... huh? I don't get it.","Do not worry yourself about that, lad." Bane said, briefly wincing at the way the Great Wyrm's form had effected him. "Your friends shall soon be done with their classes; perhaps they might wish to play?","Oh, yeah, it's that kinda time isn't it? Bye, Mr Bane!",As the currently-centaur-shaped Great Wyrm jogged away, Bane stifled a wry smile and head-shake.,Children were still children, regardless of the form they wore.,With Christmas naught but a fond memory, winter turned to spring, bringing the equinox and the related revel, and summer came bearing swiftly behind.,One day in May, Severus Snape arrived at Harry's lair bearing a most puzzling message from someone called Mr Slackhammer, cordially inviting (whatever that meant) Harry and Snape to attend a meeting at Gringotts Merchant Bank in Diagon Alley, London, to discuss greatly important matters of business that might prove 'most lucrative' not that Harry was quite sure what that meant either though he figured it might involve treasure.,And thus it was that he, currently in his human-shape body, was trotting up the broad steps of the grand building called Gringotts, having to hurry to keep up with Mr Snape's long strides.,He wasn't sure why Mr Snape had insisted he wear a headband, but oh well, Mr Snape seldom roared about stuff that wasn't important. Nor was he entirely sure why Mr Snape insisted he look like a human and not bring Suze, but that was okay, this shape was kinda cramped but the hands were handy, and Suze hadn't wanted to come anyway.,He was puzzled indeed when the pair of what Mr Snape said were goblins (they were doing the sentry thingy by the door to the Gringotts building) saluted him.,"Hi." he said; Mr Snape had said it was very important to be polite to goblins. They didn't reply; they just stood there looking very upright and stiff and attentive and guard-like. They reminded him of those soldiers in the red jackets and big fuzzy black hats at the Queen's palace in London, except those guys weren't goblin-shaped and had different clothes and had big guns instead of big axe-spear thingies.,"Leave them be, young man." Mr Snape admonished. "They are professional soldiers and they have a duty to fulfil.",The duo of resplendently uniformed goblins didn't so much as blink. It was kinda impressive how still they could stand.,Once inside, they ended up in a queue, and Harry could tell that these goblins had the right sort of idea seeing as how there was gold EVERYWHERE, but wouldn't it be better in a proper hoard than on the wall?,He knew that was a look of faint surprise on Mr Snape's face when a goblin wearing a sharp suit came over and, having received confirmation that he was speaking to Mr Snape and Mr Potter, ushered them into a side room off the side of where goblins were doing bank-type stuff for varied glowy people.,The room they were show into was a comfortably-appointed office, with a huge desk in the middle covered in important-looking paperwork; a goblin dressed like an old fashioned gentleman was seated behind the desk, and immediately stood up when he saw who the goblin with the sharp suit was showing in.,"Your guests, Mr Vice-Manager.","Aha, Mr Snape, Mr Potter, come in, do.","Thankyou, Mr...?" Mr Snape said.,"Slackhammer, Crackjaw Slackhammer. Take a seat, gentlemen; there is much to discuss." the goblin in the suit with ruffly bits said, returning to his.,"Indeed? And what, might I enquire, would this business pertain to?","Ah, Severus... do you object to my usage of your first name?" the goblin enquired, his grin somewhat shark-like. "It appears that your formula for the materials of high-temperature cauldrons, based upon My Lord's quite remarkable interior, has fallen into muggle hands.","Um, am I in trouble?" Harry asked.,"Oh dear." Mr Snape said.,"Yes; most unfortunate." Slackhammer agreed with a sad commiserating little nod. "It seems that a group of colonial muggles going by the term 'National Aeronautics and Space Administration' have expressed quite the interest in your formula, Severus my dear fellow.","And what kind of an interest might that be?" Mr Snape asked.,"What Mr Snape said." Harry agreed, nodding.,"It appears that the muggles have contrived a method of catapulting an object so far up that there isn't air there any more and things forget which way is down; I understand that it entails placing the object in question on top of a very large pile of explosive materials and making it go boom." Slackhammer explained.,"You mean like spacemen and moon-rockets and stuff?" Harry asked.,"Indeed; I am of course speaking of spaceflight." the goblin agreed, inclining his head to the Great Wyrm. "And it transpires that when things are dropped from such an astounding height they become quite prodigiously hot.","... and must thus be protected from the heat, correct?" Mr Snape checked, obviously starting to get the idea. "Otherwise, they will burn to a flinder, correct?","Indeed, Severus; indeed." Slackhammer confirmed with a nod. "It appears that their finest exo-atmospheric vehicles have to date utilised a silicate material as a coating; this material performs superbly under heat, but is quite fragile to physical impact and is thus prone to damage, and must frequently be replaced. It is also quite startlingly expensive." From what Mr Snape had said, if a goblin called something 'startlingly expensive', you knew it really cost a pile.,"So stuff made how Mr Snape copied my guts is cheaper, right?" Harry checked.,"These muggle space-men believe that coating their vehicles in Mr Snape's formula," Slackhammer elaborated, "Based upon your internal workings, My Lord, would reduce the costs per launch of their exo-atmospheric vehicles by a substantial margin; they would gladly pay for the honour of utilising a copy of your entrails to coat their vehicles, and pay to the tune of a thousand Galleons per hundredweight used. I am given to believe that the material in question will prolong the projected lifespan of their 'orbiters' by at least a decade, and quite possibly hasten the completion of the improved successor vehicles that they are, in fact, designing around the substance in question.","So they want to use a copy of my tummy to coat spaceships, huh?" Harry asked, gobsmacked. "That's... well, that's WICKED!","I propose that the three of us become business partners within this, ah, endeavour, shall we say?" Mr Snape suggested. "To me it falls to uncover further improvements upon this substance and others, to Mr Potter it falls to inspire said improvements through his remarkable biology, and to you, Mr Slackhammer, falls the distribution and production financing of these remarkably profitable materials; I suppose we should split the profits three ways, eh Mr Slackhammer?","I'm good with that." Harry said, nodding, visions of great big gleaming stacks of gold and treasure filling his mind's eye; he almost expected there to be an audible KA-CHING cash register noise as he remembered that one of the TV programs Dudley used to watch said that there were tons of just paint on a space rocket.,Slackhammer's grin got even broader.,"It seems to me, gentlemen," the dapper goblin remarked, "That everyone within this room is about to become quite astoundingly rich.",It was about two weeks after the meeting with Mr Slackhammer, and Harry and Suze were enjoying the morning sun on the bluff opposite Harry's lair when Suze noticed something; she had a cautious peer, frowning a bit.,"Whatcha seeing, Suze?","Harry, there's someone on top of the cliffs." She said. "I think it's a human and it, um, seems to be watching us.","Well I'd better go make sure it's not a knight then." Harry said. "Back in a mo!",With that said, he shot off the ground and made a direct course for the top of the cliffs above his lair, where he landed with a thump.,There was indeed a man up there, and back the ways a bit a tent was set up. The man had one squinty eye that seemed to be looking at his nose, and had lots of straggly white hair with a receding hairline. He was wearing the most absurdly bright-coloured overcoat Harry had ever seen.,"Oh dear!" the man declared.,"Hi, what're you doing up here?" Harry asked. "You're not a knight, are you?",""Oh, I say, a talking dragon? Remarkable! I'm searching for the habitat of the species Haggii Scotia Trundlus, also known as the Three-Toed Mountain Haggis, quite a delicious species in fact, and no, I'm not a knight, I'm a zoologist. Er, um, you're not intending to devour me, I hope?","Oh, no, I don't devour things that politely ask me no to devour them.","Oh, well, that's a relief then and I'd be quite grateful if you didn't devour me, eh? I say, are you by any chance a member of the species Draconis Majoris Tricornae, popularly known as the Three-Horned Hammer-Nosed Dragon?" the man asked.,"Well, I'm not really sure, y'know, I've been trying to work out what sort of dragon I am for absolutely ages – um, what do Three-Horned Hammer-Nosed Dragons eat? Coz I'm the only sort of dragon I can think of that likes the taste of Toyota axles.","I cannot say for certain." the man said, producing a notebook. "The dietary habits of the Three-Horned Hammer-Nosed Dragon are as yet unknown partially because nobody's ever seen a living Three-Horned Hammer-Nosed Dragon, we only know of them from a single example of a fossilised skull, and I must say their cranial structure bears a striking resemblance to your own, the layout of your horns and structure around your eye sockets is quite distinctive. I have no idea how in the world fossilisation managed to transform a skull to orihalcum, but that's quite besides the point.","Orihalcum, huh? Hey, I think I maybe am that sort of dragon!" Harry declared, positively delighted. "Because that's what my bones are made out of!","Remarkable, remarkable!" the man declared, proceeding to frantically scribble notes. "Perhaps your species has some genetic relationship to the drake-dog, maybe a member of the same phyla...? I say, would you mind if I were to ask a few questions concerning your eating habits, behavioural tendencies, preferred habitat, that sort of thing? Just out of, out of professional curiosity, you see, I confess to having been quite fascinated by the examination of the skull of an apparent member of your species published in the Journal of Cryptozoological Studies some years ago.","Well, me being here is sort of a secret, so only if you promise not to tell anyone where I am or what my name is." Harry said.,"Well, that wouldn't be a problem, as you are a member of a species that can readily be presumed endangered it does of course behove me to keep your territorial range strictly confidential, and as I cannot say I know your name it would be rather difficult for me to tell anyone, wouldn't it?","Oh, yeah, well, I guess, but just between you and me my name's Harry Potter." Harry said.,"And I am Xenophillius Lovegood, but everyone seems to refer to me as 'Odd' and I can't really say why... hmm, are you perchance named for the famous Harry Potter? You know, the Boy-Who-Lived? Or is he perchance named for you?","Well, I dunno." Harry admitted. "I mean, Mr Dumbledore seems to think there's something important about me and according to 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' someone with the same name and scar as me who was born same time as me squished that Voldey-morts guy and I almost think I'm him but, y'know, I thought I got my scar in a car crash.","Hmm, most intriguing, but, well, according to on-the-scene reports the Boy-Who-Lived is a member of the species Homo Sapiens Sapiens, popularly known as the human race." Odd said, making another note. "And, well, not to be rude or anything but how in Merlin's name did you fit within a car? You're the size of one! Was it a very stretchy car?","Uh, well, no, y'see, that was before I turned into a dragon, I used to be a human.","Turned into... Remarkable! That must have been a truly exceptional event, I cannot ever recall mention of a human somehow becoming a dragon of any species, and to become a member of a species thought extinct...! Extraordinary! What did it feel like?" Odd enthused, rapidly writing.,"I dunno, I'd banged my head on a rock and by the time I woke up I'd finished turning into a dragon and was too busy being hungry to notice what it felt like.","Ah, well that's a shame, it would have been quite fascinating information.",Two hours later, his mind all a whirl from the million-and-one questions, Harry landed by the Home Glade, finding one very worried Suze pacing around and intermittently glancing at the angle of the sun as she waited.,"Harry! Is everything okay? That human wasn't a knight, was he? He didn't hurt you or anything, did he? Are we gonna have to move?","... um, no, he was a zoologist called Odd Lovegood." Harry said, rather taken aback.,"Oh thank Selene! Don't do that to me, Harry! I was worried!" she declared, firmly hugging his neck.,Bane, who'd been lounging in the sun nearby, was thereafter presented with the startling sight of his slender-and-lovely daughter sternly telling several tons of dragon off while said dragon acted like a colt who'd been caught out late after dusk.,His brain half-melted, the usually-stern centaur beat a hasty retreat.,Two weeks later, picking up his copy of the latest issue of his favourite source of unintentional comedy, Severus Snape spent nearly a minute staring blankly at the photograph emblazoned across the cover of said issue of 'The Quibbler' and then said, "Oh fucking hell.",Then he'd jammed it into the inside pocket of his robes and was hastening towards Dumbledore's office.,"Ah, Severus, what's the rush?" Dumbledore asked, popping a lemon drop.,By way of an answer, Snape handed over his copy of the Quibbler.,The cover photograph on the conspiracy-theory-and-weirdness magazine showed Harry, in dragon form and wearing one of his attempts at a friendly smile, against a background of heather and rock. Emblazoned above that was, 'INTERVIEW WITH THE DRAGON'.,"... oh dear.","That's a touch milder than my thought on the subject, Albus.","Yes, well, I'm more polite than you are." Dumbledore said, leafing through and having a quick read.,"How much trouble has the wretched lizard caused?" Snape asked.,"Didn't you read it?","I came straight here the moment I saw the cover.","Ah, well, there's no mention of location or Harry's identity. However, the editorial appears to contain some hints and speculation that, reading between the lines, would give the game away. And," Dumbledore grimaced, "I must say Odd is quite cunning for a lunatic; he's arranged it so that the last letter of each line in the article about Harry, if read from last to first, spells out 'This dragon is named Harry Potter; the Boy-Who-Lived is missing. Coincidence? I think not.' It's a shame Odd's so crazy; he'd be brilliant if he was sane.","Why that..." Snape skidded to a halt before his rant had even started. This was Odd Lovegood they were talking about. The man lived and breathed conspiracy theories and rumours; this would be like a red rag to a hippogriff to the eccentric old bungler.,Instead, he said, "I believe we'd better have a discussion with that dratted dragon on the subject of journalists and why it is a prudent idea to avoid them.","But he said he's a zoologist and I think that means someone who knows lots and lots of stuff about all sorts of animals!" Harry complained, sounding a touch defensive.,"Odd Lovegood you... you... you..." Snape muttered, rapidly shaking his head.,"Some people are... not entirely honest, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Sad as it is. Odd Lovegood is indeed a zoologist, and that does indeed mean someone who studies living creatures of all kinds, but his income comes through a magazine he publishes.","A magazine primarily composed of wild rumours and conspiracy theory." Snape added. "He is... a little addled.","But oddly brilliant, in his peculiar way." Dumbledore put in.,"What was Odd doing up there anyway?" Flitwick asked.,"Well, he said he was looking for the habitat of the three-toed mountain haggis. What's a haggis? Is it tasty?","Och well," McGonagall said, "The wild haggis is a terribly difficult creature to find, they only come out at night and they live very high up in the mountains. That's why their legs are longer on one side than the other, it's so they can stay upright when they're running round the side of a mountain; to catch a haggis, you have to get it to turn round so it looses it's balance and rolls down the mountain into a carefully-placed net.","Really Minerva, stop having the poor boy on." Snape complained, glaring at her.,"... huh?" Harry asked, bewildered.,"A haggis," Snape explained, "Is a dish of Scottish origin, prepared from the less-than-appetising portions of a sheep, mixed with oatmeal and spices and then cooked inside the sheep's stomach lining; the Scottish have all manner of shaggy dog stories to tell in an attempt to confuse the unwitting and English.","Och well, that's what they want you to think." McGonagall remarked.,"Drat it, Minerva! Can't you see the boy's getting confused?","Mrs McGonagall, can I get a haggis? It sounds tasty." Harry said.,"Of course, laddie, I'll arrange ye tha finest haggis in aw Scotland, whi' neeps an' tatties an' aw!" McGonagall told him, positively delighted at this interest in the heritage of the beautiful land he now called home. "It'll be Burns Nicht aye soon, we'll mak a proper nicht o' it!","... oh God, why'd you have to set her off?" Snape groaned.,"Awa whi' yeh, Sev'rus, yeh wee chewchter.","Minerva, I am still quite unable to comprehend a word of your native accent; would you please oh please stick to the Queen's English while speaking to those of us not of Scottish descent?","Wassock.",Perhaps a month after the incident with Odd Lovegood's magazine, in late July, Harry found himself driven to return to Diagon Alley, primarily because he'd run out of books he hadn't read, it was hours till anyone was going to come up from the castle, he was bored, and he felt like it.,Mr Snape had left what he called a two-way portkey behind, in the form of an old brick, and since he'd shown Harry how to set it off (since Harry had asked) well, that meant an easy way to get to and from Diagon Alley.,"What're you doing, Harry?" Suze asked. She'd been kinda clingy since that thing with Mr Lovegood.,"Well I'm bored and all the others are busy and it's ages till anyone's gonna come up from the castle and I haven't got anything to read so I reckon I'm gonna go buy some books in Diagon Alley." Harry said.,"I think I'd better come with you.",And thus it was that the two of them – human-form Harry and Suze – found themselves wandering, somewhat lost, down the main street in Diagon Alley, when an unpleasent (not to mention unwelcome) voice came from behind:,"Boy! Why is your pet not on a leash?",With a growl that carried over surprisingly well from his dragon form Harry,answered, "She is not my pet, she's my damsel." as he whirled round.,"She's your what? Never mind, filthy beasts like that should not be loose in the,Alley," the squat toad-like woman in the pink dress croaked as she drew her wand, an action that was repeated by the three nondescript men who were following her.,He almost flamed. He almost changed back into dragon shape – but Mr Snape, Mr Dumbledore, Mrs McGonagall and Mr Slackhammer had all been quite adamant that, although there would be a time for him to reveal his true nature, that wouldn't be for a while yet. He wasn't sure why, but just about everyone he respected who wasn't a centaur said so, and he figured he'd take their word for it until he was sure of what the deal was.,So that left him with only one real option here.,"Run Suze!" He grabbed her hand and bolted for Gringotts, the bit of his immense draconian strength that showed in his human shape half-dragging her along behind him.,Suze immediately cottoned on to what little plan he had, and used the hand he was holding to heft him onto her back as she burst into a full-tilt gallop straight into the cluster of wand-brandishing wizards, bowling them over like tenpins.,She didn't slow down until they were inside of the bank and half a dozen halberd-brandishing smartly-uniformed goblins got in the way, the very pointy sharp-looking spikes on top of the halberds forcing her to skid to an abrupt halt.,"We gotta hide, there's crazy glowy people and they wanna do something nasty to Suze and we gotta talk to Mr Slackhammer!" Harry declared.,The doors crashed open behind them, and the pink toad-woman and a bunch of glowy people in blue overcoats came barging in, only to skid to a halt just as abruptly when they too found themselves looking down the business ends of halberds; there were now dozens of uniformed goblins swarming into the bank's opulent foyer, quickly separating Harry and Suze from the people who'd been chasing them.,Most of the swarm were wearing drab green in place of the red-and-white ceremonial uniforms, and were armed with weapons quite different to the halberds held by those standing watch; out of almost everyone at the scene, only Harry immediately recognised them for what they were – guns. Hefty great Army-looking things of a type he'd seen in pictures in one of the not-glowy-people history books Mrs McGonagall had got for him – specifically, the book about the war in the Falklands.,"Easy, you maggots!" bellowed a large and exceptionally ferocious-looking goblin who seemed to have traded his rifle-or-halberd in for a sword and an unnecessarily large pistol, and who was resplendently dressed in what Harry recognised as the dress uniform of a goblinish Sergeant-Major. "That's the feller Vice-Chairman Slackhammer's been conducting business with!",Much to Harry's relief, the goblins immediately stopped pointing their weapons at him and Suze, saluted Harry, saluted the Sergeant-Major, and joined in with pointing weapons at the pink toad-woman and the people in the blue overcoats.,"What is the meaning of this! Don't you know who I am?" the pink toad-woman complained, sounding a bit freaked out. "I'm the Secretary of Wizarding Defence and I demand that you immediately turn that filthy animal over to-","Are you," the Sergeant-Major roared, abruptly purple with rage as he seemed to inflate at a downright alarming speed, "Personally responsible for a full nine point seven percent increase in Gringotts profit within the last calender month? No, Madam Umbridge, you are not! The young gentleman here, as it so happens, is! Is that quite perfectly clear?",The pink toad-woman immediately went very pale indeed, and the wizards in the blue overcoats started giving each other worried looks.,"Ah, Great One, if you and your lovely companion would accompany me?" a voice Harry was very glad to hear requested, and turning thataway he found himself looking at Crackjaw Slackhammer.,"What about them, Mr Vice-Chairman, SIR?" the Sergeant-Major bellowed, snapping off a salute before angling a thumb in the direction of the pink toad-woman.,"Politely ask them to vacate the premises, Sergeant-Major.","And if they don't, Mr Vice-Chairman, SIR?","Then it'll be time to be impolite, Sergeant-Major.","Sir! Yes Sir! At once SIR!" The Sergeant-Major bellowed, saluting again before he whirled round and fixed the goblin soldiers with a ferocious glower. "Allright, you miserable maggots! You heard the Vice-Chairman! JUMP TO IT!","SIR!" the swarm of goblins barked. "YES SIR!","Gentlemen and lady, please be so kind as to vacate the premises AT ONCE!" Was this goblin capable of not bellowing, and how'd he do that cool inflating thing?,The pink toad-woman and her accompaniment beat a hasty retreat.,"Those miserable..." Umbridge muttered, glancing repeatedly at the doors to Gringotts as she, the three plain-clothes Aurors who'd been accompanying her, and the group of uniformed officers who'd joined them, withdrew.,"All due respect ma'am, but what happened back there?" Auror Dawlish asked.,"Weren't you briefed on 'fire-arms'?" Umbridge snapped.,"... um, should I have been?","Yes!","They're a form of muggle wand." Shacklebolt said, likewise glancing over his shoulder. "They launch a small metal thing so hard and fast it'll go right through a wall and kill the bloke hiding behind the wall.","... so I take it they're dangerous?" Dawlish asked.,"Very." Umbridge said, thinking back on the briefing she'd received when she was promoted to Secretary of Wizarding Defence. Something about the goblin rebellion of 1899 – information not readily available to the public. Nobody wanted a panic on their hands.,In 1899 after whatever had set those wretched goblins off, the Ministry had as usual expected to be able to kick the doors in, fire off a few spells, slap a few more sanctions on the upstarts and wash their hands of the matter – that was how it'd always gone before.,But it hadn't gone anything like that. Every Auror or Hit-Wizard who'd attempted to storm the bank had died on the receiving end of an infernal (not to mention loud) device of at-the-time unknown origin; shortly after the second attempt to storm the bank, the then-Director of Magical Law Enforcement, along with a guard detail of fifty-five Aurors, had been cut down by a team of five goblins wielding further such contraptions. Based on circulating rumours, Ministry research into the devastating new weapons being wielded by the goblin rebels had revealed said gadgets to be muggle devices known as 'Fire-arms', in specific a single 'Maxim Machine Gun' and a number of 'Lee-Enfield Magazine Rifle'. The astonishing destructive power that tests showed these peculiar contraptions to possess had scared the then-Director of Muggle Relations so badly he'd taken his entire family into hiding; it hadn't been long after that the Ministry sued for peace. That had been the first time in known history that a goblin rebellion had led to, uncomfortable as it may be to say so, a victory for the upstart beasts – and reports from the Unspeakables showed that the goblins had taken to the 'fire-arms' with tremendous (and in fact downright diabolical) enthusiasm.,She'd seen photographs of the 'fire-arms' those goblins had threatened her with. Apparently they were of a type known as 'Ellwunehwun Self Loading Rifle' and although of shorter effective range than the bewildering assortment of 'Lee-Enfield' it could cast it's projectile faster and more accurately than even the finest of duellists – and, like all such 'fire-arms', that projectile flew far too swiftly to be reliably dodged or blocked.,With an attempt at a face-saving sniff, she made tracks for the Ministry.,"Where'd you guys get all the guns, Mr Slackhammer?" Harry asked. "I thought guns were kinda hard to get?",Slackhammer smiled, a little smugly. "Ah, Milord; that is courtesy of Gringotts' holdings within the muggle world. As it so happens, Gringotts own a small but significant portfolio of stocks in several firearms manufacturing concerns; the Birmingham Small Arms Company, Vickers Defence Systems, Heckler and Koch GmbH, and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, to name those in which we hold the most substantial interest; as such, it is quite remarkably easy for us to acquire both weapons and munitions whenever we so desire, a situation that has proven quite fortuitous on occasion. I confess that, courtesy of the events of the first quarter of the 1899-1900 financial year, the gun has attained significant cultural meaning within the Goblin Nation, to the point that no goblin with any sense would permit himself to be seen dead without at least one firearm within easy reach, even the ceremonial guards at the doors to this bank bear quite definitely non-ceremonial sidearms concealed upon their persons; it is courtesy of those magnificent devices that we were not utterly subjugated and likely nationalised by the Ministry of Magic almost a century ago.","I guess that means you've got a gun, right Mr Slackhammer?","Naturally; I never permit my Enfield Number 2 Mark 1 to leave my side." the rotund goblin said, withdrawing a nicely-polished revolver from beneath his desk; he showed it to Harry with a proud smile, before returning it to wherever he had it stowed. "It is of course merely one weapon within my private armoury; at my rank within the Goblin Nation one is expected to maintain a fitting collection of weaponry. Our law holds that it is not merely the right of all to bear arms, but in fact the duty of all to be armed and ready to defend the freedom of Gringotts as a corporation and the Goblin Nation as a people; and, frankly, with our less-than-stellar magical gifts, without the gun we would be quite overwhelmed by the ranks of the wizards.","I know a bow is more accurate, and an arrow flies faster and is deadly at a greater distance than any spell." Suze chirped up. "Is the same true for these 'guns', Mr Vice-Chairman?","Quite correct; a competently-trained shooter could put every bullet in a well-maintained revolver into a wizard in the time it would take the wizard to cast but one spell. Their magic does of course have the advantage of versatility; a wand may cure as readily as it may kill, but for the defence of one's home, kin and livelihood, a well-tuned gun is by far the superior weapon. And, no offence young lady, but a gun is significantly more powerful and vastly easier to learn to operate than a bow.","None taken." Suze said. Today hadn't been the first time she'd found herself wishing her people had invented something with a bit more power behind it than a shortbow.,Slackhammer steepled his fingers. "Hmm... and on that subject Milord, I do believe it might be prudent if we were to acquire you and your charming companion fitting armament, the humble gun scares the gold out of magical law-enforcement and poltroons such as that Umbridge creature for a very good reason after all.","Y'know, I think that'd be a good idea." Harry said. "And, uh, look, Suze's real good with a bow but I'm kinda wondering if there's better bows than the ones her uncle Ronan makes, not that Mr Ronan's bows are bad bows or anything.","There are indeed a number of bows of significantly more advanced construction than those made by the centaurs, works of beauty though their traditional armament may be." Slackhammer confirmed. "Hmm... might it be possible for you to grant myself and a small number of my staff permission to visit your home? I can but guess that you lair in a significantly more remote location than here in London, especially considering that you have a centauress for a companion, they are known for their liking of solitude, and it would be better to instruct you in the usage and upkeep of firearms in a secluded place.","Well, my lair's up the back of the woods behind Hogwarts, I guess you know where that is, right?","Naturally." Slackhammer confirmed with a sharp little nod.,"Mr Vice-Chairman, I get the idea with being armed with something that scares the wizards," Suze said, "But isn't there any other way I could accompany Harry to Diagon Alley without some sort of mess like today happening?","Hmm... I cannot say for sure. Perhaps one of my family solicitors could advise you on that; a moment..." Slackhammer wrote a quick note, rang a small bell, handed the note to the goblin who immediately popped into the room, said, "Take this to Solicitor Axetalon please, Mr Steelhammer.", nodded his satisfaction when the other goblin rushed off with a cry of 'At once, Mr Vice-Chairman', and sat back.,"I have taken the liberty of requestion the company of my family's most prominent solicitor, one Madam Shredblade Axetalon." he told Suze. "She is blessed with an eidetic memory, and her knowledge of law – both magical and otherwise – is without peer. She should be with us shortly. Now, concerning travel to your most excellent lair, Mr Potter; my people can be on the outskirts of Hogsmeade within eight hours by motor vehicle, and we can quite easily arrange a meeting place thereafter.","Um, Suze, does your dad get angry about goblins?" Harry asked.,"No; Father admires them." Suze told him. "There's only a handful of Namers who've managed to get the wizards to treat them with any respect, and the goblins are the most recent.","Respect, from a wizard." Slackhammer chuckled, shaking his head. "That is indeed quite the undertaking.","What do you mean?" Harry asked.,"I mean that, pitiful as it is, most wizards are quite astoundingly bigoted." Slackhammer told him. "Exceptions do of course exist, such as Mr Severus Snape, who treats all with matching honest dislike, or Mr Albus Dumbledore, who is a fine gentleman as wizards go – but the vast majority have naught but disdain for any being who is neither human nor magically gifted. Why, most of them look down on those of their species born without the genetic quirk known as magical talent! There are a small handful of Namers, to use the centaur term – also known as sapient beings – who have managed to beat some respect out of the wizards; my kin managed that under the glorious leadership of Chairwoman of the Grand Board of Directors Ragnak Shatteraxe, during the revolution often called the Bold 99, when we introduced the wizards to the power of the machine gun. Our dear friends, the Veela, were able to achieve that same great and noble undertaking almost a thousand years ago thanks to the aid of their incredible talent for the manipulation of fire, and the vampires achieved similar under the grand leadership of Count Vladimir Dracula some three centuries ago; the werewolves too achieved some regard from the wizards, due to the immense difficulty of killing a werewolf, but they and the vampires have as yet been unable to win themselves the rights we and the Veela hold. The centaurs chose to hide themselves from the wizards; a wise decision, considering that they lack the blessing of the honest gun.","Mr Vice-Chairman, Madam Axetalon to see you." a goblin in a sharp suit stated, sticking his head in the door.,"Ah, Madam Axetalon, come in, do.",The goblin who entered was smartly-dressed and almost completely indistinguishable from the males of her species; if he hadn't been pre-warned, Harry would never have realised that she was in fact female.,"A profitable day to you, Vice-Chairman Crackjaw." she said with a broad toothsome grin, and her voice didn't give her gender away either. "Congratulations on your promotion; I can but say you've worked long and hard for your new rank, and it's about time your efforts paid full fruit.","Ah, thankyou Soliciter Shredblade, and a profitable day to you too." Slackhammer said, his grin just as shark-like as ever. "But there's no need to try to butter me up; the chance of my aunt allowing you to be dismissed from your position with the Slackhammers is thin indeed.",Axetalon chuckled. "Director Hellblade Slackhammer has always been a superb judge of character, Crackjaw. So, I understand that you require my assistance?","Indeed; or, rather, my young associates here do. Madam Axetalon, the young lady is Miss Suze daughter of Bane of the Black Woods Clan, and the young gentleman is Mr Harry Potter, Great Wyrm of Hogwarts. Mr Potter, Miss Suze, this is Madam Shredblade Axetalon, finest of the solicitors in my family's employ.","An honour." Axetalon said, inclining her head.,"Hi." Harry said, big smile firmly in place.,"Well met." Suze said with a polite bow.,"Mr Potter and Miss Suze have a perplexing conundrum that you might perhaps be able to provide an answer to." Slackhammer told Axetalon. "They wish to know how might Miss Suze, being as you see a centaur, accompany Mr Potter on his visits to Diagon Alley without falling foul of the unashamed bigotry of the Ministry of Magic.","Hmmm... ah yes, the Wild Animal (Control) Act of 1847, I see, that could prove most perplexing, couldn't it?" Axetalon mused, her eyebrows collapsing into a deep frown. "Hmm, it supersedes the Sapient (Mobility) Act of 1612... no, the Wartime Expenditures (Mobility) Act of 1941 does not present any loopholes for centaurs... AHA! Under the act of the Steeds (Mobility) Act of 1513, centaurs may, if sufficiently controlled, be regarded as Steeds under the letter of law... Miss Suze, Mr Potter, tell me, did the wizards successfully verify your identity?","Um, dunno." Harry said.,"Well, I don't know either." Suze admitted.,"They most assuredly did not." Slackhammer firmly stated.,"Excellent!" Axetalon declared. "Under the Criminal Justice (Identification) Act of 1811, any person, being or creature suspected of a crime but not of verified identity may only be listed as a suspect for a maximum of precisely one year and one day; the legislation in question has yet to be repealed. Therefore, if you are to avoid Diagon Alley for one year and two days, and thereafter pay any necessary regard to the Steeds (Mobility) Act of 1513, there is nothing beyond alteration of the letter of the law that the Ministry may do. Hmm, and for all acts committed prior to said alteration of the law, you are of course covered by the Charter of Succession (Rights) of 1380.","... um." Harry said, confused.,"In layman's terms," Axetalon elaborated, "Under the Steeds (Mobility) Act of 1513, in accord with the Charter of Succession (Rights) of 1380, with no alteration made by subsequent revision of said Charter, any creature regarded under the law as a Being has, where not in contravention of the Servants (Control) Acts of 1394, 1440 and 1502, the legal right to possession of a Steed, defined as an animal, creature or device utilised for personal transport. This definition covers horses, ponies, brooms, velocipedes, motorcycles, pegesii, and other more unusual creatures and devices including, I might note, centaurs. The only exception to said right concerns flying carpets and automobiles fitted with more than three wheels, which are listed Items of Muggle Origin under the Muggle Separation (Artefacts) Act of 1984. The steed or device must be, and I quote, 'controlled in an adequate and safe manner' as per the Animal Control (Domesticated) Act of 1422, and may be left outside of any building within Wizarding territories for a maximum of twelve hours.","I get the feeling," Suze muttered, "That Father won't like this.",Half an hour later, having spent the interim discussing details and travel arrangements with Harry and Madam Axetalon, and the young Great Wyrm and his companion having departed for the Portkey point that would take them home, accompanied by a detail of ten of 2 Company's largest and meanest-looking infantrygoblins, Vice-Chairman Crackjaw Slackhammer spent a moment checking some financial reports, nodded his satisfaction, and then began to pen a note addressed to the Grand Chairman of the Board of Directors herself.,No foolish human would get away with threatening a business partner as profitable as Mr Harry Potter on Slackhammer's watch, no SIR!,About an hour after she'd got back to the Ministry building, Dolores Umbridge was surprised to find herself summoned to the Minister's office.,"You wanted to see me, Mr Minister sir?","Dolores, just what in Merlin's name have you been doing?" Cornelius Fudge complained. "I have no idea what brought all this on, but Gringotts just sent me a letter declaring one Mr Harry James Potter and any and all of his dependants and associates to be, and I quote, 'an important financial asset of Gringotts' and, well, threatening sanctions if anyone within the Ministry is to, and I quote, 'interfere' with him. Your name is mentioned in a most unfriendly manner several times, just what in Merlin's name have you been doing?",Umbridge blinked, positively gobsmacked. She'd only been near Gringotts once in the last week and that was... chasing... that filthy centaur... and... the boy it seemed to belong to... oh dear.,"I, uh, I," she stammered, then swallowed a couple of times. "I encountered a child allowing a centaur to run riot in Diagon Alley, Mr Minister sir." she said.,"... so how does that relate to Gringotts?" Fudge asked.,"Well, um, as per the Wild Animal Control Act of 1847 I at once moved to apprehend the uncontrolled animal. The child immediately ran off with it; we gave pursuit, we didn't use any spells so as to avoid doing the boy any unnecessary injury – you know how sensitive small children can be to stunners – and the suspect and his animal attempted to hide in the bank; we followed them, assuming our job over. We were shouted at most coarsely by goblins, threatened with those infernal fire-arms of theirs, and ejected from the building. I returned directly here.",Fudge sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.,"Dash it, Dolores, that boy's the Boy-Who-Lived, he's got to be – I wondered why the goblins were on about him now, nothing makes it clear of course but it's a fair conclusion. I haven't much idea why Gringotts are up in arms about him and his pet, but they've got us by the financial throat – how do you think the voters would react if the goblins launched another rebellion?","Surely it wouldn't come to that?","There's a financial breakdown attached to the missive I received, and somehow they've attributed a two-million Galleon profit in the span of one month to the Boy-Who-Lived. That's no less than nine point seven percent of their profit over the last month – Merlin's sake, the last Goblin Revolution blew up over taxation reducing their quarterly profits by a tenth of a percent!","... they'd go to war over a tenth of a percent?","Go to war? Merlin's sake, Dolores! They massacred seventy-eight Aurors, twelve Hit Wizards, two Unspeakables, fourteen innocent bystanders and a Director of Magical Law Enforcement over a tenth of a percent! They kicked the front door of the Ministry in over a tenth of a percent! Imagine what they'd do over nearly ten percent!","... oh dear. I, uh, didn't know that...","That's why I'm the Minister of Magic and you're an Undersecretary." Fudge stated with a smarmy little smile.,Umbridge bowed her head.,"Yes, Mr Minister sir." she said, cringing internally at the unwarranted demotion.,She'd get even with those miserable goblins and that brat of a Boy-Who-Lived and his filthy animal for this if it was the last thing she did!,It turned out that the Sergeant-Major – whose name was apparently Hooktalon – was in fact capable of talking without bellowing; when Harry had asked, Hooktalon had explained that bellowing was an absolutely necessary talent for all Sergeant-Majors as it was required to maintain the discipline and respect of the soldiers under his supervision since it was their job to be boneheaded grunts and it was their Sergeant-Major's job to think for his soldiers and thus it was the duty of any Sergeant-Major to bellow to get the message through their thick craniums otherwise the Sergeant-Major would be forced to give them firm kicks around their posteriors.,(One of the other goblin soldiers, a grizzled old Colour Sergeant called Griphook, had privately told Harry that the Sergeant-Major was in fact a big old pussycat whose bark was worse than his bite, but Harry decided it was probably safer not to risk it, especially since Corporal Mantrap said that anyone who messed with the Sergeant-Major was asking to have his or her lungs extracted via the nostrils. Okay, so maybe Sergeant-Major Hooktalon bellowing was like Mr Snape growling, but there was a chance it wasn't and Hooktalon was scary!),Having gone on at great length about the safe handling of firearms, reiterating a string of a dozen of what he called 'golden rules' over and over again, all of which sounded very cautious but eminently sensible, once he seemed satisfied that Harry and Suze had got the message, Sergeant-Major Hooktalon had first had them repeatedly take apart and put back together the guns until he was satisfied with their performance, and then allowed them to riddle a number of targets with bullets.,Harry had to admit Suze was a far, far better shot than him. She'd demonstrated with a borrowed shortbow, showing enough accuracy to get a sniff and 'adequate' out of Sergeant-Major Hooktalon. Then she'd had a go with the two rifles, and received a brusque nod and a, 'Well, young lady, looks like we've found something you're good at', which according to Corporal Mantrap was high praise indeed when coming from a Sergeant-Major.,It'd been fun, and there were now a pair of rifles stacked in a nicely-polished wooden gun-rack in his lair. One was what the Sergeant-Major had called a 'Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield, Mark Three', though Harry kinda thought most of that sounded a bit back-to-front, and the other was one of the Falklands-looking guns, which Harry now knew was called a 'L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle', which sounded like it was the right way round. It was funny, really – when he'd seen the way the rifles slammed into Sergeant-Major Hooktalon's shoulder, he'd expected them to knock him flat, but they hadn't kicked at all. From the raised eyebrow and comment of, 'Strong little wippersnapper, aren't you?', this had also surprised Sergeant-Major Hooktalon.,They'd also had a bow for Suze. It was a weird-looking thing with a string that looped back-and-forth several times and pulleys at the ends of the bow; Bane had on seeing it muttered and grumbled about 'new-fangled', but went quiet and calculating after he'd seen it demonstrated.,Harry had been careful to put the gun-rack at the other end of his lair from where he kept his toy guns. Getting them mixed up really wouldn't be a good idea.,Hmm. You needed to guard your guns just as close as you guarded your damsels and your treasures.,He'd long since worked out that damsels were an especially valuable sort of treasure as they were so hard to get a hold of and, as he dozed, he came to realise that the same held true for guns.,Anything that difficult to get a hold of was probably treasure, and swords counted as treasure, so that meant weapons were treasure, and a gun was a sort of weapon. Sergeant-Major Hooktalon's statement that Harry should make certain that anyone who wanted to take Harry's guns away was forced to attempt to prise them from Harry's cold dead fingers just served to reinforce that conclusion; anything you had to put up a big fight to stop knights (or Bagginses, or any other sort of a baddie) taking away was obviously treasure.,"Mr Dumbledore, I kinda think there's something wrong with the whole Wizardy World thingy." Harry said. It was five days after his overly exciting visit to Diagon Alley, three after the goblins had headed back to London, and he and the elderly headmaster were relaxing at the front of Harry's lair after one of his Occlumency lessons – a tiring and not much fun but pretty interesting subject that Mr Dumbledore and Mr Snape both said was very important, and Harry kinda guessed he saw what they meant and not just because someone looking into your brain sounded incredibly rude; it was entirely possible that memories were a kind of treasure because of that whole 'treasure the memory' thing and unless proven otherwise Harry fully intended to treat them as such.,"And why would you think that, my dear boy?" the old man asked.,"Because, well, because that pink toad-woman said Suze isn't a person and because the goblins say they had to do lots of shooting before the glowy people stopped saying goblins weren't people." he said. "And, uh, Mr Slackhammer kinda sounded like it wasn't just goblins and centaurs, and... it's got something to-do with why you don't think people oughtta know I'm a dragon, hasn't it?","Ah." Dumbledore said. "Indeed, Harry; I regret to say it, but you are in fact quite correct." The old man sighed. "I have been able to, in my lifetime, make some small improvements here and there, but like all change it is a slow process. And, indeed, that is why your transformation must remain a secret for as long as possible; the last thing the Wizarding World needs is a civil was coming so closely in the footsteps of Voldemort's reign of terror.",Harry nodded, his expression distant.,"I guess." he said. "Mr Dumbledore... how bad is it really?","Not as bad as either Severus or the goblins would have you believe." the old man said. "Severus has had a rather rough ride of things, I'm afraid, and the viewpoint of the goblins is that of outsiders and outcasts. It is true that changes must be made to bring the cycle of war and destruction – of which Voldemort is but the latest repetition – to an end. But I do not hold that said changes should be of the kind Severus espouses; he cannot see it, but to tear the Wizarding World down would be to destroy what good remains in it. He would, in a manner of saying, throw the baby out with the bathwater. I have in my lifetime made many changes, not the least the Endangered Species (Protection) Act of 1972, which made hunting of several species, including centaurs, illegal. I confess I have had to make some quite difficult decisions in my time, and I am well aware that there are further difficult decisions yet to come my way; but someone has to make those decisions, for the greater good of all. Now, I need to return to the castle; I shall see you the same time next week.","... okay." Harry said, frowning. That hadn't really answered any of his questions.,He resolved to keep niggling Mr Dumbledore about it, and to see if Mr Snape was more willing to explain things.,"Mr Snape...","What is it now? Blasted reptile." This time, two days after Dumbledore's evasiveness, it was Snape who was at Harry's lair.,"I'm really starting to thing the Wizarding World really isn't fair." Harry said.,"... I see." Snape muttered, his sneer vanishing, to be replaced by a frankly rather worried look. "And what, precisely, has brought you to this insight, young man?",Harry considered that for a few moments, then started to haltingly explain the events of his last visit to Diagon Alley; Snape listened in complete silence, his frown deepening the whole time.,"... I see." the irritable potions master said, once Harry had explained trying to get an explanation out of Dumbledore. "You have indeed arrived at a quite incisive conclusion; there is indeed something quite wrong with the world we live in, and I confess I had wished to protect you from those uncomfortable truths for a little longer." A wry if grim smile spread itself across one side of Snape's face. "I suppose I should have expected you to work out the basics of the facts; you're as sharp as your mother was. And, indeed, there is something quite horribly wrong with any so-called civilisation that would treat any thinking being as an animal.","How bad is it really?","Bad." Snape firmly stated. "Bad to the degree that even those wizards and witches not born of magical parents are at best considered little more than animals. Albus would have you believe in gently reforming it all over a period of perhaps decades, even centuries; I believe that the goblin's example is the one that we should be following.","You mean we oughtta machine-gun anything that tries to shove us about, right?" Harry asked.,"In a manner of speaking, yes. Our target, my boy, is the government of this cesspit that calls itself a civilisation – but it would not do us well to act without suitable preparation, and we are as yet unprepared. And until that time, I judge that we would be best served to keep our heads down and endeavour not to draw attention to our plans.","I'm a big part of your plans, aren't I?","Indeed, you most assuredly are." Snape said with a firm nod. "And not merely because you represent our best chance of alliance with the goblins and our best source of the substantial quantities of capital our mission shall surely require. When the time comes, I suspect you shall find yourself at the forefront of this.",Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I'll need to get stronger, won't I?","Indeed; the flames of freedom must be lit, and the torch will someday in the not-so-distant future be handed to you. And it would be best for all of us if you were to be prepared for that day.","I know my kin will fight alongside you in this, Harry." Suze said.,"How so?" Snape asked her.,"We owe the Great Wyrm a debt of blood unspilled; almost a year has passed since last we lost any to the Spider Plague, and we no longer need fear them, for now it is they who know fear." Suze told him. "We owe him a debt that can never be truly repaid, and when the time comes that he makes battle upon his foes, my grandfather has declared that we shall go forth beside him.","I see." Snape said with a frown.,He let out one of his dry and not-very-pleasant chuckles. "Then I suppose I should welcome you both to the revolution.",From then on, Thursday evenings were spent studying potions and plotting to overthrow the Wizarding government, both of which Harry found enormously fascinating and, in fact, fun.,Time passed quickly and, a few weeks before Harry's eleventh birthday, all of his friends from Hogwarts came up to his lair for important discussions.,The discussion entailed arrangements for Harry's attending Hogwarts, starting with the subject of keeping his dragon-ness quiet and rapidly spiralling out of control after Harry apologetically explained his inability to sleep in any but his dragon shape; or, rather, his tendency to turn back into a dragon if he was any other shape when he went to sleep.,Once that had been resolved with some little-used school rules, they got onto the subject of where exactly Suze was to stay, and Harry got rather cross about the very thought that it might be better if she stayed with the other centaurs, and even more worked up about the idea of not being allowed to go to his lair or to make sure those nasty but tasty giant spiders weren't going after the centaurs again; after some snarky remarks from Snape, who'd once got rather ill off some badly-cooked acromantula, that was likewise resolved by reference to assorted entries in the mind-bogglingly complicated (not to mention huge) book of Hogwarts school rules, which Harry asked if he could read, and was told yes but later once the discussing was out the way.,From there, it devolved into chatting about all sorts of stuff ranging from what to do about Harry's dietary requirements to what to do if Harry found any more damsels at Hogwarts, a point that caused a huge uproar that Harry eventually put the kibosh on by firmly declaring that it wasn't if, it was when, and when he found a damsel at Hogwarts then of course he'd be carrying her off, thank you very much, and they had better all stop being so silly about it at once. Or else.,With that out the way, the subject of guns came up and with it another uproar, and once again Harry had to snap a bit to get everyone to be sensible; as guns were difficult to get it was obvious that they were a type of treasure and anyway Sergeant-Major Hooktalon said that if anyone wanted Harry's guns they could have them when they prised them from Harry's cold dead fingers so everyone had better stop being silly about it at once.,Once Snape had got done with the snigger-fit (It wasn't giggling. Snapes do not under any circumstances giggle. Snape had made that very clear.) they started pouring through the rules book to work out how to make that not break the rules; the thing about guns was solved by a rule meant to be about swords that didn't say what sort of weapon it was talking about, and the thing about damsels was solved by a bit of the same rules that meant Harry would be staying at his lair instead of at Hogwarts, in particular the exception to the out-of-bounds rule for kids who lived within thirty miles of Hogwarts and so went to the castle for lessons every day instead of living there, aided by the bit about friends being able to go visit with the kids who lived near the castle including overnight if invited, so that was okay.,Some further discussion later, Harry's grown-up friends wished him goodnight and departed.,He had trouble getting to sleep that night because he was excited, and he spent the following few weeks counting the days until the 28th of July when Hogwarts letters would be sent out.,It arrived in it's own good time.,Diagon Alley was weird.,That much was self-evident. First off there'd been the way they couldn't see the entrance until their daughter towed them there. Second off there'd been the wall at the back of said run-down pub. Third off there'd been the architecture. Fourth off there'd been the wares on sale, not to mention the prices on them. Fifth off there'd been the population.,However, the thing that grabbed (and held) Anthony Granger's attention was the centaur who was loitering outside what seemed to be a second-hand shop near to the entrance to the alley.,She was a gorgeous creature, not that he was entirely sure whether any of those were the right term. From the bit humans used as hips up, she was a near-perfect example of classical Grecian beauty, only departing by being somewhat wider and more muscular; from there down was what looked to be one of those slabs of lean muscle people who know about horses bandy terms like 'thoroughbred' about. Her hair and fur was a deep rusetty red-brown, and every part of her human-equine mish-mash anatomy was tightly defined.,And if he'd thought that was strange, her clothing and the assorted equipment she was carrying really took the biscuit, partly because she was very visibly armed to the teeth.,She had a military-looking gun, one of those ones where the bullets are stored in a metal box in front of the trigger, slung on the left side of where her human-like anatomy stopped and her equine-like anatomy started; there was a brown bandoleer full of clips (or whatever those metal boxes are called) of bullets across her ample chest. A very modern high-powered pulley-operated compound bow (Tony was pretty sure he recognised it as a top-of-the-line Browning) was slung in a neat holster the right side of her (for want of a better word) front hips, and a quiver of equally modern carbon-aluminium arrows was attached to the back of her bandoleer; he couldn't fault her knowledge of archery, he recognised the model of arrow and those were perfect for the bow that one looked to be.,Tony also counted no less than five knives, ranging from a little folding thing on a lanyard to an overgrown machete, scattered around her person.,Her upper, human-like parts were clad in a greeny-brown silk shirt of unusual, vaguely-Asian looking cut, with a deeply plunging neckline, accented with what looked to be carefully-chosen soft grey-brown furs, and she had a bright gem-studded choker round her slim throat; her lower, equine-like parts bore a rather Wild-West looking saddle and associated tack, with some sort of old-school bolt-action rifle slung on it, and she had some form of a bridle (complete with reins) strapped round her head, though the bit was currently hanging beside her cheek.,That was when Tony realised something very important; the people around them (the ones he'd been busy being unsure how to react to) very obviously didn't know how to react to the centaur either.,"Okay Suze, now we gotta go get a wand!" said a cheerfully energetic – and very young – voice, and the centaur visibly perked up as a small boy – maybe two or three years younger than Tony's daughter from the look of him – came running over in that hyper-small-kid-running kind of a way, carrying a well-packed cloth shopping bag in each hand. "Mr Dumbledore says the best place for wands is a place called Ollivander's Wands Shoppie, he says it's just down thataway past that expensive potions place!","Okay, Harry." the centaur said, taking the bags off him and hooking them on her saddle-horn; with that done, she gave him a hand up into the saddle, passed him her reins, tucked the bit into her mouth, and fastened said bit down.,The boy then seemed to actually notice the Grangers.,"Oh, hi!" He said. "Hey, you look kinda lost. 'Bout as lost as me and Suze were first time we come here. Aintcha?","... well, actually, yes." Tony admitted, dubiously glancing from centaur to small boy and back several times. The centaur noticed his expression, and gave him a wink and shrug, neither of which helped.,"Aw, don't worry about it, Diagon Alley takes lots of getting used to at first but once you've gotten the idea it's well cool. Um, have you swapped your pounds for Galleons yet? They're not proper gold but that's because goblins are sensible, they mostly keep the gold to themselves.","... well, no." Sharon, Tony's wife, said.,"Okay, then you gotta go to Gringotts, that's the bank, they're just over there." The kid pointed. "Hey, you want me to, you know, show you round? I've been here like six times and I know the way everywhere here. Oh, but we haven't been introduced! I'm Harry, Harry Potter, and this is my centaur damsel, her name's Suze. Hi!","I'm Anthony Granger; call me Tony, everyone does. This is my wife, Sharon, and this is our daughter, Hermione.","I'm the first witch in my family." Hermione added, and Tony had to smile at how pleased with herself she sounded.,"Wow, that's awesome! I didn't know the not-glowy people could have kids who glow!" Harry enthused, obviously beyond delighted. "Hey, c'mon, there's all sorts of awesome stuff I gotta show you! But first off, we gotta go to the bank. It's over thataway, let's go!",The bank proved to be the substantial and somewhat Victorian-looking brick-built edifice halfway up the Alley and opposite an empty lot, with a set of broad steps leading up to the entrance; the entrance itself was via a set of ornate silver doors. There were a pair of short, broad men with yellowy-brown skin, protruding chins, neatly-cropped white hair, long noses and beady black rodent-like eyes, one standing each side of the door; they were dressed in smart red-and-white military-looking uniforms with peaked caps and dazzlingly-polished boots, and they were armed with long and extremely wicked-looking pole axes; something in their manner was reminescent of the Guards at Buckingham Palace as they stood there, alert and keeping a sharp eye on the passer-bies.,"Are those guys goblins?" Tony checked as they approached.,"Hmm? Yeah, sure they are. The one on the right's Corporal Mantrap, the one on the left's a Private but I dunno his name." Harry said.,"They're kinda fierce-looking." Hermione muttered.,"G'morning, Corporal Mantrap!" Harry enthusiastically said to the guard on the right-hand-side of the door, who promptly saluted.,"Mornin', Mr Potter." the goblin growled. "Here to speak to the Vice-Chairman?","Nah, I'm just showin' these guys around, they were kinda lost.",Corporal Mantrap nodded and touched his cap, nodding politely to the Grangers. "Mornin', ladies, gentleman. A profitable day to yeh all.","Morning." the Grangers all said in a rough approximation of a chorus; Sharon, Hermione and Suze immediately followed Harry into the building, while Tony paused to read the inscription on the doors.,"... has anyone ever been stupid enough to try to steal those doors?" he eventually asked.,Corporal Mantrap let out a dry chuckle.,"A time or two." he said. "That's why the lot across the road's empty – the Bofors and Vickers guns make a bit of a mess." Another dry chuckle. "Bein' unmagical and all you'd know well what that means, eh lad? Head on in, yer missus'll be wonderin' where yeh've gotten to.","... right." Tony said, and entered the bank. The name 'Bofors' was vaguely familiar from his father's war stories, and 'Vickers' rang a bell too.,Weren't those both rather large guns?,"Okay, now you gotta go queue." Harry was just saying as Tony arrived in the bank. "It shouldn't take too long, you picked the right sorta time and day to come, it's always quietest Wednesdays and halfway between when people start work and lunchtime.",Business in the bank was swiftly concluded, with odd looks being cast the Grangers' way when other customers realised how polite the goblin teller was being to these otherwise-unremarkable muggles and muggle-born.,"I'm guessing there are male and female goblins." Sharon suddenly said, just after they'd exited the bank.,"Well, course there are." Harry said, shrugging matter-of-factly. "Where'd you think little baby goblins come from?","... er, right. So... where are they?","Where's who?","The lady goblins.",Harry snorted. "Didn't you smell? The goblin you changed your money with is a girl, I think her name's Meatshred Slackhammer, she's my friend Mr Vice-Chairman Slackhammer's niece, I think. Oh, course you didn't smell, your nose ain't as good as mine or a goblin's. Y'know, I think she's gotta be going into heat, that's the only time it's easy to smell if a goblin's a Mr or a Madam, normally they just smell of goblin. I'm not really sure what going into heat means, Mr Vice-Chairman Slackhammer got all sorts of embarrassed when I asked, but I think it's got to do with that kissy-face making-babies stuff some grown-ups are into.","... oh." Sharon said, kicking herself for assuming that any other sapient species would automatically fulfil human expectations of gender.,"It ain't real important anyway." Harry continued. "When I asked, Master-Sergeant Griphook said that if you ain't sure whether a goblin's a boy or a girl the polite thing is to call 'em 'Mister' and if they're bothered about it they'll say, and there ain't many of 'em who're bothered, I think Madam Axetalon's the only girl goblin I've ever met who makes a point of it and I know lots of goblins.","I take it you're quite familiar with the goblins, eh?" Tony asked.,"Yeah, they're my friends." Harry said with a firm nod. "They're all sorts of fun and treasure's gotta come from somewhere. Anyways I'm guessing you've gotta get everything, right?" This last was addressed to Hermione. "Coz half the places on the school list are kinda expensive and I know a couple real neato shops where you can get half the school stuff for like half the price, 'specially potions stuff, the big place is a right rip-off." He indicated the bags on Suze's saddle. "I've already got my potions stuff, an' I was gonna head to get a wand next.",With that decided upon, they at once proceeded to the wand shop; all three Grangers were given quite a fright by the thinning-haired man who seemed to appear from nowhere, only for Harry to ask why the fish-smell, and the rather disappointed man (who introduced himself as Ollivander) explained that small quantities of cod liver oil was used in the making of the glue used to fasten wand components together and to polish the wands; thereafter each child in turn was subjected to a concentrated series of measurements of odd pieces of anatomy (why on Earth was distance from left eye to right thumb with arm outstretched a big deal especially considering it would change as the wand-owner grew?) before being offered a whole string of wands to try.,Here Harry became quite visible concerned at the comments about the usage of 'dragon heartstrings' in wand construction, and even more concerned about Hermione ending up being told that the right wand for her contained such, only to visibly calm down when Hermione (who hadn't noticed Harry's growing concern) spurred Ollivander into a twenty-minute explanation of the behaviour as wand components of the heartstrings of different breeds of dragon, explaining that Hermione's new wand contained a heartstring of a female Hungarian Horntail, a breed renowned for their strength and stubbornness under pressure, and suited to people with the acumen to stand up for their beliefs even through immense difficulties; with Harry relieved and Hermione pleased, Harry was then subjected to the array of measurements before going through even more wands than Hermione had in the process of ending up with one that was apparently the 'brother' of the wand that put the scar on his forehead; a scar that the Grangers hadn't noticed due to the boy's immense mane of scruffy black hair getting in the way.,Then, the shopping bags secured either in Tony's hand or on Suze's saddle-horn, they headed for the place Harry claimed was best for potions supplies, and the trio of Grangers became somewhat nonplussed at the, "Oh no, not again' reaction to Harry coming marching in the door.,Until, that is, they discovered just how much of a skinflint he could be; he pissed, moaned, bitched, complained, criticised, questioned quality and haggled the sweating shopkeeper down to a third of the stated price.,"We could have afforded, ye gods, thirty cauldrons at the price he was asking." Tony remarked.,"Sure you could." Harry said, shrugging. "But money's gotta come from somewhere and why go spending more than the cauldron's worth when it's a cheap cauldron that ain't hard to melt and you're probably gonna go through like a dozen of 'em? Especially since he was wanting twice what that thing's worth, it's just pewter and the bottom's kinda thin, and anyway if you don't gotta spend another knut on something then that's your hoard a knut bigger, innit?","Harry, how old are you?" Sharon asked, starting to get irritated by the pint-sized kid's incoherence.,"I'm gonna be eleven next week." he said.,"You're not very big for your age." Tony remarked, then winced as he realised how offensive that could sound.,"Well, that's coz I'm between growth spurts." Harry explained with a pragmatic shrug. "I growed real fast for 'bout eight months before I was nine, then my growing really slowed down, I only growed like an inch a year since. I figure I'm gonna catch up next time I have a growth spurt, so that's okay. Y'know, I've been a lot hungrier the last couple weeks than since my last growth spurt stopped, me an' Mr Hagrid an' Mr Kettleburn reckon that means I'm gonna start growing real fast again soon. It's gonna be a pain in the bum because I'm prolly gonna start having to eat tons again, but oh well, you can't do growing without enough to eat so that's okay.",And no more was said on the subject as they tore their way through their shopping lists without much but Harry unashamedly carving hunks out of prices by no-holds-barred haggling, before causing Tony to abruptly realise that whether Hermione realised it or not these two kids were inevitably going to be friends when both had identical reactions to the bookshop.,Here Hermione reacted to the extra money Harry's skinflinting had saved them by loading up with even more books than the list named, while Harry explained that he had most of the books on the list anyway and started rooting around for especially esoteric-looking musty old tomes, and once they'd finally managed to drag the kids out of the bookshop after a brief upset with what seemed to be a family of Neanderthals in robes, Tony found his attention very firmly drawn back to the guns Suze was carrying.,In particular, the old-school rifle Harry had just inserted up the left nostrilhole of this 'Crabbe' character.,"... mind if I have a look at that gun, Harry?","Fraid I can't do that, Mr Granger." Harry said, sounding apologetic. "Sergeant-Major Hacktalon would have my nadgers for boot-leather if I let anyone he wasn't sure knew how to safely handle a firearm handle it and anyway Mr Slackhammer says that it is the duty and privilege of all thinking beings to have weapons and if anyone thinks different they can have our guns when they pry 'em outta our cold dead fingers, and the same goes for swords and knives and stuff.","... nadgers... for boot-leather...?" Sharon mumbled.,The clamour of a bell echoed across the Alley; Harry froze and raised a finger.,BONG,,"One,",BONG,,"Two.",BONG,,"Three,",BONG,,"Four, aw man... oh, phew, it's not five so I ain't late. Um, I think that's everything now and I really oughtta go. I'll see you guys to the way outta the alley then I gotta get my bum into gear, I've gotta be back at my lair for half past four so I can meet with Mr Ronan to talk about seasons at quarter to five, then once it's six I gotta meet with Mrs Sprout and Mr Snape because we're gonna be harvesting special potions ingredients that it's the right sort of time to harvest.",Hermione checked over her shopping list.,"Yes, I think we've got everything... did we remember the potions supplies?","Yes, we did." her father reminded her. "That was the third shop we visited.","Oh, yes, I must have forgotten to tick it off – in that case, that's everything.","Okay then I'll see you the end of the month!" Harry said.,"Huh, that's interesting.",Hermione perked up as she recognised the voice; it was that weird hyper gun-nut boy she'd met in Diagon Alley at the beginning of August.,"What's interesting?" she asked, wandering over and noting that when the letter had said something about, 'cat, owl, toad or centaur' it probably hadn't been joking; she also found herself vaguely wondering how come Harry was visibly taller than when she'd seen him at Diagon Alley.,"Hello, Hermione." Suze (who was, ridiculously enough, on a leash) said with a polite little bow. Once again, Hermione found herself thinking how impressive a creature the centaur was; to the top of her head, Suze stood over eight feet tall, and from the perspective of a preteen girl, that oozed wow.,"Hmm? Oh, hi Hermione! This train's interesting, that's what." Harry stated.,"Why? It's just an old train.","Yeah, but everything else here is magic one way or another. The train, well, it ain't magic, I mean it's fire's magic and I think it's partly sorta kinda alive, but not the rest of it, it's just a big old steam engine and I'm trying to figure out how you sneak a steam engine from London to nearly Mallaig.","What's a Mallaig?","Oh, it's the muggle town just up the coast from Hogwarts. There's lots of boats and a really cool toyshop there and it all sorta smells of kipper." (8) Harry said, frowning thoughtfully at the train engine and failing to notice the amused expression on the face of the large soot-covered man who was watching from the locomotive's cab or, for that matter, the dubious look Suze gave said large soot-covered man.,"We'd better get on the train, Harry. It might leave without us." Suze pointed out. She seemed heartily amused by all this.,"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I guess." Harry said, and followed her towards the carriages, still glancing back at the engine. "Y'know, it's funny – that engine looks like it's supposed to be black.",Hermione, trailing a bit behind the mismatched duo, found herself wondering why the driver had responded to this by bursting out laughing.,James Coates, the regular driver of the Hogwarts Express, was still chuckling to himself as he hauled on the chain hanging from 45401's cab roof and the ever-faithful Stainer Class Five's strident whistle blared across King's Cross. (9),How that young whippersnapper with the pet centaur (must be a rules change) had known that Black Fives are supposed to be black without knowing what a Black Five was, well, that was anyone's guess but given the chance he'd enjoy finding out.,"Wotcher laughin' at, Jim?" Michael 'Mac' McDonald, Jim's fireman, asked, his query punctuated by the answering shrill of the guard's whistle; as if it'd been waiting for that prompt, the starting signal dropped.,"Tell yer later, Mac." Jim said, patting the drake-dog who kept the fire nice and hot. "Okay, Smaugey, give the ole girl a touch o' hellfire.",Smaugey let out a happy little gronk and blew a jet of blue-white flame into the firebox; Jim's smile broadened as he gave the whistle another blast, heaved 45401 into gear, and began to ease the brakes off and the regulator open.,The steam burst from her chimney like a gigantic snake's voice as the sixty-odd-year-old iron horse began to move with a great groan of bearings and a nice solid clang as her pony truck battered across a rail joint; Mac grinned and slung another shovel of coal into the firebox in time with the chorus of clangs from her driving wheels hitting the place marked by a fishplate, and Smaugey gave it a good huff and puff as the brakes came all the way off and the first proper chuff burst from the faithful old locomotive, making the fire roar as the steam blasted it's way through her smokebox into the summer air.,No railman – and few others – has ever been able to stand beside the hissing, spitting iron monster that is a steam locomotive (let alone on her footplate!) without half believing that this mighty metal behemoth is somehow alive, and Jim Coates was no exception. He'd been driving the Hogwarts Express since before any of the passengers currently aboard his train were so much as a funny gleam in their dad's eyes, and he fully expected to man that fiery beast for decades to come; as long as his heart held out, he'd be right there at the regulator when the kiddies needed their ride, and between times he'd be right there when BR sent trains full of tourists and smiling old railmen along the coast from Fort William to Mallaig.,The world had changed out of underneath the steam locomotive; the modern diesels had become cheaper and easier to run. It didn't take so much skill to drive a diesel, a diesel didn't need a talented fireman who knew when you'd need more steam and had her coaled up and ready to deliver, any Tom Dick and Harry could have a diesel up and ready to roll easy as starting a car, but they just weren't the same. The pragmatic side of Jim Coates knew that a Class 37 was a good, efficient, effective locomotive – but that 'tractor' just wasn't the same. (10),It wasn't a hissing spitting metal beast, it didn't have the pounding white-hot heart and soul of a dear old Black Five, you couldn't hear every part respond to the rails – it just wasn't proper.,Real locomotives, in his educated opinion, were seventy-odd tons of British iron and steel with a hand-stoked coal fire, at least two good big pistons, six or more driving wheels, and no fewer than two honest highly-skilled working men paying her the attention she deserves from the footplate.,And for as long as steam ruled the wizarding rails, as long as some bright-eyed kid from down south would pay for a ticket, he was right there, amidst the fire and the fury, listening to wheels clickety-clack across rail joins and the exhaust hammer away like a machine gun, with no need for any nancy heater as the roaring fire at her heart lifted sweat from his wrinkled brow – this was most definitely life at it's finest.,Give him a well-maintained Black Five, a train for her to haul, coal for her firebox, water for her boiler and rails for her to ride, and he'd be happy for as long as there was breath in his body; it's good work if you can get it...,1 - This Snape does not as a rule swear. He prefers to be much more creative in his insults and regards foul language as the mark of a lowbrow dolt.,2 – The 'score' in question comes from the five-bar-gate method of tallying (or, more to the point, 'scoring off') things you're counting. Up until very recently I thought that was where 'score' as in number-of came from. So in centaur terms 'one score' = 5, and before anyone says anything about Gettysburg Addresses or bibles, I'm a home-educated Scotsman, I don't know what the hell a Gettysburg Address is when it's at home and, being decidedly less religious than your average plank, the bible has never been on my to-read list.,3 – The boiling point of lead is 1749 degrees C (that's 3180 Fahrenheit, or 2022 Kelvin) which is an easy couple hundred C (or, of course, 380 F) above the melting point of iron. That's hot, folks.,4 - Referenced because I have been a fan since I was twelve, and the photo of Anne in the back of my copy of 'The White Dragon' shows a really nice smile...,5 - Short explanation; in Wizarding terms, metals are divided into three classes; 'noble' metals (those that react to magic) 'base' metals (those inert to magic) and 'ignoble' metals (those that resist magic.) I'm now aware of what those terms mean in real-world metallurgy; it's something I invented on the spur of the moment.,6 – These are shock diamonds (aka Mach disks) as in those shimmering ring-patterns seen in a jet engine's afterburner flame. Never having seen an aircraft afterburning, Bane wasn't expecting fire to do that.,7 – Yes, that's Snape attempting to yank Bane's chain again.,8 - Mallaig was until relatively recently the centre of kipper production in Scotland; if you didn't know, a kipper is a whole herring that has been split from tail to head, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold smoked. There aren't so many kippers from Mallaig these days, but there's still one old-school smokery there.,9 - Number 45401 was the first Black Five withdrawn by BR at the beginning of the end of mainline steam in the UK. In the universe of this fic, the Hogwarts Express crew immediately 'liberated' themselves some new-ish motive power from the scrap lines... and, hell, she still works so they kept using her – and kept her working, with a bit of assistance from a fire-breathing dog-lizard thingy whose anatomy has a startling resemblance to the sort of dragon Harry is.,10 - 'Tractor' is one of the fan-given nicknames for the British Rail Class 37 (aka English Electric Type 3) diesel-electric locomotive. This class was for years (including during the 80's and early 90's) the mainstay of Scottish motive power; I've got fond memories of riding the line to Kyle of Lochalsh with a Class 37 growling away up front. They're nicknamed 'Tractors' because they've got that same heavy diesel-engine rumble as an especially deep-throated agricultural tractor. Oh, and unlike Jim Coates, I reckon a Class 37 is about as 'proper' as a locomotive can get; she's a hundred five tons of steel with a chubby nose each end, a faintly sentimental three-eyed expression and a habit of snarling and spewing black smoke when she's really working for her living, and she produces this wonderful loping 'kagun-kagun-kagun' sound when she's idling, what's not to like?,Oh, and while I'm ranting about trains, Jim's decidedly wrong about how easy it isn't to start a 37; these are locos from the early 1960's, designed and built in a time when diesel was so cheap you only ever shut her down for maintenance. Cold-starting a 37 usually takes at least three tries and thus the best part of an hour as you've got to let her settle for twenty minutes after a failed attempt to start, and definitely involves her spitting great plumes of smoke and fire as her diesel engine (which lacks any sort of pre-heating or any such new-fangled crap) labours it's way into life; these are locomotives about as refined as a beat-up bulldozer and ten times as awesome.,-/- OMAKES -/-,Well, so far this fic has proven an omake magnet. Some I've edited and incorporated into the flow of the story, others I haven't.,In no particular order and copied raw off the Caer Azkaban Yahoo group, they are:,(Omake by Stick97),hmmmm.,What happens when a dragon teethes? Wasn't there a scene in DragonHeart,where the dragon gets a skeleton or something stuck in his teeth?,Maybe Harry eats the troll, and gets the club stuck in there, can't return,to Harry size, and the Grangers get called in to reassure Hermione, and they,help Harry out?,hmmm...,*Stirstirstirthepot*,"Well it seems there is some scoring on your teeth Mr. Potter. This canine,has a particularly large score. What exactly have you been eating? Do you,make a habit of eating Trolls?" asked Dr. Granger, sweating profusely from,the heat coming from a blast furnace of a stomach of the dragon, the heavy,protective gear and respiration equipment, and the fact that he was,voluntarily up to his arse in an extremely large dragon's mouth. He owed,young Mr. Potter a score, for saving his dearest only daughter from the,aforementioned Troll, which seemed to have part of it's arm firmly wedged,between Harry's first superior molar, and his second superior pre molar.,"No thir! 'ey are awful! I 'on't 'ink I 'an ge' the 'aste out of 'ere!,Yuccth!" replied Harry, trying to avoid running his tongue over Dr. Granger,while he was extracting the troll chunks from his mouth. "OWWWW!" yelped,Harry, as Dr. Granger firmly pulled on the offending troll appendage.,"Dan! Careful now!" chastised Emma Granger, who was against the back wall of,the room, holding on to a still distraught Hermione who flinched at every,mention of the word troll.,"Daddy! Be careful!" shrieked Hermione, biting her nails to the quick, as,she watched the procedure with interest.,"No worries you two. Harry won't hurt me, I've almost got it!" laughed Dr.,Granger.,"Daddy! Honestly, can't you see you are hurting poor Harry!" chastised,Hermione.,"Daniel Granger, the poor boy is already in enough pain as it is! You stop,lumbering around like an elephant in his mouth!" shouted Emma Granger.,Dan Granger's jaw dropped, as he turned to look at the two most important,girls in his life. 'I am a twitch away from being an after dinner dessert,to this beast of a dragon, who just ate a 9 foot bloody troll like a damned,treacle tart, and they are worried about me hurting HIM!?!',Dan shook his head. He knew it would happen eventually, but in his,daughter's first year, he knew he had already lost her to this, this, well,Monster! Oh well, Emma's father had laughingly warned him when he had,brought Hermione home from the hospital. He had hoped he could keep his,little girl all to himself for at least a score or two years, but it looked,like it was already too late. Who would have thought that the man who took,his daughter away would not be a shining knight on horseback, but a dragon,more likely to flambe the knight?,With a sigh, he returned to work. Stupid boys, eh, dragons. "Hold on just,a second there Harry, almost... almost... There! Got it!" He proudly,turned with the severely charred remnant of the troll's arm, expecting the,accolades of his daughter, and wife. He idly wondered how he could publish,this in the Dentist's review. First sapient interspecies extraction?,Safety techniques for the hygienic maintenance and upkeep of the orthodontia,of a pre adolescent Draco Volens?,While Dan Granger was ruminating on the fame this could bring him, he,suddenly realized that his wife and daughter were not congratulating him for,his daring and skill, but that blasted lizard!,"Now Harry, you really have to learn to chew your food! Why, that could,have affected your permanent teeth if we hadn't gotten it out of there, or,you could have gotten an infection, or even an abcess!" chided Emma Granger.,"We?" muttered Dan.,"Hush Dan! Now Harry, besides troll, what does your diet consist of? Are,you getting plenty of calcium and fluoride in your diet? What about,vegetables? Are you getting enough protein?" questioned Emma.,Harry was greatly enjoying the attention, as he worked his jaw back and,forth getting the feeling back. "Well, Mrs. Granger, I am pretty sure I get,plenty of the first from the smelter where Hagrid gets me my treats, and I,really enjoy Devils' Snare as it's nice and minty, and I love the taste of,roasted Acromantula, although they are getting harder to find locally.",explained Harry.,"Smelter? Devils Snare? Honestly, Harry! Who lets you eat that kind of,thing! Devil's Snare is dangerous and could kill you! Wait! Did you say,Acromantula? Those are giant spider's Harry! What do you think you are,doing? You could be hurt!" screeched a panicked Hermione, envisioning the,potential loss of her first and only friend at Hogwarts.,"Ha! Please calm your self Ms. Granger! Until we reached an agreement with,the smelter, we were having reports of lost carriages from the Express, and,none of the enchanted suits of armor would go any where near their alcoves,if they faced a window. For that matter, according to the blasted lizard,here, Devil's Snare tastes like a cross between parsley and lemon mint. As,for the Acromantula's, yes they are giant spider's, but they pose as much,threat to Mr. Potter, as a chocolate covered grasshopper to you or I. I,find that *properly* cooked they are quite the delicacy myself." smirked,Professor Snape, glaring at the suddenly bashful dragon who was looking,anywhere but at the Professor.,"Sorry, Professor Snape, I didn't know that you could get solomonella from,undercooked Acromantula!" blushed Harry.,"Harry, just what made you try eating giant spider, instead of a nice,balanced diet?" asked a quiet Emma Granger.,"Well, to be honest, at first it was just to settle an old score." explained,Harry.,"And pray tell, why would you have a score to settle with spiders?" inquired,Emma.,"Uh, well...**",whispered a suddenly shrinking Harry Potter, seeming to literally fold in on,himself, going from a large dragon, to a small 11 year old boy. The boy,still had the gorgeous rich emerald eyes of the dragon, but now had a,tousled head of dark hair, that had both Granger women itching to run their,hands through it. For different reasons of course.,"Why would you ever be put into a cupboard Harry?" asked Emma, as she felt,her eyes well with tears, as her nails dug into her palms. She looked,towards Professor Snape, whose eyes were widening as he saw the glare coming,from both of the Granger women. He slightly shook his head, before,surreptitiously pointing towards the twinkling headmaster sitting in the,overstuffed chintz armchair.,"Oh, they didn't really need a score, getting a better score than Dudley on,a examination, not knowing the score for the football games when Vernon had,to work late, keeping Dudley from scoring with Pier's sister, or when I got,blamed for the score he made from the corner store..." rambled Harry,,listing things and idly scoring the flagstone floor he was sitting on, as he,thought of instances.,"Have you settled the score with the spiders Harry?" asked Professor,McGonagall, as she added her glare to the still blissfully twinkling,Headmaster.,"Huh? Oh, yeah I suppose. I mean there were scores and scores of them,before, now it takes me ages to find any to eat. But Hagrid said he scored,a big sac of their eggs from the nest, and he said he knows how to raise,them. As long as I don't get to eager, I should be able to still have some,in moderation." explained a now cheerful Harry.,"Yes, Harry, one must be mindful of restraint and balance, as even the,spiders play a vital role in the ecosystem of the Forbidden Forest. For the,Greater Good of the Forest you really will have to learn to control,yourself." interjected Professor Dumbledore, before returning to humming an,odd melody.,"I know sir, I just couldn't help myself they taste so good! Sort of like a,hairy chicken, but when I cook them they get so nice and crispy! By the way,sir, what song is that you are humming?" asked Harry.,"Hmm? Oh, Shaft's The Big Score, I believe. I do so enjoy a good,blaxploitation movie! Quite the musical score if you ask me!" replied,Dumbledore.,"Do you think I could get a copy of the score? It sounds really good, and,would give me something to hum besides The Ride of the Valkyries when I am,flying" asked Harry.,"Of course dear boy! It will just take a score of minutes for my musiquill,to score it out for you." said Dumbledore.,"Uh sir? How long will that be?" asked Harry.,"Hmm? Well, if we were using the centaur definition, five minutes, another,20 minutes, and yet another definition, quite a long time, why do you ask?",twinkled the bearded old man.,"Cause I think the troll didn't agree to well with me, and I need to...uh,,you know..." explained Harry as he held his stomach, shifting uncomfortably,from foot to foot.,"Come along boy, I'll escort you to the forest, so you can take care of your,necessities," interjected a worried looking Snape, seeing the fierce looks,being directed towards the still oblivious Headmaster, who was nodding in,time to the musiquill. No one could say the man was not an expert in,keeping his own skin intact after all. Voldemort had nothing on the anger,brewing between the women in the room.,"I think I'll come with you Professor. I'd like to see the grounds while I,am here and talk to Harry as well." added Dan Granger, now out of his,protective gear but still holding a large pair of blacksmith's tongs in one,hand, while he placed the other firmly on Harry's shoulder. He was no,longer in dentist mode, but still had a strong urge to inflict pain. He,also recognized the look on his wife's face, and had no desire to be hit,with any of the collateral splash damage.,"Good idea you two, I'd like to ask a few questions of the esteemed,Headmaster here, and I don't think Harry needs to be present for them." said,Emma, smiling and nodding at Professor McGonagall, who was idly tracing the,runes on her wand. "Hermione, why don't you go with your father?","I'd rather stay mother dear," replied Hermione, fixing Dumbledore with a,glare that could melt the lining of Harry's stomach.,"Hmm." Emma looked at her daughter, arched an eyebrow, nodded and smiled,ferally. 'She's growing up so fast!' thought Emma, wiping a small tear from,her eye.,"Off you go boys! We'll take care of things here!" smiled Professor,McGonagall.,"But what about the music scor.." asked Harry, before Snape grabbed one arm,,Dan Granger the other, and placing his off hand over Harry's mouth.,"Shut up and run, fool boy!" hissed Snape.,"For the love of god, don't look back!" muttered Dan, as he and Snape lifted,Harry and dragged him from the room.,Harry was curious as to what was happening, when he heard a "Silen-" and,then a squelching noise coming from the room. He thought the voice was,Hermione's, but wasn't sure. As the two men marched him through the Great,Hall, he noticed that the Gryffindor hourglass seemed to be rapidly filling,with gemstones. Hmm. Everyone who could give points was in the Great Hall,,with the exception of the Headmaster, and his Head of House. Hermione must,really be impressing the two to be earning so many house points. He,mentioned wanting to go back, and both men laughed somewhat crazily, as Dan,merely stooped and threw Harry over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.,Once they were outside, he placed Harry down, and looked him squarely in the,eyes. Even though his insides could melt lead, he suddenly had a cold,feeling in his stomach, as he began to sweat for some reason.,"Harry, I want you to listen to me very closely. I am going to give you,some very important advice." growled Dan Granger as he brandished the,blacksmith's tongs threateningly.,Harry gulped, and nodded. When did Hermione's father get so scary? He,seemed so friendly and appreciative earlier today?,"1. Whenever women sound like that and are smiling at each other, get the,hell out of there as fast as you can, and forget that crap about 'leave no,man behind'! Tip a pint up for the poor bastard at the pub, and don't make,the same mistake as him.,2. If you think my princess is going to be just another damsel, or score on,the wall of your lair, you need to remember something very important. If I,have to go to jail for protecting the virtue of my daughter, it will be for,something so gory, abominable, and atrocious, they reinstate the death,penalty.,3. I will be sending you a movie to watch. It's what inspired me to become,a dentist. Very popular in its' time. It has Dustin Hoffman in it. You,know that funny fellow who played Captain Hook in the movie Hook? You,remind me of him quite a bit Harry.,4. You can score all you want in Quidditch, but if you try and pressure to,"score" with Hermione, or try it before you are at least engaged? I will,use these tongs to remove to crush your bollocks like rotten grapes.,Harry paled more than Snape could ever hope to. "Uh, gotta go. Bathroom,calling!" He then promptly transformed into a paler version of his normal,dragon form and flew away as fast as he could.,Dan Granger smiled and waved the tongs, shouting out "Have fun storming the,castle!",Snape merely arched his eyebrow, and drolly asked, "How are your benefits?",Huh. That kind of got away from me there. Sorry if I intruded there, but,it just seemed to fit.,Why yes, I do have a daughter, why do you ask?,I may throw this up on my acct with a link to your story whenever you,post it in the wild.,Obviously, really enjoying your view of Harry, and remember if you don't,know the score, you don't know the whole story.,Ok, taking my burnt lips off the dragon fire heated crack pipe now. ,(End omake),... which got refined then abruptly re-routed by Snape unexpectedly turning round and screaming 'Viva La Revolution!!!' at the top of his lungs.,(Omake by Mike; designed to explain Harry's guns before I'd answered how.),Love the story so far. This popped in to my head and thought I'd share.,Mike,"Boy! Why is your pet not on a leash?",With a growl that carried over surprisingly well from his dragon form Harry,answered, "She is not my pet, she's my damsel.","She's your what? Never mind, filthy beasts like that should not be loose in the,Alley," the squat toad like woman in the pink robe croaked as she drew her wand,,an action that was repeated by the three men following her.,As easy as it would be to shift back in to his dragon form, he was warned,several times that his secret must never get out so he did the next best thing.,"Run Suze!" Harry called as he took her hand and started to charge through the,group towards the entrance to Gringotts.,Knowing that she was swifter than he was in little form she picked him up and,tossed him on to her back as she ran headlong in to the witch and wizards,knocking them aside as though they were tenpins. The young centaur didn't slow,down until the spear points of the goblin security guards were pointing at her.,Harry and Suze were both breathing hard as they tried to explain the altercation,outside and why they had come running in to Gringotts. Before they could get,more than a few feet away from the door it opened again reveling the pink robed,woman and her accomplices as well as several blue robed Aurors all with wands,drawn. The two groups were quickly separated by the heavily armed guards.,Hearing one of the names associated with the commotion inside the bank Crackjaw,made his way to the lobby where his business partner was being held. "Mr.,Potter, what is the meaning of this?" the goblin asked as he stepped past the,larger guards.,Harry quickly explained what had happened moments before in the street he was,quickly ushered in to Slackhammer's office. "I know you are to young yet to have,a wand, but perhaps we can find something else for you and your companion to,defend yourself with...",(End Omake),... which got refined to the version that appears in this chapter.,(Omake by Phil, spurred off by some questions about the eating of ammo),Wind...? From eating cordite? Oh, ye gods...,After they'd picked themselves up and brushed the shattered remains of the,windows of the Great Hall off themselves, the Hogwarts staff departed en masse,to find what had just caused that deafening boom. They were fairly sure that,they knew where to look, and what -- or, rather, who -- to look for...,They were correct in the latter expectation, but not in the former. This didn't,mean that the subject of their search was hard to find; quite the opposite,,actually, as he could be seen on the far side of the lake, sitting in the,shallows, surrounded by clouds of steam.,"You wretched reptile!" Snape bellowed. "What in the name of Merlin did you just,do?!",The dragon hung his head while simultaneously giving off a relieved sigh which,sounded remarkably like a noise the Hogwarts Express made after arriving at,Hogsmeade Station each September 1st.,"Um... sorry," he said shamefacedly. "I... I was out flying and I spotted this,old wooden box up in the mountains. I thought it might be some kind of treasure,,so I landed and had a look at it, and it had a lot of really big bullets in it,-- too big to put in any of my guns, or even the goblins' -- and I was hungry,and the metal casings and what was inside them smelt really yummy, so I had a,quick snack and flew back here, but then I needed to let off really, really,badly, and when I did, it all sort of came out in a rush and burst into flames,and suddenly I was flying REAL fast, but I couldn't stop and I went right over,the castle so quick I didn't really know it was there until I'd gone way past,,and then my fart ran out and I was able to slow down and turn around, but my bum,was feeling all hot and uncomfortable, so I landed by the lake to cool it off,and I feel much better now.",Nobody said a word to Harry's "explanation". Nobody could. ,-/-/-/-,Yes, folks, it's Dragon!Harry a la Errol from Discworld -- another jet-propelled,dragon! Couldn't resist the idea of cordite-produced flatulence because, y'know,,that is so like what a jet engine does -- take in air, burn fuel with it, squirt,the results out the back to produce this thing we call thrust.,BTW, Harry's "treasure" is meant to be an old, long-lost box of artillery,shells. I thought about having him find an old naval shell, but I thought that,might be a bit much even for him to digest. g,Phil ,(End Omake),... which isn't too likely to be used as I have other plans for Harry's development.,(Omake by skeptic7200; written well before the dorm-for-dragons question was given a finalised adequate answer.),The first thing to realize is that Harry and Suze and everyone else is making things up as they go along. A dragon's damsel responsibility is basically determined by the damsel. Suze is basically raising Child Dragon Harry. She tells him stories and teaches him about the stars and the history of the Centaurs.,Harry seems to be physically arrested at age eight. Either that or he is really really short for his age. When the Grangers met Harry at Diagon Alley for the first time they thought he was several years younger than Hermione. ,I can just see the following scene a couple of days after Halloween. Harry is still trying to be a fairly normal human boy so he can't carry Hermione off in dragon form.,Harry runs up to Hermione after dinner in the great hall. ,Harry bursts out, "Hermione have you finished dinner yet? Can you come with me to the dungeon, I want you to meet my friends Susan and Hannah. We can all go visit with Suze later and she will get the elves to bring us a snack. I really want to show you my lair here. You don't mind coming down to meet my friends and see my lair do you? You were in distress and I have to carry you off to be proper and your father who isn't a poop head said that I could carry you off to my lair if you didn't mind.",Hermione smiled down and said "No Harry, I would really like to meet your friends. I never had a chance to really talk to them as Hufflepuff and Griffindors don't really have classes together. I saw them in the library but Madam Pince doesn't let us talk. " ,Harry grinned and dragged her by the hand over toward the Hufflepuffs "Susan, Hannah this is Hermione. We had a wonderful adventure a couple of days ago when we saw this troll and then Hermione's parents came to see us in the infirmary and they looked at my teeth since I had got something stuck in my mouth when I bit down on this hard thing. Anyway I want to show Hermione the common room and my lair." ,"The Hufflepuff common rooms are all down in the basement but the opposite direction from the Slytherins, but they might be just a little further underground, but its hard to tell since we go down this set of stairs toward out rooms and they go down two other stair cases which aren't as long but they have two sets" ,Susan said "Stop pulling Hermione along, Harry, some people don't want to move so quickly after supper particularly on these stairs." ,The four of them head down the stairs, Harry in the lead with Hannah bringing up the rear. Susan says "What is your favorite class, Hermione? I like Herbology since it gets us out of the castle, and since Professor Sprout is our head of House we can ask questions when things get confusing." ,Hermione replies " Charms is a lot of fun, just being able to wave a wand and see things float or move or change color. Can you really ask your Head of House for help, Professor Macdonegal is never around except during class or office hours." ,Hannah chimes in with "Really? Thats wierd. Professor Sprout spends an hour every evening in the common room, in fact it was more than that at the start of the year. And she assigned a "big brother" or "big sister" to all the first years to make sure that they didn't confused or lost. Anyway here we are. Just go through the round door" ,The girls brushed past Harry who was holding the door open and entered a bright cheerful room with three fireplaces and lots of chairs and sofas. The walls were a light bright yellow and the sofas a dark yellow, and the chairs and tables a black wood. Susan and Hannah grabbed Hermione's arms and pulled her toward a dark passage at one side. ,Hannah said "Let me show you our dorm room, and I need to change my sweater. Are you warm enough? I have a thick sweater you can borrow if you want" ,When the girls reemerged, Harry was there waiting for them. Harry said "Hermione what do you think of our Sett? Come over here and sit by this fireplace. All the furniture is slightly smaller so things are more comfortable. Would you like to play exploding Snaps? or Monopoly? Hannah has a set." ,Susan said "Lets do Monopoly. Hermione can you play? Its a really strange game that Hannah had from one of her muggle cousins." ,Hermione replied "I am willing to play monopoly. My parents and I used to play together. " ,-/-/-/-/-/- ,After the game was over, Harry jumped up and said "Are you all hungry? Come on lets visit Suze and she'll give us a snack, and I really really want to show you my lair" ,Hannah said "Tempus, Yes lets go call on her, the astronomy class is meeting just after dark to see the early stars and planets this week so she should be back." ,Hermione said "You can just call on Professor Suze whenever you want?" ,Hannah said "Oh yes, Harry is a great friend of hers and she welcomes all of us too." ,Susan added "Now come this way, its quite close just up this set of stairs" ,Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her behind him until they came to a portrait of a meadow. He spoke "Welcome friends" and the portrait opened. All of them entered a large fairly bare room with a mural of a forest meadow painted on the walls. A soapstone wood stove heated one corner. There was a couple of library tables and chairs and bookshelves and a low padded platform near the corner. ,Harry burst out "Welcome to my lair. This is where Suze and I live during the school year. You can come here whenever you like. Its a safe place where there aren't any knights or bullies or trolls." ,Suze said "Good evening, Harry, Susan, and Hannah. Hermione its good to see you again, and let second Harry's invitation. Feel free to come here at anytime and use any of the books. We have a little potions lab set up, but I don't want you to brew anything alone. You can use it if Harry or I are here" ,Hermione said "Thank you, Professor. I would really love to look at your books and this would be so more peaceful than the Gryffindor common room especially when the twins are playing pranks. Professor Suze, how is it that you and Harry have your own suite and such a very large room? ,Profesor Suze said easily "These rooms are especially warded against magic damage and have their own exit to the castle. Harry is staying here because he is still having occasional outbursts of accidental magic and it would be unfair to his dorm mates if he loses control and damages their possesions. I needed the extra room, centaurs hate close quarters, and the exit leads to the grasslands in front of the forbidden forest. When the castle gets too oppressive I can go for a run or to see the stars. I took the job as part time Astronomy professor so I could study medicine with Madam Pomfrey, and stay with Harry. Sometimes his magic runs wild and he needs my help, so this is his lair at Hogwarts" ,"Now, Harry, clear the books off the table and bring up enough chairs and I'll call the House elves to bring us a snack" ,(End Omake) ,... which isn't too likely to be used as it's been contradicted to the core by recent plot developments, particularly around how precisely to avoid people finding Harry's dragon-ness out while he's occupying a Hogwarts dorm.,Well, nothing more to say beyond, ye gods, that's the biggest chapter I've ever posted, and there's nothing more to see here – for now. So I'll sign off with my traditional signature;,Doghead Out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or The rise of the planet of the Apes.,-Line Break-,Ivy James Potter. 14 year old ,. Awoke with a start from her fitful sleep, by the sound of bird song echoing through the forest. High above in the trees, where she'd commandeered one tree. That had formed a hollow three feet up in the air during the course of its long life. Ivy moaned, stretching her limbs. That were heavy with sleep. The wooden cavern easily fit her small, slim frame inside with room to spare.,Ivy rubbed her eyes in an effort to resist the urge to fall back into slumber, she glanced outside of her little cocoon and was greeted with the same sight as she'd woken up to for the past four weeks. Still, she never got tired of waking up to to see the gigantic trees of the Redwood Forest. Moss covered, they had an almost noble grace to them—like pillars reaching up high trying to touch the clouds. It could be compared to an old religious mural, the trees representing the pillars that kept grand temples dedicated to what ever gods the artist revered standing for centuries to come,Ivy was brought out of her poetic daydream induced daze by the rumble in her belly—it was time to find breakfast. She yawned and very carefully started to make her way out of her unexpectedly comfy home. Four weeks had passed and yet she still wasn't over the shock of what had happened. She remembered it like it was yesterday. She relived it over in her head. How, she'd jumped in front of Sirius and used her body to shield him from the stunning spell, courtesy of batty Bellatrix and gone flying straight into the veil that she'd forgotten was right behind her. She should have died that day, that was what was supposed to happen when one falls through the unexplained mystery that was the veil.,What she'd never expected to happen in her wildest dreams was to be thrown 10 years in to a decrepit future. One where—from what she'd managed to find out from old scraps of newspapers that littered the ruined street she'd woken in in after her fall from the past. Was that most if not all of muggle humanity had been wiped out by a man made virus named the Simian Flu. Ivy had fallen to the ground like a limp noodle and was shocked right down to the core.,Dead!,Gone!,But what about the magical community? Were wizards susceptible to the virus, had they been wiped out as well, was she the last one left. It was at that point Ivy realised that she didn't have that all too familiar weight of her wand tucked snugly in the holder attached to her wrist. In fact not even the wand holder was there, but she was absolutely sure that she had. Had a firm grip onto the holly wand when she'd fallen through the veil.,Panicking Ivy rushed right back to where she'd first woken up—maybe the wand and holder had come loose and she hadn't seen them when she'd gotten to her feet to go explore the area, but it wasn't there either. After freaking out for a good part of the day Ivy pulled herself together, she'd spent most of her life now knowing or being able to do magic so not having her wand wasn't the end of the world—no pun intended.,After mulling it over in her head Ivy decided to head for the woods, she felt exposed and vulnerable in the city reclaimed by nature and even as a child Ivy found comfort in their rigid embrace. The woods used to be where she'd run, when Dudley and his friends would declare it Ivy hunting season when they gotten bored of whatever it is evil Gremlins do when they weren't terrorising the general public.,Or after enduring another beating from her uncle Vernon, after which her aunt would throw her out of the house—complaining about how she didn't want Ivy's , tainting her house. Ivy would walk the small distance to the nearby park. Where there she'd spend the night in an old forgotten tree house deep in the woods, she always made sure she was back where her aunt had thrown her. So that when the highly stung horse faced woman opened the door and allowed Ivy back in to the house, really early in the morning before any of the neighbours awoke so that they didn't see her in the back-garden, and discover the her aunt and uncles dirty little secret.,Scuffed and fraying, dirty gray trainer cover feet made contact with the springy grass covered forest floor with a dull thud. Ivy didn't move, she was up and out but now she needed to decide on what she wanted for breakfast, she did a full body stretch getting rid of the last remnants of sleep and decided that berries were the way to go. She'd seen some by the river bank once during her initial exploration of the area surrounding the hollowed out tree. It was a brilliant location because, she was starting to smell. Bad … Really, really bad. She'd put it off too long, it was time for her to bite the bullet and take the plunge … into freezing cold river water.,The walk to the river side didn't take too long, even with her dragging her feet like a child. Ivy popped another blackberry into her mouth, not her favourite fruit but they filled up the empty cavity that was her stomach. The last juicy morsel went down the hatch and she wiped her sticky fingers on her jeans. She was going to wash her clothes anyway so it didn't matter. The dirt underfoot, transformed into sand. Ivy took a look all around her, subconsciously checking that there weren't anyone watching her. She laughed at her actions. As if anyone would be watching, all the humans on planet earth were dead.,Ivy slowly started to undress and made her way into the water, it was how she expected it to be—freezing cold. It took a little while but she eventually got used it. Ivy waded in to the water and stopped when it came just above her chest, she used her clothes to wipe away the grime and sweat that had build up over the past four weeks and it was a lot, she then washed her clothes and hung them on one branch that was hanging out over the river so that they didn't get washed away by the rivers currents, and also that the light breeze could dry them a little, she dunked her head under the water and tried to wash the grease out of her hair.,Thoroughly washed, skin pink, and shivering. Ivy made her way back out of the water, chilled right down to the bone but feeling refreshed and relaxed. A quick drying charm. Yes! She did still have her magic. The revelation had come during an incident in the new world. Where the ,almost became the ,BY A FALLING OUT A TREE. She'd forgotten the reason she'd even decided to climb up it in the first place, too engrossed in soaking up the stunning scene that you couldn't experience on the ground. Too busy, that Ivy wasn't paying attention to where she was putting her feet and had placed it on a dead branch that snapped right away when she placed her weight on to it.,And then she was falling, falling fast. The ground rushing to meet her. Being 15feet up in the air with nothing to grab onto, to break her fall. A fall that if not killed her outright on impact would most defiantly result in two broken legs or back, left helpless, easy pray for mountain lions and bears. Ivy panicked and on instinct reached out with her left hand—her wand hand and shouted the spell ,A felling that Ivy could only describe as pins and needles shot up and down her arm until her entire body was tingling. The centre of her palm heated up and a rope shot out and wrapped its self around a thick branch—the branch that if she'd been paying attention would of stepped on instead of the weak one.,Needless to say,she didn't attempt to climb that high up again, even with her rediscovered magic. Now fully clothed in dry clean clothes thanks to a drying charm that she'd also used on her hair. It was time for lunch. She wanted something a little more filling than berries or mushrooms, she had become quite the forager.,When it came to hunting though it was about 50-50 sometimes she managed to catch something and other times she didn't. She thought about returning to the hollow and maybe snagging one of those annoying birds that kept waking her up early in the morning. Or, or if she was really lucky she could catch a rabbit eat some of it for lunch and save some for dinner so that she wouldn't have to go out looking later on today again.,That was when she heard it, a sound all to familiar to Ivy that made her plans for lunch go fly right out of the proverbial window. It was a scream! A human scream. Before she even knew what she was doing, throwing caution to the wind. Ivy bolted in the direction of where the cry came from. If her contact starved brain had taken a moment to proses the scream she would have come to the conclusion that it wasn't human after all and maybe approached with hesitance … but she didn't … and spun around the tree that was the only thing in the way of her and civilised contact.,Ivy stopped abruptly, her body still partly covered by the tree. Mid step with a stupid Ron like smile plastered on her face that quickly morphed in to absolute shock, the being—no being, defiantly weren't human. They were apes! two big Chimps with—was that a spear one of them was clutching? Too shocked for her frazzled brain to make sense of what she was seeing. It imploded and her mind went completely blank. Then Ivy noticed that one the chimps was laid out prone on the floor and huffing in pain.,That was when the red headed witch really paid attention, and saw that the chimp had its leg caught in a hunters snare—she thought they were called bear traps. The other on was hovering over him—she assuming the ape was a he. Spear holder as so she'd named him didn't seem to know what he—again assuming the ape was a he.,Didn't seem to know what he was supposed to do, that was a given even Ivy herself wouldn't know how to unlock one of those traps without the help of magic, that kind of equipment that was meant to maiming large pray wasn't used in the UK, it didn't have any large game to catch—unless you considered the odd fat Cat as large game.,The ape gasped in pain and Ivy took step forward in worry, accidentally dislodging a pile of small stones that went rolling down the a slope in the uneven ground. Spear holders head whipped around in her direction so fast that one wouldn't have been surprised if his head had come off his shoulders and joined the stones in their journey through the down hill forest.,Their eyes met, Ivy became instantly mesmerised by the beauty of the apes eyes sky blue, very rare for and ape to have. Apparently spear holder wasn't as star-struck she was because he snarled threateningly and raised his spear and pointed it in her direction, taking a step forward.,"Wait!" Ivy exclaimed, mirroring his action in reverse—taking a step back and raising her hands out in front of her to show she means no harm. Spear holder growled and cocked his head the side.,The injured ape hooted and Mr hairy and hostile turned and started to sign to him—at least that's what it looked like … no it was sign language. Ivy recognised the familiar hand gestures. ",",At that accusation Ivy bristled, no way in hell was she going to let him throw the blame on to her. Ivy squared her shoulders and straightened her spine, ",… haven't done anything of the sort." she huffed indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest.,The ape accuser reeled back in shock, apparently he never considered the fact that she might be able to understand what they were signing. The injured ape also reacted in a manner similar to that of his friend only he gasped in pain when he jostled his leg.,Ivy's scowl melted and her eyes lost their warning edge. Hesitantly she took a step forward and spear holders chest rumbled in warning. Ivy stared at the ape with and even expression and pointed to the ape on the floor, "I can get that—" she pointed to the bear trap, "—off of his leg and heal it.",The two apes stared at each other and began to sign again. Spear holder shot her a look and turned slightly so that she couldn't see what he was signing … What a petty primate. Ivy wanted to laugh at the gesture that was so human, but she held her tong and waited for them to finish discussing what to do.,Blue eyes glanced back at the human female with the flame like red hair, she was looking down at her hands a small smile on her face that had the young prince wondering what she was thinking about, but shook off that thought and turned back to Ash, who began signing the second they made eye contact. "," Ash asked, panting in pain.,"," Blue eyes replied.,",","," Blue eyes tried to comfort, it didn't seemed to have worked though because Ash sat up with a pained groan and pulled at a chain that was tired around the tree.,"," Blue eyes couldn't refute that statement. And nodded to his life long friend and brother in all but blood.,Ivy looked back up at the apes when she saw the ape with the crystal blue eyes feet shift in her direction. "," The ape with the spear signed.,Ivy knew that she probably wouldn't earn any trust points by saying what one usually counters that statement with 'if I wanted you dead you'd be a cooling corpse in the grass right now' so she kept her retort to herself and settled for just saying it mentally. And instead replied with, "Its now a trap and there is no one else, I've been by myself for quite a while now.","," he huffed haughtily.,Ivy huffed right back at him, "Look we can argue like this all day, like a couple of children … Or I can get to work helping your friend, before he bleeds to death." The two stared each down—or in Ivy's case stared up, seeing as thought the ape was a lot bigger than she was—curse her child like height.,The ape didn't reply just shifted his body, an invitation to approach. Boy was Ivy glad she'd met Claire Armstrong, back in primary school. Claire had been born deaf and had transferred to Ivy's school in her forth year. The teachers in a bid to breach the communication gap between Claire and herself and the other students had dedicated an entire lesson to learning sign language.,It was a shame that none of the other students really got involved with the lesson, Ivy thought it was brilliant. The teacher had even given her a book on how to learn the basics of sign language. She and Claire had bonded over her passion to learn the intricate language of the hands, and in no time at all Ivy could understand and hold an entire conversation with Claire.,Unfortunately it was a friendship that was meant to last. As Dudley had taken it upon himself to not only bully Ivy in school he'd also directed his awful hobby at Claire and it wasn't long after that. That Claire's parents had her removed from the school and enrolled in to another on far out of Surrey. Ivy never forgot though, the lessons that her first really friend had taught her.,At his invitation Ivy moved forward, keeping the pointy end of the spear in her sights at all times, she keeled down by the apes injured leg and had a good long look at it before she touched it. The wound was deep, the rusted edges of the trap becoming sharp like a knife. Good for the ape though was that his leg wasn't the only thing caught in the trap a log had gotten caught as well. It was the only thing preventing the trap from springing fully and would have without a doubt snapped the apes ankle in two. Ivy raised her hand over the bear trap, ",aved her hand and the trap opened with a click the ape let out a really loud scream of pain that echoed off the trees as the rusted metal extracted from his shredded skin.,Ivy flinched when the spear was brought closer to towards her neck but she ignored it as she waited until the two wings of the trap expanded until they were both flat against the floor. "Its okay, Its okay." Ivy soothed the distressed ape, very gently she cupped his leg with both her hands using them to stem the blood flow, it wasn't heavy but it was steady. Ivy looked up, "Help me move him over there away from the trap.",He hesitated for a second before walking behind his friend, laying he spear down but making sure it wasn't within her reach. They lifted up the ape and then gently placed him back down away from the bear trap. Ivy got to work she used her water bottle to flush the blood away from the wound to check that there were no rusted metal that had broken off and was stuck in the wound. She didn't want to go and heal the ape only for him to die because a trapped piece of metal and caused the wound to go septic.,Ivy was so engrossed in her inspection of the wound that she didn't realise that the trees above them were quaking and that two apes had turned into thirty apes. She never realised until one dropped down right next to her. On instinct Ivy shot backwards—startled, her back hit the tree that was at her right a moment ago. As if his decent had been the vanguard all the other apes one by one dropped down to the forest floor. The first ape to jump down looked at her bloody hands and then to the injured ape on the floor, his face contorted in rage and he snarled. Unexpectedly the ape with the bright blue eyes stood in-front of her in a protective stance.,"," Rocket signed furiously.,",","," He snarled, moving to walk around Blue eyes to look in to the eyes of the human responsible. But Blue eyes moved again and blocked the raging father, stopping him from making a mistake he knew his fathers best friend would come to regret.,"," Blue eyes informed.,",","," Blue eyes gestured to the blood covered metal trap peaking out of the grass. ",","," Rocket told the teen ape grabbing him by the shoulder.,Ivy had remained silent throughout the conversation the two apes were having, behind them the other apes were chattering to each other, then suddenly they all went quiet and still a, the apes split of until they formed a path. And a ape appeared that looked like the older version of the bright eyed ape that was at this minuet still defending her from the distraught parent ape—Rocket.,"Son." It was spoken this ape was able to speak, Ivy looked directly at the ape who had a deep and rugged sounding voice. She caught his gaze and the one thought that zoomed right through all other thoughts was that. The pair of eyes before her were one of the most expressive pair she'd ever seen. They were beautiful, and even before the ape had called her defender son just looking in their eyes you could see that they were related...

Wargames,Harry Potter/Star Trek Enterprise Fanfiction,Sometimes you just need a bit of time to find yourself. Harry, thrown into the future must find his way back to the past to defeat Voldemort. Part 1 of a series,Rating M,Pairing- Harry/ Hoshi,Main character- Harry,Disclaimer: I do not own Harry potter or any of the rights to the Harry Potter franchise, I am not making any money off of this fanfiction and am doing it purely for fun.,Chapter 1: A summer holiday of change.,'That Bastard' Harry thought as he stared out the side door of the Dursley's car, it was raining, it pounded on the windows echoing through the quietness of the car, they weren't happy to have Harry here and he wasn't happy to be here either.,Vernon would shift his glance into the mirror and glare at Harry before shifting his eyes back to looking out the window. His Aunt just sat there as still as a stone and Dudley was randomly talking about a boxing tournament he had won recently; no one was listening to him. No one cared, the majority of people that he would have been against were smaller than him, not that there were many people the same weight category as a beached whale.,'How could he expect me to deal with all this?' Harry thought cursing Dumbledore, 'Damn Dumbledore, Damn Voldemort, Damn Fudge.' Harry mentally spat in pure frustration, three key figures that were causing him no end of grief. Fudge was out to ruin his reputation destroying Harry's name to save his career; a career that was so far down the toilet that even the Mario Brothers would never be able to find it. Voldemort was self explanatory he was out to kill Harry, Slowly and painfully in response to his constant thwarting of the Dark Lords plans, but he was a known variable. But for as much as he knew about Fudge's and Voldemorts intentions it was the esteemed Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Grand Warlock supreme title holder of the Universe, he was the mystery, the question that needed answering.,What was his game plan?,Harry found it hard to predict the manipulative bastards movements and actions. Because of Dumbledore's manipulations Harry had lost his Godfather Sirius Black whom had been wrongly accused and thrown into Azkaban Prison without even a trial for the murder of Harry's parents. Dumbledore, the living entity of Second Chances didn't push for a proper investigation, the living beacon of the light and goodness, didn't dig deeper to help his Godfather. Now we fast forward fifteen years and Sirius had been killed when trying to save Harry from a trap that the teen had been so stupid to fall for! He accepted some of that responsibility, it was partly his fault. His mind flashed back to that situation every time he closed his eyes, the guilt swelled up inside of him. 'Not anymore.' Harry mentally ordered himself, 'I'm going to learn Occulemency and I am going to train and learn to beat Voldemort in my own way, not the way Dumbledore wants me to, Not the way Fudge wants to but my way. I will kill Voldemort and I will use any means necessary.' Harry promised himself and subconsciously his hands clenched into fists.,He was bought out of his thoughts as the car came to a stop at the drive way to Number 4 Private Drive. Petunia and Dudley quickly ran from the car to the shelter of the house but before Vernon got out he turned to Harry, "Get your stuff out of the car and put it under the stairs." Vernon ordered. Harry glared at Vernon but complied anyway walking into the rain he grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage and dragged them into the house the rain pounding against his skin and clothes. Luckily he kept his most important stuff on his person, his wand and his invisibility cloak. Dumping his trunk under the stairs he walked up to the smallest bedroom in the house and placed Hedwig's cage on the desk and deposited his invisibility cloak under the loose floorboard. Dropping the floorboard back into place Harry collapsed onto his bed and just lay there wishing for the sweet bliss of sleep, except he knew there was not going to be any sweet bliss, it would be nightmares, reliving the department of mysteries incident and the death of Cedric Diggory.,He was right, Harry slept about 4 hours long before the nightmares struck and Harry woke up a cold sweat plastered on his forehead and his scar throbbing in pain. Slowly he tried to get back to sleep but when that failed he swung his feet round and sat there contemplating everything that had happened.,"How much could I have changed?" Harry questioned slowly, "I didn't have the training that was needed, I didn't have the skill, as much as I've learnt it still wasn't enough to save him." He whispered his hands clenching the edge of the tiny bed, his knuckles turning white from the force. "What was I supposed to do? I was injured," he stood up walking across the room looking into a cracked mirror that hung on the wall. "I could barely stand, how the hell was I supposed to save him?" Harry muttered, his guilt being pushed aside by rationalisation. "The moment he was hit I was down as well, I was only able to stand because he helped keep me up." Harry muttered bitterly. "They turned on me so quickly after that, Cedric dies, they disbelieve me… because I obviously have a reputation as a liar!" He said in disdain, his memories of the Daily Prophet shining to the forefront as he continued to look at his reflection and the bags that sat under his eyes. "They betray me time and time again, I'm a hero when they need me to be and a scapegoat when they don't want me to be around." Harry muttered already knowing how the situation was playing out in his head.,"And yet, I can't hate them…" He muttered in resignation. "Anyone else would have done and yet I don't." He said locking eyes with himself. "But that doesn't mean I have to like them. I will do what needs to be done and I will beat Riddle and then, just like all tales of good versus evil. I shall ride off into the sunset." He smiled thinking on where he could go.,"After all, anywhere is better than this place." He mused walking back over to his bed and dropping down onto it, stifling a yawn, his spirit feeling lighter than it had in a while before he closed his eyes.,Only for the alarm to go off what felt like five minutes later.,Harry groaned in frustration, standing up and flicking it off, his alarm was set before the others would get up because even though they were a little more relaxed on chores, old routines and habits were hard to break. Walking over to the bathroom, he took a quick shower then got dressed, Dudley's had me downs once again, that was another thing that needed to change, he needed to get better clothes rather than these baggy hand me downs that he always wore. Change needed to happen and in his mind, that change needed to start with himself. Walking down stairs skipping the creaky step he started to make the breakfast hearing the telltale signs of the two natural disasters walking around 'thank you WWF.' Harry mused at the title that he had given them, naming them after the two big wrestlers Typhoon and Earthquake. Dishing out the breakfast he made himself a quick sandwich and walked out the front door as Vernon made it downstairs. Exiting the house he sensed the presence of the Order member trailing him as he walked along the streets no doubt to 'protect' him like they did when the dementors attacked, walking through the park Harry looped round and walked back to Number 4 ignoring his surroundings, there was no need for the walk he just wanted to just stretch his legs.,Reaching number 4 he walked in and stopped as Vernon appeared and started shouting. "BLOODY OWLS! No respect for normality." He shouted and Harry was a bit caught off guard, he stayed silent as Vernon went on a rant about lack of respect for the normal people and stepped away from him walking up the stairs to his room, one hand coming up and wiping the spit off of his face, there were days that he really hated being anywhere near Vernon… normally they were days that ended in a Y. Entering his room he saw three owls sitting there, one was Hedwig sitting in her cage cleaning her feathers, the second was Pig the owl belonging to Ron holding a letter on both feet and the third was an owl Harry didn't recognize.,Harry walked up and took the letters from Pig, reading them he just threw them to the floor, it was the usual, "Don't blame yourself Harry it wasn't your fault." Crap, stuff that he had heard plenty of times before. Harry threw it in the bin ignoring it completely and glanced at Hedwig, she hooted at him but otherwise didn't have anything for him, apparently having been out hunting, if the dead mouse in her cage was anything to go by.,He looked at the last owl, the Tawny owl was not one that he was familiar with and the red envelope that was tied to its leg was dubious at best. The Owl held its leg out to him and slowly Harry removed it, after the initial touch didn't portkey him away he flipped it over looking at the writing on the front.,It was unfamiliar to him and yet at the same time something seemed familiar as he saw the note written on it.,Curiously he opened it, wondering who the Old Friend could be. Not that he had many 'Old' friends, that should have been enough to send off alarm bells in his mind but it didn't, curiosity was getting the better of him.,But as you know, curiosity killed the cat, the world span around him everything turning black as he felt a familiar tug at his navel though this time it spread to the rest of his body, forcefully pulling him along as the letter disintegrated in his hand. Pain tore at him, his eyes closed, clenching shut as he struggled to remain conscious but it wasn't to be.,As light started to appear, the pain became too much and he blacked out, falling unconscious to the cold floor, surprising the people that were in the room. Calls for security briefly reached his ears but the sound didn't properly register as everything went quiet,TBC,So, I've started uploading the next part of the wargames story and someone left me a review calling me on the bad spelling in this earlier story.,To them, I have to say thank you, even though you just stayed as a guest, it was a slap to reality that I did truly need to get to work on rewriting this (which I had been procrastinating on it for so long because it was done and I didn't want to look back yet.),I always planned to come back and rewrite this, doubly so with the constructive criticism that I had received throughout it's life on the website (seriously guys, thanks for that even if I didn't reply to you personally I did take it to heart and used it to better my writing.) Though real life and new ideas just kept getting in my way. (I actually counted how many different stories I have in various states in my fanfic folder, currently sitting at about 60 different ideas ranging from Harry Potter to Neopets to WWE to Dungeon Keeper stories.),But like I said above the person who sent me the last review refusing to read the story gave me the final kick to the arse that I needed to get it moving, I personally feel that I've improved so damn much since I initially started and well, I need the rest of my stuff to reflect that.,So to all the people that reviewed the first time around, I hope you enjoy the tidied up version.,To all those people who didn't read it the first time round, I hope you enjoy the tidied up version, cause it's about ten times better.,First chapter redone, lets continue with it shall we.,(and as a side note I'd just like to add the modifications made added about 900 words to this chapter alone.),Just to add, i'm uploading this as a separate story instead of changing all the chapters one at a time for the old version. Mainly for ease of reading and also since i plan to remove the old version the moment this one has finished being done. for now it's staying though just because i've got wargames 2 uploading and don't want to cause major confusion.

The crunch of snow under Fred's boots as he and his twin brother George made their way through the camp to their barracks filled him with despair. It had been almost a whole year since they'd been sent over to the colonies to fight for his Majesty's Army. He was starting to forget what home looked like. It was starting to be replaced with small quarters filled with several bunks.,"You're trying to remember home again." George's voice broke Fred's thoughts. "Aren't you?",Fred hadn't realized that it was obvious when he was thinking about home. He thought he hid his thoughts and feelings about being in the Americas better than that. But apparently not.,"I guess I was," Fred answered sitting on his bunk and beginning to scrap at the mud on the heels of his new boots their mother had just sent them. "I can't remember what the Burrow looks like. Is that a bad thing Gred?","It's not a bad thing, Forge." George sat by his twin's side putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But you just have to remind yourself that this little skirmish won't last forever. Our army will make the colonists see that they are wrong headed to think they can govern themselves. They need the help of Mother England...","But what if they're right, Georgie? What if we've chosen the wrong side?","Is this because of that one colonel that's been slaying those who surrender?" George shook his head. "He isn't a representation of the rest of us, Freddie. In fact I heard that Cornwallis plans on punishing this man for his actions.","That all good in theory George. But what if that's just something to save face with the rest of us? You know as well as I that this militia leader from South Carolina is all but a ghost. Cornwallis probably said what said to appease his troops on one hand and reward this colonel on the other.",Looking around to see if they were going to be overheard Fred leaned towards George. "I'm thinking of doing something rather dangerous, Gred," Fred said as he watched Neville reading a letter from his wife Hannah. "Something that there might not be a coming back from.","Whatever it is," George said nervously, "consider me in too. Mum would kill me if she thought I left you to your own devises. Plus I think I know what you're going to do and...","It's the right thing to do, George.","I know. Which is what I was just about to say before you cut me off. So when are we going to do this?","Tomorrow at muster we'll sneak out of camp and join our, quote on quote, enemies. Sleep well, brother, we may well die tomorrow because we did the right thing.",##########################################################################################,At dawns first light Fred and George woke and dressed as quietly as they could. Trying their hardest not wake anyone else. They dressed not in the red coats of the army of King George the third but plain ordinary clothes. Clothes that would make them look like citizens of the colonies. After all, after this act they might as well be citizens of the colonies.,Sneaking quietly out of the camp they didn't realize that someone else had snuck out along with them. Neville Longbottom had followed the twins example and donned normal clothes and followed them to the tavern where the recruiters for the militia were to be.,"We're here to sign up to fight with the militia," Neville said making himself known to the other three. Smiling at the shocked faces on the twins Neville signed the paper that was placed in front of him.,Following Neville's example Fred and George signed too. They knew that all of them were now marked men and traitors to their old friends but they could live with that. They could live with that because it was the right thing to do. And the battle was yet begin.

Path to better life,I don't own anything,I dedicate this fic for Jade who was kind enough to let me use her idea and has been nice and fun to talk,Chapter 1,For years Bob Spinelli had been special agent for MACUSA, department of international safety and secrecy.,For years he had worked for better life muggleborns and half-bloods without exposing wizard world.,But this was another thing and he knows it.,Bob still his nice office, well after 10 years at agency you should get bigger office.,But that wasn't a point, he looked file and he shakes his head and takes couple deep breaths.,It was file about his cousin family mostly about his cousin James daughter Ashley Laurel Potter.,There is picture of small girl with jet back black hair, cute nose, green eyes and cute but I dare you smile.,Bob look pictures of his second wife Flo and his son Joey.,His mind travels and he start think how funny summers they used to have with James.,Cousin James was son of his aunt Eumphemia Potter nee Spinelli, lady and most sweetest and kindest women.,Years in merry old England had been rough and after his aunt and uncle died in dragon pox and James and Lily had gone hiding, he hasn't been many reason to go back in UK.,Until now... After many years of reign of lord Voldemort, this beautiful baby in picture destroyed him completely.,And great old fool Dumbledore is sending his family member to awful no-maj family what disgrace not that Bob had mind Lily or her background but her sister and that walrus of man were something else.,He hated them about much as they hated him.,Bob looked cloak and he knew it was time to do something unheard and impolite but it was better that let her grown with those din witted morons... Yes Roberto "Bob" Spinelli was going to his goddaughter, well that's make interesting bonus to CV.,Bob looked around and appeared to Surrey, it was cold night and it was perfect, nosy neighbors were sleeping.,As silent as night Bob sneaked to door steps where baby was sleeping covered in the blankets.,Bob grap baby and looked around to make sure nobody was watching.,And soon as as he had appeared he disappeared.,He came to front steps of nice small apartment and he smiled.,Baby was sleeping peacefully and he knew that he had made right decision.,After all Flo wanted baby so badly but couldn't have one.,Even with all magic world some things are impossible but Bob could help with this one at least for bit.,Bob knows that they must move from Texas but it's for the best.,Bob walks his home and soon everything is going to turn better.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and The Tribe do not belong to me. I make no money from this. :(,Chapter 1: End of Hogwarts,In November of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, right after the Hogwarts champions were chosen, many muggleborns were told that there sick or old relatives were all dieing from a virus. No one could figure out what was going on any adults who studied it ended up dieing within three days, and it wasn't until December that the magical community was hit with the same epidemic.,It started with the adults again but looked as if magic was trying to fight back. When the Headmaster got sick many purebloods started killing muggles in hopes that the virus would not spread to the rest of the magical community. It was in vain, apparently the Virus was air born and any who got close died soon after.,It was at that point Hermione realized that something needed to be done and quick, her parents had already died by this point, and she new magic couldn't help. She organized all the house elves to find non-perishable food and bottled water and put it in a bunker on the grounds. Harry and a couple handful of other wealthy families paid with all there money for what they could gather from all over the world.,Then there was panic when everyone including magical creatures lost there magic. The magical creatures died almost immediately from the loss. Most of the children that thought there parents might still be alive went home on the train to be in their homes when the time came for there parents, there were only staff and the upper years from the visiting schools that couldn't get home before there mode of transportation no longer worked.,The twenty some odd Hogwarts students for the next month hid away from the older people when they noticed that they were all growing older at a rapid rate and dieing. The few who stayed with them, a couple of Hufflepuffs, also caught the virus and died. By February there were no more students above the age of sixteen.,"Hermione, please! We have to get out of here!" a fourteen year old Harry Potter yelled at his scared best friend. Things had changed drastically in the last three months, not just for them but for the whole world. The adults were all dead and the magical children had lost what made them magical. All magic was dieing including Hogwarts which was the reason for the screaming. Without magic the castle just couldn't stay alive. It was falling apart.,"Harry I can't live like this. The 'gifts' that we are left with just... don't do this to me Harry, please." She held her arms around herself the closest she could get to a hug. The gift Hermione was talking about was the little magic left in all the magical children under the age of sixteen that survived, a lot of children caught it from there parents before warnings could prevent it. Hermione ended up shocking anyone she touched not just a little one but kind of like sticking a fork in a light socket, not good for her or anyone else. Harry personally could heal people of wounds though not illnesses. Harry had learned of his healing when she had grabbed him in a hug when news that professor Dumbledore had died came to them.,Harry gave her a long look before he relented he would never force any of his friends to do what he thought was best, that was what the grown-ups did and they were dead now. There were only about twenty children left in Hogwarts now, most of the children were taken out by there parents when things started to change. But the ones left either didn't have parents or were purebloods and didn't want there kids anywhere near them for fear of the virus catching to them. The plan was already made of what they were going to do, Hermione made it, Harry just wanted her on board but she wasn't budging.,The argument happening now was about leaving Hogwarts and sailing in a boat that the Durmstang students brought with them, it was weirdly enough not made out of magic. It was made with magic but the house elves and wizards used real things not conjured materials. Unfortunately all of them were dead and it would take nearly everyone left in the castle to sail the ship, a lot of the gifts would be a lot of help in making it work, a lot would also destroy it if given a chance. Daphne Greengrass could actually make gusts of wind by hand movements alone. Her and Adrian Pucey's gifts would make it possible to get over the land that separates the lake from a river to the ocean not far away. Adrian could make things lighter and could pick up just about anything.,Unfortunately to make everyone more uneasy was Draco Malfoy and Ron who were constantly at each others throats and with there powers everyone was scared that they would use them. All Malfoy had to do was think and he could put someone in a coma or kill them from nerve damage, Harry had healed Ron and many more when Draco first started with his power. Ron though could make fire and between the two of them Harry had already healed everyone here at least a little. Then the twins found out that they could make things explode. So with Pansy able to scream and make a sonic wave everyone was tiptoeing around them, the two arguing groups.,Unfortunately at that moment the castle gave a loud groan and it felt like an earthquake was happening. Hogwarts had started to crumble around them. All the children ran to the exits, except for Hermione, Harry looked back just in time to see her standing there crying, then a large slab of the castle fell right on top of her. In his shock he stopped, Harry felt someone pick him up and continue running. It was a good thing too because not long after the castle just collapsed on to itself.,Harry continued to cry not moving from who ever was carrying him. He glanced up to the face of the guy holding him and saw to his shock it was Gregory Goyle a strong and dumb looking Slytherin in his year. The fifteen year old Slytherin looked down with sorrow on his face and glanced back towards Hogwarts to see the last of the walls crumble. They held on to each other with all the strength they could manage. Houses didn't matter anymore.,Looking around after a brief sorrow-felt goodbye to Hogwarts and Hermione they finally let go of each other. Loss was common to them all now.,Not everyone managed to make it out in time, Ginny Weasley and a couple of others were no where in sight. The twins and Ron were still grief stricken and hoping to see there sister some where out in the open but Harry already new it was to late anyone not here was not going to be here.,That night each of the children, no young adults, found themselves a room to take over in the Durmstang ship. They had all spent the last couple of days putting food and clothes on board to make sure that they would have plenty of stuff for a long journey because not a one of them new how to navigate even if they had had a compass which they didn't. It was a quiet night with everyone trying to get over the recent deaths and now there home away from home gone just like everything else magical. The children didn't know why the virus had started and didn't know what they were going to do but they all knew they had to keep moving forward.,The next morning everyone awoke and started there plan. They had to get the ship to the river and to do that they would need Adrian, Greg and Vincent to move the ship as Daphne blew wind in the sails to make it easier. Greg and Vincent were strong, almost like vampire strong, and with Adrian making the whole ship light they could pick it up and walk the mile to the river the trick though was to use all of the kids to help support and balance it for the trip, that meant everyone walking under the ship. If Adrian ever let go of it for any reason they would all die. So Harry the resident healer walked right next to him to make sure that even if he got hurt a little he would be able to heal him straight away.,Amazingly not one argument broke out the whole trip, when they finally got it in the water and secured, everyone cheered and went straight to Harry to heal the sprains and cuts from the rocks or bushes they all ran into at some point, even Malfoy.,hphphphphphphphp,Harry woke the next morning to an argument outside his door. He instantly recognized Ron's voice but the other eluded him. As he made his way to the door he listened.,"What do you mean your not leaving, he's my best friend I think I would know what he would want!" Ron shouted at the unknown person.,A grunt sounded followed by a deep voice. "You didn't protect him before. I did! So I'll watch over him. Hm.","Why I aughta.." Harry decided at that moment to open the door before it came to blows or worse powers.,"Guys what's wrong?" He looked back and forth at Greg and Ron. Hoping to stop a fight, they couldn't afford one, not on the ship, he continued to talk, " Greg is there something you need? Are you hurt?" Harry looked him up and down he looked fine. Greg shook his head while replying with, "No, little healer.",Harry blinked at the term then turned to Ron, "Are you OK, Do you need anything Ron?",Ron also shook his head no.,"Right then so you two just decided that arguing in front of my door would be a good idea?" Harry lifted his eyebrows in question, without the glasses hindering them they looked really intense and bright. That was another thing with all types of magic gone, his bad eyesight had to of been a curse on the potter line because when the magic left him he woke with close to 20/20 vision. Harry never expected that his features were a curse before his hair grew to where it was supposed to be if it had only been cut since his Aunt last did it, when he was nine, so his hair was now down to his elbows, he wore no glasses and he was unfortunately... pretty, at 5'2" at that. Now that he had no magic he was one of the weaker people in the group, he was now labeled a civilian. Which meant that they were arguing over who was going to keep him safe. It was right embarrassing.,"Or do you both want to talk to me?" Harry looked up at both of them and they started to blush. Ron immediately started to stammer turning more red and Greg made a few noises before he shut his mouth which was surprisingly smart.,"Right, hm hm." Harry cleared his throat then put his hand on the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed and thought of what he was going to say to the both of them. He knew he would have to get them to work together because even he knew that he could probably be taken down by a ten year old girl but the only threat on the ship was from Greg's other charge, Draco Malfoy.," Greg how is Malfoy going to take you hanging out with me now?" Harry asked looking into the serious face.,Greg replied seriously, "He can take care of himself, he no longer cares if I am there, little healer.","Well you're right on that account and why are you calling me little healer? You know my name." Again Greg blushed at him and looked away. Harry didn't think it was worth the trouble of knowing sense he was little at least to Greg and he was a healer. So the name made sense. Harry turned his attention to Ron. "So Ron why are you yelling this early? Are you wanting to guard me too?" He asked with skepticism in his voice.,"Well you see Harry, now don't take this the wrong way, but you are now a damsel mate. Your pretty and you have no defenses. Merlin Harry! but I can't loose you too!" Ron was practically begging not to be sent away from him.,"Ron your my best mate I wouldn't tell you to go away what with who we just lost we need to stick together but don't call me a damsel again." Harry gave Ron a brief hug and missed the challenging glare that passed between the two taller members of the new trio.,The rest of the day set the mood for the next three months on the boat. Harry and two random others made meals. Ron, Fred and George argued with Draco and Pansy. The girls did every ones hair who would sit still, in between turns making the boat go forward. You couldn't call it driving they could steer and Daphne could put wind in the sails for a couple hours a day but that was it. They had to clean up after themselves and wash there own laundry with the water rations.,By the time the second month of being on the ship you were in one of two groups, aggressive and petrified. The aggressive argued and fought and the petrified stayed out of the way hoping no one accidentally blew the ship up. Harry had stopped trying to prevent fights and just healed every one that came to him in hopes of peace between the members. Malfoy and Ron were constantly at each other always something new. Harry was so brow beaten from the two of them that he just stood behind Greg and waited like everyone else. When he tried to get involved he only brought more fuel for the fire. He and Ron no longer talked after a night when Ron tried to force himself on him. Greg had attempted to throw him off the ship but Harry begged and now Gregory didn't leave him out of his sight.,For him and Greg it was a platonic relationship they figured out early that they didn't really like each other romantically, after Ron tried to molest Harry. They talked about there home lives and things they liked and didn't. Harry told him how he grew up in the cupboard under the stairs and how the Dursley's were. He also told him of his fear that apart of Voldemort used to live in his scar. When magic started to die out in him his scar felt like it was on fire and he heard screaming in his mind. Greg told him how he grew up in a pureblood family and all that was they it entailed. Including who he was to marry and what he was supposed to behave like. He grew up being treated like he was dumb and told not to make big plans because he wouldn't amount to more then a grunt to the Malfoys. So he never tried to be anything more. Harry was then determined to never treat him cruelly and started to look up to him like an over protective older brother.,At night Harry would sit in the galley and talk to everyone that wasn't horrible on the ship. During these nightly conversations the girls, Luna and Daphne would take turns doing hair and teaching the boys how to do it. Those times he thought Greg would actually run and hide when they came up to him with the eye liner but he never left because Harry had told him he looked dark and mysterious.,hphphphphphphphphphphphp,Five months of being on the ship and they saw land, all they new about it was it was chilly and they wanted to be there. Of course fate had other plans. The trouble makers started another fight but this one seemed more about leadership than anything else. Harry by now didn't even talk to any of the Weasley's he kept to his strong, silent and witty bodyguard and older brother, Greg, who made sure no harm came to him. It was lucky for both of them that Harry had taken to clinging to him like a teddy most days because the inevitable happened they made the ship exploded and it took everything he had to keep himself and Greg alive and together.,The last thing he remembered was trying to swim and Greg dragging him onto a piece of wood and aiming for shore.,Look into the future,what do you see,I really need to know now,Is there a place for me,tell me where do we go from here,take me as you find me,For what I am,When I make mistakes please understand,For as long as I know your near,There is nothing for me to fear,Out of the darkness the light shines,burning through the coldest night,We can find our way,Together we'll make it,with every step we take,we're closer together,if were going to survive,the dream must stay alive...,"The Dream Must Stay Alive",Sung by,Rosalind J.,Written By,Simon May, Simon Lockyer,,Ben Robbins

"RINNGGGG!" Subconsciously, i had felt my body rise up in the air for a short moment, then making contact with the bed again—what a great way to start the day. Damnit!,Oh, also, so now it's been about 2 years since the Voldemort incident at the Malfoy tower. A boring year, after that was, and now only a few people know that I , Adam Tediore McGinnis, is the Batman. Damn! At least I'm not some kind of celebrity in Hogwarts, or that'll be disturbing.,Well, school was different for harry. I've heard that he busted a serial killer out of Azkaban. I'm not getting involved in that, man.,Anyways, i had to go to school later than usual due to the injuries i received while fighting Voldemort, and my friends were sent to "escort" me back to Hogwarts.,"Adam!" My eyes gave me a sight of Hermione when she greeted me. "You're late now! Come on!" My hand felt the pressure as she tightened hers around mine. All right, then, i assume.,On the way to Hogwarts, Let me be honest, there was really nothing to talk about. Harry sat across me, a blank expression visible, looking traumatised. "Hey, mister Harry, this is not you. Why is the atmosphere around us so dark?" My ears failed to pick up anything he said, or let's put it this way: no reply.,"Ron?" The unresponsive boy made his eyes look as if he will slaughter me if i said one more thing about the whole incident. Welp. That's the end for me.

'What happened?' Was the first thing to pop up in his mind as he awakened from his slumber. Seeing only darkness he tried to open his eyes, however there appeared to have been something blocking them.,"Ah so you're awake now ?" A voice sounded beside him, causing the smaller to jump. "Sorry for startling you." A firm yet warm hand clasped his shoulder, letting Harry know that they were there. "W-where am I?" "You're in Harefield Hospital, you've been injured in a car crash with a large truck. You're the only one to have survived.",TheDoctor told him softly, waiting to see his reaction. Harry remained quiet, processing the information he was being told. He frowned behind his bandages. "Why I'm I wearing bandages?" "Besides the collision, you also lost your eyesight. Now don't panic!" The Doctor tightened his grip slightly.,"We were able to transplant another set in to your skull, hopefully they work." It was a new kind of transplant, not known outside of the few doctors at that hospital.,It hasn't been used on human patients so Harry was the first one.,They doubted it would work.,"We'll remove it in a sec, but first we must discus what will happen now." Harry nodded.,"You don't have any living relatives that can take you in, Your aunt Marge was arrested a few days after you were admitted into the hospital for illegal dog breeding. You've got no where else to go." The Doctor rubbed his eyes.,"Wish I could help you , but it looks like you'll be sent to a foster home." Harry didn't really know the term, being only eight years old. "Now, to remove the bandages." He carefully unraveled the tightly bond material from Harry's face.,"Oh my." There were scattered scars around his face, the tissue still red. "Could you open your eyes for me? Slowly now." Harry cracked his eyes open, letting them adjust to the brightness of the room.,"That's it." They widened further, letting him see the blankets and his hand. Once fully opened he turned to the doctor.,He sucked in a breath. "That's new." He could have sworn the eyes were brown, but they weren't.,A brilliant pair of Heterochromia eyes stared back at him. "What's wrong? Are they strange?" "No they're fine. You seem to be able to see through them. That means they work!" The doctor was excited, not knowing the transplants were modified by Harry's magic.,Unsure what the doctor meant he turned to where a mirror rested near his bed.,He jumped.,Where his once emerald green eyes stood now there where two different coloured eyes staring at him. One eye was a Purple gold mixture that blended quite nicely with each other, while the other was a bright blue colour.,"Whoa." He was amazed at the colour, forgetting about his old eyes in favour of these new, better ones. "Seeing as you're still injured you'll be staying here at the hospital until you recover." The Doctor wrote something on his clipboard and left Harry alone.,The little boy blinked. "Was that a bird sitting on his shoulder?"

* Littlefoot-Lily Luna Potter (genderbent role),* Cera-Scorpius Malfoy (genderbent role),* Sharptooth-Kildrinth (OC),* Littlefoot's Mother, Doris-Ginny Potter,* Topsy-Draco Malfoy,* Rooter-Artorius (OC),Lily Luna Potter and Scorpius screamed in fear just as the vines began pulling her right towards Kildrinth, who continued to snap his teeth, trying to get them. But when Kildrinth got closer, Lily's eyes narrowed right before the vines scratched Kildrinth on his nose, making him roar loudly in pain, right before they got free of the vines and a thorny vine caught Kildrinth in his right eye. He raced right outta the thorns and rubbed his right eye, just as Scorpius and Lily screamed in terror.,Lily finally caught up to Scorpius and the 2 of them continued running for their entire lives. Enraged, Kildrinth raced right over and fell right hard on the ground, shaking it and knocking the 2 of them right off their feet. He pinned the 2 of them down and snarled in their faces, just as Lily closed her eyes, turned her head away, and screamed in fear.,Suddenly, a right hand came outta nowhere and began fighting at Kildrinth by causing him to let go of Lily and Scorpius and hit a boulder. It was Ginny who stared angrily at Kildrinth, just as he tried to get up and Lily and Scorpius ran right behind her.,"Mum!" Lily said to her.,"Lily, go, go!" Ginny exclaimed to her while nudging her daughter away just as Scorpius ran away and Kildrinth charged right towards Ginny in a fighting match.,Kildrinth snapped at Ginny, who dove outta the way, lifting her right arm up.,Lily saw that Scorpius was in the way of her mother's right arm and she exclaimed to him, "Watch out!" and pulled Scorpius outta the way in the nick of time.,Kildrinth snarled just as he snapped his teeth at Ginny, swatting her outta the way right before he began to advance on a terrified Lily.,Ginny darted into his way, and swung her right arm at him. She then knocked him right into a mountain below.,She, Lily and Scorpius began running away, but Kildrinth wasn't about to let them go just as he raced right towards Ginny, and got right on her neck.,Scorpius and Lily turned and screamed in fear just as they watched Kildrinth bite into the back of Ginny's neck. The 2 of them moved outta the way just as Ginny got Kildrinth right off of her and knocked him right over the ledge with her weapon. Ginny was terribly injured, but she ran off to find her daughter and Scorpius.,Suddenly, the ground began rumbling and shaking, catching Lily and Scorpius's attention. The ground began splitting in half and Lily was standing right in the middle of it, but she moved outta the way.,Kildrinth recovered and began chasing after Scorpius and Lily, who immediately resumed running for their entire lives just as the ground continued crumbling. The 2 of them were under Kildrinth's feet, but they jumped outta the way and landed on his right foot. The ground cracked in halves and blue steam came right up. The ground began tilting, causing Scorpius and Lily to fall right off of Kildrinth's right foot and tumble down 'til they hit a big rock. Kildrinth slid right down and the 2 of them gasped in horror, right before Kildrinth knocked them off and they grabbed right onto his tail for dear life just as they fell right over, screaming, "HEEEELLLPPPPP!","MUUUUUUM!" Lily screamed out and Ginny turned, hearing Lily call her name.,Lily and Scorpius hurriedly jumped right up onto Kildrinth's behind and ran right up his great big body. They tried running up the shaking ground just as Kildrinth snapped his teeth trying to get them, but Ginny stopped Kildrinth and caught Scorpius and Lily while Kildrinth fell right into the super big underground.,Ginny got the 2 of them to safety and placed them right on the ground, right before Scorpius ran away and she led Lily away. Scorpius screamed in fear and Draco Malfoy let out a distressed call to him. Harry, Ron, Hermione, George, Angelina, Percy, Audrey, Molly I, Arthur, James, Albus, Rose, Hugo, Fred II, Roxanne, Molly II, Dominique, Louis, Victoire, Lucy and Teddy were wide awake and looking for their daughter/sister/granddaughter/niece/cousin/god-sister right before the ground began rising beneath them.,Humans and critters tried running away, but got hit by the wave in the ground.,"DAAAAAAAAD!" Scorpius screamed out just as he tried to reach Draco Malfoy, but a big crack in the ground appeared, separating them from 1 another.,Narrator: In this time of many disaster strikes, a great big earthquake split the universe. Some were divided, true families were cut in half. Lily was separated from her father, siblings, uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins and god-brother.,Soon, right after the earthquake subsided, Scorpius was on 1 side of the universe and Draco Malfoy was on the other.,"Scorpius!" Draco Malfoy called out to him.,"DAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Scorpius screamed out, trying to find a way over to him.,Narrator: Scorpius was on 1 side of the divide, his father was on the other.,Later on, that night, heavy rain poured down just as Lily's voice called out in the distance.,"MUUUUM!" Lily called out for her mother just as she went right over to the next platform.,"Mum, where are you?" Lily asked as she saw Ginny lying right down on the ground in pain from her deep injury on her neck and ran over to her.,"Mum!" Lily exclaimed to her frantically in shock as she rushed over to her.,"Mum, please get up." Lily said to her in fear and concern.,"I…don't…think…I…can, Lily." Ginny said weakly to her as Lily's eyes were welling up with tear drops.,"Of course you can, Mum, get up." Lily said to her while tearing up a bit as Ginny tried standing up, but her legs shook, and she fell right over, and Lily came right over to her with depressed eyes and Ginny looked right up at her.,"Beautiful brave, Lily, can you remember how to get to Sparkle County?" Ginny asked her.,"I think so, Mum, but why do I need to know if you're always gonna be with me?" Lily asked her, still tearing up a bit in concern.,"I'll always be with you, even if you won't be able to see me." Ginny said to her as Lily looked right up at her.,"What do you mean we won't be able to see you, mum? we're always able to see you." Lily said to her as Ginny spoke her final words to her 1 last time.,"Lily, let your heart and mind guide you, they whisper to you, so listen real closely." Ginny said to her as she closed her eyes and passed away from Kildrinth's powerful attacks and she wasn't saying anything to Lily any longer.,"Mum? Mum?" Lily asked her while tearing up a bit close to crying and weeping as she couldn't hold it in any longer, and feeling depressed and sorrowful upon realizing that her mother had passed away, put her face and hands on her lap and began crying and weeping silently.,The very next morning, the rainstorm had ended, and Lily walked around depressingly by herself with tear drops coming right outta her eyes just as she sniffed depressingly, and suddenly, she slid right down and landed right on the ground, and still depressed and heartbroken about the passing of her mother, she went over to the big rock and began crying and weeping silently beside it, and a talking bear named Artorius who heard Lily crying and weeping silently came right over and saw her crying and weeping silently beside the big rock.,"Hey, what's going on around here?" Artorius asked her as Lily continued crying and weeping silently.,"What's the problem? you're not injured." Artorius said to her.,"It just isn't fair, she should've known better, that was Kildrinth, and it's her entire fault." Lily said to him between sobs and weeps over the passing of her mother as Artorius looked right up at her.,"Who's entire fault?" Artorius asked.,"My mum's." Lily said to him while teared up a bit between sobs and weeps as Artorius now understood that most humans and critters who faced Kildrinth never survived.,"Oh yeah, I understand right now." Artorius said to them.,"Why did I ever wander so far away from home in the meantime?" Lily asked him as she sniffed depressingly with tear drops coming right outta her eyes.,"Oh, it's not your entire fault, it's not even your mother's entire fault, now look here, young girl, it's nobody's entire fault, the great mystery of life has just begun, but you see, not all humans and critters can arrive together as always at the end." Artorius said to her as Lily sniffed a bit lightly.,"What am I gonna do? I miss her more than anything." Lily said depressingly to him as Artorius smiled at her.,"And you'll always miss her, but she'll always be with the you, in fact, you're never apart 'cause you're still a part of 1 another.","My head's hurting." Lily said depressingly to him with her head hanging down.,"Well, that too will go in time, young girl, only in time.",Artorius left just as Lily walked her own way with a heavy heart and mind.

Richard swallowed carefully as he looked at Door's matted hair. This was a REALLY badly thought out decision - He didn't know why he had stepped through the door when the Marquis invited him, nor did he know why the spear that killed the Beast was singing to him even as the Marquis offered it to him. He didn't even want to know why Door was holding a little boy with black hair and a lighting bolt scar.,The Marquis had smirked, handed Richard the spear, ordered both adults (how old was Door?) to follow him. That's when Richard realized that they weren't in the sewers like he'd been expecting, but rather, they were standing in front of identical houses.,"So. This kid's English name is Harry James Potter, courtesy of his In-Betweener-Father. His Fae heritage is through his dear departed mother, and as I'm making sure one of the Fae are taken care of, my debt to them is complete. Door, I've brought you Richard, and Richard, I've brought you to Door - you both owe me, but one of those debts is repaid by Door taking care of the kid until he's seventeen. Do try not to die, Richard, Door." And the Marquis twirled around, disappearing into... someplace.,Richard had forgotten how annoying the bastard was, and how confusing everything in London Below was.,"I don't think I understand. Fae? In-Betweener-Father? How did the Marquis get the spear? What-?","Well, remember how I said parts of time were trapped in London Below? The Fae are part of that. Druids, Sidhe, Fae, whatever you call them, lived in Ireland, spread to Scotland and then to England, playing little tricks. Then they started going underground... basically, the Fae are the oldest parts of London Below, but under all of... well... Europe. They have different names in different places; in France they're like the Veela's ancestors... Changelings are Fae children who are simply more suited to the human world, so they replace them with human slaves - you know the old Irish myths, right?",Richard nodded, pretending to understand the 'Changelings' bit.,"Well, Lily was a changeling, and she remembered the Fae world, too. We met a few times, and she told me about the in-betweeners. See... you know Merlin?","Not personally. But I've read books. And Arthur was the more famous one in the books.","Well, there's a whole community of wizards and witches, and they have little pockets of England squirreled away for themselves, little bits blending in with London Above - like the Leaky Cauldron and the Hogwarts Express - and with London Bellow - like Knockturn Alley. You'll figure it out later. But Lily got married to some In-Betweener called James, and they have little Harry. They also have a big war, I dunno the details, but Hunter killed a couple-a dragons. And. We have to take care of Harry, who's part Fae and part In-betweener until he goes to some school called Hogwarts at age eleven, and we can get him back for the summers, and he comes 'of age' when he's seventeen.",Richard decided he needed either sleep or some Earl Gray to deal with this, and he said so.,"Mm-hm. I agree. Now let's go to my old family house, I'm sure that's a good place to raise a boy. And we need to tell him his Fae name to unlock his Fae powers, but supposedly it died with Lily - his mom. At least, the Marquis said supposedly, so that means he expects us to figure it out. At least there's a letter explaining things. It was written by the head In-betweener, Dumbledore.",And Door slipped into the Sewers through the gutters - without hurting Harry - leaving Richard to follow while awkwardly handling the spear and knife. Well, he did ask for it.

He came, at some point, flashing into existence like a shooting star.,He was an oddity. A singularity? Despite his usual-childlike behavior— befitting of his apparent age— he was...,Harry didn't know quite how to describe it. The pink-haired, bright-eyed child always seemed so far off, like his mind wasn't at Hogwarts, wasn't even on ,. It was like it was beyond, in the stars. And it must've been, since he always took any chance to look at the sky.,Those bright blue eyes would turn wistful, staring with a thousand-lightyear stare, older— far older— than he looked.,Tapping him on the shoulder though, he would turn right around with a beaming grin, every bit the child he seemed.,Huh.,He was introduced to them mid-November, well into the school year. Students were well-settled in by then, well-accustomed to the moving staircases, boisterous paintings, and nonsensical teachers. They settled into their daily routine of hating Snape (if they weren't a snake at least) and traversing from one end of the castle to the other.,After a weary day of forgettable schoolwork and lessons, they all clustered towards the Great Hall, where dinner called with promises of comfort and joy.,And there dinner was, laying tantalizingly on the four long tables. Up at the head table, professors conversed amicably— except for Snape, who was rather… annoyed?,Normally, seeing Snape annoyed was nothing new. Except, hello, there was a pink-haired child next to him.,With , pink hair. Glaringly so, standing out in the neutral earthy tones of the castle like a sore thumb.,The students were curious, but went to their respective tables and seats anyways.,Harry, Ron and Hermione all exchanged a few whispered speculations about the child, though each of Ron's seemed less realistic than the last.,"What if he's an ,?" Ron said, Harry furrowing his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes in skepticism.,"Don't be silly, Ron," Hermione immediately shot back. Before she could open her mouth to explain though, the sound of a spoon tapping a goblet resounded through the hall, and the students' heads turned to the front, where Dumbledore stood.,"Erhem," Dumbledore began. "I hope you have been enjoying your supper, students! I apologize that I must interrupt, but it is my pleasure to announce that Hogwarts will be playing host for a short time!",He made a gesture, large sleeves of his robes billowing as he pointed towards the pink-haired child.,As if on cue, the child shot the room a brilliant smile and jumped over the table— wow, he was nimble— to stand beside Dumbledore.,He was easily dwarfed by the tall old headmaster, but— probably because of his ostentatious pink clothes— he commanded the entire hall's attention.,"Hiya!" he exclaimed, face lit with enthusiasm and excitement. "I'm Kirby." He stated this with absolution, like it was a simple fact of the universe that everyone knew.,"Now," Dumbledore said, "feel free to return to your suppers, please.",With that anticlimactic end, both of them walked around the head table back to their spots, Kirby jumping and half-skipping the way back.,Well.,That told them basically nothing.,The hall erupted with chatter.,They found pretty early on that Kirby liked to hang around Snape.,For what reason, Harry ,.,Though, he did have to admit it was pretty funny to watch. The duality of Kirby's bubbly bright personality right next to the sulking mass of edge himself, Snape, was ridiculously comical.,It wasn't rare to find Kirby sitting in a stool next to the Potions professor's desk, sometimes simply watching, sometimes pestering the man with all sorts of questions.,"Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Snape, what does the goat liver do for the potion? Why goat? Why not… chicken? Goats are cute, that's sad," was one such example that had Harry's eyebrow raised when he walked into the room.,He had to admit he smirked when Snape pinched his nosebridge and took a long, deep, suffering breath, before drawling, "leave. Me. Alone.",Kirby didn't, and Snape's fingers seemed to twitch with the urge to drag the boy out himself, but he stayed his hand. Kirby smiled softly and widely, but his mouth remained shut for the next hour-long class period.,Snape simply sighed, going about class as he would, an absolute grump.,Harry did not that he took 30 more points off from Gryffindor than usual.,Kirby walked in through the door to the transfiguration classroom at the same time as him, Ron and Hermione. It was somehow odd to see him in another class besides Snape's. Had he been kicked out? Harry mentally snickered at the thought.,"Ah, Kirby," McGonagall walked up to them. "Have you finally decided to stop with Severus?" She seemed somewhat fond, if the small smile on her usually stoic face was anything to go by.,Kirby responded with a resigned smile. "'Course not! He kicked me out.",Oh, Harry had been spot on.,McGonagall sighed. "And you decided to come here why?",Kirby grinned. "Just to watch! Don't worry, I'll be quiet!",Harry, Ron and Hermione took their respective seats, bewildered over the conversation. But soon class began, and thoughts of the child were quickly pushed back in favor of figuring out how to transfigure a pincushion from a rock.,Harry couldn't help but look over his shoulder at the boy, whose wide blue eyes twinkled with mirth and curiosity— not unlike Dumbledore, now that Harry thought about it.,But he could be quiet when he wished, Harry found, as he observed the class without partaking in any activities. Harry wondered if he'd even be able to do so; Kirby was younger than even them, after all.,He had to stop looking over his shoulder at Kirby ten minutes before class ended, lest he fail to complete the task by the end of class.,Thoughts of the enigma known as Kirby faded from Harry's mind as he went through Hogwarts, trying his best. It was his first year, after all, and Quidditch matches were already beginning.,Then he began to pour himself into the mystery that was Snape, Quirrell, and whatever they were talking about.,What a year it had become.,It was a month or two later when the doors to the Great Hall burst open with enough force that they almost slammed open… somehow. The doors were large and heavy, whoever was behind it had to have been a giant of a person.,The students' heads snapped to the entrance, where instead, a red-headed person stood. Short, but about the height of a fourth-year, they supposed. An orange outfit, a blue bandana, a cream-white scarf and alarmed brown eyes were all they could register before the person rushed to the head table in a flurry.,Kirby, they noticed, had gone stock-still, sitting dumbfounded in his chair as the person leaned over the table.,"Kirby! C'mon, we need to go!" the person exclaimed, grabbing the child's arm.,"Eh? Wait, wait, Dee!" Kirby protested even as he jumped over the table smoothly like he had on the first night, taking large steps to catch up with the person's larger strides. "Explain!",Dee turned around. "Later, not here. But it's urgent and we need you there!",Kirby's confusion turned into determination with a resolute nod and the two of them made their way out the front door, running.,The students were left in the Great Hall, extremely confused.,Harry didn't know what possessed him to do this. Perhaps curiosity over Kirby? Curiosity over why a seemingly normal child would be so urgently needed?,So, yes, he had followed Kirby and his friend Dee out of the castle, Ron and Hermione beside him. And dang, they ran fast. Harry just barely managed to keep them in sight as they turned the corner to a more discreet part of Hogwarts.,Harry cursed that he didn't have the invisibility cloak readily on hand, so they weren't able to sneak closer to hear better.,They made it just barely to catch the end of the panicked conversation.," — dark matter? But I thought—","We all thought so too, don't be so sad. More than that, Dedede—","You have ,to be kidding me; again? What's Meta doing?","Preparing the fleet. We still need you there though.",Kirby sighed. "'Kay, understood. Did you bring a ship, or…?","Of course, how else would I have gotten here? It's somewhere in the forest.",Kirby nodded, and the two ran down the hill towards the Forbidden Forest.,Harry's stomach twisted uncomfortable. He didn't want to follow them there, but also… what were they talking about? It must've been something, but that conversation only gave him more questions.,"Blimey, mate!" Ron exclaimed, now that Kirby and Dee were gone. "What was ,about?",Harry didn't know. He felt a tug on his sleeve, turning to find a frowning Hermione.,"C'mon Harry, class is starting soon.",He turned back; he really wanted to see what was up though… that raised more questions than it answered. Why was the presence of a child such as Kirby required? And what ship were they talking about? How could someone hide a ship in a forest? Ships went on water didn't they?,Though Harry considered it wasn't out of the realm of possibility considering some of the things he'd seen magic do.,Hermione's tug on his robe sleeve pulled him from his meandering mind.,"For now, it's not hurting us or the school, whatever this is," Hermione reasoned. "We do need to go back though, and rest assured I ,be going to the library for this as soon as possible.","How is it possible that not a , about the phrase 'dark matter' appears in the libary? It's even an astronomical term in the muggle world, right?",That was how the enigma known as Kirby first came and went. He flashed into existence like a shooting star, leaving a brilliant trail of confused students behind him, and simply disappeared.,He faded from their minds shortly, thoughts whirlpooling around the mystery of the Philosopher's stone.,Kirby returned next next year, looking much the same as he had before.,"Hiya!" he said to the crowd on the first day, during the entrance ceremony and feast. "I'm Kirby."

Something's here. Rustling leaves, snapping twigs. Breaking. Hurting. Young shoots, crushed underfoot. Always so clumsy. Always so careless.,Not like her; daughter of the forest. She cares. She's ours.,.,It's coming closer. Quick! Stalk, hunt. ,Closer, closer, closer. Come closer.,Listen. Where is it? Where?,They're here again. The forest feels them.,My brothers slink, slip – , through the darkness. Dark coats dyed darker by the night, so much so that they might not be there at all. But I can see them. I can feel them. All around, we move as one. Prowling. Protecting. ,A howl, and I return the call. ,They're getting closer.,Why are they here? Why do they come? The forest feels them creeping, like poison berry under skin. ,But we will send them back again.,I ,they're here…,But I'm also pretty sure they know I'm here – almost certainly not a good thing. If I could just get a little closer, though…,But I shouldn't be here. I'm sure of it, like I can sense it. The forest doesn't ,me here… if that even makes any sense. It's like it's placing these bloody broken twigs under my feet ,I can snap them.,Why do I feel like I'm being watched?,Dammit! At this rate I'm going to get more than the usual slap on the wrist. Maybe I should turn back…,Which way was back? And why is it so bloody ,What ,it?,Like me? My chest ,as the moon finds holes in the trees and I can see it.,Like me, but… taller. Like brothers to she-wolf. Bigger. Stronger.,And they are here. Golden slinks from the green, fur all up, teeth out. A snarl.,Dark is next, soft-footed, not like stranger.,Closer, closer, closer.,A howl. ,I found them!,I can hardly believe my eyes – or breathe, for the fear and exhilaration that spins dizzyingly through my veins. I wanted to find a wolf pack. A ,Wild, untamed, pure, perfect – ,Just at the edge of the clearing, half in shadow, half alight – the silver of the moon gilds touches of her face. And she stands… erect. Fearless.,And so she should be. She's not alone.,Arm outstretched, her hand rests in the soft, bristling fur of a ,Its fur looks golden even in the dark – its teeth bright, frightening white. Alarm bells begin to ring, but I can't move. Wide, brown eyes fix me to the spot. And then fear, as another appears from the darkness. I didn't see him before, for the almost black-grey of his coat.,Then a haunting, menacing howl sends an icy chill shivering down my spine as the servants of the moon crouch readily on their haunches.,I realise. ,Wait!,Something… like me. Something… different. Stranger, why did you come?,And you make strange sounds. Soft, murmuring – like the life water. Coming and going sounds. I don't understand.,Snarl, yip.,Golden wants to know. ,Not yet. Wait.,Something…,One hand twisted tight in golden fur, she snarls, and they stay. ,"Who are you?" I find myself asking. "How long have you been here? How did you get here?",Her answer is answer enough. Gruff, rumbling sounds spat from between gritted teeth. Guttural and low. ,The golden wolf growls, and I find myself observing their exchange with trepidation. I feel like a man on death-row, waiting to hear his sentence. I watch her. ,Then she looks at me, and for the first time I feel like I understand as something akin to a smile touches her lips. It's brutal, all teeth and no joy, but I see it clearly in her eyes.,Turning to her kin, she howls, and between the two I can see and two I cannot, four feral voices call back.,Stalk, watch, protect… wait.

I sadly don't own Harry Potter (or I would be very rich and would have done different things with the characters) and neither do I own Harvest Moon.,: This wanted to be written for some time now and I finally found the muse. Let's hope my muse for Courage comes back soon-ish as well. I'm a huge Harvest Moon fan and have played about 8-10 games of the series. It still makes me , mad, that Carter isn't a secret bachelor in MFoMT, when you can marry a , and that disgusting gourmet. I would have done all kinds of ridiculous extra tasks to marry him in the game =_= Anyway, that's the reason this fic happened.,Carter gulped, his gaze remaining fixed on the shiny, blue feather in his hand.,The type of bird, from which the feathers originated, was a rather rare species, so they did not come cheap. That, on the other hand, was probably why they were used for such a purpose. They were special. It was a stroke of pure luck the elusive avian had landed in the church's garden and left behind one of its tail feathers just when he needed it. Otherwise he could have never afforded it.,Gulping for a second time, and with his heart racing a mile a minute, he finally dared to look up from his slightly trembling fingers to the man in front of him. Carter noticed the frown. His breath hitched, while he felt his heart starting to crumble into little pieces. Of course Harry would not accept! What had he been thinking? Too hopeful thoughts obviously…,Before the blond was able to retract his hand, all hopes of a happy future dashed, Harry tilted his head slightly to the side, a bemused expression on his face. "I don't understand." One hand came up to ruffle the black hair on the back of his head. "It's obviously some kind of important gesture to you, but I have honestly no idea what you're trying to tell me, I'm sorry.",Carter blinked, stunned, and let his eyes drop back to the feather in his hand. After getting it, he had tried to work up the courage to actually go to Harry and present it to him. He had thought about and dreamt up all kinds of responses, ranging from exhilarated acceptance - improbable - to getting laughed at in the face – much more likely. The only option, which had never crossed his mind, was this.,He had not forgotten about Harry's moving to Mineral Town just two years prior, per se, Carter just had not thought about the implications. The raven-haired man fit into their small town like he had never resided elsewhere – nobody actually knew where he came from, he would always artfully divert the topic to something else –, but now the cultural difference became painfully clear.,"Oh…" Carter's formerly pale face flushed, when he was suddenly confronted with having to verbalize his question. Just coming over and letting the symbolism of the feather speak for itself had been tough enough. "Alright… uhm…" Another gulp, a deep breath to steel his nerves and he was as ready as possible to make his position known.,"Would you please marry me?",There, he had said it! It was not the most refined proposal ever, but now it was out in the open. It was a bit awe-inspiring to be honest. Just two years ago he had not believed to ever say these words. And now, here he stood.,Everything had begun one day in fall, when the run-down house near the church – with a splendid ocean-view – had been bought and the new occupant had moved in. Instead of letting Gotz handle the repairs, Harry had done the renovations all on his own and soon it was a very nice house to look at. It was even enclosed in a lush garden come spring.,The raven had been a bit reclusive at times, but was still friendly with everyone. Carter was pretty sure some of the girls had been crushing on the man, which was no surprise. Harry was an attractive, young man after all. The blond had never seen him show any interest, though.,A snowy day in late winter had been the first time Harry had come to him with – what he had called – leftovers. It had been some kind of stew – still hot -, which he had gladly accepted. Carter did not have much money after all and his cooking skills were next to nonexistent. About half a dozen such occurrences later, the first dinner invitation had followed, which had soon turned into a regular event. Of course Carter had felt guilty to virtually live off Harry, but - as though the raven could read his mind - he had been promptly dissuaded from such notions. The somewhat lonely vibes, he often felt from Harry, were the only reason he had not protested more. If Harry wanted company - even without directly saying so -, who was he to deny him? Especially on days like the Starry Night Festival nobody should be alone.,Time had passed by in a similar vein, with shared meals, long talks and festivals in each other's company. Carter had noticed the odd glance in his direction, when Harry had thought he did not notice, but, for some reason, could not bring himself to address it. Maybe, because he did it himself, for reasons he, himself, was not quite sure of.,The end of summer always meant fireworks in Mineral Town and the prior year had been no exception to the rule. Most of the townspeople had paired up and occupied various spots on the beach. Usually Carter only watched the fireworks from the church, because there was no point in going alone, but that year Harry had stood in front of his door at eight in the evening, holding a picnic basket in one hand, and dragged him closer to the ocean.,Harry had been more tense than usual, but would not admit to something being wrong, so Carter had let him be - mostly. Later, after the picnic and when the actual firework had begun, a hand had crept over his in the color-filled night. The blond had looked up, surprised, but had had no time to talk, before a pair of slightly chapped lips had pressed against his. And suddenly he had known what all those glances had been about, Harry's as well as his own. He had kissed back, of course, because, really, how could he refuse something that felt so incredibly right and like it had been in the making for quite some time now?,In the following seasons they had shared many more kisses, but their peaceful coexistence had changed surprisingly little. They had still shared meals and kept each other company every day. No inappropriate activities had, of course, taken place. The kisses had just integrated themselves into their everyday life and were never discussed. Both of them were friendly people, but particularly awkward when talking about such intimate emotions. It was enough to see the tender feelings in each other's eyes. Or rather , been enough. Till now.,Harry's stunned expression had melted into a soft smile in the meanwhile. Maybe, just maybe, he would get his consent after all? "Wait here." Carter frowned, puzzled, but did as told and watched Harry disappear into the sitting room. He could hear a drawer being opened, then closed, before the raven came back into the hallway, looking surprisingly sheepish.,"I've waited for the right moment, but it looks like you beat me to it." Harry reverently plucked the blue feather out of the blond's hand and put a small, black box into it instead. Still slightly confused, but hopeful, Carter opened it and gulped thickly. The box contained a golden, mostly unadorned, but still stunning, band. He looked up to see Harry examine the feather with a newfound awe.,"I gather, it's a 'yes' then."

As Harry, Ron and Hermione entered Professor Edmund Blackadder's classroom with the rest of the fifth years. Everyone's first thoughts were "What's this guy going to be like? Will he be a good teacher? Will we learn anything good for our OWLS"?,But for Ron his first hope was that Percy (who had been appointed assistant teacher much to the dismay and disgust of Fred, George, Ginny and Ron himself) wouldn't suck the fun out of the class but knowing Percy in Harry and Hermione's experience of the Weasleys this seemed to be very likely.,"This Blackadder bloke has a sort of Mad Eye Moody vibe about him". Ron commented when he, Hermione and Harry took their places. "If you mean that personality wise you are not far wrong" Hermione said. She seemed to be saying this more to herself more than Ron. "If he's anything like Lockhart I'd just as sooner curse my own arse than take this class for OWL". Harry snorted. He still had been unable to forget about Gilderoy Useless Fraud and Git Lockhart from some years earlier.,Hermione pretended she didn't hear that she was quite fond of Lockhart even if Ron and Harry would have much preferred him underneath the wheels of The Knight Bus.,Blackadder swept into the room he was a rather tall dark haired and dark humoured sort of fellow and didn't have any of the qualities Quirrell, Lupin or Lockhart had but maybe a tad element of Alastor Moody's attitude inside him. Percy Weasley entered into the class behind him and it seemed clear to everyone in the class that Blackadder didn't like Percy much which would be a great relief to Ron.,Blackadder then spoke his clipped deep sounding voice got everyone's attention.,"Right good morning class my name is Edmund Blackadder and I'm the new master of dark arts genocide" Blackadder announced in a very consending sounding sort of tone that would have done Snape proud. "Now play straight with me and you will find me to be a considerate teacher" Blackadder continued his clipped voice making Neville look halfway to shitting himself with fear.,"But cross me and you will soon discover that underneath this playful boyish exterior beats the heart of a ruthless sadistic maniac" Blackadder finished.,"I think we've found that out pretty quick" Ron whispered to Harry who nodded. Hermione didn't believe for one moment that Blackadder sounded boyish or playful at all.,Blackadder then made sure his voice cut the air in the room again. "Right we are going run a fast and efficient class here and I intend to do as little work as possible." He then turned to Percy with some contempt and said "My deputy Percy will explain. Ron groaned quietly while Percy stood to the front of the class and addressed the fifth years.,"Good afternoon class my name is Professor Percy Weasley". Seamus and Dean were close to laughing their heads off at the way Percy was holding himself. Percy hadn't noticed this and began his introduction which was very much the same to Blackadder's. "Now if you play fair by me you will find me a considerate teacher but if you cross me by jove" Percy finished with some much overdramatic energy it caused Blackadder to yell out "Just tell them the play duckface" he snapped. At the sound of duckface Harry and Ron roared with laughter followed by everyone in the class except Hermione.,Percy was hurt and wheeled on Blackadder and said "Professor not in front of the class" but Blackadder just gave a vague get on with it gesture. Percy explained how the classes were going to work and to the delight of the class apart from Hermione the difficult work were going to be held off till Friday but this wasn't too exciting for Blackadder who said simply "Let's just say Professor Weasley has time off for good behaviour" which prompted more laughter from Ron.,The End,I hope you like it I just couldn't resist writing a cheap crossover of harry Potter and Blackadder and I thought using Percy Weasley as Lord Percy Percy would be good for a laugh.

Here we have yet another story which was supposed to be a Midget but which grew. ,. As may be expected from stories posted on a fanfic site, this is a fan fic and I don't own the characters, situations, and such.,Luna entered the Great Hall in time for lunch on September 5. She and her father had returned late from an expedition due to … difficulties. The last bit of difficulty was caused by foolish border guards who thought they could stop fearless adventurers. Nothing stopped a Lovegood! A Lovegood's chief weapon was unpredictability and relentlessness. A Lovegood's two weapons were unpredictability, relentlessness, and indifference to conventional mores. A Lovegood's three—,Luna shook her head to break that train of thought. Something was happening in the Great Hall. Something that looked like a fight. A pair of girls were – no, that was Draco Malfoy and a girl with short, blonde hair. Perhaps that was Draco and , girl with short, blond hair? If Draco had been born a girl, or possibly had been born a boy but had chosen to become a girl, it would explain a lot, including keeping the boys in her year in line, no doubt through sexual enslavement. Although Luna did question Draco's – Dracina's – taste. All of the Slytherin boys smelled, some bad enough to melt nose hairs.,Luna shook her head again. Dracina's plumbing, proclivities, promiscuity, and proboscis were not the important part here. The important part was that there was a fight and the professors doing nothing but watching from the head table.,Less a fight than a duel, it appeared. A trained observer like Luna, the very model of a modern major journalo, with information vegetable, animal, and min— Luna shook her head again. What had she been thinking about? Right, the duel. The unknown blonde girl had just smacked Dracina head over heels with a spell and then contemptuously flung a flower in her face. She then exchanged a few words with a professor before grabbing… before grabbing… Harry Potter's hand? It was a slim, dark-haired person, at any rate, and she rushed him, her, or possibly it out the hall's other door. Very strange. Luna's reporterly instincts were twitching. Hurry, Watson, the game is afoot!,Shaking her head sharply again, Luna staggered her way to the head table to tell Professor Flitwick that she'd returned. She was oh so grateful to Hermione for the tip on staying focused, but it did tend to cause dizziness when she had too many thoughts intruding in her head. Not that dizziness was necessarily a problem. When her eyes were going every which way except the way her face was pointed, she got the most amazing glimpses of the elusive Floating Umlaut.,"Professor, after an arduous beginning leading to a calamitous denouement punctuated by egregious foolishness and at last a glad homecoming, I have returned. Might I have my schedule? And, switching hats, would you mind filling me in on the fight or duel that just took place? What was the cause, what were the terms, and what lapse of ministerial judgment allowed duels among students? For that matter, how is it that Headmaster Dumbledore has permitted it? Speaking on the record would be much preferred but I would understand if you prefer to remain anonymous to provide background information, a latter-day Deep Throat, if you would, though I hope we both understand there will be no deep throating involved in exchange for any information.,Flitwick looked taken aback by the burst of questions and innuendo, but gamely stepped up to the challenge. "Attempting to take your questions in order, Miss Lovegood, I don't have a schedule for you for the afternoon, but I'm sure Miss Glossop will allow you to copy hers; I believe you signed up for the same electives as she.",Luna concealed a frown. She suspected Glossop was one of the less pleasant aspects of life at Hogwarts, considering that last year she'd had a pair of shoes that looked remarkably like a pair that Luna had lost on the second day of school. Luna shook her head, but only slightly so as not to be rude while her head of house was talking to her. Less than fully helpful though he appeared to be in his role as Head of House, it was possible that Professor Flitwick had more pressing matters on his mind, such as not being caught by Minister Fudge's bakers. Luna shook her head again, a bit more firmly, in time to keep up with what her professor was saying.,"As for the duel, it was a part of a new tournament which was announced at the opening feast. Participants duel for the right to possess the Rose Bride during the tournament and for the power to revolutionize the world at the conclusion. Ah, what next? Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore is no longer with us, and the ministry's judgment does seem questionable, not only in allowing duels but in promising a power which apparently would overthrow their power. That is all I know, Miss Lovegood. Perhaps your investigations will turn up something more.",...ooo000ooo...,Despite the bother of classes, bathing, and sleeping, it took Luna Lovegood, ace reporter, barely half a day to gather up all available information on the new tournament. Professor Flitwick had been correct in everything he told her, leaving out only a few minor details. And one , detail, she discovered.,As for the big question, , the ministry would be doing such an idiotic thing…,Rumors were going around that someone had crushed idiot pills and slipped them into the refreshments at a meeting of the minister and department heads. Luna's father had long ago proven that the ministry leadership took idiot pills on a regular basis, but everyone knew that they had to be swallowed whole for proper effect. If you crushed the pill before swallowing it, an overwhelming wave of idiocy would overwhelm you and cause you to do overwhelmingly idiotic things.,Luna paused in reviewing her notes. Her overuse of "overwhelming" was, well, overwhelming. , what one would expect of the lead investigative reporter of the ,… or soon-to-be lead reporter, once she overthrew the pretender currently occupying , position. Beloved father or not, he was going down!,Luna shook her head sharply and got her thoughts back on track. The ministry was run by idiots, more so lately than usual. That was not important. She needed to talk to Harry. Wanted to, as well. , to, professionally. All the clues said that he had information. , to, personally. He was practically the only person who'd been nice to her just because he wanted to, and he was a boy, and he didn't tower over her regrettably below-average frame, and she thought she might hint, in a suitably demure way, that she would be receptive to him asking her out on a date.,Putting action to words, or putting action to thought, as she hadn't actually said out loud what she planned to do – that would be rather silly, talking to herself in an unoccupied room, unoccupied except for herself, that is, and if anyone saw her talking to herself they'd probably think she was a few gobstones short of a set, except of course no one would see her because the room was empty, except for herself, it would be hard to talk to herself in an empty room if she weren't there—,Luna shook her head several times, enough that she caught a glimpse of an Umlaut near the top of her right eye. That was a close call. She'd almost fallen into an infinite cognitive spiral.,Harry was found at the doorway of an unused classroom, appearing to be in rather less than peak condition.,"Hello, Harry. I'd hoped to see you. I must say, you're looking rather disheveled and dehydrated.","Hi, Luna, nice to see you, too. Yes, I've, ah, I've been worked pretty hard for the past few days.","That's interesting phrasing, which prompts me to put on my reporter hat, temporarily replacing my single-young-female-who-would-certainly-be-interested-in-a-date-if-a-charming-young-man-were-to-ask-her hat. Only temporarily replacing, mind you, as my non-reporter self is very interested in talking to you about, say, weekend plans." Luna was very happy with how that came out. Demure, but not too demure.,"I'll be happy to talk to you any time I can, but it might be difficult to arrange. I've barely had a minute to myself since the opening feast. Stupid tournament. Stupid ministry. Stupid prize.",Before Reporter Luna could dig in to these fascinating statements, the sounds of spell casting from the classroom, which she hadn't really noticed before, ended. Luna looked in when Harry did, just in time to see a witch, a Seventh Year Slytherin she vaguely recognized, throw a yellow rose down on her vanquished opponent.,"Come along, Potter," the older witch said. "I don't know how long I'll be able to keep you, so you need to get right to work.","Hold on a minute, Davis," Harry replied. "I haven't recovered yet. I'll talk with my friend here until I'm ready for you to put me to work.",The newly-identified Davis looked at Luna suspiciously. "Lovegood, right? Lo-o-o-o-ovegood. I don't think I like the sound of that. Nothing doing, Potter. I won, you're my prize, and the rules say the winner gets to sleep with the Rose Bride until someone else wins a duel. It doesn't say the sleeping has to be at night, so get moving!",Harry bowed his head in defeat, or maybe to get a look down the front of Davis's robes, which were hanging rather loose following the exertion of her duel, and went away with her, muttering, "Stupid tournament. Stupid rules. Stupid ministry. Kick Dumbledore's ass," as he went.,Yes, this was indeed something for Luna to investigate. Not only Luna Lovegood, intrepid reporter, but Luna Lovegood, dateless witch who had to get to the bottom of this if she wanted Harry to get to her bottom.,...ooo000ooo...,A bit of questioning, a bit of bribery, and a teensy tiny bit of extortion got Luna an official copy of the tournament rules. This was worse than she'd thought! The headmaster was supposed to provide a daughter as the Rose Bride, the prize of a dueling tournament among Hogwarts students. Dumbledore had no daughter, nor wife, niece, or third cousin once removed. Harry, popularly viewed as the protégé of the headmaster, was unwillingly made to fill the position.,And with Dumbledore gone, there was no one with the gravitas to tell the ministry how foolish they were being.,It made sense, as much as anything about this made sense, to exclude Harry from the dueling, as there would be no point in holding the tournament if he were to participate. They might as well give him the prize on the first day. But that would be pointless, of course, as Harry was the prize, at least the interim prize until the end of the tournament, and he couldn't win himself. No, he couldn't win himself and then order him to sleep with himself.,Oh, if only Luna were the Rose Bride and Harry were in the tournament. He'd win every match, no doubt about that, no doubt at all, just like there was no doubt that he would then order her to his bed when it was time to sleep, claim his prize, his willing prize…,Luna could have shaken her head to get her thoughts back on track, but this daydream was too alluring.,… Mmm, a night with Harry. Every night, just her and Harry. If only she were the prize…,Luna's eyes popped open.,...ooo000ooo...,The next morning a new contestant entered the tournament and immediately began cutting a swath through the other contenders.,And when they went down, they went down hard. They wouldn't be getting back up any time soon, wouldn't be winning any duels or even attempting any duels.,Several other competitors entered the tournament at the same time. Oddly, they all protested that they hadn't entered and didn't want to be caught up in the duels. Too bad for them, their participation was magically compelled.,They went down ,.,It might have been coincidence that all of the new entries were Ravenclaw girls in Luna's year or the one above or the one below. It might have been…,Harry was present for Luna's first victory. At the end of the duel, two seconds after the start of the duel, Luna went to claim her prize.,"I saw the other contestants were flinging down roses, Harry. I don't have any roses, and I would rather offer you a more personal flower. Tonight I will give up my personal cherry blossom, with the cherry still in it.","Tonight? You don't want to drag me to bed right away like most of the others?","No, I need to win several more duels right now, to make sure no one else will be attempting to take you away from me any time soon.",She was as good as her word, winning twelve more duels, putting twelve competitors into the hospital before supper, all while attending classes and eating a hearty, nutritious lunch with her prize.,That night, Harry took the cherry Luna offered him, telling her it was much better than all the roses in the world. She was in such a good mood the next morning that she almost didn't brutally beat down four more opponents before breakfast.,Only "almost". She glanced over before they started, and saw Harry waiting to be claimed by the victor. That redoubled her determination. It wasn't just that she was going to win, that was never in doubt, it was that she was going to so thoroughly dominate everyone else that no one would dare win another duel before the end of the tournament.,And that's just how it went. Luna had her Harry every night by right of conquest, and shortly before the end of the school year she was declared the winner and awarded the final prize, the "power to revolutionize the world".,"A lifetime supply of idiot pills? How will that change the world?",Luna stopped to think, putting on her metaphorical Revolutionary hat. Revolutionary Girl Luna's true power was outside-of-the-box thinking and ruthless determination to keep her man. Her two powers were outside-of-the-box thinking, ruthless determination to keep her man, and that thing she did with her Kegel muscles. Her three powers— Luna shook her head. This was too important. Someone might take away her Harry, after she'd won him fair and square!,Think, think, think…,"Say, Harry, do you think Hedwig is up for a trip? Would you mind her making a potentially dangerous delivery?","Tell me more, Luna.",Three days later, a magical ripple went through all of Great Britain, culminating with a veritable , of magic entering Harry while he was fulfilling his duty as Luna's prize. , Luna thought about encouraging the rise of other dark lords so they could meet their ends at her and Harry's hands, if that's what it took to reproduce the effect.,"Great plan, Luna," Harry congratulated her once they'd caught their breath. "Tricking Voldemort into taking a lifetime supply of crushed idiot pills in one go. No one else could ever have thought of that.","He did half of the work himself. He must have been an idiot already. Why else would he swallow that much powder of unknown origin, accompanied by nothing but a note saying ,?","I guess so, but it was still your idea. Now tell me, my Cherry Bride, are you recovered enough to let me reward you again?",: , is a strange show, which can be understood best if you assume that the creators were tripping, or maybe that the audience was expected to be tripping. Given the nature of the show, who better than lovely Luna to step into the title role?,The , manga, anime, and movie are pretty different, so let's say I mostly used the movie continuity for this. It's the most psychedelic.

So welcome to the next episode of 'Nanocowie should be doing physics but here he is on his laptop at the back of class not listening.' It's been a while hasn't it? I've jumped into a couple different things recently not the least of which were exams so that was terrifying. Formatting on chapter 2 of Digital Mess is fixed, and I've also been enjoying Darling in the FranXX, so you may see something of the sort later in the season. This one however, is due to my love of the XCOM series. I've re-imagined ADVENT into a criminal shadow corporation, which over arches many different terrorist cells across the world. Exalt, the Death Eaters, and many other terrorist groups will be placed under ADVENT control. XCOM, the origination, does not exist and the alien invasion, hasn't happened, and won't happen. Quick warnings. Death, Edge, Powerful!Harry, OCs based on my playthroughs of XCOM 2 WOTC. (Honos is my Savant Skirmisher, kicks major ass.). As well as some Tsun/Yandere traits. Enjoy my people.,"Potter! Report!" Shouted the leader of the Reapers, Volk, as the young man dressed head to toe in a dark brown trench coat with a dark mask covering his face ran into the room, slid into position and fell to his knee. As the youngest member of the resistance it was hard for Harry to earn much respect, or even recognition, within the ranks, so he had to follow the rules.,"Twelve dead, no casualties on our side." Harry reported, not showing how tired he was. It was tough work taking out members of the terrorist cell ADVENT without making a sound, but it was what was expected of him as a newer member of the Reapers. Harry could still remember the day when he was found by Volk, pilfering one of their safe-houses for safety,Flashback,A 9 year old Harry cursed as he heard the spell-fire behind him get progressively closer to hitting him. He knew it was a bad idea to try and steal from wizarding terrorists without proper training but he was so goddamned hungry that he couldn't wait any longer. He yelped as a small cutter dragged along his cheek, drawing blood as he jumped into an alleyway to avoid the other spells. What he didn't expect was when the floor gave way and he fell down the drop into a dimly lit room. Shaking the feeling of the impact from his legs he looked back up and saw that the trapdoor had swung shut and grunted. He didn't expect this turn of events but he was going to welcome it.,Looking around he saw that the room was mostly occupied by crates. Cracking one open with the small crowbar provided by the wall he looked inside and nearly jumped for joy, canned food and hard tack biscuits! Taking one of the biscuits he quickly dug in to sate his aching stomach and pried open a can of peaches, savouring the first fruit he could remember in years. After finishing his meal he explored around again and found more crates of different things, like ammunition, clothing, medical supplies hell even some weapons! Taking out one of the small, well made knives he gave it a twirl. He was sure that he could use something like this. He hadn't stayed on the street for nothing after all. Resourcefulness, stealth, and mobility is what they had taught him, and he was going to use all of it.,Finding a small camping bed in one of the crates he unfolded it quickly and dropped into it, savouring the feeling of an actual bed as he quickly fell asleep, unaware of what awaited him in the next morning.,POV change,It didn't take long for Volk to join a group of Reapers on an expedition to one of their safehouses when he heard that a small child had found it. The safehouses of the Reapers were one of the things they prided themselves on, but somehow a mere child had managed to find it while the smartest minds of their opposition couldn't find a pattern to them. Jumping across the roofs with his team behind him he dropped down from the fire escape he was perched on he kicked the small hidden button under a pile of rubbish and watched as the trapdoor opened.,Nodding to one of the Reapers behind him, a young American woman called Kelly, he dropped down into the room with her following him as the rest of the Reapers took watch over them. As Volk bent his legs to absorb the impact he looked around the room and realised that there was no child around, only the remnants of his presence. That was until he heard a small gasp and quickly turned around to see Kelly being held in a headlock with a knife to her neck, her spine specifically. Looking around the woman he could see the young boy looking deadly serious at him as he said. "Who are you people, do you own this place?",Volk slowly raised his arms, dropping his Vektor Rifle on the ground as Harry put his back to the wall, with Kelly following unwillingly. Volk said evenly. "We do, we are not looking for a fight however, we only wish to fight ADVENT.",Harry nodded at him and twirled the knife in his hands, still dangerously close to Kelly's neck which caused her to gasp as Harry pushed her forward gently towards Volk. Harry dropped the knife and raised his hands as Volk looked at him appraisingly. "I know that there must be others above, so you win. All I ask is that I can feed and arm myself before I go back out onto the street.",Volk growled, ADVENT must have chased the boy before he found the safe house. "I have questions. What is your relationship to ADVENT?",Harry growled at the ground and cast his eyes down before saying. "A sect of them called the Death Eaters ruined my life, I find that stealing from them is unwise but gratifying.",Volk looked at him evenly and said. "Explain.",Harry slid down the wall before falling into a comfortable position. "On my first birthday my home was attacked by their leader Voldemort. My sister managed to cause some kind of magic and made him vanish, reflected the killing curse apparently. My parents were out but when they got back they seemingly forgot I existed apart from when I needed to carry something, so I left. It's been...4 years since I left? But my progress has been less than satisfying.",Kelly gasped next to him and Volk's demeanour darkened heavily, yet another tragedy perpetuated by ADVENT. "Damn bastards, what are you good at kid? A child is less noticeable, and that's what we do.",Harry vanished from sight and Volk felt a small tap on his shoulder. Spinning around he didn't see anything before he heard a small yelp from Kelly and saw that she had her mask taken off and her hood taken down. Looking back to where Harry used to stand he saw the boy standing there swinging the mask around on his finger. Volk smirked at the candor of the boy and extended his hand. "I think we can find a use for you. What do you say kid? Want to finally try and make a difference?",It only took a couple of seconds before Harry's hand met his own.,End Flashback,Volk nodded at the young man and said smartly. "Good, is the TVIP secure?",Target V.I.P missions, Harry's speciality. Harry smirked under the helmet he had taken from one of their enemies and said. "In a cell, and I found something on him. It looks like a datapad but our hacking can't crack it.",Volk grimaced and said. "Good job anyway. I also have some news. The Skirmishers have asked for a rendezvous, apparently they want to negotiate a truce. I want you there, you're not as intimidating visually. You will be going with Lieutenant Dragunova, and you will be meeting with Prator Mox, along with an unknown Skirmisher we've not heard of yet.",Harry grimaced at the name of the former ADVENT terrorsow. At least 20 Reapers had been wiped out by that man alone and by sending him the Skirmisher's leader Betos was not showing any signs of being afraid. Getting back up to his feet Harry slung his Vektor Rifle across his back and asked. "Understood, when do we leave for this rendezvous?",Volk smirked. "They wanted to catch us off guard, but we do not rest. Tomorrow you will be deploying to Dark Zone 12 and you will meet them on the overpass. Don't screw this up Potter, we can start to focus more heavily on ADVENT if we stop fighting them.",Harry nodded and bowed before leaving the War Room, passing by a couple strategists who clapped him on the back. Making is way through the darkened corridors of the Reaper Base he saw a couple of the more experienced Reapers smile at him mockingly while he evenly just walked by them. It didn't take long for him to reach the barracks and flop down into his cot, exhausted. Looking around he noticed that Lieutenant Dragunova was standing behind one of the bunks and asked. "You want to talk about the mission?",Dragunova made a small annoyed noise at being caught and said. "Leave the talking to me, and keep an eye out for any ADVENT in the area. I don't want my record smirched by you.",Harry smirked and waved her off, claiming. "Sure sure, just don't go crying to Volk when you fuck it up.",Dragunova just scoffed and walked over to her own cot and dropped into it. Harry took off his rifle and began to service it, pulling off the magically enhanced scope and pulling out his wand to reinforce the enchantments on it. While he was only 14, and he wasn't formally trained in magic, he learned a few things from the captive Death Eaters he took for fun. Making sure the zooming and self cleaning enchantments held on the scope he moved onto the barrel, ensuring the suppression was enabled, then onto the stock, making sure the recoil dampening charms were in place.,Finishing up his maintenance Harry checked the time and saw that it was about 9pm. Reasoning that he already had dinner out in the field before he came back to the base, he took off his helmet and trench coat, revealing his toned torso as he pulled on a light black t-shirt and getting under the covers of his cot he quickly got to sleep, intent on getting up earlier than usual in the morning.,Timeskip,Harry awoke with a start as he felt his small electric alarm around his wrist zap him awake. Turning off the alarm he got up out of the cot and saw that most of the Reapers were still asleep, Dragunova included. Smirking at the sight he pulled on his trenchcoat and decided to forgo the mask, instead throwing it on his tactical rig. Grabbing the Vektor Rifle from under his cot he switched off the safety and gave it a quick fire at the door, watching as the bullet buried itself into the wood without a noise. Nodding satisfied at the result he quickly threw a cleaning charm on himself and walked out of the barracks, nearly running towards the hangar.,Arriving at the hangar he saw a sight he didn't expect to see, Volk himself was standing there in front of the transport they were going to use. Volk noticed him and nodded approvingly. "Good, where is Dragunova?",Harry shrugged and walked over to one of the benches lining the walls, sitting down and pulling out his rifle. "She was asleep when I left, but she should be awake by now. What do we have to work with sir?",Volk motioned for some engineers to bring over a crate to him. "Dragunova could learn something from you. You'll have two claymores each, 20 clips of ammo, and a distraction beacon.",Harry whistled at the lineup. Obviously Volk didn't want to take any chances with that kind of firepower. "Got it. Do we have any intel on the unknown Skirmisher?",Volk nodded and pulled out a clipboard. "We found out a little from our moles in their ranks. Apparently they are a 14 year old female, she managed to escape from their forced recruitment and in doing so kill the entire cell on her way out. Don't try anything with her, she should be stronger than most of the Skirmishers we've faced.",Harry nodded and heard a quickened set of footsteps from the corridor and saw Dragunova run into the hangar with Volk looking at her disapprovingly. "4 Minutes late Dragunova, get your ass in the transport. If you need debriefing ask Potter.",Dragunova made a small 'tch' as she walked into the transport truck. Harry nodded to the engineers and they loaded the crate onto the trunk as he nodded once more to Volk. "We'll come back with good news, I promise.",Volk nodded and Harry got onto the truck in the back. A masked driver got into the front and all of the doors closed when the engineers were clear and the garage door opened, revealing a ramp out of the underground complex. Harry could feel the truck spinning up and grabbed onto a stabilizer as the truck went from 0 to 60, speeding out of the hangar. When the truck stabilised he let go of the stabilizer and looked over to Dragunova who was sitting in silence looking over her rifle. Harry laid down on the seat and grabbed a small catalogue from under the seat. It wasn't much but it was something to keep him amused.,After maybe 4 hours they arrived at the mission location. An abandoned city which was removed from most maps due to the nuclear waste surrounding the area. Harry saw a soft red light in the corner and stood up, grabbing his rifle. Dragunova stood up to and went in front of him in an attempt to show dominance over him. Harry smirked and watched as the light turned green, and the door on the back of the trunk swung open. Harry checked his rig and saw that he had his claymores and ammo, along with the distraction beacon on his hip.,Jumping out of the trunk he took a quick scan of the area, not noticing anything moving. Nodding to Dragunova he said. "We're clear, overpass is 2 clicks to the north. Rules of engagement?",Dragunova nodded and said. "Shoot, but don't kill. We don't want you hitting the Skirmishers do we?",Harry sighed and ran off into the direction of the overpass with Dragunova frantically trying to keep up with him. Harry had spent lots of time on the streets, and so he knew the nuances of parkour as he jumped between surface to surface. Arriving at a junction he held up his arm to Dragunova and peeked around the corner and sighed. 7 EXALT troops were patrolling down the street away from them. Looking back at Dragunova he whispered. "7 Hostiles. 3 Assault, 2 Heavies, a Sniper and a Medic. We don't have to hit them.",Dragunova nodded and the two stealthily crossed the road and climbed up a rain drainage system onto the roof. Running along the rooftops Harry could see the overpass and fell to his stomach, giving way for Dragunova to do the same. Harry pulled out the binoculars from his tactical rig and took a quick scan of the area. He could see signs of a small battle but nothing else. Frowning at the sight he looked over at Dragunova and said. "Where are they? I doubt a couple of ADVENT could take them down.",Dragunova smiled conspiratorially and said. "I don't know where they are, but hopefully they're wounded.",Harry shook his head disgustedly at her and jumped down onto the overpass, aiming around with his rifle. Looking around he saw a small trail of blood leading up into a nondescript truck and walked over to it, hearing Dragunova jump down behind him. Getting up to the truck he tried the handle and felt the door creak as he opened it, and in his face, the barrel of a bull-pup.,Harry quickly dropped his rifle and help up his hands. Peering around the barrel he was met with the face of a beautiful young woman with glowing gold eyes and dark, luscious hair. Realising that this was one of the Skirmishers he said. "I don't wish to fight, I am Reaper Harrison Potter. This is Lieutenant Reaper Elena Dragunova.",He saw the suspicion in her eyes but she dropped the barrel of the bullpup and said. "Skirmisher Priestess Kaitlyn Helskid. My Elder was injured by a mine laid by EXALT forces in the area.",Harry nodded and Dragunova pushed him out of the way. "Where the hell is Mox?",Harry sighed and grabbed the barrel of her rifle, sealing the insides of it. "Don't be aggressive Dragunova. This is a peaceful meeting.",Elena was about to make a swing at Harry before the twin talons of a ripjack curled around her wrist. Harry looked over at Helskid and saw that she looked rather angry. "I am in agreement with Potter. This is a rendezvous to negotiate a ceasefire. Please, come in.",Harry nodded gratefully to her and grabbed his Vektor Rifle and jumped up into the truck with Dragunova walking in behind him reluctantly. Inside it was dimly lit by the flashlight of a bullpup and Harry could see the helmeted visage of an Elder Skirmisher in the corner. Nodding to him Harry said. "Prator Mox. Your skills in combat are feared by many.",It was a veiled attempt at courtesy, but both of them knew exactly what Harry was referring to. Prator Mox was a feared sight among the Reapers, but he was not seen recently among Skirmisher raids on the Reapers. Mox shifted around, holding his leg as he responded. "My thanks young Reaper, my people speak highly of your skills as well.",Dragunova felt insulted at the fact that the Elder had addressed Harry first and said rudely. "I don't know what you Skirmishers are up to, but we're not going to fall for it. Volk will...",She didn't have a chance to continue as both Harry and Kaitlyn hit her on the back of the head at the same time, knocking her out. She looked gratefully up at him as she said. "Thank you, she was not conducive to a peaceful meeting.",Harry nodded in respect to her and turned back to Mox, saying. "I am sorry for the words of my...colleague. I assure you none of the rest of the Reapers believe in the same things.",Mox cut him off with a baleful laugh. "Don't attempt to lie to me young Reaper. It is commonly known that the Reapers wish to see an end to all traces of ADVENT, even their most harmed group.",Harry sighed and shook his head, taking down his hood. "You're right Elder, most of the Reapers do want to destroy ADVENT in its entirety. But what you have wrong however, is that you are the most harmed group.",Kaitlyn jumped in with and angry voice. "How dare you! We have bled under them, died under them! How can you say we are not the most harmed group!?",Harry held up his hand to her, silencing her. "It is the people. The people who live today under their shadowed rule who are the most harmed. They are so beaten down that their fight was taken out of them. They are who the Reapers fight for, and it is what we hope you will fight for too.",Harry's communication unit flared up and he heard the voice of Volk from it. "Potter, we have confirmation that ADVENT forces are on their way to your location. How are the talks going?",Mox spoke first, slowly. "Volk, I am convinced. Your young Reaper is right, the people are the ones who come first.",Mox's com unit flared to life. "I am also convinced. Volk, I am willing to continue talks, and I wish to establish an alliance of sorts. However, I wish to keep my people safe. As a sign of good faith, you are invited to have your Reapers join us at our base until they wish to leave.",Harry smiled contentedly. Talks were successful, he was successful. Volk spoke up again from Harry's communicator. "Betos, I have no wish to allow Dragunova to be kept with you, but Potter is allowed to make his decision on the matter.",Harry looked around and he saw Helskid and Mox looking accepting of the deal and said. "I will happily stay with you until you wish me gone Elder Betos. Volk, what am I to do with Dragunova?",Volk made a small hum as he asked. "Can you get her back to transport?",It was at this moment when Helskid spoke up. "We have limited time. I will transport your Reaper back to your transport, and then arrive back here.",Volk said a quick "Yes." and Kaitlyn pulled up Dragunova, putting her on her shoulder. With one final curious look at Harry she jumped out of the trunk and grappled away. Harry closed the door to the truck and looked back at Mox. "I have some medical supplies on my rig, you want me to patch up what I can?",Mox nodded gruffly and Harry got to work. Bringing out the medical pack from the small of his back he professionally pulled out the shrapnel from his leg and bandaged it tightly. "There, that should keep you going until transport arrives.",Mox nodded and motioned Harry towards him. Harry was startled but he heard him speak in his ear. "You have done much for us. I give my blessing for you to pursue Priestess Helskid as a romantic interest if you wish.",Harry blushed furiously and said nervously. "I hardly know the girl! Also we have much more important things to do and I...",That was when he heard a small laugh from Mox and realised he was kidding him on. Realising the craziness of the situation he also began to laugh, the first time he truly had in a very long time. When they were done Harry looked over at Mox and asked. "So, what kind of training do you offer your soldiers?",Mox stood proudly as he said. "We have them train for 3 years before testing them, learning close combat and quick movement. In the end our soldiers are expected to take down an entire squad of ADVENT troopers before we field them in true missions...Argh!",Harry whistled and said. "Intense. Our training mostly comes from our background. If you die during training, tough shit in our case. It's kept the weakness out of our ranks.",Mox nodded impressedly, but offered some advice. "Be careful you do not lose yourself in cruelty, lest you become what you fight. It is something that we have to watch out for in our ranks too.",It was at this time when Kaitlyn jumped back into the truck without Dragunova. "Your Lieutenant is back on her transport and awake. Shall we proceed to our transport?",Mox nodded and stood up to the surprise of Kaitlyn. "Elder! How are you standing?",Mox nodded at Harry and said. "Young Potter provided some medical aid to me. It would be prudent to add first aid to our initial training.",Kaitlyn looked back at Harry and bowed low to him, causing Harry to blush heavily as she said. "Thank you for assisting my Elder, please, follow me.",Harry nodded and jumped out of the truck. Opening the comms to Volk he asked. "How long till they're on us?",The comms flared to life. "4 Minutes.",Harry smiled and said. "Enough time.",Bringing out one of his claymores he waited until Mox was out of the truck and planted it on the door, but inconspicuous enough to not be seen if not looking for it. Looking over at Kaitlyn he asked. "How far away is your transport?",She looked down at her watch and said. "They are free to join us in 3 minutes. When we give the signal they will arrive in a minute.",Nodding he looked up to one of the roofs. Looking back to Kaitlyn he asked. "Can you get us up there? Might as well take out some ADVENT while we're at it.",Kaitlyn nodded and Harry brought out the distraction beacon. Setting it to sound like a car alarm he dropped it in the car and pulled out the trigger. "Get us on the roof, I'll show you how a Reaper handles things.",Kaitlyn looked amused but acquiesce to his wishes. Walking over to him she looped her arm around his waist with a quick motion. Aiming her arm up at the top of the roof she let her grappling hook fly, attach to the roof and reel back, bringing the two soaring through the sky as Harry rolled out the impact, inadvertently falling on top of Kaitlyn. Mox also appeared at the top and laughed at the sight of the two of them. Harry shook his head and quickly got off of her with a quick "Sorry." Kaitlyn looked like she wanted to say something but held it back at the sight of her Elder, not admitting to herself exactly how fast her heart raced at that moment.,Harry set up his Vektor Rifle at the roof and donned his mask, throwing the hood back up. The internal targeting systems took aim at the claymore and adjusted the power of the shot and the trajectory. After a few minutes Harry said to Mox. "Call the transport." Mox nodded and hit a button on his comms unit. After a minute of pure silence Harry saw the first signs of ADVENT and smiled ferally. A General had shown up. While ADVENT had ranks far and wide throughout the world, and Generals were plentiful, a kill on one of them was one hell of a blow in an area.,Hitting the trigger on the beacon the beeping began and the ADVENT party ran over to the truck with their weapons drawn.,Harry waited, the sound of his breathing being the only noise as the General opened the truck doors. He breathed out, and pulled the trigger. The claymore exploded into a massive fireball as the entire ADVENT patrol was ripped apart by the combined power of the Shrapnel Claymore and truck exploding.,Harry stood up and gave out an insane laugh at the power he felt at the kill, and behind him Mox and Kaitlyn looked at him in slight awe. Mox came up to him and put a gauntleted hand on his shoulder. "It will be an honour to work with you, Reaper.",Harry looked back at Mox with the same insane smile on his face. Pulling off his mask he said as his dark hair fluttered across his lightning bolt scar. "And I can only hope to impress, Skirmisher.",It was around this time when Harry heard the whirring of the Skirmisher VTOL and saw the terrifyingly decorated aircraft coming towards them. Packing up his rifle across his back he fell into step behind Mox and Kaitlyn as ropes descended from the craft. Watching as the two jumped onto their ropes Harry tentatively went over to his own and put his feet into the stirrup. He heard Kaitlyn say above the whirring. "Pull on the cord, it will bring you up." Before she herself was hoisted up.,Giving the cable a sharp tug he felt the mechanism working as he was hoisted up into the craft quickly. Jumping off the rope into the craft he could see the pseudo tribal decorations inside the craft and nodded appreciatively. Bringing out his comms unit he opened the channel to Volk and said. "Mission complete, secondary objective cleared. ADVENT general is deceased. Orders?",He heard Volks impressed voice say. "A General eh? Good job Potter. Rest up and learn what you can from the Skirmishers.",Harry made a noise of affirmation and asked quietly. "What's going to happen to Dragunova? She nearly cost us the peace?",Volk sighed and said. "She will be redirected to ADVENT, and kept away from the Templar. If our old enemies can be peaceful, the Templar could be the same. If we all unite together we could start to do serious damage to ADVENT. On another note, this is the 4th General you've killed, enjoy the promotion.",Harry nodded happily. "Understood, Potter out.",Kaitlyn looked at him impressively. "4 Generals? You must be skilled Potter.",Harry looked at her and shook his head. "Please, call me Harry. And it's no big deal, hell TVIPs are my speciality.",Kaitlyn nodded happily, glad she could call him by his first name. "Well, I insist you call me Kaitlyn, or Kait. I am more specialised in eliminating large groups of ADVENT myself. I took down a group of 20 when I escaped from them.",Harry nodded respectfully. "Impressive, you'll have to teach me some stuff while I'm at your base. Also, if we manage to establish this alliance I'll get you a map with our safehouses.",Mox perked up at this. Taking off his helmet Harry saw his scared and wrinkled face with dark golden eyes. "The hideouts of the Reapers are some of the most impressive things we know of your people. How are you able to keep them so secretive?",Harry smirked. "We stay in the shadows. With a combination of gene-coding and buttons we can allow only Reapers into our safehouses. Volk recently had our security upgraded on them as well, and we keep them off the grid. Everything is close-circuited through to our home base.",Mox nodded impressed. Kaitlyn was determined to not be outdone however. "Well...The Skirmishers have grappling technology, what do you have in the means of transport across the battlefield?",Harry sighed and said. "We haven't figured that out yet. We just can't get it right.",Kaitlyn smiled happily at the opportunity. "Well, if you are to give us access to your safehouses we would happily assist you in the field.",Harry looked incredibly intrigued at the offer and said. "That would be...incredible. If we had access to that kind of tech...",Harry began to think of the possibilities and Kaitlyn walked over to him, sitting down next to him. Mox looked at the two with a grin and brought out a medpack from underneath his seat to work on his leg while Kaitlyn began to disassemble her own gauntlet, showing him the inner workings. Harry was looking enraptured at the surprisingly simple mechanics behind it and took her arm and brought it closer to him, not noticing the blush coming from Kaitlyn as he looked down into the various pulleys and winches.,The two continued like that for a while until Harry's comm's unit flared to life. "Potter, Dragunova just arrived back here and claimed that you assaulted her during the OP. What the hell is this about?",Kaitlyn held her finger up to Harry and he allowed her to take the comm's unit from him. "This is Skirmisher Kaitlyn Helskid. This Dragunova accused us of conspiring against you and made threats to myself and my Elder. Harry merely silenced her, with my help, before she could represent you in a bad light permanently.",Harry could hear the arguing coming from the comms unit and eventually it all quieted down and Volk spoke again. "Understood Helskid, thanks for clearing that up. Rest assured Dragunova will be...disciplined, and her interactions with the Skirmishers will be limited heavily.",Kaitlyn nodded satisfiedly and handed the comm's unit back to Harry, who said. "Sir, alert our engineers and prepare them for schematics. Helskid has demonstrated how their grapple technology has worked, and in return I have promised them access to our safehouses.",Volk grunted. "A good trade, good job Potter. When are the talks going to begin between me and Betos?",Harry looked up at Mox questioningly and he pulled out his comm's unit and whispered into it before looking up at Harry. "Give it three days, and we'll send over a transport. We can exchange our offerings around the dinner table.",Harry relayed it in and Volk made a noise of affirmation. "Got it, I'll get the gene-code lab ready to bring in some Skirmisher DNA. Volk out.",The comm's unit died down and Harry sighed. Kaitlyn smiled at him sadly, not happy with the way that all the responsibility poured onto him was so daunting to him. A small voice echoed throughout the transport. "Approaching Homebase, prepare for landing.",Harry looked around and saw a stabiliser on the roof and grabbed it, putting on his mask and hood. Kaitlyn put on her own helmet as did Mox as the craft landed down into what Harry assumed was a hanger. From what he saw out of the window they were situated in a savannah somewhere with a complex around them. Everything went dark out of the windows and a small green light flared up above the door. Mox hit a button on the side and the door shunted open, forming a ramp down into the hangar which was decorated in a tribal fashion.,Pelts, armour and tapestries hung from the walls while there were engineers running around getting ready to perform maintenance on the craft. Harry could see a regal looking Skirmisher walking towards them which caused Kaitlyn and Mox to fall to their knees. Harry stood firm, knowing that he was representing the Reapers as a whole at this time and saluted her in his own way. "The hunt will not end, as will we. Greetings, Elder.",Kaitlyn gasped at his manner and tried to motion him onto his knees before the Elder walked up to Harry and held out her hand. "It is good to have you here Reaper, I am Elder Betos. Please, remove your mask. We are working towards an alliance you know.",Harry nodded and threw his Vektor Rifle over his shoulder, feeling the strap hold it to his back. Pulling off his mask and bringing down his hood he felt the scrutiny of the Skirmishers as he hung his mask from his rig. Looking back up and shaking her hand he said. "It is an honour to be here Elder, thank you for your hospitality.",Betos smiled at him and motioned for the other two to stand. As they did another Skirmisher came up to Harry with a crate and Betos said. "Complements from myself. However I hope you do not mind sharing a room with another Skirmisher, as my people are still unsteady with you being here.",Harry looked around and saw some of the Skirmishers were not so discreetly holding their Bullpups ready to fire on him and sighed. Pulling off his Vektor Rifle and his knife he offered them to one of the guards who took the rifle but left the knife. Harry confusedly said. "Sure you don't want to hold my knife too? It's been one of my main weapons.",The Skirmisher laughed behind his helmet. "I assure you, a Skirmisher will not fall to a Reaper in weaponed combat. Your firearm will do to alleviate our worries.",Harry pouted but sheathed his knife, giving it a small twirl as he did. "Well, I'm not sure if that's an insult but I'll forget about it. Anyways, I'm fine with rooming with somebody else. The Reapers all share a hall.",Betos' eyebrow went up and the rest of the Skirmishers looked curious. Kaitlyn clapped her hands suddenly and said. "How about we retreat to the mess hall? Perhaps we could share details on our cultures.",Betos nodded smartly. "That is a good idea Priestess. If anybody wishes to hear of the lifestyle of the Reapers, please join them in the mess hall.",Kaitlyn grabbed Harry by the arm and lead him from the hangar while most of the Skirmishers in the room followed them. Harry quickly grabbed the crate from the ground and hefted it up onto his chest. Walking through the halls Harry noted that the Skirmisher base was much more homely then the Reaper base, with rugs and tapestries decorating the corridors. Eventually they reached what he assumed was the mess hall and Kaitlyn seated him down at the middle of the table. Harry was reminded of a large mead hall as the rest of the Skirmishers took their place around him. Harry decided to speak up first. "So then, what do you guys want to know about the Reapers?",One of the older Skirmishers called out. "What is it like staying together in one room? How do you keep your privacy?",Harry rubbed the back of his head as he pulled his coat around himself. "We don't. In the Reapers we abandoned our humanity, for humanity. We don't care about things like privacy or bonds, we just want to kill ADVENT.",Another Skirmisher spoke up, this time a middle aged woman. "What kind of luxuries are afforded in the Reapers then?",Harry laughed out. "Luxuries? We don't get them. If we want something we find it in the field. We get a cold shower every week, food is nutritious but not tasty. We are a military, we only need a fight to have a purpose.",The Skirmishers fell silent at that and Harry decided to throw up his own curiosity. "Anyways, what do you guys do around here?",One of the Skirmishers spoke up. "We are never put out for more then three missions in a month. We are given credits based on our performance in our jobs and we can exchange them for our luxuries from one of the vendors around here. We have our own rooms and we have a solar heater which supplies enough hot water for each of us.",Harry whistled at the list. "Damn, nice lineup. What kind of training do you offer to your operatives?",None of the Skirmishers spoke up but instead fidgeted around before Kaitlyn spoke up. "We have no official trainers which we are provided with after our initial field training. If we want more training, we learn it from someone else in the barracks in exchange for credits.",Harry blanched. "Well shit...In the Reapers any Major or Colonel is expected to train the younger Reapers in stealth, accuracy and battlefield tactics and utility when off duty. If we are killed in the field, tough shit you didn't prepare enough.",The Skirmishers were hanging onto every word and Harry leaned back in his seat. "So, anybody going to take me in? I'll need somewhere to stay for the next three or four days.",A couple of the Skirmishers raised their hands before wincing and putting them down. Following their eyes he saw Kaitlyn glaring at them from his side and she looked up at him and said. "You're more than welcome to stay with me Harry.",Harry grinned down at her roguishly and said. "Thanks Kait, I'll try not to get in your way.",Kaitlyn nodded happily and stood up, motioning for Harry to follow. Harry got up and grabbed his crate from where he dropped it and followed along with her. As they walked through the corridors Harry said to Kaitlyn. "Hey, do you mind if I grab a shower before heading off to train? I can imagine I smell pretty bad right now.",Kaitlyn looked at him confusedly before she got close to him and took a sniff, gagged and took a sniff of herself. "You're right, we both need showers. I'll take first, if that is okay with you.",Harry nodded and they walked in silence until the reached her room. Kait swiped a card over the scanner and allowed him inside. Her walls were decorated with different memorabilia and Harry even saw a couple Reaper coats and masks hung from the walls and he winced from the sight. Knowing the protocol for finding Reaper equipment in the field he asked Kaitlyn who was looking at him nervously, obviously having forgotten about what she had in her room. "Mind if I take the ID tags off these things? Where did you get them anyways?",Kaitlyn timidly came up next to him and pointed out various coats and masks. "I obtained these ones from a Reaper camp a few years ago. It was a three way battle between the Reapers, Templars and ourselves. I found these off of one of their bodies.",Harry pulled off one of the masks and hit a button on the inside, releasing a small pair of tags from inside. Looking down at them he didn't know the reaper who held them and continued to grab more and more tags until he had stripped all of the masks and hung them back up. Noticing that Kaitlyn had gone into the shower already he dropped them into his pack before bringing out his knife and prying the crate open.,Inside were general toiletries, aerosols and clothes while also containing a grapple gauntlet. Whistling at the shiny new piece of kit he fitted it onto his arm and felt the trigger. Reluctant to fire it inside he took it back off and put it back into the crate. Taking out the clothes and toiletries he took off his trench coat and tactical rig and put them down into the crate in the space left from the clothes.,Waiting patiently he dropped his comm's unit into the crate as well and closed it back up. At this time Kaitlyn opened up the shower door and walked out in only a towel, which caused Harry to blush and look away to the confusion of Kaitlyn. She was wreathed in steam and was looking angelic with her hair draped over her shoulder. "What's wrong Harry? Are you feeling well?",Harry nodded and motioned down across her body. "Sorry, but you'll want to get dressed. I...I'll grab my shower now.",Moving past her he entered the shower and locked the doors behind him. Dropping his clothes he put them into the laundry basket and jumped into the shower. Quickly turning it to a cool temperature, not just for reminding himself of home in his mind. Quickly shampooing his hair and soaping himself down he rinsed off and got out of the shower. He never really saw the appeal of a shower for comfort and usually saw it is a utility. Toweling himself down he got into the clothes provided and stepped out of the bathroom and saw Kaitlyn dressed in a short sleeved t-shirt and jeans. Nodding to her he brought out his combat shoes, with an extra amount of spring in the sole to keep him light on his feet. Grabbing the grapple gauntlet from the crate he looked up at Kaitlyn and said. "I'm ready to go." Walking out with her she locked the room and said. "To the training court then?",Harry nodded, moving into his operative mindset. Looking around he saw that there was no good places to hide in the corridors, he would have to rely on the rooms to hide himself in the event of an assault. When they reached the courtyard he saw that there was only a couple of Skirmishers milling around, as opposed to the twenty or so Reapers in the courtyard he remembered.,Looking around he saw Kaitlyn standing next to a series of elevated platforms and walked over. She nodded professionally at him, showing a fully business side of herself as she pointed up at the platforms. "This is the grappleground, where we train to use our grappling capabilities. The trick to using it is to think of the trajectory as a harpoon, and aim accordingly.",Harry nodded and aimed the gauntlet at the platform. Pulling the trigger on the inside he felt a small shunt move his trajectory down a bit as he missed the platform. Feeling the gauntlet roll back he aimed it back up at the platform, slightly higher this time. Feeling the shunt go again he felt it thud into the wood of the platform and was jerked forward and was pulled harshly up to the platform.,Pulling himself up he felt a small ache in his arm and readjusted it back into position, wincing at the feeling. Taking aim again at a higher platform he fired again and was ready for the force of the grapple this time and tensed his arm as he was brought soaring through the air and rolled out this time as he nearly fell over the edge.,From the ground Kaitlyn was looking surprised at his skill with the grappling hook. It seemed like he was at home in the air as he soared from platform to platform quickly. She laid her face in her hand, curling her fingers up across her cheek as she admired his skill. Up in the air Harry looked up over the walls of the compound and bathed in the heat of the afternoon sun as he looked over the Savannah.,After he was finished he jumped down from platform to platform until he hit the floor of the training ground and smiled ferally at Kaitlyn. "I can make very good use of this. What's next?",Kaitlyn smiled satisfiedly and turned her back to him, grabbing two ripjacks from a rack. "I will train you in using our ripjacks. They function as claws that can destroy any ADVENT armour in one swipe.",Harry nodded and took the ripjack offered to him. Attaching them to his gauntlet he watched as Kaitlyn attached hers in one motion and said. "Now then, try and hit me.",Harry jumped forward and went for the attack, only to find himself on his back with two ripjack claws around his neck. He saw Kaitlyn looking annoyed as she took the claws back and let Harry get to his feet. "It looks like your arm strength is not yet enough to use one effectively. I think weights would help you before you try and learn the ripjack.",Harry sighed and said. "If you think so. I think I'm going to stick to my knife, it serves me well.",Kaitlyn nodded and put away the ripjack she had on herself, as well as the one Harry was using. Turning back to him she held up her arms in a fighting stance and said. "Now then, I think it would be best if we learn normal close combat now. I trust you know how to fight bare handed?",Harry nodded and brought up his stance. He never fought competitively but when you were on the street you used everything you had, and used it well. In turn he said "Best of three submissions wins, permanent debilitation is forbidden.",She nodded and shouted out to one of the other Skirmishers. "Give us a countdown.",The Skirmisher lazily said. "3, 2, 1, go.",Harry and Kaitlyn rushed towards each other and dodged out of the way of the punches that didn't fly. Both of them made sporadic swings as they rushed around each other, ducking and weaving under their blows until Harry saw an opening and hooked his leg under her leg. Bringing her down he laid on top of her panting and said. "1 to me.",Kait nodded and Harry got up from her. The two took their stances again, Harry panting while Kait was breathing heavily as the Skirmisher said again. "3, 2, 1, go.",The two rushed each other again but Harry ducked, the worst thing he could do. Kaitlyn held her fist down and Harry felt the knuckle crash up his jaw, causing pain to jolt through him. Kait jumped down onto him and help his arms behind his back. Harry quickly said. "Yield." And Kait got off, albeit slowly.,The two got back into position and Harry analysed the situation again. Kait was breathing heavily but he was much more tired. After the past two fights he decided to try and bring out one of his best assets, his legs. The countdown started. Harry looked deep into the golden eyes of Kait and saw that she was dead serious as well. "Go.",Harry kicked his speed into overdrive as he appeared in front of Kait and kicked out at her leg, not noticing her fist making its way into his crotch as he did. He felt the fist hit him but grit his teeth as he felt the pain spike through him before she carried through with the punch, bringing him over herself into a pile of the floor. Jumping onto him from behind she got close and personal as she kept him down. Not noticing his position below her he felt her warm breath on his cheek as he said. "I yield.",Kaitlyn nodded and fell to her side, falling into vertigo for a second before getting up again. Panting Harry stood up slowly and leaned against the wall while Kaitlyn got up and stretched her arms out. Looking over to him she worriedly asked. "Are you okay? You look dead on your feet.",Harry shook his head while still panting. "My...I usually use...Long range combat...I can't hold up...physical engagements for long.",Kaitlyn nodded and threw him a water bottle offered by another Skirmisher. Harry gratefully downed the water and passed it back to Kaitlyn while uncomfortably shifting his legs. It wasn't as if it didn't hurt, but Harry had been stabbed by knives in much worse places before. That girl could sure give a punch. Kaitlyn noticed his discomfort and smiled coyly. "Oh? You're in that much pain?",Harry glared at her and stretched out his back. "Surprisingly, yes I am. Anyways, I've got to work on my stealth.",Kaitlyn nodded and walked off to spar with a couple other Skirmishers while Harry began to analyse what he saw from the top of the compound. There were a couple garden areas where they grew their food, which would be brilliant places to hide if he needed. Readjusting his gauntlet he fired it off into the grappleground and flew up again. Quickly jumping to the top of the grounds he looked around and held still for the next twenty minutes or so. When he was certain the Skirmishers had forgotten about his presence he jumped down from each platform to platform silently until he got to the last platform and jumped down into one of the bushes lining the sides of the courtyard.,Checking how many Skirmishers were paying attention to him he began to move from bush to bush quickly. Eventually he made a round around the entire courtyard and aimed his grapple at the grappleground, pulling himself to the first platform. Quickly recovering he pulled himself up to the next platform, the next, and finally he hit the top where he looked up at the sun, calculating his time. "7 Minutes huh? Not the worst I've done.",He heard somebody calling his name from the ground and peered over the edge. He saw Kaitlyn with her hands cupped around her mouth shouting up towards him and quickly got down from the platforms, landing gracefully next to her. "You called?",She nodded and said. "We couldn't find you, last time we saw you you were up on the top. Is this one of the skills of the Reapers?",Harry nodded, proud at awing one of the Skirmishers he had come to respect, not to mention his pride being healed after that fight. "The Reaper's shadow is their greatest ally. What did you need?",Kaitlyn brought out a small comms unit and handed it to him. "Your master Volk called for you, but he couldn't get you on your unit.",Harry nodded gratefully and took the unit from her. Setting the radio to Volk's channel he opened it and said into it. "Potter here.",A small amount of static flared up before he heard Volks voice saying. "Potter, good to hear you. We've had news come in from Betos, she's talking to the Templars and managed to negotiate a rendezvous. I need you to talk to their leader soon, he managed to get wind of you opening relations with the Skirmishers and he is weirdly interested by your name.",Harry gritted his teeth, realising that this guy was some kind of wizard. It was a loosely kept secret within the Reapers, and as far as he was aware the Skirmishers were not aware of magic yet. "Damn, they might have found me. When is the rendezvous?",Volk made a noise of anger. "I know, but we need to work with this. If your abilities are leaked to ADVENT we could have major problems later on. Tomorrow they are sending another kid your age, seems like we all had the same idea when it came to younger soldiers. We know their name though, 'Dementor'. We both know what that implies. You're heading to Special Zone 4.",Harry blanched. Dementors were one of the most feared creatures in the magical world, able to drain the happiness and even the soul from their victims. "We do, and I'm pretty damn scared. Anything else?",Volk grunted. "You can bring one backup, but they're not bringing anyone else. Take Helskid. Three teenagers, it'll send the right message of unity. I've got to go. Be at the Zone for 0900 hours.",Harry grunted and said. "Potter out." Before cutting the connection. Looking over at Kaitlyn he said. "You down to come with me on this next op? We're making contact with the Templar.",Kaitlyn nodded and looked down at her watch. "It is now around dinner time. Join us for dinner, and I will speak to Elder Betos.",Harry nodded and followed the Skirmishers walking out of the courtyard. He was fairly certain he would be feeling the pain in his arm tomorrow but he didn't think it would affect his performance too heavily. Arriving at the mess hall he saw the Skirmishers taking various meats and vegetables from a serving table and went over himself. Grabbing a plate he loaded it with a large amount of vegetables before heading off to an unoccupied part of the table.,It only took a couple of minutes before Harry finished his meal, Kaitlyn hadn't even finished loading her food up. Often times Harry had to quickly eat on the transport to a mission. Standing up he wiped his mouth off and walked over to the top of the table to where Betos was sitting. "Elder, I assume you know the plan for tomorrow?",Betos nodded wizened as the rest of the Skirmishers fell silent at his impudence. Betos spoke up with an imperious voice. "I am aware of the situation. You and Priestess Helskid will be deploying at 0700 hours. Your rifle will be returned to you at the start of the operation, and should you complete your operation successfully the Templar known as Dementor will be invited to join us. We have obtained more intelligence from your networks that Dementor is a 14 year old female who specialises in sabotage and spying.",Harry nodded and smiled. "Thanks Elder. I won't let you down.",Betos nodded with a smile and Harry walked out of the mess hall, not noticing her eyes looking at him contemplatively. Volk had told her that this operation would be slightly more risky then the last operation but she had waved off his concern, saying that she had full faith in Harry and Kaitlyn's capabilities. Harry arrived back at Kaitlyn's room and sighed when he saw that it was locked.,Bringing out his wand after checking that nobody else was around and pointed it at the lock, casting. "Intentia Alohomora.",The electronic lock buzzed open and Harry smiled happily. The use of the prefix Intentia made nearly all spells work on digital materials. All it took was learning how to tone down the magic used in a spell to keep the electronics working. Stepping inside he looked around and reveled in the decor of the room. It was themed much like a waterfall, with the shower being the focal point of the room.,Looking for a space on the floor he realised that there was no room for him to actually lie out on the floor, and with no couch to speak of he opted for the next best solution. Going over to the closet he opened it up and saw that it was full to the brim with clothes. Sighing he closed the door, not before taking a peek at some of them and imagining Kaitlyn in them. Stretching out his back he grabbed his trenchcoat and pulled it around him, zipping it up to keep in the warmth. Attaching his electronic alarm he set it for 0645 hours and leaned himself back up against the door of the closet. While it wasn't the worst arrangement he ever had it was pretty uncomfortable, but consoled himself with the images of the dresses Kaitlyn had in her drawer. He was a teenage boy who had just met a pretty girl for the first time, could you blame him? Eventually he managed to lull himself to sleep, falling deeply into his dreams.,Povchange,Kaitlyn watched as Harry finished talking to Betos and walked out of the mess hall, presumably to go back to her...their room. She was positively baffled by the Reaper, it went against everything they knew about them. Most Reapers they had met were ruthless towards them, even Harry's teammate, but he was even so kind as to patch up her Elder in a show of good faith.,As she finished loading her plate she was motioned over to the head of the table by her Elder Mox, as well as Elder Betos. Not showing her surprise at being invited to the head of the table with the Elders she walked over, bowed, and sat down at a seat next to Elder Mox. Betos smiled over at her and asked. "Priestess, what do you make of the Reaper?",Kaitlyn pushed around her food on her plate and looked up at the ceiling before responding. "He's...Intriguing. I want to be his friend, and know more about him. I've never met anyone so enigmatic or...attractive I guess you could say.",Mox chuckled much to her embarrassment. Looking down at her he ruffled her hair and said. "Well, we always want to become more like our old selves. However, we still need to review everything we know about the Reapers so far.",Another Elder spoke up at this, this one being Elder Honos, their chief strategist. "The Reapers are too formidable to keep up hostile relations with. That was the intent of the ceasefire wasn't it? Eventually we would get to a point where our aces would face off against each other, giving ADVENT room to take out the surviving group. It was fortunate that we sent Priestess Helskid, considering we didn't know they were sending the Spectre.",The Spectre, the name Honos and the rest of the strategists held for Harry. He first obtained that nickname when he managed to capture one of the V.I.P's they were capturing from right under their noses during an operation. Kaitlyn looked over to Elder Honos and asked. "What do you make of the Templars then? If we are to rendezvous with them, what do we have to expect?",Honos sighed and pulled out a small datapad with a file on it. Honos was one of the more human looking Skirmishers in their ranks, with only his iris' being turned golden and his face avoiding too much alteration. "All we have on the Templar's name is the nickname Dementor, no idea what it means though. She's also around your age, being fourteen or so based on the Reaper's intelligence networks. By the way Betos, we should begin planning for relays being built between us and the Reapers.",Betos nodded and said. "I'll divert our extra funding towards the project, don't worry.",While being the leader figure of the Skirmisher's, Betos was still an excellent finance genius, and so handled the budgeting within the Skirmishers. She was the main reason why the Skirmisher's could have so many luxuries, due to her incredible balancing. Kaitlyn frowned at the thought of another woman in Harry's life, surely she was all he needed...Wait what!? Shaking her head at the thought she finished her meal while the Elder's conversed. Sighing as she finished her meal she yelped when she remembered Harry leaving and stood up abruptly. "Harry should still be locked out!",All of the Elders laughed at her demeanor while she blushed at the stares of the rest of the Skirmishers. Before she could leave Mox called after her. "By the way, you've helped seal the Reaper Skirmisher Alliance. Well done Sister Helskid.",Kaitlyn gasped at the promotion and bowed hurriedly to him while saying. "Thank you Elder Mox!" Before running out of the mess hall towards her room. Arriving there she didn't see Harry standing outside annoyed like she expected, but the green light on her lock signaling somebody was inside. Walking in slowly she quietly called out. "Harry? How did you get in here?",Not getting a response she closed the door and looked around, jumping when she saw him sleeping against the closet. Realising the discomfort he must be in she knelt down next to him, checked that he was deep asleep before cooing in his ear. "Oh you don't have to do that Harry. You can sleep in my bed with me...You don't need anyone else do you?",She had no idea why these thoughts and words slipped past her lips but reasoned that he was still asleep, so she continued. "Of course you don't, you have me don't you? Let's get you into bed, I'll join you in a couple of minutes.",Picking him up, surprised at just how light he felt for how large he was she took off his shoes and trench coat, lovingly putting them into his crate. Putting him into the bed she watched as he flinched from the lack of contact and smiled when he quieted down again when she stroked his hair, falling back into his peaceful sleep. Getting out of her day clothes she put on a loose pink nightie and slipped under the covers with him, clapping twice to make the lights go off. Cuddling up to him in her tired stupor she curled her arms loosely around him and whisper again in his ear. "There's nothing to be afraid of, I'll always be with you...",As she fell asleep she didn't notice the small glow that appeared around them, yellow and red in hue. The aura swirled for a moment before splitting off into two small lights, containing equal parts yellow and red. The two lights shot into their chests, glowing inside of them for a moment before dimming down, leaving the two in peace...

A/N: THIS IS A CRACK FIC. That means it's not meant to be taken seriously. So all you Christians and other Bible fanatics, do not flame me. Flames will be fed to Farfie so he can cosplay a Dragon. It's just a joke, mmkay? Co-created (read: Roleplayed) with Icey of the Black Rose. I do not own God, Lordy Voldy, or Farfarello. Farfarello is from the best anime ever, Weiß Kreuz. Lordy Voldy is obviously from Harry Potter, which is owned by JKRowling, and God is owned by Satan. Jk, jk, I dunno. I guess God is owned by himself. ADVOCATE4EVIL WAS PRESSURED BRIBED INTO POSTING THIS! (I wasn't gonna, but Icey said if I don't post it she will, and for the gods sakes, I WROTE it. Plus she's giving me the beautiful Train from Black Cat, and she let me make up a new random account so my old one wasn't scarred from the amount of haters.) She realizes she will probably get flamed to Hell and back for this. But just know, if you flame me, you condemn China to death by Dragon Fire. And Farfarello is rather sadistic… So thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you write a flame, I'll know you are a cruel, heartless person who doesn't care what happens to China. (Besides, if you don't like it, why take time to review?) So now, read and enjoy!,Lord Voldemort, Dark Lord and most feared wizard in Britain since Grindlewald, was walking down the stairs. It was a very long flight of stone stairs, leading down to a dank, slightly wet dungeon. Water dripped from the ceiling, making the crudely carved stone stairs rather slippery. But Lordy Voldy had an excellent sense of balance, and managed to navigate them just fine. Until he was about a quarter of the way down, and he disturbed a sleeping colony of bats. The bats shrieked, and swooped over his head, in a long stream of black. Lordy Voldy flinched slightly in shock, and that little motion was enough to render his balance unstable. He slipped on the wet stone stairs, and went tumbling headlong down them, unable to catch himself, rolling down the stairs, breaking bones and hitting his head every once in a while. About half way down, the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, died. His body continued its tumble down all the way to stop at the feet of a certain potions master who'd been waiting for him there. All the death eaters mourned that night.,However, Lordy Voldy's soul had already departed. To his absolute horror, he felt himself being raised up. Up up up, past the ground, past the castle, past his bedroom, past the roof, past the clouds, past the sky, past space, past the stars and planets, he found himself rising to a very very very blindingly white and poufy cloud, with a golden gate. As much as he tried to struggle, Lordy Voldy was drawn through the gate and into the piercing gaze of He Himself, God Almighty, the Lord our Savior. (Another one? Lordy Voldy would have thought in disgust, had the blinding white light not been giving him such a killer migraine). Covering his eyes, he shrieked,,"NOOOO, NOOOO, LET ME OUT OF HERE! I don't belong here, I'm an evil person! I deserve to go to hell! I killed millions! LET ME OUT!!! I wanna go to the other place!" Lord God Almighty just chuckled.,"But that's exactly why you're here, my boy." Voldy was reminded sickeningly of Dumbledore. "We can't have such an awful lad as you going exactly where he pleases!" He smiled benignly at the cowering figure of Voldy, trying to curl as far into himself as possible and keep away from the freakishly pure light.,"But I worked so hard! I did everything right! Thou shalt not kill, I have killed! Thou shalt not sleep with a married woman, or something like that, but Bellatrix practically worshipped me and Narcissa wasn't far behind! I've sinned! I've split my soul into 7 little pieces! I've, I've committed genocide against muggleborns, all so I could get into Hell, and now you tell me that I CAN'T!!!? What was my whole fucking life for then?" Lord God Almighty shrugged, shutting his twinkly eyes for a second, before opening his mouth, but whatever he was going to say, he didn't get the chance to, cos Lordy Voldy was , "AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" He shrieked. He had never wanted that curse to work as much as he did now. So much of his power was poured into it, Lord God Almighty gave a strangled, girlish shriek as his eyes bugged out, and he went and dropped dead. From a gigantinormous staircase in the corner of heaven a voice cried;,"HEEEEY! I wanted t' do that!!!" Farfarello stalked up to Lordy Voldy, grabbed him by the collar of his robes, and shook him. "I was goin to kill the Liar all me life, and now ye go and just Abracadabra ,!?" He dropped Lordy Voldy and drew two daggers from sheaths on his wrists. The two evil ones entered into a battle of epic proportions, neither gaining an advantage because Far was able to dodge all of Voldie's spells, but in order to do so he had to keep his distance. The angels around them sustained severe emotional damage.,Finally Farfie had enough of their game. He surged forward, grabbed the Dark Lord's wand, and snapped it in half. The battle ground to a standstill. Lord Voldemort looked at the ruined wand for about a minute, before he threw back his head and began wailing, his tears creating a flood in the Sahara. Far stared at him.,"Ye're sobbin yer heart out, cos I broke yer , The Irishman was rather shocked. Then, he shrugged, and beheaded the sobbing Voldemort. Voldemort's head blinked for a second, then he poofed away and reappeared again in the same place. Farfie growled in annoyance, and stabbed him through the heart. Again, poof, pop, kill, poof, pop, kill, poof, pop, kill, until Farfarello screamed in annoyance, a throat-ripping shriek that shook the earth and space like a ship in a hurricane. "FINE! STAY THERE, ye snake-faced freak!" Then he stormed off, back to the stairs, leaving a very confused, very dead Voldemort and a cloud-full of scarred-for-life angels behind him. Cos y'see, Farfie was alive. He found the Giant Holy Staircase leading up to heaven, (Somewhere in Iraq) and marched up to give God a piece of his mind. And dagger. But just as he finished climbing that blasted staircase, he gets up to heaven to find God being killed by some skinhead freak with a bloody , nosejob and a laser-powered stick. Now he was v, pissed off, to put it mildly. So he marched over, intent on sending that bloody little freak far far away, just to find that he couldn't be killed! Farfarello raged and stormed as he stomped down that staircase, and when he got to the bottom, he threw a tantrum like a five year old might. Except, a five year old, wouldn't be able to stop a war, simply by wiping out every single soldier, from both sides there. After he'd cleared Iraq and the middle east of all their soldiers, he marched over to the most densely populated country in the world, China, and proceeded to turn it into an area about as inhabited as Mars.,Way up in heaven, Lordy Voldy was still unable to find away to get to Hell, and was therefore well on his way to turning the Sahara desert into the world's eighth ocean. And that is where he resides today.

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"'You play a long game, James Potter. If your daughter is as important as she seems, she will need a protector. And what better guard than her own brother?" In which a Transfigured fox!Harry may or may not be the Child-Who-Lived. Set in COS and before The Long Patrol., I don't own Harry Potter or Redwall., Each Redwall season is equal to one Earth year. Also, the Redwall universe's inhabitants refer to their world as the Beastlands, and themselves collectively as Beasts.,"You play a long game, Lord Potter." The massive badger's pink eyes narrowed shrewdly as she studied James Fleamont, Lord Potter.,"I'll take that as a compliment, My Lady." James smiled briefly.,Cregga Rose-Eyes nodded. "I cannot claim to understand your position, but I agree that if your daughter is as important as she seems, she will need a protector. And what better guard than her own brother? I will aid you in this, on one condition.","What condition is that, My Lady?","You said you will turn your son into a hare to join my Long Patrol when he is old enough. Turn him into a fox instead. In seasons so long past they are all but myth, foxes guarded this mountain alongside its hares. Nobeast alive knows why that changed, but it is time it was resumed. I will not lie. I , vermin. But it may save lives if my hares have a...ready-made negotiator, shall we say, among their ranks.,"You get your son trained and raised in a loving environment—you have my word as the Badger Lady of Salamandastron that that shall be so—and , get my hares aware that not all vermin are barbarous filth from birth.",James thought. The only downside was that, once he performed the ritual to Transfigure Harry James Potter, his two-year-old son could not be returned to a human form. Whatever James chose, that was what Harry would be for the rest of his life.,"It's a good thing Harry prefers foxes to 'bunnies', as he said when he saw our escort. We have a deal, My Lady.",He extended his hand. Cregga's paw swallowed it, and they shook. Fifteen minutes later, the still soundly sleeping Harry was a black-furred, green-eyed fox.,"You and his sister may visit for two days each season," Cregga said as James prepared to leave.,"Thank you.",James left the Mountain of the Fire Lizard behind, returning to his daughter Primrose on Earth.,Harry Potter was thirteen seasons old today. The young fox was shivering despite the warm salt-scented breeze off the sea and the hot sand under his paws as he waited for his birth family to arrive. Captain Springberry, his foster mother, had told him that his father had a special surprise planned for Harry. Harry, like any child promised something special on their birthday, was much too excited to stay still. He trembled in place as he tried to keep from bouncing.,Finally, he saw his visitor. His father walked up to the entrance, where Harry was waiting with wholly unconcealed eagerness, and were granted entry. Harry waved madly and jumped up and down as James Potter entered the mountain fortress.,"Hiya, Harry!" James said a little breathlessly after accepting a rib-cracking hug from his son. James gently pried Harry loose and backed off to look at him. "You're getting big. Your grandpa Evans' height, I imagine. Nobody from my side's topped five-five in over a century.",Harry wrinkled his muzzle in confusion. "What's a 'century', Dad?",James was prevented from answering by the arrival of another visitor, a woman wearing a dress and pointy hat with the same complicated pattern on both. The first thing she did when she saw Harry was sneer.,"James Potter, , is yer bairn nekkid?" she asked in a thick Highlander accent.,Harry deciphered the sentence after a moment and corrected her misconception. "We Beasts don't cover our bodies, Ma'am. Never, ever. It's a sin. Jacques changed that aspect to fit human expectations.",The woman did not look pleased. Harry paused, thinking.,"I apologise; I forgot to introduce myself. Hi!" he said with a charming pointy-toothed smile. "I'm Harry James, Heir Potter. What's your name?" he asked, extending a paw.,The woman shook his paw with obvious reluctance. "I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Her accent had flattened out considerably, and her voice was icy with disapproval.,Harry's ears drooped slightly at her tone. James noticed. "Corporal Olive, please give my companion the standard tour, if your duties permit.",The elderly buck hare Lady Cregga had long ago assigned as James' liaison and guide on his visits nodded sharply. He, like most of the Long Patrol, adored Harry. "Of course, Master Potter. If you'll follow me, Marm?" he asked the woman.,His tone allowed no refusal as he led McGonagall away, loudly explaining what he was allowed to tell her about the mountain fortress, and, with obvious enjoyment, even more loudly informing her of the consequences of wandering off unescorted.,Harry giggled. "What's the 'special surprise' the Cap'n hinted about?" the younger Potter asked eagerly.,"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" James replied.,",...!" Harry whined with good-natured impatience.,"Fine, fine. You've been accepted to Hogwarts. I found a rule that says the heir apparent and the first heir presumptive of a titled family are allowed to attend regardless of blood status or species. Since the Potters are the Earls of Nottingham, we count. You're the heir apparent despite your species change, and Rosie's the heir presumptive.","I get to go? I get to do my job?","Yep! I held Rosie back a year just in case I needed to send you out of the country for you educations; Hogwarts starts a year earlier than most of the Great Schools.","I get to do my job. I get to protect Rosie..." It was obvious Harry had heard nothing else. Not for the first time, James was afraid he'd made the wrong decision.,Yes, his daughter needed a bodyguard. There were far too many threats to her safety for him to feel comfortable letting her out of his sight outside their house without protection. As the supposed "Girl-Who-Lived," and "Destroyer of You-Know-Who," Primrose Phlox Potter faced danger not just from the dark wizard Voldemort's former minions but also from the general British Wizarding public, who all but worshipped her.,It was James' opinion that his murdered wife, Lily, was the one responsible for the defeat of Voldemort, not one of his children, who'd both been in diapers at the time. And he , didn't agree with the way Rosie was treated by the public and the media despite his attempts to control the damage. In spite of his best efforts, she was a self-obsessed little bitch, if he was honest. She had refused to visit Harry for the last several years so that she couldspend time with friends who, in James' opinion, were more like minions. But there was little he could do to control her behaviour. It was their mother's responsibility to raise pureblood Wizarding children, and the father had very little legal say.,Meanwhile, his son had been all but forgotten by everyone except him.,Harry was , supposed to be "forgotten." Harry had trained since he'd been able to hold a stick in his paw to be his sister's bodyguard. Though he didn't know it, Harry was also training to be the surprise "Dark Lord Defeater, Mark 2" (as James' friend Sirius Black had called the plan) if the worst happened—if Voldemort wasn't dead after all and Rosie wasn't the child of prophecy. That training hadn't just been physical. It had also been psychological. And the psychological aspect was what made James doubt his course of action.,Had he pushed too much responsibility and focus onto his son? Merlin forbid, had he damaged his child's growth? The possibility gave James nightmares.,Now, though, he wrenched his mind back to the present and smiled reassuringly. "Yes, you do. When Professor McGonagall gets back from her tour, the three of us and Rosie are going shopping for school supplies on Earth. After that, you'll stay with me and Rosie until it's time to go to Hogwarts, so you can learn more about humans. It's stuff you ned to know to protect her effectively.",Harry nodded. "All r—",",!" James' eyes widened at what cut Harry off. He yanked Harry out of the way just as the Badger Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, in the ruby-eyed grasp of the Bloodwrath and roaring like thunder, chased a small, four-legged wildcat through their former positions and out of the mountain at the point of a tree-sized spear. The Long Patrol's door sentries quickly slammed the massive gates shut, trapping the badger inside. With the object of her rage removed from view, Cregga slowly calmed.,Finally, she set down the spear and leaned against the wall with a paw over her eyes. "Are you and Harry safe, Lord Potter?" she asked.,"Yes, My Lady," James replied shakily. He'd never before been witness to Cregga during a Bloodwrath episode. "We moved in time.,"Is it safe to ask what Professor McGonagall did to incite that level of, ah...displeasure?","She entered my personal chambers. Not even the ,; that I could have forgiven as ignorance. But she curled up as a cat on , bed and took a nap like , was the ruler here, not I.",James was furious. "She will never be allowed back in these lands, My Lady. I will personally see to that.","...Thank you, Lord Potter. Harry, please accompany me to the forge chamber; I have something for you there.","Yes, My Lady.",Harry left with the massive badger, and soon returned with a beaming smile on his face, a sword in his paw, and what was probably its scabbard belt around his waist. Even to James' completely ignorant eyes, it was a beautiful weapon. It was a short, double-edged blade of pattern-welded steel and a rounded tip, with a heavy pommel for balance. The grip was covered with shark's hide for a slip-proof grasp. James watched as Harry sheathed the blade into its scabbard.,"Nice sword," he said finally. "His birthday present?",Cregga nodded. "Yes; it is his to wield. I made it in a trance not long before he arrived. It wasn't until today, though, that I realized it was meant for him.","Isn't it awesome, Dad?" Harry asked. ", mess with Rosie 'round me!","No, I imagine not. Say your good-byes, please. We need to leave soon. Professor McGonagall is with Rosie by now.","All right, Dad." Harry walked off to bid his friends and foster parent farewell. James turned his attention to Cregga.,"Thank you for arming him.",She nodded. "Every warrior needs a weapon, and whatever his role, I have seen that Harry's sword will drip blood on the far fields of Earth.",James shivered at her matter-of-fact tone. He was reminded once again that he was not in a what anyone would consider a safe, modern society. Redwall itself might be safe, but the Abbey enjoyed that safety because countless beings fought and died to preserve its peace, season after season, most of them never known to its residents.,Harry returned then, nodding. "I'm ready, Dad. Bye, My Lady!" he said to Cregga, who nodded.,"Fair weather, soft trails, and light loads on your journey, Harry.","Thank you, My Lady!",Harry saluted with a perfectness any drill sergeant would have envied, and then followed James out of the mountain and into a new phase of his life.

.,"Ouch! Stupid plant!" Harry Potter cried as he pricked himself on yet another bramble. He was currently weeding the Dursley's garden, and this particular bed was full of brambles.,Being hated by his relatives, Harry got all the bad jobs. Well, he got most of the jobs full stop. His Aunt Petunia sometimes did the odd bit of cooking, but that was it. Gardening was Harry's favourite chore out of all the household tasks he had to do. If he was honest, Harry was not even sure why he was so hated. What had he done wrong?,All the chores were very hard for Harry at the start, but as time went on, Harry got older and stronger: the tasks became more of an annoyance than anything else. They were annoying little things that didn't take much to do, but stole time which could be better spent.,It all started when he was three. On his third birthday, Harry was treated like a slave, worse than a slave, actually. He had to go to school and do all the chores. Every day of Harry's life was terrible. As Harry got older, be began to value school more and what good marks would do for him. As a result, he wanted to spend as much time as possible studying. Which is why having to spend most of his time outside of school working and doing chores instead of studying was just annoying. He hated it at the beginning, but now Harry just said it annoyed him.,Harry sighed, feeling annoyed. Thinking about it all was just making him mad. Then he tried to think about something else, but that didn't work very well.,As Harry pulled another bramble out, he saw a red and yellow tail! He assumed it was a lizard, as there were heaps in the garden. It looked like a very pretty lizard. Knowing Petunia hated lizards, and if she saw one, she sprayed the whole garden with reptile killer, Harry removed all the lizards before she saw them. He liked lizards and snakes, and felt sorry for them, because they were always getting chased out of house and home.,As he picked the lizard up, it jumped out of his hand and said to him whilst glaring at Harry, "Hey! Don't pick me up! How dare you! I'm a dragon, not a pet lizard! I deserve respect, not to be picked up!","Yah!" Harry cried, falling backwards.,"Yeah! Bow before the great Mushu!" the lizard said, looking proud.,Harry whacked himself in the jaw before saying, "First, turning the teacher's wig blue, now talking lizards. I don't know how the first happened, but this time I am just going mad.","Hey! I'm a dragon, not a lizard!" the lizard/dragon called Mushu shouted.,"Sorry, but I thought dragons were bigger, like taller than me: the size of a car!" Harry said, examining Mushu a little closer.,"I'm handy for fitting into your pocket, so you can carry me around! What's a car, anyway?" Mushu said brightly.,"Oh, right," Harry nodded. Then he said, "It's something used to get places. A faster and more advanced version of a horse.","Right. Why were you complaining about the plants?" Mushu asked.,"They were pricking my hands, and it hurts," Harry said. Then he went on, "I hate my relatives, and they hate me: they give me all the bad jobs, when I should be studying! I was sad at first and didn't understand, but now it's just annoying and I wish I could just tell them no, do it yourself.","Well, I can help you with that! Did I tell you I helped a girl become a hero?" Mushu boasted.,"Really? What happened?" Harry asked, interested.,"Her name was Mulan. She was a daughter of a well-liked and respected Chinese family. She tried to fit into the Chinese culture, but poor little Mulan just couldn't fit in. Then war broke out: a man from every family had to fight, including her aging and permanently injured father. She decided to disguise herself as a man, and went to fight. I followed her, and helped her get into the army. I was the reason she was allowed into the camp: she didn't stand a chance by herself. She killed most the Hun army, saved the captain, but then she was discovered: being a woman in the army was a sin back then. You hear me? A sin!" Mushu said, being overly dramatic.,"Wow! What happened?" Harry asked, looking even more interested.,"The captain was told to kill Mulan, but because she had saved him, he spared her life. When we were about to go back, we saw the surviving members of the Hun army pop out of the ground! Like daisies, man!" Mushu said, stretching to be as tall as he could be.,"Really! What happened?" Harry asked, looking almost fearful.,"We went down to the town, that was where they were headed, because the Emperor was down there. We tried to warn people, but they didn't listen. In the end, the Huns kidnapped the Emperor, then they believed Mulan! The Huns tried to kill the Emperor, but Mulan saved him along with the captain and some other warriors! I helped, of course, and she was hailed as a hero, even if we did blow the Emperor's palace up!" Mushu said brightly. Mushu was paraphrasing slightly, because Harry was so young, but he still told the important details.,"Wow! Cool!" Harry said, looking impressed.,"I was her guardian, you see," Mushu continued.,"Wow! Could you be mine? Stop the Dursleys from making me work when I could be studying?" Harry asked, hopefully.,"Well, of course! I don't have anyone to guard now… so, why not!" Mushu said brightly.,"Yay! I will be free of the annoyances! But, do you mind some of the strange things happen around me? Like my teacher's wig turning blue?" Harry asked, suddenly getting worried.,"Really? Well, I'll definitely stay! Sounds fun!" Mushu said excitedly. Then he held his hand out, and asked, "Friends? A team?","Yes! A team!" Harry said, holding Mushu's hand and shaking it.,"BOY! ARE YOU FINISHED?" cried the harsh voice of Harry's uncle.,"And what on earth is that noise? Sounds like a screaming pig!" Mushu asked, turning to the house.,"My uncle Vernon. I am treated worse than a slave! And he gives me all—" Harry said, but then Mushu cut him off.,"Yeah, yeah, and the chores are more annoying than anything else: I heard you earlier while I was trying to sleep. Come on, let's go and kick some butts! Wanna learn Kung Fu?" Mushu asked, hiding under Harry's shirt collar.,"That sounds fun! Let's go, Mushu!" Harry said excitedly.,Then Harry picked Mushu up and put him on his shoulder, then they marched inside to face Harry's uncle. And unbeknownst to Harry or Vernon, Mushu was planning to set Vernon alight if he dared complain about Harry.,"Mushu, if you're from China, why are you here? And how did you get here?" Harry asked, as they walked. He had been thinking about it for a while.,"When I'm not doing anything, I sleep in form of a statue, but someone ran off with me! And then they dropped me and my statue broke! Now, I'll have to be a dragon forever!" Mushu exclaimed sadly.,"That's not a bad thing, is it?" Harry asked.,"Maybe not," Mushu begrudgingly agreed. Then they found Harry's uncle.,"Boy! There you are!" Vernon cried when Harry entered the living room.,"You called, sir?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow. Mushu poked his head out enough to saw what was happening.,"Yes! Why isn't the garden finished yet?" Vernon said, intimidating Harry.,"I got distracted, sir," Harry said fearfully.,"Distracted? How dare you? I'll teach you!" Vernon said approaching Harry.,"Oh no you don't!" Mushu cried, then he breathed fire at Vernon.,The next thing Vernon knew, his moustache was burning! Vernon quickly fell back and landed on the floor: then the fire went out. Harry quickly realised Mushu had burnt it. Harry said, taking it to his advantage, "If you, Aunt Petunia or Dudley ever try to hurt me again, I will make sure Mushu burns you good and proper." Harry said this while looking down at Vernon. Mushu by this time, had hid again.,"Y-yes, boy," Vernon said, looking scared.,"And call me Harry. I will go and do my study now: don't disturb me," Harry said, walking into the kitchen to get something to eat.,Now that he had some power over the Dursleys, he could look forward to plenty of peace, and being able to force them to treat him like a normal kid.

Harry Potter and the West Wing,Summary: In the year 1980 Zoey Bartlett came into the world, however in the year 1965 Jed and Abbey Bartlett had been told they would never be able to have a child. Desperate to have a family, they adopted a beautiful little girl, a girl destined to be a witch. Now grown, Miss. Jessica but-everyone-calls-me-Jess Bartlett is off to Hogwarts, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts,Warnings: The timeline will be a little messed up. As much as I hate it there was no way for my OC to teach Harry and the gang at Hogwarts while Jed was the President without doing it this way. I planned to make the HP gang start in 2001 but then the OC's age didn't fit the personality I saw for her, so instead the story will take place in 1991, and Bartlett will have taken office in 1989, rather than 1999.,I own only my OC. I don't own TWW or HP and am not making money off of this story.,Jed was sitting at his desk, head in hands, when Mrs. Landingham opened the door to announce that Jess was there to see him. Surprised at the unexpected arrival of his eldest daughter, he nodded dumbly.,"Hey Dad", she said as she walked in.,"Jess, I thought you were going back to the school today.","I am after lunch with the guys",Jed huffed at the thought of his very beautiful daughter having lunch with Sam, Toby, Josh, CJ, and Leo, although he didn't mind the last two as much.,"Which one of them are you sweet on again?","Dad" she exclaimed blushing furiously "I am not , on any of them!","You had better not be.","Not that I would tell you if I was" she said with a wink, her brilliant blue eyes sparkling, turning to leave he father alone in his office, mouth hanging open slightly.,At lunch time Jess went to CJ's office to meet the rest of them.,"Do you think I should wear my hair down while teaching" she asked the older woman as she pulled her long black hair out of its messy bun.,"I don't see why it would make a difference" CJ replied,"You don't think it would be too unprofessional? This is a private British boarding school after all.","No, I think it would be fine","What would be fine" Sam asked as he and the rest of the guys minus Leo entered the room.,"Oh, I was just asking CJ her about advice on the professional vs person status of my hair while teaching a room fun of drooling boys and snooty girls at some fancy British finishing school" Jess teased lightly. "Where is Leo?","Late again" CJ said with a sigh "Maybe you should go check on him, Jess","Why me","Because, everyone knows he likes you best, plus he can't fire you for forcing him to eat lunch." It was Josh's turn to speak up.,With a huff, Jess turned on her heels and made her way down the hall toward Leo's office. Arriving there, she waved to Margaret with a smile and poked her head into the office.,"Hey you," She said before stepping into his office after seeing he wasn't in an important meeting " you coming to lunch anytime soon?",Nodding, he stood, grabbed his coat putting it on.,"Hey, what's been up with you lately?" Jess asked Leo,He sighed "It's nothing; I've just been busy really.","Leo, you're always busy, but you have never avoided me before.","I don't know" he sighed "I guess I am just worried about you being so far away. Anything could happen to you over there and no one would know until it was too late. Jed and Abbey would die if something happened to you." ,, he left that part unspoken.,Jess smiled, Leo never called her parents by their first names anymore, not since Jed had won the election, it felt like old times again.,"Nothing is going to happen to me Leo, I promise.","What are you teaching over there again?","A new branch of Defense Against the Dark Arts, fighting and weaponry","Please, do not cut a foot off",Jess laughed at Leo's very serious look,"Come on" she said grabbing his hand to pull him along "they'll have eaten without us if we don't hurry.",Jess felt a pleasant warmth fill her stomach as she gripped Leo's strong hand in her small one. Butterflies tumbled throughout her entire body as she thought of how those great masculine hands would feel ghosting over her stomach, her breast, her cheek. Her feeling for Leo had started many years earlier, at the age of 21. On the night of her 21st birthday she and some of her friends had gotten rip-roaring drunk, and Leo, having been the one called when her friends had gotten out of control, came to be her white knight, making sure she got home alright, forced her to drink a couple glasses of water, and had stayed with her through the night to make sure she didn't choke on vomit at any time. When she woke up the next morning she learned that two of her dear friends from school had died, murdered by the Dark Lord, but their young son had survived, defeating Voldemort. Leo held her as she cried for the loss of her friends, but also for her young godson, Harry, who was now to be an orphan, and a hero, hailed as The-Boy-Who-Lived. Despite that being as far from romantic as possible, he had been very sweet and gentle with her, carefully choosing his words as to not be judgmental, he himself having a love for alcohol. She had, had several flings and short term relationships, but still she loved Leo, despite knowing there would be no chance of them being romantically involved.,As the pair reached CJ's office, Jess dropped Leo's hand, as to keep him from feeling uncomfortable.,"Everyone ready to go" Jess asked with a smile. Everyone nodded; no one noticed the small sad frown on Leo's face, or the slight smirk on CJ's face. As the guys headed out the door CJ grabbed Jess's hand.,"Did I see you and Leo holding hands?" she whispered still smirking lightly, her eyes dancing with mirth.,"No. I mean, yeah, but I was just making sure he followed me" Jess replied.,"Uh huh, sure you were" CJ said with a real smile now. "You guys are so cute, but kinda annoying; I mean, when are you both going to see that you love each other?",Jess sighed "I do love him CJ, but he doesn't love me. At least not like I love him; he looks at me and he sees the little girl who was always like an older sister to his daughter. I mean, I'm just a kid to him.","How sure of that are you?" she asked before walking away.,***************************Time Break***************************,Jess walked around her room one more time, checking to make sure she had everything she would need until she came home for Christmas. As she finished packing a thought entered her mind; 10 years ago, this Halloween, on her birthday, her best friends were murdered. 11 years ago as of July 31, her godson was born; her little godson would be attending Hogwarts this year. With a soft sigh, she raised her bags up, put a feather-light charm on them, shrunk them, and put them in her jacket pocket. She walked out of her room, and left the Residence in favor of saying goodbye to her father and friends once more before portkeying to Hogwarts. As she reached the parlor before her father's office, she hugged Mrs. Landingham, telling her goodbye, and see you at Christmas, before entering her father's office.,"Hey, I am ready to leave",Jed stood, hugged his daughter and wished her good luck and good times, before kissing her cheek lightly.,"Have you said goodbye to Leo and the others yet?","I did at lunch, but I thought I would swing past them once more on my way out.",Jed nodded, "I will miss you, babe.","I'll miss you too daddy. See you at Christmas." She kissed his cheek once more before leaving out the door connecting his office to Leo's.,"Hey Leo, you got a minute?","For you, I have two" he said with a smile,"I was just getting ready to leave and wanted to say goodbye once more.",Leo nodded softly, almost sadly, before standing up and pulling her gently into his arms, hugging her as if his life depended on it.,"I'll miss you, very much" she said.,"I'll miss you too" he whispered against her ear.,She pulled back a bit and surprised him by kissing his lips softly, "Goodbye Leo.",She turned and walked away before he had a chance to react. She made her rounds to say goodbye to the others, and portkeyed away.

"Vin, what is that!",Jerking around and lifting his hands automatically to run through his hair, when he saw where Nathan was pointing, Vin yelped, "What's what?",The seven wizards had decided to make the most of a beautiful sun drenched day to go hiking through the woods around Ezra's house, when they'd stumbled on and disturbed a nest of fairies. A combination of fear, as a few of the older fairies had lost wings when an unkind witch harvesting them for a spell, and annoyance, as JD had managed to foul the clear water puddle they'd been preening around, sent them swarming around the unlucky wizards. Even though most of the seven had known that they wouldn't be harmed by the fey folk, all were nonetheless startled by the sudden glittering, fluttering mass flying straight at them and had jumped back.,JD had stumbled back into the over protective Buck who had pulled him out of the way, knocking the larger man into Josiah, who'd staggered and stepped heavily on Nathan's foot making the medic bellow and push his older friend into Chris, who'd had one hand reached for his wand whilst the other reached out and protectively grabbed Vin, who'd also been trying to withdraw his wand with his right hand whilst the left latched onto Ezra, who'd been trying to help the injured Nathan stay upright and therefore had had both hands occupied holding up the much taller, heavier and struggling wizard. When Nathan hopped awkwardly and fell into Ezra's solid chest, he'd forced the southern wizard back a couple of steps into Vin. A domino effect came into play when Chris had then overbalanced as his solid hold on Vin pushed him off centre and he'd stepped back, only to have his foot hit nothing but the air by the side of the trail. A tumbling, cursing, flailing ball of fourteen arms, fourteen legs, and seven bodies went rolling down the side of the gully, ending in a sodden heap after they'd splashed down in a small stream.,The high pitched scolding of the fairies sounded faintly from above as they'd just lain in the shallow water and tried to get their breath back. Slowly, and mainly due to the pained, wheezed prompting of Josiah who'd ended up on the bottom of the pile, they'd hauled themselves and each other to their feet and started to assess the damage.,At Nathan's horrified query, the others all turned to peer into the birds nest that Vin's long hair currently resembled, distracted from their examination of each other's various scrapes, sprains and bruises. Staring at the bedraggled Texan, who was prevented from combing his fingers through his tangled mass of hair when he kept encountering leaves, twigs, and muddy knots, they too spotted what had concerned the medic.,Ezra stepped forward; reaching into Vin's hair to retrieve what he believed was the object of Nathan's concern. Chuckling, breathlessly due to a solid blow to his ribs from someone's knee, he announced, "That, Nathan, is a bowtruckle; a young one by the looks, who's not doing too well judging by the ridges along its sides. Must have been trying to sneak up on the fairy nest to try and steal some eggs.",The other six wizards all stared at the squirming stick-like creature crying piteously as it tried to loosen the southern wizard's hold and escape. They were startled from their contemplation by Vin's sudden move to a nearby fallen log. Kicking at it a couple of time, Vin broke the rotten wood open and then scooped up handful of the pulp, bringing it back to where Ezra stood. Opening his fist, he revealed a feast. Well, a feast in the eyes of a bowtruckle.,"Now then, young sir, calm yourself and look at what my friend has brought for you," crooned Ezra, stroking the tiny creature gently before turning it to view the handful of wood lice crawling in Vin's palm. Squeaking in excitement, the critter crawled from Ezra's hand to Vin's and started shovelling the insects into its mouth voraciously.,Nathan and JD, both from large cities, viewed the display with a mixture of revulsion and curiosity. Chris, who'd spent his boyhood roaming the wilds of Indiana, and Josiah, who'd been all over and seen just about everything, just looked on as they fondly recalled incidents with various critters from their past. Buck was busy watching the kid and coming up with ways to tease him. JD was keeping his distance from the bowtruckle and seemed to be squinting his eyes from behind the sunglasses he'd just hurriedly donned.,"Kid, what the hell are ya doing?",Not taking his narrowed eyes off the dangerous creature in Vin's hand, JD muttered, "I've read about bowtruckles. They're dangerous if you damage their homes and can claw your eyes out. I'd say we just about obliterated his home when we fell, so I ain't taking any chances.",Laughter followed this statement. The older and more experienced members of the team often forgot how naive JD was, given his intelligence and technical knowledge.,"Son, this poor unfortunate doesn't look like he has a home and hasn't had one in a while. If he was part of a branch, the others would never have let him get into this sorry state. Bowtruckles tease and fight each other, but they'd never let any family member starve or wander off when they're so young. No, I'd say that this little fella was stolen and somehow got loose. Not sure how. There aren't that many of them in America, only a few that were imported from Germany, Scandinavia, or England and they had to be registered with the Ministry due to their natural ability at picking locks. Made them very popular with the criminal element," advised Josiah, his aches forgotten in his fascination with the arrival of the illicit creature. Looking thoughtfully at Ezra, he wondered if the wealthy wizard had a branch of the small and talented lock picks secreted away on his land somewhere.,The bowtruckle had eaten its fill and was contemplating the last woodlouse in its hand, as though undecided whether it could fit it in. Finally, throwing the insect into its mouth, the creature chewed, swallowed, and gave the bowtruckle equivalent of a satisfied belch. Having a brief rummage through what was left of the wood mulch in Vin's palm, he decided there was nothing left to eat and looked up at the blue-eyed wizard solemnly. Deciding there was nothing to fear from the moving tree he was perched on, the bowtruckle warily scanned the rest of the strange trees around him. He'd never seen anything like them in his brief life, and found them both terrifying and fascinating. This one had provided him with a very tasty meal though, so perhaps it would be alright to relax a little.,"How do you know it's a boy bowtruckle, Ez? And how'd you know it was starving? And why do you think it's on its own? And...","Breathe JD," cautioned Ezra absently, as he watched the bowtruckle yawn mightily then slowly crawl up Vin's sleeve and back into the tangled mess of his hair. Once there it started creating a nest for itself. Chuckling, Ezra reached up to pluck the creature from Vin's hair again and then offered the once more squeaking creature the sanctuary of the dark, warm, inner pocket of his jacket. Finding this a satisfactory alternative, the critter jumped in and dozed off. "Nobody really knows what sex bowtruckles are - with the exception of other bowtruckles - so I'm just calling it a he as it seems more pleasant than it. You can tell when they're in poor health as their colour diminishes and they develop ridges along their sides like cacti that are in need of water. I suspect he's alone because, as Josiah previously mentioned, he's on his own which is most unusual for the species. They tend to gather in groups within a tree that bears wand quality wood. There are no trees like that in the immediate vicinity, so I would guess that he was snatched by a nest building bird and managed to free himself from its talons nearby, falling into the foliage. Possibly, he fell into the river and floated down and through my property. But he certainly should still be with his parents or family - at the very least with his own kind.","Will another branch take 'im in, Ez? I've heard they can get a mite persnickety when others encroach on their tree," worried Vin, chewing his lip and tugging on a new rip in his jeans. Knowing what it was like to be without a family, Vin found himself identifying with the little orphaned creature and his soft heart ached.,"Never fear, Vin, I know of a branch that will accept him," assured Ezra, patting the tiny lump in his pocket gently. Pointing his wand at each of the others and then himself, Ezra murmured, "Omnis tergeo.",The other six stood still as they felt all the mud and debris whisked from their bodies and clothes, just as they were about to move they froze again as Ezra continued his incantations with, "Calidum Aerum.",Warm air blasted from his wand as Ezra essentially blow dried his friends' hair and clothing. They all laughed as he made Vin's hair twirl and dance around the younger man's face.,Nathan's quick gesture with his wand and the rumbled word, "Episkey", had everyone giving a quiet gasp as their minor injuries were healed.,With a nod to Nathan and final command, Ezra left his friends considerably more comfortable and presentable, "Constituo!",Vin chuckled as he saw that the spell had even mended the old tears in his jeans in an effort to leave him neat and tidy. Wide eyed, he watched their pathway of destruction down the hill mend itself. "Damn Ez, I know ya like things just so, but ya know that would have grown over its ownself, don't ya?",The southern wizard stopped tugging fretfully at his sleeve and grinned at the Texan. "Why leave it to chance? Besides, the fairies have once again settled now that their reflective pool has been restored. Now, shall be head back to the house for some nourishment? Speaking for myself, I'm famished.",Immediately six stomachs rumbled their concurrence, as the faces associated with them reddened ruefully.

(,..),LES: Hey, wouldn't it be fun if , were Witches and Wizards? Then we could cast spells on people to , them buy our papes!,(,),OMAR: Yeah, then we wouldn't have to rely on Genie all the time!,DAVID: I expect it , be fun, if it were possible for us to , Witches and Wizards... which it isn't...,(,.),SKITTERY: (,) Where are we?,(,..),ANJION: It looks strangely familiar... Almost like I've seen it before...,OMAR: (,) Look, it's that maze again! I don't wanna go in there, Kassim, DON'T MAKE ME GO IN THERE!,KASSIM: (,) I wasn't going to...,ANJION: That's it! We're at Hogwarts! But , time, we've avoided the maze!,PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL: (,) And what are you all doing out here? Hurry, you'll be late...,(,.),KASSIM: (,) Here we go again...,ANJION: If I find myself a wand during this adventure, you'd better look out guys!,(,.),RACE: (,) Wow! That is some impressive ark-ee...um, ark-ee-tec... What's the word?,DAVID: Architecture.,RACE: Yeah, that.,(,.),(,),KASSIM: Not again! Omar! Get back here!,MUSH: (,) What was that?,MCGONAGALL: I have no idea. Come along!,(,.,),MCGONAGALL: By the way, where are your robes? (,) Those are , proper Hogwarts uniforms. Although it is good to know that some of you have at least made an effort...,ANJION: I think this calls for a trip to Diagon Alley.,MAC: How are we supposed to get there?,(,.),ANJION: I imagine we just have to bang our heels together and say "There's no place like Diagon Alley.",(,.),SNIPES: (,) Wow! Look at this place! I'm gonna take a look...,(,..),DUTCHY: Hey, look at these owls! They've got such big eyes! Ha ha, this one kinda looks like you, Specs!,(,.),OMAR: Can I touch it?,(,.),BIANKIES AND ANJION: Omar, don't!,(,),OMAR: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!,MAC: Don't tell me, his finger's bleeding.,KASSIM: (,) Yep.,BIANKIES: (,) I thought he'd have learnt by now!,DRACO MALFOY: (,) What's wrong with him?,.),KASSIM: Stars, get off. It's bad enough when Mouse and Omar do it!,ANJION: But I like it here. You're so strong...,DRACO: Oh, it's you guys! Are you here to buy pets?,DAVID: No.,(,),RON: (,) All , got is a smelly old rat. I've given up trying to make him yellow...,ANJION: That reminds me, we need wands! Come on!,(,.),ANJION: Ooof! Not again! Mouse, get ,RON: Sorry! I forgot that one scares easy.,DRACO: It's still funny.,ANJION: Come on, I can see Ollivander's!,DAVID: That's the wand shop, right?,RACE: (,) I'm not sure everyone ought to have a wand... (, ,.),BIANKIES: STARS! WAIT UP!,RACE: (,) And , was my ear.,(,.),BIANKIES: You sure you want Omar to have a wand?,ANJION: Aw, what harm can he do?,(,.),BABKAK: (,) I bet you she'll regret that later...,KASSIM: Aw, come on Babkak, what harm can he do? He probably won't be able to work one anyway...,OMAR: (,) Wow! This thing is AWESOME!,ANJION AND OLLIVANDER: Don't wave it about so, you'll break some-,(,.),OMAR: S-Sorry...,BIANKIES: Be careful with that thing!,(,.),BEAR MUSH: Hey Mouse, why are you so small? And why do I feel so big?,PIG BABKAK: I think I'm a pig.,MONKEY KASSIM: Babkak, you're a pig even when you're , an animal...,GREAT DANE DUTCHY: Look at me! I'm so regal!,RACOON SPECS: You couldn't be regal if it bit you!,(,),OWL ANJION: Ollivander, can you turn us back?,FERRET DRACO: Yeah, I don't like being a ferret!,(,),DAVID: (,) Thanks. Rabbits are ,my favourite animals.,ANJION: You okay, Mouse? Good, then let's go. Where's Omar?,OMAR: (,) Help! I can't get down...,BIANKIES: How in the name of monkey bars did he get up there?,KASSIM: (,) M-monkey bars?,ANJION: Not the edible sort of "bar", Kassim.,(,),DRACO: (,) I'm surrounded by cowards!,SKITTERY, MOUSE AND OMAR: Hey!,MUSH: You ain't much better!,OMAR: We got a problem, remember?!,KASSIM: Yeah; he called us cowards!,OMAR: No, I'm still stuck!,RACE: (,) To answer your question, Mouse, he flew up there.,ANJION: And now we've got to get him down.,DRACO: (,) Aww, couldn't we just leave him there?,(,),KASSIM: Well, I ain't going up there, I don't like heights.,ALADDIN: Since when?,KASSIM: Since the Genie crashed the carpet into that warehouse in the first story Stars and Mouse wrote.,ALADDIN: Fair enough.,GENIE: (,) I'll get him down!,(,.),KASSIM: Ow...,GENIE: You're welcome! (,.),ALADDIN: Well, that worked...,DRACO: (,) That was entertaining.,RON: I hate to agree but it was.,KASSIM: (,) Mouse, Stars, you can do anything in a story, right?,(,.),ANJION: (,) You got it! We can do that, right, Mouse?,(,),KASSIM: (,) Oh I love being your favourite...,ANJION: Actually, I prefer Omar, but you're a close second.,OLLIVANDER: Please go away! Your friend has already done enough damage!,(,.),DAVID: (,) Now we need some robes...,BABKAK: (,) Mine had better be green. I like green...,BIANKIES: Come on, let's get our robes. And they're , green, Babkak. They're black.,OMAR: (,) I thought you guys said no pets.,BIANKIES: We did, why?,RON: (,) Then why does , get to have one?,(,),BUMLETS: Sorry, I just couldn't resist. (,) He's called Henry...,ANJION: Well, we can't do anything about it now. Bumlets, he's your responsibility. Come on, here's the robe shop.,(,..),SNITCH: I can't believe you got us kicked out, Babkak!,SWIFTY: You really shouldn't have eaten the lady's sandwich...,BABKAK: I didn't realise it was her lunch!,SKITTERY: Well, if we get told off for not having the right robes, it's , fault.,RON AND DRACO: (,) You'd better keep away from Filch, then, 'cause he'll kill you if you do a single thing wrong...,(,.),BIANKIES: I have an idea...,(,),ANJION: Oh! Good idea! Don't worry, boys, Mouse and I will cast a spell that makes it , like you're wearing the right robes!,DAVID: Great idea Mouse! At least , of us is sensible!,(,),(,.),RON: What's up with her?,ANJION: Oh no, it's Snape! He'll see straight through the spell! Quick everyone, hold hands! We're going back to Hogwarts!,(,),DUMBLEDORE: And now, let the feast, BEGIN!,(,.),ALADDIN: (,) Come on, Babkak, or you'll get nothing!,(,),ANJION: (,) Oh, hi Nick!,RACE: Huh? Who're you talking to?,NEARLY HEADLESS NICK: (,) I believe she is speaking to ,.,OMAR: AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHhh... (,.),ANJION: (,) How's your head, Nick?,NICK: Oh, same as always. Still attached - just.,ANJION: Won't you show us?,(,),KASSIM: Oh, that's gross... (,.),(,.),BABKAK: I think I've lost my appetite...,BIANKIES: Now that was fun. (,.),DAVID: That was disgusting!,LES: That was ,!,BIANKIES: (,) Hey Stars, are you plotting what I'm plotting?,(,),ANJION: (,) Heh heh heh...,DAVID: (,) Stars, Mouse, what are you planning...?,ANJION: (,) Heh heh heh...,SKITTERY: Stop doing that! You're making me nervous!,ANJION: Sorry...,(,),Biankies: (,) Get under the table in ten seconds.,(,..),PIE EATER: (,) Hey! That was ,!,LES: (,) Take ,!,(,),BABKAK: (,) Mmmmmm!,HERMIONE: Stop! This is atrocious! You're all behaving like a group of schoolboys... Oh.,(,),OMAR: S-s-sorry...,ANJION: (,) Hee hee! I hope they don't realise that , started this or we're in Big Trouble...!,(,),BIANKIES: Starsie, we got a problem.,ANJION: (,) Oh no! McGonagall! (,) Oh, hi, Professor! We just got under the table to get out of the way!,(,.),MCGONAGALL: (,) In normal circumstances, you would have detention at the very least, and a longer one for your lack of robes, but Dumbledore has instructed me to let you off on this occasion as he finds this whole mess amusing.,(,.),MAC: (,) Well, , was a lucky escape! We'd better be on our best behaviour from now on...,(,),MUSH: Come on out, guys. They're done.,(,.),OMAR: (,) Hey, I LOVE blue!,KASSIM: Well, , don't appreciate looking like a blueberry.,BABKAK: Blueberries? Where?,(,.),PREFECT: Um, Professor Dumbledore has asked me to show you to your rooms. He says the sooner you get out of here, the better.,DUTCHY: (,) We get rooms?,PREFECT: Yes, you've got your own private suite. It's huge, apparently...,RACE: Oh good!,ANJION: (,) I hope there's nothing breakable in there...,BIANKIES: Yeah, cause these guys are worse than us.,MAC: No, Swifty, its not a good idea to race! Omar slow down!,(,..),(,!),SWIFTY: (,) Hey! Who turned the lights out?!,MAC: (,) Omar's just stunned, he'll be alright in a little while.,(,),(,),TUMBLER AND LES: Wow! (,),(,),MAC: What's wrong?,ROMEO: (,) There's something with scary green eyes in there...,BIANKIES: (,) Aww... Come on out Dobby.,DOBBY: (,) Dobby is sorry for scaring the strange, loud boy. Dobby only wanted to look!,(,),ANJION: Aww, are you scared of Dobby? He won't hurt you!,DOBBY: (,) Look what Dobby can do!,(,.),MAC, BIANKIES AND ANJION: Dobby, NO!,(,),ANJION: Quick! Let's get outta here!,DOBBY: Dobby can help. Dobby can take you somewhere safe.,BIANKIES: Yes please, Dobby. The last thing we need is for the Genie to come help again...,GENIE: (,) Did somebody call?,EVERYONE: NO!,(,.),KASSIM: Omar, come back!,ANJION: (,) I hope he doesn't end up in Snape's classroom! That would , end well...,BIANKIES: No, but how do we find him?,KASSIM: (,) I have an idea.,(,.),DAVID: Great. Now we have to find , of them.,KASSIM: Nope. The Cowardly Trio has a way of sticking together. , find Omar, and , just have to follow them.,(,.),(,.),SNAPE: And what have we here?,DAVID: Er, we're kinda lost...,ANJION: Er, have you seen a tall guy in blue clothes? We're looking for him...,SNAPE: Yes, I have seen him. He ran away. Now go away. I am teaching.,KASSIM: (,) Thank you, sir, we'll just be going...,(,.),BIANKIES: (,) Wait for me!,RACE: (,) So much for your plan.,BABKAK: We still have to find Omar...,ANJION: He'll turn up sooner or later.,(,),ANJION: There you are! (,) Thanks Peeves!,BIANKIES: (,) Can we please plot something now? Something like turning Kassim into a monkey?,KASSIM: Please, no!,ANJION: (,) Yeah, why not?,PIE EATER: (,) Oh Mouse, you are the loveliest thing I have ever seen! (,.) Such beauty! So amazing...,(,BLINK: Where did , come from?,PIE: (,) I found it in Snape's room...,ANJION: Uh oh, eating a bun from a Potion Master is , a good idea...,BIANKIES: (,) Petrificus Totalus!,(,.),BIANKIES: Phew!,MAC: What do we do?,BIANKIES: I hate to say it but we gotta go back to Snape...,(,.),PETRIFIED UNCLE ALEX: (,) THEY'RE AFTER ME! THE TERRIBLE BEASTIES ARE AFTER ME! HEELLLLPPP!,(,),KASSIM: Ow...,ANJION: (,) Maybe I should look after this for the time being...,BIANKIES: Good idea, Stars. Omar is scary with that thing.,MAC: He's even worse than the red haired guy.,RON: Hey!,MAC: Perhaps Dumbledore could help with Pie's, er, problem? Saves us going back to Snape...,BIANKIES: Well then, let's get him there before the spell wears off.,ITEY: Won't we get lost?,ANJION: No, we're the authors. We know everything!,SNODDY: So where do we go now?,ANJION: (,) Um, this isn't in the movie...,LES: Hey, look at this fantastic map that Mouse has got...,BIANKIES: What were you saying about getting lost?,(,.),ANJION: Where did you get ,, Mouse?!,DAVID: (,) What matters is that she has it.,(,.),ANJION: Oh look, there's Dumbledore's office! Thank goodness for our Mouse!,TUMBLER: (,) What's that?,SNITCH: It says 'Barty Crouch Jnr' underneath...,(,),SWIFTY: Why does she want us to run?,RACE: Swifty, normally you need no excuse to run!,SWIFTY: Point taken! (,),ANJION: Quickly! This way!,(,),OMAR AND SKITTERY: AAAAAAGGGHHH! (,),HAGRID: Hey there, why're you all runnin'?,KASSIM: (,) We're being chased by a crazy man with a wand!,MUSH: And we're looking for Dumbledore!,HAGRID: I can deal with the crazy man, but Dumbledore ain't here! He's away!,LUNA LOVEGOOD: Perhaps , can help...,BIANKIES: (,) Can you get rid of a love potion before this guy wakes up?,LUNA: I thought the boy in pink was just scared.,MUSH: He is. It's Pie here who ate something that scary teacher guy had.,RACE: Yeah, and then he started acting weird.,KASSIM: And these guys are weird enough , little heart shaped eyes...,NEWSIES: Hey!,LUNA: Oh, it'll wear off on its own. Eventually.,MUSH: Well, that's something!,BABKAK: (,) And we seem to have lost the crazy man. Can we go get something to eat now? I'm starving!,(,.),(,.),ANJION: (,) Harry, some help would be nice!,IAGO: (,) Yeah! This is painful!,(,.),SPOT: Where could they have gone to?,(,),BABKAK: Mmmm, cake...,(,.),OMAR: Babkak, come back!,BIANKIES: (,) Keep your wand and Race close.,(,),RON: Oh no! Fluffy!,OMAR: That doesn't sound very scary!,RON: You wait till you're up close and then tell me that again! See you later! (,),ANJION: Race, we're gonna need your harmonica again...,(,),HARRY: How is he doing that?!,BABKAK: (,) It ate my cake!,SNIPES, MAC AND LACEY: (,) Well, , didn't go as planned...,BABKAK: (,) Wait - you , this?! GRRRRR!,BIANKIES: I think its best to run now.,LACEY AND MAC: We second that!,SNIPES: (,) Yeah.,(,.),ANJION: There's no point hiding behind me, Snipes! I'm running too!,(,..),DREADED VOICE: (,) What is it, my pretty? Can you smell that 'orrible bunch of kids that made such a mess at the Feast? We'll get 'em, you'll see!,ANJION: Oh no! It's Filch! We're trapped!,(,..),ANJION: Well, I suppose that's better than being jumped on...,LES: Hey, look at that witch statue! Isn't it ugly?,ANJION: (,) Hey, it's the one-eyed witch! I think there's a secret passage underneath, if I remember correctly...,(,..),DAVID: Where does it come out?,FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY: The cellar of Honeydukes Sweetshop. Come on!,BIANKIES: (,) We might want to keep Omar and Babkak close. Those two are disasters in a candy store.,LACEY: Spot too.,MAC: And some of the Manhattan boys...,KASSIM: This could be a problem...,ANJION: I see your point... Well, the best thing to do would be to get out of here.,FRED: Well, you can't go back. Filch will eat you alive.,KASSIM: Hey, Omar, get back here! You too Babkak!,MAC: Tumbler! Les! Don't even think about it...,OMAR: (,) Wow! Look at all these sweets!,TUMBLER AND LES: Wow! Come on, Omar, let's try them out!,LACEY, MAC, ANJION AND BIANKIES: No! Oh no...,BIANKIES: Okay Fred, George, will you help us get them?,LACEY: Yeah we gotta do something soon. Spot on a sugar high is scary.,FRED: We have to move fast then because they're already done with the sherbet lemons.,KASSIM: Babkak! Omar! You better stop eating candy or I'll let the blonde ferret boy turn you into something unpleasant!,DRACO: (,) This should be fun.,(,...),DRACO: Right! (,) I'm gonna enjoy this...,(,.),CROOKSHANKS: MEEEEEIIIOOOOWWWWW!,OMAR: SQUEEEEEEEEEAAAAAKKKKK!,HERMIONE: (,) No, Crookshanks! Stop it!,SKITTERY: Oh no! It's gonna eat him! What're we gonna do?!,ANJION: Don't worry, we'll think of something...,(,.),KASSIM: (,) That was close...,DRACO: I didn't think she'd bring that menace of hers here...,HARRY: At least Omar turned out to be fine. Now turn him back.,(,.),LACEY: Oh great. Well, I'm not taking him for walkies!,CRUTCHIE: Look, guys, there's a strange little lady all in pink coming this way!,FRED, GEORGE AND ANJION: Uh oh...,BIANKIES: (,) Not Umbridge!,(,),FRED: Are they , this cowardly?,DRACO: They are the Cowardly Trio. Does that answer your question?,LACEY: (,) Hey! Turn my boyfriend back into a human please. I have an idea...,HERMIONE: (,) Let , do that. (,) There. Much better!,ANJION: Thanks Hermione. Right Lacey, do your stuff!,LACEY: (,) Hey Spot, that lady works for Hearst and I heard her saying that the Brooklyn Newsies were a bunch of no good street rats that belong in the Refuge.,SPOT: (,) Oh yeah? Well she has another thing coming!,(,.),LACEY: Part one complete. Part two: Beat it!,MAC: Good one Lacey! Now run!,GEORGE: You go, we'll distract her! Got the fireworks, Fred?,FRED: Yes. See you guys later.,IAGO: I'll come with you. I like things that go bang...,(,.),OMAR: I-I don't like it here. K-Kassim, I wanna go home...,BUMLETS: Hey, what's that? (,),ANJION: (,) I think we should beat a hasty retreat. I think that's Lupin...,BIANKIES: (,) And quietly at that.,(,.),SWIFTY: Good going Stars! You woke the scary dog thing!,OMAR, SKITTERY AND BIANKIES: Scary dog! Where?!,(,.),JACK: (,) Come on, let's get out of here!,KASSIM: (,) Which way? We can't risk meeting that pink woman again!,ANJION: (,) This way! There's another secret passage... Comes out under the Whomping Willow...,SNODDY: The what Willow?,(,),BIANKIES: Guys, we better duck!,(,.),SNITCH: Phew! That was close!,BABKAK: Where next?,ANJION: (,) To the castle!,TUMBLER AND LES: (,) To the castle!,OMAR: To the castle!,(,.),MADAM HOOCH: You are late for class! Grab your brooms!,(,..),HARRY: Bad idea! Get back here!,DAVID: This cannot end well...,BABKAK: I'll get them down.,(,.),ANJION: (,) Looks like we're off to the Hospital wing next...,MAC: (,) Go get them!,DRACO: (,) Why should I?,LACEY: Because I'll set Brooklyn on you if you don't!,MAC: What about Babkak?,(,.),KASSIM: Uh oh...,BABKAK: (,) Well, at least I got a soft landing.,KASSIM: (,) Owwwww...,(,.),ANJION: Come on, we'd better catch up with Jack and Spot...,(,),ANJION: Mouse, do you recognise this corridor? It doesn't look at all familiar... Perhaps we should try this door...,GHOSTLY VOICE: Hey, this is a , toilet, you know...,ANJION: Oh no, not Moaning Myrtle...,OMAR: (,) Sh-she's scary.,BIANKIES: She's not that bad.,MYRTLE: She's right. I'm only nasty to people I don't like.,OMAR: Still scary... (,.),MYRTLE: Are you always this cowardly?,(,),HARRY: (,) Myrtle, don't be nasty. Come on, we need to hurry or we'll be late for Defence Against the Dark Arts.,ANJION: Who's the teacher?,HARRY: Professor Lupin...,MUSH: I-Is he s-scary?,SKITTERY: Hey! , the cowardly Newsie!,KASSIM: (,) Why are they arguing about it? Omar's the biggest coward here.,OMAR: Hey!,HARRY: Hurry up. If we're late we'll get detention!,ANJION: Don't worry, Mush; when he's human, he's lovely. It's when he's a werewolf that you need to look out...,OMAR: W-Werewolf?!,(,),ANJION: (,) I hope he's doing Boggarts today. I'd love to see what Omar's greatest fear is...,BIANKIES: Me too, but I don't want a turn...,(,),PROFESSOR LUPIN: Welcome! Today we will be studying how to defeat a Boggart.,(,.),KASSIM: What's a Boggart?,DRACO: Wait and see.,OMAR: I think I'm gonna stand over here with Mouse...,LUPIN: Ok, who's first?,(,.),ALADDIN: Quick, after him! We don't want him lost again!,(,.),ANJION: Huh? The Dark Mark? Oh no, please don't let that mean...,COLIN CREEVEY: (,) The Death Eaters! There are Death Eaters here!,ANJION: (,) Oh no... Please no...,BIANKIES: (,) I don't like them.,RON: Don't just stand there! Come help us!,ANJION: (,) Yes, let's help. We can be heroes for once!,JACK: (,) Yeah, we can Strike!,DAVID: Er, Jack, I think you're missing the point...,ANJION: (,) To the battle!,NEWSIES AND JACK: To the battle!,HOGWARTS STUDENTS: To the battle!,(,),),KASSIM: (,) Oh no you don't! You're part of this team!,BABKAK: (, ,) Come back here! Stars needs her partner in crime!,ANJION: Thanks Babkak! I can't be without her!,(,.),ANJION: Well, , wasn't meant to happen...,BIANKIES: Let me outta here!,(,.),KASSIM: (,) Ouch! Watch it, Mouse!,RON: (,) Less hiding, more fighting!,DRACO: I agree! (,) Stupefy!,MUSH: I thought Stars and Mouse said you were one of the bad guys!,DRACO: Well, I don't think I want to follow , guys! Far too incompetent!,KASSIM: I've got an idea. Mouse, Mush and Dragon boy (,) come with me!,ANJION: (,) I wonder what Kassim is planning.,RACE: (,) Whatever it is, it had better be good!,(,),IAGO: Ow! (,) Oh look, my finger's bleeding.,OMAR: Hey! That's , line! No fair!,KASSIM: Mouse, go get Omar, Iago and maybe Stars too, and you better hurry! Mush, go find a megaphone or something, and Blondie, you're in charge of smoke and scary things.,(,.),OMAR: (,) Please tell me I get to use this thing some more.,KASSIM: No, we're going to use our spooky voices. Now here's the plan...,(,...),DEATH EATERS: (,) Huh? What's going on?,(,),LOW VOICE: Desist this madness at once!,HIGH VOICE: Or the mighty Kassim will pummel you!,LOW VOICE: (,) Omar, you weren't supposed to say my ,! Now they , it's us!,HIGH VOICE: Sorry...,(,..),MUSH: Here they come!,ANJION: Just as planned! Iago, do your stuff!,(,..),VOLDEMORT: (,) Fight, you fools, ,!,LUCIUS MALFOY: Not when they can make us explode without wands!,SPOOKY VOICE: You'd better run!,(,.),VOLDEMORT: Foolish children! You have no chance of defeating me! I will , you!,HARRY: Stop this, Voldemort, we've got you surrounded. And your precious Death Eaters have gone.,(,),HARRY: You see? We've got you.,VOLDEMORT: Go away! Go away or I'll... I'll... I'll send you to the Refuge!,JACK: (,) There's a Refuge here too?,ANJION: (,) Wait a minute, that doesn't sound like Voldemort...,(,),NEWSIES: It's Snyder!,(,),KASSIM: Come on guys! You go on High Adventures every day, don't tell me you're scared of him!,NEWSIES: Yeah, we're scared of the Spider!,LES: He locks Newsies up for no reason!,OMAR: (,) You shouldn't lock kids up; it ain't...nice... (,) I think I'm gonna go hide over here...,ANJION: (,) Mouse, I think I have an idea...,(,),OMAR: OK... (,) "PETRIFIED UNCLE ALEX!",PETRIFIED UNCLE ALEX: (,) THE BEASTIES ARE AFTER ME! AGAIN! WILL THEY NOT LEAVE ME ALONE?!,(,.),SNYDER: (,) Get off! Leave me alone! H-help!,(,.),BIANKIES: Well, I hate to say it but it's time to go. We gotta sell papes tomorrow.,ALADDIN: I know how we can get home.,IAGO: Are we flying again?,KASSIM: No! No flying! I refuse!,HARRY: Why? Flying isn't so bad.,SKITTERY: (,) You haven't flown with Genie yet.,GENIE: (,) You called?,IAGO: (,) We need a lift back home.,KASSIM: (,) No we don't!,ANJION: Don't be silly, Kassim. Genie's going to pay more attention to what he's flying into this time. Aren't you, Genie? (,) Besides, Iago's right, we , need a lift home.,KASSIM: No, you can't make me -,(,.),LES: Hey look, it's stopped raining!,EVERYONE: Hooray!,ANJION: (,) So tomorrow you'll all be back to work, right?,NEWSIES: Awwwwwww...,(,.),The End,(,),SNIPES: (,) Come on Boots! Did you get the Trick Wands?,BOOTS: (,) Yep. I've got a Boxing Telescope too.,SNITCH: Heh, that'd be , for Spot...,ITEY: I've got something called a Decoy Detonator. Apparently it makes copies of itself which run off making honking noises.,SNIPES: That'll be fun!,SNITCH: Yeah! It's a pity we already used our Darkness Powder stuff...,BOOTS: But it , for a good cause...,ITEY: So, who are we giving the wands to?,SNIPES: (,) I know just the person. (,) Oh Omar! I've got a present for you...

May 1998,MacGyver knocked on his boss and best friend, Pete's door. "Come in!" Pete called.,"I need vacation, Pete," were the first words out of his mouth as he entered the room.,Pete chuckled, "Well, I agree, but I never thought you would say it.","Pete this is serious. I have to visit some friends, in England. I've got a bad feeling," Mac pleaded with his friend.,Pete turned serious and concerned, "These wouldn't be the friends you left a two month old girl with about nineteen years ago is it?","The very same," Mac nodded.,"Then what are you still doing here? Why didn't you call from the airport? Go I'll take care of everything! Go make sure everything is okay," Pete said practically pushing MacGyver out his door.,"Thanks, Pete," Mac said with a small smile before running to the elevator.,","

Agent J shook his head slowly, his mind rapidly clearing. He guessed the Tarnazed Rampager must have knocked him for a loop, and he was just grateful that the headache hadn't kicked in yet. He and Agent K (his partner) had chased the alien monster (from the Zelinek home world, someone had smuggled it in at as a pet) up and down the East Cost of the US, across the Atlantic (the things love to swim), and to the lovely country of England. They had split up when they hit England, and J was the lucky one to find the beast in the middle of some random forest that was thankfully nowhere near civilization.,He must have hit his head during the fight to take down the beast, because he was drawing a blank on the events of the fight. The results spoke for themselves though.,In front of him, the trees were knocked down and burned to a crisp to such a degree that you could build a football field in the space that had been cleared. He wasn't sure about what caused the trees to burn but supposed it might have been his gun that caused the damage (which seemed unlikely). And there in front of him, clearly dead, was the Tarnazed Rampager.,The beast was about 25 feet tall, with a pair of strong legs and three sets of extremely muscular arms (one set coming from its shoulders, the other from its back, and the last from its thighs). Its normally red pulsating skin had dimmed to the deep purple of death. Its mouth, with crisscrossing teeth (each tooth being two feet in length and razor sharp, except for the one grinding tooth on its tongue), was wide open and dripping with a thick red substance (that seemed too plentiful and thick to belong to a human). It was hard to believe that this monstrosity was the equivalent of a lapdog for the ruling aliens back on Zelinek.,Standing a couple feet away from J, also facing the Rampager, was a pale and freckly redhead wearing some sort of long red dress and holding a stick. The redhead was gawping at the beast, which reminded J that it was time to erase the witness's memory. At least there was only one person to deal with.,He calmly put on his protective sunglasses, pulled out his Neuralyzer, set it to clear the last hour of memory, and cleared his throat. The redhead turned around on the spot in surprise. Before the redhead could say a word, there was a flash of light and the redhead stood there dazed.,J spoke as he put away his sunglasses and Neuralyzer. "You were taking a stroll through the forest when you thought you heard a noise. You investigated and found nothing but more damned trees, and you went back on your stroll without a worry in your head.",With his job done, J decided he needed to call in his partner. He couldn't find his phone, he turned around on the spot to see if it was on the ground behind him and was shocked to find a completely different dead beast blocking his view. What the hell was that!?,Auror Ronald Weasley shook his head slowly, his mind rapidly clearing. He guessed the Welsh Green must have knocked him for a loop, and he was just grateful that the headache hadn't kicked in yet. He and Auror Harry Potter (his best friend and partner) had chased the dragon up and down the East Coast of England, over the city of Bristol (the things love to fly), and to the lovely countryside of rural England. They had split up when they hit rural England, and Ron was the lucky one to find the beast in the middle of some random forest that was thankfully nowhere near civilization.,He must have hit his head during the fight to take down the beast, because he was drawing a blank on the events of the fight. The results spoke for themselves though.,In front of him, the trees were knocked down and burned to a crisp to such a degree that you could build a quidditch pitch in the space that had been cleared. He wasn't sure about what caused the trees to be shattered but supposed it might have been some overpowered stunners that caused the damage (which seemed unlikely). And there in front of him, clearly dead, was the Welsh Green.,The beast was about 20 feet long, with the normal two pair of legs and long powerful tail. Its normally vibrant green skin had dimmed to the pale green of death. Its mouth, with straight rows of teeth (each tooth being one foot in length and razor sharp), was wide open and dripping with a thick purple substance (that seemed too unnatural to belong to a human). It was hard to believe that this monstrosity was one of the safest breeds of dragon.,Standing a couple feet away from Ron, also facing the dragon, was a dark and handsome muggle wearing a plain black suit and holding a small… gum… hun… gun (that's it!). The muggle was gawping at the dragon, which reminded Ron that it was time to erase the witness's memory. At least there was only one person to deal with.,He calmly pointed his wand at the man, concentrated on clearing the last hour of memory, and cleared his throat. The muggle turned around on the spot in surprise. Before the muggle could say a word, the word "Obliviate" was spoken and the muggle stood there dazed.,Ron spoke as he lowered his wand. "You were taking a stroll through the forest when you thought you heard a noise. You investigated and found it was just a gas pipe exploding, and you went back on your stroll without a worry in your head.",With his job done, Ron decided he needed to call in his partner. He didn't want to cast his Patronus directly at the muggle, he turned around on the spot and was shocked to find a completely different dead beast blocking his view. What the hell was that!?,Agent J shook his head slowly, his mind rapidly clearing…,Harry Potter sat about thirty feet off to the side from the two men, hidden behind some bushes. He wore a conjured pair of sunglasses, sat in a conjured lawn chair, eating very real popcorn his House Elf had delivered. He heard a branch snap behind him.,Looking behind him, he saw an elderly and severe looking man who was wearing the same black suit and sunglasses as the man Ron was interacting with. Harry took out his wand and conjured another lawn chair.,The man stood still for a moment, staring down Harry, and then relented and sat down. Harry handed him a spare bag of popcorn.,"Auror Potter" spoke the man, not touching any of his popcorn.,"Agent K" replied Harry, tossing a kernel into his mouth.,K sighed. "Do you know what happened?",Harry shrugged. "Ron and your guy…","Agent J","Right, Ron and J showed up around the same time, I think. Our dragon and your alien were already in a massive fight, as you can tell by the damage. Ron called for me, and J called for you. Since I can apparate, I obviously beat you here. I recognized J's suit as MIB, which meant the standard practice of conjuring sunglasses and leaving the alien to your guy if possible. I was about to join the fight when the two beasts took a bite out of each other at the same time, gagged, stumbled, fell over, and died. Guess they were poisonous to each other. J and Ron stared in shock for a bit, but J was quicker on the draw and erased Ron's memory. And then Ron got J back. And then J got Ron. And, well they've gotten a bit stuck in a loop",K listened impassively, all the while watching Ron and K taking turns wiping each other's memories.,"Based on when J called me, that means they have been doing this for one hour and 45 minutes. Is that right?","One hour and 43 minutes, yeah. Did your guy get his briefing on the Magical world?","He did","So, did he ignore the briefing because he assumed you were hazing him since 'aliens can exist, but magic is ridiculous', or because he just wasn't paying attention?",K paused for a moment, and the shrugged. "The first one. And your guy? Was it 'magic makes sense, but aliens are silly', or not paying attention?",Harry chuckled. "Ron? I always assume he's not paying attention.",K nodded and looked back at Ron once again getting the drop on J. "I suppose we should stop those two.",Harry shrugged, and took another bite of his popcorn without any indication of planning to stand up.,K relaxed back into his chair. "Then again, it's simpler to write 'a couple hours' in my reports instead of 'one hour and 43 minutes'.",Harry nodded. "Sure. But it's more fun being able to honestly say 'a few hours'".,K smirked slightly and tossed a popcorn kernel into his mouth.

It was Halloween night at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. A young Harry was being delivered to his aunt's house as Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall were waiting for Rubeus Hagrid to bring the young boy they had no idea there was someone else waiting with them. That person was Hina Beart the head of the Beart family. 'So it actually happened Lily was right knowing the will wouldn't be followed.' She thought to herself. Sure she may have met Lily Potter just once but it was an encounter she would never forget.,FLASHBACK,Lily Potter was desperate to save her son Harry. She had a feeling that something was going to happen to James and her soon and she just knew that the will wouldn't be followed and probably sealed. Ever since Dumbledore told tell of that prophecy and why Voldemort was targeting Harry she just knew she would get to see her little boy grow up. She was even against Peter being the secret keeper but Dumbledore said it was for the greater good if Peter was the secret keeper while everyone else thought it was Sirius. James and everyone else just agreed but Lily she had her doubts. She could see that Dumbledore saw her son as some kind of pawn. She knew she needed help someone more powerful than Dumbledore and she then remember something. The Order had been trying to recruit an old and extremely powerful wizard family into helping them. Apparently they left the wizarding world a long time ago and wanted nothing to do with them ever again. The wizarding world tried to force the family back but it just ended very badly. In the end the entire wizarding world agreed to leave them alone for good however Dumbledore thought it would be a good time to persuade them to return but everytime they went over there they came back with injuries. She even heard that Voldemort even tried going to them and he returned with lesser numbers. She knew that if anyone could help her it was them so grabbing Harry she went to where the Beart family was while her husband was at a meeting.,As soon as she got there she began looking for where their house was at until she was greeted by a woman with long pink hair and red eyes. "I thought I told you idiots that I'm not interested in your stupid war!" She shouted while noticing Lily holding Harry. "This is a new low. If you think bringing a baby here is going to change my mind your wrong!","You got it all wrong I'm not here to get you to join us! I'm here to ask you to help me protect my son!" Lily cried out.,The lady just looked at her. "Explain." She said. Lily began explaining everything to the woman. About the prophecy forcing them to go into hiding as to Dumbledore and his plans. She told her how she fear their will would be seal and something Dumbledore would place Harry with her sister who hated her and magic. She told her that she could feel him doing that. The woman just stood their listening and when Lily was done she just said to her. "Why don't you come inside to talk?" The woman then waved her right hand causing a house to appear Lily just followed her in. When they got in the woman look at Lily and said "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask for your name.","I'm Lily Potter and this is my son Harry." Lily said.,The woman just smiled. "My name is Hina Beart." She said as she pointed to a crib. "You can set your son in their. My granddaughter Mignon was here yesterday and I haven't put it away yet so go ahead and use it.","You have a granddaughter?" Lily asked.,"Yes, she's about ten months old and my daughter in law is expecting another one soon." Hina said as Lily placed Harry in the crib. After Lily was done Hina just said "Please take a seat Lily." Lily just sat down as Hina did as well. Hina just looked at Lily and asked "Tell me what is that miserable old goat plans on dealing with that snake?",Lily just looked confused "Old goat?" She asked.,"Dumbledore." Hina said. "What is his plan on dealing with that snake?",Lily instantly got who the snake was and replied "Right now he says the best action is to stay in hiding for now but I don't think that really is the best plan.","What do you think the best plan is?" Hina asked.,"I think it would be finding out about Voldemort's past. I think there is something there that we could use." Lily responded.,"And let me guess that old goat said something like looking in the past won't change a thing am I right?",Lily just looked at Hina in amazement. "That's right." She said.,"Figures. That old coot probably has something to do with that snake's past and is trying to cover it up." Hina said. "Did you know that snake actually paid me a visit?","I heard that he did and he came back with lesser people that went with him.","That's because they threatened my family and that's the one thing I will not tolerate!" Hina shouted earning a nod of respect from Lily. "I even told him that if he came back I would expose the secret he was hiding.","Secret?" Lily asked curiously. "Voldemort has a secret?","Oh you bet he does." Hina replied. "I get the feeling that old goat knows it too.","What is it?","The snake is actually a halfblood." Hina replied shocking Lily.,"That can't be true! Voldemort would be a huge hypocrite if he was!" Lily cried out.,"Believe it. It's true. I know because magic itself told me." Hina answered.,"Magic itself? You can talk to magic?",Hina just gave a sigh of annoyance. "Figures you would know." She said as she then looked at Lily. "Tell me Lily, do you know why the Beart family left the wizarding world or the origin of magic?","No. I just heard that the Beart family had a falling out with the wizarding world as to what I don't know and as for the origin of magic I didn't know it had an origin.",Hina just gave an annoyed look. "Of course they wouldn't tell it." She mumbled as she looked at Lily. "Let me ask you another question. What do you think of magic itself?","Well to me it's a wonderful gift that I love. It's so unique that I don't think of it as tool or item but like it's a person." Lily said noticing a smile forming on Hina's face.,"That's because it is a person." Hina replied causing Lily's eyes to grow wide. "You see what most wizards today don't know is that magic is an entity itself or in simple words a person. It decides who gets it's gift to use it.","You mean like me?","Exactly. It saw something special in you and gave you the ability to use it. You see in the beginning there were no wizards or wizarding communities at all on this planet. In other words humans had no magic. Now eventually magic came to believe that it should give some of it's powers to a select group of humans so it picked the people it decided was best to receive it's gift giving birth to wizards and witches. Now this caused humans to start fearing them and attacking them so magic had no choice but to create a world for them to live in. Now as years went by magic continued giving itself to people but it did not see that some people began abusing it's gift by creating new forms of dark and foul magic. However that was the less troubling issue as the family of the wizards and witches who received their magic first began to think that they were the ones who should only have it. They began looking down those who were human when they received it and those who married into some of the founding families. Magic then not like the way they were behaving so as a punishment it took away it's gift from the children of the families who were causing these problems because it knew their children would abuse it. This just made them angrier that they were about to cause war however my family was also a founding family and we knew that magic was a gift not a privilege or tool. We tried reminding them that magic was the one that decided who deserves to use it and that their ancestors were once normal human. That reminder just made them mad and they accused my family of lying so they decided to destroy my family for their lies and take the magic we had because they felt that we didn't deserve it. That's when magic itself decided to intervene. It bestowed to my family the control over all magic as well as making us the official representative of magic. It knew my family truly understood it and it's gifts so it gave them the power to end the conflict quickly but that wasn't the only reason why it chose us. You see magic could see possible threats that could end the world and wanted someone to represent it when the world needed it. When my family chose to go against the founding families we proved ourselves worthy of representing magic but in order to do so we would have to leave the wizarding world for good. My family and magic knew it would only be a matter of time before the conflict would start again and there would never be an end to it so we left. From then on the Beart family had been helping keep the world safe whenever we were called. Of course during some of those times the wizarding world would come barging into our lives demanding we return to the wizarding world because they felt we belong to them. We just sent them packing until they finally got the hint and stopped well at least until now.",Lily just sat there absorbing everything she just heard. She couldn't believe that this was never told to anyone. "Why wouldn't they teach that?" She asked.,"Because in Magical Britain the purebloods run the ministry and the truth would make them look less noble I suppose." Hina answered.,"So no one knows the true origins?","I didn't say that. The true origins are taught at other schools. Hogwarts is just one of the schools that chooses not to teach it." Hina replied. "Now let's return to the topic of Harry. What is it you want me to do?","I would like you to raise Harry." Lily answered.,"Why?","Because I know our will would be sealed and not followed allowing Dumbledore to dump my son at my sister's home where I know he'll be abused. I just want him to have a happy live and if that means away from the wizarding world then so be it! I would rather see it fall to pieces than to let Dumbledore play god with my son's life. I don't know what that man is up to but whenever he says it's for the greater good I just get a bad feeling. It's not like from before I had Harry where whenever he said that I would follow him without batting an eye.","That's because you're a mother now." Hina responded getting Lily's attention.,"What do you mean?","It's because you're a mother now is why that little trick that old goat uses doesn't work on you anymore. He uses a special type of spell that causes anyone that hears for the greater good to obey him." Hina said causing a look of anger to form on Lily's face. "You're a mom that wants what's best for her son that's why it's not working on you.","How do you know this?","Because that old goat tried to use that trick on me but of course it didn't work and I punched him in the nose for trying." Hina said causing Lily to laugh. "Very well I will raise your son if your hunch comes true.","You will?!" Lily cried out with relief.,"However he will be raised as a Beart and receive our magic. That means that whatever magic he has inherited from you and your husband will become obsolete as he will be a Beart. He will be a representative of magic meaning he will no longer have ties to Magical Britain and that prophecy will become worthless. Dumbledore will never be able to find him and his name will be taken out of the school's book. Any attempt to locate him will just end in failure. Are you willing to accept that?","As long as he can live his own life it's fine with me. All I ask is that you tell him how much I love him." Lily replied.,"That I will do." Hina said.,"Then it's a deal.",Hina then put her hand out causing Lily to shake it. As that happened their hands began to glow. "There the deal is made." Hina said. "The moment you die and your son is placed on your sister's doorstep I will know and take him.",END OF FLASHBACK,Hina just watched as Harry was placed on the doorstep of his aunt's house and just waited for everyone to leave. When she was sure they were gone she walked up to the basket Harry was in. "Hello Harry." She said as she took a look at him. She could see everything that old fool had put on him but she also noticed a dark energy coming from his scar. "There is no way that fool could not have noticed this." She said to herself as she placed her hand on his scar causing what was in it to leave. "Nice try you parasite of a snake." She said as she began removing everything placed on Harry. After she was done she picked up the basket. "Let's go home Harry." She said as they disappeared.,Over the years Hina kept her promise raising Harry as a Beart. When he turned six she told him the truth about everything. He took it a little hard at first but the fact that his mother loved him and wanted him to live his own life was the thing that got him through it. She taught him everything about the Beart family magic and well as the family fighting style. As for Harry he loved being a Beart but he especially loved spending time with Mignon and Ninon. To him they were his beloved little sisters and he was there beloved older brother. However there was something Harry loved as much as his family and magic: fighting. He gained the love for it when he was watching a King of Fighters tournament that Geese Howard was hosting in Southtown. As he watched it he felt something he couldn't explain it was an urge to fight. He wanted nothing more than to participate in a fighting tournament but he knew he needed to ask Hina first. When Hina heard about it she was surprised. She didn't know what to say. She could tell he would be a great fighter but there was also a chance he could get hurt as well as the rumors about certain people who hold the tournaments. She agreed hesitantly and arranged for a few friends of her to teach him however she told him he could only participate in one if magic calls for him to be there. Harry learned quickly from the people who taught him, Tung Fu Rue, Heidern, Chin Gentsai, and Saisyo Kusanagi, and mastered what they taught him.,As for the wizarding world all the attempts to find Harry failed like Hina guaranteed. Even the attempt of putting his name into the Goblet of Fire failed as Hina felt the goblet try to reach Harry only to be repelled by the fact that he was now a Beart. Knowing that the snake was probably behind it she sent the goblet back with a note that said "Nice try snake." Needless to say the wizarding world had no idea what that meant and whose name was actually put in there.,HARRY AGE 15,Harry was just called into Hina's office. He had no idea what she wanted but had a feeling it was important. "Did you call for me Hina?" He asked as he stepped into the room.,"Yes I did Harry. Take a seat." She said. As soon as Harry sat down she began speaking again. "Harry an important matter has occurred which means the Beart family needs to help.","What's going on?" He asked.,"I recently found out that Geese Howard has gotten his hands on a magical document.","Wait a minute!" Harry blurted out interrupting her ."That doesn't make sense! Geese Howard is a collector of Japanese things.",Hina just sighed and then yelled. "If you would have let me finished I would of told you it's a scroll filled with ancient Japanese magic!","Oh.","It's something very dangerous that needs to be destroyed.","Well what is it you want me to do?","Glad you asked Harry." She said as she began pulling something out of her desk. "You see Geese needs a powerful warrior in order to use it which is why he's hosting a King of Fighters tournament in Southtown." Hina then handed Harry a flyer. "I want you to participate in it and retrieve that scroll.",Harry's eyes just grew wide with excitement. "Really?!" He cried out. "I can participate?","Yes. Now apparently it's a one on one tournament but you won't be going in alone. I notified a few of your teachers and they agreed to send some of their students to fight in the tournament as well.",This got Harry's attention. "Is one of them going to be Kyo Kusanagi?" He asked.,"Yes, Saisyo is sending his son." Hina answered earning a big groan from Harry.,"Oh great! Now Iori Yagami is going to show up!" Harry moaned out. "Do you have any idea how annoying he is with that grudge against Kyo?!" Hina just rolled her eyes and sent a blast of magic towards Harry. "Okay I'll stop!" He said as he started to settle down. "Anyway I better go tell Mignon and Ninon the good news." He said about to leave the room but instantly stopped and turned to face Hina. "But I just thought of something. This event is going to be televised which means their might be a chance the wizarding world will be seeing this. What happens if they recognize me?",Hina just looked at Harry and replied "If they do then they better realize you're a Beart now and if they try anything I'll take away their magic!","Hina you know taking away someone's magic is extremely exhausting and will leave you weak!","Which is why I know you will be there to help me deal with them to make sure I don't." She said.,A FEW DAYS LATER,SOUTHTOWN, FLORIDA,Harry was in the ring waiting for his first opponent when the referee stepped out. "Ladies and gentlemen for the first match we have a first time challenger!" The referee cried out while he said under his breath "And probably his last." "I give you at age fifteen Harry Beart!" The crowd just started laughing as Harry just ignored them. He knew they were greatly underestimating him and he was going enjoy them choking on their laughter. "And for his opponent the Out of Control Giant himself Raiden!",Raiden just stepped into the ring as the crowd began booing him. Raiden ignored them as he faced Harry. "So my opponent is a child!" Raiden cried out with laughter. "I want a challenge!",Harry just looked at Raiden. "You know you look familiar. Did you ever fight Terry and Andy Bogard?" He asked.,Raiden just growled at Harry. "Yes the Bogard brothers have bested me but you will not!" He roared out.,Harry then let out a sly smile and said "Now I know who you are! You're Big Bear!",Raiden's eyes just grew wide. "No! No! No! I'm not Big Bear!" He cried out while waving his hands.,"Why of course you're Big Bear." Harry said. "I just don't see why you're in this getup unless..." Harry then lightly facepalmed himself. "Oh I get it! This is your heel persona. I like you a lot better as Big Bear.",Raiden just grew flustered as he kept denying. The referee just grew confused by watching this and just asked "Excuse me but are you two going to fight?","Sure I'm ready." Harry replied as he faced Raiden and asked "Are you ready Big Bear I mean Raiden?","Oh I am ready so you better say you're prays wimp!" Raiden shouted.,"Okay then fight!" The referee shouted.,Harry just walked up to Raiden. Seeing this Raiden spited out acid but failed to see the sly look in Harry's eyes. Harry seeing this raised up a tornado like shield around his body causing the acid to land in Raiden's eyes blinding him. As he started shouting in pain Harry leapt towards him and gave out a powerful kick into the stomach that sent him flying out of the ring. Harry then looked at the referee. "Call it." He said.,MEANWHILE AT A BAR SOMEWHERE IN LONDON,A group of people happen to be watching the tournament on television. "Did you see that?" The first person asked.,"Yes I did but did you hear his name?" The second asked.,"It was Beart." The third answered.,"As in the Bearts?" The first asked.,"Besides that!" The second said. "His first name was Harry and did you see his face?","Now that you mention it he sort of looked like James." The first replied.,"You're not saying." The third said but was interrupted by the second.,"I am." The second said as he looked at the bartender. "Barkeep where is that tournament happening?","Southtown, Florida of the U.S." The bartender replied.,THE END

this really isnt a "story". im not very good at writing, but i had to get this story idea down. if you are interested in this than you can actually 'write' it if you want. just let me know that you are doing it so I can be on the look out for your work.,So either Whis or one of the kais(maybe even dende or mr. Popo) gets the idea to call the mistress of death after they find out about the universe tournament,The reason they call Harry up is to do one of these things(i don't know which): maybe they want to see if she could call of the losers die rule of the tournament. Or because they are short a member for the tournament,Female harry is born on a earth (same name but different earth) in universe 7,What also happens:,-harry shouts at them for being so stupid that the tournament happened,-harry has no say in changing the tournament,-she has no power because the souls are being erased and not dyeing (not her jurisdiction),-it would be awesome if when she showed up that people are awed by her beauty and poise (she is so regal looking),-make sure to also say how Harry's magic and kai are two different things (could help them get the upper hand in the fight),-when Whis introduces Harry he says all her titles (saying how she is also basically a princess),-the kais treat her like she is on par with Zeno-sama,- harry gets into arguments with beerus,Mybe harry dosent even fight in the tournament,I also think it would be great if harry hooked up with someone,-she could be with Frieza (she reformed him and Frieza never fought Goku after obtaining his gold form). This could be funny. Seeing the gangs reaction to her and Frieza being together. If u do this parring I would really like if u included kuriza (probably didn't spell it right) as the stepchild and maybe they had a kid together.,—-if u do it this way then maybe when harry first shows up she's pregnant. And then she yells at Berus (of course),-if not this then maybe pair her up with a sayiyan,If you want to take up this story idea and write it please let me know.,There is no time limit. And I will let anyone write it.

The night was was cold, the waters choppy. The waves lightly slamming into the vessel as it made its way towards its intended destination. The scent of the sea wavering in the cold, Dementor filled night sky. The vessel was small, reminiscent of an early to late 1800's Fishermans ship. It chugged along into the dark nights' waters with none of its occupants speaking, the silence only being drowned out by the sloshing of the outside waters. The waves crashed hard against the small boat as it sailed towards the Prison only meant for the worst of the Wizarding Worlds offenders. In this, only seven people were on board the said ship this night.,All stood as the Captain of the sailing vessel directed his boat towards a docking pier that was now within visual range mere meters of the infamous Wizarding Prison. Of the six, only three dared to look up at the large, towering structure, as one of the six shook with a haunted look, and another, his companion, comforting him as she touched his shoulder.,Sirius Orion Black, Lord and Head of the House of Black, looked and beheld his wife to be, Amelia Bones, as she comforted him with a soft touch, and a comforting smile. She knew, like the others, that he was still haunted by the years spent in this retched place that he now found himself returning to in order to 'Rescue' his boy. But, now a days, he was even worse than before. And it all had to do with the spirits of ones whom had once called Sirius their friend and brother.,It all started after Harrys incarceration when Sirius began to experience nightmares many a night. He had dreams of James and Lily, calling him 'betrayer, liar, oath breaker', followed by many more foul, crude names, insults, and terms used against him. No matter what Amelia tried in order to calm his mind and remove his haunting nightmares, nothing helped, until one day, Sirius finally snapped, only to act in order to silence the screams of the ghosts of his deceased friends.,Even now, the shell of a former man could barely smile at her in return as he then turned his attention to the person waiting on the pier for the arrival of the party.,On his left, stood Albus Dumbledore in his purple and golden robes, looking ever more the age he truly was as the recent week had not been kind to him since they had learned of a ruse that had caused them to all to turn on the Godson of Lord Black.,It was only a week earlier when Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, had drunkenly stumbled out of Knockturn Alley within the Wizarding Shopping Center, ignorant of his surroundings due to his inebriated state, that he found himself face to face with a very crazed and desperate, Lord Black.,A flash of red from a wand in the face of the near 18 year old, and the young adult fell into the arms of his captor. A second later, and with a ,, both individuals were gone.,The next day, Sirius dragged the barely haggard Malfoy into the DMLE, throwing him into the desk of Amelia Bones. Things happened all too quickly from there, when it was learned that the charges once held against Harry James Potter, were false, and that an innocent had been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, once again.,The charges that had imprisoned the last Potter were for two counts of murder, of one Neville Francis Longbottom, and Seamus Finnegan.,Pandemonium ensued as many a heads of Houses within the Emergency Wizengamot meeting, cried out in outrage when it was learned that Draco Malfoy, alongside Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, had murdered both boys, while under the guise of Harry Potter from the use of Poly Juice Potion.,Using Harrys stolen wand and several strands of Harrys hair, a vial of Poly Juice Potion, a quick change, with his glasses finishing the look, after having stunned the real Harry Potter from behind earlier that day and hiding him in a closet within the Slytherin Dorm rooms, the murders were performed. The halls of the attack against Potter had been cleared of not only students, but the staff and portraits as well, at the time of the said attack.,With this new information, Draco was formerly charged and found guilty after the charges held against him and the admission to the crimes were confirmed via 'Veritaserum'. Unlike Harry, who did not get a chance to defend himself let alone being denied the truth serum in order to prove his innocence, Draco was given a chance to speak, only to brazenly laugh and freely admit his crime once the counter agent to the truth serum had been administered to him, letting the Wizengamot know, that not only had he framed Harry Potter, admitting his guilt without an ounce of remorse, but the entirety of the Wizarding Worlds Governing Body had condemned an innocent, yet again. One whom was supposed to be their savior.,"The night's cold." spoke the new Minister of Magic of Wizarding Britain, Rufus Scrimgeour. It was always rumored that his Predecessor was up to no good, accepting bribes and such. The man never did like Cornelius Fudge, and only put up with him because he had no choice at the time. With many a vote of no confidence held against the man, following Malfoys imprisonment, for the farce of a trial that was held against Harry Potter, with Sirius Black leading the charge, Fudge with his head lowered, slowly stepped down from his post when the vote was passed.,Many sought the position of Minister, including the former Ministers Undersecretary, but with many a votes held in Blacks favor, Scrimgeour was elected until an official Election was held. As the new Minister, Rufus promised to clean up the Ministry, starting with removing Harry Potter from Azkaban, and ensuring the lad would be exonerated, with all that was taken from him, both financial, and more, fully restored to him.,Albus, upon realizing the truth of the matter, nearly sunk into a drunken stupor, as once again, Tom Riddle had tricked not just him, but the entirety of the Wizarding Realm, forcing many to turn on Harry Potter, as they had all done Rubeus Hagrid and at one point, Sirius Black himself.,Many a family throughout the realm cried out in lament for what they had done to their once 'Savior'. Former friends and colleagues of both Harry and the House Potter, sought to undo much of the mistakes they had perpetuated against him. Fortunately, many of Harrys belongings seemingly disappeared after his incarceration, as well as his owl. None knew how, few had suspicions, but could never figure out how almost all of Harry personal belongings had vanished.,His only belonging that didn't disappear was his wand as it was within the Ministry at the time of his imprisonment, but that too vanished before it was able to be retrieved.,"That it is." came the Headmasters reply as he gazed upon the building holding two of his former favorite students only son. Minervra, bless her soul, had come upon the aged man who voluntarily stepped away from two of his positions within the Ministry as he felt that the work load was becoming too much, and yet he knew that wasn't the only problem. In his advanced age, he'd become complacent, making more mistakes than he knew how to handle. In doing so, many of his people were being lost, one after the other, whether it was through treachery, death, physical torture, or just plain walking away from it all, before Harry was incarcerated and after his innocence was proven.,With the boat mere meters from the pier, those upon the boat readied themselves. And yet, the Headmaster had felt as if something was off. There was one person upon the wooden balcony awaiting them, but it was not whom they were expecting when a robed individual with the hood raised, awaited them. Quicker than the old man could react, a wand was quickly pointed at them as the hood lowered, and the face of Lucius Malfoy came into view.,"Don't try it, Dumbledore. I'd just as soon kill you and be done with it. But the Dark Lord has plans for you." he said a he gazed upon the boats occupants. Before Black could make a move to reply, many a bodies floating within the air, shimmered into view. All of whom were grasping the source of their flight with one hand, and holding wand at them with another. The boat was surrounded on all sides by broom riding Death Eaters, no longer needing their masks, up to and including Draco Malfoy.,"Didn't quite think things through, did you Black." the young blond haired Wizard snarked with a sneer.,"Silence Draco." his father hissed in agitation. "No need to set them off as they will die this day, as our Lord has promised.",His son could only , in reply as another person, recognizably known to be one of Lucius's lot, the elder Lord Goyle, walked up, hand held out, open palm up, with the other also pointing a want while waiting for the group to hand over their wands.,"You won't get away with this, Malfoy." Amalia Bones said as she stepped onto the pier and surrendered her wand.,She was smacked with a backhand, causing Sirius to react as he thrust himself forwards, arms and hands poised to strangle the Death Eater, only for him to receive a blow to his stomach that dropped him, forcing the air from his lungs. Gulping in air, Black managed to raise his head and look the man in the eyes, "Before this nights done Malfoy, I'm going to kill you.","Hoping against Hope, how endearing. Take them before our Lord, so that they may see the end of the last Potter." the elder Malfoy said as after each individual was upon the pier, each was marched into the high tower-like prison as the skies overhead rumbled and thundered.,Being roughly shoved forward, it took moments before they entered the rather high, dark, and dreary fortress-like prison. Since there were no elevators within the prison, it took them some unknown amount of time before the entire group of captives and their captors managed to reach a level that all had known that the framed prisoner known as Harry Potter had been held in.,The wing itself was a high security wing, meant for the worst of the worst. But it was there, that all got a chance to see, the Dark Lord in waiting, torches lining the wing as they hung from the walls, darkened shadows dancing upon the walls due to the light the flames put out.,"Aahhh, Albus Dumbledore, come to see the end? The end of everything?","Tom," the old man said with a ,. "Look how far, you have truly fallen.","You bastard." Sirius Black growled out, his hands curling inward into now whitening fists.,"Sirius Black, welcome back, it seems like being here doesn't agree with you. And yet, this is where you helped put your own Godson, nonetheless." Voldemort sneered, eliciting several of his followers to chuckle darkly in return. "Bring out the boy.","My Lord?" came the response from one of his still masked Death Eater.,"Do as I say, Jugson. Bring out Harry Potter, and let them see what their choices have done to their precious 'Savior'." he reiterated.,"Yes, Master." the masked minion replied as he and another masked Death Eater departed into the shadows.,"I've had enough." Sirius shouted as he elbowed one of his captors in the face, only to receive a shock of blinding pain for his efforts.,The one who caused the pain was none other than his former cousin whom he removed from the family shortly after his own trial. Bellatrix no name, formerly known as Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black, with her wand raised, and a wild eyed look of fury, stepped forward, having screamed 'Crucio' upon her former relative. Sirius, upon his new found freedom, removed Bella from the family, but not before annulling the marriage between her and her then husband, Rudolphus Lestrange.,She obviously had not taken it very well, as though she may have lost not just her name and wealth, but she also lost her family Magics, while Andromeda and her daughter had been welcomed back into the family.,She made to curse Sirius yet again, when her wrist was forcefully grabbed by her master, who managed to coax the deranged witch down. She slowly lowered her wand when her head snapped in his direction, and seeing his eyes and knowing he would not forgive insubordination, lowered her head in submission.,"As you can see Black, you have already lost. Dear Bella will kill you, but only when you and your...comrades watch as I kill the last ounce of hope to this world. And once Harry Potter is dead, nothing will stop me. All who oppose me, will die.","My Lord, we have him." a voice spoke out when the crowds parted, allowing through the throng of people, an image which none of the side of the light had ever hoped to see.,With his feet dragging on the floor, his head down, was Harry Potter, being carried by both arms on ether side as if he weighed very little. His hair had grown, dirty though it seemed from the dust of the prisons walls. His clothes were worn, and torn in some areas throughout the body. None could see his face as strands of his hair fell over his forehead, construing his face.,"Help him to stand." the snake faced psychopath stated.,As they did so, the entirety of the people all around watched as even when those whom were supposed to helm him to stand, failed to realize how far he was gone as he began to fall, forcing them to capture him before he did so.,"Can you not see, what your actions have wrought, Albus Dumbledore. Once again, an innocent has suffered upon pain of Death because of how you have failed him. Yet again, you have failed.",Dumbledores head hung low in shame as he could no longer look upon that which he was solely responsible for.,A low moan managed to get Voldemorts attention, as he stepped up to the pale and sunken skinned teen. Lowering himself in order to face his would be destroyer, the Dark Lord spoke, "Hello Harry Potter. How the mighty have fallen.",Harry began to cough as if he needed aid in order to speak.,"Wa-Wat...","Water? Very well, Harry. Being a Merciful Lord, I shall grant this request.",Conjuring a plain glass cup into his free hand, Voldemort then proceeded to fill it with water that he then when finished filling it to a necessary level, placed it to the boys lips and proceeded to aid him to drink.,As Harrys lips took in the precious liquid, water spilled from either side of his mouth as Harry gulped the water furiously, though much of it escaped his mouth. He coughed some of it up, forcing Voldemort to pull away as the teen choked and coughed. Harry then began to breathe heavily, taking in lungfuls of much needed air.,"Do you know who I am, Harry?" Voldemort asked as he once more stepped up to him, vanishing the cup of water and grabbing Harrys hair. Yanking it back, he had to smile as he quickly turned his head to observe Black failure to stop him from touching his oh so precious Godson.,"T-To...",Turning back to Harry, he asked mockingly, he asked, "What was that Harry?",Placing his head near the boys lips, what could be mistaken for ear holes, the Dark Lord listened, "La..Last req...request...","Oh, and what is that last request, Harry?","C-Come closer.","Yes?" the red eyed snake-like wizard said as he leaned in closer to Harrys lips to where they were merely a centimeter from his lips.,"Khadishmol Khadishmal, Paradouse, Paradouse." Harry said, his words coming as if filled with power.,The Dark Lord jerked back and stumbled away from the boy, as if stung. Harry on the other hand, having allowed his head to fall after it was released, slowly raised his head, a smiled filled with promising vengeance upon his face, a hoarse chuckle escaping between clenched teeth.,"Was that supposed to mean something, Harry?" Voldemort asked, a slight drop of sweat upon his brow.,"Wait for it." was all Harry said.,Suddenly, the entire prison shuddered. A loud sound, unto like a loud, deep horn, sounded. From behind the gathered Death Eaters and other followers of the Dark Lord, a bright light shined forth. The sound of horses , when those said followers, both marked and unmarked, saw with fear filled eyes, as a group of horses pulling a chariot, being driven by a humanoid with the body of a man, yet, had the head of a dog.,The being of pale light, drove right through the crowd, causing them to scream, and yet none was touched, save for the Dementors as they too were dragged behind the driver of the vaporous chariot.,The Dark Lord on the other hand did not get a chance to raise his wand as he too was plowed through. What he failed to see as his minions were passed, was an unknown mist flying from Harrys scar, a mist that had a face he would know well. But upon the unknown being passing over and through him, he felt all of his links connecting his physical body to the world, ,!,Like chains breaking all at once, he collapsed to his knees as he watched an image of his very presence being dragged off alongside the Dementors, reaching out futely as the being in the chariot then flew into a misty, yet flowing vortex of air, and disappeared. The light of his approach, dying with his leave.,Voldemort felt weakened, as if his entire bodys strength, had suddenly left him. He could not feel the magic within the body he currently inhabited. He turned painfully as he began to feel as if the magic maintaining his body began to fail. He observed as Harry Potter, having fallen when the unknown being plowed through him and those around him, including those who held up his body, gradually, rose to his feet.,Harry didn't bother worrying about the Dark Lords followers, as they began to feel weakened, just as much as their 'Lord'. With a slow step, the Last Potter walked over to Voldemort, wherein he then knelt before the would be man on one knee. With his head tipped to the side.,"I bet you're asking yourself, what in the hell did I just do? You know, the last time, that spell was used, was by a woman in 1926, a woman who just so happened to have stopped a dreaded monster like you, from taking over the world. He too thought he was immortal, until she showed him otherwise. Just like you thought, until now. That man, in the chariot, was Anubis, Lord of the Underworld.","A-Anu...","Anubis. That's right.","B-b-but..how.." Voldemort asked weakly, feeling his body begin to break down from within, something Harry too noticed.,"The 'How', is rather easy. You not only pissed of Thanatos, but the Peverell Clan as well. You and I, were the last of the Clan Peverell, you of Cadmus, me of Ignotus. Now, I am the last, and truest descendant of The Peverell family Bloodline. It was said, that when Ignotus died, he walked hand in hand with Death, as if they were old friends. Well Tom, you really didn't think you could stave off Death forever, did you?" Harry asked as he rose to his full height. "And as it stands, as the last of Ignotus descendants, Death was only too happy to give me a way to beat you, and I did it with only four little words, and the help of a Death God just all too willing to aid me.",He knew Tom could not speak, as by now, his vocal cords were no doubt liquidized, just like the rest of his body was soon to follow. Tom Riddle, alias Lord Voldemort tried reaching out to Harry Potter, who took a step back as a moment or two later, Voldemorts body began to change from a solid form, to a red liquid catalyst, that then spilled out onto the floor, pooling beneath not just Harrys feet, but beneath the feet of the now deceased Dark Lords followers.,Moans were once more heard as every being whom were marked, began to cry out, until their bodies breathed their last. Harry had turned to see this, as Sirius Black stepped up beside him to watch. There were a few who could only continue to moan, as if in extreme pain, as they must have been unmarked, but were no doubt touched by the Death God that had just come and gone mere moments ago.,"Harry, what did you just do?" Sirius asked as he turned to his Godson.,Harry didn't look back, but only said one word, "Justice!" he then collapsed into unconsciousness in Sirius's arms, the man catching him as his Godson fell, as if the last ounce of consciousness and strength had fled him.,The man carefully fell to a knee as Harry rested in his arms. Sirius's right hand brushed the boys unkempt hair to the side, not failing to see the now faded scar that barely stood out. The Black Lord wept as he pulled Harry into his chest and held him there. Over and over he apologized, rocking back and forth with the unconscious teen in his arms, almost silently crying out to Lily and James, and just pleading with them to forgive him. He then turned his head down, kissing Harrys forehead as he continued to apologize.,"Sirius." the familiar voice of Albus Dumbledore spoke, as he placed a gentle, yet firm hand on Sirius's right shoulder.,Sirius raised his eyes to the man, who looked upon Sirius's tear streaked one, letting the Black Lord see the tears upon his own aged face.,Dumbledore then turned his eyes upon Harry, but when he made to touch him, Sirius pulled away, with a fierce growl, "Don't touch him.","Sirius...I-I meant no harm." The old man pleaded.,"You've done him enough harm." Sirius said through clenched teeth.,Dumbledores hand hovered in the air as he thought back onto his failing, and then dropped it. Sirius leaned on a wall to the side, cradling his Godson to his chest protectively. Amelia and the Aurors were already reacting, stunning the still alive followers of Voldemort, those who had yet to be marked. Some which were pretty recognizable from within some influential and wealthy families, and some which were pretty high within the Ministry.,After issuing out orders, Amelia then turned her attention to Sirius, and looked at the boy he held close to his heart. With a sigh, she walked over to her fiance and knelt before him. Casting what monitoring charms she knew, she sighed as she spoke, "He's merely exhausted." turning to the mess that had once been Voldemorts body, she then asked, "Just where in Merlins Beard did he learn a spell like that? Was that really Anubis?","I don't know, Amy. I really don't. But, I'm glad to say, no, proud to say, he did it. He finally did it. My Prongslet." He lowered his head to Harrys own and kissed his forehead once more, before holding his head close to his chest.,The survivors all, standing shakily with the nights events still fresh in their minds, managed to gather themselves until calmness overcame them. Sirius, with Harry in his arms, stood. He was not surprised with the weight of his boy and how light he felt. Looking forward with Amelia now leading him away, Sirius realized he would have to walk through the throng of bodies now lining the halls of the prison. As he walked, he stopped before the bodies of both Malfoys, their eyes blank and unseeing, "I told you, you were going to die, tonight. I'm just jealous that it was Harry who did the deed instead of me." he said as he looked down upon the now deceased father and son with contempt. Without a further word more, he continued on his trek, those still living and among the innocent, moving out of his way and or giving him an opening from the respect and somewhat fear of the unconscious individual in his arms.,The next day, many a people, the world over, rejoiced at the news, that Harry Potter, had finally put an end to the Dark Lord. There were still those whom had followed him, now within their own individual cells within Azkaban who were stunned upon sight after being confirmed as unmarked followers of the Dark Lord. On the other hand, those marked, both within and without Azkaban on the very same night the Dark Lord was finally and permanently vanquished, ended up dropping dead at where they had stood, clutching their arms and their chests.,In St. Mungo's, there were many marked followers being floo'ed in, their life force quickly being drained upon the Dark Lords demise. Minutes after the man was dead, they too met the same grim fate as those who died within the Wizarding Prison.,A week had gone by, and still, after being checked over by Madam Pomphrey, all were perplexed as to why their hero and Champion would not awaken. For the entire time that had passed, word had quickly spread of Voldemorts defeat at the hands of Harry Potter, using magic never before seen or heard of.,Dumbledore and Amelia Bones were silent on the details, with the surviving Aurors and Prison Guards being informed to remain silent as well with forced oaths as a way to silent rumors and speculations.,The entirety of Wizarding Britain once more hailed The-Boy-Who-Lived as a Hero only after just weeks before, they condemned him as a villain and budding Dark Lord in waiting.,All the while, Harry remained ignorant of the world outside while on the inside, within the deepest recesses of his mind, he found himself standing before a vast dune or desert of sand.,Looking up, he had to squint as the blue sky burned with the radiance of the burning sun. On reflex, he had to shield his eyes as his head then lowered, a slightly dry wind blowing against his skin. The air was hot, dry, humid. His skin, burning under the intense heat, even if he was not native to the location of which he found himself.,Turning and looking upon his surroundings in order to understand what his eyes were conveying, he could not begin to comprehend the idea of where he was.,"Hello." he called out as he turned back around, his voice echoing within the vast desert, he was barely able to protect his eyes from the sand and dryness of the hot, yet windy climate. "HELLO..." he hollered.,He began to despair at first when the hairs on the back of his arms and neck began to rise, and it was then, that he felt that he was not alone. Spinning around every which way, he could not figure out where the presence was, or even what it was.,All he knew was, that it was watching him. He felt no malice or dark intentions from it, only curiosity and amusement. Suddenly, as if the air before him rippled from the sun and hot winds effects upon the desert, a small shady speck, far in the distance, appeared. It seemed to be getting closer as the speck grew larger in height, though the air continued to ripple.,'A mirage?!' he thought to himself as the image remained advancing towards him. Lest his eyes deceive him, he could make out what appeared to be a figure in a white, sleeveless gown, with long dark hair.,It was as if time moved quicker than he thought possible, when the image or being was suddenly upon him. It stepped forward several feet from him, on his left. He turned towards the being which was from what his eyes could make out, was a rather gorgeous, young woman. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. And yet, as he turned to look upon her, she turned to look upon him.,She had the most exotic, sun kissed skin he had ever come across. She seemed to stand at an even height as he did. Her hair, long, ever flowing. The white gown, extended in the back, trailed along the sands, flapping in the wind.,The tips of her toes seemed to have been dipped in some kind of bluish-green cosmetic makeup. There were markings upon her face and neck, markings of which he could not decipher, but yet seemed familiar to him. There were similar markings upon her hands and fingers, which also bore various pieces of gold jewelry. One of which, if he was not mistaken, was Egyptian in design.,Having visited the Library when he was a child, he'd often been astonished with Egypt, its rich history and culture. He'd seen the many pictures depicting Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs, pictures of the jewelry that now resided within Museums both in Europe and Egypt, according to the books. This very knowledge came to his mind as he then looked upon the large necklace lying across her collarbone and extending to just above her breasts.,The said necklace consisted of combined stones and precious metals, most of which was gold. The symbol of two snakes, joined, yet facing one another sat in the center of the precious object. On either side of her head, flowing down her neck to the center of her collarbone, were what seemed to be runes. He was no expert on runes, of that he would gladly admit. His former friend Hermione, could possibly figure it out, but for the moment, his eyes were distracted as they continued to travel to her eyes. Brown orbs gazed into his emerald green. The bluish-green makeup beneath her lower eye lids made her all the breath taking.,She was a Goddess in human form. His breath caught in his throat as he continued to stare upon the woman before him. He was at a loss for words as time seemed to suddenly stand still. Both stood before the other, words yet to be spoken.,The womans right hand then raised and cupped his left cheek, ,"What?" he replied softly, gently grasping the back of her hand., she repeated.,To him, the word began to take another form when she said it again, as if he always knew what it meant, "Your chosen?",Her soft smile was all he needed to confirm that that was exactly what she had called him. That same smile was infectious, and seemed to make his heart, that had gone cold for some time now, beat with a warmth he had never known or felt.,She once more began to speak in the strange language, but to his mind, he understood her words as he was easily able to work out what she was saying, or rather asking of him. , she had said in the strange language.,"How? Where are you?" he asked.,Placing a blue-green finger tipped hand over his chest, above his heart, she looked from his chest, to his eyes as she answered him. His mind translated her words once more, that his heart would guide him. Before he could ask her the meaning to her answer, she closed the space between them and slowly inched her head towards his, her lips lightly touching his own. For a moment, he felt as if the world had disappeared, and all that remained was she and he. A spark was lit within him as he reciprocated the kiss as he grasped her by the forearms and pulled her tightly to him.,The moment ended when her lips left his own and brushed his ear, , she had said, ,Suddenly, images came to him, and instinctively, he knew where he needed to go as once more, a desert came to the forefront of his mind, then a small town where the image zoomed to the ground beneath the sand. An image of a crying face, images of statues of dog headed men with spears. A room off to the side with more statues, surrounding a pool of liquid silver.,From the pool of liquid, a coffin with the image of a screaming woman, rose from the depths. His vision showed him zooming once more as the image of the woman in his arms was revealed to him once more, only she began to shrink into herself. He pulled back from her in shock as he saw that as in his vision, she was beginning to shrink and decompose right before his very eyes.,"What's happening?" he shouted as he watched her body begin to shift into a mummified corpse, her arms held to at him, her rapidly mummifying expression pleading as an unknown force began to pull them apart.,"No, NO, NNNNOOOOOOO!" he screamed as she flew backwards at the same time as he did, the mere sight of her form, shrinking as the distance between them lengthened until he could barely see her, "I'LL FIND YOU. I'LL SAVE YOU!" he hollered, reaching out for her in futility until his world went black once more.,With a gasp, he awoke, clutching blankets that he did not recognize, to his chest. "Wha...Where am I?","Oh, that poor boy." the Matriarch of the House of Weasley lamented as she cried sullenly. Her husband Arthur, pulled her into his arms, patting her back soothingly. Within Number 12, Grimmauld Place, members of the Order of the Phoenix had their heads down in shame. Many of them, former friends of James and Lily Potter, and the few recent, being once known friends and associates of Harry James Potter. Only a few stood in a corner away from the lot, looking down at the many members in disgust.,Fred and George Weasley, the twin sons of Arthur and Molly Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Luna Lovegood, just to name a few. All believed in Harrys innocence and stuck by him, refusing to believe that Harry could be the monster they and others claimed he was. Now here they stood, with others who believed in Harry, looking down upon the fools who condemned an innocent, yet again.,"I will never forgive myself." Hermione Granger said as the tears she had shed for the last week, refused to recede. Even now, with her parents with her as guests within Sirius's Ancestral home, they could not ease her suffering from the guilt she felt for the part she played in destroying Harrys life.,Even the scarred Veteran Auror, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, refused to raise his head. Ever since Harrys innocence was revealed, he had beat himself up mentally, wondering where he had failed to see the truth. The truth was before him, and even with his 'All Seeing Eye', he was oblivious to it all. He stood against a far wall, leaning against it, his staff before him.,Normally, he'd be shouting obscenities, telling everyone to suck it up, and spouting 'Constant Vigilance', but he just didn't have it in him. He felt all of his past sins come crushing down on him, as if his age and disfigured body followed suit. He wondered, as did everyone, if the souls of the Potters, could ever forgive them for what they had done to the last Potter.,Albus Dumbledore walked in, looking every bit his own age. His bones ached as he sat at the Head of the table. None dared to look up at him or acknowledge him. He understood and did not have to say it, he deserved it. After a moment of silence, he turned to Remus Lupin, seeing the hagard man and Were-Wolf looking worser than ever as he looked like he had not shaved or cleaned himself in some time, "Any change in Harry, Remus?","No, Albus. And even if there were, I doubt he would want us to be near him." the man answered. Looking at the others at the table, and then those standing apart from them, "And I wouldn't blame him.,Before Dumbledore could ask anything else, both Sirius and Amelia walked in, an official set of documents from both the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts in her arms. Sirius, seeing the old man in the seat meant for him as the head of his family, walked up to the old man, "You're in my seat, old man.",Dumbledore merely nodded as he raised himself up, and moved away, allowing Sirius to take the seat, while another Order member allowed Amelia to sit in his spot next to Sirius right, the old man taking a seat at the end of the table.,"These documents, are for Harry. Officially recognizing his innocence. He has been exonerated of all charges of which he was accused. This also means that his record has been expunged, leaving him with a clean slate. With this and the aid of the Head of Gringotts, everything has been restored to Harry, every coin, currency, property, everything. He is also recognized as an adult by the Ministry, meaning he is free to make his own choices, whatever they may be. Should he wish to leave, we are obliged to let him.","Minister Scrimgeour wishes to address this before an entire crowd of the Nations Reporters, as soon as Mr. Potter is able, once he is conscious and in a lucid state. He intends to present Harry with an Order of Merlin, 1st Class, return his Family's seat to him on the Wizengamot, and more, in order to be able to correct and right any wrongs committed against him by the previous Ministry Heads, The Dark Lord, and the now deceased Death Eaters. Rufus wants Harry on his side." Amelia said.,She made to say more, but a startled , from the Head Hogwarts Healer, Madam Poppy Pomphrey, had everyone snap their heads in her direction as she quickly rose to her feet and rushed ot of the room. Almost everyone got up a second later and followed quickly after her.,As she made it to the door, she paused as her hand grasped its handle, she barely turned her head to look upon the huge crowd of followers, standing beside and behind her, right outside the room that Harry currently occupied, "As Head Healer, I demand that you all wait until I have had a chance to examine Mr. Potter, and depending on whether or not he wishes to see you, will be up to him. Now if you will excuse me.",She entered the room, the door slamming shut behind her, causing some to jump at the sudden loud slam, as no doubt she was among the many he believed in the boys innocence and would not hear of any false claim made against him at the time things happened when they did. Everyone made to sulk outside the bedroom, some conjuring chairs and waiting, such as the elders like Sirius, Amelia, Dumbledore, and a few others, the rest either reclining against the wall, sunken, shallow skin from the sadness that permeated their hearts and the guilt eating away at their consciousness, such was the case in Ronald Weasley, who had barely been able to hold any solid foods down when Harrys innocence was revealed. He had practically starved himself, as he was no longer the person he once was.,His skin pale and clammy, his eyes sunken in, purple blotches outside his eyelids, wherein his eyes were also bloodshot from lack of rest.,His sister Ginny was no better as she resembled her older brother, her hair loosing the fiery radiance it once held. She too looked as if she could do with a bit of food and or drink, and yet, like Ronald, had deprived herself of those necessities as penance.,Nothing her parents nor older siblings could say and or do could make them eat or drink, their conscience getting the better of them for their actions in trying to destroy what remained of Harrys belongings that Dobby had not already retrieved and or protected.,For Ronald, it was like 4th year all over again. For his sister, she had betrayed someone whom had personally saved her, someone she had dreamed of marrying, someone she worshiped as a hero, never seeing the boy beneath the Legend everyone created at the time after James and Lily Potters deaths. It was only a week ago that the entirety of the realization had come to the forefront of their minds with a Vengeance, and the possible reppercusions and outcomes that could follow.,Almost 45 minutes had passed before the old Medi-Witch would exit the room quietly, the door almost , shut, her hand on the door. As she turned to the now alert crowd of people, they could see the tear tracks flowing down her cheeks, fresh tears falling from her eyes.,"Poppy?" Dumbledore queried.,"He...He is...stable. But will need time to heal and be...rehabilitated. He has...given me a message to deliver...to you all. Or at least to those who have betrayed him.","What did he say?" Sirius asked, afraid of the answer.,"He intends to leave our world, and never return. He wants nothing to do, with any of you." here she looked at most of the people all around her with accusing eyes, "Especially for those who turned against him. For those who stood beside him, he will contact you when he deems it necessary.",Many , at this outcome, though others weren't so surprised at Harrys choice and were more or less expecting it. Many of the women of the huge crowd weeped at this, heads hanging low. Several individual men, both old and young, also lowered their heads in shame.,"H-He can't...leave. He just can't!" Hermione wept, her face in her hands as she dropped to her knees in emotional agony. Her parents kneeling beside her, trying to give her the support she needed through reassuring words whispered into her ears.,"You have all brought this on yourselves. He quoted to me a phrase that he once heard that I can and do understand, even now, 'Envy the country that needs heroes. For him, he pities the country that needs them. You either die a hero, or you live long enough, to see yourself become the villain.' He's been seen as both. All of you put him on both pedestals, and now, you 'ALL', will suffer the consequences.","There mu-must be something we can do?" Molly Weasley pleaded.,The Medi-Witch shook her head, "There is nothing any of you can do. Nothing. He is adamant about it. And for once, I agree with him. As his personal Healer, I am bound with an oath to acquiesce to his wishes.",With that, she re-entered the room, sealing and warding the door closed. A new wave of weeping and lamenting began among the gathered.,For two weeks, Poppy Pomphrey was the only primary person who managed to see to and speak with Harry behind closed doors. She saw to his rehabilitation, which she thought was going rather well, more than well as he fought to overcome the effects that Azkaban had on him, taking nutrient potions to restore his health, Skelegrow to fix the damage done to his bodies height problem, another healer was brought in to fix his eyes issues before being dismissed.,Upon the third week, Harry was declared fit to leave. Many tried to stop him, The Weasleys and Hermione, minus Fred and George, as Madam Pomphrey discreetly passed messages back and forth between them and Harry. Dumbledore, Amelia Bones, even Sirius himself tried to get him to stop and listen to reason. He refused them that right. He had taken the material both Amelia and the Ministry had for him. A letter was sent to the Minister, with the message basically saying in laymen terms, to 'Piss Off!'.,On that final day of the third week, Harry exited Grimmauld Place, and disappeared. It would be some time before anyone, ever saw him again. There were reports of his relatives being arrested and even sued by Harry. Number Four, Privet Drive being reclaimed, sealed up, and possibly sold as the Dursleys were evicted from the premises upon their detainment, with Dudley being placed in his Aunts custody.,In the end, near the end of 2007, the name 'Harry Potter' would be synonymous with those whom were falsely detained and imprisoned without a trial, something Amelia Bones hoped to correct as those whom were, were compensated for the times spent without trials. People like Rubeus Hagrid were restored the rights that were denied to them.,Try as they might, those whom cared and or claimed to care for Harry tried to find him by speaking to those whom refused to speak of his whereabouts and or break his trust.,It would be almost a decade before Harrys name would be brought up again, as a storm broke over the horizon, and a feeling of dark times that have yet to come to pass, would be noticed, as Powers of Ancient Times would awaken, and the world of Monsters would be known, once more to both the Wizarding Realm and the No-Maj Realm.

When you have psychic powers, the impossible becomes possible. You may think having psycic powers is a dream come true, well your wrong. bending spoons, winning corporate giveaways, yeah i can do it, but bending apoons makes it hard to eat my curry, and a lifetime supply of junk food makes your stomach hurt. Clairvoyance, telekinesis, mind-reading, etc etc I can do all of that, that boy must be the happiest boy alive, that is what your thinking right?,Wrong, im the unhapiest boy alive, a boy who has nothing, i could never have a surprise party, i win every game of rock paper scissors, and i have never felt a sense of accomplishment from hard work. I dont want to be in the spotlight, so i keep my powers hidden with clips i created that i wear in my hair. The only one i cant really control is my telepithy, it works on everyone within a 200 meter radius. Well almost everyone, the only person i cant read the mind of is nendo, a guy nobody likes but he seems to have attached himself to me.,Oh well, its a school day so here i am walking to school again with nendo following me. Everyone has been thinking about the new family moving into the neighborhood this week. since i havent heard any new voices id guess they arent here yet. Supposivly they moved from england, and they have three teen boys that will be going to school with us. As usual i was looking at the ground as i walked, i was trying to ignore nendo jabbering away beside me, when i bumped into someone. Wait i never bump into people, i can hear their thoughts so i always know where they are.,Looking up i saw three boys, the first was tall, very tall, with dark mocha skin, black hair that came just passed his ears, and brown eyes. The second was also tall but shorter than the first, he had grey eyes and white blonde hair that came passed his shoulders. The last boy was shorter than me by about 4 inches, he had raven black hair that came to mid back, it was pulled back in a pony tail. He also had the most amazing eyes, green as emeralds, they sparkled like gems, but that may be from the tears as he was the one i knocked down. He had glasses in his hand, so i guess he couldnt see very well. they were all wearing the school uniform.,"Hey, you prat," said the blonde, "you should watch where your going, or atleast appologize for bumping into my friend!",'Sorry, I didn't see you there' i sent using telepathy.," Well?" asked the taller brunette. What? my telepathy doesnt work on these guys, what is going on here?," Hey. we are sorry, my buddy was destracted i was telling him about this new game i got yesterday," nendo said from beside me.,"Just watch whee your going, come on guys we are going to be late if we dont get going." Said the tallest, placing the glasses back on the ravens face, before walking off towards the school.," Hey, you cant talk to us like that! who do you think you are? ah come on buddy lets get to school, i heard we were getting some new kids today." said nendo, he grabbed my arm and started dragging me after him. How could i not hear their thoughts? I can hear everyone, well except nendo, but hes an idiot. You cant read something that isnt there after all.,We got to school with no more problems, entering the classroom we took our seats. Using Clairvoyance, I found the three students in the principal's office. Oh wait, they are leaving, i guess they are new students. Blinking, i focused back on my class just as the teacher walked in.," Alright class take your seats, we have some new students in class three today. They moved from england, and i expect you to be nice to them," she finished. The door opened, the principal and the three boys from outside stood at the door. Ushering the boys inside, the pricipal smiled, wished them luck, and left.,'Oh the blonde is so handsome.' ' the dark one looks so scary, i bet hes a thug.' 'the small boy is just so beautiful, almost as beautiful as teruhashi.' These along with many more were thoughts floating through the classroom. how annoying, they are just people, just like the rest of you.,"Class this is Malfoy Draco," she gestured to the blonde, " Zabini Blaise," the tall mocha skined boy, "And Potter Harry. Boys there are seats in the back for you. please sit so we can start our day." Nodding, they moved as one to the indicated seats, the smallest in the middle, as if he needed protection.,'Oh new kids, as a perfect pretty girl, its my job to welcome them to school. After all, who wouldnt want such a beautiful girl to talk to them? i bet i can get atleast five oh wows out of them at lunch.' Thats teruhashi, the prettiest girl in school, or thats the common idea. When i look at her i just see muscles and bloodvessles thanks to my power. But shes not wrong, perfext on the inside and beautiful out, shes dangerous, thats why i stay away from her. thankfully she hasnt taken the time to notice me yet.,Classes ended and it was time for lunch, i Stayed in the room, mom always packed my lunch. Noticing the three in the back pushing their desks together i left the room, giving them privacy, and went up to the roof. If this is going to go on ill have to figure out why my telepathy doesnt work on them.

The Boy Who Linc'ed,Chapter 1: I'm a What?!,Everything was quiet on Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England, Great Britain. A fat man and his horse faced wife and the roll of lard they called a son were seated down for a Saturday lunch and couldn't be happier. They did not receive an owl, nor did they have a small boy living in the cupboard under their stairs. Why that is relevant is, something that could only be described as the stars aligning or an act of sheer incompetence from a doddering old wizard.,In a small suburb in middle America, 1216 Franklin Avenue, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States of America, to be precise, however was just gearing up to have not just a normally loud day, but an especially loud day.,As the sun peaked over the horizon and the first speckles of light came dancing down the street, it illuminated a rickety two-story home. The building itself looked well lived in, with children's toys all over the yard. A calm breeze from the fresh summer air, a sense of peace and quiet is found in the neighborhood. For about five seconds.,"Hey that's mine." Cried a blonde,"No, it's mine." Said another identical blonde.,"Does this dress look good with these shoes." A third blonde with large rimmed glasses asked a fourth blonde who was applying makeup.,"Literally not my problem, I have to get ready for a date with Bobby Boo Boo Bear tonight.","Hut Hut, Hike" was the warcry of a brunette bullet as a blur careened past a door, where rock music could be heard.,"One side, coming through, highly unstable isotope here." A small brunette walked past carrying a beaker in a pair of tongs.,As the day started in the Loud house a door at the end of the hall remained closed. A young boy, with snow white hair and a suspicious looking scar began to stir. Quickening of breath and curling the sheets around him. "No, don't… stop" he cried out. "AHHHHHH!" with a scream he shot upright in his bed, clenching his chest. Shortly followed by the thunderous sound of foot falls racing to his door.,The door burst open and ten heads poked in. "Lincoln are you okay?" Asked a concerned sister. The boy nodded his head, trying to regulate his breathing as he realized he was awake and safe in his bed. "Did you have that nightmare again?" again nodding his head in affirmation. "Do you want to talk about it?",Shaking his head, "No, it's just a dream" as he shifted to place his feet on the ground, when he went to stand up a sharp pain in his head caused him to wince.,A brown-haired sister ran up and put her hand on his shoulder, "Linc, you okay?" the concern in her eyes shared with the other nine. Nodding his head once more.,"Yeah, just the scar acting up again," he lied. The scar had been "acting up" every hour of every day and was getting worse. The only reason he really felt it this morning was because he hadn't mentally prepared himself once he wakes up, in a few short minutes his mind felt safer and he could open his eyes properly. "Just not ready for today I guess." He chuckled.,The girls leaving his room, so he can get himself dressed. They knew there was more to it than just that, but let it slide for now. "We're telling dad that he's getting worse." Proclaimed a girl with brown hair and braces.,This decision was confirmed by a girl in a skull t-shirt, "Yeah, dad said if his scar starts causing problems that we are to tell him.",A few nods and confirmations that they would inform their father at breakfast before the girls split up to continue their morning antics.,Normally during the summer, especially on the weekend, breakfast is a fend for yourself deal. However today was a rare day that not just one but both parents had off from work. So, in this case the entire family sat down for the meal together.,"So, girls tell me what the plans are for today." A blonde woman with wide hips asked her children.,"Umm, before we tell you, dad?" asked the oldest daughter.,"Hmm, yes Lori?" He called back, not turning from the stove that he was cooking on.,"It's about Lincoln." She continued.,"Oh, that's right, he's not down yet," turning slightly to angle the sound better. "LINCOLN, BREAKFAST" he shouted up the house. "Thanks for looking out for him Lori." He smiled.,"That's not what…" she tried to tell him before being interrupted.,The brunette who was playing football in the hallway blurted out, "Lincoln's scar is hurting." Apparently, this was a magical phrase, as the father stopped what he was doing, turning off the stove.,"Junior, what do you mean hurting." He said with a serious tone.,"He was having that nightmare again and when he tried to get up his scar started to hurt him." The normally boisterous girl squeaked out. It was unusual for their father to be this intense unless something was seriously wrong.,"Honey, I'm going to go check on Lincoln, can you finish up. I'll be down in a bit." He half-asked as he walked up the stairs. His wife nodded and set about finishing the flapjacks.,Upstairs the boy was sitting in a chair, in the dark as he worked to understand what was happening. Most of the stuff in his room was floating and he was trying his best not to panic. He knew that sometimes weird things happened to him, or around him, but he never had seen this much affected before. The door opening to his room and his father peaked his head in.,Lincoln yelped as he wasn't expecting anyone to come into his room, however that only made him drop all his furniture. "Dad, help." He cried as tears rolled down his face. "I don't know what's wrong with me." He rushed over to be engulfed in a tight hug.,"Oh Lincoln, nothing is wrong with you," Lynn cooed, trying to calm down his distraught son. "I expected this day to come, but I hoped it wouldn't" he started rubbing the boys back to help him calm down.,"What do you mean, you expected this?" he asked, looking his father in his eyes.,"Lincoln, I think it's time we had a talk," Lynn pulled Lincoln to arm's length, "I want you to go down stairs and tell your mother and the girls to go sit in the living room, I'll be down in just a few minutes." He wiped the tears from son's eyes. "Can you do that for me son?",All Lincoln could do was nod. "Good job, I'll be down in a few minutes, I'll explain everything then." As he stood up and walked down the hall, pulling the attic door down he disappeared into the upper level.,Lincoln's presence was noticed quickly and even faster were all the girls pulling him into a giant hug when they saw how awful he looked. "Dad said, we need to go to the living room." Turning to his mother, "Mom, he said he was going to explain everything." His mothers react, small but noticeable, she knew this day would come. Calmly getting up she walked over to her son, scooped him into her arms and carried him to the living room, sitting down and never once letting go of him.,The girls simply followed as they were curious as to why their mother reacted to such a simple sentence.,It wasn't but a few minutes later their father came down with a trunk, he casually walked over and set in on the coffee table. Taking in a deep breath, "Lincoln, there is no easy way to say this." As he pulled out a folder. "You are adopted." Gasps from all the girls as they heard the words.,"I'm adopted?" he parroted. "But how does that…" only to be cut off, by his father.,"You are my nephew. Your mother is your aunt and your sisters are your cousins." He quickly stated. "But never, for a moment think, we love you any less." He sat down next to Lincoln, pulling himself close to his wife to hug them both. They sat for ten minutes while Lincoln cried into his parents. His sisters came over one by one and joined the hug.,"But, how can I do all that stuff, it doesn't explain that." He asked.,"I'll tell you, but first." His tone taking a serious turn once again. "I want everyone to know, that everything I am about to tell you is the truth, so do not think this is your father pulling a prank. Do you all understand?" The girls nodding. Turning back to Lincoln, seeing him nod. "Lincoln, you're a wizard.",For a few seconds there was silence. Until Lincoln asked a very important question, "What does that mean?",Lynn reached over to grab the folder, the girls coming around to look. "This" pulling a photograph out, amazed that the images were moving. "Is your father, James and your mother, my sister, Lily" in it, both adults were waving to the camera man, "And that little bundle is you. Lincoln Potter.",A knock on the door interrupted his flow. Slowly getting up he carefully walked to the door. "I knew you would come, I just thought I would have more time." He stepped aside gesturing for his guest to enter the room. She was a tall woman, with a gaunt face. Noticing how many eyes were on her, inwardly thought, ,. "Please, Professor, come inside and take a seat, we were just getting started on explaining to him. Hopefully you can help everyone understand." She nodded as she walked in.,Clearing her throat. "I am Professor of Transfiguration, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And I am here to formally invite you to attend this year, young Mr. Potter.","Thish ish preposhteroush," a small girl in a green sweater moved to stand on the couch, "Witchcraft, wizardry, I am a woman of shience and the very exishtence of magic goes againsht the bashic fundamental laws of the universe." She spoke with a lisp.,"You are a very astute young lady aren't you." McGonagall chuckled, not the first-time family didn't believe her, usually it's the older ones, not the young ones. "How about I demonstrate for you, some of the things Mr. Potter will learn in his first year." Pulling her wand out of her sleeve, a quick wave and the couch Lisa was standing on started levitating. The eyes of all the children were bugging out of their head, with a flick of her wrist the pillows turned into puppies and were yapping and running around the room. Making a few more objects move about the room she noticed how entranced all the children were. It reminded her why she loved her job so much, to see the joy in peoples faces when they get to see real magic for the first time.,"Now, does that answer any questions." She asked, knowing the smart ones always have more questions. "Young Mr. Potter. I would like to formally welcome you to our school.","I but, how," the experience overwhelmed him, and he could only cry out in pain and grab his head before slumping over onto the floor. The outcry from everyone in the room was the last thing he heard before everything went black.,As everyone in the house was screaming at McGonagall for doing something to Lincoln all became silent when they heard him yelling.,"Lily, take Lincoln and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" he started shaking. "Not Lincoln, please no, take me, kill me instead" his voice dropping, with a distinct unsettling tone, "This is my last warning" at this McGonagall pushed past everyone else and beseeched him to wake up. "Not Lincoln! Please… have mercy… have mercy… Not Lincoln! Not Lincoln! Please I'll do anything…" at this McGonagall knew what was next and had to do whatever she could to stop the next words out of his mouth and cast a powerful stinging hex at him. With a scream he shot up awake.,Shooting up he could only yell before being tackled by his family and pulled into the tightest hug he ever received. "What happened." All eyes turned to the Deputy Headmistress. Except from her end it looked more like threatening glares.,"Mr. Potter, how do you remember that night?" She slowly sank into the couch. "You, can't possibly remember, you were only a baby.",Lincoln slowly walked over and sat down next to her, "I don't know, until today I didn't know who any of those people were, but my dad, sorry" he winced and looked to Lynn.,"Lincoln, no matter what, you will always be my son." He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.,"My dad showed me a photo, those were my birth parents. They…" he trailed off, trying to find out the words he needed. "They died that night. And I didn't." he waited for a reaction from the old woman, getting a short nod, "Please, tell me what happened.",Looking into his kind eyes, she could only see a burning need to know, to understand the world that so drastically shift on him in such a short amount of time. Letting out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. "You are Lincoln James Potter, son of Lily and James Potter, you are the Boy-Who-Lived." She paused, waiting for signs of comprehension.,"More than a decade ago, things in the magical world were not looking good, they were dark times. An organization called Death Eaters, freely roamed, they stole, murdered, raped, did whatever they pleased to whomever they wanted, attacking wizard, witch and muggle alike. No one opposed them. Their leader, an extraordinarily power dark wizard, had all but brought magical England to it's knees." Pausing again ensure that all listening was able to comprehend the story.,"Most everyone had lost hope for their friends, family and loved ones. No one could stop him, and he showed no signs of stopping himself. Until one night, one Halloween, ten years ago. He-who-must-not-be-named himself, attacked a small house, killing everyone inside. Except for a small boy. When he used a dark and Unforgivable Curse, somehow you survived, and he died. You saved all of us. You saved the world, that is why you are the Boy-Who-Lived." She noticed the people slowly comprehending what she was talking about.,"On that night, you stopped the most evil and powerful dark wizard the world had ever seen, but you were orphaned as a result. To protect you, it was decided that you would be brought to the states, to live with your muggle relatives. The dark lord's remaining forces would never be able to find you here. Now you are of age to rejoin the wizarding world, one that has been waiting for a very long time to see the one who saved them." She finished and waited for his response.,As he began to formulate all the information that was just thrown at him, his parents being murdered, him killing their murderer, being a hero and famous, being a wizard. Slowly he brought everything back to one question. "When can I go?",Today I start another series, for those who follow or favorite me (You psycho bastards) this will be my second story, since my Drabbles don't count as they are just snippets of my psychological problems.,Now for those who are fans of Harry Potter, you might be thinking, what the hell is Loud House, well it's an American cartoon on Nickelodeon, it stars Lincoln Loud, the middle child of ten sisters, and how he tries to cope and at the end of the episode he learns a heartfelt lesson. Most of the time. If you get into it good on you, it's a decent show, though if you dig around the site you'll see there is a bit of a hard on for No Such Luck or Brawl in the Family, to be fair those are the worst episodes solely because the tone is completely different to the rest of the series, but the fandom loves using it to springboard stories. Check ThatEngineer's work. It's great.,Now for the fans of Loud House, who say, I lived under a rock for the last 25 years, what the hell is Harry Potter. it's a story about how an Orphan gets treated horribly by pretty much everyone he meets and shows that no Magical Person in Britain has an ounce of common sense or they gleefully enjoy the abuse of small children, or both. Umbridge exists, so ehhh.,Now I rated this T for Teen, simply because while it's set in the Harry Potter universe, I want to keep the Nickelodeon kid friendly vibe of the show. Don't you worry I will do a proper Harry Potter story, once I can find out how to tie together all those random ideas, and that will be much more cruel and sadistic. I read plenty of Bashing stories and Dark!Harry to figure out that a few topics got a bit over looked. Also Draco might get thrown off a train, we'll see.,Now this is sort of a test chapter, see how it's received if there is a lot of activity I will try to bring it around more often, otherwise I will slowly release for the dedicated readers.,So let me know what you think and if you follow A Magician's Secret, remember, Brutal Reviews.

: Je ne possède pas Harry Potter, ni les Magiciens (Série et livres). Tout est pour le plaisir. Merci de faire mention de mon histoire si vous l'utilisez., : A Godric's Hollow, le soir de Halloween, Lily Potter a reçu une aide inattendue qui a tout changé.,Avoir recruter Peter Pettigrew était une vraiment bonne idée. Il est vrai que le mettre comme gardien du secret du Fidelitas aurait été une bonne idée s'il n'était pas déjà un de ses Mangemorts. Il sait où se trouve les Potter et surtout leur fils Harry qui pourrait seul le tuer (Il faudra peut-être éliminer Neville Londubat qui remplit aussi les conditions de la prophétie, mais ses 2 parents sont des Sangs-Purs).,Du fait du Fidelitas, les défenses sont faibles et il les perce en quelques secondes déclenchant des alarmes. Mais les gens à l'intérieur ne peuvent s'échapper du fait des sorts anti-transplanage, antiportoloin et autres. Il défonce la porte d'un sort et dans l'entrée, il fait face à James Potter, l'auror. Il entend du bruit au premier étage où doit se trouver Harry et sa mère Lily. Elle doit tenter de s'échapper et elle ne le peut pas. Amusant non ?,Le combat contre James Potter est bref. Il ne peut pas faire grand chose et cela se termine par un Avada Kavedra lancé contre lui et qui le tue.,On passe au suivant.,Il monte l'escalier qui mène au 1er étage et là sur le palier se tient une jeune femme d'à peine 20 ans et encore. Elle n'a pas de baguette.,, pense Voldemort avec un mauvais sourire intérieur.,Mais son premier Stupefix échoue devant un bouclier magique. Elle a un talisman, un artefact magique ou quoi ? Mais les sorts suivants pour neutraliser et capturer un adversaire échoue sur son bouclier. Et là, il voit les mouvements des mains de la jeune femme et il comprend : il a en face de lui une magicienne probablement en formation car ils ne sont formés à la magie qu'à partir de 17-18 ans à l'âge où les sorciers commencent leur profession magique. Mais que vient faire une magicienne ici ? Les magiciens ne se mêlent quasiment jamais des affaires de sorciers et l'inverse est vrai aussi. Au début de sa montée comme seigneur noir, Voldemort s'était renseignés sur eux, les avait observés et les avait trouvés très faibles. Mais aurait-il fait une erreur ?,- Dépêche-toi, je ne vais pas tenir, crie la jeune femme.,- J'arrive.,Et là, il voit une jeune femme aux cheveux roux avec un bébé dans le dos et un sac à la main (un sac de survie probablement) surgit et saisit la magicienne et elles disparaissent tous les 3 et autour de lui tout explose. Il ne peut pas transplaner bien qu'il essaye à cause des sorts anti-transplanage qu'il a lancés. De toute façon, c'est trop tard. Sans ses précautions, il serait mort là. Par la magie noire, il a survécu mais il est une sorte de fantôme solide qui s'échappe de la maison par les airs.,- Pétunia, peux-tu m'expliquer ce qui vient de se passer ?,- Tu pourrais peut-être me dire comment je suis retrouvé dans ce bordel ? Car j'étais en train d'étudier, pas en train de me préparer à combattre un très puissant sorcier noir.,- Tu as réussi à la battre,- Énorme coup de pot. Mais tu n'as pas répondu à ma question.,- J'ai utilisé un simple rituel de magie de sang appelant à l'aide tous ceux de mon sang qui pouvait m'aider. Mais normalement, c'était un simple appel à l'aide, pas un moyen de transplanage.,- Résultat, j'étais là instantanément. Heureusement, je n'étais pas sous la douche.,- Mais on ne pouvait pas transplaner.,- J'ai un léger don de Voyage et on passe par une autre dimension pour le faire. Donc les moyens anti-transplanage ne fonctionnent pas pour les miens. Enfin, c'est mon hypothèse. Et en parlant de transplanage, est-ce que tu peux me ramener à mon université ? Je pense qu'on ne peut pas y transplaner mais tu me déposes à Cambridge et je me débrouille après.,- Mais commente as-tu battu Voldemort ? Le plus puissant sorcier noir.,- Il m'a énervé et je suis une soupe au lait. Cela veut dire que je pars en faisant tout exploser. Oh, continue-t-elle moqueuse, il était dans un endroit anti-transplanage et tout est en train d'exploser autour de lui. Mais cela n'a jamais été aussi fort, vous aviez quoi chez vous ?,- Rien de spécial, juste de quoi faire des potions répond pensive Lily en listant mentalement tout ce qu'ils avaient chez eux. ,, pense-t-elle. Elle continue :,- Mais je ne fais pas du transplanage à 3, trop dangereux. Je crois que le mieux est d'appeler le Magicobus, mais le problème est qu'on ne sait pas trop qui le prend, continue-t-elle après quelques instants de réflexion.,- Ou alors je prends mon portable et j'appelle un taxi.,- Ton portable fonctionne ? Mais je n'ai pas beaucoup d'argent sur moi et toi ?,- Rien. Donc cela sera le Magicobus. Pendant que j'y pense, pour les Sorciers, je n'étais pas là. C'était un piège de votre part, mais le pauvre James a dû sacrifier sa vie pour tuer Voldemort. Aucun Magicien ou Magicienne n'est impliqué dans la mort de Voldemort. Sinon, tout le monde aura beaucoup de problèmes. Cela vaut mieux, alors d'accord ?,- Ok, mais il faudrait que tu soigne ta blessure au front.,- Elle saigne, non ?,- Elle a juste une forme d'éclair, je me demande comment tu te l'es faite.,- Je pense qu'un sort a dû passer juste avant de sauter.

Chapter 1: The Death of Harry Potter,Rain pelted the aging roof of the schoolhouse, yet it held firm, sheltering the countless individuals that occupied its chipped walls. Despite the rather turbulent nature outside, the innards were as filled with just as much life inside, as if the weather outside was of no concern to any of them. Children played with the various board games set by the allocated teachers and said teachers were either watching over the children or stared blissfully outside as the rain droplets cascaded across the asphalt of the schoolyard.,To any random person driving by, they would merely shrug this off as a common occurrence in an everyday British village. Yet as all the vehicles passed the boundaries of the school, carrying their occupants with them, not a single person noticed the shrivelled figure left out in the rain.,Harry Potter, aged eight, was an individual of very little interest. Dressed in large rags that made him akin to a deflating elephant and sporting ridiculously round glasses over his emerald green eyes, many people mistakenly believed him to be the local hobo or something. Not until they looked closer, and found him to be much younger than they initially thought.,Of course, they only noticed for a short while. After that, it was back to business as usual.,So here was Harry Potter, sitting on his haunches, weeping softly to himself as he nursed the swollen areas on his arms, where not many moments ago Dudley's fist and feet found its mark. While odd, the young boy found a slight sense of comfort, sandwiched between the two dumpsters directly outside the staff entrance to the canteen. It is a place he had grown most familiar to, providing safe refuge from his cousin Dudley and his gang of thugs when they would comb the halls of the school looking for victims. Their favourite target was, of course, Harry; whom they knew couldn't fight back even if he wanted to. Teachers surprisingly never took any notice of these strange games of cat-and-mouse, merely passing them off as a friendly game of Tag.,But Harry learned the hard way that it was no such game, and in situations like that, the only thing he could do, was run, He may not have been the strongest nor the biggest, but he sure could run fast when he really wanted to. Sadly he couldn't always get away every time, and whenever Dudley's gang caught up with him, they would always give him a few extras beatings for all the trouble he'd put them through.,Such was the case today, where after a particularly long chase, Harry found himself cornered at his little safe haven and beaten to kingdom come. Luckily for him, the group of bullies left early due to the rain. Unlucky for him, however, the rain also meant that he was left a broken mess in the middle of the storm, surrounded by trash.,Harry flinched slightly as he slowly felt each individual bruise that pockmarked over his skin, like craters he'd seen on the moon. Each time his skinny fingers wavered over the marks, he would hiss slightly to himself as the pain coursed through his body.,Never before had he ever felt so miserable. All through his life, through all the beatings and the insults that his "family" threw at him, Harry felt like he could take it all, holding onto the hope that one day something good would finally happen. After all, wouldn't he finally get rewarded for taking all of it? Surely he had to be related to somebody else out there other than the Dursleys. After all, he'd seen more than just uncles, aunts and cousins. What about Grandparents? Godfathers and Godmothers? Heck, even step-parents? Why is there no one else?,Yet Harry held firm to his belief, that maybe someone, anyone, anybody would finally rescue him from the hell he called 'home'. In school, sure he was ignored, but he still existed. The teachers at least remembered who he was and while the other kids avoided him like the plague, the fact that they choose to stay away reaffirmed in his heart that he still had some importance in the world.,But now that concept was shattered right in front of him, and as he laid sat there, alone, bruised, and mentally scarred, he finally realized just how insignificant he truly was.,The emotional pain stung at his heart as Harry was quickly overcome by the futilities of his actions. Eight years of his life were, in his eyes, wasted for no reason. Contemplating, he thought to himself.,'Is there any reason to keep going?','Any reason to take last another eight years?','Any point in all of it?',No...No was the resounding answer for all of them. In that brief moment, he contemplated suicide.,Harry's heart froze for a moment. Suicide? Really? Sure life was tough but was that any excuse for taking the easy way out?,No. He was wrong on that and he knew it. At this point, suicide was the ONLY choice left for him. It was either that or continue his miserable existence.,His heart set in stone, Harry pulled himself off the ground and into the full barrage of the storm raging above. Fine, suicide it was, but how could he do it? The kitchen? Not possible. His horse-faced aunt would always be there and the mere presence of him alone in the kitchen would trip her suspicions, alerting the other two of his whereabouts and his actions. He needed a place where he could do it without being intervened.,How about the park? It's small, and there is a beam in which he could hang himself. He just needed ropes...and god knows where he could even find that.,Harry narrowed his eyes as his thoughts delved deeper and deeper into the dark zone.,'Why would I ever want to die alone?' Harry thought to himself 'If I'm going out, I should at least make a big splash out of it. Uncle Vernon always said I was a good-for-nothing showoff. Maybe its time I proved him right' His eyes trailed over to the roof of the building. He smiled to himself as remembered the last time he got stuck up there when fleeing from Dudley.,Perfect. Now, where was the ladder?,Walking along the roof, Harry felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. As if a great burden was finally freeing itself from him. The feeling of fear that he felt before quickly evaporated, along with the intensity of the rain, as he pictured the horrified faces of the other students when they're going to find him.,"Now that I'm up here, doesn't look as bad as before" He vaguely remembered the last time that he was up here. He'd been cornered by Dudley's gang after an intense ten-minute "game", his back behind a brick wall as they circled around him like hungry jackals. Fearing the coming pain so much, Harry closed his eyes and wished that he was somewhere else. He'd been pleasantly surprised when he opened them again to find himself on top of the school roof, far away from Dudley and his gang.,The school administrator, of course, wasn't too happy with this, and neither was his uncle when he found out. Harry could still remember how purple his uncle's face had been when he'd return home. Dudley clung at his side, bawling his eyes out and complaining about how the "freak" got away from him, causing him to hurt his hand punching the wall. Harry didn't even get time to explain anything. His uncle just yelled at him to keep his "freakiness" in check and then threw him in his cupboard without any dinner.,He was nearly there now. And as he got closer and closer to the edge of the roof, the rain slowed into a drizzle, until finally, it stopped altogether, leaving behind a screen of sunlight that broke through the clouds and warmed Harry to the bones. Below him, he could see the other children scurry out of the building, like little ants descending from a hole in the ground.,Harry took one last look at the horizon around him. From such a vantage point, the view was truly breathtaking, making him slightly sad that he wasn't able to enjoy more moments like this is his life.,He closed his eyes. Spread his arms. Then with one last sigh, Harry Potter threw himself off the edge of the building. A rush of wind there. A distant scream. Then finally the cold feeling of death washed over him.,2 Days Later.,Albus Dumbledore sat alone in his office, shuffling through paperwork as his latest failure plagued his mind. Once again, he was unable to secure Black a trial, something he had constantly pressured Minister Fudge with. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Albus felt something was off. Black's character had been too radical, too different from the cheeky boy that he remembered when he had once occupied the halls of Hogwarts. The old man just couldn't believe that Black was willing to betray his friend like that, not when he had followed him thick and through everything.,Alas, many in the Wizengamot held firm belief that Black was guilty, something that even Dumbledore's position as Chief Warlock was unable to sway. The evidence had just been too conclusive, and Black's actions had been so expected of someone fleeing that you'll be a fool to think otherwise.,Dumbledore sighed to himself as he pushed those thoughts from his mind. Thinking about Black had put his mind onto other problems, mainly the ones involving the orphan of James and Lily Potter. He hated it, he truly did.,But leaving Harry with those muggles was the only way that the young child could be safe. Horrible they may be, but Dumbledore had complete faith that the boy could handle the lifestyle. Who knows? Its been a long time since he'd last seen the boy, what with the stress of helping fix the wizarding world. Perhaps those muggles may have gotten used to him and accepted Harry as one of their own. An old man could hope, couldn't he?,A light tapping noise drew Dumbledore's attention away from the mountain of paperwork stacked on his desk and to one of the mosaic windows in his office. His pet phoenix, Fawkes (bless his little soul) flew over to it and lifted the latch, allowing a dull auburn barn owl inside.,Now, this was something he hadn't seen in a while. It had been eight years since he'd last seen this particular owl. If his memory still served him, this particular owl should have been in the possession of Arabella Figgs, a spy of Dumbledore's who should have only used this owl in case of emergencies.,His eyes trailed over to the items attached to the legs of the owls. On one leg was a large bundle of paper, indicating that it was a newspaper. The other was a thin square that indicated that it was a letter. With worry in his mind, Dumbledore shakily removed the two items from the owl. Opening the letter slowly first, Dumbledore slipped out the thin piece of parchment and slowly began to read.,Seeing that its package was delivered, the owl flew out of the window, uninterested in whatever the human had received. Had it stayed there, it would have been one of two (alive) witnesses to ever see the aging wizard visibly stump.,Albus Dumbledore steadied himself with the edge of his table, his panic quickly infesting the rest of the room as the various portraits of headmasters and headmistresses began questioning him. Their concerns only amplifying as he remained silent to all of them. Mutters began to spread as the various headmasters and headmistresses began waking up other portraits and informing them of the situation.,Albus Dumbledore quickly unravelled the large bundle of paper, revealing it to be an ordinary muggle's newspaper. He stood there for a moment, his head stuck into the print and thus preventing any of the other portraits from peeking over and seeing what he was reading.,Finally, Dumbledore pulled back, the paper falling from his hands as he used them both to lean onto the edge of the desk for support. The now numerous portraits all jousted one another as they struggled to fit into the frames closest to the now discarded paper on the floor. The lucky ones, much to the chagrin of the others, all stared at the emboldened black letter that took up a majority of the front page.,There was a stunned silence in the air as the knowledge sunk into the minds of many of the headmasters and headmistresses. Then all at once, there was a cascade of noise as many of the portraits broke into tears over the horrible news. It soon spread and alas there was a great ecstasy of sombreness that clouded the room.,Albus Dumbledore stood there in silence, the sound of his ever increasing heartbeat hammering against the walls of his ears.,Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived. Was now dead. And it is all his fault.,How. How could he have been so blind to the reality? He'd believed that he had protected the boy all along yet all he'd done was further accelerate his death.,He'd been a fool. A fool to believe that a prejudiced family like the Dursley's would ever set aside their hate for the sake of family. He should have heeded Figg's words and taken Harry out as soon as he could've.,But no. He'd been a stubborn fool. So used to things working out that he neglected the wellbeing of an orphaned child and left him to the abusive hands of his family.,Dumbledore's hands clenched in rage. How could he forget that he was once like that? Neglecting his own sister in the pursuit of his own glory. His arrogance had been his greatest mistake. Now history was repeating itself again.,He didn't know how long he sat there. On the floor, basking in his own failure. Or rather he didn't care to bother count.,The only thing that broke him out of his stupor was the sound of his office doors opening, along with the grieving faces of Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, Rubeus Hagrid and most surprising of all, Severus Snape who had a few tears trailing from his eyes despite the severe poker face that he struggled to keep on.,With trembling hands, McGonagall held out the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. Dumbledore, his heart already dampened once, couldn't even find the energy to read out the title that plastered over the pages. Yet, with great conviction, he did.

"Spectre Six, this is Spectre Two just checking your status over." Called Hera Syndulla over the headset.,"Spectre Six, receiving you Spectre Two. So far found nothing. Not even a trace of dust. Please remind me why we have to scavenge what is already a scavenged ship." Replied Ezra Bridger, the newest member of the crew of the Ghost.,"As I've already told you Spectre Six, we need to check all ships and if need be preventing the Empire from taking it." Came the came the voice of Kanan Jarrus, recently appointed Jedi Knight and Ezra's teacher in the ways of the force.,The ship they were investigating looked something like a Huttese mobster ship, in other words a redneck, hillbilly mishmash of all sorts of things and somehow it remarkably worked. It looked like it had been through the wars, its hallways littered with what looked like blaster bolts and saber burns from a lightsaber.,"This hunk of junk looks like it's been through the shredder. What's it been killing? Star Destroyers?" Commented Ezra before tapping his commlink.,"Chopper, what's the name of this ship." All he got in response were a series of irritable bleeps and twerps.,"The Forlorn Hope? Kanan?" Kanan had frozen. His breathing suddenly slowing as if Zeb had punched him square in the gut.,"This is a Jedi's freighter. Most had personalised fighters but the odd exception had their own freighter. I knew only one Jedi that had this style freighter…His name was Harry Potter. He was, when I met him…taught by Grand Master Yoda.",Ezra stared at him "Someone taught by the Grand Master? Do you think he's still alive?","I honestly don't know. He taught me a few tricks when I was a youngling, my Master…She and Harry didn't get along." Said Jarrus meekly as his memory of better times assaulted him.,"Disagree with his policies or something?","More like disagreed with him joining the temple all together. Then again lots of people disliked him.",Sabine, Spectre Five, was moving ahead snorted "Did everyone dislike him?",Kanan snorted "Amongst the Jedi of his age and above it's easier to list who disliked him rather than liked him. But the Younglings, new Padawans, senior Padawans and junior Knights below him adored him to pieces. He was behind them in all lessons like diplomacy, languages etc. but above them and on par with some of the Masters with Force and Saber techniques. Then younger Jedi taught him and he taught them. He was also a good story teller, he tried to make them as happy as possible from a lot of dark material. He based them off his life or kept a philosophy within them…He was different. He had a darkness around him, but beneath the darkness was a lightness that was brighter than most suns. He was a guy that would, could and most like probably commit also sorts of acts just to keep 'forthcoming lights always shining'. None of us save for Master Gaige, Yoda and Knight Prinko understood what he meant. I will admit, I still don't fully understand and probably never will.",Ezra grinned "The 'forthcoming lights always shining', I think it means those who come after us…Sounds like he'd do anything just to make sure those who came after him didn't have to do what he had to do.",Kanan looked at Ezra "I'll think on it. Could be right. He was on Holonet quite frequently. He was of the opinion 'Lead by example'. I got separated from my master about three years before Order 66. I was fifteen, he was 20, 21 freshly knighted. He joined when he'd been 17/18…","What was it like? What did he do?" Asked Zeb…Zeb never spoke on the comms except when Stormtroopers were firing at them.,"Said 'Come on Jarrus. You're my responsibility. We're going to get you to your master from the Front. Safest, most dangerous and easiest place to be found'.","He took you to the front lines? Was he insane?","Quite possibly Sabine. Definitely…Ignites his a lightsaber walks through the reserves, saber above his head, me at his side. Grabs a blaster rifle and pistol. Gets to the front tells me to get my lightsaber out, yells 'Follow my lead'. I asked him 'What is his lead'. I ignited my lightsaber and he looks at me with grin 'Run forward and scream like mad'. Next thing I know he's bellowed 'CHARGE' and he's RUNNING. Not full out sprinting but definitely going at speed, shooting at the hip.","The clones?","Grabbed their stuff and were on his tail. I was sprinting to keep up. Then I saw him work.",They had moved into the lobby as Kanan carried on "He holstered the blaster rifle and chucked his right hand out. Eighteen or so Battle Droids flew backwards. He couldn't get his arm back in so he punched another one and with that punch launched a shockwave of pure force backwards shredding another thirty or so. He was like a dancer and almost as if he didn't belong in time. He was everywhere. Blaster fire, went wide, hit clones, friendly fire. Blew up ammo drops. That was with ONE saber. At some point he drew his second and he began throwing them at the enemy. The impressive thing was, the clones adapted. They integrated themselves into his fighting style. They were laying down suppressive fire wherever he wasn't. I was killing droids but not as fast. Three of the clones saw me and they kept me alive until we had created our bulkhead. By the time my Master had turned up, he'd taught me to the point of Jedi Knight Kenobi's standard of Soresu." Soresu was the most defensive of the seven lightsaber combat styles.,"Your teacher?","She said 'How dare you.' He shrugged 'You lost him, I found him. Law says if Padawan unattended and Master still alive and found by another. The newcomer obligated to keep an eye on Padawan until Master shows up.",Ezra was giggling "She must have been pissed.","She was at herself, then Harry and not at me. She thanked him and asked 'What had he taught me'. I told her that we had brushed up my Soresu…Harry then went on ahead.",Zeb was processing the raw skill the Knight had "What else did you see him do?","I'm not sure what else I definitely saw him do, but there are things that I could say he may well have done…One stunt almost killed him: Him, Prinko, Council Master Windu, Knight Secura, Master Ti and Master Gaige had to perform an ODS, Orbital Drop Strike from about 3000kilometers above the Orbit of some planet. Problem was it was surrounded by four Droid Control Ships. It was reported that Harry got to the front of the ship said 'Aim at the planetary defence shields and whatever you do don't stop'…Master Windu asked him 'What was he going to do?' He said 'What needs to be done to get the Orbital Drop Strike going and to get to the pods'. Harry had supposedly grabbed the four Control Ships and hurled one at the Shields, chucked two into each other and went to cripple the fourth but he had passed out but the clones had saw what he was doing as they headed for the planetary defence shields, shot a broadside at it taking it down. The result was a horribly wrecked ship, four destroyed Droid Control Ships, no planetary defence shields and some very bewildered High Command Separatists as to why they had a ruined Acclamator Assault Ship on their property and why they were being besieged by Clones. Harry had somehow deposited them into the objective of what would have been an eight-month campaign at most.","At the cost of almost killing himself.",Kanan nodded "Heart stopped six times or so during recovery. Chancellor Palpatine had given him a personal Light Cruiser made from the somewhat intact Acclamator Assault Ship…Harry promptly made it into something of a Strike Cruiser. Operated by three customised R2 Units…Now let's get moving.","Sabine, what do you think the chances are of him being alive?","I don't know Ezra, but if this guy was as good as Kanan claimed then this ship could may well be a shock to the Empire.",Ezra and Sabine turned Left as Kanan and Zeb went Right. Ezra reached out with the force and went to his saber and unclipped it. Something wasn't right on this ship. They opened the doors to discover a dusty but still functioning medical bay. The bacta-tanks were evidently off line and along the wall furthest away from them were what appeared to stasis pods.,Sabine moved closer to see ten of them. Three were empty, one looked like it had just been opened and two unused but the other seven had people in.,Then they heard the familiar sound of blaster fire and they dove for cover. Sabine went prone as Ezra drew his blaster pistol "A Droid…It looks like an R2 Unit…An R2 Unit with a blaster?",Ezra paled as the front cavity of the R2 unit opened to reveal a "Heavy Repeating Blaster? Seriously…This guy's a fucking psychopath.","What do you want scavenger?" A bass voice boomed across the medbay, accompanied by a grunt and a thud as Kanan was slammed into the exposed wall.,Standing cloaked in the shadows was definitely a humanoid, Ezra focused and sprinted. The stranger looked at the intruders on his ship "Clank…Kill…",He stopped when one of the younger scavengers appeared in front of the man he had thrown effortlessly and pulled a blaster from his hip and fired. The stranger jumped back as an orb of energy…wait 'Orb?' The stranger flung out his arm and the orb stopped moving.,Ezra, Kanan and Sabine stared, they knew of no-one who could stop blaster bolts but then again Ezra used a Kyber Crystal Blaster and since Kyber crystals were made from the force "He's a Jedi! EZRA DON'T!",The stranger looked at Ezra and his eyes widened as the blaster suddenly transformed into a "Lightsaber…A Padawan." He breathed.,He dodged backwards but his cloak was caught and the saber sliced it slightly. The stranger pulled it off and ignited his own lightsaber and electric yellow clashed with blue. Kanan heard the lightsaber of the stranger activate…All lightsaber's had a specific start up feeling or sensation which resonated with its owners. This one felt one of utter determination, a solid but worn pillar. Standing strong in a storm, beaten, cracked but unbent, unbowed and unbroken.,"It's him…He's alive!" Kanan gestured and his lightsaber assembled and he dove into the fray.,"MASTER POTTER! STOP PLEASE!",Harry stopped, his blade was locked with the Padawan's. When he felt the second lightsaber activate, he couldn't get his arm up but his scratched, scuffed, beaten and battered armour had been on several occasions scarred by direct lightsaber strikes from both untrained clones and Padawans, trained troopers, sparring partners and raging Sith Sycophants such as Asaji Ventress and the Spirits of Korriban. That had been an experience to talk about later, if he got out of this.,His arm pinioned out, Kanan stared as his lightsaber was deflected. He suddenly hit the floor and blacked out as the newly named Master headbutted him. Sabine watched as Ezra joined Kanan in unconsciousness.,"Clank, activate the 360-degree tractor beam and find me their ship. I want them alive…Unharmed alive little sociopathic piece of junk. Yes, I know I created you.",Harry turned to face Clank who reluctantly retracted his heavy blaster "You can come out kid…We're not going to kill you.",Sabine stood up and kept her pistols out "You're gonna forgive me if I don't believe you right.",Harry chuckled "Of course my little Mandalorian." Sabine stared but oddly compelled to listen to the Master.,"How did you…","Know you were a Mandalorian…I'm a Jedi. I've been posted, investigated and travelled the galaxy and quite frankly I've never found anywhere quite like it. As for how did I know: Your armour, weaponry, stance and body genetic makeup…I say the last as I've had to do surgery on Mandalorian males and females and as a result I did some tests. Genetical, biomedical, biosymmetrics to name a few. I can't tell clan or house but that's not the point.",Sabine nodded and she eyed the operating table "Make yourself at home. Let me get some chairs for your saber swinging friends…CLANK! Oh good…So I don't have to dissemble you and reassemble you.",That one-sided discussion ended with an audible clang and crunch as the Ghost was locked onto the ship. Soon enough, Chopper, Zeb and Hera found themselves in the cruiser.,"Sabine, are they?","Out for the count…Yes they are. They're fine Zeb, Chopper. They attacked our guest and well…" Explained Sabine as the conscious members of the Ghost made themselves comfortable as Harry walked back in levitating food and drinks. He and Hera locked eyes.,"Hello to you too sister." Hera stared "Brother…How did you?","Killed my clones, space suited made superficial damage that made it look like my regiment had killed me. Locked myself in stasis and killed everything. Only woke up because you lot found me.",Zeb held his hands up "How are you and Hera related… You're not a Twi'lek are you!",Harry grinned "A Lasat…Not seen one of you in a long time." Harry then saw the Bo-Rifle "…A Lasat Honor Guard! I have a few of your Bo-Rifles around here somewhere, I'll give you a fight if you want to prove I was deserving of one…Now your question. I was knighted when I was 19. I entered the Temple at Sixteen. Brought to the temple by some obnoxious prick called Ki-Adi-Mundi. Anyway, Yoda taught me. I learnt far too quickly and won the counsel over. I travelled a bit, collected things, fought things and found myself outside Cham Syndulla's house. Anyway, Cham and I worked together quite closely and as a result I got to know Hera and came to see her as a sister figure. Anyway, I accidentally broke tradition and headbutted another Twi'lek noble, male. His family were pushing for me to be executed as a known Jedi, I should have known better. I spoke Twi'leki, but wasn't up to date on the cultural traditions. Cham came to me with a loophole, if he protected me and took me on as a Ward, I would have to spend an undetermined amount of time as basically his servant in return for my life and thirty lashes.",Everyone except Hera and the Jedi stared "That's harsh.","It's called being protective…I did the smart thing. I took the lashes only whimpered at the twenty fifth and spent four months as a servant. At this point the CIS had a foothold on Ryloth. I participated in kicking them out. Cham officially inducted me into his clan basically meant I was his son whenever I was on Ryloth…If I screwed up again, I was dead. I quickly absorbed the Twi'lek culture after that.",Hera grinned and hugged Harry "It's good to see you again...We, I need you to help.",By now Kanan and Ezra were waking up. Hera turned to Harry "I'll talk to them.",Harry nodded. "Hey you two…turns out you were right. We are on a Jedi Masters Ship and said Master IS still alive. Tell him everything if he asks you.","I'm Harry Potter, I'm surprised you lot found my ship. Now who are you?","I'm Kanan Jarrus, but I was known as…","Caleb Dume…I never forget a face Padawan or is it Knight now?","I'm not too sure Master, ever since Order 66 I've not really had time to think about it…I wasn't sure if I was even the last Jedi alive.",Harry snorted "You're not the only one. I'm one, hell I saved six others one of whom is Knight Prinko. I also saved four younglings and Master Kel Gaige, Ashara Prinko's former Master. So, including you and Padawan Bridger that makes nine. Yoda's alive somewhere so that is ten. Kenobi's gone to ground so that's eleven. Exile Tano is around somewhere…saw her briefly after the Eureka Disaster.","Eureka Disaster?" Questioned Zeb.,"Myself, Pong Krell and fifty arc-troopers fucked up. Routine snatch and grab of some plans for some supposed 'World Killer Virus'. Except Krell got caught, firefight ensued and since this was a CIS suppression of a republican fight. Rebellion occurred. Shots were fired, explosions happened virus unleashed out of a population of roughly sixty billion, ten billion killed as demonstrations, few hundred million in ensuing confusion of the uprisings and violent struggle against separatists and then some asshole unleashed a virus demolishing at least three quarters of the remaining population. We managed to save not even an eighth of the population due to no-one willing to give treatment.",Harry looked at them "You're going to ask me to fight in your Rebellion against the Empire. I can read your body language but I'm saying no. I'm tired of fighting. I've been fighting wars and uprisings before I even came to this Galaxy and when Order 66 happened I gave up. I'm a Jedi Master that no longer has any fight left in him.","You said you'd fight me." Said Zeb.,"That's a spar to prove I'm worthy of a Bo-Rifle Lasat. I'd be honoured if you'd help me fix my ship.",Sabine nodded "We're just grateful that you're alive. I'm Sabine, Sabine Wren…","…Clan Wren, House Vizla, Death-watch…I know them. Fight well Sabine." With that they began to repair the Forlorn Hope. It took them five days but eventually the ship was ready, Harry woke his comrades from Stasis as the Ghost took off.,"Who were they Harry?" Harry turned to Kel Gaige, the Keldoran had been a confident to him during the Clone Wars "Rebels, wanting us to fight back against the Empire.",Kel nodded "You said no." Harry nodded "I don't blame you. Let us put our faith in the Force.",(Ghost),Sabine sat on her bunk in thought. The experience on the Forlorn Hope was something

Connor checked the time for the 5th time in the last twenty minutes with an annoyed huff, after all Wes was supposed to have coffee with him at 7:30 in the café they both liked, and now it was almost 8:00 with no sigh from Wes, 'he didn't even answer my phone calls', thought Connor in annoyance, 'lets see what's so important to keep him from coming to compare notes for the exam with me', he threw his empty coffee cup in the bin and got out, walking straight to Wes' apartment, which was about 10 minutes away.,Connor hurried inside the building with chattering teeth because of the cold, and started going up the stairs while cursing Wes, finally he got to Wes' door and lifted his fist to knock when he heard a muffled curse through the door, he stopped in his tracks, that was not Wes' voice, the accent was foreign and thick, 'most likely Irish', he thought. Now Connor was split between feeling worry and curiosity, and he thanked got for being a trouble maker in his teens, because right now he was going to pick the lock to Wes' apartment.,After a couple of tries he was successful in his task, he was usually faster but he had to be quiet this time because he was pretty sure someone was inside, after all there was a lot of rustling and thuds being heard from inside the apartment, Connor cracked the door open a bit and peek inside, there was no one in sight so he felt free to go on in and closed the door behind him carefully, he barely took a couple of steps in the direction of the kitchen area when he heard Wes' voice yell out 'uh, fuck' from the bedroom, now Connor really got worried, so he hurried to the bedroom and burst in expecting to have a fight on his hand, but to his shock, he saw a half naked man straddling a shirtless Wes that was laying beck on the bed, and by their appearance they have been engaged in a very heated make out season. The unknown man let out a startled noise and fell of the bed when he processed that someone walked on him sucking off Wes' face like a vampire, which is very likely seeing the bite marks on Wes' neck, and Wes got up hurriedly and pun on the closest shirt he could get his hand on, which clearly did not belong to him by the way it hang loose around his shoulders, and he quickly took hold of Connor by his shoulders and led him outside the bedroom and into the kitchen area and sat him down on a chair, and as a proof to how shocked Connor was he did not even protest once to being man handled like that. Wes went over to the stove and put the kettle on, " coffee or tea?" he asked Connor who still seamed to be out of it, " coffee, two sugars" he answered quietly, after a few minutes Wes joined Connor on the table and slid him a cup of coffee, which Connor took grateful and started sipping immediately, the seconds went on silently until Connor couldn't take it anymore, he looked up at Wes, " what was that?", he asked, and honestly he was expecting Wes to deny knowing what he was talking about or avoid the subject while doing his nervous hand rubbing thing , but to his surprise, Wes looked him dead in the eye and answered in and even voice, "that was me and my boyfriend making out before we got interrupted". Now Connor was more than stunned, Wes was voluntarily admitting to having a boyfriend, BIYFRIEND!, "sense when are you even gay?!", exclaimed Connor. Was looked at him and answered dryly, "sense forever?", "and why am I just finding out? Why did you never tell any of us? It's not like anyone will judge you", Wes just shrugged his shoulders and said, " you never asked, and it never came up". Connor was about to rip his hair from frustration when a second figure came in, it was Wes' boyfriend, he hesitated for a little and then held out his hand to Connor to shake, "Seamus, De-Wes' boyfriend, a pleasure to meet you", he said a little shyly, Connor shook his hand and replayed, "Connor, Wes' friend, like wise", and Seamus smiled, "oh, I've heard a lot about you, Wes says you're crazy smart, believe me it's a big compliment coming from Wes, you are the second person I've heard him calling smart in all of the years I've known him, it's nice to see he has someone to keep up with him here" he said enthusiastically while Connor just shot Wes a look and the latter face palmed and let out a groan.," yeah, really nice." Said Connor, "excuse me, but how long have you two been together?", Wes opened his mouth to answer but Seamus beat him to it, "oh it's alright, we've been together sense we were 15 years old, so about seven years, but we've known each other sense we were eleven, we went to the same boarding school", by now Wes was fully hiding his face and cursing his luck, because he did not tell the others anything about his life after he was adopted, and now it was almost all out, honestly Wes was eventually going to tell them, but he wanted them to know him first, and not just befriend him because he was adopted by a rich family, the Potter family to be specific, he really loved his parents and his brother harry, but being the adopted son of the lord and lady Potter pretty much left him friendless and sought after by gold diggers, and he wanted an escape from that. By now he could feel Connors gaze burning into him, and it didn't take long for Seamus, who finally looked at him, to see what's going on here. " oh my god", Seamus exclaimed, "you still haven't told them!". "no I haven't" answered Connor, "okay", said Seamus, "now I'm going to head out, and you are going to explain everything to Conner, and then to the others, or else I swear to got you won't like the out come", and he got his jacket on and left the apartment, but not before giving Wes a good bye kiss.

This is my second story, My first being "The little prince of Gotham', A Joker/Harley story. It will be a FEM!Harry/Bruce Wayne story, But it will take some time to get there!,Hope you enjoy!,She couldn't believe what the idiots in front of her where trying to pull.,Newly turned 18-year-old Rose Marie Potter glared across the table at the people in front of her right after they had gotten done with their pompous "Speeches." She was now sickened and feeling hateful towards all of them.,Lucius Malfoy, Dolores Umbridge, former minister Fudge, and four or five of more "Important" people in the Ministry of magic were on the other side of the table all trying talk her into saying yes to a marriage contract... To Draco Malfoy. In his favor, her school rival had an apologetic look in his eyes as his father smiled like a cat the caught the canary, convinced that he now had her. Apparently the Black family and the Malfoy family had a long standing marriage contract between there two houses. Lucius and Narcissia where a happy product of that arrangement.,Now that she had just turned 18 today, Lucius was trying to activate it again. Only this time, because Rose was the Black family Heiress due to Sirius's death, it would be her that was getting married... to ,Everyone around the table was getting more and more nervous as she held her glare at them. Trying to act as if half of the people in this room didn't have a great deal to gain if this arranged marriage took place... and that is exactly what it was. An arranged, Loveless marriage with a man that she could very easily said she hated. Draco had grown up in the last few years of the war, but that didn't wipe away the years of abuse she had suffered at his hands. Physical, Emotional, and Verbal. Draco had been a monster to her from day one at Hogwarts. And there was no way in hell she was going to agree to this...,So yes said the only thing that she could think to say...,"Are you all , She burst to the shock of everyone in the room... Well, everyone but Draco. He just winced slightly and sighed.,Rose Marie Potter then stood up from her chair and spend that next ten minutes tearing every last one of them to shreds. Next to her, her two best friends Ron, Hermione and sat, smiling knowingly as the Girl-who-lived raged on.,They stormed out of the Ministry office, Rose slamming the door open in front of her as Ron and Hermione followed right at her heels.,"Can they do this?..." She asked, as Hermione and Ron both frowned.,"Technically, no, They can't force you to walk down the isle..." Hermione started.,"BUT?..." Rose snapped, wanting her friends to get to the point.,Ron sighed. "The Malfoys lost a lot of Money and status because of the war, but they still have the ears and eyes of lots of people. In the Wizgomont, The Ministry, The Elite.. EVERYWHERE... And they DO have the long-standing marriage contract, which can complicate things... They can't force you to walk down the isle, But they can contest any other marriage contract made after theirs, stop suitors from other families from officially courting you, try to push you into it using other means... like blocking the laws and railroading the businesses you want to try and help...","More or less, They can't force you down the isle, but they can make your life difficult until you do...",Rose sighed loudly as her friends both shot her sympathetic looks.,"Well, Things were never going to be easy, were they?..." She quipped, and Hermione smiled back.,"Not at all... Easy is just not our style.",That whole year, Lucius Malfoy was only a bit of a bother. He would send owls and pop up at the Ministry if he knew she was going to be there, but nothing more. Draco was apprenticing and working on his career, and only sent a Owl or two that year. One for Christmas, one for the Anniversary of the Hogwarts.,She herself had been busy. She used the Elder wand to help repair the wands that had been destroyed when Ollavander had been kidnapped. She also helped the other shops that had been destroyed re-build and replenish what they had lost by offering them long-term loans with very little or no interest back. They were all so happy and grateful that they all happily started paying her back, even if the goblins were more then a little annoyed with her for "Overstepping her bounds.",She tried 19 without much fanfair, and only a birthday greeting from Draco. She considered herself on the right road.,The next year was a bit more dramatic. The goblins were still annoyed with her, and it showed. Lucius was becoming more bold, and started showing up not when she was at the Ministry, But the Alley and Hogsmeade as well. sometimes even showing up at one or two of the shops she was helping set back up.,He started blocking her at Wizgomont meetings, and talking people into voting against the laws she was trying to pass... Including the Muggle-born protection act that her and Hermione had been working on since the end of the war to insure that no Muggleborns would ever have there wands stolen from them and locked way ever again. Rose felt that he had his own reasons for trying to block that one, but it still annoyed her.,The Women of the Elite were now turning their noses at her, and giving cutting remarks whenever they could. It was OBVIOUS to them after all, that Draco was the only man that should marry her... Even if she was just a half-blood. The private marriage contract, that somehow EVERYONE now knew about was only proof of that...,She finally decided to act in her own self-interest when she caught Lucius trying to talk to the goblins behind her back, she knew she had to do something before he caused to much damage to her, or the Shops she was trying to help. She went to Hogwarts, and went to the Room of requirement. Her goal was to get the goblin-made cup of Helga Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw's Diadem, and return it as a gesture of goodwill.,She walked past the room three times thinking, "I need a place to find the lost goblin items so I can return them..." The door appeared, and she walked in... and was frozen with shock. instead of just the Cup and the Diadem, their was a large table with dozens and dozens of Goblin made items laid on top. Some swords, necklaces, a few cups, lots of rings and bracelets... Even suits of goblin made armor where standing in line in the back of the room. Rose shook her head and walked the rest of the way in as a bag appeared at the end of the table.,She filled the bag up as much as she could, and only took a set of daggers and twins blades for herself. She left the rest, including all the armor and swords, behind... Lord knows some Hogwarts students may need them one day if the castle went under attack again...,She set a meeting with the Head goblin of the bank as well as a few other important goblins beforehand. She opened the bag and handed the items to them one at a time, as respectfully as she could. The Goblins were more then shocked and surprised when Rose returned all of the contents back over to them.,The goblins were stammering and stuttering there disbelief and one even burst into tears. The head goblin himself was overcome with happiness. It turned up that by returning these lost items, she had restored the honor to a lot of goblin families, and many of the pieces had a reward tagged onto them.,By the end of the day, 3/4ths of the items had been returned to the Goblin families, and she had nearly doubled her vaults, and the 1/4th of the items that couldn't be returned due to the family having died out, she was allowed to keep. She had also earned 10 of what the goblins called "Favors" for her actions...,She had repaided the goblins for her 'Slight insult' against them, and had earned more at the same time... Needless to say, whatever plan Lucius was trying to put in motion for her with the goblins was halted quite abruptly...,She was a great friend to the goblins now, and she was very glad to have them in her corner.,When She turned 20, The goblins gave a her a Great birthday present... A Full and in-depth inheritance test, and full ownership to every Vault, Property, Magical item, and Knut that she was entitled to...,The Money went straight to repairing Hogwarts and all the Magically areas ruined by the war. By the end of the year, it was almost as if the war hadn't happened at all.,She was beyond happy.,The last year was horrible... The day after her 20th birthday she woke up to a Letter from Lucius. He more or less stated that Draco was finishing his apprenticeship this year, and he was expecting them to, If not getting married in the next few months, at the very least get "this Business" underway. That should have been a red flag that things where going to go south, But Rose simply tossed the letter in the fire and forgot about it. That was a mistake.,Lucius, Nott, and a few others where now shadowing her everywhere. Every shop she went to, every time she went to the Ministry. Nearly every meeting she went to, save the Meetings at Gringotts, She would always find one or two of them waiting outside. Arms crossed, eyes narrowed. She wasn't even safe at the Wealsey's, as Percy had gotten it in his head that it would be a good match for her. Every time see went to see George at the joke shop, one of her shadows would go into the shop with her as well.,Letters came almost every day now. Angry, demanding, barely veiled threats from Lucius. Kind, sympathetic letters from Draco. and Sweet, almost apologetic letters from Narcissia. And dozens of hateful letters, obviously from the Notts, Goyles, and other families that wanted this to happen.,The Elite were now actively ignoring her. She no longer received invites to parties and Galas like she did before, And nearly all of them quit giving to the "Magical Child Protective Services Fund", Which was the Charity fund Rose had started herself. She wrote them all off quickly. She honestly didn't need them.,After two more months of this nerve wrecking behavior, she finally snapped and went to the Ministry. She filed the proper paperwork to put a restraining order out on all of them, and she even handed over all the letters they sent, as well as a notebook with logs of when she was being followed and who or who she believed was following her. (Hermione's idea) It only made things worse...,Lucius was now bombarding her Floo everyday. Narcissia had quit writing at all. Draco's letter had changed from apologizing to near begging for her to just to say yes, and he and her would work things out between them after the wedding.,Her 'shadows' now where shoving, pushing, and scratching her while whispering obscenities at her.,When she went to a business dinner with the Grandson of Ollavander to talk to him about expanding the wand shop, they were both blindsided. He was nearly beaten while she was called a "Cheating, Half-blood whore!" and slapped onto the floor... They both got out there wands, and with the help of the restaurant owner, restrained them til Aurors arrived... Which is when she learned the restraining orders had been blocked by Lucius Malfoy. All of them. Apparently all of her "Shadows" were put in place to protect the "Future Lady Malfoy" from her enemies and scandal. He even arrived and tried to use his silver-tongue to stop his friends from getting arrested..,But Rufus, the Minister of magic and friend showed up, and knocked him down a few pegs. Rose once again had to tell everyone that she REFUSED to marry into the Malfoy family, and mad Rufus force the restraining orders into affect right away...,Nott and Goyle were arrested, and Rose left the ministry, Her faith in Magical England broken again...,But this time, She had a plan... This time, she was going to the Goblins.,And within a week, she was on a plane to a large manor in city called Gotham.

Harry Potter was a freak. well at least that was what his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon called him. They also encouraging his cousin, Dudley, to bully him and call him degrading names. The bullying would often lead to games such as Harry Hunting and the newest craze even his Uncle Vernon likes to play, beat the freak. The new game apparently took place in dark alleys in foreign countries and usually began after Harry was caught being an ungrateful freak of nature.,Harry sat watching out the window of the hotel room in Los Angeles, California. Where the Dursleys had decided to go on holiday, after Dudley had begged to go somewhere that every movie star had ever had been to. Aunt Petunia unable to say no to her spoiled idiotic son managed to convince her husband, a huge whale of a man, to take them to L.A for their annual summer Holiday. They had planned to leave their freak of a nephew at home. So that he would be unable to spoil the trip, but they had not been able to secure a sitter and while they didn't care what happened to Harry they didn't want the freak to destroy their home if they left him there by himself for the two weeks they were gone. So they reluctantly brought Harry with them. And now he sat watching the Dursleys get into the cab that would take to them dinner, and leave him alone for the evening. He couldn't be more grateful. To finally have a chance to tend to the wounds of Uncle Vernon last beating. This time because he got tired of being called stupid at school when he knew he was smarter than all the other children. But when he proved his intelligence by getting the best grades in the entire class, even though Uncle Vernon told him to never get good grades, that he didn't deserve them. Uncle Vernon had claimed that he was using his freakishness to get better grades than Dudley and promised him the minimum amount of food for the week, after all they still needed him to do the housework for them. And at least one beating every week for the entire summer. Which started three days ago and he has already had six beatings.,'Stupid Uncle Vernon was actually right, I am a freak.' Harry thought to himself as he turned his attention to the rapidly healing bruises on his arms and chest. Sighing Harry stood from the window sill only to plop done to the floor crosslegged. Focusing on his breathing Harry tried to meditate like remembering what he had read in an old book about a Monk that would help anyone worthy and in need that Dudley had thrown out and he had salvaged. As he was focusing deep into his being he felt the force inside of him that he has been trying to reach since he first started to meditate at the beginning of the school year.,As he felt himself get closer to the force, which drew him like a moth to flame. He failed to notice several things, first of which was that he had started to rise off the ground, next the heavy footsteps in the hallway, and finally the door slamming open to reveal his Uncle Vernon standing in the open doorway, his face a deep purple and the veins popping.,"BOY!" Vernon screamed breaking Harry concentration, and storming over the threshold as Harry fell to the floor with a loud thump. Vernon grabbed Harry by the arm pulling him out of the room and into the car that the Dursleys had rented. Throwing Harry into the back seat, Vernon went speeding down the road toward the darker more abandoned parts of the city. Were no one would notice the screams a child in the night.,Author note-,Hello and welcome to my second story! I usually write from my tablet and don't have a beta and while I try and proof read it is harder to catch your own mistakes then to catch other peoples. So I apologize any for grammar and spelling errors and would appreciate it if you point them out so that I may try to fix my mistake. Please follow, favorite, and review!

Shuichi P.O.V,I stood on the platform, still after all this time, in complete awe of the Hogwarts Express. The train glistened in the sunlight as steam rised from the funnel at the top of the train. Students bustled around me carrying their bags and hugging friends they haven't seen all summer. Excited chatter mingled with anxious parents making sure their children had everything they needed as their children boarded to find a spot to sit. I smiled softly to myself. Nothing quite beat the excitement of going home. After all, that's what Hogwarts is. Most of my fondest memories are here. From winning the house cup to helping Gonta capture a butterfly (long story short-Gonta found a rare kind of butterfly and we spent the entire afternoon trying to catch it-we completely failed.) I remember the first time I came to this station. I was absolutely terrified. The train was huge and so many people flooded the station. People like me. I only knew my Uncle, like me, was a wizard at the time and it was strange seeing so many of us all in one place. I remember feeling so scared and just thinking, why me? I wasn't anything special. I didn't deserve this amazing gift. Even though this is my fifth year I still ask that question. I don't deserve this. I'm just me. But I am so thankful for it. Without it, I would never have met some of the best people in my life. I would never have the ability to do the impossible. Magic is something that completely terrifies me but it feels natural. Like it is part of my soul; I feel magic in my veins sometimes. Its such an electric feeling but I couldn't imagine life without it. Speaking of amazing people, I hear my name yelled behind me and as I turn around her arms are flung around me. I take a couple of steps back, clinging onto her tightly, trying to keep us both up. People turn to look at us and I try to nod to show I'm okay. I'm trying not to laugh as she talks a million miles a second, still hugging me, her strawberry scent mixing with the smell of smoke.,Kaede Akamastu.,She's my best friend. Kaito is a close second but Kaede has always been there. Right from day one, when she walked into my carriage and introduced herself. There was something about her and me that just clicked. She was so bubbly and positive. Despite me being shy and nervous she treated me just like she'd known me my whole life. She brought out a bunch of wizard snacks, who knew ear wax could be a flavour?, and chatted to me about everything and anything. We at one point had a conversastion about whether aliens or zombies would win at world domination(Aliens, obviously.) I got so nervous when we were on the boats that she made me hum Fur Elise with her until my nerves had calmed down. I still to this day do not know how that worked. I think it was just having someone on my side who was there for me. Even though we were sorted into different houses, she didn't stop being my friend. She could have easily just cut me out of her life but she didn't. She's isn't that kind of a person. She kept seeking me out and would wave to me from across the hall or invite me to hangout with her. I thought she'd get bored of someone like me but she never stopped trying to get to know me, or to get me to come out of my shell. Once, in Hogsmade, she found a dying bird and brought him back to the castle, despite my protests it wouldn't do it any good. She personally nursed it back to health and then set it free after several weeks. I don't know anyone quite like her. Despite all her popularity, she's still the same girl I met on my first day. The girl that made me get off that train with a brave smile and face this new world, together. I just, I don't know, there's something so beautiful about her. Even now, with her hair clipped as always with musical note hairclips, her backpack which I have no doubt is stuffed with snacks and an extra jumper and she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.,"Kaede, slow down, I can't tell what you're saying when you speak so fast." She lets me go and giggles, though she doesn't step away from me.,"Sorry, I just haven't seen you in so long. We have a lot to catch up on; I feel like this summer was so long. I couldn't wait to get back." I raise an eyebrow at her, smiling.,"Didn't we write to each other? Like every day?","Yeah but we still need to talk. It's been , since we saw each other. We have so much to talk about, Shuichi. Like in the summer, I went to a Hollywood Undead concert-","I know that Kaede. You made me a CD with all of their songs on, remember?" Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, pouting.,"You did listen to them, right? I spent a long time trying to find songs you'd like.",Shit.,I completely forgot.,I shrug half heartedly, avoiding her gaze.,"Shuichi?","We should probably get going-","-You didn't just leave it on the floor in your room? In the corner with all the other stuff you don't bother with?" She knows me too well. I run a hand through my hair and avoid eye contact.,"We won't get a seat at this rate-","Shuichi, you promised! How could you not listen to them? I even made a CD with my piano pieces on. I made you a song, like dude! Did you not listen to any of them?","Wait, you made me a song?" Her cheeks flushed and it was her turn to look away.,"I maybe wrote a piano piece for you because I couldn't find any that made me ... nevermind.",Huh?,She quickly bounces back and claps her hands together, a big smile spread across her face.,"Come on, Shuichi, we gotta find a carriage!" She grabs my arm and pulls me with her.,"W-wait, what did you mean by, excuse me, sorry, Kaede!" She determinedly ignores me and pulls me through the group of students and onto the train. I don't push it but it stays on my mind. What did she mean? The carriages are full with students clustering in and hugging each other. It looks pretty full. The train starts to move and she leans on me as I grab her arms to steady her. Kaede bites her lip as she looks around desperately for a place to sit. Then I hear Kaito's booming voice.,"Hey, Shuichi! Over here! There's plenty of room with me and Maki Roll." I don't hear Maki but I know she's telling him off for calling her that. She's been trying to make him stop calling her that since our second year. I don't know why she still tries. Kaede brightens up and we walk over towards their carriage, being careful not to barge into people.,"Are your friends going to be cool with me sitting with you guys?" I look at her surprised.,"O-of course they are, why wouldn't they be?" She shrugs but I see a sad look in her eyes.,"I don't know, I just feel like Maki doesn't like me that much. It's like no matter what I do it's never enough." I now that feeling. Maki takes a while to warm up to people. She's just very protective of herself and it's understandable, considering everything that's happened to her. Kaede looks pretty down by it though. I know she just wants to be friends with everyone and this kind of thing really gets to her. She views it as there being something wrong with her for how people react which isn't the case. I squeeze her hand and she looks up, surprised.,"You shouldn't worry so much. Maki is like that with everyone. It's not your fault." She smiles softly and nods decidedly.,"You're right, Shuichi. I just have to think positively-","Oh, are you guys hooking up?" We both look at Kaito in complete shock.,"W-what? What do you mean?" I quickly glance down and see we're still holding hands. Kaede hurriedly lets go and clutches onto her backpack straps tightly, sitting next to Kaito with her face flushed. I run my hand threw my hair, embarrassedly. Maki just rolls her eyes but flashes me a small smile as I sit down next to her, trying to act like nothing happened.,"It would be totally cool if you were dating, like I don't think it would surprise anyone the way you two are. Honestly, I thought you guys were already hooking up on the down low. I think we'd make a cool couple, don't you Maki Roll?" Kaede tries to protest but is interrupted by Maki's trademark comment, "Do you want to die?". Her face shows alarm but she doesn't realise that's Maki's thing. I thought the same the first few times she said it. It's how she says it, so coldly, like she really means it. Maki had a rough childhood though. I couldn't imagine what it feels like to be an orphan.,"You guys won't believe what happened to me over summer." Maki groans loudly.,"Not another one of your stories. You're too stupid for any of these to be true." Kaito holds a hand to his heart.,"You're words wound me. All of my stories are one hundred percent true, aren't they Shuichi?" My look says it all and Kaede starts laughing and Maki struggles to not laugh by disguising it as a cough. Kaito's face falls.,"Wait, you don't believe my stories? How can this be?","Well, last summer you said you fought fifty pirates with just an empty beer bottle." Kaito nods enthusiastically.,"That was true! They were tall dudes with swords as long as you're entire body, Shuichi. I'm lucky to be alive.","But you said last time they had guns?" The corner of Maki's lips lift up as Kaede grins at a nervous looking Kaito.,"I-uh-they had both. They had multiple arms, ya see!","How can a pirate have multiple arms, idiot?" Kaito looks at a loss for words and Kaede's face splits into a grin.,"They were alien pirates! That explains everything!" I face palm as Kaito hurriedly catches onto that idea.,"Yeah , um , totally, they were from a whole different planet. That just makes my actions more heroic don't ya think, Kaede?" She nods.,"That was very brave of you, Kaito, you must have been terrified. Did they have lasers?" Maki groans and I pat her shoulder sympathetically. We both know what he's like when he gets an audience.,"Oh yes, but they weren't just any kind of lasers. These were some new kind of technology, one's we have never encountered before! These lasers are rumoured to be so deadly that people die simply from setting eyes upon one. But not me, the brave and most handsome Kaito Momota!",Both me and Maki gag. Kaede burst out laughing at Kaito's fallen expression.,"I wouldn't go that far Kaito." He shakes his head and pats Kaede sympathetically.,"You will never understand what you're missing out on. Shuichi isn't a catch compared to a God.","A God with no brains? How romantic." Maki and Kaede high five as Kaito narrows his eyes.,"Maki Roll, I detect jealousy in that tone. Do you perhaps want to be sitting where Kaede is?" Maki scowls as Kaede giggles.,"Don't be gross.",I smile as the bickering unfolds further and look out the window at the rushing scenery that passes us. Right now, there's no place I'd rather be then here with my friends. But my mind keeps drifting to what Kaede said. What did she mean? I felt like what she was trying to say was that no piano piece reminded her of me. Yet, I have no idea what that means or why she would want that.,Then why do I feel my heart thump at the thought?,~x~,Angie P.O.V,"Himiko, how did you do that spell? That's Seventh year magic! Atua thinks your very gifted." Himiko smiled proudly as the water dragon dissapatated onto the floor, leaving just a small puddle behind.,"I don't know really, the spell just came to me. It happened in a dream." Tsmugi eyebrows raised as she picked up her manga book to continue reading.,"Are you sure you didn't look it up in the library or something?" Tenko stood up and pointed at Tsmugi accusedly.,"Are you doubting Himiko's ability? She's considered one of the smartest witches of our age so you better take that back!" I notice Himiko squirming in her seat and sometimes I wonder if Himiko actually likes Tenko. She never seems to appreciate when Tenko steps in for her or how, well, over the top she can be. Atua reckons Himiko just doesn't want to be rude to Tenko. It's not exactly like she has any friends. Tsmugi goes red with embarrassment.,"I'm not doubting her or anything, I was just curious as to how she knew the spell. I didn't mean anything by it." Tenko huffs but sits back down and I notice Himiko breathe a small sigh of relief.,"I thought it was a cool trick as did Atua. Atua reckons you should be taking extra classes due to your gift he has blessed you with." Himiko smiles softly.,"What a pain. There would be too much homework to do. You don't wanna use up all your magic like that or someone like me could really end up damaging their magical sphere for the rest of the year...in some cases it's even fatal." I hold my hands up to my face in shock.,"Fatal? How strange! I didn't know that was such a thing!" I tilt my head to face Kiyo, who's quietly observing the conversation while pretending to read.,"Don't you think so? Huh? Huh?" He calmly puts his séance book down and regards us boredly.,"Kukuku...water spells have been used for thousands of years. Muggle societies use to believe that water held cleansing or 're-birthing' qualities and would use water at ceremonies as almost a form of purification. We believed similarly except certain groups took the spiritual meaning of water to another level. The Atlas people strongly believed that water was the most pure natural source this planet has to offer and so one day, they simply sailed off into the ocean to find a substantial way of living under water to be the most natural, spiritual forms of themselves they could manage. Unfortunately, no one knows if they were successful or indeed what happened to them. They simply vanished and left no traces of themselves behind except a strange symbol engraved into the ground." I smiled and pointed my paintbrush at Kiyo, being careful to not let the paint drip onto my piece of art.,"Doesn't that strike you as suspicious? That all these people simply vanished? Atua says something drove them into the sea and it wasn't spiritual but far darker." Himiko gave me a worried glance.,"W-what do you mean?" I smiled and leant in to the group, keeping eye contact with Kiyo as I calmly said, "They were meddling with forces beyond their control. ,The two words rippled through the room and the girls physically recoiled from the words, as if they'd been struck by lightening. I noticed that Kiyo kept his face very neutral but Atua saw his hand clutch his book tighter. Hmmm. Very odd. Very odd indeed. I shrugged and looked down at my work to admire what I'd painted. The beautiful swirl of colours. The sharp contrast of the sky with the lovers. Tangled and intertwined; their faces of horror and endless 's mess was simply divine.,"Y-you really think they were involved with dark magic?" Tsmugi's panicked voice is quickly met by reassurances from Tenko and Himiko just looks doubtfully at the puddle on the floor. I wonder if she's thinking about the power that dragon held. Can she imagine the power that dragon could hold? I can feel Kiyo studying me, his eyes watchful, a curiosity perhaps. Atua reassures me there is nothing to fear as Kiyo and I are friends but I can't shake off my bad feeling. Atua is never wrong though. He's always guided me throughout my life. People never understood Atua. They never understood why I say he's talking to me or giving me advice. They use to say horrible things like I had a mental illness or was 'hearing voices'. I don't hear a voice though. I just , him telling me things. There's a spiritual connection with us. He's just a presence I always feel and he never leaves me. I know that Atua will always protect me.,"W-well, the Atlas people must just be looking for adventure or something...yeah I'm sure that's it..." Himiko's wobbly voice was met by a fierce hug from Tenko and Himiko grumbled desperately to get out.,"Don't be scared, Himiko! I won't let anything happen to you, I promise!" Himiko's face was turning red and I shared a concerned look with Tsmugi.,"Atua thinks you should let go Tenko before you end up hurting Himiko. I know you wouldn't want that now, would you?" She quickly lets go of Himiko and apologises over and over again as Himiko gasps for breath, shooting Tenko a dirty look. I sense a great tension in the air that is interrupted by the door opening and Gonta's head peering round.,"Oh hello everyone! Gonta looking for Tracey but Gonta can no find her." Tracey is Gonta's butterfly. He's the only person in Hogwarts who brought a insect as their pet. We all told Gonta that his butterfly would fly away from him but he insisted that Tracey would never leave him. Funnily enough, she hadn't. But there is a first time for everything Atua reminds me. We shake our heads.,"Sorry Gonta, none of us have seen Tracey. She didn't fly out the window did she?" Gonta's face quickly turns to alarm as he pushes the door back so violently it thunders backwards with a horrid breaking noise. He is the loveliest and most kind soul Atua or I have ever known but sometimes he doesn't know his own strength. His eyes are terrified as he stares at Tsmugi.,"You don't think Tracey do that, do you? Gonta never considered that possibility...whenever she fly off she always comes back. Gonta think it unpossible for her...but Gonta have no idea where she gone...Gonta so useless..." Tsmugi pats his shoulder sympathetically, "You're not useless Gonta. I'm sure she'll appear somewhere." Himiko nods and I notice Tenko mutter something under her breath. I don't catch all of it but I'm positive I hear "degenerate male". I try to ignore the anger I feel. Both Atua and I do not understand why Tenko is so anti-males, especially to a kind soul like Gonta. He wouldn't hurt a fly - literally, I don't think I've ever seen him harm anything, even insects. Especially not insects. Gonta isn't considered the brightest in our year (he does refer to himself in third person) but I don't think he deserves to be labelled like that by Tenko. Not exactly like she's a prize herself, if I'm honest. Atua reminds me of my manners and I focus my attention back on the situation and notice Kirumi has now arrived.,"Kirumi, you also on the hunt for the lost butterfly of Gonta Gokuhara? It is a dangerous journey you wish to embark on." Kirumi smiles politely at me and nods. I like Kirumi but I think she's too quiet sometimes. She doesn't seem to have anything that really goes for her. Kirumi kind of just exists. Like a shadow, she follows you around and is always visible in the daylight and never truly leaves. She's always looking out for everyone but it makes me curious as to who Kirumi Tojo really is. Gonta brightens up.,"Yeah, Kirumi offered to help Gonta when he came into her carriage asking about Tracey. She thinks Tracey is somewhere near the back of train, so we're looking there. Gonta would appreciate anyone's help though!" Himiko raises her hand as if she's waiting for a teacher to pick on her.,"I'll help you Gonta. Magical users aren't complete without their trusty pet. I feel your pain, Gonta, but together we can find her- but on one condition." Gonta stands there, looking confused at Himiko. I clap my hands together, excited.,"Oooh Himiko, are you going to place a price for your help? Is it a finders keepers situation?" Gonta gives out a cry of shock and Tsmugi steps back to avoid his arm as it flings back in horror.,"Himiko wouldn't do that to Gonta, would you? It's not very ladylike thing to do." Himiko nods quickly, looking a little pale. Atua notices Kiyo chuckling under his breath.,"O-of course not, Gonta, I-I would never do something like that to you. I just want a piggy back ride." Gonta's face instantly brightens and he smiles cheerfully at her.,"Well, why didn't you say so Himiko? Gonta wouldn't say no. It's not very gentlemanly like to not help out." Himiko gives a cheer and Gonta bends down for Himiko to scrabble onto his back. Tsmugi huffs slightly as does Tenko but both Gonta and Himiko are laughing as Gonta spins her round. I like it when things are like this. There is no fighting nor any weird creepiness from Kiyo. Just friends having fun. Atua likes this too. We've really missed it over the holidays. Kirumi smiles softly and gestures to the door.,"I'll help too Gonta, I'm sure we'll find Tracey eventually. What about you, Tenko?" Tsmugi and everyone's eyes shift to Tenko who turns pink.,"U-Um, sure if Himiko is doing it I guess I can too. Even if it is for a degenerate." Gonta smiles blissfully, completely unaware or seemingly unaware of what Tenko has said and doesn't seem to notice Tsmugi's body stiffening or Himiko's downfallen face. Sometimes I feel sorry for Gonta. He believes the best in everyone and though that's a nice thing to do it isn't always the smartest option. Almost as if in response to that thought, I look over at Kiyo to find him already staring at me, his dark eyes piercing and unforgiving. Atua senses a darkness in his orbs and it makes my fingers twitch, no, , to draw the depths of his darkness onto a white page and stain it with his vileness. It is vileness his darkness. I know a lot of people like to link darkness almost to this sexy and sensual desire but this is not it. There is something quite violent and just wrong about him. I suppress the shiver of repulsion that crawls through my skin and force a smile at Gonta's lot as they head out of the door.,"Atua wishes you all the best! Good luck everyone!" Their voices clamour together as Kirumi politely shuts the door and it's just me and Kiyo, alone. I try my best not to look at him and to go back to my drawing but I can feel his gaze never leaving. What is his problem? Kiyo has always been this level of creepy though. Always covering his face with that mask, his voice has a sinister quality and his laugh is cruel almost. It's the way he talks. It's everything about him. I start to hum under my breath to break the silence and to calm my nerves. Atua is strangely quiet like he's just observing what will happen. I hear Kiyo chuckle.,"You going to ignore me forever, Angie? Not really your style now is it? Whatever would your Atua think?" I look up and although I can't see his mouth I'm positive he's smiling. My anger rises but I push it down and force a cold smile.,"Who said I was ignoring you, Kiyo? Perhaps you are the one who is too scared to talk to me, no?" He rolls his eyes.,"Why would I be scared to talk to the girl who hears voices?" I point my paintbrush at him and grin wickedly.,"Because I know that you're playing with magic that should not be meddled with. I can feel it all around you. It's a curse Kiyo and it will make you pay for what you have done." Again, his face is collected and nothing gives him away. Except the small look of panic in his eyes.,"You have no idea what you're talking about. You're just throwing out accusations based on no evidence. Kukukuk...I expected better from you." He's right: I have no evidence. I have no evidence that Kiyo is meddling with something dark but I know he is. Atua thinks so too. Ever since last year, something's changed. Something has over taken Kiyo and I think it is quite dangerous. I merely shrug at him and pack my notepad into my bag.,"The train will stop soon so I'm off to the bathroom to go get changed. Atua reckons you should think about getting changed too before we get off the train." Kiyo says nothing but picks up his book to continue reading. Just before I leave I turn around and say quietly, "If you hurt me or any of my friends, I will kill you. Remember that Kiyo. I follow through all my threats." Kiyo's eyebrows raise but I see in his eyes a silent fury or perhaps excitement glowing in those dark orbs. I shut the door quickly before I look any deeper into his eyes and quickly walk down the train, ignoring my racing heart beat. Atua isn't sure that was a wise decision and neither am I. I am no stranger to enemies or danger but there's something very wrong about Kiyo. Something that is unsettling. I have no proof but I'm going to find some. He'll have to make a mistake eventually and when he does, I'll be waiting. It's time to expose him for who he really is. I will not back down.,If he wants a fight, I'll give him one.,~x~,Centuries by Fall Out Boy,watch?v=dZEnQogAd8U,Outfits v3 Characters wore before getting to Hogwarts: (board is labelled their outfits by user Shadow Walker ) *only included links to characters who appeared in this chapter but I did find outfits for all of them which are in the board and if you wanna know who's is which outfit specifically, message me :) *,Shuichi: . /pin/487725834638328108/,. /pin/487725834638342158/,Kaito: . /pin/487725834638328414/,Maki: . /pin/487725834638328117/,Angie: . /pin/487725834638342152/,. /pin/487725834638342167/,Tsmugi: . /pin/487725834638328437/,Tenko: . /pin/AVxQJbKVUbb8aNHXmWsiXFFqI26GscJiF8z8X5pSBBSvLS-kUCH1Vnw/,Kiyo: . /pin/487725834638342382/,Gonta: . /pin/487725834638342331/,Kirumi: . /pin/487725834638342172/,~X~,Author's note: Hey so first off, thank you so much for reading my story so far, I really hope you liked it! I thought I'd say a few things at the end just to make sure everything is clear about this story so if you could, please read till the end. Or not, I'll never know but don't complain if you don't know things cause I did warn ya.,Firstly, all the appropriate rights and everything go to J. and Spike Chunsoft. I am only using their characters and stuff for entertainment purposes and am absolutely not trying to steal their content or anything. This is all harmless fun. This is only my interpretation of characters so obviously it may not be accurate or how you view the characters/relationships/way they are presented.,This story will be focusing on all v3 characters and although it will include other characters from the other Danganronpa parts of the universe, the primary focus is on v3. I will also ask for you to not comment any spoilers about v3 because I don't think that's very nice for all the people who haven't catched up. I do recommend you to have played or watched a let's play of Danganronpa v3 before reading further as this story may reflect certain parts of the game. Likewise, this story will include actual Harry Potter Characters but again the focus is on v3, I am just really using the setting of the magical universe with these characters.,I am open to any suggestions or criticism/comments you may have. I do ask for the criticism to not be rude or mean but thoughtful as I simply won't respond or act upon those that don't really have anything to say except "you're a bitch" or "you can't write". If I have got something wrong or anything I'd like you to tell me to make sure that I can go back and edit or make sure I don't repeat the same mistake again. With my studies and my busy life, I am not sure how regularly I will update this story so I don't intend to make any promises on my writing. I hope you understand. Also, I've split this chapter into two parts because there is a lot I want to get done in the first chapter but I didn't want to make this chapter too long, especially considering its the first one. Most chapters I am planning to do as one characters P.O.V but if you guys don't like that I can change it. Some chapters may have multiple but most won't and the chapters length will all vary, depending on where the story goes.,This really is just a bit of fun and a cool idea I thought that would be fun to explore. Really hope you liked it! Have a good day and a despairful night!,-Ghost Girl in a dying world

The sun was shining down on the castle ruins. A quick glance told me that I was correct. It couldn't really be a ruin. Firstly there was a strange glimmer about the place. Like magic, but that was stupid. Magic didn't exist, did it? I was ten years old now. My sister was a boarding school and my , Charlotte was there as well so I didn't have anywhere to go. My mum is a freak; I mean who hasn't noticed the strange men coming in and out of the house. All looking the same but different too. Is she like dating the entire family? I sighed and walked into the ruin. It was the first dry place I'd come across in a long time. There was an old rusty gate hanging off its hinges and I could hear screaming in the distance. I let my hair down and ran towards the noise. One of the screaming people was coming into view. I stopped dead. I could recognise that girl from anywhere it was Kira. My sister sounded terrified. What was this place?,I kept on running. Kira noticed me first.,"MADDIE" she yelled,I stared, how was she here? She had left for boarding school about four weeks ago. I reached the group and saw an amazing sight. They were all holding twigs.,"What the hell is going on here? What the hell is with the twigs? Why the hell are you two skiving school?" I screamed. Charlotte and Kira looked slightly guilty. I wondered why they chose here of all places to have some sort of tree celebration party.,"Ummmmm" said Charlotte. I stared at her. What was going on? Was it true? Everyone at school had been calling me the daughter of some creepy clone family. Why was that even possible?,"What, what, tell me!"I yelled. Some of the other people looked at me in surprise and started to mutter.,"Magic!"Supplied Kira My mind was reeling, magic did exist? But why were Kira and Charlotte caught up in it? Another girl stared at me, she was small with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes.,"Hi" she said "I'm Marion" Marion was blushing as she glanced towards a boy about three years older than her. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He was quite tall but the way he was talking sounded like he was rude and annoying.,"That's Charlus," she whispered into my ear. I looked the boy over again. Maybe he wasn't so bad. If this little innocent girl knew him on a first name basis then how could he be as rude as he looked.,A shout came from inside the ruin. A young woman came walking out of the rusty doors. Who was she? She had brown hair tied up in a bun. She was covered in a set of green, what looked like, curtains. That was weird. I suddenly noticed that all of the children were wearing the same thing. Black robes, it looked like. With multi coloured ties and a crest on a pocket.,"Is this some kind of club?" I asked somewhat hesitantly, unsure if Kira was telling the truth about magic or not.,"Who is this, Miss Manning, Miss Deston, Miss Porter? Detention, all three of you for almost breaking the law." She said.,"Me as well?" said Marion. She looked scared and she was shaking.,"Yes, Miss Porter. You as well. Nothing permitted you to sneak into the village last night." The woman sounded surprised at Marion. "New girl, what is your name?" she continued.,"Madeline Manning" I said nervously.,"Is this your sister?" she said in a commanding tone, pointing at Kira. I nodded, yes, and waited for a response.,"Well Madeline Manning, I am a teacher at this school that I trust your mother has told you both of the reason you are here. We will continue this is Professor Dippets office." She gave a glare across to the other, well I guess, students and led me and Kira off towards the ruin. She tossed me a ring. I slipped it on my finger and suddenly a castle popped into view. I could see bight green grass and a lovely lake, grand doors and a huge entrance hall. I must have been gawping because Kira gave me a knowing smile. I guess she felt the same way when she arrived.

Harry's Theory of Happiness,Harry Potter was waiting in front of his house for his adopted mom to come back with his new brothers and sister. She had found out about them through a friend. He was nervous, what if his new siblings didn't like him? What would he do then?,He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of gravel crunching under tires and watched as his mother pulled into the driveway.,As they got out of the car, he took note of their features. The girl had short green hair and matching eyes. The shorter boy had blond hair and yellow eyes. The other boy had brown hair and golden brown eyes.,As Harry was studying them, their eyes turned red. Harry was rather surprised. The three seemed to notice and began whispering amongst themselves. Harry stared into their eyes, finding memories adults couldn't find.,Just then, the taller boy started crying. "Hey, what's wrong?" Harry asked. "I'm a monster!" Harry was taken aback.,"That's not true! All those heroes on tv wear red proudly! It's the color of a hero! So you shouldn't be scared! You're heroes!" he said.,The three stared at him, shocked.,Harry escorted them inside and up to his room.,"This is my room! You two," he said, pointing at the two boys. "You'll share with me. I'm usually at boarding school, so you won't really see me except during holidays. Oh yea! What're your names?","Kano Shuuya.","Kido Tsubomi.","S-Seto Kousuke…","Nice to meet you all! When we're at home, call me Ayato. I was adopted too! But if you see some of my friends from school, don't tell them that and call me Harry Potter. They all think I live with my relatives.,"Anyway, what do you guys like to do for fun?",When they were silent, Harry cast his eyes around the room and a light bulb lit up. He ran to the corner of his room and wrapped a red scarf around his neck.,"Now we all match! We're like a secret brigade!" He struck a funny pose. The three younger kids laughed. He smiled.,Harry, Tsubomi, Shuuya, and Kousuke quickly bonded. The original family told the newcomers that Harry was a wizard and was famous in his world. As a past time, Harry would tell them of his misadventures that would end with his near-demise. When he wasn't telling them stories, they were playing games about heroes.,His favorite memory was when Shuuya had tried to get Kousuke to play the bad guy and their dad ended up the bad guy.,Harry made it his mission to make sure they smiled at least five times a day. He wanted them to always be happy, even when he wasn't there for them. He needed to make sure they were happy day in and day out.,Harry sat silently, watching his little siblings cry. A few days ago, their mom and dad got stuck in an avalanche. Their dad got out with a broken leg, but mom had died. Harry hated to say it, but he was used to death. His parents, Quirrel, Cedric… and now mom. He wasn't going to cry in front of his little siblings, they needed him to be strong.,Harry looked at the darkening sky and realized that his perfect world away from magic was falling apart. It would never be the same.,His family had long left. It was getting dark and Kousuke was getting sleepy. Harry said he'd catch up to them in a bit.,He got off the bench and moved to sit in front of his mother, not caring about the rain.,"This world is crazy, mama. But I can't tell anyone, can I? I can't hurt them. I need to keep them safe, right mama? I promise to make sure they're happy.",He laid down and stared at the sky.,"No, no, no! I don't want this world destroyed! Why?! Why are you destroying my happiness?!" he screamed. That was when he realized the world of happiness ended.,Harry was going around the house, closing all the windows. Since their mother died, Harry took up all the things she used to do. That includes closing the windows at night or when a storm was on the way, which was the case.,He walked past his dad's study and saw the window open. He hesitated, his dad told them to stay out of his study. But he didn't want rain to get all over his work or for the wind to blow something out the window. So he decided to hurry, in and out.,On his way out, he caught eye of a journal with his mother's handwriting on it. He looked around before grabbing the book and running out.,When he got to his room, he sat down and opened the book.,It told of a story that mom used to tell him before he went to bed every night. Harry always thought it was just a fantasy, but according to the journal it was real. Except the ending wasn't quite as happy. It said that the monster left her daughter in the human world and created her own world. Any human that visited her realm via near death experience, they would get cursed red eyes, a likeness of the lonely monster.,The journal read that his parents had gotten his siblings to study them. It also said that father was intending on experimenting on his two special students.,Harry was shocked. This was horrible. This color -red- was destroying his world. Red eyes were destroying futures. Red was destroying happiness.,Harry wondered what would happen if he had those accursed red eyes. Would he be able to protect his family? Could he save their futures? He wasn't the hero type, no matter what the wizarding world said. He was awkward, clumsy, and ashamed of himself. He was ashamed that he'd even think of this plan. But this was something only he could do. No one else. Just him. This was his new mission.,Harry no longer existed. As of right now, the wizarding was still searching frantically for him. He had put his family through a world of pain, but that wasn't his intention.,But he had to wonder how his family was doing. Are they still getting along and smiling day in and day out?,He knew they were probably still upset with him, but he hoped that he was a good big brother in their eyes.,Happiness is an odd subject. It was a feeling of contentment. I hope they remember what I loved, so they can love tomorrow.

I OWN AND REGRET NOTHING!,...III...,...III...,Dumbledore smiled as he turned all the lights on Privet Drive back on and gave one last look to the basket on the doorstep that contained the savior of the wizarding world...,"Good luck...Harry Potter...",Dumbeldore found himself thrown to the far end of the street by the force of the explosion that destroyed not only the Dursley home but the house next to them as well...,Dumbeldore gaped in horror from on his back...watching the FIEND-Fyre not only consume most of Privet drive...but Voldemorts dark mark that now hung in the sky where the wizarding worlds savior had just been destroyed!,"NOOOO!" Shouted Dumbeldore in anguish.,Dumbeldore had not time to grieve though, more and more bombs were going off, every single house on the street was being blown to bits! And the FIEND-Fyre was spreading! He had to stop it before all of London was ablaze!,Meanwhile, from the shadows...,A dark cloaked figure watched as the headmaster continued to fight the magic flames until the aurors...and the press showed up...,"Serves you right, you meddling bastard." Snarled the figure as Dumbeldore found himself in the middle of a shoot-out as agitated muggle law enforcement ALSO showed up, saw weird men in robes shooting beads of light at the roaring inferno, assumed the worse, pointed their guns at the aurors and demanded they stand-down. Predictably; a PUREblood auror took offense to being ordered around by a MUGGLE and tried to shoot an obliviation at them..and that's when all hell broke loose.,As amusing as it was to see Dumbeldore forced to both mediate a now ferocious firefight between the two groups AND stop the still roaring magic inferno as it got WORSE...The figure knew he had to leave. He looked down at the basket he carried with the still sleeping Harry in it. "Come on kid, I might be limited on what I can do, but let's see if we can't give you a less shitty childhood..." He walks through a portal...,...,Snape's house along with the jerk potion master are blown to bits...via lightning bolt hitting his testicles...100 times...,The figure stays only long enough to laugh hysterically and send the dark mark into the sky before vanishing through yet another portal...,...,The figure groans with effort as his attempts to blow up the Ministry fail, "Seriously? That's still going to be a thing? But it doesn't even- He shakes his head, "Oh, forget it...",Not having a choice- apparently - he had many people inside the building wrapped in impenetrable, invisible bubbles(sadly, this also included Malfoy SENIOR and Umbridge) in the courtroom where many 'former' death eaters had just convinced- (cough) Bribed (cough) -newly appointed minister fudge that they'd been under imperius and were thus innocent-,The minister, the majority of the Wizengamot, and most of the ministry would be blown to bits. The figure shook his head at the shattered remains of the once great institute of British wizard law, "Not as satisfying...but I guess it's better then nothing. You live to croak another day, toad.",He quickly teleports to the remains of the Department of mystery. First making sure that all the time-turners were destroyed, he searches through the rubble.,"Come on, I know it has to- BINGO!" He smiles as he picks up the last known scroll of Spinjutsu, pausing only long enough to smash a certain prophecy, a certain veil AND pick up some other miscellaneous knick knacks. He then blew up the rest of the department and shot the Dark mark into the sky before vanishing yet again...,...Deep underground in ancient China...,The Serpentine of Hypnobrai continued to live out their dank, miserable existence forever locked in the bottom of this hole in the ground...forever locked in these catacombs by the powerful magic of the ancient wizards of old...,They- like all the other Serpentine tribes - Never expected to see the sky again or feel the wind on their face. Never to have their children frolic in the meadows or eat mice.,They ESPECIALLY never expected to see a human...,The serpentine bat-monger paused as a cloaked HUMAN stepped out of thin air carrying an archaic scroll and a basket with a sleeping human baby in it.,"Can you tell me where Elder Gutknecht is?" Asked the human?" The stunned Serpentine- not knowing what else to do -points with his tail toward the elders cave.,"Much obliged." Said the cloaked human as he walked away...,...III…...,TO BE CONTINUED?

Chapter one,Not evil,Laenna p.o.v,Uh, why can't Leslie just leave me alone. So what if I have creepy powers that aren't Kairu related, at least I'm not a preppy princess. I never will be, years of evil all around made it impossible when I'm the good egg of the family. Or as they think, the bad one.,"Laenna, Dad wants to talk to you." Leslie's annoying singsong voice came through. I rolled my eyes and got up from my sitting position between the desk and my bed and went out the door dumping Les lightly on the shoulder (any harder and dad would have my head). I passed by many of our servants/employees. Each of them gave me a glare as I walked by. No one was kind to me like they were with Leslie.,"Yeah Dad?" I asked. He looked up at me.,"Your mother and I have decided that you should go on quests with sis…" he started.,"I'll pass." I growled. Mom looked at me with dissapointment. Dad sighed.,"Why?" he asked.,"Sorry, but I missed the evil gene. Love you!" I said as I walked out. Two grudging "love you too's" followed me. This was my life. Glares, stares, A bratty fraternal twin, pestering, and the constant wave of favoritism. Boy was it annoying. Leslie was waiting when I got there.,"Not happening Les." were my words as I passed her.

( Okaaaay this was in my head so don't ask I never do stories like this and I was bored so decided to write this and hopefully does suck also for my friend Nessie! hope you like it!),A girl with short brown pixie hair was sitting at one of the tables in the Hogwarts Library. The girl was biting her lip as he legs went back and forth, her feat not touching the floor even through she was in 5 year at Hogwarts. She loosen her Ravenclaw tie trying to focus on the potions essay but wasn't having any luck.,A boy old than her stood by the books watching the girl with interest. He had short brown hair and was bit taller than the girl, and he happen to be in slytherin. He was fighting a inner battle on if she should go talk to the girl who caught his attention in his potions class after blowing up a cauldron.,"Joe' Said a voice next to him. Joe jumped to his see one of his friends Curt Mega was standing next to him grinning at his friend.,"Just talk to her Joe" said guy with short brown hair taller than Joe. He looked like prince but in fact her was half-blood not pure blood and was hufflepuff.,Joe jumped as hi friend said that and blushed.,"Plus it looks like you're stalking her" Curt added grinning at his friend as she face palmed himself.,"Oh shut up, I'm looking for a book" He mumbled pretending to look at the book case in front of him. He grabbed a book and open it not really caring it was about. Curt shake his head and sighed.,"Just talk to her" he said pushing his friend forward he bumped into the girls table and she looked up and blushed.,He knew she was a year younger than him and pretty smart. He even heard she skip few grades, also heard that she was almost as smart as Hermione Granger one of his friends.,Tessa looked up from her blank paper in front of her and eyes widen as she saw Joe Moses at Slyterin and in 6th year blushing in front o f her. She knew about Joe and his friends who were known to be awesome.,The group called themselves Team Starkid, group of kids from each house coming together. They helped others and didn't care about blood status. Tessa always looked up to them and couldn't believe Joe was now in front of her, also the fact that she had crush on him.,Tessa never talked to him before or rest of Team Starkid. She saw them in hallways or in class but just never had nerves to talk to them. Thats why she loved books they didn't judge people well at least most magical books didn't.,Tessa blinked and pinched herself to make sure this was happening. Don't fangirl she reminded herself as she talked.,"Sorry" Joe said quietly and blushing. Why was he blushing she thought as she smiled a little.,"It's okay, Joe Moses right" she asked softly smiling at him her brown eyes grinning,Joes eyes go wide, shaking his head. Of course she knew her name Team Starkid was famous but still he was nervous.,"Yeap, and you're Tessa Netting" he said with smile as he said her name, Tessa blushed and grinned at Joe.,"So you look like you're having trouble with potions, I'm pretty good at it" said Joe randomly,Tessa raised her raised her eyebrows " Have you been watching me" Teasing him and Joe's face goes red and Tessa smiles.,Joe coughs and looks down embarrass "Er no um.. I was wondering if..er I saw you in class" he mumbles face going red.,"Relax Joe, I would love for you to help me" Tessa said poking him and smiled at him almost took Joe's breathe away. Joe took the empty seat and helped Tessa with her potions homework, both of them smiling and blushing during random times.

What If You Could See,/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /,Author's Note: Plot bunny explosion!,Disclaimer: I own nothing!,/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /,"What if you could see again?",The question had come out of nowhere, "What?",She stayed silent for a moment before responding, "If there was a way for you to regain your sight...would you do it?",He reached out for her hand and laced his fingers with hers, "What are you talking about? There is no way. I told you that I'm not a match for any experimental procedures. I thought you were ok with this?",She sighed and loosened her grip on his hand, "I am. Here.",She placed a small bottle in his hand. He felt the smooth surface and the cork in his palm. Confusion tore through him at the turn in conversation that had led them to this moment. They were laying in bed when she had sat up and asked him this question.,"What is it?" he hesitantly asked.,"It's...it's... a.." she stuttered.,He sat up slowly as not to startle her. Hermione Granger was not known for stuttering. This was serious, "Hermione? What's wrong? What is this?","Guess...guess I should just jump in head first. It's a potion.","A potion?" if he indeed had his sight back he would have given her a confused look. Placing his hand on her arm he trailed it up until he reached her face. The muscles were tense and her skin felt hot. She was hiding something. He felt her lick her lips.,"That's the wrong place to start. I've been working with you for about five years. Dating for two. And I've never told you what I actually do...well what I am.",Auggie nodded, "But that's what we do in this line of work. Joan vouched for you. That's good enough for me." When she didn't speak again he analyzed her words. She had spoken about being something, "What do you mean 'what I am'?",He felt her jaw opening and closing. She was trying to decide what to say. She was nervous. She sighed before finally speaking, "I'm from the Ministry of Magic. I'm part of an international team that builds bridges between Muggle intelligence agencies, well non-magical folk intelligence agencies, and international intelligence agencies. Auggie, I'm a witch.",He nodded his head and smiled, "A witch. Ok.",He felt her body tense up, "You believe me?",Auggie nodded his head, "If you believe it then I believe it. You're a wiccan witch of sorts.",She shook her head, "No. I'm a witch. Potions, brooms and spells. I even have a wand.",He placed the bottle on his lap and placed his hand on the other side of her face. Concern tore through him. Hermione was one of the most level headed people...scratch that...she was the most level headed person he knew. For her to be saying this something must be wrong, "What do you mean?","Just what I said. I'm a witch.",He paused and tried to think of how he was going to handle this situation. As far as he knew magic was not real. But Hermione was serious about this. And if he really thought about it he couldn't deny that things had been different with Hermione around. Impossible things that could only be deemed as miracles happened during missions with Annie. That was also the case in the apartment after she had moved in. It seemed that things were always within his reach. Even with her additions things had appeared right near when he called out to her to ask her for something. Like magic. Even when he got sick the 'medicine' that he gave her made him feel instantly better. Especially after a hangover. He remembered when he had broken his leg a couple months ago and whatever she had used had left absolutely no scar. And all she had said was that they were home remedies. There was also the strange set of robes and books that she had brought with her and kept in her side of the walk-in closet. And that didn't include the strange terms that her colleagues from England had used when they had come to visit her.,Strangely...it all made sense.,"You're not messing with me?" he asked in a last desperate attempt to see if she was just joking around. It made sense now. But there could still be a chance.,"No. It's the truth," she said without hesitation.,He reached down and grabbed the bottle again, "And this?","It's a potion to get your sight back.","You made this?",She shook her head, "An old potions professor of mine did. I got him...to make it for you.","Why?","Because I love you.",He leaned forward and soundly kissed her. He trusted her. More than anyone else in his life. And even though he knew that somewhere in the back of his mind it was telling him this could be a trap...he loved and trusted her more than anyone in the world. Without further ado he uncorked the bottle and drank the contents.,"Not so fast!" Hermione shouted.,And instantly he knew why. His eye sockets seemed to be on fire. Pain shot out from them and he thrashed back onto the bed. His hands flew to his face and wanted to scratch off whatever it was that was causing the sensation but Hermione pinned him down and yelled, "No. Don't scratch it. It's ok Auggie. Don't scratch!",Then it all disappeared. The burning sensation was gone and all he could see was...her.,"Hermione?",Her eyes were frantically moving across his face. Trying to assess if he was ok. She moved away and let him sit up. And all they did was stare at each other. He instantly drunk her in. She was exactly like he pictured. Wide eyes. Plump lips. Short cropped brown hair. Perfect.,"I can see," he muttered.,She nodded her head and a couple happy tears ran down her cheeks.,"I can see! And you're a witch! Oh my god! I can see!" he said in amazement. A huge smile appeared on her face when he practically tackled her and began peppering her with kisses. After a couple minutes they had ended up on the opposite side of the bed with Auggie hovering over her.,She had done something so breathtakingly beautiful for him that he didn't know how to express himself. Ever since his accident he had felt lost and alone in his condition. Surrounded by people yet still on his own. Incomplete. And for the first time in years he felt something he hadn't felt in ages when he looked down upon her. He felt...complete. And it was all because of her.,'Hermione.',"I see you," he said with misty eyes as he leaned his forehead against hers.,'His witch.',She brushed her lips against his, "And I see you.",/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /,Author's Note: Wow...I have no idea where this came from. My plot bunny juices have been flowing for other things...besides the work I actually have to do! So I've never jumped into this crossover area but I have been trying to challenge myself in an attempt to get out of the stalemate I am with my other stories.,Please tell me what you think and leave a review right here!

The Ice Couple, Perhaps?,Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I own Freezing.,Summary: After the last NOVA clash, Kazuya and Satellizer were sent to the Hogwarts as transfer students. Here, a certain blond-haired boy caught sight of the Untouchable Queen and fell in love with her immediately. How would the competition between the two guys turned out?,.,Prologue,"Kazuya, activate the Freezing net!" Satellizer yelled. She held her Nova Blood tightly, ready for the charge.,"Hai!" Kazuya replied. Thrusting his right arm forward, he shouted.,"Freezing!",The effect came immediately. Starting under Kazuya's feet, the Freezing net spread rapidly in the massive NOVA's direction. Great pressure struck his arm so hard he feared it might shatter. No matter what, he held on.,Meanwhile, Satellizer ran towards the alien at full speed, her long blonde hair flying freely behind her. Kazuya stopped thinking for a while, just to admire the beautiful Pandora's fading figure. Then, with a blinding flash of white and a deafening scream, the last S-Class evaporated into thin air.,It's finally over.,.,"Avada Kadavra!","Expelliarmus!",Two brilliant light beam of green and red crashed between the two arch enemies, sending white beams everywhere. Both wands vibrated violently, and when Harry held onto it, Voldemort was forced to let it go, not having used to the reaction. The Elder Wand, no longer restrained in its owner's hand, flew up to the sky, still whirling rapidly. No one could really see anything, but they could barely make out a bright green spell shooting right back at its caster. Then, with a buzzing sound and a inhuman scream, Voldemort fell lifelessly on the ground.,It's finally over.,.,Author's Note: Really short, but then again, it's just a prologue. And I recommend reading the manga "Freezing" before reading my fic.,Later days!

Trois mois.,Trois petits mois de convalescence alors qu'il avait risqué la mort, et rien de plus. Voilà tout ce que la nation reconnaissante avait à lui offrir en fin de compte, après des années de sacrifice. Severus n'arriverait jamais à digérer ce fait, il lui restait coincé en travers de la gorge et n'avait en rien amélioré son tempérament. Le Directeur des Serpentards était devenu aigri, alors même qu'il l'était déjà.,Severus avait donc repris du service actif et était en mission pour Poudlard. Il avait voyagé par le réseau de cheminette pour se rendre jusqu'à Londres. Bien évidemment, choisir d'apparaitre aux abords du Chemin de Traverse n'était pas avisé : les rues étaient noires de mondes et une foule de sorciers se pressait contre les vitrines. Le mois d'août était toujours une aubaine pour les marchands, et Severus ne doutait pas qu'Ollivander aurait fermé boutique depuis longtemps sans les cohortes de premières années qui se pressaient dans les rues avec leur liste de fourniture.,On ne pouvait pas pour autant dire que la foule incommodait Severus. Son allure passablement terrifiante accompagnée de grandes capes sombres faisait s'écarter n'importe qui de son chemin. Il n'avait pas été le cauchemar de toute une génération de sorciers pour rien ! Chacun d'entre eux, peu importe leur maison, avait un jour perdu des points de maison ou fini en retenue grâce à son intransigeance.,Seulement voilà, tous les sorciers présents ce jour là n'étaient pas tous passés par les salles de Poudlard. Pas encore. Il y avait de ces cohortes de futurs premières années qui étaient plus acharnées que d'autres. L'un d'entre elles, une tripotée de morveux occupés à faire la queue devant le stand de Florian Fortarôme, était décidée à maintenir sa formation quoiqu'il advienne. La cohorte faisait barrage alors même que la montait des passants menaçait de submerger la rue entière.,Severus leur lança une œillade assassine, sans pourtant qu'un seul des garnements ne remarque le danger. L'un des gamins reçut sa glace et s'élança immédiatement vers une destination inconnue, dans une course folle, à la manière d'un missile impossible à diriger. Severus l'observa alors qu'il trébucha sur ses lacets défaits et manqua tomber par terre. Il le retint au dernier moment, mais l'une des boules de glace posées sur le cornet avait glissé jusqu'aux pavés.,Severus soupira en voyant qu'un peu de crème avait éclaboussé sa cape, que la lèvre inférieure du morveux commençait à trembler, et que ses yeux s'humidifiaient. Il sortit sa baguette et lança un simple sort produisant des petites lueurs multicolores, avant de métamorphoser un bout de camelote qui trainait dans sa poche en petit jouet volant. Le gamin était fasciné par la course folle du jouet, et les autres autour également. Il profita de la brèche créée pour fuir l'attroupement.,Severus eût à peine le temps de faire une quinzaine de pas, qu'il entendit une petite explosion derrière lui, à peine plus forte qu'un pétard de Noël, suivie d'une symphonie de petits cris de surprises. Severus ne put s'empêcher de se sourire à lui-même.,Il allait atteindre la sortie du Chaudron Baveur, quand il passa devant un vendeur de journaux. Il acheta la gazette, qui arborait un gros titre tapageur.,« Un nouveau scandale éclate sur l'établissement Gringotts et secoue le monde magique. Les Aurors ont découverts que la banque sorcière a été dévalisée pour le troisième fois dans l'histoire. Si le mystérieux professeur Quirell n'avait rien dérobé, si Harry Potter et ses alliés n'avaient agis que pour le bien du monde sorcier, ce nouveau criminel avait des motivations plus vénales. Le Ministère ne dispose pour l'instant d'aucune piste. Qui est responsable de cet odieux forfait, et quel sera sa prochaine cible ? »

Dear Minnie,Chapter 1: Distractions of the past,Minerva McGonagall is an older lady with her fair share of adventures in her day. Formerly a fiery youth with an attitude tempered by age and experience. She had been ten years old when Grindelwald was defeated in nineteen forty five. A nation of peoples with pride for their country heading off to do battle beside their muggle countrymen.,A year later she would be attending Hogwarts for the first time and it was on the train she would make her first friend. A young girl her age named Susan Fairchild. A friend who would later suffer a tragedy and seem to bounce back almost right away.,Still as good friends do Minerva kept in contact. They would meet and have tea while they talked or perhaps something stronger. Well, she would have tea. Susan, or Velvet as she had taken a preference to being called shortly after her affliction befell her, would simply smile with silver eyes older than her face and body would imply as they chatted late into the night.,Unfortunately their last chat had been a few short years ago and Minerva missed her friend dearly in her aging years. There was a distance between them now built of both miles and past decisions.,So it was with much surprise that while sending off acceptance letters to students an owl came rapping at her office window. with a frown she bound up the letters she had been going through on her desk and set them aside for later sending with a wave of her wand before opening the window with another allowing the non-descript eagle owl inside before relieving it of its burden.,It's a package, or more precisely a box with velvet lining both inside and out. Closed by a silk ribbon pinning a letter to the top addressing the box to her.,A return name wasn't necessary. Minerva knew that handwriting. She would recognize it anywhere. The same one the used to write the notes she would borrow all too often in her school days or be found in notes passed in the classroom. With a fond smile the teacher undoes the ribbon and opens the letter first leaving the box on the center of her desk as she pulls out the muggle lined paper held within. Letter written with muggle pen rather than quill and ink pot.,Here Minerva is forced to put the letter down for a moment and sighs. It was an old argument they had been having since the war. Susan used to think the world of the headmaster just as the Tranfiguration teacher herself does. But after she changed she began questioning him more especially when it came to the topic of her new kin and the 'gift' she had continuously offered to Minerva. She pours herself a cup of something a bit stronger than tea. If she's going to read her old friends views on Albus she would need it to keep an even keel.,The older woman frowns at the letter here. Still feeling the pang of guilt for having turned her old friend away so many times but for all the right reasons. The Scottish witch simply didn't share the feelings Susan had and to pretend would ruin them both. While accepting her offer would have seen their friendship never fade it was not something the old witch could bring herself to do. At first it had been her clinging to her affections of another and later her expectations for what might await her once her time on this plane was at it's end.,The old teacher shakes her head at that with a wry smile. That love they seem to have for the Victorian era bleeding over into their terminology. Refraining from calling it the Statute of Secrecy and instead referring to it as the "Masquerade" comparing hiding their nature to the way people used to hide their faces behind elaborate paper masks.,Minerva gently folds the letter closed again setting it back within its envelope before taking the lid of the box in hand and slowly drawing it upwards to look upon the collection of letters neatly stacked therein for her to go through one by one. Some thick with the pages bulging the envelopes while others are thin written upon perhaps a single page of the muggle line paper. each envelope with a number upon it to mark its place in case they are ever jumbled.,Slowly she places the first letter at the forefront before closing the box again. There will be time for her to go through them later. for the moment she needs to prepare for the students she needs to visit the next day. Her wand bundling up the letters she had been looking at prior where she takes it in hand and gives it over to a house elf. The muggle born letters already separated out for her to deliver herself. Never realizing she had missed the words. 'The cupboard under the stairs' in her distracted state.,Her affairs for the next day set in place she takes the box and places the lid back on top delicately re wrapping the ribbon to secure it closed before carrying it into her chambers. she looks around the space before setting her package on her dresser before picking up a framed picture next to it of herself at a far younger age wearing Hogwarts robes with a wide grin on her youthful face. Broom slung over one shoulder with the other wrapped around the shoulders of a far more demure girl.,A smile crosses the lips of the elderly witch as she watches her picture counterpart wink back at her before squeezing the other girl a bit tighter making the shy girl blush heavily and smile.,"Sweet Maeve I was so very blind back then. How obvious your feelings were now in hindsight Susan and yet I never even guessed. How funny a thing friendship can be that it blinds us to clearly to inconvenient truths. A better person you are than me Susan. I'm not sure I could have avoided coming to hate you had our situations been reversed." The professor admits to herself getting a sad smile in return from the teen in the picture until she sets it back down her own eyes misting.,She moves around changing into her night clothes and slowly putting out the lights in her chambers before settling herself into bed. Her eyes casting one last look at the velvet box before she closes them and turns away. Thoughts simmering with knowledge of what could have been.

Shreya settled down in her comfy couch one sunday night after a relatively tiresome week of work with a warm cup of tea with extra cream and a novel as she reflected on the cases they had come across this week. The bank robbery, the kidnapping and a series of thefts that resulted in a murder. These cases weren't exhausting because they baffled them. They were pretty regular cases but they required a lot of running around and generally resulted in cramps which were a literal pain in the neck.,But there was a particular case that had been reported this afternoon which had caught her attention. It was a rather odd case. A woman in her early forties had been murdered inside a room closed from the inside. Her body had been discovered by her sister, who had entered her house with the help of a spare key. Rohini, the victim Namrita's sister, had found it suspicious when Namrita had not come out of the room for a while and did not respond to her banging or shouting. Fearing for her sister's safety, she immediately called the neighbours for help who broke down the door to discover her seemingly unhurt-but-dead body.,When they (the CID) reached there, their first impression was that she was probably poisoned with a slow poison, but two hours later, when her body showed no particular signs to signal a death caused by poison, Shreya started weighing her options. What were the odds that this murder was not a regular one? What Shreya meant by this was that what were the odds that a wizard or a witch had committed this crime? Still, she told herself, she couldn't jump to conclusions until their forensic experts, and Dr. Tarika gave up and declared that they were at complete loss as to how the victim died.,What caused her to have the silly idea that wizards and witches exist, you ask? The fact that she was, in fact, a witch herself. Her team did not know this, of course, for the sake of keeping the wizarding society hidden. Her father and mother were both a part of the wizarding society. Her father, Shubhankar, a halfblood wizard, was a curse breaker at Gringotts and her mother, Sharmila, was a healer at 's. Shreya was the only one in all of her family and extended family and her magical friend circle and her family's friend circle who lived in India or, for that matter, the muggle society itself.,There were mainly two reasons for this, the first one being that India didn't have a wizarding society of it's own, because there weren't many wizards or witches there. The second was that since it had been under British influence for so long, the few Indians which were, indeed, magical, were registered in the British Ministry of Magic, and attended Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So naturally, the wizardkind prefered Britain to India. Shreya herself would have been residing in London, had it not been for her job as an Auror.,She had always wanted to be an Auror, and, apparently, when she had applied for the job, the Auror Department and the DMLE+ were looking for someone of Indian origin to work in a particular city of India with the muggle police. The job was to keep a lookout for illegal wizarding activities while undercover, as a muggle policewoman and if the case called for it, an auror. Like she thought this one did.,Shreya had almost considered herself to be a muggle CID officer, for since the ministry had started positioning aurors around India, the baddies had all cleared out (except for those other two, Well, that's another story). Her boss, ACP Pradyuman, knew her true identity, as did every ACP in the city, so that they could refer to her when needed. The Muggle Indian government and the British Ministry of Magic both paid her a handsome salary, so it was safe to say that she was rather well off. Shreya didn't regret her decision to take on this career because the CID was almost like her family and her own family wrote to her thrice a week, as they did when she was at Hogwarts.,Shreya smiled. She loved going to Hogwarts. Staying with friends and learning to use her abilities properly. She was one of those who were there when the Golden Trio were in school. Her maternal first cousins, Parvati and Padma Patil, were in the same year as Harry, Hermione and Ron, whereas she herself was sorted in Ravenclaw four years later. She had been in Dumbledore's Army and wanted to fight in the battle of Hogwarts- and she would have too, if her cousins had not sent her off.,She admired Hermione Granger the most, the current Minister for Magic, for all of wit and courage she had. She was inspired by how the Golden Trio fought against the Dark Lord and, now that she came to think of it, it was possibly what had motivated her to become an auror and/or a CID officer, whichever way you put it.,And that would bring her back to pondering about Namrita's murder. Why would a wizard want to kill a muggle businesswoman? Shreya sighed. There was a possibility that she was a witch. She'd have to talk about this to her boss. But, of course, that would be if the forensic doctors didn't find some sort of poison in her body. But she'd find that out tomorrow morning so it was no use thinking about it right now. Especially when she was getting sleepy. She drained the remaining tea in her cup and sent them both to their proper places with a flick of her wand before retiring to bed.

Harry Potter/Alice (2009),Title: Ace of Diamonds: Something Precious,Author: Chipmunki,Rated: T,Summary: Harry Potter's in Wonderland, he's with someone who likes hats. Vague M-Preg.,"He's dangerous?"asked the Queen incredulously. She stared with wide eyes at the young man in front of her. He was short, skinny with messy black hair. The Queen couldn't help but marvel at his bright green gaze. It was marred by his scratched glasses – ugly little things.,"Yes, my Queen," replied the Ten of Clubs, "Reports came it that he defeated 5 of the Suits himself.",The Queen looked shocked as the court muttered and murmured in quiet conversation.,"He, er, also destroyed the scarab he was on.","What?" gasped the Queen.,"And his mark," the Club grabbed Harry and spun him around, lifting his shirt up to show the top of the leafy design on every Oyster. The Queen gaped.,It was purple.,Harry ran, his magic burst around him, sending the Suits after him flying. He pushed himself harder and harder, the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The Suits were losing him! With one last burst of energy he pushed his magic, to perform something he had never done before. He remembered when he was running from Dudley and his crew, he remember the rush of air around him with Dumbledore gripping his arm and the tight, uncomfortable feeling of being pushed through a tube to small for him.,Then a gasping breath of fresh air. He collapsed, sinking to the floor as his vision blurred into blackness. All he could see was piles upon piles of books and the face of an astonished, angry fat man in black.,"A friend. I hope.",Hatter was making a good impression; a soaking wet girl with decent looks may not be completely up his alley but hey! He was flexible.,The girl stared back at him untrustingly but edged forward. He smiled.,Then the secret door behind him swung open and a figure emerged.,"Hey, Hatter, d'ya mind if I have some tea?" he asked.,Hatter swung round in his seat, looking at the figure in annoyance. It melted away into something else when he realised he was only wearing a shirt. Hatter's shirt - a green one, to bring out his eyes. Hatter could see a trail of bright bite marks lacing up his neck, and one on his long, long legs. Hatter remembered that one fondly.,"Harry." Said Hatter. His voice was full of lust, happiness and a little bit of annoyance.,The figure blushed as he took in Alice's presence. The hand reached up to smooth a wild head of hair, and he said "Oh, you're entertaining.","Yeah," Hatter answered, as Harry ignored his nearly nakedness and instead moved to lean over Hatter. Hatter's hands could help but come up to rest on the hips presented to him. The shirt covered most of his boy, but the pale skin on show made Hatter very happy. "Well, so are you." He flirted.,Harry reached round and stole Hatter's tea, blushing and drinking it in a long string of swallows. Hatter watched Harry's Adam's apple bob in time. It was transfixing.,"So now you've stole my tea, are you going to say good morning?" Asked Hatter, voice teasing once he was done.,Harry grinned and leant down, blindly placing the cup back on its saucer. "It's the afternoon, you fool." He said, but gave his lover a good morning kiss anyway. Alice felt kind of uncomfortable at the sight of so much tongue. Jack never kissed her like that.,The two separated with matching expressions of fondness. Hatter stroked a finger down Harry's face and then across his plump bottom lip, laughing when Harry caught it in his teeth.,Hatter looked unhappy when he said, "I have some business to take care of, but I'll be back soon. Why don't you fix yourself some breakfast, or lunch" he amended cheekily "whilst I'm gone and I'll hurry, kay?",Harry smiled a crooked smile, kissing Hatter's thumb, "I'm not that hungry, I might just go back to sleep. Come back to bed when you're done?",Hatter's hands stole to the other man's stomach, he stroked it gently "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.,"Yeah," Harry replied, "Just a little queasy." He laughed lightly. "It's fine.",They shared a smile, "It's worth it.","Yeah. Now back to bed with you!" He passed a teapot to the other man, "Here take it, it'll settle your stomach.",Harry lifted the lid of the pot and dipped his nose in. "mmm, real tea. For me?","Only the best for you." Hatter said and ushered the man back through the door. When it was closed it looked exactly like another section of the wall, covered in shelves and teas. He turned back to Alice.,"Right then, where were we?",Alice reached across to Hatter and placed a hand on his shoulder, she shook him.,"Hatter? What's going on? Snap out of it!",Hatter stared at his ransacked house, aghast. "Harry," he moaned, hands flexing around the telephone box he had a harsh grip on. if it wasn't for Alice's hold on him he would have bolted towards his home.,The hare headed figure on his porch turned at the noise and his loud and boisterous shout echoed out, "Come out, Hatter! No use hiding! Your bitch is dead! I killed her myself!",Hatter let out a pained whine and sunk to the ground, Alice tried to pull him up but he was slumped over, his arms coming round to hug himself. Alice managed to get him up and forced him to run. He stumbled but ran with her. His hat fell on to the pavement, and was kicked off, lost to the depths of the city bellow. Hatter carried on running. He didn't care anymore.

As a warning; this is a 5th year HP fic...and I haven't decided how much of the annual Voldie attack will change...so you'll find out when you read it.,August 7,To Kaito Kuroba,,Hello, my name is Harry Potter. I found out recently that my godfather was really good friends with your family when they were younger. We're apparently third cousins once removed or something; I'm not really good with family trees. Hearing stories about how well they got along made me want to get to know you. He and my dad apparently got in a major prank war with your parents the last time they were in Britain. It's nice to think that I have family, even if we live halfway around the world from each other.,I hope you don't mind me writing, even if you don't respond to this letter, since writing is about all I can do cooped up here. I'm not really supposed to be writing anyone (apparently it's not safe) but my friends brother works at the bank and he helped us find a way to keep these letters from being tracked. Things are honestly crazy around here, I really hope you write back so I can stop being bored and stressed for a while.,I should probably tell you more about myself than that we're related. I'm fifteen and at the end of summer I'll be going back to my boarding school in Scotland. I actually enjoy gardening and cooking, but my friend's mum, Molly, does all the cooking here and turned me down when I offered to help. Are you in school? What kind of things do you enjoy doing?,Hoping to hear from you,,Harry,Chapters will probably be short, and updates irregular. Hope you enjoyed the first letter, Kaito's response should be up soon(?) since it's mostly written.

[][][][][][][],Saying Bran Cornick was old was the equivalent of saying that the ocean was a little wet – true, but very much an understatement. In his time, he had seen the heights of human – and inhuman – depravity over the millennia. All of what he had seen weighed down on him, sometimes, especially at times like these. He was hunting in the forest about thirty miles from Aspen Creek when he found a little girl half-frozen in the frost, with nothing but a flashlight, a packet of crackers, and a halfway empty water bottle. She looked to be about five, and was asleep.,She did not stir when he approached her, nudging her in an attempt to wake her up. He found clutched in her hand a note, written in messy handwriting on a piece of lined paper, and after transforming back to human form, read the following,"Octavia,,We have had enough of your freakish ways, and have dropped you off here where we will hopefully never see you again and then gone on to somewhere the other freaks cannot find us.,The Dursleys.",His lips thinned, and he could feel the faint stirrings of displeasure from his more primal side. He picked the child up, carrying her in his arms like the most precious of packages, and began to make way back towards the town he had helped build a century and a half ago. As he approached the town at a fast clip, he realized the Leah would likely be angry at his taking in another child. A slightly spiteful smile formed at the corners of his lips at the thought of her displeasure – she should have gotten the idea by now that he liked to take in strays. Little Octavia in his arms was merely the newest one to come into his care.,He remembered raising that little spitfire, Mercy, even if it was done so peripherally when she was raised by one of his pack. She'd been all wild and burning with the desire to truly live her life to the fullest. He thought of the fiasco between her and his son, Samuel, and snorted, his hot breath steaming the chilly Montana air. He was glad that his girl had settled with the Hauptman boy, he steadied her. Bran had taken in other strays, but secretly, Mercy had always amused him with her antics more than any of the others over the centuries.,He wondered what this girl, with her strong Roman name, would be like. He hoped she wouldn't end like the last Octavia he knew, though. Poor girl had ended up committing suicide after her husband divorced her to marry his mistress. He resolved that he would raise her, or have whoever else took her in do so, to be independent, no matter what.,[][][][][][][],Tavia woke up, and had no idea where she was. It was an all white room, and she was on a bed of some sort. A machine beeped nearby, and she had something connected to her arm on the underside of her elbow. She felt warm, so much warmer than she had when she'd fallen asleep.,A man with dark hair and a five-o-clock shadow wearing blue-green scrubs leaned over her, and, noticing she was awake, called out, "Dad, the kid's awake!" He spoke in accent she had never really heard before, other than on television. He was an American.,Another man, tall and with the same dark hair, only longer, came into the room. He kneeled down next to where she was lying, and looked her in the eyes. She shifted, uncomfortable, as she was unused to anyone really looking at her, when he said, "Hello, miss. Do you know where you are?","No, sir.","You're in a hospital, in Montana in the United States." That surprised her – she'd never been in a hospital before, after all. "Do you know how you got here?",She shook her head. "What's you name," he asked her.,"Octavia Lilith Potter, sir.","How old are you?","Eight.","You guardians apparently abandoned you in forest. I was on a hike when I found you.",A bitter feeling rose up in her, but most of all, she felt relief. She'd never have to be in that cupboard again. She hoped, desperately, that they never came back for her.,"For the meantime," the man continued, snapping her out of her thoughts, "You'll be staying here in Aspen Creek. Is that okay with you?",She nodded; somewhat surprised that she was being asked anything.,"My name is Bran Cornick. My son her, Samuel, is a doctor, and he will be looking you over and making sure you are all okay, got it?",She nodded again, and he continued. "Do you know if you are up to date on your recent shots, or if you have any allergies?","No," she replied, "I have only been to the school nurse. Otherwise, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon –" she saw a brief flash of , go through his eyes as she said her relatives names "– never took me to the doctor's. They took Dudley whenever he skinned his knee, though.","Who's Dudley?","My cousin.","Ah… well then, looks like you will have to have a full physical, and some x-rays just to make sure you are all right.","Will it hurt?","X-rays? No. If you need shots, those might hurt a bit, but otherwise the most you will experience is some discomfort during the other parts of the exam. Now, I'll leave you to Samuel here, and bid you a good day.",Outside of the hospital room, in a small alcove with a computer where he was searching the web, he met with Sage two hours later. She was a tall, slender woman with some of the most gorgeous blue eyes he had seen in centuries, and after a few polite greeting and informing her of the basics of situation – that he had found a girl in the woods – he began to speak. "The girl smells of magic, but not like any of the witches most of my wolves know about. I think she's one of the Hidden Ones.","Hidden Ones?","Oh," he said, "I thought you knew about them, because you were changed before they really went into hiding, after all. They were a group of witches that felt the need to not just hide themselves from normal humans, but to complete separate themselves from them. They used their magic to ward of huge sections of land for only them to use, or to isolate their towns and properties. Last I checked, about twenty years or so, they were still living in that time period.,They dress in robes, and don't believe that normal humans are even worth their time. In the last hundred years or so, it has gotten worse. Anybody not lily-human is considered a "dark creature" and has all of his or her rights stripped. Their treatment of non-magical folk, what they call muggles, has gone to the point where they believe them to be lower than most animals, as well as magical folk who's parents were normal humans.,Recently, there was a civil war, if you could call it that. Really, it was a group of terrorists who attacked most of Europe and scared the whole lot of them into submission. They said that muggles and "mudbloods" – those first generation witches I was telling you about – were meant only to serve and went around killing them, regardless of the fact that their population really wasn't big enough to support a lot of them getting killed in such a fashion. That side was winning, and then something happened to the leader. It's gone down since then, but the attitude is still there, and many of the terrorists in Britain bought their way out of prison and are in the hereditary government body there known as the Wizengamot. Really, the only good thing about them is that they don't need death and sacrifice to be powerful, though some of them go that route anyway.","What does that have to do with us, though?","That girl there, has something on her. Samuel told me she has a portion of psychopath's soul stuck in her. He didn't know what it was at first, all he knew was that a scar that old should have healed by now, or at least have a bit. He called Charles in to check on it, thinking it was some sort of curse, and he told Samuel. It seems that he's encountered this before, about eighty years ago. It's called a Horcrux, and requires the murder of an innocent to tear one's soul in half and implant it into something. This stops the one created the horcrux from fully passing on to the afterlife by rooting them to this plane.","And one of those is in her?",He nodded, distaste showing faintly on his features. "Yes.","Does he know what he can do to get rid of it?","Alistaire Beauclaire owes him a few favors for trying to help find his daughter's killer, even if the bastard got away with killing her like that before he beheaded the little blackguard. He'll be able to get rid of it.","Ah.","Otherwise, her human relatives seem to have systematically abused her. Malnutrition, the girl is underweight and her ribs are showing in a very unhealthy way. Several of her bones have been broken, and only healed and barely kept together due to her magic. Not to mention, she's practically blind, and with normal reading glasses only. Added with the fact that she's never been to the doctor's, nor does any online search seem to have any records of her, beyond a birth certificate, I'd say the kid wasn't treated so well.","What does that have to do with me?',"When she gets out of the hospital, I want you to take care of her for a few weeks while I get the adoption papers to go through. I'll take her in if needs be, but I think you'll be best for getting her used to normal, or mostly normal, interactions. However, after a few months, and you get to know her enough, if you want to adopt her, I'll step aside.",It was a lot to take in for Sage, but after a few moments, she nodded.,[][][][][][][],Miss Sage's home was two stories tall, and comfortable. It was built to look like the stereotypical log cabin, unassuming but beautiful in its stoic resilience – at least on the outside. Inside, though, it was elegance incarnate. The wooden floors were polished and gleaming, and when Miss Sage wasn't home, Tavia found that she truly enjoyed running in her socks to gain speed and then sliding the rest of the way down one of the hallways. She had cool furniture, and an actual crystal chandelier that gleamed in the firelight of the blaze that was devouring logs in the fireplace of the living room. She had paintings on the walls, landscapes mostly, and they fit well with the house while adding a dash of the exotic.,In later years, Tavia would come to think of the house as being a representation of Miss Sage herself, only in reverse. Miss sage was sophisticated, and graceful and lovely, but her real beauty was on the inside, where her iron will and strength of character lay. She would one day tell this to Bran, not knowing that Sage had been in the next room, and for the rest of the day, Miss Sage had blushed whenever she saw her.,The first time she walked into Miss Sage's home, everything was so beautiful to her that she was scared of touching anything for fear of breaking something, let alone fear of what would happen to her if she broke anything. In those first few weeks, she didn't talk much, even if she slowly got more accustomed to such lavish accommodations to the point where she started sliding in the hallways for fun. It was odd, this town, at least to her. She had people who would actually listen to what she would say, whenever she talked, at least. It was nice – being heard… it made her feel like what she said mattered, and that she was important. It was why she didn't talk much, even though she now, tentatively, knew she could talk as much as she wished. She wanted her words to always carry that weight, that when she spoke, it would be something that was paid attention to, weighed, and considered with respect.,About three weeks in, Miss Sage had said that she was going to be going to be starting at the local school. She liked it, there was no Dudley to lie about her, or make her do his homework for him, the teachers didn't look down on her due to unsubstantiated rumors, and she could actually do her best without having to worry about getting in trouble for doing better than her cousin. She liked English, especially poetry, where she learned how to make just a few words resonate with meaning and purpose. Otherwise, she enjoyed all of her subjects, but most especially she loved math. It didn't matter that she didn't always quite understand the different parts of things and how they interacted, like in a lot of her sciences – though she liked them, too – but in math, as long as she knew the formula, it felt as though she could figure out any problem, no matter the difficulty. That dependability felt very good to her.,She had had to choose a foreign language, too, even though she was just a kid. Apparently, learning other languages was easier to do when you were young, or something like that, and really… she liked it. She had chosen French for her language, remembering a beautiful French family she had once seen in a museum during a field trip back in England. She liked it even more than the dependability of math, because it was words, and words had meaning, and power, even in another language. Perhaps, especially in another language. She had to talk a lot more in her French class, though. Once she got better at it, she didn't have to talk nearly as much, but she always practiced it on her own, in addition to what she had in class, so those words would stick with her.,Possibly, amidst all of this newness and excitement, the most powerful thing she had ever experienced happened. Even with all these novel concepts such as self-worth, freedom to do and to learn, the thing that would always stick with Tavia for the rest of her life was when Miss Sage had hugged her. She had felt so warm and alive, and it was amazing. She felt, for the first time in her life, loved and cared for. She had blushed and cried a bit when Miss Sage had hugged her, causing her to squeeze all the tighter. That tightness had been wonderful, and all the more precious for the concern the woman had felt for her.,[][][][][][][],It was two weeks after she had gotten out of the hospital and begun living within Aspen Creek when Tavia found out that some of the residents living in the town were real werewolves. She saw Bran's wife's – Leah was her name – change, and had curled into a ball. She stayed that way until she realized that Leah would not hurt her, and then began to slowly uncurl. Tavia then just watched the honey-colored wolf as it paced around the area. Leah looked back at her, and Tavia was only able to see a complete and utter indifference, before getting up and trotting off to the forests around the town.,She'd gone and asked Miss Sage about it, and the reply, "Yeah, this is a big werewolf village. If your not a werewolf, your married or related to one. That's most of the residents, anyway. A few were friends with werewolves and have come here to support their friends, or their ancestors did.",It was an interesting paradigm shift for Tavia. The supernatural was real, and there was nothing "freakish" about it. In fact, supernatural stuff was actually rooted far more in the realm of "natural" than technological things like cars and such were. A few weeks after that point, after she'd come to terms with the supernatural, she learned that the doctors had found that she had magic, and she finally found out just why Petunia had insisted she was a freak. The Marrok, Bran Cornick – and far more importantly to her, the man who rescued her from freezing to death in the American wilds – had come to her after she got used to the idea that she had magic, and told her what else the doctor had found.,Apparently some rather evil person had split his soul through an malevolent ritual so many times in an effort to gain immortality that a fragment of his tattered soul had apparently come off and taken root within her. Her odd, lightning-shaped scar apparently contained a soul fragment, and, as Bran calmly and seriously informed her, if it was not removed soon, it would either come to posses her completely, or make the person who had done such a thing unable to die until she did. She had turned green at the very thought, and asked him shakily if there was anything she could do about it.,"Not directly, but I know a Grey Lord that owes my family a few favors, and I can call one in for this." A Grey Lord, or so she had learned, was a Faerie King, or as close to it as Faeries got. They had immense power, and this one was apparently the one who ordered the Fae to retreat to their reserves after the gross prejudice caused his daughters death to go unpunished. "His name, or at least the one that people use commonly – as true names have power – is Alistair Beauclaire. He will be able to remove it, but you'll have to come with me to the Fae Reservation, is that okay with you?",She nodded, because really, what other choice was there?,[][][][][][][],The Fae lands were beautiful and lovely, with a side of creepy in the background. Flowers bloomed, everywhere, both native and foreign, as well as those that looked like they didn't belong anywhere on Earth. At first glance, where they were walking seemed to be a field, but out of the corner of her eyes she saw a huge stone castle with delicate towers and a huge outer bailey with armed and guarded battlements. The next moment she saw a tranquil lake with figures on the far side watching them. Then, she perceived the entrance to a deep and endlessly dark cave, which seemed to suck in all the light in the area.,She brought it up with the Marrok, all the different things that she saw, and he got an odd look in his eyes and said that she probably had a premature form of the Sight, or one of her distant ancestors had some faerie blood in them. Then he told her "The reality of this place is sort of like an onion, various layers occupying the same place, and you must know that your ability to perceive so many different layers is impressive. Most normal people, even witches and werewolves, would just see sparkling lights and illusions designed to completely relax to the point of carelessness any and all trespassers.",She saw cute little winged pixies fluttering about some of the flowers, and she thought they were lovely. She still thought they were lovely, even when she noticed the reddish-brown of splatters of dried blood dotting some of their flowing white clothes. She felt something was wrong with her at that thought, but still… they were gorgeous.,It was another fifteen minutes of walking before they arrived at what looked to her to be a small pond with a glass table and three delicately carved wooden chairs set around it. One of the chairs was filled with a tall man, thin and impossibly beautiful, with chestnut hair and gray eyes that seemed to shift and flow like the waters of lake on a cloudy day. He smelled like the freshwater lake that she'd seen near Aspen Creek, when she had gone to it early in the morning when the world was new once more.,He glanced at her and then at the Marrok, his eyes lingering on her forehead as he did so. She shifted uncomfortably, and remembered what she'd been told by Miss Sage. "It's impossibly easy to offend many of the fae, so unless your spoken to, don't say much. Remember, don't thank this Gray Lord after he helps you, either, that infuriates them, or worse, makes them feel as if you owe them – and a faerie always collects its due.","Bran," the Gray Lord began, "You do realize that this will have consequences for the child, right?","What kind of consequences?",He then looks straight at her, and his gaze alone catches her in place, like a rabbit frozen in fear from a predator – only instead of fear, its plain awe of the sheer power of the being before her. The knowledge of her powerlessness nearly consumes her in that endless moment, before he speaks again and breath returns to her in a swift inhalation that is so strong it hurts. "This horcrux has been sustaining itself on your magic, growing stronger as you do, keeping itself alive by utilizing a large portion of your magical core. Such an amount of magic being taken from you has forced your body to produce even more magic in an attempt to keep you alive. When the horcrux is removed, all of that power is going to come rushing back to you at once. This may force any dormant traits or abilities to fore, be they positive or negative.,Moreover, once you have settled, your body will continue to produce the same amount of magic as it always has, further increasing your power, as you get older. Little girl, you are going to be a veritable monster of a magical powerhouse.",He cuts a glance at the Marrok once more, and continues, "Marrok, the girl will be unable to control many of her gifts at first, and you need to realize that accidental magic from her is going to be a nightmare. If you want her to get any sort of control over it at all, you're going to have to hire a tutor. She could harm herself or others, if the situation is left as is.",The Marrok nodded, and the faerie looked at her once more, asking if she was ready. Tavia acquiesced, and his hand moved towards her face, and a single, slender pianist finger extended. He touched her scar, and –,Pain.,The sky turned crimson and burned her with all of the fires of the Christian damnation. Her mouth could only taste the sickly sweetness of rot, and her nose was assaulted with the scent of decay. Endless voices whispered in her ear, indistinct but cutting, carrying all of the tones of fury and rage, of playfulness, of calm, of joy and flirting, of pain. Her body spasmed, and it felt as if her nerves were short circuiting, and she had the most disturbing sensation: it was as if something or someone was caressing her heart, and then, moving lower, to other organs in her gut, and began rifling through them.,She woke up, her throat feeling raw and her eyes burned as she opened them. A low moan came from her, and she winced in pain as it escaped through her damaged esophagus.,"How do you feel, Octavia," a familiar voice inquired. Turning her head slightly, she saw the Marrok leaning casually against the table. His muscled arms were crossed casually over his chest, and one of his eyebrows was quirked.,"I feel like all the werewolves in Aspen Creek used me as a football.","Other than that, I mean.",She blinked, and tried to think past the pain. "I feel… lighter? I guess that describes it, like something was holding me back, and now I am free. I seem to be thinking a bit faster, too. I don't know why, though.","Well, you might want to look at your reflection over in the lake – you'll be surprised.","Huh?","Just do it.",With a groan of discomfort, she turned over and pushed herself up, shaking slightly at the exertion. When she had pushed as high as she could go, she froze, and with a sharp intake of breath, she began noticing something different. Her fingers were slightly longer, a bit more slender, and her nails had turned black. Her knuckles, which had been dry and a bit cracked with cold, were as smooth as the polished floors of Miss Sage's home. She got up, slowly making her way to the lake, filled with some trepidation over the changes.,She leaned over the edge of the pond, and glanced at herself, doing her best to connect her current form with what she used to look like. Before, she had had short, ratty black hair that came messily down to the base of her neck, her eyes had been the green, with a bit of hazel thrown in, and she had a dusting of freckles upon her cheeks. Now, her hair came just past her shoulders in an obsidian wave, lustrous and defined, and for some odd reason, she had a white fedora perched on the top of her head. It seemed to be softer, as well, when she ran her fingers through it. Her eyes were now slanted slightly, and colored an unnaturally pure and uniform green, like fresh leaves in spring. Tavia's skin was flawless alabaster, and the horrible scar was now merely a tracery upon her forehead. Her lips were as black as her fingernails, and so was the inside of her mouth. Her teeth seemed to be a bit sharper, as well.,She had no idea how long she had been staring at her reflection when the face of Lord Beauclaire appeared beside her own reflexion. "It seems as if one of your grandparents was a faerie, a redcap if I don't miss my guess. Your mother must have been a pure human, at least in appearance and nature, but it seems your blood runs true, manifested in you now that the horcrux was removed.","What's different about me? I don't know what a redcap is… my aunt never let me out of my cupboard under the stairs except for school and chores, and she hated anything to do with magic or the supernatural, so I don't what a redcap is.",His eyes tightened and his lip curled ever so slightly in disdain or contempt, though she had a feeling it wasn't directed at her. "Redcaps were some of the greatest warriors amongst the faerie. They loved battle so much that the caps they manifested as children had to be died crimson with the blood of their enemies to be considered an adult. They were vicious and cruel, and skilled with blades of all sorts. After they reach their majority, they had to kill so often to die their hats a fresh crimson." He tapped her fedora with a single finger as he said this.,"Does that mean they were always in battle, because blood dries in just a few hours.","No, their innate magic kept the color fresh for months or sometimes years at a time. This effect will be on you, as well. Once you go through puberty, you'll have to keep killing, because if you don't keep the blood fresh… well, if you hat ever dries out completely, you will die. Your nature is going to slowly change – and the blood lust will rise within you. I advise you have someone teach you how to fight so when puberty sets in, you'll have some idea what your doing when you go to kill.",She blinked, glancing sharply at his reflection. "Do you mean I'll have no choice?",He nodded, "That's right. If you try to put it off, the lust for blood will become so powerful, you'll attack in a mindless frenzy, unable to control yourself whatsoever.",Her left incisor poked sharply into her bottom lip as she thought of that, and she nodded, too. "You are lucky in that redcaps don't have much sensitivity to iron at all, and you'll probably none, either. In fact, you might find yourself with a preference for iron or steel-toed boots.","Huh?","Redcaps used to run around in iron-shod boots, and you'll probably get that predilection, too. Anyway, you probably are going to be a bit more nocturnal than most humans, but there's not much else to say." Then the water rippled, stirring up their reflections, and he was gone.,Turning to see the Marrok, who was still leaning against the table staring at the differences in her, she stepped towards him slowly, body still in pain. "Come on," he said in his oh-so-melodious voice, "Let's go back home.",[][][][][][][],The Marrok whisked her away from the Faerie Reservation and took them straight back to Aspen Creek. Upon arrival, Miss Sage hadn't recognized her for a second, which had terrified Tavia beyond anything she had ever felt before. Then, the woman rushed towards her, squeezing her tightly in an embrace. Tavia could feel all the love and protectiveness pouring through the woman during the hug, and she cried, just a little, in relief – she was so happy to still be loved, even if she wasn't' normal.,That was the beginning of the shift in her worldview that viewed the normal and mundane as nothing particularly worthwhile. It was also benefit, in her mind, by being the absolute opposite of what the Dursley family hoped and strived for.,Bran, who had apparently overheard the conversation she had had for Lord Beauclaire – since the change, she had possessed an inclination towards being far more respectful to him and the other Gray Lords. The Marrok had said that as her Fae ancestry came to the fore, so did many of their behavioral habits. She was apparently seeing the Water fae like many werewolves viewed their Alpha – and had introduced her to a werewolf named Asil. Asil was cool, and Miss Sage liked him a lot. He was going to teach her how to use a sword, so when she went through puberty and her desire to dye her hat red with the blood of her enemies or prey arose, she would know what she was doing.,Speaking of the fedora, it never really left her side. It was always perched on her head, lying on her chest or over her eyes while she napped, or by her bedside while she slept through the night. She even placed it on a towel hook right outside the shower every time she went inside the restroom.,Asil taught her how to use a sword, specifically a scimitar, as that was what he was most familiar with himself. Many knew him simply as "The Moor" like many people called Bran "The Marrok," as he had been with the Moors when they came and invaded Spain. He was a werewolf of such age and power that the only reason he served under Bran was because he wished to, as no one could truly force him to do otherwise.,"Faster," he said, his musical accent sharp as he spoke the command. Tavia had been learning swordsmanship under his tutelage for five months, and he said she wasn't , bad. With a swift slash, he said, "Your left side is open, and you are too slow. In my day, anyone who was moving that sluggishly would have been gutted by the enemy in a heartbeat, if his own side hadn't offed him for being a liability.",She panted, sweat pouring down her features as she brought the sword up once more, deflecting the shining scimitar as it dove towards her. The blades were dulled, to prevent an accident, but were weighed down with an extra ten pounds, and it was a challenge to keep going. She persevered, though, because having a sword in her hand felt like breathing. A necessity, almost. She craved this feeling, even when her teacher was nearly demolishing her; feeling its weight in her palm, and feeling the possibility for danger filling the air, it was just that good.,What she didn't know, and what Asil would never tell her, was that she truly was amazing with a sword in her hand. He didn't want her to get a big head after all, but he relished teaching a student such as she. She had talent, true, but she didn't rest on her laurels. She worked so hard, and strove to constantly improve. She took criticism well, too, and would do her best to fix whatever she did wrong as soon as possible. The way she would glow at even the faintest praise was also very good on his ego.,She countered, somewhat gracefully, and missed him by a centimeter. Scowling, she shifted her blade back to a defensive position as he returned with his own slash. This continued for another thirty minutes before he sheathed his sword, motioning for her to do the same. "Walk about the dojo, girl. Cool down slowly, it's better for you.",He walked over to the side of the training room, grabbed a bottle of water, and threw it at her. She shifted swiftly and caught it from thin air, a look of slight displeasure on her face. He smirked, his own water bottle at his lips, before saying, "Your reflexes are still good, even after such a long bout. Good. Drink that up, and we'll walk back to Sage's house.",Her blush at the praise gave him a sense of amused satisfaction.,[][][][][][][],Miss Sage and five other werewolves, plus Bran, had all gone to Washington DC for some sort of werewolf Public Relations event. Asil, who she would normally have stayed with when Miss Sage left for a few days, had gone off to Europe to meet with an old friend who was getting married in two weeks. So, she was being sent off to the home of Bran's former ward Mercy's home. Nobody thought it was a good idea to leave her alone with Leah. Mercy lived with her husband, Adam Hauptman – the Alpha of the Columbian Basin Pack – and his daughter, Jessie. Jessie was staying with them during the summer, taking a season's break from University.,Charles's mate, Anna, was driving her there to the Tri-Cities. She had a cool jazzy number playing on her stereo, and she talked easily with Tavia. She liked Anna, a woman who always felt safe and non-threatening. They'd stopped for a chicken sandwich and lemonade once on the way, and by the time they made it to Mercy's home, Tavia was sleepy. She'd dozed off and didn't realize that they had arrived until she felt herself being lifted up and carried. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. "We're here," Anna said, her voice sweet and kind.,She yawned, stretching a bit, but making sure not to hit Anna while doing so. She didn't ask to be put down, though. She liked being carried, because it made her feel special and warm. She dozed off again, this time into a deep sleep, and did not wake up until the next morning.,Miss Mercy was cool, because when Tavia woke up, she had muffins in the oven. The smell was wonderful, and when the woman smiled at her with that slightly crooked, sly grin, she felt herself grinning back. Already at the large oak dining room table were her husband and his daughter, or so she introduced them to Tavia as, as well as two werewolves who were in Adam's Pack. One was named Warren, and the other was name Honey.,Warren looked like a cowboy, with rugged jeans tucked into brown leather boots and a cotton dress shirt with vaguely western designs embroidered on his chest. He said that he was staying here while his lover was on a big case over on the east coast, helping some socialite get away from an abusive, but very rich and famous, husband. Miss Honey had just come over to hang out, and when she gave a slightly lazy grin, Tavia felt herself blush from the bottom of her toes to the tips of her ears. Miss Honey was so pretty, and was paying attention to her!,The oven dinged, and Miss Mercy got the muffins out, while her husband grabbed the platters of bacon and eggs and brought them to the table. Having three werewolves in the house, as well as a coyote shifter, made for very large breakfast portions. Jam was also placed on the table, and was apparently there to go with the muffins. It was blackberry jam, and was supposedly very good with the blackberry muffins. After trying it herself, Tavia had to admit that they were good.,[][][][][][][],Mercy watched as the little girl used her fae magic and began to glamour herself to look more human; she did this so that she could go with her to mechanic shop that Mercy ran. Her hair became duller, and her eyes were more round. Her mouth was also pink, instead of a slightly creepy black. Her hat was still on though, and was probably going to be staying on. Bran had told them that Octavia had a redcap for a grandfather, and that removing some curse from her had brought her faerie blood out. As such, her hat was definitely not coming off, and she had noticed the girl didn't have any aversion to iron or other metals, given her steel-toed boots. As a redcap, she was a gremlin, a faerie that could be around metal without harming herself, just like Zee.,Zee, the old gremlin whom had taught her how to work with cars in the first place, had sold her the shop she now ran. He came in to visit sometimes, to tinker or to take something apart, just to see what was wrong with it. She didn't complain when he came in to do that, she liked the company and appreciated the help, and he was a friend, as was his son Tad. But she wondered if he could have any insight to how to take care of the girl, or if he could give the child any advise.,While the girl wondered off to get her iPod, Mercy took out her phone and dialed up Zee's number. He answered the phone on the third ring.,"Mercy?","Hey Zee, what's up?","Nothing much," he replied, his German accent coming clearly through the phone. His ability to touch metal let him take advantage of many modern luxuries, like cell phones. "What are you calling for, is something wrong?","Bran had Charles's wife Anna drop off a child one of his werewolves is raising. He apparently found her abandoned in the mountains, and one of the pack took her in. They are all off doing something in DC, so they brought her here. The thing is, she part fae – redcap I think – and she doesn't really know anything about herself or her heritage. Neither do I really. I was wondering if you could come meet her, and maybe tell me if there's anything I should or shouldn't be doing. Plus, I think the girl could use an older faerie to show her the ropes, if you catch my drift.",There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, before the voice came back, anger stirring slightly in his tones, "Abandoned you say? Redcaps might leave a child with the other parent, but never would they leave their child alone and untutored. Their power is far too violent when it emerges to do so, and so complete abandonment never happens, unless the redcap in question is very, very stupid.","Apparently it was her aunt and uncle who abandoned her. Her maternal grandfather was the redcap, but it skipped a generation and the mother is dead, so whoever he is, he probably doesn't know she exists.","Yes. I'll meet you and the girl. Where do you want to meet?","I'm taking the kid with me into the shop. Maybe teach her how to check out an engine.",A grin could be heard in the old man's voice, "Passing knowledge along to the next generation, I see. Good for you. When you teach, its like learning al over again with the newness of it all. Anyway, I'll meet you there at about noon.",The girl came up to her, earbuds in her ears and hat at a jaunty angle. Mercy could hear the cool tones of jazz coming from the earbuds, and while the music wasn't what she or most other in Aspen Creek normally listened too, she supposed that the girl had her own tastes. "Ready?","Yeah. Come on kid, let's get going.",The girl nodded, and they made their way out of the house. Locking up after her, she walked over to her vehicle and started her car while Octavia buckled up. After about forty minutes of driving – traffic was unusually heavy, normally it only took her around twenty-five minutes to get their – they arrived at her shop.,The kid hung around while she got everything opened up and prepped for the rest of the day, but once that was finished, Mercy opened the hood on one of the BMW's and beckoned her over.,"Welcome to Mechanics 101," she said, a smile in her voice and on her face, "This is the radiator…",After about an hour and a half of pointing things out, and taking things apart, she let Octavia have a go at taking something apart, and putting it back together. She watched the girl like a hawk while doing so, making sure nothing got irreparably damaged: a part of the car or the girl herself. Mercy didn't think she was clumsy, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.,Both ladies were respectfully oil and grease-stained by the time Zee arrived. "My," he cried as he came in, "What visions of loveliness have appeared in my former shop?","Hey Zee," came Mercy's somewhat absent-minded reply as she worked with a calculator and tallied up numbers.,Tavia giggled, blushing slightly as she said, "I'm not lovely; I'm all dirty!","Just because you're dirty, doesn't mean you're not as pretty as a peach, girl. In fact, it brings out your beauty more, showing that you aren't afraid of hard work.",The blush deepened, and Zee smiled before he excused himself to talk privately with Mercy. "You're right, the girl's definitely got redcap in her. I could tell by the feel of her glamour.","Really? How is it different?","It's a bit less subtle, to fae senses anyway – like the difference between a sword and an axe. Most faeries like subtlety, especially in their glamours. They do lots of little things, layers upon layers to make it more real. The girls just got one layer, it's strong, too, but any fae could feel the glamour and be tempted to rip it off. A human magic user wouldn't be able too, though.","Oh." She hadn't known that about faerie glamours.,"Is she getting any training in a weapon? She'll need it and the discipline it brings her not to go berserk and kill anything around her with her bare hands when she comes into her power.","Yes," replied Mercy as she scratched the back of her head in contemplation of the image her old mentor's words brought to mind. "Apparently, the Moor has been teaching her the sword for the past few months.",Zee's eyes sharpened with delight. "Is that so? I expect she'll be good then, old Asil would never tolerate a poor pupil. I fought him once, you know. It was, oh, eight hundred years or so ago. He was magnificent. I think after I talk to the kid about her heritage and some of the rules of life amongst us, I'll give her a few lessons myself. Can't have her getting rusty, yeah?",Mercy grinned, enjoying the vibrancy that had come into Zee's face as he spoke of this. "Sure, how about every other day at about five. Does that work for you?" She very carefully did not thank the old man for taking the girl off of her hands for a while so she could have some more alone time with Adam and Jesse this summer.,He thought for a moment, and then nodded. "I can do that. Now, I'm going to go have a chat with the girl. Octavia, was it?",The next day, she was already implementing the advice given to her by the older gremlin. Three glamours overlapping one another made her appearance much more realistic. She'd kept dropping the fourth, but with time and practice, she knew she would get better. ,[][][][][][][],Asil had been slowly teaching her Spanish during their swordsmanship lessons – not Mexican Spanish, though, which had many subtle differences from the language of his homeland. After a year of being under his tutelage, he taught her only in Spanish. After two years, she'd gotten quite good at the language, and he was starting on Arabic. The language was harder to learn than Spanish, not having any Latin roots, but it was fun. He was quizzing her in verbs at the moment, shouting out a question while sending a rather vicious slash at her midsection.,She answered, sending her own strike in swiftly. It made it past his defense, but it wasn't fast enough and he dodged. This continued back and forth for about fifty more minutes, until he signaled for her to go cool down. The girl was good, and he felt the warm glow of satisfaction while he watched her walk slowly around the dojo. Teaching was so rewarding, no matter how frustrating it could be.,On the subject of languages, his student was also learning French in the local school and had actually convinced Bran to teach her ,, the old word for Welsh. She was doing well at all of them, too. She managed to use them often enough to keep them in her mind, and she succeeded in keeping all the languages separated without mixing any of them up, for the most part.,Asil's mind wandered to days gone by, of being with his wife as she took in strays and teaching them how to live better lives. He just knew his love would be so proud of the little girl currently stretching slowly to free herself from the fatigue of the exercise. He wondered, briefly, if had she still been alive if they would have been the ones to take the girl in. If only that blasted woman hadn't….,It didn't do to dwell on such things, he knew. Besides, had his dear Sarai survived, they would still be living in Spain, enjoying life on the Iberian Peninsula.,"Come, child. I'll be taking you to the diner for dinner. Sage is off getting some more of that French perfume she likes over in the capital.","Okay, Asil. Just let me get up." Finishing her stretch, the girl got to her feet and trailed after him, somewhat reminiscent of a puppy he'd once owned back in his childhood. A small, somewhat wry smile graced his lips at the thought. Going from the practice area and through the house, he grabbed the keys to his Subaru and opened the door for the young lady.,She smiled at his politeness, but didn't thank him. He noticed that she'd adapted to many of the rules of the faeires, but did so subtly. No "thank you's" ever graced her lips, but "I appreciate it" was often heard. Her wording, when she spoke, tended to be a bit tricksome or layered with double meanings. He suspected she did that just to amuse herself, not out of appreciation of some archaic faerie rule. However, in the time he had known her, never had a lie passed her lips. She always left a little edible something on her windowsill at night, just in case, as well.,As they exited the house, he glanced at the Spanish roses he'd been trying to regrow. They were doing well, he thought, and though he knew that it would take a while to come back fully, he so looked forward to their return.,He clicked the button on his keys to unlock his car, and after they both climbed in and buckled up, he made his way towards the center of the town. The diner appeared on their right, and he pulled into to the parking lot and found a spot. The diner, called for some godforsaken reason "Montanna Joe's" was the place to go in town. The name was odd because the guy who started it up was named Francis, and the only Joe that he really knew was a cousin who once lit his car on fire. Not exactly the sort you'd name your restaurant after. With good food, cheap drinks, and whatever backwater band that the local children had formed playing in the background – usually it was a good band, as the local werewolves would probably react violently to poorly played music being performed while they ate – the diner was one of the central hubs of Aspen Creek living.,Midway into their meals – a rare steak for Asil, and a cheeseburger with grilled onions for Octavia – a disturbance started over by the pool tables. A tall blond werewolf was arguing with a brunet one, their voices escalating over the sounds of the band playing and the ESPN reporter commenting on a football match on the television. When the brunet clonked the pool stick in his hand over the blond's head, all he accomplished was breaking the stick and the release of a low, barely contained growl. As both their eyes turned from a normal human color to a decidedly canine gold, Asil turned towards them, fork stabbed with a piece of meet in hand, and let go of all of his carefully controlled power. Force flooded the room, washing the skin-tingling, hair-raising power that was an Alpha werewolf of over a thousand years of age. The band stopped playing, the customers stopped talking, and the two fighting werewolves froze mid-lunge at each other vitals. The only sound was the commentator, announcing that one of the players had been injured.,"Stop.",And the two men looked at him, fear in their eyes, as he told them to pay their tab and leave. Nodding, they rushed in a somewhat bumbling fashion to do as he had said. Nodding at their departure, he leashed all of his power within him once more, and the sounds of the diner slowly returned. The music was a little shaky at first, though. Glancing at his charge to see how she'd taken it, she smiled at him and said one word.,"Awesome.",Yep, he thought, teaching had its benefits, especially on the ego.,[][][][][][][],It was early July, and Tavia was sitting in Sage's lap watching the television when the owl came, tired and weary, and bearing the strangest of letters. They were watching a nature documentary on Ocelots, which was sort of interesting. During the visual of the South American cat launching itself at its hapless prey, the two of them could hear a somewhat tired tattoo. Glancing around, they saw, strangely enough, a brown owl pecking at their living room window.,Glancing at Miss Sage, who had an eyebrow lifted at the oddity, they glanced over at the bird, which was once more tapping at the window. At Sage's slightly perplexed nod of assent, she walked over and opened the window. The bird landed on the back of a chair, grasping firmly to the wooden frame as it held out a leg. Tid to the leg was a letter, with the words "To Ms. O. Potter, 542 Lupine Lane, Aspen Creek Montanna" written in cursive on the front. Taking the letter from the owl, the bird seemed to slump on the chair back.,She showed the letter to Miss Sage, who said, "Let me call Bran. This is weird enough that he'll probably want to know what's going on.",About seven minutes later, a knock sounded on the door, revealing a cute-looking collegian, or so it appeared. Bran liked to be unassuming, or so Tavia had observed. He did it well, too. Dark eyes, with just a hint of mischief and somehow, all the years he'd experienced were well hidden within those depths. Nice dark hair, and a cute face that wasn't overly attractive enough to truly stand out in memory, he looked as if he should be carting around a pizza for delivery. "You guys called?",Tavia nodded, leading him into the living room where both the letter and the owl were. The moment the Marrok stepped into the room, the owl's eye's went wide open, and stared straight at the man. After a minute of staring, and after the realization that it wasn't going to be eaten, the owl closed its eyes and went to sleep once more.,"Octavia, you know how I told you that your parents were one of the Hidden Ones last year, the magic users that don't require death and sacrifice?","Yes, Marrok, I do.","This is an invitation to one of the schools where they teach children with this gift how to control their powers. Unfortunately, they don't teach anything else. You're going to have to go to summer school here and cram like crazy if you want a job in the real world. They have their good points, but they won't teach you how to survive anywhere but in their little microcosm of a society. You are going to go there, because you need to control what magic you have, or it will go wild. I've seen your magic respond to your desires before, you remember when that rogue came to the town and came near you, threatening you? Do you remember how you were suddenly on the roof of the tallest building in the town? That was your magic at work, your human magic. It works completely differently from your faerie magic and glamours.",She nodded, remembering quite well the reddened eyes of the rogue wolf, his beer-stained clothing, and fingernails slowly changing into claws as he approached with that creepy smile on his face. The fear and the sheer desire to be elsewhere, and then, suddenly, she was. After a momentary feeling of being sucked through a straw, she was on the roof of the town's courthouse.,"You'll take your years text books with you, study them well, so that when you go to summer school you should be able to pass with ease. Well now, open up that letter." She did so, and it read:,HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY,Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore,Dear Ms. Potter,,We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.,Term begins September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31.,Yours Sincerely,,Minerva McGonagall,Deputy Headmistress,HOGWARTS SCHOOL,OF WHICHCRAFT and WIZARDRY,UNIFORM,First-year students will require:,sets of plain work robes (black),plain pointed hat (black) for day wear,pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar),winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings),Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.,COURSE BOOKS,All students should have a copy of each of the following:,The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1),by Miranda Goshawk,A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot,Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling,A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch,One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,by Phyllida Spore,Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,by Newt Scamander,The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection,by Quentin Trimble,OTHER EQUIPMENT,1 wand,1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2),1 set glass or crystal phials,1 telescope,1 set brass scales,Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.,PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS,"Wow, that's an odd list."

A/N,Hallo, dies ist meine erste hier veröffentliche Fanfiction, die ich auch wirklich plane durchzuziehen. Zeitlich spielt sie nach den Büchern mir McGonagall als Schulleiterin,Ich entschuldige mich wenn einer der Charaktere OOC sein sollte, ist eine Weile her seitdem ich die Bücher das letzte mal gelesen habe.,Hagrid saß in einer Zaubererschenke am Rand einer Straße in Rumänien. Die wenigen Muggel die hier entlangkamen schienen eher das Restaurant ein paar Meter entfernt auf der anderen Straßenseite zu bevorzugen. Die ganze Gegend war eher abgeschieden und fern von Ansiedlungen von Muggeln oder Zauberern, dennoch war Hagrid nicht der einzige Besucher der kleinen Bar. Zwei Magier unterhielten sich am anderen Ende des Raumes über etwas, während eine ältere Hexe einer deutlich jüngeren, vermutlich ihre Enkelin, etwas in einem Buch zeigte.,Hagrid griff nach der Karte auf dem Tisch und studierte sie. Der Halbriese hatte sich in den Sommerferien freigenommen um in diese Gegend reisen zu können, denn in der Nähe gab es das größte existierende Drachenreservat. Momentan versuchte der Wildhüter den Weg zu finden, der ihn am Besten zu den Hütten der Drachenforscher führen würde. Hagrid hatte vor Charlie Weasley zu fragen wie es Norberta ginge und ob er sie einmal besuchen dürfte.,Mit einem leisen Knarzen öffnete sich die Tür der Schenke und ein Mann trat herein. Er trug ein gelbes Hemd mit einer dunkelbraunen Jacke darüber, auf die, wenn auch schwer zu sehen, ein gelbes Wappen mit drei schwarzen Vögeln darauf genäht war. Seine Hose war hellbraun mit einem schwarzen Gürtel und er trug hohe Stiefel aus etwas das wie Leder aussah. Über der Schulter trug der Mann mit lockigem, kastanienbraunen Haar einen grauen Umhang, der mit einer silbernen Brosche verziert war, die einen Drachen zeigte, der sich zu einem Kreis gerollt hatte.,Der Mann blickte sich ein paar Augenblicke im Raum um, bevor er an den Tresen trat und ein gebratenes Huhn mit Reis sowie ein Glas Wein bestellte. Der Wirt nahm die Bestellung auf und ging in die Küche, während der Fremde sich an den Tisch neben Hagrid setzte.,Dieser war noch immer damit beschäftigt die beste Route auszumachen, sodass er nicht bemerkte wie der Mann sich neugierig zu ihm hinüberbeugte.,„Suchst du den Weg zum Drachenreservat?", fragte der braunhaarige Mann, nachdem er die Bewegungen von Hagrids Finger ein paar Sekunden beobachtet hatte. Hagrid sah überrascht auf und musterte seinen Nachbarn einen Moment, bevor er nickte.,„Jap, kenne jemanden der dort arbeitet und wollte schauen ob ich einen Drachen zu sehen kriege. Wunderschöne Kreaturen." Der Mann nickte und betrachtet die Karte ein paar Augenblicke lang, bevor er wieder sprach.,„Hier, dieser Straße folgen und dann hier an der Weggabelung rechts abbiegen. Wenn man eine Weile der Straße folgt müsste man an die Hütten kommen und von dort ins Reservat. Für den Weg dürfte man etwa zwei Stunden brauchen, schätze ich.",Der Mann lehnte sich in seinem Stuhl zurück als der Wirt das Essen und den Wein brachte und begann dann zu essen. Währenddessen blickte er immer wieder zu Hagrid hinüber, der selber einen Humpen mit Bier trank und die Karte wieder zusammengefaltet hatte.,„Gestatten, Borch Drei Dohlen. Wie ich sehe magst du Drachen. Ehrlich gesagt es ist selten das jemand diese Wesen als wunderschön bezeichnet, die meisten Leute sind der Meinung, dass ‚Ungeheuer' und ‚schrecklich' besser passt.",„Rubeus Hagrid, Wildhüter in Hogwarts. Naja, Drachen sind doch wunderschöne Wesen, wollte schon immer einen als Haustier haben. Is aber verboten. Weis nich wie die Leute auf ‚Ungeheuer' kommen.",Borch nahm einen Schluck seines Weines, bevor er antwortet.,„Sehr erfreut, hab viel von der Schule gehört. Ich muss der Meinung, Drachen als wundervolle Kreaturen zu bezeichnen zustimmen, auch wenn sie zu wahren Bestien werden könne. Sag, weißt du welche Drachenspezies es alles hat?",Hagrid nickte, erfreut darüber jemanden gefunden zu haben, der Drachen genauso mochte wie er.,„Klar. Es gibt zehn Arten. Das Antipodische Opalauge, den Chinesischen Feuerball, den Norwegischen Stachelbuckel, den Peruanischen Vipernzahn, den Schwarzen Hebriden, den Schwedischen Kurzschnäuzler, den Walisischen Grünling, den Ukrainischen Eisenbauch, den Ungarischen Hornschwanz und das Rumänische Langhorn das streng geschützt ist. Viele, wenn auch nicht alle findet man in diesem Reservat. Nur hier gibt es die Langhörner, allerdings keine Peruanischen Vipernzähne oder Opalaugen.",Borch nickte und schien einen kurzen Moment ins Leere zu starren, als würde er sich an irgendetwas zurückerinnern.,„Die Drachen werden also nach ihrem eigentlichen Hauptvorkommen eingeteilt, auch wenn sie auch anderswo auftreten. Sehr interessant. Aber, Hagrid, ich habe noch von einer elften Art gehört, bekannt als Goldener Drache.",Borch schaute Hagrid erwartungsvoll an.,„Von einem Goldenen Drachen hab ich nie was gehört. Könnte ein Feuerball sein, aber die sind eher scharlachrot. Vermutlich eine Legende oder ein Muggelmärchen.",Trotz seiner Worte konnte Hagrid seine Aufregung nicht unterdrücken, dass es dort draußen noch eine weitere, unbekannte Drachenart geben könnte Ein Blick auf die Uhr zeigte dem Wildhüter das er sich auf den Weg machen sollte, wollte er noch vor der Dunkelheit bei Charlie ankommen. Er trank den letzten Schluck seines Bieres, bevor er seinen rosafarbenen Regenschirm griff und zum Tresen ging um zu bezahlen. Als er die Schenke verließ drehte er sich nocheinmal zu Borch um.,„Auf wiedersehen Borch. Wenn du willst kannst du mich mal in Hogwarts besuchen.",Borch nickte und sah dem Halbriesen mit einem unergründlichen Ausdruck im Gesicht nach, als dieser die Schenke verließ.

Dense cloud cover shadows the dormitory in a typical Scottish gloom. Seamus contemplates whether or not to light a candle to give them some more light as they move later into the afternoon, toward the evening. The candles should be lighting themselves just about now, but Seamus is straining his eyes to make out the text of ,. The section on tasseomancy lists a number of symbols and their respective meanings, though how anyone should be able to deduce a single one of these out of a bunch of tea leaves is beyond him.,The stale silence of the dorm is broken by Dean, sitting across from Seamus. "I'm starting to think Hermione and McGonagall were right. This really does all seem like a bunch of rubbish.","I dunno," Seamus says running a hand through his unkempt, sandy hair. "It made sense when Trelawney was doing it. And Lavender and Parvati seem not to have a problem.","Yeah, that just makes me question it even more," Dean says, earning a laugh from Seamus. "What do you think, move on to something else? We still have Lupin's essay to get through.",Seamus sighs. "Right. Yeah, I guess we can always just fudge this if we need to.","I doubt Trelawney would know the difference," Dean says.,As Seamus and Dean begin to put their divination books aside and pull out their notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts, they hear a pair of footsteps approaching the dormitory at a quick pace. Not long after, Fred and George Weasley poke their heads around the doorframe, searching the room until they spot Seamus and Dean by the window. "Ah, perfect! Just who we were hoping to see!",The two fifth year twins stride into the room, looking suspiciously. George walks somewhat awkwardly, doing his best to conceal something large beneath his robes. Unsure of just what's going on, Seamus asks, "What are you two on about now?",Approaching the two, Fred says, "We find ourselves in need of some…assistance.","Oh great, what did you two do this time?" Dean asks, turning to face them in his chair.,Fred's face makes an expression of mock surprise. "Why, Dean Thomas, we are shocked and chagrinned!","Mortified and stupefied!" George says, imitating his twin.,"How could you possibly sink so low as to accuse George and I of some kind of…wrong-doing!?",Dean and Seamus smirk at each other. "Alright then," Seamus says innocently. "What do you need help with?",George clears his throat. "Fred and I have – rather unexpectedly – come into the possession of a…unique artifact. We were wondering if you'd be interested in holding onto it for a while.","Why?" Dean asks.,"Because it just so happens that we found this unusual object in a cozy little corner of Filch's office," Fred answers.,Both Seamus and Dean roll their eyes. Seamus asks, "Oh why'd you have to go and nick something else from him? It just makes him angrier at the rest of us.","This time it was different," Fred says. "We just , to take this thing.","Why?" Seamus asks.,Fred looks at George, who says, "Well…this one…this one, sort of…called to us.",Looking even more confused, Dean and Seamus both go, "Huh?","Okay, so, there we were," George says, setting the scene, "trying to sneak into the Prefect's bathroom to steal Percy's Head Boy badge, when Mrs. Norris comes right around the corner with Filch in tow. So of course he drags us back to his office to write us up.",Fred continues. "Not long after we get there, one of the house elves shows up complaining about Peeves harassing them in the kitchens. So he tells us to stay put, and he heads off to go deal with everyone's favorite poltergeist.",Fred hands it over to George. "We were just sitting there at first, perfectly innocent – really! – but after a few minutes, we both start to hear this… sort of… drumming sound.","Drumming?" Dean asks.,"Yeah," George says. "It was soft and slow at first," he says, tapping his knuckles slowly on the table, "but it got louder and faster the more time went on," and he switches to pounding the table frantically. "We follow the drumming to a corner in Filch's office, and we found this," George finishes, pulling out something big and rectangular from underneath his robes.,Setting it down on the table in front of them, it first appears to be a small wooden box or case. The top is emblazoned with a distinctive combination of images. The foreground is obscured by numerous ferns that sit in front of a background dominated by a huge river winding between smoking mountain tops. The scene is framed by ornate, hand carved designs, and the four corners each bear an egg-shaped border. Within the upper left hand corner is the snarling face of on older man, a pith helmet hanging over his brow. To the right, a gracile monkey sits in the branches of a tree, its long tail curling behind it. Below the monkey, an elephant's head peers outside the fame, it's trunk curling inward toward its wide, flat ear. And lastly, the bulky skull of a rhinoceros, with its horn pointing proudly upwards.,Through the very center, a series of letters spell out a single word, with a spear running through the middle. Seamus reads the word aloud.,"Jumanji?",Examining the box, Dean asks, "So what is it?","Well, obviously, it's Jumanji!" Fred says, as if addressing a two-year -old.,"And what is Jumanji, exactly?" Dean asks, with one eye brow raised.,"Yeah, no idea," Fred says with a shrug.,"There's a surprise," Dean says, crossing his arms. "So what are you gonna do with it?","Fred and I will find out what it is, and then put it to good use, I'm sure," George says confidently.,"Until then," Fred says, "We would be ever so grateful if one of you would just…you know, hold on to it for a while.","What with, seeing as how Filch will no doubt have noticed it missing by now-","And seeing as how we were the only ones in his office at the time-","He will no doubt come to the conclusion that Fred and I stole it.","Because you did steal it!" Seamus points out.,"Now Seamus, there's no need to harp on about unimportant details," Fred says, ignoring him. "And also seeing as we are already quite high on McGonagall's shit list for trying to flush a puffskein down the toilet – don't ask – we're doing our best to avoid getting into trouble.","Well…" George says, cocking his head to one side, "doing our best to avoid getting caught at any rate…","So you want us to hide it for you, in case Filch or McGonagall comes snooping around the dormitory?" Dean asks.,"Good to know you can listen," George says with a sly smile.,"Why would we do that?" Seamus asks, groaning slightly. "We barely even know you. You're not even in our year!","Precisely!" George points out. "That's the whole point! Why would Filch or McGonagall ever suspect either of you of helping us? You have no reason to whatsoever!","Well, right!" Dean says, as if Fred and George are missing something obvious. "We have no reason to help you, so why would we?","Oh, Dean, Dean, Dean," Fred says, kneeling down and putting his arm around Dean's shoulders. "Surely you can find it within yourself to look deep into your heart, at the inherent goodness and generosity that all-","I'm not doing it," Dean says firmly.,"Right then, what do you want?" Fred says, dropping the air of friendliness and standing back up.,"What?" Dean asks.,"Well, you're not going to do it out of the kindness of your hearts," George says. "So I guess we'll have to turn this beautiful act of altruism into a banal bartering of favors. What do you want?",Before Dean can say anything, Seamus blurts out, "Five galleons.',"Oh get stuffed, Finnegan," Fred says. "We haven't got that kind of gold!","The hell you don't," Seamus says. "I saw it in the Prophet, your family won 700 galleons!","Should have read the whole thing," George says growing defensive. "Most of that gold is already gone. We went to visit our brother, Bill, in Egypt. You think , got any of that gold?","Well, I'm not doing it for free," Seamus says firmly. "Five galleons.",Both Fred and George narrow their eyes at him before looking at each other for a brief moment. "One galleon," Fred says.,"Four," Seamus says.,"Two," George says.,"Done." Seamus says with a smile.,Neither Fred nor George seems overjoyed with the arrangement, but they both nod. "Alright. Now, like we said, we don't' have that kind of money right now, so give us some time to come up with it, yeah?","Alright," Seamus says. "Tell ya what. I'll hang on to it, and I'll give it back to you when you give me the gold.","Deal," Fred and George say, both extending their right hands to finalize the arrangement. Once finished, Fred says, "Right, now if you'll excuse us, we're going to make like we've been in the Great Hall this whole time.",Once the twins are gone, Dean turns to Seamus and asks, "What are you playing at?","What?" Seamus asks as if nothing's wrong. "They're right, no one would think we did it. Why would McGonagall or Filch look through my things? Besides, that first Hogsmeade visit is coming up, and I want to make sure I have plenty of money to go shopping.","Fine," Dean says, sitting back in his chair. "But if you get caught, don't you go dragging me into anything.","Oh quit worrying. Everything's going to be just fine.",Dean decides to leave the matter alone as Seamus picks up the wooden box and stows it in his trunk. Getting back to their school work, they manage to make substantial progress on Professor Lupin's essay on boggarts, a clear result of Lupin's superior teaching methods, far greater than those of Professor Trelawney. A few more people pop in as they work; Neville Longbottom comes in to check on his toad, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley wander through, Ron complaining rather loudly about Hermione Granger's new cat, Crookshanks.,Once Dean and Seamus feel that they've made sufficient progress on their school work, they head down to the Great Hall for dinner. Joining their fellow third years at the Gryffindor table, Seamus and Dean both take a plate of meat pies and mashed potatoes while they discuss everything from the upcoming school quidditch season to the recently-escaped mass murderer, Sirius Black. Down the table, they catch Fred and George chatting with Angelina Johnson. They can't tell exactly, but it appears as though the twins are very actively trying not to look at them.,About a half hour into dinner, Seamus catches sight of the haggard, sour-faced caretaker, Mr. Filch, hobbling over to the staff table to speak to Professor McGonagall. At first, she appears largely disinterested, but Seamus notices a quick change in her demeanor after Filch gives his piece. She straightens up and shoots a lethal pair of daggers at Fred and George, who are doing their best not to look in her direction.,Seamus lowers his gaze back to his plate. Leaning over close to Dean, he whispers, "Look out. McGonagall's on the war path.",Dean glances over his shoulder, only to quickly look back down as McGonagall races past him, straight toward Fred and George. Seamus and Dean feel McGonagall's cloak billowing behind them as she makes her way to the twins. They do their best not to look as she approaches Fred and George and begins viciously scolding them for taking something from Filch's office, which they deny with surprisingly convincing innocence. Not believing them for a second, she pulls them up by the collars of their robes and demands to look through their belongings.,When all three are gone, Dean whispers to Seamus, "I hope you know what you're doing…","Oh shut it," Seamus hisses to him. Seamus' face goes slightly pale, and his voice doesn't seem nearly as confident as it was back in their dormitory.,Once dinner is finished, Seamus and Dean make it back to Gryffindor Tower, praying that they don't run into McGonagall on their way. But as they make it past the portrait of the Fat Lady, through the common room, and back into their dormitory, there's no sign of her anywhere. Instead, a joyous Fred and George are there to greet them.,"Ah! Welcome back, gents!" Fred says with a low bow. "Had a nice dinner?","I take it McGonagall didn't find it?" Seamus says hopefully.,George shakes his head. "Nope! She searched both of our things, and even Ron and Harry's, but she never even so much as suspected either of you!","Why would she search Ron and Harry's things?" Seamus asks.,"Well, Ron's because he is – for better or worse – family," Fred says.,"And Harry because he's , family,And of course because he's no stranger to getting into trouble," George says.,"But you two," Fred says, "Are so utterly unremarkable, that even the idea that you might have it never so much as crossed her mind!","Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?" Dean asks, sounding affronted.,"Well no offense to either of you," Fred says, "But as far as third year Gryffindor boys go, you kind of just fade into the background.","What with the famous Harry Potter have saved the school on two separate occasions-," George says.,"Not to mention being a bang-up seeker and winning us the House Cup for the past two years-" Fred adds.,"And since Ron's his best mate-","For reasons we'll never understand-","And since Neville Longbottom – bless him – is good for a laugh once in awhile-","You two just don't really stand out in comparison, frankly," Fred finishes with a shrug.,"Which isn't a bad thing in the least," George adds, seeing a downtrodden look on Dean's face, "Sometimes it's better to go unnoticed. Makes it easier to get away with things, or avoid unnecessary drama.","Yeah, we can tell you how hard it is, being well-known house quidditch players and infamous trouble makers," Fred says, unable to conceal the hint of bragging.,"Yeah, sure thing," Dean says, clearly unconvinced.,"Oh cheer up, mate," George says. "Once we get Seamus his gold, we'll take it back, and all four of us can put this whole thing behind us and get on with our lives. What do you say?",Dean sighs a little and says, "Yeah alright. Just don't take too long.","I'll say," Seamus adds.,Fred smile widely. "Wouldn't dream of it! Now gentlemen, we bid you goodnight-","And pleasant dreams," George adds, as they make for the common room.,As the night goes on, and Seamus and Dean prepare for bed as the rest of the third year boys return to the dormitory, Dean can't help but remember what Fred and George had said. ,. Sitting in bed, he glances over at Harry Potter across the room, lying down and already trying to get to sleep. It did seem like extraordinary coincidence that Harry Potter had essentially saved the wizarding world from Lord Voldemort three times in his life by the age of thirteen. Was it truly random circumstance? Or was there something more at work? Either way, Dean can't help but feel just a twinge of envy over the subsequent attention and admiration that Harry received over their school career. A part of him – a reckless, vain part – wishes that he could be given the chance to face danger and save the day.,But he knows that's not likely to happen, so he resigns himself to a night's sleep. He lays his head down on his pillow, closes his eyes, and puts it out of his mind. But as the minutes pass by, and as Dean is close to sinking completely into slumber, something catches his hear. A soft, rhythmic drumming, like a steady constant heartbeat, seems to be coming from somewhere nearby. At first he wonders if it might be the beginnings of a dream, but Dean quickly realizes that it's coming from somewhere in the dormitory. He sits up in bed to try and find the source of the noise.,When he sits up, he sees that Seamus is also sitting up in the bed to his right. The two boys look at each other with confused expressions. "Do you hear that?" Seamus asks Dean in a soft voice.,"Yeah," Dean says with a nod. But as he looks around the room, none of the other boys in the dormitory seem to notice. All of them are still soundly asleep.,"What is it?" Seamus asks.,That's when Dean remembers what Fred and George had said before about a drumming sound in Filch's office. "Seamus…Seamus I think it's that thing, that box that Fred and George gave you to hide.","What?" Seamus says, looking at his trunk.,"Yeah, remember what Fred and George said?" Dean says. "They heard a drumming sound coming from it.",But just as Dean finishes speaking, the drumming stops. "What'd you reckon that was about?",Dean shakes his head. "I dunno.","Eh forget it, let's just try to get some sleep," Seamus says, laying back down. Dean pauses for a moment, caught up in the sheer strangeness of what just happened. But eventually, he decides that Seamus has the right idea, and he lays his head back down on his pillow, soon drifting off to sleep.

Name: Sarah Riddle,Age: 14,Blood Status: Half-blood,Personality: pure of heart, empathetic, puts friends' needs before her own, clever, unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, loyal to those she loves,Family:,Tom Riddle/Voldemort (father),Emily Corcoran (mother, deceased), and , Corcoran (maternal aunt and uncle; godparents and legal guardians),Amanda Corcoran (cousin),Madeline Corcoran (cousin),Collin Corcoran (cousin),A word from Sarah: Hi, readers! Sarah here! So, you probably noticed I'm Voldemort's daughter. I know what you're probably thinking; how can a monster like him be MY father? I asked the same question when Auntie Linda told me I was his daughter a few months ago.,I've spent pretty much my whole life in the United States, mainly for my own protection, but my cousins and I were invited to transfer to Hogwarts this year, in England. Naturally, we accepted the offer. I can barely contain my excitement, especially since I've never been to England before!,Ok, I have to go, we're heading to the airport soon. Catch ya later!

(pov-drake umbra)," I was incredibly scared at the prospect of being found again. "Aww man my mom's gonna kill me" you might think I was exaggerating but look into the shadow realm and then tell me I'm exaggerating. I'd introduce myself but I'm Abit busy.,Ah just kidding name's drake umbra or drake if you prefer. I've been stuck here for about a year so any insanity I have is reasonable.,*scratching wood noises* I jump out the window leaving a mini sun bomb hit the ground in a roll and ran. My mother and all other shadowmen and women were blown up when I noticed the merchant and ran to him as his stall was a beacon of safety from shadowmen. I skid to a stop and breathe heavily to catch my breath.,The merchant greeted "hello friend what can I get you" I smiled and jokingly respond "a way outta this hell would be nice." He just smiled and pulled a near super charged portal gun. I almost broke down crying in happiness and asked "when is it done charging?" He responded with "in a few seconds friend" then he looked at my shirt and asked "did that scratch break any skin?" I was about to say no but instead a reaper came and stabbed me.,After a second which felt like eternity I whined "this is so not fair. I hoped there would be stars." the merchant just laughed and said "I'm sorry at least you won't experience this hell" the Portal gun started sparking with energy and exploded colliding with my soul scattering it.,"Pain that's good means I'm alive." I said this with a raspy voice. "Where am I certainly not the shadow realm." I stand up looking around as I do so. "Somewhere advanced enough to have cars and cell phones sadly they're are few touch phones so I'm not 2019. its at least 27 April 2009 as I saw Samsung's first touchscreen phone." I was cut off from my musings when someone asked me "are you okay man?" I was about to respond when I looked at him and saw Zeke Jedidiah Dunbar and my whole world came crashing down in a second as an explosion rocked the city and I was caught up in the blast thrown into a shadow just barely missing the shadow realms and got spit out in the crater of the explosion I shook Cole awake he woke up I passed out instinctively falling in his shadow and staying. As soon as Cole woke up I did and rose out of a nearby shadow on the floor got into a hospital bed and my powers forced me into a coma.,. . . . . . . .,Author notes: so first off I know I'm going Abit fast so sorry about that. I would like suggestions and as of right now there won't be any romance between drake and others. thank you for reading this and please leave lady luck smile upon you

Disclaimer: I do not own either Harry Potter or the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series. Throughout this story, there will be references to scenes from the Harry Potter series. If I show them, I will reference them. But for the ones I just mention and the ones I forget: I don't own them,A/N: I am not explaining either world in this fan fiction. It is likely that you will need to have read the first book of each series to understand the main plot of this story. There will also be inside jokes that will require the reader to have read the entire Harry Potter series. These are not necessary to understand the story, but I find them funny.,Anyway, with that out of the way: Enjoy.,Chapter 1,Albus Dumbledore suddenly appeared on a dark, Paris side street, causing one of the poor, muggle house cats nearby to quickly scramble out of the way. Dumbledore felt pity on the cat for a split second, but then he thought about what might go down and thought that the cat was probably far better off scared and away than if he stayed here.,The truth was that Dumbledore didn't know what was about to happen. He had not attempted to contact his "friend" in ages; not since it happened. Not since the man had driven her crazy. But he had no choice now. He had to do it.,Dumbledore closed his eyes and reached into a past he had forgotten. He felt a tingle shoot up his old arms, sending goose bumps shooting across his entire body. He began to feel, truly feel. The wind became stronger, the noises became sharper, he could taste the lemon snap he had two days ago (he made a mental note to brush his teeth more), and he could make out the faint smell of peppermint nearby, already blending into the surrounding environment.,The old man reached further back and spread out his arms. A faint silver energy appeared around him. Flames, slowly at first, engulfed his fingertips and began to grow up his fingers, up his hands and finally engulfing his lower arms. He turned and the flames left his body, weakly circling around him like a firewall. Dumbledore smiled, that would be a great name for a security company. The firewall dissolved, leaving the distinct and incredibly strong smell of used parchment. The old man coughed and hacked at the smell. It had been so long since he had used that.,He walked slowly down the small, suburban street, pondering all the unique muggle flower pots and balconies that dotted the otherwise mundane and boring walls of the town homes on either side of him. He sighed. He did miss the enhanced senses, but his separation from this world was unavoidable and necessary. As was his return.,He stepped up to the front door of house number 12 and knocked. He chuckled to himself as he waited, wondering what Sirius would think if he knew which house Flamel had chosen. Dumbledore waited for 10 minutes before he pulled out his wand and whispered "Alohomora," causing the door to unlock. Albus gently pushed it open.,The scene which met him was complete disaster. The house was completely torn up. There was stuffing everywhere from the couches and chairs which had been turned over and torn apart, no doubt from magic. There were scratches all over the walls where spells or knives, or maybe just table legs, had appeared to have hit the wall. The ceiling was threatening to cave in and a chandelier had already come crashing to the ground. In the kitchen, there were still pots and pans flying around, battling each other to the death.,Dumbledore sniffed the air and nearly choked from the overwhelming smell of peppermint. "Nicholas, come out. I'm not going to hurt you," he said smiling, putting away his wand and stepping into the living room. Suddenly the air in the room seemed to vanish. All the stuff in the room; stuffing, broken pieces of furniture, lots and lots of books which had fallen from broken bookcases, pieces of drywall, even the chandelier; got sucked toward a central spot. Dumbledore whipped out his wand and cast a defensive shield in front of him just as the center of the room exploded and sent all of the things it had captured flying out and sticking them in the walls. The shield protected Dumbledore from the debris, though the chandelier gave it a good test.,"Nicholas I'm not here to hurt you!" Dumbledore shouted into the room.,"How can I know that for sure," a voice that Dumbledore vaguely recognized as Nicholas's replied. "How do I know you haven't sworn loyalty to them?","I'm not that desperate," Dumbledore said.,"You're desperate enough to come here," Flamel said.,"Please, just give me a chance. I'll submit to any terms you ask," Dumbledore replied.,Silence met this statement and Dumbledore waited anxiously for a response. Finally a woman appeared in the far doorway looking calmly at Dumbledore. "You will give me your wand and I will stand ready to attack while you speak to him," she said.,"My lady Perenelle, you look beautiful as ever," Dumbledore said, handing over his wand. Finally, Nicholas Flamel morphed out of a recliner in the far corner, one which had escaped destruction though it was certainly buried in debris. He was young, thirty perhaps, with long black hair cut close to his head and pale, colorless eyes. He was wearing a loose black shirt, advertising a concert which had taken place a few months ago. Dumbledore had wanted to go too, but he had a war to fight.,Nicholas studied Dumbledore, scrutinizing every inch of his elderly figure as if looking for a single flake of skin that was out of place. Finally he seemed satisfied. He motioned for his wife to give Dumbledore his wand back which she did.,"Trusting so quickly," Albus chided.,"If you were immortal now, you'd be much younger," Nicholas chided back. "Besides, if we're going to talk, my flat needs repairing. You're magic is better at that than mine.","Always the charmer," Dumbledore said, waving his wand and sending all the debris back to its original home. "I was worried that Voldemort had gotten to you first.","He has tried," Flamel said. "But he is new at this game, he was easy to evade. Besides, if Riddle had come calling, the Dark Mark would have been above the house.","True, I hadn't thought of that. I'll have to remember it," Dumbledore said, sitting on the newly repaired sofa. The Flamels sat across from him on two recliners. Perenelle still appeared ready to attack at any moment. Dumbledore put away his wand. "I was under the impression that Riddle was made an immortal.","He was," Nicholas said. "But rumor has it that he was declared utlaga recently. Trust me; he will be mortal again soon. You have no idea the power of a fully awakened immortal with five hundred years experience.",Dumbledore said nothing until Nicholas prodded him. "The Elder's protection may be released, but he will not be mortal. He has backup plans, probably more than one. You do not know Riddle like I do Nicholas. He will not be easy to defeat. That is why I have come here, in fact.","What is?" Nicholas asked.,"To ask you to come and teach at Hogwarts and help me defeat Riddle forever," Dumbledore said.,"Have you lost your mind?" Nicholas asked.,"I believe I still have it right here," Dumbledore said, pointing to his head.,"Albus, I have been on the run for over 600 years, I'm not about to announce to the world where I will be living for even a day, let alone a year!" Nicholas said.,"Oh, you will be given an alias of course, and a new looks if you'd like. Anything is possible with my magic," Dumbledore said.,Nicholas sat for a moment and pondered the proposal. "Why?" he asked finally.,"Why what?" Dumbledore replied, sipping a cup of tea he had conjured.,"Why ask me?" Nicholas said. "We weren't exactly on good speaking terms when we last parted ways. How is Ariana by the way?","Dead," Dumbledore said.,"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Nicholas said.,"No you're not, you never cared for her," Dumbledore said. "We weren't even twins.","But you were close and related. I am sorry for what happened, her going crazy and all. We were desperate. We've learned better. At least you have used your abilities well.","I feel guilty every time and an apology won't bring her back. If you hadn't awakened me I might not have...No, no matter now. It is in the past," Dumbledore said, getting up. "Well, I can see that the answer is going to be no. Sad, but I understand. Have a good time in France.",Dumbledore began to leave. "Wait," Perenelle said, lowing her guard for the first time since he had arrived. "You didn't answer the question, why ask him?",Dumbledore paused in the entryway. "Because I am desperate to stop Riddle," he said. He turned again and started to leave.,"That still isn't an answer," Nicholas prodded.,Dumbledore sighed and paused at the doorway. "It appears the end of the world may be upon us. There are two students going into their second year, twins; a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. Like I said, I'm desperate. Desperate enough to let you see them.",Dumbledore left.,He was halfway down the street when Nicholas came barging out of the door screaming at him. It was funny to watch the man run down the street while trying not to be seen. "Albus," he said. "I'll do it, for a price.",Dumbledore smiled. "There is always a price," he said as Nicholas ushered him back into his house.

"Gozer le Gozérien. Bonsoir à toi." Lança Ray d'une voix qu'il se voulait ferme, à l'entité surnaturelle. "En tant qu'envoyé officiel et représentant de cette ville, du conté de l'état de New-York, je t'ordonne de cesser toute activité surnaturelle et de retourner immédiatement d'où tu viens ou, si ça t'arrange, dans la plus proche dimension parallèle.","C'est bien ça, ça devrait marcher Ray." Déclara Peter d'un ton sarcastique.,"Es-tu un dieu ?" Demanda la puissante voix de Gozer.,Ray tourna sa tête vers Peter, qui lui fit un signe de tête affirmatif.,"Non." Répondit Ray en se tournant vers Gozer.,Ce dernier amorça un mouvement de ses bras. "Alors pé…","Gooooozzzzzzzeeeeeerrrrrrrr." Retenti une voix d'un ton chantant.,À cette voix, Gozer se crispa, et les éclairs qui s'accumulaient dans ses bras disparurent. Bizarrement, Peter aussi se crispa.,"Peter ?" Demanda Egon, surprit par le mouvement de son collègue.,"Désolé." Dit celui-ci en réprimant un frisson. "C'est juste le même ton qu'utilisait ma mère pour m'appeler après que j'ai fait une bêtise.",Les portes de la pyramide derrière Gozer s'ouvrirent, laissant apparaitre un adolescent. Il était vêtu d'une longue robe noire faisant un peu penser à une bure de prêtre. Ses cheveux étaient bruns mais désordonnés, et il avait des yeux émeraude qui étaient lumineux dans la pénombre. Le fait le plus notable était son front. Il y avait dessus une cicatrice en forme d'éclair, qui était entouré d'un cercle tatoué, prolongé par une ligne droite sur le dessus, et le tout étaient encadrait par un triangle équilatérale, lui aussi tatoué.,Peter se rapprocha d'Egon. "Egon… à ton avis, qu'elles sont nos chance ?" Chuchota-t-il.,"Aucune idée." Répondit Egon lui aussi en chuchotant. "Si cette nouvelle entité et de notre côté, on a une chance de s'en sortir. Mais si c'est l'inverse… Honnêtement nos chances contre Gozer sont infinitésimales. Si cette entité et plus puissant que lui… on est foutu. Mon détecteur a grillé à son arrivé tellement il est hors mesure.",L'adolescent descendit lentement les marches. Au fur et à mesure qu'il se rapprochait, les chiens démoniaques de Gozer, qui étaient avant des humains, couinaient de terreur et essayaient de reculer le plus possible, sans quitter leur piédestal.,"Pourrais-je savoir, ce que tu fais dans cette dimension ?" Demanda le jeune garçon en caressant un des chiens qui voulait clairement se défaire de la caresse.,"Je, euh… je…" Bégaya Gozer qui cherchait clairement une excuse. "Je voulais voir… un film, c'est ça, un film qui ne sort que dans cette dimension." Déclara triomphalement Gozer.,"Oooh ? Et quel est le titre de ce film ?" Demanda calmement le garçon sans quitter le chien du regard.,Bien qu'il eu un teint déjà blanchâtre, Gozer pâli.,"Si tu as oublié le titre du film, tu peux au moins me dire de quoi ça parle." Proposa le garçon magnanime.,Gozer pâli encore plus. "M…m…m… Maître…","Arrête de bégayer, tu sais que je déteste ça." Lança le garçon d'un ton froid qui, bien qu'il ait toujours la tête tourné vers le chien qu'il caressait, fixait Gozer du coin de l'œil. "Mais la question qui est vraiment importante c'est pourquoi tu as cru bon de réveiller des âmes, où encore, pourquoi tu as fait venir tes chiens dans cette dimension? Surtout que tu as utilisé des humains comme catalyseur." Au fur et à mesure qu'il parlait, sa voix devenait de plus en plus dure et colérique.,Le garçon arrêta de caresser le chien et claqua des doigts. Les deux chiens explosèrent alors.,"DANA !" Hurla Peter en voulant se précipiter vers les restes des chiens. Mais il fut retenu par ses trois collègues.,L'être fit un autre mouvement de main et un léger vent souffla les restes des chiens, devenue pierre, laissant apparaitre deux humains. Un homme et une femme. Le garçon fit un troisième mouvement, et les deux humains flottèrent en l'air, et arrivèrent doucement dans les bras des membres de S.O.S fantômes.,"Ils vont bien." Déclara le garçon. "Mais je pense qu'une petite séance chez le psy leur ferait du bien. Maintenant un peu de ménage.",Il claqua à nouveau des doigts et des milliers de cris retentirent, et quelques secondes plus tard, un tourbillon de fantômes fut aspiré par les portes de la pyramide, et même Gozer fut aspirer. Une foi le dernier fantôme aspiré, les portes de la pyramide se refermèrent.,Le garçon soupira avant de s'approcher des quatre hommes.,"Désolé pour ça." Dit-il. "Vous savez ce que c'est à cet âge. On les quitte deux secondes des yeux et ça veux prouver que c'est un grand garçon.","Excusez-moi monsieur. C'est pas qu'on n'ai pas reconnaissant que vous ayez sauvé notre ville et tout, mais qui êtes vous ?" Demanda Winston.,Le garçon eu un sourire en coin. "Qui je suis, ou ce que je suis ?" Dit-il d'un air badin.,"J'avoue que la réponses à ces deux question m'intéresse." Répliqua Egon qui essayer de réparer son détecteur.,"Quand on est polis on donne son nom avant de demander celui de quelqu'un.",Les quatre hommes se consultèrent d'un regard et hochèrent de la tête en même temps ce qui fit bien rire le jeune garçon.,"Je suis le docteur Peter Venkman, voici le docteur Raymond Stantz, celui qui essaye de réparer son jouet et le docteur Egon Spengler, et voici Winston Zeddemore.",À la grande surprise des quatre hommes, le garçon leur serra la main.,"Enchanté messieurs. Je suis Harry Potter. Connus aussi comme le maître de la mort.",Un éclair franchit le ciel à la mention du titre d'Harry.,"Rien que ça, le maître de la mort ?" Dit Peter alors qu'un second éclair parcourait le ciel.,"Ça a quand même plus de classe que mon dernier surnom." Répondit Harry.,"Qui est ?" Demanda Egon.,"Le garçon qui à survécu." Cette fois il n'y eu pas d'éclair.,"En effet le maître de la mort ça fait plus classe." Admis Winston, alors qu'un troisième éclair parcourait le ciel.,"C'est vous qui faite ça ?" Demanda Ray en désignant les éclairs synchronisés avec le titre d'Harry.,"Non, ça viens avec la fonction." Répondit Harry. "Bon, c'est pas que je m'ennuie, mais si je laisse Gozer et ses petits copains seuls cinq minutes ils foutent un bordel monstre.",Harry monta alors les marches de la pyramide quatre à quatre avant de disparaitre avec la pyramide et tout le reste.,"Plutôt sympa, pour un être supérieur." Déclara Peter.,Winston renifla. "C'est moi ou tout d'un coup ça sent le chamallow grillé ?"

It was purely coincidental when Natsume Takashi stumbled upon the Mirror Of Erised. You see, Natsume had always slept alone. Later, when he had become a teenager, Nyanko-sensei had slept with him and while occasionally snoring and mumbling drunkenly in his sleep, Natsume had never minded. Sure, it took a while to get used to the extra person (or animal, more accurately) sleeping with him, but he never minded since he knew Nyanko-sensei. He'd never tell Nyanko-sensei, no need to boost his ego, or the more likely action of him getting creeped out, but Nyanko-Sensei's presence, especially his beast form, had always brought this wondrous peace over him.,But anyway, he still couldn't get used to how Gryffindors slept. Apparently, Gryffindors felt that as a united house - or at least the boy's side - six boys sleeping in the same room wasn't weird, especially when it became crowded. So basically, the Gryffindor rooms at night were a bunch of boys clamped together, trying to get something called sleep. And not just that, Gryffindors also had the tendencies to snore and there were times that they just blatantly decide to talk in their sleep about their Quidditch achievements that they dreamed about. Natsume was never particularly interested in Quidditch, or any sport really. Too busy to figure out how to live his life.,So he was wandering in the halls, occasionally climbing stairs. He'd encountered the cat students had called Mrs. Norris and he'd pet her every time, before running away every time he'd heard Filch's voice in the resounding halls. Thankfully, the cat was never eager to sell him out, and Natsume thanked her for it.,It wasn't the first time he'd come out late at night, so Natsume made sure that he'd greet every youkai he met, if for conversation purposes. Most ran away, frightened by the prospect of a human seeing them. Natsume naturally grew curious at this and asked one day a youkai who was fascinated by a human such as Natsume, but not afraid.,"Don't all wizards see you?" He asked the creature. It was a tiny thing, with bulging black, eerie tunnels for eyes. Natsume was startled when he first laid his eyes on him -Er- it. He found it kind of ironic that a lot of youkai feared humans despite their terrifying features.,"No, most wizards usually see the bigger, stronger youkai. Such as the feared God, Misuzu, or Mistress Hinoe." Natsume resisted a snort, he didn't think that the youkai would appreciate that. But it was just like Hinoe and Misuzu to make up rumors to make others fear them when they were truly such overprotective parents.,"I see. Oh! Do you ever remember a human called Reiko that could see you?" The youkai's eyes grew even wider and even creepier as he seemed to remember. "Oh yes! I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Reiko was a powerful human. She helped me find my bell in a big classroom when it went missing. That reminds me, I wonder if that mirror is still there..." The youkai trailed off, getting lost in its own thoughts.,"A mirror?" The youkai nodded, "It was a big mirror, it showed me a delicious treat, but I wasn't able to eat it! Can you believe it?!" Natsume sweatdropped, but froze when he heard a voice booming.,"Who's there!" it yelled, and Natsume bolted into the nearest classroom, ignoring the calls of the youkai. He closed the door behind him and evened his breathing. He only let out a sigh when he heard Filch's voice fade and ultimately disappear from the halls. He took a deep breath and was about to move out of the classroom before he noticed some sort of light reflected on it. He turned his back curiously and saw a mirror. He moved slowly towards it, not knowing what to expect. He hadn't been in this castle for so long, but he knew that he should expect the unexpected. Though, he mused, that was the story of his life anyway. He wondered faintly if this was the same mirror that the youkai was talking about.,He stepped closer to it, but he only saw himself. He moved closer when he noticed writing on the gold frame. It read: Erised Stra Ehru Oyt Ube Cafru Wohsi. He wondered if it was in some ancient language before he inspected it even closer, and connected the dots. His blood froze in his veins, and he had the distinct feeling of ice imprisoned in his arms. That was not a good feeling.,Was that truly his heart's desire? To be alone forever? Was he actually truly selfish at his subconscious? He'd known that that was his wish in his younger days when he'd spent his childhood with people that despised his very existence. Not that Natsume could blame them; he was an oddity in their normal lives. He couldn't blame them for wanting to be normal, to live normally. He wanted that too after all. But after being given Touko-san and Shigeru-san, his two surrogate parents that loved him, and his irreplaceable friends and the youkai that he spent his time with, he'd always thought that he was perfectly happy, content with his life. He thought that he was amazingly happy. And he was. Truly. Had he misunderstood this mirror's purpose? But come on, the phrase ,It was too much of a coincidence.,"My boy." Natsume ,, and the figure laughed, making Natsume feel even more embarrassed. Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of their school, stood there, looking as eccentric as always, with his pointed nightcap, and his polka dot robes. Natsume felt a further second-handed embarrassment at his robes. But of course, tried to ignore it.,"Professor, I," Natsume then realized that he shouldn't have been out, and as the Headmaster, the person who makes the rules, he wouldn't be understandably happy with the fact that Natsume snook out. "I was just - you know, uh..","Don't worry my boy. Rules are, sometimes, meant to be broken. Merlin knows I did the same in my youth. Anyway, my child, I am curious, however, as to what you see in that mirror." Natsume paled. Would the Headmaster judge him, knowing that Natsume would rather by alone his entire life, even though he had everything handed to him in life? Even though he should be happy and satisfied with all that he'd been given, and for free too? And Natsume was too, but apparently, this mirror didn't agree.,Dumbledore must've of noticed his reluctance to say anything, because he suddenly winked at him, but Natsume simply tilted his head curiously, not understanding the implication. The man huffed. "Merlin, you are far more innocent than I was in my school years." Natsume was further confused but didn't say anything.,"My boy, you have realized the true intention of this mirror, right?" Natsume reluctantly nodded. "Then why do you seem so crestfallen? Everyone I have met so far have all been delighted at what the mirror showed them, as it were their heart's greatest desire. And yet, my boy, you do not seem to enjoy what you saw there.",Maybe it was Dumbledore's grandfatherly presence, or his gentle tone, or maybe just his curious prodding, but Natsume found himself reluctantly opening his mouth. "Well, I saw... me." At Dumbledore's curious eyebrow raise, he continued. "When I was a kid, I... once wished to be alone. To live alone. But now, I don't want to be like that. So I'm just curious. Do I actually wish to live alone, was I subconsciously wishing that, just like the mirror showed me?",Dumbledore stayed quiet for a moment. "I believe, my boy, you misunderstand." Natsume tilted his head curiously; what could he have misunderstood. "That you didn't see anything but yourself, means that you are contented. It means that you don't need anything else in the world, you are happy as you are. And it's been a long time since I've seen someone like that," Natsume widened his eyes in realization and turned towards the mirror. He tentatively reached out to his reflection, before smiling softly. Perhaps it did mean that. He spent a few moments looking at the other Natsume before he turned and realized that Dumbledore was no longer there. He walked back to his dorm, he didn't really want to become one of those boys who admired their reflections and maybe even showed off their chests.,And surprisingly, when he laid himself on his bed, sleep found him quickly, and he was glad. And instead of the dreamless sleeps that he was used to (or the youkai memories that he occasionally witnessed), he instead dreamt of the sunshine, warm figures, and creatures that made him feel safe.,And the next day, Natsume was confused at the blushes that he saw whenever he laid his eyes on ,, even Professor McGonagall at some point did the same. He wondered worriedly if they were sick and when he expressed his concerned to a particularly flushed girl, she just squeaked and mumbled that she was fine.,(At the end of the day, Natsume approached one of the guys -he'd asked about twenty girls, and they were futile attempts, so he thought he'd try out with a guy- and asked him why everyone seemed to blush every time he looked at them. The boy, with a brilliant blush, had simply said that he had a wonderful smile and promptly ran away. Natsume was left very confused and very oblivious.)

Sa valise grinçante et son sac en bandoulière serrés contre elle, Amy White s'avança dans l'ombre du château d'Hogwarth. La respiration saccadée, elle lissait sa robe tout en humant l'odeur fraîche du crépuscule. Un batracien croassa bruyamment, caché dans les roseaux ondulant au vent. La bâtisse se découpait dans la pénombre du mois de septembre et les rires étouffés des enfants lui parvinrent aux oreilles.,Etudier dans une école où l'on enseigne la magie, sans être soi-même une sorcière... Amy se demanda ce qui était passé par la tête de la mère inquisitrice. Devait-elle vraiment la détester pour se débarrasser ainsi de la cadette de ses apprenties !,« ,»,Amy avait tempêté et objecté qu'aucune once de pouvoir ne coulait dans ses veines, qu'elle n'apprendrait rien puisqu'elle ne possédait pas de baguettes magiques ou de balais volants. La mère inquisitrice n'avait rien voulu entendre. Amy intégrerait l'école en même temps que les autres jeunes sorciers et serait elle aussi placée dans l'une de leur maison. Les menaces, le chantage et sa grève de la faim n'avaient pas fait plier son intransigeante supérieure.,"Miss White ! Miss White !",Un vieil homme aux cheveux gras courait dans sa direction, très vite suivi par un chat à l'air féroce. Amy grimaça et marcha à pas lents dans leur direction. Il lui adressa un rictus sardonique et la jeune fille ressentit un long frisson d'appréhension.,"Dépêchez-vous, il ne faut pas arriver en retard à la cérémonie de répartition ! Le professeur Dumbledore souhaitait vous parler avant qu'une maison ne vous soit attribuée... Mais nous n'avons pas suffisamment de temps... Pas suffisamment de temps...",Le félin miaula avec irritation et ses yeux jaunes ne quittèrent pas Amy qui, d'anxiété, se tordait les mains. Lorsqu'elle s'en rendit compte, elle se contraignit à garder ses bras raides, le long de son corps.,"Donnez-moi votre valise… Pourquoi m'attribue-t-on toujours les travaux les plus éreintants ?, marmonna-t-il dans sa barbe. Personne ne pense à mon pauvre dos… Toutes ces années de bons et loyaux services… Et ma position reste…","Je suis prête, le coupa Amy.",Le concierge haussa les épaules en lançant un regard peu amène à la nouvelle pensionnaire de Hogwarth.,"Dépêchez-vous un peu Miss White, nous n'avons pas toute la nuit ! Nous sommes déjà en retard.",Ils traversèrent un dédale de couloirs sombres, aux voûtes gothiques de pierres noircies par le temps. Les vitraux transparents étaient tantôt poussiéreux, tantôt absents, livrant ainsi la bâtisse aux quatre vents. Le chat au pelage sombre disparut derrière un angle d'où s'échappaient des applaudissements et des rires.,Amy pila au milieu du corridor, si bien que le concierge faillit la renverser.,"Par la barbe de Merlin, que… ?",Amy balbutia une réponse incompréhensible tout en se frottant les mains avec insistance. A onze ans et demi, elle n'était pas prête à affronter les regards curieux et instigateurs d'une foule de sorciers méprisants.,"Avancez, vite !",Un pas devant l'autre. Ce n'était pas si difficile. Un premier pas, puis un deuxième.,Tel un somnambule, elle se remit en marche, le cœur alourdi par l'appréhension.,La porte de chêne massif, patinée par l'usage, s'ouvrit sans un bruit sur une immense salle aux larges fenêtres en arc brisé. Des chandelles flottaient dans les airs et, à la place du plafond, se trouvait la voûte céleste. Blanche et lumineuse. Les étoiles hypnotisèrent la jeune fille un bref instant.,« ,»,Des sorciers étaient assis de part et d'autre de quatre longues tables posées côte à côte au centre de la pièce. En face d'une grande estrade où siégeaient des adultes, était installé un lutrin doré en forme d'aigle aux ailes déployées. Un vieillard à la longue barbe blanche, portant une robe bleutée, se tenait derrière, un grand chapeau brun usé dans la main. Une unique chaise avait été déposée en contrebas de l'estrade des adultes, face aux grandes tables des différentes maisons d'Hogwarth.,La porte se referma en silence.,Amy lutta contre la panique, se tenant droite, les mains plaquées contre sa robe grise de laine. Le concierge la poussa en avant. Elle trébucha, se rattrapa de justesse, déclenchant les rires discrets de quelques élèves.,"Notre dernière invitée ! Juste à temps ! Approchez Miss White !",Celle-ci traversa la grande salle à pas feutrés, comme une mariée se dirigeant vers l'autel. Des dizaines de regards étaient braqués sur sa silhouette frêle et sa tunique trop grande, retenue par un simple lien de cuir.,Le vieil homme, sans doute le directeur de l'école dont lui avait parlé la mère inquisitrice, tendit le bras. Après une brève hésitation, Amy posa une main sur la robe soyeuse du sorcier, dont les yeux pétillaient derrière des lunettes en forme de demi-lune. En lui adressant un sourire chaleureux, il la fit pivoter face aux élèves. Sa voix s'amplifia et couvrit les murmures de la foule.,"Mes très chers amis, je vous présente Miss Amy White. Miss White passera l'année dans l'une de nos maisons. Elle nous a été confiée par la mère inquisitrice Arcinoé et j'espère que vous lui réserverez tous un très bon accueil.",Au silence interloqué succéda un brouhaha assourdissant. Les rires gênés et les exclamations horrifiées se mêlaient à des jurons peu élogieux.,"Une squib !","Les inquisitrices s'immiscent dans les affaires d'Hogwarth…","Ce n'est pas une sorcière, s'indigna une petite blonde à la voix aigüe. Elle n'a pas le droit d'être ici !","Elle n'a pas de pouvoirs, ricana un garçon au regard farouche. Et elle ne peut pas se servir d'une baguette !","Une apprentie… Ne parle pas devant une inquisitrice où elle connaîtra tous tes secrets. C'est ma mère qui me l'a dit !",Amy baissa les yeux en ravalant ses larmes. Cette réaction était prévisible mais sa supérieure n'avait rien voulu entendre. Elle était la risée de cette école. Une pauvre fille sans pouvoirs magiques, et dépourvue du don des inquisitrices. Elle n'avait pas plus sa place ici qu'avec les autres apprenties.,"Silence !",La voix puissante du directeur fit vibrer les fenêtres et trembler les tables. Le silence retomba dans la grande salle, mais la tension était électrique, presque palpable.,"Maintenant, place à la répartition et au choixpeau ! Miss White, asseyez-vous je vous prie.",Elle se laissa tomber sur la chaise et on lui enfonça le chapeau brun usé, jusqu'aux oreilles. La vue dissimulée par le cuir élimé et ses cheveux noirs, Amy n'apercevait plus les élèves.,C'est alors que le choixpeau ,Amy laissa échapper un couinement apeuré tandis que l'objet ensorcelé commença à parler. L'apprentie inquisitrice voulut l'arracher de sa tête, mais une grande femme à l'aspect sévère retint son geste.,"Hummm, ni muggle, ni sorcière… Cela fait bien treize ans que je n'ai pas réparti une apprentie inquisitrice… Où puis-je bien te placer ? Quelle maison pourrait convenir ?",Amy ferma les yeux très fort. Un long frisson parcourut son échine. Un chapeau qui parlait. Un chapeau magique « ,» !,"Une « , »… Je vois des qualités… De l'intelligence… Ravenclaw pourrait convenir. Mais il manque quelque chose. Il y a aussi du courage, beaucoup de courage ! Gryffindor ? Et par-dessus-tout de la droiture… De l'honnêteté…. De la tolérance… Une envie de se dévouer envers les autres… De voir l'invisible et de comprendre l'indicible. Hufflepuff ? Oui, c'est cela ! HUFFLEPUFF !",La sorcière arracha le chapeau enchanté et Amy prit une profonde inspiration. Elle avait retenu son souffle durant les tergiversations du choixpeau.,Elle était devenue membre de l'une des quatre grandes maisons de sorciers.,Alors qu'elle n'avait rien d'une magicienne…,Un large sourire fendait les joues du directeur de Hogwarth lorsqu'il l'invita à rejoindre la table des élèves vêtus d'or et d'ébène. Pourtant, jamais elle ne pourrait porter leur couleur. Elle le savait pertinemment. Ses robes de laine devaient être grises, la couleur des apprenties, symbolisant le calme, la sobriété et la soumission à l'Ordre. Seules les inquisitrices confirmées étaient autorisées à porter du blanc, représentant la Vérité et le Lumière d'Aydindril.,"Nous parlerons plus tard, murmura-t-il dans un souffle.",Amy acquiesça, la gorge nouée. Elle prit place au bout de la table dans un silence de mort, ses camarades prenant soin de se tenir à bonne distance. La jeune fille loucha sur son assiette et ne daigna pas toucher au repas qui apparut miraculeusement sur la table. Tout cela n'était pas naturel. Elle passait peut-être pour une étrangère aux yeux des autres, mais eux-mêmes étaient des étrangers aux siens.,Lorsque l'interminable banquet prit fin, les préfets de chaque maison accompagnèrent les nouveaux-venus vers leurs dortoirs. Amy voulut emboîter le pas au grand dadet aux cheveux roux qui tentait tant bien que mal de rassembler les nouveaux Hufflepuff, mais Dumbledore lui fit signe d'attendre à l'extérieur de la grande salle.,Amy se dirigea à pas traînants vers la grande porte de bois de chêne avant de disparaître dans l'ombre du couloir, plaquée contre un mur de pierre froide.,"Hé toi !",Un trio de garçons s'approcha. Ils n'étaient pas vêtus des traditionnelles robes de sorciers et Amy en déduit que, comme elle, ils venaient d'être répartis dans une maison. Celui qui avait parlé était un sorcier aux cheveux châtains et aux lunettes rondes, alors que le second avait une chevelure d'ébène bouclée tombant négligemment sur ses épaules. Son regard brun pétillait de malice. Le dernier, un petit gros, se cachait derrière les deux autres.,"Hé toi, tu es sourde ?",Amy serra les poings.,"Qu'est-ce-que tu veux ?","Pourquoi t'es ici, White ? Une inquisitrice, ça n'a pas de baguettes. Tu n'y connais rien en magie !","Ca ne te regarde pas !","Chez les Hufflepuff en plus, ricana le petit gros aux cheveux ras.",L'apprentie s'avança, les traits déformés par la colère.,"Les sorciers ont peut-être oublié les bonnes manières, mais d'où je viens, on se présente avant d'insulter les gens !","Je suis James Potter. Lui, dit-il en montrant le garçon aux cheveux d'ébène, c'est Sirius Black.",Le troisième membre du trio resta dans l'ombre des deux autres et couina :,"Peter Pettigrow.","Nous sommes à Gryffindor, clama James Potter avec fierté.","Ravie pour vous.","Alors, tu ne m'as pas répondu…, continua-t-il en prenant le bras d'Amy avec force.","Lâche-moi !, grogna-t-elle.",James la lâcha brusquement, comme s'il avait reçu du venin sur la main. Le regard farouche, Amy se détourna. Elle n'avait ni l'envie, ni la volonté de se battre avec des jeunes sorciers. Des picotements parcourent ses doigts, signe que l'énervement atteignait son paroxysme.,"Je n'ai pas de temps à perdre avec vous.","Alors pourquoi t'es venue ?, demanda Sirius Black.","Qu'est-ce que tu crois ? Je n'ai pas eu le choix ! Si ma présence vous incommode tellement, tu n'as qu'à faire comme si je n'existais pas ! Tu n'as qu'à faire comme si j'étais invisible !","Potter eut un sourire mystérieux, mais se tint coit. Amy lui lança un regard suspicieux, flairant un secret croustillant.","Non, ça c'est impossible.","Quoi ?",Sirius s'avança, le visage à demi-dissimulé derrière un voile de bouclettes brunes.,"On ne peut pas t'ignorer, tu es… Unique en ton genre.","Il y a beaucoup d'autres inquisitrices, c'est juste que tu ne les connais pas.","Ce n'est pas ce que je voulais dire.",Amy haussa un sourcil interrogateur.,"Je ne comprends pas. Pourquoi est-ce que…",L'apprentie fut interrompue par la porte de chêne qui s'ouvrait. Dumbledore apparut, les traits malicieux.,"Vous n'avez pas encore rejoint vos dortoirs ? Vous trois, filez à la tour de Gryffindor ! Quant à vous, Miss White, j'ai à vous parler. Vous verrez vos amis demain, au petit déjeuner.","Ce ne sont pas mes ,.",Le sorcier fit mine de ne pas avoir entendu. James, Sirius et Peter filèrent au dortoir sans demander leur reste. Amy les suivit du regard jusqu'à ce qu'ils aient disparu à l'angle du couloir.,"Marchons un peu, annonça Dumbledore.",Le directeur l'entraîna vers les jardins du château, illuminés par le clair de lune. La jeune fille laissa son regard se perdre dans la voûte céleste. Les étoiles avaient toujours eu cet effet apaisant, et en moins de temps qu'il n'en faut pour le dire, sa colère s'évanouit. L'étoile sacrée des inquisitrices, Aydindril, brillait haut dans les cieux. Un signe d'espoir et de courage.,"Comment trouves-tu notre école ?","Amy réfléchit un bref instant.","Je ne sais pas encore, c'est différent de tout ce que j'ai connu. J'ai l'impression que je n'ai pas ma place ici. Je ne comprends pas la décision de la mère inquisitrice… Je n'ai… Enfin je ne suis pas une sorcière. Je suis juste une muggle.",Dumbledore eut un petit rire. Il prit place sur un banc en pierres recouvert de lierres, posé juste sous un tilleul, et invita Amy à le rejoindre. La brume du crépuscule serpentait dans le grand parc, se déployant près d'une forêt imposante à l'atmosphère sinistre.,"Personne n'est « juste » quelque chose. Et, lorsque l'on est choisie par le Haut Conseil des Inquisitrices, on ne peut pas être « juste » une muggle.","Je n'ai pas de pouvoirs magiques….","Bien-sûr que si, la clairvoyance est le don de voir la vérité là où se dissimule le mensonge. « Voir l'invisible et comprendre l'indicible ».","Je ne peux pas faire exploser des trucs ou voler sur un balai… Quant au don de voir la vérité, je ne le maîtrise… Je ne le maîtrise pas encore.","Prononcer des incantations, lancer des sorts… Ce n'est pas le plus important. A Hogwarth, tu apprendras à vivre parmi les sorciers. Tu comprendras notre vision du monde, et tu n'en deviendras qu'une inquisitrice plus compétente. Après tout, le Haut Conseil des Inquisitrices et le Ministère de la Magie sont les deux entités de notre monde… Ils sont complémentaires dans plusieurs domaines, comme la justice. Il est donc normal que tu vives une année avec ces jeunes sorciers enthousiastes. J'espère que ton séjour sera agréable et… Instructif !",Amy secoua la tête avec perplexité. Pour l'instant, son année à Hogwarth lui semblait mal engagée… Voire même compromise. Les élèves semblaient vouloir la mettre à l'écart et elle ne pouvait rien contre ça.,"Je n'en sais rien, Monsieur Dumbledore.",C'est cet instant que choisit le préfet de Hufflepuff pour apparaître. Il semblait préoccupé et ses sourcils roux étaient si arqués qu'ils se touchaient presque.,"Je me suis aperçu, lors de la répartition des dortoirs, que notre invitée n'était pas là. Je me suis inquiété et je suis allé voir le professeur Pomona Sprout. Elle m'a dit de que je devrais me renseigner auprès du professeur Mc Gonagall. Comme, elle vous avait vu partir avec Lady White…","Je n'ai pas encore ce titre, le corrigea Amy.","Et, un garçon qui s'était perdu, Rémus je crois, m'a dit que…","Très bien, très bien, Hector. Accompagne donc Amy jusqu'à son dortoir ! Je vous verrai plus tard.",Le préfet d'Hufflepuff acquiesça avec gravité, en passant une main dans ses cheveux emmêlés.,"Oui, Monsieur le directeur.",Dumbledore se retira en silence, sa robe bleue flottant derrière lui, se fondant avec la nuit. La lumière des étoiles se reflétait sur ses cheveux blancs comme la neige. Amy se demanda un bref instant quel était l'âge du sorcier. 80 ans ? 100 ans ? 250 ans ?,"Suis-moi, ordonna sèchement Hector.",La jeune apprentie acquiesça avant de le suivre dans les dédales du château. Ils marchèrent de longues minutes avant d'arriver aux sous-sols, à proximité des cuisines. Ils s'arrêtèrent devant une simple porte branlante, dont le bois était patiné par l'usage. La poignée de fer pendait lamentablement et Amy se demanda brièvement si le reste du château était dans le même état. Des tonneaux étaient empilés en vrac autour de la porte, rendant le passage difficile.,"Nous sommes devant notre salle commune.",Hector parlait d'une voix monocorde, en détachant chaque syllabe, comme s'il s'adressait à un enfant rebelle.,"Pour entrer, tu as besoin du code.","Quel code ?, demanda-t-elle avec curiosité.","J'allais te le dire, expliqua le préfet en levant les yeux au ciel. Pour accéder à la salle commune, tu dois toquer au rythme des syllabes de Helga Hufflepuff sur le deuxième tonneau en partant du bas, au milieu de la deuxième rangée. Si tu te trompes de tonneau ou dans le nombre de coups, un flot de vinaigre se déversera depuis la trappe, juste au-dessus de nous. Tu as compris ?","Je crois.","Tu crois ou tu es sûre ?","J'en suis sûre.",Hector joignit le geste à la parole et frappa avec fluidité sur le tonneau de chêne. Amy loucha sur la trappe, mais le préfet ne s'était pas trompé puisqu'aucun liquide vinaigré ne les éclaboussa. La porte s'ouvrit dans un grincement sonore. La salle commune des Hufflepuff était décorée avec sobriété dans les tons pastels. Des canapés usés étaient disposés de part et d'autre de la pièce, et des poufs étaient installés devant la cheminée, dans laquelle flambait un feu haut et clair, dégageant une chaleur appréciée par les élèves qui sommeillaient dans des fauteuils. Amy sursauta lorsque le fantôme d'un moine avec de l'embonpoint survola la salle en riant grassement.,"Suis-moi.",Sous les regards intrigués des élèves, le préfet la conduisit jusqu'au dortoir des filles. Il ouvrit la porte d'une petite chambre, possédant des fenêtres rectangulaires étroites. Des vêtements étaient éparpillés sur les quatre lits qui la meublaient.,"Tes affaires sont déjà arrivées, dit-il en lui montrant du doigt sa valise. Installe-toi.",Il consulta une feuille de papier soigneusement pliée, sur laquelle était inscrite une liste de noms.,"Tes camarades de chambre sont Andromeda Abbot, Amélia Bones et Alice Abberline.",Hector jeta un regard circulaire à la pièce et replia ses notes. Il adressa un dernier salut à Amy avant de claquer la porte.,"N'oublie pas le code !",La jeune fille se retrouva seule dans le dortoir. Elle n'accorda pas un regard à la cape de sorciers ou à l'écharpe aux couleurs de sa maison. Des rires lointains lui parvinrent aux oreilles. Elle se laissa tomber sur le seul lit encore libre, dans un coin de la pièce. La tête posée sur les genoux, elle laissa son esprit divaguer.,Demain, les choses sérieuses allaient commencer.,Amy soupira bruyamment.,Elle était déjà épuisée.

By: Yidkirkin,Disclaimer: I don't own anything.,Hey ya'll, look who's editing a fic for once :P Enough changed that I feel it's worth a reread if anyone cares to – although I'll be honest it's mostly setup for my revamped future chapter goals. Hope you enjoy! FYI –I headcanon Harry as being East Indian of Sikh descent.,TIMELINE EXPLANATION AT END OF THIS CHAPTER,SPOILERS PROBS,Whenever Harry was out of the house and had to get away from Dudley and his friends, he would go to one of two places. The first was the old park just beyond Magnolia Crescent; it was quiet, had several trees that were perfect to climb into and hide, and was far enough away from number four that Dudley rarely found the energy to pursue him. The second place was another park on Dahlia Drive; it was closer than Magnolia Park but very often crowded with other children, and it was over the line that Piers' and Thorton's parents had forbade them from crossing. Dudley could still come after him however, which was why Harry frequented it less than the former.,The day that Piers punched him in the stomach and he had run away, Harry made it as far as the entrance to Magnolia Crescent before he slowed and nearly fell over, unable to run any longer with the wind knocked out of him and his stomach running on empty.,Cradling his middle, tears sprung into Harry's eyes when the pain unexpectedly worsened –any injuries he suffered, from bullies or otherwise, always affected him doubly so when he hadn't eaten. It was also more difficult to run like this, and since today was the second he'd gone without food made it especially hard to keep going, let alone tough it out the rest of the way to the park. After less than a minute of rest, Harry caught the sound of feet pounding on asphalt coming towards him from Wisteria Walk, accompanied by the hollering and jeering usually made by Dudley's gaggle of cohorts. With a prickling terror running up his spine, Harry turned to see a rather determined pack of about seven boys sprinting towards him, Dudley smack in the middle.,Feeling queasy, Harry pushed his legs as hard as he could and took off in the opposite direction –to the haven that Magnolia Park might provide. This had happened only twice before and Harry had easily been able to evade them both times, but his throbbing belly and weakness from hunger weren't going to make this easy. He knew even before the childish shouts in his ears grew louder that if he was caught he would have a lot more to worry about than missing a few meals.,The pain in his stomach spiked again as he rounded the bend that led into the park –he was almost there, , –and he tried to ignore it, but it was hard when he also needed to concentrate on his footing and how far back his pursuers were. Sweat soaked his hairline as he glanced behind him to see exactly what he didn't want; the yelling boys were hot on his heels and even gaining ground as he began to slow down against his will.,Harry knew this was his last chance, so he shut his eyes, kicked hard off the dirt, and sailed over the barbed fence separating the park from the farmer's field that bordered it on one side. He cried out as his arm tore open from one of the metal spikes but he didn't stop running; in fact he managed to go so far on his adrenaline that when he ran out of steam for good he was in the middle of the tree line that separated the field from the next one over. He had run so far that all the children who were chasing him weren't even within earshot any more.,Harry gasped and panted harshly, throat raw and chest heaving, his skinny legs wobbling dangerously as he came down from the high of the adrenaline rush. Once it all leaked out of his system he swayed for a moment, eyes glazed over and unfocused, and then he promptly fell to his knees, hands only just preventing him from getting a face full of dirt as he pitched forward, coughing and sobbing. When even his arms couldn't support him, Harry let himself fall onto the leaf strewn ground, and didn't even care as his bent glasses jabbed his nose painfully and his now aching body protested the violent movement.,Harry felt his eyelids slide shut, his vision going blurry as he stared at the blades of grass through his glasses. He laid there for a long moment as a bright light slowly overtook his sight, enveloped in warmth, feeling utterly content for the first time in several months. He soaked it in briefly before the radiance disappeared, and terror rose in the seven year olds throat as he suddenly went cold and could see nothing but darkness. Harry was frozen, but his mind whirred –he wanted to go back to that place of safety, he didn't want to be left in the cold, so much like the nights when he had been locked out of the house by a tired and muttering Uncle Vernon. More tears spilled onto his cheeks, and he felt a horrible yank behind his ribs –like someone had elbowed an already bad bruise –and then, his entire body started moving again. It was almost like he was being spun, squeezed and pulled all at once, effectively disorienting him and making him sob even harder. Harry was about to scream when a sharp jolt of searing pain ran through his entire body –but everything ceased before he could even open his mouth.,The warm light was back, and Harry sobbed with relief as he was cocooned again in airy bliss, the sensation far more intense now than it was before. Harry tried to keep still, hoping the cold wouldn't return, and in the few minutes of quiet before he finally passed out he thought he heard a distant, worried voice.,Vvv,Takimaru was patrolling the northern border of Simple Diet Hill on his regular rotation when a soft sound caught his attention from one of the cliff outcrops directly above him. He frowned and concentrated to try and hear it again; it was a broken, heaving sound, that of someone sobbing as if they had lost everything important to them in the world. He pat Del on the neck and slipped down to the ground, and then used a short version of his pre-shot routine to help him access the full use of his leg and arm muscles so he could scale the sheer rock to investigate.,Initially, he couldn't make heads or tails of which bush held the crying individual, as Quilt Sage had the peculiar effect of muffling and redirecting any sounds that occurred nearby. Regardless of its importance to the local ecosystem, it wasn't the best Flora to have in a frequently patrolled area, and Takimaru was reduced to checking each bush individually for whoever was in distress. After about five minutes of searching he finally came across the right one –and he immediately let out a shocked exclamation when he pushed the thick leaves aside to see who was there.,It was a child, curled in on themself and crying so despondently it hurt Takimaru to watch, even as the crying reduced to a full body shudder when the child passed out. He did a quick once over and noted the bleeding arm before he scooped the unresponsive and shivering form out of the underbrush and into his embrace, alarmed at the child's light weight and delicate extremities. The child –probably a boy –was anywhere from five to eight years old, with messy, short hair about the same shade as Takimaru's own and thin, umber coloured skin. They had a scar shaped like a stylized 'S' smack in the middle of their forehead, wore bent and dirty circular glasses (which Takimaru pocketed) and was dressed in a pair of near comically oversized shorts and t-shirt. Before he made the trip back down to Del, Takimaru placed a hand on the child's forehead only to remove it just as quickly, wondering just how long the extremely feverish child had been lying out here.,It took nearly twice as long for Takimaru to pick his way back to his horse as it had taken him to climb up, with how much attention he needed to make sure he didn't jostle his young passenger. He only allowed himself to relax once they were standing next to Del; he dug into his saddle bag and pulled out the seldom used smoke flare gun that was inside. Whoever was on duty would see it and the colour would tell them that he was returning with an injured party.,So young, Takimaru thought sadly once they were sat astride Del's back, even younger than he was when he contracted his disease. Young and sick and not from around here, for Takimaru knew everyone in Simple Diet Hill and Eco Land, and this far West there weren't many with skin as dark as the child's, though he didn't count tourists, Gourmet Hunters and the like. If he had to guess, the child came from somewhere in the South East, near the Ma-Chilian Isles, or maybe even near the Southernmost Human World border, the stretch of land only called 'Value'. But how had they arrived here, to the outskirts of Simple Diet Hill and up a cliff even Takimaru had some difficulty scaling?,Takimaru stared at the shivering child and drew them closer to his chest, pushing his fretful thoughts away for the moment as the Gourmet Knights' Lodgings came into view up ahead. As he expected, Aimaru and the resident nurse Karasuke were already hurrying toward him, with several more of his comrades waiting near the Administrative building in case they needed further assistance.,Takimaru slid off of Del and sent him off to the stables, then met Aimaru and Karasuke halfway –the medic took one look at the child and paled.,"Strangely light and brittle of bone, with a fever close to 101°. I came upon him among the Quilt Sage crags, so do be certain he was not exposed to any Crag Fester Beetles. I know not how long he was there," Karasuke nodded and ushered Takimaru towards the Lodgings, where two Knights were ready to take the child onto a stretcher.,"Let Karasuke see to them right now, Taki," Aimaru said, one hand on Takimaru's shoulder; he let out the breath he'd been keeping a tight leash on and eased the child onto the canvas.,"We shall be in exam room four, Aimaru-san," Karasuke said, already focused on his patient.,"We'll meet you there," The Knights leader received a quick nod before they bustled the child into the Lodgings. Once they were alone, Aimaru turned and drew Takimaru into a quick hug. "Are ,alright, Taki? I was worried when I saw the flare.","I am well, if a little shaken," Takimaru admitted. He let Aimaru lead him into the building and over to the examination rooms at a slow pace. "The child did not look in good straights, I can tell that much.","What happened?",Takimaru sighed and paused in the hallway, making Aimaru stop as well. "I did go on my regular patrol route, and as I passed through sector 6B I heard a sound from above me on the cliffs. Hence, I investigated and found the child among the Quilt Sage bushes, crying but soon after passing out. I immediately hastened to return.","No one else in the vicinity?" Furousuke asked, appearing suddenly behind them. The second tier Knight had a knack for sneaking up on people and Ingredients alike, though his usual cheer was now replaced with seriousness.,"I did not spare the time to look," Takimaru said, ashamed now at the thought. "It was more prudent to tend to them, I believed.","I already rounded up Sana and Jen –we shall go scour the area. If it pleases ye, Aimaru-san?" Furousuke asked, taking off the moment their leader nodded.,Aimaru smiled briefly, but quickly sobered. "Alright, let us catch up with Kara and see if we need to send for Amara-sensei.",Vvv,When Harry returned –rather abruptly –to consciousness, he wasn't in the light or the cold, but instead was tucked into a soft bed covered with a light brown comforter. The bed was in the middle of a lowly lit, red wood panelled room; Harry shivered violently and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, only then realizing he wasn't wearing his glasses. With his eyesight the way it was, Harry could easily see that there were two chairs on either side of the bed and that there was a dark wood door in the wall to his left, but everything on the nightstand or the bed eluded him.,Still shivering but not as chilled, Harry listened for a few minutes to try and figure out where he was from the sounds around him. He could hear running water in the ceiling, and there was a low murmur drifting in through the door, like when he was in his cupboard and his Aunt and Uncle were talking in the kitchen. He knew he wasn't in a hospital, nor was he at number four or Mrs. Figg's and he had never seen a room that looked like this at school. Harry shifted uncomfortably and then stilled before he lifted up the blanket to find that he was no longer dressed in Dudley's hand-me-down t-shirt and shorts. Now he was wearing a light green long sleeved shirt and a loose pair of brown pants, both made out of a thick fabric that Harry had never seen before. He had the sleeve raised far from his face to try and see it clearly when the door to the room opened unexpectedly, an action that made Harry squeak in fright and bury himself underneath the comforter.,"Oh –Aimaru-san! He is awake!" A voice called from the door, one that Harry didn't recognize at all, nor the name of the person they had said. Harry kept himself still, heard the person enter the room and sit down in one of the chairs to his left, and then seconds later another person came in. There was silence for maybe a minute before the newest person addressed him.,"Hey there, kiddo," The voice –a man? –said, very close to Harry's head. "It is alright, we're not going to hurt you. We only want to make sure you are okay," Harry still didn't move, but he listened to the man as he walked to the foot of the bed and sat down. "C'mon now, do not be shy. My name is Aimaru, what might yours be?",Something in the man's voice –sincerity, honesty, Harry couldn't quite pin it down –made Harry feel as if he should answer him. It was as if the man really wasn't going to get angry with him like his Aunt and Uncle often did, and Harry liked that feeling. Hoping he wasn't making a mistake, Harry swallowed his fear, sat up and moved the blanket off of his head so he could see them.,Of course, his sight was blurry even with the man sitting further away, so all he could make out was a red, black and peach coloured human shape a few feet in front of him at the other end of the bed, and another person off to his left, this one dark blue, black and peach. As Harry squinted at the two cautiously, the man before him moved slowly, holding an arm out so the man in the chair could give him something –it was a pair of glasses, ,glasses, polished and unbent as the day his Aunt bought them four years ago.,"They are only temporarily fixed, I'm afraid," The man said as Harry slipped them onto his face and the blurriness lessened significantly. "Our medic can update your prescription now that you're awake, so in a few days we can get you a better pair," Harry inspected the man on the bed, and quickly came to the conclusion that he was the strangest person he had ever seen.,Aimaru, as he called himself, was dressed in a red, long sleeved shirt and black pants, with bandages covering his forehead and his long black hair tied back into a tidy braid. He had three red triangles marking each of his cheeks, tanned, beige coloured skin and dark brown eyes. He was smiling at Harry patiently, and made no move to speak while Harry directed his curious stare at the other person in the room.,The man on the chair looked younger than Aimaru, and while he had similar shades of hair and skin his one visible eye was blue and the one triangle Harry could see on his cheek was black. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a light blue turban that did nothing to hold back the hair covering the right side of his face from view. The as-yet unnamed man smiled at him as well with something like concern on his face, so Harry decided then and there that he , to be polite and speak now to these so-far very nice people.,"My name is Harry. Where am... uh... I mean..." Harry knew his Aunt didn't tolerate questions, but would these two be the same? He struggled with the words for a minute longer before the man in the turban spoke to him for the first time.,"It is a good thing to meet you, Harry-kun. I am called Takimaru. Right now you are in a place called Simple Diet Hill, in one of our guest rooms," Harry ceased his stuttering in order to pay attention to Takimaru, gripping the blanket tightly when he didn't recognize the name of the place Takimaru gave him. "I found you, alone, in a Quilt Sage bush on the northern cliffs of the Hill's perimeter, and brought you here. You were feverish –we had you thoroughly checked over and gave you several natural remedies in order to make sure you would get better. You have been asleep since I found you early this morning, and it is just past nine o'clock in the evening, presently.","I –I don't understand," Harry said, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes without his permission. "I was in the forest near Little Whinging before this, how did I get here?","Little Whinging? Harry-kun, what continent is your home on? Taro? Ma-Chili? Perhaps Value?" Aimaru asked, frowning when Harry shook his head.,"It's –It's in Britain, which is in Europe. I don't know what those p-places are," Harry sniffed and took his glasses off so he could rub at his eyes. "I don't understand... it was warm and then cold and then warm again –and then I woke up here. I-I –I'm sorry, I think I did something freakish again –I didn't m-mean to do it!" Harry started crying in earnest and Takimaru was instantly beside him, rubbing at his back and attempting to soothe him.,"Do not fret; it is alright Harry-kun. It is okay, we do not make to blame you for anything," Aimaru stayed where he was, frown growing deeper as he watched his protégé try to console the mysterious, frightened child. "By what way did you do something freakish? If you tell us, mayhap we can figure out a way to get you back to... Europe.",Harry hiccupped wetly, choking out several gasps as he started to calm down, at the same time tensing like he was considering trying to make a break for it. By the time he began speaking coherently again, Takimaru had moved into a more comfortable position, removing his hand from the boy's back and instead holding his hands in between his.,"My –My Aunt and Uncle don't like iiiit whe-en I do freakish stu-tu-uff. Once, I... I turned a plastic toy into –into a wooden one and Unnnncle Vernon locked me in my cupboard for-for two days," Harry tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. "Annnnnd I once... got fro-om-om the gr-ground to the sch... ool roof in a split second. I must've done it againnn... when-when Aunt Petunia finds out, she's going to –going to be so mad!","Well, I do say that what you can do sounds amazing," Takimaru said calmly, though he shot an alarmed look back at his leader at the offhand comment of being locked in 'his cupboard'. "Harry-kun, your aunt cannot bear her anger upon you if we are not of a mind to tell her. We mean to help you, and we shall not go about discrediting that. Does that make things more bearable?","...mmhm..." Harry nodded frantically. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry...","It is fine, you are alright, everything is alright," Takimaru said gently, patting the child's hands and humming quietly. "Why do you not endeavour to sleep a bit more, Harry-kun? When you wake, you can eat and talk, if you so wish to. How does that sound?","...okay," Harry agreed quietly, letting Takimaru take his glasses from him and cover him with the comforter again. "Will... will you still be here?","I promise.",It took a few minutes for Harry to drift off, during which time neither of the Knights moved an inch for fear of jostling him awake as Takimaru had resumed holding one of his hands.,"I cannot monitor him as much as I would like," Aimaru said quietly, waiting for his son to untangle himself from the child's grasp. "How long are you on leave for?","Match-san has , I rest; marry, no less than two months," Takimaru didn't sound overly disappointed by it, though.,"Would you be open to watching over him, then? It seems he has taken a liking to you, and if he has a stable presence for at least the first few weeks he is here, it may make the difference in his recovery," Aimaru gave a tired hum. "We can look into a more permanent solution once he is somewhat healthier.","Truly, I feel as if I should, I the one who did find him, after all," Takimaru accepted immediately, thinking back to the blood that seeped from the child into the dirt surrounding him; he touched his covered eye absentmindedly and sighed. "I do know you are busy, Aimaru-san, but could you stay with him for just these few minutes? I shall need to fetch some things and speak to Oumaru-san about having a meal delivered.","I can stay. Karasuke already dropped off Amara's medical specifications, but make sure to stress his weak stomach lining even so. Once you are back I'll go and consult the library for mention of the places he told us about.",Takimaru thanked Aimaru profusely and immediately made his way to the Lodgings' kitchens, trying to mentally prepare himself for the upsetting topics that were bound to come up when Harry awoke again. Oumaru was happy to see him drop in, and they spent nearly half an hour going over Amara's recommendations along with simply catching up with one another. Oumaru herself had four children and was currently pregnant with the fifth, so Takimaru tried to answer her questions about Harry's behaviour and mental health as best he could given the boy hadn't been awake very long.,She shooed him out eventually with a bento each for himself and Aimaru, telling him to send a runner once Harry woke up and needed to be fed; she also insisted that he keep her in mind if they needed someone to take the child in for any length of time.,"I will remember, Oumaru-san," Takimaru told her gratefully, accepting the pitcher of water she handed to him. "Do pass along a hello to Sayaka-san and your children for me.","Sure thing, Taki-kun. Now, go and make sure that leader of ours , that bento! Subsisting on diseases might be possible, but not while I am around!" Oumaru swept back into the kitchen with all the grace her distended belly allowed her, and so Takimaru laughed and made his way back to the guest room.,Vvv,So, the Cooking Fest battle still happened, all the way up to when Midora and Ichiryuu were fighting. Midora still kills Ichiryuu, Starjun still kidnaps Komatsu, and Toriko still needs to go into the Gourmet World in order to retrieve his combo partner from Gourmet Corp. But Midora never used his Meteor Spice technique. See, I absolutely disliked the manga after the time skip happened, so in this fic I'm doing what I want and ignoring it lol. And, I go by the Viz Media English translation of the manga.,- Takimaru goes back to Simple Diet Hill and helps with Cooking Island cleanup. Toriko and Komatsu come back from the Gourmet World and start making trips there with the other Kings. The world isn't destroyed so they're looking for Acacia's full course on their own time. Teppei is rescued from NEO by Jirou. Just disregard all of the NEO/Gourmet Corp/GOD drama, that's Toriko's shtick and won't affect this story.,- Takimaru goes to work as a liaison between the Gourmet Mafia and the IGO in order to get Nerg City and Jiddal Kingdom back on their feet. He makes small trips back to Simple Diet Hill and asks Aimaru to officially assign him to this endeavour.,- Same as year two.,YEAR FOUR- From May until October it's the same as year two and three. From December until April Takimaru goes to Life to work with Teppei and some of the younger generation of Gourmet Revivers who have expressed an interest in trying to revive Nerg and Jiddal's lost ecosystems. The IGO attempts a Cooking Fest on its usual date but the repairs to Cooking Island aren't done yet, so they hold a sort of honorary fest to acknowledge the lives lost.,YEAR FIVE- Takimaru spends his time travelling between Life, Nerg, and Simple Diet Hill.,- From about May to August Takimaru does as he did in year five. Come September he moves back to Simple Diet Hill for a time b/c Match made him take a break, and the beginning of October is when Harry shows up., Chapter one is in October, about five and a half years after the Cooking Fest Arc, and the Meteor Spice and the time skip never happened.

It has been a couple of months after the war in the Wizardry World in England and Abby was being hunted by the British Magical Community, because the rest of her so called family made sure that everyone believed that she was the next Dark Lord or Lady. All because they found out that it was her that was the Chosen One, not her brother, James Jr. Thankfully, the American Magical Ministry did not believe that load of crap and they gave her citizenship when they heard that she was being hunted down for ending their war.,So now Abby is living in Sacramento, California and has a job at the local bookstore. She always did have a love for books as they were her only friend during her time in England. The war took a lot from her, like her friends Luna and Neville; sure they were alive and did not believe the lies that were about her. But she would never be able to see them again. And also during the last battle, Tom made sure that he left his mark on her to remind her about him. He had damaged her left leg to the point that she would be forever walking with a cane. Draco who became her friend when she saved his family's life at one point gave her, his father's cane with Lucius' permission.,For the last couple of days, Abby has been feeling like she was being watched and followed, but whenever she tries to figure out who it is, there was no one in sight or around. The local gang thought she was being paranoid, since they knew of her past and how she was involved with the war as they too, were magical. But they still kept an eye out in case, she was right.,It started when she was working the bookstore, a man who was in his late thirties or early forties, came up and bought several books and they chatted for a bit, before he took off. His name was Kent, just Kent. She got no last name. But there was something odd about him, but she did not know what and that got her warily about him. He was nice and stuff like that. He even invited her out for coffee sometime later on. She just told that she will have to see as it was not easy for her to get around. When he was about to say something, a customer asked if their order was in. She grabbed her cane and walked to the back of the store and got the order. When she had came back, Kent was gone. She just shrugged it off as she thought that he had to go somewhere important or that he was late for his job.,After she had closed the store up for the day and she was walking back to her apartment. When she suddenly had a feeling like she was being followed. But she could not see or find out who was following her. And it was driving her crazy as she thought it was someone from England looking for her, but the magical government promised to inform her if there were any British wizards coming to her area. And also they would have tried to kill her immediately.,So far everything was going good for her and she was beginning to heal from the war and her past.,When he first saw her, sitting on a stool in the bookstore, he thought she was the most beautiful woman that he ever saw. And he saw a lot. But this one was different; she did not wear makeup like those other slut did. Far as he could tell, she only wears lip gloss. He had to go in there and meet her. So he went into the store and looked around and found some books that looked to be interesting to read.,As she was checking out the books that he brought up, he found out that she was from England. He also saw the scars on her neck and arms like she has been in a fight or a war. He did read about the attacks that were going on in England. But from what she looks like, she must have been caught in the crossfire of one of those attacks and survived.,Her name was Abby that was a nice name for someone like her. He invited her for coffee on a later date. She said that she will have to see as it was not easy for her to get around. He was about to ask her why, when a woman asked if her order was in yet or not. Boy was he in for a shock when a cane with a snake's head for the handle made an appearance and he found out his answer to why she could not get around easily.,Then the woman started to flirt with him and even said that he wanted a real hard working woman to talk to, that he should go out with her. She even gave him, her name and phone number. He had to leave, but he did take her phone number, because he will have to deal with her later on and show her that it was not right to insult someone like Abby who was prettier than her.,So he left, but he intended to come back later when Abby closes down the store and he will follow her to where she is living. At eight o'clock, he was sitting in his black Honda, when he saw her locking the door. Carefully, following her, he noticed that she knew that she was being followed by someone as she was looking around warily. He frowned at what he saw, no woman should be that aware of their surroundings like she was. And by the way her body was tense; it looked like she was expecting to be attack or something.,Then it added up, the scars, her leg and cane, and her awareness, she was somehow involved with the terrorist's attacks in Britain. He was about to jump out of his car when he saw a local gang member walk up to and another member following him. They were laughing; he watched how her face lit up and how she looked so care free. Suddenly, her face got serious as she said something to them and they frowned and started to look around for something or someone. They escorted her to the apartment building; he counted the men that were standing in front of the building. It was all the members that belong to the Wolf Pack Gang.,He frowned as thought of everything that he knew about the Wolf Pack Gang. They were nine members, very protective of their turf, and very fierce when fighting that the other gangs leave them alone as they were very dangerous when angered. What was Abby doing with those type of people? They all live in the same apartment building which has ten apartments in it. She couldn't be one of them as it was known it was all men gang and there were no females in it.,But at least he knew where she lived, maybe if he played his cards right. She will probably fall for him with in due time. He looked in his mirror and wondered who would not fall for him. Sure he was around forty-two years old and she looked about to be twenty-two, but there was a saying that age does not count when it comes to love. He was very good looking, he kept in shape, he has to be for his extra project like the one he is going to do later tonight, he was smart, well off, and could take care of Abby and treat her like she should be treated. There was no way that Abby won't fall in love with him.,Well, he better be off, he still has to teach this Emily Smith a lesson or two that she will never forget.,It has been several days since she felt like she was being followed. She was glad who ever it was, had stop. It was around noon and soon it was going to be lunch break. Vic just left after making sure that she was doing alright and that she was safe. He always trusted her gut feeling when something was about to happen. Vic was the alpha of his werewolf pack, the Wolf Pack Gang. There were a total of nine members or ten if you count her. After a few days after she moved into their apartment building, they finally accepted her as one of their own. It did help that she had a wolf Animagus form, so that whenever there was a full moon, she could travel with them in her form and not get hurt.,Since she told them that she believed that she was being followed, Vic and the others took it upon themselves to walk her to and from work or to where ever she needed to go, in case that the stalker took it to the next level.,The last customer left when a blonde hair man who seemed to smile a lot came in with a serious looking brunette woman.,Smiling to them as they came up to the counter, she said, "Hello, welcome to Past Time Bookstore. How may I help you?",The man smiled back and said, "Hello, I'm Patrick Jane and this is Agent Teresa Lisbon and we are from the CBI and we would like to ask you a few questions. If that is alright with you, Miss…?","Oh, right. I'm Abby Potter. No, I don't mind if you ask me questions. Go right ahead," Abby replied as she introduced herself.,"Those are some interesting scars that you have on your arms and neck. I take it from your accent that you are British, but somehow was caught up in the cross fire in one of the terrorists' attacks back in England. Am I right?" Jane asked with a smile on his face.,Agent Lisbon watched how Abby's face suddenly became worn looking and a tired look in her eyes that should not be there in someone as young as Abby. It was the same look whenever someone mentions Jane's family to Jane. It was the same haunted look as Jane whenever Red John shows up on their radar.,Abby sighed as she told them, "I wasn't caught in the crossfire of the attacks. I was involved in the attacks trying to stop them from hurting and killing more people. It was like a war was going on. I have too much death and blood to not be war. I fought against the terrorists for several years now and these scars are the result from those attacks. I had to move away from the pain and memories of that place.","Interesting," Jane said as he nodded before wandering off to look at something.,Agent Lisbon pulled out a picture and handed it to her as she asked, "Do you know this woman?",Abby frowned as she studied the picture, she answered, "Yes, I know her. Emily Smith was in here a few days ago to pick up an order. What happened to her?","She was murdered a few days ago by a copy cat killer," Jane said immediately.,Abby felt her eyes go wide when she heard that the woman was killed on the same day that she was being followed.,"Did you see anything strange or unusual when she came to pick up her books, Miss Potter?" Agent Lisbon asked.,"No, but when I locked up the store that night and started heading to my apartment, I felt like I was being followed by someone, but I could not find or see who it was that was following me. I'm sorry that I couldn't be any more help," Abby said.,"That's alright. Thanks for your time," Jane told her.,They were about to leave when she spoke up, "Wait, I remembered something when she was in here to pick up her books. There was a man who was in here at the same time as she was. He told me that his name was Kent, but he did not give me his last name. But there was something off about him. I maybe paranoid from what happened in England, but I would know if my gut told me that something was wrong.",Jane asked with curiosity, "Can you describe him?",Abby nodded as she began to describe him, "Late thirties or early forties. A little bit of gray in his hair. Good looking. It looks like he works out often. He was almost six feet tall. Nicely dress. I say he weigh about almost two hundred pounds. But like I said before, I had a gut feeling that he was not all that he seemed to be. When I got back with her books, he was gone and she looked disappointed. I believe that she had flirted with him or something that would chase him off.",Agent Lisbon smiled and said, "Thanks for your help. I hope that you have a nice day.","Yes, have a nice day, Abby and take care of yourself," Jane waved goodbye.,Abby waved goodbye and watched them leave in their vehicle. She did not notice the blush on Jane's face when she waved goodbye to him, but Agent Lisbon did.,Once, Jane and Lisbon was in the vehicle, Lisbon had to ask, "So, Jane what was with that blush on your face when Abby wave goodbye to you?","What blush? I wasn't blushing," Jane replied.,Lisbon rolled her eyes at his behavior and denial. She knew that he refuses to love anyone else since his late wife and daughter, but she knew that Jane liked Abby.,Kent saw that Patrick Jane and Agent Lisbon was talking to Abby, he saw the haunted look on her face when Jane said something. Taking out his camera, he took a close up picture of Jane leaning towards Abby while they talked. But when they left, he noticed the blush on Jane's face. Interesting. He wondered what would happen when Jane receives a letter from Red John with a certain picture in it. That would be fun to watch.,(Scene Break),It was getting late and it has been two days since Jane and Lisbon visited Abby at the bookstore. Jane just could not get her out of his mind. She was very interesting to be around. Plus, Lisbon told everyone in CBI that he had a crush on a young woman named Abby Potter, so almost everyone took to teasing him about her.,"Excuse me; is one of you named Patrick Jane, here?" A teenage boy asked.,Jane stood up from his usual spot on the couch and walked over to the boy, and said, "That would be me.",The boy shifted around for a second, before holding out a letter and told Jane, "I was told to give this to you, Mr. Jane.","Thank you, young man," Jane opened the letter when the young boy left. He saw what was in the envelope; he lost all color to his face.,"Who is it from, Jane?" Cho asked as he was the closest to Jane.,Jane looked scared as he said, "Its from Red John.","WHAT!" Lisbon yelled.,Jane handed her the letter, before sitting down on the couch with his hands covering his face. Lisbon looked and saw it was a picture of Jane, Lisbon, and Abby Potter talking, but Jane was leaning towards Abby. With the picture, there was a note with something type on it. It read:,"Well, damn," Lisbon said as she continued to stare at the letter and study the symbol of Red John.

Harry's brother James is declared the boy-who-lived. Lily and James ignore Harry but James Jr doesn't they heard they were going to be split up. So they run away to Gringotts to find a place to hide where they find their true families and inheritance…Potter/Weasley/Dumbledore Bashing…Harry/Harem…Nice Malfoy's, Lestrange's, Death Eaters and Twins,Harry had been pushed aside by the Potter's all but his twin Jamie. Since that Halloween night be had been abused and ignored. But Jamie had always been there for him. Dumbledore had told everyone Jamie was the boy who-lived but Harry was the one.,Harry and Jamie walk down the stairs they were 5 years-old. They could heard voices talking. They hide to listen.,"We need to get that brat out of here for James Jr's sake Albus! James Jr will go nowhere without that little brat", Lily says,"The brat is ungrateful little shit", James says,"He will corrupt James Jr", Sirius says,"They are getting ridiculous with how clingy they are", Remus adds,"Calm we will take Harry away then we can all concentrate on James Jr. We will send him to an orphanage", Dumbledore says, "I know a orphanage that will beat him and get him out of our lives. Tomorrow we will get him out of here",Harry had tears in his eyes. Jamie takes his brothers hand and takes them to his bedroom.,"They are going to send me away Jamie", Harry cries,"We will think of something Harry. I promise", Jamie says,That night Harry got a broken arm from James. Jamie had enough. His brother was innocent.,"Harry?" Jamie asks getting into his brothers room,"Jamie?" Harry asks cradling his broken arm,"Yes. We are leaving", Jamie says packing a few things of Harry's,"Where will we go?" Harry asks,"The Goblins should help us", Jamie says,"Maybe Lofty will take us there", Harry suggest,Lofty had been accidentally freed by Jamie tricking his Dad. Lofty had bonded to the two children.,"Lofty!" Jamie calls,Lofty appears quickly,"What can Lofty do for Masters James and Harry?" Lofty asks,"Please take us to Gringotts", Harry says cradling his arm,"Your leaving?" Lofty asks,"Yes they are getting rid of Harry in the morning", Jamie says,Lofty gasps, "Lofty will take you and stay with you",Harry and Jamie take Lofty's hand and they disappear from Potter Manor and appear at the bank.,"Excuse me Master Teller we need to speak to Lord Ragnok. We are the Potter children", Harry says,The goblins eyes widen.,"Right this way", the goblin says,They follow and the goblin opens the golden doors to Lord Ragnok's office.,"My Lord the Potter children are here", the goblin says,"I am Harry", Harry says,"I am James", Jamie says,"I am Lord Ragnok how may I help you two youngsters?" Ragnok asks,"James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Dumbledore were going to get rid of Harry", Jamie says, "They even beat him","We are wondering if we can find a property to hide in", Harry adds,"We will do a test for any titles you can have and if any family members are alive", Ragnok says pulling out parchment, "I need 7 drops of blood. Who first?","I'll go", Harry says taking out his hand that wasn't broken,"Is there something wrong?" Ragnok says concerned for the little boy,"I have a broken arm", Harry says,"Who gave it too you?" Ragnok asks,"James Potter", Harry says,"We will see to the arm after the test. I will cut your palm", Ragnok says,Ragnok cuts Harry's hand and lets 7 drops of blood fall. He chants and names appear and he was shocked. Ragnok was in shock about what Harry's test shows.,"You are adopted. This is your true heritage", Ragnok says handing over the parchment,Harry takes it and Jamie looks at it and was in shock as well.,1. Fredrick Fabian Prewett (1978) (Used to be Fred Weasley),2. Viktor Krum (1976),3. Fleur Delacour (1977),4. Daniel Greyback (1980),5. Cassiopeia Lestrange (1980),6. Delphini Malfoy (1980),7. Luna Lovegood (1981),8. Padma Patil (1980),9. Su Li (1980),10. Selena Snape (1980),11. Lilith Moon (1980),12. Susan Bones (1980),13. Blaise Zabini (1980),14. Theodora Nott (1980),15. Hermione Granger (1979),16. Mandy Brocklehurst (1980),17. Cedric Diggory (1977),18. Isobel MacDougal (1980),19. Zara Longbottom (1980),20. Tracey Davis (1980),21. Talia Ziva David-Malfoy (1980),22. Violette de Stella (Fae) (1980),23. Saga Dunbar (1980),24. Zoe Perks (1980),25. Soleil McKinnon-Greyback (1980),26. Sparrow Scamander (1980),27. Ryder Kowalski (1980),28. Ryuga Fenwick (1980),29. Cyprus Avery (1980),30. Venice Marchbanks (1980),31. Solace Fawley (1980),32. Alaska Fawley (1980),Harry was shocked he had a family and this said they were alive! He had so many questions. Jamie looked at Harry in shock but Harry was still his brother no matter what.,"You have 32 people to marry brother you will be happy", Jamie says,"You go", Harry says to his brother,Jamie cuts his palm and drops 7 drops of blood onto the parchment Ragnok had and a lot of names appear.,1. George Prewett (1978) (Used to be George Weasley),2. Draco Malfoy (1980),3. Astra Lestrange (1981),4. Chole Lexington (1980),5. Lucretia Prewett (1980),6. Selene Snape (1980),7. Seraphina Bones (1980),8. Gemini Black (1980),9. Elizabeth Longbottom (1980),10. Tracey Davis (1980),11. Victoria Granger (1980),12. Theodore Nott (1980),13. Fay Dunbar (1980),14. Megan Jones (1980),15. Matthew Moon (1981),16. Jacob Kowalski III (1980),"Wow. I am royalty too", Jamie says,"You have siblings too", Harry says,"We will always be brothers", Jamie says hugging Harry,"Always", Harry says,"I have sent a message too your parents they should be here soon", Ragnok says,"Can you call us Nicholas and Sebastian?" Nicholas asks,"Of course", Ragnok replies, "Now let us get all the blocks off you",Alexandra was with her best friends Isabella Windsor, the Lexington sisters, Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy, Victoria Malfoy-Prewett (Whose son had been stolen), Belinda Lexington-Prewett (Whose son had been stolen), Dorcas Meadows-Lexington, Louisa Noble-Abbott, Paula McKinnon-Greyback, Lisa Moon, and the Bones's, Mary Abbott-Bones, and Sarah Dixon-Bones.,Alexandra and Isabella had been stricken with grief when Nicholas and Sebastian had died but they didn't believe it they felt in their hearts that their children where alive. Alexandra had more children and Isabella had one more before her husband disappeared.,Alexandra was leaving for the Magical Royal Romanov Estate with her husband and children. Isabella was going to visit her mother and siblings.,Suddenly a owl comes to Alexandra and Isabella. They take the letter off the owl.,',Alexandra and Isabella looked shocked their children were alive and at Gringotts. The others all look happy for them.,"Lets get my husband and we will floo there immediately. We have to leave ladies", Alexandra says to everyone,"Go we understand. Bring those boys home", Bellatrix says,Alexandra and Isabella hurry inside and up the stairs to Lord Gryffindor's office. They barge in and Edward stands up looking at his wife's and friends face.,"What is it?" Edward asks,"Nicholas is alive and so is Sebastian", Alexandra says showing her husband the letter,Edward was speechless his firstborn was alive and so was his nephew.,"Lets floo to Gringotts", Alexandra asks, "I want to see my son now","So do I", Isabella says,Edward nods and light the fire. Alexandra flings the floo powder in the fireplace and they floo to Gringotts King Ragnok Battleaxe's room.,They see the two children immediately. Both Alexandra and Isabella had tears in their eyes.,"Nicholas?" Alexandra asks,"Mummy?" Nicholas/Harry asks,"Oh my little lion", Alexandra says kneeling down in time to catch her son and hug him tightly,Edward kneels down and hugs both his wife and son.,"Mummy?" Sebastian asks Isabella,"My Sebastian, My snakeling", Isabella says kneeling down and catching her son,"My Mummy", Sebastian says hugging her tight with tears,"Daddy?" Nicholas asks the man hugging him and his Mummy,"Yes I am my cub", Edward says,Nicholas cuddles into his parents finally feeling loved.,"Where were you?" Alexandra asks,"The Potters Mummy", Nicholas says,"They ignored Harry I mean Nicholas after Daddy attacked us. They thought I was the boy-who-lived. But Nicholas was", Sebastian says in Isabella's arms,"Daddy didn't mean to attack you both. He would never. We think someone used imperio on him", Isabella replies,"I believe you Mummy", Sebastian says,"What else did the Potters do?" Edward asks,"They would hit me. As well as ignoring me. Dumbledore wanted to train Sebastian to killed Uncle Tom. Sirius and Remus ignored us too", Nicholas says,"Dumbledore, Black, Lupin and the Potters will pay my son", Alexandra says hugging her son,"In time son they will pay the price", Edward says,"This is the paper work that has their blocks on it", King Ragnok says,Isabella, Alexandra and Edward look are were furious their sons had the blocks on. They also saw where Gideon and Fabian's children were they would get them back once they tell Gideon and Belinda and Fabian and Victoria.,"Are the blocks removed?" Alexandra asks,"Yes My Queen they are now. Done before you reached here", King Ragnok replies,"Lets go home", Alexandra says,"Thank you. You have the support of my family. We are in your debt", Edward says,"Thank you King Ragnok", Alexandra says with a nod of respect to the King Goblin,"Thank you and you also have the support of my family", Isabella says,"Thank you", Nicholas and Sebastian say,"May your enemies tremble before you", King Ragnok says,"May your vaults overflow with blood", Edward says with a nod,They move into the floo and go to the Founders Keep both children look around in amazement. They were introduced to their families, and their betroths. And they knew that now they had a loving family and someday they would have to deal with the Potters and Dumbledore…,Gideon and Fabian had now found where their sons were. They couldn't believe their sister stole them now they were stealing them back. Their wives were waiting for them at Founders Keep. They sneak into the house and use a point-me spell to find their children's rooms. They enter and their children looked at their with wide eyes.,"Who are you?" one asks,"How did you get in here?" asks the other,"We will tell you who we are when you do", Fabian says,"I am Forge or Fred", Fred says,"And I am Gred or George", George says,"We are twins", they say together,"We are Gideon and Fabian Prewett. I am your father Fred", Fabian says,"I am your father George", Gideon says,"But we are twins!...","…and we are Weasley's","We will explain", Fabian says,They did and Fred and George were shocked.,"We aren't twins?" Fred asks sadly,"You are. You were born on the same day just minutes apart by your mothers. We would like to take you with us now", Gideon says,"We will come", George says,"We feel like we don't belong here", Fred says,"Lets pack your stuff", Fabian says with a wave of his wand,They sneak back out of the house with their sons. They take their hands and apparate them to Founders Keep the boys stare at it is awe. Two women were waiting for them with four children.,"My son. I am Victoria Malfoy-Prewett", Victoria Malfoy-Prewett says pulling Fred into her arms,"My son. I am Belinda Lexington-Prewett", Belinda Lexington-Prewett says pulling George into his arms,"Your my Mum?" Fred asks,"Yes my darling. These are your siblings Lucretia Victoria and Ignatius Fabian", Victoria says,"And George these are your siblings Ignotus Gideon and Sarah Louise", Belinda says,They say hi and they go inside to be greeted by the others. Fred and George found out their were betrothed to Nicolaus and Sebastian who they found out had been Harry and Jamie Potter.,Soon all of them went to bed for the night exhausted by all the drama of the day…,Lily Potter walks up the stairs she was going to make sure Jamie was sleep so they could get rid of the little brat that was a bastard in their lives. She opens the door and sees her son not in his bed. She swears and goes to the bastards room. When she couldn't find them. She went back to Jamie's room and found his backpack gone and a few clothes.,"JAMES!" Lily screams,James runs up the stairs.,"What is it Lils?" James asks,"Jamie is gone", Lily says crying,"He has to be here somewhere. Tofy!" Harry calls,Tofy appears before the two Potters.,"Yes Master what can Tofy do for you?" Tofy asks,"Get all the house elves searching for Jamie in the Manor. He must be here somewhere", James says,"Tofy will", Tofy says disappearing,"The bastard is gone too", Lily says,"I swear that if the bastard hurt our Jamie I will hurt him", James says,They both help the elves search the manor with Sirius and Remus that James had floo called. They couldn't find Jamie.,"He is nots here Master. Tofy and the others can't find Master Jamie and Master Harry", Tofy says,"We need to floo Dumbledore", James says to his crying wife,They floo Dumbledore and the search for Jamie Potter began and the next day also the search for George and Fred Wealey…

I own no rights to any of the material I am writing about. All right to Harry Potter belong to J. K. Rolwing and Baccano belongs to Ryogo Narita.,This is a magic AU, where almost all of the immortals are wizards and alchemy is a wizarding practice.,Chapter 1 - The Opportunity to start anew or The Boy Who Lived,After the defeat of You-Know-Who countless people, meeting in secret all across the country where saying cheer in hushed voices, "To Harry Potter, the boy who lived." Little did they know that for the next ten years was going to be a living hell for him.,Several years had passed since Dumbledore had since Harry to live with his family. Being the headmaster of his school he was always looking for ways to improve his school while continuing to learning himself. During his studying, he came across an old form of magic that wasn't used very often; Alchemy. Most wizards have either never heard of the alchemy or, in some cases, never even heard of it.,According to the book that he was reading, alchemy used both magic and the muggle practice of science. Since more that half of his students come from families where one parent is a muggle or sometimes is both are, it might be a good idea to have a subject like that.,With a deep sigh, Dumbledore closed the book and set it aside. If he wanted to make this a new class he would have to talk this over with his Headmistress, that is if he could even find a person that was qualified to teach such a class. He decided that he needed to sleep for the night and speak with McGonagall in the morning.,It was nearly noon when he had caught up with her to invite her for lunch. After he explained what he found out she asked, "Can we even find a professor for this subject? It's such an uncommon practice." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "I plan to go to the Ministry next week, surely someone can point me in the right direction.",He soon found that there was very few people that new anything about alchemy. A few times the name of Maiza Avaro came up but no one seemed to know where to find him. There was also a great library in Italy that used to teach that subject but it claim that was outdated. There was an Avaro that was a student in that school nearly 300 years who escaped to America just before the town burned. He wondered if the Avaro's passed this form of magic down through the generations.,The next summer, just after the end of the school year, he decided to travel to America to visit Mr. Avaro. When he got the office in America, he immediately questioned the whereabouts of Mr. Avaro. He was told that Mr. Avaro ran a restaurant in New York. He decided to stay the night in a pub in New York and try to find him in the morning. He almost didn't want to relax quite yet. After all this time, he wanted to hope that this would be that last step to find a professor.,The sign for the restaurant read 'Alveare'. When Dumbledore walking in, he found the place was warm and lively. There were people of every age were enjoying themselves. The smell of honey was strong in the air. In the middle of the room there a large group of people surrounding two others that were telling a very animated story.,A young Chinese woman walked up to him and said in a very cheery voice, "Table for one?" Dumbledore stroked his beard and said, "I'm actually looking for someone. Is there a man named Mr. Avaro here?" She looked toward the direction of the kitchen before she said, "Please come with me l, sir.",She led him to a table and said, "Wait here for a moment, please." She gave him a quick bow and walked into the kitchen. While he was alone he looked around the room. This place was a bit odd. He had never been in a place like this. Some of the people were obviously wizards but others looked like they might be Muggles.,Before long, a young man came up and sat down across from him. He looked very clean cut, like a young business man. Thin glasses were perched on his nose.,"Mr. Avaro, I assume. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its a pleasure to meet you." said Dumbledore, extended his hand. The young man lightly grasped his hand but looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well," he said, taking his hand back and scratching the back of his head. "Ah, hello Mr. Dumbledore. I'm sorry to say that Maiza isn't here. My name is Firo Prochainezo. Perhaps I could help you instead.",Dumbledore had considered waiting for Mr. Avaro but didn't see any reason not to talk to this young man for now.,"May I ask what what business you have with Maiza?" he asked politely. Dumbledore considered not telling him but he saw no reason not to. "I had heard that he was a master of the art of alchemy and was hoping that he could, perhaps teach my students." Mr. Prochainezo rested his chin on his hand and said, "Ah, sorry, I can't help you 'cause I don't really know where he is right now. And its not like I really now very many other people that know alchemy, well besides me, and maybe Ronnie.",This peeked Dumbledore's interest. "You know about alchemy as well?" he asked. "Would you mind telling where you learned?" An impish smirked crossed Mr. Prochainezo's face. "Hehehe, I suppose that I could partially thank Maiza for it." When it was clear that he wasn't going to tell him any more, Dumbledore laced his fingers on the table and said, "How old are you, Mr. Prochainezo?" Mr. Prochainezo looked like he was going to laugh. "I'm older than I look." He answered vaguely.,While he was here, he decided to find out how much Mr. Prochainezo knew. "Speaking of alchemy, do you know anything about the emerald tablet?" Mr. Prochainezo looked down for a moment before saying. "Yeah, yeah, of course. That's the one of the foundations of alchemy." Dumbledore waited for him to continue. "Let's see, there were 15 things written on it. Ah, I believe that Isaac Newton was one of the people that translated that pretty well. Um, tis true without lying, certain and most true. This which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing. And as all things have been and arose from one by the meditation of one, so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.",While he was thinking, the young waitress came back and set drinks in front of them before leaving without a word. Dumbledore took a sip of it. It tasted like alcohol sweetened by honey.,At this point, Mr. Prochainezo had his eyes closed in concentration. There was a troubled look on his face. "The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse. Next is, the father of all perfection in the whole world is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth." Dumbledore was fairly impressed by his display. Even though he had been studying this subject he didn't remember all of them.,"Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, sweetly with great industry. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior." he continued, "By this, means you shall have the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Um, Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing. So was the world created. From this are and do come admirable adaptations where f the means, or process, is here in this. Hence I call Hermes, um, hold on, let me think. Oh, right, Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.",Mr. Prochainezo took a deep breath when he was finished. "My that was quite impressive." Congratulated Dumbledore. Mr. Prochainezo took a sip of his drink before saying, "Although, not everyone who studied this believes the same thing." "What do you mean by that?" asked Dumbledore. Mr. Prochainezo scratched his cheek and said, "Well, originally alchemy had been seeped in religion and some alchemists thought that they could summon a demon. Others believe that things like that are just hokuspokus. Its more or less a split between two different groups. Although, I suppose you could do a bit of both.",Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at him. "Your really are quite well versed in this subject." he stated. Mr. Prochainezo smiled and had a mixture of pride and slight embarrassment on his face. "I suppose I am." As he was saying this, a man that looked slightly older came up and stood behind him. "Firo," he said. Mr. Prochainezo turned around shapely and exclaimed, "Maiza! I didn't know you were going to be back already.","Ah, hello Mr. Avaro." said Dumbledore. "Its a pleasure to meet you. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Mr. Avaro smiled gently at him. He could see something mysterious behind his smile. "Ronnie had already told me the situation." he said, looking down at Mr. Prochainezo. He then turned to Dumbledore and said, "Firo may not seem very old but I can assure you that, he is more that qualified for the job.",Mr. Prochainezo looked surprised at this. "What are you talking about, Maiza?" "Exactly what I just said." he clapped him on the shoulder. "You know more about this subject that I do." Mr. Prochainezo bit his lip a bit. "I'm going to be in New York for a while, so take some time and think about it." Dumbledore offered. Mr. Avaro extended his hand and said, "Absolutely, we'll be in contact.",*******************************************************,In the novels, Firo wears fake glasses to make him look older.

To anyone who has read this story:,Hello, and I'm sorry.,To any new readers:,Welcome, and thanks for reading!,When I first published this back in 2016, I had no real plan for where it was going. And I, being an overexcitable 15 y/o, basically just started writing down whatever came to mind and then published it. Immediately afterward I started on the first chapter, and then two days later I decided it was really bad and basically forgot about it.,Recently, I was going through some old documents and came across this story again. I happen to have a few other fanfiction stories that I've been outlining in order to publish soon, but after rereading this, I decided that I needed to finish it first.,So I've spent some time now actually making an outline for this story and figuring out where I want it to go, and I'm excited to get started. Now, I won't make any promises about how often I will be able to get chapters out - as a high school senior who likes getting involved in lots of extra curriculars, I will be pretty busy during the coming school year - but I can say that I will have two things posted by the end of this month.,The first of these will be a revised prologue. Now that I have an idea of where this story is going, there are some things that need to be changed around in order to fit in with my ideas. I'm also going to do some extra proofreading, because ,. Younger me was ,good at editing.,I also have a rough draft of what the first chapter should look like, so that will be the second thing that I will post this month.,Again, I am sorry for making everyone wait so long for an update, however I do think that this will be a better story now than it would have been before.,Thank you to the people that commented on the last part, as those comments really helped to encourage me to pick this back up!,Thanks for reading this, and I'll see you all again soon! :D

Hey people! New story for all you readers. Hope you enjoy this crossover that no one thought of or continued.,Chapter 1: How it started…,Hi my names Seth Sorenson and I'm a shadow charmer. My sister Kendra usually gets all the attention but suddenly the attention was put on me when the demon Graculas (is that how you spell it?) turned made me become 11 years-old again.,You must be wondering why he did this huh? Well, I was going to kill him when he cast a spell that was supposed to kill me but instead made me 11. I can still age normally, its just that I have to start over from 11.,After all that commotion about closing the demons into one of the fairy realms (it think that's what its called) an owl came during the day in the middle of summer. I know its kinda weird that an owl would during the day when they are usually nocturnal but what made it even weirder was the fact that there was an envelope addressed to me. It said:,When I saw the address, I was … WTF! How do they know where I am! I quickly ran downstairs to tell Grandpa and even he was as shocked as I was. The letter had said:,I was shocked but also excited. I never knew anything more exciting could happen to me and I was later depressed because I knew Grandpa would say no. But instead when I asked him if I could go, he said yes! I was so happy that I immediately wrote back a response and gave it to the owl that was still hanging around. I couldn't wait until June 31st, just 15 more days until I leave and have another awesome adventure.,Okay. Lame start I know, but trust me, it WILL get better next chapter so just wait. Please update okay! :3

Once upon a time, there was a king named Stefan, who ruled a large and mighty kingdom.,And yet, he was sad, for he was growing old, and had no child to inherit the throne,,Then, happily, a daughter was born,,A princess,,and she was given the name Hermione,Kings and Queens came from all around to offer their gifts to the child,,Among them was the widowed Narcissa,,And her young son, Prince Draco.,It was then, that Stefan and Narcissa happened the same idea:,Draco and Hermione would be brought together each summer in hopes that they would fall in love,And join their kingdoms forever.,But unknown to all was another plan,,that of the evil enchanter, Voldemort.,Hermione's birth was of little concern to him, for he was preparing to take Stefan's kingdom by means of the forbidden arts.,On the eve of his assault, Stefan attacked, and Voldemort's powers were plunged to darkness.,Despite calls for his death, the enchanter was only banished.,Many feared King Stefan too kind,,But in time, the threat was forgotten,,And all hopes turned to that not-so-distant summer,when Draco and Hermione would meet.,"Oh here they come!" A herald yelled as he saw King Stefan and Princess Hermione and their guards approaching. Unfortunately, as he blew his horn, a nest of all things flew out of it. (I don't know why a NEST flies out of it. Could someone explain that please?),"Dear Narcissa, looking as lovely as ever!" King Stefan began, but was interrupted by the nest falling onto Narcissa's head and she looked up at it and said, "Oh, a nest!" and laughed, Stefan chuckling with her.,"And, who is this terrific young man? Prince Draco, no doubt!" He said, looking down at the platinum-haired young wizard, who seemed to be sulking.,"Welcome to our fair kingdom, dear Stefan and to you, dear princess." Narcissa said, looking at the young witch, who had brown frizzy hair, teeth that were slightly too big for her mouth, and was wearing pink robes.,-"Go on, Prince Draco!",-"Mother!","Hello, Princess Hermione, I'm very pleased to meet you." Draco said sarcastically, still sulking.,"Pleased to meet you, Prince Draco." Hermione replied, curtseying and looking annoyed as Draco ran back to Narcissa, who pushed him back over to her. He slowly raised Hermione's hand to his lips, looking like he was bracing himself. Hermione scrunched up her face and rubbed her hand on her robes as soon as Draco said "Yuck" and dropped it. ",Draco thought, looking alarmed as she glared at him and pulled her wand out of her robes. ", Hermione thought. ", He thought and they thought in unison, ","So glad for you to come!" Draco said, bowing slightly,"So happy to be here!" Hermione said, curtseying.,They crossed their arms, turned their backs on each other and thought, ","The children seem to get along well." Narcissa said, oblivious to said children dueling. Well, more like sending sparks at each other as they didn't know much real magic yet. "We'll join our lands if this arrangement clicks." Stefan said, stating the obvious, which Narcissa pointed out by saying, "My dear King Stefan, that's my point precisely! It's such good parenting and politics!" They shook hands and said, "So happy we agree, I think we've got a deal!","Draco's quite a catch!" Narcissa said cheerfully.,"This is my idea of a match!" They said together, catching the children and holding them away from each other as they tried to pummel each other. "And such fun!" Narcissa added.,For the next three months, the children fought and argued constantly about everything. Draco would tease Hermione about not doing too well on a broom and Hermione would mock Draco about having problems with charms. Needless to say, it was a very long three months and neither child was upset to see the other leave. They now dreaded the coming summer though.

They spent years together, fighting side by side, learning to love each other and becoming a family. Even When Setsuna F. Seiei had warmed up to them, his expression was still cold and harsh. There are times, when his lips would curl up into a sliver of a smile, and Tieria Erde, Allelujah Haptism, and Lockon Stratos, had lived for these moments. They were an unusual family, but still a good one. When you threaten a pack of wild dogs, they all suddenly feel the need to attack you, well, that's what the misters looked like. They gathered in front of Setsuna glaring at the three Throne pilots.,-Flashback Moments earlier-,The three new pilots enter through the doors, " Where's the pilot for Exia?" Nena Trinity asked, she looked to Tieria, " Is it you?"," No." He replied in his usual stoic Voice. The door slides open, and Setsuna floats in, "No, I am." Nena giggles floats up to Setsuna and whispers, " Your crazy and wild, I like you." Then she crushes her lips to his own. His eyes widen for a split second before narrowing into a glare. He pushed her off and growled, " Don't touch me!" He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and floated back towards the wall.,-End Flashback-,Lockon pulled out his gun and pointed a gun at the sibling pilots, " You bastards! Get off our ship!" He spit out harshly, his usually happy voice darkened with anger. The three misters glared at the siblings as they left.,"The nerve of that bitch! She stole Setsuna's first kiss! She had no right to do that! I thought first kisses were supposed to be important to girls!","Lockon! Calm down, right now we need to comfort Setsuna.","your right Allelujah." They looked over to where Setsuna was standing only to find him gone. "Where'd he go?"Lockon asked.,"He probably ran off while you were ranting.","Don't act like you don't care, Tieria. I saw your face, you were pissed off too.",Lockon left to find Setsuna, "Come on guys, I don't think it's a good idea to ;leave him alone after he was sexually harassed." He called over his shoulder as he walked away, he turned happy to see that they were following him.,They found Setsuna in his usual spot, gazing up at his Gundam Exia. Lockon walked up to him and laid a hand on the teens shoulder. Setsuna panicked and grabbed the Irish man's wrist and spun him into the railing with his wrist pinned between his shoulder blades. When Setsuna realized what had happened, he quickly released Lockon, his head hung low, bangs covering his eyes, "Sorry..." he didn't seem to know what else to say.,"That kiss really got to you didn't it? I never realized how important your first kiss-","No. T-t-that...It wasn't...It's not my first."Setsuna stuttered out the words, his eyes glossed over as if he was lost in a memory. "I wish it was... it would've been less... painful..." He stopped speaking, having nothing left to say. The other misters' eyes widened as they realized the meaning of those words. They gathered around him, Lockon drew him in for a hug, Allelujah rubbed soothing circles on his back, while Tieria laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. They stood like that until Setsuna fell asleep leaning heavily into Lockon's Side. Lockon carried him to his room and then left, plotting reveng on the Trinity Siblings.,Mrs. Sumeragi Called the Four Misters to the meeting room later that day, " We'll have to lay low until this thing with the Trinity siblings blows over."," I think we should trail them,we need to keep an eye on them, so that they don't do anything." They others nodded in agreement with Tieria's words. "Fine , Lockon, Tieria, and Setsuna, you three will head out to earth. Allelujah, you'll stay here with the Ptolemios.","Roger!" Came the simultaneous replay.,When the Pilates got to earth they received a message that the Thrones were heading out on a mission, Setsuna and the others headed out to watch the Thrones. They were a few hundred meters away when the siblings started attacking the civilian construction hangars. Before they could do any more damage, Setsuna attacked, not wanting to sit back and watch the destruction. Lockon and Tieria went in to back him up. "What in the world do you think you are doing?! Setsuna F. Seiei! Came the shocked voice of Johann trinity. Instead of answering, Setsuna simply attacked again. "you three are a disgrace to Celestial Being!" said Tieria. " You Don't know what it means to be a Gundam!" Setsuna Screamed. Setsuna attacked again and was in the middle of combat when the the Throne that he was fighting got shot down. Setsuna looked to his side and saw the Union Mobile Suits heading there way. Graham Aker was among them. They all attacked the remaining thrones but were unable to take them down. " You think that taking us out will do anything?! Lockon Stratos, you will soon be fighting amongst yourselves anyway. Considering the fact that the enemy that was involved with your family's deaths I right next to you." With that the Two Thrones Sped away. " Can you believe the nerve of that bastard! Accusing Setsuna of something like that! It's completely ridiculous!" He turned to Setsuna, who had remained silent like usual, but this time it felt different. "It's ridiculous right? Setsuna? Setsuna!" Setsuna sighed, " No,… It's true. The soup I was in was the KPSA, they had sent one of my comrades in as a suicide bomber..." He stopped speaking then, knowing that Lockon didn't want or need excuses and he had given all the information that was important to the situation. They Turned to leave but found themselves surrounded by Union Mobile Suits. " Well... that was awkward." Graham said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Setsuna Pulled out his sword, "Whoa there kid, we're not trying to fight. Just,... what happened between you Gundams?" Not wanting to answer or fight, Setsuna took off with the others following him.,It was late in the evening when the Meisters got back to the base. Lockon was not interacting with anyone, he wanted to be alone to think. He base was unusually quiet, none of the Meisters talked, not knowing exactly how top break the silence. " Do you hate me now?" Lockon looked down at Setsuna, he had spoken in his normal emotionless voice, but his eyes were slightly watered. Lockon was taken aback by the pain and uncertainty that filled his normally cold and hard eyes. " No."He sighed, " Look Setsuna, just...just give me some time to process what I heard okay?" Setsuna looked up at him, and the corners of his lips tilted upward into a small smile that made him look more sad than happy. He nodded and walked away, leaving a shocked Lockon starring at the place he was standing. Once Lockon had gathered his wits he took off to find the other Meisters. "Guys! I think I just saw Setsuna smile!" he shouted as he ran towards Allelujah and Tieria, but Setsuna was also there. Lockon blushed when he saw that Setsuna was there too. "What are you talking about?" asked Tieria "And since when did Setsuna smile anyways?"That was Allelujah. Lockon looked over to Setsuna, who was now back to his normal emotionless self. Setsuna has never smiled or shown any expression before, so that statement in itself is fairly unbelievable. " Yes, I suppose you can call that a smile." Setsuna smirked, he turned and left, leaving the others to stare in shock and confusion. They all headed to bed, needing rest from the stress filled day.,Ms. Sumeragi called the next morning to get a report on the situation. They told her about the encounter with the trinity siblings and how one of the Throne suits had been eliminated during the fight. They also mentioned the Unions involvement. They mentioned the fact that their files had been read. After they reported she told them to continue watching the other siblings, and reported on the status of the crew. They then left to look out for the Thrones again.,There wasn't any news on the siblings until they were spotted near Spain. Setsuna, being the closest at the time went to intercept them. Setsuna only took a few minutes to reach them, but one of the Pilates were preparing to shoot at the wedding below. He charged them, just as the other Gundam shot at it's target. He saw the red beam and changed his course. The beam his his back directly and trashed the solar reactor, Setsuna's Gundam exploded and sent him falling to the crowd below.,Setsuna woke up in a hospital room surrounded by AEU soldiers. He blinked a few times, then he tried to sit up, but pain shot through his body he groaned, making the people in the room notice that he was awake. One soldier rushed to help him sit up. There was some muffled yelling outside of the room, he had really hoped that whoever was yelling would not come into his room. His hopes were destroyed as the door slid open and a red head charged in. " My name is Patrick Colasour and..." he was cut off as his commander slapped the side of his head, and glared at him. Setsuna groaned at the noise, everything seemed to be still hurting. " What am I doing here? What happened? Where are the Gundams?" Setsuna asked, wanting to get some answers. "You are here because we're testing the damage left by the other Gundams, and the people you saved wished to thank you. As for the Gundams, Yours was destroyed, we were unable to salvage anything, the other Gundams got away before we were able to do anything." Setsuna really didn't feel like seeing anyone,but he nodded at her in acknowledgement.,"How long will I be staying here?","A few weeks,until you've had time to recover, and the people get to meet you. I don't get why you saved them though?","Wouldn't you have saved them too?","Yes, but I'm not s Gundam.","You seem to have the conception that I am a Cruel being." He chuckled, and then hissed at the pain. She stayed silent for a while, but then said, "Well, my name is Kati Mannequin, if you need anything just ask for me." He nodded at her and assumed the he had her approval. He watched her as she left the room taking the loud one with looked out the window and sighed, he lowered himself to the bed and fell asleep. the next time eh woke up there were a lot of new people in the room, he noticed that there was a familiar blond girl standing among them.,"Louise Halevy.","Setsuna?!","Do you know this young man Louise?","Yea mum, it's Saji's neighbor, Setsuna F. Seiei.","How are you?","I'm fine, thanks to you, but why did you save us?"," At first it was to save my view of what Celestial Being represents, but now I'm glad that I did save you, you are an important person to him and he is my friend, therefore I will do everything in my power to keep you safe too.",She smiled and hugged him, then whispered, "Thank you Setsuna. I really didn't want to die, and I thought I would when I saw the Gundams, your's included." He simply nodded and closed his eyes, before he fell asleep he felt a pair of lips against his forehead.,Two weeks later they moved Setsuna to the base Somewhere in England. They had decided to allow him to roam the base, due to his habit of leaving the cell and coming back after they had panicked and started searching for him. He found this amusing, but they could never tell. They never found out how he got out, not even Ali Al-Saachez who had known him from years before, he commented on how Setsuna had always did that,and that he had given up on tying to lock the boy up. So Setsuna would stay and wonder, at least until his team would rescue him, his morals kept him from running away. He was able to keep in contact with his allies, but never disclose the information he found. He said he wouldn't until they rescued him and they didn't complain about that, they knew and understood his morals, even though they thought it was insane.,After a couple of weeks or so at the base at heavyset man entered the base, there was a woman and two boys with him. The man had short sandy blond hair, had features similar to that of a whale. The woman was thin with a long neck and a horse like face that was pinched up into a scowl. The First boy was almost as fat as the man, but he looked to be about five. The Second boy was thin, not like the woman, but skin and bone kind of skinny. He had messy wild hair wide frightened green emerald eyes. He stood there and tried to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible.,"I'm Vernon Dursley, this is my wife Petunia, My Son Dudley, and that over there is the nephew over there." He gestured to each person as he spoke. They were lead into the conference room,leaving the small boy alone,looking lost. Setsuna saw this and frowned the boy noticed him and flinched, then shied away. Setsuna turned to Kati who was still there.,"Who are they? And What are they doing here?","They are the Dursley, horrible people, but the base get's it's arms from them.","How far do you think the commander will go to keep them as suppliers?","I think he's been trying to get rid of them,but they have a lot of information on us that we don't want getting out. Why?","I think I just found your way out.",She looked at him confused. He ignored this and went up to the small boy.,"Hello child, what's your name?","I don't know, I've never heard it." The boy spoke in barely a whisper. "Alright then, why don't we get you back before they notice your gone, yea?" The boy's eyes went wide and he nodded furiously. Setsuna held out his and for the little boy to take. The small hand reached up hesitantly,but then the child firmly grasped the offered hand. Setsuna led the boy too the meeting room, every one turned to Setsuna, who was standing in front of the boy so no one saw him rush too his family. Setsuna then briskly walked up to the General. "Please pretend that I belong here, I'll explain later." he whispered. The man nodded and continued the meeting signaling that Setsuna was allowed to be there.,"Mr. Dursley, we have been partners in this for a long time, but your prices are getting to far out of our budget, and people will start asking questions.","Do you think I care about that? I want my money! And you will continue this arrangement, or the public will find out about all of our more underhanded dealings, what do you say about that?","Well, if you give us the child, and cut off these dealings, the authorities won't find out about any of the child abuse or neglect." Setsuna finally spoke up. "I don't know what you are talking about,boy. My son is well treated.","Nobody said anything about your son, Mr. Dursley. I'm talking about your nephew,who's quivering in the corner over there.","There's nothing wrong with the way we are treating him!","Oh, and I suppose, you won't have anything to hide if we, let say, searched your house? And I assure you, we do have the right, if we suspect any child abuse or neglect. Oh, and if we did search,we would find the boy with a comfortable bedroom, and not under weight. And we wouldn't find any shoe shaped marks on his persons?" The man was turning red with rage. He stormed over to the small boy in the corner, took him by the hair and threw him over to Setsuna."Fine! Take the Freak! And all deals are off!" He took his wife and child and stormed out of the room. Setsuna laughed, "And I didn't even get to the part about checking to see if the boy is registered as a resident of that house! Ha! What a pathetic piece of shit!" He looked down to the boy and said, " don't worry you won't ever have to go back, I'll protect you from now on.",The others in the room looked at him, "Where did you get the information about the child abuse?","A shy child, clings to it's guardian to feel safe, the boy was not only terrified of the crowd, but never went within arms length of his guardians, which signals fear of them. Also he tried to stick to the shadows, and looked like he was about to faint when I brought attention to him. Oh, and child? I apologize for that. Oh, and the child doesn't know his own name. That was the biggest give away." They looked to Setsuna and the boy, who was now clinging to Setsuna's leg. Setsuna rubbed soothing circles an the boys back. He went down to his knees and looked the boy in the eyes. "I wish for you to stay with me, would you like that?" The boy's eyes went wide, he grinned and nodded his head enthusiastically. "Good, now how about a name? Damian Alec Reilly, Alexander Raziel Arkmen or Azriel Hadrian. Which would you like to be called?",The boy's eyes widened as he watched Setsuna, " I really get to choose?" he asked in a small voice. "Yes,you do, but if you want I could find your real name."," I would like to know my real name, but I want to choose one of yours.","Very well then." The boy yawned and Setsuna realized how late it had gotten." why don't we head to my room and you can go to sleep?"The boy yawned and nodded. Setsuna picked the boy up and noticed that he had gone tense. He calmed the child and walked to his room which was given to him to prevent him from sleeping on the roof. He put the child to bed and tucked him in before he exited the room. "Stay here and sleep, I'll be right back." Setsuna left the room and contacted Celestial Being informing them of what was going on, and that he intended to keep the child no matter what the decide. He ended the call, and when he got back to the room he saw that the boy was still sleeping, so he crawled into the bed careful not to wake the boy and fell asleep too.,The next morning, the little boy woke up first,but noticed that he was in a bed and not the cupboard,so he panicked and started thrashing around. He woke Setsuna up, who then tried to calm the boy down. After a few minutes Setsuna was able to calm the boy enough to be able to ask him why he had panicked.,"I'm sorry." he whispered his eyes teared up,but he didn't cry.," it's alright, there's nothing to be sorry for, now tell me what scared you.","I thought I was in my cupboard again, but then I realized I wasn't..." he started sniffling. " It's alright, you're safe now, and I am not letting you go back to those people." Setsuna looked at the boy who nodded at him. He pulled the small boy to him and held him close. They fell back asleep again.,The door to the room slid open as Kati Mannequin came in, Setsuna startled awake and grabbed his gun, then blindly shot in the direction out the door. Kati stopped short as the bullet grazed her cheek. The other people in the hall stopped to see what was going on. Setsuna looked and realized who was at the door his eyes widened a bit then returned to normal, "what are you doing in my room?","We Need to go get the adoption papers and also find his birth name you'll need it in order to change his name." With that she turned in her heel and left. He sighed and fell back in his pillow before getting up and gently shaking the little boy beside him boy blinked up at him before giving him a small smile then he yawned and rubbed the last bit of sleep for his eyes. "We should get up, I'm adopting you today." the child's smile grew wider and he nodded vigorously before jumping up from the bed running to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Setsuna chuckled and followed him at a more leisurely pace.,They met up with Kati in the conference room where they found out that the boy's name was Harry Potter, the was little information his father they only thing that was clear was that his name was James Potter. His mother on the other hand had information up until she was 11. Her name was Lily Evans. Harry's aunt was from his mother's side and both grandparents are deceased. He had no living relatives aside from his aunt who prove to be unfit in raising him. They were able to pull up pictures of both of his parents who looked like respectable people. Setsuna turned to Harry, "So, now we know your birth name, would you like to keep it, or change it to something else?","I really don't want to keep it. I mean I want to remember my parents but the name somehow also reminds me of the Dursley's.",Setsuna smiled at the small boy in front of him, " You don't have to keep the name in order to remember your parents. Just keep them in your thoughts and in your heart." the little boy nodded and wandered off to think about what name he wanted.,The boy came back some time later with an air of confidence that he hadn't had before. He looked up to Setsuna, " I chose the name Azriel Hadrian." He looked up to Setsuna and smiled. "That's great, now I can adopt you officially and get you enrolled in school. Your turning Five in a month, July 30th so you'll need to go." They went to Kati who had set up a time for them to get the papers for the adoption, and the ones fore the name change. After that was done they went to enroll Azriel into a school.,Later that evening while Azriel was asleep, Setsuna was contacted by Celestial Being. "I don't think I can go back to Celestial Being.","Setsuna we have the resources to get you back up into space and you can take the child with you." Tieria reasoned. "I know but, I just got him enrolled in school and adopted him, I don't want him around so much fighting anyways." Setsuna replied "We can teach him here, there isn't much we can do about the fighting. We can keep him safe though. Please just think about it.","Alright, but I'll ask Azriel what he wants, and if he says no then it's no.","Fine, that will work I guess, but please just think about it okay?"," Yeah I will." Setsuna ended the call and got into bed and fell asleep cuddling Azriel.,Setsuna had just finished enrolling Azriel into a school when they had decided to get book for him to read before he starts. They had just gotten back when suddenly there was multiple cracking sounds as men in black cloaks and white masks appeared out of nowhere. One of them grabbed Azriel, but before he could do anything Setsuna pulled out a gun and shot the person's head, the person fell back dead as Azriel ran back to his father. "Who are you and what do you want with us." Setsuna asked. "Nothing that concerns you muggle!" one of the masked figures shouted. "You tried to kidnap my son, you made it concern me.",They didn't say anything as a group of new people appeared. They started throwing around spells hitting random people. At the end a handful of the black cloaked people, all of the non-magical people who had the sense to duck behind what they could, and most of the last group. "Now, who are you people?" Setsuna asked once again. "We are the order of the Phoenix. We came here to take Harry potter back to his aunt so that he can be safe." said an old man. Setsuna glared at the man, "safe? You think that that house was safe?! Safe from who? Cause he definitely wasn't safe from his uncle or his cousin! who do you think you are putting in a place like that? Did you even bother to check to see how he was doing? No, Azriel will be staying with me, there is no longer a Harry potter, this is my son Azriel Hadrian.","How can you protect him you just a muggle?" some other person called out. Setsuna pointed to one of the bodies "see that body there he tried to take my son, I did that to him. I can protect my son if that includes you people then so be it.","We mean you no harm we just wish to keep the boy safe." the old man tried again. "And he will be. We're done here.",As setsuna turned the old man raised his wand, "I'm sorry my boy, but you leave me no choice." he wave his wand " oblit…" he was cut of when Setsuna raised his gun and pulled the trigger. the old man dropped his wand and clutched at hie shoulder. "Now, the next time I won't miss your head."The old man picked up his wand cast a healing spell. They turnded to setsuna mouths open in shock. "Dad, what's a muggle?" Azriel asked "It's the European term for non-paranormal people." Satsuna answered. "How do you know about the wizarding world?"The old man asked. Setsuna looked at the old man, " Headmaster Dumbldore do you really think that your magical community had hidden anything on your own? Do you not realize how much of your world is hidden by the mon magic govnment?","We have spells the repel muggles-","Arrogance like that will end your race." Setsuna cut him off coldly "That's besides the point, my son will be safer with me, I don't need blood wards to keep him safe. He turned picked up Azriel and walked away, "Escort these men out, if they come here again I will eliminate them as a threat. with that he left the room to talk to Azriel.,"Hey Azi, do you remember when I mentioned the Gundams and celestail being?","Yes Dad.","Would you like to come with me to meet them? And Would you like to stay with them?","Okay Dad, as long as we stay together." Setsuna smiled and hugged his son.,That night Setsuna called Tieria again and asked him to pick them up. "Azi? Tomorrow we will be meeting with celestial being and we'll see what we'll do from there.","Okay dad.",They both went to bed early and Setsuna set the alarm for 6 the next day. Setsuna was the first to wake, he woke up Azriel, " Azi? let's go." He looked up at Setsuna rubbing the sleep from his eyes and nodded. Setsuna picked Azriel up and left the base to meet with they got to the park lockon was already there waiting for them. He smiled when he saw Setsuna."Hey Setsuna, how have you been?","Okay, this is Azi." He said as he set Azriel down. The little boy looked up shyly and gave a small wave. Lockon laughed as he ruffled Azriel's hair which caused the boy to pout. "Azi why don't you go play while we talk." Azriel nodded and ran to play with the other kids on the playground."He's a cute kid.","I don't know what to do,we were attacked yesterday by some people who wanted Azriel." he paused for a moment, "I don't want him up in space he needs to be social, I can't isolate him from the world.","Then stay." Setsuna looked shocked. Lockon laughed, "we won't force you to go, do what's best for the kid.","I don't know what's best for him, I want him safe! And I don't think I can to that if we stay down here, but with his schooling and he need to make friends his age, what do I do?","Woah that's the most I've ever heard you speak.","Lockon.","Okay, okay, but honestly what do you want me to say? If he goes with us he'll have to keep it a secret Whenever he does come back down, and that's not good for a kid. And can you really be sure that he will be safe in space? With our job he might not be. As for school I'm sure that we each can teach him something. I know you've thought about all of this, but the question is, can he live up in space?" Setsuna stayed silent, looked over to where Azriel was playing, and said with a sigh, " Yes he can, but… I don't know if I want him to. He's agreed that he'll do as I say as long as we're together… alright let's go, if it doesn't we can always come back down.",Lockon smiled and Setsuna called Azriel over to the car and they headed to the orbital elevator. Azriel had fallen asleep on the train ride and had awoken when they reached Ptolemy. Setsuna Smiled as they were greeted by the crew. Ms. Sumeragi came up and said, " welcome back Setsuna, how have you been and where is this son of yours I've been hearing about? " Setsuna looked behind him as Azriel poked his head out from behind his legs with a shy little smile and a small wave. Ms. Sumeragi laughed loudly at this, which made Ariel duck behind Setsuna's legs again. She laughed again and said, " he's adorable! I've never met such a cute little boy!","Awww Let me see him!" Screamed Cristina. Setsuna sighed and picked up Azriel who was startled by the sudden loud noises, being so used to Setsuna being able to keep everyone else from shouting. " Alright everyone settle down, you're scaring Azi." He looked at the little boy in his arms and whispered calming words to his son, before saying out loud, "Everyone this is my son Azriel Hadrian. Azi these people are my family and they are going to be yours too." he looked to everyone to introduce themselves.,"I'm Sumeragi Lee Noriega, but call me ms. Sumeragi.","I'm Cristina Sierra, call me chris.","Lockon Stratos, but just call me lockon.","I'm Allelujah Haptism, feel free to call me Alle.","Tieria Erde.","I'm Feldt.","I'm Lasse.","I'm Lichty.","The names Ian, nice to meetcha kid."," Hello, I'm Azriel, nice to meet you all, daddy likes to call me Azi and if it's okay with him I would like for you to call me that as well." He said quietly,"Azi it's your name you can have people call you whatever you'd like.",Azriel nodded and smiled widely " Please call me Azi then.",After meeting with the crew, setsuna tucked Azriel into bed he asked, "what do you think of everyone?","There very kind, but sourta loud, it's a bit scary meeting new people, since there your family I believe I will be fine.","That's good, I was worried that you wouldn't like them."," what would we do if I didn't?","I would ask you to try to get to know them for a few days, and if you still didn't, then we would go back down to earth." Azriel nodded and pulled the blanket of his shoulder and snuggled further into the bed before falling asleep.,Setsuna left and met up with the others."What do we do now?... I don't want to involve him in this.","Should have thought that before you brought him here." Tieria retorted. "Tieria be nice. Setsuna there are lots of member that have families." Ms. Sumeragi said trying to convince him. "But never this close, we've never actually seen any of them." says Alle. Setsuna looks down at his feet. "Maybe this was a bad idea."," no kidding, it was beyond stupid you should've stayed with the enemy.","Tieria!" the others shouted, setsuna sighs and turns to leave, " Give it a try, we'll keep you off of the battlefield for as long as possible." He nodded and turned to leave again going back to his room. He sees Azriel sleeping peacefully and slowly crawls into bed careful not to wake his son, he places a kiss on top of Azriel's head before falling asleep himself.,The next morning when setsuna woke up he saw Azriel sitting there, " Daddy I'm hungry.","I sorry I must've slept in, you could have woken me earlier you know that right?","Yes Daddy.","Alright let's get some food then." As they were walking to the kitchen the ran into chris, "Hey! Good Morning!","You seem happy this morning.","Well yea, we have a kid on board, I have to make it bearable for him since none of you sulky stick in the muds will." Setsuna chuckled which made Azriel giggle a bit too, this made Chris grin even wider, proud of being able to make them laugh. They continued to the kitchen Cris trying everything she could to make either of the two with her laugh and succeeding for the most part, most of the time setsuna only smiled as he watched his son interact positively with his sister, while Azriel laughed louder as he got more comfortable.,Inside the kitchen the others could hear the boy laughing and chris telling jokes and making funny noises. They smiled to each other cause they new that setsuna would be smiling too. When the doors open they were met with an adorable sight, Azriel walking between setsuna and Chris holding setsunas hand looking back and forth between the two with wide eyes. "What's Chris been telling you 5hat has you so wide eyed Azi?" Asked lockon "They story of how dad got captured! My daddy's a hero!" Azriel exclaimed excitedly. "Everything? From when they first showed up?" Azriel nodded. "Azi do you know what we do?","Yea you fight to stop wars.","Do you know what the world thinks about us?" Asked Alle, Azriel nodded, "some think you're the bad guys but, some think you're the good guy, heroes!" they smiled at him and Azriel grinned back at them. "We're not heroes nor are evil villains, we the gray that shows the world everything that is hidden in the darker parts. We fight to change the world, change the way people think and the things they do, to make them see that not all of the world is good and pure but very twisted, and sometimes that can be bad but, other times it can be good." AS Setuna finished speaking they were all watching him. Azriel nodded looking very serious, which made them all smile at his cuteness.,As they days went by Azriel found that he didn't like tieria all the much, he loved chris lockon alle and ms. sumeragi, he thought feldt was quiet but nice she let him crawl into her bed and would read to him. They had also begun teaching him, he had fun learning from the members of celestial being they taught him everything they could, most things he learned was related to the gundams, that was because of setsuna though, the others teased setsuna about it all of the time.,Time Skip here,Some years later on Azriel's 10th birthday, Setsuna Decided to take them down to earth they stayed at one oh the houses in london wang Lui Mei had owned. They were handing Azriel's his gifts when they heard loud popping sounds outside, Setsuna shot up from his chair, "What was that?" asked Lichty "Either some stupid people or some very dangerous ones, take the others out of the room, the meisters will stay with me. Go now!" He waited till they left the room, signaled to the other three to stay out of sight. When he open the door there stood Dumbledore along with two other a stern looking woman with a witches hat and man in all black with greasy looking hair. "My boy it's good to see you again. May we come in?we wish to speak to you about Harry." Setsuna sighed open the door wider to let them in, while telling the other in the room to stay hidden. "What do you want with my son?","Son?!" The other two magicals exclaimed "Yes Azriel Hadrian, formerly known as Harry Potter, is my son, I am his legal gaurdian. What did you want?","Well, AS you know Harry-" "His name is Azriel." Dumbledore frowned a bit before continuing, "Well, as you know Azriel is a wizard, and he is invited to attend Hogwarts on his 11th birthday, and we have a list of supplies and classes he will need.","You tried to attack me and abduct my son did you really think I would really want my son anywhere near you or your school?","Albus! Did you really attack a muggle?" the Stern looking woman asked.,"The attack aside I would like to know who the two of you are?","Right, my apologies, I am Professor Minerva Mcgonagall, Transfiguration teacher at hogwarts.","Severus Snape, Potions master.","I see, well, I believe the two of you to have more sense than Dumbledore here, so…" he turn to the back of the room and waved everyone back in. Severus tensed and place a hand on his wand but did not draw it, while the other two were shocked by the fact that the were being monitored, Azriel ran in and jumped into his father's arms. " You sure this is a good idea?" asked Alle. "Yea I was just being extra cautious. It's fine now." He sat down with Azriel in his lap, who looked at the magicals with interest, "Dad I would like to learn magic." Setsuna merely nodded to show that he had heard the request and would take it into consideration. " Since here wishes to go I see that this is confirmed then?","No it is not, I only nodded to show that I heard him, whether he goes or not will depend on what I think of you, your school and your world as a whole. So far I'm not liking you nor do I like the fact that you disregard my son's name, it changed when I adopted him and it won't change back, furthermore, you sent my son to an abusive home and had wanted to send him back.","Albus! I told you those muggle were the worst sort!","Now minerva calm down, it was merely an exaggeration-","Exaggeration?! I was not imagining it when I had to heal his broken bones! I am not exaggerating when I say the if it weren't for his magic the he would have died!" Setsuna was standing now, and the others were tense waiting to see what he was going to do. "What I was to know is why you want Azi so badly?" wondered Sumeragi. " I have nothing against Azi learning magic, but honestly hogwarts can't be the only magical school in the world? Quite frankly I would trust any school ran by you. ","He is the boy who lived, that's why. The story goes, a dark lord rose to power and there was a prophecy, that a child born as the seventh moon dies shall have the power to defeat him and marked as his equal. On halloween night, the dark lord attacked the coupled and killed them both, but for some reason he could not kill the child, the killing curse that is not known for being survivable was rebounded and the child was the only person to have ever survived it.","What was the name of this Dark lord?","Voldemort.","Flight from death huh?","What kind of power hungry warlord would kill something he an train to be a servant? No offense to you or anything Setsuna." Setsuna frowned at the mention of his past. "So if Voldemort is dead why do you need my son?","I do not believe he is.","You want my son to fight your war? You were going to train to be a soldier?!","No I wanted him to be a normal boy.","So he was to be a sacrifice." Tieria said coldly "NO, you will never have my son! Voldemort can burn your world to the ground and I just might help him. I will not let you sacrifice my son nor will I let you turn him into your mindless puppet. Now Leave." Setsuna stood up and walked to the door opening it. "What if we let you into school with him?","Albus! You can't he's a muggle.","Only magicals can go to Hogwarts. You know this Albus.","If it is the only way for to come then an exception can be made." They all looked at him suspiciously. Setsuna looked to Sumeragi , who smiled and said, "All of us or none of us. By that I mean me and my four Meisters.","I see, that will be fine of course, but we will need you to teach something, I believe muggle studies will work just fine."," They will all be my assistants but I will be the only paid teacher. They will be treated as teachers but not paid. Is that understood?","Yes, that will work. Now let's head to diagon alley. Severus will escort you all there." they nodded and headed out with Azriel to Diagon Alley.,When they got to the entrance at they saw was a condemned building, they looked at the wizard who held out his hand, Setsuna grabbed on to Azriel and the the mans hand and allowed him to pull them through into the pub. As they all walked through the man Severus asked, " I thought you knew about the wizarding world?","Sort of, but still knowing about it and seeing it are two different things." They came to a brick wall where Severus tapped on it several times. They walked through the opening and Setsuna opens up his phone, " It works. I wasn't expecting it to, considering that we just stepped into the 18 hundreds." they nodded "Azi keep hold of me at all times." Azriel nodded and clung tighter to his father. First we'll head to the bank Gringotts, it run by goblins who don't like wizards much." they headed to the bank which was very impressive looking. They walked up to the podium where there was a goblin doing paperwork, "Excuse me sir, but we have a few questions.","Your not wizards, well most of you aren't." Sumeragi grinned, "Is it that obvious?","Yes, you were polite." She smiled, " well, we would like to know if we could open an account here?","Yes, but you would need Magic to access it.","Mr. Hadrian here should have an account under the name potter, Albus gave me the key.","Why does the old man have my sons key?","He's Mr. Hadrian's magical guardian.","Is there anyway I can become his guardian here too?","You'll have to take that up with the ministry we only do the inheritance and keep the vaults.","I was afraid you would say that, most of the people here sound and act like headless chickens." The goblin grinned, he took the key and then informed Sumeragi how to start up an account. "Thank you for you time and help sir. May I ask your name?","Ragnog. Now I will call a goblin to take you to the vaults.",They waited a short while before a goblin showed up, " I am Grifhook the potter account manager. Follow me." They followed Grifhook to a chamber with carts, " get in." He told them as he climbed in when they all were seated the carts shot off, Azriel screaming in delight, "can it go faster?","one speed only." this caused Setuna to laugh. They got to the vaults the goblin opened Azriel's vault, there were piles of coins, "Is this all mine?","yes, though this is just you school vault, you will have to wait until you are of age to access the main potter vaults.","You mean I have more?" The goblin just nodded leaving Azriel with his jaw wide open. Setsuna chuckled, "I like the gobins.",Once they had finished at the bank the went to collect the items need for the school year. They went get the robes first, Azriel saw a little boy with platinum blonde hair. "Hogwarts dear?","Yes ma'am.","Right, just stand up here and I'll be with you in a moment." Azriel nodded and looked over to his dad, "Daddy, she says it will be a bit she has another customer, you can go look at other things while I wait.","And leave you here alone? Not likely, besides I don't mind waiting." Setsuna turned back around and continued looking at the displays. "Why do you call him dad?","He's my legal guardian, took me in.","But he can't be that much older then you","I think dad's 21." The boy raised an eyebrow. "What's your name.","Azriel Hadrian."," Were your parents wizards?","Yes they were, Potters or something like that." The blonde boy gasped, "you're Harry Potter?","Well, not for a year now. And who are you anyway?" Azriel said a bit put off that nobody called him by his adopted name. "I'm Draco Malfoy.",Azriel looked at Draco for a moment, "nice to meet you Draco, as I said I'm Azriel Hadrian and I would appreciate it if you called me by that name." Draco nodded, " Very well then, Azriel." Azriel smiled at Draco.,Setsuna walked over to the two boys, draco looked at him and noticed his clothes "are you a muggle?" Setsuna simply nodded before asking, "where are your parents?","Mom is at Flourish and Blotts for my books father had other business to attend to." He nodded and turned to Azriel, "we should get you a wand next and the books last.","Okay daddy.","we can also see if your new friend here can join us." He looked over to Draco "I'm Setsuna, Azriel's father.",When both boys finished with there fitting Draco left to find his parents after agreeing to meeting up later at the book shop. Setsuna and Azriel headed over to Ollivanders after finding Professor Snape. They walked into the wand shop, and were greater by and elderly man, "hello, Harry Potter I've been wondering when you'd wander into my shop?" Azriel sighed "yes I'm here for a wand." Ollivander raised an eyebrow at his sigh but said nothing of it. They spent a long time looking for the right wand, when finally they left the shop with Azriel holding a new holly and Phoenix feather wand and a weird spiel from Ollivander about great things and remembering wands sold.,When they got to Flourish and Blotts, they found Draco with his parents. Severus greeted the family and introduced both Setsuna and Azriel. Azriel went over to Draco "dad says we can go look for books while they talk." They headed into the bookstore. Setsuna turned to the elder Malfoys "it's a pleasure to meet you." Lucius sneered at him and looked at severus " severus why are you escorting this… muggle around?" "because I threatened to level the entire wizarding world should they try and take my son from me."Setsuna cut in before severus could answer. The elder Malfoy sneered at him not beleaving in his words, Setsuna simly let his expression go blank and walked into the bookstore without any further conversation.,Setsuna found the two boys in the back reading about quidditch, "I hope you found your books before deciding to indulge yourselves?" Azriel smiled and nodded, "we did they're in the bag. Draco was telling me about quidditch." He held up the bag to show he was being truthful. Setsuna smiled and took hold of the bags, "we need to find the others." Azriel nodded and said goodbye to Draco who went out to his parents while Setsuna and Azriel left with severus. As they walked out of the shop setsuna gave a sideways glance to the elder malfoys and smirked, wondered what they would do when the found out that non-magics were teaching at the school this year.,They met up with the rest of the group in an ice cream shop Azriel was having fun tasting all of the weird flavors. "What do you boys think of this world?" " there's a lot of prejudice here, mostly against non-magics, and anything with a mixed heritage." Commented Tieria. Setsuna nodded his agreement. "The war 11 years ago was about blood purity, the purebloods, half bloods and new bloods, tensions are still high I think the actual war ended with Azriel though." commented lockon. " Him and his biological parents are regarded as heroes" allelujah added to the conversation. "It doesn't matter, Azriel won't be apart of any future ones, whether Voldemort survived or not, because it's unrealistic for a year old child to kill someone that powerful magic or not, I think Azi's parents did something to help him survive the encounter we need to find out what that was and how long that protection lasted or if it is still active." Stated Sumeragi.,They called azriel over and went back to the bookstore before scanning the shelves for books on the end of the war and spells, rituals, potions, or anything that could explain what happened that night. All they found were wild rumors, no accounts on what happened, they didn't even find the trial for the man who betrayed the potters, though they got some information from severus, but he seemed to have a grudge so they were weary of his opinions on the matter. They knew the man was in prison, his role in their deaths and the death of the other friend along with the non-magics.,"Where and we find Information on Sirius Black's Trial?" Sumeragi asked the clerk. "Well, he didn't have one.","Are you people in the habit of sending men to prison without any trials?","He didn't need one, we all knew what he did.","Did you see what happened then?","Well, no but…","Then how can you say you know? Did you ever find any bodys? Did you find that mark on his arm?" Sumeragi continued to ask questions and when he couldn't answer she asked him where she could get this information, which led them to the Ministry of Magic.,They somehow managed to floo into the Ministry of Magic with a lot of help, mostly from strangers who were curious to see why muggles wanted to go to the ministry. As the walked further into the building Setsuna kept Azriel close to his side and a hand on his shoulder. They walked up to the desk where a witch asked for their wands. "We done have any, but the youngest does." Stated sumeragi. Azriel pulled out his new wand and handed it to the lady. "Anyway, we would like to see the trial information for sirius black.","Why would you want that?","Becuase no one seems to have any facts on what happened to the potters, and that's what we want to find." The woman blinked at them before she sneered and said, "well since you are muggles you can't be her anyways." she sent them a condicending look and went back to her work. She ignored them as they walked past her into the long corridor behind her bumping into another witch.," Hello we are looking for the trial information for sirius black.","Hello, I'm Amelia Bones, the head of the Magical Law Enforcement, and I apologize but, as muggles you are not allowed into the ministry.","Is that so? Becuase the lady at the front desk let us through, we're just looking for the Black Trials."," Well, if you wait in the lobby I will have someone fetch them for you, will that be exceptable?","Yes, that woks as well, I'm Sumeragi Lee Noriega.","Mrs. Noriega-","Please call me sumeragi, no need for formalities.","I am an offical it ould not be proper for me to adress you as such. This way now I will wait with you." They eaded back to the lobby and Sumeragi sent a wave and a wink to the lady at the desk, whom had gotten a glare from Madum Bones. They waited for almost three hours before somebody had come running up to them, " Madam Bones, there isn't any file on Black!","What?","The Black Trial isnt on file we've looked everywhere!","I apologize for having you wait, but it seems as though I have work to do and a trial to conduct, if you'll excuse me." She spun on her heel walking briskly down the hall, "don't forget the Veritaserum!" Sumeragi shouted at Madam Bones who stopped in shock, she looked back and got a wink from Sumeragi, then continued down the hall to get a trial started for Sirius Black. Sumeragi turned back to the others, "okay boys, let's find a place to stay for tonight."

I don't own Harry Potter or The World Ends With You, otherwise known as TWEWY,Groaning, Harry's pushed himself up and looked around at the crowds. His family had gone and abandoned him, not that he was surprised. They never wanted him. What he was more concerned about was why nobody was reacting to his presence. He walked over and prodded someone only for them to ignore him.,Hearing a clink, he looked down and saw a pin. Picking it up, he studied the cherries on it before hearing a growl behind him. Spinning, he came face to face with a giant bear with tattoos for arms. Everything fell silent and when he looked around, it was just him and the bear.,"What?",The pin in his hand warmed up and he instinctively held it out. Giant fireballs shot out and hit the monster. The ones that missed rebounded and hit the bear. He kept firing until the field just stopped. Yelping, he jumped back and continued to dodge the attacks. The pin wanted slightly and he fired again. The bear evaporated.,"What just happened?",Looking around, he noticed that the crowds had returned before clutching his head as noise hit him.,"Very interesting. How did you do that?",Twisting around, Harry stared at the purpled eyed boy before backing away.,"What do you mean by keeping me around? And what's a Conductor?","Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Yoshiya Kiryu but I suppose you can call me Joshua. I think we'll be seeing a lot of each other. You'll find out in time.",Harry launched himself into the crowds. He didn't want to know anyone. All he wanted was to get away from the monsters.,Several minutes later,Screeching to a halt, Harry panted.,"You know, I meant it when I said I wouldn't hurt you.",Harry spun to face Joshua.,"Do you have a name?","…. Harry. Harry Potter.","Hmmm. I think I'll call you Haruto. It means remote one. And it seems like you're not very trusting so to many people you seem remote.","You… can see me?","Of course I can. Otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you. But, how did you do that?","Do what?" Harry started to relax but there was still something strange about the boy.,"Use the pin. Only someone with a Partner can use the pyschs that come from the pins," explained Joshua. "And by the looks of it, you don't have one.","I don't know. I just did," admitted Harry. "Anyway, where are we? Why can't people see us? I mean, this is Shibuya but it's not.",Suddenly Joshua grabbed his hand and studied it. Harry tried to pull it out but Joshua just gripped it tighter.,"So, you're not a Player or a Reaper but not dead either. You're not alive as well so what are you?","How am I supposed to know?! Jerk!" Harry tugged backwards and Joshua let him go, causing Harry to stumble. "Jerk!",Joshua giggled. "You are strange for one so young. Come on. I know a place you can stay in for now.","Hey!" Harry had to run to keep up with the much older boy. "You didn't answer my questions!",Joshua simply giggled again before leading him to a cafe called Wildkat. It struck Harry as weird as he could understand Japanese perfectly when he had no lessons. "Are you here Mr H?","Hey Josh. Who's this?","This is Haruto.","Are you going to keep calling me that?" asked Harry in annoyance.,"Well, your name stands out.","And why did you bring him to me?" asked Mr H, interrupting the conversation.,Joshua quickly explained what had happened.,"Hmm. I see.","I have places to be so can I leave him here?" asked Joshua.,"I don't see a reason why you can't.","I'll see you around then." Joshua quickly walked out.,"Alright then Spectacles. I suppose you have questions.","Yes. Who are you?","My name is Sanae Hanekoma. I was born on March the third, am a Pisces and my favourite word is windfall. My blood type is A and I am a big gambler. As for my physical dimensions…","That's enough," interrupted Harry. "I really don't want to know that.","Just like everyone else. But, anyway, you can call me Mr H. Josh has taken an interest in you so I guess I'll have to make sure you don't come to harm.","Right… Anyway, where are we? Why can't people see us?","Well, I can answer those two easily enough. Just keep in mind there are some things I can't tell you. Can I just check something before I answer your questions?",Harry took a step back. "Uh, it's nothing bad, right?","No, no. I just need your hands." Harry hesitated before placing his hands on the man's outstretched ones. He held them for a minute before realising them. "Heh. Now I get why Josh is interested in you.","What?","As Josh said to you, you're not dead or alive. Plus you used that pin. May I have a look?",Harry pulled the pin out of his pocket and handed it to Mr H.,"This isn't like the other pins. Can you concentrate on something for me? Just imagine a pillar of ice.",A pin with a pillar of white on a purple background appeared on the table.,"I've not seen someone with such Imagination except the Composer. Anyway, I guess you need answers. You were in the UG.","The UG?","The Underground. It's a slightly higher plane of existence than the RG, the Realground which is the world you're familiar with. You were in the UG Shibuya.","Were?","You see that decal?" Harry looked at the odd decal on the wall. It reminded him of the graffiti the Noise had come out off. "That forces anyone from the IF, the Players and the Reapers into the RG so people can see them.","Players? Reapers?","The Players play the Reaper's Game. It's a series of missions. If they win, they get to return to the RG and their lives as well as getting their Entry Fee but if they lose, they get Erased. The Reapers try to Erase them using Noise.","Noise?" Harry was getting confused.,"Yeah, like the monster you fought earlier. How old are you?","Seven. What do you mean by return to their lives? And what's an Entry Fee?","Everyone playing the Reaper's Game is dead," explained Mr H. "An Entry Fee is the most valuable thing that person has. It could be anything.","This is getting confusing. What's the Composer?","The Composer makes the rules of the game.",The door opened. "Is this place open?",Harry blinked and got up as the person walked over and ordered a drink before walking straight through him. Mr H stared at him.,"That can't have happened. Those decals work on everyone. Everyone. Not even the Composer is unaffected by them.","Ok, so I'm an abnormality. So what now?","Hmm." Suddenly, the man pressed a finger to Harry's scar and pain flared up. A black something seeped out of it and then formed a crystal. "Catch.",Harry caught it. "That was in me?","Yep. A fragment of a splintered Soul by the looks of it. It's yours now. Keep it close. And I think you should face the Noise. Just so I can see.",Harry gulped before looking around. "I didn't like the last encounter.","Hey, I'll be there. And you'll need to form a Pact…","What's a Pact?","It's a bond between Players," explained Mr H. "It stops the Noise from attacking them unless they want to face them.",wondered Harry as he followed the man outside into the streets.,"Why do I have to do this?" moaned Haruto as the two stood on the Scramble. "I mean, I know I test out new rules but I do that on my own.","You know why. The higher ups want you to play this Game. So, you remember who you're going to be Partnered with?" asked Joshua with his signature giggle.,"Hermione Granger. And will we be running into you?" asked Haruto. "Stop giggling. You're much older than you look so stop acting like a child.","You can talk. Anyway, you'll need this." Joshua handed him a Player Pin before handing him another one. "Use the second to get out of things. You know what you have to do.","Yes, I can talk. And, yeah, act like any normal Player. No creating pins, no fighting Noise on my own, no ,Noise and definitely not using that ultra-powerful beam pin of mine.","I guess I'll see you around Haruto. If you need me, call me. You have my number","Yeah. See you around Josh." He watched as Joshua walked into the crowd and pulled out his phone as it beeped. "Here's the mission.",Harry winced as the timer burned into his hand before heading to Hachiko. He watched as a browned hair girl panicked as Players got Erased.,"Hey, Brown!" The girl faded him. "Let's make a Pact!","What?",Haruto glanced at the approaching Noise. "So you want to get Erased? The only way to fight the Noise is as a pair.","Alright, fine!",Haruto smiled as the lights faded. "Let's get to fighting.",Several frogs attacked them and he pulled out three pins. Flicking his hand up, Haruto smirked as they evaporated into static.,"Smell you later.",The world returned to normal and the girl started hyperventilating as more Noise attacked. Eventual there were no more.,"What was that? What's with the light show? Why can't anyone see us? Where are we?","Hey, can you tone it down a bit? We've got to get to 104 in..." Haruto checked the timer. "Forty minutes. Huh. That took longer than expected.","What?","Come on. I'll explain on the way.","Huh?" Haruto started to walk away. Wait!",She ran after him. "You could at least tell life your name.","It's Haruto. And yours?","Hermione Granger. So, can you answer my questions?","We'll, we're in Shibuya, we just fought Noise and as for where we are... Oh, error." Haruto stared at the person in red hoody. "Better see what he wants. And this time, don't leave the Noise just to me.","But I don't know how to fight.","Listen, there are psychs in your pocket, right? Use them. What do you want is to do?","Want past this wall? Defeat this Noise," the hoodie replied in a monotone.,"Get ready Hermione.","What?",The Noise leapt at them and Haruto started to slice before sending a spike of ice into the mix. He noticed one disappear and smiled. Seemed like she was getting it. Wincing, he defeated the noise that had hurt him before destroying the last one.,"Satisfied?","Objective met. Wall down.","Thanks. Come on Hermione!" Haruto dragged her to the building before sighing as the timer disappeared. "Day one down. Six more to go.","Can you please tell me what's going on?" demanded Hermione. "My parents are going to be worried about me.","That's not important right now and even if they saw you, they'd freak out. Trust me on this one. I've seen it happen enough times.","What do you mean?",Haruto sighed before catching Hermione as she fainted. "Guess they've moved onto the next day. "Time to play dead.",He allowed himself to collapse and waited.

, K+, Tenma Rio Akalili, Grammar NAZI. Oneshot story., Yoite die because Kira jutsu and don't have a chance to use the power of S,. But he did not regret. Because, he was dying in the embrace of the boy he most cared about. ,. Until finally he died without feeling afraid of the death itself. It turns out actually pick Death's curiosity and make him interested in that young–human who he thinks was different., Tenma Rio Akalili doesn't own any of the Harry potter or ,character. She make this story not for profit. This fanfiction following ,manga ver,I used BETA for this fanfic., Forgive me for a very long update. I was in a mourned pase. Because of my beloved cat , died. I really–really–really loved her. She just like my second sister. Then suddenly… after four years, she leaves us. And now I have a very complicated feelings and broken heart. ,. My little princess.,",Drip… drip… drip… drip. The sound of dripping water echoing in the silence, falling in a rhythmic manner above the surface of dark water. In the darkness which concentrated, there is only a pale light bluish illuminative stalagtit and the surface of the calm black water.,In the darkness, the black-robed figures hovering above the surface of calm water. Its long cloaks in tatters, as in consumed in shreds to shreds by ravenous beast. Its face is completely hidden under his cloak hood. The robed beings focuses on the body that lying stiff on the floor of the cave.,"Wake up," its deep voice is distorted as gusts of wind. The rigid body infront of remain unmoved, like a corpse.,"Wake up," once again the robed figure called with a little louder. The body that initially stiff begins to squirmed.,His consciousness was gradually recovering. Although his whole body feels heavy, He felt something cold and wet from the tip of his fingers. Immediately he jerks awake and pull his right hand that soggy by water. He lifted his head slowly. Stared into the darkness through his blue eyes. Looking for the source of the voice he heard earlier.,"Finally you wake up.",He jumped in surprise, quickly spun around, towards the voice source. But what he witnessed make his hair spine stood and his face blanched.,"Who—who—who are you?" he asked with raucous voice. He Stammered.,The robed beings hovering before him several meters from the ground. Its rugged robes flew aroung as if there was winds that support the movements. Its body is extremely high, unlike normal human size or perhaps that creature is indeed not a human being. Yoite do not know the gender of the creature, but from its voice. He can assume that the creature is a man.,"Pleased to meet you, Yoite," he said with deep voice which distorted.,Yoite quivering flighty, while directing his trembling index finger toward the creature. Although yoite doubt, he still has Kira jutsu and the opponent in front of him seem far more powerful.,"Drop your hand.",Obediently yoite dropped his hand. The creature drifting toward him, spontaneous Yoite retreat one step. Although his shoes stepping on a puddle that is fairly deep, but there was something about the creature in front of him which makes him frightened and alert.,"Did you know why would you were at this place, Yoite?",Yoite take a deep breath, his lungs felt much more relieved and neither feel pain.,"Am I… dead?","Yesssss," that creature unleashed a hissing noise like a serpent, and getting more closer to Yoite. His cloak swayed when he moves and once again Yoite taken a step back. Yoite's face loses its colour. Never once he experienced an incredibly great fear makes until his knee feels limp.,"Not only that alone. Your sins could never be forgiven. You're a cold-blooded murderers. You used the forbidden jutsu Kira.","Stop! Stop! Please, stop!" his knee that limp could not hold the burden of his body, Yoite fell to his knees in a puddle cold water, sealed his ears with both hands. His eyes closed tightly. Trying to avoid the reality.,"You're a selfish human who plays as God!" that creature's voice screeching high and pierced the eardrum. But strangely, his voice does not create an echo at all.,"Please… just stop…","You killed your own mother!","NO!" Yoite shouting uncontrollably, tears damped his thin cheek. His voice resonate into entire all parts of the cave. Yoite curled, chewed his lip until blood trickle down to his chin.,"I DESERVE TO BE IN HELL! I DESERVE TO DIE! MIHARU HATES ME!" Yoite roared, tears flooded his pale face. He stared at the cloaked being in front of him with expression full of remorse, the mix of distress and emotional pain. Inside the cave that deserted, the only audible sound were Yoite sobs. His face hiding behind the palm of his gloved hands.,"Unfortunately no.",That sentence fragment makes Yoite flinch and lifted his face, his eyes swollen andn red. That creature moving away, drifting back to his previous place—who makes Yoite feel more secure—he lifted his arm up high into the air showing clearly what lies behind the folds of black cloth robes. A hand white as Alabaster, with long bony fingers, as well the sharp–curved–nails and black hawk like a claw. The sight before him gives him a goosebumps and his heart was pounding rapidly. The creature waved his hand with a lazy movement. Immediately the scenery change in an instant.,Yoite is now standing on a tatami, Perhaps more precisely hovered over a tatami. Inside a traditional Japanese bedroom. His eyes transfixed on a figure before him, Miharu and Yukimi… as well as a black cat with blue eyes that sitting beside Miharu . Whilem, Yukimi stand gazed out the window.,"Miharu…" Yoite murmured with a tinge of longingly, without long thinking he ran at him and tried to hug him. But what he grap is just empty air. Void.,"Miharu! Miharu!" Yoite shouting near Miharu with full of hope. Wished Miharu may hear him. Yoite staring towards the robed beings with a look of despair, he was almost cry in frustration.,"We are in different dimensions. This is the living world, the human world who are still alive. You are a spirit that can't be felt or seen by human beings," said the creature with a tone of sardonic. "Simply look and see.",Yoite can only obey. He was looking towards Yukimi, studied him carefully. His eyes transfixed on his missing right arm. Yoite turned his gaze quickly While kneeling down beside Miharu, want to as close as possible to him. Be heard the sound of Yukimi sighed.,"If it made you, who was always indifferent, use the Hijutsu. Then, that person's presence must have been important to you…" Yukimi's voice broke the silence. Yoite jolted, divert his attention from Miharu then Yukimi with wide-eyed.,"Shouldn't it be fine to just explain it as having been for both you and that person.",Miharu raises both his hands and squeeze it tightly, his head was crestfallen. Drop by drop tears fall into Miharu open palms. Yoite frozen, his lips closed tightly.,"Miharu…" he said sadly, staring at a pool of tears in the palms of Miharu increasingly overflowing.,"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!",Yoite startled, his entire body convulsively. The sound of Miharu weeping and wailing suffocating his chest, incised a shockingly deepest wounds.,"No! Don't cry! My sweet Miharu must not cry for me! NO!" Yoite screaming without aware tears has already wetting his eyelids. Yoite is trying to embrace Miharu, reaching out in the air. But all the same. Nihilism. His transparent body can't do anything. They were in two different worlds. Yoite pulled his hair with frustration.,"Miharu… Miharu… Miharu… Miharu…" he's chanting his name like a pray.,Miharu sobbing. Yukimi kneeling while embracing him with his remaining arm.,"…I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" said Miharu while choking, his sentences stammered because his lips trembling . He buries his face deeply an a chest Yukimi.,"Help me…" Yoite lifted his head, looked at the figure in a cloak with the face of desperation.,"I'll help you. But, help from me, doesn't come with a free.","Anything! I'll do anything!" exclaimed him. Yoite will do anything in order, Miharu not parse the tears again and forget all about him.,But… does Miharu will completely forget about him? About all their memories? Yoite stunned. Whether he would completely be forgotten? His lips quivered.,"Please specify your request.",The creature's deep voice disenchant Yoite from his daydreaming. He's still not sure yet with his decision.,"I am…" only one word that can be out of his mouth. His tongue tied.,"You want me to abolish the memory of that boy about yourself?" the robed creature hovering closer placing itself, until the end of his very long robe sweep the tatami. Yoite fell silent. He himself was not sure if he wants Miharu to forget it.,"Are you sure?" he leaned down observing Yoite carefully from beneath his hood.,"That was not your deepest desires. I know—what kind of human you are, Yoite. You're so possessive against him," he pointing toward miharu with his claw.,Yoite can almost see the creature smirk from behind its covering.,"Think again. Your desire. Your deepest desire—within your heart…",', said Yoite inside his mind. '…, Yoite stood up and stared at the creature before him with a determination.,"I want a second chance!" he exclaiming. "Can you grant it?",Yoite hear a chuckle which is deep and cold. Send a sense of cringed-on the back of his neck.,"Your request is granted.",Instantly they were back in a dark and damp caves. His heart sank, He still wants to be with Miharu.,"Now you have to pay off.","What should I pay as the terms?",The creature not answer him. Instead he stretched out his arm back and directing the talons like claws into the air. Like ,, something appears in the palm of his hand. Appears mysteriously from empty air. A scythe which sizes were twice the body of the creature, the color is opaque black, glistening the moment illuminated by light. The eye sickle sharp and pointy just like a black crescent moon. The handle of the scythe is very beautiful like a black tourmaline gemstone in decorate by carving a alphabenths that foreign for him. Like the ancient language. Yoite astonishment, with a mixed feelings, between fascinated and cautious with a scythe in his hand which looks very enchanting as well as deadly.,"I come with various names," he said open the conversation. The interlocutors in front of him frozen like statue, his face is very tense—the expression on Yoite face was almost making Death laughing. ,—. "Reaper, Death God, Grim, Conqueror of Death, Vanquisher of Death, Master of Death, and others… But, i'm more famous by the name of ,.",Yoite squeezing his shaking knuckles. The mysterious creature before him finally opened his identity. Facing with a being whose strength is the most infinite powerl, make his guts shrinking.,"You've done an agreement contract with Death. Therefore, you must pay with your soul," he swung the sickle with ease., that heavy object looks very lightweight in his grasp. Yoite shuts his eyes, brace himself—waiting to die for the second time. But the swing of a scythe not even came down split him. While gathering his courage, slowly Yoite opened his eyelids.,A hand as white as marbel stop in before him. Death only a few centimeters of him. His body was unusually high, until yoite that as high as 180 centimeters, only reached his abdomen.,"Do you agree to our agreement?" asked Death, his voice was calm. Death's quiet tone of voice, does not affect the feelings of fear to reduce.,"Yes…","You can't retreat again or change mind. As a symbol of our agreement, shake my hand.",Hesitatingly yoite stretched out his right hand who was still wearing gloves. With this close distance Yoite could see clearly. The smooth skin surface like sculpture, not . visible the pores or the veins at the skin surface. At first Yoite presumes, he would feel the hand that is as hard and cold similar a stone. But in fact when he held the large hand, which feel is a sense of warm, in his hand who still wearing their gloves.,"You will be reborn again. Into something new—become part of myself…" Death placing his hooded face closer. Yoite stupefied.,Death release his grip hand and examine Yoite's face closer. "You are no longer Yoite… or Sora.",Yoite is not surprised if the creature before him knowing his real name. Because Death know everything… even inside the deepest part of his hearts...,"you are my child… Son of the Death…" Death hanging phrase creates a deep silence. Like an illusion that deceive himself, in blink of an eyes Yoite saw a pair of vibrat green eyes. Similar the eye of the devil. Very alluring as well as poisonous. Like the eyes of Medusa.,Yoite trapped inside that eye, as if his soul was chained and bound. There is no way to escape. Death's nails who are like sharp talons rubbed his cheek. Yoite frozen, his breath rushed.,The Dim light bathes upon himself and Death, showed a gleam of silhouette from behind his cloak hood. The sight that will never he forget forever and ever, even in a nightmares. Death grinning—with malicious sneer.,Death open his ghostly pale complexion lips—showed a pair of gleaming white fangs. Proved how sharp the fangs. His lips utter a sylabel who makes Yoite become statue and his heart beat faster, the contents of his stomach somersault.,"My son.",I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to leave a comment., Do you think who's better? ,VS,, and who will win if they are fight? I would like to know your answer.

[,AIDEN,.],[, COUNT OLAF, DOROTHY, , CINDERELLAS, KATNISS, , AIDEN ,],[, ONEDER, ,.],ONEDER. You alright there, mate?,AIDEN. I… don't know.,ONEDER. I've never seen you before. Have you just been published?,AIDEN. What…,ONEDER. (,) Well, come on, then! I haven't got all bloody night.,AIDEN. I'm confused.,ONEDER. What book's pages did you leap from?! What role were you, the village idiot?,AIDEN. Is that… Dorothy?,ONEDER. You know anyone else prancing about saying "There's no place like home?",AIDEN. But… She's in a movie-,ONEDER. Correction. ,Dorothy is in a book. Look at her feet. Only silver shoes there, no fictitious ruby slippers in sight. We don't much care for the film crowd here, obviously. You must be really new.,AIDEN. Is this some sort of costume party?,ONEDER. That's a wee bit harsh, don't you think? Just because some of them are dressed a bit more outlandishly than others doesn't mean it's not normal for them.,AIDEN. Okay, well I could dress up as Harry Potter everyday but I'm pretty sure people would still think I'm weird despite the consistency.,ONEDER. (,) Why would you dress up like Harry Potter? I mean, I know he's kind of a big shot around here, but he's just a character like anyone else. I know they say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but I don't think it's always the most , form. (AIDEN,) And do you really want to wear a big robe all the time? They're not too far off from dresses, in my opinion. What are you staring at?,[,FAIRIES,.],AIDEN. What the-!,ONEDER. Don't gawk unless you want to spend the rest of your days as some obscure kind of squash. Those fairies are from the ,series; they're particularly impish. Hey, uh, mate? You okay there?,AIDEN. B-but, they just flew! How did they do that? Are there wires? What about-?,ONEDER. If they needed wires they'd be pretty rubbish fairies, wouldn't they? Wings have a purpose, you know. Honestly…,[AIDEN,],[,]

Happy Hogwarts Friends 5,Creepy HP Fanfiction!!,By Sheila Welkar,This is only a fanfiction, written just for fun and based on the characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling.,The great Battle of Hogwarts was still being celebrated by wizards and witches all over the world, the last Death Eaters had finally been captured, years had passed and everyone was now living in a happy and peaceful world...,And one happy October morning, listening to the beautiful singing of the birds and inhaling the sweet forest air, Fleur was walking somewhere through a green and foggy forest!,The trees were so tall, it all was so cold and Fleur was smiling as she walked, and she was wearing some blue and silver camping gear, heavy black boots and a large camping backpack...,Little Victoire, just seven years old, was walking with pride behind her mother (little Victoire, by the way, was a freakish veela/werewolf hybrid with fangs, tail, silvery-blonde-red hair and the ability to throw balls of fire, but Fleur loved her anyway) and she was wearing her little camping gear as well, looking around at the forest as she walked.,Bill was following closely, wearing his cool and black rockstar-like outfit with heavy boots as well, and behind him came Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Molly, Arthur, Luna and George!,They had decided to go camping to some distant English forest, Fleur's idea of course, and now, after playing in a little freezing lake and walking for hours through uncharted and mysterious forest, they were looking for a nice place to install their little campsite...,Fleur was looking up at the high trees of the forest, a white and clear cold sky visible beyond them up there, and then, all of a sudden, she felt that something was tickling inside her beautiful nose!,What could it be?,Fleur scratched a little her nose and then she sneezed, and now, even though she had developed a runny and itchy nose, she decided to ignore it and keep walking through the forest!,Finally they arrived at a large clear somewhere in the forest, a clear with flowers and enough space for all of their tents, and so they stopped and proceeded to install everything there!,The little campsite looked so beautiful...,Fleur and Bill's tent was violet and blue, Victoire's was red, Harry, Ron and Hermione's was yellow, Luna's was pink, Ginny's was green, George's was orange and Molly and Arthur's was orange as well, and now, with the night drawing closer, they were getting ready to start a campfire and prepare some foresty dinner!,So Fleur, Bill, George, Luna and Arthur went to look for something to eat and some wood to start the fire...,Arthur Weasley, always so fascinated with anything Muggle, was very happy as he had found a cute and seemingly functional green iPod that some unknown Muggle had abandoned in that forest...,He had found it in a particulary scary spot of the forest, a lonely place with bushes and very creepy trees, and then, while he was holding the iPod and analyzing it so happily, he discovered that there were even more Muggle things scattered around him!,An Iphone, a CD, a DVD, a Playstation and more, and Arthur picked them up all one by one, following a line, and soon he was inside a large and creepy bush and there he found an abandoned red backpack full of Muggle stuff, and he was so happy, so surprised...,The bush was shaking with Arthur giggling inside it, and then...,Fleur was looking out for rabbits of the forest, her wand ready in her hand, and then, finding suddenly a scary place with bushes and very tall trees, she saw that one of the bushes was shaking, some strange noises coming from inside it...,Oh yes, a rabbit!,Fleur prepared her wand, drawing closer in silence to that bush, and then, ready to catch her dinner for that night, she screamed a very well-known dark word and waved her wand around like she was slashing something with a sword.,Jets of bright red blood came flying from the bush, a little scream was now echoing in the forest and Fleur could barely hear some weak and gargling cries of agony and pain!,Oh, wait a minute... could a little rabbit really scream and cry like THAT?,Something had collapsed and fell dead inside there, and Fleur went to check out hoping to find dinner, but then, after taking a look inside the bush, she retreated quickly with a little nervous laugh and tried to erase her footprints...,"WHAK, WHAK!" she could hear, somewhere not so faraway from her- "WHAK, WHAM, WHAK!",Bill was cutting down a tree to get some wood for the campfire, and so Fleur, now smiling very happily, decided to go and help...,Bill was using his huge axe, whacking with power a particularly large tree, and Fleur was watching, thinking he was looking so sexy... and then the tree fell down with a deafening crack, and Bill went to look for another good tree to cut down.,Fleur didn't think that Bill's axe was alright, yes, there was something wrong with it, and so she picked it up and tried to adjust the axe's huge and extremely sharp head... oh yes, it was just fine now, and Bill was coming back and Fleur handed over the axe...,Bill took a powerful swing to slice another tree with one blow, but then the creepy axe head got loose and was sent flying through the air!,Fleur sneezed again and she saw how the axe was flying, and flying, and flying (ohhhh Bill was so strong!) and then...,George had just caught a rabbit, happy and proud, and he was just about to put it inside a large leather bag when Bill's axe came flying like a lightning of death, and it hit George exactly on the head!,WHAK!,George's head was split open like a pumpkin, blood and brains flying like a shower through the air, and then he collapsed and fell dead... the blood coming from the arteries was now forming a lake, and the rabbit, escaping from the bag, began to eat the brains...,Fleur kept sneezing all the afternoon, a crystal-clear and watery mucus coming non-stop from her nose, and now, as it was getting finally dark and the stars were appearing in the sky, she was just about to finish picking all the berries she needed for her jelly!,Her huge and blue eyes looked so happy, and she knew that Victoire was going to love her special berry jelly...,Oh yes, it was Fleur's mother's recipe!,Those were very beautiful berries, violet and shiny, and even though Fleur had never seen them before she just loved their sweet and fascinating smell... yes, she had enough of them now, and then Fleur, still sneezing and scratching her itchy and runny nose, finally returned to the campsite.,The campfire was so sweet, its light and heat so welcoming and charming, and they all -except for George and Arthur, of course- were sitting around it and cooking the rabbits that Luna had trapped!,Luna looked so happy, wearing her earrings and her hair tied in a ponytail, Hermione was just staring at the fire and reading a book and Molly, even though she looked a bit worried for her husband and her son, seemed to be enjoying the camping very much.,Ginny was cooking a rabbit in the fire, also having some wine, and Fleur, now spreading several pieces of white bread with her tasty and violet jelly, handed over the first bread to her daughter and the others to Luna, Ginny and Harry...,Victoire loved it, devouring her jelly-spread bread with incredible speed, and now Fleur, smiling, was preparing yet another... Harry and Ginny beamed at Fleur and muttered some thanks, and then all of them, laughing very happily, told some scary stories and later went to sleep.,The night was so creepy in that lonely and ghostly forest, and very late, way beyond the midnight, Fleur and Bill had crept out of their tent and disappeared into the darkness to have fun...,Everything was dark -apparently it was very cloudy up in the sky- and there, not so faraway from the little campsite, Fleur and Bill were together and making out like crazy hidden in the shadows!,Fleur was laughing and muttering in French, Bill was laughing too with his wolf-like sexy laughter, they were squeaking and playing and they hadn't noticed, by the way, that Hermione and Ron were also making out hidden in the darkness like thirty feet away...,Fleur was still sick, sneezing all the time and scratching her itchy and runny nose, and now Bill was sneezing too, and then, while Fleur was laughing and looking up at the sky, a scary wind began to blow...,The trees around them were howling with the wind, and then the clouds moved away and a huge and bright full moon appeared very high up in the sky.,It was a moon that had taken a scary tone of red, and the next moment Bill, his eyes glowing mysteriously with a creepy green light, began to scream and howl!,Fleur was taken aback, staring and gaping at Bill as he, after screaming and falling to his knees, covered his face with his hands... it seemed now that he was getting bigger, his rockstar outfit tearing apart, and a scary and long red hair was growing all over his body as he was howling even harder!,What on Earth was this...?,Fleur didn't lose any time and quickly climbed to a tree, and then, just a few seconds later, she looked down at Bill and gasped in horror and surprise...,Bill had turned into a red and hairy monster!,Now he was at least twelve feet tall and looked like a hybrid between a wolf and a donkey, just with bigger eyes that were green and shiny and a long and hairy tail... he had terrible claws and powerful hind legs, and his ears were elegant and pointy.,Bill was sniffing the air, a ghastly and intimidating roar-like noise coming from the depths of his throat, and Fleur was now praying to the Heavens... and then Bill, who had clearly forgotten about Fleur, walked away under the moonlight and made the very ground shake under his weight.,He knocked down a tree with a single blow of his claws and then he picked up a huge rock and threw it away like it was made of cardboard, and he was drawing closer to Hermione and Ron, and Fleur was watching in silence and then...,Ron screamed in agony and excruciating pain as Bill picked him up and disemboweled him alive with his claws, Ron's blood and guts now flying through the darkness, and Hermione was petrified, and she could do nothing but cry!,Bill picked Hermione up too and then he bit her neck with his terrible fangs, piercing her arteries with blood flying away, and Hermione's screams were drowned as the powerful bite finally crushed her throat completely and killed her at last...,Fleur was still praying and watching, relatively safe at the heights of her tree, and it seemed that Bill was now flaying Hermione and Ron and eating their skins raw, a scary amount of blood now spreading on the ground!,Silence, roars, silence, roars...,And now Bill set on a destructive course through the forest, knocking down trees and throwing away rocks, and twenty minutes later Fleur, carefully and slowly, came off the tree shaking and returned crying to her tent.,Morning was foggy and cold at that forest of death, and now Fleur, shaking very badly from the shivers and the fever, was still sneezing and crying as she was staring at the weak morning flames of their campfire...,She was pale as dead, scary violet shadows had appeared under her eyes, she was shaking and sneezing like she was freezing to death and the mucus coming from her nose was now bright and bloody, flowing non-stop like a leak!,Fleur was sitting on a fallen tree, rocking back and forth and shaking from the chills, and Harry, moaning in agony and crying like a child, was lying on the ground only twenty feet away.,He seemed to be suffering from a killer stomach pain and he was throwing up blood with some unknown dark substance, now breathing very rapidly...,And finally, after a very long and awful night of torture, freak hallucinations and undescribable pain, Harry choked on his own vomit and suffered a long and horrible death.,Terrible seizures and convulsions took a hold of him, just like he was being electrocuted, and then, his green eyes wide open and staring at the sky, Harry Potter was dead!,Luna was suffering violent seizures next to him, her eyes rolling in their sockets as blood was coming from her eyes, her mouth and her nose, and Ginny, in the other side of the campfire, was screaming and crying and throwing up blood...,Molly was attending her, horrified and pale, and even though Fleur hadn't noticed it, a great amount of blood was coming from Victoire's little tent... and inside it she was already dead.,Oh yes, Fleur had prepared her jelly with some of the world's most poisonous berries...,Harry was dead, Victoire was dead, Luna was dead, Molly was still trying to save her daughter's life and Fleur, now lying inside her violet tent, began to suffer freak dreams and wicked hallucinations from the fever...,She was running through a flowery field, snowy mountains visible in the distance under a happy and clear blue sky... Bill and Victoire were waiting for her in the limits of a forest, and they had their arms wide open... but then it all went dark and Fleur, falling, disappeared into the darkness.,There she was, dead inside her tent with blood coming from her eyes, killed by a sickness, and Bill, still turned into a monster, was running free outside...,Ginny was suffering the seizures, her nervous system shattered by the poison of the berries, and her seizures were spreading around the blood that was coming from her skin, a blood that was flying and splashing everything around her!,The seizures were so strong that her spine was broken and Molly could hear the crack of Ginny's back, and then, lying on a pool of her own blood, Ginny was dead... but before Molly, horrified, could react at all, a huge and hairy red monster came out of the forest and marched straight towards her.,Molly screamed in horror as Monster Bill picked her up like a toothbrush and broke her in half over his head, her blood and her guts falling on his body, and Bill, roaring like a beast, again set course towards the forest...,He was changing again, he was returning to normality, and now Bill fell to his knees, and he was pale and sneezing, gasping for air... blood was coming from his shadowed eyes and now he had fallen to the ground, victim of the same mystery sickness that had killed Fleur.,Bill was choking, gasping, crying and shaking, and then, in that beautiful forest and under a happy morning sky, Bill finally was dead.,And the flames of the campfire faded out, the birds singing to the morning in the forest...,The End!!

Absolute silence in the Great Hall. Then, an outbreak of whispering and tittering. Professor McGonagall inwardly groaned, grim-faced. She knew this would happen, and felt for the poor girl.,True, she was among the other first years, (and indeed it looked as if she made a great effort to blend in) but regardless she stuck out like a sore thumb. A sore, green thumb at that.,Once the din settled down, the Hat began to sing its song for the year. Scarcely anyone heard it, interested as they were in this rare...whatever this was. Even in the wizarding world, people simply just didn't show up with green skin. Perhaps it was a spell? A potion run amok? Or was this a prank, and the girl was attention-seeking, or picaresque?,It didn't seem likely. Hooked-nosed, bony, and insecure, the girl stood stiffly, staring into space, stubborn and impassive. It was obvious she was uncomfortable. It was also obvious that she had expected such scrutiny. Curiouser and curiouser...,McGonagall felt a stir of curiosity too, even as she wished she could protect the girl from such probing eyes. She was only eleven years old, and yet she seemed older, an air of grave maturity about her. She supposed having aberrant skin would force that on a young one. As it was, McGonagall herself knew that the girl was born with that particular ailment. Such an oddity. Even Snape's usual sneer was absent. He had leaned over, his too-protruding nose sticking out even further, coal eyes deep in thought.,The Hat fell silent. Professor McGonagall came to call out the names from the roster, dreading coming to the Ts.,''Arduennas, Galinda!'',Though most of the wizarding families were patriarchal, occasionally there were some very old pure-blood families who insisted on passing the titles down the matriarchal line. The Arduennas were one of them. The girl in question was blonde and lovely, even at eleven; when she grows older McGonagall expected that budding beauty to bloom even more. Already the girl was assured, with dainty airs and graceful movement. If she was nervous, she hid it well. The Hat sorted her in Hufflepuff and she serenely went to sit in her family's favorite house.,''Bfee, Boq!'',The dwarf-sized boy came up next, and McGonagall worried if he might not be able to sit in the tall stool, but somehow he managed. He was of that very humble but resilient stock, one that boded well for her house. Alas, he too was sorted into Hufflepuff and he joined them there. She caught sight of him looking at Galinda hopefully before she turned her attention to the roster.,A Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, another Ravenclaw. Two boys, Crope and Tibbett, were sorted into Gryffindor, the very first ones so far. They settled down at the table together, already very good friends.,And then came the Ts. McGonagall inhaled carefully. Exhale.,''Tenmeadows, Avaric!'',There was no mystery with this one. The Tenmeadows were pure-bloods, with title and capital to boot, and almost without exception they favored a more traditional crowd. The boy, handsome and slick-haired, scarcely sat a full fifteen seconds before the Hat bellowed out Slytherin. He went over there jauntily, cocky and self-assured.,This was it. The moment of truth. This time McGonagall didn't hesitate to swallow dryly.,''Thropp, Elphaba!'',Silence, complete and total, filled the Great Hall. The girl's footsteps could be heard as they walked up the steps in her new robes, her silky black hair bound in a braid. She slowly sat down and placed the Hat on her head. Unlike most students, she did not close her eyes. Instead they roved freely, shrewdly, warily about the Hall, as if what the Hat had to say was not of particular interest to her.,McGonagall had met this girl once, at the very tail end of the summer. The Thropps were in fact a very highly regarded wizarding family, and another one who passed titles down the female line. McGonagall remembered the girl's mother, Melena, when she came to Hogwarts. She was a bright enough girl but lazy when it came to schoolwork, and more interested in flirting and conquest than anything else. Barely a year after school she took up with a Muggle minister, Frexspar, who apparently knew and accepted that his wife was a witch, which must have been no easy feat; it spoke volumes as to the love he must have had for her. The Frex McGonagall had seen, however, suggested one softened by the death of his wife the previous year.,Even so, with no reply forthcoming, McGonagall had been obliged to drop by the Thropps and see what the trouble was. As she suspected, Frex was reluctant and suspicious of letting his daughter go to a school of almost exclusively magic; the Scriptures were very decided on the matter of witchcraft. McGonagall, in loyalty to her school, attempted to persuade him that Hogwarts taught more than just magic, and even if it didn't, it was necessary for any proper young witch or wizard to learn to control their powers, or risk doing magic outside of school and breaking wizarding law. She managed to convince Frex, who as it turned out was not as unreasonable as she thought – there was just one issue at work here.,''What do you think, Fabala?'' he had asked her daughter. ''I would hate for you to be gone for so long – but if you truly want this, then by all means. When Nessa goes, you'll be expected to help her along and prop her up. I'm certain accommodations will be provided for accordingly should that happen?'',McGonagall assured him so. Elphaba didn't speak for a long moment. Then she said, ''All right, then. I'll go.'',As McGonagall shook hands with the girl, she had asked her – a rare question on her part – if she was excited to attend Hogwarts and was shocked when Elphaba shrugged.,''Magic per se isn't very interesting,'' she'd replied. ''But I am curious about Herbology and that potion class you mentioned. And maybe even your subject, Transfiguration, which frankly sounds fascinating. Besides, I suppose I can't go on breaking wizarding law every time I get upset.'',And that was that. Now she was here, trying on the Hat, and the Hall waited with bated breath.,Well, from what little McGonagall knew of her, it looked as though she would go easily into Slytherin. Prickly, shrewd, and even a little reptilian, if that could be said, she would fit right in with that house. McGonagall had personally been impressed with her, but then she wouldn't be the only Slytherin who would manage to gain her respect. She might be terribly biased for her house, but she strove hard to be scrupulously fair. She could already tell this girl would be one of those exceptional ones, if she weren't given too hard a time. Who knows? She might even go into Ravenclaw, if her mind was bright enough, which McGonagall didn't doubt.,Personally, the Thropp family hadn't impressed her much. The father was a little kooky, the crippled sister demanding and shrill, and the grandmother raunchy and arch at turns. The girl was sour-faced and difficult, but there was promise there. Well, they would just have to wait and see...,The Hat was taking its time. The silence was already breaking with murmurs and titters. McGonagall checked the hourglass and saw to her shock that it had been nearly five minutes already – nigh breaking her own record, and Peter Pettigrew's. Some students were difficult to sort, it was true, but rarely have they gone long under the Hat. What was going on?,Continued silence. And then –,'','',The result was so shocking that no one spoke. A couple of people even guffawed. Even Elphaba was shocked; her large brown eyes widened, then narrowed, as if she felt the Hat had said a joke in poor taste, and about her skin, no less.,Some of the Gryffindors, shaking themselves out of their shock, began to clap, struggling at a welcome not all their peers celebrated. Elphaba carefully placed the Hat on the stool and walked over to the Gryffindor table. She sat alone, crossing her legs beneath her, and looked at no one.,Such was the impact of the Hat's strange decision that many missed the next name on the list, a foreign student Tigelaar, Fiyero, who too was sorted into Gryffindor. McGonagall, though outwardly expressing nothing, could not help but shake her head inwardly. She didn't pretend to understand the inner workings of the magic Hat, but she wouldn't be surprised if the Hat had developed a funny bone in the millennium of its existence and decided to give everyone one heck of a trolling. Only Dumbledore didn't seem much surprised, leaning back serenely...but then, Albus had always seen what others could not...,Still. Green or no, a Gryffindor was a Gryffindor. And – though McGonagall would never be so blunt to admit it – that was good enough for her.,

James Sirius estaba bastante seguro de que nunca había corrido tan rápido en sus dieciséis años. Corrió por la calle, casi patinando en las aceras esmeriladas de Godric's Hollow. Le dolían los costados y había una clara sensación de ardor en su pecho que , podía ser buena, pero aun así corrió tan rápido como pudo. Ya casi estaba allí. Ahora, podría ver la casita en la distancia mientras pasaba por un cementerio pequeño y tranquilo que había visitado todos los años desde que era un niño pequeño. A pesar de su prisa, se detuvo por un segundo en el lugar familiar, jadeando y sin aliento.,- Hola abuela, abuelo. No puedo hablar ahora, hay una emergencia. Vuelvo pronto. ¡Adiós!,Tal vez era un hábito tonto, pero le gustaba hablar con la abuela Lily y el abuelo James de vez en cuando. Vaya cosa. Nadie necesita saber ese pequeño detalle, ni siquiera sus hermanos. Tacha eso, Especialmente sus hermanos.,La idea de dichos hermanos le grabó su situación actual. James agarró el trozo de pergamino hecho jirones en su puño y problemas su curso. La nota de Scorpius no había dicho mucho, pero de nuevo, ni Scorpius especificaba demasiado. Esto es lo que se había dignado decirle a James en esa pequeña misiva:,La pequeña plaga sabía , qué no decir para hacer que James supusiera lo peor. Ahora no podría relajarse hasta estar seguro de que los niños estaban bien. Angela no estaba feliz de ser abandonada en su primera cita, pero podía soportarlo y James pensaba recompensarcelo más tarde.,Finalmente, estaba corriendo por el pequeño camino de la entrada de coches, dirigiéndose hacia el interior de la casa.,Estaba tranquilo. La escarcha cubría las ventanas y una luz suave y acogedora brillaba desde el interior. La nieve caía suavemente, cubría la azotea y salpicaba los árboles. La escena de invierno le trajo una cierta sensación de paz. Era relajante ,Tranquilo.,Esas no eran frases que James solía asociar con su familia.,Sea lo que sea, iba a apostar su Saeta de Fuego a que no era algo bueno.,Recorrió el camino con un mal presentimiento. Como de costumbre, tuvo que mover un poco la puerta para abrirla, pero ésta cedió sin protestar. James entró, caminando por el pasillo familiar hasta la sala.,Scorpius fue el primero en verlo.,— ¡Gracias a Merlín! — exclamó aliviado. Estaba sentado en el sofá con Al y Lily a ambos lados. Lily lo saludó con su mano derecha agitándose y Albus lo recibió con una sonrisa alegre, haciéndole señas para que se acercara.,— ¡Lo hiciste! — él vitoreó. — Nos preguntábamos cuándo aparecerías.,James se acercó, frunciendo el ceño. sospechosamente esto no parecía una emergencia. No, esto parecía una trampa.,¡Lo sabía!,— ¿Qué esta pasando? — gruñó.,Scorpius parpadeó inocentemente.,—¿No recibiste mi nota? — preguntó.,—Dijiste que había una emergencia — le informó James en breve.,— ¿Lo hice? — Scorpius ladeó la cabeza y se golpeó el mentón con el dedo, frunciendo el ceño para obtener un efecto adicional —. No, creo que usé la palabra "Problema". Son palabras diferentes, ¿No lo sabes?, Pero entiendo tu punto. Que ,malentendido,Lily ahogó una risita y Al tosió, aparentemente tratando de ocultar una carcajada.,James iba a hechizar a alguien. Tres personas para ser específicos.,— ¿En serio? — escupió indignado. —¿Qué demonios, chicos?, ¡Estaba en una cita!,— La familia es lo primero — anunció Lily — Además, no queríamos hacer esto sin ti.,— ¿Hacer , sin mí? — James exigió.,— En una palabra, sufre — respondió Al. Sus ojos verdes brillaron mientras miraba a su hermano mayor y su expresión inusualmente sombría.,James frunció el ceño, tratando de darle sentido a esto. — Que esta...,Oh no.,Se detuvo y abrió mucho los ojos. De una forma Lenta pero segura, llegó a una conclusión muy premonitoria.,¡Oh, por el amor de Dios, no esto de nuevo!,— Me voy — espetó James, sacudiendo la cabeza frenéticamente y retrocediendo. —Nunca estuve aquí. ¡Nunca me vieron!,— ¡No te atrevas! — espetó Scorpius, levantándose abruptamente. Albus hizo lo mismo, avanzando hacia su hermano . — Si nosotros sufrimos, tú igual, ¡Así es como funciona!,Oh ,,.,— ¡Buena suerte! — gritó James empezando a correr. Esquivó a Albus y se dirigió hacia la puerta. Su mano estaba en el pomo de la puerta y estaba a un pelo de la libertad cuando ...,— ¿James?,James suspiró derrotado y se dio la vuelta.,— Hola papá — murmuró. Su Papá sonrió amablemente y lo hizo pasar. Los hombros de James se desplomaron y retrocedió, permitiendo que su padre lo abrazara a medias.,Había estado tan cerca de la libertad...,— Pensé que tenías una cita esta noche — dijo su papá, revolviéndole el cabello cariñosamente. James trató de no retorcerse por principio general.,— En realidad, sí—respondió, sintiendo una oportunidad para escapar. — Entonces, podría ...,— Cállate y quédate aquí con la familia — terminó Scorpius . Se las había arreglado para acercarse sigilosamente a la puerta, el chivato. Sostuvo la mirada de James significativamente mientras la cerraba. James frunció el ceño e hizo una nota mental para llegar más temprano de lo usual y tal vez tener la posibilidad de esconder las pociones para el pelo del maldito...,— Bueno, me alegro de que estés aquí — dijo papá, llevándolo de vuelta al interior —. No quería contar esta historia sin ti,James reprimió un gemido y se unió a sus hermanos en el sofá, asegurándose de empujar a Albus fuera del camino. Su hermano solo sonrió y se tumbó al otro lado del sillón, plantando sus piernas en el regazo de Scorpius. Lily se acurrucó en el hombro de Al cómodamente. Papá se acomodó en su sillón favorito frente a ellos, bebiendo un whisky. James se preguntó si podría buscar un vaso pequeño si prometía quedarse quieto para otra de estas historias. Era casi mayor de edad. Por otra parte, probablemente no lo haría, porque su padre golpearía el techo si se enteraba.,— Esta es una historia muy especial — comenzó su papá, girando el vaso con los dedos. Siempre hacía eso cuando se preparaba para una larga y agradable conversación —, Esta es la historia de cómo conocí a su padre,El ambiente de la habitación cambió bruscamente. James casi podía sentir el alivio llegando.,— Oh, hemos escuchado esa — chilló Lily.,— Rivales escolares, Gryffindor versus Slytherin — dijo Albus, alejándose sutilmente y parándose del sillón — Muchos duelos, peleas y bromas ingeniosas ...,— Un dragón o dos, ustedes superando las diferencias — añadio Scorpius, tomando el ejemplo de su hermano y tratando de finalizarlo. —Gran historia, papá. Muy fascinante. Así que si nos necesitas, estaremos ...,— Aguarda,Los chicos más jóvenes gruñeron y se dejaron caer en el sofá. James ocultó una sonrisa. Papá nunca contaba la misma historia dos veces. Siempre eran diferentes. Siempre eran nuevas y siempre eran largas,— Tu padre y yo estábamos juntos en la escuela — estuvo de acuerdo él—, Pero eso fue solo una parte de la historia. Esta es la historia de cómo todo se unió , del cómo lo volví a ver — Hizo una pausa y sonrió suavemente, sus ojos verdes brillando a la luz del fuego. — Y de cómo me enamoré de él.,— Oh — murmuró Scorpius sombríamente. — Qué maravilloso,— Yay — dijo Al inexpresivo.,James sonrió maliciosamente. — Si yo sufro, ustedes sufren — les susurró en el oído. Scorpius frunció el ceño y le clavó un codo en las costillas.,— Quiero escucharlo — protestó Lily, frunciendo el ceño a sus hermanos. — Me gustan las historias de papá.,— Por supuesto que sí — se quejó Al. — Tienes once años.,— ¡Es que son románticos! — chilló Lily, empujándolo furiosamente. James suspiró y la detuvo antes de que pudieran comenzar una pelea.,Lily le sacó la lengua a Albus antes de acurrucarse en el hombro de James. James sonrió con cariño y le revolvió el pelo. Oh bien, quizás no estaba tan mal..,— Está bien papá — admitió derrotado — Nos tienes. Cuenta la historia. ¿Pero crees que puedes hacerlo rápido?,Papá sonrió de una manera que no lo tranquilizó en absoluto.,- Haré lo mejor que pueda - prometió -. Todo comenzó hace veinte años. La guerra había terminado y acababa de terminar Hogwarts. Estaba listo para enfrentar el mundo con un nuevo y brillante futuro. Por supuesto, no estaba solo, estaba compartiendo un piso con tu tío Ron y tu tía Hermione. Fue el mejor momento de nuestras vidas. Éramos jóvenes, borrachos de nuestras esperanzas y sueños. Hemos sido un momento maravilloso para estar vivo ...

Muchísimas gracias a: Ying Fa Malfoy de Potter, Gabycha, Pain99, Rousmary, NUMENEESSE, Sweetvioleth, Angelica y Kane-noona.,Los personajes de , son creación de J.K. Rowling y , son creación de , Norihiro Yagi.,Con toda ese escena y con Teresa , la espada. Lucius caminó hasta el moreno y le pidió:,–Démela Potter y descanse.,Remus acercó una silla a la cama, donde Draco arrullaba a la pequeña Clare; que sintiendo la serenidad en su gestante se quedó dormida; en cambio Teresa estaba más que despierta y mirando todo con curiosidad. Lucius meció a su nieta y se acercó a Remus.,–Mira Rem, es hermosa y es una Malfoy.,Harry medio desmayado, masculló…,–Y Potter.,–Eso no se nota mucho, ellas son rubias… platino.,Insistió el patriarca Malfoy y viendo que Harry ya estaba recostado a lado de Draco, Remus intervino a favor de los Potter.,–Teresa, se emocionó con la espada de ,.,Draco por fin se soltó a reír…,–¡Oh por Merlín, ella tiene horas de nacida, no sabe de colores de casas o de familias nobles!,Theo rió divertido con su amigo. Los nuevos abuelos sostuvieron a las niñas en lo que Draco pedía que dejaran descansar a Harry con él en la cama. Nott levitó al moreno y lo colocó a lado del rubio que acarició el cabello rebelde de este y lo puso detrás de la oreja…,Remus vio el amor en los ojos grises del rubio menor y se sintió afortunado por Harry y por él; siendo receptores del amor de ese par; no en vano los habían ayudado en esa guerra contra Voldemort y se arriesgaron tanto por ellos e incluso Draco le dio una familia a Harry.,Theo miró a los mayores y con algo de timidez mencionó…,–He estado, estudiando algo de los libros de ,, si quieren, puedo revisar a Potter.,Los adultos se asombraron y luego asintieron, dejando que Theo examinará al moreno. Harry podía descansar y Draco también.,Las bebés parecieron removerse inquietas y Lupin opinó:,–Deben tener hambre.,El Malfoy afirmó y mando llamar a un elfo:,–Tiny, que alisten dos biberones.,El elfo hizo una reverencia y desapareció en un ,. Theo terminó y aseguró:,–Nada que no se cure con descanso y algunas pociones revitalizantes; pero yo diría que gran trabajo lo hará esta siesta. Pero si quieren estar más seguros, podemos llamar de nuevo a un ,.,–Confiamos en ti. Además creo que con la batalla en San Mungo deben estar muy ocupados. –opinó Remus.,Lucius arrulló de nuevo a Teresa y miró al rubio trigo…,–Sé que debemos ir a ver si necesitan ayuda, más…,–No somos tan necesarios; creo que Severus con ayuda de Sirius lo harán bien.,000,Las guerreras no descansaron, en cuanto regresaron a La Organización, fueron enviadas de nuevo a su siguiente misión.,Octavia ni siquiera miró atrás al avanzar hacia la búsqueda de… Isley del Norte.,Seguramente no regresaría; ella no era crédula; no obstante esos ,; daban palos de ciego al no ver que los , solo serían vencidos por otros ,.,Más tarde. No hubo mucha sorpresa, al notar que su ataques con al espada no hicieron nada contra el gran centauro de hielo que era Isley. Octavia terminó por , y como broma del destino su forma de , era muy similar a la de Isley.,Otra , se perdió y un nuevo ser despertado nació, Octavia: ,.,000,Los Weasley recorrieron el lugar en busca de todos sus hijos. No eran los únicos haciendo eso.,Los heridos eran llevados a un espacio acondicionado en el comedor del castillo. Severus daba órdenes a los maestros que no estaban tan heridos, para que hicieran una lista de todos los niños y los que podían debían ser enviados a su casa, por el momento.,Sirius recorría el lugar y tenía una muy mala tarea; el revisar cuantas y quienes eran las bajas.,La primera era por desgracia, Minerva MacGonagall, ella no fue devorada, pero si aplastada por uno de los más fuertes , que asaltaron. A ella se le unieron –en ese viaje sin retorno–, algunos , y dos maestros ,.,Los Weasley revisaron a sus hijos y los contaron. Estaban a salvo…. Por el momento. Ginny estuvo con sus compañeros a salvo y protegida por los que siempre molestaron… los maestros de ese curso.,Los prejuicios sobre bandos; no debían existir, no con ese enemigo en común; no obstante ¿De verdad no existirían? ¿O se dirigirían a algo o alguien más?,000,Hermione y Ron llegaron apresurados buscando a su amigo… sin embargo no lo encontraron en persona; o no de cierto modo, pues lo vieron irse con Lucius Malfoy, no así la historia de como venció al Señor Oscuro y no se quedó ni un minuto más, después de haber ganado.,Sirius vio acercarse a ese par y exhaló; al parecer era el elegido para contarles todo.,Hermione en cuanto se acercó comenzó a decir…,–¡¿Es cierto?!,–¿Qué? –cuestionó sereno el Black.,La castaña movió la cabeza tratando de poner en orden sus ideas.,–Harry… ganó… –Sirius afirmó y volvió a esperar que más deseaban saber eso leones– ¿Y dónde está? Nadie parece saberlo ¡¿Cómo no están preocupados?!,Ron se unió a su amiga y preguntó:,–¡¿No lo buscaran?! Vimos que se lo llevó Lucius Malfoy ¡¿Y si le hace daño?!,–Es cierto, después de lo que hicimos, de lo que Harry le gritó y…,–¡Basta! –Detuvo Sirius– Harry está bien.,Los chicos se quedaron estupefactos, y el , gruñó…– preguntaré si pueden ir a visitarlo. –El par solo atinó a asentir– No en este momento, porque tengo cosas que hacer; ustedes deberían de ver en que pueden ayudar.,Hermione agarró de la mano a Ron y se retiraron para unirse a Molly, que ayudaba a los heridos.,000,Como creyeron en un principio y por el motivo que Lucius iba a enviar a su hijo a Francia, sucedió y el aviso arribó a la Mansión, siendo recibido por el elfo mayordomo Tiny; que lo llevó con su amo.,En la salita del piso superior; Lucius alimentaba a su nieta mayor en lo que Remus lo hacía con Clare.,Ambos magos se sentían felices y casi podían olvidar que aún no se libraban de ese peligro mayor.,Tiny no deseaba interrumpir esa atmosfera de tranquilidad y felicidad, pero debía hacerlo.,–Amo, Señor Lucius, una carta del Ministerio, señor.,El aludido asintió:,–Déjalo en la mesa.,El elfo obedeció y se retiró. Remus comentó:,–Es por ellas ¿no?,–Seguramente, debe ser el registro de su nacimiento. Ese aviso sería fatal antes de hoy, pero el atolondrado de Potter lo evitó.,–No le digas así, frente a ellas.,Defendió Remus y el rubio platino se rió divertido.,…,Regresé porque debía más a esta historia y las personitas que se tomaron el tiempo de leerla. Y bueno por un poco de amor propio, desee dejar a las nuevas generaciones –y una que otra ya no tan nueva– la creación de fics, pero... señoritas las críticas se reciben se aprende de ellas y se sigue avante y no se pone uno a quejarse con su horda de fantards; un comentario siempre se agradece por muy simple que les parezca, ninguna somos escritoras profesionales para tener poses de diva. Los fics no son como hacer enchiladas y en granel, deben poner parte de sus emociones y buenas ideas así como un pedacito de nuestro ser en ellos; con buena ortografía, redacción y gramática, no por una frase o "," como he visto últimamente, quieran hacer una porquería por complacer. Parecerá que soy una vieja quejándose, pero no hagamos de este bonito hobbie un vertedero de mierd... mal hechas.,.,Bueno para quejas reclamos o un saludo les dejo mi perfil de Facebook que es:

Draco walked down the hallway of the Ministry of Magic. He was about to go home when a man came running down the hall calling his name. "Draco! Draco! I need to talk to you!" Draco turned around rolling his eyes. The man calling his name was Marty Mooney. Despite the funny name he was Draco's assistant, a rather annoying assistant. The thing that he hated about Marty was when he stared at his wife for too long.,"Draco….," panted Marty as he grabbed onto Draco's robbed. Draco brushed away the fat man's hand with a sneer. He personally hated the man with his over use of sandalwood and his overweight physique, he was disgusting. Marty's eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets as if they were going to pop out anytime. "What is it now, Marty?" asked Draco. Marty always seemed to be wanting something weather it be money or more sandalwood (come to think of it the smell of sandalwood and sweat were overpowering to the point Draco wanted to gag). "Remember your father?",For the first time Draco had known Marty his assistant had finally got his attention. His father disappeared about 18 years ago with no sign of were he is. Many people thought he was dead, buried somewhere were no one will find him but, Draco knew deep down it wasn't true. He was alive….somewhere he was alive. "What about my father?" he asked calmly. His insides were turning into knots with questions running through his head. Is he alive? Is he dead? Will he be alright?,Marty grabbed a hold on Draco's arm with caution in his eyes. "Your father came to us and…" Marty tried to get out the words but, it proved difficult. Instead of spilling out the words Marty spilled out his lunch. Draco stepped back in disgusted as Marty was still finishing emptying his stomach. "My God, Marty, pull yourself together! What do you mean my father came to you?" Marty looked up at Draco, wiping his mouth. "Joe got that box from some derelict down the street and Joe….I shouldn't have….I shouldn't….",Marty sat down on a near by chair taking a breath, his hands shaking. Draco looked at him with concern, what did Marty see in the dark? "When he opened it, they came out of no where","What did?","The chains…..the chains….and then a man appeared, he was ,in something I don't know….he told me he need to talk to you, that you were his father." Draco didn't believe the man, Marty had to be on something. Draco was about to walk away again until Marty showed him the box. "He said….you wouldn't believe unless I showed you ,." Draco took the box from his hand, he recognized it alright. The box was there in the Underground right after his father disappeared. "Where did you get it?","From the Underground….he's waiting for you."

He sat in the dark, listening to some old time music from possibly the 50's. He didn't care much for the music however, he listened to it all the time. His glasses couldn't even help him see in the dim light.,Why were they so mean to him? Why did they take him away from his aunt and uncle? Why did they run their test on him? Just what was it that they were trying to find within him?,The boy did not know, he only knew that whatever it was that they were trying to get from, they would not find it. Not from him at least.,He sometimes felt like crying, but knew the sick and vile people would only have satisfaction with that. Why is it they did this to him? What harm was he? Harry James Potter sat in the dark alone and tired from his restless dreams. He was living in fear. Fear of his captors, fear of the next little experiments they would run on him. He was sick of it all.,At times he felt like he should just claim his own life so that he may be spared the suffering. Honestly what were his options? He spent his entire childhood as a prisoner, he was cold and most of all he was lonely. So very afraid and alone. From age six to possible his mid teens he was stuck like a rat in the cage. Only at times in his youth did he sense a kind of presence of not being truly alone in the dark.,He sometimes liked to make up friends in order to keep himself from going insane due to the long hours of existing silence. Sometimes it would drive the poor kid insane. He would feel like something in the dark was lurking after him, like a predatory creature that wanted to do vile and sickening things to him.,All this sorrow, all of this emptiness has rendered Harry melancholy. He never smiled anymore, not even to his imaginary friend.,For when he was younger, he could sometimes sense the presence of someone else. But this person was not truly there, Harry did not know how to explain it. What was it called when someone could speak to one without being in the same room, as well as not using a telephone? telekinesis? He believed it to be called that.,As the sound of the door began to hiss, Harry looked up to see the door slowly sliding open. He knew who it was, the usual man who would come and take him away from more experiments. The man was a horrible one. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had every reason to want this man dead.,He could feel a burning rage inside of him whenever he was around, but why?,He had never met him before so why did this creep bully and pick on him?,Harry gets up slowly as he is told by the creep and is soon escorted out.,As he walked through the halls, he is nearly blinded by all the lights and his ears are filled with the beeping of the electrical devices that they possess. Why did they need these machines? Why did they strip him of his dignity and have him placed on an operating table so that they may run the blood work?,AS Harry laid strapped down on the operating table against his own will, he refused to struggle. He knew what would happen if he were to resist. They would only spray him with more cold water and let him go without any food.,As he machine began to shine its light down his face, Harry felt a sudden submission. He felt as if all dignity was taken from him and replaced with only fear. He even began to cry a little bit. But he knew he could not burst out in full tears. He would only get lashed at if he were to shed a single tear. The creep made his way next to Harry and only peered down at him with disgust.,What did Harry ever do to him? What could he have ever done to deserve such treatment from such an evil man. Why must he be so mean to him; a small and innocent child?,As the test gre more brutal with all the injections and the blood extractions, at the end of the day Harry was left drain mentally and physically. One of the scientist had said while Harry was tied down that he was a 'Marvel in the field of psychics.',What was that word they had used long ago? Psychic? What did that word mean, was Harry one? If so then could it mean that he is only their captive because he is one? He could not answer that question.,Whenever he was scared, or when he was at his core deep and rattled with anger weird things would always happen.,In which case, that was all the time.,To Harry he thought himself of being strange, he thought maybe he was a kinda freak of nature to be able to do such things. But then he figured if he was a true freak, than he he would be in a circus.,But the thing is, is that his circus was this small fifteen meter room, and this whole lab he has never yet explored.,He knew it was a lab because of all the computers and the people in the white coats, he knew he was in a lab because they had mentioned it way back when Harry overheard the Creep arguing with a woman.,Harry could feel their terror run cold when he was around, when they approached him. He terrified them.,Good.,But also that means they have more of a reason to keep him locked up.,As Harry sat on his bed, he covered himself with his arms for they never bothered on giving him a blanket.,As Harry layed shivering, he felt a small touch to his shoulder. All at once he stopped his shivering and looked up to see the young child. His imaginary friend. His only friend.,"Alma I'm glad your here. I had it so bad today. They did all these new things to me. They even stuck more needles into me like they did the other day.",As usual Alma didn't say anything, instead she only had a look of anger in her. Anger of what had happened to Harry, and anger at how she could never fully express herself to him.,As Alma layed besides him, her avatar of her psychic powers gave comfort to the boy while she herself sat in the dark undergoing more and more test from her vile father.,Alma sat in the dark, undergoing some test by a woman by the name of Dr. Greene. She was a full to be this close to her. Why is it that they all bothered with this. They will get no answers from her, no results. She was done with all the experiments. she only wanted out now. They took so much from her, the swing, her doll, her music box that she loved to listen to was all she was able to keep from them.,But soon they will take that from her, the always were able to find a way to hurt her without actually doing physical harm to her.,Dr. Greene sat there in her desk, asking Alma how she was doing.,Oh wouldn't she like to know. wouldn't she like to know how much the small girl would just love to rip her limb from limb and burn her to an ash as she laid screaming with pure terror as to the sight of the small girl with the powers of a dark and powerful goddess.,Little did Dr. Greene herself know that she herself was being under observation.,She was the one who was being tested on.,For it was not too long ago when Alma was able to discover her very abilities of causing people to hallucinate and see things that are not really there. One time she was ev en able to make a doctor stab himself in the eye with his own pen. That was a sight of pure gold.,Suddenly Dr. Greene gets up from her chair and walks to the front of her desk to confront Alma. She sits on the table and then says.,"You know I have a little girl like you." She says to the small girl who kept her fave covered with her jet black colored hair.,Alma almost laughed, but she kept her menacing silence. So she had a child who possessed abilities of a monster? She had a daughter that can cause people to hallucinate, and also have their heads explode it she gets the least bit upset?,Maybe the two might be able to go and play hop scotch some time.,Again Alma almost made herself laugh.,As Dr. Greene asks Alma if she may asks a few questions, Alma stayed silent. Again keeping her hair in her face. As Dr. Greene sat back down into her desk, she pulled out a pen and began to write. Alma kept herself where she was... for the moment.,As Dr. Greene slowly looked back up, she noticed that Alma was now a bit farther away from her desk.,As Dr. Greene began to signs of paranoia, she thought of what it was she was truly dealing with. She knew Alma was a psychic, but she did not know about the 'Others' before her.,"I am sure you have a pretty face, you mind pulling your hair back so that I can see it better?" Dr. Greene asks Alma, and still the child says nothing to her interrogator.,"Well I'm sure you have a pretty face." Dr. Greene says as she continues to write down her report, and as she does she is immediately caught off guard by the sudden surprise of seeing Alma appear right before her.,As an extended amount of unknown time went on in the interrogation, Dr. Greene had begun to feel more and more disturbed. She had moved from her desk and now was right besides Alma. "I have all day Alma." Dr. Greene said, suddenly there was a growling coming from within the vent that was by Greene, and as she turned her gaze from Alma for a split second, she returned to the child.,With total surprise, Dr Anne Greene was surprised to see that Alma was no where in sight.,Walking around a bit, and calling out for her name, Dr. Green was by her desk when she noticed the ghostly white face of the girl in the mirror of the two way mirror. As Dr. Greene looked back to see Alma in her desk that was in the center of the room, Greene sat back into her chair and put her hands to her face. Disguestful fear was overwhelming her. She knew now that it was no longer her who was in control, but Alma herself.,11:45 A.M.,"Alma if you don't cooperate I will have you taken back to your cell." Dr. Greene said, making it clearly sound like a threat.,Again Alma keeps her silence, and she keeps her face covered by her hair.,Not wanting to waste anymore time, Dr. Greene decided that it was now time to end this interrogation.,"Fine, I had enough anyways.",As Dr. Green walked back to her desk and began to scribble away and check off different things, she could feel her hands shake rapidly. Her heart rate began to uprise, and soon enough she lost all control over her body. She was moving without her will, and she was rapidly writing something down with inhumane speed.,And when she could not take much more, she suddenly stopped. As Alma got up from her desk, she moved with a flash to Dr. Greene. With a white finger the young girl pointed to a drawing of a man with a mask as well as black goggles.,3:00 P.M.,Alma whispers into Dr. Greene's mind.,The doctor just stutters and whips as she says. "No Alma." Greene says as she lays on the ground at the mercy of the demented psychci girl. To Alma she takes full pleasure of the torture she is causing on Greene. She was like the rest of them, she only cared about the psychic side of Alma, they all did. They all wanted the same thing, thus they all deserve to swept away and dealt with.,Alma whispers to Greene.,"No I don't want to play your games Alma," Dr Greene panics as she begins to hallucinate and finds herself in the cramped cell that Alma learned to call her room.,"ALMA!" Dr. Greene shouts as she is brought out of the hallucination and begins to hit the observation glass behind her desk. She slams her fist into the glass in hopes of gaining Charles Harbingers attention. But he doesn't do anything.,"Get me the hell out of here!" Dr. Anne Greene shouts as she looks back and sees the little girl in red.,Another hallucination brought on by the small child.,Greene sees Alma walking towards her in a long hallway, she whispers into her ear with a menacing hate and leaving Greene completely at Alma's mercy.,Alma whispers as she begins to walk to the woman.,"Who?" Dr. Greene says as she hides in a corner., Alma says as she approaches closer and closer to Dr. Greene., Alma says as she shows Greene the Replica Soldiers that she had helped build.,Dr. Greene feels her heart begin to hammer in her chest as she quickly grabs her chair and then tosses it at the powerful psychic child. But to her surprise, Alma was gone. Greene looks all around, and then crawls towards the door that is the only exit.,In the observation room, a man watches Alma dance in a circle around her chair as Dr. Greene begins to loose her own mind. In the dark the man takes notes and only watches.,On the paper he writes on, he marks the paper with a red stamp that reads FAILURE. He then looks up back at Dr. Greene and then the man gets up from his chair to walk out of the observation.,As the man gets up to take a call with the phone that is by his desk, he picks up the device and then pushes down some numbers. It is not long until he is finally speaking to his boss.,"Ms. Artiside...Project Alma is a failure, proceeding with the project would be a mistake. I didn't want to do it, but we had little choice. We are going to carry out with Project Origin as you had requested.",The man hangs up and then looks one last time at the girl. She sits and stares at the observation see through glass window. It is as if she could see him. He knows of her powers and that is why she scares him.,He then picks up his coat and begins to walk out, leaving the girl to be in her sea of loathing.,As he walks down a hall with busy security guards as well as scientist that can manhandle subject Alma Wade, the man who was known as Charles Harbinger began to wonder as to where the project will now go? What lies in the future for Armacham. How long can they keep there dirty little hands away from the public notice. eah they have some ties to senators, but even if the public knows then it will mean the end of Armacham. The U.S. government is not just going to sit on its ass and let illegal experimentation go on.,The F.B.I. such as will have their noses buried deep in the files that the company has been keeping from the government. And when the news is out about how bd Armacham really is, not only will people not be looking forward to be employed into the company, but it will give the leader boards bad names.,This had to be kept secret. All of it. Every test, file, experiment. All of it needed to be buried. Why did Aristide have to agree with this? What could drive a man like Harland into do something such as kidnapping ones own child and putting them thought the worst of shit possible What could honestly be going through his mind? What made he belive in what he was doing?,What did that make Charles?,He thought of himself being innocent. He didn't touch the child, he didn't do anything to her. It was all Harland and the other Armacham employees. All Charles wanted to do, was go home and sip on some coffee and call it a night.,But he knows even when he shuts his eyes, he will always see Alma. He will Always hear her screams, he will always see her hallucinations. And what terrified him the most, was the fact that she had now managed to contact the British boy.,That child had psychic abilities that none of the machines could manage to diagnose. That boy was a different story. His psychic abilities were not ordinary, they were something completely different. Something about his abilities were also scary. As if it were not psychic abilities, but something supernatural like magic. It was stupid to think of, but Charles knew damn well as anyone else that, that boy was not a mere psychic. Or if he was one at all.,Whatever it was, he knew that the boy would never see the light of day. It was evil to think of, but he knows there is nothing he can do. He has to think of himself, he has to follow what he is told. For that is all one can do at Armacham. And that is to do what you are commanded of, or you disappear.,Funny, people say that it is they who run the government. But the government believes they run the people. But they are both wrong. The truth of the matter is that big corporate companies like Armacham are the ones with all the power and control. Governments belive they have all the knowledge and secrets, but they aren't the only ones who keep people in the dark. For Armacham kept ordinary people and especially the government out of its business.,All Charles has to do now, is stick with the company and do what they say.,Because if he doesn't, then he knows what it will mean.

I do not own the , series or any associated characters. , is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the , or any associated characters/songs. , are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.,This is a , crossover. What happens when Harry escapes his cupboard and tries to run away from his horrible life in Little Whinging? Will Murdoc Niccals be his unlikely savior? Or is the evil bassist just out for his own personal gain? And just how does old Mudsy know about the magical world anyway? Stay tuned!, Timeline-wise I'm moving the HP timeline to where , starts at Phase 1 of Gorillaz so the years will follow the Gorillaz timeline but I plan for the events of both story lines to all intertwine. So you will see how things in the Wizarding timeline are effecting what's going on into the Gorillaz timeline and vice versa. Hopefully that clears everything up. Ages: Harry 11, Noodle 10, StuPot 22, Russel 25, Murdoc 34.,Private Drive in Little Whinging had always been a pristine location in the eyes of prime real estate. Each little house was situated perfectly parallel to one another and each yard was a flush, immaculate green. There wasn't a single lawn left un-mowed nor a single weed out of place and that's just how its inhabitants liked it. Even those who lived there seemed well groomed and mild mannered. As far as the neighbors were concerned, it was the perfect place to be without a single trouble in the world.,But there was one blemish – ,.,Oh, his relatives seemed nice enough. Petunia Dursleys was a bit thin, but then again she did have to cook and care for her own family plus one. Vernon seemed to have a temper on him. Sometimes his bark sounded a bit like an enraged walrus. Who could blame him? He was having to work extra hours to support the extra child in their home and with that most likely came stress. Their son Dudley seemed a bit on the round side perhaps. However, he was a growing boy and growing boys needed to eat to grow big and strong!,No, the Dursleys were a good, upstanding family. What, with taking in that Potter boy they had to be… They were charitable and optimistic about the boy that was for certain. From the gossip of the neighborhood, the Potters had been a loud obnoxious sort; died in a car crash. They were drunks most likely. Their boy was just as bad. Always talking back to the family who'd given up every shred of decency to give him a proper home. They were obviously under-appreciated for their efforts.,Sure every now and then the small slip of a boy could be seen tending the garden in his baggy shirts and ripped jeans. But he never seemed to do it without complaint. He just seemed uncivilized compared to the rest of his family. It was a general census that the problem was with the breeding. Once an uncouth hooligan, always an uncouth hooligan. And now there was talk that the boy was having troubles at school. Poor Petunia. How did she make due?,He was a rogue little upstart… a ,.,Harry let out a sad sigh as he stared at the dark ceiling of his cupboard. Not long ago the clock had chimed signaling the start of his eleventh birthday, and yet he felt no joy at the thought. He supposed his life wasn't all bad even if Petunia had poisoned the neighborhood against him. Even with all the grueling work he was forced to do, he at least had a mattress to call his own and a couple of toys and small possessions to try and pass his time with. But he was lonely and desperately wished he could have one of those loving families he saw everytime he snuck a look at the telly.,He wasn't daft, he , how they treated him wasn't in any way normal. He'd learned at school that other children received all three meals and sometimes more. He was aware that most parental figures hugged their children instead of smacking them around and forcing them into child-labor. He even saw how they treated Dudley as if the sun shined from his arse and could do no wrong. But not him. Harry was never good enough for that kind of special treatment.,He'd tried everything he could think of when he was younger to please them and hopefully change their hatred of him. But nothing had worked. Even trying to act pleasant toward them seemed to trigger their disdain. If he was too nice to them, they would just think he was up to something and punish him anyway. He couldn't depend on teachers to save him either as Petunia had already put in the , for him about his lies and fantasies before he'd even stepped foot in front of them.,The worst was when something , would happen. When he was much younger he could always remember , things happening like when Dudley's teddy exploded in a ball of fluff because he wasn't allowed to play with it or when Uncle Vernon's belts mysteriously vanished for a week after threatening Harry within an inch of his life after he'd accidentally broken their new coffee pot. As he got older, the more pronounced these strange occurrences seemed to be. His hair would grow seemingly overnight if his aunt tried to cut it. One of his teacher's wigs turned blue after she'd given him a rather lengthy lecture about chewing gum in class. Dudley's more hideous hand-me-downs would suddenly be too small to fit him. There was even one time he'd ended up on the roof after trying to outrun his cousin and his small group of thugs!,Harry would have found all of these events mildly interesting if it hadn't meant he'd get whooped before being shoved carelessly in his cupboard each time without dinner. Harry began to see this instances as more of a threat to his well-being than have any interest in finding out why these odd things kept happening to him. Why couldn't whatever it was just once help him escape this prison? He was so tired and lonely…,Suddenly he perked up in his little bed as he heard a faint click coming from his door. He cocked his head to the side and listened to the still house curiously, not daring to believe he'd heard right. Nothing seemed to move. He couldn't even hear the normal groans or creaks of the house. Everyone seemed to be sound asleep. Harry held his breath and watched with rapt fascination as he gently nudged the door open. His bed squeaked a little as he silently rolled off of it and cautiously stepped out from the cramped cupboard. Harry had always been small for his age, but the space was vastly becoming smaller to him with each passing day.,Harry found himself in a now very tempting situation as he stood between his cupboard and the imposing monstrosity known as the front door. His ears were still focused on the soundless house as he stared longingly at the barrier that was separating him from freedom. He wondered vaguely if this was a dream and pinched himself, yet he was still standing there. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearing two in the morning. It was no wonder everyone was still asleep.,He gulped as he took a tentative step forward. What did he have to lose by trying this, really? At most if he was caught he would get a well-deserved beating and be locked in tight for a day with no food. That was worth it wasn't it? To escape the hateful eyes of their nosey neighbors and to leave and never return to his relatives who had never liked him anyway? It was the one thing he'd wished for every birthday and now he suddenly had the chance of a lifetime.,He carefully undid the deadbolt and unlocked the main knob before opening it just enough and sliding into the chilly night. "I can't believe it," he muttered to himself with a sigh as he leaned his back against the door for a moment almost dizzied by what he'd just done. But then he seemed to snap out of it as he looked around noting that no one seemed to be up and about this time of morning. He should probably go now if he was going to at all.,As he quickly walked away from Private drive, he vaguely wished he had thought to put some shoes on his socked feet or maybe put on something more than the thin, worn pajamas he was still clad in. But he didn't let that deter him as he walked as far away as his feet would take him.,About an hour later, he knew that he wasn't in the best part of town. He could see an old rusty sign down the way that signaled he was close to Spinner's End which was where his aunt had always told him "the nasty sort" tended to live. He was getting tired and his breath was coming out in little short puffs as he looked around for a place to rest. His emerald eyes sparkled a bit when he spotted a small overgrown playground with a swing set. It wasn't much, but that swing looked comfortable enough to relax in for a moment. Making up his mind, he hurried over and plopped down before resting his forehead against the rusty chain in relief.,He barely took any notice of the two men that were paused a short distance away at the street corner. Their voices were low as they muttered to one another and seemed to trade something and then broke away from one another. The shorter of the two began to walk away as the taller stayed on the corner a moment longer before turning toward Spinner's End.,"Oi, wot's 'is?" the man's suspicious voice caught Harry by surprise as he looked up to see a grungy looking man with dirty blonde hair and rotting teeth. The man was staggering over toward him with a menacing twitch. "Oo are you and whadaya' doin' on my turf, kid? Did Philly send ya' ter spy on me?","N-no, sir." Harry stuttered as he slipped from the swing and slowly backed away. "I don't know a Philly…" he trailed off.,"Speak right proper now, don't ya'?" the crazed looking man said before fixing him with an accusing glare. "You , one o' Philly's! Ya' tryina' steal my customers! Well I got's a message fo' Philly, boy," he threatened stepping closer. He seemed to take great delight when the small boy lost his footing and fell backwards next to the swing. He watched as the small boy's eyes widened in horror as the man took out a switchblade from his jacket pocket. "C'mere kid, this won't hurt a bi-",Harry stared up in awe as several things seemed to happen at once. A bright flash of red light blinded his vision as the scary man let out a yelp of pain and was practically blasted away from him at least ten feet. Harry winced a bit as he heard the sickening crack of the man's head connecting with the sturdy metal of the slide he collided into. Blinking rapidly, Harry stared too shocked to move.,"You okay, kid?" a raspy voice asked causing Harry's head to jerk to the side. The youth's mouth nearly dropped open as he was met with the sight of the most terrifying man he'd ever seen. He had wild, bloodshot eyes with crazed looking mismatched pupils. Harry wondered if the one was infected as it was a rather alarming shade of red. The bags under this man's eyes were defined and puffy. His limp hair was short and greasy looking. His skin looked like it might have been pale once, but was currently taking on a sickly hue of green. Even his clothes looked stained and un-kept. This was definitely not the kind of man his family would have associated with, that much was for sure. And yet, Harry couldn't help but find himself staring up at the man in queer fascination.,That's when the man's words seemed to catch up with Harry's overwhelmed mind and he realized the rough looking man was asking him a question. "Uh, yeah. S-sorry, um…" he quickly scrambled to get up and cleared his throat before trying to appear presentable which was a lost cause as he was quite filthy now from his tumble. "T-thanks, sir," he said politely, watching as the man's eyes seemed to take in his curious choice of outfit.,"Sir?" the man laughed a wheezing croak of a sound, "'Been a long time since someone called me 'sir.' Not from around 'ere are yeh? This innit a safe place for tots li' you, kid," the man said after a moment before taking out a silver zippo and lighting a cigarette. Harry watched in fascination as the man inhaled deeply before releasing a cloud of smoke that curled all around him making him look even tougher than before. "Betta' run back to wherever yeh came from.","I can't," Harry found himself saying, his small fingers fidgeting with the hem of his slightly large pajama top. "They won't miss a freak like me," he muttered, looking down at his dirty socked feet with a frown.,The older man quirked his brow at the kid's choice of words and shrugged. "You runnin' away? Won't get far without shoes," he snickered, taking another puff of his cancer stick before looking nostalgic. "It's a nice effort though. Reminds me of the good ol' days when I'd sneak away from me Pop until that blasted Hannibal would rat me out." He looked decidedly sour at that thought and snorted, "Fuckin' poof.",Harry found himself laughing before he could stop himself. Such language was completely unheard of where he was from. In fact this man was probably everything he'd been warned against as a child – the very definition of freakishness. Yet, Harry couldn't help but be drawn to his strange looking savior.,"Hn, maybe you're no' so bad after all." The man smirked before tossing his cigarette down and stepping on the butt. "Anyways, you betta' run off befo' that oaf wakes back up. E' may not go so easy on ya' next time if he thinks yer scarin' his clients away.","Clients?" Harry asked, not really sure what the man was talking about. "I really don't know what he was on about. I don't know a Philly," he insisted, then sighed. "I don't really have a place to go, but I refuse to go back to my relatives. The only thing they want me for is a whipping boy and they'll just lock me up again.",The older man gave the boy a searching look at that and shifted his stance a little as he thought things over. His eyes seemed to linger on the boy's almost ,slim form. "Well, yeh can't stay here, kid. It's too dangerous 'round here," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "What's your name, kid?","Harry," he answered bravely, sticking out his hand in greeting. The man did save his life after all so he felt he was doing the right thing. "Harry Potter.",The man's eyes widened slightly as his mismatched pupils strangely darted to the scar on his forehead as if he already knew where to look. But before Harry could question his reaction, the man had thrust his own curiously clawed hand at him and shook it vigorously. "Murdoc Niccals, at yer service," he practically purred, his voice suddenly taking on the oily quality of a salesman as he grinned like a shark circling its prey. "How would yeh li' to come back with me and meet me band?","B-band, sir?" Harry asked bewildered at the sudden change.,"That's righ' kid," Murdoc said arrogantly as he stood a little straighter. "You're talkin' to the , of the world famous ,. Now, now let's be on our way an' while we're at it you can tell me why yeh ran away from these relative o' yers.","But where are we going?" Harry asked.,"Why to , of course," Murdoc said knowingly, pausing only to pluck something from the nearly forgotten crumpled body next to the rusty slide before turning and striding away with a skip in his step. Harry waited only a moment before hurrying to catch up with his new friend and silently marveled about how this was his most interesting birthday yet., And there you have it! The start of what will be a very long adventure. I've seen a few , cross overs and found that I liked the idea but wanted more depth so plan on eradicating this issue and making a story of my own.,Let me know what you think!

And of course, no fandom is ,complete without a Harry Potter crossover! Except this story doesn't include Harry Potter and co. I like to think this story takes place a few hundred years later or something or it's simply an AU.,This was written mostly for my enjoyment more than anything else. I tried to think of a plot at one point but then I realized I didn't find much enjoyment trying to find something that simply didn't exist since this was my way of having fun and letting my imagination wander free so I decided to just screw plot and as a result ,The chapters will be relatively short, 6 pages or so, compared to my usual, longer "full-length" chapters of around 14-16 pages.,Also, , Check out Tumblr ask blogs of askthebam and dead-mechanic. As such, ,This'll be mostly a gen fic but there might be, because gawd if I can help myself.,Since this is a mostly for-fun project with no plot and therefore no end in sight, ,The grand castle was majesty itself painted out of the nebulous dreams of fairy tales and Evan was in utter wonder.,Not even in his wildest imagination would he ever think that he would end up here but end up here he did into a world of fantastical and impossible proportions. He could hardly keep his jaw off the floor as he gawked unattractively around, staring as he was at his new surroundings dazedly while he moved with the rest of his group through the yawning hallways and sweeping stone staircases.,They eventually stopped in front of a set of grand double doors that seemed to arch all the way to the ceiling, larger than any other door he's ever seen in his life, its wood carved with a multitude of things that Evan didn't have a chance to fully make out before the doors opened with a slow creak without prompting. Their guide never once broke stride as she continued down the aisle between two of four elongated tables that took up the massive room seated in which must have been hundreds of other people, all eyes on them and just like that, his wonder was quickly doused by the heady return of anxiety.,The entirety of the area was lit in the warm glow of many hundreds of little fires flickering on candles positioned elegantly on their candelabras and even suspended midair above which was the breathtaking beauty of the starry night sky. What was most eye-catching, however, were the four banners strung above the four tables, resplendent in their unique individual colors and animals.,Their guide led them towards the front of the room where a group of what must be his future teachers sat behind tables upon a dais, their gazes upon the youngsters standing nervously before them.,Evan watched tensely as their guide brought forth a stool sat upon which was a beaten-up ragged pointed hat that had definitely sen better days and started in surprise when the large stitch that stretched around the bottom half of the hat moved before parting and the hat started to ,Evan gaped at it before remembering that he ,in a school for , so he should really learn not to be surprised with things like this but he couldn't help himself. Everything was so new and unfamiliar and it felt as though his world just turned upside-down and inside-out.,At last, the song was finished and the room settled back into silence and the guide stepped up again and produced from within the folds of her deep emerald robes a rolled up piece of parchment from which she started to read names.,Evan watched as one by one, each student sorted into one of the four different houses represented by the animals upon the banners, his trepidation growing with each person called.,"Belderos, Velderoth!","GRYFFINDOR!",He wondered which house he would be in.,"Chase, Mimi!","HUFFLEPUFF!",Would he be able to make friends?,"Grace, Cygnus!","RAVENCLAW!",Scratch that. Would he be able to even fit in?,"Kaiser, Kyle!","GRYFFINDOR!",What if he never did?,"Miller, Evan!",Evan jumped and immediately moved to scurry forward but stumbled and fell onto the cool, smooth stone floor.,A scattering of muffled laughter immediately sounded from around the room at his blunder and he flushed as he picked himself up and moved more carefully to the front of the room where he sat on the stool, still an embarrassed red, and allowed the ratty hat to be put gently on his head.,"Ah, you're a curious one aren't you?",Evan almost started in his seat at the unfamiliar voice whispering in the spaces between his ears but thankfully managed to fight the impulse down. He didn't need to humiliate himself any further tonight thanks.,"Potential. Lots and lots of potential in you indeed and a very noble and open character you are.",Evan fisted his robes tightly in his hands and had begun to twist the cloth in his stomach-churning apprehension. His eyes roved frantically over the mass of eyes on him, starting to chew on his lower lip even as his heart threatened to race out of his chest.,One of the students sitting at the Ravenclaw table caught his skimming eyes and smiled at him. Evan tried to return it but all that he could usher forth was a nervous twitch at the corner of his lips.,"Hmm… where shall I put you? Hufflepuff perhaps? You will fit in well with such friendliness and loyalty. Or perhaps Ravenclaw. Your mind cries to be challenged, to learn.",The time it was taking the hat to decide was setting him more and more on edge. Did the others take as long as it's taking him to get sorted? Oh geez he hoped not. He didn't want to be the odd one out.,In his desperation to leave, he voiced the one thing he wanted within his head, hoping the hat could hear him like he could hear the hat.,"I just want to go where I can make friends, ,friends!",The hat paused.,"Interesting. Very interesting. If that's the case then you'll do well in GRYFFINDOR!",There was a cheer at the announcement and relieved, Evan beamed and gratefully took off the hat and all but fled to the corresponding table, heart pounding against his ribcage.,He thought his hands and legs might be trembling a bit and he was glad that he wasn't staggering around instead.,He made it to an empty seat and collapsed into it, letting out a burst of air as he did so.,"Good job up there, firstie!" a sunny voice congratulated to his right, patting him enthusiastically on the back.,Evan gave a weak smile to the teen sitting next to him, immediately struck by the mass of flaming red hair with a pair of goggles affixed onto his head.,"Luka MacIntyre, sixth year at your service!" Luka introduced, with a salute while holding out a hand to shake. "Nice to have you on board.",Evan's smile turned into a grin as he took the hand. "I'm Evan. Thanks.","No problem! If you ever have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! I'll be glad to show you the ropes around here, stupid place as confusing as it is.",Evan relaxed in the face of Luka's amiable personality and he felt a sense of overwhelming relief crash over him down to his deepest core.,He's made his first friend!,The burst of happiness that followed sat in his stomach throughout the entire sorting and when the Headmaster's opening address concluded, he gasped as a variety of mouth-watering food suddenly materialized onto the table.,Evan's eyes darted from one thing to another, unsure where to even begin. Now that he was off his nervous high, his stomach was rumbling with hunger.,"Just take a bit of everything," was Luka's jovial advice as he did just that, piling as much food as the poor plate could hold.,Evan laughed and decided to follow his advice, stacking a little of each food on the table; some roasted ham, some baked potatoes covered in melting cheese, a little bit of peas, and a couple meat pies onto his own plate.,They were all absolutely delicious and Evan sighed blissfully as the savory taste flooded his mouth and senses. As much as he hated to admit it, it might be as good as or even better than his own mother's cooking and she was one of the best in the kitchen. He wasted no further time sampling whatever he could get his hands on but made sure to remember the manners his mother had sternly instilled in him and made sure to make minimum mess. Even if she wasn't there, he couldn't bring himself to disobey her.,"So uh, Luka. Is there… is there anything I should look out for?" he eventually got around to asking as he started on a particularly tasty piece of dessert.,Luka hummed, amber eyes almost golden in the light rolling about languidly as he thought before he finally answered with his mouth still full of pie, "Well, there's a few things. Peeves for one but I think you'll get the hang of it eventually. The professors aren't all that bad but you should probably know who your own Head of House is.",He gestured towards one of the professors sitting at the long table.,He had a head of bright blond hair and blue eyes. He was rather tall and even underneath the cloak Evan could tell that he was rather well-built.,"That's Professor Lux. He's also our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He gets a bit overenthusiastic sometimes but he's still pretty cool. And I'm guessing you know who the Headmaster is right? Guy sitting at the middle of the table? Professor Rubenstein is someone you definitely never want to summon you into his office. Strictest Headmaster ever. But I'd definitely say if there's one person to watch out for, it's the Head Boy. He's a real pain, him, but the difference between Head Boy and good ol' Headmaster Rubenstein is that you see him all. The. Time.",He pointed towards the end of their table with a fork and Evan's gaze followed the path down to where a tall, pale teen sat stiffly at his seat and the first thing Evan noticed was the shocking head of silver hair that seemed to taper off into a light bluish tint near the tips that just barely brushed his shoulders. His severe eyes were just as startling as his hair with one crystalline blue iris and the other a deep crimson. His sharp features were hardened and stern and everything from the way he ate to his posture screamed of strict discipline with how rigidly he went through the motions. Everything about him was distinct and it was easy for the eye to be drawn towards him given how utterly… different he was from his peers.,Evan couldn't help but feel a pang of pity at the lonely picture he cut against the backdrop of lively chatter and laughter.,"That," Luka said, jabbing his fork towards the older boy as if in emphasis, "is Luminous Erevos. He can be just as strict as old Rubenstein! He's also unfortunately Gryffindor which means we get the honor of hanging around his royal pain-in-the-ass highness more than anyone else.","I don't know," Evan said hesitantly. "He looks a bit lonely.",Luka waved his concern away. "Believe me, he prefers it this way. I have no idea why but he's always distant to everyone. As far as I know, he has just one friend and one archenemy.","Really? Who?" Evan asked, unable to contain his piqued curiosity.,Luka turned in his seat and directed his attention towards another teen sitting at the Ravenclaw table and Evan immediately knew who he was.,"Enter Freud Aiedail," Luka introduced, oblivious to Evan's familiarity with the older boy his sweeping arm was gesturing towards. "One of the best Hogwarts has ever seen in over a century, Luminous's only friend, and prodigy in pretty much everything. Give him a subject and he's guaranteed to exceed it. He could've made Head Boy but I think he refused for some reason. Some folks say it's because he wanted Luminous to have the title. He's still a prefect though. Huh. Actually when I really look at you two…" He looked back and forth between Evan and Freud. "You kind of look alike. You two related?",Evan smiled faintly. "Distant cousin.","Ah. Well, let's hope some of his genius rubbed off on you huh?" Luka laughed, nudging Evan playfully before continuing to point at someone else much further away and Evan had to clamor a little closer to him to see who Luka was referring to.,He was pointing to what looked like a blond with a short, stylish haircut, chatting with someone next to him and leaning closer towards her more than was strictly necessary. Even from this distance, Evan could tell he was rather handsome.,"That is Phantom Noir, show-off and flirt extraordinaire. Weird name I know. Transferred in fourth year and caused quite the ruckus when he first did. Most popular guy in the whole school but he was a lot moodier back then than he is now. He and Luminous get on like water and oil and it's one spectacular show when they get into one of their fights!" Luka exclaimed gleefully. "It's too bad you didn't get to watch their showdowns back a few years ago before Luminous made prefect. They were legendary! But even now they give great entertainment. It's one of those must-see things before you graduate Hogwarts! Or rather before ,graduate. All three are seventh years.","Oh." Evan blinked. "Is there anyone else I should know about?","Glad ya asked!" Luka said, swiveling back around energetically, almost like an eager child. "Her. You see her?",Evan nodded, after all, how could he miss one of the most , girls he had ever seen? With her cascade of golden locks, clear, sparkling sapphire eyes, and elegantly shaped face, he wondered how he could've missed her in the first place. Her figure was rather delicate and she held herself with all the grace of a queen.,He hadn't even realized he was gawking until a hand kindly pushed his jaw back up.,"I know right?" Luka agreed dreamily with his unspoken thoughts.,He could barely tear his eyes away from her to look back dazedly at his new friend before his eyes inadvertently flickered back towards the beauty sitting at their table further away, laughing in what could only be an exquisite manner, a small hand covering her mouth daintily.,"She's Mercedes Artemisia. Her name's a lot longer because she's supposed to be from some noble family or something. She's ,most popular girl in Hogwarts, seventh year so I have one more year before never seeing her lovely face again." He sighed woefully at the bleak prospect. He shook Evan forcefully by the shoulder and asked, "Do you see her ears?",Evan snapped out of his stupor at the abrupt movement. Now that he wasn't busy concentrating on Mercedes's features, he saw that her ears were shaped differently. It was a bit subtle but it was still there.,"They're pointed!" he exclaimed.,"Yeah. There's rumors that she's some weird mix of elf, Veela, and human. I don't know 'bout you but I'm ready to bet there's some Veela in her.",Evan didn't know what a Veela was but he numbly nodded nonetheless.,With one more firm shake on the shoulder, Luka directed his attention elsewhere again and pointed out another girl sitting at the Hufflepuff table. She had a head of long silver hair bundled into a high ponytail that trailed down to her waist but unlike Luminous's hair, the strands were more white than gray. She had tanned skin with icy-blue eyes set into rather strong features and she seemed rather tall for a girl, the top of her head a good few inches taller than most of the other students in the surrounding area.,"That's Aran Brynhildr, seventh year and Head Girl. She's also one of the best Quidditch players ever. She's played all kinds of positions and she's awesome in all of them but she's best as a Beater. Hoo boy could she , You should definitely see. One time she hit a Bludger so hard that—","Wait, what's Quidditch?",Luka almost fell off his seat in a dramatic show of shock and grasped tightly onto Evan's upper arms, shaking him vigorously.,"What's Quidditch? , Oh Merlin this is a disaster! You don't know what , is? Oh no, no, no. We're going to fix that. We're going to fix that starting tomorrow. How could you not know what the greatest sport in the ,is? ," Luka cried as though the lack of knowledge about Quidditch broke some fundamental rule of the universe.,"Um… right," was the only thing Evan could think to reply to his overdramatic friend. "So uh, is there anyone else I should know about?" he asked hastily, hoping to distract Luka from the subject of Quidditch.,Sobering up but not without one final woe-be-me sigh, he gestured towards a teen sat at the Ravenclaw table.,This one also had a head of wayward metallic-silver hair and a set of red eyes stoically trained on the meal in front of him, only occasionally pausing to have conversation with the surrounding people but other than that seemed to keep mostly to himself.,"And finally, that there is my best friend Aidan Garrett! HEEEEEEEY AIDAN! HEEEEEY! HEEEEEEEEEY!" Luka called, waving his arms about the air madly and attracting stares. Evan groaned, feeling inclined to be embarrassed for his new friend making a fool out of himself in the middle of the crowded dining hall.,His calls did succeed in attracting the person he intended to though and the teen named Aidan finally looked up with a grumpy scowl on his face and flicked Luka off with his middle finger.,Luka simply beamed at the rather rude gesture directed towards him and Evan began to question the veracity of him calling Aidan his "best friend." He didn't seem all that taken to the redhead and Luka didn't seem to notice. In fact, Evan wondered if grumpy was his default facial feature.,"Don't worry he may look grumpy but he's really a big teddy bear inside," Luka said happily as though reading his mind. "We grew up together so I would know," he continued, nodding to himself.,"Okay…",Deciding it was safer to just go with it and not question him any further, they spent the rest of the time eating and getting to know one another.,Eventually, dinner was finished and everyone was herded into groups by prefects and moved to their respective dorms.,Evan couldn't help but let his gaze wander wonderingly at the moving portraits and the medieval architecture of the halls and stairs, letting out a small sound equal parts amazement and dread at the dizzying amount of staircases that moved by themselves.,How on earth will he ,learn to navigate through the maze that was Hogwarts?,They finally came upon a giant portrait of a fat lady and one of the prefects taught the password to open it to their common room, warning about the occasional password changes and to be aware of them before they stepped through the hole and entered.,Evan stared around him, his mouth forming into an inaudible "wow" as he took in the sight of the living quarters he'll be calling home for the duration of his stay at Hogwarts.,The Gryffindor common room was a very cozy space filled with lavish red and gold. A large fireplace sat at the front of the room flanked by tall windows with comfortable-looking armchairs, couches, tables, and desks scattered throughout the room for the students' perusal.,They were ushered upstairs to the dormitories where the girls were directed to one entryway while the boys were directed to another and Evan was eventually led to the room where he'll be sleeping.,There were five four-poster beds decked in the traditional house color of red. A tall window and a bedside table separated each bed arranged in semi-circle headboard-first against the wall.,At the foot of one of the beds second from the right, Evan spotted his trunk and he supposed that was the bed he'll be sleeping in from now on. He had just opened it to ensure that all his belongings were intact when the sound of footsteps and loud laughter drawing nearer reached him. A few seconds later, the door was thrown open and two boys walked in.,One of them had steel-blue hair that reached down the nape of his neck and electric-blue eyes. He wore a wide grin on his face and the gait as he marched into the room was full of self-confidence. Every movement he made was energetic and jittery and he looked as though he wouldn't be able to sit still even if he were tied to a chair.,Striding beside him was another boy with blondish-brown hair and calm hazel eyes. He somehow felt older than his age, even more so when he walked side-by-side with his friend where his calmness was only exacerbated where it could be contrasted with the energy exuded from the boy next to him.,He vaguely recognized them as first years that were sorted into Gryffindor as well but he couldn't quite recall their names.,He stood from where he crouched by his open trunk as they approached and unsurprisingly, it was the first boy who spoke first.,"Hi! I'm Kyle Kaiser!" he introduced rather boastfully, "The next Kaiser in line to take over the family business! What about you?","Um, hi. I'm Evan Miller, the next Miller in line to uh… Utah's stuff I guess," Evan introduced awkwardly in turn, unsure what to make of the rather large personality in front of him.,The boy next to Kyle smiled amusedly. "Don't mind Kyle. He just has a big head." He ignored Kyle's indignant "Hey!" and held out a hand to shake. "I'm Velderoth Belderos and yeah, I know it's as stupid as it sounds. Blame my parents.",Evan grinned. "At least it almost rhymes.",Kyle laughed loudly at Velderoth's groan which in turn caused Evan to laugh. Kyle's laughter was rather infectious.,A fourth boy arrived a while later, almost slamming the door behind him as he slunk towards the bed second from the left and all but falling onto it face-first. He grunted out his name—Alpha—but only after being prodded insistently by Kyle, saying no more for the rest of the night having chosen instead to immediately drop off to sleep in fitful snores and opting from joining his fellow roommates as they sat in a circle on the floor despite Kyle's best efforts otherwise.,"So someone could actually be immune to your pestering," Velderoth teased with a smirk.,"Shut up, ,," Kyle shot back, enjoying the sullen look that immediately overshadowed Velderoth's face at the nickname.,Evan laughed, already liking the duo's company.,They stayed up a little while longer before finally retiring for the night, looking both eagerly and anxiously forward to the first day of classes at Hogwarts.,The last bed remained empty for the rest of the night.,I had originally already sorted these characters a few months ago on my Livejournal which included my explanation why I thought they'd go into which house. I also originally sorted the Chief Knights into houses too before I changed my mind and decided to make them professors. It's kind of outdated but the general gist is still there. If you're interested, feel free to check my Livejournal through the link in my profile and look for the Harry Potter tag on the right. I meant to continue sorting more people but then stuff happened so I didn't finish it.,Hope to see you again!

Oneshot, solo una probada.,Dumbledore estaba parado enfrente de la gran mesa en grimmauld place, estaba un poco cansado mirando a todos los miembros de su actual orden del fenix.,Era una sombra de sus tiempos dorados, pero con escasos magos valientes y de confianza, ahora tenia que limitarse a algunos estandares -Albus- Minerva le llamo, sus ojos severos para ponerse de pie -le llego esto- expreso.,El viejo director arqueo la ceja a la carta, pensando si leerla ahora o despues -una carta- pregunto mirandola, carecia de cualquier sello significativo.,-Acaba de llegar- la propia maestra frunció el ceño pensativa -no se como- acepto en desconfianza.,-Bueno, una carta no puede ser nada malo- el anciano desestimo para mover su varita alrededor del papel solo por si acaso.,-bueno, nada sospechoso- se burlo Snape que todavia lanzaba algunas miradas acidaz a Sirius, este compartia el propio desagrado.,Dumbledore prosiguio a romper el sello, sus ojos se abrieron mientras leia el titulas y luego continuo la lectura de una forma concentrada y un rostro serio.,-¿Director?- cuestiono Snape con curiosidad, nunca habia visto al anciano con esa expresión su preocupación solo aumento pues conforme la lectura avanzaba el miedo se podia sentir en su entorno.,Dejo caer la carta con un rostro desencajado y una palidez enfermiza, las platicas casuales de las personas que no se habian dado cuenta de todo esto en el inicio se detuvieron entorno de aquella gran mesa en medio de las despedidas de la Orden del fenix.,Mirandoses preocupados, Tonks se puso de pie no esperando a que cualquiera reaccionara, miro a su alrededor y tomo la palabra -Director- llamo tentativa desde su asiento con las manos apoyadas en la mesa.,El susodicho dejo sus hombros caer, cada uno presente solo observo como su lider envejecia notablemente, este se sento pero se mantuvo en silencio reflexivo, se quito los lentes y se masajeo los ojos aun distante.,-Pasa algo Albus- Minerva intento nuevamente al ver a su ex alumna ser ignorada, Snape no cuestiono simplemente levanto la carta para comenzar a leerla.,Por un momento el miedo brillo en sus ojos oscuros -Por Merlin- fue lo unico que pudo decir recargandose en la mesa -no pense que esto fuera tan serio- lanzo la carta con desagrado en la mesa, miro al director que afirmo arreglandose la tunica comenzo su retirada intempestiva.,-A donde vas- Sirius fue lanzado aun lado por el pocionista que salio disparado, dando un portazo que levanto el retrato desagradable de su madre.,Ahora todos tenian por completo curiosidad hasta el punto en que no era nada los gritos de la señora en el retrato ni de los adolescentes que fueron empujados fuera nuevamente de la sala por una Molly con miedo en su rostro.,-¿Que es?- Remus miro la carta, todos se miraban para luego descanzar en el papel con cierta renuencia de leerlo a causa del impacto que causo en fuertes magos.,Harry Potter y sus amigos seguian afuera del comedor mirandose entre alcanzando a ver como los adultos se congregaban entorno al comedor.,-Ellos han decidido intervenir- expreso el director con sus ojos cansados mirando a su entorno.,-¿Ellos?- Kingsley empujo, cansandose del misterio pero tampoco dispuesto a tomar el papel para leerlo el mismo.,-Una carta de la Cardenal Catherina Sforza, Duquesa de Milán- Dumbledore tenia un tono oscuro mientras miraba a su entorno.,-¿Cardenal?- Sirius no entendía que era eso, pero miro su entorno y noto que algunos parecían confundidos del ajeno termino mientras los conectados al ministerio mostraban ojos de horror ante la comprensión.,-Es una broma- Tonks escupió mirando con verdadero terror aquel papel olfateando de vez en cuando con una actitud nueva para el ultimo Black.,-¿Que significa eso?- Sirius trataba de recordar si esa palabra le era conocida en alguno de sus pocos conocimientos que no fueron perjudicados por su estancia en la prisión.,Después de pensar el tiempo en que el silencio se extendió en la vieja sala, pudo encontrar el termino o titulo de cardenal a algo relacionado al mundo muggle... pero ¿porque el miedo? era inquietante saber que ignoraba un asunto importante.,Minerva levanto el papel con su estricto gesto pellizcado, como si el director le estuviera mintiendo al leerlo por su propia voluntad -no puede ser- se abanico con su mano, por un momento la fortaleza titubeaba -porque ahora-,-Al parecer notaron el incidente con Harry- aseguro Dumbledore tan depresivo -están cansados de ser ignorados, han solicitado una temporada de inspección no solo al ministerio... al propio Hogwarts- detallo con la actitud de misterio tortuoso.,Sirius torció la boca por lo comentado del anciano -No pinta muy bien- Remus delato su presencia oscura desde su lugar ignorando la inquisitiva mirada del ultimo Black pues a comparación la palidez enfermiza se había acrecentado evidenciando su propio conocimiento del tema desconocido.,-COMO PUEDEN PERMITIRLO- Moody golpeo con fuerza su bastón enviando magia a través de las paredes, todo tembló ante el temperamento volátil del antes auror causando gritos de los adolescentes y una regañada de Molly que fue ignorada -esa bola de escoria no tienen el derecho de meterse en nuestros asuntos... el vaticano de mierda no tiene ni tendrá en mil años derecho sobre nosotros- maldijo con un odio profundo -no después de lo que hicieron a nuestra comunidad-,Un silencio pesado se instalo en cada miembro de la orden, algunos comprendiendo la magnitud del asunto aun un sangre pura como Sirius conocía lo que el vaticano significaba uniendo los puntos solo podía palidecer si "cardenal" estaba relacionado junto con las intenciones que Dumbledore explico.,-es una broma- exclamo sintiendo su sangre hervir supliendo su miedo, sus enseñanzas Black tenían algo muy inculcado y eso era lo villano que era el llamado vaticano... la cede de la religión muggle.,A cada miembro de la comunidad mágica le tenían rencor a la iglesia y lo que representaban, la religión no era ejercida de manera abierta no después de lo que les hicieron en el pasado con su cacería injustificada a través del mundo.,Sirius trago grueso pasando por alto la molestia de su progenitora que no se cansaba de gritar, arrastro la silla hacia atrás en un único ruido para ponerse de pie -es esto lo que los sangre pura tanto tememos- pregunto en una burla sin sentido, su sonrisa forzada y un ligero sudor en su cien.,Tonks miro a su pariente largamente -quizás con los años han cambiado- quiso sonar optimista pero el desplante de muerte de Moody le advirtió que no había nada bueno con esta visita impuesta.,-es esto un pretexto- pregunto Remus fatigado de mil maneras, dio un barrido a la sala donde la mayoría de la orden estaba silenciosa y los sangres puras por fin relacionaban el termino muggle.,-Probablemente- aseguro el Director mirando la carta nuevamente.,El silencio se extendió aun Arthur o Molly se fijaron uno a otros con el aliento cansado de vez en cuando, por supuesto Kingsley solo miraba a la nada.,La subdirectora tomo la oportunidad de leer la carta por completo en este silencio incierto -Ellos vieron el ataque dementor- Minerva expreso con horror -lo vieron y no lo evitaron- susurro con su aliento sostenido al bajar el papel a la mesa de nuevo.,-¿Como es que lo vieron?- cuestiono Arthur cansado pero interesado -no hay mago alguno o squid que quiera ser parte de esa organización- evidencio.,-No dice, pero no es ese el asunto importante- Kingsley expreso de manera neutra -tengo que ir al ministerio, si esa carta llego aqui... es seguro que seremos solicitados pronto por el ministro- dio un vistazo a Tonks que entendio, dando despedidas ligeras se retiraron.,Ignoraron a los adolescentes que vieron desfilar a cada miembro con diferentes rostros de preocupacion, sin dar despedidas correctas solo dejando a algunos en la cocina.,-¿Quienes vendrán?- Molly cansada cuestiono, ahorrándose las miradas de odio hacia Moody que seguía maldiciendo.,-Una sección especifica del vaticano- murmuro Dumbledore -la organización AX-,Ahora Sirius estaba cansado de esta conclusión, se ahogaría en alcohol pero lo desecho para pararse saliendo con el eco de su madre insultando por los ruidos del final de la reunión... casi arrollo a los adolescentes a su paso, sonrió de manera torcida hacia el retrato quien le miro desafiante.,-Madre tengo una buena noticia- expreso de manera ácida haciendo oídos sordos a los insultos tan estridentes a esta distancia -El vaticano vendrá a inspeccionar la comunidad mágica- siseo venenoso ignorando la confusion de los adolescentes en la sala.,Walburga Black, altiva y odiosa quien repudiaba la escoria que ensuciaba su casa con la aprobación de ese ultimo heredero... por primera vez sin necesidad de las cortinas, quedo en silencio.,XXXXX,Tonks nunca habia visto tan silencioso el ministerio, todos los trabajadores trataban de no estar en la sala principal mientras los aurores se formaban enfrente de la gran estatua con sus mejores uniformes.,Miro a Kingsley -es esto necesario- le susurro en complicidad.,-Es parte de las formalidades, después de todo sera la presentación de dos grandes facciones de seguridad magica y muggle- explico el moreno al mirarla de reojo -te queda el color de cabello- aseguro burlón.,A Tonks no le agradaba, su color natural era negro y rizado -no me gusta- reclamo déspota, mirando uno de sus rizos con desprecio al verlo suelto y despeinado -me hace parecer a mi tia loca-,-O a tu madre- sugirio Kingsley.,-Silencio todos- el jefe de aurores, un hombre estricto y con mirada severa expreso, mas especifico al area donde estaba la bruja -requiero de toda su atención y entrega, este es una reunión delicada y requiere de nuestra mejor atencion-,Nadie replico, se mantuvo enfrente del grupo de aurores aun los que nunca pisaban las oficinas ahora coincidan en esta cumbre.,El ministro comenzo a salir siendo escoltado por Amelia Bones, Lucius Malfoy y Dolores Umbridge.,En algun lugar de grimmauld Place Harry estaba complacido de que su audiencia fuera atrasada por tal evento.,Despues Rufus Scrimgeour se unió al grupo para esperar donde las cabinas del ingreso muggle comenzaron a descender, declarando abiertamente que carecían de algún método mas formal de ingresar... o no querían exponer de alguna forma al ministerio.,Eso y fue un dolor instalar otra cabina para la visita, se le hacian pocas ¿era mas gente la que venia? se cuestiono la auror.,Tonks sentía la tensión, miro mas alla y noto que había gente del profeta hasta el propio Xenophilius Lovegood con un traje un poco menos excéntrico con una cámara en sus manos listo para fotografiar dicho evento.,Cornelius parecía que estaba enfermo, pero se obligo a una sonrisa de bienvenida cuando la primera cabina mostró a una hermosa mujer rubia con ropa de color rojo y blanco, sus rizos eran hermosos caireles cayendo con gracia y su rostro mostraba una severidad envidiable acentuado por sus gafas de media luna.,No solo era la impresión de Nymphadora, sino de cada auror testigo de este intercambio... pues la que asumían era la Cardenal aplastaba en presencia y en físico al ministro Cornelius en una lamentable imagen donde su líder empalidecía.,Ella venia sola por el momento mientras sus ojos agudos escanearon de manera intensa su entorno, provocando que algunos aurores ligeramente saltaban por la intensidad desconocida para un "muggle" -Buenas Tardes- su voz grave solo podía agregarle mas de esa autoridad que expedía al solo estar parada entre ellos.,Cornelius tropezaba con un saludo arrogante que fue opacado cuando las cabinas comenzaron a descender indicio que venían mas personas como se tenían programado, abriéndose ante la vista de los presentes.,Tonks miro con asombro la vestimenta vistosa de complicadas costuras, parecía mas de época -genial- susurro mirando como el resto de las cabinas mostraban a mas hombres con ropas tipo sacerdotal pero con diferentes bordados que lo diferenciaban.,Uno tenia un rostro amigable con sus cabellos plateados y sus ojos cubierto por lentes redondos, miro alrededor saludando a todos de manera informal moviendo su mano de un lado a otro energético, ella respondió siendo fulminada por Scrimgeour en el instante.,El propio de cabello plateado fue detenido por una jovencita, con ropas blancas y bordes azules una ¿monja? se podia ver su cabello rojo inteso a traves de su sombrero vistoso (tenia tantos años que no recordaba el nombre de esa cosa que tiene un significado en la religion).,Miro a los otros, otro hombre se mantuvo siempre cerca de la señora que era su líder, este le llamo mucho la atención por su mirada vacía y su aspecto demasiado lindo.,Todos con rasgos afilados que empalidecían a cualquier modelo del mundo mágico.,-Bien, este es nuestro cuerpo de Aurores- Cornelio tomo la palabra, su voz era un hilo en comparación a la dama erguida a su lado.,Todo auror noto como Umbridge parecia que habia comido un limon demasiado amargo, dando miradas a su entorno como si esto fuera mas interesante que el monton de sacerdotes en el ministerio.,Lucius se mantuvo respetuoso, pero Tonks debia aceptar que parecia que quería estar en cualquier lado menos aqui.,Bones y Scrimgeour eran los unicos formales -Atencion Aurores- llamo el ultimo con aplomo, dando un paso enfrente -Les presento a la Cardenal Catherina Sforza, Duquesa de Milán-,Oh, con que ella era la conocida mujer... por algo no le sorprendia, pensaba Tonks con aceptación en sus años como auror (que son pocos) escucho de ella ya que habia una delgada linea de conexión con su organización, una a la cual no le prestan atención a pesar de lo importante que era para el ministerio.,Quizas ahora el ministro se esta arrepintiendo por su falta de apoyo a esa parte casi desconocida del departamento de aurores... Kingsley meditaba con un largo suspiro de vergüenza ajena.,-Atencion AX- llamo la mujer con la misma diplomacia, todos hasta el de rostro amigable se irguio en un rostro serio -El ministro Cornelio Fudge y el jefe de Aurores Rufus Scrimgeour- expreso.,Las cámaras magicas y los periodistas comenzaron a escribir el suceso, detallando los pocos miembros de dicha organizacion y la confianza de la Cardenal para venir casi sola.,Tres personas como escolta, no era eso suficiente para ser una Organizacion, se burlaba el profeta pero el quisquilloso era mas objetivo en observar.,¿AX? eso era nuevo, se pregunto Nymphadora buscando en Kingsley, pero este tenia el mismo gesto de confusión.,-Bien, quisiera una audiencia con usted ministro- la mujer fue directo al grano, mirando al hombre que cerro la boca para mirarla incrédulo por lo cortante -a solas- concluyo con sus ojos brillando en demanda.,-¿A solas?- Umbridge escupió de manera descortés -no tenemos por que acceder a su capricho, el ministro ira con nosotros- afirmo.,-¿El ministro no puede responderme?- pregunto con un tono cortes, pero un reproche destilando de manera elegante, un arqueo de ceja mientras levantaba la mano -Tres, manténgase en su posición- ordeno.,Umbridge miro al susodicho que volvia a una postura erguida -lo lamento- expreso con una simple inclinación, ¿que pretendía? nadie lo sabia y a los sangre puras no les importaba.,¡Se llama Tres! Tonks ignoro todo el aparente desaire, bueno no la podían culpar el chico le parecía agradable a la vista.,Esto parecia poner a todos tensos (a excepción de la metamorfomaga) -Bien- aseguro Cornelio confiado, deteniendo de cualquier replica a Umbridge o Lucius.,Los lideres se marcharon siendo custodiados por Tres y Scrimgeour, estos por supuestos iban a mantenerse afuera de la sala de elección.,Los que se quedaron se mantuvieron a parte, los aurores se miraban incomodos mientras la poca gente de los AX se reunian a conversas de manera baja, este ultimo siendo vigilado con desconfianza y desagrado por Umbridge o Lucius.,Bones suspiro para acercarse a los aurores -Favor de regresar a sus labores- expreso, pero detuvo a Kingsley y a Tonks -mantenganse aqui y atentos a cualquier eventualidad o necesidad- ordeno.,Afirmaron en orden, mientras la propia Amelia sabia que se estaba tomando un derecho que no le correspondia, pero no podia mantener a todos los aurores mirandose unos a otros, seguramente y por la mirada de Dolores iba a conseguir una discusion cuando todo esto termine.,-Hola- llamo un sacerdote al acercarse alegremente a los aurores que quedaban -es genial ver brujas de primera mano- afirmo sacudiendo la mano de Kingsley, luego de Bones para concluir con Tonks -es un placer soy Abel Nightroad-,-Padre Abel- la pelirroja parecia cansada, como si sus esfuerzos por mantener al energetico hombre quieto hubieran fallado.,-Ella es la hermana Esther Blanchett- presento.,Era muy alto el hombre, pero se mantuvo su observacion -Soy la Jefa del Departamento de Aplicación de la Ley Mágica... Amelia Bones- mantuvo su firmeza, no siendo afectada por la alegria desbordante del invitado -ellos son aurores, kingsley Shacklebolt y Nymphadora Tonks-,-Pueden decirme Tonks, Nymphadora solo me dice mi madre- de manera autónoma replico, engociendose ante la mirada de sus colegas.,-Pero Nymphadora es lindo- murmuro el padre Abel con un berrinche.,-Padre- llamo amenazante.,-Bien, bien... yo solo queria conocer a las brujas de las que tanto hablan- expreso a la ligera, no sabiendo lo tensa que su comentario ponia a su entorno.,-De hecho no deberian de saber gente como tu- expreso Lucius acido al pasar a un lado, empujando con su baston un poco al padre.,-Ey que te pasa- Esther replico enojada.,-No debe meterse en esto, muchachita- Umbridge miro como ser despreciable a la chica en si.,-Por favor- Bones dijo enojada, dando su mejor mirada no solo a Dolores si no al propio Lucius, mientras Abel no parecia ofendido por el contrario se acomodaba sus lentes sonriente... aunque era una sonrisa forzada.,-Que les parece ir por algo de beber- Tonks expreso interrumpiendo esto por alguna razon, sus instintos le decian no estar en su mal lado de ninguna de estas personas.,Pues aun los miembros de AX distantes parecian listos para algo, su entrenamiento de auror le gritaba que era gente peligrosa por mas muggle que sean.,-Por algo de beber- Abel acepto -es bebida magica- cuestiono interesado.,-No, no lo es- murmuro Tonks divertida, le agradaba este hombre.,Amelia parecia aliviada, viendo como todos parecian congregarse alrededor de Tonks y Kingsley para un viaje por bebidas.,XXXXX,Después de la reunión el ministerio parecía volver a su comodidad ambiental sin embargo existían sus excepciones, Cornelio Fudge parecía un alma en pena a través del ministerio siendo una incógnita sobre el tema de la reunión a puerta cerrada con la Cardenal.,Los mas desconfiados solo podían asumir que el vaticano aplasto la moral de su líder esperando alguna manera regresar este "insulto", mientras los relajados solo ignoraban esto... pues si no terminaron en guerra a esas alturas, era un buen comienzo ¿no?,XXXXX,Harry tuvo su audiencia un problema que opacaba cualquier situación que haya sucedido en la ultima reunión de la orden, su tensión era demasiada pero aun a pesar de esto noto como todos parecían mirarlo con cierto reproche ¿que había hecho? se cuestiono, ignorándolo a favor de ver a cierto personaje.,Distante del resto del Wizengamot, como si le hubieran hecho un espacio de manera repentina u obligada.,Era un hombre joven que destacaba por su apariencia y ropa ajena a las tunicas portadas en el mundo magico, mas especifico entre este monton de gente que era Wizengamot.,No eran tunicas, mas bien era algo mas complicado con hombreras dandole un toque intimidante con diferentes bordados entre su ropas negras de color dorado o plateado, una cadena larga colgando desde su cuello completamente cubierto ¿era una cruz? se cuestiono pero al estar sentado era dificil saberlo.,Su cabello limpiamente corto aunque rebelde en un tono cafe oscuro o claro, a causa de la luz no podia diferenciarlo, su rostro estricto en una expresion neutra... pero le dio miedo esos ojos sin alguna pizca de sentimientos, analíticos en un cafes pero pudo jurar que parpadearon a rojo.,Se obligo a poner atención, estaba solo contra esta gente la unica que parecia mantenerse neutra era Amelia Bones que escuchaba su escaza defensa.,La lucha por su libertad era tan lejana desde este punto en el que iba, iba a dejar que rompieran su varita... pero la esperanza regreso cuando Dumbledore aparecio con testigos, haciendo funcionar este juicio a un rumbo mas conocido gracias a su escasos programas muggle con este tipo de temas.,Pero parecían desacreditar pronto a su testigo, Arabella Figg no era muy confiable ante el tribunal causando un gemido interno del adolescente en cuestión.,-Ofrezco mi testimonio para este caso- la cortesía, frialdad irrumpió en la sala proveniente del hombre silencioso en la sala, Harry lo había olvidado por completo.,Dumbledore no era feliz del testigo aun cuando el niño que vivio penso que era un aliado, ¿no todo era planeado por el director? se pregunto mas al ver el rostro de su vecina squid demasiado amarga en dirección al hombre.,No eran los únicos, cada mago aun periodista parecían mirar al desconocido con precaución o temor.,¿Era acaso este individuo el que provocaba todo esto? se pregunto al ver al joven hombre distante de cualquier comportamiento de la sala, siempre silencioso y frio.,deseaba que Hermione estuviera presente, quizás ella conocía la identidad de lo que fuera estuviera provocando el invitado no deseado a la sede del ministerio.,-¿Usted?- la señora de rosa sus mejillas enrojecían de cólera, su voz era tan despectiva y sus ojos destilaban discordia en la dirección del desconocido.,La neutralidad del desconocido no se rompió-Así es, Dama Umbridge- expreso uniforme con un tono educado sin vacilación a la hostilidad tan notable en una muestra de etiqueta británica era aceptable.,-Un testigo oportuno- sugirió el ministro con un tono desagradable, mirando a Dumbledore como en una silenciosa acusación.,Harry no podía ver el gesto del viejo director desde su posición, pero suponía que no era buena por el deslavado del ministro desde su asiento.,-Es asi- el hombre con sus ojos inflexibles contesto de manera uniforme, sin signos de expresión solo neutralidad.,-Como podemos confiar en alguien ajeno a nuestra comunidad- una voz se alzo entre la gente en total desaprovacion.,Harry brinco ante esta exhibición frunciendo el ceño incierto desde su lugar poco cómodo, miro al hombre tratando de adivinar porque no lo consideraban como parte de la comunidad.,-Nisiquiera debería estar aquí- otro expreso irritado.,-No sabemos siquiera si es un mago- otro alzo con repugnancia.,Potter queria levantarse escandalizado, aun a su vecina no eran tan descarados en su hostilidad pero con este extranjero parecia todo lo contrario... miro por encima de su hombro y aun los ajenos al estrado estaban por completo de acuerdo.,pero ese hombre no vacilo, como si no estuvieran alzándose en su contra por el contrario... solo mirando por encima de todas las cabezas, sin emociones claras ni en sus ojos ni en su rostro.,-Suficiente- la voz atronadora de Bones acallo a todos los presentes-ejercer como testigo, quita cualquier derecho como observante al cual fue asignado- arqueo la ceja interesada, regresando a la cuestion.,Volteando con una lentitud tranquila el hombre afirmo como si el arrebato no hubiera pasado-reconozco las consecuencias que mis acciones conllevan a mis privilegios como observante- su tono firme sin alguna emoción delatada en su rostro sin edad.,-Esta de acuerdo con esto- pregunto demasiado disgustada la señora de rosa hacia el ministro.,-Bien, si el señor Iqus desea que sea de esa manera... esta bien por mi- afirmo de manera rigida, como si estuviera pisando una linea delgada de estabilidad... que harry no entendia cual era.,Pero el adolescente se animo ante esto, por lo menos este testigo tenia un aspecto mas confiable, no queria ser grosero pero la señora tenia una apariencia de loca.,El hombre llamado Iqus se levanto en toda su altura, mostrando su complexión delgada y uniforme complejo con detalles demasiado elegantes pero si algo de lo que Harry podia diferenciar, es que en verdad eran de tipo religioso... ¡si era una cruz!,No era alguien religioso, pues los Dursley lo dejaban encerrado cuando ellos salian a misa los domingos a causa de su estatus de delicuente ante los demas.,Pero el ambiente parecia ser mas pesado escucho algunos susurros "traer esas ropas aqui" "que falta de respeto" nunca lo habia pensado, pero ¿era posible ejercer la religion entre la comunidad magica? se pregunto.,Iqus no parecia importarle, sus ojos frios nunca mostraron algun brillo molesto por el contrario con soltura paso a traves del pequeño pasillo para llegar hasta el frente del wizengamot, para tomar asiento donde los testigos siendo tratado de una manera diferente, con demasiado cuidado.,-Padre Tres Iqus es llamado para testificar a favor de Harry Potter- llamo Bones con soltura en una personalidad severa.,¿Tres? quien se llamaria de esa forma, distraidamente penso Harry sentado desde su austera silla eso y el titulo de padre, el pensaba que todos con ese titulo debian ser viejos o algo por el estilo.,-Que hacia en ese lugar- disparo de manera desesperada la señora de nombre Umbridge, ganandose una mueca de disgusto por parte de Bones a causa de la interrupcion.,Pero Tres no le tomo importancia -No tiene relevancia para este caso- fluido contesto el joven hombre, mirando a la señora.,-Claro que tiene relevancia- declaro otro hombre mas atras, su tono era bastante irritado -podia explicar su conveniente aparicion para el caso- formulo complicadamente.,El testigo miro un poco, afirmando con sequedad -estaba en una mision de detalle restringido en el area- expreso con su vista hacia el frente.,-Como si eso fuera suficiente- querian una respuesta completa.,-Un accidente con un matusalem- expreso cortante sin voltear a ver al tribunal que jadeo de sorpresa, aun mas que con el nombre de Voldemort.,-Eso es imposible- el ministro se puso de pie en panico, ahora el adolescente estaba confundido y curioso ¿matusalem? habia escuchado eso pero no recordaba donde.,-No hay que salirnos del tema en cuestion- Dumbledore interrumpio saliendo de su mutismo -esto es el juicio de Harry- expreso con disgusto.,Muchos querian seguir cuestionando pero nuevamente la calma fue llamada por Bones -Si pudiera detallar el accidente- pidio mas profesional la unica neutra de entre toda esa gente.,-Mi presencia fue de forma accidental, el parque ubicado en un barrio civil parecia el lugar indicado para reflexionar- expreso de manera neutra -La temperatura comenzo a cambiar de manera drastica a mi entorno conforme cruzaba la calle, mis registros no tenian alguna informacion de una helada proxima a golpear- dijo mas para si mismo lo ultimo mirando a Bones -He de suponer que tiene algo que ver con las criaturas- cuestiono.,-Es parte de la influencia del dementor- ofrecio Bones de manera amable.,-Esto es injusto- Umbridge se levanto -nisiquiera sabe si de verdad fue testigo- expreso insolente -desconoce a los dementores- expreso.,-Dementores: Criaturas de origen oscuro cuya existencia es casi desconocida para el mago propio aun en nuestra época, estas presencias son utilizadas por el ministro para custodiar su cárcel de máxima seguridad Azkaban- Tres relato como si leyera un libro -es ese la definición escasa que pude encontrar- miro hacia la mujer rosa con neutralidad -lamento mi falta de conocimiento aplicable en el momento- afirmo apático.,Todos compartieron miradas sospechosas, justo cuando alguno iba a cuestionar la tos cortes del director corto cualquier intento de interrogatorio.,-Bien, bien... podrían por favor regresar a la cuestión- el tono de Dumbledore era de mas irritado por como esto parecía salirse de tema muy seguido.,-Orden- El ministro hablo llamando al silencio absoluto, Harry sentía respeto por el hombre a su temple de acero, pues los susurro no eran muy favorecedores -continué-,-Llegue al parque y note dos presencias corriendo hacia un lugar techado, adolescentes... uno complexión delgada el otro robusta, ambos parecían escapar de algo- su rostro nunca cambio -Tomando la decisión de asegurar el bienestar de civiles, tome la iniciativa de acercarme pero no iba a llegar a tiempo- miro hacia Harry por un momento encogiendolo -El joven Potter reacciono conforme a las necesidades, acorralados por criaturas de apariencia humanoide para la protección- concluyo secamente.,-Pero...- Umbridge quería protestar pero nuevamente Bones la callo.,-Mi conclusión si no hubiera usado su magia ahora no solo el sino un civil indefenso estuviera muerto- un silencio paso a través de la sala.,-Como podemos asegurar que esta diciendo la verdad- Umbridge rompio con su chillante voz acusadora.,El hombre parpadeo hacia su direccion -No estoy autorizado a mentir- fue su respuesta corta.,Otro silencio extenso, un periodista tomo una foto haciendo no solo aterrizar a todos a la realidad sino al propio Harry, no entendia esta tension ¿que tan mal era la relacion entre la iglesia con el ministerio?.,XXXXX,Era otra reunión de la orden, de eso los adolescentes estaban seguros era uno aun mas oscuro que el anterior... pero en la habitación eso no era de importancia, pues el niño que vivió se estaba informando del misterioso padre que influencio su juicio.,-Es tan mala la intervención del vaticano- pregunto Harry a Hermione.,Esta lo miro largamente con un suspiro inquieto, fue la mejor informada de esta intervención que era foco de escándalo en el profeta recientemente al parecer... Potter se arrepentía de no estar informado aun cuando el periódico no dejaba de mentir con respecto al regreso del señor oscuro.,Ron palideció -ya te dije, ellos son el mal- era lo único que decía una y otra vez sin explicaciones mas detalladas.,Que aun los nobles Weasley dijeran eso era demasiado para la hija de muggles o Harry para entender sin enfrascarse en una discusión entre la chica y el pelirrojo como intermediario el de lentes con respecto a la influencia religiosa que se corto hace tantos años.,Pero no tuvo que intervenir en ninguna nueva riña cuando el portazo del comedor se escucho, quizás iba a ser mas acalorada discusión entre los miembros de la orden.,-Va a ser una larga noche- expreso con mal humor al taparse los oidos mientras el retrato maldecia, ahora a nadie del comedor... siempre era contra el vaticano.,XXXXX,El colegio prometía el infierno de miles de rumores en su entorno, mas cuando el profeta parecía arremeter contra su persona en diferentes formas muy imaginativas.,Harry Potter "el mentiroso" fue señalado después de que su juicio fue publicado, de alguna forma el Padre Iqus se había borrado de cualquier registro provocando que el adolescente fuera el centro del conflicto escrito de manera ofensiva.,Camino entre los pasillos ignorando las miradas aun en el primer día tan descaradas que le hacían hervir su sangre de estas injusticias cuando Cedric murió el año pasado, entro al comedor seguido de sus amigos y se detuvo en seco al ver la mesa de profesores.,-¿Que sucede?- pregunto Ron pero miro donde mismo y palideció tan notable en contraste con su cabello rojo -es eso lo que creo que es- cuestiono tragando grueso.,-El estaba en mi juicio- aclaro el elegido con duda.,-Un Padre- dudosa contesto Hermione -pero sus túnicas no son las comunes usadas en la iglesia- relato para si misma provocando un arqueo de Potter.,No eran los únicos bajo el marco del gran comedor, los diversos alumnos sobretodo los sangre puras se acumulaban con la mirada fija donde los profesores estaban sentados con una grave linea de division donde el misterioso sacerdote estaba ubicado.,Harry miro su entorno al sentarse en la mesa de los leones, era extraño pero hasta el humilde Neville parecia que habia visto un fantasma (es solo una expresion, siempre ven fantasmas) -es tan malo- cuestiono nuevamente.,Pero el adolescente se trago una maldición al ver el desplante de su amigo y la posible colisión entre los temperamentos cuando Hermione estaba esperando algún indicio de replica.,Para el ultimo Potter era cómodo saber de alguna manera que su situación, su actual mala fama y las miradas se detenían a favor del sacerdote ubicado en la mesa de profesores.,Dudaba que si estas reacciones eran provocadas por ese padre... fuera considerado algún infiltrado de Voldemort, una descabellada conclusión que desecho prontamente.,Por su parte el padre Iqus se mantuvo firme en su asiento con la mirada neutral al frente, no hubo indicio de molestia o irritación por ser señalado ni siquiera un aliento prestaba a la incomodidad de los que compartían su mesa.,Hagrid estaba sentado a su lado pero parecía nervioso, Mcgonagall le daba desplantes a su dirección, Sinistra torcía la boca de vez en cuando, Flitwick sonreía duramente y Snape de igual manera tenia un aura aun mas hostil que lo normal.,Aun la amable Sprout o la despistada Trelawney parecían tan conscientes de esta presencia, pero decididas a ignorarlo abiertamente.,Empezó el evento como todos los años, solo que la emoción del director estaba lejos de ser la misma al estar afectado por esta intrusión desde su punto de vista, la canción del sombrero concluyo para empezar la selección de los primeros años.,Dumbledore continuaba con su discurso casi al finalizar pero fue interrumpido por la señora desagradable de rosa que se presentaba como un representante del ministerio, Umbridge con su falsa dulzura que a nadie engaño también era su nuevo profesor de defensa.,-Esclarecedor- el director expreso con un tono que dejaba en duda su comentario -ahora, tambien debo presentar que Hogwarts sera cede de una inspeccion por nuestros amigos de la agencia AX...- miro en direccion al joven silencioso -del vaticano- susurro aunque no se sentia nada hospitalario -podria Padre- ofrecio amablemente.,Dumbledore al igual que el resto de la sala lo miraban al momento en que se levantaba demostrando lo alto que era y su complexion delgada, los adornos de sus tunicas aun mas claras con una cruz colgando de su cuello.,Miro la sala con ojos calculadores mientras el silencio se extendía, algunos alumnos se encogieron por la intensa mirada vacía -Padre Hércules Tres Iqus- el nombre fue dicho con una fuerza monótona, dando una inclinación respetuosa sin agregar nada mas para tomar asiento.,otro silencio extenso con una tos del director -bueno, el tendrá los derechos de un profesor...- los alumnos alzaron la voz indignados pero fueron callados con un desplante desaprovador aunque la inconformidad no se limitaba solo a los adolescentes -que sea tratado como uno de nosotros en lo que dure su visita, sean respetuosos- ordeno severamente.,Pronto la reunión termino.,XXXXX,Tres paso los siguientes meses evaluando no sólo la educación sino la propia cultura mágica a la cual la agencia no estaba dedicada, era extraño para ellos mismos su reciente asignación pero solo acató las ordenes dadas por la Cardenal.,Evaluaría y reportaría anomalías que pusieran en peligro a cualquier civil no mágico.,Con su mentalidad centrada y cálculos certeros nada afectados por las variables emocionales, el sacerdote Iqus tuvo un juicio general a evaluar en un periodo justo de tiempo.,La grave distancia entre el mundo mágico y muggle era dolorosamente notable, quizás hasta el propio padre Nightroad se percataría de esto.,No solo era en el callejón Diagon que se obligo a visitar antes de su encierro en esas paredes milenarias, sino entre los niños fue evidente por la distancia entre uno u otra comunidad en simples modismos o tradiciones.,También la aversión que esta sociedad demostraba a todo lo relacionado al vaticano o en la religión general, no los culpaba pero no era su asunto el daño que sus antepasados hicieron.,Su criterio imperturbable podía señalar el sentimentalismo de no superar rencores de generaciones pasadas, por el contrario parecían heredar sus prejuicios a esta sociedad mágica.,Solo un niño fue lo suficientemente inteligente para cuestionarlo directamente recibiendo su mas sincera explicación de lo que dios significa para el mundo muggle y la gravedad que la ignorancia provoco en un pasado oscuro con la santa inquisición.,50 puntos a Revenclaw fueron otorgados, el niño paso ser Luna Lovegood.,Mientras vagaba por los pasillos en el transcurso de ese tiempo, pudo estar de acuerdo en la elección de esta misión para alguien de su tipo... no podía imaginar a cualquiera de los miembros de la organización sometidos a las constantes miradas de repulsión dedicadas solo a su persona.,El personal parecía tan dispuesto a ignorar cualquier ofensa, poco profesional si le preguntaban directamente.,Añade los fantasmas quienes le sacaban la vuelta siendo que en su mayoría pertenecían a esa época oscura de la inquisición, aun su poltergeist pinto su raya.,No había preferencia por alguna casa en especial, pero normalmente bajaba puntos a las casas de Gryffindor y Slytherin, los primeros por sus temerarias bromas o vagar fuera del horario... el segundo por sus insultos velados o acusaciones graves.,Pero nada tan grave como para romper su rostro, cada estudiante pasaba con cuidado entorno como si supieran de sus armas debajo de sus túnicas religiosas... Tres no mostraba un cansancio emocional, no parpadeaba y aun cuando se aventuro a alguna clase, no se percato de la atmósfera cambiante por su sola presencia.,Fue difícil llegar a una conclusión aceptable durante este convivió, pues los adolescentes no son aceptables para dar un punto de vista del mundo mágico a causa de los cambios que transitan a esa edad.,Tres Iqus quien estuvo vagando por todo el plantel durante su reporte mental, se detuvo en un pasillo en especifico, miro la luna bañando ese jardín encerrado donde estatuas peculiares reposaban... se quedo largo tiempo firme en medio del corredor, hasta que tomo la decisión de regresar a la habitación asignada para su comodidad.,Sus sensores que retaban a cualquier creencia contra un ambiente cargado de magia habían detectado presencias siguiéndolo y con el transito de pensamientos fue hasta este momento que estaba dispuesto a tomar atención innecesaria a estos perseguidores.,-20 puntos por cada uno a gryffindor- espeto en un tono demandante, para seguir su camino sin molestarse en voltear -si no regresan a sus habitaciones, el seguimiento pasara a manos mas competentes- amenazo al dar la vuelta en un corredor.,El trió dorado se quedo plantado debajo de la capa de invisibilidad con la cara desencajada, se miraron mutuamente dispuestos a no averiguar si ese sacerdote cumpliría su palabra.,Aunque Ron airadamente estaba molesto de no seguir con su seguimiento de un potencial enemigo peor que los mortifagos.,Xxxx,Severus miro con rencor a la persona que escoltaba, todavía sentía un poco despectivo en su presencia pero algo de respeto a causa de su firme actitud ante los diferentes tonos de desprecio que recibía del personal o los alumnos.,Arqueo la ceja todavía impresionado por la juventud del chico, pero negó para mantener su atención al camino.,Era víspera de vacaciones navideñas y el austero profesor deseaba estar en otro lado, porque el y no Minerva se cuestionaba.,-Adelante- la voz de Dumbledore se escuchó detrás de la puerta,,Ahí se encontraba no sólo el director, si no la propia Umbridge con su gesto prepotente a todo su esplendor, el pocionista ni la volteo a ver por el contrario el sacerdote dio un saludo cordial retando cualquier discordia.,Severus dio un paso al frente-Quieren hablar con usted, director- expreso plenamente abriendo paso al joven sacerdote que dio una inclinación de agradecimiento.,El sacerdote miro a ambos en un claro análisis de situación-si nos permite señora umbridge- pidió al acompañante.,La mujer de rosa torció la boca, mostrando una "dulce" sonrisa -lo siento señor Iqus...- dio con un tono dulzón -pero cualquier asunto que quiera tratar con el director, debo estar presente- expreso imponiéndose.,Tres la miro detenidamente -Señor Dumbledore, mi análisis del sistema educativo ha concluido- expreso de manera uniforme, sus facciones moviéndose solo lo necesario para mantenerse firme.,Los magos presentes, pues Severus no alcanzo a salir parpadearon entre desconcertados y asustados, asimilando esta repentina conclusión -pero, pensé que esperaría a concluir el año- indico el director al ponerse de pie.,-No es necesario- expreso fríamente, sin tener la intención de expresarse mejor.,-No puede hacerse una idea con solo meses- el director estaba desesperado.,Un bufido -dejelo ir- Umbridge dijo tan irritada -no es como si fuera importante la ...- se mantuvo en silencio.,Dumbledore no lo iba a dejar ir tan facil, sus acciones eran desesperadas tan aislado que estaba descuido la visita, sabia por los profesores los desplantes que le hicieron al hombre ¡es que nadie sabia lo importante de todo esto! se recriminaba -si pudiera conversar con su lider- expreso ignorando a la señora molesta.,-No- se inclino en respeto y dio la espalda -también el visitante del ministerio abandonara- concluyo al salir.,El pánico silencioso era notable entre los magos, la propia Umbridge en vez de estar alegre por esta repentina retirada solo el vacío de un terror creciente se instalaba en su estómago.,-Que haremos- declaró Severus saliendo de su estupor.,El anciano envejecido bajo la cabeza -esperar- fue su escueta respuesta.,Dolores torció la boca -son solo muggles- expreso con desdén.,-Ni usted ni yo... O hasta el ministro no sabemos- contesto el viejo molesto.,Y toda la razon, cortaron lazos profundos con el Vaticano que fueron excluidos de la reputación de su mayor departamento de defensa.. El AX.,XXXXX,FIN

Stonehenge,A344, Amesbury, Wiltshire SP4 7DE, United Kingdom,Tuesday, June 23, 1998,Harry Potter Stood at the center of Stonehenge in the middle of a ritual circle he had drawn with his blood. At the main points of the ritual circle were objects of great power and significance to him. The objects where all three Deathly Hallows (one being a Horcrux), Gryffindor's Sword, his own wand, Voldemort's wand, all of Voldemort's Horcruxes with himself in the center, and Voldemort's corpse. Harry closed his eyes and raised his hands above him as he began chanting in an unknown language Hermione had taught him. The chanting caused the ritual circle to start glowing as well as the objects including Harry's scar. The objects soon disintegrated into pure magic (with the piece of Voldemort's soul erupting from his scar painfully making him wince in pain but he kept on chanting thru the pain) and coalesced above him and the monument into a huge mass of grey nearly black colored magic.,The huge coalesced mass of grey almost black magic above Stonehenge descended quickly down and into Harry as if sucked into a black hole. As all the magic disappeared into Harry's body a bright flash of light suddenly exploded out from his body that encompassed the whole area within the monument of stones that blinded everyone close enough to see it. As the light faded away the only thing visible in the center of the monument was a pile of ashes where Harry once stood.,Parking lot of the Paper Lantern,Maxville, Kansas,Monday, July 15, 1996,In a bright flash of light Harry appeared naked and as a small child of 4 years old in the middle of a parking lot of what seemed to be a Chinese restaurant. He looked around to see trees and cars, but had no memory of coming here. In fact, he only had memories of a strangely vivid dream of wizards and witches.,A young Chinese woman came out and saw him looking around curiously. Harry gave her a shy wave. She wrapped him in a blanket and brought him inside.,"What's your name little boy?" She asked him politely.,"Harry Potter." Harry answered back with a happy smile as he kicked his feet. "I'm a wizard.","I bet you are Harry. Where are your parents?" Harry stopped smiling as he remembered he lived with his aunt and uncle.,"They died in a car crash.","Oh, you poor thing!" The woman gave Harry a hug, surprised an orphan showed up at her restaurant. "Do you have anywhere to go?","My aunt and uncle h-hate me!" Harry started crying and the woman noticed the lightning shaped scar on his forehead and a huge cut on his hand.,"This is what we'll do, alright? Tomorrow we'll go see the nice police officers and see what they say, ok? Now let's get you some clothes." As promised she got Harry clothes that fit him. She then took him home and he slept like a rock.,Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione where trying to figure out what to do. There was only one solution, and neither of them liked it: Do the ritual themselves. This time they agreed to do it together. With Hermione's time-turner, books, wand, and Ron's broom, deluminator, and wand, they performed the ritual, and like Harry, ended up somewhere completely different.,Both Hermione and Ron were 4 years old, like Harry, except Ron stood outside the Stronghold household and Hermione stood outside the Williams household, both scared toddlers. They're taken inside and the three toddlers are adopted, unsuspecting what would happen or what already happened.

Meggie knew she needed someone to help her, yet she had no idea who. She thought all day and went through books and books in her grandmother's library just to find that one person who was smart enough,clever enough and even strong enough to help her. "Maybe im being too specific." Meggie thought to herself. There can't be a person that's exactly like what im thinking of can there?" Then while searching her shelves she found one book that may be able to help her. "Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone" "Of course!" She screamed "Yes! A wizard would be perfect for this especially Harry,Ron and Hermione!" So that night she went to the library and tried to read Harry out of the book first. After reading the short part of the book she checked her surroundings. She definitly knew she was not in the library. She looked at everything in the long hallway with walls of gray stone and huge chandeliers dangling over her head. She then checked outside and saw an arena for some sport. She thought of how many sports it could be. She then realized where she was. How could she not know! She accidentally read herself into Hogwarts!

Un homme assis sur une chaise au dos du mur s'ouvre une cigarette. Un autre homme au visage ténébreux, vêtue d'une robe noir, comme ces moines dans un monastère, sans la capuche par contre, est assis d'un l'autre côté de la table. Il le regarde et dit:,Avant de répondre, l'homme à la cigarette, vêtue d'un habit chic, avec une calotte sur la tête, contemple sa cigarette un instant et réponds:,réponds son interlocuteur,Dit Balthazar, l'homme à la cigarette, sans surprise.,- ,Balthazar regarde son invité, perplexe. Sa cigarette fini, il l'écrase sur le cendrier sur la table et boit une gorgée de son verre. Il s'accote au mur et laisse drainer le liquide brulant qu'est le whisky dans sa gorge. Il parle enfin.,- ,L'homme sourit et regarde en bas un instant.,- ,Balthazar lève les yeux, comme si une révélation lui avait traversait.,- ,- ,Balthazar reste perplexe. Il se demande si cet homme dit bien la vérité. Pourtant, il sait que ce n'est pas le plus étrange cas qu'il ait vu. L'idée des mondes parallèle est assez banale, même si cela peut sembler extraordinaire mais que quelqu'un s'amène et vous dises dans le plus grand sérieux qu'ils existent bel et bien, il y a un doute qui s'installe.

Moments with Hanale Charday,Two young children sit on the cold plastic bench. The station all around them buzz's and bustles with adults. Beyond the door's glass window the children can see the four adults discussing calmly while looking back and forth between one another and the children.,One of the two children, a quiet young girl with dark skin and black eyes stops swinging her legs back and forth and instead turns to her companion. , she asks confused in soft French.,The boy, with black hair and pale skin, turns his vivid green eyes towards her. He shakes his head.,",", the boy shrugs. ,Shame fills his gut, hours ago his new friend was praising his name and insisted she show him around the city his family supposedly named him for. Will she even still want to be my friend? He can't help but wonder.,", she asks instead of turning away from him like so many of the adults before her.,He nods staring at the girl's blurry image. Sometimes when he looks at his new friend instead of seeing a human shape he sees a wolf. It's probably nothing, he thinks brushing it off.,", the girl voices cheerfully, ,",The girl shrugs and gets out the I-pad her mother gave her last year. Her mother had dropped it and damaged part of the screen –rendering it useless when it comes to doing sketches and other art projects on it. Still it worked just fine so she decided that Adriane could use it for school work while traveling.,Opening up a baby name site off google Adriane pulled up boy names by alphabet. , Showing him the screen with all the letters a through z in large print the boy presses the hazy image of the letter ',' on the screen and watches it load with a list of names all starting with the letter ','. He knows not why, but for some reason the letter calls to him.,",he asks, no longer able to really see the letter properly, the lighting of the screen beginning to hurt his eyes.,Adriane shrugs and begins to read the names aloud, ,",",The boy, Hanale, nods his head. ,"

He wanted to blame Dudley for this. He really, ,did. But to blame it on Dudley would be implying that this change was a bad thing and quite frankly, Harry was kind of enjoying his new outlet of anger and snark. That did not mean that he enjoyed mass displays of venting in front of the Hogwarts population, however.,When he came home for the summer, Harry did not expect his daily life at the Dursleys to improve much despite the fact that he now had an escaped convict for a godfather; and he was right for the most part. Dudley, however, had been gifted with a new boxset of a series off the telly and had gotten it into his head that he wanted Harry to sit down and watch it with him. Since it was a luxury he's never been allowed before and because he had nothing better to do than worry for his newly found godfather on the run, Harry agreed with only a few suspicious questions. With nothing but a few mumbles about how it was his guidance teacher's idea, something that clearly upset and irked Petunia and Vernon, the two estranged cousins spent their free holiday time bonding over seasons one and two of the medical comedy, Scrubs.,When Harry eventually left for the Burrow on good terms with Dudley for the first time in nearly his entire life it was for one reason he was aware of and one reason only. Harry had picked up the mannerisms of one Doctor Perry Cox with alarming ease and Dudley found this absolutely hilarious. Originally, Harry had been somewhat repulsed by Dr. Cox's character for the sole reason that he strongly reminded him of Professor Snape. Despite that, the more he watched the series the more he found himself liking the character. Yes, he admitted that Dr. Cox was an ass on a level with Snape but he just seemed to have more… Heart. This, Harry was sure, had nothing to do with the ironic fact that he was a doctor working in a hospital called Sacred Heart.,Explaining all of this to Hermione was easier than it was to explain it to Ron and some of the other Weasleys, purely because Hermione had heard of the sitcom and, at the very least, knew the function of a T.V. Ron had also been as repulsed as Harry had at the idea of a Snape like Doctor (read; Healer) right up until Harry let rip at the Twins in such a Dr. Cox like fashion it had Hermione and the other Weasley children present in tears with their laughter. He'd been glowing red with embarrassment for days afterwards, never having blown up at someone in such a way with an audience, and was thankful that neither the Weasley parents nor Percy were around to witness it as they would surely be very disapproving of his new attitude, or so he assumed. Though the Twins now thought he was the coolest thing since Zonko's Jokes for some reason.,All of this, of course, led him to where he was now, standing in front of Draco Malfoy in the Great Hall with an audience from three separate schools. He was sure Malfoy was meant to be insulting his flying abilities and Quidditch skills, but he'd attempted to do it by asking a rather obvious question, which in turn, led to the snapping of Harry's rather feeble restraint. Harry had only realised later what a golden opportunity Malfoy had given him.,"Because you should never, ,jinx a seeker when he has the chance to throw a perfect game," he barked right in Malfoy's face to the blonde's discomforting surprise before Harry spun on his heel and marched off still ranting. "My God, Barbie! How do you put your bra and panties ,in the morning?! All by yourself! It's -Remarkable!"*,Harry didn't notice as he left, too frustrated with himself for snapping like that in front on not just one student body but three, but the stunned silence encompassed the entire Hall before Hermione, of all people, gave a little giggle, making a flush of colour appear on Malfoy's cheeks. The sight of that released the floodgates and Malfoy's spluttering was soon drowned out by uproarious laughter. Harry would later be surprised to learn that he didn't actually lose any points for event, which seemed to make the Weasley Twins indescribably proud.

This being an Ai no Kusabi crossover, if this little fic gets serious the rating will very likely go up.,'I don't think there's a being on this earth that could ward off the bone deep chill this place brings.' A bleary eyed dweller thought to himself.,A dusty rag of a blanket shifted further into a similarly time worn mattress. Only a slew of black hair escaping from the top revealed the innards of the moth-eaten burrito.,'Or, should I say… a being in whatever the hell fucking planet and/or alternate universe I've landed in anyway.' The mattress seemed to wobble slightly as the blanket shivered.,Harry gave a murky scowl beneath the swathes of barely-warm cloth. He sniffled a little and cursed under his breath at the still stuffy feel of clogged sinuses.,Perhaps he couldn't help the bad temper of the moment, trust him to land in another dimension and or Martian territory and catch the common cold.,...Well, it was either that or the heavy dust in the air giving him some bastardized version of Hay fever. Harry wasn't sure which option he preferred.,He shifted again and reluctantly drew his ice cold feet out of his foetal position to wiggle his toes and encourage blood flow to his steadily numbing legs.,Well, perhaps he did slightly prefer the idea of an Earthian virus; he contemplated while rotating his ankles. At least the concept of having something remotely recognisable to him brought a shitty measure of comfort. Nothing like a bright, shiny ray of hope to his somewhat dismal situation.,Cold feet to cold feet again, ratty fucking mattress to another, slightly less ratty mattress, and barren concrete walls to even more (admittedly, considerably more) barren concrete walls…,Alas, he'd somehow managed to mystically disappear from one grotty backwoods prison in Russia of all places, and –instead of God/Merlin/Satan/Dumbledore's fucking ghost or whoever granting him sweet, sweet freedom?,He lands smack in the centre of what appears to be; another gigantic fucking prison. Like ,Pun intended.,Harry was full on feeling sorry for himself, all the while erring on the side of caution. The reason he wasn't wholly convinced of his planetary and or dimensional situation was that fact that his new jail looked like something out of a Ridley Scott movie. Specifically, it wouldn't surprise him if a 9ft fang tongued lizard monster was stashed away in a bloody Cryo tube somewhere with all the 80's fucking sci-fi gadgetry that was scattered around the place. It would be just his luck too.,Even the doorways were great hulking polygonal monstrosities of metal, each one looking just as rusted and disused as the last. But for all Harry's worth of trying, he couldn't budge a single one. He'd even tried tampering with the small, dimly lit panels at the side of a few. But not only did he not have a clue how the -very obviously- futuristic technology worked, his reserves of magic were running significantly low considering he'd just spent the last two years locked in a rune blocked cell.,The upside to his situation? There was a ,more space to explore, you know, without the advantage of being able to find his way out.,The downside? Concrete walls, cold bloody feet, and a just as ratty mattress. Only this time there wasn't a soul to commiserate with. No steadfastly comforting cellblock neighbour named Pietro; to spread joyous feelings of companionship through the dividing stone walls by repeatedly bashing his own head against it and grunting enthusiastically (in a spectacular show of conversational ability.),No friendly guards silently standing by to engage in a thoroughly stimulating bout of fisticuffs whenever boredom decides to bite him in the arse.,Also, no food.,Anywhere.,...Admittedly that last one was more concerning than the former, but Harry ,miss Pietro, and perhaps even Dmitri, the nice gentleman two cells down who would always give him a dashing leer whenever Bath Time rolled around. Though it'd been a while since the man had properly leered at much of anything, not since Harry'd been forced to punch out his teeth in a particularly aggressive way of saying 'Nyet.',So here he was, trapped in some god forsaken sci-fi structure feeling thoroughly frozen to the bone and swaddled in whatever threadbare cloth he could find to ward off the chill.,He would really , like his magic back right about now. And he could feel it too. Buried deep under the surface of his skin, but unreachable like a particularly irritating itch he couldn't scratch yet. And the lack of sustenance was NOT helping the situation. More like prolonging it.,It was entirely frustrating.,It was agonising.,It was… probably not entirely undeserved, but still.,It was far too fucking cold in this room.,Harry sighed profoundly and swung his legs off the mattress, following the momentum into a somewhat upright position. If being half-sat half-tilted sideways towards his makeshift nest could be called upright.,He shook off the temptation to make another attempt at sleep, and wished he could shake off the foggy headedness as well. But he sniffled instead and decided that movement was probably a better idea.,Evidently he had nothing better to do than mindlessly take a trip around the room to get the blood flowing.,It didn't look like he'd be going anywhere else any time soon.,A/N,This story is an expression of my muse ;) I like where it's headed in my brain so i'll likely keep going with it in exploration, but unless some super serious plot device suddenly ups and bites me on the ass this fic will likely have pretty short chapters (around 1000 words or so per chap.),Alas i hope you like the sound of it so far xx,Also, Ten points to whoever's managed to guess where, exactly Harry has managed to land himself x3

Once there was a group of bears called the Care Bears and they went to help a young boy named Harry Potter. When they went to see him they discovered he wanted friends very much but his cousin bullied any one who wanted to be his friend so they wouldn't be his friend. When they told him they would be his friends he was overjoyed and excited he gave them each a hug including Funshine Bear who was the one who told him they would be his friends. They found out his bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs. They then met his aunt and uncle who called Harry and the Care Bears freaks.

Life at the Park and Flush Trailer Park is never an easy one. It is a hive of low-income wage workers, high school dropouts and meth addicts sharing space with moonshiners, immigrant farm hands and the financially destitute. In essence, not the best place to raise a child, let alone three of them. But Barbra Kanker didn't have much of a choice, it was the cheapest place she could afford and still make it on time to her three different jobs. Barbra was a single mother who worked varying jobs as a waitress, an auto mechanic and a night nurse in order to support her family and keep a roof over their head. This meant that she had to work long hours. This meant that she was rarely home. This meant that her daughters had to raise themselves and make their own decisions most of the time. And sometimes those decisions were rather, problematic.,"RUN DOUBLE-D! THEY'RE GAINING!","THE DEMONS OF THE DEEP WILL NOT SUCK OUT ED'S BRAIN!",Two prepubescent boys were running through a construction site as if a pack of wolves were at their heels, their cries filling the air as they twisted through the incomplete houses, construction equipment and small hills of dirt and gravel. One of the boys was short with pink skin, scheming midnight blue eyes and three long strands of black hair slicked back with cheap Axle Grease. He wore a bright yellow shirt with a singular red stripe running vertically down the right side and a purple collar, a pair of baggy sky blue jeans and red sneakers. Next to him was a taller boy with sickly yellow skin, dull looking brown eyes, red hair cut in a crew cut and a single black unibrow that seemed to float off his head. He wore a short sleeved red and white striped shirt under a green jacket, a pair of indigo blue jeans and worn out black shoes. Though different in looks and personality, they were united in two ways; their names and the looks of terror etched on their faces.,The boys scrambled up on top of one of the hills of dirt and quickly looked back, their faces consumed with worry and fear. "Where is he Ed?! They could be on us any minute!" the shorter boy whispered and shouted at the same time. "There he is Eddy!" the boy known as Ed exclaimed, pointing one of his fingers towards a figure running around a cement mixer. Though running is probably an over exaggeration. Jogging would be more accurate, or speed walking. "Curse my weak and skinny physic!" wheezed the figure as he came more into view. The figure was a third prepubescent boy around the same age as the other two with tan skin, intelligent jade eyes and a black sock shaped hat with two white stripes running up each side that completely covered his head. He wore an orange t-shirt and purple shorts with blue sneakers, an odd combination that would make anyone who knew anything about color balance quietly approve before turning away in shame. "Hurry Double-D, before the sirens eat your brain, for yours is the largest and most delicious of them all!" shouted Ed, his eyes wild with panic. Eddy, with panic and anger consuming his own eyes, grabbed Ed's mouth and yanked him down to eye level. "Are you crazy ya big dolt?! Your shouting will lead them right to us!" whispered Eddy. He then looked back and saw a cloud of dust coming over the horizon, the sight of which caused Eddy to freeze and his mouth to droop, as if he was trying to shrink in on himself. "We're too late." Eddy croaked. "COOTIES BAD FOR ED!" Ed shouted as he leaped into the air before grabbing Eddy and taking off down the back of the hill and sprinting towards the forest beyond. "GUYS, WAIT FOR ME!" shouted Double-D, trying desperately to catch up with his friends. Chancing a glance behind him, he saw a sight that filled every fiber of his being with dread.,The position where his friends were made the details of what was in the cloud shrouded to them, but since Double-D was closer, he was able to see them in crisp and terrifying detail. The cloud of dust was trailing behind three prepubescent girls, each of them sprinting like a cheetah after their prey. Leading the pack was a tall girl with curly red hair that covered her eyes, but the smirk on her face clearly showed her malicious intent. She wore a white sleeveless shirt with red polka dots and turquoise skinny jeans and worn dark blue sneakers. To her left was a shorter girl with long blond hair, excited hazel eyes and buck teeth. She wore a light gray shirt that showed her midriff, red shorts and brown boots caked in mud. But the one that brought near paralysing fear to Double-D's heart was the girl on the right. She had sea blue hair that covered her right eye, but the uncovered left eye, framed in eye liner the same color as her hair, was cunning and wicked, the grey iris boring into him as if he were little more than a fine cut of beef, a slight sneer mixed perfectly with an evil grin adorning her face. Like the red haired girl she wore a sleeveless shirt, unlike her the shirt was as black as oil and was paired with olive green hunting pants and black boots. Double-D was very familiar with those faces as they had tormented him, his friends and the other kids in the Cul-de-Sac for a whole year by this point. Individually they were known as Lee, May and Marie but they were most feared as a collective, as simply The Kanker Sisters.,"Come on Girls!" the red haired Lee trumpetted, "Our Boyfriends are gonna have some fun with us tonight!" "I can't wait to show Big Ed my chicken bone collection!" May exclaimed with eagerness and glee. Double-D started running faster, but he knew it was futile. The Kanker were more athletic than he was and thus much faster than him. He wished that he was with his friends now, but both Ed and Eddy were probably either halfway back to the Cul-de-Sac by now or hiding in one of the trees deep in the woods where the Kankers were unlikely to find them. If he wanted to escape them, he would have to make more intelligent maneuvers.,Double-D quickly reached the tree line and started slipping his way between the gnarled roots of the trees, trying to find a ditch or river bank to might be able to hide in. He kept running, aware of the increasing sounds of crunching leaves and branches as the Kankers plowed their way through the undergrowth. "Oh Oven Mitt!" a scarchy, almost boyish voice echoed through the air as Double-D ducked underneath another tree branch. "I have a special gift for you!" Double-D shivered slightly as he tore his way through a patch of wild raspberry bushes, knowing that the voice was that of 'his' Kanker, Marie. For some reason after he, Ed and Eddy first met the Kankers, the three of them have been continuously hounded by Kankers as they continuously called them their boyfriends. Every other day without fail the Kanker sisters would chase after them, sexually molest them with kissing and leave them humiliated in some way. Sometimes the Kankers would mix it up by forcing them to wait on them hand and foot, sometimes they would just kidnap them for a few hours of 'fun', but either way they would inevitably find themselves walking home with their clothes ripped and torn and their faces covered in red lipstick, angry and withdrawn. They each had their own, Eddy had the violent and brutish Lee, Ed had the doppy and invasive May and he had the manipulative and possessive Marie. And he knew that she was possessive as earlier during the fifth year graduation dance he had been able to score a dance was Nazz, the kindest and hottest girl in the school and his crush. He wasn't able to completely enjoy it however as Marie ended up destroying the school gym and the school itself in a fit of jealous rage. If that was any indication of his future relationship status than he might as well forget about dating until he was at least in college.,Unfortunately Double-D was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice that large root that he ended up tripping over, nor the steep hill that he ended up tumbling down, grunts of pain punctuating every bounce down the hill before landing at the bottom. A moan of agony escaped his mouth as Double-D lay there, pain shooting through his body like an adrenaline shot. He tried to slowly get up, but fell back down, gasping as agony seared through his left shoulder blade. He turned over onto his back and looked at his arm. The arm wasn't broken from what he can see. He tried to move the limb. He failed. With stark realization, Double-D knew that he had dislocated his shoulder. He lay there staring up at the sky, now resigned to his fate as the sounds of footsteps quickly getting louder and closer beat against his ear drums. And then the wicked smiles of the three Kanker sisters filled his vision.,"Well Oven Mitt, you gave me quite a workout back there," Marie said, panting slightly every couple of words, "but I always end up catching ya in the end." "Same thing with our other boy friends." Exclaimed May in a sort of intense glee. "Speaking of which, Marie, May and I are gonna keep looking for our stud muffins, meet us back at the house when you're done here," said Lee. "Take as long as you like." as she walked away before jogging back into the trees, May following close behind her. Marie waved lazily at their shrinking forms before turning towards the prone body of Double-D, her face glowing with anticipation. She straddled his body, his face drenched in nervous sweat as she invaded his personal space for at least the 186th time. "Now Oven Mitt, just lay there like the good little dwib you are, I want to make this nice and intimate." Petrified with terror, Double-D almost completely forgot about his dislocated shoulder, that is until Marie put her right hand heavily down on it. "YAAHHHH!" Double-D's scream of pain along with the arching of his back and kicking out of his right knee surprised Marie as she was forcefully thrown off him. Clutching her side in slight pain, Marie turned to Double-D, anger blazing in her eyes, only for the anger to dissipate as she saw him, clutching his shoulder in clear agony, tears trickling slowly down his cheeks as he hissed in pain. Her intentions temporarily forgot, she quickly crawled to his side, her face showing something that Double-D rarely saw from her; concern. "Oven Mitt are you alright? What happened?" As she asked that question, a flash of fury passed through Double-D's eyes. 'Simple you complete terror, I nearly broke my shoulder blade because I was trying to get away from you!' thought Double-D as a feeling of loathing passed through his body, but it soon passed, as Double-D looked into her eyes and saw genuine worry in her eyes. At that moment he found that he couldn't stay angry with her, no matter how much he wanted to. "Curse my gentlemanly disposition" he muttered before taking a deep breath. "I tripped over a tree root at the top of the hill and dislocated my shoulder on the way down." Double-D choked out, grimacing slightly as another spasm of pain shot through him. Marie look at him at first with…'was that guilt' he thought, but then the look quickly went away and she then looked at him with a bit of resolve. She looked away and found a large tree, nodded and then turned back to him. "Do you think you can walk?" Double-D looked at her in slight confusion before nodding. "Okay, I want you to give me your right arm so that I can get you up, then I want you to drape it around my shoulder." Double-D looked at her in suspicion, wondering if she would take advantage of him here, then his arm spasmed again. 'Well, nothing ventured nothing gained as John Heywood would say' "Okay, I trust you." Marie seemed to freeze, as if she was stunned, but when Double-D extended his right arm, she shook herself out of it before grabbing his hand, pulling him to his feet and draping his right arm on her shoulder and guided him towards the tree.,As she rested him against the tree, Double-D caught a small flash of regret on her face before she moved to the left side of his body and to the edge of his view. "Okay, I would say that this won't hurt much, but we both know that would be a lie." She then grabbed a small stick and showed it to him. "Alright, I'm going to need you to put this in your mouth and bite down as hard as you can." Double-D looked at the stick in disgust. "I'm not putting that in my mouth! Don't you know how much bacteria there is that could harm you?! For all I know some animals covered it with urine and fecal matter!" Marie shot a frustrated glare at him. "I'm sorry, do you want to bite your tongue?" Quickly realizing that that might happen, Double-D reluctantly put the stick in his mouth and clamped down. "Just so you know, after I'm done I'm going to ravish you without mercy." Double-D looked at her and caught a mischievous glint in her eye. "Wait, whaaaaaAAAAAAAGHHHH!" The sound of his shoulder being slammed back into place was drowned out by his scream of shocked pain as all feeling returned to his arm in an instant. As he breathed heavily between the stick, gasping as he recovered and the pain ebbed, Marie sat down next to him against the tree, a satisfied smirk on her face. "There you go." She spoke, almost giggling as she did. "It's all better." Double-D, remembering that he had a stick in his mouth, quickly spat it out before he glared at her in mock rage. "That was uncalled for." He said scathingly. "Hey it distracted you didn't it?" She replied cheekally, turning to him and flashing a coy smile as she did. Double-D turned away and grumbled a little, but he couldn't deny that she was in the right in this case.,The two of them fell into an uncomfortable silence, neither one of them willing or able to take any initiative in starting a conversation. Double-D sat there, holding his arm and stewing in a cold sweat. He was painfully aware that this was the longest that he had spent in the company of any of the Kanker sisters without being assaulted in anyway, let alone the sister that was clearly the most infatuated with him. He was afraid, yes but he was also a little confused, as he never believed any of the Kanker's to be altruistic. Eventually, this line of thought grew too troublesome for him to ignore. "Why did you do it?" he asked timidly. Marie looked at him in a sort of combination of shock and curiosity, as if she was surprised that she was speaking to him in a calm and even friendly manner. "What help you?" she asked before turning away to briefly think about it. "Believe it or not, my sisters and I don't want to hurt you." "Really, with all the bruises and cuts we suffered I never would expect that." Double-D replied, his voice oozing with sarcasm and dry monotone. "I meant severely hurt you." Marie snapped back, looking annoyed and slightly frustrated. "You know, broken bones, black eyes, twisted ankles, severe bleeding and concussions, stuff like that. Mom raised us better than that." She then turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, a look of sour bitterness crossing her face. "If we ended up doing something like that you would go to the hospital, your parents would find out, our mom would get sued to cover the medical expenses, our mom might lose her jobs, we'd have to sell the trailer and my sisters and I would go to juvie, and I DON'T want to go to juvie." "So it's less about being a decent human being and more about pragmatic selfishness, how thoughtful." Marie turned back to Double-D and stared into his judgemental eyes, sneering at him as she did. "Call it if you want, but I actually do care about you." Yes, just not enough to not invade my personal space, take no for an answer, not smash up my inventions and not cause any permanent emotional duress." "Oh screw you!" Marie then turned away seething, got up and walked away for a short while before sitting down behind another tree. Double-D sat there for a moment, brooding. 'Well what did she expect? That I would be thankful for what she did and throw myself on her while forgetting everything she and her sisters had done to us in the last year? Frankly, I'm surprised to didn't try to hightail it out of here while I had the chance.' 'Yes,' Replied a voice that sounded distinctly like his own. 'but did you really need to go for the low blow like that? She did help you put your arm back in, the least you could do was thank her.' Double-D looked down, regret washing over his face. 'You're right, she did the right thing and I attacked her for it. I should go over and apologize for this.' Slowly and reluctantly, Double-D stood up and walked over to the tree that Marie hid behind. As he walked around it he saw Marie sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, glowering at the ground in front of her. Double-D rubbed his face, steeling himself for the confrontation. "I'm sorry, you were helped me with an injury that you couldn't have known I would've gotten and I snapped at you because of it. It was wrong and I shouldn't have done that. Instead, I would like to thank you for helping me." Marie turned and stared up at him, softly smiled at him and then got to her feet. "Well thanks, I'm glad I could help but I feel that you could do something to make up for how mean you were to me." Double-D suddenly grew nervous, he didn't like the look she was giving him. "Well," he stammered, slowly backing away as he did. "What would you like for me to do?" Marie suddenly struck like a thunderbolt, grabbed him and pinned him against the tree. She smiled lustfully up at him, a gleam of triumph glissining in her eyes. "Well, remember when I said that I was going to ravish you without mercy?" Double-D stared back, petrified terror filling his every being. "Ye-yes?" "I wasn't lying.",Double-D stumbled out of the forest an hour later, mentally kicking himself for his foolishness. He had let his guard down for a single moment and she had taken full advantage of the situation to leave his face plastered with lipstick and kisses AGAIN. 'Curse my kind nature, it always seems to work against me at the worst possible moment.' Double-D grouchelly mussed as he walked down the alley way that lead back to the Cul-de-Sac, his shoulders slumped in tired exasperation. As he turned the corner onto the main street he saw his friends loitering under one of the light poles. Judging by the sheer amount of red lipstick on their faces and the angry look Eddy was giving Ed, their tormentors were able to eventually catch up with them. "Do I even want to know what happened to you guys?" Double-D asked as he approached them. Eddy quickly turned his face toward him, his face reddening with rage. "Monobrow here fell for one of their traps and I got caught when I was trying to stop him." "But Eddy," Ed moaned with a pleading look on his face. "There was a giant chicken in the middle of the field." "Yes, a FAKE chicken!" Screamed Eddy, looking as if he was one bad word away from trying to strangle him. "That chicken was so fake even a toddler would be able to tell the difference! I can't believe you fell for it, it was made out of cardboard and gum tack!" "Eddy," Double-D calmly spoke, putting his hand on Eddy's shoulder as he did so. "It already happened and there's nothing we can do about it now. It's best that you let this go." Eddy turned and glared at him, starting a short staring contest. But Double-D wouldn't flinch and eventually Eddy looked away. "Fine, whatever Sockhead. I just want to go home and figure out what kind of scam we should tryout tomorrow." he grumbled as he slouched his way up the street towards his pink house. "Okay then, good night Eddy." Double-D waved at his friend's retreating back before turning to his other friend, who was now smiling dumbly at him. "I better get home to, after all early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Goodbye Ed." "Farewell Double-D." said Ed before he turned and ran towards his grass green house, laughing jollily as he went. Double-D shook his head fondly and walked towards his teal blue house. As he opened the door, he looked around, sighed and took off his shoes before entering the kitchen. Once again he found himself home before his parents. Not that this would be unusual for a normal child, but due to his parents' hectic work schedule, they often got home after he went to bed and left long before he woke up. As such he hadn't had a conversation with them that wasn't over the phone in two years and they hadn't had dinner together in five. Not that he minded too much, as it allowed him to be more independent than every other kid in the neighborhood, but he would like to at least be able to listen to some music with them. As Double-D had his dinner of pasta with cream sauce and broccoli, his thoughts turned toward the frustrating enigma that is Marie Kanker. She had helped him today and yet still assaulted him. She showed genuine concern and yet still took advantage of him. It was both frustrating and intriguing at the same time. As he put his dishes in the sink so that he could wash them tomorrow there was only one question on his mind. 'Who are you really Marie Kanker?'

There are countless misconceptions about vampires that I have encountered over the years. Some are thoroughly understandable, but some are just ridiculous.,I care little about the beginnings of things, thought they are not without merit. Many of the myths that I may find so ridiculous perhaps stem from our nefarious beginnings.,Some argue the roots of vampires originate in Egypt, others come from dubious ramblings about mad impalers from Walachia, demonic baroness' that bathe in the blood of virgins, perhaps something darker from before Rome invaded the bitter north.,The main point of this, however, is that vampires exist.,Vampires are possibly the strangest of all magical beings. To boil it down to the most bare-bones description, we are animated corpses: zombies.,Technically, we are dead, we cannot age, our hair cannot grow, nor can our fingernails, we cannot procreate and so the basic rules of a walking corps go on. We can, however, regenerate if something is lost or if we obtain injuries that would be fatal to a living being. The process of regeneration requires us to have the ability to transform into mist, then re-compose ourselves back into a fully healed form. Even for the oldest, most experienced vampires this takes a great deal of energy.,We, of course, possess the power to Turn people by exchanging blood. Turning someone is not difficult, but a full Turning takes about a decade and a half to complete, and the consequences for choosing the wrong person are dire. Not just anyone can be a vampire, and if an unfit victim is chosen, not only are they turned into a ghoul, but the vampire who turned them is left in a weakened state until they can manage another Death. In this situation, I was lucky to have chosen a victim of strong spirit and mind to Turn, thought I credit my luck more to impulse than to any kind of cleverness.,I feel the necessity, before I go on, to talk a little bit about myself and my beginnings. As a general rule, it is probably for the best that I provide a little more context for my tale and a reason for my actions.,I am still a very young vampire and I have not yet met many of my kind, save for a select few, the majority of whom I met shortly after I began working for the Ministry of Magic back in 1952, my 'Master' excluded, of course. Many Vampires were wiped out by the infamous Van Hellsing before the turn of the 20th century.,I was a sixth-year student at Hogwarts when I was Turned. The year was 1943, the Nazi's were bombing London; the war was on, and Hogwarts was hell for me.,I was not a particularly pretty girl, often considered gaunt due to the unfortunate genetics of the Black family, nor was I the brightest, or of any specific talent. I was bland, I was average, perhaps a little below. I was, of course, in Slytherin house, hating every minute of it and resenting the prefect, an insufferable muggle-born boy named Tom Riddle. I never liked those charming rakes, especially not the power-hungry ones like him.,I never spoke to anyone, avoiding trouble and keeping to myself. It was the easiest way for me to simply ,. Even though the mysterious attacks that occurred throughout that year, I still walked in silence and loneliness through those near empty halls. Despite my façade, I was breaking on the inside. I used to cry myself to sleep almost nightly, my heart aching for some kind of human companionship.,I had one professor that seemed to sense it, as if hearing my silent pleas of desperation from the back of the Transfiguration classroom. Albus Dumbledore was immeasurably kind to everyone, though he would occasionally take pity on me specifically and invite me in for tea under the guise of discussing my progress. He quickly became the only person I felt I could count as a friend, though I didn't fully trust him yet, in spite of his kindness.,My family is not the trusting sort, but I digress.,Tom Riddle is the one I must blame, or thank, for my Turning.,You see, he and Professor Dumbledore never quite saw eye to eye, and Riddle was not pleased with my newfound companionship. At first, he tried to scream 'scandal', but it rolled off of Dumbledore's back, miraculously. Riddle then dedicated himself to making life hell for me as much as he could, when he wasn't pouring over his little black diary.,Admittedly, I was an easy egg to crack. I tried, and failed, to kill myself, which only furthered my melancholic state, and made Professor Dumbledore ever more watchful over me.,One night in early December, I was 'caught cheating', and as punishment, I was sent into the Forbidden Forest, the purpose of this unusual and sadistic form of punishment vastly unknown to me.,Nonetheless, I found myself hopelessly trapped by my own mind more so than any of the 'dark creatures' that dwelt in the forest. I was a girl of High-London, the forgotten daughter of my father's travesty of a second marriage to an Oriental tempest, and I knew almost nothing of the world of a wintry night in the forest. I suppose Riddle planned this in all his cruel cunningness.,A city girl I may have been, but I knew what hypothermia felt like. I wasn't going to last another hour if someone didn't find me, and at this rate, I would never be found. All around me I could hear the sound of wolves closing in, the crunch of their padded feet on the frozen duff. The trees were so close together overhead that scarce blue moonlight leaked through. I was tired, I had lost my wand some time ago, along with my scarf. Terrified as I was, I had no choice but to embrace the fact that I was going to die here.,I found a clearing in the moonlight and sat down on a twisting tree-root, facing death with stubborn pride, and patiently waited for sleep to claim me.,I must have drifted off, but I awoke soon after to the smell of blood and the sight of a raven-haired man clad in velvet and black grappling with a werewolf. Looking at the man, I knew what he was instantly. He was beautiful in his own right, with strong, handsome features and gentle dark eyes despite their current glint of rage at the werewolf. There was blood staining the white snow of the clearing, and I was trembling with fear, though too cold to move fast enough.,I don't remember the details, save for the feeling of fear and crawling on my hands and knees in the snow. I don't know when, but there had been a wolf on top of me, bearing down on me as it's jaws sank into my shoulder. I was going to be eaten alive.,The weight was lifted off of me with great force, care being taken not to demolish my shoulder. A warm, wet rain of crimson surrounded me and I heard the man hiss. Of course, I was prey. They had been fighting over food.,Suddenly, the wolf's weight was replaced instead with the man pressing his body firmly against my back, his steel armor pressing hard against my thin Hogwarts uniform. I cried out in surprise more than anything, but I was quickly silenced when he turned my head with those icy fingers, exposing my throat in the crystalline moonlight. His face held an expression if the deepest tenderness, caring. Fear gripped me, making my eyes well with tears. What was he going to do to me?,"Try to relax, love, it will not hurt anymore…" He whispered in a heavily accented voice, the bristles of his well-trimmed beard prickling my neck as he spoke. His raven hair fell around us, obscuring my vision. His lips seemed to brush against the sensitive skin of my neck in a gentle kiss before I felt his teeth sink into my flesh, tearing at my jugular vein. I wanted to scream from the pain, my body twitching as I felt him draining the blood out of me. My heart was slowing and I was shaking uncontrollably from pain and fear, death closing in on me as the werewolves had minutes before. Suddenly, he drew back, his pale skin dripping bloody black rubies in the moonlight as he loosed the gleaming gorget from around his neck, letting go of me in the process.,"Now, my love." He whispered, tilting his head back to expose his own fair neck. "Drink your fill or die here.",If it weren't for the pain and fear that only added to my dizziness form the heavy blood loss, I would have laughed at him. I was being given a choice to live or die? Me, who saw no future, no value in her own life? I fought to voice this cruel comedy, but he'd severed my vocal cords in the process of tearing a hole in my neck so I was at a loss. The Vampire seemed to guess my thoughts, casting me a charming, smooth smile.,"My dear, you do not want to know what happens if I allow you to just lie here." His lips hadn't moved that time, but I was too dazed to notice.,With neither will nor warning, I struggled to rise from my snowy grave. He opened his arms to me and I tore into his neck with a slight degree of hesitation to my still living mind, the concept of human flesh was slightly repulsive. As I drank the tangy, metallic fluid form his veins, I felt a sudden warmth fill me as he placed his hands gently on my back. Slowly, my pain subsided and I licked gingerly at the quickly closing wound on his neck. He seemed pleased by this, pulling me away from himself and smiling kindly, flashing his pronounced canines. I still felt desperately hungry for blood, leaning in and licking at his lips to get the last drops. It was a very familiar gesture, as a lover would do, but for some reason I felt no shame around him, as if he had been a friend and companion through all of my dark years.,My action drew a deep chuckle from his chest and he pulled me away, wrapping me in his black wool cloak.,"My dear Integra." He said gently, rising from the spot in an unnaturally graceful manner and kissing my forehead in an almost paternal gesture. Gently, he lifted me bridal-style in his icy arms. "There will be time for blood later…but now, you have reason to live. I will never abandon you.",An hour later, we emerged on the edge of the dark forest, Hogwarts' gleaming lights cutting through the cerulean night. Professor Dumbledore was coming through us through the trees, his illuminated wand held high and his half-moon spectacles aglow in the dim light.,"Earl Tepes…You found her?" I head Dumbledore's concerned voice cutting clear and strong through the mist. "Integra Black?","I did what I could to save her." Earl Tepes said, coming closer and bringing me into the wand-light. I felt weak at this point, and simply peered at my auburn-haired professor from behind my black bangs. "Unfortunately, she did not survive.",Of course this made sense, though at the time I did not fully understand.,"We can't take her back into the castle. It's too big of a risk for other students at this point.","I'll take her into my care. She's approaching her First Death. You may want to write her family and tell them she's deceased. I will be taking her into my care. I am her Master now.",Hours later, I lay in a dark crypt beneath the cemetery in Hogsmead. It was forbidden by the Ministry of magic for a magical creature to own any possession, but Earl Tepes had made a comfortable, almost lavish, din in the silence of the cemetery.,It was here in Hogsmead I experienced my First Death, strangely comfortable, warm and silent with the Earl sitting solemnly by my side.,.oOo.,Here I am, once again at Hogwarts, alone, and despite the 67 years I have been on this earth, terrified. Professor Dumbledore is headmaster now, and I find most of the faculty to be to my liking. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, seems to be on to me, but I can easily fool even the most cunning mortal. Even so, vampires and werewolves never have gotten along well, though he was less dull than most and quite kind despite his subtle distrust of me.,I am not here without reason, however. I am not, nor have I ever, been one to do things on a whim since the Earl Turned me. He helped my realized the effect and necessity of my actions, for which I am ever in debt to his memory.,I forced myself to return here to these dank halls to finish my education, granted mercifully by Dumbledore, who remembered me with a fondness I don't feel I deserve. It is no longer enough that The Ministry has a Vampire on their side, for Vampires can easily be felled if one encounters a 'Van Hellsing' of sorts. Professional vampire hunters have long ago been banned under the 'Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans, section 12: treatment of Vampires'.,, but that does not mean that we are not hunted by those who don't break the laws.,I needed to finish my education, to learn to fight off these 'Van Hellsings', should they become more aggressive again. 13 years before, they had unmercifully claimed my 'Master' with their unholy fire. I was not about to resign myself to the same fate. I was the Ministry's 'Secret Weapon' against any uprisings of magical creatures. I was what they feared the most, and I was what they could not control fully. At least here at Hogwarts, I felt considerably less fear of them deciding I was 'no longer useful', and committing me to the fire. I knew of the Ministry's less than honest tactics since shortly after going to work there.,It was easy to place me back into Slytherin house. Most of the girls didn't even notice. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had been too busy catching rats with their teeth.,If anyone did raise a question, I relied on my family name and a flashing pair of angry eyes, to which they quieted down. Perhaps Voldemort had been good for something after all.,It is quite true that my father's name was Sirius Black. I conveniently left out the fact he was born in 1877, and died in 1952, and that my family had a habit of recycling names. My half-brother, Arcturus Black's son, Orion, had a son named Sirius who was currently locked away in Azkaban and conveniently served as a cover for 'my father'. Dumbledore seemed hesitant for me to use this, but eventually complied, insisting that the ruse only be used in emergencies, and even so, in great moderation.,But a week in to my stay at Hogwarts, my schoolmates regarded me with a sort of intrigued and almost reverent fear, something I was beginning to enjoy with much amusement.,.oOo. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A/N: I'm a little leery about Harry Potter fics involving vampires, after my best friend exposed me to the trainwreck of a fic called 'My Immortal' aka 'The worst Fanfiction Ever'. It made Stephanie Meyers seem like Bram Stoker (no offense, Twilight fans, it's just, I mean come on,it Bram Stoeker!!!!).,I will try not to make a mary-sue of Integra. It's kind of hard to write a fic about Vampires and not have a mary-sue, just due to the nature of Vampires. It's also very hard to write a vampire fic and not at least do a tip of the hat to Lestat de Lioncourt (oh snap! :3 No Anne Rice fics T_T).,I wrote this for a girl I like a lot. I just do. I can't help it. She's so awesome and I loves her

Hello! This is my take on a VM/HP twist (kind of AU-ish).,Now, as with a lot of crossovers, this may not be your cup of tea. Please take with a bucketful of salt, and hopefully you can just relax and enjoy! I've changed some things so that things make sense (like, why Veronica is going to Hogwarts at all) and some timeline things so that her years at Hogwarts match up with the Golden Trio's. I hope you like this interpretation of Veronica (though don't worry, there will still be some arcs from the VM series included as well, though not until later as she's only eleven now).,The heat of summer ending drew a sigh from Veronica. It wasn't like she didn't want it to end; rather, she was getting pretty bored of the summer. Hot days. Endless ice cream. Being out in her bathing suit with her best friend Lilly Kane.,Oh, who was she kidding? Of course she'd miss summer.,But Veronica was realistic and practical (as much as any eleven-year-old could be), and she didn't see the point in moping over a summer that had to end at some point. Knocking on her parents' bedroom door, she announced that she had returned home. Shrugging off the fact that no one was there to hear her, she flopped onto her bed, ignoring the inevitably of her mother's scoldings when she learned that Veronica had failed to get the chlorine away from the sheets yet ,. After laying down for awhile, Veronica got up and showered, changing into something less comfortable for dinner.,"I bet anyone would wear a bathing suit for the rest of their lives," she mumbled to herself, buttoning her denim shorts. She slipped on a band t-shirt (Green Day was pretty big still, right?) and started toward the living room. She sat in front of the television, watching some cartoon pig stomp a small fire out. She was reaching for the stack of magazines on the table when she heard a rapping at the door.,Veronica froze. She weighed her options for about half a second before calling out, "Who's there?","Veronica, it's me," came her father's voice. She felt relieved, but then frowned. Troubled at him having to knock on his own door, she didn't open it immediately.,"Just a minute. What are you knocking for?","Your mom dropped me off today.","Is she with you?","She's fixing her parking job.",Veronica laughed quietly to herself. Her mother was well-known in the small town of Neptune, California for how badly she parked. She swung open the door, waiting half a second before running to her father and giving him a big hug.,"Missed you too, sport," he said, chuckling. She looked up at him, not being able to help the feeling of pride she felt every time she looked her his chest and saw his Sheriff's badge.,"How was work?","How do you think? It's work.",She was about to answer when her mother walked (read: stumbled) in.,"Hey, honey. Would you help me with the groceries?","'Course, Mom.",After the three finished sorting the groceries, they fell into a comfortable silence. Keith wasn't a very talkative man, and while Lianne was typically a social butterfly, she knew Veronica took after her father. They started to make dinner, the three working like a well-oiled machine. After they had made and eaten, they settled into their living room, lazily watching the television, having a small conversation about nothing.,Or, at least, it was a conversation about nothing to Veronica. To her parents, however, it was much more urgent.,"Veronica," Keith said in a quiet, comforting voice. "You remember how you were born in England?","Yeah." She nodded in response. "I still can't believe you guys applied for Dual Citizenship. It's not like I'm ever going back there," she snorted softly.,Keith and Lianne exchanged a look that Veronica didn't miss. She looked up at her dad curiously.,"What's going on?","Well—we got a letter a few weeks ago from a school in England." Her mother looked nervous as she answered. She started doing that thing with her thumbs that Veronica knew meant she wasn't being completely honest.,"Mom," she said in a flat tone. "What is it?","Well... we think you should go.","Go," Veronica deadpanned. "Go where?","To the school in England," her dad answered, not sounding so sure of himself.,"Um, I'm sorry if I'm missing something here, but ,?" She sat up, fully attentive now. She bristled to brace for whatever they threw at her.,"You're a very... special girl, Veronica," her mother tried.,"Special? Mom, you would say that even if my brain only worked at half its current capacity," she pointed out.,Keith tried to rein in the conversation. "It's not easy to explain-","Well, try," Veronica snapped.,"Ver—",A gentle knocking at the door interrupted them. Keith eyed it warily before walking over and opening it. He greeted the figure and welcomed him inside. Veronica gaped at the guest. He was in heavy, full-length burgundy robes of rich fabric adorned with pale silver tracings of crescent moons and stars. As he moved, the stars and moons seemed to move with him, rotating around him as if he were the center of the universe. His white hair cascaded down his back, his white beard lacking a scraggliness that Veronica expected in long beards. A small-pointed matching cap rested on top of his head. Long, graduation gown-esque sleeves covered his arms, but what was more mysterious than anything else was the expression he wore, hidden only a little by half-moon spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose. His eyes twinkled knowingly and Veronica felt her heart thumping violently in her chest. Her eyes widened as he held out a hand. She accepted his hand stiffly, unsure of what to make of him. It wasn't his appearance that made her uncomfortable; rather, it was his aura. He just seemed like the kind of person she'd need to tiptoe around.,"Good evening, Miss Mars. My name is Albus Dumbledore.","Veronica," the small blonde mumbled in her astonishment. Belatedly, she realized he obviously already knew her name.,"Just so." He dipped his head towards her, almost in deference, and peered at her kindly from above his spectacles.,"Why don't you have a seat, Mr. Dumbledore," her mother offered, looking a little awestruck.,Stepping out of his way, Veronica sat in the chair across from the couch while her parents faced her in their little loveseat.,"Thank you, Mrs. Mars. I hope you don't mind if I do." He sat on the couch, directly across from Veronica. Although she had no idea who this man was or why he was in her house, she had to admit that he knew how to work a room.,As if from thin air, he produced a tin box. Veronica had to stop herself from making a face as he set it on the table and smiled at her.,"Lemon drops," he explained, opening the tin and popping one in his mouth. "They're my favorites.",Keith smiled and hurried forth with introductions.,"Veronica, this is Mr. Dumbledore.","I noticed," she deadpanned.,Keith shook his head a little, looking like he very much wanted to roll his eyes but didn't want to in the presence of the present company. "He's the Headmaster of the school in England.",Veronica's eyes shot from her father to the man sitting across from her happily enjoying another lemon drop. "You—um... you came all the way to see us?" She had trouble keeping the panic out of her voice. What did this all mean? Was she not going to say goodbye to Lilly? Were they shipping her off to some boarding school where they beat you with a paddle? Mr. Dumbledore didn't seem like the type to carry around a paddle.,Albus Dumbledore nodded severely. "I have been speaking with your parents at length about this. I was assured that you would understand given all the information.","We—uh, didn't really have the time to relate everything," Keith said, his face flushing just a little bit.,"Very well." The Headmaster looked untroubled. "All in good time. Have you ever heard of Hogwarts, Miss Mars?","Can't say I have.","I didn't think so." His eyes twinkles mischievously. "It is a school for extraordinary young boys and girls. They are enrolled at the age of eleven and complete their education in seven years.",She nodded dumbly, not seeing where this was going. Why make her go to a school all the way in England?,"Will I have to live there?" she asked, not seeing how she could come home every weekend, much less every single day.,He nodded once more. "It is a boarding school. Term beings September 1 and ends in early June.","Why do you want me?" she asked bluntly. Might as well be direct.,"Well, my dear, as I've said, Hogwarts is a place for very special students. It's full name is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.",She blinked. Then she blinked again. And again.,She looked at her mother imploringly. "Please tell me this is a joke.","It isn't," Keith cut in, grimacing a little. "We wanted to tell you when we first found out, but, well, it came as a surprise for both of us. But doesn't it make sense, honey? Last year, when you were at the Kane's and you stopped Lilly from hitting her head in the pool? And what about the year before that when your teacher singled you out and the fire alarm went off? And what about when you were little and you were at the playground and you'd watch the swings go on their own without people in them? It makes so much sense now...",Veronica's head reeled. She had always been a rational person, but now her own dad was telling her to believe something that shouldn't have been possible in the rational world. She didn't know if she could bear to hear it.,"I held onto Lilly so she wouldn't slip, I got lucky with that fire alarm, and people had just gotten off those swings," she argued, disbelief filling her features.,Keith shook his head. Before he could respond, however, Dumbledore said kindly, "If you would like some sort of proof, Miss Mars, that I am not only pulling your leg, you need only ask.",Her chin jutted out in skeptical defiance. "Please. Be my guest.",Pulling what looked like a glorified stick of wood from his sleeve, small sparks came out of the tip as Dumbledore smiled. With a small wave, his garments changed from his heavy, severe burgundy robes to a suit with a black tie, complete with a businessman's briefcase.,"See?",Veronica gaped. "Woah!" she exclaimed, wondering for a split moment if they were all very stoned. She dismissed the idea as soon as it came. Her father would never do it, and Veronica was way too young. Besides, her mother worked at the hospital and Dumbledore didn't seem the type.,She didn't really know what to make of the illusion. "Is it real?" she asked quietly. "Or does it just look real?","You tell me," the old man replied in a soft voice, flicking the wooden stick. She suddenly felt this ethereal breeze run over her and she looked down. Her band tee and jean shorts had been changed into a spicy red summer dress, with a black choker and bangles. It certainly , real, but she was now again seriously considering whether they were all on the drugs. But then the same argument entered her thoughts again and she had to admit that they were not.,"Okay, I'll bite. Tell me more?" She looked up at the old wizard hopefully, a somewhat curious glint in her eye.,The headmaster inclined his head in a sort of half-nod before bringing out a small jewelry box. He set it on the table and left it there, once again retreating to his sleeve and handing her her letter of admission.,She scanned the letter curiously, looking up to see that he was now rising to leave. "I'll leave you all to discuss things. Someone will be by in the morning to take you shopping for your supplies. I daresay Costco will not be able to supply all your needs." He looked rather amused at his own little joke. "The box I have left on your table will remain there; please refrain from handling it until it is time. Your first stop in Diagon Alley will probably be Gringotts, which is the local bank. After that, your guide will take you to purchase the required materials for your first year. I shall see you at the start of term." He dipped his head toward her parents. "Mr. Mars, Mrs. Mars, Veronica. It was very nice to meet you all. Toodles!",And then, the eccentric old wizard with the long grey beard showed himself out.,Sorry about being weird with the posting of this. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain it at the beginning of the next chapter.) I swear to be more professional in future. I just wanted this out already lol.,Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise or anything from the Veronica Mars series.,Hope you enjoyed this. Veronica is kind of hard to write for me, especially since she's kinda young right now and I'm gonna try to develop the characters over time. I'll definitely come back to this and flesh it out some more in the future. For now, though, bye!

One Soul for Another,Chapter 1,Summary: Peter and I are vampires and soul mates. Harry, Ron and Hermione are here visiting when Peter gets shot at. Then Hannibal and Clarice come because Hannibal has been tracking Harry down, it turns out that Clarice is Harry's great aunt and only relative left that doesn't hate that he is a wizard. They all must band together to help track down the True Grey's, a clan of humans that think if they drink a male vampire's blood then they will turn immortal.,Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters accept Peter and Lana,*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*,Peter and I started down for breakfast. In our Bracken mansion, we have been together for over eighty years. Being vampires, we have accumulated a lot of memories in this house.,Lately we have had visitors staying with us. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had come a few weeks ago, from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They were in their last year when Ron and Hermione decided to leave. They were tired of being harassed about being friends with Harry. So Peter and I met them at the train station and took them back to the mansion.,Harry was already gone from Hogwarts when Ron and Hermione had left. He was determined to find Severus Snape and avenge Albus Dumbledore's murder. Harry had thought he had a lead on him but it turned out to be false. So he called Hermione's phone expecting it to go to voicemail because she should have been in the middle of class, but when she pick up on the first ring he was a bit shocked.,"Hey, why aren't you in class?","Ron and I aren't at Hogwarts any more.","What happened? Where are you guys?","We just got tired of the criticism so we left.","Where? Not back to the Weasley's I imagine.","No, we went to Peter and Lana's mansion. We have been here about two weeks. I'm pretty sure its safe here.","Okay, I'll be there in a few days.","Where are you at?","I'm not really sure, I think I'm south of Houston, Texas.","Oh, okay I'll see you in a few days. You can room with Ron, we have been making up stories to tell Peter and Lana. They think your off doing something for the school.","Oh okay, we will have to tell them the truth sometime.","Yea but we must wait for the right moment or they will freak out.","Okay, bye.","Bye.",So Harry stole a car and loaded up and drove to my house and got there just in time.,--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------,Please Review!!!

As with many horrible things in life, it was both a long time coming and simultaneously very sudden when Harry Potter realized something was wrong.,He'd lived many happy years with his wife, Ginny. They'd had many children, and he'd been proud to see them go off to Hogwarts. It was the first time seeing a child off to Hogwarts when he got a comment for the first time, when he had an inkling that something might be wrong.,"Oh, wow! Harry, you look phenomenal! Haven't aged a day. You and Ginny have always looked so good together." Lavender Brown cooed at the famous couple. "You'll have to pop 'round for tea some time!",That was the beginning of the end. More and more people began to comment on his age. Ginny used to laugh and joke with him about it. "Give it a few more years, people'll think I've robbed the cradle! No one would ever guess you were the older of the two of us." She'd wink and give him a swat on the bum as she said it.,Years went by, and it was just another part of being Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Man-Who-Conquered. One more thing people felt they had the right to comment on, to talk to him about, even though he bloody well hadn't asked anyone's opinion, thank you very much. Being famous was hard, sometimes. Even though he'd won the epithet 'Man-Who-Conquered' on his own, his youthful appearance and survival as a baby really weren't anything he had done himself or done on purpose. And honestly, he attributed most of the work for the whole "Man-Who-Conquered" bit to have been done by Dumbledore anyways. It was all out of his control, and he hated the praise he received for it.,But he was an old hand at practiced smiles and a friendly half-wave, so he let it slide off his back like water off a duck. An apt analogy, as he often felt like something straight out of a petting zoo.,Eventually, with all his children graduated Hogwarts and off living their own lives, Harry and Ginny slowly relaxed into a comfortable retirement.,But then one afternoon Hermione and Ron decided a trip down memory lane would do them all some good. So, they pulled out all the albums and photos they could find, many of which were taken by Colin Creevey, which made them especially dear to Harry. Pictures of Hagrid and the Trio from first year, smiling wide with rosy cheeks after a snowball fight drew laughs and cheerful stories. Second year, third year, on and on the stories came and went. But it was a picture of Harry and Ginny, holding each other tightly in the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts that brought the four up short.,It wasn't the memories of gasping breaths and spellfire that shook them. It wasn't the exultation at the remembered rush of adrenaline and pure joy that had coursed through them all those years ago with the thought ,. It wasn't the feeling of loss, regret, and , as they remembered their fallen comrades, friends, and family.,No. It was none of that.,Shock. They were brought up short by the pure shock of seeing Harry at that age, just returned to life from death, looking the exact same as he did now more than two decades later. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny all looked weathered by age, older and more refined, but Harry's face in the picture was the exact same youthful expression as it had always been, as though frozen in time. It was Hermione, sweet, no-nonsense Hermione, who broke the silence.,"Well, people have always joked, or commented, but I didn't realize how… well. I didn't realize, did I? I suppose it was silly of us to think there wouldn't be any side effects at all. It's not the end of the world, just one more thing to do. If you'd like, I can bring it up with the Unspeakables at work tomorrow?" Even though Harry, Ron, and Ginny had all finally retired, Hermione wouldn't give up her work until she couldn't apparate to her office any longer, no matter what anyone thought. She was far too passionate about it.,Harry desperately wanted to deny her. To be poked, and prodded, and analyzed by a bunch of faceless wizards? No, thank you, none for him. The look in Ginny's eyes, though, melted his heart just a fraction, enough so that he subsided.,"Alright, just tell me when and where and I'll show up.",He received a date and a location shortly after, and by the end of the week he was headed out of the house to his appointment with a shouted "Don't forget to water my plants, Gin! Last time I left you alone with them, Neville's Mimbletanzia almost died!","It's called a Mimbulus Mimbletonia, you prat! And you're the one that always kills the plants!" She shouted back. He smiled as he turned with a smart crack to apparate into the alleyway around the corner from the Ministry.,In no time at all he was sat on a stiff medical examination table, wearing only a thin robe, with Merlin only knew how many wands pointed at him. In short, he was miserable. They hadn't even let him hold onto his wand or the mokeskin pouch Hermione had Charmed for him right as the War was heating up. He wasn't sure why he kept it on his person at all times, all these years after the War, but it calmed him to have it resting on his hip. The fact that she'd expanded it to have no bottom was especially useful, and it never left his side if he could help it.,As he suspected, the Unspeakables didn't find anything quite wrong with him. The single thing they found to point out was that his magic was growing stronger over time. 'Almost unnoticeable, but steady' was how they worded it. It didn't affect his day to day life, so he wasn't overly concerned.,"You see that law pass?" He heard in the halls of the Ministry as he walked to an Apparition point. "Can't believe that the ICW actually let it go through! Repealing the Statute of Secrecy. Bloody crazy, that is. Absolutely mad.","Well," he heard a woman chime in "it wasn't as if we could keep the Muggles blind about it forever, could we? Not with their ekeltricity, and their weird version of moving portraits that update themselves. Besides, that marketing campaign, the one for Satan? They brought in some of the best Seers and Arithmancers in the world. Turns out, it's the real deal! Don't know where he gets off on breaking the Statute of Secrecy, but I suppose he isn't exactly a wizard, is he? It'd be more like being mad at a Phoenix for having a burning day; it's just in his nature, y'know?",Harry sighed as he turned with a sharp crack. The world around him kept changing, and yet he seemed to stay the same. , he thought to himself with a dark chuckle.,Ginny wasn't well pleased that the Unspeakables had sent him on his way with the equivalent of a pat on the head and a shrug of their shoulders. It took all his considerable skills in persuasion to keep her from storming the Ministry. As it turned out, it was a waste of breath. Hermione had gone on a rampage of her own, marching up and down the Department of Mysteries and lambasting the Unspeakables as, if he was told the story correctly, "incompetent fools with more dust than braincells, who couldn't understand the readouts of a diagnostic Charm if it was written in the Queen's English on a stack of fresh parchment.",He did so love his friends, headaches though they gave him.,"Have fun, did you?" He had mocked her at dinner the following week. She pinked prettily as Ron let out a loud guffaw, and Ginny did her own impersonation of the rant, to light applause from Harry and Ron when she finished.,"Oh, hush, all of you. They've had it coming for a while, the pompous arseholes. You just gave me the excuse.","Oooh, language Ms. Granger. What would the Headmistress say?","She'd say I was bloody well right to give them a thrashing, and you know it. She comes over for tea often enough.","And honestly, mate, she's been a Weasley now for more than two decades. Why d'you insist on calling her Granger when you get uppity?","Old habits die hard?" Harry smirked as he gave a light shrug.,Hermione smacked him across the head with a wooden spoon. "I've been a Weasley longer than I've been a Granger, you twit. Don't get smart with me, or I'll sick Molly on you.","Yes ma'am!" He gave a mock salute, causing Ginny to spit out the sip of tea she'd just taken.,"You were never in the military, love, and we can tell. Worst salute I've ever seen. Your posture is atrocious!","Sod off, we were close enough. I can salute if I damn well want to.",The rest of the night had gone just as well, laughter and frivolity filling the air, and he'd given his two best friends tight hugs as he Flooed back to his and Ginny's home.,It was months later when Harry started having pains. A growing ache in his scar, not the one on his forehead, but the one on his chest. The spot where the second killing curse had struck, a large ugly X-mark marring his chest, right above his heart. It throbbed constantly, with occasional sharp shooting pains, like an orchestra in the background on the Wizarding Wireless occasionally being interrupted by bursts of overpowering static.,No mediwitch or Healer could fathom what was wrong. His body was in perfect health, the same as if he was 17 and in the prime of his life they all said. No mental damage either, he aware and alert at all times.,It was Hermione, with her unique experience as being one of the few people alive to have read ,, that eventually suggested they check for soul damage. It was unlikely, they all agreed. Highly improbable that something from so long ago would only now be rearing its head.,When her face paled, and her lips pursed, Harry closed his eyes and let out a low sigh. He knew the answer. Felt it deep in his bones, coursing through his blood, throbbing in his scar. Something was wrong with his soul.,When he opened his eyes, his three closest friends were frozen in place. He reached out to shake them out of it, wondering if they had been petrified, when a voice spoke out.,"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." A woman's voice. He turned towards it, and saw a middle-aged woman staring down at him from across the room.,"Don't suppose you're here to tell me you made a mistake, and that you need to age me up to match my wife, eh?","No," she gave him a small smile. "I don't suppose that is the case.","Not with my luck." He mumbled. "Don't know what I did to piss off Fate, but when I meet her you'd better bet I'm either going to apologize or hex her right in her face.","I'd rather not be hexed, if it's all the same to you. But , haven't done anything to me, so I don't especially need the apology." She smirked at him then, as though she knew a secret he didn't. It was an ugly smirk, and he wasn't a fan of it.,"Yeah, pull the other one. What sort of spell is this? I'll admit, I've been out of action for a while, and I'm not the Auror I used to be, but I'm pretty sure Time Magic of this caliber is still illegal.","Not a spell, Harry. Chronos lent me a hand and has stopped time while we have a little chat. My name is Lachesis, and there is much I need to catch you up on." With that, she reached behind her back and then flung her hand forwards. Harry suppressed his flinch as he saw the three objects floating between them.,"Bloody buggering fuck. Morgana's saggy bra strap, and the tits they hold, what in the hell are you playing at? I destroyed one of those, lost the other, and the third should be safely back at my house, in my trunk, under a Merlin-damned Fidelius Charm. A Charm, I might add, that it took Hermione , to modify so that I could be both the caster and the Secret Keeper. How in the nine layers of hell did you get any of them, let alone all of them?",Her eyebrows were raised comically, and continued to climb higher as he spoke and swore up a storm.,"Heavens me. Language, Mr. Potter." Her mocking tone, and the way she copied the jokes he shared with his friends, his family, irked him. His ire creeped up on him slowly, stalking like a jungle cat, growing more and more agitated the longer this went on.,Floating before him were the Deathly Hallows. The Cloak, the Wand, and the Stone. All three were in perfect condition.,"You better start explaining, lady, or I'm going to start getting pissed. And not the good kind, with firewhiskey and strippers, the bad kind with Fiendfyre and charred corpses.","I am the Incarnation of Fate. You've seen the advertisements put out by Satan, recently? He is the Incarnation of Evil, and being Evil he has taken it upon himself to break all the rules of being an Incarnation. That is to say, he has begun to directly interfere with mortals. But that is neither here nor there.",Harry clenched his fist and ground his teeth as he listened to the woman speak.,"I am Lachesis, one aspect of three versions of myself. I am the measurer of the strands of Fate. As Clotho, my younger self, spins the thread, so do I measure them, and so does my older self Atropos cut them. It is a tireless, thankless job, but it is necessary. All lives must come to an end, and the world must have some semblance of order. Things must happen as they are Destined to happen, and it is our job to ensure that they don't become too tangled up. To be honest, I've had a particularly difficult time keeping Atropos away from your thread. She's wanted to cut it for a long while now.","Am I supposed to thank you? Because if what you're saying is true, which we haven't established for sure in case you were wondering, then you are the reason a lot of bad stuff happened to me. That was your Prophecy coming out of Trelawney's lips all those years ago.",A simple "Yes" seemed to be all she had to say on the matter. Harry's ground his teeth further to keep from lashing out.,"So, what do you want from me, then? It's always something with you. You likely orchestrated my whole life, and Dumbledore's too, and all my friend's just to get me here. I did what you wanted before, I fulfilled your Prophecy. Why won't you just bugger off!?","It isn't that simple. You conquered the Hallows, but more importantly, in doing so you conquered yourself. You faced Death as something not to be feared. To be respected, surely, but as a necessity to achieve your goals. As neither Good nor Evil, but as a fact of the way our reality is designed.","Where are you going with this?","There are five main Incarnations, excluding Good and Evil. I am, as I said, Fate. There is also Time, Nature and War.","That's only four.","That's because only four Incarnations are filled at the moment. One of our positions is missing.",Harry paused, for just a moment, as suddenly everything came into view. He let out a grimace as he muttered "Death.","Precisely.","I won't do it. I don't want to be Death, or an Incarnation, or whatever you're on about. I just want to finish out my retirement with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Watch my kids grow old, and their kids. And if I'm really lucky, maybe their kids too.","That isn't going to happen, Harry. You are now, and have always been, destined to be Thanatos. You shall be Death. And if you don't learn to love it, you may at least learn to accept it.","You can't force me. I won't be your puppet, I won't dance to your tune! I'd rather just move on than be stuck around, Immortal. I'd kill myself before I took up the mantle.",She gave him a small, broken smile.,"You already have.",His eyes widened, and he breathed out a soft "No.","Yes. When you chose to come back. You accepted your own Mastery over your Aspect. You should have become an Incarnation then and there. You would have been able to merely pluck the remnants of Tom Riddle's broken soul out of his homunculus construct of a body. When you threw away your Hallows, rejected your Office, you should have immediately perished. But I held Atropos back from snipping your thread by reminding her that you had been accepted as an Immortal, which made your thread immune to being cut. I did this so that you might experience some of the happiness you deserved. You did well as my Champion, to destroy Voldemort with none of the powers of your Station as an Incarnation. But I can hold it off no longer. Now is the time that your thread must be halted, suspended as you take up your Office as Thanatos, lest your thread be destroyed.","Then let it be destroyed! Better to move on to my loved ones than to wallow away in a job I don't want, set apart from humanity and everyone I hold dear!","You'll notice I said 'destroyed' not 'cut.' If you don't take up the office, you will not move on; your soul will cease to be. You will not move on to, as Albus once put it, the 'Next Great Adventure.' You will simply cease to exist, only a memory to those who knew you. Your soul has been tethered too long past the day of your Death, without you taking up the Office. Cutting it will fray it, till it unwinds itself into nothingness.","You bitch." Harry snarled. "You set this up too, didn't you? If you had come to me earlier could have just let Atropos cut my thread, let my soul move on? I'll bet you waited until just the last moment so I'd have to choose your answer, didn't you? One more choice taken out of my hands, is that right?","If I'd let her cut your thread, you wouldn't have been given the option to come back. I'm only doing what I can for the Greater Good; it's my responsibility to thwart Evil." Was all she said before she merely tucked her head and averted her eyes.,Harry stared at the Hallows before him. The deep shimmering expanse of the Cloak, the alluring shine of the Stone, the terrifying power of the Wand. He shuddered at the sight of them whole and unharmed.,"How long is it for?","Traditionally, Death takes over his Office when he has killed his predecessor. Unfortunately, when your predecessor was tricked by a few crafty wizards and brothers who stole from him his Accoutrements, the Vessels of his Office, it messed everything up. There is currently no Death for you to kill. By uniting the Hallows, and Mastering Death, you accepted the Office.","So, I have to do this until someone kills me? Why can't I just take up the office, then let someone kill me? Where will all your plans go then?" He hated the sneer in his voice. He'd left his anger behind him so long ago, filled his heart instead with happier things. When it was all in danger of being ripped away though, old scars were stretched and torn anew as he fought desperately to hold onto what he had.,"You will be ,. , There shall be nothing that shall kill you. Your Office is your Domain, and within it you are absolute.","Then how is any Death ever killed?","By surprise. When you do not pay attention to your surroundings, when you do not keep a firm grip on your powers and Office, you will become a little more mortal than normal. It is by this that there will never be a Death who would shirk his duties. It will also keep you from being killed, as you are not the type of person to turn away from your responsibilities.","Bloody hell." He ran his hand through his hair and let out a long, ragged breath. "Seems I was always destined to be your whipping boy. Fine. You win.",He reached out his hand, and though the Wand called to him, craved his touch, and the Stone whispered to him, murmuring sweet nothings about all those he had lost, it was the Cloak he claimed first.,His link to his Father. His shield against the outside world. It wrapped itself around him, a comforting embrace, to ward away the ugliness of the world. His hidden refuge when everything would inevitably become too much.,He held his left hand aloft, and the Stone flew to him, settling itself on his middle finger as a band sprouted from it to slither around his outstretched hand. It settled down upon his finger like a heavy weight, and he despised how comfortable it felt.,His right hand was barely raised when the Wand smacked against his palm, crackling with unrestrained power, almost gleeful in its eagerness. He felt the three Artifacts, his Accoutrements, the Deathly Hallows settle around him like a familiar hug. It sent a disgusted shiver down his spine.,"There. Happy now?","Yes." She didn't sound it. Good. Harry wasn't happy either. "I do hope that one day you can come to see that this is for the best. You will be good in your Office, I assure you.",Harry just snorted, then waved his hand for her to get on with it.,"I am not so cruel as you might think. I shall allow you to say goodbye.",His throat constricted as his eyes returned to the frozen bodies of his loved ones.,Color returned to the world that he hadn't realized had drained away, seeping back in like paint across canvas, as time restarted itself. He stood there, watching as his friends saw the life leave his body. His soul was untethered, ,was untethered. His soul was nothing more than the mortar that held together the Hallows around him. Ironic that he was the key that locked tight his own restraints.,Ron looked up first.,"Bloody hell! Merlin-fuck!" Ron fell back on his bum from where'd he'd been squatting, and the two women looked down at him, then up at where he was staring slack-jawed. The color drained from their faces, and Harry looked down to see his skeletal visage poking out through his Cloak.,Damn.,"It is his time. I held off as long as I could. I am sorry." They were the only words he could manage to say without breaking down into tears. He wanted so desperately to convey his emotion, but his voice instead came out raspy and monotone.,They wailed. They screamed. They threatened. They cursed. They demanded, and cried, and raged.,Nothing he hadn't been doing on his own only a few moments before. He sighed as he looked at them, wishing he could tell them the truth. Wishing-.,Wait. Why couldn't he tell them the truth? He began to feel the excitement bubble up from within himself and opened his mouth to tell his family who he really was, but the words wouldn't come. His voice betrayed him, and he clacked his teeth shut instead. From within his cowl, they made an ominous echo.,"He can hear you, if you would like to say goodbye. But he wanted you to know he loves you, with all that he has. He fought, and bargained, and did everything he could to stay with you. Sadly, it is out of my hands. It is his time. But know that he will never forget you, not now nor in the Next Great Adventure. He loves you, with all he has. He will wait for you. He longs to be reunited, but hopes you live as fully as you can until then.","We'll miss you mate. Don't know if you can hear me, but we will. All of us. Think of you every day, we will. But I hope you're not too mad if we don't follow after you too soon, yeah?","We love you Harry. I'm so sorry I didn't figure it out in time, but never doubt that we love you. We'll look after Ginny, and the kids, and everyone, and oh! We just love you so much!" Hermione broke down again in to tears, burrowing her head into Ron's chest.,Ginny, his brave, beautiful Ginny. She approached his skeletal form and stared deep into his now empty eye sockets. It tore at him to know she couldn't see his eyes; she had always said how much she loved them. , she had said when they were young. He had mocked her for that endlessly. She still joked with him on occasion, telling him he even smelled like one, too.,Well. She used to, anyways.,She stared deeply at his skull, and he wondered if she could sense his resignation. Then she leaned in and placed a featherlight kiss on his bone cheek and whispered "I love you, Harry Potter. I'll see you soon, I promise. I'll take care of the kids. And I promise, I'll remember to water your plants.",For a brief, terrifying, glorious moment, he thought she knew the truth. But when he looked closer, he saw the strain in her face. The terror, the loneliness welling up inside her. He didn't know if it would hurt more in that moment if she knew the truth or not. So, he turned to walk out of the house. He couldn't stand to be with them any longer knowing his two best friends thought him a stranger, being unsure if his wife knew his knew fate. He didn't make it far. Feeling like there was a vice around his heart, he heaved out heavy wracking sobs in the garden, invisible to all around him as he let his Cloak hide him.,"Funny, I thought she said he'd be here. I'm usually right on time." Harry turned to see a tall man in a long white robe, holding an hourglass. The sand fell at a normal, steady rate, despite the fact that the hourglass was tilted at an odd angle.,Time to buckle down. Time to shove it all down, bottle it all up, and deal with his emotions later. He had a job to do. With one last long and unsteady breath he stepped forward and allowed himself to be seen.,"Are you looking for me?" He croaked out.,"Ah, Thanatos, it is so good to see you again.","I'm sorry?","Oh, have we not met before?","Not that I can recall.","A pity, then. This shall be our last encounter, for me at least. I knew it was coming up, but that does not make it any easier to lose a friend. You've been through so many versions of me, or so you said, that I'm surprised our time is finally here.","What are you on about?","You don't know?","As I've been told by many a Professor in my youth, the amount I don't know could fill oceans.","I'm Time. Chronos, if you will. All of us Temporal Incarnations live our lives backwards, from the moment we grab our Hourglass to the moment of our mortal birth. I can't believe I'm the first to meet you!" He let out a loud guffaw. "This is wonderful. Well, time's a-slipping by. We'd best get a move on, eh? You have quite a bit of catching up to do.",Harry just frowned and gestured "Lead the way." The dark-skinned man grabbed his hand, and the world , and shifted. Suddenly, they were no longer where they had started. Harry wasn't even sure if they were in England any longer.,"This is the right time. Where is… Ah! See, over there." He pointed off into the distance, where a skeletal figure, almost reminiscent of a Dementor, stood warily on a hilltop, looking out into the distance. A figure walked up the hill towards him, and Harry could see the moment the skeletal figure noticed the man, for his whole countenance changed. Anger radiated off of him, and Harry couldn't help but walk towards the potential conflict. If this was what he thought it was…,As he walked closer, he saw the skeletal figure, the previous Death he assumed, running through a gamut of emotions. Rage faded to mockery, blended into grief. As Harry approached close enough to hear their conversation, which the mortal man had looked incredibly calm throughout, Death finally settled on resigned.,"Yes, I suppose you did truly best me. Though, I doubt that a life spent hidden was a life well spent.","I spent it well enough." The man was much older than Harry had expected. From a distance, his posture and countenance were that of a young man, but up close the age-weathered skin, wrinkled and browned, contrasted starkly against a long white beard. He continued speaking "I left the cloak to my son, and he shall pass it to his son, and so on and so on. My line shall only ever pass on when we are ready, not when Death decides.",Harry decided that this was a good time for him to speak up. If he was going to do this job, he was at least going to do it right. "I don't suppose you expect that will hide them from me, do you?",Both of the men on the hilltop turned to look at him then, both mirroring a surprised expression.,"I grew up with that Cloak. I know it's secret's better than anyone. It's not perfect, not in the least. Your children shall pass when they are meant to, when I decide. You will be the last of your line to escape Death.", the traitorous voice inside his head muttered.,"And who are you, exactly?","Your replacement, so I've been told. You lost the contest, which means you've forfeited your Office. You have complete control over Death, and by extension souls or so I'm led to believe. I'm not sure why you chose to enter a silly contest instead of just taking their lives. It would have made , life a hell of a lot easier.",Both of them looked at him like he was crazy, which didn't faze him in the slightest.,Chronos decided this was an apt time to jump in.,"It is true. It is your Time to move on, both of you. Atropos has agreed to cut both your threads, and Lachesis has determined the rest of the details. This shall be your replacement." He turned to Harry and whispered "Just do whatever feels natural. You'll be taking their souls, so you may take them however you wish. Remember, your own words were true; Death is your bailiwick. You may do as you like, and none shall stop you.",Harry stared at the Wand in his hand, Elder wood with Elder berries carved intricately into its shaft. Lazily, he pointed at the two figures before him and whispered "," A silky smooth , slid out of the man, and the skeletal figure before him collapsed, before a similar silky material slid out from the rags covering the ground and flew gently into the air.,"What the hell was that?","You took their souls. It seems that our previous Thanatos' soul was already well decided. It was Good enough, clean enough, to proceed to Heaven on its own. The soul of the Peverell, though…" Chronos drifted off. "Making deals with Incarnations is not something to be done lightly. He must have trafficked with powerful beings to be so confident. Many of them may have been quite Dark.",Harry snorted. "I don't care. How do I get rid of it? Send it beyond to where it belongs?","You may measure it now, if you like. Or you may capture many more souls, then bring them to Purgatory and do many of them at once. You must store it safely, if you'd like to bring it to Purgatory.",Harry reached down and was immeasurably relieved to find his mokeskin pouch still attached to his hip. He opened it and slid the smooth material of his ancestor's soul into his bag. It would be safe there until he was ready to deal with it.,"One last gift, before I go." The dark-skinned man reached into his long white robe and pulled out a simple watch.,"It shall tell you how much time until the next soul that needs your attention. I'm not sure how you know where to be, only how to tell you how much time you have. It will also tell you what your backlog looks like. You only need to attend to the tricky cases, the ones where the souls are so very close you need to measure them yourself. The rest of the souls are set to 'auto-pilot,' if you will, and will go to their destination without your conscious say so. Otherwise, you'd never get any work done!" The man winked at Harry. Harry just nodded back.,"If you'd like, I could add a function to your watch to slow down time, or stop completely, even, in case you're ever running-.","," Harry muttered as he harshly jabbed straight outwards with his wand. The world slowed around them, and Harry cranked his wand backwards, rotating his wrist, until the two Incarnations were stuck in a temporal standstill. Chronos frowned momentarily, then let out a huge grin. With a wave of his hand time resumed.,"Excellent! You shall be fine then. And remember, you're already starting a bit behind in your schedule. Your predecessor was a bit preoccupied with this silly bet and left you something of a terrible backlog on souls that need to be harvested.",Harry just grunted and waved at the man. With nary a sound, he vanished, and finally Harry was alone.,He took in a breath, inhaling as long as he could, till his chest hurt and his eyes watered, and he couldn't hold it in any more. Then, with all he had, he screamed. Loud, harsh, terrible, his scream echoed around him, bouncing back to his ears as if to prove to him that he was truly alone.,No friends. No family. Forced into the distant past by crazy primordial beings that cared not a whit for the desires of mortals. His despair ripped through him like a barrage of serrated blades, like a cascade of cracking whips. It tortured him, and he laid where he was, on the ground, on a hill, in the middle of nowhere, lost in somewhen, and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Man-Who-Conquered, Thanatos, Death, the little boy locked in his cupboard began to cry.,He had no idea how long his tears lasted, how many lakes he could have filled. But when his tears ran dry and his throat grew hoarse, he did finally relent. There was no going home. He tried every spell he knew, he tried some he didn't know how to do but had seen done once before, he even tried made up spells, just to say he had, all in the name of returning to his family in the future.,Nothing worked. This was his life now. Set apart, alone, to be that which all men feared. Inevitable, he would march forward, taking all who walked the earth, outliving them all. The problem was, he knew how important his job was. He knew what would happen if he forewent his responsibility and never reaped a single soul. Much as he hated it, he knew he had to perform the job until he was replaced.,He doubted he'd be lucky enough for anyone, wizard or Muggle, to be able to kill him any time soon. He was well and truly stuck.,He slowly picked himself up, his Hallows clinging to him like ice to the pavement after a snow storm, and he wandered.,"How the bloody hell am I supposed to know where I'm going?",A mighty neigh was let out, and Harry turned, shocked, to see a large pale horse braying on the hill he'd just come from. The horse trotted out to him, and instincts Hagrid had drilled into him kicked in. He reached out a hand, gentle and tender, approachable. The horse came closer, and closer still, until their foreheads touched, and Harry heard a strong voice within his head.,",","I already have a familiar." Harry warned. He had never replaced his first real friend, and he never would. He felt a gentle breeze through his mind, then heard a soft answer.,",Harry sucked another breath in and let it out slowly. "You know, I think I could really use one of those right about now.",Hours, to Weeks, to Months.,Years, to Decades, to Centuries.,Time became a fluid and nebulous thing for Thanatos. His memory was clear and sharp as ever. Every moment he had ever experienced could be recalled as though it was yesterday, from both his Mortal life and his Immortal one. But it was as though he was living in a greyscale world. Souls were collected, and stored, and measured. Mortis (who was ecstatic when Harry finally convinced him to shapeshift into a car; Mortis was a speed-fiend) was his only companion, his only escape from the monotony of his existence. The only place he found any measure of solace was in the solitude from within his Palace.,All of which contributed to his shock when he entered the house of the next soul he was to collect and saw a young familiar looking girl. He couldn't quite place her, which was odd given his memory, but he paid it little mind.,The little girl couldn't see him, nor could her mother, and he had long ago destroyed any guilt about reaping a soul in front of their family. Life was not easy, nor was it pretty, and Death was even more gruesome than life.,The familiar material flew out of the mother's chest and into his outstretched hand as he summoned it with his wand. The woman shuttered from the cause of her death, a bit of poison added to her tea by a rival if Thanatos didn't miss his mark. He turned to leave, just one more gruesome scene etched into his mind, when he heard a noise he'd hoped to never hear again.,A loose, lofty voice, dreamlike in quality. It spiraled around him and drew memories out from the well within his heart that he kept locked up at all time.,",Thanatos looked down at the young girl, who looked around quite suddenly with a dazed expression, which morphed to horrified as she saw her mother lying on the floor, and yet Death felt no pity. He recognized this girl now for the woman she would become.,Sybil Trelawney.,A cold fury swept through him, chilling him bone deep as he seethed out of the house. "," he hissed, and with the rev of an engine that sounded suspiciously like an angry braying, he was off.,The ride did nothing to calm the storm brewing within him, and as he approached Fate's Abode, he crashed the doors open. "Fate!" He shouted, "Show yourself!",She appeared before him as Clotho, young and guileless, and she smiled at him. "Thanatos, what a pleasant surprise! How is-.","I would speak to Lachesis. ," He sneered at her. Her grimace didn't faze him, he cared not at all for Fate's opinion.,"You've never liked me, you know. Any of us, really. I don't know why, I've never done anything to you. All we've ever done is try to be kind, and you throw it back in all three of our faces.","Never done anything to me? Did I not just a hear a ,, spoken by a true ,, where my name left her lips?","Well, the Threads of Life and the Tapestry of Fate are fickle things. We need all the help we can get ensuring everything runs as smoothly as possible. Not to mention all the extra time we need to spend thwarting Satan!","Lachesis. ,",He saw a pout mar her face before her body morphed, and between one breath and the next (which Thanatos didn't draw, being already dead and Immortal) her visage shifted from young to middle aged. Still beautiful, but with a mature rather than youthful countenance, Lachesis gave him a glare.,"She's right you know; you haven't ever liked us. Any of us. You'd never even met me when I was first inducted as Fate and yet you were still rude to me! You never managed to give a sufficient reason, either.",", is the reason, you insufferable woman. You can't help but meddle, can't stop yourself from sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong. Every Incarnation of Fate, especially when you're new, always thinks that you know best. You go butting in where you aren't wanted, and I end up being the one who has to pay. Death is always, one way or another, bound up in these damned Prophecies of yours.","Yes, but this-.","This is special. This is important. This time is different. You have a good reason. If only I understood. I'm not an Aspect of Fate, there's no way I could understand. Sound about right? I've heard it all before. I had the Lachesis and Clotho before you well trained enough that they left me alone to , without trying to get me involved in your worthless schemes and plots. But whenever there's a new one of you, you get too big for your britches, and I end up the victim who has to clean up your mess. It's one of the reasons that you work so closely with Chronos; he's lived through it all already, knows the ending in advance, so all your silly little surprises don't mean as much to him.","Just because you've been Thanatos longer than I've been Fate, doesn't mean you know how to be Fate better than I do!","Oh, really? Atropos, you've been in the same position long enough. Did you not think to show her what happened when you attempt to embroil me in your silly schemes? You're only a few Incarnations removed, after all. Your predecessor would have informed you of it, I'm sure. Did you not show her the reason, as you did with so many before her, that Fate has so long left me alone, to be the neutral bystander that Death is meant to be?","What are you-. Atropos says that she felt this was important enough to warrant intervention, so she didn't tell me? What didn't you tell me? What could be so bad-?",Thanatos knew the exact moment Atropos explained to her his Last Stand. It had been the moment he had finally had enough, finally hardened his heart and fully applied himself to his role as Death. He had left behind his mortal life and committed to his Office. His stipulation for doing so was getting Fate to agree to leave him bloody out of her wheeling, dealing, and shenanigans. He had told the Fate of the time that he would have no more of it, or she would face the consequences.,There was a snag in her Skein that she seemingly couldn't untangle for months, never realizing that the problem was that she had tried to involve Thanatos in yet another prophecy. When Thanatos had heard she wasn't willing to leave him be, he had let loose.,"The ,","Yes.","That lasted more than 300 years! Killed almost 10,000 people a day at its height! You were the cause of that?!",","It was the precursor to the Black Plague – which Satan used later to kill almost 75 million people! You were the one who gave him the building blocks for that?!",", Now do you see? I made it very clear that I won't be a pawn in any of your schemes. Even Evil knows to leave me to my duties, nowadays. So, since no one but I heard that prophecy earlier today, you shall go to your Tapestry and undo it. Rescind it. ,",Lachesis grimaced "I can't. Satan is beginning to ramp up his plans for domination. We've uncovered some of his plots, but they are becoming more and more common place. Worse, I've seen into the Tapestry, and if we don't set you up as a certain girl's protector, we're not sure who yet, then Satan will kill her before she has a chance to beat him in the U.S. presidential race. Once he's in charge, there's almost nothing we can do!","And this matters to me why?","Don't you have any morals? Compassion?! We must stop Satan from succeeding!","Why?","Because he's Evil!" Lachesis was now visibly distraught, muscles tense and near to shouting. Thanatos sneered at her.,"There are worse things in the world than ,, Lachesis. Men and women can be swayed back from Evil and to Good. Evil is not absolute, and changes over time. Men are fickle things. Death, however? I shall not be stopped. I shall not be denied. If I so wanted, I could reap every soul as they are born, and none could stop me. I could halt the souls from ever leaving the body they inhabit, creating a Hell on Earth. If I was so inclined, I could force every soul, regardless of its true destination, into Hell. Do. Not. Test. Me.","Why?" she whispered, with tears in her eyes, staring at Thanatos as though truly seeing him for the first time. "Why will you not help us thwart Satan? Why do you cling so tightly to the rules and to neutrality? Are you not Mortal under your Accoutrements, as we all are? Is there no speck of humanity left in you?","I have not taken off my Hallows in more than ten of your lifetimes. I may have been mortal once, but now I am only Death. I've spent my time as your plaything, I've done my duty a hundred times over. I shall do my job, and no more. You shall rescind the Prophecy.","Is there truly nothing I can offer you, entice you with, to persuade you to help me thwart Evil?","I shall give you the same truth I gave one of your predecessors: If you want a Death who will bend to your whims, you must find a new Death.",Thanatos was almost surprised to see Lachesis seemingly consider his words as an option.,"I will think on it, but you've been Death for so long, I can't imagine any but you fulfilling the position. You're sure you won't help me?","Nothing good comes when I bend to the whims of Fate." He sneered one last time, before sweeping out of Fate's Abode.,He couldn't help the nostalgic twinge he felt as he twirled his Cloak, the same twinge he felt every time he left theatrically. He had modeled it, after all, on the most impressive and caustic of all his Professors from his Mortal life. Thanatos had enjoyed centuries to perfect it, however, and it was quite impressive.,", Mortis neighed gently into his mind as he rode off to his next appointment.,"I've told you before, Mortis. I am Thanatos now.",","Yes, I suppose it does.",It was years later when Fate called on him again. She had left him to his devices, and with the lack of any additional knowledge Thanatos assumed that she had recalled and destroyed the Prophecy. Apparently, he was mistaken.,"I've thought on what you said, Thanatos.","So, the Prophecy is undone, destroyed?","Well, no, but-.","Then I must unleash another culling? Shall I visit another city, and destroy all that I see until you relent?","NO! No, just,-.","Then , Fate? What do you think to gain by drawing my ire?","The father's name is Cedric! He knows he is going to die, and he's sacrificing himself for his daughter!",Thanatos' bones froze.,"Repeat that. Now.","The father of the woman you're to fall in love with, his name is Cedric. He's a magician, and he's been practicing Black magic. But he heard the Prophecy, and he's trying to protect his daughter from Satan.","Should this mean something to me?" Thanatos knew that he had revealed more than he should have by the way he answered, but he was too shocked to care.,"Doesn't it? Does the death of a man name Cedric, who condemned himself to Hell for the sake of his loved ones, and for the sake of honor, does it really mean nothing to you?",After so many centuries, he no longer needed any incantations. It was with a flick of his wand that Lachesis flew to him, petrified and levitating before him. He reached his skeletal hand, agonizingly slowly, into her chest and , the soul that resided there.,"I don't know, exactly, what you think being an Incarnation means. I'm not sure if you believe, falsely, that Immortality equates with Invincibility." His words slithered, soft and sibilant, surrounding his sister Spirit. "Allow me to remind you of the difference. You may be Immortal while you hold your Office, but you still have a Soul. Beneath your Accoutrements, within that body of yours, three souls remain. The truth, ,, is that your soul belongs to me. It is merely on loan until I determine that it should be sent to its final resting place.",He gripped her soul more fiercely, winding it tighter around his skeletal digits, constricting and pulling it taught within her body.,"I am so close, so very close, to tearing out your soul and sending it to Satan. He would have such fun with you, after all the little webs you've tried to weave. And I would shed no tears for it, nor for you. We would have a knew Lachesis within a week, a day, and the world would march on.","So it's true" she breathed. Her body was taught, and her breathing strained, her soul stretched as it was within his hand, but her eyes shone as she spoke, regardless of her metaphysical torment. "You , Harry Potter. I-.",",Thanatos interrupted. "I am not. I left that name, that life, behind me long, , ago. Perhaps I was once that man, that mortal, but now I am only Thanatos. You would do well to remember that.","What happened to you? You were my Champion, my Hero. I have seen the future, your past to come, and you did so ,. I cannot imagine Harry Potter becoming you, but it is true. How did you become as you are? So attached to rules, defined by structure? So heartless?","You." He intoned, treasuring the look of shock that graced her features. "Your meddling is what turned me into this. After your interference tore from me everything I loved, previous Incarnations of you continued to embroil me in their schemes. I grew tired of it and eventually I-." He paused and took a deep breath. "But we are getting off track. I told you the consequences. You have not rescinded the Prophecy. This is your last chance. Or shall I descend upon the Mortal realm with all my fury? I've heard New York has something of an overpopulation problem. I'd be happy to assist…" He let his voice trail off.,"Her name is Luna." She whispered, clearly her last resort.,"What did you say?" Thanatos growled his response, low and menacing, and enjoyed the way Lachesis flinched.,"Her name is Luna. She's kind, and sweet, and self-sacrificing. She cares deeply for her father, her mother died when she was young, and her life is in danger." She got it all out as quickly as she could, in one large breath, so quiet Thanatos had to strain to hear her speak.,He dropped her, as though she was too hot to touch, too painful to be near.,"Mars. I call upon you. Your presence is required." His voice sounded strange, even to himself. Echoing oddly within the halls of Fate's Abode, falling softly upon his own ears. It sounded far more calm than he felt, and he wondered at his own control.,War appeared before them, bedecked in splendorous armor, his sword strapped to his thigh.,"Thanatos. It is not often you call upon me. How can I be of service?","I am declaring a Feud between Incarnations. It shall be settled by a duel. You shall officiate.",Mars' eyes grew wide, and Lachesis's prone, limp form shifted into Atropos.,"Wait! Thanatos, halt, cease this nonsense, please! I tried to warn her this was a terrible idea, but she wouldn't listen!","You were the only Fate I ever really liked, in all the time I've done this job. Did you know that? You were the only one who knew to leave well enough alone. You didn't try to be my friend, you didn't try to involve me in anything. I told you I wanted to be left alone, and you listened. I'm sorry that you shall suffer at my hand due to her incompetence, but it cannot be helped.","Please, is there no way I can convince you to spare her? The result of a duel between Incarnations, one instigated by a Feud… there hasn't been one in centuries.","I am well aware. I was the last Incarnation to issue one. To your predecessor twice removed, if I recall. The result of a duel that I win, as I am sure to do, is not moving on to the afterlife. It is the destruction of the soul.","Niobe doesn't deserve this, she's just trying to help!","I told her what I thought of her help, and she refused to listen. You warned her against it, and she refused to heed you as well. When she was first inducted as Clotho, I warned you all what I thought of her. No one listened to me. I warned you again when you inducted her as Lachesis, and still no one listened. This is the consequence for her hubris.","I'll find you a replacement!" Atropos nearly shouted this last plea. "Before the Prophecy is to come to pass, I shall find you a replacement. It is too late now to rescind the Prophecy, but we can keep you out of it, I swear it!",Thanatos stilled.,"It shan't be easy. You know my Office only transfers with my Death. How do you expect to kill me, Atropos?","It can be done. I have seen it in the Threads, but you must trust me when I say that your patience will be required.",Thanatos paused. Something he had long thought out of his grasp forever, being dangled tantalizingly in front of him. Could he risk it? "You have but one chance.",Apparently, he could.,"Your replacement won't be magical. You'll need to change your Hallows into something a non-magical person could use and understand.",Thanatos sighed. It wasn't as though he used the Hallows much anymore, to be honest. They were more symbolic than anything else. He'd been Death so long that he was more the Office than the symbols were.,He pointed the wand at his watch first. His mokeskin bag would work fine for his successor and continue to hold all the souls it would need. His ability to temporarily stop time, however, was invaluable and not something a Muggle would know how to do. He could always ask Chronos, but he didn't really need the help. And he wasn't sure which Incarnation of Chronos they were on now. He very rarely kept up with them. An extra few dials were added with a twirl of the Wand, and the watch had its own temporal abilities.,Next, he took off his glasses. He stared at them, levitating above his palm, contemplating. He could leave them as they were and imbue them with his power. They might, however, be more convenient in a different form. He split them in half, broken across the nose guard. He pointed his wand at one half and Transfigured it into a pair of shoes, and the other half into a pair of gloves. Just in case the next Incarnation didn't wear glasses.,He took off the Stone and cast a simple Duplicating Charm at it. Two pitch black stones stared back at him; his successor could use them to weigh the souls they harvested.,He stared at the Elder berries carved into his wand and pursed his lips. He grasped his want by the tip, and slowly pulled his hand down its length, dragging the carved berries within his fist. They slid seamlessly down and off of the wand. He squeezed his hand, the wood berries Transfiguring into stone, and in his palm sat a variety of Jewels and Gems to help his successor.,The length of Elder wood remaining grew in his hand, growing longer and longer until it was his height, and the edge grew and curved into a stunning blade. He stood, the classical depiction of Death. Scythe, and Gems, and Cloak. It was enough change that even a Muggle could manage.,"Is this sufficient, Atropos?","Of course, Thanatos. Thank you, so much. I appreciate your-.","If I become entangled in this Prophecy," he interrupted her "before you find me a replacement, the Feud shall be official, the duel shall be set and you three shall be destroyed. There shall be no Next Great Adventure for you, in Heaven or in Hell. There shall be only oblivion.",With that, he swirled away, Mortis spiriting him off to his next job.,Days, became weeks, became months.,Months, became years.,It had been so long since he had struck that bargain with Fate, and still he reaped souls. Try as he might to avoid the first Wizarding War in Britain, the one during the late 70's between Voldemort and Dumbledore, Death Eaters and Order Members, he couldn't avoid it completely. It was difficult, but his heart had long ago become inured to Death, hardened itself against heartbreak and compassion.,It was when the next War began that even his frozen heart was forced to melt, if only slightly.,So many students and children, men and women right out of school, all paying the price for the sins of their forefathers, as the sinners sat back and hid. They cowered like fools, and Thanatos desperately desired to steal away their souls, but he strictly held to the rules. Much though he may have believed they deserved it, he could not allow himself to be swayed by emotion.,He was Death. Death was impartial. It must be.,He did, however, delight in the destruction of Voldemort's Horcruxes.,Each Horcrux, being less than a whole soul, was not heavy enough to sink into Hell where it would belong.,However, it was so unmistakably Evil that it wouldn't float up to Heaven either.,So, when it came time to reap them, he pulled the sickly material out of its container. If a normal soul was like the finest silk, the softest cotton, and purest material to have ever existed regardless of its status as Good or Evil, then a Horcrux was worse than an abomination.,It felt like moss covered in pond scum, slimy and grimy and gross. Dead and decomposing, it wilted in his grasp, and he grimaced each time he took one. When he had originally harvested the Horcrux of Herpo the Foul, he hadn't been sure what to do with it. When he'd sent it down to Hell, Evil (who was then going as Lucifer, not Satan, and was a different person all together) had informed him that he didn't want it, and to take it back.,It was then that he'd first learned the trick to destroying a soul, rather than sending it where it belonged. It was a tightly kept secret for so long, until he'd finally needed to teach Fate a lesson about meddling in his affairs.,He wasn't much troubled by Fate after that, not for a long time.,The War ended, and still he hadn't been replaced. The only thing stopping him from taking his ire out on Fate for stringing him a long was the fact that he hadn't yet been pulled in on that accursed Prophecy. With his desired outcome so close in sight, though, and the end so near after so many centuries, or was he finally at multiple millennia? Either way, he was becoming antsy. He was anxious to move on, to be done, to be ,It was with all this in mind, that after a rough few months in a row where nearly every soul he encountered has some strange ability to see him as he approached, and each and every one of them tried to barter or bargain with him, that he was finally relieved to have a normal everyday Muggle to attend to.,The city was ordinary. The street was ordinary. The house was ordinary. The soul was ordinary, barring the fact that it was almost perfectly in balance.,The crack of gunfire, and the piercing pain he experienced? Those were definitely not ordinary. A gentle smile graced his lips., he thought, as the world around him faded away in slow motion. He saw his body fall, and his cloak flutter through the air. He rings and gems, his gloves and shoes, his watch, his scythe. All left behind as he felt the familiar sensation of dying.,Although they were different in form, he left his Hallows behind, and in the space of a breath, he was gone.,He stood, once again in King's Cross Station. He looked the same as he had at 17. Messy hair, skin and bones, far too thin. Glasses drawing attention to his startling green eyes. He looked around for someone, anyone to greet him. Surprisingly, it was Dumbledore who met him again, though he looked far more downtrodden than he had the last time they met.,"I'm sorry." Were the first words Dumbledore uttered. "I didn't know.","I forgive you." Whispered Harry, because he did. He really and truly did, after all these years. How could he still hold a grudge against a man who had been just as much a slave to Fate and Prophecy as Harry had been all his life?,"Are you ready? Everyone is waiting." Dumbledore's gentle, paternal smile warmed Harry's heart as Dumbledore reached out his hand to help him up on to the train. He had forgotten how nice it was to have someone smile at you. Not many people smiled as they greeted Death.,"Yes. Yes, I think I am." They got on the Hogwarts Express together, and Harry let out a sigh as he listened to the whistle of the steam, the thrumming of the engine, the squeal of the wheels on the tracks.,He closed his eyes, not interested in watching the scenery go by. , he thought to himself

Characters; Good:,G.I. Joe:,Corporal Harry "Bolt" (Potter) Hauser.,Captain Conrad "Duke" Hauser.,Lieutenant Shana "Scarlett" (O'Mara) Hauser.,Master Sergeant Snake-Eyes.,Major General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy.,Corporal Marvin "Roadblock" Hinton.,Warrant Officer Dashiell "Flint" Faireborne.,Sergeant First Class Lonzo "Stalker" Wilkinson.,Staff Sergeant Alison "Lady Jaye" Hart-Burnett.,Sergeant Major Ettienne "Gung Ho" Lafitte.,Private Nicky "Tunnel-Rat" Lee.,Corporal Wallace "Ripcord" Weems.,Chief Warrant Officer William "Wild-Bill" Hardy.,Specialist Courtney "Covergirl" Krieger.,Sergeant Hershel "Heavy-Duty" Dalton.,Sergeant Alvin "Breaker" Kibbey.,Communications Officer Jill "Dial-Tone" Morelli.,Magicals:,Harry "Bolt" (Potter) Hauser.,Ginny "Flame" Weasley.,Hermione "Athena" Granger.,Neville "Courage" Longbottom.,Susan "Badger" Bones.,Luna "Oracle" Lovegood.,Daphne "Ice" Greengrass.,Tracey "Hellcat" Davis.,Blaise "Onyx" Zabini.,Minerva McGonagall.,Sirius Black.,Remus Lupin.,Nymphadora Tonks.,Elizabeth Greengrass.,Cyrus Greengrass.,Amelia Bones.,Arthur Weasley.,Molly Weasley.,Bill Weasley.,Charlie Weasley.,Fred Weasley.,George Weasley.,Fleur Delacour.,Cedric Diggory.,Viktor Krum.,Semi-Good/Evil:,Albus Dumbledore.,Severus Snape.,Percy Weasley.,Ron Weasley.,Cornelius Fudge.,Peter Pettigrew.,Evil:,Cobra:,Cobra Commander.,Anastasia "Baroness" DeCobray.,James "Destro" McCullan.,Tommy "Storm Shadow" Arashikage.,Zartan.,Firefly.,Major Sebastian Bludd.,Dr. Mindebender.,Cobra Officer.,Alley Viper.,Cobra Trooper.,Crimson Guard Officer.,Crimson Guard Trooper.,Red Ninja.,Magic:,Lord Voldemort.,Lucius Malfoy.,Draco Malfoy.,Bellatrix LeStrange.,Death Eaters.,Dolores Umbridge.

Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.,Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.,Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.,Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover,Legend: # denotes change of time, while "*" denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time,On the other side of the shoku, Kurai was met with the cheering of the soldiers of Tai as they had not only managed to hold the youma at bay, but had also managed to push them back. It was all thanks to the timely arrival of Gyousou and Kouri (Taiki), the return of the ruler of Tai got morale to sky rocket, they were viewed as a blessing sent from Heaven.,They did of course cheer even louder once Kurai made his appearance, it was with his arrival that they knew that the day was won, that victory was theirs, though they didn't know the extent of their victory, only that they had beat back impossible odds, and lived to tell about it.,Fuka and Kasumi were not paid any mind, but there were those in the Tai armies that knew them to be agents of Karasu no Kurai. Gyoubou was ecstatic when he found his friend back safe and sound, though the numerous bandages on his body was a little bit disturbing, since it was a well known fact that Kurai was really strong.,"What in the world happened to you? You're even worse off than some of the injured soldiers," Gyoubou said as he approached his friend, "Not that I'm not happy to see you…it's just…man…what did this much damage to you?","You try fighting a god, and we'll see how you look after it," Kurai said, "That is if you actually live to tell the tale.","You f-fought one of the gods?" his exclamation got the attention of all those within hearing distance, "I know you've gone toe to toe with Tentei-sama, did you fight him again?","You really should lower your voice," Kurai said, "I didn't fight with him again, I actually helped the bastard.","Only you would dare insult Tentei-sama," Gyoubou said, "Only you would dare, and would actually live to do it again, and again, and again.","Well, someone's gotta show him some disrespect," Kurai reasoned, as he conjured a chair for himself to sit in, it was an action that surprised everyone around him, save for his servants, and his two other selves, the soldiers and even Gyoubou had never actually seen him perform such a feat of magic before.,"H-how did you do that?" Gyoubou asked the question that the others there wanted to ask, the feat also managed to catch the attention of Gyousou and Kouri.,"The same way I do everything else that I do," Kurai replied, "With magic of course.",Gyousou approached him, the crowd of soldiers parting for their king…,"Who are you?" Tai-o asked.,"I am Karasu no Kurai," he replied, "I have been the one responsible with the welfare of your country while you have been away. I was also the one responsible for making sure that Taiki lived, and that you would be able to join your people once again.","Why?" Tai-o asked, "Why have you done such things?","Dunno," Kurai replied, "Must be my 'saving people thing'. Hehe, is that a bad thing?","I wouldn't say that," Tai-o said, "It's just not something anyone would normally do. What are you going to be doing now that I've returned to my kingdom?","Pack up and leave," Kurai said, and motioned, or fake motioned, his , to go ahead and begin the deconstruction of their headquarters, as he planned on moving to Hou, and finally go on his next adventure, that being the search for his kirin. He also planned on kicking Ryuuki's ass as that particular kirin had yet to find a suitable ruler for his kingdom.,"Why?" Gyousou asked, curious, while Taiki stood slightly behind his friend and master, a man whom he had wished to be with for many a year but was unable to remember much about or of.,"Tai is not my place," Kurai said as he stood and vanished the chair having sufficiently rested, "I belong somewhere else, and still need to find someone precious to me, a task that I have been putting aside to aid in the restoration of peace in your country. I shall have my servants inform Kouko and Shushou of your return.","Why is it that you speak so casually about those two rulers?" Tai-o asked, or demanded, depending on the perspective, Gyoubou intervened.,"Tai-o-sama, the reason why Kurai speaks so casually about them is that he is their friend," Gyoubou explained, "It may seem a little bit absurd, but that is the truth. He has good relations with the other nations as well, though he is closer to the kirin than to the emperors or kings.","How in the world did you manage that?" Tai-o questioned Kurai who was preparing to summon up a shoku, since his headquarters had already been absorbed by Fuka and Kasumi, his servants were also waiting for him to summon the shoku that they may leave off to go on their next adventure.,"If one is capable of pissing Tentei off and living to tell the tale, then being friends of monarchs and kirin is a piece of cake," Kurai said before actually summoning the shoku, which his servants crossed into before he did, the last of his servants to pass through was Orochi, "I hope to see you again, once my quest to find my precious person is over…Gyoubou, until next time, and should you need me you know how to contact me.","See you my friend," Gyoubou said.,"Stop," Gyousou commanded as he had many more questions to ask Kurai, he grew enraged when Kurai simply ignored his command and stepped through. It was only after Gyoubou managed to calm down the ruler that Gyousou's mind finally caught up with reality. He had witnessed a man summon up a shoku, and had heard tales of his deeds all over the world from his soldiers, and from the man that had been keeping the administrative infrastructure in working condition in his absence.,"No one commands Karasu no Kurai," Gyoubou stated, knowing that while it was a little bit disrespectful to his king, but it was still the truth, "Not even the gods.","What is he?" Kouri asked, "There was something about him that scared me a little.","He is…I'm not really sure," Gyoubou replied, "All I am sure off is that he is immortal, and stronger than any mortal that I have come across. He is able to tame youma just like any kirin, and can do many of the things that a kirin can do, but at the same time he loves battle and blood. He is very free spirited, and does as he pleases, but always makes time to help the helpless, or simply those in need of a helping hand.","I see," Kouri said, "There was something else about him, but I can't seem to place my finger on it.","That man has many secrets," Gyoubou told the Taiho, "I may be his friend, but even I am not aware of half of his secrets.","*",The Karasu Organization arrived a few miles away from the capital of the Kingdom of Hou, and once Kurai had sucked in most of his servants into himself, including Hyakko and Orochi, he set about rebuilding his organization's headquarters. The land of Hou was another anomaly in the world, since it didn't have a kirin chosen ruler governing it, but a mere regent. But the land had been getting better and better as if a kirin chosen ruler had been watching over them all this time, which in a sense Kurai was.,"So…now what do we do?" Kikai questioned Kurai as he sat on a stump just below his tree house, on either side of him sat his other two forms.,"I rest for a time," Kurai replied, "While the four of you go out into the world and find me a red headed and crimson eyed woman with amnesia, one with an aversion for meat and blood.","So…we're basically going to do what you've been doing all this time for Tai," Kikai said, "Except this time, the missing kirin is yours.","Precisely," Kurai said, "I shall send out my ravens in perhaps a month's time to contribute to the search as I need to rest most of myself, you four being the exceptions to that.","We kind of figured that out," Eiko said.,"We'll do it, master," Fugen said.,"Hopefully we'll find her, and get some stability in our lives," Aiko said.,"Potters and their red heads," Kikai muttered, which Kurai heard since Fuka threw a pillow at him.,"I heard that," Kasumi said, it was a little unnerving, even though they were kind of used to it.,After their conversation the four generals, as that was how the ravens and Kurai's shirei viewed them as, packed up some stuff and went on their way, choosing to travel in pairs, Kikai with Eiko and Fugen with Aiko. They doubted that the search was going to be easy, which was why they opted to travel to the central continent and begin their search there since it was bigger than the four outer kingdoms, and the likelihood of their target being in the needle in the haystack place was greater.,Kurai didn't forget to send off messages to his ruler friends, and to Ryuuki, about the return of the Tai ruler and Taiho, as well as his changed address. Those were the only three ravens that he let fly, the rest remained within him, regaining the lost strength and energy that they had spent in their battle with all those youma, along with all the other exciting things that they had been doing for the past months to years, depending on the raven.,Shushou was glad that Tai was finally going to stabilize, and if Gyousou messed up, she had a friend she could coerce into convincing the Tai-o to mend his way, lest he end up on the receiving end of the bloody horn of Kurai. Tai was finally one less country to worry about.,Kouko was also delighted to know that stabilization in Tai was finally underway, with their ruler returned, and their Taiho back at full power as well. She just wondered when Kurai would be coming for another visit.,While the two female rulers that Kurai was kind of close to were delighted with the news and wished that he would visit, Ryuuki's was a different story as the letter he received was one with a clear threat, he was told to find the new Ryuu-o before he, Kurai , found his kirin OR ELSE. Ryuuki's imagination ran wild with thoughts of the different things that Kurai could do to him and get away with.,Which was why he became even more determined to find the right person for the job, even going so far as to venture out of the lands of the Twelve Kingdoms to find the rightful ruler of Ryuu, but of course Japan was a dead end.,He really hoped that he found the right person before his deadline since he really didn't want to know what the insane not-really-a-kirin could do to him or would do to him. He knew that Kurai had gone against a god, not Tentei, and won and saved the world from ending prematurely. He also really needed more shirei, his two bears were the only things standing between him and Kurai should he miss the deadline.,He walked and flew, floated and swam, around the lands of the Twelve Kingdoms until he nearly gave up. But due to not really taking care of himself due to his worry that he wouldn't find his king on time, he ended up passed out in front of the doorstep of what appeared to be a simple hovel out in the wastelands of Ryuu. The hovel didn't even look like it had seen any life for a very long time. Things looked a little grim for Ryuuki, as his shirei had no clue what to do with him, so they simply sat there staring at his downed body. They weren't stupid they just didn't know how to act in such a situation.,An hour passed before he was found in front of the dwelling by the dwelling's owner, it was an eleven year old messy black haired and green eyed child, who surprisingly had a scar above his left eye. He had a kind of athletic build, one built for speed, but looked out of place on an eleven year old.,Without really batting an eyelash, after dropping whatever he was carrying in surprise, he quickly walked to the unconscious kirin, and lifted up the surprisingly light man, the Shirei had sunk into the shadows when they sensed the youth's approach as not to startle a would be savior to their master.,The almost teenager brought Ryuuki into his home, laid him on the only bed inside, then began preparing for the care of an obviously not well man. In his current state, Ryuuki didn't look anything like a kirin, or an important person for that matter. Not that the boy would have treated him differently, he only did the things that were done to him back when he was found by whoever it was that had taken care of him.,"T-thank you for taking care of me," Ryuuki said, as he woke up from his semi-coma, it was his immediate reaction upon finding himself in a warm bed, underneath a roof with a young man tending to him.,"Think nothing of it," the boy said, "I am merely doing as I was taught to do by the man that raised me.","Are you the only one living here?" Ryuuki asked while attempting to stand up.,"I am," he said.,"But…you're only a child, how have you survived all this time?" the kirin asked.,"The person that raised me took me in when I was just a baby, he claimed to have found me in what must have been a battlefield," the boy said, "He died just last year while traveling to Tai to try and help the people there. This was actually his home, it had been in his family for many years, and now it is my home. Even without many people living here, I don't mind, since I still visit the settlements nearby for food and such.","I see," the kirin said, "How long have I been unconscious?","A week," the boy said, "I was starting to worry, since I'm really not that well versed when it comes to medicines, and I don't think I would have been able to carry you all the way to the nearest doctor's place.","Thank you," the kirin repeated, "I mean it.","Well since you're awake, would you mind answering some questions?" the boy asked.,"Go ahead," the kirin replied.,"Why were you out here on your own? People rarely ever pass by, and due to the steady decline that our country has been suffering from, even less think of leaving the settlements," the boy said.,"I have been looking for someone," Ryuuki said, "It is very important to me that I find the person I am searching for. I guess, in my search, I had forgotten to take care of myself…if only , man didn't send me , letter.",", man? You have a deadline of some kind?" the boy asked.,"Yes," the kirin replied, "I have a deadline of sorts, the consequences of not finding the person I am searching for…are grave…","Who are you searching for?" the boy asked, "If you can't answer, I don't mind. I apologize for prying.","It's ok," Ryuuki replied, "But I really can't answer that question. I don't even know the person I'm searching for. But when I find him or her, I shall know.","Oh," the boy said, "Oh! I'm sorry for not introducing myself I'm Kaizoe, nice to meet you.","Nice to meet you, you can call me Ryu," Ryuuki said, not wanting to be treated differently by the one that had helped him live.,"It's nice to finally know your name," Kaizoe said, "Well, since you're awake, it's only a matter of days before you will be able to return to your search.","I would guess so," Ryu said, "Is something the matter?" he asked as he sensed some form of inner conflict from his savior.,"Could I go with you…on this quest of yours…I'd like to see the world…" the boy said, hesitantly.,"I suppose," Ryu said, "But why would you like to come with me? Why me?","Because you are off to see the world," Kaizoe said, "Traveling alone must be lonely, so I want to keep you company…I've also been meaning to find a purpose for myself…the man that raised me is gone…and I'd like to do something…so that when I meet him next, I can say that the life he saved did something worth his efforts.","Then it's is settled," Ryu said, "You can come with me, but you won't be able to take all of your things with you, we'll be traveling a lot, so pack only what you need, and what you cannot live without.","Thank you, Ryu," Kaizoe said.,#,The ravens returned to their duties all over the world, and around the continent six months after Kurai intended them to soar the skies again. He didn't know why he had waited that long, but it was perhaps due to having expended more power and energy in his battle than he had expected. Fighting against Tentei just for kicks was one thing, but fighting against a foe to save the world was another thing entirely.,Most people had grown used to the lack of ravens being found everywhere that their re-emergence was not met with much rejoicing, save for those that knew of their source. The kingdom of Tai being the exception to the rule as the people welcomed the return of their saviors during the absence of their ruler.,Kurai was still viewed as many things, from savior to jester to trouble to plague. He was the most well known personality in all of the world. There wasn't an entity that didn't at least know his name, but of course, there were only a handful of people that knew what he actually looked like, which was why he could walk around without being harassed. Though there were some places that were aware of his general description.,He was walking around Kou to retrieve something from the capital, the kirin of the land had already been born, and Kurai didn't think that he should meddle in the political affairs of the kingdom of Kou. He wanted to retrieve the token that he had left with instructions.,When he got to where he had left the token, there was a cordon of guards around him, not letting anyone near enough to touch it, but only view it. It was only coincidental that Kurai had arrived at the place just as the Kou Taiho did. It was a surprise visit, the kirin had been told of the significance of the object from the being known as Karasu no Kurai, and wanted to see it with his own very eyes.,"," Kurai said softly, then turned around without even looking at the thing, Kou had suffered a lot, but not to the extent of Tai, and he doubted that the people would appreciate his meddling, since he had already left them that token, the thing that the rule of their nation was to bring to him, once he or she was chosen.,"Excuse me," Kouki said as he jogged up to Kurai as he left the area.,"Yes?" Kurai said, not bothering to turn around, the new Kou Taiho was around five but due to training sounded and probably acted at least like a teenager, "What do you need?","Were you planning on stealing a national treasure?" the kirin innocently asked.,"I was not planning on stealing anything," he replied calmly, even as the guards prepared to engage him in case he decided to attack them to steal the object they were guarding.,"But I heard you," the kirin said, "You said that you should leave it, when you were looking in the treasure's direction.","Whatever little kirin," Kurai said as he began to walk off again, "Go do your duty and find your master, I have other more pressing things to worry about.",As Kurai began to walk away the child kirin grabbed hold of his sleeve, halting his movement.,"Wait," the kirin said, "I believe you…but why don't you show me the respect I deserve? Are you not fearful of a reprisal from Heaven?","Heaven can go fuck itself for all I care," Kurai replied, "I have no business with you kirin, and should you decide that my personality is what you believe is worthy of becoming your master, you are sadly and sorely mistaken.",He then shook the kirin off of his arm, and walked further away. The soldiers seeing the disrespect shown to one of their country's highest officials, attacked, their reasoning being that the actions of Kurai had insulted not only the kirin and the country, but also Heaven.,"Go back to your duty," Kurai said, as he split himself into three, Kasumi and Fuka merging quickly with shadows so as to keep his identity secret, even fewer knew of Kasumi and Fuka, and fewer still knew of their being himself.,The two other forms which Kurai took on occasion leapt out of the side streets to engage the soldiers, knocking them all out, but not killing them, as much as he wished to taste some blood on his blades, there were far too many witnesses, and there was no real valid reason for any bloodshed.,"You are wasting precious lives kirin, every second you hesitate, every chance that you miss out, you sacrifice more lives of Kou," Kurai said partingly, "A Kingdom without a chosen ruler is destined for destruction, is destined for sorrow, despair, pain, loneliness, and hardships.","That's enough!" Ryuuki's voice was suddenly heard in the area, he too had wanted to see this treasure which his friend had left behind in the county's capital. With him was the boy Kaizoe, the boy still not aware that his own friend was a kirin himself. Ryuuki's hair had turned a dirty brown due to not taking care of himself, and his shirei had yet to make an appearance as they did not want to startle or scare their master's friend, "Kasumi, Fuka, stand down. Karasu, you as well.","I wasn't going to do anything," Kurai said, "They decided to attack me without provocation, I was merely walking away from some annoying brat that thinks that sightseeing is more important than his own country.","You're one to talk," Ryuuki said, "You've just been wandering the world while…","You've said too much Ryu," Kurai said, "Even while away I have helped my country, even now I still help. I am still searching for her, how about you?","I have…not found that person yet," Ryuuki said, "But that does not mean that I have given up, or that I have abandoned my country. You have people that could search for her for you, while there would be those that would not believe that you are who you claim to be, you could still use your reputation to help.","Let us not speak of this any longer," Kurai said, "I have determined that she is not here, and while I had originally wanted to take back what I had left, I see that it servers a different purpose from the one that I had intended it to.","Eh? Who're you?" Kouki asked, turning to face Ryuuki.,"I am Ryu," Ryuuki replied, then introduced the young kirin to his companion, "And this is Kaizoe, my companion. He is traveling with me to find a purpose, while I search for an important person to me. I apologize, but I only came to see the treasure, and though I might seem a little disrespectful, Karasu has wasted enough of my time. I hope to see you again sometime, Kouki.",Kurai had already walked off, his other two bodies in tow, while Ryuuki had been speaking with the distracted kirin. All in all it was a rather productive day, Ryuuki had grown a backbone, and the new kirin had learned that life isn't all about fun, as he seemed to think that it was.,Ryuuki eventually managed to catch up with Kurai, as he wanted to speak with his fellow shapeshifter.,"What do you want?" Kurai asked, he had already reabsorbed Kasumi and Fuka.,"I wanted to introduce you to a new friend of mine," Ryuuki said, "He saved my life, since I was too focused on the possible consequences of not finding that person.","Very well," Kurai said, and stopped walking, and also turned to face the youth, his face actually showed surprise at being faced with the boy, "Well, well, well…I am Karasu no Kurai, Ryu's friend. Who might you be?","I am Toukou Kaizoe, nice to meet you sir, though I don't think you're actions regarding the kirin were appropriate," he said.,"Interesting name you have," Kurai said, "If Tentei accepts the way I act, then who are you to dictate what is proper to me.","Kurai, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Ryu said.,"Whatever," Kurai said, "I've been a bit stressed lately, my generals have yet to locate even a clue about her possible whereabouts, the only red head that sticks out cannot possibly be her, I've checked.","Who are you looking for sir?" Kaizoe asked.,"I am looking for someone precious to me," Kurai replied, "That is all you need to know. But tell me, I am assuming that since you are traveling with Ryu, that you lived alone before meeting this hopeless excuse of a man.","I've been living by myself for a year, or at least I was, before I met Ryu," Kaizoe said, "Why?","Your name sounds familiar," Kurai said, "Who was it that took care of you?","Why does it sound as if you know that I was adopted?" the boy asked.,"What's wrong Karasu?" Ryuuki asked.,"I've seen you before," Kurai said, "Or at least someone that looks like you…a long time ago. The name is also familiar, in the sense that I have met a man with the name Toukou. So tell me, your caretaker, what was his name?","It's a bit funny really," Kaizoe said, "But his name was Kyonshi.","Well, well, well," Kurai said, "That is a very interesting bit of information.","Why is that, sir?" Kaizoe asked.,"I've met that man before," Kurai said, "It seems that I am not the only anomaly in this world. Tentei will not be happy should he ever find out," he then spoke to Ryuuki, "Make sure that no one else knows of the identity of his caretaker. Tentei does not approve of meddling with his world, and it seem like one of , has meddled one time too many. My existence can be forgiven, but for Toukou Kyonshi to have meddled with the world, I doubt that Tentei would be even a little bit merciful.","What are you talking about? You knew Kyonshi-jii?" Kaizoe asked.,"I knew him," Kurai said, "That man is not dead, but where he is now, you may not follow. It was nice meeting you, Kaizoe. May fortune come your way.","I hope you find this girl you're looking for," Kaizoe said, "I hope to see you again.","When you have the time," Ryuuki said, "Could you send me a report on how the meddling is bad, or what has been affected, as well as in what way Kyonshi-sama has meddled with the world?","I'll send Karasu no Fuka to you, when I'm sure of my list," Kurai said as he walked away in the direction of Kei and Kou's border.

At six years old, Harry Potter could recite verbatim countless tales of ancient warriors fighting bravely in battle against remarkable odds. It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that every young boy (even Harry's moronic cousin Dudley) knew at least half a dozen such stories by heart. Whether these tales are told to them by their parents, seen on the telly, or read from a book, the result is the same. Every little boy, no matter how meek and mild-mannered, will at some point be inspired to get into a few fights of his own.,Despite, or perhaps because of, his young age and slender physique, Harry got into more fights than most. Between his aunt and uncle's version of discipline and Dudley's bullying and his schoolmates' roughhousing, Harry had perhaps been in more fights than some of the heroic figures in his stories.,At one point, he would stand meekly and allow himself to be beaten by his relatives, promising himself that he would behave better- like a good boy, like a , boy- to avoid feeling this pain again. It took Harry a few years to realize that there was nothing he could do to prevent himself from being attacked. However, fueled by his beloved stories of sword-fights, duels, and battles to the death, Harry began to defend himself against his attackers. At times, fighting back significantly decreased the physical pain that normally resulted from the altercation. A quick kick to the nuts often had his uncle shoving him into his cupboard while doubled over in pain rather than continuing to pummel his nephew for another fifteen minutes. Had Harry been more aware of his emotions, he would have found that even when he lost the fight against bigger, stronger opponents, he felt less emotional pain than he did back when he allowed himself to get beat up. After giving his opponent all he had, he felt a strange kind of satisfaction, knowing that he hadn't taken their crap laying down.,By the time he started school, Harry gloried in the thrill of the fight, whether he was fighting out of self-defense or just starting a fight for the fun of it or to work off the anxiety that came with being a friendless orphan with relatives who hated him. True, he did not always win his fights. He was weak and undernourished, fighting against much better-fed peers. However, he was agile and quick, possessing a dexterity honed from so many years of striving to do chores to his aunt's satisfaction. This allowed him to get in quite a few lucky hits. After years of being beaten, Harry knew which specific points to aim at in order to cause maximum pain.,Young Harry dreamed of being a warrior, but he knew a warrior had to be big and strong. He himself was short and skinny, the result of being underfed and living in a small cupboard. As such, he took care to never shirk from a fight, using every opportunity to strengthen his body and sharpen his reflexes.,One wet, drizzly day during winter break, Harry lounged on his cot in the cupboard under the stairs, attempting to read the story of Hercules. The only sound in the house came from Aunt Petunia scrubbing all surfaces within reach, as Uncle Vernon was at work and Dudley was playing at a friend's house. Harry had no friends (none of the neighborhood mothers wanted her children playing with that violent nutjob Harry Potter), not that he wanted any. He would take a good book or a rousing fight over the opportunity to hang out with one of Dudley's cronies any day of the week. It would have been a peaceful, ordinary, perfectly normal day had Vernon not forgotten his lunch at home. Petunia glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. If she hurried, she could bring her husband his lunch before he started getting hungry. Of course, she had to make extra arrangements for that awful Potter boy.,A quick, unanswered phone call led to the conclusion that old Mrs. Figg, who usually babysat Harry, was not at home. So, her despised nephew would have to come with her. She only hoped that he didn't blow anything up or embarrass the family ,much while they were in the building. It should be a quick trip, but Potter hardly needed any time at all to ruin something with his , not to mention his propensity for violence. Ah, well, best to get it over with.,She unlocked her nephew's cupboard door and briskly ordered the boy to make himself presentable and to be ready in five minutes, no excuses. "Making himself presentable" meant covering up his injuries that he got from fighting with, well, everyone. Warriors were normally proud of their battle scars, as Harry understood it. They would show them off when they got home from battle, telling long, involved, often exaggerated, stories about how they got them. Harry himself had quite a few scars and bruises, which his aunt always insisted that he keep covered when he went into public. As an act of defiance, though, he never covered up the scar on his forehead. He was immensely proud of this scar, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning. It was his only injury which he did not know the origins of. His aunt and uncle tried to avoid looking at it, much less talking about it. If he wanted to go out with that particular injury uncovered, they would happily pretend it did not exist, provided he wasn't stupid enough to ask questions about it.,Harry quickly put on a turtleneck that was much too big for him and a pair of extremely baggy jeans, both hand-me-downs from his cousin Dudley, and hurried out into the living room. Aunt Petunia gave a disapproving sniff (her usual reaction to being presented with physical proof of Harry's existence) and cuffed the boy around the ear, warning him not to make trouble. Harry merely scowled.,Petunia managed to beat the lunchtime rush into town and towards Grunning's, her husband's drill company. When she arrived in Vernon's office, she dutifully handed Vernon his lunch with a quick peck on the cheek. She was about to leave, dragging Harry quickly along with her before too many people spotted him and guessed that they were related, but her quick exit was interrupted by Vernon's secretary. "This yours, Mister Dursley?" She asked curtly, putting a piece of paper on Vernon's desk. "I found it in the copier.",Vernon glanced at the paper, and his eyes widened in shock. He began reading the list, his lips moving silently as he scanned each line. His face turned red, then purple, with fury.,"No, this is not mine! Do I look like a nutcase to you?" Vernon screamed, his mustache quivering with indignation as his loud voice echoed across the office. Harry thought that his uncle looked somewhat less-than-sane, and, judging by the secretary's expression, she agreed with this assessment. Petunia looked curiously over her husband's shoulder to read what had gotten Vernon so upset. Her icy blue eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips, certain that her freakish nephew had something to do with this. Her well-manicured fingers dug deeply into Harry's shoulder, promising punishment when they got home. Harry stood on tiptoe, cocking his head to see what was on the paper that had gotten his aunt and uncle so angry, and what would result in a knock-down, drag-out fight when Aunt Petunia and Harry returned home. His determination to read more fighting stories combined with the fact that he was rarely allowed to watch TV and never told stories by his guardians had made him an advanced reader. He was able to scan the note before his uncle angrily crumbled it up and threw it in his wastebasket. The paper read:,Vernon continued to rant about lunatics, morons, and ineffective administrative assistants as the secretary edged her way out of the office. Petunia nodded along supportively as she mentally wrote out her grocery list... , Nobody noticed Harry swiftly ducking down to grab the discarded paper out of the wastebasket and slipping it into the roomy pocket of this jeans.,"It probably belongs to Crazy Old Jack," Vernon said, finally finishing his rant. "That man's a complete and utter lunatic. He has the office right across from mine, though not for long." Vernon grinned nastily. "Everyone knows he's going to be sacked soon. Good riddance, I say.",As Aunt Petunia dragged him by the hand out of his uncle's office and towards the exit, Harry risked a glance towards the office across from his uncle's. The door was open a crack, but he could not see anything out of the ordinary, merely a tired looking man doing something with his computer. The man certainly didn't look like crazy people looked on the telly. In fact, if Harry did not have more important things to do than start a fight with his aunt, he would venture to say that "Crazy Old Jack" looked more normal than Uncle Vernon did. True, he was a bit skinny, but that, in Harry's opinion, was better than being the size of a sumo wrestler who had been putting on weight during the off season. The man happened to glance out in the hallway, and Harry stifled a gasp when he saw Jack's face. It was covered with bruises, scrapes, and scars, giving the impression that the man had barely survived some sort of horrific battle. When Jack's eyes found Harry's, he gave the boy what could only be described as a cheeky grin. Aunt Petunia pulled impatiently at Harry's hand, tugging him along. Harry raised his other hand and gave Jack a very small wave.,For reasons Harry did not fully understand, he was sent to his cupboard for a week when he and Aunt Petunia arrived home. Normally, he would have put up a fight, but today, his mind was elsewhere, focused on Project Mayhem. It sounded like a place where he could train to become a strong warrior. However, the note didn't have an address. Where was he supposed to report for training? He decided to make his way to Grunnings and hide out there until the man named Jack left. He could then follow Jack to wherever he went after work. If it was the same place Jack got all those injuries, Harry would know that he had found the right spot.,Back in the real world, Harry's silence caused no amount of smugness from his aunt, who was convinced that her discipline technique was finally working and that she would have a perfectly docile nephew in no time. Little did she know that Harry was hatching a plan.,Harry tore through his messy cupboard, searching for the required supplies. He slipped on one of Dudley's old black shirts and a pair of worn-out black pants. He found another black shirt and pair of black pants and folded them up neatly in a clean corner of his cupboard. Harry then rolled up the ancient mattress that he had been using as a bed all his life and placed it in the same corner. The heavy black coat was harder to find, but Harry uncovered a box of moth-eaten old winter clothes. He found a heavy black coat that looked too big even for Dudley and which might have once fit Uncle Vernon back when he was more athletic.,He also found a pair of heavy black boots that had once belonged to Dudley. Dudley had never done anything that would require the use of such durable footwear; he had merely seen them in a sports store and demanded them because he thought they looked "Cool." As with most things that Dudley just had to have, his interest in the boots faded even before he had broken in the new shoes. Now, they were shoved into the box, forgotten, and stuffed into the cupboard under the stairs. They were still about two sizes too big for Harry, but he remedied this by crumbling up a few pieces of paper and wedging them into the toes of the boots. This way, he could walk, run, and fight in them without them falling off. They weren't very comfortable, but he would get used to that. Harry was certain that this Project Mayhem would make him a better fighter. That alone was worth any discomfort.,Harry sat against the door of his cupboard, too anxious to even try to read the rest of the story he had started this morning. Instead, he merely stared at the bootlaces of his newly acquired shoes, trying to imagine what Project Mayhem would be like. Finally, he heard the sound he was waiting for: the front door opened and closed as Aunt Petunia left the house to pick up Dudley. Harry waited a minute in order to ensure that his aunt was too far away from the house to hear anything.,When Harry had just turned five, he had gone through a stage where all he could think about was karate. He would read all the books he could find about karate and spend every spare moment practicing the techniques. At first, he would practice punching and kicking the air. Then, he would incorporate these moves when he was defending himself. These techniques proved to be somewhat successful, but it was difficult to teach oneself how to fight using only library books and stolen glances at whatever action movies one's uncle and cousin happened to be watching. Harry realized that what he needed was a teacher.,That summer, he discovered a school of martial arts only a block away. However, this presented another problem. He needed money in order to enroll in a martial arts class, but there was no way that the Dursleys would ever spend money on him. They complained about how much Harry cost them to keep as it was, and that was with Harry wearing nothing but Dudley's old hand-me-downs, never being allowed to eat as much as he liked, never getting proper birthday presents, and sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs.,Harry had tried to do odd jobs around the neighborhood, but by this point, his reputation as a no-good delinquent had been set in stone. This reputation was due to a combination of Aunt Petunia's stories about Harry's no-good drunken parents who had died in a car crash, leaving Harry to be a burden on his hardworking, long-suffering relatives and Harry's frequent displays of violence. The fact that Harry always looked like a homeless person with his baggy, ragged-looking clothes and his constantly untidy hair did nothing to increase his employment opportunities in the superficial, appearance-obsessed neighborhood.,Therefore, Harry had been forced to earn the money through less than honorable means. He had learned to pick pockets, starting with the other children who walked around jingling with pocket change given to them by their parents. When he realized that the neighborhood children did not carry significant amounts of cash with them, he started stealing from the children's parents and any strangers he saw around the neighborhood. He was careful to steal only a few pounds at a time so that people would be less likely to notice the dip in their finances. However, he stole from multiple people everyday (making sure to pick different targets each day), so by the end of his "workday," the small sum added up.,Due to their close proximity, stupidity, and seemingly unlimited wealth, the Dursleys were a favorite target of Harry's sticky fingers. It was amazing how oblivious they could be. Harry could easily steal four or five pounds a day from each of them with Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley being none the wiser. By the end of the month, he had enough money to enroll in the karate class.,However, the school was not willing to teach him without permission from his parent or guardian. So, Harry took home an application form and spent hours in his cupboard, staring at it thoughtfully. He could read very well for his age, but had hardly ever attempted to write anything. At this point, he could barely write his own name legibly, which added to his relatives' opinion that he was mentally subnormal. He went to his uncle's study to borrow a pen and a copy of a document that contained the signatures of both his aunt and uncle. He had slipped the paper into the pocket of his oversized jeans and slipped downstairs to his cupboard.,He had spent the rest of that day hunched over that document, several unused pieces of Dudley's drawing paper, and the permission form. He began to practice writing out Aunt Petunia's and Uncle Vernon's full names as they were written on the document. He started by printing them, as he had at least a rudimentary of how to write print. It was a struggle to write neatly in a way that did not betray how much effort he put into writing each individual letter. It had to look like something an adult would write. That meant it had to be both casual, as if they wrote their names without difficulty everyday, and legible. When he finally felt that he had it down, he printed the names of his guardians in the indicated spaces on the permission form.,Then came the hard part. He carefully examined the loopy signatures written in the unfamiliar cursive writing. After several unsuccessful attempts on Dudley's drawing paper, Harry gave up making a signature that looked ,like that of his aunt and uncle. It wasn't like the teachers will ever know the difference. He just had to make a few confident-seeming loops and swirls. He could make a few of the letters in cursive- the ,in , and the , and the ,in , for instance. He made sure to use different handwriting for both his aunt and uncle's names. Knowing that his nervousness would affect his handwriting, Harry took a few deep breaths before forging his aunt and uncle's signatures in the required blanks. Then, he returned the important-looking document to his uncle's study. After he was done with this, Harry settled into his the leather chair behind his uncle's desk and grabbed the phone and a notepad. He needed to make a few calls.,By this point, Dudley had been in the habit of making crank phone calls to strangers- calling up random numbers only to breathe loudly or ask a stupid question like "Is your refrigerator running?" Of course Harry was inevitably blamed when these numbers showed up on the Dursleys' phone bill. Harry had no problems with actually doing one of the stupid things his relatives were blaming on him for once. Harry remembered his aunt complaining that she couldn't telephone Ms. Number Seven because their phone got disconnected. Harry considered the fact that if one's phone was disconnected, it would be impossible to talk to that person on the phone a useful bit of knowledge for the fall, when he was set to start primary school. He was certain that teachers would be telephoning his relatives about his behavior, much like the neighbors did when they were too lazy to march up to Number Four Privet Drive and complain in person.,It looked like he would have to do his research sooner than he expected. Harry began to call random numbers from his uncle's phone. When someone picked up on the other end, Harry immediately hung up. Whenever he received the message that the number was disconnected, Harry carefully took note of that number. He continued until he had a list of five disconnected phone numbers. Then, considering his work done for the day, he slipped the notepad in his pocket and hurried back to his cupboard before his aunt caught him upstairs. Over the next few days, he made time everyday to call up those five numbers to ensure that they were still disconnected. Two weeks later, three of the five original numbers were still disconnected. Harry looked up the addresses which corresponded to these numbers and picked the residence which was closest to the martial arts school, not wanting to look suspicious by claiming an address that was too far away from the school. He then filled in the permission form with the fake address and phone number.,He turned in the permission form and the money with the excuse that both his aunt and uncle were working but had allowed him to walk to the school. And just like that, Harry was a student in the beginners' martial arts class.,Harry had applied all of his heart, body, mind, and soul to learning the new fighting style. He avidly drank in all of the Sensei's instructions and quickly mastered most of the techniques. However, not all aspects of the class came naturally to Harry. Occasionally, the Sensei would have a day in which he would not teach them how to fight, but merely have the pupils sit in a circle and talk about discipline. Despite how much Harry excelled at the physical aspects of karate, Harry could tell that his sensei was unhappy with his "lack of discipline." Apparently the Sensei was under the impression that being a good boy would keep him out of "unnecessary" fights. Well, that sure hadn't worked when he was younger, had it? Besides, what was the point in being ,enough to suffer something you didn't want or go without something you did want when you could simply fight for everything, as Harry was doing? The Sensei could keep his discipline as far as Harry was concerned. However, Harry managed to quietly tolerate the Sensei's strange insistence on peaceful conflict resolution and using violence only as a last resort since he was the guy who was teaching him all of these useful fighting techniques.,Things eventually came to a head when Harry managed to get into an altercation with one of his fellow students. He couldn't even remember what the fight was about. All he knew was that he loathed the boy, who reminded Harry of Dudley so much that Harry could not help wondering why the boy was voluntarily participating in an activity that required so much movement and didn't involve television. Harry had already been in a bad mood that day after his uncle had decided to blame him for the car breaking down and punished him accordingly. True, Harry had managed to get some good blows in before his uncle shoved him into his cupboard, but it was still an inconvenience to have to slip out of the cupboard, sneak past his relatives, and hurry to karate class. Then, when he got there, the annoying brat had to start riling him up. Harry felt that he could hardly be blamed for giving that twat the beatdown he deserved.,Of course, neither the Sensei nor the boy's parents were happy. Harry was kicked out of the class after refusing to apologize. The school tried to call his aunt and uncle to notify them of Harry's expulsion, but they found that the number provided by "Vernon and Petunia Dursley" was disconnected. Harry never went back to that school.,Although he could no longer come to class, Harry practiced what he learned from class alone in his cupboard and incorporated the techniques into the fights that he continued to get into. When these techniques proved to be successful, he wanted to move on to breaking boards of wood apart. He hadn't progressed this far in his karate classes before being kicked out, but he had been anxious to learn the skill. He had always been amazed when they did this trick in Dudley's movies. So, he practiced with scrap boards of wood in his uncle's rarely-used woodshop. At first, it was awkward and painful, particularly when he tried to break the boards with his bare feet. However, with continued practice, Harry found the same strange power that sometimes came to his aid in fights against larger opponents began to arise when he wanted to break apart boards of wood. He felt an indescribable warmth followed by a feeling of power. The board easily cracked in two. It wasn't long before all the planks were reduced to wood chips.,Now, he was ready to put his hard-earned knowledge to good use.,He raised one booted foot and kicked at the door of his cupboard. The wood shattered, and a hole large enough for Harry to walk through appeared. The hole was a lot bigger than the force of Harry's kick should warrant, but Harry didn't take the time to question this. He quickly stuffed the extra shirt, pants, and underwear and the rolled-up mattress into an ancient, moldy duffel bag that the Dursleys had stored in his cupboard. He hesitated a moment. Most of his possessions were either stolen or discarded items, but it hurt that he would never see any of this other stuff again: the storybooks and toy soldiers he had nicked from Dudley. Still, the hero had to put aside childish things in order to fulfill his destiny. At least, that's what happened in the stories he read.,With the bag slung over his shoulder, Harry jumped through the hole he had made in his cupboard door. With any luck, he would be long gone by the time Aunt Petunia came back and noticed the wood fragments from the cupboard door littering her otherwise immaculate living room. Then, he grinned. He would have plenty of time. Dudley never let his mum drive him anywhere without stopping to buy him a treat of some sort, whether it was a new video game or a burger and fries from the nearest fast-food restaurant. Still, he wanted to leave Privet Drive as soon as possible. He couldn't wait to put this place behind him.,Harry hurried to the kitchen and dug through one of the cupboards. He quickly found a white plastic mixing bowl and stuffed it into his duffel bag. Then, he hurried upstairs to Uncle Vernon's study, knowing from experience that this room would be the most likely place his uncle would keep cash. Sure enough, Harry found a stack of hundred pound notes hidden underneath some paperwork in the bottom drawer of Vernon's desk. He counted out 500 pounds and stuffed them in his right shoe. Then, he grabbed a few extra bills to use as cab fare and stuffed those in the pocket of his baggy jeans.,Harry rushed downstairs and ran out the back door without looking back.

Endless Nights,Chapter 1: Old Times and Lloyd's Confusion,Lloyd jerked awake in absolute confusion, his head spinning in pain as he clenched his eyes shut to keep the light from blinding him. His mouth felt dry, and his eyes felt crusty from his sleep. Yet, the question wasn't about his dry throat or crusty eyes, it was how long he had slept, and where he was, when he creaked his eyes open to look at the area around him.,Decaying wood scattered the ground along with broken glass and destroyed stonework. He was inside some sort of building by the look of things. The pain in his head increased, and Lloyd tried to ignore the pain as he glanced about.,Somewhere off to the right, he could faintly see some stairs leading up to a bit more stable area, and a what appeared to be remains of a carpet decaying just as much as the wood was. Taking a deep breath, Lloyd close his eyes to think about what he was going to do next.,He had no answers for the questions he was certain he will soon receive as soon as his head stop throbbing. It appeared that he was in an old ruin, and he was certain that the chances of finding somebody was slim, and the grumbling in his stomach told him that he need substance soon. Moving his arm, he brushed his hand through his hair, a very old habit he had broken a long time ago.,When he moved his hand back, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of blood. That would explain the pain, his mind replied faintly.,Keeping a groan from spilling out, Lloyd forced his body up. He needed medical items, and to determine where he was. The wound was older, or else there would been more blood flowing from the wound. Stumbling up, Lloyd used his upper body to keep himself upright, using his hand onto a fallen beam. He was careful to make sure that he didn't push on it, so that he didn't gain a splinter in his hand. That was the last thing he needed.,"Oh yes, and if Dart ever learned of that, he wouldn't let me live it down. The great Lloyd, the Wingly, terrified of getting a little splinter." Lloyd grumbled hoarsely to himself, the long years of being silent becoming mute. He wanted to talk, damn it, so he was going to talk!,Even if it was to himself. He had to deal with the lies of Melbu Frahma for over 5 years, he deserved to stat what he thought was important. Grumbling again, Lloyd began his trek through the destroyed building. It took him 3 hours to do so, and it didn't help that he was starting to believe he had been there before.,"But that's not possible. This building almost looks like Indel Castle in the city of Bale...but for this much destruction? Could the Dragoons failed defeated Frahma? No...if that was the case, nothing from the past would have remained..." Lloyd muttered to himself in silent shock.,It was then, that he saw box on the throne that once sat King Albert, and the truth that the building is, or was, the Indel Castle. Walking over, Lloyd saw that there was no dust, no damage done to the box, and Lloyd felt the slight flicker of magic on its surface.,Opening it, he saw a small bag, a letter, and a mirror, a dagger, and a gem inside the box. Lloyd recognize the last three instantly as as the Divine Moon Objects. How did they survive the usage of Melbu's plan?,Taking the letter, hoping it held some idea onto what was going on, he opened it.,Lloyd could only stare at the letter for a long time, the first thing to his mind was something very strange.,"I didn't know Dart could write so much." Lloyd muttered to himself, until he saw an added note in a more feminine hand.,"I take it back. Dart's an idiot." Lloyd smirked to himself, chuckling at the little note from Shana. Guessing that he was still in shock at the information that he now gained. Sighing, Lloyd opened the bag, and saw a strange black, white, pink, and blue Dragoon Spirit.,"Five Lenus's so called Love Charms say that is my new Dragoon Spirit." Lloyd grumbled, and he picked it up. He felt a warm light enter him, and he couldn't help but smile. The Divine Dragoon Spirit hadn't done that, and he knew that this one truly was his own.,", a musical voice entered Lloyd's mind, and a projection of a woman came forth. She too, had silver hair but her eyes were the strange color of emerald. She smiled at him, and Lloyd realized that this was the Dragon of Time and Space.,", She spoke out, ,"Spira?" Lloyd asked out, and the woman, dragon, Spira, laughed softly at this.,", Spira stated, and Lloyd nodded his head.,"Understood." Lloyd said, "So, what am I going to do?",", Spira explained with a smile, ,Lloyd nodded his head in agreement.,"Very well, but when will I meet them?" he asked, and Spira sighed.,",Spira told him with a sigh. ,Spira ended this with a look of sorrow and pain.,", Spira explained, and Lloyd nodded his head. The truth that this boy would be abused was a terrible fate in deed.,"I will do my best, Spira, but we must begin, then. I can work with gaining information during the way." Lloyd told her, "We can't know if we will succeed if we don't try.",", Spira laughed out, causing Lloyd to smile at this.,"I want to prove to Dart that I can do good instead of following orders blindly." Lloyd said, and Spira laughed at this.,"

, ,",." -LifeJumper123's personal view towards life.,Richmond, Virginia, C.S.A.,April 23,1867,Everything had happened so fast. Harry James Lee or James Lee soaked in everything that his father said, of how he had been pronounced dead to the whole Confederacy. The Confederacy that he helped defend in its War for Independence against the Union. He was actually nineteen years, instead of the in the mid-twenties that everyone in the South believed him to be. He had raised quickly through the ranks to become the Napoleon of the Confederacy, a title that he hated. The people loved James as they see him as a hero that brought the South to victory against the Union; for his victories in the western theater of the war helped in convincing the Europeans in joining the Confederate cause. Without the aid from the Europeans, the Confederacy would without a doubt fall to the might of the Union forces, as the Union Naval Blockade had caused economic and military for the South at the start of the war. James fought for this nation and his home state of Virginia through a rate that was fast. After the war had ended, he went to politics in the House of Representatives and worked to bring about the impending end of the institution of slavery. Although, he kept his actually age a secret as he was still too young to even run for a political office much less a military position. That did not stop him, as after his victory at Versailles, he was given the position of General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army.,With that position, he was able to thoroughly and carefully run the Army without having to deal with the bureaucratic red tape that prevents Generals from making the important decisions necessary to win a war. His last major victory which won the war was at Falmouth, Kentucky, where he ultimately destroyed the 2nd Army of Ohio under the command of General Winfield Hancock. After the victory, his father, General Robert E. Lee, managed to defeat the Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg and march to Washington, D.C.; which later resulted in President Abraham Lincoln in calling for a cease-fire and armistice to begin negotiations to fully end the war. It took some time, but James was able to get a fair treaty that allowed the Union to recover and the Confederacy to prosper. He even began to look for ways for both the Union and Confederacy to become strong friends in the future.,When 1867 came, it was time for a new president to be in the office by 1868, so his father decided to run and ensure that the Confederacy becomes the firm nation that it should. James worked to bring in the necessary votes for his father's election campaign as President. However, during a play in Ford's Theater, he was shot in the chest by John Wilkes Booth, and that was when the house of cards fell upon. His father told James that he is a wizard and was sent from the future to be trained for his eventual destiny to fight against a dark lord that wants him dead. It shocked James in discovering that he was not from this time period and that he is related to his family in this time by blood. When his father told him that he had to go back and defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort. James really did not want to leave his family, but he knew that he swore an oath to defend Virginia no matter what and with the existence of Voldemort, Virginia is endangered, and he must fulfill his promise even if it means leaving his family in the past.,James agreed with his father that it was now time for him to go back to his original time period. His father handed him a suitcase that contains more items than a non-magical suitcase would hold. It contained his Navy Revolver, some pictures of his family, his war uniform, and other things that his parents felt that he would need. It really hurt James for him to know that he has to leave his family, but he has a duty to Virginia; even if it is far in the future. James walked over to each member and said his goodbyes as well as hugged them, as he knew that he would never see them again until he reached heaven.,It was then he grab the suitcase, and his father handed him the jewel, that would take him back to his original time period. Then all he had to do was say the words that would bring him back to his real time and fulfill his duty to Virginia as well as the Confederacy.,He said goodbye to his family one last time and spoke the needed words to send him into the future.,"There is no place like home.",Suddenly, everything was spinning. It went faster, faster, and faster. James felt himself getting dizzy and thought that he might throw up anytime soon. Then everything became red, James slowly closed his eyes and prayed for it to end. His ears were hurting as a ringing sound, which got louder and louder. However, things began to become different if he had his eyes opened. As the red light started flashing white. The next thing James knew was that he felt like he was falling and realized that he was as in a horizontal position; realizing that gravity was taking effect, James prayed for a soft landing to wherever he would land at. He realized that his prayer was not answered as he saw a hard wooden floor coming closer to his face and between that was a wooden chair. By the time, James could come up with something he had already hit the chair to point that it crumbled into pieces and then he hit the floor so hard that when his head hit it, he slipped into an unconscious state.,Allied Headquarters in London, England, United Kingdom,August 20, 1987,In the office of the Field Marshall of the Allied Forces, he had one definitely thought in his mind. A thought that he knew must be done in this on-going war against the Soviet Union, who were making large breakthroughs in Europe and were already preparing to invade the last Allied European nation, not under Soviet occupation.,",",All of the other useful Allied commanders were already in Europe trying to hold their position and continue the fight. A fight that many civilians were seeing as a lost cause. He listened to the news, from the television in his office, of how a poll showed that 64 percent of people in England were in the thought that the war is lost. It was then he understood how critical it is the Allies win the coming fight against the Soviet coming across the English Channel. For if the United Kingdom falls, then possibly the world will fall to the Soviet war machine. There was only commander available for the defense of Great Britain, Giles Price. A smart young man that served in the British Royal Air Force and one of the most elite commanders in the Allies personal. However, the men under his command are outnumbered and ill-equipped to deal with incoming Soviets. This alone is the reason why he knew that the Allies desired a new Commander. Someone with experience in warfare, who knows how to properly run an army with what is available, and can fight a battle with so much over-confidence; as all the other Commanders, besides Price and all the Elites, were either incomponent or were not capable of being pushing back the Soviets with the current resources available.,The Sixty-Five Year old Field Marshall turned his gray eyes to the large stack of files on his desk that had contained the profiles of potential candidates for the position of Commander. A good portion came with the Confederate and the United States, who came fresh out of school as well as volunteered to fight in the Allies, as neither nation in America had joined the war and were in the state of neutrality. As they wanted to not be in any part of the war in Europe, seeing it as a European Conflict, not a world conflict. Although, Presidents Ackerman of the United States and President Thompson of the Confederate States were unofficially on the side of Allies; as they managed to convince the Isolationist Congressmen to pass a Cash-and-Carry Policy. This policy allowed the Allies to buy the needed materials and goods to carry on with the war; however, the Allies had to transport the goods themselves at their own risk. When the Soviets learned of this, they sent Submarines into the Atlantic to sink the transports carrying the need products from the America nations. They were quite successful in sinking tons of shipping to the point that, even with a convoy system to protect the transports, Soviet Submarines were essentially blockading Great Britain in Europe. Particularly with the Wolfpack task forces that the Soviets used to deal massive damage to the Convoys.,The lack of supply was one of the reasons why the Allied Forces in England were ill-equipped to defend against the well-armed Soviets and why he needed someone that without a doubt can beat the Soviets all the way to Siberia. If the Soviets are not stopped, then the Free-world will fall under the oppression of the Soviet Union. However, the only good news so far was that the United States Congress was now voting on whether or not to declare war on the Soviet Union. This vote was done by the massive support Ackerman had as President. However, the decision for declaration would matter on the fate of England in the up-coming battle.,The Field Marshall sighed as he looked at a picture of his grandchildren during their fifth birthday party, which was about two years ago and one year before the Soviets began their aggressive invasion into Europe. Everything was so happy before the war, he remembered when the children were always so cheerfully. Now, with the war, it changed. As their parents were missing in action when the Soviets began their invasion in Poland. His son and daughter-in-law were helping refuge's in Warsaw get onboard trains bound for Germany and France in the hopes of escaping the advancing Red Army. Jeffery and Carol never went on the Train as the they filled the Trains to full capacity and were captured just an hour after the Trains left the stations. When the news came to him, he went into shock as he feared for their life's. After telling his wife, they went to get the children and watch until they could rescue their parents. However, it did not look like that would be anytime soon with the Soviets occupying France and he could not send the children to America for safety as the Soviet Submarines put the Allies in a Death Grip.,It was then he knew that whoever he chooses to defend Great Britain will determine the fate of how his grandchildren and the rest of the world will live. He turned back to the mountain of files; files that will ascertain the future of Great Britain.,Silently, he looked up to the sky and prayed.,",",Then suddenly, as if his prayer was heard. A body fell from his ceiling, like as if there was a portal there, and landed on the hardwood floor with a loud crashing, after falling on the wooden chair in front of his desk and view. The Field Marshall jumped up in shock from his desk as he held his chest tightly as he thought that he was going to have a heart attack from what he just witnessed. After a few minutes of trying to calm down, he went over to the body and see if he could find out more about the person that literally just fell into his office. He could see that the body was male and had black hair. The man looked to be young, maybe in his mid-twenties, and dressed in exquisite clothing; the type that only the wealthy could afford these days as it was made with very fine cotton from the Confederate States. He slowly and carefully turned the body over as he wanted to see the face of the man that just fell into his office. As he turned the body over, he saw the features of the unconscious man. If the Field Marshall had any doubt about the age of the young man, then he now had a confirmation as the face showed the boy to be in his twenties. His eyes were closed so the Marshall could not find out the color of the man's eyes. On the forehead of the young man, there was a lightning bolt scar that was slightly faded.,He heard his office door as he saw a woman with blond hair quickly walk in with a concerned look on her face. She wore a navy blue uniform with the Allies insignia on the front of the coat.,"Field Marshall, Sir, is everything alright? I thought I had heard a noise...Oh, my..." the woman said with a shocked and surprised expression as she saw the unconscious young man on the floor.,"Eva, get this man to the medical bay and find out who he is. Also, get Madam Bones here to see how he got here because he came from the ceiling." The Flied Marshall ordered.,Eva nodded as she ran to get someone that had could carry the man to the Medical Bay and make a call to the Ministry of Magic or more precisely Minister Amelia Bones.,The next day,In the Medical Bay of the Allied Headquarters,The Field Marshall watched as the medic examined the boy, who had fallen into his office the other day. They had found that he once been shot in the chest by something similar to a shotgun. Also, the boy had a concussion on the head and bits of wood in his arm from the chair that he had landed earlier. However, they said that he should be able to recover and that they can remove the wooden bits from the boy's arm. Although, that was not what the Marshall was concerned about. He was more concern on the identity of this boy like his name and nationality as well as how did the land in his own office. It concerned him because he was not sure if the kid was a Soviet spy that screwed up in teleportation or apparition as a wizard. The Soviets put good use to their wizards, especially in using them in Muggle battles; which was unofficially against international law. However, when has law stopped the Soviets from doing anything.,He wondered if his prayer was actually heard by someone. However, he was not going to rely on that anytime soon; if he did then he would more than likely lose his had Eva find out the identity of the teenager, who was no doubt a wizard. He had already learned of the existence of Magic after witness his grandchildren leviate their vegatables at the other side of the kitchen table when they did not want to eat it. He almost had a heart attack when the vegatables began to spin around and fly to the trash can. Then that was when Amelia Bones came to him and explain the existence of magic as well as how his grandchildren would being going to Hogwarts or another magical school that he or the children's parents chose; like the London Institue of Magic. Then what came to an even great shock to his career was that some of the Allied personal in his office were witches and wizards, including his favorite Inteligence Officer Eva Mckenna.,He did not know why, but there was something familiar about this boy. He was not aware why, but he had that feeling like he knew him from somewhere or something. However, he could not ring any bells. Maybe, once Eva finds out the identity of the boy, he could then figure out why the boy is so familiar to his mind. He even had Eva look through the man's suitcase, which was next to the kid when he landed.,"Sir?",He turned to the familiar voice and saw that it was Eva. Hopefully, she might have good news.,"Ah, Eva. Any good news?" he asked.,She frowned as she said, "Sir, I have looked, and he just does not exist. There is no record of him in the muggle database, and I made a call to the magical Department of Records as well as Improper Use of Magic after calling Minister Bones, and they all said the same thing. They could not identify the magic given off by the boy. However, Minister Bones stated that she is on her way with a representative from the Department of Mysteries. Also, I looked inside the suitcase, and there was an old revolver, a Confederate uniform that is the style of one made in the 1860's, some clothing that is of the same time period, as well as photos. Although, the strange thing about these pictures is that they are made through a process that has not been used since the nineteen century. These photos are not ones that are in the public domain. Also, sir, I went back to your office to see if there was anything else that belong to him and me what I found was this jewel.",She pulled out a jar containing a white jewel that was larger than an average sized jewel. The Field Marshall examined the jewel and he did not see anything that said it was dangerous. However, he would let Minister Bones find out for him. For all he knows, it could be a magical jewel that can suck his soul. Eva had told that there were items in the magical world that might look harmless and safe, but can actually be deadly.,The Flied Marshall nodded as a soldier came up to him and informed that Minister Bones has arrived with another person. The Flied Marshall informed the soldier to bring them here in the Medical Bay. When they arrived, the Marshall shook hands with Minister Bones.,"Field Marshall Robert Bingham, this is Adam Freetown. He works at the Department of Mysteries. I brought him here because the Department made some discoveries that they thought you should hear." Minister Amelia Bones introduced.,"And what did you discover?" Bingham asked the man, who wore a gray robe and bottlecap glasses.,"Well, Field Marshall, about the time you had your unexpected visitor. The department had an alert, we did not know what was going on until we went to the Hall of Prophecies. Apparently, one of the prophecies in the Hall has been activated." Adam explained.,"And how is this prophecy important for me to know if you do not mind me asking?" Robert Bingham asked with curiosity.,"Well, because it deals with Premier Cherdenko of the Soviet Union and more than likely this man in the bed if my calculations are correct.",Robert went wide eye as the shock was overwhelming for him. A Prophecy that deals with the Soviet Premier and this boy is something that the Allies needs to take advantage of, depending on what the prophecy contains. However, it must be ensured that Cherdenko does not find out that there is a prophecy about him and someone unknown. He would rather not think about what would happen if the Soviet Premier discovers its contents.,"Do we know what the prophecy contains?" The Allied Flied Marshall asked.,Adam shook his head as he said, "No, sir. We can't investigate out what it contains. The reason why is that only the people that the prophecy is about can touch and read; if anyone else were to try and touch it, they would be basically brain dead.","How will we know if this man is the one in the prophecy?","Well, we know that the initials of the other person are H.J.L. So, all we have to do is find out the lads name and then we will know for sure if he is the one.","Also, Adam, I found this next to where he landed. Do you think that it has anything to do with how he got here?" Eva asked, presenting Adam the jar containing the jewel.,Adam inspected it with his eyes at first until he pulled out his wand and spoke an incantation in a language that was not even Latin. After a few seconds, nothing happened until the jewel began flashing an array of different colors until stopped at the color of orange and then returned to being a white jewel.,"I can confirm that this is what brought this young man here. In fact, this jewel brought him here from the past. The jewel is a Time Jewel, and they can make any person to either the past or the future. They are a little bit different than a time turner because with this jewel anyone can go to any time in the past or future. However, these jewels do have a tendency to malfunction and send someone to a destination that they did not intend to go to; which is the reason why the jewel is white and stopped at orange when I analyzed it. So, we can say that this man did not intentionally come here to this time or dimension.","Do you think that the jewel will still work if he wants to try and get to the time he wants to?" Robert asked.,"I am afraid not. Once, the Jewel is white it is pretty much dead and cannot be used anymore. Heck, we do not even know if he is from the same dimension. And if he is from another Dimension, then I am afraid to say that he is stuck in this dimension.","Sir, I think he is waking up," Eva informed Field Marshall Bingham, as she watched through the glass window to see that the man's eyes were blinking.,"Good, maybe we can get some information about him," Bingham said.,"How should we approach him, sir?","Why don't you walk up to him and find out what he will tell you? He might be more willing to tells more about him with a friendly face.",Eva nodded as she walked up to the man, who was slowly waking up from his fall.,James did not know what was going as he slowly opened his eyes. Meanwhile, his head really hurt. It felt like as if someone had hit him in the head very hard with a shovel and threw a chair at him. All he remembered after using the jewel was that he had fallen onto someone's chair and floor. He was not sure if the jewel actually worked or if falling was supposed to happen. Magic was not his thing. Heck, he never thought magic existed until his father told and when the jewel transported him to wherever the hell he is right now; believing to be nothing but fairy tales and fake like tricks. However, after experiencing this trip, now he is a believer. Although, he wonder if he could have used magic during the War of Independence or was there anything that prevents it to be used in conflicts like the war. Thinking about the war had sad for a bit, as he remembered that he had left his family back in the past and will never see them again until he goes to Heaven or if he goes to heaven; as he still felt that what he did in Falmouth was an act against God and that he should be punished in the pits of hell for his actions.,He considered what he did at Falmouth as a crime was because essentially what he did was blow up two creators right under the Union 2nd Army of Ohio, at least 1,000 Union Soldiers were killed by the explosions. It was a dirty move, as the Union was not prepared for such a move. As it was very easy to then rout the whole Union Army after that. Victory are times won by doing crimes.,He stopped thinking about the war as he looked around to see where he was. He noticed that the room was white and that he was a soft bed near some strange devices. He could not figure out where in the name of god he was. Everything looked different than what the past had. He wondered when and where he is because this was definitely not Richmond nor 1867. For all, he could now, he was in a different country about 400 years in the future. The next thing he noticed was that in front of him were two doors with a glass window that had a red cross. He did not know they meant or who it represented. Then the doors opened revealing a beautiful blond woman in her late-twenties or early thirties. She had adorable blue eyes and the face of an angel. The clothing she wore were all blue. On the front of her vest was an insignia that a silver eagle, while her shoulders had three chevrons; this told James that she is in the Military and a sergeant. Based on everything he can see her, she looked like an angel that can from heaven.,"Good to see you and alright. I hope you are feeling comfortable, right now." The woman said in a very sweet voice.,"Yes, I am, thank you. But may I ask you a few of questions?" James asked.,"Sure." The woman replied, hoping that if she answered his questions, then he could do the same for her questions.,"Who are you? Where am I and what day, as well as the year, is it?" James asked.,"I am Lieutenant Eva McKenna and an Intelligence Communications officer of the Allies. You are at the Headquarters of the Allied Forces in London, U.K. and to be more exact the Medical Bay of the Headquarters. You really hit your head very hard when you fell. Also, the date today is August 21, 1987." She answered.,James went into shock. He knew that he went into the future, but he was expecting maybe at fifty years but not over a hundred.,"Over a hundred years into the future" James murmured in shock.,Eva heard him and knew that confirm the theory of the man being from the past. It told her that he came from the nineteenth century. The man looked completely harmless and cute to her. Although, she felt sorry for the poor soul; he must have left his family behind and will never see them again. He was like a little-lost puppy. More than likely, he did not have a home; especially with the fact that he is from the future. She then remembered that she has a job to do and ask the man questions to see if he fits the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries.,"I know you're in shock right now, but I am afraid that I will have to ask you some questions. Is that alright?" She asked.,James gave a small as he went into tears.,"What is your name and when did you originate from?",James knew that it is no use to lie to the woman as she knew that he was from the past.,"My name is Harry James Lee, Former General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army and Congressional Representative. I originally came from April 1867, after Booth assassinated me and supposedly died. I served in the Confederate War of Independence, and my first engagement was at the Battle of First Manassas.","Why did you come to the future?","Well, I did not want to go at first. But the truth is that I was not born into the Lee family. I am James Lee, but I was not born in the past. I was born around this time period and from a wizarding family. After my assassination by Booth, my father decided that I must return to the future and fight against a Dark Lord named Voldemort as it is my destiny. Also, I apologize for landing in and breaking the chair, If I had the money right now; I would gladly buy one to replace it. ","It is alright. Now, how are you still alive from the assassination?","Well, the surgery done on me was successful to the point that they said I would live. However, my father gave me a concoction to put me in a death like sleep, which would have everyone believe that I am dead. Then my dad woke me up by using another mixture or potion and then had a friend replace my body by transfiguring a rock or something.","I see.",Eva did not know how to comprehend everything she was hearing. Here right in front of her was Confederate General Harry James Lee in the flesh. This was something that might interest the Field Marshall. Lee might just be the person needed to beat back the Soviets out of Europe. She knew that there was a reason why he looked so familiar to her. Normally, she would such claims like this but seeing that the situation of how Lee came here was through magic. Then it would have to make sense. It had to because she remembered reading an article years ago that when people were moving Lee's tomb to safety as a large Hurricane was heading to Richmond in 1950; when they lifted it, it felt lighter than usual like as if there was no remains or skeleton in the tomb. However, when they opened the coffin; there was no body nor skeleton to be found, only a small rock was inside; like as if there was never a body in there and the dust there showed that it had not been touched before 1950. It gave conspiracy theorists a run for finding out whether Lee actually died, but it was only done by Muggle investigators. Eva was surprised at what he was saying of Voldemort as he has been dead for five years after the Department had destroyed the horcrux's that the dark wizard made. Heck, she was one of those people that had destroyed them; which was why the Department of Mysteries had tried to hire her as an Unspeakable.," I will be right back, Mr. Lee. I have to report to my superior if that is alright.",James really did not care at this point for he was still in shock.,Slowly, Eva went out the door to inform the Field Marshall of the information she had just learned.,"Are you sure that is what he told you, Eva?" Field Marshall Bing asked the Lieutenant.,Eva nodded as she said, "Sir, you know I can detect a lie very well. Plus it fits with the evidence we have and the fact that Lee's Body is missing from his tomb.",Robert sighed, as he knew that it was a lot to take. A Confederate General from 1867 coming to the future was not something he would expect in this job. How would President Thompson react to this news? He would probably think he was crazy. James Lee was something that every Command and General knew about. At the Academy, they used his memoirs in their curriculum. Everyone officer knew at least some things of the famous "Kid General" of the Confederacy. Maybe, this is what the Allies needs to finally beat back the Soviets. The only problem was that the Kid General has knowledge of the old style of warfare and needs to be updated on the current way of war. However, by the end of it, the Soviet's would be a big surprise. But he wanted to be sure that this is really James Lee and the only way for him to find out was have him touch this prophecy, but after the young man fully recovers from his fall as the doctors have not cleared him yet. As it could contain very valuable information for the Allies; especially with the fate of the free world in the balance.,"Mr. Freetown, do you think that we can have Mr. Lee collect the prophecy in order to find out what is contained in it?"

Ok kids, I own nothing but the 'magination, as so many people say just playing in the sandbox.,Not enough Potter and Andromeda cross overs so here goes also not sure how the commonwealth calendar works in with our own so bear with a little creative licence.,Chapter one,Harry was having a bad day. First the damn Nietzscheans sprung that attack and then Rhade betrayed them, all because of the damn Magog, and if that wasn't bad enough the black hole had caught them. Not that the black hole bothered Harry all that much, or maybe all too much. Some 3000 years ago when Harry had mastered the deathly hallows, he didn't realise he had mastered Death himself. Death happened to be very fond of Harry and wasn't allowing Harry to pass on the hallows so that he could pass on. However, being the Master of Death had some nice perks, well, nice for the first 3 hours or so. Everything dies, even time, and after all isn't a black hole the epitome of Death? Maybe it wasn't his mastery of the hallows that put him in this condition, thinking back, it was probably that promise he made 'Mione on her deathbed. For Harry Potter, third in command of the Andromeda Ascent, Master of the Hallows, Boy-Who-Lived, was still awake and aware even though the Andromeda was caught in the black hole's gravitational pull. It was going to be a very long 300 years.,The Harper family has almost always been possessed of great intelligence and either red or frizzy hair. These traits found in most Harpers were said to be passed down from a time before Earth had even realised that real space travel was possible. The other trait specific to the Harper line, was the voice. As far back as anyone could remember, the voice had been there is the back of the mind of the eldest Harper, passing down through the generations. The voice was the Harper family's good luck charm, it warned of danger, of nearing Magog or Nietzscheans. It pointed out escape routes, best ways to create an ambush, everything the last three Harper's needed to survive in a war zone, until one day Seamus Harper was the last one left, and the voice passed from his Magog infested cousin to him. For 3 years Harper ignored the voice, only heeding it in emergencies, blaming the voice in his head for the impregnation of his cousins.,It was an ordinary day for Seamus, get up, scrounge some food, bypass Nietzschean patrols and get back to relative safety, when the voice popped up.,"Seamus, I'm sorry about your cousins. I was distracted and I let you down, I let 'Mione down. I know you won't forgive me, but I promise I won't let anything happen to you. You have my full and complete attention.","What the hell do you mean you were distracted? You're supposed to be our good luck charm you should have warned them about the Magog!" Seamus screamed back at the voice.,The voice came back in a soft tone, "Shay, I'm not all there, did you think I was just a voice? I'm as real and as physical as you are, and I currently two galaxies away fighting for my existence. As much as I would like to think I'm not all powerful.","Your real? And who the Hell is 'Mione?" was Harper's startled reply.,"Mione is the reason I'm in your head. You could say I'm the last of my kind, and about 3000 years or so ago, my best friend was dying while I still looked like I was 25, we were the same age, but she was dying from old age. It was cruel and unfair that I stayed the same all those years. She made me promise, the keep her family safe when she was gone. I had thought the promise was only for her children through to her great children, who had just been born. It took me years to realise, that my promise had bound me to anyone who was descended from her. At one point I thought her family line would over run the world, the way that ginger hair was spreading, but eventually, after all this time, you Seamus are the last of her line, and I will give my all to see you safe." The voice grew softer and softer til it was only a whisper.,"So, what's this fight for your existence thing happening and who the hell are you?",The voice laughed, "Who am I? There was a time when everyone on Earth knew my name, but since then I have had so many. You can call me…Grimm, yes I think that sounds alright considering my past profession. As to the fight, well I'm currently stuck. My body is stuck in a time dilation field, while a small part of my mind is with you, the rest is fighting off a very lonely woman, who doesn't take no for an answer, I'd say yes, but dying isn't an option. She's been trying to suck out my soul for the last 290 years.",Seamus sat in silence, thinking over the conversation with his not so imaginary friend. It seemed plausible, after all, Grimm never said he was human, he'd have to be something Harper had never heard about to have a life span that long. What the hell, the voice, with the exception of his cousins, had never steered his family wrong yet.,So the next few years passed and Seamus and Grimm, talked more often, Grimm would tell him tales from when he was young, of 60 foot snakes and racing dragons, of red heads taking over the world, to the inauguration of the Commonwealth to the Nietzschean ambush that had led to the fall of a dream. It was being fed these tales of space in particular that Seamus was hooked on. With on Grimm as his remaining friend, Seamus left for space, to get away from Earth and all the painful memories.,It was early in Seamus's career as engineer on the Eureka Maru that they went to a little known drift, looking for an environmental officer. Beka had decided that after Vexpac (?) had 'bought the farm' that a new officer was needed if only so the mistake wasn't made again. Harper took the time to explore the drift, for an out of the way place it had some high end stuff. Seamus was talking to Grimm about life on the Maru and how different it was to Earth. Grimm told him about the first drifts and how they started as little more that colonies of bigots, who thought they were better than the rest. Purebloods, Grimm had likened them to, though what a Pureblood was Seamus wasn't quite sure. It was as they were rounding the tiny garden, that Harper noticed a peculiar sight.,"Geez, Grimm, look at her! She's hot and…purple?" Harper trailed off, his weird metre finally overriding his hot babe metre.,"Purple? Tell me quickly what exactly does she look like?",Harper looked the alien up and down before answering, "Well, she's purple, and has a tail, and I think she has a small tattoo on her shoulder.",There was no reply from Grimm. "Grimm, are you there? What's up? Do you know her, or I mean her Great grandmother, or something?","Sorry, no I'm fine. Shay, I just found you a new environmental officer. Okay, this is gonna sound weird but I need to go speak to her. You need to tell her this exactly. The one who danced among the stars, humbly requests the assistance of the Light Bearers. In good faith I ask this to free Death from the clutches of your twisted sister. I'll be waiting in the land of the Greek Forge God. Travel lightly and shine on the abyss. Ok tell her that exactly, if it's who I think it is I may finally be free. If not a nice cryptic message won't hurt anybody. Shay", Grimm sounded strained, "She knows what I'm up to, crap, I'm going to need all my focus to fend her off til help arrives. I'm sorry but you're going to on your own for a while, if that's who I hope it is, she'll look after you in my stead. Please give her that message exactly. Stay safe.","Grimm? Grimm!" Harper called within his mind to no avail, for the first time in years Harper was along in his head. It seemed strange and empty, and very lonely now. Seamus found the whole thing to be confusing, how had the soul sucker found out, why not ask the purple girl if she was who Grimm thought she was, what was with all that formal crap and abyssal star dancing? Seamus made his way over to the purple alien, who finally looked up from the wilting flowers.,"Hello.","Umm, hi… I've umm look this may sound weird but I have a message for you." The girl tilted her head and looked at Harper, "You don't look like my families normal contact.","I'm not. The message might not even be for you, but you match the description, so bear with me, I really hope it is for you cause my friend needs help he's in trouble. From the sounds of it either you or someone from your family can help him. The one who star dances…no, the one who dances among the stars, no danced, sorry apparently it's very important that I say danced among the stars, sorry, humbly requests the assistance of the Light Bearers." At this the girl looked at him sharply reacting strongly to the title. Harper paused, before resuming, "In good faith I ask this to free Death from the clutches of your twisted sister. I'll be waiting in the land of the Greek Forge God. That's it, that's the message, is it you, can you help?" By now Harper was babbling like a fool, the lack of reassuring voice in the back of his mind unnerving to say the least.,Harper looked at the purple girl, who breathed in sharply. "Yes, I'm the one you're looking for. My name is Trance, Trance Gemini.","Harper, Seamus, but call me Harper almost everyone does. So can you help him, can you help my friend?","Your friend, yes I see now 'Mione's child. He's still stuck, of course, I'll help, and did he say anything else?",Harper thought for a second, "Only that if you were who he thought you were, he had found me an environmental officer, and someone to watch over me while he couldn't. The soul sucker stepped up her attack.","Yes, the twisted sister can be quite persistent. Well, if I'm going to be your new enviro officer, I better meet the captain right?","Right," Seamus spluttered, "this way. The Eureka Maru is one of the best ships around. I should know I'm the engineer." Harper continued to babble on about the ship and its crew all the way back to the dock, where he introduced Trance to Beka, stating that she came recommended by a very old friend of Harper's. Beka wasn't too keen about a recommendation from someone she'd never heard from before, but there were no other candidates and they needed a fourth crewperson. And so, it was on a little drift tucked away in the middle of nowhere, that Trance Gemini joined the crew of the Maru and took over the position as Harper's watcher.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Raistlin Majere belongs to Margaret Weis, and my soul belongs to Cthulhu. Ia fhtagn!,: After Raistlin's sacrifice in closing the Portal, Paladine can't justify accepting him into the blessed realm, but still wants to give him a second chance. So he sends his soul to occupy another's body, a body whose current occupant no longer wants to live.,In a broken down shack surrounded by the roar of the wind and the crash of the sea, there lay a family. A man, a woman, and two children, lying huddled under moldy blankets, cowering from the fierce storm that surrounds them. The filthy windows would let in little enough light on the best of days, but today all that could be seen was the occasional spray of salt as the surrounding water was whipped into a white fury.,Inside, a child lay awake, shivering on the bare wooden floor, staring at nothing as we watched the seconds drift past, unable to imagine what the dawn would bring, and not daring even to try. As the roof creaked and threatened to fall in, he wondered if this, the day of his birth, would also be the day of his death. And if it was, would it really be so bad? As the minutes floated past, and the salt of his tears mixed with the harsh ocean spray that filled the air, he felt the last of his hope fade away. With a chill fatalism, Harry James Potter resigned himself to his fate, and allowed his eyes to close.,...,With a sudden crash, the boy awoke, and his mind was filled with memories. Years of experience he knew had never really happened, could not have happened, and yet... He remembered. He remembered the tortuous years of study at master Theobald's school; he remembered the war; he remembered travelling through time, the battle of Zhaman, his triumph... and his failure. He knew who he was now.,His name was,...,With a sudden crash, the man awoke, and his mind was filled with memories. "not again!" he gasped, as he remembered years of experience that he knew were not his. Centuries of study, his powers growing with every year, his ascension... and his defeat, at the hands of his would be victim, the true master of past and present. He felt his new memories overwhelm the old, his power wrested from his grasp. He knew who he was now.,His name was,...,An enormous fat man stumbled into the room, a long metal rod held in his hand as he roared "Who's there? I warn you, I'm armed!". The man's quivering arms betrayed his terror, as a small memory whispered in the back of the boys mind. ,. , And boy knew the man's name. A,And a small and secret smile twisted his lips.,A final, resounding crash filled the air, as the door to the shack burst open and an enormous man forced his way in, the doorway barely large enough to accommodate him. His grim visage shrouded in a shaggy mane of wild hair, his eyes deep-set and piercing black, his expression unreadable. ,Raistlin through to himself, , as his thoughts flashed back to Raf and Steeltoe. But then again, his new memories claimed there were no ogres in this strange new world.,Turning his fierce gaze on them, his wild hair bristling in the damp air, the enormous stranger grunted hugely and spoke:,"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could ye'h? It's not been an easy journey...",The floorboards shifting beneath his enormous mass, the hulking man strode over to the sofa, where another child – ,, Raistlin's new memories supplied – was sitting.,"Budge up, yeh great lump," the stranger said, as Raistlin quietly enjoyed the look of horror on Dudley's face.,Squeaking like a pig, Dudley ran to cower behind his mother, as the giant sat, taking up the whole of the recently vacated, two person, sofa.,"An' here's harry!" he said, looking straight at Raistlin., he thought to himself, as his mouth, unnoticed, turned upward in a cynical sneer at the giants oafish manner.,"Ah, that's good then, you know it's me!" the giant said, obviously mistaking Raistlin's cold smile for a grin of recognition.,"Las' time I saw yeh, yeh was on'y a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a,lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes.",His voice shaking with fear and fury, Uncle Vernon burst out, "I demand that you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!",As the giant opened his mouth for what would surely have been the start of a long and tedious dialogue, Raistlin decided to take matters into his own hand. Standing, he turned to Vernon, with a glare as cold as he could muster.,"Be silent! Eleven years you have had to torture me. Eleven years of suffering, I bore at your hands! Eleven years today, and that is quite enough! I have no idea who this man is or why he is here, but it is clear that he means me no harm, which is more than I can say for you!",Uncle Vernon stood, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly, stunned into silence, or possibly apoplexy, by this uncharacteristic outburst. The gun in his hand clattered to the floor at his feet, rolling across to come to rest at the foot of the giant, who didn't seem to notice. Turning back to him, his eyes flickering briefly to the gun at this feet, Raistlin spoke again.,"Please forgive this interruption, but if you would be so kind, I would much like to know who you are and why are here, myself.",Watching this byplay, with his face unreadable behind his shaggy beard, the giant answered him while reaching deep inside his enormous overcoat.,"Um, yeh, Harry, ah... well, it's yer birthday, an' I got summat fer yeh.",He dragged out a rather crumpled box, and handed it over.,"Sorry I mighta sat on it, but it'll taste allright. Anyway, I'm, well, me name's Rubeus Hagrid, an' I'm the keeper o' the keys an' grounds at Hogwarts school o' witchcraft an' wizardry. Why I'm here, well, it's yer eleventh birthday, surely yeh know what tha' means?","No, I don't." Raistlin replied, setting aside the sticky box.,Turning his gimlet gaze on the cowering dursleys, Hagrid asked quietly, "Surely you know wha' yeh are? Wha' your parents were?","No. All I know," Raistlin said, struggling to recall the relevant memories, "was that they died in a car crash just after I was born."By the Dark Lady, this was getting ridiculous. It's one thing to be cast adrift in what was obviously a world of madness, but then to be thrust at once, powerless, into a conversation filled with shadow and deception... Raistlin began to wonder, not why he was here (Paladine had made that clear), but just what exactly he had gotten himself into. He knew as well, that he had better find a way to take control of the situation, or he would end up no more than someone's pawn. The Dursleys could be of no more immediate use to him; this giant, on the other hand, obviously knew something important.,The enormous stranger had turned to the Dursleys, his rage filling the cabin with an air of imminent violence, as he roared something at them, only to fall, with a soft thud, to the ground at Vernon's feet. Raistlin was standing behind him, rifle clutched in his hands like a club. The roar of the storm outside was beginning to die down, allowing everyone present to hear the soft click as Raistlin disabled the safety, lowing the gun to point directly at his newly-acquired, yet already hated, Uncle.,The gun, after all, was a fairly simple device, and when you combine the intellect of a thousand year old lich with the memory of the occasional action movie, well, needless to say it was easy enough to figure out.,Staring at him with frozen horror, the Dursley's were shocked to see the air of confidence with which he held himself. Glancing down to check that Hagrid was not badly hurt, Raistlin spoke.,"You will leave now. You will go home. You will never speak of this day again. You will never speak of me again. And if you ever do..." Raistlin moved the gun to cover the young Dudley, still trying to hide behind his mother but protruding to both sides of her. "I will find you. You have until I count to three.","Now see here -" Vernon bellowed, only to be stopped short by a thunderous roar as Raistlin fired the gun through a window. Temporarily deafened by the noise, he grimly returned the muzzle to point at Vernon again, and held up a single finger, mouthing "One".,After that, the Dursleys were more than happy to move, rushing past Raistlin to the row boat that had brought them in and speeding rapidly away. Watching them vanish into the distance, Raistlin fought the overwhelming temptation to fire again. Just a single shot in the right place, he could sink all three of them... His desire for vengeance battled, and lost, to his pragmatic realization that he might need them again in the future; this world was all too strange and new, and an eleven year old could scarcely be expected to know everything he needed.,Already, the monstrous figure on the cabin floor was beginning to stir. Setting aside the rifle, Raistlin quickly grabbed a nearby piece of broken glass, and slashed it across his cheek. Discarding the gun and turning back to Hagrid, he shook him awake, struggling to hold an expression of concern on his face.,…, Chapter breaks come at plot points, NOT word counts, so expect some volatility in chapter lengths, although this one is mainly just an intro. I welcome all helpful criticism – this is the first story I have ever written, so I'm looking forward to hearing what people think. Also, I'm not entirely sure how the Beta Reader thing works, so...

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or Legacy of Kain

Severus Snape as Severus Snape as Dr. Frank-N-Furter,Hermione Granger as Hermione Granger as Janet Weiss,Harry Potter as Harry Potter as Brad Majors,Draco Malfoy as Draco Malfoy as Riff Raff,Pansy Parkinson as Pansy Parkinson as Magenta,Ginny Weasley as Ginny Weasley as Columbia,Remus Lupin as Remus Lupin as Dr. Everett Scott,Ronald Weasley as Ronald Weasley as Rocky Horror,Cedric Diggory as Cedric Diggory as Eddie,Professor Albus Dumbledore as himself,Professor Minerva McGonagall as herself,Professor Filius Flitwick as himself,Scene 1:,[Cut to black. A pair of red lips grows, lip-syncing as the song , plays.],Michael Rennie was ill,The Day the Earth Stood Still,But he told us where we stand,And Flash Gordon was there,In silver underwear,Claude Rains was The Invisible Man,Then something went wrong,For Fay Wray and King Kong,They got caught in a celluloid jam,Then at a deadly pace,It Came From Outer Space,And this is how the message ran...,Science fiction (ooh ooh ooh) double feature,Doctor X (ooh ooh ooh) will build a creature,See androids fighting (ooh ooh ooh) Brad and Janet,Anne Francis stars in (ooh ooh ooh) Forbidden Planet,Wo oh oh oh oh oh,At the late night, double feature, picture show,I knew Leo G. Carroll,Was over a barrel,When Tarantula took to the hills,And I really got hot,When I saw Janette Scott,Fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills,Dana Andrews said prunes,Gave him the runes,And passing them used lots of skills,But When Worlds Collide,Said George Pal to his bride,I'm gonna give you some terrible thrills,Like a... ,Science fiction (ooh ooh ooh) double feature,Doctor X (ooh ooh ooh) will build a creature,See androids fighting (ooh ooh ooh) Brad and Janet,Anne Francis stars in (ooh ooh ooh) Forbidden Planet,Wo oh oh oh oh oh,At the late night, double feature, picture show,I wanna go - Oh oh oh oh,To the late night, double feature, picture show,By R.K.O. - Wo oh oh oh,To the late night, double feature, picture show,In the back row - Oh oh oh oh,To the late night, double feature, picture show,[As last words resonate, lips shrink quickly into the background. Fade in to scene of Great Hall, during the evening feast. Students are talking loudly. DUMBLEDORE stands up and taps his glass, drawing the attention of the students.],DUMBLEDORE: Attention everyone! [smiles benevolently] I have a very important announcement to make. It has occurred to me that we do not appreciate the arts quite enough in this school. So, seeing as the Halloween Feast is coming up, I wanted to do something a bit, , this year. So, I am quite pleased to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be performing our own magical rendition of the , this year. [Confused murmuring among students and teachers at this. DUMBLEDORE frowns.] Well, surely you've all heard of the ,. I mean, it's one of the most famous Muggle movies ever made! I watched it over the summer, and I assure you, I enjoyed it immensely. [More confused murmuring.] Oh, now surely you've all heard of a movie, now haven't you? Oh please don't tell me that I'm going to have to explain what a movie is...,[DUMBLEDORE'S voice fades out as the camera pans to reveal HARRY, RONALD, and HERMIONE sitting at the Gryffindor table.],RONALD: [somewhat angrily] Well, this whole thing sounds like a load of mush. I honestly can't figure out what could get into Dumbledore's head to make us think that us students are going to comply to this!,HERMIONE: Well, I think that I'm going to try out for it. What about you, Harry?,HARRY: Yes, I think I will.,RONALD: [confused, but still angry] Wait, who said anything about trying out? Dumbledore's still explaining what a movie is and-,HERMIONE: [tersely] Shut up, you're just complicating the plot further.,RONALD: [very confused] Wait, there's a plot?,[END OF SCENE 1],Scene 2:,[Fade in from black to a corridor in the castle. A group of students is clamored around a poster on a message board, talking loudly. Enter HARRY, RON, and HERMIONE from stage right.],HERMIONE: Oh, look! The cast list for the show is posted!,HARRY: Oh, great! Let me see what parts we got! [Pushes way through crowd, begins to read off list.] Let's see, Brad Majors will be played by... me, Janet Weiss will be played by... Hermione! [HERMIONE'S expression brightens at this.] Oh, look at this! The part of Riff Raff is to be played by Malfoy!,RONALD: [laughing] Well now, we can give him a good bit of trouble for that! Say, did I get a part?,HARRY: [looks intensely at list] Umm... yes, you got the part of Rocky.,RONALD: That's good, right?,HARRY: [shaking head playfully] Oh, Ron... say, Hermione, Ron and I have been meaning to ask you, how exactly , you attending all of your classes?,HERMIONE: [dismissively] Oh, you don't need to worry about that. [HERMIONE, RONALD, and HARRY pretend to walk stage left, scenery moves right, giving illusion of movement.] I'm getting to all of my classes just fine. Anyways, I think that this show should provide a useful break from Siriu-,HARRY: [angrily] Hey, hey, , No spoilers!,HERMIONE: [disgustedly] Ugh, fine, no spoilers. But as I was saying-,DRACO: [walks in from stage right angrily] This is an ,, Potter! I deserved to be the main character in this, this-,HARRY: Musical?,HERMIONE: Rocky Horror Picture Show?,RONALD: Fanfiction?,DRACO: [pointing to RONALD angrily] You, Weasel King, shut up. [speaking to HARRY and HERMIONE haughtily] Yes, I was talking about the musical-show-whatever. I mean, what else is there to be a main character in?,RONALD: This fanfiction?,DRACO: [speaking to Ron snappily] I thought I told you to shut up!,HERMIONE: [speaking calmly] Now, Malfoy, don't be unreasonable, you know that if Harry did a better job in his audition, then he deserves a better part in the musi-,DRACO: [very flustered and angry] But Potter DIDN'T do a better audition than I did! He's simply got that part because he keeps sucking up to Professor Dumbledore!,DUMBLEDORE: [being lowered down from above behind DRACO] Did someone say, Professor Dumbledore? [cheering and whistling, DRACO turns around and appears shocked],HERMIONE: [clearly flustered] Professor Dumbledore! What, um, what are you doing hanging from the ceiling?,DUMBLEDORE: [matter-of-factedly] Why, cleaning windows, of course! [HARRY, RON, and HERMIONE appear confused, DRACO is still shocked.] Ugh, my do I hate explaining things to people! Now, you see...,[DUMBLEDORE'S explanation fades into background as HARRY pulls HERMIONE aside.],HARRY: Hermione, there's something that I need to tell you.,HERMIONE: Is it about my classes again? I told you already that I have them under con-,HARRY: No, Hermione, it's about something else. [music starts] Hermione?,HERMIONE: Harry?,HARRY: I've got something to say.,HERMIONE: Uh-huh?,HARRY: I really love the...skillful way/ You beat the other girls/ To my heart's bouquet.,HERMIONE: Oh, Harry!,HARRY: The river was deep but I swam it,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: The future is ours, so let's plan it,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: So please don't tell me to can it,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: I've got one thing to say, and that's/ Dammit, 'Mione, I love you!/ The road was long but I ran it,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: There's a fire in my heart and you fan it,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: If there's a fool for you then I am it,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: I've got one thing to say, and that's/Dammit, 'Mione, I love you!/Here's my love to prove I'm no joker/ There's three ways love can grow/ That's good, bad, or mediocre/ Oh H-M-I-N-E I love you so!,HERMIONE: Well, it's better than Lavender had,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: Harry!,HERMIONE: But we're in love and I'm glad,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: Harry!,HERMIONE: That you don't know my Mum or my Dad,,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: Harry!,HERMIONE: I've one thing to say, and that's/ Harry, I love you too!/ Oh, Harry!,HARRY: Oh, dammit!,HERMIONE: I'm mad,HARRY: Oh, 'Mione!,HERMIONE: For you,HARRY: I love you, too!,HARRY and HERMIONE: There's one thing left to do, ah-hoo,HARRY: And that's to go find the man who began it,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: When we fell in love in his lesson's exam-it,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: Made me give you the eye and I panicked,OTHER GRYFFINDORS: 'Mione!,HARRY: Now I've one thing to say, and that's/ Dammit, 'Mione, I love you!/ Dammit, 'Mione,HERMIONE: Harry, I'm mad (for you),HARRY: Dammit, 'Mione,,HARRY and HERMIONE: I love you! [music finishes],DUMBLEDORE: [finishing his speech] Aw, young love. [rises up to ceiling],[END OF SCENE 2]

AN: I don't own anything except the main MechWarrior, Sabertooth.,Chapter 1,The Dursley's considered themselves perfectly normal, thank you very much. The husband, Vernon, worked in a normal office for a perfectly normal drill manufacturing company, Grunnings, and was a mustached, slightly overweight man. Mrs. Dursley, known in the perfectly normal neighborhood as Petunia, was a tall, lanky blonde haired, horse faced woman with a longer than normal neck, perfect for what would seem the normal housewife occupation of eavesdropping on the neighbors. The son, Dudley, at almost five years old, was a tubby little bundle of attitude like all normal children. However, the Dursley's, for all their outer normalness, had a rather unnormal secret. Petunia's nephew, Harry Potter.,Harry, like his parents, was born a wizard, of course, being only four and a half years old, Harry didn't know this. But his aunt did. And she hated magic and anything that had to do with it. So needless to say, poor Harry wasn't treated that well under his aunt and uncle's care. Making him do all of the chores that he could safely do in the house, like the cleaning and starting a few weeks ago, the cooking, and any other demeaning task that they could think off.,Harry even slept in the boot cupboard under the stairs on a thin mattress and wore Dudley's oversized hand-me-downs. In short, he was treated poorly.,Right now, Harry was locked up in her cupboard for the trifling offense of not being quick enough with serving a freshly bake pie that was still piping hot, to Dudley. His cousin of course, threw a tantrum, knowing quite well that Vernon would throw Harry into his cupboard. Sure enough, Harry was slung into the cupboard and the door locked behind him.,Eventually the Dursley's went to sleep and Harry just lied there on his thin mattress clutching the very letter that had been found with him all those years ago. As he slipped into unconsciousness, he whispered softly, "Someone, help, please." The four-year old slipped into unconsciousness not knowing that his plea had been heard.,A powerful force heard his whispered cry for help. The force went by many names, Zeus, Odin, Allah, or even just God, and was disgusted by what it found. The being that all of the names described quickly nullified any magical monitoring on the boy and scanned all of creation for someplace to take the boy so that he could be raised properly to fulfill Fate's prophecy and still yet survive.,After nixing several places in the boy's current dimension and the first few alternate dimensions, the force found the right one.,It was very similar to Harry's current dimension, except that it was about a thousand years ahead plus twenty-five years. Humanity had traveled to the distant stars and reached the pinnacle of technological advancement and then suffered under four brutal wars known as The Succession Wars. The fourth one was just wrapping up and a war for a throne had just ended in the outer reaches of mankind's colonization in an area known as the Aurigan Reach.,The being took a closer look and smiled to itself. The young High Lady would be a perfect adoptive mother for the young lad, and the mercenary that she had on call would be an excellent mentor. In fact, this particular mercenary was descended from a young twenty-first century boy who was taken in by a good friend of his. Amaterasu, as she was known among heavenly beings, Yuuko Ichihara being her mortal name.,Alas, Amaterasu's mortal form died due to a complete mad man so the Shinto kami could not take this boy in. However, the being's attention turned to the young High Lady, Kamea Arano, and smiled. Yes, she would do quite well. And the being opened the way.,Harry was out, finally in a deep sleep. But it was plagued by nightmares of a woman screaming and a flash of green light and well as his relatives and their endless cruel treatment of him. Then, the nightmares ended as a gentle, and soothing presence caressed him and, in a flash, Harry Potter vanished from his cupboard, never to return to Number 4 Privet Drive.,Coromodir VI, Local time: 18:00, Cordia City, Arano Royal Palace, Year: 3030,The sun was beginning to set over the Arano Royal Palace as High Lady Kamea Arano slowly walked through one of the palace gardens. A cool wind gently blew as she walked among the flowers, tired from the fount of tedium that never seemed to run dry.,The High Lady sighed as she watched the dropships arrive and depart from the nearby spaceport, remembering the days all to clearly when she was fighting a war. Kamea chuckled to herself in amusement. A war that she would not have survived or won if it weren't for the tactical and clinical mind of Raju "Mastiff" Montgomery's last student; the noble-turned pirate turned guardsman turned mercenary, Stephen "Sabertooth" Ichihara and the rest of his mixed band.,Sabertooth and the rest of his merry band stopped in at Cordia City from time to time, but the life of a mercenary MechWarrior was ever changing especially in recent years. Another damnable Succession War had raged for the last two years, luckily the Aurigan Reach was able to stay out of it somewhat due to an alliance with both the Taurian Concordant and the Magistry of Canopus. Unfortunately, a Succession War drew the mercenaries in like flies to meat so for the past few years, not even she had been able to get into contact with the Argo and its crew.,"Between worrying about my friends aboard the Argo and the Council's constant bickering over finding myself a husband, I'm beginning to go insane," Kamea murmured to herself. A loud roar from the spaceport, distinctive of a landing Leopard distracted Kamea for a moment.,After listening for a moment, she shook her head, "No, not Sabertooth's Leopard. Sumire would bring it in at a lot steeper angle than that and their Leopard rattles a bit as it slows down." She turned and began to head back into the palace when a flash of light lit up an area of the courtyard. Curious, she moved to investigate, although she could hear the sounds of palace guards shouting and moving rapidly.,Pushing aside some flowering vines that cascaded off of a branch, Kamea found what she was looking for. Lying on the ground, in clothes much to big for him, covering in bruises and clutching a letter was a small, sleeping boy, not more than five years old. She took the letter to read later.,The High Lady gently touched the boy to try and wake him, but he was still fast asleep. However, he coiled subconsciously away from the touch. This set off alarms in Kamea's mind. She had seen things like this before in exile but couldn't place where. This prompted her to read the letter., it read.,Kamea looked up from the letter as the boy stirred a little and adjusted his body's position on the hard ground. Now she remembered. Her attention turned back to the letter where in shimmering gold ink, there was a postscript.,Kamea tucked the letter away as the doors to the garden burst open and several of her house guards came rushing out, followed by Lord Alexander Madeira and the captain of the guard.,"Kamea! What happened? Are you hurt?" Lord Madeira asked of her, checking her for injuries.,"Alexander, I am fine! I'm not the one who is hurt.","Wait, what?" he responded.,Kamea gestured to the sleeping Harry, leading the Lord and the guards over to him.,"Who's this, and how did he get in here?" the captain of the guard asked, not getting a good look at Harry's injuries. Kamea silently handed the captain the letter which he read and handed it immediately over to Lord Madeira. As the group neared, several of the guards turned extremely pale, they had family that had survived the Espinosa prison camps, and the boy looked like they did. One looked like he was going to be sick.,"Kamea, what do you intend to do?" Alexander asked.,She turned to the lord and gave her answer, "Adopt him of course. It solves two problems at once. He gets a family that will care for him, and I will have an heir to the throne." The look in her eyes convinced Alexander to not argue with his old friend. The rest of the Council however, would take some convincing. "But that will have to wait until he wakes up. He needs rest and medicine right now.",One of the guards picked up the sleeping Harry as followed Kamea as the group headed inside to the medical ward to get Harry a doctor.,Once at the medical ward, the sleeping Harry was quickly put on an examination bed. Kamea had to cover her ears as the doctor let slip several swears over the boy's condition. Soon enough, Harry was placed on a comfortable bed and the doctor wrote up a treatment regime.,Two Days Later-,Harry was warm and comfortable as he stirred slowly. The mattress that he could feel underneath him was too comfortable for what the Dursley's had given him. He opened his eyes. This certainly wasn't his cupboard in the Dursley house. It was a clean room, with multiple beds evenly spaced out along the wall with beeping equipment on the walls next to them.,He tried to move and found that he was not restrained. He looked around again and then heard a throat clear. A woman dressed in a nurse's outfit came by with a clipboard.,"Awake I see? Alright then, this is just a check to make sure that you're alright." She said.,Quickly and efficiently, the nurse checked his vitals, jotting notes down on her clipboard, or that's what it looked like to him. Once she finished, the nurse left the room saying that, "There is someone waiting to see how you are feeling.",Harry was confused, , He got his answer not five minutes later.,The doors to the medical ward opened and in walked a young woman with long black hair, who looked to be of Hawaiian ancestry, wearing a golden circlet about her head and dress in a regal, but comfortable dress. She walked over to him and sat down in the chair that was next to his bed, moving it so that she could face him.,Harry's eyes held her form, surprise showing clearly in them. Then the woman spoke.,"Hello, Harry. I am Kamea Arano, High Lady of the Aurigan Reach. We have much to talk about, but first, how do you feel?"

It's a moon filled night sky with millions of stars out overlooking the normally quiet street of Privet Drive. Suddenly around the corner came two figures as they ran for their lives, and behind them was a pursuer giving chase with a small gun in his hand trying to focus on them. Over their heads are dimly lit lamp posts some flickering in the mist. One of the fleeing figures was short while the other was tall. The tall figure looked behind them giving an incredibly miffed look at their pursuer, and thought to himself, ,He looks to his left side to see that his shorter partner is still keeping up with him, through, the figure could tell that his partner was breathing heavily, and looking like he was about to collapse at any moment., Thought the figure before he looked around to see a trash can to his right. The figure ran quickly towards it at full speed before grabbing it, and then launched it at their pursuer. He then turned and kept running. Their pursuer's eyes widened at the speeding trash can heading towards him, but unfortunately was able to throw himself out of the way and landed roughly on his shoulder as he squeezes the...,The tall figure suddenly stopped and turned in place, his eyes widening in horror as he saw where the shot was heading.,He yelled as he tried to move into it's path, "Razor, look out!",Unfortunately, it was too late as Razor, whose eyes grew wide as he felt the bullet hit his left shoulder let out a pain filled scream before his legs gave away causing him to collapse. The tall figure ran over to him panicking from what he just saw.,He yelled, his voice filled with panic as he ran "Razor!",The figure reacted fast pulling his partner up and placing Razor's body over his right shoulder carefully. Making sure Razor was firmly on there before he broke into a run. He kept a good pace while making sure that Razor, has a strong hold on his shoulder, and then ran them around a corner. All his vision could see as they continued to run, was that all the houses looked the same. While his mind panics, trying to think of something, or anything that could help Razor, at this moment.,It would have been easier if they were back home because, then he would just fly Razor home and get the first aid kit. Right now however, he along with his partner were on some strange alien planet... so he couldn't do that.,Suddenly, he felt something over come him as he looked to his left. Seeing one of the many similar looking houses, and his gut is telling him to go in there. He knows it's a shot in the dark, but he looks at his best friend that he considers a brother who is bleeding, and knows that if there somehow was a first aid kit, or anything that could help him then he has to do it., Thought the tall figure as he kept moving quickly just hoping he isn't making a mistake by doing this.,Once upon a moon filled night, and there was little neglected boy whose name was Harry James Potter. Harry never had a pleasureful life, but tonight that's all going to change as the Dursleys were on a business trip, and Mrs. Figg was unavailable as a babysitter. Which left Harry all alone at number 4 Privet Drive locked within his small cupboard under the stairs.,The cupboard wasn't that big, though it was able to fit a small mattress in there. It's quite messy with over sized hand-me downs from his fat cousin lying around the cupboard floor. Along with the walls that are covered in small dirty hand prints and old dried spots of blood, and light bulb is shining dimly.,Harry, had been awake for a while now, and the small boy had pulled himself into a fetal position as he sobbed on his bed. Harry had been crying over the belief that nobody will ever care about him, but even then he still hoped for somebody that some day could take him away from his Relatives, and suddenly he heard the front door slam open then shut quickly., He thought anxiously, and a bit panic-stricken of the possibility. Then he started hearing a rather rough unfamiliar voice panting heavily from outside of his cupboard. He panics, but takes a deep breath, before he bravely crawled near the door of his cupboard before he placed his right ear onto the door to listen in.,"Don't worry buddy you will be alright, and I will go find a medical kit just. Please hold on." Harry, heard the loud but clearly unfamiliar voice say, though Harry could tell that there was panic in it., Harry, thought to himself feeling that he had to do something if that was the case. He always had felt this way whenever he saw somebody in need, though he doesn't understand this feeling of his at all. He knows of the chance that these people could be dangerous... just something is telling him to go help despite that very possibility.,He sucked in a deep breath before letting it out with a sigh and hoped this doesn't end with him in pain. He picks on the lock, and softly opened the cupboard door slightly. He then checked to make sure that it was clear for him to get out of his cupboard without whoever was in the house seeing him, and then he got out of the cupboard closing the door as quietly as possible. He all of a sudden heard a small groan coming from the living room couch, and he could smell that there was an all to familiar scent to Harry, knew it well., He thought with panic, but he calmed himself knowing that he couldn't do anything if he panicked, suddenly he jumped as he heard loud noises coming from the kitchen, and he looks down at the hallway which leads right into the kitchen.,He takes in a deep breath before he slowly starts to sneak down the hallway with the sounds getting ever so louder as he gets closer and he starts hearing the voice that he heard from earlier.,"Please... there has to be a first aid kit in here somewhere. I mean any family would have one just in case!" yelled the rough voice causing him to takes a few steps backward in panic before he takes another deep breath trying to calm his nerves and bravely kept walking.,He steps into the kitchen where he sees a rather large, and muscular figure moving around. Though, he could only see the figure's shadow because of the moonlight shining though the kitchen windows. Then he noticed something off on the figure's head there seemed to be pointy ears. Harry shaking nervously as he reached for the light switch, and slowly he flips on the light switch while he closes his eyes in fear of what he might see.,"Huh what the!" Harry heard the figure yell while trying to open his eyes, but the lights were blinding his vision through he kept his eyes opened, and his vision started adjusting to the light. What he saw very much shocked him as he saw the once shadowy figure had blue eyes, sharp teeth, a some sort of dark blue, and red jumpsuit with… blond fur.,Blond Fur?,Harry didn't know how he could process this but what he saw was a walking talking blond fur human-like cat creature who is staring right back at him in surprise, and fear?,Yeah it was fear... it was the same look that Harry, saw before in the eyes that belong to the victims of Dudley's gang of bullies whenever anybody had tried to be friends with Harry. They stared at each other for a few moments before Harry suddenly turned back, and was really to run away not knowing what think.,"WAIT!", Harry stopped immediately after hearing that yell, and he looked down at the floor shaking at the tenseness building up throughout his body.,"Please wait I… I don't know if you are able to understand what I'm saying right now but, I need your help please my best friend is dying." Harry head shot up as heard that, and he turned back toward the human-like Cat who look at him pleading.,Harry didn't know what to say, or to do, but it's like something was telling him that it was genuinely the truth, and that he needed to help. So he took a deep breath before nodding tensely as he closed his eyes getting really for whatever happened next. He then heard the human-like cat creature who sounded much more relaxed say, "Thank you kid, can you show me where the first aid kit is... there is one I hope... please?",Harry nodded once again opening his eyes as he turned, and started leading the cat to the upstairs turning a left to where the bathroom was.,The bathroom was rather large with a black and white tile floor, cream white walls, a large bathtub, a toilet, and a black sink cabinet where the first aid kit is held within. Harry remember that it's always been there, ever since Dudley had hit his head on the bathtub when they were three, and he pointed at the cabinet silently telling the blond cat that it was in there.,The blond cat just nod in understanding before he walked in, and over to where the sink cabinet was. He opened it, and he grinned seeing there within was the first aid kit. Just like that he grabbed it, and then with a determined smile as he ran pass Harry, through the hall then down the stairs.,Harry was surprised, but he followed right after him. They reached the living room where the lights were then on.,He saw the blond cat working with the first aid kit quickly, and he walked over to see if he could help. When he did he saw on the couch there was another human-like cat. This one was shorter with red-brown fur and, was wearing the same suit only with longer sleeves and had a top part of the suit taken off, so the blond cat could perform first aid.,The blond cat took out what seemed to be a bullet from a wound at the shoulder, and then slowly started bandaging his friend's shoulder. A few minutes later the blond cat finished, and his friend seemed to be alright.,The blond cat sighed in relief, then looked at Harry with a smile, and this had shocked Harry to his core, but suddenly the cat held out his paw before he said, "Thanks kid... I mean it. Also, by the way my name is Chance Furlong... and who, or what are you?",Harry look surprised at this... Chance was thanking him nobody ever thanked him for anything before even the crazy cat lady across the street never did, Nor did anybody besides his teachers ever asked him for his name either so this was mostly new to him, he looked at the paw while hesitatingly bringing out his own hand to him.,Chance reach out for it, and grabbed Harry's hand gently, but firmly as he shakes it.,Then Harry said trying to keep the nervous out of his voice, "I'm Harry, and I'm a Human hm… nice to meet you.","Nice to meet you as-well kid," He said grateful while still shaking his small hand gently.,It felt nice to Harry somebody actually liked him although said somebody was a humanoid cat, and Harry smiled back timidly then he looked at the other humanoid cat with a frown before looking back asking, "Will he be alright?",Chance let go of Harry's hand for a moment, and looked at his friend before saying with a nod, "His name is Jake, and he will be fine thanks to you Harry, He just needs some rest for now.",Chance look at him with a goofy smile, and said, "Anyway how about I make you some food to pay you back for helping me and Jake alright... hm?",Harry shook his head in a negative, and he said, "I don't want you to go though the trou...",Chance cut him off while getting up from the floor , and said, "It's no trouble at all Harry, and besides I insist.",Chance held out his paw toward him, and Harry didn't know what to do, or what to say that could stop the cat. This is just too new to him, but he gives in before grabbing Chance's paw and helping him stand up. Chance walked to the kitchen with Harry, following right behind him.,They entered into the kitchen, and Harry was panic-stricken when he saw that it was a complete mess. He looks up at Chance who has a sheepish grin on his face looking at him as he rubs the back of his neck nervously.,"Sorry I was panicking, so I kinda made a mess looking for a first aid kit but don't worry after we eat I will clean this all up," Chance said with calm, but strong reassuring tone. Harry nods calmly looking at it though inside Harry is feeling very worried, because he knew that the Dursleys will be coming back from their vacation at the end of the week and if they find anything at all out-of-place then he will be in trouble.,He was scared at the thought of the Dursleys coming in and seeing it like this. Although he didn't have time to think of what the Dursleys would do to him, because he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder causing him to jump a little before looking up at Chance who was looking at him with a concerned facial expression.,"Are you alright? You seemed to zone out there for a moment Harry." He asked, and Harry just nodded, though, he looked very much surprised about the concern.,"I'm fine, and I can make it," He said not wanting to the trouble cat.,Chance shook his head with a serious look, and said, "Harry, no you are way too young, and might burn yourself.","Can I at least help?" Harry asked wanting to at least do something, and Chance looks like he is thinking about it before saying with a soft smile, "Well I do need some help to find the ingredients since I don't know where they are in this Kitchen, but I do the cooking alright?", thought Harry giving a small smile back, and nod in understanding.,"Okay... now have you ever had pancakes before?" He asked Harry who just look confusedly at him then shook his head, having never even heard of them before.,"Alright I guess this will be a treat for you then huh." Chance said giving a small laugh, before rubbing a paw into Harry's hair causing him to twitch a little as he did so., Harry thought, through he must admit that he is enjoying the contact with the cat before Chance stopped, and kindly asked him if he could get a bag of flour for him.,Harry nodded, and walked off to get it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from either "General Hospital" or ,they are the respective property of their owners. No copyright infringement is intended, no profit is being made from this work of fiction.,A/N: AU,Ron Weasley had no idea how he wound up in a Muggle hospital halfway across the world. One minute he was scurrying to catch up to Ginny and his mother as they were wending their way through a shipyard, and the next minute, he was waking up in a blindingly white room with strange tubes sticking out of him every which way. There was a persistent beeping noise which confounded him and made his head twinge with pain.,Confused, he scrabbled at the tubes, struggling to free himself of their grasp. It wasn't until one of the hospital staff walked in to check out the high-pitched alarm he'd inadvertently set off, that he realized he was in some sort of hospital. In a panic, he fell off the bed and crawled on the cold linoleum floor until he found a corner far away from the door and the approaching doctors. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wound his arms tight around his legs. Whimpering in fear, he buried his head between his knees.,"Please don't hurt me," he whispered repeatedly. "Please don't hurt me. Don't hur…t me. D…don't h…hu…rt me. P…pl..please d…d…do…n't hurt me… " An unclear memory, distorted and dark at the edges came to the fore and yet he couldn't understand it. It was like large chunks of the memory were missing. He remembered running and then falling. No, being pushed.,He fought off the nurse, a slight woman with dark hair, who approached him. Scrunching further into the corner until his back hurt with the effort; he pushed her reaching hands away, his repeated mantra grew in pitch and took on a frantic edge to it that frightened her. She backed away slightly and looked to the others standing in the room with her for help.,Dr. Patrick Drake watched as Nurse Persephone Matthews attempted to calm the panicky teen who'd been brought to General Hospital a few hours ago by Jason Morgan. Apparently he'd found him, shivering and disoriented at the edge of the pier.,He'd been called in to check on the boy's head injury and had walked into a room awash with doctors and nurses and a clearly distraught patient who had backed himself into a corner. The new nurse was making a valiant, yet failed attempt to capture the boy's flailing arms and an orderly had been called in to administer a mild sedative.,Stepping up beside the nurse, he caught a glimpse of the boy's red hair amidst the din and heard the boy's terrified mantra. From what he could see and hear the boy was not in a right frame of mind. That could mean that he had suffered severe brain trauma, or it could mean that he was simply confused and frightened.,"Nurse, what's going on?","I'm not sure, the alarms went off, and when I got here, he'd already pulled out all of the IV tubes and was crouched in the corner. We've been trying to calm him, but nothing has worked. I called for help and, well, you're all caught up now," came her flustered reply.,She backed away from the frantic child and was seriously considering pursuing a new occupation. This situation had definitely been far out of her comfort zone. She had liked her rotation working with the neonatal unit and the geriatrics rotation hadn't been too bad either, but this situation and the emergency room in general was far too intense for her. She was exhausted and completely emotionally drained and she still had four hours left on her shift. She honestly did not know how she was going to make it through the next four hours. Nurse Johnson was already on her case as it was, after this failure she was bound to be even lower on the bristly head nurse's approval scale.,"I…I tried talking to him," she said defensively when Dr. Drake looked up from the boy who'd gone still, save for his reiterated intonation. His arms were wrapped around his drawn up knees once again, his head resting atop them. "I…I tried to get him to stop," her voice cracked, "to calm him down, but he just, he, he wouldn't.",Seeing what she mistakenly thought was disapproval in the doctor's eyes, she turned and fled the room, emotional and physical exhaustion having taken their toll on her. Before she made it around the corner in the corridor, she collided with what felt like a brick wall only to be caught up in strong arms before she cold fall flat on her ass.,"Are you okay Miss?",Embarrassed and weary, Persephone turned a bright shade of pink and tried to disentangle herself from the muscular arms of her 'rescuer' for lack of a better word. 'Would be hallway assassin' just didn't seem fair, especially as it was technically she who had been fleeing a patient's room and had collided with him.,"Fine," she muttered, angry with herself for her overreaction to the whole situation, "I'm fine," she reassured the man who had finally released his hold on her.,Now that she could do so, she took a step back and looked at the walking brick wall, nearly fainting as she realized that she had inadvertently run into the infamous Jason Morgan. She'd heard all about the alleged hit man who worked for the equally alleged mob boss, Michael 'Sonny' Corinthos, when she had first moved to Port Charles to begin her nursing internship, but she had no idea he was so drop-dead gorgeous. His eyes were mesmerizing pools of sapphire blue and currently she was being hypnotized by them, there was no other way to explain her present state of immobility and inability to formulate coherent thought.,"Uh…?" She eloquently replied when she realized that he had asked her a question she hadn't even heard, in spite of the fact that her eyes had been steadfast upon his rather mouthwatering lips.,"What happened?" He gestured in the direction of the room she'd just escaped. "Is the kid okay?",The concern in his voice caused her heart to flutter,"I'm not sure," she replied hesitantly, ashamed of how much out of her element she had felt in that room not five minutes before. "He just freaked out and I couldn't get him to calm down. Dr. Drake is in there with him now.","Thank you, Miss?" Jason's eyes were on her, a question in them and she felt faint.","Miss Matthews," she supplied breathlessly. "But you can call me Persephone," she offered, blushing and feeling foolish.,"Thank you Miss Matthews." Jason smiled his gratitude and she nodded, quickly turning and walking to the nurse's station before she could embarrass herself even further.,Jason shook his head and headed in the direction of the room Nurse Matthews had vacated. He could hear Patrick's voice and stood just outside the door, listening.,"My name is Dr. Drake," he spoke quietly. "What's your name?",Jason peered around the door, slightly alarmed at what he saw. The red-haired kid he'd brought to the hospital earlier was sitting on the floor, his back to a corner, knees drawn up protectively. His blue eyes were eyeing the doctor who was standing across from him with wariness and distrust.,"Pl…ease don't hurt me," the kid's voice was hoarse as he pleaded with the doctor.,"Is everything alright?" Jason walked into the room and carefully approached the two. The kid's eyes darted to him and he read relief in them.,"I've got it handled Jason," Patrick replied, not taking his eyes off his patient.,"I see," Jason said without sarcasm. He knelt next to the frightened kid, so that they were at eyelevel. "You're safe now; no one is going to hurt you. I've brought you to a hospital," he explained.,The kid's eyes bore into his, questioning and searching for truth. They were bright with unshed tears and Jason's heart clenched. The kid reminded him of Michael and Spinelli rolled up into one.,"I…" the kid gulped, looking at a point over Jason's shoulder where Dr. Drake stood. "I've never been to hospital before," he whispered, tucking his chin behind his knees.,"That's okay," Jason assured him, smiling, "I don't much like hospitals myself.","Are," the kid bit his bottom lip, "is," he drew a deep breath in, "are they going to hurt me?" He asked in a single breath.,"No," Jason promised, "they're going to help you.","I…" the kid raised his head, "I…there was all this stuff attached to me when I woke up, what's it all for?","Most of it is to monitor things like your heart rate and brainwaves. Some of it is to make sure that you are getting enough nutrients and being kept hydrated," Dr. Drake answered, pointing out the different machines and IVs as he spoke.,Ron peered around Jason as Dr. Drake spoke, looking at everything in turn. It was overwhelming and he was confused. Where were his parents and Ginny? Where were Fred and George? They had all been on vacation together and here he was, alone in a Muggle hospital. His father would be ecstatic, but he was just frightened.,"Can you tell me your name?" Dr. Drake was now crouched next to Jason and looking him in the eye.,"Uh, sure," he tucked his chin into his knees again, "I'm Ronald Bilius Weasley, but you can call me Ron.","Okay Ron." Dr. Drake smiled and it eased some of his fear. "I need to examine you, make sure that the bump on your head didn't cause any permanent damage," he explained carefully. Ron felt the back of his head experimentally, wincing when his fingers came into contact with a large knot. "Think you can get up? Jason," he looked at the man next to him for confirmation and Ron saw him nod, "and I will help you onto the hospital bed. Okay?",Ron nodded. His heart felt as though it were going to thud right through his chest.

I don't own Harry potter or Ronin warriors the only thing I do own is Helena (Rea) and anybody you don't recognize from Harry potter or Ronin warriors,Four people were hanging in a mouth of gargoyles that was constructed out of concrete. They wore armors of different colors that was almost the only way of telling them apart besides their size or hair color. One had longer hair than the rest and currently was the only one awake and aware of the footsteps coming closer. Hearing the steps and easily telling that it was their captor Talpa. All of them had heard the footsteps enough time to tell without seeing who it was. When the monster came into view and shocked them all waking the three sleeping warriors all four of them screamed until they passed out from the pain.,Beep…beep…beep…crunch, a girl with long black hair looked at her hand which was now in front of her as she realized that she had thrown her alarm into the wall and was now broken. She thought will I now know why they use magic alarm clocks in the magical world so we don't have to keep wasting money on the annoying wake up calls every week. Getting up she did her usual thing of showering and getting dressed. She decided to wear her school uniform except without the robe. She checked out of the hotel that she had rented for the night and went to King's Cross to catch the train.,As she got to the station and found a compartment she sat and thought about what had happened to her earlier in the summer. It had to do with her dream and wished that it would leave her alone. She was seventeen years old and had matured greatly out of the tragedy that she had to face. Looking out the window she smiled as she saw her younger half-brother and his friends getting into the station. It was normal for her brother and friends to be almost late. She opened the window and yelled at them to hurry it up. Neville was looking for his girlfriend even though she was two years older than him the two had made a great pair.,When he saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron go into one compartment he followed knowing that was where his girlfriend was at. As he saw the four he smiled as he hugged his girlfriend but frowned when he felt how skinny she was. He always went after her about her weight knowing that she had a fast metabolism but now she was all skin and bones it wasn't right. Harry smiled as he told his older sister what had gone on during the summer and how he loved visiting Snuffles but could have done without the hearing.,Harry's sister nodded and said, "You could have at least written me I was having an awful time in Japan and could have used any cheering up after July.",Neville looked at his girlfriend and said, "Helena, what happened to you in Japan?",Helena said, "I don't want to talk about it please just drop it. Also Neville you know the name is Rea.",The four nodded as they knew that if she wasn't willing to talk about it then it was best to just drop it since she wouldn't open up until she was ready. As they sat and talked they noticed that they were close to their destination the boys left to change while the girls giggled and just put on their robes as the boys reentered they made sure they were ready to leave the train and get to school.,Harry was happy to see his sister since they hardly ever got the chance to see her unless it was outside of classes and if he or his sister weren't at Quidditch practice or game. The only reason for it was that she was in her seventh year and also was a Slythertin. That was why it surprised most of the school when in the trio's fourth year Neville Longbottom and Helena became a couple at Yule ball that Hogwarts had. The two had gone to the ball and came out as a couple. Harry was glad for his sister and friend as were Ron and Hermione. They didn't care that she was a Slythertin since she never spoke about house prejudice in her opinion it was just stupid.,As they walked past some gargoyles Helena had frozen in terror and all color had drained from her face. The trio plus Neville was now worried as they had to literally drag Helena to the Great Hall. When they arrived all the teachers were looking at Helena in worry as Neville tried to help her sit at her house table. Severus was the most worried not only was she pale but her eyes held fear that would even have Voldemort running. Severus ran towards Helena put his hand on her shoulder and was shocked when she screamed in passed out.,Severus grabbed his daughter and ran out of the Great Hall and toward the hospital wing with the four Gryffindors and the whole Slythertin quidditch team after him. As he made it to the hospital wing and called out, "Poppy!",Poppy came in and said, "Mr. Potter, what have you gotten yourself into this time?",Harry respond, "It's not me this time Madame Pomfrey, it's Rea.",Severus put Rea on the bed as Poppy started to do a healing scan and after a few minutes she replied, "I don't understand why Miss. Snape is unconscious her scan came out fine she is completely healthy, even her asthma isn't acting up.",Hermione remembered when Rea looked pale and said, "It happened right after Rea noticed a gargoyle that was when she started to act strange. I didn't think anything of it until now.",Neville said, "Strange Rea never got like that from the gargoyles we use to study next to them.",Harry nodded since he could remember Rea helping them study or just doing their homework she was a great source for them to go to when they were stuck especially potions.,They were all told to leave for the night saying that she was keeping Rea there to make sure she was okay they all left for their rooms.,Rea woke up later that night and sighed she wasn't glad to be in the hospital wing. Thinking about the last thing she remembered was that she had seen a gargoyle and it reminded her of what happen during the summer and then it all went black. She just decided to just try to get more sleep since her body was still trying to catch up on it. Poppy watched her patient and smiled since it was well known that Rea hated the hospital wing just much as Harry though she was in there much less unless it was her asthma acting up or a rare injury coming from Quidditch she did happen to play as a beater. She was in league with the Weasley twins and the three always boost about it to each other. Poppy was glad about how she broke the house barriers all those years ago.,When Rea woke up again she noticed that it was seven o' clock and she was glad that it was a weekend. When the nurse came in and had her eat breakfast as she noticed that she was underweight. She had wanted to know why but decided to let her father talk to her about her weight since Severus had a way of getting Rea to notice that she had disappointed him. As she was able to leave the hospital wing Rea walked to the Slythertin dorm and into her room. She had her own room since she was head girl. Looking around she smiled at the picture of her mom and wished that she could remember her but sadly she couldn't. She had remembered when she had talked to Harry and told him that he was her half brother and that they shared the same mother. Harry had wondered before since Rea had looked like Lilly Potter but had no similarities to Harry. She had told them that he looked like James but had Lilly's personality while she looked like a mixture of both her father which happen to be Severus and her mother Lilly.,As she walked into the closet she pulled out a magenta color shirt and skirt. She also put on white knee high socks and her ankle boots. It gave her don't mess with me look and still looked feminine. She walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to her boyfriend when an owl shoot down towards her and landed right in front of her. She noticed the scrawl was Reo's and quickly opened it.,Dear Rea,,I hate to be the barrier of bad news but I was given the dishonor of telling you that Cye, Kento, and Sage of missing and assume dead. We had gone camping when you had left for a little R and R when we woke up on our last day camping, the three weren't in their tents. Their belongings were still there but they were missing along with their armor orbs. I just wanted to give you a heads up and keep an eye out.,Love and stay safe,,Reo of the Wildfire and Rowen of the Strata,Rea felt the tears prickling at her eyes since she was close to the three young boys they were a year older than her own brother but were in the same grade because of their birthday being after the first day of school. She burned the letter and penned one back to Reo that said…,Dear Reo and Rowen,,Thank you for the letter and I will be on watch because of it. I hope you guys have thought that it might have been a Dynasty attack. I haven't any proof of course but think about it they are missing along with their armor orbs then it's the most possible answer. I hope I'm wrong and they just wondered off and got lost but Sage and Kento normally knew how to find their way back their armor pretty much makes it easy for them to navigate while Cye can't drown as his element is water so I'm at a lost. I will keep an eye out but hope that nothing happens.,Love and stay safe,,Helena (Rea) of the Phoenix,Rea got up and walked to her dad's common room to just reanalyze everything she had found out. She knew that something must of happen to the boys since they had not been suicidal or would wonder off like that. She had been there tortured with them and it made no sense why only take the three when they could have taken all five boys and why the three youngest unless they were going after her too and she wasn't there so they could come after her. She stood up and ran to her room and grabbed her armor orb along with her bracelet that was given to her by her godfather Lucius Malfoy. Her dad had named him godfather while her mother had named Remus Lupin as her second godfather. She didn't have any godmothers except for Narcissa who happens to be Lucius' wife. The bracelet had protections on it that had saved her a few times during the war and she never went anywhere without it on because of that.,She walked back into her dad's room and saw the Gryffindor trio, Neville, and her father Severus. Severus waved for her to sit down and that was when she noticed her two godfathers and Sirius. She knew this conversation was going to be a long and hard one if all these people were involved and she knew it was going to be about what happen this summer. As she sat down Lucius smiled as he saw the bracelet on her wrist. He had given it to her just last June when she went to go and fight something in Japan it had been his mothers and he wanted to give it to his goddaughter who had meant the world to him. To see her wear it brought pride to his heart.,She sat next to her boyfriend and waited for the adults to start she was not stupid enough to start talking about this summer just to find out that it was something totally opposite it had happen to her once. As they sat there it wasn't long until Sirius had lost his patientce and said, "Rea, what happen at the opening feast we get a call from Severus last night saying that you fainted and it wasn't because of your asthma?",Rea sighed and replied, "Well of course it wasn't because of my asthma or I wouldn't be here talking to you. I fainted because of what happen to me this summer and no I don't want to talk about it.",Neville sighed and said, "Then what was the letter about this morning it had you almost to tears and looked very important.",Rea shook as she tried to hold back the tears and they all knew that she was close to a mental break down.,Harry put his hand on his sister's leg and said, "Sis, look whatever happened it wasn't your fault. Talk to us where here for you, when we asked what happen on the train you stated you didn't want to talk about it when, we could tell you did want to talk; then you turned white at the look at the gargoyles and we use to study by the gargoyles without that type of reaction. Then you get a letter and it put you to tears please just tell us what happen I never seen you like this.",Rea finally snapped, "What do you want me to say that I just found out that three of my friends are missing and assume dead! That I was kidnapped and tortured with those three friends and we still haven't gotten over it. That I have more nightmares and haven't gotten much sleep and I just want to move on!",Rea ran to her dad and cried her eyes out on her dad's shoulder for extra strength. Severus patted his daughter's back to show that she was okay and safe. He looked at the others who were staying quiet to give the girl time to collect her-self. As Helena calmed down Remus replied, "Helena, thank you for telling us even if you did yell at us about it. It shows that you really want to move on but talking about it can help the healing process.",Helena replied, "Remus the name is Rea not Helena and it's hard to talk about it even with Cye, Sage, and Kento who suffered along with me. All four of us stay quiet and suffer alone we may see each other on the roof but don't talk about it just claim nightmares of you know what.",Neville squeezed Rea's shoulders and said, "Don't worry love we will keep you away from those evil gargoyles from now on but when we need to get you by one we will just have to blindfold you until we get away from them.",Hermione and Rea laughed as Rea said, "I think people would think you were trying to kidnap me if they saw you do that and I might accidently hurt you I don't like people covering my eyes even if I know about it before hand.",As they talked in the room none of them knew that in the next few days Helena's worst dreams were going to come true.

Hi. My name's Harry Potter, and I'm the only ten-year-old that can do what I do. I was told for my whole life that 'magic' didn't exist, that I was a freak. But then a group helped me to achieve my full potential, so I could help save innocent people and find others like me. This is that story...

I don't own Harry Potter or Family guy but I got the random thought that what would Voldermort be like if he was like Stewie? This is basically a spoof:,We have a special interview with Lord Voldemort coming to you live from Riddle Mansion today October 30th 1981:,Interviewee: Lord Voldermort can you tell us about why you freaked out in Diagon alley last year?,Voldermort: "Ah, the blood purity thing. Yes, it wasn't about the purity really, frankly I like the muggleborns, I..I don't..I have no problem, it's, there's always been a lot of tension between Lily and me and it's not so much that I want to kill her. It's just that I want her not to be alive anymore. I sometimes wonder if all women are this difficult, and then I think to myself, by Merlin wouldn't it be marvellous if I turned out to be a homosexual.",Interviewee: Right. So what about Dumbledore? Why is it your set on fighting against him?,Voldermort: Ah well you see…,",(End flashback),Voldermort: "Then of course there's everything he's done to stop me since. Thwarting my Death Eaters, starting the Order of the phoenix, and of course the big one keeping a prophecy from me I only managed to get a line or two from the old codger.",",Voldermort: "I asked Snape if he knew about anything but he's been very sulky lately. I think because Lily got knocked up to Potter. Anyhow it's dreadfully sad but I have to kill their offspring. It's nothing personal mind you just have to kill him before he kills me. Haha it would be SO embarrassing it turned out to be the Longbottom's son instead, but no I'm pretty sure it's him. Right whilst this interviews been grand I have to rest for tomorrow lots to do and all that.","Lily he's here! Take Harry and run!",James pointed his wand at the door ready to fight for his life when it blasted open, Voldermort stepped in "Potter step aside and you shall not be harmed.",James growled "Never!",Voldermort shrugged "OK." then looked like he going to leave then quickly shot "Avada Kedarva!" At James who didn't have time to dodge and fell down lifeless.,Then he went upstairs blasting open the nursery's room finding Lily standing protectively in front of Harry "Spare my son! Don't hurt him.",Voldermort said "Move aside girl and you won't be harmed.",Lily shrieked "No not Harry! Take me instead!",Voldermort sighed "Fine I'll leave you both alone.",Her eyes shone "Really?",He smirked "Nah Avada Kedarva!",Lily too fell lifeless in front of Harry's crib.,"Ha ha ha, oh my God! I almost didn't do it, I almost didn't do it! I thought, is this in bad taste? But you know what, I went for it. I went for it and I'm so glad I did! Ooooh, worth it, totally worth it.",He then looked at innocent wide eyed Harry "Sorry kid it's nothing personal. Avada Kedarva!",The beam headed straight for Harry then rebounded off him straight at Voldermort he only had enough time to say "WHAT THE DEUCE?",Before the light engulfed him killing his body leaving him as a bodiless spirit as he floated there for a moment looking down at the baby that was now unconscious with a lighting shape scar on his forehead he said "Well this is was unexpected. Good thing I illegally made those Hocrux's or I'd probably be dead permanently. Still curse you Harry Potter I shall rise again and when I do you'll be sorry!",The baby remained asleep.,Voldermort huffed "You could at least have the curtsey to listen to me. What do I have to do for a decent audience around here? Rob Gringots?",He then left Godrics Hollow muttering to himself and the rest they say is History.

8 days - 8 fics ,Prompt , - Fandom,- Category ,(Fandom picked up randomly among the other I wrote about: ,) ,Imposed word ,suggested by a friend),The man entered the Muggle bar, surprised that it wasn't as crowded as he would have thought. It was probably due to the fact that it was the middle of the week, and still pretty early. Remus scanned the room, trying to guess if there were any wizards. He relaxed a bit when he saw no sign of magic, and ordered a beer. He ignored the few looks people gave him, now having understood that people couldn't instantly guess that he was out of place – by being a wizard, or a werewolf. He just looked like a hobo, for both Muggles and people accustomed to the Magical Word. He sighed, looking around. He was running low on money, but he had a Muggle job, now. It was shitty, underpaid, and probably not very legal, but he still could live here. If he actually found a place to live in, that is. So far, that had been unsuccessful.,He looked around, spotting a group of friends at the pool table. They seemed to be having fun, and Remus thought about the easy years he'd had.,"Oh come on, just shoot already!" the smallest person of the group almost shouted in the ears of the man apparently too concentrated into aiming.,Her friend straightened and looked at her defiantly. "You know I am very, very bad under pressure.","Just move the game," she rolled her eyes.,He grinned, leaned a bit against the table, and did a really good shot, much to the woman's dismay. He stuck his tongue out for more impact, chuckling when the girl seemed ready to strangle him.,Remus smiled fondly, the two friends reminding him of James and Lily. They'd shared the same competitive mindset, at times, and the same ridiculous situations where one would pretend to be destabilized, only to do something really well right after. He had loved witnessing them grow into their relationship, until they had become responsible adults with a child. He sure wouldn't have bet on James having a child so soon, but he had been a wonderful father.,Remus shook his head, knowing what was coming. More guilt – survivor guilt, as he had overheard someone from the Order say once. And maybe it was exactly that. He had survived – ,the werewolf, the one that dealt with loneliness badly, the one destined to end up alone and probably murdered in a dark alley for what he was – he had survived a war that all his friends had lost.,Coming to America hadn't been that great an idea, but there were rumours about that awful Dolores Umbridge gaining more and more power in the Minister of Magic, and he knew she was deeply against werewolves. It was a bad time to be in England, and he had fled to America in the hope of finding a better life there – and because the occasion had presented itself. It hadn't been the best solution, but he had managed to find a spot to spend full moons in – he simply had to disapparate once a month to the place, spend an awful night there, and come back the next day.,One of the friends of the group left, saying something about his wife, and Remus was surprised to hear that he was married. He had unintentionally listened to and watched them, finding similarities with his former group of friends – dead friends, as his mind liked to remind him. They seemed to be young, maximum twenty-five years old, he hadn't expected one of them to be married – mainly because he was out with his friends in the middle of the week.,The two friends that had argued childishly continued playing, while their blond friend simply watched, talking with them. Remus had concluded that the two were a couple, in the way they played against each other, and behaved towards one another. He didn't usually stare at people like this, but the group seemed interesting, and he liked to see that what he'd shared with his own group of friends happened to other people. Maybe he missed it, too.,"Oh, oh!" the blond girl said after a while, as if suddenly struck by some thoughts. "I have a date right now!","Pheebs..." the guy started, but got interrupted.,"Well, I just forgot, okay?" she defended herself, and Remus smiled despite himself.,When she was gone, the couple – definitely a couple in the way they seemed to be communicating with only stares – still continued playing, the woman leading the game.,"So, who's gonna be your next room-mate?" she asked, looking like she was calculating the game ahead.,"I don't know, maybe no one?","Really?","I make enough to pay for the place myself," he shrugged, pouting when she took more advance in the game. "And I feel like it's too much drama.","I'm sorry about Kip," she said, moving away to let him study the table for his next move.,"Not as much as I am," he sighed. "And I searched for someone, but there are only weirdos around.","I found someone," she said, staring at him intensively as he finally played.,"What did I just say?" he chuckled, nudging her.,"Okay, Phoebe's weird, but she became a great friend! First impressions can be misleading," she said, patting his shoulders as she took place to play.,"Right... But the last few guys were just... creeps, you know? I mean, the guy with the eight dogs? Nope. And the glitters guy? How weird was that?!","The glitters guy?","You don't want to know," he shuddered at the memory. "Then there was the guy who talked only with his puppet, the one who changed accent every two sentences, the one who didn't even talk English! Maybe I just need to be alone for a while.","Now, don't say that," she smiled, rubbing his arm.,"You know what I mean," he shook his head.,"And we're done!" she exclaimed as she eventually won the game. He groaned good naturedly, and they both left the table for someone else to play.,Remus, who was still listening and looking, got up without thinking, walking in front of them before they got out.,"I couldn't help but overhear," he said, surprised by his own behaviour. He wouldn't usually start a conversation suddenly like this.,"You mean you listened to us?","The point is, I need a place to crash at, and you sound like you have a spare room..." he said hesitantly.,The woman smiled, almost hitting her friend when he was clearly about to say no.,"Okay, come with us," the man said instead. He leaned against his friend, not so discreetly whispering, "if he murders us tonight, that's on you.",She giggled, but repressed it quickly, walking out the bar.,"It's a great location, actually right here," she said, pointing at the building above their heads. "In the heart of the city, the rent is okay, and the place is nice.","I'm sorry, do you want to decide for me, too?" her friend asked.,"Well, you gotta sell the place! I'm Monica, by the way." She offered her hand as they were climbing the stairs, and Remus hesitated only a second before shaking it.,"Remus," he smiled shyly.,The man walking ahead scoffed. "Hey, are you a wolf?" he grinned, turning half to him. Remus stiffened, the colours leaving his face. What? How? Did he have to get out of here fast? "No, no, I can do better! How's your brother? Are you from Italy? Was creating Rome hard?","Don't mind him, he makes jokes when he's... Well, he makes jokes," Monica explained, and Remus relaxed, understanding the man was just finding jokes related to Remus and Romulus – he should have known, his friends had come up with more than one joke about his name, especially after finding how ironic it was.,"Nice to meet you," the man said, waving at him as they stopped in front of a door. "I'm Chandler.","Chandler?","Wait until you hear the rest of it," Monica laughed.,"Bing.","I'm sorry, what?" Remus asked as the man was searching for his keys.,"That's the rest of it. Chandler Bing," Chandler clarified, smiling.,"Oh. I'm Remus Lupin.","Last name's Geller!" Monica said enthusiastically.,"Thanks, Mon." Chandler rolled his eyes, then pointed at the door opposite to the one they were in front of. He had his keys in his hands – finally – but didn't open the door yet.,"What about you go back to your place? I can even walk you home.","Oh, you're no fun," she sighed, then turned to Remus. "Hey, I forgot. Chandler's got the ,neighbours! I live right across the hall, with another friend.","They're very annoying," Chandler nodded thoughtfully, opening his door.,"He pretends to hate us, but he spends his life over at ours. I'm suspecting he secretly wants our apartment.",Chandler made a childish noise of disagreement, inviting Remus to come in, Monica following them without being invited to. Remus chuckled, quickly checking the place. It seemed clean, and bigger than where he was living currently – anything would be better than his current place, actually. He then smiled at the couple who was apparently back at communicating with their eyes.,"Aren't you guys living together?" he asked distractedly, checking some Muggle technology on the kitchen counter, pretending to know what its purpose was.,"No, why would we?","I'm sorry, I don't know for how long you've been dating," he said, tilting his head as he looked around again. He turned on himself, facing the couple again, when there was a silence followed by two nervous laughs.,"Er, we're not... I'm not...","We're not dating," Monica said quickly. "We're just good friends.","Oh, God, sorry. I just assumed you were...","It's okay," she smiled.,"So, do you want to know anything about the apartment?" Chandler asked, clasping his hands together, obviously wanting to change the subject.,"Where's the chimney?",Chandler laughed, then swallowed it when he realised Remus was seriously asking. "The what?",Remus had asked a lot of weird questions, until he had suddenly stopped, and said he was interested in the place. Chandler still didn't really know how this had happened. He hadn't even been looking for a flatmate, but he had one, and he was pretty sure it was Monica's fault.,But that Remus guy was nice, at least. And he wasn't hitting on any of Chandler's friends, which was a good thing, but he wasn't really trying to be their friends either. He was really weird – more so than Phoebe, and in a different way – and Chandler had quickly understood that it wasn't that he didn't like his friends. He ,to be their friends, but something was holding him back. Chandler didn't tell anyone, because he didn't want to explain that he had felt like this while growing up – which explained how he just knew what was happening – and he tried to find out more about Remus instead, but that didn't really work.,He was a private person, and friendly enough for Chandler to forget that he was trying to discover things about him. It bothered Chandler at first, then he got used to it. He didn't see Remus a lot, but they shared some stories. All that Chandler found out was that they both had a pretty lonely childhood, although Remus seemed to have found great friends earlier on. He had only mentioned that once, and had shut down immediately after. Chandler hadn't insisted on the subject.,He jumped when Remus entered early one morning, slamming the door behind him – which he never did. He seemed in a hurry, holding a piece of paper in his hand. He put something on the kitchen counter, then disappeared in his bedroom. Chandler frowned and reached for the piece of wood he had already seen, but never really asked about. As he was about to pick it up, Remus ran out of the room.,"Don't touch that!" he shouted, taking it quickly.,Instead, the piece of paper he had been holding fell, but he didn't see it and went back to his room. Chandler unfolded the paper, curious. He read "We know who you are." and frowned at the perfect circle drawn above the few words. What did that mean? What had he gotten himself into, again? Was Remus actually a killer? A criminal of some sort?,He turned the paper, reading "get out of our country," at the back, and it worried him more. Before he could move, Remus got out of his room, carrying a suitcase.,"What's this?" Chandler asked, showing the paper. "Are you some kind of spy?" He was trying to joke, but he was worried it might be true.,"No," Remus snapped, taking the paper from him. "I'm... a writer," he said quickly.,"A writer?","An unappreciated one," he shrugged. "Look, you've been nice, really nice, and it's been great, to get a taste of... normal life. Other life. But I have to go back to where I come from.","England?" Chandler offered, having picked up on his accent. And he had used it as an explanation of Remus being weird, too.,"Yes," Remus said, pursing his lips, looking hesitant. "It was really nice meeting you, Chandler. Your friends are good people, too.","Wait," Chandler called, a bit taken aback by how fast Remus had changed, and seemed to be leaving. "Don't you need help to move out?","It's f-" Remus stopped mid-sentence, then smiled. "Help would be appreciated.",Chandler nodded, going into the bedroom that wasn't his, only to find it empty. Well, the bed that had belonged to Kip was still there, and the cupboard Chandler had bought when he had moved in too, but anything that had belonged to Remus was gone. He had already been impressed by how fast he had moved everything in – he didn't have much, but Chandler hadn't even seen him moving boxes – but this was just impossible.,"Remus, your-" Chandler frowned when he came back to an empty living room. Remus was gone, and he hadn't even heard the door.,He walked to the door, seeing that it was looked, which was even more impressive from Remus. He had been so quick and silent. Chandler turned on himself, sighing at the emptiness of his apartment now that his room-mate for a few days was gone, leaving his key behind.,It stayed one of Chandler's weirdest and most inexplicable memory. If his friends hadn't seen Remus, he would have believed it to be a dream, but they all had. He often wondered if Remus was okay, seeing how distressed he had looked before leaving, but he never met him again.

A/N: Story prompt by Jayne Serenity.,Chapter 1,Harry was actually excited for once in his life today was the day the triwizard tournament contenders were chosen he and Ron had been debating on which house they would be from Ron was sure it would be a Gryffindor but Harry had a feeling it would be a Hufflepuff they sat down in front of the goblet to see who would be chosen "You ready to lose mate?" Ron said in a confident tone "Funny that's what I was gonna say." Harry shot back calmly.,The ceremony went on (although the weasly twins caused a ruckus when they put their names in the goblet),The representatives for the other two schools were chosen Hogwarts was last Harry and Ron watched in anticipation,"Cedric Diggory!",Dumbledore called and the to teens watched in horror and glee respectively as a Hufflepuff walked to the goblet,Later...,Harry was walking to class alone today Ron threw a fit at losing the bet they had going on and refused to walk with him Hermione had told Harry she would talk some sense into Ron and went with him to class (although Harry doubted she would be able to get through to Ron he appreciated her effort.) As he was walking he saw many posters for Cedric probably made by the muggleborn students he looked at them as he walked by before stopping ,Harry thought , and he was right among the posters that were black and yellow there was a bright pink poster upon closer inspection it was for a literature club the poster a had 4 anime style girls on it and had strange words on the left side of it suddenly the word 'New Game' on the poster started glowing brighter and brighter until it flooded Harry's vision.,Harry's POV,Where am I?,After that wierd poster started glowing I found myself in a strange room well the room itself was normal but I had never seen it before it ,I looked around the room and it seemed like I'm in the muggle world I walked up to a window ,the houses and other buildings around proved it then I noticed something else ,what used to be my hogwarts uniform was replaced with a white button up with a red tie and light brown jacket (after looking closer I found out there was also a dark brown sweater vest under the jacket) and dark blue pants for some reason I recognized it as a uniform even though there's no way I could know that I searched my pockets for anything I owned and found a strange device it looked like a television but much smaller ,my mind told me ,suddenly as if on autopilot my body turned the 'smart phone' on and entered some kind of password on the 'screen' there were many 'apps' my finger taped the one labeled calendar it informed me that I was supposed to go to school at 7:30 the time displayed at the top said it was now 7:00 my body started to go downstairs and opened the fridge and suddenly I had control again ,I thought and I grabbed some eggs and started making breakfast as I had to get to school soon I know I shouldn't be this calm but for some reason I just can't bring myself to be on guard I started to hum as I was finishing the eggs.,On the way to School...,My body instinctively knew where school was so I decided it was a good time to figure what was going on I went over the events in my head until a voice interrupted my thoughts "Heeeeeeeey!" my mind once again supplied me with information I couldn't have possibly known , that's impossible I didn't have any friends before hogwarts let alone a girl named Sayori my body once again took over and stoped to wait for her as she ran over I took in her appearance she had short reddish brown hair decorated with a red bow and big blue eyes I had to admit she was cute "Ahhh I overslept again but I caught you this time!" I decided to reply with a bit of snark since I didn't know how to react exactly "Only because I decided to wait for you" this seemed to annoy her "You say that like you were thinking about ignoring Harry your so mean." She was pounting adorably as she said this and I couldn't help but smile "I was just joking Sayori don't worry." this seemed to cheer her up "That reminds me Harry are you in any clubs yet?" I had checked the calendar earlier but the only thing written in it was school "No why?" she seemed to be up to something "Well how about joining the literature club?" I froze literature club that sounded familiar as I was running through my thoughts I was vaguely aware of Sayori talking about cupcakes and my mind telling me that she was vice president of the club then I remembered the poster it mentioned a literature club maybe joining the club will give me clues as to where I am "Umm sure I'll join the literature club." this seemed to surprise Sayori "Huh really!?" "Yes really" I saw her slslowly start to smile and then she jumped in the air "YAY!" she yelled "I'm so glad were gonna be in the same club Harry!" she took my hand in hers "It's gonna be so much fun" she gave me a bright smile and I could feel myself blush she started rambling on about all the things we were going to do together but I couldn't get her smile out of my head.

Beginning of Summer,It's a sunny evening at San Francisco. Up at the sky, everything seems to be peaceful compared to the city underneath it. But that peace died down when brooms started rushing in the sky.,"Hello everyone, welcome to the final quidditch match this season!" An announcer said through the microphone, over the cheering of the crowd. "For those who just got here, it's the Griffins vs the Dragons. It's a close match right now, with the Griffins still in the lead, but the Dragons being close. Will they catch up?",The Griffins, like always, are doing well, but the Dragons are doing just as well. When the quaffle was toss to the field again, one of the chasers quickly took it. He turn around and threw it one of his teammates, but the person he threw it to didn't catch it.,Instead, the other chaser was intercepted by none other than Harry Potter. Harry grin while the Dragon chasers were shock at the fast move, giving Harry the time to pass it to Madison. With that, he continue his search for the snitch.,It's been nearly a year since Harry moved to San Francisco. And the moves became the happiest of his life. He live with his godfather and puedo uncle, Sirius and Remus. Made more friends in America, and still kept contact with his other friends at Britain. Learn more than he ever did at Hogwarts. There are several good things he can name due to moving here.,But most importantly, he met Riley Anderson. One of his best friends and currently, his girlfriend.,Said girl is in the stadium, watching the game along with her friends, parents, and Harry's guardian. Like always, she cheers for Harry loudly, along with Katie.,"Wow, look at them go." Allie commented as they watch the two teams play. "The Griffins got even fiercer and faster than the other games we have watched.",Katie nodded. "They've been training hard all through the months." Katie told her. "The Dragon are one of the strongest quidditch teams, and they know that it won't be an easy match.","That won't stop any of them though." Riley said confidently. "All of the Griffins are strong and skilled, especially Harry." Allie and Katie smile at one another. That may have sound bias coming from Riley, but they can't say she's wrong. Harry is definitely born to be in the sky.,In Riley's head, the emotions are cheering for Harry and his team. "Come on Harry! Show them what you got!" Joy shouted, leaning over the console.,"Yeah, come on cutie!" Affection also shouted. She also leaned over the console, excited about the match. "Don't let these guys beat you!","Kick their butts! Knock them off their brooms!" Anger shouted, also excited.,Fear, however, didn't like the sound of that. "No! He shouldn't try that! What if the other players ends up stronger than him?!","Relax. Harry has been exercising a lot, and gain a bit more weight over the years." Disgust said, rolling her eyes. "Plus, if he gets knock off his broom, there's a cushioning charm at the grass.",Sadness didn't say anything, just watch the game like the others. Then she notice that Harry spotted the snitch, and started chasing after it. "Harry found the snitch." Sadness informed the others. "He's coming after it.",With that, the emotions started cheering for Harry. Outside, Riley is being the same way.,As Harry help out the chasers of the team, he kept his eyes out for the snitch. As he watch Chad score ten more points, he saw the snitch a few miles away from him. Without wasting time, he shot over to it.,In Harry's head, the emotions are heavily focused on the games. Fear is in charge of helping Harry dodge and block, Anger is in charge of any aggressive moves the boy makes, Joy and Affection are making sure Harry feel excitement for the game, Disgust is helping Harry plan out quick strategies in his head, and Sadness is in charge of it all.,"The snitch!" Disgust announced, when Harry's landed on it. "Anger!","Got it." Anger said, his emotion getting Harry to shoot over it. Like every other damn snitch, it started flying away in high speed. "Get back you here you annoying golden tin ball!",Harry focus on his snitch, getting closer and closer to it thanks to the Firebolt he got for christmas. When he saw a bludger coming at him, he jerked to the left and brought himself upside down to dodge.,"Look at that folks! Turning upside down to dodge, yet still maintaining site of the snitch." The announcer said in amazement. "If that's not talent, I don't know what is.",Harry, without stopping for a brief second, turn himself right side up again and continue towards the snitch. When it suddenly moved to the side, he made a sharp turn.,Suddenly, he felt someone beside him and look at his side to see the seeker of the Dragons beside him, a girl with short black hair and blue eyes. Harry's eyes harden before making his broom go faster, with the girl doing just the same.,As the two of them got closer and closer to the snitch, it suddenly move upwards, making the two notice that they're about to hit the stadium wall. Harry reacted quickly and pull his broom up, getting him back on track. The girl, however, couldn't react in time and ended hitting the barrier of the stadium just as she pulled up.,"Oh look at that folks. Sina Cletcher hit the barrier and now spinning around the field! She'll be busy for a while!" Harry ignore the announcer, putting his focus on the snitch.,When he got close enough, he reach out his hand to grab the thing. And before it could escape, Harry gave the broom one more push and grabbed it. He push his broom to move to the side, and when he stop, he held out the snitch.,"And Harry Potter catches the snitch! The Griffins win!" The whole crowd cheered, especially his family and friends, while Harry held out the snitch with a happy grin on him. "Which means the Griffins win this year tournament!",The cheers was deafening to say the least, and Harry could barely heard his own thoughts. When he set himself down on the ground, his team joining him on the ground. His team is filled with the male chaser, Chad. Two chaser girls, Madison and Selene. Two beater girls, Caitlynn and Jeanne. And the male keeper, Brick.,The Dragons also got down on the ground as well. While some look upset that they lost, they weren't all that bad about it. The leader, a male brunnette leader named Matt, walk in front of his team. "I got to say, the Griffins got really good this here. Look like we'll have to train harder next time." Matt held out his hand. "Be prepare for a harder match next year.",Harry smiled and shook the offered hand. "I look forward to it." He responded back. Then he notice the seeker Sina, he recalled, walking up to them. "And I hope I can face you again too. You were good out there, just unlucky.",She smile and nodded. "Be prepare Harry Potter. The best seeker title is going to come over to me next." Harry grin at the prospect of a challenge.,"Looking forward to it.",Soon, the Griffins was received the trophy for winning the whole tournament while the Dragons got the second place one. Harry and the others held it out with big smiles and grins.,After that, the team put back on their regular clothes and went back to home, after saying the goodbyes to one another. Harry and Riley then spend the night in Harry's house, with her parents and Sirius's permission of course. Jill and Sirius knows that Harry wouldn't do anything, and Bill trust him now to be alone with Riley.,When Harry and Riley went into Harry's room, the two of them went on Harry's bed. Riley laid her head on top of Harry's shoulder, and her arms around his waist, while Harry have his arms around wrapped around her.,"So you won your quidditch tournament while I won my hockey tournament." Riley commented, her usual happy smile on her. "We are good at what we do.",Harry nodded in agreement to this. "And now, we got an entire summer with our family, friends, and each other." If anything, Riley's smile got even wider.,"I can't wait!" Riley said excitingly, though she make sure to keep her voice down. The summer is going to be so much fun.,Harry chuckle at Riley's excitement, but he feels excited as well. This'll be the first summer with actual friends and a true family. He can't help but feel eager for it.,In her head, the emotions are as excited as Riley herself. "There's a lot of things we can do in the summer." Joy said, nearly bursting in excitement. "So many funs things that can happen. We have to make sure we don't miss any of it.","Way ahead of you there Joy." Fear said, pulling out his notes. "I made a list of fun and safe things to do with Harry, Katie, and Allie. Everything that won't injure any of them badly.","Let's hope his notes are like last time." Anger grumbled as he read his newspaper, the headlines saying HARRY POTTER WON QUIDDITCH TOURNAMENT. The last time Fear made a list, Anger throttled him around the room.,Sadness smile as she sat on the couch. "And it'll be our first summer with Harry." Sadness said. Then look down. "I wonder if he ever had a pleasant summer before. I doubt his relatives would let him.",Joy's light dim a bit at that, before they brighten back up. "Well, we'll make sure that it's fun for him.","Yeah!" Affection agreed with Joy. "After all, Riley is dating Harry now. It's our job to do so now." All of them nodded in agreement to this.,Meanwhile, in Harry's head, Sadness and Fear are speaking to one another. "So, summer again." Fear said as they stare at the islands. "Hopefully, it will be enjoyable this time.",Sadness nodded in agreement. "None of us never had a good summer. But we got friends we can visit anytime, and family that will spend time with us. I don't think the summer will be bad as the other times.","Careful you didn't just jinx it." Anger called out as he walk upstairs. "You know how bad our luck is." Fear and Sadness chuckled in agreement.,But in all honestly, Sadness don't think that this'll be a bad summer. In all honestly, she think that it'll be the first good summer they will have in a long time. No Dursleys, no deadly creatures, no Voldemort trying to kill them. And she's looking forward to it.

His first target wore a suit which went out of fashion seven decades ago. The man stumbled out of the lift and took a deep breath, as if he had just survived death. He brushed a piece of lint off his shoulder and then walked towards the exit.,John Wick, assassin, put down the newspaper he was pretending to read and followed.,Outside, the sun was directly overhead, providing a measure of relief against the first chilly winds of the season. New York city was always beautiful in the early winters and this year was no different. The trees in Central Park had started to shed their leaves, people were out in large numbers to enjoy what could be last of the few sunny days before snows arrived, and children yelled and shouted at a birthday party in the playground.,The man took the 5th Ave. and turned left. He kept his face up enjoying the sunlight and his hands in his pockets. He had wispy brown hair on top of his round head and a pencil thin moustache, making him look like a mouse. Judging from the strain of his shirt against the pants, he must have recently gained weight. John followed twenty steps behind, his gun brushing assuredly against his ribs. He received a few looks. Few people wore ties on a Sunday and even if they did, they didn't have the air of "don't fuck with me" as John had.,His target consulted a piece of paper, nodded to himself, crossed the street and entered Elmo Beer Café. The door and windows of the café seemed to shimmer in the bright sunlight.,John waited on the opposite side, looking around. He didn't see anything suspicious; people went about their work, no police cars, and no unmarked vans. After the last attempt to capture him, he wasn't taking chances and this job reeked of something rotten. The client refused to meet in person, paid in strange gold coins, gave next to nothing information about the targets, and scared Winston enough that he called John, pulling him off another job.,Nothing scared Winston.,John opened the café door and a small bell tinkered. He waited a bit at the threshold, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom and taking stock of the establishment. It comprised of a long room with a low ceiling. It had a bar to his right and booths with cushioned seats and tables to his left. Low wooden walls separated the booths, and the walls were peppered with posters of Hollywood icons and people in some sort of sports jersey. Soft music played in the background and the few patrons talked softly over their beer mugs. The place felt cozy, someplace where you can drown your sorrows in alcohol.,John sat on a bar stool, directly opposite to his quarry, and ordered a mug of the in-house beer. He never drank on the job but he'd look out of place in here without ordering. The bartender, a thin man with red beard, gave him a nod and went to fetch his drink.,From the mirror above the bar, John saw that his target was having a heated discussion with another man. His second target. Sharp jaw, body like a powerlifter, thin lips, and a face full of scars. Just from looking at him, John could tell that the man was a killer. His eyes were cold and the grimace adorning his face could have sent most people scrambling for cover. Even in the picture, which was shared by the client, the man had been snarling.,John sipped his beer (superb taste!) quietly and tried to listen in to their conversation. It wasn't easy. Though they didn't seem to be whispering, judging by their body language, he couldn't hear a word. So, he started lip reading. Through the mirror which inverted the images.,"…not happy. I have to be back by tonight and present my report to the Dark Lord," First target was saying, an ugly look on his face. He feared this 'Dark Lord'.,"Any chance of breaking in to the DoM?" the large man asked.,"Suicide would be an easier option. After the fall of Voldemort, the British have really tightened their ship and gave the reigns to Harry fucking Potter.","So? He is just a kid. Not older than twenty, I guess. We can take him.","He was seventeen when he defeated Voldemort. Do you really want to go wand to wand with a wizard who killed that snake? Are you that stupid?",The large man growled. He took a huge swig of his beer and muttered what seemed like profanities.,John straightened a bit. The mouse man had used the word 'Wizard'. Volshebnik. Memories of his granny telling stories of men who flew on brooms and fought with dragons came unbidden. He shook his head and tried to focus again on the conversation.,"Beer too much for you, bud?" the bartender asked, mistaking his actions for that of a drunk man.,"No," John replied. "It does have a kick but nothing life threatening.",The bartender went back to cleaning glasses, and John finished his drink. He sensed more than saw his targets staring at him. When he looked at them in the mirror, the mouse man whispered something to the large man, throwing his head towards John. In his line of business, John had learnt an important lesson. Never dismiss a gut feeling. His brain screamed at him to move or be killed, and he obliged.,A second later, the stool he was sitting on shattered, throwing the wooden splinters in the air like a geyser.,John rolled to a stop, his gun appearing in his hand by years of practice, and shot two times.,In his life as an assassin, John had missed a grand total of three times, over the course of over a hundred jobs. Here, he missed both shots. The mouse man shouted, ", and waved a small stick in the air, and the bullet pinged off a shimmering blue glass in front of his face. The large man simply twisted at his waist, the bullet slipping past him. He popped his knuckles and took a step forward.,John shot him three more times in the chest, in the space of seconds, and moved to his right, taking aim at the mouse man, who raised his stick again.,," he shouted. John saw red light emanate from the stick and something pull the gun from his hand, throwing it against the wall. Next wave of the stick and John was blown off his feet. He landed with a painful thud, his breath stuck somewhere in his upper chest.,"So, why have you been following me, arsehole?" he asked. "Get up, ya mutt," he nudged the fallen man with the toe end of his boot.,John pulled a small knife from his boot and threw it at the mouse man who wasn't expecting such an attack.,The knife lodged to the hilt into his right thigh and elicited a shrill scream. "Bloody kill you, you fuckin' muggle," the man yelled, his accent taking on a strong British tint due to the pain.,John barely had the time to pull out his Glock and line his shot when the large man, with a blood stained shirt, stepped in front of him. "I am gonna enjoy making mincemeat out of you, asshole," he said in a southern drawl. The blood seeping from his chest seemed to bother him only a little.,"What in the name of…?" John muttered, scrambling back. The large man wasn't wearing any bulletproof vest, as evident from the blood, so why wasn't he dead yet? Strength enhancing drugs? It wasn't uncommon in the underworld. They also had the side effect of numbing the pain receptors in the human body.,John pulled out a flat disk out of his pocket. It was half the size of his palm and had a yellow button in the middle. Thank the gods for his paranoia. He had packed extra tools for this job. He pressed the yellow button twice and threw it at the large man who caught it in a fist easily the size of John's head.,"What is this supposed to…" he stopped talking and howled in pain as the disk discharged a 220 mA of current. It was sufficient to incite cardiac arrest in a healthy, grown man. John's opponent, however, merely went to his knees and groaned. His hair was singed and his clothes smoked, but he seemed alive.,John shot at the mouse man who was trying to raise his stick again, causing him to create that blue shield again. He dropped to his knees and shot two rounds at the knees, the shield only came till the navel. Mouse man yelled in pain and went down like a sack of dirt. John jumped to the large man, forced his mouth open, and put his gun inside.,"Sweet dreams," he said, pulling the trigger twice.,The man's head burst like a melon. John dropped him and turned his attention to the mouse man, who was yelling and cursing, his stick on the ground, forgotten. John picked it up. It was warm and caused the hair on his arm to stand up. He pocketed it and loomed over the mouse man like a specter of death.,"What the bloody hell do you want?" Mouse man's face was coated in sweat, though he didn't bleed as much as any other man whose both knee caps were popped. "You have no idea what my people are going to do to you.",John knelt and put the gun under the man's jaw. "They will not be able to do more than what you attempted," he said, and pulled the trigger.,Once John stood up, he noticed that there were still people in the café. One man was sitting in the corner of his booth, trying to merge in the wall, while two men cowered under their table. The bartender stood silent, holding a wired telephone. So, the police were on their way.,John gave the bartender a small nod, placed a twenty on the counter and walked out.,As he turned around the street to go back to his car, he looked back and saw two men, holding sticks, standing guard at the door of the café while another man walked in. John patted the stick in his pocket and sighed.,He needed some fucking answers. And a bottle of The Continental's finest whiskey.

I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears., This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you., So…here's a sequel to my fic ,. It gets explained in this fic (once you get to Jenkin's PoV), but just to recap the salient plot points from that fic: the Library connects its Backdoor to the public library in Little Whinging and Harry wanders into the Library where Jenkins adopts him immediately. As always, Harry is autistic and Desi, and no one ignores the child abuse (which might annoy some people, even in the story itself)., I rewatched ,, this time with captions on. My auditory interrupt won another round, it seems. I heard "Gabriella" for the surviving vampire of La Vida de la Luz. Turns out her name is actually "Estrella", and no, I don't know how those got mixed up. I'm fixing that., Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A (FPC; BAON; ToS; Star; Fence; Shower; T3; SN), Click Bait It; Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time (Y); Short Jog; Ethnic & Present; Gryffindor MC (x2); Slytherin MC; Seeds; Sett to Destroy (Y); Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); Real Family; Flags & Ribbons; Misunderstood (Y); Team Player; Letter of the Day; Themes & Things A [Family]; Themes & Things B [Protection]; Forehead Kisses; Golden Times, Hufflepuff, Term 10 – Assignment 11, Women's History (Task #4: Write about helping find someone who is missing.), Insane Prompt Challenge [427] (Getting Hogwarts Letter); 365 Prompts [23] (Regret); Scavenger Hunt [80] (Write a fic from multiple PoVs.); Gym [Action] (Stalking);, Autistic Harry Potter; Library Staff; Birthday Party, Middle Name; Nightingale; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Delicious Lie; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Teat Juice; Zucchini Bread); Chorus (Endless Wonder; Pear-Shaped; Pocky Pockets; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots); Demo (Clio's Conclusion; Rock of Ages; Most Human Bean; Casper's House; Hot Apple; Queen Bee; Lettuce Hold Hands; Fruit Fly); Demo (Eternal Boredom; Head of Perseus; Creature Feature; Surprise!; Getting On; Gingersnap), T3 (Tether); SN (Rail; Negate), 6837 words,(^^),(^^),"Albus, we have a problem," Minerva announced as she entered his office unannounced. She looked harried with tufts of her dark hair escaping her tight bun. Her pale face was red and shiny with evidence of her exertion, and she was panting for breath. Albus carefully placed his quill back in its dedicated inkwell, grateful from the distraction that would allow him to put off answering Cornelius a bit longer.,In her hands, she held several letters of various sizes. Most were normal sized, their emerald seals still intact, but others appeared small enough to have spelled into smaller receptacles. Albus concluded that the parents of a Muggle-born for this year must be deliberately attempting to keep the student's invitation from them. It was a fool's task, of course, as the magic that addressed the letters would just continue sending an increasing number until an acceptance was sent back on the child's behalf. Very rarely did it require more than the day that a dozen or so letters arrived at once before the parents recognized the futility of evasion and capitulated to the needs of the young witch or wizard.,Even more rarely did a parent require a member of the staff to interfere anymore. The fortunate side effect of that was they now had ample time to focus on the children who had no legal guardians and had to be handled more delicately in order to uphold the Statute of Secrecy. The magic that keeps them from spilling the truth did not always like to settle correctly if they are temporary guardians. It always required laying the , in person. Of course, occasionally both situations would only be resolved by arranging a different home for the child, which took time to arrange and necessitated the involvement of the Ministry as technically none of the staff of Hogwarts had the authority to interfere with a student's life outside of school.,Albus sighed. That was probably what had Minerva in such a tizzy.,"What is the matter, my dear?" he asked, already exhausted by the idea of having to deal with Cornelius. Arranging for a Muggle-born to go to the , of family always required Albus' personal attention. With how Lucius Malfoy was already whispering in Cornelius' ear, Albus didn't dare attempt to delegate. It wouldn't do for the child to get any ideas about how the wizarding world needed to be, after all. "I'm sure that it is just a misunderstanding that is easily solved.","A misunderstanding?!" Minerva hissed, sounding exactly like the cat she sometimes was. "Harry Potter is not answering his Hogwarts letter! I , they were the , of Muggles, Albus! And now the poor bairn is being denied his magical heritage!","Now, Minerva," Albus said, attempting to soothe his bristling Deputy, "I explained that it was the best place for him. A boy needs his family, after all. We'll just have to send someone to explain the necessity of young Harry attending Hogwarts.","I don't think it will be that simple, Albus," Minerva argued. She still sounded worried, even if she wasn't as frazzled as she had been when she arrived. "The letters don't have a specific address on them, only the house address.","That's impossible," Albus said without really thinking about it. The magic that addressed the letters always had a specific address. It was part of the tracking arithmancy that allowed the letters to automatically follow the student if they moved or went on holiday during the enrollment period. It wouldn't do for a child to miss attending with the correct age group, after all. Minerva thrusted her handful of letters at him without saying another word.,Each one was addressed to ,.,There was no bedroom listed, just as Minerva had claimed. Something heavy settled in Albus' gut at the irregularity. Magic only went awry when there was a reason for it, some outside force acting as a diversion or influence. The only thing Albus could know for certain was that the boy was still alive, because death would have prevented the letters from being sent at all.,"Oh, dear," Albus muttered through numb lips. "That is not good.",Thankfully, Minerva settled for merely raising an eyebrow at him instead of saying a word.,(^^),"Harry Houdini Jenkins, get back here this minute!",Jenkins didn't look up as the boy ran through his workshop in the wake of Eve's shouted demand. There was a scuffling noise as Harry ducked under one of the numerous tables crammed into the room, probably the one reserved specifically for Ezekiel's projects by the direction it came from. Jenkins sighed but otherwise continued to ignore any knowledge of the boy's hiding place. Maybe he should have let Ezekiel take Harry with him on the latest expedition instead of siding with Eve about Harry being too young to retrieve artifacts.,Then again, the thought of those two out in the world unsupervised made Jenkins shudder with horror. They certainly got into enough trouble just in the Library, riling everyone else up with pranks or petty thefts in a continuous bid to test themselves. The Library's archival magic helped control any magic (from Harry or any artifacts) and keep any consequences from getting out of hand. The outside world was a much different story.,Magic tended to be unpredictable even when properly controlled. Even after nearly six years of dedicated work with Cassandra, Harry's control still wasn't the best, especially when he was genuinely in duress. He was only ten or eleven after all. It stood to reason that a child, even one so innately connected with magic, would not be able to control such a wild universal force.,Jenkins had initially been hesitant about letting anyone use the Library's archives to learn magic—Judson's official stance on the subject had been something that Jenkins had spent centuries following after all—but it had become clear very quickly that Harry not learning to work and control his magic was not an option. As Cassandra had noted upon meeting Harry, the boy was even more saturated with the force than artifacts specifically created to access the ley lines. Moreover, the boy was like catnip for artifacts and his innate magic tended to amplify the magical effects around him, including everything that made up the Library.,One body swap and a magically fueled panic attack had been enough for all of them to agree that Harry needed training if he was going to continue living with them. (None of them had suggested attempting to return Harry to his relatives, the people who were responsible for the state he had been in when the Library had opened its Backdoor to him. Even now, years later, Harry was still smaller than he probably should be and occasionally had other issues stemming from the abuse.),"Okay, Jenkins," Eve announced as she entered the room. Even dripping wet, she still looked unruffled, only a trace amount of frustration remaining. "I know the little trickster came this way. Where is he hiding?","I saw nothing," Jenkins answered without more than glancing up from the artifact that he was attempting to improve. "Maybe he's with Miss Cillian? Or Mr. Stone?","Cassandra popped out to visit Estrella, and Jacob is visiting that settlement of lizard-people we discovered last month," Eve corrected stoically. She crossed her arms as she began tapping her foot. "And before you even try, Flynn and Ezekiel are both out on missions. So where's the small fry hiding?","The Library is rather large—","Bucket of water balloons over the kitchen door, Jenkins," Eve interrupted, "and I'm pretty sure at least a few of them had that color-changing potion that Cassandra taught him last week in them.",Now that she had mentioned it, Jenkins could smell the hint of violets coming off of her. He looked at her more closely. She was getting gradually more purple. Jenkins inwardly preened with pride in his ward. Purple was the most difficult color to get the potion to turn human skin. Eve sighed as if she regretted all of her life choices.,"You're not going to give him away, are you?" Eve commented. Jenkins pressed a hand over his ever-beating heart.,"I'm aghast that you even consider such a betrayal an option, milady!","I could have had a nice, , life with NATO," Eve grumbled, mostly to herself. She flicked some of the potion at him. "Instead, I'm turning purple.","It's a very lovely shade," Jenkins reassured her. The former colonel raised an eyebrow at him before leaving to continue her search elsewhere. Alone again (mostly), he turned back to his project only to spot a new gear just at the edge of his project mat. Jenkins sighed as his heart swelled with a sudden burst of affection and pride. Harry was really coming along in his evasion training if he could sneak across the room without Eve noticing. "And that is exactly what I needed.",A stifled giggle came from under the table, not that Jenkins elected to give away that he had heard. After all, Eve could still be watching.,(^^),"Explain again why I must be the one to accompany you," Severus demanded as they walked from the Apparation point to the Dursley residence. "I have precious little time for my own projects during the year. I should not have to deal with , during the summer.",Albus resisted sighing. He had already explained multiple times why he needed Severus on this visit instead of Minerva. Albus did not know what he was going to find at the Dursley household and therefore could not risk giving Minerva any reason to question his decisions further than she already did. Besides, given their mutual history, Petunia might be more forthcoming with information with Severus than himself.,Luckily, the nondescript little house where Harry Potter should be living was already within eyesight, saving Albus from reiterating the situation , to the Potions professor. Merlin, Albus had forgotten just how dull the neighborhood was. It was obvious how far removed from the magical world it was. Its mundaneness was practically painful.,Even more eager to get this over with, Albus rapped on the door to Number Four. He waited a few moments before knocking again. He was just about to knock a third time when the neighbor came out onto her own porch.,"Nobody lives there anymore," she called out kindly. "It's been empty since the scandal.","Do you know where they went?" Albus questioned, moving closer to the hedge separating the two properties. Severus huffed irritably but followed. The move must be fairly recent, given how well kept the property was. "It's imperative that we find the family that used to live here.","Well, I heard that Vernon ended up in prison on the embezzling charge," she said excitedly, like a gossiping hen. "The county took the boy for a bit—completely understandable given what they were accused of, if you ask me!—but last I heard, they had given him back to Petunia. I think they moved in with Vernon's sister in York.","I'm afraid that I'm not understanding, Miss …","Mrs. Pinkerton," the woman filled in helpfully. Albus nodded to show that he had heard.,"What were who accused of, Mrs. Pinkerton?","Why, murdering their nephew, of course," she explained. "The poor little guy went missing one day, right after the county worker visited the Dursleys. There had been some reports made by concerned citizens, you see.","Oh, dear," Albus said, feeling the numbness returning. This was nowhere near good. "If Harry went missing, why do you think he was murdered? Let alone by his own family?","During the investigation, all sorts of things came out," Mrs. Pinkerton answered with the same gossipy glee as before, "like how Vernon was unable to account for some rather large sums of money being deposited into his account or how they didn't have any paperwork proving that they were even related to young Harry let alone had legal custody. There had been rumors about where the boy came from, you know, given his ,, but no one dared ask.","Heaven forbid," Severus agreed drily. Albus glanced at him, taking in the blank expression on the younger man's face. "One must not ask how a dark-skinned child could possibly be related to a white couple, because it couldn't possibly be exactly what they said it was. Idiot.","Severus," Albus chided, "there is no need to be rude.","The boy ran away, Albus," Severus argued, "and in doing so caused his relatives no end of inconvenience. Obviously, he's just like his father, selfish to the core.","Well, I never!" Mrs. Pinkerton exclaimed, clearly offended. "They worked that boy like he was a slave! They were always calling him such vile names, too! And he was always so small—even smaller than children that age normally are! It was unnatural, I tell you, simply ,! There was a reason for those reports! If the poor boy ran away, then the last thing it would have been is ,! What kind of monster are you?","I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," Albus interjected, hoping to divert the upset woman's attention from Severus. This situation was spiraling out of control. Thank Merlin that Minerva was not here to see. "They're the boy's only family.","Being family does not mean that they had to care," she snapped, including Albus in her offended glare now. "It also doesn't mean that they couldn't be cruel. Even if they didn't actually murder that little boy, then he's still probably dead. What five-year-old could survive on his own?","You're mistaken, my dear," Albus corrected gently. "Young Harry is going to be eleven tomorrow.","Would that have been his birthday?" she questioned. "They never celebrated it and then he went missing shortly after Dudley's fifth birthday.","But it couldn't have been that long," Albus argued with a sweeping gesture towards the upkept property that had once belonged to the Dursleys. Mrs. Pinkerton looked over the yard as well.,"My Tony does a good job, don't they?" Her ire gave way to her obvious pride. "They run a little gardening business, but they upkeep the old Dursley house for free. Their rates are very reasonable! Let me get their card for you.",Albus and Severus left while she was still in her house. They had a Boy-Who-Lived to find, after all.,(^^),Jenkins admired how efficiently Eve could marshal the Librarians when she put her mind to it. Librarians were naturally easily distracted even at the best of times. Add in any bit of personal excitement and getting them to focus became next to impossible (outside of impending catastrophe; those worked wonders for gathering scattered Librarian thoughts). Yet Eve had Flynn, Jacob, and Ezekiel completely focused on getting the Annex's meeting room completely set up for what was going to be a belated party for their youngest resident.,It was a month late this year, because of the tensions between the dragon clans had distracted all of them from keeping track of what day it was until Estrella had mentioned needing Harry to visit the retreat to give him her gift this year. It was a sad state of affairs when a centuries old vampire kept better track of time than the living. At least Jenkins had the excuse being immortal—honestly after the first century, days did sort of blend together—but the others in their little mismatched family had been spilling over themselves to make up forgetting the anniversary of Harry's arrival.,Of course, Harry's surprise that they still considered it important had stung, like a scab busting open unexpectedly. The boy had come such a long way from the skittish waif that the Library had stolen that reminders of the scars left behind by how his previous guardians had treated could feel like they came out of nowhere sometimes. That first year had been the hardest, especially with how terrified Harry had acted any time Eve would bark an order. Seeing Harry so frightened and tiny but standing in place and bracing for a blow had told them a great deal about what he had been taught to expect as punishments for infractions, despite being so young. Maybe if Harry had been an average child with average intelligence, six years would have been enough to completely erase those lessons.,But Harry was not average.,He was a Librarian.,"Are you certain that we're going to have enough food?" Eve fussed as Jacob set up yet another serving tower of berry tartlets. There were stepped risers with plates of other little tea-foods on the long table, including the cucumber finger-sandwiches that Harry loved. "There's just the seven of us? That are going to be eating, that is. Ezekiel? Jenkins?","No way I'm inviting Mum to the Annex," Ezekiel said as he emptied a container of sherbet into the bowl of punch. "You remember what happened last time she visited.","Jeff is coming," Jenkins answered, deciding not to comment on the referenced incident, "but the rest of the group have to work. They appointed Jeff as courier for their gifts. The ceremony was quite lovely.",With a practiced eye, Jenkins double-checked that all of the offerings that had meat in them were safely lumped together at one end. Likewise, the finger foods with cheese were gathered together and marked. Carefully separate from the human-edibles was a very small selection of blood-based options for Estrella. The vampire had a far narrower range of dietary options than even a lactose intolerant vegetarian.,"When is Cassandra bringing the pipsqueak back?" Flynn asked in a high squeaky voice that suggested he had breathed in a bit of the helium he was supposed to be using to inflate balloons. Eve frowned at her bondmate, obviously calculating whether it was worth pointing that part out.,"Miss Cillian and Harry should be arriving at any time," Jenkins said before Eve could come to a decision. "I set—",An annoying buzz sounded throughout the room before he got a chance to mention the alarm he had set up if anyone approached any of the entrances to the Annex or Library. After the whole bodyswap incident that had happened shortly after Harry's unorthodox adoption, Jenkins had added spiritual exchanges to the default list of ways to entered both. Jenkins gestured to the ceiling, already headed towards the Annex's central office to check who had arrived. Ezekiel pitched the empty sherbet containers and soda bottles into the bin for recycling awaiting cleaning and followed.,It was neither the group coming from Estrella's retreat nor Jeff, though the two men were at the front door. The basement-dwelling imposter had better not have swapped bodies with anyone else or Jenkins might personally feed him to a bog monster. Ezekiel hopped up on the worktable beside the Scrapbook to better see the security feed.,"Are they wearing dresses?","Robes," Jenkins corrected automatically. "I would say Elizabethan era, except there's definitely modern influences on them, so it's more like a modern take on the style—though that color choice leaves much to be desired.","Yeah, fuchsia isn't a good color for a base," Ezekiel agreed with a grimace. "I don't need Jake's aesthetic sense to see that. The black on the pasty bloke isn't much better, mind. Makes him look sick." They watched the pair consult a paper before the older of the two knocked again. "So, do we have any clue where these guys are from? Is there some super-secret society of robe wearers that we should know about?","I haven't the faintest," Jenkins said, "but they definitely aren't going away.","EJ isn't even here, and we're late this year, but somehow, the pattern of his birthday going sideways is holding true. Cassie is gonna have kittens trying to figure out how.","Oh, for the love of—" Jenkins cut off the swear as Ezekiel jumped off the table and dismissed the security projection before leaving to answer the door. Unthwarted, he called after the thief, "his name is Harry, not Ezekiel Junior!",Ezekiel's laughter was more than a bit uncalled for, really.,Jenkins looked around the room to verify that the more obviously magical things were properly stowed out of sight. The only exception was the mechanism for the Door, which was bolted very securely to the floor near the Library's doors. Never again could the complex globe be stolen in less than a minute. Ezekiel really should have known better than to invite his mother to the Library , tell her about the magical device capable of rendering mundane security measures moot. It had been one of the first things he had thought about when Jenkins had presented the cobbled-together contraption.,"Jenkins, may I present our guests?" Ezekiel announced with an exaggerated air of pompous formality. His accent had thickened in the few moments he had been gone, betraying his stirring temper. "Fuchsia here is a headmaster of some school, and Smiley is one of the teachers. They're looking for a missing kid and think we might know where he is.",With a negligent motion, Ezekiel returned to his perch beside the Scrapbook. This time he was turned to have both a view of the Library doors that light up at any time with the portal from Estrella's retreat in South America and the two men. Jenkins breathed in deeply, determined to keep himself calm. It would not do to give into the panic beginning to pound through him at the idea of Harry being forced to return to his previous guardians. No one was going to allow that; it wasn't going to happen.,He would die before letting Harry be taken from their family.,The obnoxious music of a game interrupted his thoughts. Ezekiel had pulled out his phone and turned the volume uncharacteristically loud. Jenkins breathed again. Of course the Librarian had already texted for backup and knew exactly how to signal to Jenkins that he had without alerting their guests. The Australian had probably even sent a text warning Cassandra to wait a bit before returning, though signal strength in the mountains around the retreat wasn't the best. Jenkins just had to focus on the diplomatically handling their guests, no different from any other gathering in the Library.,"I apologize for Mr. Jones' flippancy," Jenkins said drawing on centuries of tact. "What are you really called and how may I help you gentlemen today?","I am Albus Dumbledore," the older man said. Something in his tone reminded Jenkins of how Lancelot had always spoken, as if he was used to his reputation opening doors. The remnant of old rivalries had Jenkins automatically straightening into a battle-ready posture. "I am the headmaster of Hogwarts.","Hogwarts?" Jenkins echoed. That did explain a lot of, well, ,. He hadn't heard anything from those four troublemakers since Helga's missive about Salazar's disappearance. "The school is still open?","You've heard of Hogwarts?","It has been a very long time," he admitted, drawing a snort from Ezekiel for the understatement. "What brings representatives from a magic school to our humble corner of the world?",Jenkins could feel Ezekiel's judgement in every dingy tap of his phone as he relayed that information to the other Librarians. No doubt Flynn and Eve would have things to say about Jenkins withholding information from them, but honestly, he was halfway through his second millennium of life. There was a lot of time to accumulate information. The past existence of magical schools had never been relevant, especially since it had been over four centuries since he had heard of any.,"I'm afraid that we have a missing student," Dumbledore said, clearly setting aside questioning how Jenkins knew about the school or magic. Jenkins was thankful for the reprieve even as it left him wondering if the pair was aware of where they were. "He wandered off a few years ago—" The man with Dumbledore snorted in a far more dismissive way than Ezekiel had. "—and we were unaware until recently. We set about tracking him immediately, which led us to here.","If he wandered off a few years ago," Ezekiel demanded, "how are you just now finding out that a , is missing? Do you all not do regular headcounts?","His invitation letter went unanswered," Dumbledore answered undisturbed by Ezekiel's belligerent tone. "He is due to start this autumn.","Then he's not a student yet, is he?","Do you even have schools in Australia" the other man asked caustically, "or do you murderers leave it to the parents?","Wanna say that again, mate?" Ezekiel demanded, hopping off the table. He advanced on the sour-faced man. "You forget that it was , who—",",," Eve snapped as she strode into the room. Flynn and Jacob were right behind her, even if they did break off as she went to pull Ezekiel out of the man's face. Effortlessly, the Guardian managed to place herself between the two. Her face was hard when she turned her back towards Ezekiel to face down their guests. Only her eyes betrayed her fury as she immediately took command of the situation. "Let's start this from the beginning. I'm Eve Baird, and you are…?","Albus Dumbledore," the old man repeated, a tiny trace of annoyance lacing his voice, "and I am looking for a missing student.","And your companion?" Eve asked. Flynn drifted around the edges of the room, as if the conversation happening was utterly boring. Periodically, he would pause and fidget with something in the space or brush his fingers over the intricate carvings in the woodwork. The sense of ambient magic in the air shifted from passive sleepiness to attentive watching. Jacob settled with his arms crossed on the stairs to the bookshelf-filled loft. "Is he also looking for this missing student?","Severus is helping me, yes," Dumbledore agreed. His blue eyes twinkled the same way that Lancelot's always had when he was seducing yet another maiden to his bed. The urge to punch the man in is his already-crooked nose almost overwhelmed Jenkins for a moment. "Professor Snape teaches Potions.","You trust him around little kids?" Ezekiel asked, disgusted with the idea. Jenkins silently agreed. The man had a foul temper and an even fouler tongue. The idea of him anywhere near children was inherently disturbing.,"I trust Severus with my life," Dumbledore said, obviously thinking that would reassure them instead of the exact opposite. "Now, as I was saying: we are looking for a missing student. He's of Indian descent but has green eyes. He would have just turned eleven.","That's a fairly vague description," Flynn said, still seeming to be distracted. "Does this mysterious kid have a name? Maybe an identifying trait other than an unusual eye color for someone of his race? Not that green eyes aren't already an unusual eye color in themselves, given that only 2% of the world's population have them. Well, it's probably a higher concentration in Iceland, but then 80% of the population of Iceland has blue eyes which is the base genetic requirement for the gray and green variation. It would stand to reason that they would also have a higher concentration of people with green eyes—","Flynn, honey," Eve interrupted without looking towards the man, "you're rambling.","Right," Flynn agreed. "Shutting up." The silence lasted just a heartbeat. "Actually, you know what keeps going through my head? You refer to the kid as a student, but then you also say that you only know that he was missing because he hadn't answered his invitation letter. Now I may not be well-versed in how magical school works, but I do happen to have a few doctorates under my belt—" Everyone except for their guests choked a bit at that description. Flynn had a , like Jenkins had lived , than was normal. "—and it has been my experience that one has to actually accept their invitation in order to be something. Ergo, he can't be your student. Which begs the question—" Flynn turned towards Dumbledore, suddenly laser-focused in the way that only a Librarian with the full backing of the Library could be. "Why are you really looking for him?","A child is missing, Mr. …?","Carsen," Flynn answered the unspoken question, "and it's ,, several times over, as I just mentioned. More importantly, because I think you're dangerously ignorant of where you are and who you're talking to, I'm the Librarian.",", Librarian," Jacob corrected, not moving from his seat. Ezekiel echoed the correction as he stepped around Eve to glare at them. With all the karmic timing Jenkins had come to expect from the Library, the Door swung open, spilling bright sunlight into the windowless room as Cassandra stepped through with all the authority of a priestess approaching the altar of her god. Her blue eyes swept the assembled group, measuring, as the sunshine turned her hair in a halo of red-orange flames.,"Did Flynn claim to be the only Librarian again?" she asked lightly. "I thought we had finally trained that out of him. Maybe we should revisit the spray bottle idea?","Technically," came a quiet voice from the still open door, "since Flynn is tethered to the Library, he is , Librarian, even if he's still only one of four Librarians. Just like Eve is , Guardian, even if there is another one running around with the same authority. That's not even including whatever we're calling Jenkins' role today.","I prefer ,," Jenkins said, taking care to sound especially lofty because it would make Harry smile. "It sounds so much better than ,.","I'm not a baby," said the Librarians in unison.,Eve rolled her eyes even as Harry took the opportunity to tuck himself against her side. She ran a hand over his braided hair, giving the end a playful tug before settling her arm over his shoulders. The child was clearly using the half-embrace to get a better look at their visitors, but Jenkins knew that Eve didn't have the heart to turn Harry away, not even to protect him. Even with all the improvement, the fear she had inspired in that first year had left an impression on the Guardian.,"Ah," Dumbledore said, "there you are, Harry. You gave us all quite the fright, running off like that.","I'm sorry," Harry said very politely, "but I don't know who you are, and I didn't run off. I went with Cassie to visit Estrella. Both Eve and Jenkins knew where I was, so I don't know why they would be worried.","I meant your family, my dear boy. You caused many problems when you disappeared, Harry.","Like he cares," Snape commented. His black eyes glittered coldly as he glared at Harry. Jenkins could see Ezekiel glaring at the man over Harry's head. "The boy is clearly just like his father: ,. What happened, Potter? Did your aunt not let you have enough sweets? Did she take away your favorite toy?",Harry looked confused at the vitriol being aimed at him, especially since the man was a complete stranger. He opened his mouth to answer but all that came out was a wheezy squeak. Harry shuddered before leaning harder against Eve's side. Through it all, everyone was bristling at Snape's cruel words…everyone except his companion who looked unperturbed that a professor at his school was snapping at a child who was the age to attend said school.,Instead the old man was pulling a wrinkled wax bag out of his blindingly bright robes. Jenkins hoped that it had been in a bizarrely placed pocket and not tucked against his skin. Call him a prude, but that thought did not sit any better than the idea of Harry attending Hogwarts did. Maybe the situation would have been different if Helga was still in charge of the school, but this man clearly had difficulties reigning in his teachers. Unaware of Jenkins' thoughts, Dumbledore tipped the opening of the bag towards Harry.,"Lemon drop?" He looked disappointed when Harry refused with a silent shake of his head, but he tucked the bag away without pressuring the boy to take one of the candies. Then he pulled out a folded bit of parchment that had been folded into an envelope and sealed with green wax. He offered the letter to Harry. "Might as well deliver this before we leave. I'm sure you're very excited to finally be getting it.","What is it?" Cassandra asked as Harry took the letter without pulling away from Eve's side. Snape's thin lips twisted into a sneer. Jacob straightened his posture, obviously reaching the end of his patience with the man. "Is that really ,? Like, ,, not just really rough paper? Didn't it go out of style in the 14th Century? I didn't even realize that people still made it!","It's Harry's invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore announced grandly. A flash of excitement crossed Cassandra's freckled face at the mention of an entire school for learning magic. Just as quickly, that excitement turned to horror. Obviously, her Librarian intellect had just made the connection between the two strangers and the school.,"You…you're from Hogwarts, aren't you?","I'm the headmaster," Dumbledore said, far more pleased to be repeating the information this time despite how Cassandra looked like she was going to be ill. Estrella came up behind her and placed a hand on her back in silent support. Dumbledore gestured towards his companion. "My colleague teaches Potions.","You allow , around ,?" Cassandra covered her mouth with both of her hands as the blood drained from her face. Estrella rubbed her back while baring her fangs at the headmaster, just as disgusted.,"I trust Severus with my life," Dumbledore repeated, as if that negated the other man's venomous tongue. Jenkins was getting very tired of this man's presence. "Thank you for taking care of young Harry. I'm sure that his aunt will be very grateful once they are reunited.","Like ,," Jacob snapped at the same time that Ezekiel said, "not happening, mate.","I'm afraid that you don't understand," Dumbledore said softly, as if they were the ones confused. "Harry must return to his aunt, especially with how long he's been out of her home, before he must leave for Hogwarts in a month. As long as he calls his aunt's home, he will be safe.","Like , he was ever safe there," Jacob growled, jumping to his feet. He slammed his hands flat against the worktable separating him from the rest of the crowd. "He ain't going back to 'em, and he ain't attending Hogwarts.",The rising tension in the room was clearly getting to Harry who was trembling so hard that the open letter in his hand was flapping. Eve shifted them both away from Dumbledore. The move put Ezekiel and Jenkins closer to the wizards and Eve even with Cassandra and Estrella. It also meant that the vampire had a clear path to the still open Door, should the need to get Harry even farther away arise. Flynn was standing beside the Door mechanism, clearly ready to shut it down after they were through.,"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said, though his tone indicated that he was not sorry in the least, "but there really isn't any choice in the matter. Harry must live with his aunt, and he must attend Hogwarts. It's for the Greater Good.","I don't think you're getting it, mate," Ezekiel argued. "Your 'greater good' can go hang for all we care. Harry's not going anywhere with you, especially not if you plan on sending him back to, to, to—" He cut himself off with a grunt. "He's not going anywhere with you, so ,.","I understand that you have all come to care for Harry very much," Dumbledore acknowledged, letting his voice take on a trace of regret. Jenkins could have laughed at the obvious falseness of it. Did the old man ever manage to fool anyone with his acting? "But it does not change anything. Harry will return to his aunt before attending Hogwarts in September.","Why?" Flynn asked. The question cut through a lot of the tension in the room.,"You dare question—","Now, Severus," Dumbledore interrupted, which instantly made Snape stop his tirade. Clearly, Dumbledore's lack of interference before was not because he couldn't control the man. "It is a fair question. These people took young Harry in after his untimely departure from his relatives. They deserve some explanation for their trouble." He patted Snape on the arm cordially.,"Harry cannot remain untrained," Dumbledore continued. "Magic can be very dangerous if uncontrolled. Harry is exceptionally powerful, which means that he—and those around him—are at even greater risk should his magic get away from him.","Harry is an exceptional student," Cassandra said. Her bright smile was a little bit sharper than normal as she aimed her next words at Snape. "He's especially good at potions. His control over his magic is still a little shaky at times, but he has improved leaps and bounds since we started training. I do not see that trend changing any time soon. What does your school have that he could not get from his private tutorage here? This is the Library, after all.","Hogwarts is the finest school in the wizarding world," Dumbledore said, fully confident that his words would be believed without question. Every official Librarian choked back snorts of laughter. A flash of irritation crossed the old man's face.,"Maybe it is," Jacob said, taking up the argument. "It probably ain't, if you're allowing Snickers there anywhere near the kids, but let's accept that it's the best school the wizarding world has to offer. Harry's not your average student. Even before factoring in your claim that he's powerful—which I agree with, because I've seen the kid in action—Harry's beyond simply ,. Kid's a genius, and he's been raised around other genii. Do you really think you're set up to handle that?","We can handle the braggart just fine," Snape said before Dumbledore could speak up. "We won't indulge his every whim or tolerate his ego, but we're more than capable of keeping the boy occupied." He smiled nastily at them. "With ,, if nothing else.","Hard to be braggart when you're the best," Ezekiel pointed out. "Not that you probably know anything about that, being such a raw prawn yourself." The thief rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension. Then he hopped up to sit on the worktable again, still keeping himself between Harry and the pair from Hogwarts. "But I would because I'm the best at what I do. Harry's gonna give me a run for my money in the next couple of years. Do you really think we'd let him go with you and let his mad skills languish?","Hogwarts is perfectly capable of teaching Harry whatever he needs to know." Dumbledore sighed before removing his half-moon glasses to rub his nose. "I understand that this is distressing, but there is no other option. Harry will be attending Hogwarts, and he will be returning to his aunt.","Over my dead body," Jenkins vowed. The Library picked up the words, echoing them, hammering them in place like nails into wood. He made sure to meet Dumbledore's eyes, batting away the mental probe sent his way with the ease of swatting away a fly. "Regardless of who and what he was before, Harry is now ,, and he belongs in here.","Why?" Snape demanded petulantly. Jenkins didn't bother looking at the petty man who was clearly bitter over something and willing to take it out on Harry. Instead, he addressed his answer to Dumbledore.,"Where else would a Librarian belong," Jenkins said as Flynn activated the banishing wards, "but in the Library?",The magic bore down on the intruders before they disappeared with a loud crack. The Door sputtered and detached, plunging the room back to indoor lighting as the sunshine disappeared. The mechanism sparked before releasing a curl of dark purple smoke into Flynn's face. Jenkins would have sighed at needing to repair it , but he was busy catching Harry as the boy leapt at him. Thin limbs wrapped around him like steel cables. Jenkins cradled the back of Harry's head, pressing kisses to his temple and whispering reassurances.,"Every year, without fail," Ezekiel commented. "His birthday and Halloween, something always goes hinky. I'm telling ya: EJ is ,.","His name is Harry," Eve said more out of habit than anything else, "not Ezekiel Junior.",Weak but relieved laughter spilled from everyone. Despite everything, it really was just another Tuesday in the Library.

Petunia Dursley was in a very good mood. Her husband had recently gotten a promotion, her baby boy was thriving and had just learned his first word ('no', he's a very assertive child, just like his father), and the autumn had been mild enough that her flowers and garden were still the envy of the neighborhood. Life was going very well indeed.,She had awoken early so she could cook a full breakfast for her family. She had just started to crack the eggs into a bowl when there was a knock on the door. Petunia glanced toward the entry hall in confusion. She wasn't expecting anyone, especially at this hour. The knocking came again, louder and more insistent. Petunia quickly wiped her hands on a dishtowel and hurried to answer the door before the noise woke her son.,She opened the door to see the milkman. She frowned, furious. She had left the empty bottles on the doorstep the previous evening; there was no reason for him to cause such a commotion.,"Well? What is it? If you wake my son I'll be calling your supervisor!","My apologies ma'am, please s'cuse the interruption, but I found a baby on yer doorstep.","I'm sorry?" Petunia stared at him blankly. He found a what? "A baby? Why on earth would a baby be on my doorstep?","I dunno, ma'am, but it's righ'ere, inna basket.",Petunia glanced down and, sure enough, there laid an infant in a basket. The child had dark hair and bright green eyes that stared up at her with an eerie quiet.,Her sister's child.,"Thank you for letting me know. I'll call the police and have this figured out.",The milkman nodded in satisfaction and left, taking the empty milk bottles with him. Petunia hurriedly scooped up the basket and the fresh milk and went inside before any of the neighbors could see. She set the basket on the table and busied herself with putting away the milk while she took a few calming breaths. Once she felt sufficiently calm, she walked over to the basket and stared at her nephew for a long while.,He was a beautiful child. He was perfectly proportioned, neither to thin nor too thick. He had Lily's porcelain complexion and pink rosy cheeks. His eyes were a magnificent shade of green that glowed against his pale skin and dark hair. It figured that her sister would beat her even at this.,An envelope tucked in to the blanket caught her eye. She quickly ripped it open and read the contents twice. Her sister and her good for nothing husband were dead, and the child had been left in her care. Petunia's mind whirled. She had not gotten along with her sister for the past several years, but she was still her little sister. They had been extremely close as children. It was only when magic came in to their lives that everything changed. When everything fell apart. Magic had done this, killed her family's relationship as much as it had killed her sister. She would tolerate it no more, the child had to go.,With that decision made, Petunia calmly made the child a bottle. She would discuss the details with her husband over breakfast.,Vernon came thundering down the stairs a few minutes after the smell of sizzling bacon managed to waft its way up the stairs. He carried a fussy Dudley with him, and deposited the child in to his high chair before sitting down himself and opened up the morning paper. Petunia finished up the cooking and carried over a heaping plate of bacon, eggs, and toast over to her husband,He grunted his thanks and started to stuff his face. When he had guzzled a little more than half the contents of his plate, he gestured to the basket that was still on the table. "What's in there, Pet?",Petunia looked up from where she was sitting, scooping spoonful after spoonful of sugared oatmeal in to her large child's mouth. "My sister and her husband were murdered last night, and someone thought it would be a good idea to leave their baby on our doorstep. He's one of ,so we can't call the police. I've been trying to think of a way to get rid of him all morning, but I don't want to burden a perfectly normal family with a little freak.",Vernon stroked one of his fat chins, deep in thought. Suddenly he smiled, inspired by an ad he had glanced over in the morning paper. "Well Pet, then we won't leave him with normal folk. We'll give him to some freaks.","How are we supposed to find more of them?",Vernon grinned toothily through his mustache. "There's a circus in London this week. I can take today off and we can take Duddy to see the show and leave the basket with the boy next to the freak tent. No one will be able to trace it back to us, and he won't be a burden to any normal people.",Petunia smiled adoringly at her husband. She had married a genius. "Okay Diddykins, let's get you cleaned up. We're going to the circus!",Lila Valeska sighed, irritated. She had come to London to get away from Cicero and his nagging about her kid, but she was starting to regret it. The circus she had joined was second rate at best, and the locals didn't appreciate her talents.,And the men were ugly. ,She took a long swig from a bottle of swill the perverted clown in trailer four made and wished it were stronger. Jerome was screaming his head off again and it was starting to grate on her nerves.,"Oi! Lila!" The ringmaster pounded on the side of her trailer, "Git yer kid ta shut 'is trap! Yer on next!","Alright, alright already!" She snapped and grabbed Jerome by his scrawny shoulders and gave him a rough shake. "Why don't you ever shut up you little brat? Is a moment of silence too much to ask?" Lila snarled at the one-year-old, whose head was whipping back in forth sickeningly. Lila finally lost all her breath and released her child. Jerome slumped, boneless, into his cardboard box.,It wasn't until she had returned from her last performance and finished her booze that Lila realized Jerome was being oddly silent. She peeked into the cardboard box and reeled back in shock, and then crouched down to get a closer look at her boy. He was staring ahead with glassy eyes, and his skin was starting to take on a blue tinge. Lila hesitantly pressed a finger against her child's throat. There was no movement, and the skin was cold to the touch.,For a moment, Lila was filled with shame and grief. But then her selfishness took hold of her and she worried about what would happen when the others found out. And what they would do to her when they discovered she had killed her child. They might not have liked Jerome very much, but it was an unspoken law that you don't hurt children. (Well, at least nothing permanent.),Lila covered Jerome's body with his blanket and exited her trailer. She could pass it off as an accident. She had shaken Jerome before to get him to shut up, nothing about this time was any different... but she could say he suffocated on his blanket in his sleep, which might go over easier. She huffed in annoyance and started walking towards the prop tent. The clowns usually hid the good booze there.,Right before she entered the tent, a soft whimper caught her attention. Lila was drawn towards a patch of tall grass next to a fold in the tent. There, nestled in the grass and obscured by the tent, lay a basket with a baby inside. Lila picked him up and looked at the small face. It was a boy, judging by the pajamas with little trucks as a design, and he was about the same age as Jerome. He even had a passing resemblance to Jerome, with the thick black hair and green eyes. No one who had recently seen Jerome would be fooled, but if she went back to Haly's Circus then …,Lila blinked in shock and almost returned the baby to the basket, but she hesitated. Was it such a bad idea? She hated it here, and she had made it very well known. It wouldn't be a surprise if she up and left. And she had several lovers that were very fond of her at Haly's; it would be easy to go back. Besides, Cicero's blind, so it's not like he'd notice if she had a different child with her. And this way, she could avoid all the…unpleasantness…that a dead child tends to bring.,Decision made, Lila put the child back in the basket and cautiously covered him up with his blanket. She made her way back to her trailer, staying in the shadows to avoid suspicion. Once inside she immediately began packing her meager belongings. Her last act was to wrap the body of her dead baby in the blanket from the basket. She'd throw it and the basket she found with her new Jerome into the Thames on her way to the airport.,"Are you ready to go to America, Jerome?" Lila cooed. The newly dubbed Jerome made a soft hiccupping sound and stared up sleepily at his new mother.

It wasn't fair. How could everything go from right to so, so wrong in the space of a few seconds? They nearly succeeded; having gone through one of the most gruelling rescue missions the group had ever been through. Mirai was safe within her brother's arms when they were ambushed and overpowered by Kureto Hiragi and Guren. Alone, the group may have had a chance, but when faced with an army plus Kureto's squad and the group found themselves on death's door.,They nearly made it, and yet, they were unsuccessful. They watched in horror when Mirai flung herself in front of her brother to shield him from a soldier's blade; piercing her through the heart. They watched as one by one, their comrades, their family, were slowly diminished until only Yuu and Mika stood.,And yet, the last thing the two remembered was staring down the blade on Kureto and Guren as the world went black around them.,When Ronald Bilius Weasley was born into the world, neither Molly nor Arthur thought it strange that he didn't share the signature Weasley bright red hair, but rather it had a pinkish tinge to it. But both parents brushed it off, merely glad that their child was born healthy.,However, it was only when one Ginerva Molly Weasley was born with a similar colour hair as her younger brother did the two parents begin to question why. Of course, both parents were pleased that it was nothing serious or life threatening, but the two couldn't help but wonder.,As Ron Weasley grew older alongside his sister, Molly and Arthur begun to notice that they were nothing like their previous brothers. Ginny took an instant liking to Ron, something which the family believes is due to his constant hovering over her shoulder, but nonetheless the two were inseparable. However, despite the twins, Percy, and Bill, Ron was different. He was silent yet quick to anger, calm yet fierce, but what startled the family even more was his sudden talent for fighting and Japanese.,It wasn't noticeable at first, the few random words of gibberish that left his mouth before he quickly fixed his mistake and continued on like nothing had occurred. But when a few words become too many, that's when the family begun to pay more attention.,They were random yet causal words that were spoken with such ease it was as if it was natural. A word that keeps slipping his lips is 'imouto', which Molly later found out is Japanese for sister. However, another word that the family keep hearing slip Ron's lips, albeit whenever the twins pull a prank, is 'baka' or 'teme'. Molly was later appalled when she discovered the meaning of those words and gave her youngest son a good tongue lashing about the use of such words, no matter what language it's spoken in.,And yet, what startled her the most was when Ginny replied in much the same manner, often times calling Ron 'onii-san'.,Despite the uniqueness of her two youngest children, she let them be, and her family continued to thrive and grow happily. However, that all changed when Ron turned eight years old. And her once happy family made a drastic change.,When Draco Lucius Malfoy was born, the Malfoy family and those with close ties to the pure-blooded family merely offered their congratulations to the family for a healthy birth. Ever since birth, Draco had been a quiet child, never raising a fuss or screaming his lungs out; something which had been a huge relief to both Narcissa and Lucius. That stayed that way for majority of his childhood. Yet he was an odd child for a Malfoy. Unlike his father, Draco didn't combe back his hair, instead letting it grow to about shoulder length and leaving it in an almost messy state; something which bothered Lucius to no end.,However, despite his hair, Draco loved life, which was quite the turn due to the gloomy and political upbringing of the family, but Narcissa was happy. Wherever the two went, Draco would smile, bright blue eyes wide with wonder and kindness as he socialised and made friends; something which Lucius was both pleased and disappointed in.,Lucius was pleased that his son and only Malfoy heir was making many friends and forming ties so quickly, but was disappointed in his son's cheerfulness and nativity. He knows he cannot expect a boy as young as Draco to understand, but he does not wish for his son to grow ignorant and to tarnish the Malfoy name.,However, that viewpoint changed as Draco grew older. Both Narcissa and Lucius noticing signs of Draco's hidden intelligence. It started with small things, a word here and an odd comment there, but what really gained their attention was the random switch in languages. Whenever engaged in a conversation, Narcissa would pick up both Latin and Japanese words randomly spoken throughout his sentences; some which even Draco picked up and quickly apologised before correcting himself.,Narcissa, forever curious, asked her son where he'd learned such words, in which Draco would reply with a small frown.,"I don't know." He always answered, and Narcissa believed him, for even he seemed startled by the slip ups. When Narcissa informed her husband, he was proud. Stating, albeit in a well-mannered way, that it was a sign of his intelligence, something which Narcissa agreed with. However, soon as the years dragged on, the day on Draco's 8th birthday, things quickly turned sour for young Draco Malfoy and his prideful family.,Neville Longbottom was always a quiet child. Some say it's because of the tragic fate of his parents, or that fact that he may be a Squib, but no one, not even Neville Longbottom himself, knew why he is as he is.,Whenever Neville thinks back to the loses of his parents, a dull and frightening ache in his heart startles him; bring back the familiar feeling of losing a loved one, of the familiar feeling of watching death. It both puzzled and scared him that the feeling was even familiar to him, but he kept it to himself.,Whenever he dreamed, he heard a voice, one that called a familiar yet unknown name to him; lulling him into something unknown. But before he could even piece together what is occurring, he'd wake up in cold sweats, his mind hazy and confused at the reoccurring dream.,He never wanted to bother his grandfather and grandmother, for indeed he was a quiet child haunted by a strange dream, but there were instances where he startled even himself. Neville knew of the existence of magic, he himself having been born into a pureblood family, but as he grew older, his grandparents were becoming desperate.,Not once in his entire life did he display any signs of accidental magic, and his grandfather was coming up with all kinds of frightening ways to force him to bring it out. It was during one of his attempts did Neville not only startle his grandparents, but also himself.,It was during another one of his grandfather's attempts did it occur. His grandfather had spelled the utensils to fly after him, chasing him throughout the house. Surprisingly, Neville wasn't scared nor frightened, merely concerned as what to do.,However, what surprised the Longbottom family was when Neville spun around and physically grabbed the flying utensils out of the air with his bare hands and instinctively threw them back at his grandfather before he could even realise what he's doing. His grandfather, thankfully, managed to spell the utensils to freeze in mid-air before falling to the ground with a clatter.,Once Neville comprehended what he'd just done, he couldn't stop the wave of apologies that left his mouth as he ,Again, his family and Neville himself disregarded the strange behaviour as a possible Squib dealing with the loose of his parents; but neither member of the Longbottom family could possibly comprehend what is awaiting the young child.,Harry James Potter was a lonely child. Growing up in a hostile environment, his parents having died when he was too young to remember them. He grew up watching as his "family" grow fat and lazy all the while he grew skinny and worked.,His clothes didn't fit him, he only had one pair of shoes, his glasses were broken and his hair a mess. But what really gained people's attentions is not the oddly shaped scar on his forehead or his brilliant green eyes, but rather the distant and intelligent look in his eyes. If that didn't freak out the ordinary family, then Harry's sharp reflexes, odd tendencies to speak in Japanese and Latin, and his seemingly non-caring attitude definitely did. For no matter how many times they kicked him down, no matter how many times they punished him or spoke badly of him, he always got back up.,It got to the point where even Dudley's gang didn't faze him. In fact, he even welcomed the chance to fight them and beat them to a pulp; for someone so small and skinny, he's a good fighter.,However, underneath the non-caring attitude and tough exterior, he was plagued by repeating nightmares. Every time he goes to bed, every time he closes his eyes and falls asleep, he is haunted by the same nightmare night after night.,Each night is the same. He stands in a grand and lavish building, white and gold decorated the ceiling and pillars around him; stairs rose from the floor towards an arch that led to somewhere unknown, but his eyes aren't on the mysterious doorway, but rather on the crying and bleeding blonde in front of him. Blood stained the pearly white tiles as bodies on children laid behind the blonde, but what frightened Harry the most was the scary man approaching them.,Long silver hair, white uniform and blood red eyes that just screamed "vampire". It's all the same. The boy screaming at him to run as the vampire pieces his stomach and sliced off his arm. He could feel himself move, as he aimed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger; watching as the male vampire falls to the ground and releases the blonde haired boy. He remembers the tears, the sorrow and the anger and exhaustion as he runs up the stairs before finally waking up.,Some nights he wakes up with tears trailing down his face, others he catches himself shouting an unknown yet familiar name; his hand outstretched high above him as if trying to grab onto the nameless boy.,His heart ached, but he had no clue as to why. His uncle and aunt always shouted at him whenever they awoke to him calling out to the boy in his dreams, but he didn't care. For his nightmares took up much of his mind and distracted him more and more. For Harry could just feel it, the answers on the tip of his mind but just out of reach. It both frustrated and annoyed him greatly.,And yet, nothing could prepare young Harry for the answers he'd receive.,On the day of their eighth birthday, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, collapsed in sheer agony as their screams pierced the air.

05/agosto/2018. Aunque lo publique mucho antes, según yo, solo que lo elimine en un impulso de idiotez y bueno, no recuerdo la fecha de la primera publicación.,27/noviembre/2019. Pequeñas correcciones y última vez que edito esto, cualquier error que se me haya escapado (sea la ortografía o en sí la coherencia de la historia), bueno, soy una simple mortal., Diabolik Lovers no me pertenece a mí sino a Rejet, Harry Potter a J. K. Rowling., No trama, cosa extraña y sin sentido, OoC [fuera de personaje], Genderbend [¡MujerDraco!], quizá esto haga sangrar tus ojos, ugh, más bien, lo hará. Ligero Ayato/FemDraco si entrecierras los ojos. Oh, y he de mencionar que me falta terminar del cuarto libro en adelante de Harry Potter (, Lo sé, lo sé, error mío, pero soy impaciente y algunas cosas son inevitables, sorry)., No sé, tenía ganas de publicarlo, punto. Tengo otras ideas para FemDraco/Draco, ya sea en un crossover con nulo romance o siendo pareja de Subaru o Carla (o de quien más se me antoje). ¿Por qué en esta ocasión FemDraco? Debido a que llevo un buen tiempo queriendo leer un FemDraco, sea un fanfic normal o crossover, pero no he encontrado nada que me guste del todo y lo que tiene oportunidad de gustarme se queda inconcluso en la mejor parte, mi alma necesita FemDraco *llora*. Y a falta de, uno tiene que hacerlo por su propia cuenta.,— ¡Eres una bruja!,Ayato esperó todo, desde insultos sutiles hasta pisotones, pero no la sonrisa orgullosa de Draco Malfoy.,La molestia creció y se combinó con la confusión, avanzó rápido para brotar de sus labios sin embargo esa mezcla caótica se atoró en su garganta. Tosió, cerró las manos con fuerza y casi fue a lanzarse encima de la pequeña figura, casi, porque el gran Ayato-sama jamás se rebajaría para moler a golpes a una niña de apenas diez años.,Ese incordio tenía que irse, una lástima que últimamente el viejo tuviera juntas con sus socios en la mansión, en vez de largarse a cualquier otro lado incluso fuera del país (gesto que agradecerían todos los hijos de Karl Heinz, claro está). Maldecía aún más al anciano por obligarlo a soportar niñerías, hasta Reiji lo había dejado a su suerte, supuestamente para que así Ayato se hiciera responsable de sus actos carentes de educación, ¡¿pero cómo demonios sabría que la mocosa era tan rencorosa?!, Eso había mencionado Laito, con esa sonrisa irritante y ojos que parecían ver millones de pasos más adelante que Ayato.,Frunció más el ceño, otra vez, ¿cómo cojones se suponía que lo sabría?,¡Todo era culpa de Draco!,Además, ¿por qué Ayato tendría que ser considerado con una niña mimada, rica y con un horrible gusto para vestir? Más bien, ¡¿por qué aun ahora, después de sufrir los acosos y burlas de Malfoy por más de seis meses, la atención que le daba a ella incrementaba a cada segundo?!,— ¡No te burles de mí! —Ayato le reclamó a Laito, que se carcajeaba desde el sillón, incluso Reiji (mientras limpiaba una de sus tazas de colección) tenía una pequeña sonrisa—. ¡Y a ti, ¿qué te pasa?! ¡Te insulte, ¿por qué no reaccionas?! —Señaló a Malfoy con su dedo índice de manera grosera.,—Debido a que, listillo, bruja no es una ofensa —contestó Draco con un tono aburrido, pero aun así manteniendo esa expresión de victoria y superioridad—, y he de mencionar que, para tener diecisiete años es decepcionante que tus insultos sean tan infantiles y flojos, pero que podría esperarse de un inútil con un vocabulario tan escaso.,— ¡T-tú...!,—Oh, de nuevo sin palabras —Ayato abrió aún más los ojos al ver que hasta Subaru contenía su risa—, vaya sorpresa —comentó con sarcasmo Draco.,— ¡Maldita bruja! —Rojo de la ira, el mayor de los trillizos vio como la sonrisa burlona de Draco creció al igual que el brillo malicioso de sus ojos grises.,Ayato realmente deseo que cualquier dios existente lo escuchara, para que así, Malfoy tuviera los suficientes años para cobrarle su falta de respeto, y el jodido de Karl Heinz dejara de prohibirle tocarle un solo cabello a esa niña tan insolente.,Mientras tanto, esperaría por un milagro (en otras palabras, que su padre recuperara algo de cordura), e iría por un diccionario para tener una lista de insultos con mejores resultados que la palabra bruja.

Hello everyone. I have redone this chapter, because I felt that it did not read as well as before. I hope you enjoy it.,Working on this plot bunny for now, I'm still working on my other fics, but honestly i just am not as interested in them, and they are hard to write without that spark.,So, for now, until I get some inspiration, I give you my first Harry Potter/Beyond 2 Souls crossover.,Disclaimer: I don't own Beyond 2 Souls or Harry Potter,Thought/Rose speaking,Magical items,Normal.,-0-0-0-0-,It was cold that night, as it was every night for the young boy in the cupboard. It wasn't because of his sheet for a blanket, but something else that Harry just could never appropriately explain.,She has always been with him, protecting him from the monsters. The Monsters were like her, angry, lonely, and cold. But she tried to help him with things, and like him, was afraid of the monsters. He couldn't see her most of the time, a reflection was normally needed. When she could be seen, she was a mass of black lines, almost like string. She had red eyes and a mouth, everything else was that string that glowed a haunted black.,To this boy, he felt that everything in this world was against him except for her. and sometimes even then...,He pondered this as he laid in his bed, tossing and turning. He shut his eyes tightly to try and stop thinking about it, but he couldn't stop the memories of being thrown against the ceiling by the monsters, only to be beaten for it by his uncle.,His name was Harry Potter. And he was being attacked by monsters almost every night now. He felt Rose, the one that was always with him, warn him of the monsters. He opened eyes wide open and breathing hard in fear as the clutter around him started moving ever so slightly.,"Nothing's going to happen. They are not going to come for us." He whispered to himself, trying with all his might to deny what was about to happen. What he knew was about to happen. Then he heard, well, more like felt, his constant companion make a noise.,"I know Rose. I know." He said to himself. Harry gulped as the dust on the ground started to float around him, and he could see the outline of Rose and the monsters. She was getting out of the way of the monsters before they could hurt her as well. For a brief moment before he knew it would begin, he thought about Rose.,He couldn't remember a day without her, and wondered if she would be free from him if he just died.,Then the little things around the room started to float into the air, and he made an almost silent wispier.,"The monsters…" He hid under his sheet, and curled into a defensive ball. It never worked.,They were worse than his uncle, at least he never hit him without a reason. These things had no reason, that's why they were monsters. Screaming and calling for help only made things worse, it gave Uncle Vernon a reason to hit him.,He felt a pencil stab through both of his cheeks, stabbing into his bed. He couldn't help but give a muffled scream at that, and bit down on the pencil, snapping it in three.,He held in his screams as he got scratched up and grabbed, floating in the air as they tried to play tug-of-war with his left arm and right leg. He couldn't see them, and he didn't have to. He knew they were there. He managed to spit out the pencil, and clenched his jaw, feeling his left leg suddenly being pulled as well.,Harry made one single thought, Help...,He felt though the connection with Rose something snap, utter rage boiling over. He saw Rose's form appear, black and full of rage, screaming silently. The Monsters started bursting into bright white sparks, and Harry was dropped immediately by the Monsters.,Harry stared at his cut up arms, face, and legs, and looked up in the air in Rose's general direction. He tried to ask Rose a question, but the two holes in his mouth made it painful to speak.,But he had to know.,"Rose? Did you get rid of the Monsters?" He dared ask, feeling hope for the first time that he could remember. He felt Rose's response, he felt the confidence, the satisfaction, and shared in the feelings a little. He couldn't help but smile, even though it hurt painfully to do so. He noticed the blood coming from out of his mouth, and from his newly pierced cheeks.,"Thank you." He said letting go of the fear he had for a moment, opening crying in relief to the point of almost sobbing, as he felt warmth, and an itch everywhere at the same time, and then he noticed on his scratches and bruises, and they started to fade away.,"Rose? Did you just…" He felt her respond, making him thank her again, he was healed.,He cried him self to sleep, thanking Rose the whole time.,-0-0-0-0-0-,An eleven year old Harry James Potter was simpily deprived.,That much was obvious to everyone, but at the same time, with all the odd things happening to around him, no one could blame the Dursleys for trying to keep him from doing anything strange.,One thing that was for sure, he scared bullies. He commonly said that his imaginary friend, Rose, has dealt with worse. Whenever someone tried to bully him, something strange would happen. They would feel cold, or they would suddenly lose grip of whatever they were holding. Sometimes they would just walk away and forget how they got there. Once a child had to go to the hospital for just suddenly collapsing.,Most people believed that that child fainted from the heat, it was a pretty hot day. But the Dursleys knew better, and were terrified of the idea of being anything but neutral to the boy.,Be too kind, and he would be cautious. And when he was cautious, things would happen. Be abusive, and "Rose" would show them the error of their ways, as a frying pan once cracked Vernon over the head after attempting to beat the boy. He wisely decided to leave Harry alone from then on.,Harry was not mean or rude, but had no friends. Partly because of himself, partly because of Rose, but mostly because of Dudley, and the Dursleys in general.,The Dursleys made sure that he never went out of the house, for any reason other than school. Going so far as to pick him up and drop him off every day, no exception. He always questioned what was going on, and never got a straight answer.,Then one summer's day, he got that answer.,-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-,Harry Potter was enjoying his breakfast with the Duerslys. That is, if sitting in complete silence while his Uncle talked about meetings. He was a busy man, being the director of his own company. Uncle Vernon was reading the paper, occasionally mentioning an article to Aunt Petunia, who was reading a magazine religiously. Dudley was stuffing his face, making a mess over his Smeltings Uniform. How he got accepted into an acadamy Harry didn't know, but could guess.,Harry got whacked across the shin with the brat's Smeltings stick, and Rose had had enough and made Dudley drop it. Dudley stopped bugging Harry for the time being. Then the sound of the mail hatch opening came around, and Vernon spoke up. "Dudley, get the mail." He ordered, turning the pages of the newspaper to get to an article that was continuing from the front page.,"Make Harry do it." Dudley whined, picking up his Smeltings stick, and getting back to his pile of bacon, eggs, and toast.,"Harry, get the mail." Vernon said with a sigh, knowing that the chances of something happening were relativity high. He would not want to ruin Dudley's fine moment, being accepted into Smeltings.,"Rose? Can you get the mail please?" Harry asked nicely. Vernon scowled, this was excatly what he hoped would not happen. He stuck his head deeper into the newspaper, trying to utterly ignore what that thing was doing. He noticed that Petunia suddenly had dishes to do and he nodded in satisfaction, better that she ignored what was happening. Dudley just turned on the TV, also trying to ignore what Rose was doing., Harry thought dryly. The mail floated to Harry, who plucked it out of the air, and he sorted it out real quick.,Bill, Bill, junk mail...what's this? He saw a letter addressed to Harry J. Potter. Something that NEVER happened before. But that was not the strangest part, it was old looking and had green cursive ink that was used to write the address. He noticed the wax seal and the fact that the letter was specifying the cupboard under the stairs.,Something no one knew about. He made a thought towards Rose, so that he can deal with the letter in a moment.,Please bring this to my room Rose, we'll look at it later. Rose gave Harry her version of a shrug, taking the letter from Harry's hands, but hesitated., At that, she took the letter towards the cupboard, and Harry gave the all clear to his relatives.,"Alright, here you go Uncle Vernon." Harry said with humor, but in reality he was anything but humored. He wanted to go and see what was in that letter, NOW. Not later.,"Right. Thank you." Vernon said somewhat stiffly, taking the letters and sorting though them. Dudley came back to finish his meal, and Petunia finished washing the frying pan for the third time.,Harry finished his breakfast, and went to the cupboard, and silently closed the door. He turned around, and he nearly jumped back. The letter was right in front of his face. He snached it out of the air before Rose could move it out of his reach, and spoke sarcastically to the open air.,"Thanks Rose." He opened the letter, noticing the wax seal and the small writing on the letter addressed to him, specifying the cupboard under the stairs.,"What's up with this?" Harry asked out loud.,"Witchcraft and Wizardry…Owl? Books? Uniform? Toad? Who would want a Toad for a pet?" he turned the two pages over to look on the back, and shook his head.,"Rose, can you help me out here?" Harry relaxed, he was about to see a vision.,Suddenly, he felt that he was gone, and in another room. There were three people, an old man in silly robes with a long white beard, an old women in dark robes, and a middle aged women in robes. They did things with a wand, they were in an old building, they did MAGIC. Real magic, not any of this stage magician business.,"Rose?" Harry said after breathing deeply. "Go get an Owl, I'm going to write a letter.",-0-0-0-,Tell me what you think, I am rewriting the next chapter as well.

Vernon Dursley, who lived on Number 4 Privet Drive in Surry, Little Whinging, wasn't happy. As his freak of a Nephew was setting the table, he was reading the paper. The main headline said "Monsters Integrate into Society under the Cultural Exchange between Species Act!" Vernon, being the close minded man he was, HATED this idea. He saw the Harpies and Centaurs etc. as Menaces to society, and shouldn't be allowed the rights the NORMAL people had. Still...If his family volunteered for this program, and played their cards right...Two servants were certainly better than one utterly worthless one... His reasoning here, was that since those participating in the program were not allowed to strike those taking them in, Vernon could do WHATEVER he wanted with whoever he took in. So, he could get free labor out of whichever freak he took in. However, when he read further, he saw that striking his creature would result in jail time. He didn't want that...Perhaps he could put his acting skills to use...He could make his freaky monster do his work by pretending to actually give a damn. This was certainly going to be a challenge, and he would have to ensure his family would be with him as well. He saw the freak finish setting the table and giving him his mountain of food. "It's about time." He said gruffly. "Now go do the yardwork." Harry nodded timidly, not about to argue with his scary uncle. As Freak was working in the sun, Vernon looked to his family and cleared his throat. "Dudders? Petunia Dear? I have a wonderful idea.",Petunia looked up from her food. "Yes, dear?","I think we should take in an extraspecies." Petunia sniffed and turned to Vernon with a look of disgust on her face. Dudley's mouth was simply dropped open in an angry shock. Vernon raised his hands placatingly. "It would be nice to have another hand to...help out around the house.",Petunia's face changed immediately into a sick grin, and Dudley follow suit, understanding their partner and father's meaning. "I'll go get the phone~" Petunia smiled, going to grab it and make an appointment of registration.,"We'll have to pretend to like them when they inevitably arrive." Vernon said, regretfully. "If we treat them unkindly, we could get into trouble with the law." At this, the two visibly deflated, looking angry that they couldn't straight up torture whomever they got a hold of. "But, to be fair, they will be working hard for us. That's about as much torment as we can dish out to them. And besides...The other freak will keep us entertained." Ultimately they agreed and returned to their meals soon leaving as little food as possible. They scraped their disgarded meals onto a dirty tray and set it on the back porch, leaving Harry to it.,Harry, meanwhile, was feeling the effects of a minor case of heatstroke. His movements shaky, and his breath hitching, he stumbled onto the porch and grabbed his tray . He started digging in to the crumbs, soon stuffing his fill. He looked over to the nearby garden hose. Maybe if he sprayed himself with a little water... He went over and found the hose starter, turning it and trying to spray himself really quick, but then the door slammed open... "BOOOOOOOY!" Harry flinched at the sound of the roar of his uncle. "GET IN HERE NOW!" His head swung low, and he began to move towards the house, fearful of what he was going to recieve as punishment... He wasn't even entirely sure what he had done wrong... He just wanted a little water... and as he entered the dark household, his stomach dropped at the sound of the door shutting... "Now then...mind telling me why you're wasting our precious water?!",Harry whimpered softly. 'Please...Somebody help me...Why...Why can't I have a family...that...that cares about me...?' Little did he know, he was going to have many people on his hands...,And so...,Miia was incredibly anxious, fiddling with a lock of her long red hair as the truck she was riding in carried her to her destination. She had been accepted by a family to be better integrated with society. And she had ZERO idea what they were like! What if they didn't like her? What if they thought she was just a weird, gross, scaly snake? But...what if they were super nice? GRR this was so frustrating! They rounded a bend and looking out the window, she saw her destination through the window. Well, it LOOKED nice enough. It was a simple little neighbourhood, nothing too special... The back of the truck opened to reveal Ms. Smith, the one in charge of the program. "All right, here we are. Unload your bags, and we'll go meet your host family." She grabbed a handful of her suitcases, grabbing one with her tail tip, and began slithering out of the truck, moving to the door. Ms Smith yawned as she led the extraspecies to the door. "I'm tired...I'll need a nap after this..." Smith knocked on the door and a second later, a very ugly woman pulled it open. Her features, were so...horselike, it looked as though she was a Extraspecies as well. in fact Ms. Smith's next words were, "Oh, see a Centaur! You'll fit right in-",Petunia looked appalled at Ms. Smith's rudeness. "I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" She exclaimed shrilly.,Smith immediately regretted her words and curtsied quickly apologising quickly for her misunderstanding. "Uh...My bad...You're just a...l-lovely woman..." She threw up in her mouth a little bit when she said that.,Petunia humphed, the turned to Miia and plastered on a fake smile. "Hello there, dear. Welcome to our humble abode." She said in an overly sweet tone.,"Um...thank you!" She said, grinning. Something was off about her...,"So, can we come in? I could go for a cup of coffee." Miia sweatdropped at Ms. Smith's blunt rudeness.,"Hm. I suppose." Petunia said harshly gesturing for them to enter.,Miia frowned. Ms. Smith was messing up her first impression... Soon, Miia was cramped into a kitchen,among the situation VERY awkward... Her tail had to be curled up just to fit properly into the kitchen! Something told her, this was not going to be a good LIVING situation. Miss Petunia seemed very fake, she herself was too big to fit in most places, and there weren't any cute boys around! Ms Smith frowned as she began to drink your coffee. "The renovators should be here in about a week to set things up and make it more suitable for Miia to live in.","R-Renavators?! I did not know anything about that!" Petunia denied, thinking of how much this was going to cost...,Miia on the other hand was internally exploding in happiness. "Yay! I don't have to sit in this tiny kitchen much longer!" She said happily.,"H-How much does this COST?" Petunia asked.,"Don't worry, it's all on the government. All you have to do is sign a few papers." Smith replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. Petunia breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing a pen. Smith reached into her brief case and pulled out a packet. One of which that made Petunia gag, due to the size. Smith frowned. "Is there a problem, Mrs. Dursley?" She asked.,"No, no..." Petunia mumbled softly.,After an hour of reading and signing, an Exhausted Petunia slumped back in her seat. Finally, no more papers to- "Sign these sheets, approving your family is a liability.",Petunia's eye twitched. "YOU'RE JOKING! MORE PAPERS?!","Ma'am, it's protocol. You're halfway done." Ms Smith said nonchalantly, sipping the 2nd cup of coffe. Petunia slammed her head into the table in response. Smith simply shrugged. "It has to be done.",As Petunia signed on, An enormously fat man entered from the front door, shocked at the creature in his kitchen. Miia was equally shocked to see the man's chubby form step in. Ms. Smith simply blinked in confusion. "...I wasn't informed blobs were around...","Excuse me!" Vernon roared, angered by her comment, "I am a perfectly normal HUMAN being!",Ms Smith nodded. "Okay, if you say so." She replied calmly.,Vernon grumbled, plastered a disgusting grin on his face, and turned to Miia, who uncomfortably waved at him. "Hello um...Dear. Welcome to our home.","Hi, Mr. Dursley..." Miia replied uneasily. She had a serious knot in the pit of her stomach looking at the man's smile.,He looked...just so gross...she watched Centaur approach Blob, and explain the situation. His face visibly grew angry and he looked ready to explode. "...I will take over the paperwork from here, dear..." He said, trying to keep his temper in check.,Petunia grinned and kissed his cheek, making Miia's stomach churn. She held onto her human belly and turned away for a moment, attempting to survive. "So...Um...Is there a...guest room or...something?" She asked, trying her hardest to do so politely. She wanted out of this room...,"Umm...Yes I took the LIBERTY of preparing my sons second bedroom for you." Petunia said dryly, gesturing for her to follow. Petunia internally shuddered remembering the tantrum Dudley had thrown when they told him what they would have to do. Miia felt so, so, CRAMPED! There was nowhere to stretch! She'd have to get out more often now. Maybe she would spend time in the yard...It was summer, so it would be nice and warm out... Yeah...that sounded lovely... "So, you'll stay in here, mind the discarded toys, my son just tears through them.." Petunia said, pointing to the like in the corner.,Miia sweatdropped at the massive pile. No wonder it was so crowded in here... She saw the Bed, and slithered in, coiling her tail in a pile and managing to wedge in. She began unpacking, when half an hour later, Vernon returned with a dark grin, one that reeked of Anger. "Okay...Mia..." Miia paled slightly. "Now...I need you to understand this...I work hard every day. My wife is...unfit to work, as she is very fragile. My son doesn't know how to work, I will admit that. So...All we ask is that you...assist us around the house...",Miia found that to be bull. The house was somewhat spotless, and clean! How could any of them be unfit? She supposed...since they were taking her in..she owed it to them to help. "Um...Sure, I guess..." She replied with a shrug. "I'll help you out..." Vernon gained that horrid grin again, and she felt as though a devilish deal had been made... One that would severely hurt her pride later on. The lamia sighed deeply. "So where should I start?" She asked, defeated. Vernon handed her a list, one that extended to another piece of paper that gave her a large list of chores, one that required the utmost attention, and would be difficult due to her size. Miia grimaced. "...Wow...Um...Okay...I'll...Do my best..." So, she slithered off, apparently her purpose to do the laundry...,Meanwhile, in the cupboard under the stairs, Harry was nursing one of his many, MANY wounds. He was forced to allow his Freakiness to mend his wounds, forcing fractures to heal and cuts to stitch together. He heard the visitor leave and the new presence move past his cupboard. He had heard two feminine voices talking to his aunt and uncle, and he realized that the family was going to have a new member... Just another person to hit him he supposed. His cuts fading finally. He sighed, curling up in a ball and waiting for the cupboard to be unlocked. He shuddered in the darkness. He hated it...It was scary... The creaking and unknown sounds made him extremely jumpy, and sleep was hard to come by... And the anxiety from waiting for someone to come and beat him or make him work killed him. He resorted to pulling a pillow above his head and softly whimper, curled up in a ball... He occasionally heard what sounded like something sliding past his cupboard. And a long, long shadow, that took a while to fade out. He sometimes heard Murmurs and ur made him also jumpy. Would the shadow attack him? Eventually, the cupboard door opened to reveal his aunt. "All right then, freak." She hissed quietly. "Go and finish the yard work." Harry nodded timidly and climbed down from his post on the cupboard. However, because he was so little, he had to literally climb down...And he took too long, causing his aunt to grow impatient. "Oh get out of there..." She hissed, snatching him up and tossing him to the floor. He whimpered a bit, then silently and quickly rushed to the door, jumping to turn the knob, the disappearing into the yard.,Meanwhile, Miia was completely and utterly tired out. She had finished the list in a relatively decent amount of time, and had gotten forced praise from Petunia as a result...Now, she was free to go outside. The sun was still up... She pulled open the door, and slithered out into the yard, the warm sun absolutely GLORIOUS upon her body. She felt so invogorated! So free! She didn't notice Harry, as she was too busy basking in the sun's warm glow. And Harry didn't notice her, as he was too busy looking down forlornly. They did finally notice one another, however, when they bumped into each other. Harry let out a yelp and turned, flinching away in a cowardly fashion. Miia let out a noise of questioning and looked down. Surprised at what she saw. "Oh! Hi there! I don't think I've met you yet...Are you that Dudley that I've heard so much about from Mr. and Mrs. Dursley?" The small child didn't respond, oh stared in fear. She sized him up, realising that he had to have been the littlest thing she'd ever encountered. His hair extended to his shoulders almost, and it was greasy as pizza. It matter to his head! His frame, was that of a skeletons. "Oh my gosh, you're so...um...small..." She said softly, bending over to get a better look at him, inspecting him curiously. But as she did so, his eyes widened larger and he began to step away. He tripped however and fell on his back. "Oh! No, no, no! Don't be scared of me, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Miia said placatingly. "Trust me, I'm nice!" She dropped down, holding up her hands as though she was taking a stallion. "Easy, easy easy...I Won't hurt you little guy...easy..." She shushed, her tone seeming to calm him down enough so that he wasn't attempting to escape her sight.,Harry looked up at her uneasily, and somewhat curiously. "W-Why d-do...you ha-have a tail...?" He asked softly. His voice alone made her squeal and get hearts for eyes. He was so cute!,"Because I'm a lamia!" She replied cheerfully. "I'm part snake!","B-But...people aren't..." He stuttered out, very visibly confused at the situation. How did that happen? People didn't have snake tails...,Miia tilted her head. "Oh, you're just little, so you probably don't know yet." She sat back, coiling herself around and thinking about how to explain this. "You see Dudley...well...how to put this...","Harry..." He interrupted. Miia blinked.,"Hmm?","I'm...I'm Harry...Not Dudley...",Miia face palmed. "Oh I'm sorry Harry! Funny...they didn't...mention you." Harry looked down, not surprised that they didn't mention him...He was too freaky to be mentioned... "Oh well! I'm Miia!" She cheerfully introduced, holding out her hand. Harry looked at her hand in confusion. He wasn't sure what to do. Miia giggled and took his hand, slipping the tiny one into hers, then she shook it. Harry flinched slightly at the touch. She had agitated a bruise... But Miia didn't notice and simply smiled. "That's called a handshake! It's what acquaintances do." Harry looked at her with a forced smile.,"O-Oh...Okay..." He said simply. "H-Hi...Miss Miia...",She slithered next to him and patted his head. "Looks like i'll be living with you for a while!" Harry looked up at her with a tilted head, and gave a small smile. "I hope we can be friends little Harry!" she said, patting his head. He was so small compared to her...,Harry blinked as he looked at her. "Y-You want to be friends...with ME...?","Aww, you're kinda low confidence aren't you? Of course I wanna be friends!" She grinned Harry looked at her for a few moments. Then, he gave her a small, weak hug around the bottom of her human half. "Aww, we got a hugger!" She commented, reaching down and wrapping her human arms around him, returning the hug.,On the inside of the house, Vernon was fuming... The freaks were bonding, eh? This was disgusting...But it didn't appear he could do anything to stop it, or else Miia might go blabbing to that bloody Smith. And he'd have to be a bit...quieter about Freak's punishments from now on. Maybe even FEED him a bit more! Otherwise she'd blab to the Police as well. Still, the chores WERE done a lot faster...So it wasn't a TOTAL loss... Grumbling to himself, he continued further into the house.,Outside, Miia was wondering what he was doing outside. He explained to her that he did chores to help his family too. "Um...you...look too little to be doing chores in this heat Harry." She commented, concerned.,Harry frowned. "But I have to...It's my job..." Miia smiled.,"Then let me help you!","You...you g-going to help...me?" He asked, hopefully yet confusedly.,Miia replied by simply smiling and picking up the hose. "We have to water the plants, right?","Y-yes..." He responded, wanting to hug her again. He finally had someone who was going to help him! And it was a big person too!,"Okay~!" She said cheerfully. "Just show me what to do!",And so, they spent the rest of the afternoon, playing/working. Harry did t talk unless talked to, so he was like a silent companion. Miia was having a one-sided conversation with him. "So there are lots of people like me, Lamia's. They all have snake tails, and are usually cute! But there are also many different species! Like centaurs and Harpies!" Harry was entranced by the stories. With all these cool creatures, surely he wasn't a freak anymore...right? Thinking about it deeper, he noticed that he didn't look too different from a normal human being...was Uncle Vernon...a liar?! He looked at Miia. "Um...M-Miss Miia...? D-Do you think I'm a...a freak...?",Miia stopped suddenly, and looked down at the child that she had befriended. She didn't realize his self esteem was THIS low? Why didn't his parents do something about it?! "Harry, why do you think you're a freak?" She asked softly, putting a hand on his cheek.,"Um...c-cause I...I do...freaky things..." He admitted, sure she was going to leave him now.,Miia instead surprised him with a big hug. "Oh Harry...you look perfectly normal, and you're so nice! Next time you're so sad, talk to your parents! I know I'd be worried if my hatchling got all depressed!",Harry frowned. "Oh...M-My parents...died in a car crash when I was a baby...Th-They're my aunt and uncle...",Miia's heart lurched and she gave him another hug, letting out a sad, "Oh Harry...I'm so sorry...I didn't know...",Harry simply snuggled up to her. She was comfy...And so, SO nice... Vernon...was a liar...he was a meanie liar! So that meant Harry WASN'T supposed to be hitted! He was confused now...Everything he knew was a big lie... He heard the door open, and realised that dinner time was soon. So, he allowed for Miia to carry him into the house to start cooking. "Um...M-Miss Miia? C-Can you please put me down now...? I have to cook...","Cook? They make YOU cook? You can't even reach the stove top!" She commented, confused and upset. She shook her head. "No...I'LL cook." She smiled happily.,"Um...Kay..." Then Harry gave the Feast orders.,Miia's head began spinning. "Oh wow...I'll...do my best...",After an hour, an unrecognizable pile of slop that had pissed off the Dursley's and caused Dudley, whom she had the pleasure of meeting, to throw a fit. Miia was currently listening to Vernon attempting to be polite as he criticized her meal. "There's...no bloody flavor...and, it...it hurts..." he commented in anger.,Miia sweatdropped with a nervous smile. "Um...Sorry, Mr. Dursley..." She squeaked out. "Sh-Should I uh...redo it...?","No time now...it's Dudders' bedtime, and Petunia and I have an...appointment.",After he said that Petunia blushed. Miia had to force her puke back down. "Oh...Okay, I'm gonna just...go up to my room or...something..." She replied, her face now turning green.,"Okay then." Petunia said dismissively, staring at Vernon lustfully. Harry began to feel awkward, and scared. he didn't want Miss Miia to go!,He blinked in surprise when Miia gave him a kiss on the head. "Night, Harry!" She said with a small smile.,He blushed and smiled up at her sweetly, and waved up at her. "B-Bye...",Then she slithered off into her room. She was smiling softly. Harry was so cute... Others however...didn't think the same way. As soon as Miia's door shut, Vernon set his sights on Harry. "Before Petunia and I take care of business...I'll give you your daily reminder of your place. And you'd best stay QUIET.",Harry, actually grew defiant, and gave an angry look to Vernon. "You...lied..." Vernon's eyes bulged out of his sockets, and his face turned purple. Harry felt a sense of satisfaction...but his bravado faded instantly when Vernon's purple face turned tomato-red and his eyes narrowed. He started backing away, but he was grabbed by his uncle and dragged to the living room. Then he was tossed to floor, suddenly getting kicked. He let out a series of soft cries as his uncle slammed his foot into his tiny little tummy. And after an hour of trash talking and punches, Vernon finished and tossed him into the cupboard, stomping upstairs. Harry cried softly in his cupboard. He really wanted one of Miia's hugs right now... But she was upstairs...and he was locked in... He continued his tears, but felt warm when he knew that Miia would be here to hug him tomorrow. Yes...He would just tough it out until tomorrow, and then he would stay close to Miia for the entire day... He wished it was just him and Miia... He let out another sob of pain and closed his eyes. Eventually he cried himself to sleep pitifully...,The next day, Harry was unlocked for breakfast. Miia was still sleeping, because the Dursleys didn't want to reveal that Harry was the one responsible for cooking quite yet. Harry had perfectly prepared the mountain, then sat down outside on the porch. He spent some time softly humming to himself until he heard the door opening. Sadly it was only Aunt Petunia with his list... But after the chores were a fourth done, Miia came down! Harry didn't notice her at first...until she snuck up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes. She giggled at his surprised squeak. "Guess who!",He giggled, "Miss Miia!" He happily exclaimed, turning and hugging her tightly.,Miia smiled and snatched him up off the ground. "Hello, Harry! How are you today?" She brushed his hair out of his eyes and gasped. He had a...a black eye?! "Harry, what happened?!",Harry averted his eyes from her and looked scared for a brief moment, as if he was afraid to tell her something. "Um...I fell down the stairs...",Miia, who didn't want to pry, cooed and gave him a hug. "Oh Harry...please be more careful next time...I don't want you to get hurt!" Harry had to fight himself to refrain from crying right then and there.. He buried his head in her neck and cuddled in, wanting to enjoy the comforting effect that she had. Miia smiled softly and ran her fingers through his hair. He was not only adorable in appearance, but he was VERY cuddly. Like a little teddy...,After their long hug session, they set to work on the rest of the days chores, enjoying themselves with one another's presence. Still, Miia couldn't help but feel something was wrong... He had quite obviously made breakfast, she had evidence to support that. Like how he offered to make dinner... And she doubted he got that black eye from falling down the stairs... And she swore she saw a hint of a fist-shaped bruise underneath that huge shirt of his... This would require investigation...she had s dark suspicion about this place. She gave Harry a smile, a forced one that looked clearly worried, and gave him a kiss on the nose. Harry decided to go back to hugging her, still demanding attention. She happily did the chores, and hugged him as well. His desire for affection, however, as adorable as they were, were another red light...It was like she was the first person to show him any form of kindness! And the fact that Dudley was SO much um...bigger...than him, was also a red light in her eyes. Harry...oh dear...this was bad... If her fears were correct, then this was a HORRIBLE household to be in. Oh, she needed to talk to Ms. Smith...REALLY badly! Thankfully it was the government agent's duty to check in on her routinely...,That meant...it would be one more day! Then she could get out of here! But then she might have to leave Harry behind... Well, Smith had connections right? Maybe she could get him out of there too! She subconsciously began squeezing him. She couldn't bear the thought of him being in pain... He was so tiny, and pure... Maybe... Could she call miss smith to come here faster? She gave Harry another glance. He looked at her with a tilted head. Yes...that's what she had to do. She patted his head. "Be back in a second Harry..." She promised, slithering a good distance away. She pulled out her phone and began the call.,At the same time, Harry accidentally knocked over Petunia's prized Orchid... Petunia had heard the noise, and she stormed into the room. "What have you done?!" She whispered harshly. "You little MONSTER...Vernon will have something special in store for you tonight...","I-I didn't mean to-","Silence! For now, get inside your cupboard!" She whispered harshly, dragging him by his ear into his cupboard.,Harry whimpered and reached out towards the hallway, where Miia was still on the phone. He was supposed to wait for her! She would hate him if he wasn't there when she got back. But when he heard the lock click, he knew that that wouldn't happen..." "I'm sorry, Miss Miia...Please don't hate me..." He whispered softly.,Miia finished her phone call, barely managing to get her to come investigate. She turned back to see Harry had disappeared, nowhere to be found in the backyard. Her eyes widened. 'Oh my gosh! Where is he?!' She panicked internally. "Harry?" She called out. She noticed a broken pot, then saw Petunia come out with a furious look on her face. She fixed the pot, then took the Orchid she had raised so tenderly, and put it in a vase to keep it alive. "Um...Mrs. Dursley...? Can you tell me where Harry is-","No." Petunia replied curtly, walking past her.,Miia angrily responded, "I demand you tell me, now!",Petunia snapped, turning back to her and shrieking, "His room!",Miia frowned. "Where's his room?","That is none of your business!" she responded before leaving the room to go and do fuming business.,Miia gritted her teeth in anger. She would just have to find Harry herself! To hell with the damn chores! She slithered throughout the house, whispering/yelling, "Harry! Where are you dear?" Eventually she came across a cupboard under the stairs. And she heard a soft sob coming from said cupboard... Her heart and all other internal organs sunk in a cold, dead fear. She reached for the lock, basically tearing the door open to see what was happening. And she saw him, the little boy she'd already grown attached to, curled up in a ball. She didn't even take time to take in the sight before she snatched him right out of there and held him tightly. "Harry...That's your room...?","Miss...Miia? I-I'm sorry I didn't stay put..." he sobbed, hugging her, attemtping to avoid punishment.,Miia tightened her hold on him. "Oh, you poor, POOR little darling..." She said softly, rocking him back and forth. Harry continued crying into her, until he devolved into sniffles. Then Miia set him down and leaned down to his height. "Harry...do they hit you?" Harry opened his mouth, but only a small squeak came out. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want his uncle angry... "You can tell me ANYTHING dear, anything ever." she promised, secretly setting up a recording function on her phone.,Harry opened his mouth...and just said one simple word. "...Yes...","So...they really hit you..." she breathed, him mumbling yes once more. She hugged to child tightly again. "And they make you sleep in a cupboard...?","Yes...",She examined the hole, seeing it was dusty, filled with cobwebs, and even...wastes... And...and BLOOD! There was BLOOD in the cupboard! She took a quick photo, then stormed/slithered out onto the front lawn. She called Miss Smith up one more time, and was halfway through an awkward conversation, when Vernon's car pulled up the street. Her eyes widened in horror, and she knew that she had to get out of there, right away. She began to slither up the street at high speeds, hearing angry screaming from behind her. Vernon was chasing her in his car! 'Ohnoohnoono!' She panicked internally. She still had her phone on. "MS. SMITH! HURRY! I'M TRYING TO GET HARRY AWAY FROM HIM, BUT HE'S CHASING AFTER ME IN HIS CAR!","Hey, uh, funny thing here..." Ms. Smith replied from the other end of the line. "See, I was actually on my way to check up on you when you called. I'm uh...actually just coming up to Privet Drive...I should be there right...about..." Vernon let out a loud scream of anger as a car crashed into his own vehicle. Vernon threw the door of his car open, ready to chew out whoever did it...only for Ms. Smith to casually step out of the vehicle. "...Now." She hung up and approached the fat man, quite randomly tazering Vernon in the neck with a quick blow, causing him to drop rather quickly. Ms. Smith uncharacteristically spat on him, then turned to Harry and Miia. "So, I take it your placement with the Dursleys...wasn't going particularly well, huh?","No...they were guilt tripping me into Labor, and forcing this child to do every task for them, even down to cooking. And they hit him..." Miia explained, hugging him tightly.,"Oh?" Ms. Smith raised a brow and approached a sobbing, terrified Harry, still being held protectively by the only friend he had ever had in his life. "Hey there...i'm Miss Smith. I'm here to help you out... Do you want to leave this place?" she asked Harry, who was wary of her too.,"I...I wanna be with M-Miss Miia..." He replied softly, hugging the lamia tightly.,Smith rubbed the back of her head, confused. "Well...I don't know how we can keep you with her...there aren't any laws concerning adoption by a monster species...",Miia's eyes narrowed. "I am NOT leaving him. I'll die before I let anyone take him away from me.","Well...I suppose...is Harry human? Any Monster tendencies?" Smith asked, still trying to control the patients she worked with currently.,"No, from what I can tell he's just a normal little boy..." Ms. Smith looked thoughtful.,"Hmm...Well, I'll have to find you a new host family now...Maybe if your host family adopts him, you can keep him...",Miia grinned, kissing Harry's head. "Hear that Harry? We can be together still!" she grinned shaking him in excitedness. Harry snuggled into her bosom, never wanting her to put him down. "Aww...okay, so can we go?" She asked the Government worker, who shrugged.,"Well, you're too big for my Smart car.." She frowned. "Not to mention the car's kinda...well, totalled... I'll call for someone." she said, nonchalantly, pulling out her phone and calling for a few favors and a tow truck.,Harry's stomach grumbled. Miia frowned. "Harry, did they let you eat enough?" She asked, worried.,"Um...I-I got table scraps...is that good?" he asked the Lamia, who sweat dropped sadly.,"No...No it's not. Better order Chinese food Miss Smith..." she mentioned.,Ms. Smith shrugged. "Sure." She bent down to the unconscious Vernon and stole his wallet. "He won't be needing this...After what he did, least he can do is treat us to a meal." After an hour of waiting, The tow truck arrived just as the trio was finishing their meals. THey went to enter the truck, but a Banshee's scream cut them off. "Oh yeah...Probably should've had the cops come to take lardo away." Smith shrugged. "Eh...Oh well...","WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY VERNON-!" she screamed, suddenly being tazered as well and dropping.,"So...Guess I should get the police now." Smith said casually. Miia put her hands on her hips and nodded sternly before returning to what she had been doing: spoon feeding Harry.,Harry had isnsisted he could feed himself, but Miia strictly said no, wanting to be as kind as possible. She had also insisted he tell her when he's had too much. As she was a fourth through the box, Harry shook his head, informing her that he was full. Miia giggled. "I know, I can never finish it either." She admitted, putting her egg rolls aside. "I like fresh eggs better any day, really." Harry snuggled into her as he gave her a hug around her human waiste. she kisses his head, then gently took her tail, and wrapped it around him. Normally, she would underestimate just how strong her grip really was and nearly break the ribs of whoever she was wrapping her tail around... But with Harry, that wasn't an issue. After all...Lamias naturally treated their children EXTREMELY delicately. Almost like fine china...,Soon, the Police arrived, but the two of them were all gone, off to the Agency to be reaasigned to a new owner. Miss Smith informed them of a man who was willing to do so, by the name of...Kimihito... The downside? They would have to travel all the way to Japan... But, if it was far away from the Dursley's than it'd be okay! The lamia gave Harry a kiss on the nose. "I'll take such good care of you, you'll forget they ever existed... Harry nodded, returning to hugging his new mother figure tightly. He didn't want to leave Miia, ever, never ever, not in any scenario. Miia giggled and playfully poked the tip of his nose. "You're so clingy...such a cutie wooty!" she said with hearts for eyes, cuddling him even more. Harry wouldn't give this up for anything... With a content sigh, he snuggled in for the final time, then fell asleep against her, exhausted from the days events... Miia smiled, then placed him down, and wrapped her tail around him, forming a gentle blanket around him. This felt...right. Her life had suddenly changed so much...but she was okay with it! She smiled to herself. She had a few decorative teddy bears in her luggage, which was currently being retrieved by the government agents. Perhaps Harry would like to have one. She pulled one away from a worker, then tucked it into Harry's arms. Causing him to squeeze it in happiness. She cooed and kisses his forhead. "Good night, my little darling." She cooed softly. Little did she know, she wasn't the only one who would grow to love the little boy like he was her own...,Meanwhile...,"How many times do we have to tell that girl to stay close?" One of the government agents grumbled. A small blue-haired harpy peeked out from behind a tree branch and stifled a giggle. They'd never find her up here! Hide and seek was so fun!,"Come down Miss Papi! We need to find you a suitable host!" The Agents called after her, irritated.,Papi covered her mouth with her wings. "Oops! They found me..." She squeaked out. "No, I don't wanna!" She giggled, calling back. "So you're gonna have to come get me!" She laughed at the frustrated yells as she flew high into the air. She loved living like this...,Meanwhile...,Centorea was on a search. She was looking for the one she would deem trustworthy and kind enough to house her. She wouldn't trust the government to decide it for her. For all she knew, they could put her in a household with a couple of abusive monsters! So far this search was bearing nothing but trouble. She'd been looking through applicants all day, and yet she was only just now into the K names... She was growing exasperated. "Hmm...Perhaps I will forsake searching through these papers...Surely if I venture into the world, I will stumble upon my designated host by chance...?" With that, she left the field she sat in and began her trot into the city... Her eyes were narrowed and full of purpose.,At the same time, a certain Mermaid was enjoying a dip in her bath...,Mero was hoping that they would find her a host family soon. Preferably a boy that she could fall in love with, only to inevitably lose out to a human woman, just like in her favourite story. Or perhaps she could grow attached to a child in the host family, like a mother figure, only to inevitably grow separated and distant from him, much like the little mermaid's father! Oh, the tragedy!,She sighed happily and leaned against the side of the tub, relaxing in the waters. It was so calming...,Meanwhile...,A blue blob moved stealthily down the streets of Japan, curiously peeking into people's houses. The blob had seen a few children playing, some people playing video games and watching TV, some very standard fare...,But then, she made it to that house. When she looked in the window, she saw a mother interacting with her child. The Blob sighed happily. The way they interacted was so cute! The Child had hurt himself, and was being cuddled relentlessly by the mother.,The little blob tilted her head. She wondered if she could do that too... Then again...Every other time she had tried to interact with something she ended up absorbing it... Hmm... Could she...make her body more solid...?,Hmm...she focused, copying the Woman's appearance and soon, she resembled her. Except, her body was squishy and Blue...,She saw her reflection in the window and stuck out her tongue in distaste. That look did NOT suit her blue appearance...She'd just stick with her standard humanoid appearance...She thought she looked WAY cuter that way. Suu casually morphed back to her original form, focusing in an attempt to make herself more solid. Curiously, she pressed her hand against the house. It worked just like a human hand would! She touched it, her hand stayed, and when she pulled it off, it hadn't stuck! Sure, it left behind a little bit of slimy residue, but she WAS a slime...,Now she could interract with anyone she wanted, and she wouldn't smother them! Yes Yes Yes! With playful giggles emerging from her mouth, she moved on, remaining unseen, but happy.,Meanwhile...,In a dark, abandoned warehouse, a woman was knitting. The unusual thing? She was creating thread...from her spider body. "Hey, speed it up in there, will ya?!" The woman's eye twitched at the sound of a male voice. "I haven't got all day! I need to sell that stuff already!","I'm working on it okay?!" she shot back, frustrated and borderline blood lusting. She hated this job...she hated Humans. She finished her next project, then set it in the basket.,The man who was acting as her host stormed in and took her thread. "This'll fetch a pretty penny." He snickered as he left the room. Rachnee scowled as she watched him leave. He was a shady, underhanded slave driver...,She was just waiting for an opportunity to get out of this...Blast the human race...Selling her into slavery... Equality? There was no equality... Never any equality...ever... And yet...she still foolishly held onto some hope... She sighed, and returned to work, sighing and angry.,Meanwhile, a certain scythe wielder was lurking in the shadows around Japan. Lala...wasn't really doing anything. She didn't want to be assigned a host by the government, but she DID have interest in the human society. She wanted to find out what it was like, to be a part of society. Like a normal person, and not Death's Agent. Unfortunately, she had a tendency to gravitate towards people she felt were in dangerous circumstances... Oh well...she didn't know what to do yet. She would find her purpose... She had tried to interact with people normally...but her...unique way of speaking caused her issues... She was socially awkward, to say the least...,'...I grow tired of simply standing here...' She thought. 'I will continue my travels...' The Dullahan took a step forward...and promptly tripped over a rock and fell down, causing her head to fall off and roll into a tree. She blinked slightly, looking mildly surprised by the fall. "...That was entirely my intentions." She said simply.,With that she stepped forward and retrieved her head, going on her way to contemplate her role in life. Little did these six girls know, one boy would bring their fates together. And intertwine them on a journey that would alter their fates and lives... Harry didn't know it...but he was going to have the most unique, and loving family of all time.

How many years has it been? This question doesn't seem to leave his mind. Years apparently. He looked at the star lit sky. He remembered a long time ago a friend told him how all the stars were of the deceased. The stars were there to guide the living for each passing night. He wondered how she was doing now. It's been years since he last spoken to her.,He guessed it was hopeless now since he was stuck her after all. Looking at his sleeping comrades forms he couldn't help but smile. She would be happy for him. He was lonely as a child even my re lonely as a teen. Now he was an adult and his careful intricate solitude barrier was slowly breaking. This was all thanks to his new friends of course.,Watching to see if anyone's awake he lifted his hand to his forehead. He traced the familiar lines of his famous scar. The lighting bolt scar. The scar created by a dark figure who plagued England for many years. The man who claimed him as an equal. Chosen over his friend who was also shy of being chosen as well. Personally he would rather be chosen. He knew the burdens and wouldn't want anyone else to suffer.,For years he suffered isolated and alone. He wished for friends. He got the chance when he went to an isolated school. He made friends as well as enemies. Along them was her:Luna Lovegood. Many thought she was insane. However, beneath that loony mask laid a wise face. He considered her wiser then beyond her years.,He couldn't help but smile. Luna. She viewed the world in ways he and the rest of the human population would probably never see. She would have liked it here. She would have been happy for him.,Oh how much he has grown from that scrawny boy to a strategist. He yearned to call for her. Tell her of all the interesting creatures he seen, the amazing people he had met, and the marvelous adventures he had. But alas he couldn't. She wasn't logged on when the Apocalypse happen. She was offline.,His smile faltered only for a mere second but quickly regain its form. If Luna was here she would have said the past is in the past and look forward to the future. That or that nargles are messing with his brain.,Looking at the night sky for a final time that night he closed his now barely noticeable emeralds eyes for the night. Falling to sleep his smile still lingered. She would have been proud and happy for his new life. Even if he doesn't know what would happen in the future all he needed to know is to live life to the fullest.,authors note:,this is just a concept idea :D,if you want me to write more comment down below! I'll be happy to continue this one shot and make it into a worthwhile fanfic :)

Chapter 1: Girl Meets Hogwarts Express,I sighed as I step out of my father's car as I walked slowly behind my family. I didn't exactly relate to my family as I always felt left out. My family – in particular my older brother – Elliot – always talk about Hogwarts or Gryffindor (which is the house that my whole family has been in) or in my father's case – 'the good old days'. I see my best friend – Maya as I entered platform 9 and ¾. "Peaches!" I called out as I ran to my friend and hugged her.,"Pumpkin!" She cries out. We often give each other nicknames – nice nicknames as well. We often call each other after vegetables or shorten our names. "Can you believe it? After years of waiting, we finally get to go to Hogwarts.",I could hardly wait – NOT. I wasn't exactly looking forward to Hogwarts. It wasn't that I love it – or like it or whatever – it was just that I wasn't looking forward to the Sorting – hell even the house I would be in. "Yay, I'm excited," I lied.,"I've been excited since Josh started which was two years ago," she added. Maya has a massive crush on my cousin – Josh which caused me to become uncomfortable, due to the fact of the age difference. "You know what else there is to be excited about? I heard a little birdie told me that there is a Potter in our year. His name is Albus – I think.",That was another thing that annoyed me – my father always speaking about Harry Potter – even my brother who is two years older than me always hanged around James Potter Jr – pulling jokes or whatever.,"Earth to Riley," Maya said, as I got distracted again. "What about you and Lucas huh?" Lucas was my Muggle ex-boyfriend. I broke up with him because I got accepted at Hogwarts. I lied to him by saying I got accepted into a boarding school and stated that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't write.,"What about me and Lucas?" I asked.,"Oh, I don't know," she answered. "You and he were pretty much hanging out with each other while I was third wheeling you guys.","He is a Muggle and it would probably never work out anyways," I added.,I felt a tap on my shoulder as I turned around to find Lucas Friar - my ex-boyfriend. "Hey, Riley," he said.,"Lucas," I said, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?","Got accepted at Hogwarts, of course," he replied. "I didn't know you are going there too.","Ahoy there, Ranger Rick," Maya says, waving her hands like a sailor.,"Hey, Maya," he says, slowly. "How are you?","Terrible, now that you showed up," she adds. "And now you are going to Hogwarts – I'm officially devastated.","Well, I'm devastated too, Maya," he said sarcastically. He turns to me and says,"I'll see you later, Riles.","Bye," I said, feeling a bit uneasy. He walks away as I see him entering the train.,"Come on, Riles, it's time to say 'Bon Voyage' to our parents," she said.,I walk up to my parents as I said my 'Goodbyes' to them and Auggie. "Riley, don't do anything drastic at Hogwarts," my father reminded me. "Don't do what your brother, Elliot and James Potter did in their first year.","Dad," Elliot groaned.,"Elliot," my father adds. "Anyway, he and James nearly blown up a toilet seat.","It was by mistake," Elliot adds.,"A 'Hundred Points from Gryffindor' mistake," my father concluded. "What I'm trying to say is to be yourself.","But take away the clumsy," Maya injected, as she walks over to join us. I punch Maya in the arm – knowing that she never felt any pain unless it was extreme.,"We'll see you at Christmas, Riley," my mother added.,I walked onto the train with Maya as we made our way down to see if any compartments were empty. "Damn," Maya concluded. "Every compartment is full." We continued walking as I stopped in front of a compartment which only had one boy – a lonely, blond haired boy, looking outside and being bored. I felt sorry for the boy.,"Maya, we could sit in there," I said.,"No offence, Riles, but I'm not sitting in a compartment with Voldemort's son," she adds.,I sighed. Everyone had various rumours about Voldemort having a descendant – a child. I wouldn't have guess that the boy in the compartment was Voldemort's child. He looked pale, blond haired and had a nose – Voldemort didn't have a nose nor was he blond haired (I doubt that Voldemort had blond hair, I heard that he had dark brown) – but he did have a nose in the past - that was the past.,"There's no way you believe those stupid rumours," I said. "He looks innocent enough.","'Innocent' really?" Maya says. "He looks as innocent as Voldemort and he wasn't innocent at all. He is Voldemort's son. Believe me, Riles, he is Voldemort's son.","Well, I don't believe you, Maya," I argued back.,"This is one of the many reasons why I don't like some of your personality," she adds. "You see too much of the good in people.","Well some people are good," I said. "And that boy in there is probably good person. You probably don't even know nor met him, so how would you know that he is a nasty person?","Well, for starters, He is Draco Malfoy's son – Scorpius," she adds. "He isn't a good person.","How do you know?" I shouted. Nearly everyone looked at us arguing even the boy in the compartment. "You haven't met him. You know what; I don't think we should be friends anymore if you are believing in stupid rumours like that.","Fine," she sounding equally angry. "I'll go and sit with Farkle and Lucas while you sit and make friends with Voldemort's son.","Fine," I shouted. I opened the door of the compartment and slammed the door. "Is this compartment taken?","No," the boy says. "You can sit here if you want. I'm Scorpius.","Yeah, I heard, I'm Riley," I added, sounding upset.,"Thank you," he said.,"For what?" I asked.,"For defending me," he added.,"I see the good in people, and I know you are a good person, Scorpius," I said. "Too bad ,people don't see that.","Anyway, do you want some sweets?" he asks. "I've got loads – Shock-O-Choc, Pepper Imps and Jelly Slugs." "I'll have Shock-O-Choc," I said, as I looked towards the window, staring outside. I felt a tear falling down my face as I realised that I just lost a friend – Maya. I started eating my Shock-O-Choc. When I finished the sweet, I heard the compartment door slam as I turned around to see two other people. One is a girl with brown skin and black hair and the other is a boy with dark brown hair and green eyes.,"Hey," the boy said. "Is this compartment…","It's free. It's just me and Riley," he says.,"Great," the boy said. "So we might come in – for a bit – if that's okay.","That's okay," Scorpius says. "Hi.","Albus," the boy says. The boy looks at me and smiles, nervously. He looked as if he liked me already. "Al. Sorry. I'm Albus.","Riley," I added, trying to hide the fact that I was upset.,"Hi, Scorpius," Scorpius says. "I mean. I'm Scorpius. You're Albus." He turns to the girl. "And you are…","Rose," the girl replies, coldly.,"Rose," he says. "Do you want like any of my sweets?" I looked outside the window again as I started to cry. "Would you like some of my Fizzing Whizzbees?","I've just had breakfast, thanks," she says.,"I've also got some Shock-O-Choc, Pepper Imps and some Jelly Slugs. Mum's idea – she says," he says. He starts singing. "'Sweets they always help you make friends'.","Maybe you shouldn't sing next time," I added. "It may frighten people.","Maybe," he added.,"I'll have some," Albus says. "Mum doesn't let me have sweets. Which one would you start with?",I continued staring outside the window as I felt myself starting to cry again. I have now come to the conclusion that I lost my best friend. The friend that maybe more likely to be in Slytherin than me, but then I heard a slap. "Rose, will you stop hitting me?" I turned around to see Rose's face saying that 'she wasn't hitting you on purpose; just the other boy in the room has an evil demeanour'.,"I'm not hitting you," she adds.,"You are," I added.,"See, Riley saw you hit me," Albus adds.,"No, she didn't," she adds. "She was just staring out the window.","Well, I did hear a slap," I muttered to myself.,"You are hitting me and it hurts," he says.,I notice Scorpius face. He looked upset. Maybe it was what Maya said to him about him being the son of Voldemort. "She's hitting you because of me," he says.,"What?" Albus exclaimed.,"Listen, I know who you are, so it's probably only fair you know who I am," Scorpius says.,"What do you mean you know who I am?" Albus asks.,"You're Albus Potter," he replies. "She's Rose Weasley-Granger. And I am Scorpius Malfoy. My parents are Astoria and Draco Malfoy. Our parents – they don't get along.",My face looked surprised. Albus Potter – ,son of Harry Potter in the same compartment as me. He seemed different – attitude wise. He was more quiet, kind and well more what I seemed to think – thoughtful.,"That's putting it mildly," Rose adds. "Your mum and dad are Death Eaters!" I looked away from what seemed like a very long argument – just like the argument between Maya and I about sharing a compartment with Scorpius. I ignored the argument between the three of them."Yes, well, We probably should sit else where. Come on, Albus.",I stared up towards Albus, who locked eyes with me and smiled. "No," he said. "I'm okay. You go on.","Albus," she says. "I won't wait.","And I wouldn't expect you to," he adds. "But I'm staying here.","Fine!" She shouts as she slams the compartment down. I suddenly felt a pit in my heart. I hoped that Maya never meets Rose. She would become more fierce instead of a rebel – I think.,"Could I have a Pepper Imp?" I asked Scorpius, trying to distract my thoughts of Maya. "Sure," he added. "Thanks for staying.","You need a friend," I added. "Or two or three. Maybe just stick with two.","I never exactly had any friends," he says. "My dad always kept me away from other people my age.","Well, I lost a friend today," I said. "Maya Hart. She's a bit like Rose, but more of a rebel. She stole shoes once." The boys looked at me in shock. "Actually no she stole clothes and other stuff a few times. Also had a go at a statue once. Beaten it up so badly that everything on the statue fell off." I started laughing. "It was hilarious to watch actually. Don't get between Maya and a statue.","What happened to the statue?" Albus asked.,"Nothing," I added. "Except for the fact that Maya had to pay for the damages, which she didn't want to at all, but had to." Albus snorted as I mention this.,"Seriously?" he added. "She's a bit fierce.","Of course she is," I added. "Anyway, do you prefer Albus or Al?" I see Scorpius pops two sweets into his mouth.,"Albus," he concluded.,"Okay," I added.,"Thank you for staying for my sweets, Albus and Riley!" Scorpius shouted, with steam coming from his ears.

Lament of the Fallen Star,Ryo pov:,The night sky was painted with stars as Akira and I lie here on the meeting place we met. The ocean once a beautiful blue laid life less in crimson. There was only silence as I spoke to Akira. Flashbacks of my childhood played through as I spoke softly to him. Yet there was no response. I felt something fall down my face as it collided with Akira's well built chest. Tears were filling my eyes as I sobbed. The multitudes of light caressed my vision slightly. I did something that I would of thought I would never do once more. " Father please forgive me. You were right humanity was precious. Life is precious. My Akira is precious. Could you give this broken fool another chance?" I say as the words hung quietly in the air. "My child you are forgiven. I will send you into a new time line where you will be able to learn more about love once again." God said as he picked up the broken Lucifer in His palm. Suddenly Ryo was blacking out. Father was giving him another chance.,————————————————,Narcissa pov:,I was overly excited as my eight month old belly was going to pop soon. I was going to have a child, however Lucius does not care as long as the child is male. I don't care about the gender at all, especially after nine miscarriages. I then felt liquid fall on the floor am I peeing? I look down to my legs and saw my water was broken. I cried out for our house elf to grab Madame Pomfrey. The elf scurries as fast as they could. I sat there crying and in pain as the first contraption hit. Soon there was a poping sound and Madame Pomfrey came over and instructed me on what to do. Minutes turned to hours as the birthing process went and right before I blacked out I saw a bright white light coming from my child.,————————————————,Pomfrey pov:,I was called by a house elf because Narcissa went into labor. I apparated as quickly as I could to get over there to help out the girl. I calmed her down through the process. The birth was a success however something strange happened. The child was bloody glowing as if were not human. It's pale skin showed a hue of gold as if it were pure. It was a few moments before I realized that she had blacked out. I set down the child and nurses Narcissa back to health. I went to check on the child again to see that it had stopped glowing. I could now see the gender of the child to tell Narcissa whenever she were to wake up. I was shocked to see two sets of genitalia of opposite genders. I wasn't going to label it until Narcissa woke up. I cleaned and wrapped up the child on cloth and waited for Narcissa to wake up.,————————————————,Narcissa pov:,I woke up looking for my child. Thoughts ran through my head such as was my child glowing? What is the gender? Are they okay? Madame Pomfrey walks in with my child all swaddled in cloth. "What is the gender of my child?" I asked her as I could not say the word it, that was just cruel. "Your child is intersex , meaning they have both genders." She said looking at me. I looked down at my child and smiled I could not give a rats arse whether my child is male or female or both, I finally have a baby. And at that moment they woke up. Their eyes are crystal blue like the ocean and not a harsh grey blue like my husbands. "Would you like to name your child?" Madame Pomfrey said as she gave me the name certificate. "Draco Lucifer Malfoy." I say with a grin as I cradled him near my chest lovingly.,Thus, the child may learn to love once more.

Yoni Potter packed with a heavy heart her truck up in the girl dormitory, on the night before she and Harry had to return to Privet Drive. She wasn't looking forward to go to the Leaving Feast, which was usually a cause for celebration, when the winner of the Inner-House Championship would be announced. They both have been avoiding being in the Great Hall when it was full ever since they had left the hospital wing, preferring to eat when it was nearly empty, to avoid being stared at by their fellow students.,When she, Fred, George, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Hall, they immediately saw that the usual decorations were missing. The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning house's colours for the Leaving Feast. Tonight, however, there were black drapes on the wall behind the teachers' table. Yoni and Harry knew instantly that they werethere as a mark of respect for Cedric.,The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table. He had his wooden leg and magical eye back in place. He was extremely twitchy, jumping every time someone spoke to him. Yoni couldn't blame him; Moody's fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten months of imprisonment in his own trunk. Professor Karkaroff's chair was empty. When Yoni, Harry and the others sat down, together with the other Gryffindors, she asked herself where Karkaroff was right now, and whether or not Voldemort had caught up with him.,Madam Maxime was still there. She was sitting next to Hagrid and they were talking quietly together. Further along the table, sitting next to Professor McGonagall, was Snape. His eyes lingered on Yoni and her brother, Harry, for a moment and his expression was difficult to read. He looked as sour and unpleasant as ever. After Snape had looked away, Yoni continued to watch him. She asked herself what Snape had to do on Dumbledore's orders, the night that Voldemort had returned.,Her musings were ended by Professor Dumbledore, who stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall, which in any case had been less noisy then it usually was at the Leaving Feast, became very quiet.,"The end…" Dumbledore said, looking around at all the students. "of another year.",He paused and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table. Before he had gotten on to his feet, it had been the most subdued table, with the saddest and palest faces in the Hall.,"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," Dumbledore said. "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here." He gestured towards the Hufflepuffs. "enjoying our Feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory.",They did it, all of them; the benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood, and raised their goblets, and echoed, in one loud, low, rumbling voice: "Cedric Diggory.",Yoni caught a glimpse of Cho, who had catched her brother's heart, through the crowd. There were tear pouring silently down her face. She knew Harry had seen Cho too. Both brother and sister looked down at the table, as they all sat down again.,"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities which distinguish Hufflepuff house." Dumbledore continued. "He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about.",Yoni and Harry raised their head and stared at Dumbledore.,"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore declared.,A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. People were staring at Dumbledore in disbelief and horror. Dumbledore looked perfectly calm as he watched them mutter themselves into silence.,"The Ministry of Magic…" Dumbledore continued. "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have do so... either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you do so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory.",Every face in the Hall turned towards Dumbledore, stunned and frightened… or almost every face. Yoni looked over at the Slytherin table and saw that Draco Malfoy was muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle. She felt a hot, sick swoop of anger running through her veins and saw that she wasn't the only one who thought it was disrespectful. A little further down at the Slytherin table, she saw that her best friend, next to her other best friends Fred and George, Tim Slytherin, was glaring at Malfoy. She forced herself to look back at Dumbledore.,"There are two other people who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death." Dumbledore went on. "Of course, I am talking about Yoni and Harry Potter.",A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall, as a few heads in the Potters' direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.,"Yoni and Harry Potter both managed to escape Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore said. "They both risked their own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. They showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that a few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honour them." Dumbledore turned gravely to Yoni and Harry, and raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured their names, as they had murmured Cedric's and drank to them. Through a gap in the standing figures, Yoni saw that Tim and a great deal of Slytherins toasted with the others, while Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and an smaller amount of Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Dumbledore, who after all possessed no magical eye, did not see them.,When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued: "The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened… the return of Lord Voldemort… such ties are more important than ever before.",Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur Delacour and her fellow Beauxbatons students, to Viktor Krum and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table. Yoni saw that Krum looked way, almost frightened, as he expected Dumbledore to say something harsh.,"Every guest in this Hall…" Dumbledore said and his eyes lingered upon the Durmstrang students. "will be welcomed back here, at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again… in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. It is my belief… and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken… that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you, in this Hall, have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.",Yoni's stuff was packed in her trunk, Prudentie, her owl, was back in her cage and Harena, her Lynx-cub, was lying in her reed basket, on top of it.,Yoni, Fred and George were waiting with other sixth-years in the crowded Entrance Hall for the carriages, that another beautiful summer's day.,',' Yoni thought. The though gave her no pleasure at all.,"'Arry! Yoni! " Somebody called out.,Both Yoni and Harry looked around. Fleur Delacour was hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Behind her, far across the grounds, they saw that Hagrid was helping Madame Maxime to back two of the giant horses into their harness. The Beauxbatons carriage was about to take off.,"We will see each uzzer again, I 'ope." Fleur said, as she reached out her hand. "I am 'oping to get a job 'ere, to improve my Eenglish.","It's very good already." Ron said in a strangled sort of voice. Fleur smiled at him, but Hermione scowled. Yoni chuckled softly.,"Goodbye, Yoni, 'Arry." Fleur said, turning to go. "It 'az been a pleasure meeting you both.",The Potters spirits couldn't help but lift slightly, as they watched Fleur hurry back across the lawns to Madame Maxime, her silvery hair rippling in the sun light.,"Wonder how the Durmstrang students are getting back?" Ron said. "Do you reckon they can steer that ship without Karkaroff?","Karkaroff did not steer." A gruff voice. "He stayed in his cabin and let us do the vork." Krum had come to say goodbye to Hermione. "Could I have a vord?" He asked her.,"Oh… yes…all right." Hermione said, looking slightly flustered, and following Krum through the crowd and out of sight.,"You'd better hurry up!" Ron called loudly after her. "The carriage will be here in a minute!","Oh, love is in the air!" Yoni said to Fred and George in a singsong voice. They saw that Krum and Hermione returned quite soon.,"I liked Diggory." Krum said abruptly to Yoni and Harry. "He vos alvays polite to me. Alvays. Even though I vos from Durmstrang… with Karkaroff." He added scowling.,"Have you got a new Headmaster yet?" Harry asked and Yoni looked at him in curiously.,Krum shrugged. He held out his hand as Fleur had done, shook Yoni's and Harry's hand, and then Ron's.,Krum had already started walking away when Ron burst out: "Can I have your autograph?",Yoni chuckled softly as the horseless carriages which were now trundling towards them up the drive, as Krum, looking surprised, but gratified, signed a fragment of parchment for Ron.,The weather could not have been more different on the journey back to King's Cross than it had been on their way to Hogwarts the previous September. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Yoni, Fred and George had managed to get a compartment to themselves.,Prudentia was dozing with her head under her wing and Harena, the Lynx-cub, was lying on Yoni's lap purring, while Yoni was absently scratching behind the ears. Fred and George talked more fully and freely about the plans for their joke shop and Yoni listened with interest to it, as the train sped them southwards. They broke off their discussion about the plans, only when the lunch trolley arrived.,When the three of them came back from the trolley and put their money back into their schoolbags. Yoni had bought a large amount of candy and put it away into her trunk. She had a piece of a Cauldron Cake sticking out of her mouth, while she put a large amount of Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Caudrons, Fragile Sugar-spun Quills, Chocoballs filled with strawberrie cream, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pastries, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Exploding bon-bons away in her trunk. They left their compartment and went to search for their brothers compartment.,When they reached that compartment, Yoni was blinded by the blaze of the spells that had blasted from every direction, and deafened by a series of bangs.,Yoni blinked and looked down at the floor.,Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were lying unconscious in the doorway.,Harry, Hermione and Ron were on their feet and all three of them had used a different hex. Nor were they the only ones to have done so.,"I thought we'd see what those three were up to." Fred said matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle and into the compartment. He had his wand out, and so did George, who was careful to tread on Malfoy as he followed Fred inside.,"Oh yeah? Since when did you thought that?" Yoni asked, while she stepped stumbling over Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, without her wand in her hand.,"When we saw them passing by, as we were at the lunch trolley." Fred said.,"Interesting effect." George said, looking down at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus curse?","Me." Harry said.,"Odd." George said lightly. "I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here. They don't add much to the decor.",Ron, Harry and George kicked, rolled and pushed the unconscious Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle… each of whom looked distinctly the worse for the jumble of jinxes with which they had been hit… out into the corridor, then came back into the compartment and rolled the door shut.,"Exploding Snap, anyone?" Fred said, pulling out a pack of cards.,They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry decided to ask them.,"You going to tell us, then?" He said to George. "Who you were blackmailing?","Oh." George said darkly. "That.","It doesn't matter." Fred said, shaking his head impatiently. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway.","We've given up." George said while shrugging.,Yoni raised an eyebrow. Harry, Ron and Hermione kept on asking and finally Fred said: "Alright, alright, if you really want to know… it was Ludo Bagman.","Bagman?" Harry said sharply. "Are you saying he was involved in…","Nah." George said gloomily. "Nothing like that. Stupid git. He wouldn't have the brains for it.","Well, what, then?" Ron asked.,Yoni saw that Fred hesitated, then he said: "You remember that bet we had with him, at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch?","Yeah." Yoni, Harry and Ron said slowly.,"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots.","So?" Yoni asked impatiently.,"So…" Fred said impatiently. "it vanished, didn't it? By next morning, it was gone!","What!" Yoni exclaimed in anger.,"But… it must've been an accident, mustn't it?" Hermione said.,George laughed very bitterly. "Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us.","In the end, he turned pretty nasty." Fred said. "Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything.","So we asked for our money back." George said glowering.,"He didn't refuse!" Hermione gasped.,"Right in one." Fred said.,"That dirty little rat." Yoni yelled in anger.,"But that was all your savings!" Ron said.,"Tell me about it!" George said. "Of course, we found out what was going on in the end. Lee Jordan's dad had had a bit of trouble getting money off Bagman as well. Turns out he's in big trouble with the goblins. Borrowed loads of gold off them. A gang of them cornered him in the woods after the World Cup and took all the gold he had, and it still wasn't enough to cover all his debts. They followed him all the way to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. He's lost everything to gambling. Hasn't got two Galleons to rub together. And you know how the idiot tried to pay the goblins back?","How?" Harry asked. Yoni looked curiously at them. She had a suspicion, but wanted that the twins would confirm her suspicion.,"He put a bet on the both of you, guys." Fred said. "Put a big bet on you both to win the Tournament. Bet against the goblins.","So that's why he kept trying to help us!" Harry said. "Well… We did win, didn't we? So he can pay you your gold!","I had no need for help in the Tournament and certainly not of him." Yoni muttered angrily and crossed her arms.,"Nope!" George said shaking his head. "The goblins play as dirty as him. They say you both drew with Diggory, and Bagman was betting both of you'd win outright. So Bagman had to run for it. He made a run for it right after the third task.",George sighed deeply and started dealing out the cards again.,The rest of the journey passed pleasantly enough; Yoni and Harry wished it could have gone on all summer, in fact, and that they would never arrive at King's Cross… but as they had learnt the hard way that year, time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead, and all too soon the Hogwarts Express was slowing down at platform nine and three-quarters. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors as the students began to disembark. Ron and Hermione struggled out past Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, carrying their trunks.,Yoni left the compartment, stepped awkwardly past Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, and went back where they sat during the beginning of the journey.,In the compartment she put Harena back into her reed basket and then dragged her trunk, owl cage and basket out of the compartment. She got off the train and waited on the platform for Harry.,A little later Harry got off the train with his trunk and Hedwig's cage in his hands. They walked to the wall, the barrier, that led to the Muggle World. They stopped in front of it for a few moments.,Yoni sighed softly. She didn't want to go and see uncle Vernon, and knew that Harry felt the same way.,',' Yoni thought with another sigh.,She closed her eyes, when she walked through the barrier together with Harry.,Suddenly, there was a bright white light, that she could see through her closed eyelids.,Yoni opened her eyes and was stunned by what she saw. She heard Harry gasp next to her.,She saw in the far away distance a snow-white castle with lots of towers with dark red, purple, green and blue rooftops.,Yoni and Harry looked around and saw that they were on a square in a village. Near the well.,"Where are we?" Harry asked softly and astonished.

Getting into trouble at Hogwarts was a lot like getting in trouble at home, at least for Tybalt. It was coupled with an intense feeling of self disappointment, and most of the time, guilt. The guilt was usually minor, he knocked something over or was caught doing something he shouldn't have been. Ty was a decent student, so such occasions were rare at school, but his temper had led him into many situations that he would have otherwise avoided. Usually, the punishment wasn't very severe and the guilt receded quickly. This time, however, he couldn't seem to shut off his conscience. He felt awful, which surprised him.,He shouldn't have cared what happened to Mercutio de Scalla, the Slytherin was a terror. Playing pranks on Ty and his friends, mouthing off to professors, and being a lazy student seemed to be his favorite pass times. But they had honestly just been having a bit of reckless fun-and Ty ,been having fun-and no-one should have gotten hurt. Should have. Tybalt felt his temper flare at the young Hufflepuff who had stumbled between them, waving his arms and shouting that they should stop fighting because they would get in trouble. Romeo had always been a bit...ditzy, but Ty drew the line at walking between two duelling wizards. He had twisted his hand to avoid hitting the kid, but the spell had already been cast and hit Mercutio square in the chest, knocking him down. The small crowd that had gathered around them let out a collective sound of shock, and Romeo and his cousin Benvolio rushed over to their friend. Ty's friends converged around him in turn, pulling at his robes and urging him to leave the scene.,Ty himself could only gape, his brow set with confusion and slight horror. He hadn't meant to hit anyone with that spell. In fact, none of the spells he had cast during the duel were meant to hit their target, Mercutio had dodged or deflected them all with ease. The duel was a product of Mercutio's taunting and Ty's inability to back down from a challenge, but it had been friendly, both of them smiling and laughing in exuberance as they danced about the small classroom. He knew Mercutio would be fine, the cutting spell had been far from fatal, but it would leave a shallow gash in the Slytherin's torso that would hurt like hell.,One of the students in the crowd had run to get Madame Pomfrey, and with the assurance that Mercutio would be taken care of, Ty let himself be pulled away by his friends. He knew he would certainly feel the consequences of his mistake later, but right now he was too ashamed to face Mercutio, who was now sitting up and talking quietly to Benvolio. Neither of them were looking his way, but he didn't to stick around long enough for them to turn on him. He would get defensive, and the last thing he wanted was to antagonize them anymore than he already had.,When Ty and his friends reached the Gryffindor common room, McGonagall was somehow already waiting for them, and the sight of her brought a shiver down his spine. He wasn't afraid of getting in trouble, he had already accepted his fate in that vein, but the head of Gryffindor house was terrifying in her own right. Her stern gaze was fixed solely on him, and his friends clapped him on the shoulder or offered encouraging words before quickly dispersing across the common room. Ty was left standing alone in front of the old woman, who bade him follow her and left the common room, headed towards her classroom. He followed her without a word, walking fast to keep pace a few steps behind her. When they reached the transfiguration classroom, McGonagall closed the door and sat down behind her desk, gesturing for him to sit. When he was situated in the chair, she fixed him with a withering look over her spectacles and folded her hands on the desk.,"Do you know why you're here, Mr. Capulet?" she asked, and Ty shifted uncomfortably but looked her in the eye.,"Because of the duel with Mercutio." he answered evenly, knowing that playing dumb would get him in even more trouble. McGonagall nodded.,"Yes. Mr. de Scalla is in the hospital wing because of your reckless spellcasting. You'll be happy to know that he is going to be alright, but the cutting spell you used will leave a scar." she said, "What do you have to say for yourself?","I didn't mean to hit him." he said, and at a skeptical look from the professor he continued, "Montague got in the way. I didn't want to hit him, so I moved my wand and Mercutio didn't see. He was going to deflect it, but it didn't come from the direction he was expecting and he got hit.","Regardless of your intentions, duelling is banned at Hogwarts for this exact reason. Mr. Montague should not have had to intervene in the first place. For injuring a student and engaging in dangerous behavior, thirty points will be deducted from Gryffindor and you will receive detention for two weeks." The look in her eye left no room for argument. "And you will apologize to Mr. de Scalla.","Yes, professor." Ty lowered his eyes and did his best to look remorseful, although he didn't have to act much. He honestly did feel bad about hurting Mercutio.,"You are dismissed, Capulet." At the words from McGonagall, Ty nodded and left her classroom, making his way slowly back to the Gryffindor common room. Guilt ate at him, and he felt sick. The image of his spell connecting with Mercutio's chest kept replaying in his head, as well as the many different ways he could have avoided the entire situation. If only he had aimed the spell into the air, or if he hadn't accepted the Slytherin's challenge in the first place. No doubt the rest of the school would see the incident as another fight between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but to Ty, houses didn't even factor into it. He had enough of that sort of fighting back home.,Speaking of Verona, if his uncle got wind of this, Ty would be in a lot more trouble than detention. The Capulets were constantly struggling to get into Escalus' good graces, and Ty injuring the man's nephew was certainly not a step in the right direction. He just prayed that no-one from Verona mentioned the incident to their family.,He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize he had reached the common room until the Fat Lady was asking for the password.,"Phoenix felicis." he grumbled, and the door swung open, revealing an oddly silent group of Gryffindors on the other side. They looked up when Ty entered the room, which he did not take as a good sign.,"Hey, Capulet." A voice said from near the fireplace, and Ty turned to find himself face to face with Valentine de Scalla, Mercutio's older brother. Shit. He tried to walk away, but it was already too late, and Valentine grabbed his shoulder in a vice grip. "Where do you think you're going? I have to talk to you.","Do you? Well, I don't have anything to say to ,so back off." Ty growled, internally cursing his inability to just shut up and avoid the fight he knew would happen if he faced Valentine with his usual prickly demeanor. "I already talked to McGonagall. It's over.","It isn't over until I say, Capulet, and I'd say you still deserve a beating for what you did to my brother." Valentine pulled Ty around to face him, but kept the grip on his shoulder.,"Your brother will be fine. I barely even scratched him. Now let go of me and stop making an ass of yourself." he tried to yank himself from Valentine's grip, but the older boy held fast. "I'm serious, man. Let go.","Or what, you'll attack me too?" Valentine sneered, his dark eyes equally parts pissed and mocking. Ty's mind halted for a moment.,"Wait. What? I didn't attack anyone. Where did you even hear that?" he asked, trying not to betray how incredulous he felt. Was there a story going around that he had fought Mercutio unprovoked? Or that it was an actual fight?,"Don't play dumb, Tybalt. Romeo was there, he said he tried to stop you." Of course. Romeo Montague, the clueless little shit. He had stumbled upon the duel halfway through, and then told Valentine that Ty had been attacking Mercutio. What a peach.,"Look, Valentine. It was a duel. Mercutio knew what he was getting into, I didn't jump him. I didn't even mean to hit him. Romeo is an idiot." Even as the words left his mouth, he was aware of how fake they would sound to Valentine, regardless that they were the truth. The older Gryffindor would never accept his word over Romeo's.,It was this realization that allowed him to brace himself as Valentine let go of his shoulder and promptly punched him in the face.

The streets of Little Innsmouth were barren and empty, the inhabitants having retreated to their homes for the night. All was silent, and calm... Until one lone car entered the town. The man driving the car looked for a secluded area, where he doubted anyone would see him. Then, he stepped out of the vehicle and pulled open the trunk. Inside the trunk of the car, was a tiny child. Barely up to a healthy adult's knee. The boy was curled up in the car, and when he saw his uncle scowling down at him, he curled up into a ball and whimpered.,Vernon Dursley grabbed his nephew by the collar of his shirt and held him up to eye level, snarling viciously. "I'm warning you now, boy... Make NO noise. NOT. A. PEEP. If you do... I'll kill you. Do I make myself clear?!" Holding back a whimper, the child nodded slowly. Storming into a nearby alley, Vernon threw the poor child against the wall as hard as he could, the child biting his tongue hard enough to draw blood to prevent himself from screaming. Vernon towered over the cowering child and smirked. "One more for the road, boy..." He said sadistically. And then, the beating began.,Harry had been through this ordeal time and again. If you expected this to make him numb to the pain, or find some way to ignore the feelings of terror... Well, I'm sorry. But that wasn't the case. All Harry had learned was that making any sound only made things worse. He did everything he could to remain silent, and hoped that this would all be over soon. At one point, he may have wished for someone to save him, but those feelings and dreams were gone. He had given up hope, he simply believed what he was told. Harry wasn't sure how long he had been beaten before it stopped, maybe he had passed out. But when he finally did wake up, he was alone. The night air was cool and did provide a slightly calming breeze to his bruised body. But that was all.,He pushed himself up shakily and stumbled to his feet, finding it difficult to stay standing. It hurt... It all hurt so much... Right now, more than anything, little Harry Potter wanted his cupboard... Walking forward shakily, he looked around, timid and worried. "U-Uncle Vernon...?" He called out softly, tentatively. But he received no answer. "Uncle Vernon?!" He called out again, this time scared. No answer. He began to breathe heavily in panic. He was alone?! In unfamiliar streets?! His uncle had abandoned him!,Despair overwhelmed the little boy, and he sat down and hugged his knees tightly. He no longer had a home... No cupboard... No weekly fill... Nothing but the rags he was left with. Whimpering softly, the little boy buried his face into his knees. He was in pain... He was scared... He was cold... And he was completely alone."I...I...I want my mommy..." He whimpered.,He sat against the building wall and decided to try and wait, to see if anyone came looking for him, hoping that maybe someone would. Maybe... maybe in the morning... Losing the battle against his weak and tired state, Harry slowly let his eyes close, falling into a pained sleep.,A month had passed and many things had changed. Snow was falling, and the townsfolk were getting ready for the holidays. Walking to stores or homes, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, enjoying the crisp cold winter air.,Except for Harry.,In the past month, he had tried to find his family, but to no avail. He was too frightened to go to anyone else, so he had been living in the alleyways, digging through trash to try and find anything to eat.,The occasional Dagonian had noticed him, but he always ran when they tried to come near. Not out of fear of their appearance, but fear of them hurting him like his uncle. Yes, little Harry Potter was scared of everything. He was also cold. There was no warmth to speak of, and it was taking its toll. And he was hungry... So hungry... So tired... The boy coughed violently, hunching over slightly. On top of it all, the cold had made the poor child very, very sick.,Currently, he was sitting in a damp, rotting cardboard box that he had essentially made his home. He looked at the place where he'd put whatever food he could find, only to remember he hadn't found any in the past two days. He whimpered sadly as he debated between trying to sleep or trying to find some food. In the end, his hunger won out and he set back out to look around the nearby trashcans.,Carefully, he lifted off a lid, and peeked inside. He let out a deep sigh of relief when he found a half eaten sandwich, only a little bit moldy. Eagerly, the child reached down to grab it... But was interrupted by the sound of growling. Eyes wide, the boy whipped around to see a pack of large, angry dogs before him, all snarling viciously. Harry whimpered and began to tremble violently. He hated doggies... They always attacked him... He didn't want to get bitten... "G-Go away..." He protested weakly. The dogs didn't feel particularly up to listening, however, and they pounced.,Harry screamed as the group of dogs bit at him from every angle. One of them had its jaws around his leg and was shaking it violently. Another was biting down on his arm and pulling as hard as it could. One was trying to rip into his ribcage. And another still was ripping away at his cheek. Harry couldn't stop screaming. He didn't WANT to stop screaming. For the first time, he wanted someone to hear him, to save him... It hurt... It hurt so much...,Nearby, a woman happened to be in the area. Lithe and tan, with deep blue eyes and a platinum blonde bowl cut, the most striking feature about this woman was the pair of cat ears atop her head and the tail sticking out her back end. This woman wore a black trench coat that did little to protect her from the cold weather, especially due to the outfit she had underneath, which could only be described as half a blue shirt, a black bikini bottom and some ripped pants that left her thighs and shins completely exposed.,This was Nadia Fortune, town hero and last member of the fishbone gang. Nadia was out on a casual stroll through the town. She shivered very slightly. She prided herself on her impressive resistance to frigid temperatures, but even she had to admit that this cold was pretty bad. It sent a chill up even her spine.,"Eh, snow point staying indoors over being a little chilly." She mumbled to herself. "Think I'll head over to Yu-Wan's... nice bowl of soup would be the cat's pajamas right-",The sound of barking got her hair, ears and tail standing on end. "Oh geez... This place is REALLY going to the dogs..." She muttered. "Well, time to put down a few more mutts.",After a Medici dogfighting ring had been busted, their dogs had found themselves dumped off in Little Innsmouth. In one month alone, twenty two Dagonians were hospitalized by these dogs, and twelve of them didn't make it. Nadia had taken it upon herself to personally exterminate the dogs herself. All outside help called was either racist towards her aquatic friends, completely brainwashed by dog culture and refused to believe any dog could be too dangerous to keep alive, or both.,She had made incredible progress in taking down the threat to her hometown, and this was most likely going to be the last of them. Nadia ran as fast as her legs would carry her, ready to dispose of the threat once and for all. A swift decapitation would suffice just nicely.,Then, her ears picked up something else... Screaming... A child's screaming...,"Oh no..." She gasped, the colour draining form her body as she heard the pained cries. After turning down a few alleyways, she was momentarily frozen in horror. The mutts seemed to be attacking what looked like a baby. The horror quickly shifted to anger as she leapt into action. Her claws made quick work of the dogs, providing a somewhat brutal (but compared to what they had been through, relatively quick and painless) death. Nadia was left standing in the snow, blood covering her hands as she breathed heavily, finally getting a better look at what the dogs had been after. Lying on the ground, now with even more torn clothing and bleeding cuts, was a baby... No. Not a baby... Wait, why did he look like one?,Gently bending down Nadia gently tried to turn the child over to comfort him, but when she placed a hand on his back, she realized two things: One, her hand was still covered in blood, and two, there was practically no meat on this little boy.,She saw the boy wince in fear and curl in on himself. "N-No... Please don't... I'm sorry, don't hurt me, don't hurt me, please..." Nadia's ears drooped and she carefully turned him over. Harry was ready to panic, but when he saw his saviour, all fear washed away as he saw the pair of cat ears on top of her head. Nadia smiled sadly.,"Hi, kit... You okay?" She asked gently. Harry opened his mouth to reply...but then began to violently cough before shaking uncontrollably and whimpering from the cold. Nadia, without hesitation, removed her trench coat and wrapped the boy up tightly before picking him up and hugging him tightly to her chest to share her body heat with him.,Nadia also now realized he felt as heavy as a stuffed animal, making it clear he was very malnourished. She didn't even have to look under his shirt to see that. His voice also sounded like it was broken, the poor dear was probably sick... "Kitty?" He mumbled through shivering teeth and weakness from hunger.,"Daw... you're a sweet little kitten, aren't you?" Nadia cooed, smiling as she saw Harry reaching up for something. "Hm? Is there something you'd like?","P..pe...pet...e.." Harry managed to weakly get out, and Nadia blinked in surprise, then smiled widely. Leaning her head down, she felt the tiny boy scratch her ears, earning a soft purr from her. This was good. She was establishing that she wasn't a threat. Hopefully she could figure out who did this to him...,When the boy had decided he was done scratching her ears, she leaned back and smiled softly. "Heh... Well, you got to pet me, so it's only fair I should get to pet you." She joked before gently stroking the boy's head. The child leaned into the touch, and she smiled softly, her tail swishing about behind her. "What's your name, sweetie?" She asked gently.,"H-H-" He struggled to speak between coughs. "Harry, ma'am." Nadia stuck her tongue out playfully and made a 'blah' sound.,"Ma'am? Heh... You're making me sound like some kind of old granny, kit. The name's Nadia, but you can call me Ms. Fortune if you'd like." A sudden gust of wind made the boy shiver again. Frowning softly, Nadia carefully shifted him in her arms, holding his head up against the crook of her neck to share just a bit more body heat with him and gently rubbing the back of his head, purring softly to help keep him comfy.,"So, Harry. What's a little cutie like you doing out here on your own? It's too cold for a little kitten to be out on his own." Nadia cooed, feeling Harry almost violently tense at the question. She frowned but didn't press.,"I...I...I..." Harry stammered, trying to think of a good excuse. He knew what would happen if he told anyone anything about what his family did to him. "I was...getting grocries..." He lied, accidentally mispronouncing the word, and Nadia frowned at that.,She took a good look at the little boy tucked in her trench coat, and her ears drooped. Ludicrously tiny size... Far too skinny... Wearing rags... Out all on his own in the middle of the coldest spell she had ever seen... It was abundantly clear to her what was happening. She herself had been through this dilemma. She understood all too well... The signs were very familiar... "Harry... Sweetie..." She said softly. "...You don't have a home... do you?" The way the boy went limp in her arms told her everything she needed to know. "...Well... You do now.","What?" Harry mumbled, confused. "Where do I live?","You're gonna stay with me, kitten." Nadia smiled down at him. She wanted to kiss him to comfort him, but she didn't know how he'd react to it... She settled on holding him close and trying to keep him warm as she began to make her way to Yu-Wan's. Hopefully her friend could heal the poor thing.,"But... I can't..." Harry weakly protested.,Nadia blinked, confused, as she looked over at the shaking child. "Oh yeah? Well why can't you?" She asked softly. Harry coughed a bit before looking down.,"Y-You don't really want me..." He said softly. Nadia frowned and gently nuzzled him, purring lightly in order to bring him comfort and peace.,"C'mon, buddy... Of course I do. I could never just leave you alone in the cold like this." She sighed softly. "Harry, I just need you to put a little...blind trust in me, okay?",Harry looked down, then very timidly he looked back up at the pretty cat-lady. She had been kind to him, and even if she was just acting, he was so desperate for warmth and food... He finally gave in and leaned back towards Nadia's chest. The woman smiled and patted his head. "There we go..." She cooed softly. "Just sleep now kitten, soon things will be better..." In a matter of moments, Harry had fallen asleep, Nadia smiled and continued her way down the street, ignoring the occasional looks of wonder as she went.,As well as the rather...appreciatve looks she received from several males due to her very revealing outfit. Hey, she felt way more comfortable showing off skin. Kept her ready for a fight. The life gem kept her from getting sick anyway, so what was there to worry about?,When Yu-Wan's restaurant finally came into view, she breathed a soft sigh of relief. She wanted a nice hot bowl of soup just as much as her new little buddy really needed one. But really, the biggest reason was simple: She needed healing water, a special brew that only the family of her best friend, Minette, had access to. Harry needed it desperately.,Thankfully, the afternoon rush was over so when Nadia entered the restaurant, there were very few patrons. "Minette!?" She called in a somewhat panicked voice. "Where are you!?" After a few moments, her fish friend appeared form the back, smiling as she made her way over to Nadia.,"Hey Nadia, what's going- there's a bleeding child in your arms." She began in her chipper tone, but that quickly melted away to shock when she saw the tiny boy in her friends arms.,The Dagonian rushed forward with wide eyes. "Oh my gosh, is he okay?! The poor dear, he's just covered in blood!" She touched his forehead gently and gasped. "Oh my gosh, he's sick too?! Poor little thing... Nadia, what happened?!",Nadia smiled sadly and kissed Harry's head gently. "Harry here doesn't have a home... And he had a little encounter with the hellhounds." She explained, using the nickname the dogs had received for their learned eagerness to fight and attack.,"Right... okay... okay..." Minette muttered, her breath hitching in fear. "Okay. Um... You just wait here, I'll get him some soup, and I'll get the healing water ready. Just... just... I dunno!" Nadia bit her lip, she had never seen her friend this frightened before. She sighed and seated herself with Harry, continuing to hold him close to her chest.,"Don't worry honey, you'll be feeling better soon." Nadia cooed.,She approached a seat that was closest to the fireplace and hugged the child as tightly against her bosom as she could, gently running her fingers through his hair. Minette stepped out, seeming much calmer now, and sighed softly. "Okay, Nadia... Yu-Wan is gonna bring you some soup. While you feed this poor thing, I'm gonna go home and mix up a fresh batch of healing water..." Minette reached out and gently caressed the boy's cheek. "Poor baby...",Nadia smiled softly. "Thanks, Minette... Really appreciate it..." The Feral said gratefully. Minette smiled sadly before taking off, leaving Nadia to await Yu-Wan.,Harry now looked up at Nadia once again. "Miss Fortune?" He asked shyly.,"Yes kitten?","Why are you helping me?" Harry asked confused.,"Aw, kit... You didn't deserve what's happened to you." Nadia smiled down at him. "You deserve to be happy. Now don't worry, you just rest. I'll keep you safe.",Harry blinked, then nuzzled closer into her, relishing in the combined warmth of the glowing fireplace, the trench coat he was snugly wrapped up in, and Nadia's own body heat. Nadia smiled fondly and gently nuzzled the top of his head with her cheek. Her ears pointed upward at the sound of a soft 'clink', and she turned to look at two bowls of soup with a soft smile. "Heh... Thanks, Yu-Wan." The chef in question nodded with a warm smile. Nadia reached into one of her pouches, but Yu-Wan gently grabbed her arm.,"No, no, Nadia. You are not paying even one coin for this meal. You've saved a life today, and probably many others as well. This meal is on the house.","Thanks." Nadia smiled, before adjusting Harry in her arms so he was sitting more upright. "Alright kitten, lets get you fed.","Oh. Um... I'm not hungry..." Harry timidly replied, and Nadia frowned down at him.,"None of that, little man." She cooed, gently stroking his cheek. "You seem like you haven't eaten a decent meal in your life. Besides, this will help you with the sickness." Harry wanted to protest some more, knowing he couldn't eat normal people food, but it smelled so good... and Miss Fortune was at least pretending to be nice... and he was so hungry...,Nadia gave the boy a toothy smile and grabbed the spoon with her tail. "Open up, kiddo. It's SOUPer good." She said, chuckling slightly as she moved the soup into his mouth.,Harry's eyes lit up at the taste. "It's... It's yummy...!" He said happily. Nadia chuckled and scooped up another spoonful, using her tail so that she wouldn't have to break her hold on the clearly comfortable boy.,"Heh... Yep... The chef really knows his stuff." She chuckled. "All right, bud, have some more now..." Nadia slowly fed the boy his entire bowl, smiling fondly as he relished in every spoonful.,By the time he was finished, Harry seemed to be falling asleep again. Nadia smiled and rested him against her chest, patting his back and getting a small burp from the boy. "Excuse me..." Harry mumbled. Nadia tucked him back into a more comfortable position and rocked him in her arms.,"Why don't you take a nap, cutie? I'll wake you later." Harry didn't have to be told twice, and quickly dropped off to sleep, despite his attempts to remain awake.,Nadia chuckled and gently nuzzled the sleeping boy, which caused him to coo cutely in her embrace. "Geez... Is it even legal to be this cute? Might need to check for some kind of license." She joked softly.,Yu-Wan tapped her shoulder, and she turned to see him holding a nice blue blanket. "Nadia... You must go and see Minette now. He needs the healing water.",Nadia smiled softly and rose to her feet. "Right. Thanks again, big guy. That soup really helped him..." Nadia said gratefully before kissing Harry's cheek.,Gently shaking Harry awake, the boy mumbled something inaudible and looked up at the woman holding him, giving a tiny, but genuine smile. "Hey kiddo, we're gonna get you all cleaned up, and you're gonna feel like a new kitten!" She said playfully, standing up and beginning to walk towards Minette's house down the block. Harry, however, much to her surprise and slight sadness, began squirming as if he wanted to get away. "Aww, what's wrong little guy? I'm not gonna hurt you." Harry, however, continued trying to get away, clearly upset by something, and Nadia gently held him a little bit tighter. "What's wrong sweetie? You can tell me." She insisted.,"I...I don't wanna take my shirt off..." Harry mumbled softly, looking down. Nadia tilted her head to the side with a frown, now concerned.,"Worried about the injuries the dogs gave ya, hun? Hey... I know they're bad, but trust me... This stuff will make it all totally vanish. Promise." Harry blinked as he remembered the dogs. Yes... He could just blame the injuries on the dogs! Ms. Fortune would never even know where they really came from!,Leaving the small restaurant, Nadia kept Harry close to her chest as she made her way to her friend's house. She sighed slightly as she thought about what the kid had been through. A dog attack was something she'd only wish on her worst enemies. After a few minutes of brisk walking, Nadia sighed in relief when she saw her friend's home appear up ahead. Running the last little bit of the way, she knocked on the door and waited.,She heard the sounds of her friend scrambling to get to the door, yelping and bumping into things all the while, and chuckled softly at the sounds. Finally, the door was thrown open, and Minette stood there, looking haggard, but still smiling nonetheless. "Oh good, you have the poor thing more bundled up... C'mon in, the water's all ready.","Thanks, Minette. Heh... I gotta say, I'm impressed. You didn't come out looking like a sweater mummy this time." Minette pouted.,"Let's just get the poor thing healed up...","On that, I agree." Nadia nodded.,"So, what you'll need to do is let the poor thing soak." Minette explained. "The water's warm, so it shouldn't be uncomfortable for him, just let him soak for a bit and scrub where you think needs it most. After that, give him a regular bath to clean everything off. Shampoo and soap will mess up the healing water's effects. Okay... I'd better go...","Are you going somewhere?" Nadia asked with a raised brow.,"I uh... I have some errands I forgot about and need to get done. I'll be back soon though." The fish woman replied, and Nadia nodded.,Minette gently stroked Harry's cheek on her way out the door. "You're gonna be okay, sweetie. Miss Nadia will take care of everything." She cooed gently before rushing out the door.,Nadia watched her go, then turned Harry with a wide smile before setting him down gently. "All right, kit, mind taking that nasty old rag off so I can clean ya off?" Harry hesitated before complying, carefully removing his shirt... Nadia's world froze when she saw the horrors that lurked beneath that shirt. Scratches, welts, cuts and bruises ran all across his body, all clearly untreated and starting to become infected. Most of the bruises were in the shape of human fists. He was malnourished, his stomach practically concave, his ribs on full display. It was like something straight out of a horror movie.,Nadia turned pale, almost sheet white. Her eyes went wide, pupils dilated. Her ears flattened against her head. Her mouth was open as if she meant to speak, but no words came out. And her hands were clenched into fists, her claws digging into her palms deep enough to draw blood. After about ten seconds, Nadia finally moved. Without even thinking about it, she rushed forward, knelt down to Harry's level, and hugged him tightly and protectively.,Harry was frightened by the sudden hug, believing he was about to be hurt again, that she was going to crush him, that she...,This felt nice.,Harry slowly calmed himself, and realized Miss Nadia wasn't going to hurt him, she was trying to comfort him. Very slowly, he leaned his head against her chest like he had earlier, hoping that he wasn't overstepping his boundaries. Nadia's hand rested itself on the back of his head, gently rubbing it in a very soothing motion. Harry whimpered slightly, desperately wanting to cry, but had to bite his tongue to keep himself from doing so.,"Oh kitten... who did this to you?" Nadia whispered, tears forming in her eyes.,"T..th...the dogs." Harry lied, not wanting to tell the truth.,Nadia gave the boy a sad look and gathered him in her arms, holding him close and nuzzling his cheek. He was lying... She knew that... And he was lying out of fear. She decided not to push for information. He needed to tell her on his own terms, not hers. She let out a soft sigh, then gently pressed her lips against his cheek. "Okay, hun... Let's just get ya healed up..." Gently, carefully, she lowered the little boy into the healing water, taking note of the way the boy cringed the closer to it he got.,Nadia sighed sadly and very slowly set him into the water. Harry gave a tiny 'eep!' when he was first set into the warm water, but looked up at Nadia, as if he had been expecting something else. She smiled sadly. "It's okay, little guy... Just soak for a bit.",Grabbing a nearby bath pillow, Nadia carefully put it against the tub and gently rested Harry's head against it. Harry was very clearly loving the warm water, closing his eyes and smiling contently. Nadia smiled and gently rubbed his head, watching as the injuries and pain slowly but surely disappeared. "Heh... Feels good, huh? Just relax, sweetie... It'll all be okay soon.",Harry slowly closed his eyes, letting the feeling of warmth overtake him. Nadia sighed in relief as she saw most of the cuts and wounds seemed to be closing or fading away altogether. It didn't explain where they all came from, but right now, this was far more important. After about fifteen minutes, Nadia looked over the tiny boy, nodding in aformation that the boy was at least healing.,Smiling gently, the feral took a kneeling position by the tub, gently rubbing his head as he basked in the warmth of the healing water. He cooed adorably at her touch, and she smiled softly. As he bathed, however, Nadia noticed something... Several of the scars weren't going away. Not even showing signs of it. Then she noticed one on his forehead... Carefully scooping water into her hands, she gently trickled it over the boy's forehead. But nothing happened. Nadia's ears drooped. "Some scars never heal..." She spoke softly before leaning down and kissing his forehead.,Harry cooed softly, a sound that melted her heart. "Like the kisses?" He nodded. Nadia gave a toothy grin at that before leaning down and kissing his forehead again, followed by both cheeks. "Heh... Well, there's plenty more where that came from, little guy. Now c'mon... I think you've soaked enough." Harry was visibly upset to be taken out of the warm water, but he didn't fight her. "Hey, don't worry, kit. Now we're gonna give ya a proper bath. Wash all the guck off ya. Looks like you've never even seen a bar of soap before.",Harry looked away, embarrassed and Nadia giggled. This kid was so adorable... if he had gotten lost (which she sincerely doubted) his parents must be worried sick! Regardless, she chose to focus on the task at hand, then talk with him later. Setting him down in another pool of warm water, she smiled when she saw Harry relax once again, seeming to like the warm water. She looked at the cleaning supplies and picked up a bar of soap. "Okay, let's get you clean." She said with a smile before beginning the process of scrubbing his little body, gently, to remove the grime. The water quickly changed colours form a crystal clear blue to a sludge-like gray and green. Nadia decided to take him out and let the water empty out, then refilled it and set to washing him once more.,The process repeated three more times, which worried Nadia greatly. This boy was abused. No way around it, he was abused terribly. Beaten. Starved. Self esteem crushed. It broke her heart. Eventually, she was satisfied with the boy's cleanliness. But since he was so clearly enjoying the bath, she decided to empty it and refill it again. This boy needed some enjoyment and happiness in his life yesterday. So she gently set him in once more and added some bubble bath before finding Minette's old bath toys.,Harry seemed enthralled by the bubbles, playfully trying to grab handfuls as they floated about the tub. When the bath toys were added, Harry was happily playing with a rubber duck in the tub. Nadia smiled and kept a close eye on the tiny boy. It seemed like this was the most fun he had ever had.,Shrugging to herself, she decided to play with him a bit, grabbing a toy fish and moving it through the water. "Glub glub. Glub glub." She made it look up at Harry. "Hey kid. I'm a fish." Harry giggled softly as Nadia held the toy up to his face. "Whatcha laughing at, kiddo? I got somethin' fishy on my face?" Harry giggled harder, which made her chuckle. She had the fish swim about a bit before having it bump into the duck. "Uh-oh. Looks like I've run aFOWL of my old nemesis... Quacks the Duck. You nipped my father. Prepare to get wet." Squeezing the fish, Nadia watched as a small squirt of water sprayed the duck.,Harry giggled a bit louder now, and Nadia felt her heart melting. His laugh was so precious! She wished she could somehow make an audio recording of it, and sell it as some sort of audio therapy. She laughed slightly to herself at the ridiculous concept, but at the same time, it seemed to be an almost magical laugh. The two remained there for another half an hour, until Harry looked around confused before looking back up to Nadia. "Missus Fortune?" He asked. "Uh... where am I gonna go?",Nadia tilted her head to the side with a toothy grin. "You're comin' to stay with me kit. Remember?" She asked before messing up the boy's hair. "Now c'mon, buddy... The water's gettin' lukewarm. Time to get out." Harry nodded, then allowed her to gently scoop him out of the tub and wrap him up in a soft, warm towel, leaving only his tiny face visible. Nadia smirked lightly at the little bundle of joy in her arms before hugging him close to her bosom. She carried him downstairs and took a seat on the loveseat, deciding to just snuggle with the boy for a while.,She spent about fifteen minutes holding the boy before hearing a very familiar shriek coming from outside. She blinked, then realized what must have happened and chuckled lightly, setting Harry down. "Be right back, hun. I think Miss Minette just did something silly again." She said with a wink. Harry nestled into the couch as Nadia walked out the door and looked around. Near a large mound of snow, she saw a whole bunch of shopping bags sitting on the ground, thankfully having spilled nothing from the tumble their carrier took.,And there, inside the snowbank, was Minette. She had managed to get her upper body and legs buried in the snow, leaving only her butt exposed.,"Hey, Minette. Need a hand?" Nadia said with a smile. An upset and muffled response came from the snowbank, and Nadia laughed. She made her way over and pulled her friend out, who shook her head to get the snow off of her face.,"Oooooh... I hate the cold..." Minette said, shivering slightly.,"Where were you?" Nadia asked with a raised brow, looking to the bags. "Did you forget to restock the restaurant or something?","No they're for HarIEE!" Minette began, but as she took a step forward, slipped on another patch of ice, sending her falling backwards into the snowbank. This time, the hole she made was covered by another pile of snow that fell from the rooftop. Nadia couldn't hold back her laughter this time.,Minette's head burst out of the snow with a gasp, and she crossed her arms with a pout. "Hmph... Stupid, dumb snow... Stupid, dumb ice..." Nadia chuckled and shook her head in amusement before looking at one of the bags.,"All right, I'll help ya with...your...groceries..." She looked in the bag to find all she would need to take care of Harry. Some new clothes... A few toys... A toothbrush and toothpaste... Everything. "...Minette...","Look, I know it may seem like a lot, but the poor thing seemed nearly dead when you brought him here! I don't know where he's going after this, but he can't be left with tattered rags on his back!" Minette said, trying to explain herself, while Nadia just smiled.,"Thank you." She said sincerely. "For everything.",Minette took a deep breath and smiled warmly. "You're welcome, Nadia... You're the best friend a girl could have. I'd do anything to help you...",Nadia's ear twitched happily. "But how did you know that I was planning on adopting the little guy...? I never mentioned it to you..." She said softly. Minette smiled.,"I saw it written all over your face, Nadia... That's just the kind of woman you are." Nadia gave her a toothy grin and pulled her into a hug.,"That settles it, Minette. You're gonna be his godmother." Minette gasped.,"Really?! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!", She squealed, hugging her friend back.,"I think we should get inside though, I have a feeling the little guy may think I left him if I'm gone too long." Nadia smiled, hugging her friend.,"Right, of course." Minette nodded, her tone chipper. "You go on in and make sure he's okay, I'll take everything in." While Minette may have hoped that Nadia would insist that she help, she wasn't surprised when Nadia disappeared back into the house. Gently sitting on the love seat once again, she smiled down at Harry who still seemed cozy where he was.,"Hi Missus Fortune." Harry said in his tiny voice.,"Hi to you to kitten.",She picked him up and hugged him close, gently rubbing his back. "Heh... You're way too light, little man... Feel about as heavy as a pillow...","M'sorry..." Harry mumbled into her shoulder. She kissed his cheek, and his face lit up in joy, adoring the gesture of affection. Nadia gently nuzzled him, listening sadly as he sniffled and coughed.,The little boy sneezed violently, and he turned his head away to avoid getting it on Nadia. "Heh... Good kid." She said gently, patting the boy's back.,She tucked him close to her chest again and made herself comfortable on the love seat. Nadia kept her arms wrapped around the tiny boy. She was keeping him warm and enjoying his little reactions. It was clear this was a new sensation to him, and he was trying to take in every moment he could in case it was a dream. It was adorable, and a little heartbreaking to be honest. The fact that this was his life, one of clear abuse and neglect... Well, she'd just have to change that!,Minette entered the room, holding the bags so that they were blocking her line of sight, then tripped on a cord and fell over with a yelp. Nadia looked over to see a pile of bags with one of Minette's twitching legs sticking out. "Uh... Heh... Sorry about that, Minette." Nadia said, helping her friend out of her predicament. "Guess I shoulda helped you out there, huh?","Oh, no, it's fine, Nadia, really... You're a guest, after all." Nadia smiled and hugged her. Minette grinned, but then looked at Harry thoughtfully, before an expression of realization came across her face.,"Nadia, that boy... He's been the talk of the town for the entire time you were off on your...business trip." Nadia looked at her with a raised brow. "People have been trying to help him for a month, but he always ran away... One of my sisters told me how she tried to help him just last week... And then there was a Great White, a hammerhead, a...barracuda..." She realized that, besides her sister, all of the people that had tried to help him would have been terrifying to such a tiny human boy.,Nadia blinked, then chuckled. "Heh... Hard to believe Bruce and his guys are such softies when they look like they could wipe the floor with that Beowulf guy... But hey... He wasn't scared of me. Guess he just likes cats." She said before nuzzling Harry.,"I'd say so." Minette smiled as she looked at the boy who seemed to have fallen asleep in her friend's arms. "Apparently Bruce and the others did what they could to make sure none of the jerks who stalk the streets hurt him. Apparently there was this one wolf, Kano... or Lobo? It doesn't matter... Apparently he was seen following the kid at one point." Nadia's hair, ears and tail seemed to stand on edge as her muscles tightened without warning. She knew what Minette was getting at.,"Did...he didn't..." she began, genuinely concerned.,"No, no. He didn't." Minette shook her head. "From what my sister told me, Bruce and the others saw him and uh... 'Talked with him'." She said the last part with air quotes.,"How'd that go?" Nadia asked with a relieved and amused tone, knowing what happened when Bruce and his pals got mad.,"Well, if he's lucky, he'll be out of the body cast in say... three years.",Nadia chuckled and patted the sleeping boy's back. "Heh... I'll have to thank those guys next time I see them..." Minette smiled warmly.,"Hmm... Poor little thing needs some food in his tummy... I'll give you some leftover seafood chowder for the road, Nadia, just give me a sec...",Minette left the room, and Nadia decided to look through the bag of clothes so she could change Harry. Her eyes widened when she got to a pair of blue footed pajamas, with padding inside so that the wearer would be extra comfy...and extra nice to cuddle with. "Oh yeah... He is totally wearing these...",Harry slowly stirred from his nap, his eyes snapping open and he looked around in a panic. "Hey, Harry!" Nadia said reassuringly. "You're okay! Your with me!" Harry looked around, confusion clear on his face, until he looked up at Nadia and seemed to relax.,"Miss Fortune?" He said.,"Hi kitten." Nadia smiled. "Aww, it's okay... You're safe.",Nadia leaned down and gathered him in her arms, holding him close against her bust as she ran her fingers through his dark, messy hair. She gave the boy a small look-over and took in all the small details that made him adorable. Tiny little size... Shy personality... Sweet little face with beautiful big green eyes... Yep. She was smitten with this kitten.,Did she care what anyone thought? Nope! Well, unless they agreed with her on this like Minette did, but that was a different case. "Are you cozy, kitten?" She asked playfully.,"Yes, Miss Fortune." Harry replied, clearly enjoying the warmth.,"You're a polite little squirt, aren't you?" She smiled.,Nadia looked over at the pajamas she'd been planning on putting him in and grinned. "All right, kiddo... Let's get ya properly dressed up... Heh... I'm only gonna feed ya and put you to bed when we get back to my place, so those pajamas oughta do." Harry nodded in affirmation and made no fuss as Nadia removed his ragged oversized shirt and pulled the footed pajamas onto his tiny, frail body. When she finished, she wore a very shark-like grin at the sight. "Sorry, kid, gonna have to get a little visit from the cuddle monster for being too cute.",Harry let out a somewhat nervous whimper, but once he was pulled closer, he let out a happy coo and tired to snuggle into the embrace. 'Agh... He's so cute!' Nadia mentally cooed, looking down at the tiny boy trying to get as close as he could, while still being wrapped up in a blanket.,"Miss Fortune?","What's up, kiddo?" She asked.,"Are you a cat?",Nadia blinked at that, then chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." She tapped her ears, then swished her tail. "See, I only have the ears and tail. I'm actually a feral.",Harry tilted his head. "A...A feral...?" He asked curiously. Nadia laughed and nuzzled his cheek gently.,"Ferals are people that have animal features, kit. There's all kinds. Wolves, cows, pigs...You name it. And there's fish people too. Those are Dagonians.","Oh. Okay..." Harry blinked, trying to understand. Nadia laughed and pressed her forehead to his. He was so cute...,"Don't worry about it, squirt." She said, patting his head. Harry smiled slightly up at her, his frightened shell slowly starting to crack. That made Nadia's heart warm, knowing that there was still a ways to go, but she'd help him in any way she could. "Miss Minette's bringing something to eat, so just stay comfy.",Minette stepped out of the kitchen, holding a large thermos and a duffel bag. "Okay, the chowder is in the thermos, and you can use the bag to carry..." She froze when she saw Harry in the pajamas. "...Awwww..." Minette cooed. "He's soooo cuuuute..." Harry blushed and buried his face into Nadia's shoulder, causing the feline woman to chuckle.,"Yeah..." She rubbed his back for several seconds...before she noticed something... "M-Minette... These are baby clothes..." Minette blinked.,"Wait... I thought he was a baby..." Nadia shook her head.,"Minette... Harry's five years old... But these baby clothes are a perfect fit... Oh my God... He's so underfed he can literally wear baby clothes!","Mmsowry..." Harry mumbled, tensing up, afraid he had done something wrong.,"Don't worry, kiddo, we'll get some meat on your widdle bones!" Nadia cooed, hiding her fury. She picked a coat from one of the shopping bags and bundled Harry in it, making sure he was extra cozy. The little kid was too frail, and Nadia was concerned that if he wasn't warm enough he could get even more sick.,"Okay, my little sicko..." Nadia placed everything Minette had bought in the bag, then carefully slung it over her shoulder and turned to the boy with a grin before gathering him into her arms. "Let's go home now...","H-Home..." Harry said softly, making Nadia smirk and kiss his cheek gently.,"That's right, sweetie... Time to go home... Your new home...",Harry looked up with wide eyes and smiled, leaning into Nadia's embrace. "Thanks Minette, I'll see you later." Nadia said thankfulyl.,"Thank you Miss Minettee." Harry said, trying his best to pronounce Minette's name. Minette gave a girlish squeal of delight and covered her mouth with her hand, laughing slightly.,"You're more than welcome, cutie pie!" Minette cooed in response.,Nadia chuckled softly and turned to Minette with a wave before stepping out into the cold, snowy streets, wincing ever so slighly as the frigid wind blasted her bare skin. "Geez, this temperature's ridiculous..." She muttered. "How ya feeling, buddy?" She looked down at Harry, who was leaning contently against her breast, wrapped up in excessive layers, from the pajamas to the winter clothes to a blanket to her own trenchcoat.,Nadia chuckled softly and kissed his cheeks before falling deep into thought. Who could have done this to him? Sure, the Dagonians of Little Innsmouth were a bit suspicious of humans due to the Medicis, but that didn't mean anyone in this town was about to harm a little boy... Hell, even the Medicis themselves would probably have groomed him into one of their guys rather than outright torture him. And with the way the laws in the kingdom cracked down on child abusers... 'Must be someone out of town...' She thought.,She was pulled out of her thoughts when she noticed the stares she was getting from passersby, some shocked at her much too revealing outfit for the weather, some noticing she was carrying a little boy and smiling warmly, and some giving rather... appreciative looks to some of her best features. Nadia chuckled softly at that last one. Ah, the joys of being the attractive town hero...,Harry, for his part, wasn't paying attention to any of the curious or relieved looks he got from people who had seen him on the street over the past little bit. He was still trying to process why Miss Fortune was so kind to him. He was a freak, he knew that much... and she wasn't his mommy... but... maybe she didn't think he was a freak? He'd have to ask her later. Right now, he was terrified of saying or doing anything that would anger her. Little did Harry know, angering Nadia would be next to impossible.,'Well, the little guy is warm at least.' Nadia thought as she kept walking, occasionally stealing a glance at Harry, wrapped up in her arms. 'That's good. And Minette's healing water really seemed to help... but still. How did he get so battered?' Nadia knew she was going to keep him. He was so adorable and tiny, she felt like she had to be the one to raise him. She assumed (correctly) she already had a bond from when she saved his life.,She gave the little boy a soft smile before eventually, she reached her house. It was basically a gift from the town for being their hero. Nothing too fancy, pretty small, but it was a very cozy little place. She entered her home and sighed in relief before shaking her head slightly to get the snow out of her hair. It was coming down really hard now, She stepped into her kitchen and pulled out a small bowl, plus one for herself, then poured some clam chowder into both bowls. "Let's get you fed. Then I'll take ya upstairs and tuck you in for a nap.",Sitting on a chair, she held Harry in one arm, tucking him into the crook of her arm and smiled down at him. "Open up, honey!" She grinned. Harry seemed like he wanted to say something, and Nadia spoke up: "What's wrong, kiddo? Cat go your tongue?","I... I can't..." Harry mumbled.,"Can't what? Are you allergic to clams?" Nadia asked.,"I...I'm not really allowed to...to eat..." Nadia's eyes widened at that. Now it was becoming very, very clear to her just what this boy had been through.,"Oh kit... Your old family starved you...didn't they...?" She said softly. Harry looked down slowly, and Nadia quickly changed the subject. "Well you're with me now. You're in my house, under my rules. And my rules state, very clearly, cute little boys must eat three meals a day at the very least." She said with a toothy grin.,Harry looked down once again, and Nadia guessed what he was thinking. "Aw, you don't think you're cute?" Kissing him on the forehead, she said: "Well, I think you are, and I know you're hungry." Harry wanted to protest, but he was hungry, and he wanted to make Miss Nadia happy, so he nodded.,"Atta boy, now open up..." Harry obediently opened his mouth wide and Nadia put the spoon in his mouth, watching his face light up at the taste. "Heh... Yeah, Yu-Wan's the real cook at the restaurant, but Minette's no slouch in the kitchen. Even if she does make a huge mess when she cooks.","It's better than what I make..." Harry mumbled, and Nadia's ears perked up at that, mostly in shock though.,"Oh, you like to cook too?" She asked in a friendly tone, trying to hide the shock in her tone.,"Mmhmm..." Harry nodded, enjoying the chowder.,"Well, I bet you'd be great at it.",Harry gave her a small smile, feeling a bit better at her encouragement. Grinning broadly, she fed him the rest of the chowder, until the bowl was completely empty."Well whattya know, you ate the whole thing!" Nadia said with a smirk. "Now there's a good kid." She picked Harry up and hugged him against her shoulder. "All right, kitten... Time for you to take a nap. You're totally exhausted...","I'm not tir.." Harry tried to insist, only to let out a tiny yawn and let the tiredness overtake him. Nadia chuckled. He was so cute... Entering her room, she paused when she remembered that her room was kind of a mess. She had made the mental note of 'I'll clean it when I get back', before she left... and now she was taking care of a little kid. Oh well, maybe now she'd actually have a reason to try and keep her room clean. Regardless, she made her way over to her bed and tucked Harry in, pulling the thick warm blanket up to his chin and smiling as he seemed to sink into the blanket.,She leaned down and gave him a kiss before taking a kneeling position and gently rubbing the top of his head, much like one would do for a kitten. She leaned forward and whispered softly in his ear. "Just go to sleep now, sweetie... I'll be up to check on you every now and then, okay?",Harry let out a soft hum of acknowledgement and snuggled into the blankets closer. The exhausted little boy mumbled "Love you...ms...fortune..." before drifting off into a deep slumber.,Nadia felt her heart melt at those words. She smiled and patted his tiny head before quietly leaving the room, but remembering to keep the door open enough to let some light in so she could also keep an eye on Harry. She sat down and returned to her clam chowder. She loved Minette's cooking.,After finishing her own lunch, she took a seat in front of the TV and turned it on, deciding to kill a little bit of time. After watching for a few minutes, she would go up and check on Harry. He seemed to sleep soundly for about an hour... But then, she heard him screaming and yelling in his sleep. Eyes wide, she rushed upstairs to check on the little boy. He was thrashing wildly and screaming in raw terror. Nadia rushed to his side and put a hand to his forehead, feeling her stomach clench at how warm he felt.,She had to bring down this fever first and foremost. Hurriedly, she rushed downstairs and filled up a bucket of cold water, then grabbed a rag. Rushing upstairs, Nadia snatched Harry up and hugged him tight, pressing the cloth as firmly against his forehead as she could without hurting him. Harry was jolted from his slumber, but the nightmare wasn't over. Now he had gone from a simple nightmare to a fever induced hallucination. "NO! PLEASE NO! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, PLEASE! MISS FORTUNE, HELP! MISS FORTUNE! MISS FORTUNE, PLEASE, HELP!","Kitten! Harry! Please wake up!" She exclaimed, not knowing that he was seeing things. Harry continued thrashing about violently, trying to escape, to run... Finally, Nadia pulled his head close to her chest and gave him a long kiss on the head.,"M..Miss Nadia?! Where are you!?" Harry whimpered, still not seeing things clearly. He looked around for the kind cat woman, and suddenly felt himself being kissed again.,"I'm here, honey. I'm right here..." She sighed gently, her heart aching for the little guy. It was clear there was a lot he hadn't been telling her, and the poor thing had been going through a lot. She was determined, she was going to help him.,Slowly, the hallucination faded away, and Harry looked up to see Nadia looking down at him with pure, unadulterated worry written all over her features. "Hey, hun... You okay now...? The scary stuff gone?" She asked gently. Harry sniffled slightly, then buried his face into her chest and whimpered softly. "Awww... Don't cry, kitten, it's okay..." Nadia cooed. "I'm right here, okay? Nothing's gonna getcha while Miss Fortune's here to keep you safe.",It took Harry a few minutes, but finally he managed to stop whimpering. He was still shaking, and was having trouble pulling himself away from Nadia, but the young woman was just fine with that. It was clear right now he needed comforting affection, and she was going to give it to him. Every now and then, she'd nuzzle the top of his head or give him a quick kiss to try and soothe him. After about an hour, Harry was now curled up against Nadia's tummy, timidly looking up at her, afraid he had done something wrong.,Nadia just smiled sadly at him before calmly walking out the bedroom door, making her way downstairs to the kitchen. "Hey, kit... I know being sick's no fun... Those fever dreams are no joke. Buuut, there is one upside to it." Harry looked at her in confusion, and she gave him a grin before pulling the freezer open. "When you're sick, ya get to have ice cream!" She announced. Harry's eyes widened. He'd seen Dudley eating this stuff by the carton, but of course he'd never been allowed to have any. "Okay, let's eat some ice cream, and you can tell me all about your bad dream.",Harry was nervous. He didn't know if he could talk about his dream... He was told he couldn't, and that he'd be hurt if he ever did... but Miss Nadia was so nice! Maybe she wouldn't hurt him. Harry leaned into Nadia's embrace as she carried him back into the kitchen. She sat him on the counter and smiled warmly at him. He felt safe around her.,He took a deep breath, and as Nadia put a bowl of ice cream in front of him, he spoke softly. "There... There was a man... A really big, mad man with a big moustache... He looked like a walrus, but..." He shivered. "He changed... He turned all red and his eyes turned yellow and... and there were horns on his head, and he... He..." The boy shuddered. "He said he was gonna beat me, and that I couldn't tell you or he'd kill me...","Aww... Kitten..." Nadia sighed, her ears drooping. She gently rubbed his cheek. "It's alright, I'll protect you. What happened next?","Uh... He... he grabbed me, and he bit me... Then he kept clawing at me, and things got really hot..." Nadia frowned deeply, nodding to signal she understood.,"And he was...slamming me into the wall, and he... he threw me, and started kicking me... And it... It hurt... It hurt so much, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt...",Nadia pulled him into her arms and hugged him tight, nuzzling the top of his head. "Say no more, kit, I got it... So you had a bad dream that ya got beat up, huh?" Harry sniffled softly and nodded his head. Nadia gave him a sad smile. "Okay... Well, why don't you go ahead and eat your ice cream? I'll even let ya have seconds when you're done.",Harry looked down at the bowl, and finally took a timid bite of the ice cream. His eyes widened somewhat, and he seemed to be in shock for a moment, then he hungrily dove into the bowl, Nadia giggled as she watched Harry eat with absolute joy. After a few minutes, he looked up with his face covered in ice cream. "Well, I think you enjoyed it." She grinned.,She scooped some more into the bowl and watched with a grin as he ate it. Chuckling, she put the carton back in the freezer, and when he'd finished, she took the bowl and threw it in the sink. Nadia stepped up and gently picked Harry up, hugging him close to her bosom and gently patting his back. She watched him snuggle in contently and smiled. "Okay, kit... Ya had a nasty dream when I left ya to sleep alone... So hey... who knows? Maybe you'll sleep a lot better in my arms. Whattya say?","Thank you Miss Nadia..." Harry mumbled, snuggling into what he believed was a safe place to be. Nadia grinned and kissed the top of his tiny head.,"No problem little guy, now you have a good sleep, I'll make sure nothing scary comes your way." Nadia didn't know it now, but those simple words meant more to Harry than just about anything he had ever had or heard in his life. To him, that promise of protection let him sleep, and while he was still scared, he was beginning to trust Nadia more and more.,Nadia smiled softly and leaned back in her seat. She began to hum softly, but the sound quickly morphed into a soft purr, which reminded Harry of when he played with the kitties at Miss Figg's house. The soothing sound of his new caregiver's purrs slowly lulled Harry back to sleep. Nodding off, he snuggled closer into the feline feral and began snoring softly. Nadia smiled warmly, her ear twitching and her tail swishing about merrily. Then, she let out a very catlike yawn. "Ugh... Y'know, a little catnap sounds pretty good right about now..." Rising to her feet, she made her way upstairs.,Heading back into her room, she kicked some of the discarded clothes to the side and set Harry on her bed. She looked around, then closed the blinds somewhat, to give the room a little more shade. Getting into her bed, she pulled Harry underneath the blankets with her and close to her chest. "See you soon, kitten." She smiled, kissing his head one last time before letting herself drift off to sleep, purring contently as she napped.,However, mere moments before drifting off into sleep, Harry said something, very soft, like the coo of a dove. "Mama..." He mumbled out softly.,Nadia's eyes snapped open, and her ears shot up rigidly. She gave the boy a stunned look. "M-Mama... Mama...? Me...?" She breathed out. She had no idea how to respond to that one little word. She didn't think she had any interest in being a mother... But... Something about the idea was bringing a warmth to the forefront she didn't even know existed.,Well...He was asleep. He didn't even know what he was saying out loud... Nothing was official quite yet...,She decided to simply keep him warm and safe. She'd figure out if she was a mother later on. Kissing him one last time, she let herself slowly drift off, but one thought did stick in her mind. "Mama Fortune... I like it." She smiled, nuzzling the top of Harry's head as sleep overtook the pair. For the next few hours, Nadia slept comfortably as usual, but Harry, for the first time in forever, didn't have any bad dreams.,In fact, the soft sound of Nadia's purring, as well as the way her body curled around him, found their way into his dreams, making them very sweet indeed. He dreamed he was cuddled up with a giant kitty, who was purring and periodically nuzzling his tiny head. The boy smiled and nuzzled further into the cat's soft fur. Both woman and child slept peacefully, smiling warmly in each other's embrace.,A few hours later, Nadia yawned loudly, stretching out as she looked around, scratching behind her hear as she woke up. She felt something next to her and blinked in surprise, then looked down, then smiled when she saw the sleeping boy. "Daw... he looks even cuter when he's asleep..." Nadia cooed, resting her head against his for a moment, then sat against the headboard, pulling Harry close.,She leaned down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before hopping out of bed, landing on all fours on the floor. With a feline yawn, she arched her back to wake herself up, then rose to her feet. Looking over at Harry, she smiled softly and gathered him in her arms, cradling him like a newborn and rocking him back and forth gently. Smiling tenderly down at the boy, she leaned her head down slightly and gently pressed her nose against his. "Poor little guy... He's totally exhausted...",Harry cooed softly in his sleep and squirmed for a moment, then settled back down and let out a tiny sigh, before peacefully breathing in his sleep. Nadia frowned as she gently traced his ribs though the clothes he was wearing. He hadn't eaten in so long, that much was clear, but what had caused this to begin with? Minette had claimed people had seen him for over a month, but what was he doing on his own?,Was he orphaned? Perhaps his family had been killed somehow while on vacation... Not a lot of humans came to Little Innsmouth, after all. Or maybe... Maybe he was abandoned... Intentionally left all alone on the streets to fend fo himself... Her eyes narrowed into slits and she tightened her hold on Harry. That made too much sense. The injuries... The malnourishment... The fear, the panic, the crippling shyness... It was all beaten into him...,That was a terrifying thought, and a thought that Nadia was tragically having trouble finding a counter or explanation to. She didn't want to believe that the little guy was so badly abused... but she had a bad feeling in her gut that sooner or later, she'd find out the truth. So she decided to enjoy her time when he was peacefully sleeping in her arms.,She sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote with her tail, using it to turn on the weather channel to see how bad the winter was gonna be. Snow, snow and more snow, all in below zero temperatures. Nadia winced and looked down at the sleeping boy in her arms, smiling sadly. "I am SO glad I got you off the streets..." She whispered softly. "If those dogs didn't do you in, the cold totally would have..." She winced sadly at the mere thought, how sheer dumb luck had been the deciding factor in Harry still being alive. If she hadn't happened to be in the area...,She cleared her head, biting her lip. For once in her life, dumb luck was to thank for helping her find the little kitten in her arms. She sighed and leaned back, a foot rest swinging out from underneath her as she reclined on her couch, tucking Harry into the nook of her arm. She tickled his chin and looked back to the news. It seemed like the duo may be spending a good amount of time together, what with all the snow.,And she was just okay with that... She gave Harry a tender gaze and nuzzled his cheek gently. "I'll protect you, Harry... I'll keep you safe, or die trying..."And as the little boy smiled in his sleep, her face lit up with joy.

Harry Potter stared out at the painting at his library, where he took refuge from his awful family. The painting in question held his attention each time he visited and left, it had changed when he was ushered by the senior liberitain to leave. The dragons still held most of the sky but at the bottom a light seem to bore out of the painting like it was alive.,"Its changed, don't you see" Harry asked the women, she took one look at it and shook her head at him,"No its stayed the same all these honey, it's closing time. Your parents will be worried sick" She said taking his hand and walking him out of the building. Harry slowly made it over to his bus stop and waited.,Harry sighed reaching the front door of his aunt and uncle's house. Harry entered quietly as possible and noticed Vernon wasn't home yet. Harry wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Knowing how worse it could have gone, Harry didn't really have much to do when Vernon was gone. Vernon was the one who made him cook. When he wasn't home, Petunia did most of the chores and cooking, saying that, "She didn't want a Freak like you to screw up , perfect house. You're also not cooking, because I don't want to risk you poisoning , son with your freakishness.",Harry was startled out of his thoughts by the front door slamming open, revealing Vernon, stumbling drunkenly into the house with a red tint to his face, quite unlike the puce colour it took when he was angry.,"P*hic* Petunia, I'm Ho*hic*ome!" He shouted, causing Petunia to come running down the stairs.,"Vernon? Why are you drunk? What happened?" She enquired irritably. Vernon scowled.,"I *hic* got fired from work today! *hic* It must be that Fre*hic*Freaks fault!" He drunkenly concluded, waddling over to the Cupboard under the Stairs where the child sat, watching the interaction with slight panic.,The small door was ripped open, and Harry was ripped out by a sweaty, meaty hand.,Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Petunia hurriedly carrying Dudley up the stairs, with the boy screaming about how he didn't want to go to bed, before he felt pain in his gut, from Vernon kicking him there.,Vernon then sluggishly got on his knees and started pummelling the boy. This lasted for half an hour before Vernon stopped, and started to tumble forward sleepily.,In the moments before he fell, Harry panicked, he knew he would either be crushed by Vernon, or suffocated by his fat, he needed to get out of there!,Pop,Harry didn't understand how he was staring at the illuminated painting, surrounded by darkness. So He pressed his finger to the light on the painting and as if responding to his emotions, he felt a warm feeling run through him, before he felt as if he was being sucked through a tube from were his finger had touched the light and with a almighty crack, Harry disappeared inside.,Gwyn stared down at the Raven-haired boy who appeared before him. He had just discovered what he called a Lord Soul with his ally Queen of Izalith then with a loud crack, this injured boy, clad in oversized, threadbare rags appeared before him. He knelt before the unmoving child and pressed his hand against his chest. Feeling a heartbeat, Gwyn smiled slightly, before he picked up the boy, and walked to his army.,"Could someone trained in medicinal aid please come to me? I have someone in need of healing." He called out, causing a few medics to come over and look at the boy.,"We can heal the boy's injuries easily with a Miracle. Soothing Sunlight would heal the most." One of the medics mentioned, before Gwyn nodded, before placing a hand on the boy's chest, and focusing.,A beautiful golden light emanated from Gwyn's hand, and flowed into the boy's body, and slowly, his injuries started disappearing, until all were gone, and the only blemish left on the boy, was the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. The scar caused Gwyn to frown knowing the symbol it represented, that this child was here to aide them with defeating the dragons was all that he needed to help him..,"There is something preventing me from healing this scar. Healer, could you find someone who is well versed in Curses and removing them. I sense a dark presence in the scar." A medic ran of to find someone who fit that description.,A few minutes later, the medic returned with a cleric. The cleric inspected the boy, before sighing.,"This curse is… different than anything I've seen before. It appears to be slowly sapping at the child life force, as if to power something. At the speed it is currently absorbing, I would have to say that the boy would live for about… 20 to 25 years before it sucked out the rest of his life force, killing him. I could remove it now, if thou'st wish it so?" The cleric explained to Gwyn and the healer.,Gwyn thought about it for a moment, before nodding. "Remove it. I see no possible way the child can benefit from something akin to this." The cleric immediately pulled out what Gwyn recognised as a Purging Stone, and placed it on the child's forehead, before the stone darkened, as the curse transferred from the boy to the stone. The cleric removed it from the forehead of the child and returned it Gwyn.,Gwyn looked down at the boy, he smiled down at his little face. Who now held him with the most captivating eyes before he slipped into his dreams This child gave him a feeling that his life would be very different in the years to come.,Harry blearily opened his eyes. He noticed his surroundings and noted them in his head.,"Ah, you're awake, are you? You certainly gave me a fright, appearing in front of me like that." The man uttered with his deep voice that no human could be make.,Harry nodded uncertainly, not knowing what exactly the man was talking about.,"No need to be frightened of me, child. Ah, I haven't introduced myself, have I? Ahem. My name is Gwyn, King of Lordran. What is you name, child?" The man smiled patiently at the boy.,Harry thought for a moment. This man, Gwyn, he corrected himself, seemed to have no ill will towards him. This place was so far, nothing like the Dursley Household. The thought of never seeing the Dursleys again made the boy smile hopefully, before he frowned. He was only referred to as freak or Harry by his family, but that word reminded him of his life there, and he didn't want to remember that. He made his decision, and looked up at Gwyn, who had been waiting patiently for him to speak.,"My name, sir i don't like it" He looked down at his feet, feeling slightly embarrassed for some reason. Gwyn frowned, That simply wouldn't do. He looked at the boy, whose eyes made him think of thousands of gleaming emeralds.,"Hmm… How about Awyn" He offered after himself, causing the child's head to shoot up to look at the King. He was willing to give him a name? The boy blinked back tears and smiled at Gwyn.,"I like it." He quietly whispered, still staring at the smiling old King.,"Well, Awyn," He began, "Currently, me and my soldiers are engaged in a wa-… a big battle with Dragons. As a King, if I get hurt, there will be no one left to lead my soldiers. How would you like to become my son, and learn how to lead and fight?" Gwyn offered, causing Awyn's eyes to widen, before tears built up in them.,"Fantastic! Now, come with me, my boy. You have, much to learn." Gwyn said, before taking the boy, and leaving the medic's tent.,"You have come at a momentous time" Gwyn said leading him to the mountain cliff, looking out to the world before them "My father sent me to find the flame and i succeeded" he said kneeling on one knee and saying a small prayer Harry couldn't understand.,"We succeeded" a towering being with blue lips and ashen skin said approaching them, Harry quickly hide behind Gwyn and peered out at the woman. Her eyes were hiding behind a cap that lay on top of her head.,"Yet, we will not win against the dragons" more towering beings stood next to her as she spoke, Gwyn rose to his feet and pulled Harry out and held his hands on his shoulders " My Queen, do you not understand the mere presence of this boy and what it means. If he indeed meant find his flame then the possibilities must be endless" the women seem to comprehend his words and bent down towards Harry. The women lifted up her cap that shielded her eyes, the moment her pupils reached his own he collapsed into the legs of Gwyn.,"What are you doing to him" the King demanded and many of the knights noticed their kings anger and surrounded them ready to battle. "release him at once" he once more demanded pulling out his own sword.,The queen smiled and pulled on her headcap "fear me not my king, i only needed to make sure of our safety " she stood back up towering over the rest of them, some of the knights seen this as a threat and pulled out their great swords.,Harry's breath seemed to stutter in his lungs before he gasped for breath and woke up. He felt the tension drain from his body. His breathing returned to normal and opened his eyes. Harry looked around glad he hadn't left this place, though he wondered why everyone was looking at him.,"See, he is fine. Come. My daughters have found the third flame. We must find him and end this doom" she bowed towards Harry and the King and walked off with her followers in toe.,"Are you okay son?" Gwyn asked holding him in his massive hand, Harry made an attempt to answer him but for some reason he couldn't remember anything that women had done to him. The King looked down at him alarmed with his resounding silence, Harry felt like he didn't know how to respond without making him angry, this man Harry thought was appitmey of strength and even showing weakness could invoke rage like his uncle once had shown him.,"Artorias!","Ornstein!",The King shouted and two figures loomed in the far distance of his camp, darkness silhouetted the fhem as they turned at the kings anger. Harry gulped at the sudden fury and Gwyn seem to notice "Child i mean you no harm, i only want to protect you from now on. I will have my two best train and look after you" he said, Harry smiled and hugged his massive thumb then realized he fault a fraud for being afraid to answer him before.,"Hm? Sir a child? What has thee done to deserve such a prize in this time?",Harry peered over Gwyns fingers and watched an elegant knight gracefully bow to his king, that he had blue draped around his neck and face made him stand out in the dull grey tone of the world.. Harry thought he was the embodiment of someone that evil should be deathly afraid of and when he seem to stare directly at him even though his face was covered, Harry could feel himself being evaluated, he dropped his gaze and pulled out a wolf cub behind his back and started to play with it.,"Artorias! What did i say about having that wolf pup in the middle of battle" Gwyn huffed at him with a slight frown, then placed harry to his feet.,"Sir, forgive me. Sif will always be my side, shalt thee see the importance of companionship" Artorias said staring into the puppies eyes, Gwyn simply conceded his point staring at Harry foundly. Harry felt small compared to the rest of his company though it didn't matter to him, Gwyn almost felt like father he had been missing his 10 years of life.,"A wolf will die out there, no matter how much you protect him. The dragons show no pity to those who dwell in the fire" A golden armored man said in voice that shook the ground. it was almost the sound a lion could make. Harry watched the man who was made to resemble a lion in full body armor, his head and face looked like they were growling at him.,"So will a child, what right do you have Gwyn? to bring and lamb to the slaughter. You know i would kill dragons to my last breath for you my king but this, i will not let transpass" he slammed down the hilt of his sword, cracking the ground open.

The hottest day of the summer, August 2nd, dawned too-bright and muggy. A skinny but wiry boy opened his emerald-green eyes abruptly to find himself not in a cold and misty graveyard but in his too-hot bedroom, drenched with sweat for yet another time. Forcing himself to sit up, he ran a shaking hand through his recently shorn black hair. His aunt liked to do that every summer after he came back from school, even though she would only end up scowling at the untameable mop of black about a month later as she cut it back yet again. Thankfully, she cut it the same length all over instead of leaving his bangs to cover his scarred forehead, like she had when he was a child.,He looked up at the window and scowled heavily at what was no doubt another awful day with the most awful people at the most awful place in the world. What he wouldn't give to just fall back into bed and hide from it all, but he knew what waited for him when he slept: a graveyard, a murder, and a resurrection from the point of view of a prisoner and unwilling sacrifice. He looked down and managed to stop himself as his fingers gingerly traced the faint scar on his forearm, just below his elbow, where he'd been bled like a sacrificial lamb for the purpose of bringing one of his worst nightmares back to life.,"BOY!",He was pulled out of his dark thoughts by the sound of his uncle bellowing like a grouchy old bull at him. The boy sighed, knowing that his uncle wanted his breakfast and that it meant he'd slept late again. Knowing there was nothing for it, he quickly changed into a more-or-less clean set of clothes and quietly went downstairs to help his aunt with breakfast.,His aunt did the majority of the cooking, since she and her husband believed that cooking was mainly a woman's job, but whenever his aunt needed something extra or particularly nasty to be done, he was supposed to do it. His jobs mainly consisted of minding the food as his aunt took care of other things, retrieving pots and pans and other items out of the cupboards, getting the food from the kitchen to the table, cleaning up any messes left behind at the table, and washing the mountain of dishes that always resulted from every meal. It was rare that he got to eat at the table with the rest of the family, but then again, he had never really felt like part of the family.,You see, the boy's parents were murdered when he was about a year old, leaving his aunt and uncle as the only members of his blood-related family still alive to raise him. They took him in reluctantly, no doubt pacified into tolerating him by some form of monetary compensation that was supposed to be spent on him instead of their own doltish son, and raised him as a burden that was meant to earn his keep. He "earned his keep" by doing all the chores his uncle and cousin wouldn't or couldn't do. When he was young, that would mean helping his aunt clean the house, mainly scrubbing the tiles and wooden floors as well as beating the various rugs, polishing the wooden banisters, and scrubbing each bathroom until they sparkled. As he grew older, his list of chores grew to include various outdoor chores like mowing the lawn, weeding the flowerbeds, and washing his uncle's car.,As you could probably imagine, the boy wasn't very happy with his aunt and uncle at all. He likely wouldn't have known what true happiness was if the letters hadn't started coming. Despite the fact that the boy's uncle would always burn or rip the letters to pieces whenever they came through the door, the letters kept coming until one was finally hand-delivered directly to the boy and catapulted him into the greatest adventure of his life.,One where he found out that he was special, that his parents hadn't died in a car crash, that people actually wanted to be friends with him ...,And that magic was real.,The boy's name was Harry Potter.,Harry Potter was a wizard.,And, as his friend Hagrid had warned him long ago, not all wizards were good.,Harry fully realized that when he came face-to-face with the wizard who murdered his parents during his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The wizard's name was Lord Voldemort, and he soon became obsessed with killing Harry. The only year Harry hadn't met Voldemort face-to-face so far was his third year, but that was a mad enough year already.,A little more than a month before, Voldemort managed to find a way to regain the strength he'd mysteriously lost when he'd tried to kill baby Harry after killing Harry's parents. Voldemort had done so by using the bones of his murdered father, the flesh of the one servant he'd latched on to over the past year, and blood forcibly taken from Harry's arm. On top of that, Voldemort had made his servant murder one of Harry's classmates right in front of him and then had forced Harry to duel him in hopes of killing him before the followers he'd called to his side. Harry had barely escaped with his life and had thankfully managed to bring the body of his dead classmate back to Hogwarts, but the damage had been done.,And now, here he was, stuck back with his "family", doing chores and being forced to listen to under-handed and blatant insults toward his magic, his parents, and his mysterious behaviour at night, among other things.,"Get the mail, boy," his Uncle Vernon grunted through his eggs.,Harry looked up from the dishes for a moment before realizing what his uncle had said and deciding it wasn't worth arguing about. He knew better than to look for his name in the mail, knowing no one outside the Magical world would actually write to him. Out here, he was a scruffy-looking nobody who went to this school for criminal boys. He trudged back to the kitchen sink and began scrubbing the remains of a meal that he wouldn't get to taste today.,A few minutes went by rather peacefully before Aunt Petunia let out the strangest noise. It sounded like she was being choked by the gasp of air she suddenly pulled into her lungs. All of the other eyes in the room looked straight at her and knew something was very wrong. Aunt Petunia's already-large eyes were almost bugging out of her now-porridge-coloured face as she stared in abject horror at the letter in her hand.,"It cannot be ..." she gasped before passing the letter to Uncle Vernon, who stared at the letter in confusion before reading it. His puce-coloured face quickly shrank and turned the same colour as Aunt Petunia's, so quickly that Harry was surprised he didn't faint dead away.,When Uncle Vernon was done with the letter, he gingerly set it down, as if it was a time bomb about to explode, and looked at his wife to ask, "What is to be done, Petunia?",Aunt Petunia was quiet for a long time before whispering, "I'll have to see her. There's nothing for it ... Margaret is like your sister's dogs, won't let go when she has hold of something ... oh, that poor child!","The child?!" Vernon cried, seeming affronted. "She's one of ... of , kind!" He pointed over his shoulder at Harry, whose interest was immediately peaked. "By George, Petunia! Your poor sister at the mercy of one of ,? It's no wonder she went loopy!","Vernon, don't say that!" Aunt Petunia cried, her eyes filling with tears.,"Huh?" her son Dudley said, looking more confused than usual.,"Sister?" Harry asked, loudly enough to be sure he was heard. "My mum's dead!","Oh, don't be stupid, boy!" Aunt Petunia shrilled. "You think I don't know that?!" She sat back down to get herself under control, taking in deep, trembling breaths as she looked straight at Harry. Finally, she stood up, looking very determined.,"We are going to have tea with her," she said to the family, holding a hand up to keep Uncle Vernon from speaking. "We are leaving at half-past three. Make sure you're all presentable. That includes you, boy," she said to Harry.,"But who is she?" Harry asked, not willing to let this go. "Who are we going to see?!",Aunt Petunia got a familiar look on her face, one that looked like she was sucking a lemon out of pure spite, before marching over and grabbing Harry's shoulder, dragging him into the back yard and shutting the door before Uncle Vernon and Dudley could follow.,"Pay attention, boy, for I won't say this again!" Aunt Petunia said, sounding like she was trying to shout as quietly as possible. "Lily was not my only sister. We had an elder sister named Daisy. She was ... very passionate about religion, even before Lily began ... changing. Lily's strangeness, however ... pushed poor Daisy over the edge. She spent almost all her time reading the Bible and praying and preaching to us, going on and on about how we were prideful and let the Devil into our home. She said more than once that we were all going to Hell for sheltering a ... a w-w-witch.,"The week ... the week before she moved out, she ... slipped something into Lily's tea." Aunt Petunia's voice went thin and frail, as if she were remembering something awful. "She admitted it to me later. Lily was fine at first, but then ... she kept getting headaches and upset stomachs and dizziness. It kept getting ... worse and worse until ... until she fell and cracked her head open on the coffee table!" Aunt Petunia spit out that last phrase in a rush, like she was confessing to doing something horrible.,"In the hullaballoo, we didn't even see Daisy leave," she continued, starting to shake like a leaf as Harry stared in horror at her. "Before we knew it, she had changed her name to Margaret and married some ... preacher-man named Ralph White before moving to America, of all places! Lily survived, obviously, but she had problems with sudden dizzy spells after that. She was only fifteen ... just like you ...,"Anyway, Margaret wrote me around Christmas that year and said that they were married, her and Ralph. Every Christmas, Margaret would send me a letter and let me know that she was alive and still married. Then, before Dudley was born, I got a letter almost a month late saying that Ralph had ... 'taken' her ... and left her because ... because 'the Devil had taken root' inside of her. The following Christmas, I got a baptismal picture along with the letter ... a picture of a little girl named Carrietta. Carrietta Nigella White ...,"I've watched Carrietta grow over the years from a ... b-beautiful little girl to a ... rather unfortunate-looking young woman. With each picture I receive of her, she seems to ... shrink in on herself. Margaret would tell me about her, little things ... she likes sewing ... she sings like a silver flute ... things like that.,"I fear for that girl, raised under Margaret's thumb. Over the years, Margaret's letters have gotten ... more erratic. I truly wonder if there is something ... wrong with Margaret, and for that, I want to get Carrietta away from Margaret. The only thing is ... Carrietta can ... move things, by wishing it. I remember when Lily would do that when we were children. I think ... she may be one of you, one that gained her ... powers late, Lily said it happened sometimes. If ... if we can get Carrietta out, then ... maybe you can ... hide her with ... w-with your kind, where Margaret cannot find her. It would be best, I think ... for Carrietta ...",Harry stared at his aunt in absolute shock. He'd never heard her talk this much about her family, not even on the day he'd finally received his Hogwarts letter. That night, she'd gone into an almost hysterical rant about Harry's mother, and not a word about that episode had been said since. Now, Harry knew that there was one more family he could have gone to, and from what Aunt Petunia had told him, he was almost thankful that he had come to the Dursleys instead of to the Whites.,A part of him wanted to tell Aunt Petunia where she could shove her request, but the idea of a young witch out there, alone and frightened and unaware of where her powers came from, made him think of his friend Hermione Granger. She had come from a Muggle family, too, and her powers no doubt frightened her family at first, before someone had come and explained everything. If Hogwarts helped Hermione, Harry reasoned, then maybe it can help Carrietta as well.,"You want me to be ready by half-past three?" Harry asked.,Aunt Petunia simply nodded, looking like she was telling herself to not dare to hope.,Harry nodded back and simply said, "I'll be ready.",Aunt Petunia stared at him in surprise and ... was that delight?!,"Oh, thank you!" she gasped, completely forgetting herself for a moment and wrapping her arms around Harry for the first time since he learned to walk. Harry stood there in shock for a moment, but before he could hold her back, she let him go and hurried inside, throwing something about getting ready over her shoulder.,Harry stood there for the longest time, memorizing the way it felt for a family member to hold him close. It didn't feel like he felt a mother's hug would, but something about it felt ... right.,Harry realized that he had spent so long looking for family outside of the Dursleys that he hadn't realized what he did have when he was with them. Yes, they weren't kind to him. Yes, they never really loved him. Yes, they were sometimes downright cruel to him. But they were his family, and they were the only connection he really had to his mother. He didn't know if he could forgive Uncle Vernon or Dudley, but he did know right then that he could forgive Aunt Petunia, who always had made sure he'd had something to eat and something to wear and someplace to sleep, even if they weren't of the same quality as what she gave Dudley. He wouldn't excuse what she had done, but if she was capable of small kindnesses, maybe she could do more.

Wow, I haven't been on here in ages... ^^'' The last time I was here, I was still in high school! o_o,We've been reading Dracula in my English Lit. class and my friend and I started wondering who would win in battle: Voldemort or Dracula? The title is a weak attempt at a pun.,Disclaimer: Yeah. Not my characters. Spoilers for DH, though everyone's probably read it by now, and spoilers for Dracula.,"Severus Snape wasn't-","'Scuse me!",The various witches and wizards congregated in the Great Hall were caught off guard when a girl with a bright orange hat walked in, holding two books, one of which was considerably thicker. She smiled brightly as she walked up to Voldemort, who was just as bemused as the rest of them. She said to him, "Do you mind if I borrow you for like, an hour? I'll get you back in time for Harry to kill you." She ignored the angry look on Voldemort's face. "That is, if you survive. Your opponent is really strong, although he's gonna kick it tonight, too. But he's strong enough that if you were actually a nice person, I would be seriously afraid for your life." She nodded.,Voldemort had enough of this nonsense. "Lord Voldemort has no intention of dying today," he said coldly, turning his wand on the girl.,The girl merely raised her eyebrows. "I know that won't work for you the way you want it," she said dully. "Truth is, you're screwed either way.",Voldemort mouthed, ,The girl looked over at Harry and gave him a thumb's up. "I'll have him back to you soon. I'm not sure if he'll be alive or dead." She laughed at the look on Harry's face. "No worries!" She linked arms with a clearly uncomfortable Voldemort and led him out of the Great Hall.,"...How did she get in?",---,Dracula slowly opened his eyes as the sun disappeared from the sky, feeling refreshed and- holy ,, he did not expect to wake up to two guys standing over him wielding such sharp objects!,"WAIT! Hold the phone!",A girl with a bright orange hat and two books came running towards Dracula, Jonathan, and Quincey with an extremely pale man who didn't appear to have a nose being dragged after her. He was gripping on to a white stick.,Dracula sat up as his two would-be attackers looked from him to the girl and the man with no nose. "Excuse me, little miss, but who are you?" asked Quincey.,The girl shook her head. "No one of consequence," she said coolly. "But may I introduce you to Tom Riddle!" She pushed her captive forward. "Jonathan, Quincey, if you would be so kind as to not stab Dracula." She smiled as the two gentlemen stepped away. "Thank you very much." She then walked over to Dracula's box and pulled him up, leading him over to Voldemort.,Dracula held out his hand stiffly towards Voldemort. "Count Dracula," he said a little coldly.,Voldemort matched the tone as he shook Dracula's hand unsurely. "Lord Voldemort.","Also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle!" chimed the girl, earning herself a glare from Voldemort. "Oh ,, Tom. If you were going to kill me, you would've done it by now." She smiled triumphantly. "Now," she addressed both villains, "you're probably wondering why I dragged a dark wizard from England 1998 to Transylvania late 1800's to meet an evil vampire.","The thought crossed my mind, yes," said Dracula.,The girl promptly sat down and opened the two books towards their ends. "Now, based on the events of The Deathly Hallows and Dracula, I think we can all agree that your deaths were , darn anticlimactic." She paused, ignoring the horrified stares that surrounded her. "Well, Voldemort's was a bit more dramatic, but ,, I can't believe you were such a..." She coughed when Voldemort's grip on his wand tightened. "Anyways. Several colleagues and I were wondering who would win in a fight: Dracula-" she waved her hand at said vampire- "or Voldemort." She imitated her previous action at said wizard.,Voldemort and Dracula exchanged a look and started laughing. "Surely you can't be serious?" chuckled Dracula.,The girl was seriously (pun!) tempted to make a Sirius Black joke, but decided against it. "I seriously am , serious," she said seriously. She had a feeling that somewhere out there, someone was abusing the words "serious" and "seriously.",Moving on.,She continued, "Look, you're both terrific at being evil. It would just be interesting to see who would win." She smiled innocently.,Voldemort said complacently, "There would be no contest- ,would win.",Dracula laughed derisively. ",? I have lived for , feeding on the blood of young ladies-","Pedophile," muttered the girl.,Dracula didn't hear her comment. "I can control the elements, transform into a bat, a wolf, and I can most certainly defeat a miserable creature like yourself!",Jonathan and Quincey, who were both too stunned and fascinated to leave, exchanged a look. "Ten pounds says the Count wins," said Jonathan almost immediately.,Quincey took Jonathan's hand and shook it. "It's a bet," he agreed.,While they were making their wagers, Voldemort and Dracula had started the necessary trash talking. "You can't even cross water!" spat Voldemort.,Dracula retorted, "You have no ability to love!" He waved his hand dismissively when the girl started to ask how he knew that.,Voldemort rolled his eyes. ", am the Heir of , while you are ,!" He didn't seem to notice that nobody but the girl knew what he meant, but they knew he meant it to be insulting.,"The 'Heir of Slytherin'? What is that, some skin disease?" asked Jonathan, only to be ignored (of course).,Dracula paused in thought. "You. Have. No. Nose.",Voldemort was obviously offended. "You, sir, are unkind.",The girl laughed out loud at the silliness. "Dracula wins the trash talk!" she cheered, taking the victor's hand and raising it in the air. She quickly let go when Dracula started eyeing her suspiciously. "So..." She moved closer to Voldemort, smiling nervously. "Let's get inside the castle for the main event, shall we?",---,"DING DING DING! In THIS corner is the one and only COUNT DRACULA! With the powers of an animagus-",Jonathan interrupted the girl at the strange-sounding term. "A what?","With the powers of a shape shifter and the strength of a crap-load of men, the Count has a great chance tonight!" The girl darted across the room over to Voldemort, who was annoyed because Harry Potter had probably left Hogwarts by now and Voldemort was , to finally killing the boy! The girl did not notice Voldemort's annoyance as she continued to cheer, "And in THIS corner is none other than tall, dark, and evil himself- LORD VOLDEMORT! Although he split his soul to the point where he once spontaneously combusted- oh come on, it's just a joke- he does have a magic stick of DEATH (also known as the Elder Wand) which certainly makes him a very worthy adversary!",Dracula smirked. "You exploded?" he asked.,Voldemort gritted his teeth. "I got better," he said tensely.,The girl took off her bright orange hat, looking very excited. "Let the duel begin!" On "begin," she threw her hat up in the air.,Voldemort automatically thrust his wand at Dracula and shouted dramatically, "AVADA KEDAVRA!",A streak of green light hit Dracula right in the chest, but it did not have the desired effect. "What was that supposed to do?" asked the Count.,Voldemort stared in shock for a moment before answering the question: "You're supposed to be dead!",Dracula scoffed. "I'm , dead, you fool." He stepped forward. ",, on the other hand-" He lunged at Voldemort, who reacted very quickly.,"STUPEFY!" Voldemort couldn't help but smile when Dracula hit the floor. "CRUCIO!" He laughed evilly at the sound of the Count's agonized wails.,"Who's winning?" asked Quincey as he walked in the room, a glass of wine in each hand.,"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-","Looks like Noseless," answered Jonathan, taking one of the glasses. "Thank you very much.","AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-","Welcome.","AAAAAAGH!" Dracula lay still on the floor for several moments, trying to recover.,The girl's eyes were widened. "Could it be that Voldemort has won the advantage? Oh dear, he's going in to gloat." She sounded very disappointed.,Voldemort looked down at the sore Dracula with a smirk. "Well, well, well. That hardly seemed to be a fair fight, didn't it?" he said mockingly. "I told you I would win. For see, I have magical blood in me, which naturally makes me much stronger than you, and thus superior. Don't take it personally; I just happen to be superior over, well, ,.",",." The girl stepped forward. "You're forgetting that I dragged you here in the first place. So... that would make me stronger, wouldn't it?" She had a mischievous gleam in her eye.,Voldemort was not amused. "No," he said curtly. "It doesn't. As I already stated, I have the magical blood of Salazar Slytherin running in my veins-",There were too many blood references in that sentence for Dracula, because right after Voldemort said "veins," Dracula pulled him down and bit down on Voldemort's neck, eagerly drinking the magical blood.,The girl pointed at the two and shouted to Jonathan and Quincey, "Gentlemen, GET THEM!",Jonathan and Quincey grinned.,---,"Geez, he is ,." The girl dragged Voldemort's body into the middle of the Great Hall, which wasn't nearly as full as when the girl left. As she let Voldemort's body fall, she wrinkled her nose at Ron and Hermione in the corner. "Ew. Man, I shipped them and everything, but that is sickening.",Harry might have agreed if he hadn't just witnessed his worst enemy's body being dragged towards him. "I was supposed to do him in," he said blankly.,The girl shrugged. "Well, you originally did," she said, giving Harry the thick book. "Second to last chapter. You're really a talker, y'know." She patted Harry on the shoulder. "Good job, Harry 'Emo-Kid' Potter." With that, she walked away.,"...Emo-Kid?",End.,I actually liked Voldemort's death. It was ironic, and irony's beautiful. My friend was disappointed with it, and we were both disappointed by Dracula's death, so yeah.,Yes, Dracula has the ability to love. Note excerpt from chapter three:,---,The fair girl, with a laugh of ribald coquetry, turned to answer him. "You yourself never loved. You never love!" On this the other women joined, and such a mirthless, hard, soulless laughter rang through the room that it almost made me faint to hear. It seemed like the pleasure of fiends.,Then the Count turned, after looking at my face attentively, and said in a soft whisper, "Yes, I too can love. You yourselves can tell it from the past. Is it not so?",---,Just trying to be funny. Nothing more, nothing less. :)

There was something odd about the boy.,At first Petunia had thought it to be his freaky powers. The boy was a freak after all, she wouldn't have been surprising if he did something.,Once, Dudley had been outside with his friends and the boy was painting the fence. Petunia was cleaning the dirty dishes when she heard her son scream. She was outside in a heartbeat, intending to see what the matter was, who had hurt or scared her Dudley.,Dudley was on the ground, a terrified look on his face. His friends had backed away, staring at Harry as if he were a ghost. A look of pure, undiluted surprise marred the black-haired boy's features.,Dudley had broken his wrist.,Vernon had come home enraged when he heard the news. He had attempted to hit Harry as soon as he saw him.,The man was sent to the hospital with a concussion and had to take a week off work as a result. When Petunia interrogated Harry, the only thing he said to her was, ,Neither Vernon nor Dudley touched the boy anymore after the whole incident.,Another incident that Petunia recalled, was something that should have remembered clearer.,A smile spread over Petunia's face. ",Petunia spied Harry peeking around the corner at the conversation between herself and Dudley, and her body language grew tense. ,The boy averted his eyes. ,The boy, if possible, shrunk even further in on himself. ,Petunia's facial expressions scrunched up. ,Petunia clenched her hands, thinking the boy was talking about some character in some book. ,Petunia shuffled the incident away in her head, remembering the name. She didn't recall ever hearing about this man in relation to Lily or anyone else of… their world before.,The next time Petunia heard mention of this man was the next day. The boy had stopped eating his potatoes to place his fork on the table. Usually the fork never leaves the boy's hand until he is finished.,The boy stared at his plate,Oh, now she remembered. What a freakish world they lived in. Petunia raised an eyebrow. ,Petunia looked at her husband, whose face was now brandishing a light shade of red. ,Harry made sure he had the curtains of his Hogwarts bed tightly shut. He cursed himself for not knowing shielding charms. If someone wanted to see what he was doing, they would; but the snores of his roommates told another story.,His housemates had abandoned him, Neville and Hermione over some points lost. The Weasley Twins lost that much every other week and yet he was despised, because of –what he supposed the reason to be- his celebrity status. And Neville and Hermione were dragged along, too, but at least it wasn't that bad for them.,Growling in anger at his House's hypocrisy, the Boy-Who-Lived flickered his wand, whispering the spell he had found in a book. 'Incendio.',A single flame shot up from his wand, illuminating the tight space he was enclosed in, dancing and swirling. The black-haired boy smiled, glad he had a Muggle alternative for the spell. It was, in essence, an alternative of the lighter.,Before Harry realized, the flame had moved towards his hand, enveloping it.,It took Harry a few moments to realize he didn't feel pain, but warmth. Like his hand was wrapped in a blanket.,It didn't burn. The flames…they didn't burn ,.,When Harry awoke the next morning, he spent days researching in the vast labyrinth that was Hogwarts' library some clue about what immunity to fire could mean. He found nothing. He had already survived a Killing Curse, what other impossible things made him?,That question haunted him for the rest of the year. But right at that moment, as he enjoyed the flame's caress, he didn't care about the meaning. He just stared at it, eyes a glowing yellow-green.,Ever since the incident with the Stone, Harry hadn't been dreaming. At all. , he once told Ron as the exhaustion caught up with him. And for a while it wasn't.,It truly wasn't.,Eleven-year-old Harry flickered his lighter open and close as he listened to Dobby's story, while thanking God that the fire calmed him, otherwise he'd be demanding the elf give him the letters. He didn't know which kind of powers House Elves had, and he didn't want to find out.,At least the lack of letters had given his lighter some use. Since he was little, loneliness made him experiment. Harry liked to play with fire, liked what the flames did, how they transformed objects, textures, colors. He liked to think it was art, in a way. Sometimes Harry thought he must be a little insane to think like that. He didn't know, honestly. It was his secret. It was his defect. He loved fire. Everyone else, didn't.,Harry was pretty sure Hogwarts had the same brand of soap for all years and the overexposure had made him allergic. When he once said that it was a joke, but the truth was, he itched, just a little bit, all the time. First just on his skin, but then- Deeper?,It didn't take long for his skin to have the faintest orange hue. It could be easily hidden with a glamour. Nothing more than a minor annoyance, really.,Between burning some leaves and Sirius Black, somewhere along the year the itching had returned, distracting him from the other two.,Of course, his friends were prone to noticing something was wrong, and their concern made itself known quickly. But the concern also meant that they knew something was still wrong. Once, when Harry was being helped with some homework, he felt Hermione's nails chasing up and down his spine - she didn't feel the itch, but knew that he still did.,God, Harry wished so hard that scratching helped. He wished he knew what was wrong. Ron knew he would be the first to know if Harry had even an inkling. He would be the first to know. He would. He swore would.,Harry would have taken for granted that he'd have nightmares after the whole TriWizard fiasco, but he was wrong. Harry still didn't dream. Pomfrey didn't know what to say. She ran a battery of increasingly bizarre tests and didn't find anything conclusive, but he could tell that something was troubling her. Then, inexplicably, the physical symptoms started to fade.,A few months after that, Hermione told him he was looking better. And he was, on the outside. What was left behind was worse. At least before Harry could give name to the pain and physical discomfort. But now –,One night he found himself wandering barefoot in the castle, looking for coal or maybe meat, any kind was acceptable. The boy stopped when he realized he wanted to eat some. Lots of it. He didn't know why.,Over that summer, he and his friends exchanged letters. Harry didn't tell them anything about his… changes.,It's not like Harry wanted to keep that to himself. He didn't, really. It was…he didn't know how to describe anything that was happening with him. He simply didn't have words for the feeling that—,That there was heaviness, a great , deep inside himself, more massive than was possible. That sometimes he saw colors that didn't have names. That there was something that was both far away from and sliding sideways into him, day by day., Harry would tell himself firmly (while hoping hoping hoping oh always hoping). ,He looked exactly the same, but sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, he swore he could see strange parts of himself that didn't used to be there, hovering just beyond his ability to perceive them.,He was able to see one thing, eventually, when it became so noticeable even his relatives had noticed. His hair had been getting lighter, lighter, lighter. He couldn't be considered a brunet. His hair was now a golden blond.,Even more changes gave way during that summer. His eye color gave way to an odd shade of amber. He didn't need glasses anymore. His skin was now definitely orange.,He was scared. And then he was not.,His skin had always been odd. But he hadn't always had so many teeth.,For the first time that summer, he felt confident enough to rely on the fire again. Orange and blue and green and flickers of white. He extended his hand and let the flames engulf the limb, enjoying the way they licked his arm, a warmth so different from the one the sun gave… Hotter, drier. A few strange frog-like creatures were walking around.,The moment would've been close to perfect if Dudley and his cronies hadn't decided to pass the time in the park, like him. And threatened to tell on him. And intended to pick on a fight with him.,Hours later, Harry endured a yelling courtesy of his 'dearest' relatives. Too blind to see what was in front of their noses.,Truth to be told, he , gone overbroad a bit, but those boys had had it coming a long, long time ago. If he had enjoyed pouncing on them, what did it matter? If he had enjoyed the way the skin thinned over his knuckles as he had punched the boys, if he had enjoyed the sound of the one's nose breaking, if he had enjoyed the wet cries of the other as he stepped on his fingers, did it matter?,If he had enjoyed it, so what?,Fifteen-year-old Harry stopped trying to hear the news from behind his Aunt's bushes as his relatives shrieked in alarm and stepped out of the house.,Apparently, an earthquake was happening on Privet Drive. Except… it wasn't. Something was rising from the ground, something big. Harry's heart leapt to his throat as the thing finally stood, its height of unimaginable proportions.,Around him, all hell broke lose.,"Monster!" a woman yelled.,A large golden eye was looking straight at him. Harry didn't know how he knew, didn't know why he wasn't running yet, why he wasn't more scared.,Somehow, he recognized this creature.,"-Kaiju." Was the only thing Harry whispered among the panic around him.

Angel of the Avenger's,Another crossover from the vaults of my brain. Crossover between Avengers/Harry Potter. I hope you enjoy and as always I do not own anything but the words on the screen.,WARNING: DUMBLEDORE & WEASLY BASHING & GOOD VOLDEMORT,Prolog: Secrets uncovered,A boy about 10 looked at his reflection; his green eyes full of kindness shine softly under the dim lighting of his 'room', his rats nest of hair pulled back into a ponytail shows the scar on his forehead, with a sigh the boy pocketed the small mirror and steps from his 'room' before his 'kind' family awoke. The locks on his door opened once the child looked at them; with a sigh the child went to work on breakfast for his whale of an uncle and his son.,-Meanwhile-,An old man watched the child through a strange machine with an evil, but joyful glint in his eyes for in a week the child would be 11 and in the palm of his hands. The man's trapped Phoenix watches from his perch with judging eyes.,"What is it Fawkes?" the man asks staring into the eyes of his stolen Phoenix familiar; the Phoenix just stares into the man's eyes to say 'Watch out old man.',"Stupid bird." the man mumbles under his breath returning to watch his weapon; the Phoenix watches on still with judging eyes. The Phoenix trills softly as to say 'It's time for you to fall old man.' with a flash of fire the Phoenix vanishes from his prison, and returns to his true master; Death.,-Death's Lair-,With a flash of fire the red Phoenix; Fawkes appears on the desk of the figure known as Death.,"Hello my old friend." Death says running his fingers through the Phoenix's feathers; the Phoenix trills softly under the touch, then nudges his head into his master's hand.,"It's time?" Death asks; earning a nod from his Phoenix.,"Then make sure the old man loses his pawn, make sure my son is free from his grasp." Death says; earning another nod from the Pheonix before the beautiful bird vanishes in a flash of fire.,'Soon my son, you'll be with me soon my Harrison Lucifer Erebos.' Death thinks to himself as he looks at a picture of him, his lover and his son all with smiling faces.,'As you too my Dark Snake; Tom Malvo Riddle.' Death adds grinning at the thought of his lover back in his hands and bed.,-Back with Harry-,'Joy another day of "BOY!", "FREAK!" and "Where is my punching bag?" from his 'loving' family!' Harry think's with a sigh as the days tick down to his 11th birthday; maybe after his 11th birthday something good will happen.. only if.,A soft cry from upstairs shocks Harry, for it's been an hour since Vernon 'his loving uncle' locked him inside his room for 'burning' the food for his whale of a son Dudley; a soft smell of charred flesh catches Harry's nose; the sounds of his door unlocking and creaking open make Harry turn and see a beautiful red bird, the size of a swan sitting in the hallway with a smirk on his beak.,"What are you?" Harry asks; the bird trills softly and all feelings that Harry had of shock vanished.,'Beautiful.' Harry thinks sighing softly., a voice inside Harry's head says, Harry backs into the wall of his room shocked.,the voice asks as the bird tilts it's head; with a shocked look Harry slowly nods at the bird.,the bird's voice says with a chuckle.,"What are you?" Harry asks., the bird.. no Phoenix says.,"A bird from a fairy tail... impossible." Harry says eyes wide staring at the Phoenix.,the Phoenix says.,"I smelled burning, was that you?" Harry asks not bothering to ask how the Phoenix knew his name.,the Phoenix says.,"I-Is he d-dead?" Harry asks.,the Phoenix asks.,"N-no." Harry says.,the Phoenix asks tilting it'/his head.,"C-can I?" Harry asks unsure.,the Phoenix says grinning.,"My father?... but he's dead." Harry says; earning a shocked screach from the Phoenix.,the Phoenix says shocking Harry.,"What?" Harry asks before his vision falls to darkness.,-END (For NOW)-,Enjoy the Prolog? I hope so for this story will continue (Soonish) I would very much like it if you R&R. Please it makes me happy... Mucho Love :3

In a lightly wooded area, a lone figure was taking a walk. Said figure was a young woman. Her orange body glowed brightly in the woods, signifying her fiery nature. She was a tall woman, and decently attractive. She had a long head of flaming, orange hair that went down to her back. Her eyes were a fiery red, and many a man would say she had a decent body.,Flame Princess and Cinnamon Bun had recently had a mutual breakup. Over time, they both realized that their feelings for one another had been nothing more than a mutual crush. The two were still great friends, and he had maintained his role as her most trusted guard...,However, Flame Princess hadn't been happy in the Fire Kingdom. Yes, it was her responsibility, but...it grew tiresome waking up and seeing the same thing every day: fire, fire and more fire.,She missed the lush, green trees. She missed the vibrant blue sky. She even missed the water, as deadly as it was to her. It was dangerous, but it was so sparkly and pretty to look at...,One day, however, she came to a realization: most of her work ended up being done by Cinnamon Bun, mostly behind her back. She had insisted that he not burden himself with her work, but he wanted to help so bad... And it helped his case that he was beloved by everybody in her kingdom.,She saw an opportunity, for both her kingdom and herself. She was unhappy, and Cinnamon Bun was a much better ruler than she could ever hope to be.,And so, one day, she made the announcement that she would be stepping down as ruler. Her subjects were upset at first, but came to accept her decision when she announced that Cinnamon Bun would be taking her place.,Before she had left, Cinnamon Bun and her now ex-staff members had insisted that she come for semi-regular visits, a term that she had agreed to with a giggle.,Now the woman was free to live happily in the land of Ooo, underneath the blue skies she'd grown to love.,Witch had started to swirl around in a vortex…huh?,The fiery woman blinked and stared up into the strange phenomenon happening in the sky. "What the…?" her eyes grew wide when she saw a shape start to fall from the vortex and land a little way away.,The earth shook causing the girl to land on her behind with a thud. She quickly jumped to her feet and started to run to where the star impacted. "One day out of the kingdom and this happens. Hope this an't an omen." She ran ahead yet paused as she saw the entrance to a forest.,"Oh…just great!" she shouted with annoyance. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Relax…just relax you can do this, just don't touch anything." She slowly and carefully entered the forest looking for the falling star not expecting it will forever change her life.,She stepped around the trees carefully. She tried her best not to sweat nervously, out of fear that her lava sweat would start a forest fire. She REALLY didn't want that weighing on her conscience...,Finally, she reached the crash site. "Okay...What landed-" She froze when she heard something in the crater. It sounded like sobbing...,Slowly, she approached and looked down...and her eyes widened as she clapped her hands over her mouth.,It was...it was a little boy... No...It wasn't JUST a little boy...It was a little HUMAN boy! He was very clearly the same species as Finn...and that made what she was seeing all the more terrifying.,The boy was bleeding. He was bleeding BADLY. She herself didn't have much in terms of blood, but she understood one thing very clearly: humans needed blood in their body to survive. She remembered back when she was dating Finn and he had come to visit her one day cut up and bleeding after one of his crazy adventures. She had been confused as to why that was happening, and what the strange red substance was. Jake ended up explaining the concept of blood to her, so she knew how important it was...,And this child? The substance was practically oozing out of his tiny, frail body...,Harry sobbed as he curled into a ball. He didn't know what happened. He was doing his chores like he usually did when he had tripped over his large shirt and had tipped the table that held a vase. He remembered hearing the shattering of glass before he felt nothing but pain.,The large fists of his uncle, the heavy kicks of his cousin the blunt pain of a frying pan from his aunt it hurt…it hurt so much. He had closed his eyes and just excepted it and that's when it happened. He felt something within him push out and send his abusers flying back and lifted the boy up and teleporting him away from the house.,He never noticed the landing, never noticed that he was a star or he was even flying. All he felt was pain…so much pain…,"KID!" a voice shouted from just outside his range and he flinched at the loud noise and curled more into himself. "He did not want to feel pain anymore.,He felt really tired though...And he couldn't stand up...He felt weak...,Flame Princess spent no more time thinking and jumped down to check on him. She rushed to his side and studied him closely. His body looked unnaturally pale for a human and the leaking of blood was still going strong. Her eyes widened in realization.,If she didn't do something quick, the boy was going to die.,But what could she do?! How could she-,Wait...,She remembered one time, when Finn was bleeding, he tried to hold her hand...And her fire ended up searing his wound shut...,The princess bit her lip when she realized there was only one way to save this little boy...,The wound would have to be seared shut.,Harry felt warmth near him and slowly he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but he could only make out a strange orange light was next to him kneeling down. It was so warm, he started to relax…till he felt a burning hand on his open wound.,The princess flinched when she heard the child's pain filled scream. She felt her own fiery tears start to form before shaking them off and focusing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she repeated.,As soon as the blood stopped she pulled her hand off him quickly and held it to her chest and backed away from him. The boy curled into himself and just sobbed harder than before. His bleeding had indeed stopped yet now he had a burnt hand print on his back.,The princess looked away in guilt and pain. She missed how the flaming hand print was starting to fade away thanks to the child's magic.,She breathed heavily as she looked away. "I...I'm so sorry..." She said softly, burying her face in her hands. "It...It was the only way I could...I just...I wanted to help...I..." She steeled herself and took a deep breath, making her way over to him. "Little boy...?" She asked tentatively. "I...I'm sorry I hurt you." The child looked at her and sniffled. He said nothing. "But you were bleeding, and it wasn't gonna stop on its own...I had to stop it. To save you. Please understand...I didn't WANT to hurt you...But I had to.","It's okay..." The boy replied. Flame Princess smiled.,"Really...? You forgive me?","You had to hurt me. EVERYONE has to hurt me. That's the way it is..." He sounded defeated and hopeless. Flame Princess's smile faded.,"...What...?","I'm a freak…freaks need to be hurt…they shouldn't exist…they should just disappear…" He spoke softly fresh tears escaping his eyes. He had been taught this by his uncle every night.,The princess just stared wide eyed at the small child in shock. "No…no that's not…","Please…no more…please…no more pain…",Flame Princess looked around with wide scared eyes. She looked up at the sky and her eyes narrowed. She stood up and extended her arms up and shot fire into the sky, she focused it and had the flames make out a S.O.S symbol. Hopefully someone would come to help them.,Near the Fire Kingdom...,Outside of the Fire Kingdom, a small cat-like creature made of fire walked along the ground, minding the grass. He, like Flame Princess, preferred it outside the Fire Kingdom. He was a drifter, he liked to wander and see new things.,However, the little flambit wasn't expecting what he saw next.,"Holy Glob!" The cat-like Flambit exclaimed, clapping his hands to his cheeks. "One day outta the kingdom and that girl's already in trouble?!" He looked back at the Fire Kingdom. "No way the new king's ever gonna see it from all the way back there..." He sighed. 'Hang in there, FP! Flambo's comin' to the rescue!",The flambit dashed off in the direction of the distress signal.,The flambit dashed through the forest careful not to burn the many plant life and soon arrived at a clearing. "Princess!" he shouted emerging from the forest.,"Flambo!? I need help!","I saw the- HOLLY GLOB!" the flambit shouted as he saw the wounded HUMAN boy laying in a crater. He stared widened eyed at the little boy before turning to the distraught flame princess.,"What did you do!?" he asked her with wide eyes.,"I didn't do anything…I just seared his wound and…and he started talking about deserving…he fell from the sky…I just.","Princess!" he shouted causing her to pause. He frowned when he saw the flaming tears in her eyes and took a deep breath. "All right, all right, ease up there. What went down? Start from the beginnin' of the story.",And so Flame Princess told him everything. Flambo sat down and crossed his arms. "Ah...Kid's had it pretty rough, eh?" He took a look at Harry. The boy stared at him...curiously?,"I-Is that a kitty...?" He asked softly. Flambo snickered.,"Nah, kid, I'm no p*** cat." He replied. "I mean, how many cats are on fire, am I right?","Sorry...","He's not mad." Flame Princess reached out to pat his shoulder before remembering with a blush that she couldn't. "Anyway, Flambo, I don't know what to do with him...","Well ya gotta get him outta this place first, right?","I would love too, but I can't touch him without hurting him." She said sadly looking down.,Flambo mumbled to himself and placed a paw to his chin. "That is a problem but I might have a solution for ya.","What?" The princess asked hopeful.,"A flame shield. It's only a quick fix but it should be able to get you all back to the kingdom for someone to look over." He said.,"Do it then please!",Flambo nodded his head and crawled over to the little boy. The cat narrowed his eyes lightly at his exposed scars and bruises before spiting on the boy.,Harry flinched and lowered his head down. His family had done that to him too, yet he felt the temperature drop and he got a little chilly as he started to shake lightly.,Flambo nodded his head one and turned to the girl. "He's all yours." He waved only to have to jump back as he was almost run over as the girl ran to the boy's side and gently slowly placed a hand on his shoulder.,The boy moved closer to the sudden warmth. "Mmm...Warm..." He mumbled softly. Flame Princess smiled and snatched him up.,"Thanks, Flambo." She said gratefully. "I can always count on you.","Ah, nothin' to it, princess!" The Flambit replied. "You best run along now though. Get the kid looked at before it runs out.","Awesome." The girl nodded. "Later!" She dashed off at top speed. Flambo smiled after her.,"Heh...I remember when that girl was just a little spark in a lamp." He said, shaking his head. "Where's time go to...?",Harry snuggled into the warm arms with a content smile, the warmth was numbing his pain and replacing it with relaxation. He felt himself drift but tried to stay awake, he did not want the warm lady mad at him.,Flame Princess did not notice his problem, she was moving around trees and plants before exiting the forest and running at top speed back to the kingdom. She passed through the gates and right into the castle. "Hello! I need some help!" she shouted to see if anyone would answer.,"It's only been an hour…" a guard said simply.,"Not me! Him!" she said holding the drowsy boy up.,The guard's eyes grew wide as they saw the human child. "A h. !" he shouted then combusted into flames.,The princess rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be difficult! I'll get him to the medic myself!" she ran down the castle hallways till she discovered the medical room. "Doctor are you here!?","Huh...Wha...?" Princess Bubblegum sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Flame Princess?" The fire girl blushed.,"Oh...This isn't the hospital..." She said softly. She didn't really know her way around the Candy Kingdom. She wasn't exactly a frequent visitor...,"Wait..." The princess stopped her. "Flame Princess, why are you carrying a child, and...hold on..." The princess adjusted the glasses she wore when researching. "Is he a human?!","Yes." Flame Princess replied. "Now, I really need to get him to a hospital-","I can fix him." Bubblegum offered.,"...Really?","I can, I have a potion that can heel any wound." She said as she walked into her room and started to rummage through her stuff.,"Not that I'm super grateful for this, but why do you have one again?" Flame Princess asked with a raised brow.,"Take a guess?" she responded back.,"Fin?","Fin" she nodded and continued her search till she found it with ah "Ah-ha!" she pulled up a pink liquid and walked back over to them.,"Have him drink this and it should heal all his wounds for him.","Thanks PB" Flame said with a smile before looking down at the child. "Hey buddy…I need you to take some medicine okay?",The boy looked up with heavy eyes. "No…no more chemicals…" he mumbled softly.,Flame Princess looked confused. "What's a chemical?","Oh my goodness, chemicals?!" Bubblegum exclaimed. "Kid...You drank chemicals?! Why?!","My uncle made me...","Your..." Bubblegum looked at Flame Princess. "Give him the potion. Now.","But what are chemicals?","Poison." Bubblegum replied. Flame Princess, against all odds, paled.,"They...wanted to poison him...?","I think so. Now hurry!",Flame Princess nodded and uncorked the bottle before placing it on the boy's lips, "Please buddy, open up this will make you feel so much better." She said soothingly.,Harry hesitantly opened his mouth and drank the licked. It…tasted like bubblegum! He chugged the liquid and started to feel all his pain go away! Flame Princess pulled the bottle away when he was done and smiled down at him to see most of his injuries were healing up and disappearing.,"Good. It worked." Bubblegum princess said relived. She gazed at her friend. "Now can you explain what happened? I hear you step down now are running around with a child, a human child might I ask.,The flame girl sat down and rubbed the boy's hair lightly causing him to coo and snuggle into her warm arms more so. "Take a seat PB, this is one is a doozy."

After all these years... Harry never thought he'd actually come to the point of using it. Still, as he stared out into the meadow before him, sun setting and dyeing the sky red and orange, he felt he would most likely be making the right choice.,He fingered the pendant at his neck, the shining blue crystal that had not left its place since that fateful day at Ollivander's. He could recall it clear as day and smiled softly.,It had been a cryptic day to be sure. Harry had understood almost none of that, but had been told that he should hold the crystal in his hand and speak 'Eorzea' in order to use it. The crystal would never be removed from him and was invisible to everyone but him. He knew Hermione wondered why he so often played with the collar of his shirts.,The crystal had been pure temptation for the 8 years he had been fighting the dark lord Voldemort, but he had persevered for the love of his friends and the world he had learned so much about. The world that had saved him from the Dursleys.,It had been two years since the dark lord's defeat and though he never would have believed it before, the urge to use the crystal had only grown. Even with his friends and he going into their careers at the ministry, even with Ginny by his side... It wasn't enough.,The world had become a mess. Former death eaters and sympathisers scrambled to cover their assets and positions while the light factions did everything in their power to completely eradicate the 'darkness' from the face of Britain. It was unsightly. Nothing had changed, the balance merely tipping in the other direction.,Harry wanted nothing to do with it.,The sun set completely and with a small smile and hope in his heart, a single word was whispered into the night. No one would know what had happened to their Saviour, but they would not see him again for many years to come.,"Eorzea."

Hola, Perdón por estar ausente tal largo tiempo; sé que debería de estar trabajando en mi Fic "Llegadas Inesperadas" pero es que es muy difícil inspirarme y realmente lo terminare aunque me demorare un poco.,Pero luego de leer este fic deseaba tanto ponerlo al español (latino más que todo) para que los demás lo disfrutasen sin el traductor de google que lo logre. Aunque no he recibido respuesta oficial de su autor, Ruskbyte para hacerlo.,Declaro: Esto es una TRADUCCIÓN NO OFICIAL, la historia no me pertenece, el Fic original "Something Grim This Way Comes" es de Ruskbyte. Los personajes son de sus respectivos autores. La dividiré por más capítulos (ya que el autor original lo había hecho solo en tres) pero será total y completamente una traducción adaptada al doblaje latinoamericano., Something Grim This Way Comes, Ruskbyte, Esta historia se basa en personajes y situaciones creadas y son propiedad de J.K. Rowling, Maxwell Atoms, y varias casas editoriales, estudios de animación y similares. No hay dinero se está haciendo (como me gustaría que fuera de otra manera) y ningún derecho de autor o marca comercial infracción se pretende., Harry está a punto de comenzar su primer año en Hogwarts. Con él viene su cínica, algo no oficial (por no hablar empeñada en dominar el mundo) novia; Mandy. Y también están llegando su mutuo mejor amigo (es decir: sirviente) la muerte encarnada.,Primer Crossover del mundo ,. Inspirado, como una cuestión de rutina, por el episodio hilarante poco sutil que implica la Escuela de brujería de verano de Sapobledor y el excepcionalmente cobarde Nigel Planter.,Como nunca se menciona el apellido de Mandy (ni para el caso el de Billy) decidí promulgar mis poderes como el escritor todopoderoso (INCLÍNENSE y ADÓRENME) Y usé mi licencia poética para darle el apellido de Maxwell, como un homenaje para el creador de la serie Maxwell Atoms.,Con respecto a Billy, que no se ha utilizado en esta historia, me decidí a hacer una división en la que todo lo que Billy nunca hizo, eso que no era completamente estúpido terminó siendo realizado por Harry, mientras que el resto fue trasladado a Dudley. Esto dejó a Dudley como el equivalente del tonto del pueblo, y como Billy casi nunca hizo nada inteligente.,No existe Irwin, Valente o bien, Pecas, pero creo que Dean Thomas llena ese papel razonablemente bien.,Un trío de personajes altamente inusuales quedó en silencio a la entrada de la estación de tren en la Cruz del Rey. Ellos emanaban un aura de... bueno, tal extrañeza que las bulliciosas multitudes de viajeros inconscientemente les rodeaban, la mayoría incluso evitaban acercárseles.,En la izquierda estaba Harry Potter, también conocido para la mayoría del mundo mágico como el Niño-Que-Vivió. Harry fue posiblemente uno de los magos vivos más famosos, un hecho que había aprendido hace poco más de un mes cuando su carta de aceptación a Hogwarts había llegado con el correo de la mañana.,Estaba vestido con pantalones vaqueros rasgados y un tanto descoloridos y una camisa igualmente desgastada con desiguales botones. Mientras que la ropa era, por lo menos, de tercera mano, tal vez incluso cuarta mano, al menos se adaptaron a su esbelta figura razonablemente bien. Habían pasado varios años desde que su tía y el tío le habían obligado a usar la vieja ropa usada de Dudley; aunque todavía se negaban a gastar dinero en la compra de ropa nueva para Harry.,Levantando varios mechones de su pelo negro indomable sobre sus ojos, exponiendo brevemente la cicatriz en forma de rayo que adornaba su frente, Harry se ajustó las gafas y echó una mirada a la derecha.,Inmediatamente al lado de él estaba el amigo más cercano y querido de Harry, Mandy Maxwell. Su cabello rubio muy corto, enmarcando el óvalo suave de la cara y peinado hacia atrás y hacia arriba de manera que daba la impresión de un par de cuernos. Sus ojos afilados, un tono tan oscuro de azul que más parecía negro, escaneaba las muchas plataformas de embarque delante de ellos.,Llevaba uno de sus trajes favoritos; un vestido de color rosa que terminó justo por encima de las rodillas y se ajusta perfectamente a su esbelta y casi infantil figura. Ubicado entre los leves pechos prepúberes era un gran estampado de un girasol amarillo excesivamente brillante.,A primera vista parecía ser una niña muy linda, recatada e inocente. A primera vista. Pero sólo a primera vista. Los que la conocían eran muy conscientes de que Mandy era apenas recatada y nunca podría ser descrito como inocente, a pesar de que una vez pudo haber sido (aunque eso fue sólo un rumor). Sin embargo, ella , muy linda, al menos cuando ella sólo llevaba su ceño perpetuo y no miraba fijamente a la gente.,"¿Cuál fue el número de plataforma de nuevo?" -preguntó con un acento americano todavía perceptible a pesar de varios años de vivir en Inglaterra. Al no recibir una respuesta inmediata, la leve mueca en la cara de Mandy se profundizó una poco mientras miraba al tercer miembro del trío y con impaciencia exigió, "¿Y bien?",De pie detrás de los dos niños de once años, era una (al menos para los que no lo conocían) figura alta y muy delgada, muy oscura y excepcionalmente ominosa vestida con un traje negro que fluye. Una guadaña muy sombría, su acabado reluciente y parecía dar un repiqueteo con el poder malévolo, estaba siendo agarrada por una mano derecha esquelética. Un cráneo blanco con las mejillas afiladas y una mandíbula muy pronunciada, era visible en las sombras de la capucha de la túnica de color rojo sangre.,Este no era otro que Puro Hueso, la muerte en persona, y el segundo amigo cercano y querido de Harry. Por supuesto, si alguien le preguntaba a Puro Hueso, el lanzaría en una negación fuerte y vehemente de la posibilidad de que sentía nada excepto desprecio absoluto por Harry y Mandy.,La amistad forzada de Puro Hueso con los dos niños mortales había llegado hace aproximadamente tres años antes, poco después de que la familia de Mandy se había mudado al número cinco de Privet Drive, al frente de la casa de los Dursley. Puro Hueso había desgarrado un portal dimensional a la habitación de la chica rubia, cuando él había venido a recoger el alma de su perro; Saliva que perpetuamente babeaba.,No dispuesto a renunciar a la vida de su mascota sin luchar, Mandy había desafiado a Puro Hueso para decidir el destino del perro. Si ella y Harry perdían, entonces Puro Hueso reclamaría a saliva (y Harry también, a pesar de sus protestas, Mandy incluyo su alma como parte de la negociación). En un momento de arrogancia orgullosa, Puro Hueso había endulzado la oferta con la promesa de que si los dos ganaban, entonces él sería su mejor amigo para siempre.,Después de todo, él era la Muerte, y él no perdía.,Especialmente en un concurso de limbo.,Sin embargo, lo hizo, cuando Mandy demostró ser mejor en el engaño, que Puro Hueso podría ser alguna vez. Después de todo, Saliva disfrutaba enterrar huesos y Puro Hueso (siendo un esqueleto) había sido una fuente más conveniente de un buen número de huesos para enterrar.,"Nueve y tres cuartos", respondió Puro Hueso, en una profunda voz de barítono y un acento jamaicano extrañamente apropiado.,"¿Y dónde exactamente es eso?" preguntó Mandy deliberadamente.,"¿Dónde?, en las nueve tres cuartas partes del muro entre las plataformas nueve y las diez, por supuesto.","Bueno, eso es útil", murmuró Mandy, volviendo su mirada hacia las plataformas de embarque.,"Vamos a buscar plataformas nueve y diez, como Puro Hueso dijo," sugirió Harry. "Nueve y tres cuartos es una plataforma mágica, después de todo, por lo que probablemente está escondida de la gente normal.","Tienes razón en eso, Harry," acordó Mandy. "Vamos.",El trío se abrió paso en la estación, las multitudes se abrían como el Mar Rojo ante ellos. Harry y Mandy caminaban, mirando hacia arriba y contaban los números de las plataformas a su paso. Puro Hueso, sin embargo, parecía deslizarse suavemente detrás de ellos, refunfuñando entre dientes mientras empujaba el carro llevando sus baúles escolares.,Ordinariamente Harry hubiera llevado su baúl por sí mismo, pero cuando Mandy le dijo que hiciera algo, ni siquiera la muerte podría aguantar mucho más una discusión. Y Mandy había decidido desde hace mucho tiempo que Puro Hueso sería responsable de todas las tareas más onerosas que ella preferiría no hacer. Asimismo, hace tiempo que Harry había renunciado a tratar de convencerla de tener a Puro Hueso haciendo las tareas para ambos.,Además de lo cual, nunca se cansó de las miradas en las caras de los Dursley cuando estaban en la misma habitación que Puro Hueso.,Incluso ahora, casi tres años después, su familia estaban recién comenzando a recuperarse de su primer encuentro con Puro Hueso. Tía Petunia aún se refirió al incidente como su "episodio esqueleto", en el que ella había sufrido de un ataque de nervios después de caminar en el baño mientras que el esqueleto se había estado duchando. Había pasado varios meses convalecientes en casa de la tía Marge, tras lo cual regresó sólo para encontrar que Puro Hueso se había ido a vivir con ellos.,Por lo demás, los Dursley estaban todavía recuperándose de la reunión Mandy por primera vez. Ella se había presentado a los otros hijos de Privet Drive durante un juego de Harry Caza, en el que redujo a Dudley hasta las lágrimas con sólo unas pocas palabras bien escogidas. Después de que, por cualquier razón, decidió que Harry era la única persona en el barrio con menos probabilidades de molestarla y así pasó la mayor parte de su tiempo con él.,Ella había sido muy impresionados con él al principio, sobre todo debido a la ropa en gran medida de gran tamaño que había visto obligado a llevar. Al enterarse de que eran ropa vieja de Dudley, y que él era en realidad primo del niño que se fue lloriqueando, que había estado aún más impresionada. Cuando se reveló que Harry vivía en el armario debajo de las escaleras, ella decidió hacer algo al respecto.,Harry nunca se enteró de lo que dijo, y ella nunca lo volvió a mencionar, pero ese mismo día la tía Petunia y tío Vernon le había sacado del armario y lo llevaron al piso de arriba en el segundo dormitorio. También botaron la ropa vieja de Dudley y en realidad le compraron un poco de ropa de tamaño adecuado, incluso si eran las más baratas que encontraban en la tienda de segunda mano.,"Plataforma nueve", anunció Mandy antes de mirar a la siguiente plataforma y concluir "y la plataforma de diez.","¿Ves algo?" preguntó Harry, mirando a su alrededor con la esperanza de encontrar la entrada a la plataforma escurridiza que se menciona en el billete que había sido incluido en su carta de Hogwarts.,"No," Mandy negó con la cabeza. "¿Usted?","Nada," Harry miró a Puro Hueso, que había dejado detrás de ellos. "Puro Hueso, ¿y tú?","Dame un momento para recuperar el aliento," replicó el esqueleto.,"Tú no tienes pulmones", observó Mandy.,"¿y que?","Por lo tanto, usted no tiene ningún aliento para coger, cabeza hueca".,"Es cierto," reflexionó Puro Hueso. "Vamos a echar un vistazo ahora.",Antes de que Puro Hueso podría hacer precisamente eso, el trío fue casi abrumados por lo que, a primera vista, parecía ser una pequeña horda de pelirrojos en estampida. Había cuatro chicos y una chica, que eran llevados por una matrona regordeta que estaba murmurando en voz baja sobre la cantidad de "muggles" estorbaban encima de la estación.,Harry y Mandy intercambiaron una mirada antes de seguir a la familia pelirroja, con Puro Hueso detrás de ellos. Los alcanzaron justo a tiempo para oír a la madre confirmar sus sospechas preguntando: "Ahora, ¿cuál es el número de la plataforma?,"Nueve y tres cuartos" respondió la niña, que parecía ser un año más o menos joven que Harry y Mandy. "Mamá, no puedo ir...","Tú no eres lo suficientemente mayor, Ginny, ahora silencio", interrumpió la mujer regordeta. "Muy bien, Percy, ve primero.",Percy, el más antiguo de los cuatro chicos, marchó hacia la pared de ladrillo que separaba las plataformas nueve y diez. Una multitud repentina de turistas apresuró el pasado y en el momento en que se habían ido, Percy había desaparecido de la vista.,"Interesante", dijo Mandy blandamente. Ella y Harry estaban tan acostumbrados a las muestras de magia y otros poderes sobrenaturales. Ser el mejor amigo de Puro Hueso significaba que tales cosas eran un hecho casi a diario. En tal situación, o una persona se adaptaba, y acostumbraba a la idea muy rápidamente, o tenían un ataque de nervios.,De hecho, los dos niños estaban tan habituados a la idea de magia que la verdad que Harry es un mago apenas los inmutó. Le había costado un poco de trabajo, sobre todo gracias a Puro Hueso asomándose amenazadoramente en el fondo, pero con el tiempo la tía Petunia había dado una explicación abreviada de la muerte de Lily y James Potter y la forma en que Harry había llegado a ser colocado en el hogar Dursley.,Conseguir el resto de la historia había sido un poco más difícil, pero Puro Hueso había logrado llenar los vacíos. Al ser una verdadera fuente de conocimiento arcano, Puro Hueso les había contado sobre el mundo oculto de la magia. Hogwarts, el Ministerio, Diagon Alley, Gringotts y todo el resto.,Entonces él había entrado en detalles acerca de los acontecimientos de la noche de Halloween de 1981.,Un señor oscuro maníaco, que era al parecer tan temible que incluso casi nadie podía decir su nombre, había hecho una matanza que había logrado en realidad dejar sensación en Puro Hueso de exceso de trabajo. Para empeorar las cosas, el lunático se había ingeniado para escaparse de Puro Hueso cuando el bebé Harry le había volado.,Al conocer estos detalles, Mandy había ordenado a Puro Hueso cambiarla a ella de una persona normal en una bruja. Su razonamiento para hacer tal cambio era que su conquista del mundo sería mucho más fácil de conseguir con algunos poderes mágicos que la respaldaran a levantarse.,Ni Harry ni Puro Hueso, podían decir si estaba bromeando o no.,Sin poder pensar en una buena razón para no intentarlo, Puro Hueso saco de las profundidades de su pecho golosinas y finalmente encontró lo que estaban buscando en un viejo libro de recetas de su abuela. Recordando varios desastres pasados provocados por el uso de varios otros artículos de su pecho, Harry era escéptico sobre sus posibilidades de éxito, pero Mandy lo había intentado de todos modos.,A la mañana siguiente, ella le dio un Dudley incauto la cola, la nariz y las orejas de un cerdo.,"Fred, eres el próximo", dijo la madre, dirigiendo su atención a su próximo hijo.,Fred miraba a su madre con una expresión grave. "No soy Fred, soy George," le dijo, suspirando profundamente en una opción de venta sobre la forma. "Honestamente, mujer, se llama a usted mismo nuestra madre? ¿No puedes decir que soy George?","Lo siento, George, querido", se disculpó la madre, saludando a su hijo para proceder a través de la pared ilusoria.,Fred maniobró a su posición, a la espera hasta que la costa estaba clara a los espectadores y luego dijo: "Sólo estoy bromeando, soy Fred," antes de empujar su baúl cargado en ya través de la pared. Un momento después de que desapareció de la vista fue seguido por su hermano gemelo, el ya mencionado George.,"Disculpe... perdón!" dijo Harry, con ganas de llamar la atención de la mujer regordeta antes de que todos desaparecieron.,"¡Hola, queridos," saludó mientras Harry y Mandy se acercaron a ella. "Primera vez en Hogwarts? Ron es nuevo también." Ron, el último y el más joven de sus hijos, les dio una sonrisa nerviosa mientras su madre le señaló.,"Sí," dijo Harry. "La cosa es -","¿Cómo podemos llegar a la plataforma?" preguntó Mandy, cortante y directo al grano.,La mujer dio un parpadeo sorprendido por la franqueza de la chica rubia, pero rápidamente se recuperó y se les dio una sonrisa amable cuando ella comenzó a explicar. "No te preocupes", dijo. "Todo lo que tienes que hacer es caminar en línea recta en la barrera entre las plataformas nueve y diez. Es Mejor hacerlo un poco rápido si estás nervioso.",Harry y Mandy se volteo para mirar a la pared que divide las plataformas. Parecía sólida. Se volvieron de nuevo a la mujer regordeta, que les siguió viendo gratamente. Luego se inclinó entre sí para tener una conferencia en susurros.,"¿Qué te parece?" preguntó Harry.,"Creo que a esta gente mágica les falta un tornillo", respondió Mandy.,"Bueno, sí envió a tres de sus hijos a través del muro, debe ser seguro.","Quizás.","¿Quieres que vaya primero?" ofreció Harry valientemente.,"No, mejor que usamos a alguien..." Mandy cambió su mirada hacia Puro Hueso, "prescindible".,El Compañero de Los dos niños se encontraba a poca distancia, apoyado contra el carro que había estado presionando y llevando una expresión que era a la vez de cansado y aburrido.,"Hey, Puro Hueso," llama Mandy.,"¿Qué?" preguntó con cautela Puro Hueso.,"Tú primero," Mandy mandó rotundamente.,"¡Qué!","Oh, vamos, querido", dijo la mujer regordeta, quien dirigió su atención a Puro Hueso. Aparentemente no lo había notado antes. Su voz se apagó, sin embargo, mientras registró exactamente lo que estaba viendo. "No tienes nada….de que…preocuparte...",Puro Hueso se dirigió a la mujer de pelo rojo, planificaba darle las gracias por el ofrecimiento de ayuda, a pesar de que él no la necesitaba. Esto dio a la bruja regordeta una visión clara de su cráneo blanco o, rodeado de un halo de sombra de color rojo sangre dentro de la negrura de su capucha. Él entonces cometió el error de darle una sonrisa benévola.,"gracia a usted, madam-","Un mortífago!" gritó la mujer, barriendo sus brazos para agarrar sus dos hijos restantes y arrastrarlos detrás de ella, para que ella pueda protegerlos de la presencia de Puro Hueso con su propio cuerpo. "Ron, Ginny, PÓNGANSE DETRÁS DE MÍ!","Bueno, no, en realidad no," retumbó Puro Hueso lentamente, difundida por sus reacciones, pero al mismo tiempo renunció a ella. "En realidad, señora, soy LA MUERTE-","¡COMEDOR DE LA MUERTE!" la mujer gritó de nuevo, está vez atrayendo su varita de entre los pliegues de su túnica tiempo. "Quédate atrás, o de lo contrario", amenazó, sosteniendo su varita y apuntando directamente entre órbitas vacías de Puro Hueso. "Te lo advierto, quedate atrás o te hechizaré!","Señora," Puro Hueso puso las manos en las caderas, indignado: "Yo no soy-","Expelliarmus!",Con un destello de luz roja la maldición golpeó a Puro Hueso, impactando sólidamente contra su frente y golpeando su cráneo vacío fuera de su cuello. Se cayó al suelo, a varios pies de distancia de su cuerpo, rodando a lo largo de un par de veces antes de decidirse.,"¡Ahora!" protestó Puro Hueso, "eso estaba fuera de lugar!",La mujer regordeta miró con horror el cráneo incorpóreo de Puro Hueso y luego a su cuerpo. El resto del esqueleto de Puro Hueso estaba ahora de rodillas, ya que caminaba ciegamente alrededor, en busca de la cabeza que falta.,"brutal", dijo el chico pelirrojo, Ron, que estaba detrás de su madre.,"Ah, aquí estamos," dijo Puro Hueso mientras sus manos encontraron el cráneo y lo levantaron. Con varios giros hábiles, y bien practicado, Puro Hueso puso su cráneo a su cuello. "Ahora, eso está mejor.","Un Inferi", respiró la mujer. Ella se sacudió de su asombro y se quedó erguida, apuntando una vez más con su varita, esta vez con el objetivo de la caja torácica de Puro Hueso en lugar de su cráneo. "Monstruosidad no muerta!" Gruñó, imagen y sonido muy reminiscencia de un tigre dientes de sable. "Aléjate de mi familia! Incendio!",El hechizo se disparó hacia Puro Hueso como poco más que un borrón. Él se preparó para este, o por lo menos más de lo que él había estado con el primer hechizo, y logro parcialmente mandarlo fuera del camino. Sin embargo el hechizo se las arregló para coger el borde posterior de su túnica negra, poniéndolo en llamas con asombrosa rapidez.,"¡Ah! Estoy en el fuego! ¡Socorro!","Bestia! Incendio! Reducto!","¡Ay!" -exclamó Puro Hueso mientras se agachaba debajo del primer hechizo, sólo para ser golpeado por el segundo. Él voló hacia atrás a través del aire, el brazo izquierdo y varias costillas se dispersaron alrededor mientras lo hacía. Su vuelo terminó abruptamente cuando chocó con un fuerte golpe contra el tren actualmente esperando en el andén nueve. "Señora, por favor! ¡Ay!","Debemos tratar de detenerla?" Harry le preguntó a su compañera.,"¿Por qué?" replicó Mandy, sus ojos no dejar la lucha a un lado por un segundo. "No he visto nada tan divertido desde que el general Ernecio de mudó al lado tuyo y trató de robar la guadaña de Puro Hueso.","¿Qué pasa con ese tiempo que Dudley convenció a Puro Hueso para ayudar a organizar una fiesta secreta de cumpleaños sorpresa para ti, cinco meses antes de tu cumpleaños?","Eso no fue divertido, fue lamentable.","¿por Dudley o Huesos?","Ambas cosas.","Aaaaaah!",En este punto la mujer regordeta finalmente había anotado un golpe directo contra Puro Hueso, le capturo en un punto muerto y literalmente soplo al esqueleto en pedazos. Huesos surtidos llovieron, como bolos en dispersión ante una bola de boliche. Por casualidad, su cráneo rodó por el suelo de la plataforma hasta que se topó con el zapato de Mandy.,"Ay, pobre muerte!" proclamo Mandy, recogiendo el cráneo y sosteniéndolo en una mano.,"Ah, ja, ja, muy gracioso," murmuró Puro Hueso.,"Ya me lo imaginaba.",Albus Dumbledore se sentía particularmente preocupado por el momento. En verdad, él había estado sufriendo de un particular caso grave de lo que describió como "Síndrome de la usurpación de la Muerte" durante los últimos tres años. Se caracteriza por la sensación de que algo estaba terriblemente mal y que las grandes cantidades de muerte y destrucción serían el resultado final.,Ese sentimiento había estado creciendo más y más prominente con cada día que pasaba y ahora estaba en el punto donde el director había contactado con su abogado en la mañana y había dispuesto actualizar su voluntad.,Simplemente no podía pensar en una razón para tales sentimientos de aprensión.,Es cierto, sí, Gringotts había sido asaltado y la Piedra Filosofal casi robada - sin duda por Voldemort. Por suerte Dumbledore había logrado mandar a Hagrid para recoger la Piedra y llevarla a Hogwarts. Incluso entonces, sin embargo, las cosas estaban ocurriendo eran decididamente... extrañas.,Más reciente de profesor de Defensa Contra las Artes Oscuras, Quirino Quirrell, estaba demostrando ser un tartamudo, manojo de nervios. El hombre prácticamente saltó ante su propia sombra y en realidad se había desmayado del susto cuando por primera vez le había presentado al profesor Snape.,Luego había sido el asunto de la carta de aceptación de Harry Potter. Una nota acusando recibo de su carta de Hogwarts había sido entregada a la profesora McGonagall varios días después por un búho blanco cubierto de nieve hermoso.,Aunque esto en sí mismo no era particularmente extraño, Dumbledore había esperado que los guardianes de Harry, los Dursley, darían al menos un poco de resistencia simbólica a la idea. Incluso había planeado enviar Hagrid a entregar la carta en su mano, si es necesario. Sin embargo, no había habido ningún problema, sin problemas, en absoluto.,Y esto sólo había sido el comienzo.,Desde su regreso de su viaje a Gringotts, Hagrid había informado de que la manada Thestral, utilizada para guiar los carruajes desde y hacia Hogsmeade, había estado actuando cada vez más inquieto. De hecho, el gran hombre había entregado ese informe en la enfermería con una gran cantidad de lesiones menores, así como varias costillas rotas – para gran disgusto de la señora Pomfrey.,Fawkes, el fénix de Dumbledore, tenía por alguna razón incomprensible sufrido cinco días de fuego en el mes pasado y lo había estado haciendo más y más ferozmente con cada día. La última vez que Fawkes tenía en realidad logró fundir su percha en un trozo de metal deforme, a pesar de la posición de haber sido especialmente encantado de soportar el intenso calor de la muerte y el renacimiento de un ave fénix.,Los fantasmas también estaban actuando de una manera inquieta, revoloteando sobre el castillo en grupos muy unidas y la celebración de conversaciones susurradas que inmediatamente pusieron fin cada vez que uno de los vivos pasaba de largo. Cuidadosamente redactadas y pregunta sutilmente hechos habían dado nada, salvo el hecho de que los fantasmas parecían tener miedo de algo...,Dumbledore fue sacado de sus pensamientos por lo que sonaba como una serie de explosiones y bramidos frenéticos.,"¡Vuelve aquí, terror sobrenatural!","¡No! ¡No! vete lejos! Alguien, cualquiera, ayuda!","Deja de correr y hacer frente a su final, criatura!","¡No! ¡Por favor! No soy un demonio! No estoy poseído!","¡Mentiroso!",Desde el sonido de la misma, el profesor Quirrell estaba huyendo por su vida por un lunático sin invitación de algún tipo, o que estaba teniendo otro ataque de pánico por cualquier razón. O tal vez incluso ambos, siendo el primero la causa de esta última.,De cualquier manera, Dumbledore decidió descender de su oficina y ver por qué el alboroto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX,Jeanne s'approcha de Céréza, maintenant connue sous le nom de Bayonetta, qui était tranquillement en train de boire un verre au bar de Rodin.,"Céréza, je peux te parler une minute s'il te plaît ?" Demanda Jeanne.,"Bien sûr." Répondit Bayonetta en souriant. Mais son sourire s'effaça vite quand elle vit le visage de sa presque sœur. Il y avait de la honte dessus. Bayonetta n'avait jamais vue son amie honteuse. Même quand elle l'avait enfermé dans un cercueil pendant presque cinq cents ans pour la protéger, elle n'avait eu que de la peine, mais pas de honte. "Qu'est-ce qui se passe Jeanne ?",Jeanne l'invita à s'assoir à une table et commença à dire ce qui lui pesait sur le cœur.,"Voilà, peu de temps après la tentative de résurrection de Jubileus, j'ai demandé un service à Luka.",Bayonetta leva un sourcil. "Même si j'ai tendance à monopoliser Chouchou*, il ne m'appartient pas. Je ne vois pas le problème." (*Ou Cheshire suivant la version du jeu.),"Le problème…" Commença Jeanne, avant de soupirer. "Le mieux c'est que je commence par le tout début. Il y a plusieurs siècles de cela, après la chute d'Umbra et que je t'ai scellé au fond du lac, je n'étais pas en grande forme, de nos jours il appelle ça une dépression nerveuse. Bref, je n'étais vraiment pas bien et j'ai trouvé le réconfort dans les bras d'un homme.",Bayonetta écarquilla les yeux à cette révélation, mais ne dit rien.,"Je l'ai vraiment aimé, Céréza, et de cet amour est naît un petit garçon." Jeanne leva la main pour empêcher Céréza de parler. "Seulement l'accouchement m'a terriblement affaibli, et Balder et ses sbires en on profités pour me capturer et me faire un lavage de cerveaux, pour faire de moi leur larbin. N'ayant aucun pouvoir, ils ont laissés mon fils et son père tranquille et ils ont quittés le pays pour être à l'abri des sages de Lumen. Le service que j'ai demandé à Luka, c'est de retrouver leurs traces. Je sais bien que depuis le temps, ils sont tous les deux morts, mais je me suis dit que mon fils avait peut-être eux des enfants, qui eux même eurent des enfants…","Tu lui as demandé de rechercher tes descendants." Conclus Bayonetta. "Que lui as-tu donné en échange ?","Des photos de toi nue.","QUOI !?","Je plaisante." Dit Jeanne en retrouvant enfin un semblant de sourire. "Tu ne t'es pas demandé comment il avait eu ses lunettes lui permettant de voir le purgatoire ?","Il m'avait dit qu'il les avait eu de Rodin en échange d'une bonne bouteille de saké." Répondit Bayonetta surprise.,"C'est le cas." Confirma Jeanne. "Mais qui crois-tu, a convaincu Rodin d'accepter ? Mais enfin il en a finalement trouvé peu après notre affrontement avec Loptr. Il ne paye pas de mine comme-ça ton Chouchou, mais il est efficace. Il m'a trouvé trois descendants. Pétunia Evans, qui c'est mariée et a eu un enfant, Dudley, et la sœur de pétunia, Lily. Mais il n'a pas réussi à avoir d'info sur cette dernière.",Jeanne resta un moment silencieuse avant de reprendre. "Céréza, je veux les rencontrer, mais je n'ai pas la force de le faire seule, c'est trop, même pour moi. Peux-tu venir avec moi ?",Bayonetta se leva et prit Jeanne dans ses bras. "J'ai été en Enfer pour récupérer ton âme. Je peux bien rencontrer ta famille.",Une alarme sonna brusquement, faisant sursauter Dumbledore. Un être magique non autorisé avait réussi à pénétrer la barrière de sang du 4 Privet Drive.,"Polky !" Cria Dumbledore.,"Que peut faire Polky pour l'illustre directeur." Demanda un elfe de maison en s'inclinant, après être apparut.,"Dit à Severus et Minerva de me retrouver à la sorti de Poudlard immédiatement. Dit leur que c'est un code Merlin.","Albus, que se passe-t-il de si grave pour que vous utilisiez un code Merlin ?" Demanda Minerva en courant vers lui.,"Quelqu'un de magique ne figurant pas sur la liste blanche à pénétré la barrière de sang de chez Harry.","C'est ridicule." Renifla Severus. "Potter est actuellement à Poudlard, je viens de le croiser.","Oui, mais je crains pour les Dursley." Répondit Dumbledore.","LES DURSLEY !?" Hurla Rogue. "Vous m'aviez assuré que Potter était bien traité. Ce qui est impossible avec Pétunia, qui hait encore plus la magie, qu'un sang-pur hait un né-de-moldus.","C'est pas le moment." Répliqua Dumbledore. "Sortez vos baguettes et préparez-vous au pire. Le Portoloin se déclenchera à trois. Un, deux, trois.,Quand ils arrivèrent sur place, ils eurent la surprise de voir que tout était normal. Si ce n'ai que sur un des trottoirs près du 4 Privet Drive se trouvaient assises deux femmes, habillées de manière élégante. Une brune de vingt à trente ans, qui consolait une femme dans la même tranche d'âge, qui avait des cheveux cendrés.,"Ne t'en fait pas Jeanne, oublie cette famille, elle ne te mérite pas. Il reste Lily, elle ne peut pas être pire que cette garce de Pétunia. Je suis sûr que Luka finira par la trouver." Dit la femme Brune.,"Et si c'était le contraire, Céréza." Répliqua la femme aux cheveux cendrés. "Quand Luka m'a dit qu'il les avait trouvé, j'avais eu de l'espoir, mais je me rends compte que je me berçais d'illusion et que ma famille est bel et bien morte.",Dumbledore s'approcha et toussa légèrement. "Veuillez m'excuser mes demoiselles.","C'est pas le moment vieil homme. Laisse-nous tranquille." Répliqua Céréza.,"Je crains que cela ne soit pas possible et que vous allez devoir nous accompagner.","Et pourquoi ça ?" Demanda Bayonetta à deux doigts de sortir un de ses pistolets.,"Parce que vous avez pénétrées dans une zone, sous la protection d'une barrière magique, et que nous devons connaitre vos intentions." Répliqua doucement Dumbledore.,"Une barrière… ? Ah c'était ça qu'on a senti en arrivant ? C'était tellement faible qu'on s'est demandée si on avait imaginée quelque chose." Dit Céréza. Elle se releva et épousseta la poussière sur sa robe. "Bon je vous explique et ensuite vous nous fichez la paix. Mon amie Jeanne ici présente était à la recherche des derniers membres de sa famille. Un ami journaliste, et aussi détective à ses heures perdus, a retrouvé la trace de trois de ses membres. Lily Evans, sa sœur Pétunia, et le fils de cette dernière, Dudley. N'ayant pas encore d'infos sur Lily on a décidé de commencer par notre meilleure piste, Pétunia. Maintenant dégagez avant que je ne vous fasse sauter la cervelle." Dit-elle en pointant une arme pile entre les deux yeux de Dumbledore.,Minerva et Rogue allaient intervenir mais ils furent interrompus par un geste de Dumbledore.,"Mademoiselle." Dit Dumbledore en écartant tranquillement l'arme de son visage, qui revint aussitôt en face de lui. "Si vous me dite qu'elle est votre lien de parenté avec les Evans, et si vous me dites pourquoi les alarmes vous on signalés comme magique. Alors il ce pourrait que j'ai des information pour vous.",Bayonetta allez proposer au vieil homme de l'envoyer en Inferno afin que madame Butterfly lui tire les vers du nez, mais se ravisa et se tourna vers Jeanne. "C'est à toi de voir Jeanne. Je te soutiens quoi qu'il arrive.,Jeanne réprima un sanglot et approuva de la tête. "Dit lui. Mais s'il ne la joue pas franc jeu, tu sais quoi faire.",Bayonetta esquissa un sourire. "Personnellement je n'ai aucun lien avec les Evans. Jeanne et moi somme les dernières sorcières du clan Umbra. Et Jeanne et l'arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, grand-mère de Pétunia et Lily.","C'est impossible." Cria McGonagall. "Un sorcier ne peut pas vivre au-delà de deux cents ans. À moins que vous n'aillez une pierre philosophale.","Nous n'avons rien de tel." Répondit Bayonetta. "Je ne sais pas pour vos sorciers, mais pour les sorcières d'Umbra, ce n'est pas un exploit d'atteindre cette âge. J'ai personnellement 583 ans. Et Jeanne à un mois de moins que moi.","Vous êtes bien conservés." Dit Minerva.,"On a une bonne crème hydratante." Répliqua Bayonetta.,Dumbledore la regarda droit dans les yeux, et finalement, opta pour croire la 'jeune' femme.,"Je crains de ne pas avoir de bonne nouvelle à ce sujet." Soupira-t-il. "Lily Potter, née Evans, a été assassinée avec son mari en 1981. Il on laissait derrière eux leur fils Harry, la barrière est là justement pour le protéger.","S'il a vécu avec ses gens, il doit être comme eux." Dit Jeanne. "Je préfère encore être seule que de les considérer comme ma famille.","Oh non !" Intervint Minerva. "Harry est un garçon charmant, il n'a rien à voir avec ces 'gens'." Dit-elle en mettant le plus de méprit possible dans le 'gens'.,"Et Lily était la plus douce des personnes. Elle était le complet opposé de Pétunia." Dit Rogue, surprit d'avoir dit ça.,Jeanne sembla réfléchir un moment. "Pourrais-je le voir ?","À vrais dire, vous pourriez faire plus que ça." Dit Dumbledore. "Il ce trouve que pour la protection d'Harry, j'ai du le mettre dans une maison où se trouve une personne partageant le même sang que Lily. Celle de Pétunia en l'occurrence. Mais comme vous avez du remarquer, les Dursley ne porte pas les sorciers dans leur cœur. Aussi vus que vous êtes l'ancêtre de Lily. Vous pourriez peut-être accueillir Harry chez vous. Vus que en plus il ne porte pas non plus les Dursley dans son cœur." Proposa-t-il.,"Je…" Commença Jeanne et ne sachant plus quoi dire. "Je ne veux pas m'imposer. Mais s'il veut venir chez moi, il est le bienvenu.","Parfait." Dit Dumbledore d'un ton joyeux. "Si vous voulez on peut rencontrer Harry tout de suite.","Pouvons-nous attendre une heure ou deux." Demanda Bayonetta. "Juste le temps que Jeanne n'ait plus les yeux rouges, ça ferait une mauvaise première impression.","Monsieur Potter. Voulez-vous bien me suivre jusqu'au bureau du directeur s'il vous plaît." Demanda le professeur McGonagall alors qu'il mangeait avec son ami Hermione.,"Est-ce que ça concerne le tournois ?" Demanda Harry, alors qu'ils étaient en route.,"Non, mais je vous préviens vous risquez d'avoir un choc." Répondit McGonagall.,"Bonjours." Dit poliment Harry. Alors que deux splendides jeunes femmes se trouvaient dans le bureau du directeur. "Vous m'avez fait demander monsieur.","Oui, entre Harry, et assis-toi." Dit Dumbledore en faisant apparaitre un siège pour Harry. "Un bonbon au citron ?" Proposa-t-il. Mais Harry refusa poliment.,"Harry… ce que je m'apprête à te dire risque de te faire un choc." Reprit Dumbledore.,"Quelqu'un ma encore inscrit dans un tournoi mortel sans mon consentement ?" Demanda Harry.,"Qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire de tournoi mortel ?" Demanda la femme aux cheveux cendrés, presque argentés.,"Je vous le raconterais plus tard." Répondit Dumbledore. "Harry laisse moi te présenter mademoiselle Céréza.","Tu peux aussi m'appeler Bayonetta." Dit la femme aux cheveux bruns.,"Enchanté." Répondit Harry.,"Et son amie, Jeanne…","Enchanté." Répéta Harry,"…Ta grand-mère." Reprit Dumbledore.,"Qu-quoi ?" Dit Harry incrédule.,"Ce n'est pas tout à fait exacte." Dit Jeanne. "En fait je suis ton arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, arrière, grand-mère, du côté de ta mère.","Hein ? Mais c'est impossible, vous êtes jeune." Répliqua Harry.,"Merci du compliment." Répliqua Jeanne. "Mais les sorcières d'Umbra comme Céréza et moi, ont une longue longévité.","Mais je croyais que ma mère était née dans une famille de moldus ?","En effet. Les sorcières d'Umbra n'entre pas dans la même catégorie que les sorciers de Poudlard, si nous donnons naissance à une fille, elle aura les pouvoirs d'une sorcière d'Umbra. Si c'est un garçon il naîtra sans pouvoir, et j'ai eu un fils. Mais je te raconterais ça en détail plus tard. Il se trouve que je suis passé chez Pétunia.",Harry grimaça à la mention de sa tante.,"Oui, je n'ai pas été très bien accueillit." Dit Jeanne avec un petit rire sans joie. "Mais il se trouve que Dumbledore m'a mit au courant de la barrière de sang qui te protège. Il se trouve que je remplis les condition pour maintenir la barrière, et je voudrais savoir si tu voudrait vivre chez m…","OUI !" Hurla Harry. Avant de plaquer ses mains sur sa bouche en remarquant son impolitesse.,"Ça c'était un cri du cœur." Éclata de rire Céréza.,"Dans ce cas tu es bienvenu chez moi, aux États-Unis." Dit Jeanne. Elle se leva pour faire la bise à son descendant. "Je reste dans le coin le temps de faire plus ampl…" Elle arrêta brusquement son mouvement et fronça les sourcils. "Céréza, viens voir.",La susnommé s'approcha et fronça des sourcils à son tour. "Je vais chercher Rodin." Dit-elle, avant de s'éloigner. Elle pivota sur elle-même faisant apparaitre en même temps que son pied glissait sur le sol, un cercle remplit d'un liquide semblable à du sang, et elle s'enfonça dedans comme si c'était un ascenseur.,"Harry, mon cœur. Qui t'a fait cette cicatrice au front ?" Demanda Jeanne.,Les yeux d'Harry devinrent ronds de surprise. "Vous êtes sérieuse ?","Harry, apparemment les sorcières d'Umbra n'ont rien à voir avec nos sorcières." Expliqua Dumbledore. "Il est donc normale qu'elle ne sache pas à propos de ta célébrité. Jeanne, Harry est connue dans notre monde comme 'le-garçon-qui-à-survécu'. Il se trouve que l'homme qui a assassiné les parents d'Harry, et qui était le sorcier maléfique le plus puissant de notre époque, a aussi essayé de le tuer. Mais le sort de mort, sort impossible à contrer, a, on ne sait comment, rebondit sur Harry lui laissant cette cicatrice tout aussi célèbre que lui-même, et tuer le sorcier maléfique.","Mais la mort ne l'empêche pas de revenir une fois par ans pour encore essayer de me tuer." Répliqua Harry. "Il y a trois ans, il a prit possession d'un de mes professeurs, qui a essayé de me tuer. Il y a deux ans, son souvenir de ses 16 ans a essayé de me tuer en lançant un serpent géant sur moi. L'année dernière il m'a laissé tranquille, mais j'ai du lutter contre les Détraqueurs qui en voulez à mon âme. Et cette année quelqu'un a mit mon nom dans la coupe de feu, m'obligeant à participer à un tournois mortel sous peine de mourir, si je me désiste.",Jeanne n'eut pas le temps de dire quelque chose que Bayonetta revenait avec Rodin.,Harry vit l'homme à la peau noir s'approcher, et se pencher vers lui. Harry ne pouvait pas voir les yeux de l'homme, qui étaient cachés par de large lunette de soleil. Mais il pouvait voir qu'une lueur rougeâtre s'en émanait. L'homme fixait intensément la cicatrice d'Harry, mais pas comme Harry avait l'habitude qu'on fixe sa cicatrice. L'homme se penchait un peu à droite à gauche tout en tirant des bouffé de son cigare, comme s'il examinait une machine en panne, et essayait de trouver d'où provenait la défaillance.,"Alors Rodin ?" Demanda Bayonetta.,Rodin se releva et tira une longue bouffé de son cigare.,"Je confirme, il a une âme parasite." Dit Rodin. "En fait je dirais plutôt que c'est un fragment d'âme.",Dumbledore poussa un profond soupire. "C'est ce que je craignais.","Vous savez ce que c'est ?" Demanda Jeanne.,"Je le soupçonnais. Après qu'Harry m'ait apporté le journal de Tom Jedusor, qui se fait maintenant appeler Voldemort. C'est de lui dont je vous ai parlé tout à l'heure. Harry, ce que tu as détruit ce n'était pas un souvenir, mais un horcruxes. Un fragment d'âme arraché de son hôte pour le mettre dans un objet afin de devenir en quelque sorte immortel.",Rodin siffla d'admiration alors qu'il s'était assis et avait maintenant les pieds sur le bureau de Dumbledore. "Les âmes, c'est du costaux gamin, et je m'y connais. Comment tu as fait pour la détruire ?","J'ai utilisé le crochet que le Basilic m'avait laissé dans le bras en mourant." Répondit Harry.,Rodin se leva brusquement. "Tu ne parles pas du Roi des serpents j'espère ?","Si.","À quel âge tu l'as affronté ?","12 ans.","Tu avais quel arme ?","Cette épée." Dit Harry en pointant l'épée de Gryffondor dans une vitrine.,"T'as des couilles, gamin. Et tu dis qu'il t'as mordue ?","Oui.","Et tu es toujours vivant ?","Oui, grâce aux larmes de phénix de Fumseck.",En entendant son nom, Fumseck lança un trémolo joyeux.,"Rodin, tu nous expliques ?" Demanda Jeanne.,"C'est comme si tu avais affronté Gomorrah sans invocation, avec pour seul arme un couteau à beurre, et que le moindre regard dans ses yeux te tuerais sur le coup." Expliqua Rodin. "Mais revenons à l'âme parasite." Dit-il en recommençant à tourner autour d'Harry.,"En effet." Reprit Dumbledore. "Je soupçonne Tom d'avoir créé plusieurs horcruxes et que celui dans la cicatrice d'Harry a été créé par accident, quand il a été détruit. Le problème, c'est qu'on ne peut détruire l'âme d'un horcruxe sans le détruire, et tant que tous les horcruxes ne sont pas détruit, la personne reste immortel.",Harry pâli à cette nouvelle et à ce que cela impliquait.,"C'est fait." Déclara Rodin.,"Je vous demande pardon, monsieur, mais qu'est-ce qui est fait ?" Demanda Dumbledore.,"J'ai retiré l'âme parasite du gamin." Dit Rodin en présentant une flamme noire avec de léger reflet rouge, qu'il mettait maintenant dans une sorte de gourde métallique. "Au passage, tu as une très jolie âme gamin.","Euh… Merci." Répondit Harry qui ne savait pas comment prendre le compliment.,"C-comment ?" Balbutia Dumbledore.,"Ça fait parti de mon métier." Répondit Rodin. "Et vous ne voulez pas en savoir plus." Dit-il en lançant un regard appuyé. "Je garde ça avec moi. Je vais essayer de bricoler un truc pour localiser les autres." Expliqua-t-il en montrant la gourde renferment le fragment d'âme, et en disparaissant dans le cercle sanglant.,"Maintenant." Dit Jeanne. "Si vous me parliez du tournoi mortel dans lequel mon petit fils a été inscrit contre son grès.", Pensa Harry, alors qu'il voyait Voldemort revenir à la vie.,Le tournoi, dans l'ensemble, c'était bien passé grâce à l'entrainement de Jeanne et Céréza, qui étaient maintenant ses deux mamans, même si ces dernières n'étaient pas en couple. Il avait vaincu le magyar à pointes en invoquant Gomorrah qui avait mangé le dragon. Harry ayant passé un pacte avec madame Butterfly, Harry pouvait invoquer les démons, et en plus, son âme ne risquait rien, car il avait utilisé les fragments d'âme de Voldemort comme monnaie d'échange. Et vue qu'un fragment d'âme est aussi puissant qu'une âme seule, il avait eu droit à beaucoup de connaissance et de puissance en prime. Rodin avait bien réussi à localisé les fragments mais il restait encore un fragment d'âme, en plus de Voldemort, qu'il n'avait pas réussi à localisé, il savait juste qu'il existait. Rodin avait donc enchanté les lunettes d'Harry, pour qu'il puisse le trouver s'il était près de lui, et actuellement il était à ses pieds, sous la forme d'un serpent.,La deuxième épreuve s'était aussi bien déroulé, et Harry avait crée un malstrom pour allez chercher tous les otages au fond de l'eau, dont le sien, Ron, avec qu'il s'était réconcilié. À la base l'otage d'Harry aurait du être Jeanne, mais elle aurait tué toutes les sirènes avant même que l'épreuve ne commence.,C'est à partir de la troisième épreuve que tout a tourné à la catastrophe.,Harry était arrivé au centre du labyrinthe en même temps que Cédric. Ils avaient attrapé le trophée ensemble, mais ce dernier était un portoloin qui les avaient amené dans un cimetière, où Queudver les attendait. Ce dernier tenta de tuer Cédric, mais Harry, ayant de meilleur réflexe qu'avant son pacte, réussi à pousser Cédric de la trajectoire du sort de mort, mais ce dernier était tombé sur le trophée, l'emmenant en lieu sûr, et fermant par la même occasion la seul porte de sorti d'Harry, qui surprit par la disparition de Cédric, ne vit pas le sort assommant partant dans sa direction. Queudver lui préleva alors du sang, alors qu'Harry était inconscient, et ressuscita Voldemort.,Voldemort fit alors un long monologue à ses partisans, qui étaient revenue la queue entre les jambes, sur comment il avait vécu ces dernière année et le fait qu'il ne pouvait pas toucher Harry, et que maintenant que son sang coulait dans ses veines, il ne risquait plus rien.,Harry voulez bien en finir avec lui, mais étant maintenue par une statue, il ne pouvait pas agir sans risquer qu'un mangemort prenne la fuite, et surtout que le dernier horcruxe se fasse la malle.,C'est alors que Voldemort annonça qu'il allait affronter Harry en duel. Grave erreur.,Harry était à peine libérer qu'il sorti un des vieux pistolets rouge et or avec un joyau blanc de maman Céréza, 'Thyme', sur lequel il y avait l'inscription 'toujours courageux', et il tira une balle, fait en crochet de basilic par Rodin, dans la tête du serpent horcruxe. Il pivota sur lui-même, traçant un cercle avec son pied afin de dresser un bouclier, le protégeant même des Avada de Voldemort, et Harry commença la danse d'invocation de Phantasmaraneae.,Plusieurs araignées gigantesque apparurent et firent un festin avec les mangemorts, tout en ligotant Voldemort.,"Comment tu-" Commença Voldemort, juste avant que de nouveau fils d'araignée n'apparaissent et le bâillonne.,"C'est fini Tom." Dit gravement Harry. "Ton serpent était le dernier horcruxe qui te restait.",À cette déclaration les yeux de Voldemort s'écarquillèrent.,"Adieu Tom." Dit Harry avant de lui tirer une balle en pleine tête.,Harry s'éloigna un peu du corps de son vieil ennemi, puis traça un portail de transport. N'ayant jamais fait de portail vers Poudlard, il le fit vers le seul lieu qu'il connaissait bien, et emmena le corps de Tom avec lui.,"Salut oncle Rodin." Dit Harry en arrivant au 'portes de l'enfer' le bar de Rodin, qui servait aussi de couverture pour sa fabrique d'armes.,"Gamin ? Qu'est-ce que tu fais là, je te croyais en pleine compétition ?","C'était le cas mais il y a eu des complications." Répondit Harry en montrant le corps de Voldemort. "Tu peux m'ouvrir un portail pour Poudlard s'il te plaît, je ne sais pas encore le faire pour là bas.","Sure, gamin. Mais tu devras me raconter l'affrontement." Répondit Rodin en créant un portail.,"Le professeur Dumbledore a un artefact pouvant revivre les souvenir comme si c'était les tiens. Tu n'as qu'à venir, il va sûrement vouloir 'voir' ce qui c'est passé.","Avec plaisir. Passe devant, je te rejoins après avoir fait la fermeture.","Ok, à plus." Dit Harry en s'enfonçant dans le nouveau portail avec son fardeau.,À Poudlard, c'était la panique.,Cédric avait raconté comment Harry venait de lui sauver la vie, et que le trophée était un Portoloin.,Dumbledore rassembla ses troupes afin d'essayer de localiser Harry et venir à son secours, quand une araignée géante recouvert de cranes humains apparut et dévora l'ancien auror, Alastor Maugrey. L'araignée avait ensuite foncé sur Rogue, mais s'était arrêtée, avant de disparaitre, laissant le professeur par terre dans sa propre urine, car sous l'effet de la peur, sa vessie décida de ne plus remplir sa fonction, et ouvrit les vannes.,Dumbledore du calmer le publique, et un disque couleur sang apparue, d'où sorti Harry.,"HARRY." Cria le professeur avant de se précipité vers lui. "Tu va bien, tu n'es pas blessé ?","Juste une coupure au bras." Dit calmement Harry. "Voldemort a voulut utiliser mon sang pour ressusciter. Il n'en a pas profité longtemps." Dit-il en dégageant le corps sans vie du mage noir de son cocon de soie.,"Harry mon chérie. C'est toi qui as invoqué Phantasmaraneae ?" Demanda Jeanne en se rapprochant.,"Oui maman, je lui ai demandé de s'occuper des mangemorts." Expliqua Harry. "Vus qu'il y en avait beaucoup au cimetière, il a put enregistrer leur signature magique et traquer ceux qui n'ont pas put venir. Pourquoi ?","Il a attaqué deux de tes professeur et en a tuer un." Expliqua Céréza.,"Alors c'est que c'était des mangemorts." Répliqua Harry.,"Impossible." Dit Dumbledore. "Jamais Alastor n'aurait…",Il se tourna alors vers Rogue. "Severus, vous m'aviez bien dit que des ingrédients nécessaire à la préparation de polynectar avait était volés ?","Toujours vivant ?" Dit Harry en voyant son professeur de potion. "Dommage.","Oui je suis toujours vivant, Potter. Cette araignée a arrêté son attaque et a disparut juste après. Et oui monsieur le directeur. À tous les coups sa fiole contenait le polynectar. Le vrai Alastor ne doit pas être loin, vu que le faux avait besoin de ses cheveux pour la potion.","Harry sache que Severus était mon espion et n'est plus un mangemort depuis des années." Dit Dumbledore.,"Ça explique qu'il soit toujours vivant." Dit Harry en baillant. Il pointa sa baguette sur sa tempe et sorti de sa tête un filament argenté qu'il mit dans une fiole. "Voici le souvenir de ce qui c'est passé. Sur ce, je vous laisse, j'ai sommeil."

At last. It was all over. The light side had won the battle of Hogwarts.,Harry sighed as his eyes opened on the 3rd of May. He pulled himself out of the four poster bed in the seventh year Gryffindor dorm.,"Morning mate" Harry looked over at the other bed as he pulled on his glasses,"Hey, tough day yesterday wasn't it?" Harry gave the red head a wan smile as he pulled himself out of bed,"You idiot. If you ever do that to us again I'll kill you myself" Ron hugged him,"Are we interrupting something?" a girl's voice asked,Harry looked up to see Hermione and Ginny standing in the doorway,"Hey" he smiled at Ginny as she came over and pressed a gentle kiss to his pale lips "sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you yesterday, I was a little busy" he smirked, making light of it, that was until his head snapped to the right sharply,"OW!" he yelped, clapping a hand to his abused cheek,"Don't you EVER do that to me again Harry James Potter" Ginny's brown eyes filled with tears as she hugged him tightly,"I'm sorry" he whispered "I am so sorry","Come on, we should go and have breakfast" Hermione patted Ginny on the shoulder and gave Harry a half hearted punch to the chest,"Ow" Harry mumbled softly, Hermione rolled her eyes.,)O(,The four of them wandered into the Great Hall ten minutes later to applause and cheers. Mrs. Weasley came dashing over and grabbed Harry, pulling into one of her trademark suffocating hugs.,"Morning Mrs. Weasley" Harry gasped,"I think after all this time and given that you're an adult now, I'll let you call me Molly" she smiled and kissed his cheek, which was still red form Ginny's earlier mistreatment,"Ok then, Molly" he hugged her back, his chin resting on top of her red hair which was now liberally streaked with gray.,"Let's get some food in you, when did you last eat?" she tugged him along by the hand towards the table,"Generally or food that was actually edible?" he joked, taking a pop at Hermione's non-existent cooking skill,"You know what I mean" the older woman ruffled his hair,"I can't remember" he shrugged,"That's it then" she tightened her grip and near enough dragged him to the table.,"After all this time, you still insist on forcing triple portions down my throat" he laughed as she loaded up a plate for him.,)O(,Three months had passed. Three months since the battle but still Harry couldn't get used to the newfound peace the post-Voldemort world offered.,"Harry? Are you alright dear?" a voice broke through the emerald eyed boy's stupor,"Hmm? What?" Harry jerked back into alertness as Mr. Weasley laid a hand on his shoulder, his wife behind him, looking concerned,"Oh? Yes, I'm fine, just dozing off is all" he smiled,"Harry" Mrs. Weasley sat down in front of him and took his hand kindly "Arthur and I have been talking" she began, Harry thought, ,"And we think you should maybe talk to someone" she went on,"Molly, I'm fine" his throat caught where he was still unused to referring to them as Molly and Arthur,"You need something to take your mind off of the- the war" Molly's breath caught as she tried to talk about it,"I've been thinking I need to do something that takes me away from all the painful memories actually" Harry said, for the first time voicing the idea that had been floating around in his mind for the last month,"Like what? I'm sure it would be good for you" Molly smiled,"Leaving. Not permanently, I'd still visit; got to keep an eye on Ginny and I'd need to visit Teddy so.." he tailed off,"Where would you go?" Arthur asked,"I was thinking of leaving the country, America maybe? I wouldn't have to worry about the language then" he took a deep breath,"As long as you promise to visit us once a month at the very least" Molly looked at him,"I will, I promise. I'll visit Hermione, Luna and Andromeda and Teddy once a month too, always on the weekend obviously. I'll write to all of you once a week too, so you know I'm ok" he assured them,"Where in America will you go?" Molly asked,"I like Seattle, in Washington. It seems like a decent place, rains a lot too, like here in England" he smiled,"When will you leave?","Soon, I actually already have everything arranged, I was just trying to figure out how to tell everyone" he looked at his feet guiltily,"Well, make sure to write, or floo call and visit ok?" Arthur ruffled his hair,"I will, I promise" Harry smiled and hugged them,)O(,A week later, Harry stood in departures at Heathrow airport, saying goodbye to the Weasleys, Hermione, Luna and Andromeda and Teddy.,"Bye Teddy, take care of grandma ok?" he whispered to the blue haired baby as he hugged the older woman,"You be careful Harry" Andromeda kissed his cheek,"I will Andy, don't worry" he smiled at her,"Here, for you" Luna said he pulled away from Andy,"What is it?" he raised an eyebrow at the small box, opening it, he saw a small silver chain with two circular pendants,"Saint Christopher and Saint Louise, patrons of travellers and orphans respectively" Luna smiled "I thought you'd like it","Thanks Luna" he pulled the chain from the box and put it around his neck,"Be safe" the blonde pinched his cheek lightly,"Stay out of trouble Potter" Hermione told him,"Hermione, I'm a wizard, not a miracle worker" he shook his head, just then, his flight was called. He gave one last round of hugs and waved goodbye as he pulled his suitcase away.,)O(,Harry sat on the plane, looking out of the window as they took off. Harry wasn't sure what he was going to, but it was better than what he was leaving behind.,Author's Notes.,I'm gonna have to tweak the White Collar timeline to fit with the Harry Potter one for this story, so instead of 2009, season 1 was in 1997 so that this story takes place in season 5 (the as yet unwritten season).,Not much mention of White Collar in this chapter, chapter two will have the first mention of a W.C. character so keep your eyes peeled folks.

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Peace (of the Interlude During War),"I don't know whether war is an interlude during peace, or peace an interlude during war." - Georges Clemenceau,St. Sebastian's orphanage was an old building that may have once been grand but had since fallen into disrepair. One of the front windows was boarded up after someone had thrown a rock through it; the patterning on the brick walls was obscured by grime; the white lintels were a dingy gray; and the surrounding neighborhood, which had once been at least law-abiding, was a mix of derelict buildings and estate housing. In short, it was the last place one would expect Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of Number Four, Privet Drive, to visit willingly, much less in the dead of night and with an infant in their car.,Petunia thought as she watched Vernon approach the orphanage. They had claimed to be taking a long and long-deserved date night, and while dinner without Dudley had been nice, their real objective was in the seat to Petunia's left, where young Harry Potter lay tightly wrapped in blankets. A little bit of Benadryl in his afternoon bottle had put her nephew ,that ,fast asleep, and he would stay that way until the Dursleys were long gone; they hadn't risked losing their one and only attempt to be rid of her sister's son on something as small as the child waking up.,After checking to make sure that no one was watching, Petunia quickly set the bundle on the orphanage doorstep and just as quickly rushed back to the car. Vernon accelerated as soon as her door closed, and they were out of the neighborhood within five minutes.,On the doorstep, Harry continued to sleep even as chill seeped through his (enchanted with warming charms) blankets. Even as his lips started to take on a bluish tinge after four hours, he did not wake; sleeping charms were another thing Dorcas Meadowes, enchanter extraordinaire, added to the blankets she and Marlene gifted Lily. He would sleep until Mrs. McReedy checked the porch at five-thirty the next morning and noticed that someone had left a baby there overnight. She would shake her head and take him in to warm up; at least whoever dropped off Otto had had the decency to knock, and they hadn't come at the beginning of November.,...,Dark had long since fallen when Andromeda heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it," she said, grabbing her wand from the table. Ted's magic was much more defensive than hers; if it was a Death Eater attack, he would be better used to get Nymphadora and get out than to face them head on. As she walked down the front hall, Andromeda wondered who it could be; Nymphadora had been suspiciously well-behaved recently, so it couldn't be a neighbor complaining about her behavior, and no one magical knew about the house's location except…,Mary Mitchell, eyes red from crying, was standing on her doorstep. Andromeda quickly ushered her in. "It's Mary," she called to Ted before turning to Mary. "What happened? Is Andrew alright?" Mary nodded.,"He's fine. He went to talk to his relatives, and since they don't know we're married…" Mary trailed off. "Laura's sleeping though the night now, and I had to get out of the apartment. Lily's dead," she said. "They're saying Voldemort is, too, but there were only two shrouds when I checked. Harry's safe… somewhere… probably, but James and Lily are dead. They're saying Sirius betrayed them." Mary shrugged off her coat and started to pace.,"He wouldn't," Andromeda said.,"Are you sure?" Mary asked. "I mean, it's subtler than he normally is, but remember the werewolf incident?" Andromeda nodded; it had been after her time (after Mary's, for that matter), but word traveled fast in the wizarding world. "He can be downright nasty when he wants to be.","Not Death Eater nasty." Sirius could be crazy sometimes, sure - it was in the Black blood - but he wasn't the type to set houses on fire with families still inside or to ,children into catatonia. Andromeda was sure of it. "He refused admission when he was sixteen and nearly died over it.","I know, Lily called me to help when he got to James' place, but…" Mary shrugged. "He wouldn't be the first pureblood I trusted to betray me. I've spent the last seven years at ,Andy, and I'm not sure I trust anyone anymore, even people on our side. Especially people on our side.","We'll find out the truth soon enough." Andromeda sighed; the fight was supposedly over, but the war was not over yet. "They'll probably want to do the trial as soon as possible to maximize feeling against Death Eaters." Mary sat down at the kitchen table with her and Ted.,"What are we going to do now?" Mary asked. "Half the wizarding world had been trying to kill the other half for decades. Where can we go from here?","We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's just hope we've really reached the end of the fighting." ,Andromeda thought but didn't say. Mary nodded. "I'm thinking about going back to act as legal counsel; the wizarding system isn't too different from the muggle one, and it's what I was raised under.","I'm staying out of it," Ted said. "Andy can do what she wants, and I'm willing to have a Floo connection again, but I like my job, and no one's going to kill me over it.","I'm too scared to even consider a Floo," Mary said. "Macmillan is thinking of expanding his business to potions, and he wants me as a researcher. Not that he knows it's me yet - he got some of my potions from Macavoy - but he was in our year; I'm sure he suspects. It'll be nice to create things while not under dire circumstances for a change.","I can toast to that." Ted flicked his wand, and three glasses flew in from the kitchen. "To calmer circumstances.","To new beginnings," Mary said.,"To the Boy who Lived," Andromeda said.,"And to the Parents who Died," Mary said. "May they know peace in death, for they knew only war in life.","To their memories," Andromeda began the traditional wizard's funeral toast.,"To their succesors," Ted said, "and to the future.","To life!" The three drank and chatted; the future was uncertain, but at least there was a future for the first time in years.,...,Otto looked at the toddler suspiciously. Mrs. McReedy had left to "do errands", as she did every Monday afternoon, and she had left him alone with St. Sebastian's newest arrival. Harry, oblivious to Otto's displeasure at being made to look after him, giggled, looked at the pile of blocks Otto had dumped in front of him so he could read ,in peace, and -,A few minutes later, Otto woke up on the floor with a screaming migraine and with a very startled Harry looking at him. He tried to sit up and regretted it as the room started to spin rapidly around him. A room whose walls had definitely been a dingy gray a minute ago but were now bright green.,That might be useful in the future. He'd see what else Harry could do… once the headache receded; he would think up a plan when it stopped hurting to ,.

H. E. Vaughn , ,Prologue,I gazed around the beautiful garden and lawn around me. I am Alice "Fang" Lillian Potter and am a 16 yr old Hogwarts student in Gryffindor. Or at least I was. I turned tail and ran when my friends and brother needed me the most. With a war going on and Voldemort rising quickly in power I needed to be with the others training to fight for my life and the lives of others not laying around in some muggle yard. I get that Harry and Dumbledore want me to be safe from the Death Eaters and Voldemort especially with him wanting me at his side but I don't see how putting me with a muggle family who just lost their mother is possibly a good idea. But what ever. The eldest daughter Lorina decided that my weird dream about rules and a game meant that I wanted to play cards so she went into the house to find some. She told me not to fall asleep again but i can't help it. It's just so nice out which is rare here in rainy London. I doubt that that's what my dream meant though. It was probably a strange cryptic message from whatever is left of Voldemort's mind. But what did he mean by a game and rules? I'll have to owl Harry or Hermione later. And speaking of games where is Lorina? What if she's been founds by the Death Eaters and they're just waiting for me to run in and save her that poor muggle! Or what if she's secretly one of them and has just been playing the part of a muggle?! Whoa slow down Alice you're sounding paranoid. She probably just misplaced them and is looking for them... ya that's it. I looked back at the elegant muggle manor. I can't fall asleep again! She could be back anytime but I'm just so comfortable. Maybe I can just have a quick nap just for a few minutes. Ya that's what I'll do. ith those thoughts I fell asleep again not knowing what strange events would be happening soon enough when I woke up.

Dumbledore sighed as he sat in his office. He had fought in two wars - he was tired, exhausted, and could see another war on the horizon. Comparing the two wars...,The Grindelwald war had gone better. Of course, there had been more casualties... but the Voldemort war had been confined to Britain, and the Voldemort war had a higher ,of casualties.,Why? Because the 'Light' troops hadn't been troops at all - they weren't soldiers, they weren't able to kill, able to fight. They could duel, at most. And this was wrong. While you are shouting "Expelliarmus", your opponent is shouting "Avada Kedavra" and that spell need only hit your toe for you to die.,And when Voldemort came back, Dumbledore did ,want a repeat of that situation. Of course, only young Harry Potter could kill Voldemort... but destroying the Death Eaters was half the battle.,In the Grindelwald war, they had soldiers. In the Voldemort war, they didn't. The difference was clear: the Voldemort War was only won by a fluke, and that would ,happen again.,This meant they needed soldiers.,This meant that Hogwarts would close - in honor of the war, of course, not to make any renovations changes or anything of the sort at all - and re-open next year, with everyone re-starting the year they had began. Furthermore... why not add another year? eight years, so children left at eighteen... hhm... the idea certainly had merits.,Meanwhile... First thing first: This had started because of the fear and hatred of Muggles. Which meant the hatred had to be eliminated. For a moment, Dumbledore was absolutely stumped, but then he remembered the number one rule of everything in life: Use Your Resources.,He was a genius, he had two ,long-lived genius friends (the Flamels) and he had Lily's old journals. Furthermore, he had time... and access to time-turners. Lily had begun the project long ago: Combining science and magic. So far, her drafts, ideas and chapters of already done work were shaping up into something of the sort:,Herbology and Botany were explained together in four textbooks - parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.,Biology and Healing together took 5 books, with an entire textbook explaining DNA, the consequences of in breading, and why the pureblood theory didn't work. It was all quite simple: Magic had both a dominant and a recessive gene; and both were mutations. It was impossible to become too powerful, and because it was, in essence, a mutation (like red hair), your child could have any level of power without it depending on the parents too much. Of course, there was a correlation, but that was all - correlation, not causation.,Potions and Chemistry took 5 textbooks, including chemical engineering and organic chemistry and a ,bit on how potions affected people dosage wise. Really, it was a lot simpler to explain using muggle science - all of this was two sides of the same coin - just as it was hard to explain science without magic, it was hard to explain magic without science.,Alchemy and Geology had three textbooks... which wasn't nearly enough to scratch the surface of Alchemy. However, now this could be offered as an elective at Hogwarts Battle School.,Astronomy & Astrology were quick and easy, explaining telescopes and Copernicus' Heliocentric Theory within two chapters. It took three textbooks.,Psychology, Occlumency, and Legilimency took two textbooks, because Lily got far too interested in Aspergers and Autism and Down Syndrome... something that simply wasn't covered in magical studies.,, together with , took five text books. With James' help.,No one understood Physics, but then again, no one understood Transfiguration either, and Charms was basically math. (With some equations... so maybe there was some physics in charms)., was wonderful, explaining Cause and Effect and Discrimination and Racism and Propaganda, things that weren't explained, and for Lily's genius in comparing Voldemort to both Mussolini and Hitler was beyond anything that he had every seen. The Lord Voldemort... compared to muggles? At any rate, Dumbledore added a chapter explaining that Tom Marvolo Riddle was Lord Voldemort, and how Lily died for Harry, saving his life. And it took three books.,He needed to discredit Voldemort as soon as possible.,Arithmency and Maths was split into 5 text books, including something rather wondrous called "Calculus". Really, the ingenuity of Muggles...! At any rate, Lily swore that this had to be a necessary subject, like the Biology/Healing, and in her honor, Dumbledore agreed. Because the Arithmency helped with every wand subject, and because Biology/Healing proved the pureblood theory was balderdash.,With a smile, Dumbledore collected the drafts, hid them in his bag, and went to the ministry to explain his decision to close Hogwarts for a year... and to request a time turner. Of course, the request was quickly accepted, because how many titles did he have? Too many.,With Nicholas Flamel... how to get him to agree? Perhaps as a joke. Yes, that was it! Nicholas had been involved with the world, but now... well, after WWII, seeing the French lack of moral and the taking of Paris all within six weeks... his old friend was a bitter man now. But telling him that they'll publish some books to shock everyone at the scandal - writing about MUGGLE SCIENCE! GASP! - and it being accurate to boot would be the greatest prank.,Especially since this would be the new textbooks for his school. Albus Dumblodore stood for truth, and this was what it was. Truth.,...,It took a WEEK to convince Flamel, spending hours with him (hours regained with the Time-Turner), but eventually, the man agreed - especially after seeing that most of the work was jump-started. Actually, it was probably the condition that these textbooks would be published in the muggle world as well... effectively breaking the Statue of Secrecy, and, due to the History books, giving away some of the Wizarding World's best-kept secrets (i.e., the location of Platform 9 3/4, the location of Diagon Alley, quite a lot... then again, perhaps it was time people knew the truth. After all, witch burnings were illegal in the muggle world.),At any rate, after being put in touch with a lot of other geniuses interested in research, the Flamels - Nicholas and Perenelle - got to work with writing textbooks and enjoying themselves.,Step one, complete. The textbooks - all of them - (how many people did the Flamels hire to help?) - would be published by Christmas. In both worlds. And the Dursleys would be receiving a complete set of every textbook for free from him, as well as a visit... because if Harry was to defeat Voldemort, then Harry was to be the General - and he needed training early. Best to see how the Dursleys treated him.,Step two: the castle had to be safer. And also, have more teachers... because most of them were old, too old to deal with Teenager Shenanigans. And he would be busy, he needed people helping his people.,Which meant that:,a) Minerva would be a sort of 'guidance councelor' for the first two years. That was what 'Head of Gryffindor' entailed, and she was, surprisingly enough, a good listener, able to help the younger years.,b) Remus Lupin would be Transfiguration & Physics Teacher, with... Hhm... Andromeda Black-Tonks and Mary MacDonald, who had been a dear friend of Lily's.,c) Fillius Flitwick would have Emmaline Vance as another Charms & Physics Professor. The man was brilliant with children, but Emmaline could make even a hormonal teenager listen. She would take the upper years, leaving Flitwick to concentrate more on his other job as the guidance counselor of years 3 and 4. He had been head of Ravenclaw House, and he dealt well with teenagers.,d) Pomona Sprout and Marlene McKinnon had always worked well together, so another Herbology/Botany professor had been added. This would also clear up time for Sprout to spend more time as guidance counselor for years 5 and 6.,e) Two young Healers - John and Sarah Abbot - had just given birth to a girl named Hannah. They could no longer work the long hours of St. Mungos, but Hogwarts was certainly within their reach. The baby would be a year old next year, and she could be left with grandparents during the day - her parents could floo home every night and come back in the morning to teach Biology and Healing. John would probably be better for the upper years... he was more stern.,f) Severus Snape could NOT be allowed to teach. The students would hate Potions, and that was unacceptable. Potions could change the outcome of a battle - Polyjuice, or Felix Felices, or Veritiseum (to gain information). Horace Slughorn, despite his tendency to 'collect' students, was good at teaching. With Perenelle Flamel helping him... yes, that would certainly work.,g) Especially if Nicholas Flamel would teach Alchemy and Geology. As it was only a three-year elective (having only three textbooks), he could also be guidance counselor for the last two years - 7 and 8.,h) Severus, meanwhile, would be Deputy Headmaster- a bit of paperwork, and lots of time to experiment and create new potions.,i) Astronomy & Astrology... it ,only three textbooks, it could be offered as an elective and given to Sinistra, who would share the position of Guidance Counselor of the oldest years with Nicholas Flamel.,j) Psychology, Occlumency, and Legilimency... well... If he honestly wanted people to learn Occlumency and not just the theory... then the best way was to have a mandatory martial arts class. Thrice a week. The concentration, the building of stamina... that would help greatly. And then the students could turn in chapter summaries of the book - once they understood that people could , and that, after a few months, they effectively had the perfect ground base to build shields, the children would hopefully take initiative. Kempo Karate sounded wonderful.,k), took three books. It would be necessary. He'd bribe - that is, convince - an old Canadian friend of his to teach the subject.,l) Arithmency and Maths was taught by Septima Vector... who was actually quite young, he was pretty sure she didn't need an assistant teacher - then again, why not? Edgar Bones, like John and Sarah Abbot, had a daughter named Susan. The poor mother was killed by Death Eaters - it was pure luck that Edgar and Susan survived, both if them being in Hogsmede at the time. Susan would be a year old when school starts; surely her aunt Amelia Bones would help care for the little girl when her father was teaching.,Dumbledore quickly wrote each person mentioned a letter, explaining why he was writing (the offering of a job/ the changing of an old one) and asked them to meet on Sunday to discuss this. If they were agreeable, they were to meet with the Flamels... who were working very hard on the new text books (which would be free to any student, so hard to do families could pay for good wands). The teachers could help the Flamels work on the textbooks if they so wish.,Now... as for protection. First thing first: suggestions from old friends, fixing up wards, and such. Hogwarts was a school, yes, but it was also a fortress. And, unlike Kind Theoden who depended on the reputation of Helm's Deep to protect the Rohirrim from harm, Hogwarts would have new, better protections.,Dear Lord, he had a lot to do. And with all these classes... He wasn't cancelling Divination or Care of Creatures or Muggle Studies after all... he would push for one more year at Hogwarts; let people come of age at eighteen. It would put them more 'in track' with the Muggle World, and students would have more time to study, to be ready. Once again, he was sure that this proposal would be accepted. With Voldemort just having been defeated, he had more power than ever... and would for the next five years or so. Furthermore, having an extra year to study NEWTS would just make most people - and parents - happier.,Dumbledore closed his eyes. He was so tired... and having written all this out wasn't making it easier.,He was going to sleep. He'd wake up tomorrow, see if people were agreeable to his suggestions, and then quickly start making Hogwarts a Battle school... not just a School, or the refugee camp/fortress it was before.

CHAPTER 1,Lily Evans, despite her origins, found herself almost entirely immersed in wizarding culture by the tender age of 18. And while she could function in the non-magical world, most likely, she definitely preferred to live fully in the wizarding one. And in that fashion, she desperately wanted, as did many of her classmates, to follow wizarding tradition and travel the world before continuing her education.,Several of her friends clamored to accompany her, but Lily refused. "I want to learn about ,," she explained. "And I can't do that with other people there. At least not as effectively.",Many more of course, called her a coward to not stay and fight, the war growing ever more dangerous and requiring more fighters every day. But she couldn't stay. She knew she probably should, but despite her love for wizarding Britain, she couldn't put fighting a war at 18 above her safety and the safety of her family. As a target, she'd put people at risk with just her presence. And she didn't have a deep enough personal tie to keep her there through that.,And so, directly after graduation, she left, much to the relief of her well-informed and worried parents. And she enjoyed herself immensely. By September, she found herself in Argentina.,And that's where this story really begins, though we'll skip over the dull early awkward romance stuff. To sum up, Lily Anne Evans watched Dr. Robert Bruce Banner treat a young injured child with care, then worked up the nerve to speak to him. He was a bit awkward and looked as though he might want to leave, but she convinced him to tell her about the country and some of the other places he'd been. She stayed with him for another few months and then left to finish up her world tour. Then a little over a year after their first meeting, they reunited passionately. And Lily got pregnant. Bruce panicked.,-o—,"Bruce, calm down, please," Lily said over Bruce's labored breathing. "Love, this isn't the end of the world.","You're 19!",She just looked at him, one eyebrow raised.,"Do you want to keep it?","Yes," she answered, "but I don't expect you to play a large part because I understand exactly why you might not want to. Bruce, shh, this is alright.",He gulped and nodded, the green tint of his clenched knuckles fading as his breathing slowed. She didn't know all of it, but she knew he wouldn't want to put a family in danger. After a few minutes of quiet, Lily continued. "Bruce," she touched his shoulder gently, "I'm okay with this, really. Nothing like what happened to you will happen to our child. We'll make sure of it, right? No radiation accidents, is all." She smiled softly and he nodded, looking concerned and trying not to wince at the flashback to his abuse-filled past. She kissed him. "I'll find a job and we'll make this work.",Bruce nodded again, looking a bit numb.,O,Lily settled in a nice wizarding community in Brazil and got a job in a shop while she worked on studying Charms to complete a mastery. Bruce flitted around, helping people where he could and remaining unobtrusive, visiting when he got the chance. After little Harry was born, he visited even more often, up to the point where when his son was two, he was living with them most of the time. And this was when he realized that the wizarding world was a wealth of information and he started reading all he could get his hands on, in between helping people.,Harry was babbling Portuguese and English interchangeably, which was adorable to Bruce and frustrating for Lily, as she still had trouble transitioning between the two languages.,It was when their son was three that Lily received an urgent message from Gringott's Bank and she left Harry with Bruce to go to England. Bruce had protested at first, but when faced with the fact that England was still in a huge bloody war against Voldemort, he decide that his alter self was the lesser of dangers for his child at the time. He was still scared spitless and the Hulk hovered just under the surface, a requiring a constant inner monologue to keep at bay.,When Lily returned, it was with another child, the same age as Harry, who had a fresh scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt, partially hidden beneath his blond hair. It was clear that she'd been crying and Bruce immediately rushed to comfort her.,When the children were asleep, she spoke to Bruce. "His name is Neville. His mother was my best friend, but she's… she's dead now, and his father suffered extreme spell damage and the healers don't expect a recovery and… I had to take him. Bruce, I had to.",He nodded and hugged her, providing physical comfort in the best way he could. It took Neville quite some time to adjust, but Harry was friendly and appreciated the new playmate and eventually, clumsy Neville found his niche amongst the community of children in the area.,There was an incident though—a big green incident-and when Bruce ran to the Middle East, Lily took the boys back to England, agreeing to meet later.,O,Lily's return to Britain was met with shock, mostly. A lot of the community resented her for leaving, but others understood and simply welcomed her back. When they saw that she had two boys, though, one of which was the wizarding world's savior, suspicion abounded.,"His name is Harry," she told Mrs. Fortescue while she sat in the ice cream parlor, watching the small group of children play in the street. "You know Neville, of course. Alice was Harry's godmother. He never had a godfather, but that's alright. At any rate, the boys love each other like brothers and it's working out fairly well.",Mrs. Fortescue smiled, but the smile faded as she asked what was obviously on her mind. "But Lily, dear, where's Harry's father?","Oh, he's in the Middle East somewhere. He travels a lot." Lily couldn't help but grin at the thought that Bruce might be able to come and find them soon, knowing that he could handle any danger. "Moves around for work.,Many more questioned Lily's lack of a husband, but her remaining friends supported her as she grew more and more worried at Bruce's lack of communication.,"He'll be back," Lily told Mary firmly. "No question about it. He probably just got held up somewhere.",Two months passed and Lily's boys had stopped asking when Bruce would join them, but Lily hadn't lost hope. She did send several owls to Remus though, asking if he would like to come and see Harry and Neville. It wasn't until the third letter that the man answered, but when Lily gleefully sent him their address and he arrived one day, Lily hugged her old friend enthusiastically.,"Remus, come in, come in! Come meet my sons!","Lily, you, you look very happy.","I am," she replied, smiling. "I wish Bruce would hurry up and get here, but believe me, I am happy.",Lily proceeded to tell Remus all about everything she'd done since Hogwarts. Harry loved him and Neville was nervous, but he was shy around new people in general, and he warmed up to him quickly enough.,It was the next day when Bruce finally arrived, the letter with the address and directions clutched in his hand. He was shirtless, the pants he was wearing were two sizes too big and ripped, and the bag he carried over one shoulder was covered in mud.,When the door was opened by a sleepy Remus instead of his girlfriend, his jaw tensed. "Is… is Lily here?",The werewolf reached for his wand and nodded. "Yes, who are you?",Bruce's eyes may have gone a bit green. "Bruce.",Remus' eyes widened and he took a quick step back. "Oh! Lily!" he called, only slightly regretting the yell when he heard the sound of one of the kids waking up and falling to the ground with a yelp.,When Lily came down the stairs, followed by two young boys, she caught sight of Bruce and stopped short, breathing out his name with something akin to disbelief.,He smiled, looking a bit guilty at the dripping mud.,She bit her lip and ran forward, immediately tucking her face into his shoulder. "Bruce, thank Merlin you're home. Are you alright? Are you hungry?" She looked up at his face anxiously.,"Um, yeah, a bit hungry. And covered in mud. You are too now. Who is this?","Oh, this is Remus! We were friends in school. He was visiting yesterday and I let him stay on the couch." She giggled when Harry demanded to be picked up by his father and Bruce let go of Lily to oblige the kid.,"Ugh, Harry, you've gotten bigger." Harry giggled and started to babble excitedly about a dream Portuguese more fluent than his English.,When they finally got the boys back to bed with promises of getting to help Bruce make breakfast in the morning, and Bruce had emerged from the shower, Lily handed him a pile of clean clothes and then kissed him passionately. "Bruce, love," she asked through labored breathing as they broke apart, "what happened?",He slowly pulled on the clothes and then sat down on the edge of the mattress. "It's… Ross was persistent this time. He had a team tracking me and I couldn't keep ahead of them. I think I lost them a few days ago.",Lily nodded and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You need to find a way to not lose the mirrors I give you. I really don't like not knowing if you're okay.","I know, I'm sorry. Maybe we could put a small one on a chain like a locket?",She huffed a short laugh, then turned to put one leg over him and burry her face in his shoulder again, a warm, comfortable place where she could smell him and know he wasn't going anywhere. "Stay here with us, please.",Bruce kissed her temple and nodded. "As long as I can.",O,Breakfast the next morning was a messy affair. Pancake batter was on the walls, peanut butter, maple syrup, and jam was spread across counters, and two sticky children were running and yelling excitedly about lots of things between the legs of three very frazzled adults. It took quite some convincing to get Harry and Neville off to their writing lesson with Hannah and Susan, but when Lily took them through the floo, Bruce was left with Remus.,He had, of course, offered to leave, but Lily wouldn't hear of it, so the werewolf had stayed. "Lily talks about you like she used to talk about me. Why? I didn't want to pry earlier, but big green problem?,Bruce stared at him in shock. "What?",Remus looked nervously at his feet. "Everyone used to call my… issue… my furry little problem. She said that you were off dealing with your big green problem and it was odd. Made me wonder.","What issue?",Remus swallowed, not meeting Bruce's gaze. "Lycanthropy.","You're a werewolf?","…Yes.","Oh!" Bruce's eyes widened dramatically. "An uncontrollable shift like that when prompted by certain conditions… I was trying to look into that!",After a bit of awkward spluttering and hurried exchanged information, the two wound up talking about meditation to connect with their alternate selves. Lily got back with the boys a while later, the two of them immediately jumping up onto their dad, chattering about acromantulas and heroes. Remus was fairly obviously amused.

Fred's mind still felt groggy, he couldn't remember the last time he slept, not counting when his body had sent him into a coma to save his life from a collapsing wall. Everything had been happening so fast since then and now he was sitting across the table from the most intimidating person he had ever seen, except perhaps his mother. The man, who had introduced himself as Dr. Archer, had black hair, sprinkled with bits of grey, and had glasses that hid his devious blue eyes. It wasn't anything about his appearance that frightened Fred, not his overly clean business suit or his square jaw or the frown lines around his mouth. What frightened him was the way he held himself, like he owned everything, including Fred himself.,"So, Mr. Weasley was it?" The man gave a smug smile that looked unnatural on his aged face.,Fred nodded.,"You've heard our offer. Sign this contract, and five years of your life belong to us, and after those five years you're free to go with the large amount of money you have earned. Another plus, whatever trauma you are suffering from will seem to be erased when you leave.","Not my memories though, those will stay intact, right?" Fred asked.,"Of course." He smiled.,Fred looked at the paper in front of him, honestly considering his two options. He could walk out, assuming that this man would let him, and go back home. The idea seemed so good at this point but he couldn't shake the image his family crying, for him, they thought he was dead. He had hurt them so badly. Then there was this option, five years with these people and supposedly all his guilt would disappear. After, maybe, he would go home and explain to them what had happened.,Only after he had thought of both options extensively, he signed the contract and looked up at Dr. Archer. "Excellent," He said and stood up, walking to the only door in the small room which he opened. "Erin, would escort Mr. Weasley here to the imprinting room?",A girl, who looked much to young to be a part of this ,, walked into the room. She seemed small, and it wasn't her stature that made her seem so, she was average height. She slouched, and hid under the folds in a large ratty green sweatshirt that was the same color as the eyes that were lurking under a short mop of red curls. She almost looked like a mouse, the way her nose pointed and her freckles seemed like the roots for whiskers that weren't there.,"This way, please, Mr. Weasley." She said in a small voice.,Fred got up from his chair and a small part of him dreaded what this tiny girl could do.,Renee turned over in the bed to look at the handsome man next to her. He had just woken up as well and the two seemed to be on their way to a nice quiet morning, though Renee knew it was close to ending.,"Morning," He smiled at her before planting a kiss on her lips.,"Morning, feeling alright?" She asked, thinking of the extensive exercise they had gone through the night before.,"Well I'm a bit sore but nothing that a little love won't hurt." He smirked and kissed along her neck, soft and sweet. He stopped when he realized that she wasn't exactly enjoying his touch. "You alright, love?" He asked, moving a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. "What's wrong?","Nothing, James" She faked a smile and kissed him. The two spent a while cuddling under the blankets, enjoying the others company on the quiet morning until James' phone rang.,"Damn, that'll be the office calling." He fetched the small flip phone off the night stand. "Hello?" He answered as Renee played with his red hair. "Oh, a treatment? This early? Alright, I'll be right out." He hung up the phone. "Sorry love, I gotta run." He kissed her on the forehead before getting out of bed and picking up his clothes. "I'll call you." He smiled.,"Right, of course you will." She nodded from the bed.,James left her flat, with the complete intention to call her and maybe even start a relationship with the girl he was met at the bookstore. When he got into the black van with the woman who had dropped him off at the bookstore the night before he felt really good about what he was gonna do after his treatment. "I'm actually going to call this one." He told the woman. "I mean, she's smart, she's funny, sure she's not a beauty queen but that's not a bad thing. I really think she and I will go somewhere. You know what I mean, Joan?",The blonde woman, who wore her hair in a tight bun over her head, nodded. "Believe it or not I've heard this a million times, from a million different men." Her bright blue eyes staring out the window. She was a thin woman with a heart shaped face and flawless makeup. Yet, that still didn't make her pretty. She just looked fake.,"Well, I mean it," He smiled and reclined in his seat.,Joan rolled her eyes, because she honestly had heard this from a million different men. All these different men looked the same though. The same red hair, and brown eyes, same square jaw and thin lips. That's because, physically, they were the same man. This man, when he wasn't out on engagements was called Rapier, and Joan was his handler. She was in charge of seeing him to his engagements and making sure nothing went wrong. Rapier trusted her, an artificial bond of trust that was nearly impossible to break. That's why, every time, he would get into the van with her, without question. Joan always found it amazing when she thought about it everything she could do with that trust. She could do anything to Rapier without him protesting.,They reached the underground parking garage that had the elevator which would take them into the underground building that was the London Dollhouse. James, or as Joan called him, Rapier, was still going on about Erin as they descended in the elevator.,"After my treatment, will you bring me back by her flat? I really think I should tell her how I feel.","Of course, I'll take you back right after your treatment." She lied to him as he changed from the white button up shirt and slacks to the baggy red tank top and sweatpants that he wore as a Doll. She didn't follow him into the Imprint room. Erin didn't like her much and she didn't feel like started an argument with the girl who could make any Doll into a killer if she wanted to.,"Hello, James." Erin greeted him as he laid down into the imprinting chair.,"Hey, can we get this treatment done quickly? I wanna get back to Renee." He asked.,"Of course." She smiled and started the ,The imprinting and wiping of Dolls, or actives as some preferred to call them, was preformed in a high-tech chair that reclined so the Doll's head was encased in type of hallo that emitted bright blue light as it worked, clearing the Doll's mind or filling it with whatever Erin had programmed into the chair. Erin, sometimes while watching, would remind herself that it hurts the Dolls when it happens. A complete reworking of their brain and what they thought was real. You could tell it hurt just by looking at them, their bodies would stiffen and jerk slightly, their faces would become contorted with pain. Then, in a moment it would be over and the chair would raise itself into a sitting position. The Doll would look at her blankly and say-,"Did I fall asleep?" Rapier's voice broke her from her thoughts.,She looked at him and smiled. "For a little while.","Should I go now?" He asked.,"If you like," She said and he got up and walked out of the imprinting room

A Wizarding World Z War Tale,An Interstitial Story Between 2nd and 3rd Tales,by D. O'Shae,The two men walked through the quiet streets of Norwich. They entered the city following a complete search of their packs and an examination of their weapons by the guards at the gate. Ronin kept turning his head around and appeared anxious. Dennis strode ahead with a sense of purpose as though he knew his destination. No one tailed them and, more important, no zed chased them. Against all odds the rumors they collected during the trip south from the Maell Cala camp proved true: Norwich stood free and fast against the zed.,"Why'd they just let us in?" Ronin asked in a hushed voice.,"Because we're obviously not zed," Dennis whispered in return.,"That's it then: not stinking zed, so come on in?","Exactly who do you think can vet us? Hmm? What muggle agencies exist that can perform a background check?",Dennis and Ronin locked gazes for a moment, and Ronin eventually shrugged. It took them three weeks to reach Norwich, and the pair traveled through some heavily infested areas. During that time they trained: Ronin with his mace and Dennis kept his sword skills sharp. Ronin also proved adept at defensive magic, more so than Dennis, and he shared what he knew when it relatively safe locations. Dennis recalled their days in Dumbledore's Amy, although he knew Ronin did not remember him very well. A flood of memories came back to each of them from the days when only Voldemort and his followers threatened the wizarding world. Somehow how that time almost seemed preferable.,The few people they saw on the streets hardly gave them a glance. Apparently two strangers looking a tad tatty from being out in the open for three weeks did not present an unusual site. Of course, Dennis always looked that way, and Ronin slowly evolved into it from the months he spent on the road with Dennis, and his brother Oliver and Rose Zeller, in search of Oliver's family. Their clothes, faded a touch from sun and weather, still felt hardy. Neither their weapons from the sixteenth century nor the chain maille attached to their jackets did not much to raise eyebrows. The military police who let them into the city complimented them on the choice of arms. All in all it produced a surreal affect in the minds of the travelers.,"So you don't find this at all strange?" Ronin asked his friend.,"Oh, I grant you it's strange, just… not strange strange if you take my meaning," Dennis answered.,"What would be strange strange then?","I'll tell you when I see it.","See what?" The younger Wood brother demanded.,Dennis shrugged. They walked along for half an hour without any apparent rhyme or reason. It continually irritated Ronin that Dennis did not always share his plans, especially when they should be acting in concert in unknown environments. The man proved eminently resourceful, as always, while evading zed and finding what they needed along the way. Ronin privately admitted and admired the wide range of skills Dennis acquired during more than a decade and half of fending for himself in the wilds of the British Isles and who knew where else. With each step Ronin grew frustrate until he stopped. Dennis halted as well and looked at him with questions in his eyes.,"Where are we going, Denny? What are we looking for in this place?" Ronin grumbled his questions.,"I thought it was obvious, Ro: we're looking for any sign of witches or wizards. A shop, a magic doorway, or even a person who remotely looks like one," Dennis replied as if put out.,It took a few seconds, but the rosy spots that appeared on Ronin's cheeks replied for him. He mumbled something that neither he nor Dennis understood, and started walking forward. Ronin felt foolish. Of course they searched for signs of their people. He thought he heard Dennis chuckle, but decided against pursing the argument. He shifted his thinking and began to search in earnest.,"Think The Midnight Owl might be something?" He said, breaking the silence ten minutes later, when he spotted the shingle nailed above a rather shabby looking door. Other than the door and small set of blacked out windows, the establishment appeared abandoned.,"Nice catch, Ro," Dennis said and squinted. "I might've actually walked past that place. Looks closed.","When did The Leaky Cauldron ever look open? Or The Three Broomsticks for that matter, and it was in one of our towns?","Touché.",With that they walked across Silver Road. Dennis noted a muggle pub further down the line of shops, but kept on their trajectory. Since traffic did not appear to exist in the town, although the vehicles they saw did not look dusty or unused, the two wantonly jaywalked until they stood before the dark green door with faded orange edging. The small diamond-shaped window set in the door appeared painted over from the inside. Anyone not studying it as carefully as Ronin did would dismiss the portal. Both the men saw the scruffs and scratches in the paint. With that, tried to turn the knob and it would not budge. It did not even jiggle or rattle, and the made the man smile.,"Now this is strange strange," he said and indicted the knob.,Ronin tried to twist it as well, and his hand simply slid along the outside of it. He nodded. Dennis then knocked with his knuckles. The sound did not even echo, but ended in a dull report. The travelers glanced at one another in mock surprise. Dennis stepped back half a foot and scanned the entire entryway. Ronin watched.,"How would you get their attention if you were a witch or wizard hiding on the other side?" Dennis queried his companion.,"Like this," Ronin said, took out his wand from the cleverly concealed location in his jacket, aimed it at the knob, and said: "Alohamora.",The end of his wand twinkled, and the light spread to the door handle. Neither of the men knew what to expect, but nothing did not factor into their thinking. The knob did not react.,"Now that is strange," Ronin quietly said.,"Try it again," Dennis encouraged him, "and put a little more into it.",Ronin frowned at his friend, but did as requested. He concentrated and repeated the word. More glints issued from his wand tip, yet the knob showed no sign of reacting. Dennis scratched his head while Ronin shrugged.,"Aparecium hic loco?" Dennis asked.,"Seems a bit much, but okay. Wait a second," Ronin said and looked up and down the road.,The people passing by did not seem to pay them any attention. However, Dennis did wait until the street lay vacant for quiet a distance on either side and in both directions. That also struck him as odd. He expected a lot more people to live in a secured location. The question got added to the many he would ponder later. With that stored, he recited the spell he augmented months ago. The air rippled in front of him as a cone of magic wafted toward the door. When it touched the door, the surface rippled. A second door handle appeared, one that looked far older and sturdier than the dull brass one on the right-hand side.,"Clever," Dennis hummed. "Nice way to make certain only certain clientele make it in.","Did you ever think that maybe we try to be a too clever for our own good? We go to such elaborate measures to keep ourselves hid," Ronin said in a humorless fashion.,"It sometimes works against us, but… ever been tied to a stake with wood piled up to your shins?",Ronin blinked as he contemplated the answer. Then he nodded, but he still thought his kind often used unnecessarily elaborate methods to conceal their presence. The door before them proved the point. As if to accentuate his observation, he reached out to the iron, took hold, and twisted it downward. To his astonishment it turned and the latch bolt clicked open. The door swung a short way away from the jamb.,"After you," Dennis graciously offered.,"Right," Ronin replied, not certain if the man truly intended to be polite or used him as a shield.,"Stop being paranoid," his friend said and brushed past him.,The door led into a short hallway painted the color of old lead, closed behind them without any assistance, and both felt certain the illusion snapped back into place. At the end of the hall a heavy curtain hung in their path. The paused before it. Dennis glanced at Ronin. Ronin returned it.,"If their shepherd's pie is shite, we're leaving," Ronin rumbled.,Dennis snorted, and then stepped through the curtain. On the other side they discovered an amazingly well-lit common area. Skylights overhead let in natural sunlight, and sconces on the walls and support pillars provided the rest. The five people they saw sitting at tables and in booths looked up at them as they entered. No one needed to tell either man they faced magic users. The manner of dress alone announced the patrons as city dwellers. The fashions ran from the late Victorian period through at least the mid-1970s. Dennis and Ronin each felt oddly out of place in their attire from current times. Following a brief moment of scrutiny, the people went back to their meals or reading. In that span of time a tall, somewhat lean woman with a hawkish face and large bosom came upon them. She warmly smiled at them.,"New in town, eh? Didn't know there was a safe spot for us, huh?" She asked in a pleasing tenor voice. Unlike her patrons, the woman dressed more modern in jeans and a shirt of recent fashion. Only the heavy apron made of what appeared to be dragon skin and the wand sticking out of the pile of hair pinned at the top of her head marked her as something other than a muggle. Her acorn brown eyes twinkled in the bright light of the tavern.,"That wouldn't be inaccurate," Ronin quipped in a slightly cryptic manner.,"Lost your 'ome, eh?" She asked.,"No, we just arrived from Maell Cala camp up in..." Dennis started to say,"'Eard a fair bit about that place in The Trossachs," the woman interjected. "Sounds like they're making due in the highlands.","More than just making due. It'll probably be a permanent settlement. A thousand people live there already, and more come in each day.",Ronin nodded to show he agreed.,"Good on ya all," she approvingly rejoined. "Be needing a meal and a bed then seeing you walked all the way 'ere?",It took both men aback that the barmaid, and she could be nothing else in their estimation, made an accurate guess as to their mode of travel. Of course, she probably hosted all sorts who came through and reported on conditions outside of Norwich.,"Get a lot on broomsticks, do you?" Dennis asked through a grin.,"Only at night. The ones 'oo come in during the day are usually 'oofing it, and the lot of you tend to be pretty tough buggers, I might say, going 'round on foot through all them nasties out there!",Dennis and Ronin each chuckled. They talked about using broomsticks, but Dennis rejected the idea at each turn. He said he learned too much being at ground level to want to take to the skies. Ronin thought him a bit mad, but complied. After a week of slogging through zed infested areas and sleeping in trees, he truly began to question Dennis' sanity. However, a chat one evening set the matter straight.,"It's not just that using magic attracts the zed too us," Dennis told him as they settled into their hanging beds. "Magic makes things too easy for us, Ro. We lose skills no one should 'cause it's easier to wave a wand than it is to wash a dish. Don't get me wrong, I love magic, but I only want to use magic when I really need it.","Like what you did with that map back in Edinburgh?" Ronin asked as he silently worried he might fall out of the hammock.,"Exactly. There it made sense to use magic 'cause it helped us focus on what we wanted to do… and the apparating just kept us safe and off the ground," the man swinging from a branch across from him said in a nearly defiant tone. "I want to make sure if I lose my wand I can still make it out here.",Ronin discovered he wholeheartedly concurred as they continued the journey that eventually led them to Norwich and The Midnight Owl. He realized he missed a few sentences as he returned to the present and nodded his head in case he needed to respond to something. Dennis gave him a quizzical look.,"As I was saying, do you take credit?" He asked the barmaid.,"Nah, no need." She told him.,Dennis raised his eyebrows.,"What? You think those goblins would just let go of all those galleons and what not they got 'idden under Gringotts?","London did burn," Dennis rejoined.,"What of it?" The barmaid returned. "All them vaults is underground, and it's a damn tricky maze down there. Even if them rotters did get in, they'd just end up on a pike or at the bottom of ravine. I figure Gringotts got to be the safest place in all of wizarding England!",It made sense to both men.,"Now, see, they've been 'anding out ledgers that'll draw against your account if you got money there. All you do is sign the marked up chit. If you're good for it, the page'll disappear and the money will take it's place," she said as though everyone should know the exchange practice.,"And if you're not good for it?" Ronin carefully asked.,"Oh, that when Bash gets involved, and there's a reason he's called that.","Don't worry, Ro. I've got us covered," Dennis quietly commented.,"No, I've got funds at Gringotts," Ronin piped up. "I was just curious as to what happens if someone doesn't.","Goes right bad for 'em, if you take the 'int," said said and followed it with a low, mean chuckle. "'Les we can work out a fair exchange.","I assure you Bash's services won't be required," Dennis gamely replied.,"Glad to 'ear it. Now what I can get for you two boys?" She returned to her inviting and warm persona.,Dennis and Ronin arranged for three meals, a bedroom with two beds for the night, and a bath for each of them. Tinble wanted the specifics for the breakfast the next morning and for lunch. They also arranged laundering for all their clothes when they learned a small contingent of house elves worked in the establishment. While Ronin ordered the bangers and mash, Dennis decided to give the shepherd's pie a try. After taking their order, including drinks, the barmaid – who they surreptitiously learned owned The Midnight Owl – went off to get their food. Dennis signed for all the expenses despite Ronin's profuse protestations. The argument got diverted when Dennis remarked about his surprise at finding a proper wizarding inn. Ronin spoke of his relief that Gringotts remained functional, and it sounded pointed. Fortunately for Dennis, the barmaid returned with their drinks,She sat with them while waiting for their food to be delivered. Tinble Gladstone, her name they discovered, seemed eager to hear news of the outside world. She explained she liked to collect recent information she could share with her patrons. Thus, Dennis and Ronin engaged in a lively chat with the Tinble. They told her all they knew about events in Scotland. Dennis confirmed Hogwarts continued to operate even though the number of attending students dwindled to a bare fraction. When the elf arrived with the food, they invited her and the elf to stay to continue their talk. Tinble eagerly accepted, but the elf seemed eager to get back to the kitchen. Ronin noticed several of the other customers leaned in their direction in a blatant attempt to eavesdrop. He spoke louder so they could hear.,The meal exceeded their expectations. Given they lived on what they could scavenge or hunt, it seemed logical. However, the food at The Midnight Owl compared favorably to the best meals Oliver could cook (and Dennis learned the hard way Mysie knew how to can food, but she did not know how to cook it). Tinble seemed pleased by their reviews, and even more so with the variety of information they provided her. She then called on an elf to lead the two to their room with orders to secure their clothing for washing. Dennis and Ronin got led to a plain but clean room occupied by two twin beds and a small chest of drawers. Both men hurriedly shrugged out of their clothing, using the provided bath towels to cover themselves, and sent their clothing off with the elf making certain to say out loud the apparel did not constitute a gift. The house elf looked pleased at the statement and sighed as he walked away with all of their clothing.,"Oh, look! They've got the wireless here," Ronin noted while moving over to the chest to fiddle with the notoriously finicky magical device.,"I'm off to the bath. Might be a while. I could use a good, long soak," Dennis told him as he shuffled to the door. "Where'd Tinble say the washroom is?","Down the hall, to the left, and then at the end of that hall," Ronin repeated the instructions while he studied the controls of the wireless wizarding radio.,Dennis left his friend who suddenly seemed completely captivated by the device. Being dressed only in a towel wrapped around his waist did not phase the man. Seeing as he saw no others in the hall, he did not worry in the least. Ronin's instructions guided him, and soon he stood in the bathing room. He followed the instructions printed on the large tub, saying his name and room number, and the vessel began to fill with steaming water. Dennis hung up his towel on a nearby hook and gingerly slipped into the tub. The hot water greeted him like an old friend. He sighed in pure pleasure as he leaned back and let the moment of pure luxury take over. Other than the communal baths at Maell Cala, Dennis considered this experience worth it's weight in galleons. He closed his eyes and allowed himself the rare privilege of completely relaxing.,Back in the room Ronin fiddled with the radio. It crackled, hissed, and popped while a thin wisp of magical smoke issued out of the back. In other words, it functioned just as Ronin expected. He dialed in the station he liked best. It slowly tuned in, and he rested against the dresser while listening. He heard some celebrity gossip, news about the Ministry continuing to function in Norwich, the latest bans on international travel to North American, projections for the teams who might make it to the All England Quidditch Finals, a report form the Auror's Office regarding known dark wizards and their followers (and the list proved thankfully short), and the expected weather throughout the different regions of England. Ronin did not fail to notice the glaring absence of news regarding the zed. The station then settled into a long program of the most requested songs or bands within the wizarding communities.,"Not surprised," he said after standing up straight and walking to a bed to recline.,Ronin dozed off while listening to the music. He awoke to someone gently shaking his shoulder. His eyes opened to a slightly pink-skinned Dennis who grinned at him. Ronin let out with a huge yawn.,"Tub's all yours, Ro," Dennis told him.,"How long…?" Ronin mumbled the question.,"Less than an hour I think. Didn't know you're a fan of the Barking Mad Howlers.","What? Oh, that. Just fell asleep listening to music," Ronin explained without confirming or denying his friend's semi-accusatory statement. He sat up and stretched. His joints and spine made numerous popping noises. "Feeling better?","Loads," Dennis immediately answered. "Been a while since I could kip back in a tub and just forget about everything for a bit. Did me a world of good, and it'll do the same for you.","It will," Ronin agree and stood up. "Going to bed?","Kind of early for that. Think I'm going to work on how to get into the Ministry and figure out who we can talk to.",Ronin started to cross the room with Dennis watching his every move and said: "Tinble might have a few ideas. Maybe you should go chat her up a bit and see what she says.","Sure, she won't mind one bit if I lounge around down in the pub in just a towel.",Ronin snorted and opened the room to the door. He then stepped out into the hall. As soon as the door closed, Dennis let out a huge sigh of relief. It took every ounce of will power he possessed to keep from staring at Ronin's half-naked form. The reddish hair lightly layered on the man's chest greatly appealed to Dennis. He just wished Ronin did not look slightly malnourished. It made him feel guilty his friend failed to get enough to eat during their time on the road. He planned on remedying that situation. The music played in the background while he went in search of his notes so he could jot down some of the more memorable items Tinble told them as well as possible people to contact. Dennis liked to plan.,Out in the hall Ronin followed the directions he earlier gave Dennis. He puzzled over the number of scars he saw on his friend's pale skin. It made him wonder what Dennis endured over the years that would leave such marks. Furthermore, Ronin never realized or thought to imagine what more than a decade and half of swinging a sword and life in the wild could do for a physique. The lean muscle he saw on Dennis reminded him to never get into a physical altercation; Dennis would clean his clock in short order. Ronin looked down at his own fuzzy chest and marveled that his friend barely sported a thin patch of yellowish-coppery hair between his pectorals. He let that thought go in favor of finding the bath tub and resuming his rest. Three weeks of sleeping in the cool English spring needed to get boiled out of his skin.,The two woke the next morning to find freshly laundered clothes folded, sorted, and neatly stacked on a clean towel at the foot of their beds. Dennis discovered some of his more worn items got mended as well. He turned his back on Ronin while they got dressed to afford his friend some modicum of privacy and spare himself any further temptation. He quickly forgot about that as clean material covered his body. It never ceased to amaze him how he could get used to clothing that became progressively grungy as he traveled. Some of the men with whom he spent private evenings in the past would comment from time to time about the natural aroma of an out-of-doors man, and Dennis always took it to mean he stank. He wondered how Ronin managed to put up with it. Unbeknownst to him, Ronin pondered the nearly exact thoughts, minus a the intimate details.,Once dressed, they debated on the need to bring their weapons. They eventually settled on letting Tinble hold them in safe keeping. It would not do, they jointly decided, to have their precious armaments go missing when they would surely need them in the near future. Thus, dressed but without packs and carrying their weapons, the duo made their to the tavern to break their fast. Much to their surprise, they walked into a fairly crowded room. Dennis felt something ease in his mind to see so many witches and wizards gathered together. Aside form Maell Cala, it rarely occurred.,Dennis and Ronin made their way to an open table and almost got assaulted by the waiter. The youngish twenty-something man replete with small spikes sticking out his ears, nostrils, and one in his bottom lip, demanded to know what they wanted to drink. Both put in an order for coffee, and then refined their order to German-style coffee rather than Turkish. The waiter departed before they could say anything else. They sat basking in the company of their fellow kind, and each tried to spy the headlines of the local Norwich Augur newspaper. One person far on the other side of the room read a Daily Prophet. The Augur featured a story on Kingsley Shacklebolt and his visit to North America and the MACUSA regarding the international travel ban.,"I'll 'ave Nechtan bring you a spare copy so you don't strain your necks," Tinble said to them as she approached their table. "'Ad a good night the both of you, did you?","Slept like the de… a dog," Dennis replied and caught himself before making a faux pas. Tinble grinned at him.,"It was strange sleeping in a bed again. It didn't rock," Ronin noted.,"Would it 'elp if it did?","Um, probably not. Might make me seasick.",Tinble laughed and said: "Well, suit yourself, but it can be arranged if you want.",Ronin shook his head in negation.,"Right, so your food should be coming up soon. Saw you walk in and notified the kitchen you was 'ere. Thought you might sleep in a bit longer after 'earing what you went through to reach Norwich," the matron of The Midnight Owl told them.,"Much obliged, Tinble, and, um, think you might be able to do us a little favor?" Dennis rejoined.,"Depends on if it's going to cost me.","We just need a safe place to store our, ah, blades and mace. Not really worth all that much 'cept they're valuable for fighting when we're on the trail.","Oh, yeah, sure. Got us a lock safe in me office. I can put 'em in there. It's also Bash's room, so no chance they'll get nicked," Tinble said in an agreeable manner.,One of the other customers shouted out her name, and Tinble turned to wave at the person. She yelled back a name and then chuckled. When she resumed facing the two men, Dennis watched her study them for a few seconds.,"See, most these people work on rebuilding walls, serving as night guard, cleaning up after the watch takes out the rotters, and 'elping keep the city running, so that's why it's so busy. Believe it or not," said Tinble as she leaned closer to them, "got us a few muggles in 'ere as well.",Ronin's mouth flopped open, and Dennis raised his eyebrows.,"Sure, they knows 'oo we is, and they bloody well don't get in wiffout a proper friend, but they're not bad sorts. They use that funny muggle money, but I keeps up on the converts for it and a stash of the stuff to make change for 'em.",Despite how she sounded, both men viewed a keen business mind at work sitting in the head of the middle-aged witch piled high with hair and held into place with a wand. The fact she tolerated muggles in her establishment said much for her. Ronin gave Dennis a look indicating the debate over the secrecy act would continue again. However, other pressing matters lay at hand. Dennis leaned forward.,"So, um, Tinble, how can two people like ourselves get an audience with the Minister? We have information he needs to hear," Dennis quietly inquired.,"Oh, that's easy. Just go to the Shire Hall Study Centre, and ask for the Godric Reading Room. They'll know what you're asking for and give you a 'and getting to the Ministry," she explained without lowering her voice. It did not seem to be a secret in the tavern. "Might 'ave to wait a while to see someone. I think Deputy Granger is in charge while Shacklebolt is out poncing 'round in 'Merica. Probably should ask to see 'er first any'ow.",Dennis and Ronin dumbly nodded.,"'Ere now, I'll come back with a map and food and show you were to go," Tinble told them and wheeled around on one foot. She stomped off, gesturing and greeting other patrons, as she headed toward the bar and food delivery area.,"Told you it was happening," Ronin said when Tinble got out of earshot. "I don't think the statue will last much longer. Not after all this zed business.","Let's say I still have reservations. Our numbers are pretty low this time around, and who's to say they won't start rounding us up? They might start to view us as a threat… again," Dennis retorted.,"I thought you said you like muggles?","I said there are muggles I like… and some I really like like, if you know what I mean.",Ronin rolled his eyes at the comment.,"We shouldn't rush into any changes if we ever get the zed problem figured out and they don't wipe us out before hand," Dennis concluded.,Ronin eyed his friend. The man's optimism and social progressivism became so regular and routine it shocked him a bit to hear a different attitude. Dennis suddenly professing reservations about repealing the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy seemed out of sorts.,"Stop looking at me like I've grown an extra head," Dennis said when the silence lingered. "I said the secrecy is bad for us for a lot of different reasons, but the statute contains a lot more than that. We just can't be done with it and think everything will be swell. Half our auror regulations are based on language inside the statute, and imagine what the world would be like with those folks. There's also a whole slew of muggle laws that don't affect us, but they would if the statute went down. We'd have to think this through very carefully.",The other man sitting the table slowly nodded his head. Dennis looked away because Ronin kept staring at him with an expression of bewilderment. He meant what he said in the past regarding the secrecy laws, and he did believe the regulations now acted as a detriment to their people, but simply abandoning the statute without due consideration could and probably would cause as much harm. True to his nature, Dennis believe in planning the revocation and replacement legislation before actually doing it.,"So, ah… um, what if we can't get in to see Granger-Weasley? Who do we talk to then?" Ronin asked when he decided against pursuing the debate. It sounded as if Dennis gave the topic far more thought than he realized, and he needed to play catch-up before engaging in the discussion.,"Yeah, been tossing that 'round in my head, too," Dennis replied, although he continued to squint as he thought about the other issue. "Probably best if we confine it only to the top tiers. Something tells me this all happened on the hush-hush.",Ronin sighed in relief and said: "I was thinking the same thing. Notice we haven't heard anything 'bout the deaths of, ah, them two?",Dennis nodded.,"Sure, it was a few years ago, but...",Nothing more could be said out in the open. Both Dennis and Ronin felt assured they possessed highly controlled information. One of them believed they would be met by more than just the Minster of Magic if they suddenly started talking about the deaths of Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley in the open. It might become even more dicey if they glibly conversed about Dean Thomas. The man worked for the Ministry, and neither could guess how deeply he got involved in the secret affairs of his department. In the end, it simply seemed the wisest course to speak only with the highest of authorities. However, that did not fully answer Ronin's question.,"'Ere you go, lads," Tinble happily said when she walked up to the table with two laden plates, a newspaper, and another piece of extensively folded paper. She set the plates down in front of the, the newspaper between them, and then began to unfold what could only be a map. "Tuck in while I give this a look-see.",Dennis and Ronin needed no further encouragement. The food steamed in such an inviting manner that each man drooled in want. While they ate, Tinble tried to flatten the map out over the newspaper. She reached up and pulled a pencil out of her hair and pointed at spot on the sheet. In response, Dennis casually removed his wand after setting down his fork. He aimed it at the location on the map and whispered the spell around the food in his overstuffed mouth. A blue dot appeared.,"Nifty one, that is," Tinble said in appreciation. "Right, so 'ere is where you are now. Where you want to go is 'ere.",She moved her pencil to the hall in question. Dennis moved his wand to the location, whispered as he chewed, and glowing lines began to appear on the map. It took a few seconds before a path from one location to the next got sorted out. Tinble watched with a pleased grin on her face.,"That's the same route I was going to send you," she said. "Is this a mind reading trick?","No, I worked out a charm that can differentiate road and streets from alleys, and then connect two points using a logical route. It all about the thickness of the lines and how they connect. Works on most maps," Dennis explained to her.,"Gonna 'ave to show me that one.","Sure, it's not hard.","Says you," Ronin quipped and then glanced at their hostess. "Should've seen what he did to a map in Edinburgh. The thing was nearly alive by the time he got done.","Shut it," Dennis said and his cheeks turned red.,"'Onestly, it'd be a right 'andy spell for me to 'ave. Getting all sorts of strangers in 'ere trying to find their way 'round," Tinble firmly stated and tapped on the map. "Got a box of these in the back I give out to newcomers. If I could just point and incant, it'd save me hours in 'splaining.",Dennis nodded in agreement, and he meant what he said.,"Tell you what, Denny: show me 'ow to do this and I'll give you blokes a night's stay on the 'ouse. Fair exchange?",Ronin recalled she used the phrase the day before when talking about people who could not pay and as an alternative to facing Bash. She seemed factor in the fact people could be absolutely poor given the state of the world. If so, then Tinble also possessed a kind spirit behind the rather gruff innkeeper facade. Then again, people who tried to take advantage of her would think twice considering her delinquent accounts manager carried the name Bash. No one could deny she did not understand her business.,"Deal," Dennis said with barely a hesitation. "If we get stuck waiting to talk to someone at the Ministry, we'd need another night.","Was thinking that meself," Tinble murmured.,With a bargain settled, she whirled away to tend to other customers. The one waiter and waitress seemed hard pressed to keep up with the steady influx of customers. Dennis got the impression they stumbled into a working class establishment, and that suited him. Pretense got thrown out the window in favor of practicality. The food, pedestrian by some standards, proved good and filling. The tavern, mostly unadorned and plain, appeared fully functional. The rooms looked clean and tidy, the beds served for the purpose, and the baths more than adequate. The Midnight Owl catered to the relatively basic needs of the customers in a fitful and forthright fashion. Dennis approved.,"How do you do it?" Ronin asked a minute later after masticating the contents in his mouth and washing it down with coffee. The mug refilled after each sip and stayed perpetually hot.,"Do what?" Dennis counter inquired after doing the same.,"People act like they've known and trusted you for years even when you just met them.","I think most people can tell honesty right away. We want to believe others are honest and truthful...","What if they want to abuse that?","Sure, some do, but it's not hard to spot their deceptions," Dennis answered. "Did you notice Tinble wanted to barter? She didn't want to accept my services without proper compensation. She's had the confidence game played on her before, so I'd guess she's reads people very fast.","But why'd she trust you all of sudden?" Ronin went back to his central question.,"'Cause I asked her if she'd watch something important for us. Not valuable, but important, and there's a big difference between those. I basically asked if we could trust her. She responded in kind.",Ronin shook his head a bit and rejoined: "If you tell me the ghosts taught you this at Hogwarts, I won't believe you.","Fine, I won't tell you that then.",The two friends started snickering. They then dove into their meals with gusto. The fare filled them up, a rare luxury during their time on the road. Food and water got conserved since they could not carry a lot at any give time, and they never knew precisely when they would find replenishment. Dennis could not shake the image of Ronin looking to underfed. The man displayed endurance and stamina, but even those traits would falter if he became malnourished. Given they might be on the road for quite a while, mindfulness regarding their nutritional needs became a priority. Neither of them left a single scrap on their plates when they finished.,"Any thoughts on how we get past the receptionist when we get there?" Dennis asked as they strolled out of the back entrance of The Midnight Owl into an alleyway. The morning greeted them with a partially overcast sky. The map he held reconfigured to lead them back to Silver Road.,"I'm not sure you'd agree with what I'm thinking," Ronin responded and stepped around the industrial sized trash bin. "But what if we just said we need to talk about Dean Thomas? Seems like it'd get their attention if it's important.",Dennis unconsciously nodded his head. Ronin thought of a direct and expedient method. He wrestled with the notion since the day before and came up with nothing other than getting into a long-winded explanation regarding their mission. It lacked subtlety, and he did not relish the idea of blathering at someone who might begin to question his sanity.,"That'll work," he said with a hint of appreciation in his voice.,Ronin goggled at him for a second, then smirked. As they walked toward Barrack Street, he felt a bit naked without his mace banging against his right thigh or the feel of a dagger tucked at an angle into the small of his back. He could not remember the last time he went out into the open with nothing more than his wand. Moreover, Dennis looked positively surreal without his gauche and sword. Ronin suspected it made the man highly uncomfortable to be unarmed.,"At least it will get their attention," Dennis remarked, although it sounded like a private comment.,As they walked along the two noticed the sidewalks got progressively more crowded. A greater amount of traffic whizzed by on Barrack Street. The city came closer to feeling normal. Few among the people going in and out business and shops dressed like Dennis and Ronin. They drew some stares, but no one asked. Even the local constabulary let them pass without question, but eyes followed their movements.,The path on the map took them down Whitefriars Road that merged into Palace Street, which then veered to a southerly direction as it became Tombland. The nature of the buildings also changed the closer they got to city center. The structures that survived the massive bombing raids and fires of the second world war tended to be older, the stones grayer, and the lanes narrower. Dennis recalled some of the ghosts telling him about the bombings during the war, and how several cities got reduced to rubble. Norwich, lying so close to the channel, suffered as much as any and as did the likes of Bath, Canterbury, Exeter, and York.,"War is such a waste," Dennis muttered, and Ronin nodded in agreement. "I'll never understand why people feel a need to impose their will on others. What's wrong with live and let live?","Maybe they feel inadequate," Ronin speculated.,"I'll say! Back at Hogwarts some of the blokes who gave me the worst time usually seemed the most depressed… it's like they needed to thrash on me to make themselves feel better," the man strawberry-blonde hair said and tried not to sound angry. "I wasn't even a threat to them. What'd it get them in the long run, eh? No one thought they were heroes or brave or anything worthwhile. I don't even think they really felt better afterward.","But you came out the better person for it.","Thanks to the ghosts and portraits who taught me how to put it all into perspective. It's funny what a person can learn after hanging around for a few centuries.","Such a bad pun," Ronin muttered while his friend chuckled.,"I used to wonder why me, and then Montague the Muzzy asked why not me? I never had an answer for him.","That's a pretty fucked up question," Ronin said and recoiled a bit. "It sounds like he's saying anyone is just as deserving of mistreatment as anyone else.",Dennis shrugged as the walked and responded: "I see it as all chance anyway. Look at Colin and me. Why'd we end up wizards? We came from the most muggle family imaginable. Why didn't you or Oliver turn out to be squibs? Think about how much of what happens to you isn't planned or your fault and just occurred 'cause you were in the right place at the wrong time… or wrong place, right time. However it works out, it just comes down to chance more often than not.","So I guess you're getting outed came down to Potter getting the scar on the right side of his 'stead of his left?","Sure. Why not? Who knows how it might be connected? Maybe if Harry got the scar on the other side, it might've been me who came back to fight at Hogwarts rather than Colin. Sometimes I give myself a headache trying to see through all these little connections.","You don't say," Ronin quipped and started rubbing his forehead.,"You prat," Dennis chuckled the words.,They continued to discuss the nature of chance and the roll it played in their lives. Ronin became temporarily obsessed with how Dennis managed to run into he and his brother at a most opportune time. The two did not get to debate the ramifications for long when Tombland turned into Upper King Street, and the map led them to the right along Castle Meadow and then onto Market Avenue. After hiking half the distance of the road, they stopped in front of a sandstone building with high tower windows spaced along the two floors. A red brick building sat on the right, and neither appeared exceptionally old.,"The map says this the Shire Hall Study Centre," Dennis told his friend and pointed at the yellowish-beige building.,"No marquee or nothing," Ronin voiced his observation.,"Let's go in and see what we can find.",They put words into actions. After passing through the arched brown double doors, it became abundantly clear they entered a private business. Dennis assumed from the name the centre stood as part of the municipal operations. A woman and a security guard sat behind a long oak bench. The two watched the ones who came in from the street. Dennis and Ronin both spun around to take in the details.,"May I be of assistance?" The woman said in a tight Cambridge accent.,"Oh, um, yeah," Ronin said while walking up to the desk since he recovered first. Dennis continued to try and discern the nature of he business. "We'd like to be shown the Godric Reading Room.","And do you have an appointment?","Um, no, not exactly.","Can you confirm your identity?" The receptionist, dressed in a gray jacket with a pale yellow blouse underneath and a string of small pearls around her neck, asked in a very direct manner.,Ronin started to open his mouth, but Dennis grabbed his arm to silence him. He then held open the edge of his jacket and looked downward for a brief second. Ronin nodded. Together they advanced to the very edge of the desk. Each reached inside his own jacket and produced a wand. The woman and security guard did not react one bit. She peered at the wands for a few moments, and then back to the standing men.,"Very good. Norman will take you to the reading room," she said without a single change in her demeanor.,The guard, who appeared to be far older than either Dennis or Ronin suspected, stood and said: "Please, follow me.",The elderly guard walked in a spry fashion toward a door to the right of the main desk. He fit the role with his gray shirt adorned by black collar and cuffs, the raised piping running down the center on each side of his chest to which his badge got attached on the left, and the black pants held up with a belt holding a baton, can of pepper spray, and a two-way radio. When he opened the door it entered into a hallway paneled in dark wood. Doors of similar construction with names engraved on wall plaques flanked the entries. Some of the names read like non-sense. When they came to an intersecting hallway, the guard turned to the right. Once again a hall paneled in highly polished dark wood greeted them. When the group reached the third door on the left, the guard stopped. The small sign next to the door read Godric Reading Room.,"Go in, face the door, state what department you want, insert a wand tip into the hole on the right – not the left – side, and then remove it. Once you hand me your wands, you'll get taken to your destination. Your wands will be kept in safe storage at the front desk. Any questions?","No, sir, and thanks," Dennis grimly replied.,Dennis and Ronin glanced at one another for a moment, and then Dennis inclined his head to his friend.,"Okay, so, Minster of Magic's office," Ronin said clearly, and then he inserted his wand into the specified hole. He took it out and handed his wand to the guard. Dennis followed suit.,"Best of the day to you, boys," the man said in a grandfatherly fashion, stepped backward, and closed the door.,The small room, not much bigger than a broom cupboard, wobbled as if balancing on a pole. Not only did the room wobble, it shook as well. After a count of five, it stopped. Then the door clicked edged slightly ajar. Ronin pushed it all the way open and stepped through. Dennis feel in line behind him. The two found themselves in a foyer that looked remarkably like the entrance to the Shire Hall Study Centre. Instead of carpeting, a creamy marble bedecked the floor. The desk across from the transport room, and next to it four more doors stood, contained a very young looking man. He sat mumbling at a quill that danced too and fro, even though the two visitors could only see the feathered top. As they approached the desk, their boots produced dull thumps on the flooring. The young man at the desk looked up. His auburn hair looked glue to his head on the sides by pomade while an elaborate quiff rose up from the center. Sharp dark eyes scanned them.,"Who are you here to see?" He asked without any introduction.,"Either the Minister or the Deputy Minister," Dennis answered in a cool, formal tone.,"You've no appointment, no letter of introduction, and it looks like you just came off the moors, so why should one of them want to see you?",Dennis stole a peak at Ronin who rolled his eyes.,"Well, we've come about Dean Thomas," Dennis stated while suppressing a laugh at Ronin's reaction.,The man at the desk gaped at them, and his mouth slipped partially open. When two seconds expired he stood. His semi-luminescent emerald green shirt shimmered under the forest green velvet coat as he moved. The sea green bow tie flapped around base of his neck. Hard-soled shoes clacked against the marble floor as he trotted around the desk to the plain door on the left. The last they saw of him included dark hunter green paints, bright yellow socks, and shoes that matched his jacket.,"I think we're out of style," Ronin commented after the door closed.,"I'm not entirely certain, but I don't think the zed take style into account when deciding who to eat," Dennis dryly replied. "The velvet might make a difference, though.",Ronin snorted.,"This is part of the reason why I never wanted to work for the Ministry. After they dispensed with robes, it turned into a god-awful fashion show.","And the other part of the reason?","I don't get to sleep under the stars as much," stated Dennis while looking up at the ceiling and the illuminated insets.,Ronin smirked at the answer. Just as his smiled widened, the left door flew open. The receptionist stood in the entry and looked at them.,"Deputy Minister Granger-Weasley will see you," the young man said in an officious manner.,Dennis and Ronin walked up to and past the man.,"Nice jacket," Ronin quietly quipped.,Dennis fought against the urge to laugh.,Inside the office, and the word pedestrian came immediately to mind, a single plain desk rested before the far wall, a row of wooden filing cabinets graced the left side, and on the right bookcases brimming with tomes and small objects d'art. A casual seating area sat assembled just in the center of the room, and it was there Deputy Minister Hermione Granger-Weasley stood waiting for them. A slender woman not a tall by any standard, but still managed to fill more space than she actually occupied. Dressed in very light gray suit jacket and skirt, the rose colored blouse accentuated her auburn hair. A single silver chain hung around her neck. The deputy minister look professional and understated, especially in comparison to the receptionist. She nodded to them.,"Please come and join me," she said in her light alto voice.,Dennis wracked his brains to recall the girl he briefly knew at Hogwarts. Bushy hair and big teeth came to mind, but this woman seemed a far cry from the awkward teenager. The deputy minister appeared alert and composed without exuding any sense of tension. She simply waited from the to approach. As they did so, Ronin held out his hand in greeting. Deputy Minster Granger-Weasley reached out to accept it. As she did, her face scrunched a little.,"Oliver Wood?" She queried, but then added: "No, you're taller and not quite the same build. His brother?","Yes, ma'm. Oliver Wood is my older brother. He sends his greetings. I'm Ronin Wood," Ronin said in a formal manner.,"Please, do offer him my best regards when next you see him," Granger-Weasley said as she shook his hand and let it go. Then she cast her gaze on Dennis. "Well, Mr. Creevey, you've grown some since I last saw you.",Dennis felt gobsmacked that she remembered him. Of course, everyone who attended school with her knew she possessed an incredible memory. However, over fifteen years and a serious bout of puberty separated the Dennis Creevey of Hogwarts from the man standing in her office. He marveled at her memory. He held out his hand, and she accepted it.,"I am… honored, Ms. Granger-Weasley," he replied while gently shaking her hand.,"Please, call me Hermione," she insisted when the let greeting end. "I heard about your village, Dennis, and my condolences on your loss.","Thank you," he quietly rejoined. "And my I offer mine on the death of your husband, Ronald, and your friend, Harry. I sincerely hope your and his families fare well in spite of the tragedy.",Hermione's eyes went wide for a fraction of a moment before she said: "You are… well informed.","We are," Ronin confirmed.,"Please, where are my manners. Sit, sit," and she gestured for the men to comfortable looking chairs gathered around the low table.,While they did, she quickly walked to the side of her desk. On a black box sitting to one side of a stack papers rested a button which she pushed.,"Baird, cancel my appointments for the next hour and make sure no one disturbs us during that time," she said into the box. "Oh, and could you please retrieve a tea service for us. Thank you?",She did not wait for a response and walked back to the settee resting in front of the desk. She sat down and gracefully composed herself. Dennis studied her features. Lines of care, worry, or both creased her face in places, but otherwise she appeared much as she did when she graduated from Hogwarts. Once arranged, she returned the scrutiny.,"Now, you've mentioned three names today that most people seldom do," she began. "I'm curious as to how you came by these details.","We ran into Katie Bell," Ronin answered for the two men. "We had some, ah, interesting conversations.","It would appear so," Hermione rejoined.,"Oh, we did, and before she died...","Katie is dead? How?",Ronin looked to Dennis with a pleading look. Although it pained him, Dennis briefly related the events leading up to the incident at Crieff, and then the final result. Hermione reacted with both open sadness and shock at the tale. Her eyes gleamed, but she did not shed a tear.,"How terrible," the woman murmured, but then met Dennis' gaze full on: "I've heard so many similar stories. Events get… so out of control when it comes to these modus inferi. You gave her peace, Dennis, and it could not have been easy on you.","No… no, it wasn't," he conceded.,"Before that, she told us how Dean would visit her, and – I suspect you know this by now – he had a vial of your husband's memories. She kept them safe for him for a couple of years," Ronin said since he watched Dennis processing the memories of Crieff anew.,"Dean hid them from us quite a while before we released they did not get destroyed. We never suspected he used Katie for that purpose.","They were fairly close friends from what I gathered," Dennis stated and jammed his emotions into the pit of his stomach.,Hermione nodded in understanding.,"Even after she married Cormac McLaggen.","I tried to warn her, but… well, it was something of a whirlwind romance from what I heard," the deputy minister said in dull, flat voice. "I'm not surprised to learn the marriage ended. Did she tell you what was in the memories?","Dean asked her not to look at them, and she didn't have access to a pensieve. She respected his request and just kept them safe. He never told her what he saw when he finally got around to viewing them himself. She did say what he saw troubled him," Ronin informed her.,"I see, so what exactly did Katie ask you to do given she didn't have the memories any longer and didn't know what they contained?","She asked if we could help her find Dean. He was supposed to meet her at Kirkhill about four months ago, but he never showed. Katie was worried about him. Dean claimed he was being hunted, but he never told her by whom… or what," Ronin continued to supply the information.,"She said he was truly frightened the last time she saw him, and that stayed with her. I think it formed the basis of why she wanted to find him. She seemed to fear he was in real danger," Dennis added.,Just then a knock sounded at the door.,"Bring it in, Baird," Hermione called in a loud, commanding voice.,The door opened and the young man dressed in the green velvet jack wrangled a tea cart into the office. He rolled it to the group, and went about setting up the service on the coffee table. Dennis noted the cups, saucers, small plates, creamer, sugar bowl, and teapot lacked any decoration. The simple white porcelain gleamed in the office light. The flatware did not appear to be sterling, but rather bright stainless steel. The napkins appeared to be linen, but not a single design or crested adorned the squares of material. The receptionist, Baird, stooped to pour out the tea.,"Thank you, Baird, but we'll serve ourselves," Hermione interceded with her receptionist. "Please make certain the central planning meeting notes get transcribed and sent out for review. It's a dull task, I know, but please see to that first.","Yes, Ms. Granger-Weasley. I'll be at my desk if you need anything further," the young man said.,"Again, thank you, and please feel free to take your lunch at the appointed time if I am still engaged in meetings.",The man nodded, smiled at her, and then retreated from the room. Ronin immediately poured tea in all the cups, dropped a slice of lemon and two sugar cubes in his. He sat back in his chair after swiping two chocolate biscuits from the plate.,"Thank you, Ronin, and, yes, Baird has atrocious taste in clothes, but he is very, very good at his job. I'm not entirely sure I could function properly without his assistance," Hermione said as she stared at the closed door.,"I was wondering about that shirt and jacket," Ronin mumbled.,Dennis fixed his tea and also took a biscuit, but he remained full from breakfast,"Oh, trust me: Baird looks tame now compared to when he first arrived. Sometime his attire actually made my eyes water!",The three chuckled at the thought of an extreme version of the young man. Hermione took her turn making her tea. She did not opt for a chocolate wafer.,"I can assure you Dean was in no danger," Hermione expertly returned to the principle subject. "We did seek him out because we finally suspected he did have the memories or at least knew the content. I… they were Ron's last.","No need to explain, Hermione," Dennis quickly told her when she looked visibly upset.,"I always knew those two were going to get killed doing something like that," she whispered, and both men knew she did not speak to them. She led them into a silence, and then sighed. "But it's done and nothing can change it. Best move on.","Sounds like McGonagall," Ronin muttered.,"I thought you were in Hufflepuff?" She asked the younger Wood brother.,"I was, but you forget she served as headmistress during half my time there, and I had her for transfiguration for three years. I heard that phrase a lot from her," he rejoined.,"McGonagall did say it a lot and still does," Dennis added. "If she has free time, I spend some with her when I visit Hogwarts on occasion.",Hermione smiled, but then she cast a narrowed eye to Dennis and queried: "Can I ask you something of a personal nature, Dennis?","You can ask," he gave her permission but craftily made no promise to answer.,"Very well," she said through a knowing smirk. "What did you ever do with heptagonal configuration? What was in it?","No clue what you're talking about, Deputy Minister," Dennis answered in a neutral manner. "And even if I did, how would that help locate Dean Thomas?",Hermione graced him with a sly smirk and a barely noticeable wink. He got the impression it might be a topic for another day. It also appeared to be some sort of test. Whether he passed remained to be seen. However, Dennis no longer possessed the truly odd magical lock box and it's contents. It now resided in the hands of the family who historically owned it. He felt certain is rested in safety.,"Yes, you're quite right about that. How silly of me to ask such a – shall we say – nonsensical question," Hermione conceded to his point.,"Oh, I wouldn't say nonsensical, ma'am. The number seven is, after all, a fairly important number.",Ronin looked on while Deputy Minister Granger-Weasley shook her head a bit and chuckled softly to herself. Dennis could see the confusion on his comrade's face. When he caught Ronin's eyes, he gave the man a tiny wink. Ronin rolled his eyes.,"If you'll pardon me, but why would an auror suddenly go missing and be wanted by the Ministry of Magic. Is Dean in some sort of trouble?" Dennis inquired and hoped the minor aside proved he could keep a secret.,"I hate to say it, Dennis, but we're not really sure. If we knew the contents of… those memories, we might have a better idea. Only one person ever really found out what he got himself into or why he's acted as he did. It's a shame about Katie, she might've been able to shed a bit more light on this. I personally like to know more," Hermione said in a very thoughtful manner.,Dennis, and Ronin for that matter, believed she truly did not know. Ministry people often used words to hide things in plain sight. This time it did not seem to be the case.,"If I may share one… unusual bit of news," the woman said in a firmer voice. "First, do you know who recently served as head of the Auror's Office?",Dennis and Ronin both shook their in negation.,"Agatha Wentworth, truly a brilliant witch, headed up the office after the Ministry got attacked by modus inferi…,"Excuse me," Ronin interrupted, "but I don't fully understand the reference to modus inferi. I know what an inferi is, but mobile inferi?","A name we came across in some papers. The non-magical refer to them as zombies, but these are unlike any zombies our kind ever knew or created. We're not really certain what these… undead things are," Hermione explained.,"And the head of the Auror's Office?" Dennis switched back to the point before the interruption.,"Yes, she met with Dean about a year ago. He reported in to her, but she did not leave notes regarding the meeting, and that is strange in and of itself," she continued and sounded puzzled. "We only know about it because we saw the appoint on her calendar after we started cleaning it out.","How did she die?" Ronin asked half a second before Dennis.,"Do you two always work in tandem?" The deputy minister queried and glanced between the men.,"We've spent just nine months slogging through some of the worst zed-infested area. We started by trying to find my sister-in-law and the children," Ronin answered first. "Let me tell you, Edinburgh was no playground.",Hermione took a sip of her tea, her brow crinkled as bit, and then she said: "You were in Edinburgh? Do you realize the city got completely overrun with modus inferi? What were you doing there?","We needed to investigate Oliver's house," Dennis relayed in a plan fashion. The truth did not require embellishment. "We stuck to the roof tops and crossed the city to get to the New Haven district…,"That very close to ground zero!","Ah, so you're aware of what occurred there?","Of course," she said with a touch of indignation. "Infected boats landed in the harbor, the modus inferi walked up the coastline, across from Glasgow, and Edinburgh got hit from both the inside and the outside.",The word 'inside' sparked in Dennis' brain and he added: "Well, Oliver and his family got attacked eight months after the initial invasion. The zed came through the fireplace flue.","Impossible. The only flue infestation happened shortly before London fell. The modus inferi got into flue network, but we worked hard... and… and you're telling me the truth, aren't you?" She replied to the skeptical expression on faces of the two men.,"Oliver, Mysie, and the children all reported the same thing," Ronin told her with more than hint of frustration. "The undead came out of the flue… over two and a half years after London.","And that means either the zed are getting in through a major connection or, and this is the part that really frightens me, they can survive being trapped in the network itself," Dennis informed her of his theories.,"But that would mean the Edinburgh main hub is still operational..." she began.,"Or someone turned it on… or one of the international conduits is still functioning," Dennis finished for her. "And the zed got in through the household connections or the damn things are trapped inside the network and wandering around until they find an operating and open fireplace.","This is serious, gentlemen. Promise me you won't say anything to anyone until…,"To hell with that!" Ronin blurted and his face went flush. "You either inform the people right after we leave or we will. You can try to arrest us, but I promise you I will fight… and I'm not sure how many forces you've got left.","He's right, Hermione: you can't wait on this, and it's already been over three months since we found out," Dennis concurred with Ronin. "People need to turn off their flues as soon as possible or you run the risk of further zed outbreaks. It may be the very reason why no has been able to get on top of the situation.",Hermione Granger-Weasley smoothed down the front of her jacket in what appeared to be a nervous habit, and she did so while flicking her eyes back and forth between the men. They sat patiently waiting for her to speak. She grimaced.,"Minister Shacklebolt made a promise to the people to restore normal operations this year. He can't go back on his word or he'll lose the confidence of the people," she said, but neither man heard conviction in her voice.,Ronin snorted and in frustration said: "How much confidence will they have in a man who let the zed go walking right into their homes when it could've been avoided? Are you saying reputation is more important than the safety of our people?","Of course I'm not," Hermione angrily protested. "But do you want to cause a panic?","Versus when the word starts to spread through rumor mill after attacks start happening… again? I'm surprised word hasn't gone 'round already," Ronin fired back. "They'll facking tie Shacklebolt to the rack or burn him at the stake… and anyone else who colluded in covering this up when the truth comes out.","I would argue this is one time when politics needs to take a back seat," Dennis calmly summarized the only sane option.,"You're right, you're right. It's just… this office has done nothing but issue bad news for over five years. The people are losing hope. We stopped announcing the attacks on towns because it drove up the suicide rate over night… and that only led to more modus inferi," the woman sighed and suddenly looked exhausted. "I'll have Baird work on the wording, and we'll start the broadcasts this afternoon and run it as the headlines in tomorrow's papers.","I'll be listening to the wireless," Ronin informed her, and the implied threat rang loud and clear.,Hermione sat back, swilled down the remainder of her tea, and stared out into space.,"Hermione, will it help if we find Dean?" Dennis asked out of pity for the woman.,"It might, depending on what he knows… if he knows anything or is even still alive," she said in a dejected fashion. "But we don't have the personnel to spare for a full blown search and rescue operation. I might be able to find a couple of people, but I would never force them...","Have you gone blind all of sudden?" Dennis rumbled at her.,"Excuse me!","Hermione, stop and think about this conversation for a second. We're going forward to find him with or without your help," he clearly sated. "We were just hoping you can give us information on where he might be or… or some lead we can follow that provides another lead. Unless Dean is hiding deep underground somewhere, somebody has to have seen him at some time.",She glanced between them again and quietly asked: "I'm not one who's much into traveling, but I hear the border between India and China is an interesting place.","That's an awfully big border," Dennis guessed.,"Well, maybe you'll like it better much closer to the western most border of Nepal.",The two men eyed her.,"It's rugged and quite stunning I hear. Lot's of curious little villages around the area.","Wait a second, are you saying...","Ronin," Dennis interjected as fast as he could. "All the Deputy Minister is telling us is about parts of the world she finds… interesting. Isn't that so, Hermione?","Very interesting," she said in such a bland manner as to be almost comical. "Plus, if you want, you can apparate up to the peaks of Everest and K2, but that's too far east of where you'll get the best view.",Dennis slowly nodded his head as he stored the information. Following a few seconds of silence, Ronin threw hands in the air and said: "Fine. I guess we go sightseeing.","Oh, and please do pay attention to the travel advisory we have regarding that region. It appears to be full of, let's say, unusual modus inferi. I've read reports that say they're frightfully aggressive.","Thank you, Deputy Minister, that is most helpful," Dennis quietly said while making a mental note.,The three sat looking at one another for almost a minute. Hermione reached over, grabbed a biscuit, and nibbled on it while Dennis finished his tea. Ronin waited for someone to say something. He understood a coded message got passed, and he figured out most of it, but he felt as though the woman should encourage them to ask questions. His list ran a long length. However, no one spoke.,"Deputy Minister," Dennis at last broke the eerie silence. "Is is possible to send some aid to the Maell Cala encampment? They could use whatever help the Ministry can spare. I believe over a thousand people now call it home.","We might be able to lend material support, but monetary aid is out of the question. I hardly think I need remind you the Ministry exhausted it's funds during this crisis. Setting up these modest offices so we can conduct what business remains to us sapped what little we had in reserve," she told them and pointed out the plain surroundings.,"I think medical supplies, water purifiers, and tools would top the list? Weapons, too. Any type of hand-held weapon would come in a treat. Ro, can you think of anything?","Just imagine what an average family needs from day to day, and that gives you a pretty good starting point," Ronin said following a small sigh. "I think they'd like to do some fishing in the lochs, so anything to do with that might help. Oh, wands. I know we shouldn't use magic around the zed, but a number of people don't even have a wand, and it leaves them feeling… vulnerable.",Hermione closed he eyes for a moment, bobbed her head once, and replied: "That's a good start for care packages I'm certain we can assemble something and beg donations for the rest. We'll also send out resupply parties to scout towns to see if the modus inferi moved on and maybe find more survivors and useful items. Regardless, I give you my word we will try our best to assist Maell Cala.","Thank you," Dennis and Ronin said in unison.,Hermione stood. The two men got the hint and stood as well. Ronin extended his hand.,"Thank you for your visit, Ronin" she graciously said while accepting the hand. "While not all the news you brought was pleasant, any knowledge or solid information is useful and vital. Again, please give my warmest regards to Oliver and his family.","My pleasure and I will, ma'am," Ronin sincerely replied. "It's an interesting world out there to say the least.","On that I will completely take you at your word.",The two smiled at one another and released their hands. Hermione turned to Dennis. Before he moved, he studied her face. Again he saw concern and worry. Her road, he realized, proved just as dangerous as the one he and Ronin trod. Dennis extended his hand.,"I can't thank you enough for taking the time to stop at the Ministry. I'm sorry Minister Shacklebolt wasn't here to greet you and hear this for himself," she told him while taking his hand.,"I, ah, somehow think it might've worked to our advantage," Dennis replied as he gently squeezed her hand and lightly shook it. "I'm not sure we could have bullied him to do the right thing regarding the flue network.","You may not believe this, but he would've folded much quicker. The Ministry has taken such a beating of late I can't stand to see any more damage done to it.","Don't let that blind you to what needs to be done. Remember what they say about Cornelius Fudge.","That did cross my mind," Hermione responded and let go of Dennis' hand. "Please, should you come across any information regarding Dean or if you actually do find him, let me know.","We'll send him to you straight off," Dennis semi-promised.,"No, no, that won't be necessary. Dean knows what he should… must do. I'm not entirely sure what he is doing, but it could be extremely important in the long run.","Care to elaborate?","If I had solid facts I would share them. I've told you what I could that I know for certain," she said to both of them. "I don't think I need to remind you there is currently a prohibition on crossing the channel. Once you're inside of France, Portugal, or wherever you land, there is nothing we can do to protect you. You will be effectively on your own.","I wouldn't worry about that, Deputy Minister: I've operated on my own for well over half my life. I almost prefer it now," he replied.,"Yes, you have. You certainly have," the woman rejoined in a cryptic manner that frustrated Ronin. "I know I said I'd give you an hour, but there's hardly any more I can tell you and can't imagine what you have left to tell me.","I think at this juncture it's better to get to the point rather than wasting time on pleasantries.","You call that getting to the point?" Ronin sputtered in disbelief. "Pardon me, but I like the direct route.",Dennis smirked at his friend. Hermione's mouth violently twitched on side side.,"Safe travels, gentlemen, and I very much look forward to hearing from you in the future," the deputy minister said and extended her arm toward the door across the room.,Dennis and Ronin began to walk toward it. Hermione kept pace with them. She appeared lost in her own thoughts as they strolled. When they reached the doorway, the woman stopped and looked at both of them for a number of long seconds.,"I think there are answers out there, Dennis, Ronin, and it takes a special breed of person to find them," she said in a low voice. "Any effort made for the preservation of our people will not be forgotten. On that you have my absolute word.",The two men mumbled their thanks.,"One last thing: Dennis, consider the sword a permanent loan to your private gallery. I bet you didn't know it served in the goblin rebellions," the deputy minister quietly told him.,"Which side?" Dennis inquired with a sense of pleasant surprise.,"Both if I am not mistaken. It changed hands a number of times, so to speak.",Dennis grinned at the pun. A small smile flitted across Hermione's face, and she instantly looked years younger. She then simultaneously patted both men on the shoulder. It lent a friendly, familiar feeling to the parting.,"Please, do be careful and come back alive," she implored.,"I plan on it," Ronin said with gusto.,Hermione walked around them and opened the door. She smiled. Her face took on a youthful cast.,"Deputy Minister," Dennis said as he tipped his head toward her.,"Mr. Creevey," she replied in a formal manner.,"Ma'am," Ronin intoned and also ducked his head a bit.,"Mr. Wood.",With that the meeting ended. The door quietly closed behind them. As they passed the receptionist desk, the young man looked up. He then stood up.,"Just say exit when you get in the lift," he told them. "No wand required.",They did as instructed. In less than three minutes the two retrieved their wands and left the building. Dennis thought the place a perfect disguise for the Ministry. However, it felt good to be in the open air. He breathed deeply as he turned left on the sidewalk banking Market Avenue.,"I'm not stupid and I got most of it, but some of that was hard to follow," Ronin complained. "So we're going to Nepal?","India, I think. That bit about curious little villages was a nice touch," Dennis answered.,"A clue?",Dennis nodded and said: "But I'm not exactly sure what it meant entirely. I think it will become obvious when we find it.","Do you think she knows where he is?" Ronin continued his parade of questions.,"No, but I think she knows where he plans to go, and it scares her.","Oh, yeah, it's nice we're heading to a place where the zed are really aggressive.","What do think you that actually means?" Dennis asked.,The men walked in silence amid the sounds of the street and the buzz of life in the city. Ronin focused on the ground. Dennis gave him time. His friend proved clever and insightful if given space. Three minutes passed.,"I got an ugly feeling, Denny," Ronin said in a hush. "This place she talked about, the zed are different there for some reason and probably not a good one. She called them modus inferi, the mobile undead. I've never heard anyone call them that. It sounded almost like a spell. It sounded old.",Dennis blinked and patted himself on the back with an invisible arm for letting Ronin ponder the issues. The last part truly astounded him.,"That… wow, beats what I was thinking by a long shot," he confessed to his friend. "You're right: modus inferi does sound like a spell, but it doesn't make the back of my neck tingle. I think it's just a name, but it's damned important clue as you figured out.","So when do we leave?","You don't have to come.","Stop playing silly buggers and just tell me what schedule you want to follow," Ronin rounded on him.,"We could leave tomorrow," Dennis began, "but I want to see if Tinble's account ledger can provide us some cash and she can exchange some of it for muggle money. This is a functioning city, Ro, and it looks like we can get decent supplies. We need to find good foodstuff that will last on the road and not take up too much room.","I want a new nylon hammock. That cotton cord one feels like it might break.","Did you ever see those water purifying pumps? That could come in handy.","We better think about new backpacks then 'cause I won't have enough room for all this.","Oh, and one of the compact medical kits. I'm not bad with healing charms, but… zeds, you know.","Maybe some decent thermal underwear since it's gonna be cold where we're going.","And socks. The house elves tried to fix mine, but they're too far gone.","I could use some, too.",Throughout the walk back to The Midnight Owl, Dennis and Ronin continued to sketch out a list of what they needed and wanted. Needs, Dennis reminded his friend, came first. Ronin disagreed and said Chocolate Frogs came first. As they turned onto Upper King Street, the two began debating as to which collectible card held the most value. They both agreed on Dumbledore as a staple card, but Dennis said he always preferred Barnabas the Barmy. Ronin chuckled and rudely commented the choice made sense. He, himself, he claimed, tended toward Ptolemy. Dennis voiced incredulity. From there the personal preferences became varied and wide. It hardly sounded like they prepared to head out on an incredibly dangerous mission. Perhaps in some way they did.,Creative Commons (CC) 2017,Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

1) Either Touma Kamijou or Mikoto Misaka , be Harry Potter,2) The point of time in the wizarding world must be during the Goblet of Fire or Order of the Phoenix,3) Both Touma and Mikoto must show up at Hogwarts and be important to the plot,4) Must take place after the Battle Royale Arc timeline wise for Index,5) If Mikoto is Harry, Ron must chase her hand in marriage, and get Mikoto's pervert treatment if he gets too grabby,Having Accelerator, Ruiko Saten, and/or Index involved,pairings,Dumbledore bashing,Ron bashing,Evil Ron/Dumbledore,1) Mikoto being in a Lesbian relationship or in a relationship with Ron (nothing against Lesbians),2) Touma being in a gay/yaoi relationship,3) Good Voldemort,4) Touma's Imagine Breaker negating the Goblet's summoning (the binding contract bit can be negated),5) Espers and Touma using wands and magic,6) Kuroko x Mikoto ship

Title: Coraline,An: Grande sœur and große schwester mean big sister in French and German respectively. Frère is brother in French.,.,.,Coraline Jones the transfer from America.,She's an odd sort.,Appearance wise she's nice looking but seemingly ordinary enough with pale skin and a rather cute smattering of freckles.,But she's anything but ordinary.,She has the oddest blue hair, ,Spunky and inquisitive with a knack for exploration and ferreting out old forgotten places and secrets she knows the castle better than anyone even after only being there for a few weeks.,She stands out amongst the Hogwarts students and there isn't one of them who hasn't heard of or know about her.,The American girl's a favourite with the teachers and the ghosts like her. Why no one's sure, the ghosts are anyone's guests but the teachers like of her likely stems from her talent in their subject and the curiosity and joy she exhibits when immersing herself in the unseen eddies of magic as she works. Amazingly even Snape seems to approve of her and she's the only one he's ever failed to cow into submission with his ominous bat like presence and bitting commentary.,She's well behaved and doesn't cause trouble in his class which helps; her knack for potions helps more. The class nearly has a heart attack when he actually gives her points the first case anyone can remember for a non Slytherin.,When she's not wearing her school robes she likes to wear a deep blue sweater with stars on it, and whenever it's raining she dons her bright yellow gumboots and raincoat.,She has a familiar, , not pet. It's a big black cat, skeletal with big luminous blue eyes.,Her ever present companion is no ordinary cat just as she is no ordinary girl.,Ridiculously intelligent he resembles the Cheshire cat of legends in his ability to vanish and reappear at will. Coraline once explained it as walking the spaces in between.,No one's seen him open his mouth but they all swear they've heard him talk when no one is looking.,Odd instances like this are not uncommon. Sometimes people swear when they glance at the girl's reflection in a mirror or a window as she passes by her reflection has buttons in place of eyes.,Visitors to the castle are rare but Coraline is given special dispensation by Dumbledore and is visited by her'sœurs' and 'frères'.,She's grande sœur and große schwester to a many dead children. The sight of their tiny bodies brings a great sadness to those who chance upon them when they visit her. She dances and plays with them and they call to her in many languages while laughing and smiling. Their ghostly songs surround her in the voices of dead children singing for her.,The button eyed reflection, the there and not again cat, her connection with the ghosts. These odd phenomena that surround her sets her apart but she remains unbothered by it. Where others might shun the strangeness that she surrounds her she embraces it.,A kind girl who keeps unusual company and has a knack for exploration Coraline Jones is someone who invites curiosity.,.,.,.,An: I would to write a longer fanfic for this, maybe when some of my longer stories have finished I can give it more attention. For now it's a oneshot until I write more for it. Don't expect coming additions to be frequent or regular or anytime too soon. I might make this a short series of three or so similar sort of chapters and then write a larger story for it separately.

CHAPTER 1: Mother Returns,Minerva sat in her office staring at a wall absently. Umbridge, the ministry appointed professor, was tormenting the students and staff. There was little to be done. The frustration was really starting to get to the brave lioness, and to her snake of a younger brother.,"Minerva," a voice grabbed her attention from the office door.,The her badger younger sister stood their with a luminescent twinkle in her azure eyes. She seemed more alive and younger...it meant only one thing.,"She's returned!?" Minerva asked rising from her seat.,"Yes," Snape nodded poking his head in the door. He too seemed happier and younger, though he hid his delight better.,"She's waiting for you in Albus' office," the mediwitch grinned, "We're off to tell the little lion wolf.",Minerva nodded and left her office running as fast as she could, a look of pure delight on her face. The students that saw her thought she mad. The staff that saw her where ecstatic. A favorite staff member had returned in the best time.,Minerva arrived at the headmaster's office, but stopped just at the door when she heard arguing.,"You cannot expect all the teachers to change their schedules just to accommodate a teacher that has been absent for five years," Umbridge's voice stated.,"If you had read the professorial agreement when you arrived Delores, You would know that the Heads of House will create free periods for all years. These free periods can be given up willingly by the children if they wish to add a course. It has been set that way for many years." Albus said his voice growing a hint of anger.,"A ridiculous notion. I will be watching this Professor Harris very closely.","As you wish Professor, but do her the courtesy of tonight's respite to rest for her lessons tomorrow," Albus commanded.,"I will be speaking to Cornelius about this!" she shrilled and left the office nearly running into Minerva.,"Professor McGonagall why were you snooping about?" Delores glared straightening her skirts.,"I was not snooping. I was just about to knock on the door when you ran into me. Dumbledore asked to see me," she glared.,Umbridge huffed and descended the stairs, while Minerva entered Albus' office.,Albus sat with his head in his hands rubbing his temples.,"A-Albus...I...",The headmaster raised his head and smiled rising from his seat.,"I thought you'd be here soon. Please, she's eagerly waiting for you upstairs." he smiled cupping Minerva's face as she passed.,Minerva hurried upstairs and through a door way into the headmaster's private quarters. A woman was curled up in a shawl on the couch reading.,"Mama!" Minerva cried out already feeling the effects of being closer to her mother. Her weariness and soreness of age seemed to evaporate.,The woman turned her head from her book and smiled.,Minerva ran over falling to her knees by the woman and rested her head in the woman's lap.,Professor Harris chuckled and kissed her daughter's head as she removed the pins of the bun, and let the onyx curls fall to the floor.,Minerva immediately felt herself relax as her mother's nails wove into her scalp, scratching.,"I shall never get tired of seeing the wonderful effect you have on my favorite staff members, Professor Harris," Albus smiled entering his quarters.,The woman merely smiled up at him as Minerva continued to rest on her mother's lap.,"I shall excuse some of our professors from supper for a meeting regarding the new classes to begin on Tuesday," Albus smiled.,Minerva stood beaming as she pulled her mother off the couch, "Thank you Albus!",Albus nodded watching the happy child and her mother leave to gather the rest of their family for a private supper in their mother's quarters.,Albus loved when Professor Harris would return to her home. Hogwarts always felt happier and younger. As did its inhabitants.

Fate 1: It's coming! It's almost time!,Voldemort: *points wand at Harry's head* Such a pity.,Narrator: ,Fate 2: Ok, but, I really miss when he was a handsome hunk. What am I even looking at right now!?,Fate 3: *gives Fate 2 an outraged look* WHAT!? He's handsome as he is right now! Gotta love his manly snekiness!,Fate 1: Have you been looking into the future again!? What the hell is a snek!?,*all arguing and pushing each other*,Fate 2: Who cares about that!? How could you say that he's handsome in this freak form!?, ,Voldemort: Avada Kedavra...,*string shimmers a bit to show it should be cut soon*,Fate 3: HE JUST IS OK!?,Fate 2: NO! Not ok!,Fate 1: *sees the string but her sisters are blocking it* Guys! We need to— *tries to lunge forward to cut it with the scissors but trips along with her sisters and ends up cutting Voldemort's string by accident*,Fates: *stare at the string* Oh shit.,Fate 1: Ok. No mess ups this time. We have to be ready.,Fate 2: Oh my gods, his head— he's even uglier like this.,Fate 3: HE'S JUST MISUNDERSTOOD!,Fate 2: UH, HE'S A MASS MURDERER!,Fate 3: RIIIIGHT. Like SIRIUS BLACK!? Poor Tom is innocent! He's just mildly not sane!,Fate 1: Guys—,Fate 2: INNOCENT!? DOES THAT... that... CREATURE look INNOCENT TO YOU!?,Fate 3: YES! Yes he does!,Fate 1: GUYS!,Quirrelmort: *lunges toward Harry*,Fate 1: Quick before Harry can grab him back! *tries to get to the string but ends up accidentally knocking her eye out instead* *runs into her sisters and knocks them both over in her attempt to not fall* *eye slides across the floor* I can't see!,Fate 2 and 3: *stacked on top of one another* We can't either!,Quirrelmort: *crumbles into dust*,Fate 1: *gets her eye back in* *helps her sisters up* *look at the Harry cam*,Harry: *is clearly still alive with no Quirrelmort in sight and a new shiny red immortality stone to show for his insane luck*,Fates: Damn it!,Fate 1: Ok ok ok. We've failed twice already. They say 3rd time's the charm right?,Fate 3: *cackles a little bit*,Fate 1: What?,Fate 3: I made that saying!,Fate 2: What!? YOU did? Why I've always thought that the second time was the charm.,Basilisk: *should totally have killed Harry like 4 times already*,Fate 1: *sighs*,Fate 3: Well you would wouldn't you?,Fate 2: I could say the same to you!,Fate 3: The second time has already passed and we failed! Boom! *dances around and gets in her sister's face* Like a boss!,Fate 1: Stop egging each other on!,Basilisk: *bites Harry*,Fate 2 and 3: I am not egging her on!,Fate 1: You are! Why are we even arguing about this!?,Tom: I am going to watch you die Harry Potter.,Fawkes: *flies in and lands on Harry*,Fate 1: No! We have to cut it! Hurry! Hurry! Where are the scissors?,Fate 2: I don't know! She had them last! *points to Fate 3*,Fate 3: I did not you did!,Fate 1: Stop bickering! We can't let that bloody fire ass birdie cry on the kid's wound!,Fate 2: But where are we supposed to look!,Fate 3: Ahhhhhh!,Fates: *run around like headless chickens*,Fate 1: The couch cushions! Everything gets lost in there!,Harry: You were brilliant Fawkes. I just wasn't fast enough….,Fate 2 and 3: I FOUND THEM! *glare at each other* NO I DID!,Fate 1: *runs and grabs them* Now I have! *runs and jumps toward Harry's string*,Fawkes: *cries on Harry's wound*,Fates: OH COME ON!,Fate 2: We're gonna get it right this time!,Fate 3: Yeah! We've got this!,Fate 1: You idiots! He's not supposed to die this year! Just lose his soul! That's Death's job not ours!,Fate 1: *stares at the Potter boy in clean health with a fully intact soul present in his body* What the fuck! Lucky little bed headed wizard!,Fate 1: *yelling at the horntail* Come on! Nail him! Smash him! Bash him! *looks at the string* Oh come on how does a giant dragon not stand a chance of killing him?!,Fate 2: He's just been in such crazy situations that this situation isn't crazy enough to match his crazy.,Fate 3: *moodily* The kid is way too damn lucky.,Fate 1: WHY CAN'T HE JUST DIE?,Fate 2 and 3: *exchange looks* *look at their sister*,Fate 2: We'll get him next time.,Fate 3: YESSSSSS. RISE YOU BEAUTIFUL SNEK MAN RISSSSE!,Fate 1: Shut up! *stares intently at the string* I don't care what you to do but I'm going to be ready this time!,Fate 2: Beautiful? That thing is something but it ain't beautiful.,Fate 3: Shhhh! No one asked you!,Fate 2: No, but I respond when I WANT TO.,Fate 3: Not when you're just gonna bash Tom you're not!,Fate 2: But I just did! And That's not Tom! Tom was the handsome teen from the chamber, and because of your airy head you managed to get distracted enough to allow Harry to kill him!,Fate 3: You were distracted too! That's not on me!,Fate 2: IT WAS TO! *shoves Fate 3*,Fate 3: EEK! *topples into Fate 1 right when she was about to cut the string*,Fate 1: NOOOOOO!,Harry: *dodges all the spells being thrown at him, summons the cup, and escapes*,Fate 1: YOU IDIOTS!,Harry: SIRIUS! NO! No! *sobs*,Remus: *restraining Harry* He— he's gone Harry. He's dead.,Harry: NO! He is not dead! He just fell through! HE'S NOT DEAD! Sirius! SIRIUS!,—,Fates: *holding the scissors in shock after just having cut the wrong string by accident*,Fate 3: *drops the scissors*,—,Fates: *too busy staring at the cam to bend down and pick the scissors up again as Voldemort once again fails to kill Harry*,Fate 2: What kind of kid leads a life like this?,Fate 3: *mutters* Only him.,Fate 1: *sighs* *echoes* Only him.,—, ,Harry: *pulls the four poster shut and stares at the insides of the red hangings* *inwardly* ,—,Fate 1: *sighs softly* Why can't he just die?,Fate 2 and 3: *exchange silent looks* *stare at the cam*,Fate 2: *quietly* We'll get him next time.,Fate 1: *eyes narrowed on the inferi pulling Harry down*,Fate 2: Come on! Keep him down!,Fate 3: No Dumbledore! Leave the damn hallow! Don't you dare pick it up!,Fate 1: *glances at the string* He's not meant to die here either.,Fate 3: One can hope.,—,Harry: *glaring at Snaps* TRAITOR! HE TRUSTED YOU! He trusted you.,—,Fate 1: That bloody bat bastard!,Fate 2: You know that this was planned though.,Fate 3: Doesn't make him any less of a bastard.,Fate 2: OH MY GOD THAT EAR! BLOOD! Golly! What a shot!,Fate 3: This isn't a sport!,Fate 1: *watches Hedwig take the green curse* Near miss. *looks at the string and sighs* But obviously not near enough.,Fate 2: NOOOOO! NOT MAD EYE!,Fate 1: He's a trouble magnet that avoids the real trouble. Did you see that curse! It missed him by like an inch!,Fate 2: Not to mention that none of his friends are meant to die.,Fate 3: I suppose that's good for him.,Fates: *gathered around the string*,Fate 1: *staring avidly at it* *string shimmers* YES!,Fate 1: How…. JUST DIE! DIE YOU CRAZY LUNATIC OF A WIZARD!,Fate 1: *dryly* Think the locket will actually manage to kill him?,Fate 3: You know who this kid is right? *points to Ron*,Fate 1: *sighs*,Fate 2: *watches Harry get pulled from the water* He lives!,Fate 1: Yup. Did we really expect anything less?,Fate 2: OH MY GODS THEY'RE ON A BLOODY DRAGON!,Fate 1: QUICK QUICK THE STRING IS SHIMMERING!,Fates: *stumble into each other and struggle to grab the scissors* *each get a different pair* *try to cut the string at the same time but keep bumping the blades of the scissors together*,Fate 1: *scissors get knocked out of her hand* *flies across the room and cuts Bogrod's string*,Fate 2 and 3: *freeze and wince when Bogrod gets fried*,Fate 3: Ooooo, he got roasted! Literally!,Fate 2 and 3: *completely forgot about the string*,Fate 1: No! You missed another opportunity you dumb dumbs!,Fate 1: Alright. Ready? No. Distractions. None whatsoever ya hear?,Fate 2 and 3: Yup!,Voldemort: AVADA KEDAVRA!,Fates: *eagerly go forward and cut the... now glowing golden uncuttable string?*,Fate 1: ... what...,Fates: *look at what's happening on the Harry cam*,Hooded figure: You have accomplished something beyond any mortal has ever dreamed.,Harry: *wide eyed* *watches the figure remove its hood*,Death: I am happy to serve you, my master.,Harry: *gapes at the Hallows in his hands*,Fates: NOOOOO!

Die Sonne schien strahlend über die grüne Landschaft Schottlands und im Laytonmobil wurde es allmählich immer wärmer. Doch Professor Layton fuhr unbeirrt weiter, genoss seine Umgebung und freute sich schon auf seinen Urlaub.,Seit ein paar Wochen nun schon war die Gressenheller Universität in London nahezu verlassen, denn es waren Sommerferien und daher die meisten Studenten und Dozenten verreist. Nur Professor Layton war als einer der wenigen zurückgeblieben, recherchierte und forschte weiter wie immer, verbrachte selbst jetzt noch – sehr zu Rosas Ärger – ein paar Nächte in seinem Büro. Er hätte natürlich auch den Sommer bei sich zu Hause verbringen können, doch nun, da Luke in die USA gezogen war, kam ihm sein Haus unnatürlich leer und verlassen vor…,Doch selbst einem Professor Layton kann die Decke manchmal auf den Kopf fallen, und so hatte er das Angebot Dean Delmonas gerne angenommen: Der Dekan besaß nämlich ein kleines Ferienhaus in Schottland, in dem einmal im Monat jemand nach dem Rechten sah. Doch diese Person war nun ausnahmsweise den ganzen Monat selbst verreist. Daher hatte der Dekan Professor Layton gebeten, dort hinzufahren und einmal nachzuschauen, ob es denn noch stünde, wie er lachend bemerkt hatte. Im Gegenzug dürfe er dann gerne ein paar Tage dort bleiben…,Ab und zu schoben sich ein, zwei Wolken vor die Sonne, aber ansonsten war es so schön wie selten in England… oder in diesem Fall in Schottland. Der Professor kam an vielen Seen vorbei und musste sein kleines Auto manch steilen Berg nach oben fahren lassen. Als er jedoch über den nächsten Hügel gefahren war, erblickte er etwas höchst Erstaunliches.,Ein gewaltiges Schloss!,Gebannt betrachtete er das graue Gemäuer mit den vielen Türmen, neben einem glitzernden See und einem dunkelgrünen Wald. Und wie es schien, war es sogar noch nicht einmal verfallen! Aber warum wusste er nichts von diesem Schloss? Als Archäologe wusste man doch normalerweise von so etwas, oder nicht?,Professor Layton fuhr in einen schmaleren Sandweg, der zum Schloss zu führen schien, und erreichte nach einer Weile ein von Ebern bewachtes Tor, auf dem der Name HOGWARTS zu lesen war. Dort stieg er aus und suchte nach einer Art Klingel, nach irgendetwas, um sich den Insassen des Schlosses bemerkbar zu machen, doch er fand nichts. Schließlich ging er zum Tor und versuchte, es zu öffnen, doch er konnte die dunkelgrauen Gitterstäbe nicht einmal berühren! Es schien, als würde sie eine unsichtbare Wand trennen…

,It was a dark night on a street in surrey all the houses looked alike and no one would of notice the house at number four privet drive, it was the same as ever other house, expect if you went in the hallway, you would see there was a light in it and a very bruised and battered boy would appear, if you bother to open the cupboard you would also see he was in need of a good bath and some food. But who cares! Harry was waiting for the first time for his birthday, he had a watch he had stolen of his cousin before he broke it, and Dudley dursley was his fat whale of a cousin whose piggy little eyes ate everything in sight. He found out about his birthday when he came across it in the draw of the kitchen. Stupid place to put it if you asked him, because while he was looking his uncle had found him looking and he had got a beating for snooping, it was weird coz on it the paper had said minstery of magic so it must be wrong, anywhere, it was five minutes to midnight and his birthday he would be five.,Four minutes to go,Three,Two,One,Happy birthday harry said to himself, as there was a flash and harry was gone ….,…..,"Roland we have the target it seems to be two jumpers there in a placed called Godric hollow its Dace and his son Griffin" said the man as he got hold of his gun "come on unit three out.",Dace was a tall man about thirty and his son was about seven both looked alike and both had grey eyes and brown hair both were handsome in the right light.,"Dace, Griffin stop," there equipment was out and the stun gun was charge up as dace and Griffin stood there, and then it happened the bastard,"Hello Mr cox nice to see you again, we missed you in Rome, and that problem in 1967 was also not without some fault of yours", Dace said humorously,Roland Cox jr had been leader of the paladins for four years his dad Roland Cox senior had been doing this before him, they were the best and used every resource available to them.,Dace and Griffin stared at him and raised the gun "only god should have this power" just then a bright flash appeared and harry turned up. Dace looked at Griffin and said "get the boy go to the save house in the pass," quick as he started throwing knifes and gun fire ducking the stun gun and sticking the knife in to the gut of the one who held it, he hoped it would be enough to get the boys to safety.,"Great another one" said Roland supremely as he raised the stun gun he missed "Fuck" he said and started moving ducking and driving the guns and knife attacks.,As the others watch harry got up and Dace started to throw knifes catching them and sticking them into the people around them as griffin come and caught harry and ran with him,,"Quick run and grab my hand now" as harry quickly took his hand and run a stun gun nearly got him and harry and griffin disappeared.,Harry found himself in a little underground cave of some kind it was lit with a lamp, harry was sacred and started to shake with fear going over and over in his mind what was happening, suddenly there was a breeze he stood and there was a man griffin ran up and hug him whispering something like thank god your safe dad or something along that line. And then there stared at harry.," Hello" said the man as he raised his hand as harry started to shake tears streaming down his cheeks he was shanking with fear and dread and was wondering what was going on.,Griffin looked at his dad and then at harry he mused over what they must look like to this young one. Talking quietly he interrupted his dad and introduce them.,"Hey little man this is my dad Dace and I'm Griffin and we are jumpers, and you seemed to have had your first jump, but you seemed to have jumped right in the middle of our war with the paladins, they kill jumpers. So try to stay out of the way or you can join us and fight this war that all jumpers seemed to be indirectly part of, it's be killed or fight and everyone fights and some are still killed" so you in,,Harry just stared and then not knowing what to do he bravely looked up, he said with his hand out reached to shake hands "I'm harry potter, and today is my fifth birthday.",….,….,The wizarding world was in up roar and in panic it was the first of September and harry potter should have been on the train to Hogwarts and back in their world and he was nowhere to be found. The daily prophet had released the news and now there was a big man hunt for the boy who lived.,Albus was watching the sorting but not really seeing he was worried and was feeling frustrated, he had gone personally to the Dursley's and they had said that the boy disappeared when he was five, and then shut the door in his face after he had read her thoughts. Harry had been abused normal for his day not for now days.,Before he disappear his last thoughts were "where are you harry potter" and disappeared back to Hogwarts.,At the tables everyone was talking about the boy who lived harry potter who killed the dark lord he who must not be named and now no one could find him.,That year Voldemort got the stone and was back in his human body and just as powerful and ruthless. (But where was his foe),…..,Meanwhile,,"Dace the knife" screamed harry as he ducked another bolt,Dace throw it and harry flashed and it hit the unit member, he fell blood rushing out of his chest. Another bolt flashed pass him he flashed out and was behind the last member he fell when harry direct a bolt form another gun at him.,Dace was now dancing with Cox jr Griffin had flashed in then and started firing the guns at him and harry was now doing hand to hand with cox and trying to kill him kicks and punches were landed but Cox was strong just as he tried to punch him and kick him the way to floor someone in martial arts, dace was trying to draw the attention away from harry and Griffin,,Suddenly another unit come up,"Fuck unit opps are here withdrawn boys said Dace" all jumped.,As they landed at the cave in the middle of the desert they lived they laughed.,"fuck!" that was close" said harry "yeah the others agreed. Going into the living space they sat down, both boys were now sixteen and had down time jumps to gain experience and both knew they were wizards having been told by their father.,As they sat down they started to watch the news as usually and started rolling joints and getting pissed after all they did fight for the lives nearly every week it was draining and to sleep they needed to take shifts. So two awake one slept.,Harry had changed and looked good no glasses he looked like (Damion out of vampire dairies. Mmm nice) the others looked like angel form buffy Dace and spike out of buffy as Griffin dyed his hair blonde.,Harry's world was different and was always in danger he lived on it.,…,Harry just jump the mother fucker but it's a beautiful car I want one as Dace and Griffin jump in no use of the doors. It was not need as they hotwired the car and drove up the road nice they all said.,The car behind suddenly shot out and gave them a push looking over harry saw cox and drove fast the care overturn and they jumped out unit fucking one was there Trap done and set, they started to fight.,Harry, Dace and Griffin were in the middle of a battle with Roland cox again trying to win they were in the middle of London in the evening, screams seemed to pitch loudly in the air clocked figures seemed to be surrounding them out of thin air, and they started to fight them getting in there way trying to get a better look at them while cox tried to bolt them which seem to hit one of the hood figures and he seemed to be having a fit. Dace looked down at him quickly "hurts don't it" as he duck as the guns come out,,"You missed me Cox "as harry moved "are you even trying anymore the hooded figures step back not knowing what was going on.,Dace looked at the figures remembering what they were oh shit he thought harry death eaters fuck as we don't have enough to do as he kicked threw knifes and then he needed a fast get away, he thought of his adopted son they all knew the stories.,"Boys James Park now jump" said dace,"Yeah" said harry and Dace, Dace side stepping away from the bolts you coming Cox said Griffin as then both disappeared. Laughter in the air,Roland cox then seemed to spray a can in the air and saw the waves it was a new invention and jumped though as well as his team,The clock figures just looked shocked no one had cared about them, there lord needed to know about this and they disappeared.,Cox stood up and Screamed "God is the only one who should have this power" as he saw the shock on his targets face,,"New invention then can copy our jumps" said Dace shocked he'd caught them by surprised and Dace had fallen a bolt though his body and a shot to the head. Dead,"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" screamed Griffin and harry they had to disappear and they did they jumped nine times and then made sure everything was closed of went to their jump spots.,Then went home it was done dace had died fuck they needed him they mourned him the anger and the hurt coming though. Revenged for all the lives Cox took jumpers to be safe so the war just got worst as they needed a few more people.,They knew about the shit with the wizarding world and boy who lived they were all scared of this lord Voldemort.,They were more scared of Roland Cox.,…..,The death eaters appeared at the manor house their lord was in the beautiful ballroom greens and silver and a beautiful throe at one side of the room, on the throe was their lord and his snake nagini, looking towards his followers "so you have returned","My lord the mission was a success said Nott although one casualty Crabbe collapse with muggle gun, and there was three people fighting and then they disappeared, the muggle said they were jumpers.","Jumpers" lord Voldemort said,"Leave now" he said with a glare they were gone.,Getting up he went to his library, he knew he heard about this before,,He came across the book,Voldemort stood up this could be very useful but how to find them.,Dace was dead and they both morn him both skinned up and drinking they went clubbing and slept around they fell into a runt and had not really gone out that much but had contact some of the others jumpers informing them of the new invention , and making sure that there jumps were closed.,Harry awoke his head banging and after drinking coffee and eating and making enough for Griffin, harry said that they should go to Hogwarts, the plan c as they called it. Even though they had magic they were both equip to use dark and light spells and they needed to practice again.,Both agreeing they sorted out there stuff and they after a little while with wandless magic put up wards. To protect the place and jumped to knock turn alley.,Going to the bank to get money and then buying there school stuff there shrink it down with their new wands. And then as they went to get some munch before they bounced.,They were in the middle of trying to get to the pub a bolt came out of the blue and missed them by inches. Turning around there grab their guns and shouted get down and move.,Everyone watched as Cox had found them and started walking forward towards them,"Hello boys" said Cox,"you mother fucker, where's is my father's body you piece of shit" shouted Griffin as he shout a round at Cox who duck and drive away.,"Unit five here now "shouted cox as three teams come into the alley, and then looked at the boys,"Mr Harry Potter and Mr Griffin O'Conner you will now die you can't have this power god and the devil have this power mere mortals should not" just then both boys looked at each other and jumped.,Cox watched and then shouted "unit ten they have jumped as the other took out the spray and all went though.

Note: The only thing that I own is the character Kat and the story line.,Chapter One: Diagon Alley,Kat was thought to be just a muggle but she was not, she was a witch. Kat was an orphan who lived in America but she moved to Britain when she was ten. The day before her 11th birthday, she got a letter from Hogwarts.,The day of her birthday, a wired man named Severus Snape came to her orphanage. He told her about the magical world and everything that she was. For she was one of the Heirs of the Hogwarts' Founders as well as one of the Potter Triplets.,Snape took Kat to Diagon Alley that day to get her school supplies. The first story in the alley they went to was Madam Walkin's Robe shop. In the shop, she meets Harry Potter.,Kat said "Hi, My name is Kat".,"Hello, my name is Harry Potter" Said Harry.,"Nice to meet you" replied Kat.,Harry then asked "Are you from here Kat?",Kat replied "No, I am from the U.S.","Wow, that is cool" Said Harry.,"Are you new to the wizarding world too?" asked Kat.,Harry replied "Yes, I am new. So who from Hogwarts has brought you here?"," The Potion Master" replied Kat. "Is he nice?" asked Harry.,Kat said "Ya, he is nice but is to quit and I think he has an attitude".,"That's weird" said Harry.,Just then Kat saw Snape looking for her; she said "I think Snape wonts to go now".,Harry said "Okay. Nice meeting you, Bye".,Kat walks out of the store after paying for her robes with Snape.,"Are you ready to get your wand now?" asked Snape. "Yes sir, I am ready to get it" replied Kat.,"Ok, follow me to Ollivander's" said Snape.,Kat followed Snape into the wand maker's shop. As they walked into the shop, the y was meeting by a little old man with gray hair, big blue eyes and a very big smile on his face.,Kat said "Hello sir. My name is Kat".,"Hello, I have been wonding when I would be seeing you" said Mr. Ollivander.,"Why is that sir?" asked Kat with a confused look on her face.,"Are you not the heir of Hogwarts and the oldest of the Potter triplets?" asked Ollivander.,Kat replied "Yes, I am the heir of Hogwarts but I do not know about the other, sir.","Well, you do have James' bone structure like your brother but you look more like Lily in all your other looks" said Ollivander, "But you came to get your wand did you not?" "Why yes, I did sir" said Kat.,"Well let's see which hand you write with then" said Ollivander. Kat said "I… use my left hand most of the time". "Well ok. Let's get you measured for your wand" Ollivander to Kat.,Kat in a squeaky voice said "Ok" and so they got her hand measured.,Mr. Ollivander grabbed Kat a wand and handed it to her as she took it from him; he said "Well give it a wave". Kat did just that, when she did she accidently broke a drinking glass.,Mr. Ollivander turned toward Kat and said "its ok happens all the time in this shop".,Just then, Kat felt a pull toward the wand that sat in the window, so she walked over to it. When Kat got to it, she picked up the wand. At what time, Kat was surrounded by a warm glow that came down apron her. Mr. Ollivander saw this out of the corner of his eye as he was looking for other wands that Kat could try.,"What just happened to me?" asked Kat. "That wand is to be you wand" replied Ollivander.,"Is this wand special?" asked Kat. "It is special. This wand is made out of Rosewood which is a very strong type of magical wood. The core is one of only four Phoenix's feathers given by the headmaster of Hogwarts' Phoenix. This wand was made by my Grandfather over 100 years ago. One of the other four feathers was made into a wand that He-how-must-not-be-named used to give Harry Potter his scare. I made that wand and the other two wands that have the other Phoenix feathers in them" said Ollivander sadly.,"Wow! This is amazing. Do you have an idea who the other two wands will go to?" asked Kat. "No, I do not. But I have a feeling that one will go to Harry Potter and the other to a girl named Caitlyn Galler" replied Ollivander. Kat then paid for her wand and left with Snape. They then went to the pet shop and got Kat an owl.,The owl was a small light brown eagle owl which Kat named Savannah for the home that she missed so much. As they were walking, Professor Snape asked "Do you like living were you do?","No sir. I miss my Godmother Lucy so very much, but the people I miss the most are my mother and father. They were killed by an evil man when I was thirteen months old. I think I had a brother and sister who look a little like me, but I do not know if it is true or not" replied Kat.,"Have you ever thought of being adopted?" asked Professor Snape.,"Yes, I have wished for it since Lucy died in December" replied Kat, "Why do you ask?" ´Well I like the way you act, as well as your manners. Everything about you reminds me about Lily Potter minus your hair and eye color which is more of a mix of Lily and Potter. Plus I do not have heir" said Snape. Kat in very happy way said "I would love that, Professor Snape".,"I will take you back to your orphanage and talk to your head about adopting you" said Snape.,Kat said "Ok sir". Professor Snape then took Kat back to her orphanage. Once there, Professor Snape talked to the head of the orphanage about adopting Kat, as well as filling out all the paperwork to adopt Kat.

(Realm of the Gods),Viridi, the Goddess of Nature was pissed off. Now granted, this wasn't unusual in any sense of the word. The goddess of nature was naturally angry with mankind, yet when she decided to look into the future, her anger grew to nuclear levels.,So ticked off, she had sent Dark Pit flying. Where? She could care less! Into a mountain for all she cared at the moment as she glared down at the future of this world, her scowl continued to grow. , she thought darkly ,.,Her attention was caught when she spotted a small field of flowers where a small group of kids stood before it. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she used her powers, so she could hear what they were saying. "Look at all these stupid flowers" one of the children said making the goddess' blood boil "I can't see what the freak likes about them" a large one said. ""let's trample them!" said the third with a large smirk, the other two smiled wide as they nodded in agreement.,Viridi was tempted to send down a reset bomb to destroy those three, yet a small voice of "Wait" made her pause. A small child, like, two heads smaller than her childish form, was running up to the others with wide eyes. Viridi raised an eyebrow at this , she thought, putting her finger under her chin in a curious manner. "Get lost freak" the obese child snapped "they're just a bunch of stupid plants" Viridi's eye twitched.,"AND YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF STUPID MONKEYS!" she screamed angrily, shaking the mirror she used to look into the scene. She forced herself to sit down with a huff as she calmed down. "Th-they're not just flowers…they're my friends…" Harry said softly. Viridi blinked, taken aback. Meanwhile the other children…well, they just began laughing. "Flowers?!" one of the fat boys friends laughed "Your friends?! Man you really are a Freak, aren't you?" Viridi growled.,"Shut your worthless trap, you insignificant little…". Harry had moved himself between the boys and the flowers "Move it Freak!" Dudley ordered "or we'll make you" Harry didn't move. Dudley grinned "Let's get him" and with that, the boys pounced on the much smaller child. They began to punch and kick the boy. And all through it, the poor thing did his best to keep the flowers safe. Viridi watched this stunned. A human child was using his own body as a shield to protect her flowers.,With one last kick the large one smirked at the by in satisfaction "Wait until I tell dad what you did" he said as he and his friends walked away laughing. The hurt child let out a whimper of pain as he was now covered in bruises and was bleeding from his lip with his left eye swollen shut. He crawled weakly to the flowers "your safe…" he said brokenly as he passed out from the pain.,Viridi watched the child with wide shocked eyes. Granted she had seen tree huggers, but something about them was fake. This human child…he was different somehow. What bothered her most was that people were passing him by and not even glancing down at him. Her eyes narrowed at this "Why are they ignoring him?" she asked herself. The image shifted and showed that it was the late afternoon of the same day and the child was still in the flower field, yet he was just starting to get to his feet.,"NOBODY bothered to help him after all of that time?!" Viridi exclaimed "That's outrageous!" she slammed her fist onto the floor "I should seriously destroy that neighbourhood once and for all". Her attention was grabbed by the child, he had started walking "oh, wonderful, he's responsible for finding his own way home" she spat furiously. She watched him toddle his way through many different neighbourhoods, and she found herself smiling slightly. He was such a tiny thing…it was kinda cute, if she had to admit it.,"BOY!" Viridi winced when she heard the sharp bark of a male voice sound out. The child whimpered. "I-I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon, I found Dudley just as you asked-" he was cut off "Why were you late getting home on time?" Vernon demanded. "i…I was hurt-" "I don't want excuses, BOY" Vernon roared. Viridi narrowed her eyes into a glare at the fat man "Good, he is ugly and loud" she said rubbing her ears. She did not like this man and the way he screamed at the poor child just did not sit well with her.,"Now get in there and start making dinner!" Vernon demanded pointing at the house. Harry whimpered and limped his way into the house, but apparently that was too slow for the big man, he reared his leg back and kicked the child into the house with a thud. He slammed the door shortly after that "Now hurry up, FREAK!".,Viridi's eyes narrowed dangerously "DINNER?! HE'S A CHILD, YOU FAT PILE OF RUBBISH! HE SHOULD BE NOWHERE NEAR A STOVE!" she screeched. "My lady?" Viridi blushed and slowly turned around to see Cragalanche, Arlon, Phosphora and surprisingly Dark Pit stood in the doorway. "Um…something wrong?" Phosphora asked with a quirked brow. Viridi quickly got in front of the viewing mirror, her face scarlet "No! nothing, why do you ask?" she asked panicked.,The lightning mistress pointed over to Dark Pit "because you're screaming and sending Pitto through mountains…again" she stated. Dark Pit growled and glared at Phosphora and then shot it to Viridi again. The goddess of nature blinked before smirking wickedly "Well he needs to go out some time. Stretch his wings. Test his durability. Part of the job description." "Sure" he deadpanned not believing her in the slightest "then why the screaming? You don't get the riled up unless something has you really ticked off" he said, "uh, just some humans messing with nature" she said evenly.,"YOU USELESS FREAK!" the mirror shouted making them all jump. Viridi turned around quickly and her eyes widened with horror. The obese man was in the process of beating the child with the frying pan that he was using to cook dinner "BURNING OUR FOOD?! I'LL SHOW YOU, BRAT!". "…my word…" Arlon breathed out, his monocle nearly falling off "that man is stark raving mad". "Oh my gosh, someone has to do something" Phosphora cried. Dark Pit just crossed his arms and glared hatefully at the man. Cragalanche gritted his teeth and growled.,As for Viridi, she was actually so thoroughly pissed off, that she had nothing to say. They sat through the beating in silent horror until the obese man threw the child into a cupboard full of various wastes, Viridi turned to her group "…ready your disguises" she said lowly "We're going down there". The collected group stared at their goddess in shock as she stormed out of the room. Pit turned to Arlon in surprise "we have disguises?".,Viridi growled as she was consumed by a shining light, she was then shot down to the earth of the future with her group, her intent, to save a child. She landed on the ground in a flash of green light, the childish form she loved so much no more. Now stood a proud and tall woman with the garb of a goddess of nature. She slimmed out as well, and her face now a striking beauty. Yet her eyes remained the same, directing a cold burning fury towards number 4 Privet Drive.,Four lights flashed behind her, signifying her servants had arrived. Dark Pit didn't really change at all, his robes were replaced with a black tee shirt and jeans, with his wings painted on the back of his shirt. Phosphora was dressed to kill as she wore skinny jeans and a light blue tank top. Arlon was dressed as a butler; his skin tone had changed to that of a humans. And Cragalanche…was a rock on Arlon's hand. Viridi narrowed her eyes into slits and started her march with her servants right behind her. They had a child to save! Yet when they passed into the houses territory, they noticed something sickening.,"Ugh! No wonder the abuse got so bad" Viridi exclaimed, her arms crossed "Who's bright idea was it to put these up?". "What is it exactly?" Dark Pit asked, quirking his brow. Viridi huffed "these are Blood Wards" she explained "they keep people inside them safe, as long as there is a blood relation" Dark Pit frowned "I don't really see the problem with that, it sounds handy". "Yeah, you'd think so, wouldn't ya?" Phosphora stepped in "But there is a catch" "Oh yea? What is it?" Dark Pit asked.,"Blood Wards are to be put to use very carefully, as they effect ones emotions" Arlon explained "you see Pitto, if the occupants of the house care for each other, then the Wards will enhance those feelings of care and love. But if there is enough hatred in the home, the Wards will cause the family to turn on each other. The main target will be the one who is hated most by the others". "So basically, they all hate the kid and these things are making them violent".,"Precisely" Arlon nodded. "but they go down right NOW" Viridi screeched as she prepared to destroy the Ward. Arlon stopped her "My Lady, these Wards need to be taken down carefully or the backlash could kill the child, I shall take them down whilst you get him" Viridi nodded "Of course. Thank you for the reminder" and with that she Phosphora and Pit walked over to the door, she kicked it right off its hinges. Dark Pit whistled "Nice kick" "Do you want it to be your head next?" she growled.,"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" the fat man bellowed as he waddled into view. Viridi glared up at the man. Despite her new found height, she was still a head shorter than him "that's none of your business, fat boy" she snapped "now hand over the kid". Vernon's eyes widened "WHAT?! I would never give over my Precious Dudley" Viridi blinked "Dudley? You mean that fat kid? Why would I want a spoiled brat like him?" she asked, quirking her brow and placing her hands on her hips.,"How DARE you insult my son!" Vernon roared "You take your little friends and get out-ahhhhhhhh!" Phosphora was tired of listening to his voice and hit him with a small amount of electricity. "Yeah, we're here for the kid you were betting over the head with a frying pan" she said, a clear undertone of anger in her voice. "you…you are all one of them" he accused with anger and an undertone of fear in his voice.,"Who?" Dark Pit asked with narrowed eyes, he had caught the weird mix of emotions. "the blasted witches and wizards! The freaks that dropped that freak off on my doorstep" he shouted back at Dark Pit. Pit smirked darkly as Phosphora giggled darkly, oh if only he knew, they were FAR above those simple mortals. Viridi's eyes hardened as she glared at Vernon, she shoved past him and walked into the house.,"I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERM-" he froze mid-sentence as something sharp was placed against the back of his neck. Dark Pit had his bow out and an arrow pointed at the back of his neck "You're annoying" he said crudely. Viridi walked over to the cupboard she ha seen the child tossed into and opened it slowly. She expected the child to either be fearful and apologetic, instead, there was nothing, frowning she pulled the door open wide.,The child was lying there motionless, holding a small teddy bear to his chest. He noticed the light, and his shoulders sagged "Um…w-what is it…? What chore did I forget…?" he asked softly, Viridi's eyes widened when she heard the whimpering quake in his voice. "…you didn't forget any chores" she replied calmly. Harry's eyes widened, he hadn't heard that voice before…he realised with great horror that a stranger had seen him! Sitting up, he snapped his head over to look at the woman who had spoken "No…" he breathed, not even looking at her.,Viridi frowned "Hey…come on…". "I wasn't supposed to…you…you can't know…no one can know…he's gonna…he's gonna kill me…no…No!" He began to breath rapidly and heavily, he was having a panic attack. Acting on instincts she didn't even know she had, Viridi picked him up to try and calm him down. Harry was struggling to try and get away, he was breathing fast and heavy. "hey, come on now, its okay, its okay, calm down" she whispered to him, beginning to panic herself.,She didn't know what else to do, yet something came to her mind, she rocked him gently in her arms and let the power of nature flow from herself to in between the two of them. Harry was scared, he had been seen and then the person who had seen him had picked him up! Yet when she whispered to him and he felt something flowing into him, he felt calmer, it felt like the times he was with the flowers, it was nice and warm.,He looked up into concerned hazel eyes. "There you go…feel better?" Viridi asked tilting her head. The little boy nodded his head slowly "Y-yes…um…uh…T-thank you m-miss…um…" the Goddess smiled and ruffled his hair. "It's Viridi" she said "my name is Viridi" "Miss Viridi…" Harry whispered "That's a pretty name…" Viridi smiled down at him. "Well, aren't you a polite little guy?" Harry blushed and looked down bashfully causing her smile to grow "And shy too" she commented softly.,She stood up slowly with him in her arms. Viridi felt an odd feeling of warmth holding the human childlike this and could not stop the small smile that came to her face. "What is your name?" she asked him gently. He gave her a small grin "H-Harry, M-miss Viridi" he replied softly. "WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" a loud screeching voice echoed through the house, causing Harry to tense and Viridi's eyes to narrow dangerously.,She turned around to see a very thin…Horse? The goddess raised a brow and tightened her hold on the boy. "Sorry, I'm not looking for a pony ride today" she stated cheekily. Petunia gasped "WHAT?!" she exclaimed "How DARE you?! Invading my home, assaulting my husband, and insulting me?! You have some nerve, you…you TRAMP!" Viridi's eyes widened, then narrowed "who are you calling a TRAMP you stuck-up, bigoted, abusive piece of trash?" she snapped. "Because the way I see it, you're more of a tramp than I'll ever be".,"WHY YOU?!" Petunia slapped Viridi. You could hear a pin drop. Dark Pit and Phosphora's eyes widened at the act. Vernon smirked widely at the act. Harry was horrified at seeing someone hurt. Viridi? She slowly raised her hand to her cheek, her hair blocking her eyes, so no one could see her expression. Petunia looked smug "Now, let go of our property and get-" that was all she had time to say before she was slammed into the wall by an unseen force, she dropped to the floor unconscious.,"PETUNIA!" Vernon would have run to his wife's aid, if Dark Pit hadn't been holding him in place "You're not going anywhere Chubby" "Damn it, let me go" "Nu, uh"~~ she sung "If you move, you're gonna get huuuurt". Arlon walked into the house "My lady, the Blood Wards are done" he looked at Harry "Ah, I see you have rescued the child, good" Vernon exploded "HOW DARE YOU! YOU FREAKS COME INTO MY HOUSE, HURT ME AND MY WIFE, THREATEN US, AND PICK UP MY PROPERTRY, I DEMAND YOU-AHHHHHHHGH!" Vernon screamed in pain as Phosphora zapped him again, much harder this time.,"Shut up, before you dig yourself in even further" Harry whimpered and Viridi frowned before patting him on the head, instantly knowing what he was whimpering about "don't worry, we won't hurt them anymore" Phosphora and Dark Pit whined a little but gave in. Viridi started making her way towards the door before stopping, she turned back to the barely conscious Vernon and glared "you're are lucky that this child didn't want me to hurt you anymore than you already have been, if it were up to me, I'd have dropped a thousand Bumpety Bombs to blow this place to smithereens".,She walked out with her minions behind her, she giggled to herself "Bumpety Bomb", Harry giggled at the strange name as well. The servants watched with expressions of amazement and amusement as the child and their mistress were giggling together. Viridi turned to the others with a small smile "We're going home", just as she had finished speaking beams of light shrouded them all and returned them to her palace. As for young Harry, this was the beginning of his new life, laughing, smiling and maybe changing the way a certain goddess sees humanity.

Sirius ran, he had to find Wormtail and teach him a lesson but then… he remembered. What about… what about the little girl? Kira Black, his child. He knew she was his, but he didn't know who the mother was. The morning before he awoke to a loud banging at the door. He went to the door and opened it. He didn't find anyone there. What he did find, however, was a small basket, a cot almost. There was a child, more of a baby really, lying there. There was a letter and after reading it he realised that the child in the basket wasn't any child, it was his, but… how? Where had it come from? He couldn't recall, and he'd completely forgotten everything that happened the year before, and it really was a year since the child would have been conceived. The letter informed him of who the girl was and of her birthday and some other things, like a special spell that had been placed over the child, so that in the case that he, too, was unable to look after her, she would be sent to someone who knew exactly who she was, but… he was doing this knowing that he would be leaving the child with someone who he didn't know. Her birthday was on the twenty-first of June, but if he went through with this, she wouldn't have even celebrated her first birthday with someone she was related too. Thinking about that made him hurt, but he couldn't let Peter get away with what he had done.,Sirius thought bitterly. Peter had been his, Remus's and James's friend. If it hadn't been for him and James, he wouldn't be an Animagus, and if Remus hadn't been there, they'd never have been friends or seen any need to become Animagi. The least Peter could have done was repay them by not betraying them. And that wasn't the worst thing either. Everyone would believe that he, Sirius, the one who was willing enough to put them into Peter's hands for protection, would be blamed for betraying them. He would be sent to Azkaban. But, he as good as betrayed them, by persuading them to make Peter secret keeper. It was his fault that they were dead, and no matter how much he wished it were not true, it was mostly due to him that they were now lying dead in their ruined house and Harry was going to go and live with Muggles. He deserved Azkaban, but the child… his mind kept drifting back to the young girl. He hoped that wherever she was being sent, the people there would look after her…,He found Peter, cowering. "You should have known that if Voldemort didn't kill you, then I would!" He drew out his wand and was about to curse him when he was stopped by Peter. He laughed, laughed at the situation, at Sirius, at what he'd done. Sirius saw him take out his wand and hide it behind his back. A flash of light and Sirius saw Peter's finger, bloodied and severed from his hand, fall down and hit the pavement, saw a small rat disappearing into the sewage below and all the Muggles within the twenty foot radius drop dead, the curse Peter had used Sirius didn't know, most likely Dark Magic. He cursed. Ministry of Magic wizards came and saw what had happened, they asked the Muggles around that were alive what had happened and then they came up to Sirius and bound his hands. He felt a laugh bubbling in his stomach. Genius! He cut off his own finger and blasted a whole street apart as well as turning into an Animagus at the same time. It was no laughing matter, but he couldn't help himself, he found it funny, but not in the joking way, in the disgusted way. This wasn't the first time he had thought this, but he was ashamed to be considered a friend of Peter Pettigrew. They led him away, and threw him into a cell in Azkaban. The only thing that helped him keep his sanity was that he knew he was innocent, but that wasn't a happy thought, it was anything but a happy thought. The Dementors couldn't take it away from him and after a while he transformed himself into his Animagus form and eventually broke out twelve years later, to kill Peter. Well, we all know what happened after, and I'm not going to repeat it, all that needs to be said is that after that he lived out the rest of his life running from the Ministry of Magic.

Another Life, Another Chance,By: Naruto Uzumaki Barrage,I never believed in thins like Reincarnation or magic of any kind for that matter. My life was always so predictable. Much like what my job dealt with. Blood followed a set pattern and it , deviates from this pattern. This order in the chaos was what I dealt with daily.,When I died I thought that's it, now I can see Rita and apologize and confess all my lies and deceit. At least, before they drag me down to where I belong, with my kind, the dwellers of darkness. Those of us not… Human. No, I don't get off that easy.,I get thrown back like a fish that's to small to keep. And to complicate an already messy thought, the Ones In Charge decided to mess with my Absolute Truths some more. I get put inside a 5 year old child.,A five year old child that just died.,A five year old child who just died… alone in a cupboard under some stairs.,A dead child who's past is all here, in his head, a past so similar, yet different from my own.,I was once called Dexter Morgan.,Now my name is Harry Potter.

The day started off relatively normally, or rather, what passed for a given value of the term, "normally," in the life of a then-6-year-old Harry Potter. He was given a rude, albeit not unexpected, awakening from his Uncle Vernon, who ordered him to make brunch for the entire Dursley family, with just a little bit for himself. His spoiled cousin Dudley pestered him to make even , bacon than he usually made, leaving less for himself. Afterwards, his Aunt Petunia ordered him to clean all their dishes too. Vernon was urging him to return to his cupboard as soon as he could - he mentioned something about one of his important superiors at work coming to visit, but Harry never paid much attention to why he'd have to stay inside the cupboard that barely sufficed as his room, instead being secretly thankful at having a slight reprieve from Vernon and Petunia's chores as well as Dudley and his friends' bullying. All in all, an ordinary day for Harry Potter. As Harry worked on the dishes, scrubbing the stains out of a particularly expensive, albeit tasteless-looking, plate of fine china, he and the rest of the family heard a faint knock on the door. "I hope that's the postman; it doesn't usually take this long for the news to arrive," Vernon thought aloud as he walked over to the door. While no one was at the door, Vernon's musings proved correct as he looked down at the doorstep and found the latest copy of the Daily Mail.,Paying little to no mind, Harry continued to wipe the plate clean as Vernon rolled open the paper. It took approximately three seconds for Vernon's mind to process the cover story. "They wasted , of my time for this sensationalist ,!," Vernon yelled to no one in particular, before angrily slamming his hands, as well as the newspaper, on the table. This sudden display of anger startled Harry, who dropped the china plate. It began to fall to the ground slowly but surely. It was as if Harry could see the plate falling in slow motion, looking on in horror as the plate touched the ground; the gaudy decorations lining the edge were the first victims, developing huge cracks before breaking off into large pieces. The sound of the plate shattering alerted the rest of the Dursley household to Harry's folly; he himself felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Vernon turned to Harry, looking even , irate than usual. Harry gulped audibly as his ire was turned towards him; Harry almost swore that the Dursley patriarch's face had turned into a shade of purple akin to that of a slightly unripe plum. ", do you think you're doing, boy? We expect you to , our dishes, not to throw them on the ground like a monkey! Do you know how much that china plate ,? It was worth more than ,!," Vernon roared to his frightened nephew, who by now had fallen on his backside just next to the broken plate. Vernon, getting out of his seat, took off his belt, moving to whip the poor boy into blissful unconsciousness. Instinctively, Harry grabbed the nearest item he could find on the ground to defend himself. After holding it out in front of his face, he realized something…wasn't right. ,, Harry thought to himself, still keeping the plate directly in front of him as a meager defense against the unreasonably angry man who seemed to hate his very ,.,Before he could whip the terrified 6-year-old into submission, Vernon also realized the same thing Harry did. Unfortunately, realizing that only made the man madder. Instead of whipping him as originally planned, Vernon wrested the repaired plate from Harry's shaking hands and put it in the sink, before dragging him to the cupboard, along with the newspaper from before, strangely enough. Harry, realizing something was very wrong with the situation, tried to force himself out of his uncle's grip, to no avail. He raised his free hand in a futile attempt to defend himself, as Vernon finally did as expected and started to whip the boy as hard as he could. His clothes, tattered hand-me-downs as they were, could not protect him from the onslaught of blows being rained down on his frail, slightly malnourished form. Bloody welts formed, especially among his left arm, which at least managed to protect his face from the worst of the inhumane punishment his supposed guardian was doling out. Each blow would be punctuated by an angry word or phrase:,"YOU! FREAKS! JUST! WON'T! LEAVE! US! ALONE! DON'T! LET! YOUR KIND! POLLUTE! MY! NEWSPAPER!" Harry's mind was just , for the punishment to end; his body itself was already driven to tears. As a final insult to his estranged nephew, the Dursley patriarch took the few bed sheets that Harry slept on in the cupboard, threw the newspaper near his head, and said, "Sleep on this instead, you freak of nature." Vernon closed the door to the cupboard. Harry, being in no condition to get up, turned his head in horror as he heard his uncle lock the door from the outside. Turning back, he attempted to sob as quietly as possible, so as not to attract further attention to himself. He eventually went to sleep in that horrific state, his body stained with blood and his face stained with trails of tears.,Harry woke up in the middle of the evening. His stomach grumbled fiercely, but it was to no avail; Harry's foster parents often saw fit to deprive him of meals for every perceived slight against them, and this day's punishment was no exception, even with the exceedingly cruel lashing he had taken. Feeling a spider crawling up his leg, Harry looked at it briefly, before swatting it away with his left hand, but did a double take when he realized something…was off. His left arm had taken the most damage out of his entire body; it should've been , in welts and gashes, and yet it wasn't even remotely red… Giving his body a closer inspection, he noticed that not even his , had any blemishes beyond the normal wear and tear the young pariah had come to expect from Dudley's old clothing. He didn't even feel any lingering pain anymore. ,, Harry mused. He looked around for evidence of his theory. Instead he found evidence to the contrary, from his clock (It read 18:30), to his "bed" (None of the bedding or the blankets were there - Vernon still hadn't apparently seen fit to forgive him, even though he miraculously , broken that expensive plate after all), to his door (It was still locked), to even the newspaper which had , the whole mess. "What's going on?," Harry whispered to himself, as he examined the newspaper, which had been hastily rolled back into its original position by Vernon and his unreasonable rage. Harry wondered why something like a simple newspaper article could provoke Vernon so easily, turning to the cover page. He blanched as he saw the title of the article:,","…You're into fantasy novels, as well?," a curious voice asked a mysterious woman holding what appeared to be one of those aforementioned fantasy novels; her appearance, which was that of a moderately attractive woman who could not have been much older than 30, seemed to belie her true age. The voice belonged to one Ange Ushiromiya, the only member of her family left after the horrible massacre known worldwide as "The Witch's Legend Serial Murders Incident". Her pretty face and cute hair decorations were offset by the expression on her face, seemingly fixed in a permanent scowl, or maybe a piercing glance. "Why, ,, my cute little miko. To one who knows everything, everything is boring, so mystery , often cannot satiate my boredom. It takes so many different works and so many different genres written by the children of man, to satisfy my tastes for even a simple ,!," the woman replied condescendingly. Even her speech patterns sounded old and archaic. Ange gazed sternly at the woman, but her calm smile never faltered for a second. The cat at her side gave Ange a look of boredom, imitating a yawn before she climbed the sofa across from the one Ange was sitting in, and curled up to sleep - or, perhaps, to feign sleep.,"Enough playing around with things that have nothing to do with my situation. When will you show me this "truth" you've found about my family? Quit playing around and give me a straight answer, Featherine." Ange folded her arms in a futile attempt to intimidate the now-identified Featherine Augustus Aurora, Witch of Theatergoing, an attempt which Featherine shrugged off as if it were a light breeze trying to knock down a mountain. "I already showed you the cover. Was that not enough?," She responded placidly. Ange gave the coldest glare she could muster in response. Featherine, being dissatisfied with this, let her calm smile fade away into something resembling a mild frown for the first time Ange could remember. "To be honest, "Dawn" is not quite finished, and I've come up with a mild case of writer's block. That's why I'm refreshing my mind with something new right now. Why don't you join me? It's become something , in the West." Featherine, her small spiel finished, handed the strange book she was examining to Ange.,Ange herself, who had not seen the title, was intrigued by this creation. From what she saw of the cover, it seemed to be a children's book, but it , seemed to have the weight and gravity of a small tome; she knew just by the feel of this novel, that it was big, big enough to potentially fill at least two average-length novels. The amount of words and pages gradually grew as Ange turned the book on its sides during her examination. She could feel it becoming slightly heavier by the second, though Ange could not determine the exact significance of a second in the immediate vicinity; In this witch's sphere of influence, a second could easily equate to a day, a week, a month, or even a millisecond, in the "real world". The most peculiar thing Ange noticed was easily the cover, which shifted its appearance several times in a particular pattern. The first cover she saw, which implied to her its nature as a children's novel, showed a young boy with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, riding a broom as if he was some kind of magician. After a few seconds, it changed to depict that same boy, but holding on to the tail of a brilliant crimson bird which oddly brought to mind Ange's beloved older brother Battler. Doing a double take at this, she kept a close eye on the front. It shifted to one last front cover, which initially seemed to be a rough outline of the boy on the back of a large bird-like creature, but was being slowly added to, much like the pages within. A few seconds later, the cycle appeared to begin anew, the only thing staying the same on the front being the title. She could not make out the exact title, but a large portion of it remained the same as the cover continually shifted, similar to how Featherine's forgeries always ended with the phrase "of the Golden Witch" : ,Ange was very curious of this shifting tome, though she would not care to admit it, especially when a new fragment of the twisted game her family had gotten itself wrapped up in was so close to her. "W-Why should I believe your explanation? If you really , found the truth behind my family's murder, then why would you have writer's block? Isn't it just a simple matter of presenting what you know? For all , know, you could just be stalling and wasting my time!" This was the most irate Featherine had seen Ange, at least in person. Featherine just smiled back and wagged her finger back at Ange slowly and condescendingly. "Tut tut tut. I expected , of you. As the forger Itouikukuro, I have to stick as close to the original letters by "Ushiromiya Maria" as possible. I'm different from all those children of man because not only have I reached the truth, but also have I known the heart of "Maria". The key is ,, my dear miko. And I can present it exactly like the originals , because I have time and effort put into each forgery." While Ange silently conceded this point, she was still put off by how much the capricious woman across from her seemed to look down on her. Honestly, did she , to begin her speech like that? She didn't even make a clicking noise, she just began by saying the phrase, "Tut tut tut!","You need to learn to ,, my precious, invaluable miko. All of that stress is likely to give you cancer~!" Featherine showed Ange an odd new face, this one seeming to be a combination of a pleasantly surprised look and a look that showed that a person was happy… because she was about to intellectually , someone. Ange withheld a shiver at the inappropriate joke made with a face that just screamed, "rapist!" She turned away and shuffled awkwardly, saying reluctantly, "O-Okay. Say I go along with your suggestion and read this book for you. Are you , something like this can help you finish "Dawn"? Promise me that you'll finish it after this so I can find out about my family." Ange, having regained her confidence, stood up, resolute in the face of the enigmatic and powerful being serving as her current "benefactor". This gesture was able to turn Featherine's expression back into her more normal smile, although even that was still garnished with a certain variety of smugness that only old and powerful witches could truly add. "But of course. In fact, why don't I sweeten the deal, and alleviate , boredom as well as mine? I'll have you read this tale as if it's one of those fragments you've played in," Featherine responded to Ange, gently petting her cat, which was still apparently napping to her right, all the while. Ange was "mildly" surprised by this statement. "Can you really do that for things other than your own forgeries?" "I am the Witch of Theatergoing, Drama, and Spectating. I can do , that pertains to the act of observation, among other things~," Featherine said with a smug smirk. With a final sigh, as if Ange was resigned to going along with the witch's strange new idea, she opened the book and began to read aloud, the scenery around them quickly twisting and distorting to go along with Ange's words…,The phrase "Witches" struck a chord in Harry as soon as he read it. Once his mind processed the word, it felt as if time had completely stopped for the boy; he seemed to hear what might have been a terrifying cackle, resounding within his memory for an uncomfortably long moment that felt like an eternity. Time resumed, and Harry looked around in a panic, as if to ask, "What just happened?". Even with that dreadful noise stuck in his head, the boy's interest was piqued. He still did not quite know why his uncle had become so violently upset, but knew in his heart that witches had something, no, EVERYTHING, to do with it. Steeling himself, he began to read further:,The article continued for longer than Harry cared for, going more deeply into the other members of the family and what would happen to whatever companies each of them lead. None of the financial matters interested him much; his attention was drawn back to the part mentioning Maria's letters. "A ,, huh…? What's wrong with witches?" As soon as Harry finished this sentence, time seemed to freeze again. This time, the cackling increased to an unbearable volume; if Harry wasn't so unnerved by it, he would've immediately covered his ears. As it stood, Harry settled for sweating profusely. He could almost swear he could hear the laughter directly behind him. No, that wasn't right - someone actually WAS laughing directly behind him, sealed cupboard be damned! "(Cackle), how nice, how nice! Word of my game board has even spread to the West, huh? Now, who could've summoned me? Surely not this scrawny little boy in front of me…" Somewhat offended, Harry turned around to give the mysterious lady a retort. "Look, I don't know who you are or how you got in here, but I'm not ,-!",As soon as his mind processed what he was looking at, Harry's response was cut off in favor of a look of pure slack-jawed awe. Instead of being in a dinky old cupboard beneath the stairs, both he and the cackling lady were in a lavishly furnished tea room, tinged purple by whatever was making the glow outside. The woman in front of Harry was even more amazing. Her attire looked expensive enough to put that plate of china Harry dropped look cheap and tawdry, as though it should be ashamed to even , itself luxurious. She wore a dark brown dress decorated with gold all over, except for the deep red of the dress's chest area, which seemed designed solely to accent her unrealistically large breasts. In her hand was a fancy golden pipe, which she routinely smoked as she looked Harry over. She had golden hair tied up in a bun, and her eyes were a deep blue that Harry felt could pierce his soul like some divine lance. Her face seemed permanently set in an expression that could be described as an amused smile, the smile of a Cheshire cat. "You were saying something, ,~?," the mysterious woman asked, elongating the last word in an apparent attempt to get a petty rise out of him. "I-I was saying, I'm ,that scrawny, a-and I think it was very rude to call me that!," Harry said, in a laughable attempt to stand his ground against this intimidating and enigmatic lady. "How nice. I apologize for the insult, mister Sorcerer," she said, although Harry couldn't help but think she sounded slightly condescending even in apology. Not that Harry even knew what the word "condescending" meant at this point, but he's only 6. Give him time. Going back to her last word, Harry was startled at her accusation. "S-Sorcerer? Whatever do you mean, Miss-" "Beatrice." "Whatever do you ,, Miss Beatrice?" At this comment, the now-named Beatrice gave him an odd look, as if to say she was not amused by his ignorance. "You are a Sorcerer, are you not? You summoned me just now, so that implies that you can use magic. Isn't that right?," she asked him. This completely startled the boy. ",! Magic is ,?","Look around you, boya. We aren't in a stuffy cupboard, , we?" As if to punctuate her question, Beatrice waved her pipe around, letting Harry's eyes follow it across the corners of the tea room. Taking a closer look only made the tea room look even more elegant and mysterious. At Beatrice's urging, Harry looked at the ceiling, and was nearly blinded by the illumination of a chandelier decorated and seemingly powered by softly glowing crystals. With another wave of her pipe, Harry's attention was drawn to one of the windows, where he finally saw what was giving off that violently violet tinge. Crystals not dissimilar to what he had seen in the chandelier were floating outside of the room; they decorated the "sky" and seemed to outnumber and overpower the stars themselves. Harry also paid faint attention to the furniture near that window. The chair looked as though it had been made with the finest leather available, and was painfully tantalizing, seemingly begging the young boy to take a seat. The small tables set nearby were apparently made of a fine quality wood, and treated and polished to the point that the surface was entirely smooth. One last flick of Beatrice's pipe drew Harry's eyes to the floor, whose black and white pattern nearly mesmerized him. The material itself was high quality marble, though Harry didn't realize this due to being a child with burdens that superseded any potential curiosity about building materials. No, Harry was instead fascinated by how clean the floor itself was. He couldn't help but be amazed by how he could see his own reflection clearly in the tiles. Stepping back briefly, Harry noticed how his socks didn't even leave a mark where they were formerly positioned!,When she drew his attention back to her, he noticed a floating cup of tea in front of him, along with a croissant. "You're thirsty , hungry, right? Feel free to have them, if you like." Still looking warily between Beatrice and the magically conjured refreshments, he took a tentative bite of the pastry. His eyes lit up in joy; this pastry alone was the best piece of food he had ever eaten! When he grew thirsty, he took a sip of the tea, which was also fantastic. ",," Harry almost shouted to her. Unused to such gratitude, she gave him an uneasy smile back, waiting for him to finish his impromptu meal. Once both the tea and the croissant were no more, she waved her pipe again, banishing the empty cup in a burst of golden butterflies.,Getting back on topic, Harry addressed her once more. "So, you called me a Sorcerer, right? Does that mean I can make tea and bread, and get away from home, like you did just now?" These questions induced a brief chuckle from Beatrice. "I am The Golden Witch, a witch who has lived a thousand years, boya. Right,, as you are, it's impossible. But maybe, if you learned magic ,, you could do all of this and ,," Beatrice responded. At this statement, Harry got considerably less cheery, realizing that magic and witches set his aunt and uncle off very badly. "I-I don't think Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would like me to study magic. They might call me a freak…", Harry stated, clearly on the verge of tears. Beatrice's mood considerably darkened at the mention of Harry's family. Before his tears could begin to fall, Beatrice kneeled to his level and grabbed him on both shoulders. "Listen to me, boya. Your family does not , Magic because they do not , it. Their disbelief is a potent anti-magic toxin that can , Witches and Sorcerers. Don't ever let their insults get to you; if you start believing in their hatred, your power , fail you. ,you won't give in to their influence!" This time, even a small boy such as Harry could see that Beatrice was being completely and utterly serious; her mask of amused condescension was gone, replaced by a will that was tougher than the hardest diamond and hotter than the flames of hell. "I-I promise." "You promise what?" "I promise not to let my family break my spirits." "That's not good enough. ,!," Beatrice ordered. Although Harry couldn't even , to know what she was talking about, he endeavored to give his promise as earnestly and honestly as possible. This certain determination laced his words with an incredible power of undeniable truth. ,,,Harry declared, his words coming out of his mouth with a crimson hue. As Harry watched his words float around the two of them, Beatrice stopped gripping his shoulders, and got up. She gave him the most genuine smile he had seen from her so far.,"How nice, how nice! Now then, do you want to learn magic from me, boyaaa~?," Beatrice addressed him once more, this time in a more endearing fashion. "…Harry Potter." ",?" Beatrice tilted her head at his declaration. "My name is Harry Potter, Miss Beatrice. Not "boya"," Harry proclaimed to her. The witch paused for a moment, seeming stunned at his cheek, before cackling loudly. ",, huuu~h? How nice. Maybe you can , the right to have me call you that, boyaaa!", Beatrice responded playfully. "It's ,, not - oh, never mind. So when do we start, Miss Beatrice?," Harry asked, clearly exasperated by her teasing, but not willing to argue on it further. "Now, now. You're my apprentice now, so "Miss Beatrice" won't do! Call me ","!," Beatrice exclaimed. ",?," Harry asked, puzzled at her request. "O - Shishou - sama. It means "Teacher."" Harry was even more puzzled by this. "C-Can't I just call you Teacher, then?" "I'd prefer it if you called me Oshishou-sama, boyaaa; it's how I used to address my Teacher, after all!," Beatrice retorted. "Anyway, we can start right ,, if you like…","Alright then, freak! My boss has already left, so get out and clean the dishes. And don't , any of them this time!," Vernon yelled loudly to Harry, before unlocking and opening the cupboard. When he opened the door, he was startled by Harry's face, which was giving him a big, goofy grin. "Quit ,, boy, and clean the dishes. You're , not getting any dinner for the next week," Vernon grumbled, walking away and heading to the bedroom. A few minutes later, Vernon went back to the kitchen, grumbling this time about getting a late snack. Harry passed by him, heading back to his cupboard. Vernon turned around to yell, "Hey, I told you to clean the dishes! Get back there and finish cleaning!," but Harry simply pointed in the direction of the kitchen. Vernon turned back, only to find that not only were all of the dishes sparkling clean, but they were also neatly arranged in their proper places, the drawers all open, as if to show that fact off. "Well, close all of the drawers, next time," Vernon ordered indignantly to Harry, who he could have sworn did not stop smiling for even a second.,Ange Ushiromiya opened her eyes, but found that she still could not see anything. It felt warm, and soft; she realized that she was being hugged by someone. She could feel some sort of wetness in the back of her shirt. She tried breaking free, but whoever this was had a strong grip; all she could do was wait for the person hugging her to stop holding on to her so tightly. It felt uncomfortably long to her, but when whoever it was finally let go, Ange ironically felt even , awkward than she had before. ",," she squeaked out. Wait, ,? That's right; Ange had noticed she felt much weaker than she should as soon as she tried to escape Eva's grasp. Looking at herself, she gasped at her body, which was the tiny frame of her 6-year-old self. Eva, seemingly convinced that she was still in shock as to the state of her recently deceased family, kept firmly gripping Ange's shoulders as she talked. Ange noticed that Eva's eyes were red and puffy, and surmised that the wetness she felt at her back came from her tears. "I would , have wanted this to happen to you, Ange, but don't worry - I'll protect you and raise you with all of my heart, just like Rudolf and Kyrie would've wanted!," Eva exclaimed. Ange, overwhelmed at what seemed to be an uncharacteristic display of affection from her aunt, shook her head. ", - Why are you - I-I need to go!," she blurted out, before breaking from Eva's hold and running away to the bedroom she remembered staying in. As she turned around and ran, she heard her aunt's muffled sobs, urging her to run even faster.,Ange shook her head free of the disorienting feeling of being back in Featherine's place, before closing the book and glaring at the aforementioned witch. "What was that?," Ange demanded to know. "What was ,?," Featherine responded, feigning ignorance. "You know , well what I'm talking about. What. , that?," Ange asked again, clearly not in the mood for her games. "I told you that I would let you experience it like one of Beato's fragments, correct?," Featherine asked rhetorically. "I have nothing to ,with this book. So why was I playing my piece? Why were mine and Eva-oba-san's pieces on the game board in the , place?," Ange yelled at her. "A correction, my wonderful and insightful miko: you , nothing to do with the story. I changed things around a little, by incorporating the events of Rokkenjima into the timeline - with a few things I added a, shall we say, ,, touch to. You're sure to like the changes I made," Featherine stated matter-of-factly. This information did nothing to placate Ange. ", I'm , I could've enjoyed the book as it was originally!," she said to the meddling witch sitting in front of her. Her expression remained as implacable as ever, to Ange's increasing ire. "I disagree. It would've been , if you just saw the events and couldn't interact with them in any way, and since you were not originally a part of this tale, that's what would've happened. You can truly experience this world more if you are honestly able to interact with it; , just ensured that interaction was possible, Ohohohohoho~," she chuckled. Ange's right eye twitched at the sound of this infuriating woman's "dignified" laughter. "In any case, continue at once, my miko. I ,," the witch ordered her. Muttering a string of profanities under her breath, Ange opened the book once more, and turned the page…

The Enchantress,Summery: Kyoko's father has never been a part of her life. Before she was born, he had died defending his godson. In her 6th year of life, a stranger enters her life and immerses her in the world of magic she had only known through Corn and makes almost all of her dreams come true. What more could she ask for? Maybe making a name for herself.,Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or the Harry Potter franchise,Prologue,Sirius was enjoying his freedom. Women, booze, fun in the sun, what more could a guy ask for? Well… he was itching for a challenge. His life had been filled with challenges and he had beat them all. Eventually. Now, things were getting monotonous. He wanted to shake things up a little.,Smiling flirtatiously with his borrowed face, the woman manning the desk at the library gave him an atlas in a daze. With a smirk, Sirius disappeared into the bookshelves. This may not be his face, but he still had it!,With a pleased hum, he opened up the atlas to a random page.,"Japan, huh?" Sirius murmured as he looked at the page he had landed on. "Let's see what city I'm going to," he said as he flipped to an enlarged version of the map. Closing his eyes, he stabbed his finger to a spot on the pages. Opening them, he was smug to see that he chose a city on the first try.,Dropping off the atlas back at the front desk and spending a bit of time flirting with the beauty at the desk and securing a date for the night, he left the library to buy a ticket to Japan.,He gave another grin as he stepped out into the street as he said "Kyoto, here I come!",7 Years Later,"Excuse me, could you repeat that?" Harry asked faintly as he stared a bit wide-eyed at the goblin who sneered at him. The goblins still didn't like him, Ron or Hermione and were difficult to deal with, even through a third party. Unfortunately, the matter needed his attention personally.,"I said," the goblin let out a more pronounced sneer, "that during the checks we perform every decade, a discrepancy occurred. There was a child under the previous Lord Black's name. According the Master Tapestry in the Black Vault, before Lord Sirius Black died, he conceived a child. According to the Lord Black's will, you were named his heir. At the time, there was no knowledge of the child. Now, the line of succession is unclear at this point. As you are now 21, you are eligible to inherit both the Potter and the Black Lordships. Bringing the child into the matter, however, muddies things. The Black line is known for following primogeniture in the matters of inheritance, although Lord Black was unaware of his child, some would say that the Heir should be his firstborn. However, he had named you specifically as his Heir in his Will. Now, how would you like to resolve this?" the goblin said calmly as he watched Harry try to process this information.,Padfoot had a kid? Harry remembered one conversation that they had when Sirius was reminiscing about James Potter. That any children they had would want for nothing, any little princesses they had would be kept safe from the world and any boy that dared believe themselves worthy of them and any boys they had, they would build up and turn them loose on the world and sit back and watch the havoc. Either way, the children would have been raised as Marauders, with the older generation as their godfathers. They had expected to at least have enough children between the two of them to make a Quidditch team. Instead there was only Harry. And now, this child of Sirius'.,"What's their name?" Harry asked, dazed as he was lost in memories of his time together with Sirius. With a disinterested look, the goblin read out the name in a monotone.,"Kyoko Mogami.",All right! This has been crossover has been haunting my mind since I started rereading Skip Beat! I can't take it any more, I have to write it. Especially since I haven't found any like it before. So! I'm still a little unsure of the entire plot, so if there's anything you'd like to see happen, leave a comment in the reviews and I might add it in if it meshes well with my story. I'll probably set up a poll for this eventually, but let me know what you think so far!

There are a few things I should tell you before we start.,First, this isn't the story I would have liked to be telling, it isn't the story I'd like to be living either. I've made my peace with it, I suppose, as much as one can make their peace with something like this, but I don't enjoy it.,If you asked me when I was ten years old, to tell you just what would happen to Tom Marvolo Riddle, I'd tell you that I was going to become emperor of the world. Well, I wouldn't have said it like that, I probably wouldn't have told you at all, but I'd sure as hell be thinking it.,A few months later, when I was eleven years old, emperor would transition into the more magically and Slytherin appropriate dark lord. Let's be honest with ourselves though, it's the same damn thing.,Second, despite the magic, despite my unwavering faith in my own ineffable extraordinariness, I can't say I ever believed in the fantastical. Dumbledore and my first strained meeting had lived up to everything I ever knew, even with the magic. That fantastical awed belief of being whisked away to some strange glittering kingdom, I never had that.,I believed in Tom Riddle and Tom Riddle alone, always had, because I was the one thing that I could ever count on.,Magic didn't change that, or at least, I hadn't expected it to.,Which brings us to my third, opening, point. In the story that I had written for myself, Tom Marvolo Riddle was the unquestioned protagonist. I suppose that's the same for most people, we all imagine our little worlds revolve around us, but I was bound and determined that the world at large should revolve around me too. The world just didn't have the decency of knowing it yet.,It wasn't so much that everything began when I did or would end when I left (if I left) but that everything meaningful had to revolve around me in some way.,Don't pretend you're much better, we all think that way. It's comfortable, to be at the center of our own attention, and downright horrific when we realize that not one person in the world gives a damn. Look at Moaning Myrtle, that's what bloody well broke her, Olive Hornby just rubbed it in a little too deep.,And alright, maybe I believed it a bit more than the rest of you. However, can you blame me? You try growing up in an orphanage where you're smarter, better looking, and more fantastical than every single person you've ever or will ever meet. Compare me to all those protagonists in those fantasy books you end up reading, where the unloved orphan finds out he has a magical lineage and travels on a quest to become king.,Congratulations, his real name is Tom Bloody Marvolo Riddle.,I don't have to justify myself, didn't even cross my mind at the time, that's just the way the world was. Tom Riddle on top, treated like utter shit, and everyone else beneath his notice but trying to pretend that being born with money meant something.,And I was fine with that, more than fine, I'd grown comfortable with it and hadn't even considered that things weren't what they seemed.,The trouble is that I was dead wrong on every single count.,I wasn't the protagonist of the world, not even of my own story, that honor goes to the one and only Eleanor Lily Potter.,Or, as she tends to call herself, Lily.,"Just so you know, I'm sorry I accidentally destroyed the universe, I know that none of you remember it and that even for me it's… fuzzy, but I hope you have a much better time in this one. If not, I don't know, just stick your complaints in this box.",The box was little more than a tin box with a small opening in it the size that could admit an envelope.,The eleven-year-old girl placing the box on Slytherin's table with a depressed thud was Ellie Potter who was looking about as depressing as her little metal box.,She was very striking, even that young, the kind of color combinations that you just didn't see on a real person. Her hair was a vibrant, curling, golden red that was almost as large as she was. Her skin was an eerie pale that put me, the Blacks, Malfoy, and anyone you could point to in the room to shame. Her eyes though, they were the strangest of all, the type of green you only ever saw in glass bottles.,After her speech she immediately sat back down and let her head fall onto the top of the table. She did not, at any point during the welcoming feast, look back up.,And that was how I met Eleanor Lily Potter.,At first, I thought it was some kind of bad joke, wizards turned out to be full of those, but it became clear very quickly that Lily didn't believe in practical jokes. She found them too much of a hindrance, practical jokes were for people who didn't already struggle for everyone in the world to take them seriously.,I believe that Lily doesn't mean to be so… Lily. If she were able, in fact, I believe she'd gleefully allow the world to pass her by. Unlike me, she doesn't want Ellie Potter to be the protagonist of anyone's tale, let alone her own. However, the other thing you have to know about Lily is that she doesn't get what she wants.,Some part of her is so filled with self-loathing that she'll never let herself get away with it.,I didn't notice that at the time then, after all, back then she wasn't even Lily yet.,What I noticed was that first, she really did take that complaint box everywhere (and people even did start writing little notes to blame her for things like their failed Transfiguration homework), and second that she sat next to me in every single class.,Transfiguration, Defense, even Flying Lessons I was somehow thrown next to her each and every time. It didn't even seem to be on purpose, there were no sly looks or encouraging nods to let Tom Riddle make friends with the freak, just as if the universe was somehow skewed to lump us together.,Worse, she was brilliant at everything.,Every single class, utterly effortless, every spell executed with a grace and power that the professors themselves blatantly envied in a second. Then she'd spend the rest of the class either sleeping, doodling all over her textbook, or else just leaving the room without another word. Which, of course, meant she had plenty of detention and lost points for Slytherin.,She was even good at flying the bloody brooms, sweeping up into the air as if she'd been born there, and having Slytherin's captain practically salivating at the idea of having her on the team in the next year.,She was, in a word, perfect.,She was better than Tom Riddle.,Which, of course, just wasn't allowed.,"Potter," this was Abraxas Malfoy.,Malfoy was, in a word, a cad, but he was rich as all hell and the first and only son of the incredibly influential Malfoy family. Which meant, of course, that even eleven-year-old Tom could figure out he was worth knowing.,So, after a month or so, when my mudblood status dimmed somewhat in light of my natural brilliance and hard-won charm, Malfoy and the Blacks started tolerating my presence enough to gossip about the Slytherin's black sheep.,"Thank Merlin she's not the heir," Malfoy said with a sneer, "Not that a woman's been an heir in ages anyway, usually they keep trying until they finally hit a son, but all the same.","So, you know her then?" I asked, and here Malfoy gave me a particularly unimpressed look.,"Riddle, mudblood, we all know everyone worth knowing. Potters may, historically, be Gryffindors and Puffs, but they're still the Potters.",One day I was going to murder Abraxas Malfoy in cold blood and watch as I forced his grandson to devour his still beating heart.,"Well?" I prompted.,I hated to say it, but along with my ire my curiosity was piqued. I wasn't lying when I said no one had ever measured up to me before, and I didn't like the idea of anyone measuring up now, but at the same time I had to know what exactly had made someone who in any way could rival me.,"She's a certified looney is what she is," Malfoy said, shaking his head then gave me a look, "You know that thing she said, about the universe exploding or whatever the bloody hell it was.","Yes?","Not the first time, not even close, she said the same exact thing the first time she met me. Then asked me, to my face, if my looking so much like a ferret was her fault or not and how much I'd like her to recompensate for it.",I didn't laugh, let it be known that I didn't laugh, although once Malfoy said those words they could never be taken back. From that day forward, whenever I look at him, all I see is a giant talking ferret.,"First words out of her mouth to everyone she meets," Malfoy continued, "Sorry I blew up the universe, feel free to complain, even though I'm sure you don't remember because I don't really remember either.","That's not all of it either," this time Orion Black, future head of the Black family, chimed in, "Aren't you forgetting about Star Wars?",Malfoy groaned, actually going so far to put his face into his hands, like he could not even bear the possibility that he might see whatever this Star Wars was.,"Star Wars?" I asked, which of course, absolutely delighted Black.,"So it's not even muggle!" Black crowed in delight, "I knew it, didn't I tell you, she just makes all of it up.",I gave him a questioning glance, but he hardly needed it, by the look on Orion's face he'd been dying to tell someone outside of the know for years. Even if that someone happened to be a dirty uppity mudblood.,"She mashes these words together like Star Wars or Blade Runner constantly and starts prattling on about them like they're real things. And she makes up all this muggle magic that can't exist, like these little boxes called televisions with plays trapped inside, or that muggles fly around in these things called planes!",Somehow, I knew that Orion would not appreciate me telling that airplanes did in fact exist and had for some years now. Besides, it'd just take the wind needlessly out of his sails.,"Forget blowing up reality, she's gone off and made her own, even the muggles wouldn't want to touch it!",So, there you had it, Ellie Potter, youngest daughter of the Potter family, was clinically insane. However, as the joke says, because she was rich, she was often mellowed out to a mere 'eccentric'.,Somehow though, knowing that Ellie Potter was just as friendless as I was, more so if you could count the likes of Malfoy, Black, and the rest of my Slytherin peers wasn't satisfying to me. It was as if I'd had a premature victory, worse, like the victory wasn't even mine.,The faults of Ellie Potter still belonged to no one but Ellie Potter.,Maybe that was why I did it.,That, or maybe I was intrigued.,Or perhaps it was destiny, I'd like to think that it wasn't but…,But nothing, with Lily, is ever merely coincidence.,I'm getting ahead of myself though, let's skip forward, to Halloween 1937.,Ellie Potter was even more morose than usual on Halloween.,She was always somewhat depressed looking, standing around in a daze and glaring dully at walls as if they'd done her a personal injury. Of course, as always, this didn't interfere with her schoolwork and she was finished with her Transfiguration project before Dumbledore had even finished explaining.,Dumbledore, naturally, had taken ten points from Slytherin for not listening to directions.,That might have been what did it.,It's no small secret that Dumbledore and I don't get on. What most don't realize is the extent and the origins of this. It was almost one of those foretold things, where before we even walked into the same room, we had the idea that we would utterly loathe one another.,And neither of us has let up ever since.,Still, however much I discomfit the man Ellie Potter is a thousand times worse.,I talk to snakes, she turns matchsticks into silver needles without even needing a wand to do it, and unlike his pet Gryffindors she has absolutely no desire to impress or else live up to his expectations.,For all the man claims to like eccentric things, I think it says quite a lot that the pair of them get along about as well as him and me.,Either way, having finished my own work with no reward from Dumbledore (only a solemn, good, before he moved on to praise the next student), I looked over and said, "Did the universe explode again?",She glanced over, wide eyed, like I'd just gone and slapped her across the cheek. I suppose it might have felt with it, months we'd been sitting next to each other and I'd barely said a word. Still, I gave her a charming smile, the one that was so carefully practiced.,That was one thing I didn't know yet, those looks had no effect on her. It wasn't that she saw through them, as some did, but as if she couldn't see them at all. When Lily looks at you it's as if she's staring through your face, like it's glass, down to your soul. It's why it's so difficult to lie to her.,Finally, she said, "I don't think so.","Well, how did you know last time?",She paused, gave me a more appraising look, and the world seemed to melt away for a moment. No, that wasn't right, it was as if it shifted into focus. As if up until that point, before I'd gained her interest and attention, it'd been fogged and only now was it wiped clear.,"Do you know how sometimes, without any explanation, you just know something?" she asked, "Like how to make your heartbeat? It's like that, I just know.",At that point the conversation probably should have been over, but I opened my mouth anyway, "Then what's wrong with Halloween?","What?","You're more… you today than usual," I pointed out.,This time, she didn't just look at me, she smiled, "The walls between the worlds are thin on Halloween.","What the hell is that supposed to mean?","It means I remember more, sometimes," she said, and then, brow furrowing, "Have we met somewhere before? Before Hogwarts, I mean.","Hm?","You and I," she said, pointing at me, "You look very familiar.","I doubt it," I said shortly, I couldn't see even someone as eccentric as Ellie Potter running around muggle London near Wools. Certainly, I'd never wandered close enough to wherever the Potter manor was to catch her eye.,It somehow didn't occur to me at the time that she could have met my father and whatever children he might have.,"If you say so.",Her heart wasn't in it.,That was it, that was the grand moment that changed everything. November 1st she was talking to me in every class, about this and that and I… Damn it all, I started listening. She was mad, I gave Abraxas that, but she was a fascinating sort of mad you just kept watching.,Maybe it was, for once, I wasn't merely tolerated. She wanted me, me specifically, and not for any greater reason. That's a very heady feeling.,So, I'll just go ahead and blame it on that.,"Why are you so sure this other world was better?",This was later.,By this point news of my friendship with Ellie Potter had spread through the school like wildfire. My one, fatal, flaw had been revealed and I was back to being the lowest man on the totem pole in Slytherin.,Well, at least until I'd put the fear of God into them with wandless magic.,Somehow though I just couldn't seem to tear myself away from her. It wasn't even like she followed me but that I just seemed to gravitate towards her.,She calmly explained that this was only natural, as she was unfortunately the center of the universe.,I threw her into the lake.,Either way, we were in the library, me studying and Lily somehow managing to get by without having to read a word of her textbooks. It's like she wasn't reading them out of some sort of principle.,I like to tell myself that she's just overcompensating for her social retardancy.,"I don't know if it was," Lily said, "I mean, I had to have some reason to destroy it, didn't I? But—People don't like change, people don't like things out of their control, and I feel bad having taken it from them with no one even knowing. It's like I robbed the entire galaxy but no one's pressing charges because I stole the charges too.",Lily is always full of these wonderful metaphors. Truly, she is the most profound of poets.,"Here's a thought," I said with a cheery grin, "What if, you've just made all of this up?",She gave me a very dull and unimpressed look, "That certainly is a thought.",She sighed, crossed her arms, "I suppose for the likes of you it doesn't matter if the world was made five seconds ago or not. You'll just do whatever you like, just like the rest of them.","I am not like the—","In some ways you're exactly like them," she interjected, giving me a cutting look, one that all but dared me to disagree.,Then, completely out of the blue, "By the way, it's not really Ellie.",Conversations with Lily are often like that, here in one moment, gone in the next.,"Oh?","Ellie's what… It's what the world calls me, but I've never been what the world calls me. My real name, my secret identity if you will, is Lily.","Secret identity? What the hell is that supposed to mean?","Well you know how you want to be this evil dark overlord thing—","Dark lord, please, and we don't talk about that.",The last thing I needed was someone overhearing our little conversation about my ambitions to become a dark lord. Especially if that someone was Dumbledore.,"Right, well, when you're him Tom Riddle is going to be your secret identity, the face behind the mask.","And just why is Ellie Potter a mask then?",Was she doing anything important enough to require having a whole identity hidden behind it?,"Ellie Potter's always been a mask.",She then smiled to herself, as if she knew the punchline to some grand joke that lowly Tom Riddle just couldn't understand yet, "You'll understand soon enough.","I will?","Sure, I have a feeling.",Lily's just a feeling resulted in a mysterious first year transfer student into Slytherin.,And I say mysterious not only because no one has transferred into Hogwarts in fifty years, but because the boy practically oozed a sense of mystery.,Lepur Rabbitson, son of a magical English diplomat in Albania, who had recently been sent back for his education in England after the local vampires got a little too rowdy. The boy was quiet, pensive, and hands down the most attractive person I'd ever seen in my life.,He had blonde hair so fair you could call it white, deep black pits for eyes to counteract that, and an aristocratic look to his features that screamed of a lineage going back at least a thousand years. This, combined with his dark past and his broodiness, made him positively irresistible to the female half of Hogwarts.,Lily, on seeing him, sprinted out of the Great Hall screaming, her accidental magic lighting the tapestries on fire in her wake.,Naturally, since I was the only one she seemed to remember existed, I had to go find her and talk her back into some semblance of reality.,"You know he's not a Nazi, don't you?" I asked when I found her, feeling the need to bring it up.,The wizards weren't concerned with the trouble in Europe that had been brewing for years now, and I suppose they didn't need to be, for them that was as much a different reality as Lily's forgotten world was.,I suppose it was refreshing that someone besides me was nervous.,"He's much worse than a Nazi," was her only response.,All sense of sympathy I had was gone.,"He's… He's not human, I know he's not human, I think he had some role in it…","It?","The end, last time, whatever happened he was involved as much as I was and—","And you're going to have to get over that," I said, "Look, I won't be losing points or going to detention, so you are walking back to the Slytherin Common Room and you are getting over the fact that he's in our house.",Her eyes went wide at that, as if she'd forgotten the hat had (after a truly lengthy pause) placed him in Slytherin.,"Christ, he's in our house," she whispered to herself in horror.,That must have been when she had the idea. I imagine it'd been lurking there, in the back of her mind, for some time now, festering just out of sight. However, Lepur Rabbitson's appearance had brought it right to the surface, made it something tangible.,"We can make our own house," it was said in awe, the way a man seeing the face of god might whisper his devotion.,"Come again?",She looked at me, eyes wide and bright even in the dimming light of the afternoon, "We can make our own house.",She grinned, pounced on me and forced me backwards into the wall of the unused classroom she'd hid in, "You hate this place just as much as I do! Why don't we make our own house! Something that's not Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or even—","I like Slytherin!","You like lying to yourself," Lily scoffed, "No, this is perfect! No more pureblood heirs, no more points lost for Slytherin—",That was rich as it was Lily, as always, losing the damn points.,"And definitely no Rabbit!',By this point I can't say I didn't realize what would happen. There was no talking Lily out of anything it was as if the world simply bent to her whim. We went back and suddenly there was a new table, a new house, Default located on the seventh floor behind the painting of a troll like it had always been there and always had only two first year members. First year members who, by default, were prefects.,And no one said a damn thing, no, no one even blinked.,"I told you," Lily said as she happily resumed the meal she'd abandoned, "This is what it's always like. Last time was like this too, but ten thousand times worse.",Without any sympathy she declared, "You'll get used to it.",I did not get used to it, but on trying and failing to get back to Slytherin I did resign myself to it. Apparently, I was now Default's prefect and going to like it. Default quickly garnered its own reputation.,Gryffindor was for the brave yet brash, Slytherin the ambitious yet backstabbing, Hufflepuff for the loyal yet weak, and Ravenclaw for the intellectual but secluded. Default, in its newly born wonder, was apparently for the goddamn bizarre.,Which of course fit, as I was struck speechless by it somehow existing in the first place.,It was my first alarming glimpse into what Lily meant, when she said the universe had been rewritten, that things weren't the same as they'd once been. It was my first understanding that there were things far beyond my control or power, that Lily herself was one of them.,I didn't like it.,I would like it less later.,Slytherin? Forget Slytherin, Tom Riddle the Slytherin was a thing of the past. No, there is only Tom Riddle, eleven-year-old Default Prefect in prefect meetings alongside Ellie Potter and a non-existent head of house.,I forgot that, didn't I, Default doesn't have a head of house.,No one has any issue with this, no one even brings it up. Except, of course, for Ellie who simply said, "Well, if the universe didn't provide, I guess we don't need one. Say, can you hand me that chocolate frog?",I guess we don't need one.,I spent the next few weeks trying to convince somebody, anybody, that Default was not a real thing. Looking in Hogwarts: A History, Default was suddenly listed among the other four houses as if it had always existed, even when a Default founder was absent. Everything was the same, except, Default was real.,And Lily had seemed to make it happen without even trying.,That was when I started wondering what the hell she even was. Was she really just an eleven-year-old witch? It didn't seem likely, after that, more that she was a changeling inserted into the Potter home. That, or perhaps she was an alien, something truly out of this world. Whatever she was, she wasn't like the rest of them, not in the slightest.,And she didn't even care.,"Oh, I've always been out of time and place," Lily said, cutting into her second slice of treacle tart for breakfast, "Though you're the first one to point it out. Congratulations, Tom, I guess that really does make you cleverer than most.",I would not rise to that bait, I would not.,"Doesn't it bother you?" I asked between bites of toast, that was the one nice thing about Lily, I never had to stand on any sort of ceremony, "What do your brothers think?","Charlus and Fleamont?" Lily asked with raised eyebrows, "They don't think shit.",At my dubious expression she expanded drily, lifting a lock of damningly red hair, "They don't even wonder where the hair came from.",Sadly, up until that point, I hadn't either. How the youngest Potter daughter, with two dark haired parents, could have ended up with bright red hair. That… Well, it certainly led one to believe Ellie Potter was not, in fact, a Potter at all.,"Nope," Lily said with a sigh, "Nobody really thinks anything about anything, or at least not about me, we all just move along I suppose. Must be easier that way or something.",Then she grinned, looking over at me, "Except for you. I didn't mean it, by the way, when I said you were like the rest. You're… You're different, you always have been.",She stood, slammed her hands on the table, and said, "Hey, what do you say we skip classes and try to find the Chamber of Secrets instead?",I should have said no, I thought very hard about saying no…,That's the trouble with Lily, it's almost impossible to say no.,So instead of going to Potions I was whisked away down into the girl's dungeon lavatory where, inconceivably, we stumbled on the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, had to kill Slytherin's basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, and ended up crawling out through the pipes and bursting through the ceiling just in time for Defense.,Instead of being expelled or even earning detention, Lily and I were presented with medals and earned enough points to earn us the house cup even without a quidditch team.,And no one even blinked.,By this point you're probably wondering just is wrong with Lily or at least with Hogwarts.,For most of the year, that first year, even in Default I didn't know. Lily, if she knew, wasn't telling me or at least in so many words. Certainly, she hinted at it often and looked to see my reaction, but she would never outright say it.,No, that took Rabbitson.,One day, not long after the basilisk incident, he showed up on our doorstep with his cold black eyes. Lily, for once, was actually out attempting to do her homework (but had all too likely been caught up in some battle of life or death in the Forbidden Forest that I would hear all about later). Which left me alone in the common room.,"Rabbitson," I said somewhat surprised, "What are you doing here?",Lily claimed the boy had no human soul, no drive, no ambition, nothing but a chasm dressed in the shape of man. I wasn't sure I agreed with all of that but he was… quiet. He barely spoke even when spoken to, hardly seemed to take any space at all, and mostly just sat or stood where he was told.,In other words, he was about as exciting as your common potato.,He looked me dead in the eye, not even a flicker of expression in them, and said, "You do not remember what you are.","Excuse me?","She made the world again, made the world for you, brought you and you alone into it, and you do not remember.",It felt almost like an accusation, no it was one, but whatever he was accusing me of was unspoken.,"Thank you, Rabbitson," I said with a strained smile, meaning to slam the door in his face.,The boy spoke before I could do it, "Hasn't she shown her hand to you more than once?",The she, of course, didn't need to be stated. The she never needed to be stated, there was only one person in the world the boy could be talking about, somehow knowing what I knew. I had asked him before, I had asked everyone, but he hadn't even blinked at the idea of Default never existing or the inconceivability of the Chamber being found in the girl's loo.,"You never could admit it, even in the old world, when it was made so plain to you.",I don't know if it was how he said it, but suddenly, it was as if I could see it. This other world, where I was older, much older, more powerful, and so close to everything I had ever wanted. Except, as always, she was there as well and outshining me like the sun.,"You railed against it, destroyed your petty kingdom, and forced her hand. And still, as always, she chose you and your dreams.",Finally, the boy made the first and only human expression I have seen on his face. He sneered, his lips twisted unnaturally and forced his beautiful features into something grotesque.,"I came to tell you your place, Tom Marvolo Riddle, so that this time, perhaps, you will not forget yourself.",Then the grimace was gone, the expressionless returned as he spun on his heel and said, "Of course, you always do.",I wish I could say that I wasn't convinced by that. Default, however, and other things convinced me before Rabbit ever could. More, there was what Lily herself said, remembered of this other world that we'd at one point both inhabited.,Whatever she says, the truth is, that I was at the heart of that world's destruction.,But she'll never allow herself to remember that.,And in turn, I must remember that Voldemort, whatever I make of him, will only ever be the morning star. Something brilliantly trying to outshine the sun and failing miserably for it. Even a world designed for him can't make him surpass her.,And yet, sometimes, I can't say I care.,Because that Tom certainly wouldn't have become a Nazi wizard hunting archeologist and Hogwarts graduate by the age of fifteen.

Hey all! So, I said I wasn't going to post this until it was done. I decided that the first bit was long enough to be a fic of its own so here it is! I started writing this, oh, two or three or maybe even four years ago, I've lost track. I will be redoing the whole HP series but for now this is book one. The rest of the books won't be long enough to get their own fics, but I might put two or three in their own fics... but I digress.,This fic is a rewrite of the Harry Potter canon with Asch the Bloody cast in the role of Harry. However, due to the starting time of this fic, this makes the backstory for Asch in the game highly AU. This is also why, throughout this fic and all of the rest of them, Asch will call himself Luke. The Luke mentioned in this story is , the protagonist of the game, so I hope there won't be too much confusion because of that.,So, warnings. We have kidnapping, imprisonment, and an unhealthy level of anger in a poor ten-year-old. I guess there are spoilers for Tales of the Abyss, although really you have to have played the game to understand why. There are , pairings right now. I haven't decided which side of the fence to fall on, yaoi or het, and so I'll let Asch decide... when he's old enough to think about those things. That'll be many books in the future.,So, with all that said, I don't own Tales of the Abyss OR Harry Potter. I'm not making money off this. Really.,Thunder rolled above a fleeing figure as rain pounded down, muddying the soil protecting tree roots and shrubs. Sobbing tore through the forest, the small figure tripping over a sword as big as it was and stumbling to dirty black pants knees. Red hair caught in the wind, whipping into vibrant green eyes before being brushed back impatiently, revealing a jagged lighting bolt scar on a damp forehead.,The child, for it was a young boy clothed in red-edged black, stayed where he fell for a few brief moments, holding the sword close to him. His breath hitched slightly, twin trails of water down his cheeks having nothing to do with the rain meeting at his chin. He made a forlorn sight in the storm-torn forest, his small form blending into the darkness brought by the clouds overhead. The only spot of color lightening the whole scene was the chin-length red hair blowing in the sporadically violent wind.,It was only when the sound of hoofbeats made themselves known that the boy struggled to his feet, using the sword as leverage, and he took off running again, slipping in the muck between shrubbery and trees. The eyes that regarded the trail ahead of him weren't desperate eyes, however. They were cool and calculating, tinged with a despair that was held in check by a fierce will.,The boy made it out of the forest and took in a roiling ocean, white-capped waves pounding the cliffs ahead of him. Behind him the sound of horses grew louder, his pursuers catching up to him, and he took off running again, heading in the direction that he remembered should have a naval port. Once he got there, he could get passage back home, and he'd be safe again.,Hills stretched out to his left, the ocean to his right, and behind him Choral Castle fell away along with the hated room he'd been held, the man who'd held him hated more so. Once he got past the hills the border fortress should be near, and it wouldn't be much farther to Kaitzur, his destination.,But it was so far! And he'd been running for what seemed like hours already. His chest was burning from exertion, the arms holding the sword shaking from the weight of it. To make things worse, he could hear the hoofbeats behind him, so much closer now. If he'd dared to look back he would have seen the rider leaning forward into the wind, grimly chasing his young target, but the fugitive knew that to look back would end with him caught for sure. Thus he kept pressing forward, but each step became harder and harder.,The hoofbeats overtook him, the horse passing him and skidding to a stop bare feet in front of him. The child backed away, a fierce look on his face, even as he attempted to draw the sword that was so much bigger than he was.,"Luke, Luke, Luke," the man on the horse sighed, dismounting in one smooth motion and standing with one hand on his sword, the other holding the reigns of the mount. "You should have known better.",Luke bared his teeth at the man, drawn sword held shakily in weary arms. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks, and the food hadn't been very much better. "You'll pay for this indignity, you Malkuth traitor!" he spat.,"Is that any way to talk to your sword instructor?" the man reprimanded. "Foolish child! There's nothing for you to return to. Your parents have given up and moved on! What more should you have to do with them?","Lies!" Luke screamed. "I'm the son of Duke Fabre, the nephew of King Ingobert. I'm the future ruler of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. They won't give up on me that easily!",The man dropped the horse's reigns and advanced on the child, drawing his sword with much more ease than Luke. "Is that what you believe? Foolish Luke. If you must go on, then fight me! Win your freedom back.",It was a foolish game, Luke knew. His teacher was much larger than him and more skilled at the sword. Fighting him would mean capture again, returning to that room in his old vacation home. He took a few steps back and nearly careened off the cliff, a few rocks displaced by his foot plunging down the steep fall into the still-roiling waters.,"There's nowhere to run, Luke. Give up and return with me. I promise I won't harm you." The man held out a hand in invitation, but it was more like a curse to the child.,"Never!" the young noble cried, glancing around him. There were only the storm-drenched hills, the forest a few miles back the way he'd come, and the cliffs barring his escape. A more thorough study of the cliffs had him quickly considering his options, and he glanced back at his former teacher. "I'd rather die.",With that, he jammed the sword back into its scabbard, clenched it in one arm, and turned away from the older man. The water reached up to slam him out of consciousness and swept him away from his bleak reality.,Days later, the sun was shining warmly, and a worse-for-wear child stumbled slightly on the cobblestones leading up to the elevator that would take him to his manor, and his family. It was odd to him, though, that the citizens, surely having been alerted to his disappearance, hadn't made a fuss over his return. It made him resentful but all the more determined to get to his home. The sword was the only thing that drew odd looks as he entered the elevator, falling gratefully to the ground as it started moving upwards. Since his fall into the water at Kaitzur he hadn't rested very well, even on the ferry here where he'd had to work his passage, and it felt to him that every step may be his last. But he was in the home stretch, and he was determined. Nothing would stop him now.,The elevator halted at the top and it was with an effort that he picked himself back up and began the last leg of his journey. It had been so long since he'd been kidnapped, he was tired, and he just wanted to sleep in his own bed and assure his mother that yes, he was all right.,There! The manor was in sight. His heart lifted, joy filling him for the first time in weeks. He was home! Without him seeming to realize it his feet moved faster, pounding in joy towards the inviting walls of his home.,His joy was short-lived. Something appeared in front of him and he barreled into it, knocking the something over in a tumble of red hair and black cloth. He jumped upright immediately, backing away from the person he'd knocked over. Common courtesy, he knew, meant that he should apologize, but he wasn't feeling very courteous at the moment. He glared at the stranger, even as a few mumbling words reached his ears, identifying the person as female. The words made no sense to him, he realized irritably, so any apology he'd have felt inclined to make would have just been useless anyway.,The woman straightened her robes, things unlike anything Luke had seen before, and cast about until she located the child noble. She grinned and spoke a few more words, gesturing warmly, but all Luke saw was an obstacle in between him and his home. After she'd finished her speech she looked at him and waited expectantly.,"Move," he bit out. After a moment, when the woman hadn't obeyed, he added, "Please.",Still nothing. Of course he shouldn't have expected anything, she didn't speak his language. With a sigh and an irritable glance at the woman, he turned and went around the large fountain that graced the courtyard housing the entrances to the Fabre household and the castle where the Kimlascan monarchy lived. This route brought his house out of his sight, and he picked up his pace. Home was only a few short feet away!,Again, something black appeared in front of him, and this time he was able to stop short before knocking it over. A middle-aged man regarded him with a look that the child couldn't place, and the man knelt down and held a hand out to him, saying a few words. He still didn't understand, and he shook his head to tell the man that. Who were these people? Desperately he glanced around the man, where he could just see a hint of white armor, the knight guarding his front door. The man in front of him looked confused and hurt, but stood, addressing someone behind him, and Luke turned to see that the woman from before had come up and was looking at him in confusion.,"Who are you?" the child demanded, drawing himself up to his full height (which wasn't very much) and holding the over-sized sword as threateningly as he could manage. "What do you want with me?",Without meaning too he'd backed away from the both of them, and the edge of the fountain at his back stopped him short. The two strangers said something else to him, the woman's voice reminding him sharply of the tone his tutors sometimes used on him and the man's calling to mind how his Uncle sometimes talked to him in private. They were talking to him, but the words didn't make any sense, and desperately he ran, ducking past the man's grabbing hands. His home was only a few feet away, and if he could get there, everything would stop.,The woman's voice shouted behind them, and he could feel fonons gathering, the magic particles unusually volatile. He didn't have a chance to think of it, however. Blackness suddenly filled his vision.,Another room.,Another locked door.,He wanted to scream at the indignity of it, the unfairness. Granted, the black-robed people had put him in a very nice room, with his own fireplace and bed, but they'd taken his sword from him, and he'd heard the lock click the moment he'd been left alone.,Luke had been kidnapped. Again. At least this time he was comfortable, and he could tell that his new captors didn't want to hurt him, but the fact was that he was a captive. It made him want to scream.,After spending hours scouring the room, searching for any hidden ways out that may have been overlooked, he'd flopped on the bed in defeat. The window was secure, he'd found, and somehow unbreakable, though he couldn't say the same for the chair he'd used to test that fact. He scowled at the offending pile of wood and turned his head away, glaring at the locked door that stood between him and his freedom.,Lying down on a soft bed was a luxury he'd grown to appreciate ever since his initial abduction, and he somewhat guiltily flipped over onto his stomach and buried his face in the pillow. After having little more than rags for a bed, and then a hard bench on a ferry, he felt justified in taking a break from looking for a way out to try and relax. He thought about what was going on at home, what his mother could be doing. He knew she was kind of frail when it came to her health, so he could only imagine what sort of toll his disappearance had taken on her. His father, he felt, was scouring the whole of Auldrant looking for him, but of course he wouldn't find anything. Luke was locked up someplace he didn't even know, the view outside his window anonymous and alien, and even if he could figure out where he was, how would he get out?,He was trapped, he knew, and he could feel the despair settling in, tears burning at the corners of his eyes. No matter how he tried he couldn't stop them from falling onto the pillows under his face, and he curled up into a ball on top of the covers, shoes and all, sobbing dejectedly. That was all he could do until he finally slipped into an exhausted sleep.,Luke awoke to the sun on his face and feeling much better than he had before, aside from the tears that had dried on his face. He sat up, stretched, and yawned, surprised to find that someone had come in during the night and settled him in under the covers. The surprise turned to annoyance when he realized that he'd let a good opportunity to escape slip through his fingers, and that he'd slept through having someone else in the room with him. He got up and went over to the window, surveying the view morosely. It was unchanged, a forest in the distance with a hut right on the border. Again trying the window, he found that it was still locked, and he turned away from it in a huff, heading for the door. Surprisingly, the knob turned, and he cracked the door open and peered out suspiciously. There was only the same hallway as when he'd come in, a large, echoing hallway decorated with numerous paintings.,Now that he knew he could leave the room, he was suspicious. What were his captors up to? Shutting the door again most of the way, he retreated back into his room and looked around for anything that he could use as a weapon. The chair he'd broken last night was nowhere to be found, but another chair had taken its place, sitting between the bed and the wall. Without thinking twice he took hold of the chair and slammed it against the floor, breaking it into slabs of wood with nails poking out. After surveying the results, he chose one of the chair legs with fairly straight nails sticking out of the end.,Satisfied that he was armed as he could be, he once again went to the door and peeked out, finding it the same as before. Easing out into the hallway, he shut the door behind him and started down it, towards the stairs he could now see at the end of the hall. He didn't pay any attention to the walls until he heard a sharp voice from right next to him, where he'd been certain there hadn't been anyone before. With a startled cry he jumped backwards, bringing his chair leg up in front of him just like his sword.,A painted man looked back at him, expression surprised. Luke thought he'd gone a bit mad, hearing a voice from a painting, until the man turned away from him towards something in his painting, then back, saying something else with a frown.,"Sorry," Luke said, shaking his head and lowering his weapon. "I don't understand you.",What could make paintings move? That question stuck in his mind even as he made it to the stairs and descended, moving quickly when he had gone down two floors and hadn't encountered anyone. When he rounded a turn where more stairs met in a grand staircase leading down to the first floor, he broke into a run, seeing the end just in sight. There was a large set of double doors directly opposite the base of the stairs, and he dashed down the stairs two and three at a time, boots skidding on the polished stone. He didn't even pause when he hit the ground, pelting towards the doors and his imminent freedom.,He heard a shout from behind him and didn't pay any attention, slamming into the doors and tugging on them hard, trying desperately to open them. He heard footsteps behind him, the voice saying something else, but he didn't pay them any mind, so focused was he on trying to open the doors and make his escape. It was only when he felt a hand on his shoulder that he reacted to it, knocking it away and slashing outwards with his chair leg. The nails tore long holes in a purple robe but left the wearer unharmed. Backing away, Luke sized up the other man.,He was a tall, elderly man, with a beard longer than any other the child had seen before. His silver hair was just as long, brushed back from an elderly face containing kind blue eyes behind gold glasses. He was dressed in purple robes, the sleeve of which he raised to examine the long rips caused by Luke's improvised weapon, but his voice was amused when he commented on it.,Luke glared at him. "Who are you?" he demanded harshly, not lowering the only weapon he had.,The older man tilted his head, studying him, before saying something else.,The child shook his head. "I don't understand!" He was getting frustrated now, and had already been angry.,The man raised his hands in a placating matter, speaking slower. It didn't make a difference to Luke, since it was the same gibberish from before, but this time he thought he could recognize individual words. The boy frowned.,"I still don't understand.",The man sighed visibly, then beckoned for Luke to follow him. Without seeming to care that the boy was armed and he was turning his back, the elder walked towards another door, another set of double doors embedded into the wall. Luke glared at him then turned away, once again focusing his attention on the doors he knew led outside. Grunting from exertion he tugged on the doors, alternately pushing and pulling on them, trying to get them open.,There was a chuckle behind him and the man walked up next to him, saying something else. Luke ignored him, standing back and remembering what little his teacher had taught him about fonic artes. He hadn't been taught much, since he figured his teacher didn't want him to learn too much and escape, but he had the theory in place.,Just like his teacher had taught him he felt for the fonons in the air, the particles of magic that formed the basis for fonic artes. There were plenty of them around, and he started drawing them in, focusing them and forming the spell he'd only read about in the books his teacher had given him.,The man, meanwhile, was saying something to him, but he wasn't paying any attention. Finally satisfied that he had formed the arte properly, he glared at the man, debating whether or not to warn him to move. After a second he decided that he wouldn't understand anyway.,The fireball was hotter than he'd expected but didn't singe him in the slightest, even as he directed the force at the latch on the doors. The man shouted in alarm and jumped back out of the way, but he ignored it, instead focusing on the last vestiges of flame still lingering on the doors. When they'd finally faded he reached for the door, throwing his weight on it to try and get it open. It didn't budge and he growled in frustration, pounding on the door with his fist. "Let me out!" he screamed.,The man cleared his throat, and Luke finally directed his attention towards him. He smiled at the child, then waved back towards the other set of double doors, saying something that once again went over the boy's head. Luke glared at him but, finding no other option, reluctantly followed the elder away from the doors into where he was wanted. What he saw made his jaw drop and, momentarily forgetting that he was there against his will, he stopped, totally enthralled. The ceiling was gone, replaced by an image of the sky outside. The closer he looked the more detail he saw, like birds flying back and forth and clouds drifting along, and it was absolutely stunning.,The man's amused voice brought him back to himself, and he fell into a ready stance, makeshift sword in front of him. The elder raised his hands again, clearly indicating that he meant no harm, but he didn't relax. A smell distracted him, though, trying to divert him from potential danger, but it was the most delicious food he'd smelled in weeks. His mouth started watering but he gulped and tried to stay steady. His stomach betrayed him, growling loudly in anticipation. The man chuckled and headed towards the smell, walking between two of the four tables that dominated the large room. Torn between the fact that he didn't want to be there and his stomach's protests, he stayed where he was for a long moment before reluctantly following behind the man.,Despite the fact that he obviously wasn't being understood the man rambled on, to the point that Luke tuned him out, looking ahead of them to another table, set up so that it was facing the other four. On it was set up a whole feast of food, some of which the boy recognized and some of which he didn't, but all of it looked delicious. When he got on the level of the table, he saw that he and the man weren't the only ones in the room. He recognized the two from before, the man and woman who had captured him in Baticul, and he was immediately on edge, his weapon once again jumping up. They followed the first man's lead, raising their hands to show their unarmed state, but he still sat down as far away from them as he could. The food smelled heavenly and it was so very tempting, but Luke didn't know who these people were. They could have been with Malkuth, wanting nothing more than to set up a situation where war was inevitable.,Despite all that, he was still so very hungry; his last meal had been on the ferry just before it had docked, who knew how long ago. So, he was cautious, watching the others carefully out of the corner of his eye, seeing which dishes they chose. Imitating them, he helped himself to the food that was before him, venturing close enough to them that he could help himself from their same dishes. There were some odd things on the table in front of them, though! Slightly unnerved, he decided to only choose dishes that he recognized. That limited him to eggs and bacon, and he didn't even touch the drinks as he nibbled, cautiously at first. Once he had had his fill of that he sniffed at the odd drink in front of him, smelling something deep and rich and slightly sweet. His hesitant sip brought an unpleasant explosion of flavors to his mouth and he not-so-subtly spit the concoction back out. Wasn't there any water in this place?,Farther down the table the adults seemed to ignore him, engaging in their own conversation, and after he'd finished his food Luke paid attention to them. He couldn't understand words, but he thought that maybe he could figure something out by their body language. He figured that if he could learn to understand them, then maybe he could get them to take him home. All he would need to learn was the phrase "Take me home, you bastards!",Well, he could leave off that last part, he supposed.,Twenty minutes later he was ready to rip his hair out, but he kept that from showing on his face with great effort. He forced himself to keep listening, but ten minutes later he couldn't contain his impatience and got up. The others stopped talked to look at him.,"I know you can't understand me," he began. "I can't understand you either. So let's just start simple." He pointed at himself. "Luke.",They looked at him oddly. "Luke?" the elder man asked.,"Luke," he repeated, gesturing to himself. He then pointed at them. "Your names?",They still looked confused, and he sighed. He was about to give up the whole thing as a lost cause when one of them spoke up. "Harry," the younger of the men said, pointing at him.,He looked at them oddly, then shook his head vehemently. "Luke!" he said viciously, clenching a hand at his chest. "You may have kidnapped me, you bastards, but you're not going to take my name from me.",The younger man looked like he was about to protest when the elder held up his hand, stopping him. "Albus," he said, gesturing to himself.,"Albus," Luke repeated, sounding out the odd pronunciation. The old man nodded. "So you're Albus, huh? Guess you're the leader around this place.",Albus only smiled and pointed at the other man. "Remus.",The other man perked up at the name, then realized he wasn't being addressed. "Remus," Luke said, sizing the other man up. He had faded brown hair, as well as worn-looking brown eyes set in a tired face. For being younger than Albus, he looked so much older, something that the child wondered at for a long moment. Then he remembered that these people were keeping him captive and he scowled briefly.,The woman looked at him with a measuring stare. "Minerva," she said, clearly enunciating her name.,She had a commanding presence, her silvery blonde hair done up in a severe bun and her stern hazel eyes reminding Luke of many of his tutors. He gave her a respectful nod out of habit.,"Minerva," he repeated, making sure to enunciate the syllables. She looked fairly pleased at him.,"So, Albus," Luke said, sitting back down in his chair, placing his chair leg in his lap, and leaning back with his arms behind his head. "What do you have in store for me? Am I a political prisoner until Kimlasca bows down to whatever twisted demands you have? Or do you just get your kicks out of kidnapping young boys?",They couldn't understand him, but his tone was accusatory enough for them to get the gist of what he said, and Albus shook his head and said something gently. But of course the child couldn't understand, and he just glared hostilely at them. He couldn't escape, but that didn't mean he had to be entirely cooperative.,After repeating himself a few times to no effect, Albus sighed and stood, motioning for Luke to follow him. Luke, not having any other option with the only door to the outside he knew barred, stood up and trailed behind the old man, holding his chair leg in his right hand at ready. He was followed by Remus and Minerva, effectively blocking any escape he might have had. It was with a scowl that he noted that fact, even as they ascended the stairs and stopped in front of a statue. Albus said something to it, and Luke brought his weapon up when it jumped aside, revealing a set of stairs that lifted them to a wooden door. The older man opened the door and gestured for all of them to enter. Luke did so, chair leg at the ready, Remus, Minerva, and Albus following. The door swung shut behind them, Albus taking a seat at the desk set prominently amongst the clutter of bookshelves and tables full of odd gadgets. Minerva and Remus settled into chairs opposite the desk, leaving a third chair between them for Luke to sit. He didn't, preferring instead to stand behind them. He thought that maybe, if things still didn't go the way he wanted, he could make a dash for the door. The castle was large enough that maybe he could find an open window before they caught him.,Albus said something, which by now was getting annoying for Luke since he still didn't understand what he was saying, and pulled a long stick of wood out of his robe. The child raised his weapon, but the stick wasn't pointed at him. Rather, it was pointed at the top of a far bookshelf, and a tattered piece of cloth was pulled into view. Luke watched, very interested, as the cloth floated on air right over to him, and he reluctantly took it from the air and stared at it blankly. He looked up at the adults, not sure what exactly they wanted him to do with the cloth. Remus mimed putting something on his head, and Luke looked back at the piece of cloth until he figured out just what it was. It was a hat. A ratty, dirty old hat that looked like its best days had been seen years ago. With only a bit of hesitation, not seeing exactly what was so special about this hat, he pulled it over his head, keeping it from falling over his eyes.,"Some hat," he grumped. "It doesn't even fit.",, a voice said in his head.,He yelped, ripping the hat off his head with wide eyes. "It talked!" he spluttered, then scowled at their knowing looks. "You knew it too, didn't you?" Looking down at the hat, he glowered at it and put it back on.,Luke scowled. ,The child rolled his eyes. ,Luke rolled his eyes. "So what am I here for, anyway?",To his surprise, he felt the hat on his head vibrating slightly, and a voice issued from somewhere on top of his head. ,Albus smiled, and as he spoke, the hat translated in Luke's head. "I see you figured out how to use the Sorting Hat. Well done.","That does nothing to answer my question." Luke would have crossed his arms, but then the hat would have fallen over his eyes. He settled for placing a hand on his hip and glaring dangerously at the older man. "Why have you abducted me?","You're mistaken," Albus said, surprised. "You were abducted as an infant. I am merely returning you to your family.",Luke could only stare at the absolute insanity the old man had spouted. "What the heck are you talking about?" he sputtered. "You kidnapped me! I was on my way home, after I'd been kidnapped once thank you, and your lackeys Remus and Minerva nabbed me!" He pointed the chair leg accusingly at Albus. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about!",Albus only smiled. "Seeing as you were abducted as an infant, it's really no surprise that you have no memory of your true family. However, I am a bit puzzled by your hair color." He waved his stick at Luke, and the red hairs obscuring the child's vision were suddenly jet black.,Lule brought his hair forward, aghast. "My hair's always been red!" he said, stroking the now-black strands. "How the heck did you do that? Change it back!" His chair leg clattered to the floor as he clutched his hair, tears threatening at the corner of his eyes. He could take being kidnapped, could take being held by others against his will. But the loss of the mark of his royal blood, the casual way that Albus had ripped that from him, was enough to make him feel helpless.,"This is your natural hair color," Albus said gently. "Perhaps you should give yourself time to get used to it-","No!" Luke yelled, stomping his foot for emphasis. He felt horribly like a petulant child and not the future king of a country, and that stung his pride a bit. He was, however, more upset about his hair color for reasons he was sure that Albus had to know. That was the only reason Albus would do that to him. He hadn't thought the older man could be so cruel. "My hair's red! It's always been red! Change it back!","Harry-","Luke!","- I know this is all a big change for you. Perhaps you should sit down.","No." Luke wiped his eyes and drew himself to his full height, putting on as arrogant an air as he could manage while holding a hat out of his eyes. Maybe if he showed that he was worthy of the red hair Albus would change it back. "I am Luke fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre, nephew of King Ingobert, and future heir to the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. I will not negotiate with people who kidnap me! Return me at once, and perhaps I'll ask my uncle to go easy on you.","You were raised as a prince?" Remus spoke up, interested.,Luke huffed. "The son of a Duke, but I'm engaged to the princess. And, as if you don't know, the royal family of Kimlasca always has had red hair. I'm the heir! I need my hair to be red! And my hair's been red for as long as I can remember.",Remus looked a bit confused. "But if you're the son of the Duke, wouldn't that make the princess the heir?",Luke rolled his eyes. "Seriously, have you been living under a rock? Princess Natalia has blonde hair, so she's pretty far down in the line of succession. I had red hair and I was the next closest relative to the King. So, I was made the heir.",Albus coughed. "I hate to contradict you," he said kindly. "But your name is Harry Potter. You're the son of Lily and James Potter, who were murdered ten years ago by a villain named Voldemort. On that night, your godfather, Sirius Black, spirited you off and it took us this long to track you down. Now we can reunite you with you family. Aren't you glad?",Luke glared at him. "I've lived with Mother and Father for all of my life. You must have me mistaken for some other poor soul. Go find them and kidnap them. I just want to go home!",They shared a heavy stare between them before Albus sighed. "I can see that we're not going anywhere with this. We'll return to that issue at a later time. Until then, would you like to know why else we've brought you here?","Not. Interested." Luke crossed his arms in a huff, forgetting for a moment that he was holding the hat, and it flopped into his eyes. He shoved the offending garment back up with a scowl. He was still tired from long days at sea and even longer days in a small hole in the wall and all he wanted was to go home, curl up in bed, and let his mother fawn over him.,"But surely the knowledge that you're a wizard is of some interest, wouldn't you say?" Albus asked, a kind smile on his face. Seeing that, and the lack of regret on Albus' face, made Luke wish he had his sword back. He fought his temper down, reminding himself that he would be a King, and Kings didn't give in to moments of anger. He did, however, retrieve his chair leg from the floor. Maybe they'd send him back if he tried to gore one of them, he considered morbidly.,"What's a wizard?" he asked instead. "Is that anything like a fonist?" Fonists could manipulate the fonons in the world around them and create different effects. He remembered how the first fonon, the element of darkness, had reacted before he'd been knocked unconscious that time. He knew that he himself was a seventh fonist, a rare individual that could control the fonon of sound to heal. He just had had minimal training, partly due to his young age and partly because Van had overseen his training.,"Wizards are able to use a wand to do spells," Albus explained, holding up his wand for emphasis. "It's nothing like that wandless magic you did earlier. Usually, when a young witch or wizard reaches eleven years old, they get sent a letter explaining about us and the school, but given the circumstances, I felt it best that we bring you to the school first.","You mean kidnap me," Luke grumped.,Albus ignored the comment, instead rummaging around in a drawer that the boy couldn't see. "Let's see, where did I…? Ah, yes, here we are. I know you can't read it, but the Sorting Hat should be able to help you make sense of it." He held out an envelope to Luke, which the boy only hesitantly accepted, peering at the odd script at the front of it. In order to take the letter he had to stuff his chair leg under his arm. Obligingly, the Hat murmured the translation to him, loud enough to hear but not enough to be distracting.,"You got everything right but the name," he said accusingly, turning the envelope over and breaking the wax seal holding it shut. The contents turned out to be several sheets of paper, which he looked at in interest before the Hat told him which he should read first.,"The way you've presented the letter makes the invitation to the school seem optional," Luke noted. He was to be the ruler of a whole kingdom, so he was learning how to read between the lines. He might not have been the best at that yet, but the sense of "invitation" meant that it could be ignored. It was with this in mind that he looked up at Dumbledore and placed the letter on the desk. "I decline. Send me home.","We can't do that, Harry. Your aunt and uncle on your mother's side are officially your guardians, and they've already given permission for you to attend this school, as long as they never have to see you." Albus looked bemused at that, but shrugged it off and continued. "Therefore, you will be attending this school starting in a little over a month.","Stop calling me Harry!" Luke burst out, slamming his hands on the desk. The hat, somehow, stayed precariously perched on his head, and he clenched his hands into fists, once again struggling to keep his temper in check. "Even if Harry is, as you say, the name I was born with, it's not the name I know! I don't know what you people think you are or what you're doing, but nothing gives you the right to kidnap a Duke's son! Score, you people are more depraved than Van! At least he was up front about why he really wanted me!" His name had meaning, after all. He was the Light of the Sacred Flame, Kimlasca's beacon towards prosperity. Losing that, in conjunction with his red hair… it was too much.,"There's just one problem, Dumbledore," Minerva spoke up for the first time. "Harry can't wear the Sorting Hat all the time once the term starts, and he obviously can't communicate without it. What are we going to do?","Leave that to me. Even with only a month he should learn enough to get by on a day to day basis," Albus said. "Is there anything else you need to know before I take the hat back, Harry?",Luke scowled and clenched his mouth shut, glaring spitefully at the elder man. He refused to answer to a name that wasn't his! He couldn't control if they changed his hair, and he couldn't control that he was a prisoner. He could at least make sure they knew that he wouldn't stand for everything. The silence stretched on for a few more moments before, of its own accord, the hat spoke up.,"Headmaster, if you will, perhaps you should address Mr. Fabre as Luke for the moment. He won't answer to anything else.","Thank you!" Luke burst out, feeling like he could kiss the raggedy thing on his head. "At least someone's making sense!" , he asked the thing on his head.,, the hat said regretfully. , Luke demanded. , It was a violation just as much as Van's cruel experiments had been., The hat, if it could have, would have sighed., Luke wanted to know. ,The hat was regretful, but it felt like it agreed with the sentiment. ,Unknowing of this mental conversation Albus pursed his lips, looking seriously displeased, and Luke fought the urge to throw his chair leg at the man. He was going to be a king, he knew the merits of diplomacy, and one of the last things he'd been learning about was compromise. Sometimes in negotiations, he remembered, each side had to give in just a little bit before a deal could be reached.,"Let's do this, then, Headmaster," Luke began, repeating the foreign title carefully. "If you will call me Luke, return my hair to its natural color, and give me back my sword, I will cooperate with you. I'll go to this Score-forsaken school, and I'll learn whatever it is you want me to. But at the end, you must promise to return me to my home." He stood up as regally as he could manage in rumpled clothes, with a hat on his head, but the image was spoiled when the hat again slipped down over his eyes.,Albus tapped his chin thoughtfully, then waved his wand. Suspiciously, Luke pulled a lock of hair forward, then grinned when he saw his normal red. What he felt went beyond happiness; it was as if the sense of self that Albus had been trying to steal had been put back right again. "When school starts, however, I will ask that you once again allow your hair to be colored black. Additionally, once school starts, your teachers will address you as Harry Potter, as will your classmates. Please answer to it.","What does my hair color have to do with anything?" Luke demanded. "My hair is as it is, and it's been red my whole life. You don't have a right to tell me that I have to change it!",Albus shook his head. "When you were born you had black hair, and everyone will be expecting you to have black hair. No one will know who you are if you have red hair.",Why would Luke want people to know who he was? "I don't care about what other people expect!" he said vehemently. "My hair is mine! I don't care that you think it was black, I'm not this Harry Potter person anyway. You have no right to change it!",Albus opened his mouth to protest, then shook his head with a sigh. "I don't expect you to understand now. Just please trust me on this.",Luke glared. "I won't! Compromising means that both sides have to be willing to give a little," he quoted his tutors. "I'm trying to compromise with you, I'll do what you want me to do at this school. But I want my red hair, and I want you to call me Luke. That's what compromise is, right?","He has a point there, Headmaster," Remus spoke up after a moment. "It'd be like someone telling me that I had to give up my wand. I could do it for a while, but I really wouldn't want to. What's the harm in him having red hair, anyway?",Luke would have given the older man a hug if he was the sort of kid who gave out hugs on a whim. Instead he settled for smiling at Remus. "Thanks," he said, and he was sincere.,Albus shrugged. "I will think on it. Until then, allow me to see if our terms are correct. You say that you will attend school with no complaints if, for the moment, we call you Luke and allow your hair to remain red. What of your sword? I really can't allow a child your age to be running around with a dangerous weapon.",Luke clenched his fists, praying to Yulia to give him patience, please. He felt drained after the long arguments; he felt the chair leg rattling against his leg and realized that his hands were shaking. "That sword is important to me. I must continue my training with it.","Perhaps in a few years, when you are older. Until then, I will arrange to have a less-dangerous weapon delivered in its place.",A practice sword would be better than nothing, but it still didn't make Luke happy. But as it was, it was the only agreement they'd reached, and it was progress. Luke sighed, his exhaustion suddenly dragging him down. One good night's rest couldn't completely heal the exhaustion he'd suffered in the three weeks prior, and suddenly he felt like he was two seconds from having his knees giving way on him. Rather than suffer the indignity of showing weakness to these people who were holding him captive, he settled into the chair he'd ignored previously, burying his head in his hands. The Sorting Hat tipped forward slowly, saved from hitting the floor by Minvera's quick reflexes. Albus was saying something, but without the hat on his head he couldn't understand the man. After the phrase was repeated a few times, there was a sigh, and a hand was suddenly pressing itself against his forehead. He jerked back from it, startled, but it was only Remus, and the older man looked sufficiently sheepish as he rambled out some explanation.,"I don't have a fever," he said irritably, biting back a yawn. "I just haven't slept in days, haven't eaten anything good in days… oh and I was held in a hole in the wall and tortured. I don't have a reason to be tired at all. Really." He didn't mean to be snarky, but he knew he got irritable when he was tired. Right now he was beyond tired into exhausted.,The sound of books thudding to the desk drew everyone's attention back to Albus, who had the Hat on his head and was concentrating. The man waved his wand again, and another book thudded out to join the two already on the desk. Albus started talking again, and this time the Hat was speaking aloud, translating for Luke's benefit.,"The hat lifted the knowledge of your language from your head and allowed me to create this," Albus explained, placing a hand on the books. "They will allow you to learn English. If you study hard until the term starts, you should get proficient enough to get by.",Luke stood a bit shakily and reached across for one of the books, leaning most of his weight on one equally-shaky hand on the desk. , greeted him, written once in the flowing script of his country, and again in English. His interest aroused, he reached for the next book: ,. And the last proved to be ,, written in familiar script. For the author, there was only the symbol of the Sorting Hat imprinted on the spines of all three books. Interested now, he opened ,, skimming the first few pages.,"He-" he said hesitantly, finger on one of the English words, the translation next to it in parenthesis. "Hello?" Glancing up, he saw Remus' grin, Minerva's proud smile, and Albus' amused expression. "I got it right, I guess," he mused to himself, trying to pick up the book. It slipped through his suddenly weak hands, thudding to the desk, and he leaned heavily against the desk. He hated his weakness, that he couldn't hide his exhaustion. He didn't want them to pity him, but at the same time he didn't want to pass out in front of them. That, he decided, was more humiliating than admitting his weakness. Albus asked him something, but his shook his head tiredly, glancing at the book to see if maybe it could help him, make Albus understand what was wrong with him. , proved to be more helpful, as he searched for a single word.,"Tired," he said wearily, sitting back down heavily. "Tired," he repeated, this time in his own language, as his eyes drifted closed and he felt Remus' hand on his forehead again, just like his mother had done on more occasions than he'd have liked during his childhood. Just thinking that made tears well up in his eyes, and he whispered brokenly, "Mother…",He was too tired. He mistook the arms around him for those of his mother, and just the feeling of being safe, loved, warm… He let that warmth embrace him, stopped fighting the exhaustion grabbing him down.,He awoke to a white ceiling, Remus, Albus, and a strange woman's voice talking quietly in the background. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and glanced at the window, surprised to find that the sun was headed towards the horizon, heralding nightfall. Getting up proved to be no great task, as it seemed he'd regained much of his strength with his day of sleep. He was by no means completely rested, but now it felt only as if he'd stayed up late practicing with his servant, not spent a week fleeing for his life.,He found himself in what he guessed was a sort of hospital, as there were a lot more beds in the pristine white room, and all of them were unoccupied, which he supposed was a good thing in any case. The voices were coming from what he thought was a small office, though he peeked in only briefly and ducked out of sight before anyone could catch sight of him.,This was as good an opportunity as any, he mused as he quietly left the infirmary, to go explore the castle. If he could find another way out of the place, he could find his way back home, and then he wouldn't have to worry about wizards or learning to speak another language or anything of the sort. After all, he reasoned, he hadn't agreed to not try to escape.,The halls grew progressively darker as Luke set himself to his search, running down empty hallways and opening every door he came across, the ones that would open, in any case. There were times, bounding up the next set of stairs, that he lost his footing when one of the steps proved to be false, and even mentally mapping his routes was futile. Several times he'd backtrack when he found a dead end, only to find himself in a completely different part of the castle. It was frustrating, to say the least, to think he was on the third floor only to find that somehow, without climbing any stairs or taking an elevator of any kind, he'd ended up on the seventh floor. After the sun dipped below the horizon he realized he had no idea where he'd ended up.,"I'm starting to hate this stupid castle," he grumbled, leaning up against a wall. He usually didn't talk to himself, but then again usually he was surrounded by people and talking to himself would have looked weird. "I wish I had my sword, practicing would be nice. Master Van would be mad…",Thinking of his sword instructor, what the man had done to him, sent a flood of anger through him, and he clenched his fist with a growl. " 'Master' Van, huh?" he said to himself mockingly, turning and pacing towards one end of the hallway. "Some master he is, kidnapping me… I wish I had my sword! I'll get better than him, just watch! And he won't be able to kidnap me ever again!",He turned and retraced his steps, still talking to himself. "Stupid Albus," he grumbled, stalking past the same expanse of wall as before. "If only I could practice my swordsmanship! I'd make him take me back home!",Reaching the end of the hall, he turned around again and stalked back the way he'd come. "And if only I could cast fonic artes… that fireball spell earlier was weak! I've seen fonists cast much larger spells than that," he grumped. "But I doubt that this stupid place has anything about fonic artes. Albus didn't know what I'd done…",He reached the other end of the hallway and turned, ready to retrace his steps, when something caught his eye and he stopped, curious. Conscious of the fact that he wasn't armed, he crept down the hallway, towards something that had appeared in the previously blank wall. There weren't even any paintings in this hallway, which was something he'd found odd, but nice. Solitude wasn't something he'd had very often in his short life.,Reaching his destination, he stared blankly at the door that had appeared out of blank stone. "What the heck?" he asked, poking the wood curiously. It was solid under his finger. "This wasn't here before… what kind of magic is there in this place? Trick steps, halls that lead different places…",Unable to help himself, he turned the knob and stepped through the door into a dark room. It wasn't dark for very long, torches suddenly lighting themselves to reveal a room that it took Luke a few moments to fully take in.,Racks of weapons were set against one wall directly to the right of the child, while opposite were shelves of books stacked high. In front of Luke, training dummies were lined neatly up against the wall, obscuring a raging fireplace but somehow not catching fire. In front of the dummies, there were several fur mats on the floor, which the child, upon investigating, found were soft enough to cushion all but the hardest of falls. They were the same kind of mats Van had used, he recalled, and though the memory brought about another bout of anger, it was soon overshadowed with glee.,Somehow, the castle had heard him, and he had the perfect place to train. He didn't know if Albus knew this room existed, but he didn't care, as he perused the racks and found a sword, then retreated to the middle of one of the mats and took his basic stance. It had been many weeks since he'd last had the chance to practice like this, but it didn't take long for the exercises to come back to him, and he didn't have the chance to think as he dedicated every part of himself to practicing.,Time became immaterial as he simply moved, working his way through every exercise he'd ever been taught, moving from the basics of slashing and guarding to more advanced parries against enemies that he invented, most of them bearing Van's body and swordsmanship but Albus' annoyingly kind and superior face. He took great pleasure in defeating every enemy he set against himself, and it was only the sound of voices outside his sanctuary that drew him back to the present, panting and sweaty but thoroughly satisfied. He returned his sword to the rack and went to the door, though he didn't open it. Instead, he pressed his ear against the thick wood, trying to figure out what was going on outside.,From this position he could clearly hear Albus' concerned voice, though of course he couldn't understand what the old man was saying, shortly joined by Remus'. After a moment of just listening to the two talk, and hearing the name "Harry" passed back and forth, he could only presume that they were looking for him, and that made him angry. They still didn't acknowledge him as Luke! Fighting back his anger and remembering the deal he'd made earlier, he opened the door and slipped outside, trying to figure out some way to remind the two men that his name was Luke and he wasn't going to answer to Harry. The door shut behind him, and, driven by an urge he couldn't explain, he turned back around, not very surprised to find that the door was no longer there.,"Harry!" Albus' voice exclaimed and, remembering the reason he'd come out in the first place, Luke scowled and turned back to the older man.,"Luke," he corrected irritably. "Didn't you say you'd start calling me by my name?",All they understood was his name, he could tell, and he sighed. Two minutes of skimming through a book didn't mean he could recall anything about it off the top of his head. All he could try to do, he thought, was pantomime. The thought made him scowl and he wondered if his uncle had ever had to play charades with negotiators.,Just then his train of thought derailed, his stomach reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast who knew how many hours ago. "I'm hungry," he said, patting his stomach and hoping that the wizards would understand. Remus looked at him oddly, then pulled a book from a pocket that shouldn't have held it and handed it to Luke wordlessly. The child found that it was his dictionary, and, giving the helpful man a satisfied grin, he flipped through the dictionary until the found the word he wanted.,"Hungry," he said, sounding out the odd word. Flipping through the dictionary, he found another word and took a guess at its pronunciation. "Food?" he asked hopefully, looking up at the men. He felt less like the son of a duke and more like a child than he had in weeks, but his meaning was apparently clear.,"Food," Remus agreed, offering Luke his hand and saying something that the child couldn't quite place. Luke ignored that hand, and after a moment it was withdrawn. Albus led the way to the Great Hall, and Luke made sure to keep track of where they were going. He wanted to be able to find his training room again.,The next two weeks, weeks that were shorter than Luke were used to, were full of simply learning. He woke up in the same room as he had at first, ate breakfast, and was escorted by either Minerva or Remus to a large, spacious library, where he studied the books the Sorting Hat had made for him. After several hours of this, he would eat lunch, then sneak out to the corridor on what he'd learned was the seventh floor. He made sure no one saw him as he made his way, skirting the places where portraits were congregated, and spent the rest of each day holed up in his secret room, either practicing with one of the swords or studying one of the books the room provided for him. They were, thankfully, written in his language, and the topics ranged from swordsmanship to fonic artes to theory. He didn't even want to know how the castle had gotten some of these texts, and decided that not knowing was less important that taking advantage of the opportunity. After he'd exhausted himself with training, he'd return to the Great Hall for dinner, then drag himself back to bed, ready for the next day to come around.,Each day at lunch and dinner Albus or Remus would insist on talking to Luke, putting his very tentative language skills to test and he struggled to keep track of what they were saying and answer them properly. His vocabulary was growing rapidly, but putting together the words in the proper order was a bit of a challenge on the fly, especially when he found himself getting annoyed at the men talking to him. To his great relief they'd started calling him Luke, but it was obvious that it was a struggle for them, and he could see them constantly reminding themselves of his name. However, the child grudgingly admitted after a few days, having to actually converse with the others in their native language was actually helping him, and after he realized it he stopped getting annoyed at them for talking to him. That still didn't stop his anger when they slipped and called him Harry, though.,Two weeks after his second abduction, Luke came down to breakfast, like usual, to find Albus talking to an owl. It wasn't the strangest thing the child had seen in the last two weeks, but he hadn't thought that wizards actually talked to animals. That was bordering on crazy, in his opinion, but he refrained from commenting as he took his place at the table.,"Good morning, Luke," Albus said cheerfully, and for once there was no hesitation in his use of the name. "I trust you slept well?","I guess." Luke didn't feel like talking very much, instead focusing his attention on the plate in front of him. The owl's hooting was distracting, though, and though he'd been determined to ignore it he found himself asking, "What's with the owl?" He glanced at the older man, surprised to see a long, thin package on the table. He hadn't seen it coming in.,"Owls deliver mail," Albus replied, sounding amused. It was such an odd sentence that it sent Luke into his books to make sure that yes, he had heard it right.,"Owls deliver… mail," he mused, still a bit baffled. "I don't think I understand.",Albus chuckled. "It's always a bit of a shock when people find out. This owl delivered this package today," he said, picking up the object and passing it over to Luke. "I believe it's addressed to you.",Despite only understanding a few words out of that phrase, the child took the package, turning it over to check the address label and finding that, sure enough, it was addressed to him. Not to Harry Potter, but to him, Luke fon Fabre, and he couldn't help the satisfied grin on his face as he tore open the paper enthusiastically. A sword rolled into his hands, and his grin grew into a truly pleased one. He wouldn't be satisfied until he had his own sword back, of course, but at least Albus was keeping his word. Standing up from the table, he grasped the hilt in his right hand, the scabbard in his left, and drew the sword.,His happiness fell slightly at the sight of a blade of wood, not metal, but even so, the blade was the right weight, and a few practice slashes told him that when he couldn't get to his secret room, this sword was more than enough for him to train with.,"Thank you," he said to Albus, sheathing the sword again and securing it to his side. Rolling his still-limited vocabulary around in his head, he said carefully, "But I want my sword back.","In time," the older man said reassuringly, then changed the subject with ease. "Would you like to go out today?",Luke consulted his books to make sure that he'd understood Albus properly, then glowered at the man. "Go out? The door's locked!" He flipped through his book, skimming to find the proper words. "It's been locked for two weeks. I haven't been able to leave.",He knew he'd gotten them right when Albus looked sheepish. "Well… I didn't want you to run away," was all the explanation he'd give.,"Because you kidnapped me," Luke muttered under his breath in Ispanian, taking a bite out of his toast with more force than was necessary. Reverting back to English, he asked, "Why now?","Why am I offering to take you out?",Luke had to look up the words, then nodded.,Albus started on a long and involved explanation, but the child only caught one word in five and it was too much trouble for him to flip back and forth for the words in his dictionary. He gave up after a moment and tuned the older man out, returning to his breakfast.,"Did you understand?" Albus asked after seeing no reaction from Luke.,"No.","I can't make it any simpler," the wizard sighed. "I will just say that you will be staying somewhere else for the next two weeks.",Having to hunt for words, Luke grumbled as he once again started flipping through his book, was getting annoying very quickly. But doing so was expanding his English vocabulary rapidly, he had to admit, even through his irritation. "Where will I be staying?" he asked once he'd puzzled out Albus' meaning.,"With a friend," Albus replied. "We will meet him in two hours in Diagon Alley.","Diagon Alley?" The words seemed more like a name than something he'd have to look up, and Luke was suddenly interested. "What's there?","Stores," Albus replied. "We'll buy you school supplies, as well as more clothes.",That didn't sound too bad, Luke mused. He'd been wearing the same clothes for two weeks, though somehow they'd been taken off to get cleaned and returned every morning to him. All the same, he wouldn't mind having something different to wear. "Robes?" he asked, indicating what the older wizard was wearing.,"Among other things." Albus pulled a pocket watch from his robes and glanced at the face, then stood. "You can gather what things you need, and I'll meet you in the front hall in an hour. If there are any books you want from the library, be sure to let me know.",Luke nodded, then ran straight upstairs, reassured by the weight of the wooden sword at his waist. He knew, by now, the path to his hidden room by heart, and the room seemed to know what he had in mind, a bag resting on one of the bookshelves. The young noble grinned and opened the bag, noting that there were already two books in there, one about strike artes and the other about fonic artes.,"Why does it seem like you know exactly what I have in mind?" he asked one of the training dummies for lack of anything better to address. Of course there was no answer, and he spent the next forty minutes looking through the bookshelves, selecting texts he thought may help him and stashing them in the bag. He knew he was only going to be gone for two weeks, but he didn't plan to sit idle wherever Albus dumped him. His sword training was the most important thing to him at the moment, because he thought that if he could become a good swordsman, he'd be able to escape and return to Auldrant.,He decided on three other books aside from the ones that the room had given him, stacking them in the bag and slinging them over his shoulder. Surprisingly, even with the heavy texts in them, the bag wasn't any heavier than the weight of the first two books, leaving Luke to once again marvel at what magic could do. With ten minutes left to meet Albus in the entryway he went to the door of his room and surveyed it fondly. It was the only thing that had made his stay in the oppressive castle tolerable.,"Thank you," he said to it, because it seemed like it could hear him. It was a strange feeling to think that the castle around him was alive, but it seemed to have some kind of awareness. Therefore, it felt proper to Luke to thank the castle for helping him.,He didn't get an overt answer, but the fireplace burned just a little brighter, and he grinned before turning and leaving. The door clicked shut behind him, and he knew that if he turned around that the door would be gone, as it always was.,Despite everything that was happening, the fact that he was a prisoner and his fate was in another's hands, Luke made his way to the entrance hall in a cheerful mood. Maybe it was because he had an ally, as unusual as it was to think of. He'd never believed that a whole castle could be sentient and yet here this one was helping him, seemingly behind the back of the one who owned it. The inanity of it was enough to keep him sufficiently amused. After a quick stop by his room to pick up his three other books he made his way to the entrance hall.,Albys looked down at his satchel as he walked up, taking in the weight of it. "What books did you take?" he asked conversationally.,Luke shrugged. "Books about magic," he didn't quite lie, looking straight at the elder man. They locked gazes for just a moment before Albus smiled.,"Shall we go, then?" the elder asked.,To get to Diagon Alley, Luke found, required taking a carriage pulled by odd skeletal horses. Once they reached the gate several miles away Albus stuck out his wand and a fon machine Luke had never seen the likes of popped out of nowhere in front of them. Luke kept his questions to himself, instead looking out the window as the vehicle moved at blinding speeds.,Luke found his attention captured by the hidden city he realized was Diagon Alley. After getting off the thing he learned was called a bus he saw the strangest things for only a brief moment before being ushered inside a dingy pub whose name he didn't catch. There were more fon machines running around, seemingly not noticing the bus even as it sat across half of the road, and the buildings went up so high! He had to be ushered inside, so captivated by the sight was he. Once inside he found himself being introduced to a man named Arthur Weasley and his four sons Percy, Fred, George, and Ron. All five boys were lanky with red hair and a spattering of freckles covering their faces, dressed in threadbare clothes.,"It's nice to meet you," he greeted politely, bowing formally as well. "I am Luke fon Fabre, even though Albus," and he shot the man his dirtiest look, "says my name isn't.",Albus didn't seem contrite in the slightest. "Arthur, I'll leave him in your care. Mr. Potter, I'll see you in September." With that he walked to the fireplace and vanished into it, leaving the young noble to blink a bit before shaking his head.,"So, Harry," Arthur said with a smile, though it shrunk a bit at Luke's glare. "I'm sorry, but the Headmaster is insisting. I think you should be called whatever you'd like.",Luke's language skills really were improving, he mused, even as he purposely intensified his glare. "Albus doesn't have to know. And really, why does my name matter so much?",Arthur shrugged. "I'll tell you when we get to my house, too many listening ears around here. So! We're here to get your supplies for the school year, so let's get going! Ron's starting this year too so it won't be a bother at all. First we'll go to your vault, Albus made sure to give me the key…",Luke tried to stay at the end of the line, hoping for a chance to slip off, but Arthur insisted that he stay right by his side. Rolling his eyes he played along, one hand on the hilt of his wooden sword as he followed and ignored the two boys trying to get his attention.,They arrived at a white marble building and, after speaking to creatures Luke had never seen before, they delved into the massive depths that was Gringotts Bank's underground vaults. The noble didn't know what to think about the cart that flew at breakneck speeds, but he held on grimly and waited until they were at a vault to stagger out and catch his breath. It took all of his will not to throw up his breakfast and he was silently cursing the wizarding world's crazy transportation methods.,His vault was impressive, stacks of gold and silver coins piled nearly to the roof with some bronze thrown in for flavor. He scooped several handfuls of the coins into a pouch provided by the goblin who'd escorted them and climbed back into the cart without any fanfare, the coins jingling as they swung around on his waist.,Once they were back in sunlight and Luke stopped being dizzy he dutifully followed Arthur to a store called Ollivanders. Only he and Arthur went in, the four Weasley children taking five lists and splitting up after Luke gave them a handful of gold coins to cover the costs.,He stormed out of there what seemed like forever later, utterly irked at the elder wandmaker's insistence upon calling him by the name he hated. Arthur was left apologizing for the destruction that Luke had "accidentally" caused with the wands he'd tried while the young noble stalked down the block.,He was too angry to even contemplate sneaking away until he caught Ron coming out of a shop, a bundle of cloth in one arm and one of the lists in the other.,"Oh hey mate," Ron said distractedly, attempting to mark off something on the list with his burdened hand. "I've got Percy's robes, the rest of us get to use his old ones, but you should get yourself fitted too. You can't go around Hogwarts wearing that.",Luke didn't really care and wondered if he could be expelled from the school for not having the uniform. He didn't have a choice when Ron turned him around and shoved him inside, his arm immediately caught by a woman. He growled a bit at his sudden manhandling but she paid him no mind, instead ushering him up onto a stool and sweeping a long black garment over his head. Finding himself thoroughly trapped, he had no choice but to stand there and let the woman poke pins into the fabric. It wasn't something he was unused to, as he'd had several suits made up for him for special occasions back home, and the reminder had him thinking of his mother again.,He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the blonde on the stool next to him until the other cleared his throat. "You're going to Hogwarts too, then?",Luke shot the blonde a glance, weighing his options, before deciding what the heck. "Yes," he answered, voice not quite ice. It was the least hostile tone he'd used in the last two weeks.,"What House do you think you'll end up in, then?" the blonde wondered, tugging lightly at the sleeve of his robe. Luke looked at him more carefully, recognizing the tone of voice of one raised to nobility. The blonde was his age, with hair slicked back from his forehead and pale eyes, his slight build hinting that he might not have much muscle under his robes.,"House?" he asked curiously. He thought Remus might have talked about Houses during his stay but he didn't understand the context.,"Where , you from?" the blonde wondered. "You have a funny accent. You don't know what Houses are?",Luke shrugged. "No one told me about them." He thought about telling the other that he had been kidnapped by a crazy old man and held against his will but the other was speaking again.,"I hope I end up in Slytherin," the blonde drawled, glancing out of the window and then at Luke. "Father says that it's the best House. I do think I'll have to run away if I end up in Gryffindor!","What's wrong with Gryffindor?" Luke wondered, his interest piqued now. Maybe he wouldn't end up in any House and Dumbledore would have no choice but to send him home.,The other boy snorted. "They're idiotic, stubborn, and a den of fools. Even Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad.","And Slytherin?" Luke prompted.,"Smart, cunning, and sly." The boy looked proud. "Father was of that House too." The woman working on his robes gestured for him to take them off and he shrugged out of them, hopping gracefully off of the stool. Straightening the muted blue robes he had on underneath he walked the few steps over to Luke's stool and held out his hand. "Draco Malfoy.",It took Luke a moment to realize that the other boy had introduced himself, but once he did he shook Draco's hand. "Luke fon Fabre.","I must go, but I do hope we can be friends. I'll see you on the train to Hogwarts!",Bemused, Luke watched Draco leave just as Arthur hurried in, looking worried until he caught sight of the noble. "There you are!" the man said, relief more than evident in his voice and face. "Don't wander off like that, Professor Dumbledore would have my head if I let you run off.",Luke scowled, shrugging out of the robe and stepping off of the stool. He didn't understand the odd phrase that Arthur had used but his tone of voice clearly indicated dire consequences. "So I'm still a prisoner.","You're not!" Arthur insisted. "It's just dangerous for you to be wandering around on your own.",The noble said nothing for the rest of the day. After he paid for his robes he glowered at Arthur's back as they visited other stores, not really paying attention to the pile of purchases that he and the other four boys were accumulating. His stack was much greater than the others', he noticed as they finally left Diagon Alley for the Leaky Cauldron.,"Ah, Hagrid!" Arthur greeted, waving towards a giant of a man sitting at the bar. Dressed in hides and with his long hair wild and unruly Hagrid was the largest man Luke had ever seen. "What brings you out today?","A mission from Dumbledore," Hagrid answered, waving a cloth-wrapped bundle that he tucked carefully into his pocket. "He needed me to clear out a vault for him, an easy mission. What about you?","I'm escorting young Mr. Potter around," the elder Weasley replied, setting a hand on Luke's shoulder. The noble scowled and shrugged it off with a glare.,"Fabre," he enunciated clearly. "Not Potter.","So this is Harry Potter," Hagrid whispered, looking him over with a critical eye. "I thought he had black hair?","A spell," Arthur sighed. "Professor Dumbledore will have it fixed by the school year.","My hair's always been red!" Luke protested, his already frayed temped affecting something in the air around him. No one paid him any mind.,"I see." Hagrid grinned at him, brushing back the hair from the child noble's forehead with a surprisingly gentle touch. This brought Luke's scar into view and the giant looked at him oddly. "And there's the famous scar. Do you know how you got it?",Luke waited a moment, expecting Arthur to answer. When the elder didn't he rolled his eyes. "So you'll finally listen to me, huh?" he asked, voice dripping with contempt.,"Don't be like that," Arthur admonished.,Luke gripped his sword, the act helping him keep a hold on his temper. "I will be 'like that'. No one's listening to me except when they want to. I have every right to be angry.",Only then did people notice the sword strapped to his waist, something that the child found odd. "Ha-Luke," Arthur sighed. "Let me get my children on their way home and we'll have a bite to eat. I promise I'll explain then.",Ten minutes later Luke, Arthur, and Hagrid were settled around a table tucked away in the corner of the pub, a plate of food in front of each. The adults were sipping from glasses that smelled strongly of alcohol while Luke settled for water.,"I'm surprised Dumbledore didn't tell you," Arthur sighed. "He said English isn't your first language but really, you've been doing fine today. He could have explained this to you.",Luke scowled. "I've been guessing," he admitted. "Some of the words I don't know, but I can figure them out from the context. Mother always said I was the brightest child she knew.",Arthur nodded. "Let me know if you don't understand something, then. I'm sure he's told you of your real name –","My name is Luke fon Fabre," the one named retorted. "Real or not. It is the name I know and the one my mother chose for me. I do not know anyone named Potter.",Arthur waved his hand. "When school starts the Headmaster is adamant about you being called Potter. I'm sorry, but you should get used to it. Anyway, what he didn't tell you is why it's so important. You see, Harry Potter is a famous figure in the wizarding world.","Not like the son of a Duke?" Luke was well-known among Kimlascan royalty for being engaged to the princess.,Hagrid jumped in. "You're the only person to survive the Killing Curse!" the giant said enthusiastically. "Your parents were killed by You-Know-Who, everyone knows that. But when he tried to kill you something happened.","The curse rebounded," Arthur continued. "You-Know-Who vanished, presumed dead, and your godfather spirited you off to who knows where. Only his testimony assured us that you were alive and for the last ten years we've been searching for you everywhere.","And who is 'You-Know-Who'?" Luke wanted to know, even as he assured himself that his mother and father were alive and well.,"Only the most feared Dark Lord ever!" Hagrid blurted. "Anyone he wanted dead, died. Everyone except for you. That's how you got that scar, Black told us about it. When he found you in the ruins you had a cut on your forehead like a lightning bolt.",Luke fingered the scar, tracing its familiar shape. "Mother said I got it when I tripped and hit my head.","Anyway, that's why you're famous. Stories have been told about you all over the wizarding world, about Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Dumbledore wants you to fit the image people have crafted of you, and the fact that you have black hair is very important. With your red hair no one will recognize you.","I think I'd prefer that," Luke grumbled under his breath in Ispanian. "Why doesn't he ask me if I want to be famous?" he asked in English. "I've already argued with him about my hair, I hope he doesn't change it black again. People will have to know me for me.",Neither adult had an answer to that and he sighed, swallowing the last few bites of food and standing. "I'm finished. I have only one last request. I would like to know the name of the one who killed the Potters.","We, er, don't speak his name," Arthur said uncomfortably, glancing at Hagrid. "It's considered bad luck.",Luke stared at them icily. "Then write it down. I've learned enough of your letters to understand it.","Can't spell it," Hagrid sighed. "Listen close, I'll only say it once. His name was Voldemort.",Another odd name, Luke grumbled. "Voldemort," he repeated, testing the sound of it on his tongue.,Both men shuddered at the mention of the name. "Best to call him You-Know-Who around other folks," Arthur advised. "Even though he's dead people are still scared of him and even that name will make them uncomfortable.",There's more to come, don't fret! This fic will cover ALL of the first book. Reviews are loved and appreciated!

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. Rain fell in streaks to the ground and Hermione watched from her window as it went down over the Gryffindor tower. In such sombre conditions she found comfort in her favourite place in the school: the library.,It was an extensive room - Ron had named it a "maze of boredom" - but to her it was a labyrinth with a wealth of information and imagination. Hermione went straight to her favourite spot. Deep within the restricted section where it seemed only her footsteps ever unsettled the dust. Weave round the bookcases and you come to a little corner by a tall thin window. "Incendio," she whispered, lighting the fireplace beside her. She was thankful of her magic - although striking a match provided novel joy, actually getting a fire to light was an arduous task she had never enjoyed at home. Now she could settle down into the azure cushions of the armchair with ',It was here she returned to the girl of London who would wait at the dentists, book in hand, for her parents to finish work. Frizzy hair battled down by an alice band but providing little restraint. The discovery of hair products 8 years later was a welcome revelation, and one she had thanked Lavender for greatly.,As she read Hermione became immersed in the pictures. When she was younger she would tap them and watch as trees rustled and listen for a bird faintly tweeting. Her parents didn't believe her stories of ',' until they heard a ferocious roar come from Hermione's book when she read ','. She had been perched on the sofa in the living room, , mumbling in the background, though Hermione was focused on the voice of CS Lewis rather than Anne Robinson. She engaged with the image of Aslan and her parents both turned and stared at the girl glowing with pride sat beside them, blatantly confused as to where the noise had come from. Within months they realised the supernatural was not a myth, and their daughter was even more magical than they already considered her.,All of this reminded her of home. At boarding school, home was sometimes a very personal thing. Whilst Ron was understandably open about his family, Hermione and Harry were far more reluctant in discussion. She was glad for the mutual appreciation of how private a muggle background is kept at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry after all, and it felt wrong to be anything but. Introducing a topic of "Did you watch Black Adder over the Summer?" excluded Ron who would gaze cluelessly between them, so they generally avoided muggle subjects. However, if she ever felt homesick, the book she now read acted as a gentle reassurance that her parents were out there still, that she would see them soon.,Time slipped by and when she glanced at her watch Hermione realised how soon tea would be. On the way to the Great Hall she quickly popped to the bathroom, yet when trying to leave found the door jammed. "Alohamora" had no impact. She tried again with little avail.,"Hello?" she called, banging on the door. A giggle sounded from the corner of the room and Moaning Myrtle revealed herself.,"Oh dear," she mocked, gliding over.,"Who did this; Peeves?" Hermione questioned sternly. It was more of a rhetorical question though (of course it was Peeves.),"Trapped in a red room are we?" wailed Myrtle with a smile, glancing at the burgundy walls and then to the blocked toilets with tissue paper and blood from younger years still struggling in dealing with their periods. Hermione provided a deadpan expression before returning her efforts to opening the door. As she tried a deep rumble sounded as a thunderstorm began, soon followed by a flash of light. It made Hermione jump and her heart rate picked up - thunderstorms scared her, and being trapped in a bathroom did not ease that fear.,"Please- just- open-" she grumbled, now shoving it with her side.,"Only a little bit of thunder" Myrtle mewed, floating down to Hermione's level.,She responded "I'm just-" but then let out a squeak as thunder and lightening returned in another round. She turned around and slammed backwards into the door. The whole room seemed to go even darker, mirroring the slate colour clouds blocking up the sky. Rain continued to patter against the windows, and each round of thunder and lightening further panicked Hermione. She needed to think of a way out.,"Oh what a dreadful noise!" complained Myrtle, glaring at Hermione as she continued to call out for help and try to open the door with different pronounciations of 'Alohomora'.,"I'm sorry," cried Hermione, pulse racing with fear yet beginning to subside in exasperation, allowing her thoughts to settle. "I just want to get out. And I don't want to destroy the door - it's school property, and very old - it's like an artefact even." she murmured. In a moment of peace she started running her fingers over the intricate patterns. Thunder suddenly crashed again, and she slammed her hand flat and pressed up against the ageing wood.,"Oh there's no hope! Why won't 'alohamora' work? I can't stay here, I can't." Hermione frantically tried to think of a spell that would cause minimal damage to the door. She stepped back from it and, eyes fixed on the look, spoke "Portaberto." The metal handle seemed to splinter away from the door, leaving a smoking hole in its place, and the door drifted open.,"I don't know," murmured Myrtle "...that spell.","Before the unlocking charm, it was the most popular spell for opening locked doors. Bit messy, though there's no major damage to the door." Hermione commented, before leaving the bathroom as quickly as she could.

Harry walked up the staircase past the common room, darted into the boys' dormitory, and slammed the door hard behind him. His face was red and his nostrils were fuming. Today had not been great, and right now all he wanted to do was just forget about it.,But being the boy who lived, that seemed unlikely to happen.,The day had been another excruciatingly annoying one. In addition to listening to Lockhart's made-up lectures and Snape's sniveling cracks directed at him, Harry had to endure more attention from the other students. He'd made it clear plenty of times that he wasn't the Heir of Slytherin; he honestly never wanted to be part of the house in the first place! But like the rest of the wizarding world, his fellow classmates wouldn't take his word for it. In fact, he heard their gossip loud and clear from across the school grounds.,"Can he really talk to snakes?","I bet he's the heir. There was always something wrong about him.","Maybe he's acting as a double agent for you-know-who!",Ron and Hermione, as well as a few other friends from his house, had been there to dissuade his fears during classes, but it made no real difference to him. Once History of Magic finished up for the day, Harry elected to skip dinner and walked hurriedly through the hallways back to the common room. He passed a few disdainful skeptics along the way, but he didn't care at this point. Sleep was the one place he could go where nobody else could haunt him.,Harry took off his school clothes and laid them on the suitcase next to his bed. Checking that everything else was all right, he jumped onto his four-poster and sprawled himself over it. He wouldn't sleep under the covers tonight, he thought. Tonight, he was too tired. So he did that…and then fell into sleep.,Subconsciously, Harry thought that he'd drift into the familiar black and maybe have his fears imagined. Instead, he felt something burning right on him and sat up. The area around him was foggy and white, stretching on for miles and miles. Getting up, he squinted his eyes behind his glasses to see better. Nothing changed. Then he felt the ground shake and heard a loud rumble. He knelt down to keep from falling over as the rumbling continued, but his grip on the surface was becoming useless once it intensified, and he was afraid of what was going to happen next.,All of a sudden, the rumbling stopped and left the space undisturbed. Harry glanced about, unaware of any significant change until he saw the beginning of what was a large shadow forming over him. Fear climbing up his spine, the wizard-in-training turned – and let his jaw fall open.,A colossal shape that was actually a serpent towered over him, well around the height of Hogwarts itself. Its appearance warranted that it was mystic in some nature; its scales were blue and its face was cracked around its eyes and back down its spine. The two crimson eyes stared down at him like he was supper, with a mischievous smile on its lips backed up by wet hair under its neck. Harry honestly hadn't seen anything uglier than Voldemort at this point – and yet whatever kind of snake this was had just done claimed the title.,Nervous but impulsive, he walked towards the reptile a few steps before stopping. It was a giant, bloody snake. Logically, he should've been running away. Wouldn't it want to eat him?,His hand trembled. Sweat trickled down his temple as he and the beast just stared at each other. Those big, yellow eyes were just waiting for something to eat, and he wanted so much to get the hell away from it. Yet there was something in it…that attracted him?,A sudden shift in the ground told Harry of all he needed to know. The snake's entire body shifted and it let out a powerful bellow, sending air blasts throughout the land. Harry prepared himself for the gust of powerful wind. He tightened and clenched every muscle in his body. But nothing happened. Looking back up at the snake, he saw that it was still staring at him, yet more in a curious manner.,"…Er…hello?" he asked loudly, still shaken by the fear.,The massive serpent picked up on his greeting and moved closer, soon around fifty feet in the air above him. He could feel the body heat emanating from it. The snake's two eyes zeroed in on him, right before it opened its mouth to bellow again. This time, Harry didn't hear vibrations or bellows from it; instead, he heard an ancient hiss, reaching past his ears into the entire space.,It…it was speaking Parseltongue! Harry was more shocked than he wanted to be. He had so many questions, but those would have to wait. Mustering up the courage, he clicked his tongue to mimic what he'd unconsciously said before.,The snake murmured something. ,Harry was taken aback. ,After taking account what he'd said, the serpent shook it's head a couple of times. ,the snake stated back. ,It lifted its' head and gave a loud bellow once more, shaking the twelve-year-old with its range. Then it turned and began to slowly move away into the distance.,Harry garbled in snake tongue as he ran after it, trying to understand the dialogue better. By the time he'd broken into a mad dash, the serpent was long gone. Then he felt everything come to a freeze and fade into black.,He woke up in a cold sweat, air running down his face. He would've made louder noises had he not looked around. The rest of his dorm-mates were asleep in their beds, and from the looks of it, they would get very angry at him if he made a midnight fuss. Ron, in particular, was cozy inside his bed, a smile on his face indicating he was thinking of something funny. Harry decided not to push it and got under his covers. Yet the dream still lingered on in his mind.,How had this…this World Serpent heard of him? Was this another dream like the ones that had come true? It was all rather boggling and he didn't want to think on it…but something didn't want to leave him just yet. What the snake had said about him being able to speak Parseltongue…somehow, he got it by not being related to Salazar Slytherin. It'd confirmed his suspicions, but also added more. If he wasn't related to anybody in the Slytherin house, then how on earth could he commune with snakes?,He decided to wait until tomorrow and figure it out then. He'd also have to ask Hermione if she knew anything about this so-called World Serpent and the nine realms. Maybe it'd ring a bell. Convinced, he pushed the covers over himself and closed his eyes. ,he thought before sleep sucked him in again.

: Séparée de son père à l'âge de 4 ans, Kaëla Black est élevée par sa grand-mère jusqu'à la mort de celle ci, 5 ans plus tard. Adoptée par un couple de moldus, elle leur cache ses pouvoirs… jusqu'au jour où elle reçoit la lettre de Poudlard.,Dans une chambre au premier étage d'une petite maison d'un village moldu, une fillette de 4 ans dormait profondément, sans se douter une seule seconde que dans quelques heures à peine, sa vie prendrait un tournant dramatique.,Lorsque son père la réveilla, elle était très loin d'imaginer que c'était la dernière fois qu'elle le voyait avant très longtemps. Comme tous les matin depuis maintenant trois ans, il l'installa à table et lui prépara son petit déjeuner. Alors que père et fille étaient en train de déjeuner, des coups violents retentirent contre la porte.,L'homme ne prit pas le temps de réfléchir: il attrapa la fillette sous les aisselles sans tenir compte de ses protestations, jeta une poignée de poudre dans la cheminée, mis l'enfant dedans et hurla:,- 12 Square Grimmaurd !,Avant d'être aspirée par la cheminée, l'enfant eut le temps d'entendre une phrase qui la hanterait pendant des années:,- Sirius Black, vous êtes en état d'arrestation pour le meurtre de Peter Pettigrow ainsi que pour haute trahison envers la communauté sorcière Britannique.,Elle fut éjectée de la cheminée à peine arrivée et atterri avec fracas sur un tapis. Le bruit dû attirer l'occupante des lieux car la fillette, qui n'avait pas eu le temps de se relever, vit une paire de pieds entrer dans son champ de vision. Une main attrapa son bras et la releva de force. Un coup de baguette plus tard, son pyjama était débarrassé de toute trace de suie. Elle leva timidement un regard terrifié qui croisa celui d'une femme âgée qu'elle reconnut, pour l'avoir déjà vue en photo, comme étant Walburga Black, sa grand mère paternelle. L'adulte la détailla d'un regard chargé de mépris. La petite ayant été élevée par son bon à rien de fils aîné, toute son éducation était à refaire et mieux valait commencer le plus tôt possible. Elle lui demanda de sa voix tranchante comme un rasoir:,- Es-tu Kaëla ?,La petite hocha vivement la tête, sans dire un mot. La réaction de l'adulte ne se fit pas attendre et arriva sous la forme d'une gifle retentissante, plus humiliante que réellement douloureuse. Walburga repris la parole sur le même ton que précédemment:,- Es-tu Kaëla ?,- Ou… oui.,- Oui, Grand Mère.,- Oui, Grand Mère, répéta l'enfant sur un ton effrayé.,Malgré son jeune âge, Kaëla voyait bien que sa grand mère ne la portait pas dans son cœur.,Après cet « échange », l'adulte lui fit visiter la maison sans le moindre égard pour son jeune âge qui l'empêchait de suivre le rythme de l'adulte.,Sa grand mère lui présenta également Kreattur, l'elfe de maison chargé de l'entretien des lieux. La créature pris immédiatement en grippe cette gamine aux « origines douteuses » et ce fut réciproque.,La journée passa trop rapidement au goût de Kaëla et, très vite, le dîner arriva. Elle suivit sa grand mère dans la salle à manger et s'assit quand la femme le lui dit - le lui ordonna en l'aboyant serait plus juste -. Elle attendit dans le calme que Kreattur vienne leur apporter le repas.,Elles mangèrent dans le silence et la plus âgée envoya l'enfant se coucher aussitôt après le repas:,- Au lit. Tu prendras la chambre de ton bon à rien de père. Premier étage. Première porte. Et ne t'avise pas de te tromper de porte, je te le ferais regretter. Compris ?,- Oui Grand Mère. dit Kaëla d'une voix tremblante.,La fillette n'aimait pas cette femme qu'elle trouvait bien trop exigeante et allait même jusqu'à se demander comment son père avait pu tourner aussi bien avec une mère pareille. Elle monta et arriva devant la porte indiquée. Ladite porte s'ouvrît en grinçant avant qu'elle n'ait eu le temps de la toucher.,La chambre était infestée de poussière, comme si personne n'y avait mis les pieds depuis des années, ce qui était probablement le cas. Elle pensa qu'il lui serait impossible de dormir dans tant de saleté… et la chambre fut aussi immaculée que si elle était neuve.,Oh, bien sûr, l'usure était toujours là, signe que la chambre avait déjà longuement servi, et la pièce sentait toujours le renfermé, mais toute trace de poussière s'était envolée. Elle vit, à ce moment la, qu'un vieux pyjama usé jusqu'à la corde avait été mis sur le lit. Elle l'enfila et se mit au lit. Épuisé par sa journée, elle s'endormit aussitôt que sa tête eut touché l'oreiller.,Le lendemain matin, ce fut Kreattur qui la réveilla… a grands coups d'eau glacée. Elle en fut si surprise qu'elle tomba de son lit. Elle se releva en grognant et râlant contre « cet elfe de malheur ». Elfe qui s'adressa à elle, clairement à contrecœur :,- Sa Maîtresse a demandé à Kreattur de réveiller la fille du traître à son sang alors Kreattur a obéi, marmonna la créature en quittant la chambre.,L'enfant suivit l'elfe et, tandis qu'il allait dans la cuisine, rejoignit la salle à manger, ou elle retrouva sa grand-mère. Aucun mot ne fut échangé, le petit déjeuner se déroulant dans un silence aussi complet, que pesant.

Harry watched as the scientist strapped him to the table and activated the machine. "Beginning project seperatas. Begin!" They said as it spun and spun and spun… ,Harry woke up with different versions of him all around before they all looked at each other and ran to an experimental helicopter and flew it to London then scattered. Each of them with different personalities and appearances with nobody knowing who the original Harry was.,One of the Harry's looked at his reflection in a mirror. "It's tiring to keep smiling all the time… Might as well make it permanent!" He grinned as he carved his pale white skin into a permanent smile and laughed afterwards.,Another Harry looked into a mirror and frowned at his face. "How the hell is the scaring completely on our left and not our right?! Our… What… Yeah. Our.",One more Harry started putting a cane together with a question mark on the top. "Riddle me this. What is an enigma but not a mystery or a riddle? Simple! The answer is me! Playing you like a fiddle… Enigma… Eddie Nigma… That is my name! And the people will call me the Riddler…" He said gleefully preparing a green suit with question marks all over it.,One of the other versions of Harry looked at the mirror curious. "Well. I ain't the original! I mean I could be but I don't think that he was a girl!" She said stroking her blond hair in confusion. "Well I do look like a Harlequin don't ya think?" She asked the voice which was with her. "," "Harley? Harley Quinn sounds good! Tell ya what! You can be… Harleen Quinnzel! How 'bout that?" She said swinging a hammer around. "I wonder if I could find another Harry! He could be my true love! I need to find my love!" She exclaimed happily.,A Harry looked at a bat in the cave he was resting in in awe. "I seem to have gotten the original Harry's hero complex as well as a large amount of intelligence. Perhaps from the scientist…" He muttered and started grabbing materials he'd managed to acquire and started creating a suit as well as technology to make sure the rest of the Harry's wouldn't harm anyone.,Hermione showed Ron the muggle newspaper.,","Harry's in trouble! He's everywhere at once and in danger from black and you-know-who!" Hermione exclaimed before running to show Dumbledore.,The Harry that had cut himself a smile was thinking about his new name, Joe Kerr. "Joker! Great name! It's funny… It's a pun! AND IT REFLECTS WHO I AM! HAHAHAHAHAH!" He started laughing madly.,"Hi there!" Joker heard behind him, "Hiya mista J!" A female Harry said to him holding a hammer. "I'm Harley Quinn! And you! Are my love!" She said happily to him.","Harley aye? Well then! My dear we shall control all of London together!" He laughed crazily with Harley at his side.,The scarred Harry looked at the coin he had created specially with cuts on one side. "Heads I be a hero. Tails a villain." He said flipping it and catching it. "Tails. Well then… Time for Two face to have some fun!" He muttered with a twisted grin.,The Riddler spun his cane around before hacking into one of the main data towers and transmitting a video while making sure the source cannot be triangulated. "Hello London! You may be wondering just who I am! I'm the Riddler! And unless the city can solve my riddles I will sell the entire cities private data to every country in the world! As a show of goodwill I will give you your riddles through this transmission on the hour. All you have to do is give me the answer by typing on whatever keyboards you have on whatever social media you're using! Just type hashtag Riddler answer! Answer all five riddles and I won't sell the data. Oh. And just in case some of you try to stop me. Try and I reveal the you know what and you know who to the world. And I'll sell the data anyway!" He said calmly before turning to the screen that had the answers people gave for the riddle. "First riddle! This is an easy one! What weighs six ounces, sits in a tree and is very dangerous? Get answering folks! Oh and you all each only have one shot at this so make it count!" He said before turning off the transmission and monitoring ever social media site he could find, which was all of them.,The heroic harry put on this suit and smirked. "A perfect fit. I'll just have to set up a computer system to help me as well as create an A.I to assist me. Now for a name. A symbol of fear and justice that will spread through London and inspire hope into the hearts of everyone who sees it. The Batman!" He smiled. "I'll need a name change so that nobody suspects me… Perhaps Bruce Wayne? Yes that should do perfectly. I'll just have to set up a backstory and then I'm ready to fight them!" He smirked again.,Another Female Harry looked at the claws where her nails should be as well as the cat ears and tail. "I wonder why I'm a cat… Oh well. I'll just say it's a genetic mutation! Now for a name. I might as well be a cat burglar and be called Catwoman… I always liked the name Selina. Selina Kyle then…" She grinned and set up her costume for Catwoman's prowl in the night.

HOTEL HANGOUT,"London, I need to speak with you.",The "girl" replied instantly even though his brain was still adjusting to the new name. It was also still adjusting to the new sex. He wondered why they had chosen that name. He also wondered briefly why he hadn't gotten to choose his own name. He then remembered that they had said something about it betraying his true self through reflected personality. He was under the impression they just wanted him to be embarrassed, especially with the personality they wanted him to play.,"Not now Moseby. I'm off to a gala premiere.",He wasn't sure whether he could put any more condescension and dismissiveness into a single statement without sounding ridiculous. He already thought he sounded ridiculous, the entire plan was ridiculous. He couldn't understand the logic of the Ministry of Magic. In what way was pretending to be a rich, ditzy girl living in Boston blending in?,"Oh no, you're not.",The only thoughts that ran through his head as he heard these words were that of joy. He was careful not to show this on his new features however, portraying only a look of confusion as he was spun around to stand in the spot he had began in.,"I've just received a fax from your father. You are to cease all social activities until your grades improve.",He pondered whether he should consider this a blessing or a curse. Those moronic outings would be postponed - for awhile at least - but what did they want him to do in regards to the grades? They had specified in the briefing that he was to pretend to be a dumb girl to keep him unnoticed. What about this plan had changed? He only wished they could be clearer but this naive muggle had no idea of the situation. The spell they had cast had established London Tipton as pre-existing, someone this man before him had practically raised.,"That is so unfair. I have to keep my grades up but his new wife is allowed to drop out of college?",Well, he decided he could at least have some fun with his back story. The Ministry had only said that he would have an absentee father, allowing them to make only necessary contact. He was going to paint the most awful picture he could without going for sympathy or into the realm of the unreal. Harmless comedy was his angle. He humoured the thought that they should have put him undercover as a writer of some sort. It was almost certain that the muggles would appreciate humour like his on their television shows. In reality however, it would seem he had embarrassed this Mr Moseby with his comment, the man's head turning to the side in acknowledgement of the inappropriateness. Perhaps playing an incredibly naive girl would be easy enough.,"He also insisted I hire you a tutor.",Ah, so that was it. This "grades" business was a ploy to get him to interact, establish himself a bit more. This was his first day and they were setting his course. He could only presume that - if they had arranged the tutor - the person they chose would be someone he would be spending a lot of time with while in this disguise. It was hard for him not to noticeably brighten at the thought that this "tutoring" may actually be an opportunity to meet with another wizard. It had only been a few hours but he was already tired of the muggle world and the inability to use his magic. He found it entirely too easy to dissipate this joy when he realised Moseby had said that , would be choosing the tutor.,"When is he going to realise that education and me just don't mix?",A futile effort to avoid the situation seemed like the right thing to do. If he wanted, he could convince this man easily but he was only putting on a show. It was best to follow the Ministry's design.,The blonde-headed girl from whom he had just purchased some interesting sweets made her voice heard.,"Education and I.",It was becoming increasingly hard not to laugh at this entire situation. He was quite proud of this muggle. He'd deliberately put the grammatical mistake into his words only to back up his point. Now it had helped him locate someone he should keep a close watch over. This girl was clearly observant. The Moseby man was looking at her, seemingly contemplating something. What could he say in reply to the girl? He wanted to congratulate her but that would break character.,"Hello? This isn't about you!",His words had the desired effect and - after a shake of the head - she turned back to the cash register. He only wanted this conversation to be finished with as fast as possible so he could relax in the confines of his room. At least there he could do magic. Perhaps if he could lock the door ,(with magic) he might even be able to change back for a little bit. He was only willing to follow the Ministry's design for certain things and being a girl all the time was not his intention.,The blonde-headed girl had started doing Mathematics aloud as a senior citizen was also purchasing some sweets. He almost snorted with derision, which he supposed wouldn't have been out of character but he couldn't think of an explanation for it. When they had told him that muggles only used numbers for these uses he hadn't believed them. He only wished he could see their faces if they observed an Arithmancy lesson. He barely suppressed a shudder. Somehow, he was even managing to be nostalgic about the classes.,"You beat the cash register!",Oh no. He was almost certain he could see the plan formulating in the astounded muggle's head. There was a slim hope that he was wrong but the slimness made it frail. He had been planning on trying to , too much contact with this girl, she noticed too much.,"And you read!",Mr Moseby's voice had reached interesting heights. It was even higher than , new tones as he plucked a novel from the counter. This and the muggle's incredulousness was almost enough to distract him from his impending doom.,"Maddie can be your new tutor.",With those six words all of his hope died and he turned to look at the pair properly, abandoning his pretence of playing with a silken purse. He could already anticipate the girl's reaction so he just mimicked it. It seemed like the best course of action.,"What?!",They had exclaimed in unison, the girl's shriek higher than his. He was almost certain no one had noticed and his natural voice couldn't have come through if he tried. The Professor's strengthened Polyjuice (he could have sworn the invisible band on his finger started to burn as he thought about it) also affected the voice. It changed all aspects but this didn't stop him from worrying. His acting skills weren't anything to brag about and now that a removable source of ever-lasting Polyjuice potion was his only hope for survival. The "removable" part was simultaneously a relief and a hazard. He wasn't stuck as a girl but he risked the ring being removed accidently. He'd been assured against it but the Ministry weren't always honest.,"There isn't enough money in the world.",Why did they keep trying to make him grin? At the very least, this was confirmation that his acting was going well so far. He prayed Moseby would pity the poor girl and subsequently keep him out of trouble but from what he'd been told about the man he was fairly stubborn.,"I'll pay you triple your salary.",All hope was lost for him as he saw her turn back towards him with the largest grin he'd seen in a very long time. He walked away with a look of disgust displayed on his features, his inner monologue consisting of a lot of panicked planning.,Waiting for elevators were so redundant. At least he didn't have to speak to , anymore, acting was tiring. Body acting was difficult too of course. His normal stance was a little too masculine for London. When the elevator eventually arrived he couldn't help but think this hotel was simultaneously too garish and too bland. The corridor outside of his room was a complete farce. He let out an inaudible sigh and closed the door to his room. "Finally.",He made sure to lock the door before removing the infernal band.,"Colloportus.",He placed the ring on the convenient countertop as it became tangible and went to appreciatively inspect himself in the mirror, glad of his proficiency at wandless magic. He groaned outwardly when he realised he had failed to remove London's clothing before he had reverted back. He wasn't going to be wearing this again as the clothing had stretched in rather pertinent places. He'd had enough of seeing himself dressed in tight trousers and bright summer colours. He changed into his boxers (taken from a rucksack enchanted to hold all of his possessions) and promptly fell asleep, still exhausted from the Apparation earlier in the day.,A loud knocking brought him back to the world of the conscious, accompanied with a shrill voice. "London, come on! We need to start your tutoring right away!" The unnecessary emphasise on the "right" would have anyone else believe that the girl was genuinely happy about the situation. He groaned and sat up, looking around the room for clothes of some sort. In retrospect, he thought he probably shouldn't have taken a mid-day nap.,"Come on ..." He hesitated to remember the girl's name, he was sure the people at the Ministry had included her in the research. "Maddie!" He was rather pleased with himself until he noticed he was still ,.,"London? Is there a boy in there?" Shock, apprehension and that bizarre voice girls seem to acquire when they talk about relationships was upon Madeline. He silently cursed himself as he reached for the ring, slipping off his boxers and putting on the brown dress-top and white legging combination he remembered he had been careful to lay out in its place. He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to having to wear girl's underwear but he was told he couldn't be too careful. The Ministry were definitely just trying to embarrass him.,"No, no boy. Why Maddie, you expecting one?" His triumphant anti-reveal had fallen in his face as he realised he had used a line far too smart for London Tipton. He could feel the panicked, searching and suspicious look from Madeline as she entered the room. He noted that she had changed clothing, sporting a short denim skirt and green t-shirt, topped with a white cardigan. All he could wonder was why she had done so; he found her uniform rather flattered her. Although, he had to wonder why a fifteen year old had such a regular job already.,She was searching around the room and she was getting uncomfortably close to the rucksack. It didn't exactly blend in with the ridiculously over-the-top surroundings of the room. He quashed a sound that would have betrayed his discomfort and casually strolled towards her, a carefully innocent and questioning expression upon his face.,"Maddie, what are you doing?",She seemed to remember "London" was still in the room and straightened up, just seconds from opening the rucksack. He was certain she wasn't convinced and made a mental note to hide the rucksack later.,"Nothing London. Let's just get to studying Italy.",Italy? Why would he need to study Italy? He'd gotten all the information he needed on that when he'd dated those Italian twins, Gratian and Graziana. Sighing over-exaggeratedly in a manner he thought was convincing, he moved towards the bright pink sofa and opened up the laptop that was resting on it. He pretended to be distracted by the large green cushion behind him when in fact he was observing Madeline again. She was snooping around in the bedroom to the left of him. No doubt she was taking in the fact that the covers were in disarray. This certainly wasn't the image he wanted to paint for London or himself for that matter. He would most definitely not bed a girl like London Tipton.,He felt there was little he could do to stop her and he couldn't recall having left any evidence over there, so he resolved to search the muggle internet in pretence of study or shopping or something. Just as he had thought this, he saw her extract his boxer shorts from the bed. He blushed scarlet, greatly wishing he had had the presence of mind to relocate those before letting this girl into the room(s). All he could do now was fervently hope she would drop the matter and not pursue it.,"Where is he?" Madeline's voice reached an excited pitch. "Do I know him? He said my name earlier so I must know him. Who is he?" Her babbling reached its climax as she walked over to "London" with wide-eyes. "London... Did you really...?",The redness hadn't left his face and it was highly unlikely to any time soon. He genuinely had no idea how he would remedy the situation. There was no desire within him to cast London the role of promiscuousness because there was no way he was coming close to acting that out. It was odd enough to have this body, there wasn't a chance he was going to use it for ,. However, it wasn't like he could tell her the truth. He'd been explicitly told not to tell a single muggle of his predicament.,"Did I really what Maddie?",He ramped up London's stupidity in a hopeless bid to stall the inevitable. In doing so, he had made Madeline blush and it looked rather appealing on , He needed to stay focused! If he got distracted by her then there was little chance he'd be able to come up with an ingenious lie.,"Whose boxers are these?",Damn. All he could do was stare at her stupidly, which he supposed remained in character but he couldn't think of anything to say. If he just said "Don't know", then she'd probably assume that to mean London had been very "active".,"They're mine. Could you put them down, it's really unnerving that you've seen them, never mind the fact you're touching them.",It was something he really didn't want to do but when the tracks can't be covered, the case is generally unravelled. He would really have to get better at covering for himself. Better yet, he could stop slipping up. At least he could partially blame the Ministry for this, it was their fault this girl was involved with him in the first place.,"Yours? But...huh?",If it weren't for the fact that he was in dire straits, the fact that he had made an obviously fairly intelligent girl speechless would make him proud. As it was, he was trying to decide what to do next. He could still cover this with a bad lie. Maybe he could convince her that London secretly liked cross-dressing? He wasn't sure how well that would work. He audibly sighed as Maddie sat down in the ridiculous green armchair, her confusion still apparent on her face but her arms set in a manner that told him no lies would pass. How was he going to do this?,"Madeline...Maddie...I... You see..." He was finding it rather difficult to get started.,Madeline stood up rather quickly. "I have to get downstairs, he's probably there already.",Her resolve seemed to have weakened and he watched gratefully as she disappeared out of the suite to meet some mystery man. He wasn't certain what had unnerved her more, his underwear (which he was now moving to the rucksack) or London's sudden gain of intelligence. While it was a lucky escape, he wasn't about to look this gift in the mouth and he resolved to make her believe she had imagined this encounter. He hid the rucksack of his belongings under the bed and began to contemplate how best to initiate his plan. At some point in his contemplation, he fell asleep.,He finally emerged from his room the next day, wearing what he personally thought to be an abominable amount of pink. It was adequate for London however and he did see the humorous side of the bright pink beret with matching scarf. When he emerged from the elevator once more, he cursed the proximity to the "candy counter". He had decided to act like everything was normal (or normal for the situation of being London) so he walked up behind Madeline and gave a loud:,"Hey!",Madeline seemed surprised but she was clearly distracted and didn't treat him with any suspicion. He thought he was off to a pretty good start.,"Hey London! I got a date with Lance, the lifeguard!",He almost snorted. What kind of name was Lance the Lifeguard? It sounded like it was from a child's television show! He suppressed his urge to laugh and silently thanked Lance the Lifeguard for showing up and providing the perfect distraction for Madeline. Eventually, he remembered he was supposed to be conversing. In reality, it had only been a split second since her comment but it felt like it had been longer.,"So, what are you gonna wear?","I dunno, jeans?",He cringed inwardly. He knew exactly what his counterpart should say in this situation and exactly how this conversation was going to end.,"Why don't you wear a sack over your head that says loser? Come on, let's go to the boutique.",There was only a small problem with this idea. He didn't actually know where the boutique was. They wondered around the streets of Boston for awhile until Madeline's patience finally wore thin.,"London, how do you manage to get lost going to a place you go to all the time?","I don't normally shop in ,. I normally get Daddy to send me a jet to take me to places that sell , clothes. You can settle for poor people clothes though.",He was really rather pleased with himself. He was getting better at playing this role.,"London, you go to the boutique every week, I've walked passed with the dogs and seen you in the window.",It really would have been nice if he had some of the memories these people had of London.,"No you haven't.",The beneficially part of being a stupid girl was that he could argue against the inarguable and it wouldn't seem out of place.,"London, are you okay? You've been acting pretty strange lately. I mean, first the guy's underwear and now this.",Madeline's facial expressions went from confused to determined fairly quickly. She stopped in the middle of the street and stared at London point-blank. She seemed to think for a minute and then she softened a little.,"London, I know that maybe this isn't the sort of thing you can talk to your rich friends about but I'll be happy to listen. I'm here for you.",Madeline had put her hand on his shoulder and he tried to ignore how comfortable he actually was with the gesture. He wasn't generally one for letting people touch him. Was the Polyjuice doing something to his brain? He glanced down and twisted his foot at odd angles.,"It's...it's nothing. We've been out here for ages and I'm bored! We can go back to the hotel, you can wear your own poor people clothes.",He had almost broken! That was the second time he had almost told this girl all about the wizarding world and his predicament. He , needed some self-control.,He didn't care if it was uncharacteristic at this point, he hurried back (as fast as anyone can hurry in those ridiculous shoes) with Madeline barely keeping pace and rushed into his room. He was so stirred up that he cast the locking spell wordlessly.,He stripped down and threw off the ring. He changed into a red shirt and some of his own jeans, throwing himself on the bed once he was finished. Why couldn't he seem to keep his mouth shut around that girl? Why was it he had to keep ending up in her company?,He spent the next couple of hours toying with various spells and rummaging through his belongings whilst sat on the overly garish bed. He almost hugged one of his textbooks he was finding this so hard. How could the ministry expect him to do this for a year, possibly longer? "London's" body made him feel wrong and mentally discomfited. The situation was still failing to make any sense to him and he just wished he could go back to school. He never was a boy who was particularly fond of studying but now he would trade almost anything to just go back to his normal life.,When knocking came at his door after his maudlin reflection , he jumped. He heard the door slowly start opening and he realised too late that he hadn't cast the locking spell earlier, he had just given himself too much credit. He decided that he didn't have nearly enough time to change clothes and frantically searched for the ring, only just slipping it on his finger as he heard the door close. "London?" Madeline's inquisitive voice carried through and he had no time to plan his actions. He ran through to the other room with exaggerated vigour and ambushed the girl, hoping to distracted her from the clothes that was now hanging off of his slim frame.,"So, how'd it go with the lifeguard?",Madeline gave a subtle double-take but her focus was elsewhere. "Well..." He could see she was indecisive about whether she was going to pursue the distraction-topic or confront him. He - naturally - did what he could to nudge her in the correct direction.,"What's the matter? Didn't he love your outfit?" This exchange seemed to be going smoothly but he was still incredibly nervous.,"Yeah, but... I don't think it's going to work.",He had to encourage this match! That moronically named Lance was the greatest distraction he had for her. "Why not?" The concern he poured into his voice was not remotely feigned. He thought perhaps he should reel it in a little. "He loved your outfit.","But I didn't like him.",She didn't like him! Of course she didn't like him! He should have known. With a name like Lance the Lifeguard, what chance was there? Why had she been so enthusiastic in the first place? He had to test whether there was a chance of salvaging Madeline's relationship. He didn't have any other distractions for her and she was somewhat of a liability.,"Didn't you like his outfit?",He had to navigate his way, in the most London-esque manner, to finding out the problem so he could try and fix it. He wondered when playing matchmaker became a part of his cover. At least he seemed to be able to keep up his façade most of the time. Madeline's face was astounded with the sheer stupidity of the girl in front of her. He suppressed a self-congratulatory smirk.,"London, it's not all about outfits. It's about the people inside them.",Condescension contorted Madeline's features unflatteringly. He would otherwise sympathise with such a reaction to such utter stupidity but he was getting impatient to find out what he could about what passed between Madeline and the lifeguard. There was also the matter of the meaningful look Madeline had cast him when she mentioned clothes. He wasn't equipped to make up excuses for himself. He found himself frustrated as he tried to balance too many things at once and just relied on a simple "Huh?",Madeline looked exasperated and turned from him. In the few moments this took, panic almost seized his mind. Was she going to change the subject? He really wasn't capable of thinking on his feet at the moment.,"He's really nice but..." He had to stop himself from taking an apprehensive breath in the pause as he followed Madeline to the pink sofa. He subconsciously copied her as they sat, awaiting what she would say.,"All he can talk about is water! Okay? Swimming in water, diving in water, splashing water, salt water versus fresh water. After talking to him for an hour, I had to go so bad!",He mentally breathed a sigh of relief. The crisis seemed to have been averted for now. Now he could focus on the matter at hand. Madeline's mobile phone rang and he noted with surprise that she kept it in her sock. Now that he thought about it, the uniform didn't seem to have any pockets.,"Oh no! It's him.",The mobile phone found itself flying through the air and landing on a green armchair which matched the cushions behind them. He didn't have much time to ponder on his disgust with his living quarters as Madeline moved towards him and almost sat on him. This was a less than ideal situation. He had to get her to move without seeming unusual. If his being unsettled was conveyed in his words, then there was little he could do about that. She was far too close for comfort.,"Dump him, dump him like last month's shoes.",All things considered, he thought he had done quite well. He even remembered to put in Londonism. He wasn't sure he was completely for the idea of Madeline ending her potential relationship before it began but he could hope she'd find another one. It had dawned on him that if this relationship continued, Madeline might spend , time around him - expecting advice - as opposed to less. Most importantly, his short term goal had been achieved. She had moved away and was now facing him.,"I don't want to hurt him.",This relationship clearly wasn't going to work and, more importantly, it wasn't going to serve as the distraction he needed. He had to convince her to get rid of the boy before he spent his days as London constantly tried to fix a relationship that just wouldn't work. Before he constantly spent all his time around Madeline.,"Oh, so you're just going to marry him and live poolside with a bunch of lifeguard babies?",He had only just managed to make that last remark London-like. He was aware of the situation he was in and he had to fix it. This Lance fellow was a problem now, he couldn't care in the slightest how he made the boy seem. The disgust on Madeline's face was a comfort at least. He wasn't ruining this completely.,"You're right, I gotta end this.",Madeline dashed towards the mobile phone and he allowed himself the congratulatory smirk. He seemed to have a talent for manipulating people. It did leave an unusual sour taste in his mouth. It bothered him a little that he was manipulating Madeline, as she had put her trust in him - in London - so quickly and without any real reason. Usually, this would be another aspect that would boost his ego, but it only seemed to make him feel uncomfortable. He was clearly thinking too much. He didn't need to develop a conscience now. He'd survived perfectly fine without one and he needed to survive. That was the reason for this ridiculous situation he was in now.,"Hi Lance.",Madeline was awkward and had her hand curled around the bottom of her shirt. She looked nervous. Was she interested in this boy or wasn't she? She seemed quite clearly determined not to be with him a few moments ago and now she seemed unsure. This was inconvenient. He followed her around, trying to hear what the Lance boy was saying in a - if he was honest - somewhat preposterous manner.,"Oh, I miss you too.",She was a giggling schoolgirl. She was an awkward giggling schoolgirl and he had to start thinking of reasons to keep her from coming to him with all her relationship advice because this clearly was not going to end in her breaking off her dalliance with the boy. Madeline was starting to become aware of his proximity but she didn't try to stop him, which was good. This might help with those plans. He might even annoy her enough to actually break-up with him.,"Oh really?" Madeline moved her mobile phone to her neck and drew his attention. "Apparently the Ph balance in the pool is perfect.",He made a "tsk" and looked unimpressed, meanwhile his hopes were gathering. Hopefully this unimpressive display would remind Madeline why she was leaving the boy. The situation was interrupted somewhat by the doorbell ringing. He'd been here all of two days. He definitely didn't invite someone here; he was being as anti-social as the situation allowed. He realised he couldn't really ignore the door and ran exaggeratedly over to it. This would be more people to explain the oversized men's clothes to. He'd almost forgotten about them and actively hesitated before opening the door. He couldn't go and change clothes without drawing Madeline's attention toward his apparel again.,He opened the door to a surprisingly calm looking Moseby. The man had looked stressed every time he'd seen him over the last two days. Although, there had been rather a lot of noisy children running around. Maybe they'd finally left? He missed having the space to move around; he could completely understand Moseby's relief in that scenario.,"London, how's the studying going?",He didn't miss the surprised look at his apparel. He couldn't handle multiple situations at once and he couldn't have attention drawn back onto his clothes again.,"Fabulous, thanks for checking in.",He attempted to close the door and held onto the hope that Moseby would just leave. The man was the manager of this hotel, surely he had other things to be doing. He didn't know whether it was his clothes, the fact that he may have sounded suspicious or if Moseby had seen Madeline through the door. Whatever it was, Moseby wasn't leaving.,"Okay.",Moseby had determination in his voice as he blocked the door and made his way into the room. He walked straight passed him and observed Madeline, just catching the line, "Yes, yes, I think Chlorine is a beautiful name for a girl." While it wouldn't get him to leave, at least he was distracted. He would take what he would get.,"Is there any teaching going on here at all?",Moseby seemed so exasperated. He could possibly play this to his advantage. Perhaps he could bring out the annoyed boss in Moseby and rid himself of both of them.,"Oh, of course. I'm teaching Maddie valuable life skills.","But she is supposed to be tutoring you! You're father said if you flunk out again, he's sending you to parochial school.",Oh, was this was this was about? The Ministry obviously decided he wasn't going to do enough mixing on his own so they were going to force him to actually go to a proper Muggle school. The "private" school he was going to gave him ample opportunity to simply avoid the classes and the people. He had a feeling this other school would not afford him the same chances. A feeling of dread took over.,"Do you mean like where Maddie goes?",Moseby's satisfied nod almost made him want to strangle him. Why? Why would they push him to be around her even more? He couldn't tell whether they were being deliberately trying or if they hadn't considered how stupid they were being. He couldn't spend even more hours with this girl. She could ruin everything. He realised Moseby had stepped back. He seemed to be expecting more of a reaction. He gasped.,"I'll have to wear a uniform?!",Moseby gave another smug "Mhmm" and made to leave. He let it happen. Madeline was coming off of the phone, he had to fix this situation. Maybe he just had to prove he was mixing with this one girl. Maybe the Muggle school really was only a threat.,"London?",Moseby hadn't left. "Why are you wearing that?,Oh no. He really wasn't prepared for this. He wasn't even able to keep the panic off of his face and it just made Moseby more curious.,"Well?","I...","She's wearing it because she kept getting distracted by her outfit when I was trying to get her to study. I found her the baggiest, most unappealing clothes so that she'd focus.",Madeline was by his side and... defending him? He wasn't sure why this was happening but he had to admire the girl's quick thinking. Moseby even looked impressed.,"She wasn't going to admit to that, she's pretty disgusted that she's wearing them. You know London and clothes. She wasn't going to let you in earlier, she was so ashamed to be seen in them.",So, she'd noticed him hesitating. He'd hoped she'd been distracted by her phone call.,"Well then, in that case, keep up the good work Maddie.",The door closed behind a grinning Mr Moseby and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned to Madeline who gave him a reassuring smile and then gestured towards her phone, which was back on the green chair. He didn't know exactly what had just happened but maybe it was for the best that Madeline didn't let him question her. It probably wouldn't have led anywhere productive.,"I can't believe I just made another date with him!",He couldn't either. He also was having problems getting back into this conversation. It felt far too much like a performance after what had just happened. Well, more of a performance than normal.,"I can't believe I might have to wear plaid!","Teach me to be mean!","Teach me to be smart!",They both cried "Help me!" in unison. This time, the syncing had been unintentional. Similarly, the hug that followed the encounter had not been part of his plan. It started as a desperate clutch of two girls in peril but he found himself turning to face her, making it a proper hug. Even though she hadn't known the situation, Madeline had covered for him. He'd never really had a friend willing to do that. Well, he supposed he still didn't. Madeline was friends with who she thought London was. Nonetheless, the feeling of gratitude was new. He muttered a "thank you" into her shoulder. He felt rather than saw Madeline smile. "Don't mention it.",The following day came and he needed to seek out Madeline. He had actually gone to one of the Muggle classes and applied what Madeline had taught him. Hopefully, this would cease his need to have her as a tutor. She wasn't just observant, she was growing on him. He couldn't risk getting to close to anyone lest he become complacent. As he walked into the foyer of the hotel, he spotted Madeline in front of her workplace.,"Maddie, I have good news!","So do I!","Me first! I got a C+ in Maths.",Madeline's face dropped. He could understand but the only stipulation was that he had to pass. If he was entirely honest with himself, he didn't have to try too hard to ensure he didn't get a high grade. Muggle subjects were completely different from what he was used to. He'd assumed they'd be simple.,"That's the good news?","Yeah, thanks to you. I passed.",The gratitude from the previous day managed to slip into his voice. While London may have been referring to the Maths, he was just suddenly made aware of the girl's unwarranted dedication to him. She was willing to put in genuine effort to teach an exasperating pupil, she was willing to cover his back for no apparent reason and without knowing what she was covering for. Nothing suggested that she was friends with London in the prefabricated life that he hadn't lived. She just seemed to be a genuinely good person. He couldn't bring himself to care about forming attachments at the moment. The general atmosphere was clouding his judgment. The realisation of that actually pulled him back to himself. He'd been stood there staring at Madeline with a fond look on his face. What was he doing? It had been three days and he was already ruining things! Of course he should care about forming attachments!,"My Daddy got me a plasma screen TV!",Madeline had looked both confused and touched during his previous slip up but now she wore a look of understanding. It was too much to hope that Madeline was just going to ignore the previous gesture. She was going to pick up on the gratitude and it would bond them further. He was an idiot.,"Oh. When I get an A+, all I get is an extra slice of pie.",At least she wasn't going to address it. He could just about manage if she was going to be discrete. A relationship of silent communication surely couldn't communicate what he had to keep to himself. He had to keep this conversation moving. Madeline had shown her willingness to move on, he had to follow suit.,"Is that your good news?","No, no, no! I took your advice and broke up with Lance. I was blunt, I was abrupt and - if I say so myself - I was pretty darn mean.",Ah, yes. The lifeguard. Well, that was good news. He wouldn't have to have her constantly pestering him, she wouldn't have to tutor him. He could go back to his original plan of avoiding her.,"So, I learned something from you and you learned something from me?",The fondness was creeping back up just as he was faced with the prospect of not having to see her very often. He had to express it somehow and that was his best effort. He had learned something from her. He wasn't sure he liked it, but he seemed to have developed some new tendencies. He wasn't someone who trusted easily and he found himself trusting this girl. That wasn't really a good thing in this situation but it was something he'd never really thought himself capable of. He wasn't sure whatever he'd taught her was a good thing either but she seemed happy about the outcome and he found himself glad he had been able to help her. This girl was going to be his undoing, she was going to cause him so many problems.,"Yeah! And now you have a plasma TV and... I don't have a boyfriend.",He struggled with the urge to comfort her but decided that not only was it not in his best interest, it also wasn't keeping character. He had to get back to trying to act as London, instead of being a mess of emotion.,"So, everybody's happy!",He made a loud screeching noise and brought back the exaggerated run as he made his way to the elevator. It was easy to do because he still wasn't fully confident in heels. He collapsed against the back wall of the elevator, which had conveniently been on the right floor. How was he supposed to keep this up?,A/N,There was originally better spacing on the summary. I tried to fix it but I'm somewhat new to posting on this site.,I'm not sure this is necessary, what with this being a fanfiction website but I obviously don't own anything from the Harry Potter or Suite Life franchises. Anything you recognise isn't mine.,I can't promise regular updates, sadly. I'm pretty busy at the moment with upcoming exams but I promise you that I'm not planning on abandoning the story. However long it may take, this will continue. I have some pretty big ideas for this.

(June 19, 1997- Surrey, England),A young boy of maybe 10 or 11 years of age, was outside trying to get away from his fat cousin and his friends, who were throwing rocks as him and calling him a freak. He had messy black hair, aqua green eyes behind glasses and was dressed in clothes that were two sizes too big for him. He ran into a forest, not watching where he was going and tripped over something. He rolled away from what is was and slowly sat up. There was something sticking up from out of the ground. It looked like it was part of a bracer. He dug it out to get a better look at it.,It was gold and onyx, it had three gold hollyhock leaves in a golden circle on an onyx background. He felt compelled to put it on and he did. He placed it on his left hand and marveled at how it looked on him. Just then, it started to glow and golden energy started to surround him. As it surrounded him, it ended up to be too much and knocked him out.,(Mindspace),He started to wake up and realized he was in a manor, but not just any manor, this was a manor from the Sengoku era (,) he started to look around and looked at himself. He was now in all gold and white, with his left arm covered in chainmail, he was in a sleeveless hoodie, tights, gauntlets on both wrists, and tabi boots. He was topless underneath the hoodie.,He started to look around and came upon a huge room where a man was seated in front of a huge yellow banner with three hollyhock leaves in a circle in black. He was in a gold and black kimono and had a fan in his hands.,"Welcome Harry Potter." He said, (,),Harry was stunned that the man knew who he was.,"I'm sure you are wondering how the bracers of Tokugawa Ieyasu had appeared in a forest." Harry was confused.,"Takugawa Eyasu?" He said, the man chuckled.,"Close enough, child. You have a better and greater destiny ahead of you Harry.","I do?","Yes, I want you to follow in my footsteps and unite both the magical and non-magical worlds. My bracers and knowledge shall help you.","Wait, are you telling me that you are… Ie...yasu Ta...To...kugawa?" Harry said trying to pronounce his name. Ieyasu smiled and nodded.,"Yes, I am." He patted a place next to him. "Come sit, and I shall tell you of my life.",So Harry did and they started to talk about his life. During that time the golden energy had taken his body from real space and hid it.,(No. 4 Privet Dr. - next morning),When Harry didn't come back home, people were getting worried. That is, except for the Dursleys. They didn't care for that little 'freak' so when someone came to see if Harry was there they let them know it. "We Didn't Want The Little Bastard Freak In Our Home Anyway!" Yelled Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle. "You were the ones who left him on our doorstep!",Albus Dumbledore paled when he had found out that Harry wasn't there and he was with Minerva McGonagall who glared at him.,"I Knew It!" She said, "But No, The 'Great Albus Dumbledore' Is Never Wrong! Well, how does it feel? You Were Wrong! And Now When… Not If, When Voldemort Comes Back, We Are Screwed! All because Albus Dumbledore thought the 'Boy-Who-Lived's 'only' family left would raise him when they couldn't even raise his their own son properly.","Minerva…" He said.,"DON'T 'MINERVA' ME! So I guess this was all for the greater good right? Should have left him with the Weasleys." she mumbled the last part under her breath.,Just then there was a knock on the door. It was the police.,"Oh good. Gentlemen, I'd like those people arrested on the charge of murder to begin with." she said to them.,"WHAT?" Screamed Vernon, "I'M A LAW ABIDING SUBJECT OF THE CROWN!","Sir, we received a report of a missing child, and that there might have been some foul play." the first police officer said to Vernon.,"Where is the boy... Harry Potter?" the second police officer asked.,"Don't know, don't care." the woman, Petunia, said.,"We chased him into the forest throwing rocks at him." the large and oafish Dudley said while stuffing his face with cupcakes.,At hearing that, the police took Vernon, his wife Petunia, and his son Dudley away.,"Minerva I don't think…" Dumbledore started.,"That's right," she interrupted. "You don't! I am going to put in a vote of 'no confidence' and have you removed from the ICW." With that, she stormed off.,The next few weeks the Daily Prophet started the biggest smear campaign on the Headmaster of Hogwarts.,',',',',The rest of Wizard Britain were calling for Dumbledore's head. Even his Order of Phoenix and Aberforth, his brother, would never help him now, and the goblins had closed all of his accounts in Gringotts.,(Back with Harry),As Dumbledore was living in hell, Harry was getting training from Ieyasu. He was treated as if he was a Tokugawa offspring. He was taught how to fight, strategize, how to fight honorably and how to channel his magic throughout his body. During his time with Ieyasu, he had learned a lot of things. One of those things was that he was related to the Digger clan.,"Go and send them a letter Harii-kun." Said Ieyasu, Harry nodded and wrote out a letter, not knowing how they were going to get it.,Once the letter was written, Ieyasu had summoned a phoenix to take it to the Diggers clan.,(Decatur, GA- July 10, 1997),Gina Diggers was just coming back from a trip with her sister, Brittany, who is a were-cheetah by the way, she had got the mail and noticed that one of the letters was in a golden envelope and sealed with a seal that had three hollyhock leaves in a circle on the back.,She was confused at what she saw, ',' She thought, ',.' She opened it and read the letter. Her eyes suddenly bugged out. She ran in to the manor "Gotta Call Dad!" She said.,Meanwhile Brittany had just finished making herself lunch and Gina barely missed her. "Whoa! Slow Down Gina!" She said, "Where's the fire?",Gina handed her the letter.,"Read this!" She said, "I gotta call Dad!" She took off for a phone as Brittany read the letter and understood why Gina was freaking out. Gina was on the phone.,"Come on, come on pick up Dad." She said.,[Hello?] Said a voice on the line.,"Dad? I really need to speak with you.",[What about?],"Does the name 'Lily Potter' ring any bells?",Just then the line was silent.,"Dad?",[That was the name of your aunt,] he said. [She was my younger sister. Well half-sister, but yeah. Why bring her up?],"She has a son looking for us.",[What? I'm coming over!] He hung up and just then someone teleported behind Gina. He was a tall man with white hair, goatee, blue eyes and dressed in a black bodysuit. "Gina, let me see the letter." He said.,"Brit's got it," she said. He went over to the were cheetah and took it from her. After he read it, he was shocked.,"There's only one way to find out." He said and wrote back.,He sealed the letter and somehow a phoenix had appeared and took it to wherever Harry was.,(Two weeks later),Harry was going through some katas when the phoenix had returned. It landed on Harry's shoulder and dropped the letter in his hands. Harry opened it and read it. "What does it say, Harii-kun?" Asked Ieyasu, so Harry let him see it. "Hmm, we can do that." Harry nodded and Ieyasu trimmed his hair. Then they sent the hair with a letter back.,He sent the letter with a phoenix and crossed his fingers for luck.,(Diggers manor; Decatur, GA),The letter came back with trimmings of Harry's hair. "Gina," Theo said. "Harry sent some of his hair.","Great dad," she said and took it to her lab, to have it tested.,Once tested, it turned out that he was related to the Diggers as Theo's nephew.,"YES!" Said Gina. "WE HAVE FAMILY!","I'll send the letter." Smiled Theo.,TBC

Dear Valued Reader,,Sorry if that sounded sarcastic, it wasn't meant to.,Anyway, this is a Harry Potter/Black books crossover, written after reading one by someone else, who I would credit except I can't remember who it is. Lots of these crossovers have Bernard dropping out of Hogwarts, but I chose to have him there at the same time as Sirius because I wanted to.,This mostly focuses on Manny and Fran, and views the world through their eyes.,I also warn you: it's not very good. I'm aware of that, and don't need your reviews telling me that I haven't captured the voices right or anything, because I know that. Reviews about anything else are fine, just not about the voices. Because I know.,But anyway, hope you enjoy!,Reinette xx

The legacy of the Super Sentai is both vast and deep. For many generations, these defenders of the universe have fought evil after evil that threatened their homes and loved ones. However, with each new threat defeated, a new one has come forward to take its place, in turn becoming a new team's call to action. As time passed, teams new and old often watched as their worlds continued to be threatened, believing that there would always be a need for Super Sentai…until that fateful day…,A shadow descends upon Earth, its moon drawn closer to the planet, due to unknown phenomena. The heavenly body descends at a steadily increasing pace, only to stall slightly as many brightly colored Lights and explosions come streaming from parts of the planet's surface. The Lights and explosions continue to try and push the moon, generating great force. What appears to be mecha, on the moon's surface, are also pushing to try and stop its continued path towards Earth's surface. However, after 10 straight hours, the explosions lesson, the Lights begin to recede.,As if nothing changed, the moon continues its decent, slower than before, but steadily regaining lost momentum. Many small lights from the opposite side of the world are seen leaving the atmosphere, moving away from the impending collision. As the moon finally strikes the planet, it is seen from orbit that the atmosphere is greatly dented, virtually ripped from the impact point and the devastation of the event is massive even from space. As may of the tiny lights fly off into space, the Lights that had pushed the moon back for those hours seems to erupt from the planet, piercing through space until a ripple seems to swallow the Light, some of the tinier lights following into the ripple until all is still.,The ripple vanish, with only the shattering remains of the planet and moon to show there had ever been any event in this part of the universe, at all.,The world many Sentai had defended for so long…gone…in the blink of an eye. All their work, their power, their legacy, for nothing; as cosmic forces beyond good and evil seal the world, and its people's fate. The Power itself, however, would never be truly destroyed, and seeks out those in need, those who require strength to defeat evils that threaten the balance of their world. The story of the Super Sentai is far from over, though now a new world, a new Earth, shall inherit the Legacy. And the first of these new heroes shall be…,"

Author Note: ,Semi-Automatic,Part One: Misplaced, ,"Readings remain the same," the lead researcher bemoaned, shoulders sagging in frustrated defeat. The woman, narrow-faced and pale, glowered at the scrolling screens as they spat corrupted and unusable data at her. Her project, her ,was at risk of failure again and she ,that the General would sign off on another bout of experimentation when this subject died. Her workers, all barely awake at their terminals, sat on a tight rope's edge of sanity with the consistent barrage unchanging and nominal results of a boy that should at least be dead. She didn't understand it, they didn't understand it - she doubted ,could understand it.,"What did you expect, Dr. Sol?" The General placed his hands on either of her scrawny shoulders to sooth her. "It's only been three days. Patience, Yuma, it is a virtue." He chuckled softly.,"Yes," she conceded, dark painted lips twisting in frustration.,General Neverous almost pitied those that stood beneath her in rank. He knew the middle aged woman's short fuse and low tolerance for failure. He stood and watched the tail end of the procedure, always interested in the result, never truly in the ,that Dr. Sol and her machines put on. His second-in-command, Commander Alec Vine, stood rooted near the door. A top ranked cadet he might be, but he was not a man capable of hiding his true emotions. He tried for steely indifference and only managed a half scowl and a stricken expression.,The General wheeled away from the two-way glass to stand at his Commander's side. The man straightened his back, rigid as a solider needed to be, and saluted sharply. "We will place him in the roster for this coming year's trainees." The General concluded.,Commander Vine turned his neck sharply, staring up at the man incredulously with his lips parted as if to object. As Commander, the man had every right to question the admissions to the South Ward. To allow the subject, a child by all rights, into the program was unheard of. Too skinny, too young, too inexperienced with life – the list against the child was long and weighty.,Yet, the General had plans.,"Sir," Vine protested, as he knew he would, "That child is no older than sixteen – if that." He jolted his chin towards the bullet-proof Plexiglas that separated them and the containment area. "He wouldn't make it past Hell Week. Consider the fact we don't even know if he's capable of being trained as a competent solider." Vine gave a lengthy pause, choosing his words with practiced decision. "Would it be wise to allow him into the general public, even? He's not willing in these tests." The Commander reasoned; a hint of bitterness thinly masked by his professionalism.,Neverous spared the man a terse smile, silencing him more effectively than any command would have. "Now, that is Murdock's job, isn't it? The boy will be under constant observation until I believe he's ready to ,to his new station.","Sir…" Vine attempted, but ultimately shrank back against the General's silent warning. "I'll retrieve him and get his minors, then." With a stiff salute, and an even stiffer turn of his heel, Vine fled Neverous's sight.,Neverous had never been a man for simple ideas and quick fixes. He wasn't struggling for power as politicians did in the cities or the capital. This was never him vying for a piece of the bigger picture – this was him vying for a place for his people in the future. With death at the door, Neverous knew when to toss away his humanity for the greater good. If history called him a murderer, or a saint, he didn't care. He cared for the here and now and could not bring himself to care for what they might call him.,Tyrant, savior?,He cared only that there would be people to label him so.,"Do you still think you can call yourself a good man, Alec?",The Commander shakenly halted at the door,,"After everything you've done?",He watched the man's struggle to keep form, to stop his own anger from showing on his face. Vine's hands shook at his side fisted tightly as he took a fortifying minute to catch himself before disappearing through the door.,Neverous could only smile in his wake.,In the dimly lit privacy of the corridor, Vine pressed the release on his helmet and yanked it away. He scowled viciously over his shoulder, damning the General. Vine then damned himself, wondering why he had ever thought the General could be beyond this ,project. Vine, after all, was the reason it had cause to continue. He had brought them a prefect test subject. He had promise the boy ,Had he only brought him to the city instead. The boy might have lived a long ,life without his to terrorize his final days.,Vine knew, in thoughts he'd never make tangible, that even if the boy survived the testing –, – he would no longer be 'He' but an 'It. And 'It' would be a deeply scarred ,they unleashed on everyone.,',Vine reminded himself, pushing towards the lab, ,He smirked in spite of himself.,Practically punching the lock release, and relishing in the sting that thrummed through his knuckles, Vine stepped into the sterilized 'Alpha Laboratory.' It was, on record, a decommissioned 'RnD' site dedicated to weapons development and improvement. It had since been converted, off the books, to a testing facility. Good men, ones that Vine had trained with, saw the end of their lives here.,When the death toll had reached triple digits, Vine had thanked the Precursors. It was a number that even Neverous couldn't reconcile with 'expected and considered loss' and ordered the immediate termination of the Alpha Project.,And then Vine had gone and been the idiot.,The researchers had practically groveled for the General to let them try again. The boy would promise immediate results, they haggled, ',had been Dr. Sol's proposal.,The first time he had seen the boy strapped into the spider-like machine – the first time he screamed like the others - Vine made a choice. He demanded, no ,the foreign matter detected in the samples to be stricken from the records.,Once within earshot of the scientists, the White-Coats, as the rank and file called them, he wasn't surprised to hear their excited banter. They always took too much pride in their sordid work. He might not have understood the logistics of it or the science behind it, but he understood it was wrong. To them he was a 'Mildog,' only good at barking orders and being obedient, but even ,had a fucking moral compass.,It would make their careers, they preached, once they were allowed to publish their findings. No one had ever seen a child like this, much less experiment on his physiology. They died well before the Precursor Wars, Eco – the books say – killed them off. They ,at his samples like each specimen was made of gold.,The only damn difference Vine could discern was the shape of his ears.,"Do you think that is what causes the pain?" Vine caught as he made his approach, "I haven't a clue why. Nothing should be causing , much, less the delirium or crippling fatigue. Mutations aren't even due to start manifesting yet.","Rejection, perhaps?" An assistant offered, eyes never leaving her touch-pad.,Vine cleared his throat pointedly.,With disappointment, Dr. Caleb Asters turned to face him. "Here to take him already? I had hoped for a few more hours to test his hypersensitivity-","He's not a toy." Growled Vine, unable to stop himself. His blue eyes flashed to the two-way Plexiglas, noting the absence of the General. "Yes," he amended with a clipped tone.,Dr. Asters waved his hand dismissively to the machine. Vine snapped his fingers and the two men assigned to 'containment' moved forward instantly to pick at the straps holding the child into the machine. The entire room smelled sharply of blood and the off ,smell of that damn serum the researchers had made. It was unsettling and all too ,of a smell to be associated with this. Once his men got the boy released, they seized his thin arms up and forward as a muffled groan rattled the boy's chest.,Startled, they dropped the boy back onto the table. Vine winced at the metallic thud, breath leaving his lungs in a faded heave as he wheezed and choked.,"He's awake!" Dr. Asters nearly shouted in joy. "Take this down," he ordered, "perhaps it is a start to a resistance? Commander," he whirled, almost pleading, "Let us have him for a few more hours – to take samples and-","Orders," Vine interrupted with a shake of his head, "He's to go to his cell. Take him up," he ordered to his own men, "Gently," He added quietly.,Vine admired the mercy his men showed the boy and took the heated glare from Dr. Asters in stride. "Right, my mistake to think to bargain with a Mildog.",Reproachful, Vine turned away seeking some reason to why he still remained at his post. ,Neverous's words in the control room haunted him worse than the faces of the dead he had ordered burned. When he turned fully, he found himself eye to eye with the boy – bloodshot green staring back through a fringe of greasy black hair. Lucid and loathing; the boy's eyes damned him just as the others did. Yet there was a new sour taste to it that left him uncomfortable and agitated.,The soldiers had understood, on a faded level, why Vine had continued to stand beside the General. They hated, but not like this.,The Commander and his men found him as they left him in his cell an hour later. He had pulled up the collar of his soiled yellow tunic over his mouth and nose heaving as he cradled his knees to his chest. He twitched violently in what looked to be uncontrolled muscle spasms. Vine had never stayed to witness the after-effects of the sessions, but he had heard the patrolmen mutter about how the boy was groaning for hours after. Part of him had prayed they might not find him in a ball on the floor, but the sensible part knew that wasn't possible.,"Get him up, we'll take room four." Vine decided, grimacing at the heady smell of sweat, unwashed hair and filthy clothes wafting off the prisoner.,Consciousness was not a pleasant gift, not in his sorry state, but the boy seemed to cling to it. The guards waited for him to plant his feet beneath him, Salik muttering quiet instructions under his breath as he gripped the boy's belt to keep him steady. Corwin and Salik were both patient as he struggled to walk on his own down the corridor. It was agonizing to watch, but Vine allowed.,"Sit," Vine told him once they entered the room, the guards moving back away from his side. With the support gone, he swayed a moment before clumsily reaching for the tin chair. He felt for it like a blind man, eyes firmly shut, and groping at thin air before finding hold. Vine wondered if that last treatment had left him blind. He wouldn't have been surprised; he'd seen far stranger things happen on that serum. Once the boy had found the chair, he gasped in relief as he collapsed on to it.,Vine took the seat opposite him, folders laid before him with a checklist and application forms, and watched the boy attempt to look at him. He soon gave up, shoulders sagging in something akin to defeat, and let his head fall heavily to the steel table. The Commander winced, praying he hadn't knocked himself unconscious. He'd been forewarned the boy was prone to lapses in consciousness already; Vine didn't need him voluntarily forcing himself into impromptu acomas.,"This isn't an interrogation," he felt the need to explain, "I need a few of your personal details. Name, age, etcetera.",The boy ,have recognized his voice because the moment Vine spoke he stiffened in his chair, hissing under his breath savagely. Clinging to fragments of sobriety, the boy rasped. "Why are you… doing this?",And Vine would have answered, gladly, because he was secretly relieved to hear the boy speak after three days.,He never got the chance.,His Major, asked to supervise while Lt. Salik and Corwin waited outside, struck the boy with the blunted end of his weapon. The boy let out a sharp yelp, snapping his hands to the back of his skull in a vague way to protect himself from another hit. He gasped and sputtered, desperately spitting out blood that burst from the corners of his mouth.,A warning glare sent the Major retreating back to his corner as Corwin abandoned his post outside to force a wadded piece of gauze from his med-kit to stem the flow of blood down the boy's chin. After a few moments, when boy's labored breathing resided, Corwin removed the gauze.,"Your name?" Vine questioned, making a mental note to promote both of the lieutenants.,"… Harry.",Desperate to keep himself vertical, Harry's fingers wrapped tightly around the edge of the chair. His skin ,at the action, dehydration making his fingers feel as if they were coated in dust. His palms and tongue ached, his mouth full of the coppery taste of blood that permeated his nose. He tried to ignore it, to push back the light-headedness in favor of not being sick on himself.,"Surname?" Vine coaxed.,"Potter," he stumbled, half afraid of another hit should he be to slow to answer. It was hard to focus. His world was blood and melting shapes moving too fast for him to make sense of.,"Age?" Vine continued.,Frantic, for a brief second, Harry tried to remember how old he was. Thirteen or fourteen? When was his birthday, had it happened already? How long had he been here? Weeks? Months?,"Four…" He attempted, but found himself mumbling as if he was daft.,"Fourteen?",Harry nodded shallowly, tongue stinging with every action. The mass of blue and black before him scribbled on something that might have been paper. "Younger than I thought… Can you," He started slowly, "perhaps manipulate objects? I've heard it referred to as magic in some old books, but I never put much stock into it.","What do you know about it?" Was he even allowed to talk about it to these people? They weren't human, he knew that much, but if they didn't know already… Should he?,White light burst across his vision as black pain exploded across the back and front of his head. The force sent him crashing into the steel table with a wicked crack, breaking his nose, and if not his two front teeth. For a brief moment, Harry was blissfully unaware of the pain devilishly spreading across the bridge of his nose. It came like cold, wet slap to the face as it joined the agony erupting across his brutalized tongue. He whined, helpless, and cradled his head in his hands.,Vine sent his chair screeching across the concrete floor and Harry could only cringe in fear as the man's voice boomed in a suddenly too small room. "Hit him one more time and I will have you demoted!","Sir I was only-" The man defended,,"Don't confuse curiosity with defiance, Major!" Vine snarled like a mad dog, "I need this done and he needs to be coherent for it." His voice dropped in pitch as he retrieved his chair.,The familiar voice of one of the guards that took him to and from his cell came from just behind him. "Creators, you bastard, look at the kid – do you honestly think he needs more abuse?" He felt the hand on his shoulder again, something wet and smelling of rubbing alcohol being pressed to his mouth and beneath his nose as a hand on his forehead bent his uncooperative neck back.,He found himself wishing the guard had hit him harder, if only so he didn't have to go on with this horrid headache.,"Sir," the man apologized.,',Vine sighed irritably, "To answer you, we know nothing. Only that some could, some couldn't. For your first question." He paused and Harry had to turn his ear to him to hear past the pounding, "this is a project to create better, stronger soldiers and you were selected to participate in it.","I didn't give…" Harry choked, squinting at the mass. He vaguely remembered Vine in faint flashes of a fight near a waterfall. Lean and tall, muscled, and imposing in full combat armor. The only feature Harry distinctly recalled was his eyes. They reminded him of Albus Dumbledore, a man Harry trusted with his life.,"Harry, did you understand me?",With a shaky nod, Harry hummed his affirmative.,"Hm," Vine grunted with little inflection, "Final question, when is your birthday?","Ju..." he swallowed painfully, "July 31st 1981.",Vine's silence was long, stretching to an uncomfortable length. "What month is July?" Vine eventually asked.,"S… seventh?",The sound of shuffled papers greeted him next, eyes still firmly shut, and he waited for the outcome. "Take him back. We have what we need.",Relief coursed through Harry like fire, the thought of his cell invigorating for all the wrong reasons. Just as the hands that were holding his head back moved to help him out of the chair, the sound of the door made him jolt.,"Sir, your presence is required in the Hall. Baron Praxis has arrived.",Vine muttered an oath. "You are all dismissed," he snapped, infuriated for a reason Harry couldn't fathom. With effort, Harry attempted to pull himself out of the chair with the support of the table. A hand touched his arm, tugging upward, and Harry let out a surprised shout. In a spur of panic, he smacked it away as if it burned him.,The hand, Vine's he realized, reached forward again and took hold of his forearm tightly. Fingers bit into the infected cut left by Wormtail. He cried out again, sinking pathetically to his knees as the pain twisted his stomach. "Please, ,"For Mar's sake…" Vine groused, hauling Harry to his feet. He let Harry stand on his own for a moment – swaying back and forth in his daze. Cold metal pressed to his skin, snapping his wrists together painfully with a metallic click. For a moment, he thought Vine had left him to stand there, but the touch of cloth to his face told him different. He gasped, bodily jerking away, and felt leather on the back of his neck. Confused, he shuddered as Vine kept him steady and wiped his face with the rough material. "C'mon kid," he said softly, "tough it out… It's almost over.",He turned Harry, pushing his shoulder forward. Vine kept him straight in the blind darkness Harry kept himself in to avoid being sick. When the ground gave slightly beneath his unsteady feet, he nearly toppled over. Vine's grip on him was the only thing to keep him balanced and upright. "Hold up," He muttered, spinning Harry slowly around. Something touched his face again, this time cold, and he instinctively flinched away. The solider grunted in annoyance, seizing both sides of Harry's jaw and dug his thumbs into broken cartilage. Harry sharply groaned as it cracked.,Vine slipped the metal across his temples carefully navigating the tender flesh. It took Harry longer than he wanted to admit to recognize the feel of his glasses.,"My…","I found them before we left the falls. I didn't realize you were blind without them.",Harry's world came slowly back together as he blinked away the haze. It wasn't perfect, but he could make a little more sense of the shapes. Vine stretched his arm between them, hitting several buttons on the elevator control, and sent it lurching upwards in a smooth crawl.,"You lied," Harry dared to say, the Commander inhaled his lips without even looking to him. ",He accused. His fists curled in anger as the Commander continued to stare ahead of him. He wanted ,Some sort of answer, for him to at least give him a reason for this. Anything to allow him to at least forgive Vine for what he had done…,If only to count himself less a fool for trusting him…,"It is what I do," Vine sighed, the lift pulling to a stop.,"Bastard," Harry hissed.,"Yeah, I know." Vine answered wearily.

The One with the Serpent Tongue,Summary: Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the DOM, the price he paid for the permanent protection of his world is exile. He finds himself in the hands of an entirely different prophecy. His task: protect the Godslayer. Crossover with Belgariad.,Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Belgariad series. Harry Potter is the creation of the wonderful J. K. Rowling and Belgarion and his crew is the awesome creations of David Eddings.,Rating/Warnings: M, due to war violence, language, loss, and slash,A/N Alright I just want to say before we get into the story that my crossover style is meant to be enjoyed by anyone, therefore I do a lot of seemingly obvious explanations to the people that know the stories. To read my stories you really only need basic understanding of one side of the story the rest will be explained. Not to mention I like twisting cannon around so much it's probably better to have only a very basic knowledge or you could get cranky with me.,The story will not place him immediately at the start of the Belgariad I am going to dip into information acquired from Polgara the Sorceress and Belgarath the Sorcerer to introduce him, and the readers, to this world.,Prologue:,Earth: England: Ministry of Magic: Department of Mysteries.,"Kill me!" A young man screamed as pain beyond anything he ever felt before went through his body.,"Harry no, I won't!" An elderly man with a long stick yelled back to the boy on the ground, the stick in the old man's hand was trained on the boy, it held steady even as the man had tears running openly down his cheeks.,"Kill Me! I have him. Dumbledore do it. If I die so does he!" The one on the ground answered back in a raspy, hollow, voice not quite his own as he battled the other force in his mind.,Cold laughter echoed through the room erupting from the boy, but it was not the boy's laugh. The boy screamed again as the Dark Lord currently possessing his body tore into his nerves, it was pain worse than the Cruciatus ever thought of being. The boy ruthlessly attacked the presence in his mind trying to cage it within him, it hurt so bad tears were in his eyes and he was hoarse from screaming. Still fighting the Dark presence the boy begged to be killed once more. "Do it now!","I'm so sorry Harry," The old man whispered before gathering himself to say the curse that rivaled the pain of any he had uttered before, "Avada Kedavra!",The boy on the ground, Harry Potter, felt his world go dark at the same time he heard the awful shriek of his rival's pain as the bright green curse struck their combined body.,Western Kingdoms: Tolnedra: Eastern Mountain range: Cave of the Gods,"Aldur my son, are you prepared to take on a new apprentice?" UL the father of the Gods inquired.,"Yes father, but why have I not sensed this new one like all the others?" Aldur asked sensibly. Aldur was UL's eldest son.,"He was not ready to be found. His journey has been a long one. I will retrieve him now that I have your answer." UL explained simply.,"Very well Father," Aldur submitted to the older being's will. "When will he be joining his brothers in the Vale?","When he is ready I will send him." UL said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "One of your daughters shall guide him at first before joining you because he will have a lot to learn." UL conceded to telling his son that much.,"I have an inkling who you mean; she will be a good choice." Aldur approved even though UL really didn't need the approval.,"I will go retrieve him now then, but give him time to come to you." UL warned.,"Yes Father," Aldur acknowledged the warning.,:No discernable time or place:,The welcoming darkness was warm and comforting in contrast to the pain he had endured. Harry Potter felt his awareness return to him while cocooned in this warm blackness. He was content to float in seemingly perfect solitude for the rest of eternity. He vaguely remembered the battle he had just been in and a shadow of curiosity lingered over the fate of his rival. As indeterminate moments passed he felt those slight attachments to the earth lift from him.,He slowly became aware of a growing presence in the endless vacuum. It was a presence far stronger than he had ever encountered. He dreamily wondered why he would be feeling a presence like that when he was dead.,Luckily for Harry, the fog cloaking his mind was lifting in direct relation to the growing presence. He knew something of great importance was about to happen when he saw a tall figure, well walking wasn't the right word, gliding towards him. This being had the appearance of an aged man, but the presence coming off him in steady waves opposed the elderly looks.,"Harry Potter, I have come to offer you a choice. The universe is far from done with you. The evil you have locked within your mind still exists, and there is a way to destroy it for good, but it comes at a price." The being said in a powerful, yet calm voice.,"What is the price?" Harry asked warily now in complete control of his mind once more.,"Leaving everything and everyone you love behind. At the moment your body is in a kind of stasis that is just for this conversation. The curse cast at you will not kill you, if you chose to return you will be alive in your world once again. The catch is even as you survive so will the monster inside you. Many more lives will be lost if the war on your world continues. If you choose exile you will be sent to a place in need of your aid and the evil will not be able to follow you between worlds. In both worlds, a prophecy is at play, but both prophecies have provisions for either way your choice goes. The choice is yours alone," The being explained carefully.,"I was willing to die for this world; I will not put it through any more war than necessary. I choose exile." Harry answered barely having to think once he heard more deaths were on the way. He would miss his friends and his school, but he wanted them whole and happy. If his life bought the safety of his world then he would pay the price. Even if it did sound a bit like he was leaving one war for another. Plus, he had been in technical exile from the wizarding world whenever he had been returned to his dungeon masters... um I mean the Dursley's tender loving home, please note sarcasm.,"So it shall be." The being intoned formally and Harry felt a funny wave of energy flow through him, and a feeling of motion.,Western Kingdoms: Ulgoland: Prolgu: Poledra's den,His feet hit solid ground a second before his knees hit as well. His body bent over with the return of the pain the stasis had kept away. Through the haze of pain he heard a female voice address the being that had brought him there.,"Lord UL, I see the choice has been made." The woman's voice was soft and matter of fact to the point of bluntness.,"Yes, he has come to us. He needs a new name." UL informed her.,"Galahad," the boy managed to say in a weak voice even from his pained position on the ground.,"Why?" the woman asked briskly, she was curious about the young lad.,"It means pure, the name comes from a legend back on my world." The newly named Galahad said as his strength left him and he collapsed forward into unconsciousness.,"Poledra, take care of him, he has a part to play in this tale. He must be ready to join with my son as soon as possible." UL instructed knowing a little time on the floor wouldn't hurt the boy too much.,"He will be ready," Poledra responded as she looked over her new charge. This was going to be an interesting challenge.,(roughly 20 generations before the events of Belgariad),Harry felt consciousness return to him once more, but this time there was a residual ache in his muscle to remind him that he really was still alive. Opening his eyes he was surprised to find he could see even though he was without his thick black glasses. He could only assume that it had been a gift from UL. He remembered the events before and the fact his name wasn't Harry anymore. He couldn't even remember what had driven him to pick Galahad but it just seemed to fit. He was never going back to his old world so it was time to put the name Harry Potter to rest.,Looking at the room he was in he found it to be cut from solid stone with one simple doorway leading into a dark labyrinth of tunnels. The room was small, but comfortable and well lit. There was minimal furniture, the simple straw pallet he was laying on, another slightly raised pallet across the room he assumed was for his new mentor, and a small kitchen with a dinning area containing a table and two chairs. The more he looked the more he realized this wasn't a room, this was a den.,The inhabitant of said den was standing in front of the stove stirring a simmering pot of what smelled like porridge. He took the time to actually get a good look at her, and found she was a bit taller than him with thick brown hair not quite as frizzy as Hermione's, and she wore a simple doe brown dress that reached her ankles showing her feet were bare. She was facing away from him so he couldn't tell much more than that without having to move. His attempts to do just that were painful enough to pull a low groan from his lips. The noise drew the woman's attention so he finally got a look at her face and discovered the woman was classically beautiful without a hint of make-up. It was her eyes that drew his attention the most, they were bright amber, like wolves' eyes; he had seen them before in his father's old friend Remus Lupin who happened to be a werewolf.,"Finally, One was beginning to think you wouldn't wake up despite UL's protection." She told him in the same just-next-to-blunt voice he had heard before so apparently that was the norm. He also noticed the use of the term One instead of I.,"Who are you?" He asked as he carefully pulled himself into a sitting position.,"One just is; others call One Poledra." The woman responded oddly and Galahad found himself believing he was in the presence of a wolf more and more. "One's form means little." Poledra said as if she had read his mind, and to prove her point, her body shifted into the form of a snowy owl and back again.,Galahad felt surprise, not necessary at the shifted form as he had seen Animagus wizards before, it was because when her body shifted he heard a noise vaguely resembling distant thunder; he felt the noise more than heard it. "What was that noise?" He asked curiously.,"The sound of One's Will. One rarely makes such sounds but One felt it necessary." Poledra explained and he found himself slowly getting used to the odd phrasing. It was slightly easier to understand than Hagrid's rough accent.,"Why was it necessary?" Harry asked as he felt his curiosity come out to play.,"You have to know." She explained, "Lord UL told one to teach and you must learn.","I already know some magic." Galahad started, but Poledra stopped him.,"Lord UL warned One about that, this magic you have is not what you will have to learn here. Your Will is what you must use and the Word to unleash it." Poledra corrected his thinking. "One remembers the term 'sorcery' used by One's mate.",The mate comment definitely confirmed Galahad's suspicions, but he had to ask. "Who is your mate?","One's mate is called Belgarath, when you finish your learning with One you will be sent to join One's mate and his brothers in our Master's Vale." Poledra said shortly.,"Can you tell me more about them? Who is your master?" Harry asked as Poledra brought him a bowl of the porridge she had been preparing as they talked.,"My Master is Aldur the God of no people but he will take the very rare apprentice and disciples, he is the son of UL, and a brother to the other six gods that made the world. UL and the Universe are the ones that produced the Gods. The rest of them are Belar, bear God of the Alorns; Chaldan, the bull god of the Arends; Issa, the snake god of the Nyissans; Nedra, the lion God of the Tolnedrans; Mara, the weeping God, his people are no more, but they were once the Marags; and lastly Torak, the dragon God of the Angaraks.,"One's master has only a small number of Disciples; One's mate Belgarath was the first; One's daughter Polgara is at his side also; then Beldin, he is deformed in body but his mind is incredible; Beltira and Belkira, were twin Alorn shepherds before they felt master's call; they are the only ones left at master's side. Belmakor and Belsambar are no more by their own hands, and Zedar the apostate has forsaken my master and taken up with Master's brother Torak.,"Torak was a greedy power hungry god that was maimed one of master's findings, an Orb of great power. He used it to harm the earth he and his brothers created, and in return, the Orb exacted the price of this deed in the form of burning his left hand and eye where the fire burns eternally. One's mate and his brothers are fighting to end the war Torak has caused, but they cannot fight the war directly. The Gods have left the world, only to return for extremely brief periods. Torak is the only god still left on this world but a warrior guided by one's mate and daughter recently locked him into sleep.,"The Gods have issued a series of prophecies that will finish off this war. Master's disciples have been following these prophecies since they were first uttered in order to guide the war in favor of the Light." Poledra explained as Galahad ate his food.,"How many sides are there in this war? Who is fighting for what side? Why did they split apart?" He questioned after he had some time to assimilate the information, despite what certain Potion's Professors might say about him, he wasn't stupid; he had a quick mind but he simply wasn't the studying kind.,"Right questions wrong order." Poledra corrected. "The why in this situation is more important than the how and the who. The answer to the why the sides split apart is because of an accident that occurred long ago, the universe came into existence with a purpose, and an order in which to achieve that purpose, but one small thing changed that. A star died in the wrong time and wrong place, in the grand scheme of things a single star usually doesn't mean much, but because this occurred at just the wrong time something that should have happened didn't and something that shouldn't have happened did. This caused two separate yet equally valid possibilities for the future; these two possibilities have enough power that they each have awareness, the awarenesses are what created the sides in this war. As for how many sides there are two, as for who are on what side, each has an infinite amount of support from more than just this world. Though on this world it is split between the Child of Light, and the majority of the Western races; and the Child of Dark, and the eastern races; very rarely does anyone stand neutral." She answered succinctly.,"What races are there?" Galahad asked wanting to know as much as possible about his new world.,"There are the Tolnedrans, Karands, Morindim, Arends both Mimbrates and Asturians, Nyissans, Ulgos, Sendars, the Alorns were split into four kingdoms long ago creating Drasnians, Algars, Chereks, and Rivans, and lastly the Angaraks are also split they have Thulls, Murgos, Malloreans, Nadraks, and the priesthood called Grolims which are nearly indistinguishable from Murgos. There are scattered groups called the Godless ones but they blend in with the surrounding race." Poledra explained patiently. All the names were starting to give Galahad a headache.,"One believes that is enough history for today. If One is correct you will be seeing many of them on your journey, just knowing they exist won't help you unless you go and meet them." She took pity on him seeing the tell tale signs of information overload taking over her young charge.,"UL has provided you with clothing, one suggests getting up and changing we need to begin working on your Will." She stated patiently with a slight nod to the end of his palate where a small pile of clothing, made out of what appeared to be leather and cotton, sat folded in a neat stack. "He suggested you will need to become accustomed to the different mode of dress." She added for good measure.,Galahad just sighed, and slowly getting up from his palate to avoid straining his tender muscles, he complied with her gently worded command. He found the clothes he was given strange; it was a tunic made of durable cotton, and soft leather leggings that fit tightly to his skin, he assumed that the leggings would normally be made of some sort of cloth as well but UL had made concessions for his recent displacement from another world and code of dress. It would be strange for a while, but he had already learned to dress differently when he went from muggle clothing to wizarding robes. Off the edge of the palate was a pair of leather half boots, he was kind of surprised to see footwear due to her bare feet, but now he assumed hers were bare because she preferred it that way not because that was how people usually dressed.,"You look presentable," Poledra commented dryly once he had finished changing.,"Now for your first lesson in controlling your Will you must learn the rules. For the most part there is only one rule that absolutely can not be broken if you value your life at all. The universe came into beings to create things; she will not permit anyone to unmake something. Before you ask, no, killing is not the same as unmaking; if you kill something it is still there, just not in the same form, to unmake something is to remove it entirely. The next is to not attempt the impossible; you can expend so much energy you can't keep your own heart beating, but since every mind works differently and your determination greatly affects your Will, that which is impossible also varies. The last rule is more of a guideline than a rule and that is; just because you , do something doesn't mean you , do something. There will be times when you will be tempted to use your Will when you shouldn't and you need to recognize those moments and learn how to work around them." She drilled into him seriously and he listened knowing his life depended on her words.,Galahad waited until he had the rules fully understood before asking his next question, he did not want to rush his learning and miss something important. "I understand the rules and they make a lot of sense, but how do I actually use my Will?","You must draw the power into yourself, and you must want to do something with all your being the first couple of times, after that it gets simpler." She told him as if it answered every question he had.,"How do I draw the power in?" He asked feeling confused like he had in Occlumency training.,"First you have to know the power is there. Master much preferred the first act of Will to be spontaneous where UL believes that if the first time is too simple the novice may not feel obligated to learn control and an untrained sorcerer is dangerous. One believes UL has the right idea with no offense meant to one's master. You have already had a taste of your Will using that 'magic' UL spoke of, he mentioned your magic needs a focus object to draw it out, with Will you become the focus object. Remember the feeling you felt at the exact moment of casting your magic, which is the power you must pull into yourself now. Gather it from your surroundings; every thing, living or not, produces some of this power, you just need to borrow it. The power will be returned to where you got it from once you release your Will." Poledra explained the concept more in depth, and Galahad finally felt like he might have a chance.,"What should I do?" He asked wanting to practice.,"One suggests starting small; it is exhausting to do even the smallest task at first." She answered producing an unlit candle from thin air accompanied by the strange ringing noise. "Cause the wick to flame without harming anything else." She ordered setting the first task.,Galahad took the candle from her hand and held it stably in his own. He thought about what she had told him on remembering how casting a spell felt, and he did register that amazing rush when his wand pulled the power out of him. He also remembered the slightly different feeling of when his wand was lain his hands for the first time. He concentrated on both memories while attempting to pull in his Will.,It took awhile, and it was not easy, but he did see the faint traces of power Poledra had told him about; on the stonewalls, the furniture, and the largest concentration of power was obviously Poledra herself but something warned Galahad that it might not be the best of ideas to try and pull power from her.,His first few attempts at drawing the power into himself was difficult and yielded little results, but his ingrained stubbornness kept him on task. He grasped at the power until he could feel it growing inside of himself. Remembering what she said about words, he wondered what kind of word would work, something instinctual told him it didn't matter. He was beginning to wonder where all these gut instincts seemed to come from. It would be a kind of poetic irony if he made it this far only to find out he was insane; locked in some asylum rocking back in forth in a white coat, but again that little voice warned him he wasn't insane, and he should try to release his Will already.,He decided even if he was insane there was no harm in following along with his delusions, at least they were entertaining delusions, if that is what they were.,Concentration back on the old-fashioned tallow candle and thick rope like wick; he released the built up Will with one word.,"Light.",Seeing it work gave him a sense of pride, but swiftly following that pride was a feeling of complete and utter exhaustion. The fatigue was not quite as bad as after the fight with Voldemort, but close.,He sunk to the ground before his legs decided to give out and he heard Poledra's voice echo oddly through his tiredness, "Good work for a first try, it will get easier with more practice." Galahad couldn't help but feel some pride; he had managed to complete his first task on the same day as it had been given. This whole Will and the Word thing could end up working out.

So this is a challenge that I was posting with permission from deathbearABC123 in regards to his Harry Potter/Berserk crossover. It is essentially a reading of the story Harry Potter and the Berserker in the now popularized "Hogwarts Reads" types of stories.,The guidelines are as follows:,Must take place in the HP setting with either the Great Hall reading or the Order reading and canon!Harry must be present for it either way,Berserk characters post-eclipse should be included if possible (pre or post curing Casca) (Skull Knight is a good way of getting them there as well as the story itself. if you want to add some of the more chill apostles is fine too),Timeframe any time 4th year or after,If anyone is interested please contact either myself or deathbear as this challenge relates to his story, thanks!

All three of us are pranksters,But we also come in pairs,In the form of twins with red hair,Causing nothing but headaches for all around,But all of us never took our schooling seriously,We expected it to simply come to us,But sadly that's not the case,But we love to see a smile upon anyone's face whenever we are around,Because we know that our tricks,Turn their frown right side up and brighten up their day

The Science of Magic,A Crossover by Heather Mattingly,Prologue,In the middle of August, when schools in Walkerville, Rhode Island were just getting started up again for the 1995 school year, a red-headed teacher packed up her desk. The kids sat at their desks.,"But Miss Frizzle, why do you have to leave? We don't want any other teacher." A pudgy young boy with a baseball cap asked.,"Yeah, we want you. You're the best teacher ever…" Asked another student, a short-haired Asian-American girl.,The teacher smiled softly. "It's just for this year class. Another school desperately needs my help and I promised the headmaster that I would come. I'm sorry class. But I'm leaving you Liz and the bus for company.","But field trips won't be the same and the teacher we do have… It won't be the same… We couldn't take any field trips without you…" Arnold said sadly.,Miss Frizzle smiled slyly at them. "With the bus, you'll find we won't be apart for long… I'd never leave you children without a way to reach me…" She loved the children who she saw as her finest students. She'd even finally taken the promotion to a higher grade when they expressed great sadness in leaving her for middle school. But now another school needed her for this one year. "Don't worry… I would never just leave you…" She said. "Now I have to go. I have to be in England and settled in by September 1st." She grabbed her bag and looked down at the little green lizard. "You know what to do Liz…",Liz nodded and went to sit on her caregiver's desk. She waved quietly as Valerie Frizzle quickly left the classroom.,—,In the middle of London, a young boy with black hair walked through a crowded alley, reading and rereading his book list with his best friend, a young man with fire-engine red hair. "Ron… I have a feeling we aren't going to find some of these books in Diagon Alley. Look at this, How Light and Color Works, Erosion by Wind and Water, A Recipe for Weather… Chemistry for Beginners?" He read just a few of the listed titles.,Ron nodded. "Yeah… Those are weird titles… They don't sound like Defense books either. Who is our new professor going to be?",Another teenager, a girl with frizzy brown hair looked at her own list. "And that's not all. We actually need supplies we would use in a science class… This could be cool. Maybe… Maybe it's possible there's more to magic than we really know yet… Maybe this professor plans to teach us this… Oh I can't wait!",Harry nodded. "I'm glad that Dumbledore was able to save me from expulsion. I'm actually looking forward to this class for the first time since Remus was our professor.",—,AN: Yes, an HP/MSB crossover. I can't help but think Frizzle has to be a witch who decided to use her magic to help muggles.

"…" – ,Truly a tragedy what happened to the Potter family, isn't?,The sole survivor, a little girl, just around one year old, no parents that would care for her, but she will be in good hands of her relatives.,She can be called lucky that Lily Potter had a sister that could take her in. That could love her as family. That could care for her as if she would be her own, but sadly Petunia Dursley wasn't like the wizard had expected her to be..., thought Dumbledore as he walked slowly and silently through the Privet Drive, a little part of Little Whinging, Surrey, near London in the southeast of England.,The darkness of the seemingly moonless night hid his presence to anyone who would not know that he was there.,The light of the street lights were extinguished through the use this little tool of his.,Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts, had already waited for him to arrive.,She had watched the Dursley's throughout the whole day in her cat animagus form to see what kind of people they were.,Going back from her animagus form to her human form she spoke with a whispered but still calm voice:,"Albus, we can't let her stay here. These people are of the worst kind of muggles that I've ever seen before! Isn't there another way for her? Can't she stay with someone else? I even begin to think that even an orphanage is a better solution for her.",Albus Dumbledore knew what she meant but this had to be like this so that his plan would work. Harriet was after all his most important piece on the chessboard.,"I fear these are her only relatives left, Minerva. You know what happened to Sirius Black and what the Ministry will do if Remus Lupin would get her. And also, Harriet needs to be with her relatives so that the blood wards can protect her from You-know-who." He answered quietly as well., thought Minerva to herself.,A noise made itself now present.,It was the sound of Hagrid's motorcycle engine. He was bringing Harriet Potter to them.,After a quiet abrupt landing Hagrid got the basket which contained Harriet in a colorful blanket and made his way over to the two professors.,"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall." He greeted the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts with a small smile.,Albus smiled a bit as well.,"How is she?",Hagrid smiled now even wider than before.,"She fell asleep as we were passing the city. No problems at all. She's a real good sleeper","Good to hear. I hope she's going to be fine with those muggles. Even with the blood warden I can't help myself but to worry at least a bit." said Minerva and Dumbledore put the basket in front of the door and laid the letter for her aunt and uncle on her with the blanket covered stomach.,"Don't worry Minerva. She's going to be okay. I'm sure of it.",Hagrid began to sniff and tears began to build up in his eyes as he would not see her for a rather long time.,"Na, Na, Hagrid, this is not a goodbye. No need to cry. We will all see her again.","I know, but still... It saddens me..." Hagrid replied and wiped away the flowing tears.,And with that the witch and the two wizards were gone.,It was too bad that they would never notice that Harriet suddenly disappeared from her spot.,It seemed that fate had another plan with the little survivor of that tragic night.,Her aunt and uncle would never even know of her and the blood wards will never be formed.,And Albus Dumbledore was too sure of himself to even get the idea to check if everything would be going as planned and that will become a problem for him in future.,He was too confident in himself that his plan would work.,His 'excellent' plan…

Prologue - Elizabeth Evans (Thomas),These thoughts were running through my mind as I opened the door and picked up the milk. I screamed as I saw the little baby boy on my porch,as I slowly read the letter. Lily was Dead! NONONONONONONONONONONONOONONOONONONONONONO! So this was my James Potter.,*4 Years into the future*,I slowly sunk into the couch. Taking care of 5 children was tiring. as Harrison ( Harry) ran down the stairs. and landed on my lap.,He turned out to be a a combination of his mother and his father. as i smiled i started telling stories about his mother.

I don't own any of the characters I just play with them,In a cold, dark house on a normal everyday street in London was a very special young man,,This young mans name was Harry James Potter – Black, Lord Potter, Lord Black, Lord Gryffindor, Order of Merlin First Class, boy – who - lived, Mage First Class to be precise.,Now Harry had defeated Voldemort a few months before and had at one time thought that he would be able to live his life the way he wanted, but that, it turned out was not going to happen.,A week after he defeated voldemort Ginny, Molly and most of the wizarding world kept demanding that he marry Ginny who looked like his mother and have a family.,Now don't get Harry wrong he did want a family of his own, not right now though and definitely not with Ginny, but every day he didn't propose the people in the wizarding world got angrier and colder with him making things harder for him, so he had come up with a plan he was leaving.,Leaving Britain, leaving the wizarding world and taking all the valuables he owned with him he wasn't leaving them a Knut.,I am new to writing so any hints or tips will be appreciated.

The Road Runner speeds at 130 mph across the mountain road with Coyote chasing him but he zoom off. Like every time!,Coyote was using every method to capture him so he started the research. He's had been researching on "How to stop the running objects?" When he came across the ",.", Thought Coyote. He switched off the laptop and suddenly he cried, , He immediately went to the store and bought a birdbath.,FREE BIRDBATH,He put the signboard near his setup and him himself behind the big rock. As soon as Road Runner came, he read the sign. , He said and zoomed to the bath.,Coyote adjusted his wand which he bought on Potter more and said, , But the charm back fired and Coyote himself got immobilized. Road Runner looked up as Coyote fall down the cliff and he zoomed off again.,Later that evening, a message popped up on Coyote's profile,

Hermione Weasley was cooking dinner. Her husband was at work and her two year old daughter was playing with her toys at the living room.,One hour after Hermione went to the living room and gasped when she found it empty.,"Rose? Rosie, love where are you?" Hermione yelled. She searched the whole house three times, under the couches, beds everywhere but nothing. She grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote quickly a letter at Ron and send it with Pig.,All this time Rose had accidentally walked out. She had started walking before two months and she was amazing at walking or ,.,She was walking until she became hungry and tired. It had been four hours since she had left her home and it was too much for a two year old child. She collapsed to the road and started sobbing loudly until a couple exited their house and came to Rose. A woman kneeled in front of her. She had red hair just like her.,"Hey. Why are you crying? Where is your mummy and daddy?" she cooed and stroked Rose's hair softly. Rose shooked her head. She still hadn't said a word but she could understand what the others were saying.,"You lost them?" the woman said sympathetically. Rose nodded and then a man came by her side.,"Jack she lost her parents. We should get her inside and they will inform the police if they learn that she is missing" the woman said and Jack nodded. From their discussion she learnt that the woman was also named Rose.,Five days passed and no one had reported Rose at the Police. In fact, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and the whole wizarding world was searching Rose. The only problem was that Rose (the older) and Jack were muggles.,Ten days passed and Rose and Jack realised that no one was searching about the little girl. Of course they were a bit angry because they let a little girl walking alone to the streets. But they loved her. She wasn't crying, she was a happy girl and they couldn't understand who could let this child.,One day Rose the older was home with her four year old son Alex, who loved Rose immediately and Rose loved him back and the girl. She went to see how they were. And then the girl said.,"Mummy","What?" Rose asked excited. She adores this child and that means she may love her too.,"Mummy I love you",Rose burst into tears and hugged her. The people who abandoned her must be crazy. She lives with this child for one month and she loves it so much. She knew Jack loved her too from the way he was looking at her and playing with her.,When he returned home they discussed about her. They decided to go to the Police to ask if anyone knows about her parents. If no one founds them they decided that they will adopt her.,The next day Rose was waiting nervous. Jack had gone to ask about the girl's parents. When he returned Rose bombarded him with questions.,"Well?" she asked.,"Her parents are unknown. They gived us the permission to make a request for adoption." Rose sighed in relief. Her husband kissed her. He was happy, more happy than Rose about this.,Three months passed since their request for adoption and they could finally adopt her. Rose and Jack were excited. They didn't care that she wasn't their biological daughter, the months made them love her more. It also made Rose the younger love them most. She started calling Jack, daddy, Rose, mummy and Alex brother.,"Do you know that we have to name her?" Jack said one day.,"Oh yeah" Rose said.,"What about Rosalyn?","Rosalyn?","Yeah. I want her to have a name similar with you","Alright then. Rosalyn Dawson.","Rosalyn Elizabeth Dawson","Perfect"

i do not own Harry potter or Zootopia they both to long to J.K Rowling and Walt Disney.,Also I thank my editor this chapter out and pleased do have a read of their story's as well. foxchick1,Enjoyed.,What happened if Harry potter magical disappeared from England and the wizardry world only to be in a new world where it is home to all animals that talk and work like in the human world.,But Harry himself is similar to what Zootopia celebrity Gazelle look like expat his eyes who indeed adopt and raised him as her only son.,Also Harry is only 6years old in this story.,Chapter one. Zootopia.,It was a peaceful evening in Surrey, Privet Drive, a family of three have a secret that they like to keep away from their neighbours, their nephew who happened to be from a world so serious secret from their world, was not looking forward for his uncle punishment from turning his teacher hair blue.,But his magic react to his feeeling of scared and he disappeared from his cupboard and reappear in a home he doesn't know yet.,After a stressful day working on her album and the press, Gazelle come face to face to a young child, who looked to have collapsed from being abused., the abuse was obvious from the signs oh his body,So she taken the young child, into her home which she have arrived to, allowing the young child to settle in before getting straight to the point about him.,The latest celebrity from Zootopia after she have won the music contest a few year ago, found herself looking at a younger version of herself but the eyes were an emerald green instead of brown, looking at her.,"Hello child, where did you come from?" Gazelle asked him with a hint of care and attention in her voice.,"Where am I ? Because last thing I remember was being in my room?" Harry asked her as he look at himself and then looked at her confused.,"You child are at my home, which happened to be in a town known as Sahara Square, which also happened to be in Zootopia is where you are right now." Gazelle told him as she allow him to sit down near her in shocked.,"I'm no longer in England?" Harry told her in his shocked state.,While the celebrity can see a lot of bruises and a few scars now and then on him and she happened to hate those who abuse their own child in blood.,"Child what is your name?" Gazelle asked him with her voice filled with kindness and support.,"Harry Potter ma'am." Harry told him as he was trying to get all this around his head.,"My name is Gazelle Harry, now I know you've been abused by your family who I get are not around here and like you as well are not from here, now would you like me to be your new mother? As I don't have a child to call my own because of my state here." Gazelle told him as she place one of her hooves on him in support.,"You really want me as your son?" Harry asked her in his shocked state in front of her.,"Yes, I am Harry, so what do you say? Would you like to be my son?" Gazelle asked him as she sat down in front of him on the floor as well.,"Yes I would like to be your son only if I'm allowed to call you mum?" Harry told her as he looked at her brown eyes.,"I'd be happy with that Harry, only if you allow me to call you my son each day for the years to come?" Gazelle told him as she allow herself to put him into one of her hugs.,"Yes mum I would be happy with that." Harry told her with more happiness in his voice then he had a few minutes ago.,"Now Harry allow me to get my agents to get the adopted paper's for us to fill out, which will then tell everyone in Zootopia your are my son." Gazelle told him as she got her phone from the table near by them.,"Why would you need a agent for that mum?" Harry asked her as to why she said agent like she is proper.,"Well Harry, I'm a celebrity here and you being my son will also become one." Gazelle told him as she phoned her agent.,"Really?" Harry ask her as he tried to find out more about his new mother.,"Yes really Harry, I'm quite famous from my music contract." Gazelle told him as she heared a car pull up outside her home.,"What is it like around here then mum?" Harry ask her as he look at some of the picture that she kept from her tour's.,"I will show you around sometimes this week Harry , after we've announced you are my son in public before sending you off to school." Gazelle told him as she made her way towards her front door to allow her agent in.,"The papers you ask for ma'am." Her agent said as she hand the form over to her.,"Thank you June and allow me to introduce my new son Harry Gazelle." Gazelle told her agent who look surprise to see a young child in her client home.,"It nice to meet you Harry, please call me June as I'm your mother agent, as we be seeing each other a lot." Agent June told her client new son after they signed the paper work.,"It nice to meet you as well miss June." Harry told her in his shy voice.,"No need to be shy around her Harry, she been very helpful for me and you being my son, will also learn from her about what I do for my life as a celebrity." Gazelle told him as she put the papers on the table next to the arm chair.,"Ma'am the only thing we need for your son safety is a personal body guard like you have when out and about even on tour for your safety." Agent June told her client as she looked at her clients new son.,"Yes I know that may happen, but he won't need one yet as nobody knows he exists yet except us." Gazelle told her agent who nodded at her statement.,"Even if that true ma'am, he will soon find himself with lot of people who want to use him to get at you, even if Zootopia appears to be a free zone against threats." Agent June told her client as she went over the form that her client is required for the child next to her client new son.,"Yes I know, but he will be starting school in September this year even with me as his mother who is Zootopia celebrity. But beside that I'm away thinking of a family of my own." Gazelle told her agent who nod with a small smile on her face.," When were you born Harry? " Agent June ask her clients new son.,"July 31st 1979 ma'am I'm only five but turning six in a weeks time." Harry told her as he remembered his birthday even if his old family never celebrates it.,"I see, right that all done now Gazelle Harry is your son from now on, are you going to the press this week before the contract?" Agent June said to her client who nod at her.,"Yes indeed I'm even the world need to know I got a son now who I hope in the future, take over my role in being a celebrity and a singer as well." Gazelle told her agent who nod as she look at her son as well who have some new tears in his emerald green eyes.,"You really mean that mum?" Harry ask her as he try to hold his tears but couldn't.,"I promise my little Harry, now just let it out." Gazelle told her new son who just cried on her should in a way she happy to have him with her now.,"I think you will make a great mother toward him Gazelle." Agent June told her client who nodded with a bright smile on her face.,"Thank you June, I'll allow you to return back to the office so you can go and contact the police." Gazelle told her agent as she still holding her now son who is still crying in her arms.," I will Gazelle look after him. " Agent June told her client as she left with the paperwork that she will then send to the government and of course send a second one toward the police.,But for now mother and son find themselves in a room in pure happiness because they are no longer alone in this hard world they will live in as they got each other for the rest of their days

It all started out as a normal day until the weird faceless creature attacked Harry Potter, swinging its misshapen clawed appendages. Harry simply ran, that's all he could do really as he was busy lugging his 7th year books and items with him after purchasing them from Diagon Alley. The thing followed him, yelling something until Harry ran into some abandoned Ikea shop, which was the start of all his troubles.,He ran further and further into the building, not caring where he went as long as he stayed ahead of the thing. The thing kept chasing him until he heard a loud cackle and the least likely of people killed it.,Bellatrix Lestrange, the most insane witch on the whole of Planet Earth.,"W-what was that?!" Harry gasped, not really scared of the appearance of the witch who was ten years his senior looked way younger than she should.,Of course, she had been missing for ten years after the fall of Lord Voldemort.,"One of the many "Staff members" around here, Potter," She said, looking around calmly before dragging him further into the shop.,"Where are you taking me?!",Bellatrix hushed him, clearly not in the mood for someone speaking now. It was where they got to the surprised him the most, the witch had somehow used magic to create some type of fortress. Why though? She pulled him inside and closed the iron gate behind her.,"I'm only going to say this once," She said, clearly something was agitating her badly, "This place isn't normal, I've been stuck here for ten years and I've gotten sane from it. Now, I'm going to have to teach you and keep you safe.","H-how? And why should I trust you?" Harry asked, not sure now but the older witch gave him a look.,"Because I found out the hard way that this place isn't normal, its infinite. Magic hasn't done this, its beyond normal. If you want to survive, you'll have to learn how to. Magic is very effective in here, like its amplified and this structure? Its all magic I've made years ago and it should of fallen." She said, motioning to the fortress.,Harry could only nod before Bellatrix had him go to the spare bedroom to prepare himself for tomorrow.,Bellatrix Lestrange was many things, but the past decade of living in this nightmare was enough to drive her insanity out the window. Ten years of loneliness, no other magical contact until the Boy-who-lived showed up in this place. Yes, she knew of the Boy-who-lived, she had been under the control of Voldemort after all. She had gotten up early and started working on a few new extensions of her base, moving the solid five foot thick wall around the cafeteria section that her base was near.,Such feats of magic would of been impossible but here, like she told the boy, was amplified over time. Her magic had gotten so powerful but it still didn't help her find a way out, which was so frustrating. The endless sea of furniture, crates and other items was mind boggling. Of course, it didn't help that the "Staff" of this infernal place were like inferi. They had attacked her place constantly for a whole year but couldn't break through, thankfully.,Looking back on her decade of survival, she noted that there had been others in here, muggles mostly. They found her place and begged to be let in but she hadn't, telling them that her fortress was already under constant attack as it was. So they left, realizing that maybe they shouldn't make it worse. Good thing too cause after a party of them left, a massive Staff member attacked and Bellatrix fought it all night.,She didn't want that to happen again.,By the time Potter woke up, Bellatrix had gotten her base around a few of the many self serving food stations. She twirled her wand then turned to see a bedraggled teenager looking at her, clearly not completely up.,"Shower is on the left, make it short." She told him before going to check over the area on the wall.,She noticed nothing, of course, that was obvious. Still, one couldn't be too sure from the lack ever restocked isles of furniture. Oh, how she wanted to use fiendfyre to clear a path through the store and leave her mark. But she couldn't yet, not yet. Climbing down, she looked at the base she had built so many years ago.,It was mostly the wall, but inside, it had a housing building, a shower, a garden, the new cafeteria zone and a magic arena for practicing magic. The garden had been the hardest to get cause one, this place was dirt free and two, any plants she did find were dead or withered away. It had taken her four years to find the right spell and rune combination to summon the needed garden materials. Since then, she had also had to use this for any books so she could add to her fortress, but the results varied.,She had done it yesterday and it seemed like Harry Potter had been brought in. She had wanted books, not another mouth to feed. But since she had him here, might as well teach him.,Harry got out of the shower as Bellatrix was eating some breakfast, which consisted of fries, a vegetable mix and some chicken. The boy was thin and needed some meat on his bones pronto.,"Potter, after you get dressed, get some breakfast." She ordered, the teen nodded and quickly when to do that.,Quickly finishing, Bellatrix pulled out on of the many books she had gained over the years. She had some ideas on creating guns for this place, maybe starting a market for them. It would mean that this place could defend itself more thoroughly. But she was still only looking over the book, which was on how to construct said weapons. The bullets would be easy to transfigure, but the bigger weapons would need runes and a lot of transfigured parts.,Of course, she could just make one weapon and see how long it lasted. She snorted, that was a stupid idea.

Number twelve Grimauld Place was a curious building. The house sat between numbers eleven and thirteen unseen by wizards and muggles alike unless the secret keeper of the property had confided its existence to the individual.,Carmilla had never set foot in the property until a month previously but now this was her permanent home. The house itself had fallen into disrepair in the time it had spent uninhabited, cobwebs and dust were regular occurrences throughout the many rooms along with more doxys than was even remotely funny.,She had come to live here in the home of her mother's cousin Sirius Black after completing her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Going back to her mother's house wasn't an option she would have considered even if it had been remotely viable. She wanted nothing to do with her mother or younger brother, after having been brought up in a household that worshipped the embodiment of all that was wrong in the wizarding world she had to get out.,Her mother was a Death Eater and had groomed her brother into being one as well, she had of course tried to do the same to Carmilla but had no luck. Carmilla wasn't interested in Pureblood elitism or putting herself above others, she wanted to learn and better herself. She'd been sorted into Ravenclaw, something her mother wasn't pleased about but she didn't care. As she grew older though she rebelled more against her mother and read muggle books learning things about the non-magical world and even brought home muggle items to annoy her mother further. She'd been on the receiving end of the Cruciatus curse more than once in response to her 'acting out'.,Sirius was more than happy to give Carmilla a place to live, Grimauld Place was to be headquarters for the newly reformed Order of the Pheonix so one more person around the house wouldn't be trouble as far as he could see. Carmilla knew that wasn't the only reason though, Sirius himself had suffered an eerily similar upbringing to her and had been disowned for not making Slytherin just as she had. They had both rebelled by taking an interest in the muggle world and were more alike than even they knew, two members of the noble house of Black who hated all that it stood for.,The house had been more alive in the last month than it probably had been in its entire existence. The Weasley family had moved in, both to help clean the place up and to make it easier to keep up with the Order related business. Various members of the Order came and went at all hours of the day and some, like her cousin Tonks, had set up permanent residence within the house.,Nymphadora Tonks at only nineteen years old was quickly rising through the ranks of the Auror Office; she'd shown potential very early on in training, so much so that Madeye Moody had taken her under his wing. It was also beneficial to her position that she was a metamorphmagus allowing her to change her appearance at will and undertake a number of different missions with more ease than a wizard using Polyjuice Potion or a spell. Tonks was the only family Carmilla really spoke to of her own free will before Sirius's return from Azkaban.,One thing Carmilla had always found difficult to understand was how Andromeda Tonks was such a caring and nice woman when her three sisters, including Carmilla's own mother, where all followers of the Dark Lord. She supposed it had to of been a similar situation to her own or Sirius's but she wasn't one to pry.,This morning though, Carmilla found herself sitting alone at the kitchen table waiting for Laura to arrive. Laura's dad had been reluctant to let her leave home so soon after finishing her last year of school but with guarantees of her safety from both Tonks and Mrs Weasley, he'd agreed to let her move into Grimauld Place with Carmilla as long as she spent some time at home first.,So Carmilla waited while going over notes from Tonks's last mission, she'd been sent to scope out creepy old bar in a small wizarding village up North. There was no conclusive evidence that anything suspicious was happening there, Carmilla sighed and leaned back in her chair. She wasn't that surprised if she was being honest with herself, the tip off had come from Mundungus and he wasn't the most reliable of sources. Running a hand through her hair she checked the time, 6:47am, she thought of going back to bed but Laura had said she'd be there at 7am and Carmilla had never known Laura to be late.,At the sound of footsteps coming downstairs Carmilla gathered the parchment she was reading and placed the notes in a drawer that contained various pieces of information used during meetings of the Order. The underage Weasley's and Hermione, who'd shown up just two days ago, weren't allowed to attend or know any information that wasn't cleared with Mrs Weasley first, this meant anything to do with Order work was to be cleared away in their presence. She needn't have bothered clearing her things away when she realised it was Lafontaine who entered the kitchen.,Lafontaine was Carmilla's fellow Ravenclaw and the one friend she made at school, the rest of the 'Scooby Gang', as Laura and Kirsch had dubbed them, had been more Laura's friends than hers. She found herself quite fond of Perry despite her best efforts to stay distanced from the group and she supposed she enjoyed the company of the muggle born Kirsch, but there was no way that anyone would get her to admit that also had a soft spot for Danny. Even of Danny had been a jealous asshole, in Carmilla's opinion, when she and Laura finally got their shit together and started dating.,Laf gracelessly dropped into the chair beside her while Carmilla used her wand to pour a cup of coffee and lightly place it in front of Laf.,"Thanks" the redhead yawned before taking a sip of the caffeine, "ahhh that's good, so when's L getting here?",Carmilla's eyes went to the clock before answering "eight minutes.","You know you can act more excited" Laf smirked "it's just you and me here.",Carmilla let a small smile grace her features, so maybe she wasn't the most open of people. She wasn't exactly raised in the most loving environment and emotions weren't something she was taught to deal with properly, but everyone knew she had missed Laura. Carmilla hadn't mentioned anything about it although she had been slightly grumpier than usual but the past few days she'd been in a relatively good mood which everyone knew was due to the short blonde's imminent arrival.,"Alright fine" she rolled her eyes "I'm excited about seeing Laura, I haven't seen her for a month and I missed her" she turned to look at the grinning redhead "happy?","Oh I'm ecstatic" Laf laughed before standing up "I'll leave you to greet her alone" they winked at the raven haired girl "I'll be working in the attic if you need me" Lafontaine informed Carmilla before leaving the room.,Carmilla heard her friend disappear back upstairs and took in the renewed silence for a moment; the clock showed 6:59am when she heard the front door open and the muffled familiar voices of two people enter the house. She allowed herself a self-indulgent moment where she smiled wider than she had since the last time she saw her girlfriend but quickly regained some of her naturally cool and mysterious nature before going into the hall to greet the arrivals.,"Well we sort of unanimously agreed that it'd be better me escorting you rather than Madeye" Tonks told the short blonde "figured he might scare the surrounding muggles… not to mention your dad likes me already.",Laura laughed cheerily "I think my dad might've had second thoughts about me coming if Madeye had been the one to show up.","Well it's a good job Tonks was free then" Carmilla added from where she was leaning on the wall beside the kitchen.,The Ravenclaw barely had time to open her arms before the tiny Gryffindor was wrapped around her. Carmilla buried her face in Laura's neck, Merlin she'd missed her. They weren't sure quite how long they'd been stood with their arms around each other but it had apparently been long enough for Tonks to sneak off up to her room and for Mr and Mrs Weasley to be up and about. The sound of someone clearing their throat made the pair jump apart; Mrs Weasley simply smiled at the pair before telling them they could go have a long lie seeing as they got up earlier than need be today.,Laura hugged Mrs Weasley thanking her while Carmilla grabbed her bags and settled for a genuine smile and a quick "thank you", before disappearing up to their room before any of the other inhabitants of the house woke.

Aelin was nervous. More than nervous actually. She was TERRIFIED. She was at the moment waiting her turn to try on the sorting looked around the room and caught the eye of her cousin, Aedion, sitting at the Gryffindor table. He winked and haver her a thumbs up, she smiled at him in return.,"Aelin Galathinius" she looked away and walked towards the stool and hat. When she reached it, like all the others, she sat down and placed the hat on her head.,Five minutes later, she was walking towards the Slytherin table. It took the hat longer sorting her, deciding between Slytherin and Gryffindor, than any other student before her. She sat down and watched the others be sorted. Only one name really stood out to her, the last one on the list.,"Rowan Whitethorn" she watched him as he stalked forwards and sat down. He looked moody and not pleasant at all. She immediately hated him.,"Slytherin" she groaned in her head. Why did he have to be in HER house. Why couldn't he have been in one of the others? What made it even worse was that there was only one seat left... right next to her. He sat down and she glared at him.,"What?" He growled, she looked away and didn't reply. He snarled in annoyance and started pilling food on his plate. She shot him another glare and started doing the same. Once the meal was over the first years followed the others to their common rooms.,When Aelin arrived at hers she headed straight towards the girls dormitories but on the way there she slammed into someone... of course it had to be that boy from before. What was his name? Rowan?,"Watch it" she growled.,"Well I'm not the one who wasn't paying attention" he snarled.,"If you were paying so much gods-damned attention then why didn't you move?" She shot back.,"Because I was facing the other way dumb-ass!" The growled at each other,,"Get out of my way" she said and shoved him aside. He stumbled back,,"Don't push me!" He shouted.,"From tough guy to crybaby in a span of a few seconds I'm impressed." She said. By now they had been loud enough so that everyone stopped and listened to their argument.,"If it weren't for the look on your face that suggests that you've recently smelled something so bad there are tears in your eyes, I would've thought it fake" she continued.,"I do NOT have tears in my eyes" he argued.,"...Not anymore" and with that she walked away and closed the door to the girls dormitories.,Rowan was shaking with anger. He could not BELIEVE that STUPID little girl! How DARE she talk to him that way! He was a PRINCE for crying out loud! He was to be treated with RESPECT! He stared at where she had gone through the door. He growled and stalked towards the boys dormitories slamming the door behind him. ',' thought. ','.,He sighed, maybe he DID overreact a little bit but it was still no excuse to act so disrespectful towards him. He suddenly realized why her name sounded so familiar. She was the princess of Terassen. Well that explained why she was like that. She was used to getting her way. Well so was he, so she'd better watch her tongue around him or else there might be some problems...,Aelin sighed, she was exhausted and that brute Rowan didn't make it any better. She snarled softly, what an idiot. Did he not know who she was? She would not be talked to that way! She sighed again. She was even more exhausted than before. She decided to deal with it tomorrow. She got into bed and fell asleep imagining how she would make him squirm.,Rowan woke up the next morning and decided that he would completely ignore Aelin for the rest of the day. There might be some times when he HAD to talk to her, but he could avoid her the rest of the time. It proved to be harder than he expected it to be. First at breakfast she bombed him with questions. It went something like this,,"What's your name?","Rowan.","Are you royalty?","Yes.","What territory?"," Doranelle.","I'm a princess too you know. My territory is Terrasen." He grunted.,She opened her mouth to ask another question but was cut of by one of the professors handing her timetable to her. He took his and sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like his timetable, it was that he just realized that he had to have all his classes with Aelin. It was going to be a long day...

Primero que nada aclaro que nada me pertenece ni Harry Potter o Malefica ,::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::,Harry Potter desapareció de su dimensión a sus 350 años, no había envejecido más allá de sus años 20 ya que era uno de los efectos secundarios de ser el maestro de la muerte, nunca se casó ni tubo hijos pero se dedicó a la mejora y reconstrucción del mundo mágico, diseño unos espejismos especialmente fuertes que utilizaba para cambiar su apariencia conforme pasaban los años para parecer más viejo, se había convertido en el hombre más rico de mundo mágico cuando tenía 200 años así que fingió su muerte y se dedicó a viajar por el mundo para aprender y perfeccionar su conocimiento.,Lo que le parecía irónico a Harry era su forma animago de Fenix, los Fenix eran criaturas de vida y renacimiento cuando Harry era la representación de la muerte, podía usar unos pocos de los poderes de Fenix en su forma humana como las lágrimas curativas y su canción pero eran mucho más débiles que en su forma completa de fénix.,150 años después Harry estaba aburrido, había estudiado muchas profesiones y se había graduado varias veces tanto en el mundo muggle como en el mágico, uno de sus pasatiempos favoritos fue combinar la tecnología con la magia para crear inventos novedosos, los encantos para crear cosas increíbles o la transfiguración, pero incluso eso lo aburrió después de un tiempo.,-"Maestro tengo una propuesta para ti"- dijo la muerte que medía 3 metros de alto en su verdadera forma, usaba una capa negra con capucha que cubría la mayoría de sus facciones pero bajo ellas había lo que parecía un cuerpo en descomposición. Y le explico brevemente su plan.,-"¿Una dimensión alternativa?"- Harry levanto una ceja mientras cruzaba los brazos sobre su pecho y dándole a la muerte una mirada dudosa,Muerte hizo un gesto solemne para indicar que se trataba de un tema serio,-"¿Qué sería diferente de mi propia dimensión?, más importante aún ¿Por qué me das esta oportunidad?"- dijo Harry interesado esperando pacientemente,-"Muchas cosas, habrá cambios buenos y cambios malos, todo depende en su mayoría de la dimensión en la que termines. Puedo dejarte incluso en un lugar prospero para tu vida ahí si quieres, o un lugar donde te necesiten, realmente no importa donde termines ya que tendrás tu magia para protegerte y mantenerte sano, también puedes salir de ahí cuando quieras solo tienes que invocarme y hacer el mismo ritual para viajar a otra dimensión. La muerte es eterna y eres mi maestro, un siervo tiene prohibido dañar a su maestro, así que nunca podrás morir realmente"-,-"¿No puedo morir? Ya lo sospechaba después de descubrir mi rápida renegación y mi inmunidad a la maldición asesina pero me sigue pareciendo irónico que sin querer conseguí justo lo que Voldemort más deseaba, así que ¿puedo elegir la dimensión a la que iré?"-,-"¿Realmente importa? Tienes la eternidad para visitar todas las dimensiones que quieras, el orden no tiene importancia, en este caso te mandare a la más cercana, lo que si puedes decidir es cómo quieres llegar, ¿quieres ser una niña o un niño?, porque cada vez que viajes tendrás que renacer para que te adaptes más fácilmente"- dijo la Muerte divertida,Harry palideció ante las implicaciones,-"No creo que alguna vez en el futuro desee ser una mujer pero… ¿Tendré que ser un bebe otra vez y usar pañal?"-,Muerte soltó una carcajada que daba escalofríos y sonaba tenebrosa, su maestro era tan ingenuo a veces pero hace milenios que no se divertía tanto, siempre era entretenido ver en qué problemas se metía, tener un maestro era más como tener acceso a su propio programa televisivo de entretenimiento, era un buen modo de matar el aburrimiento y no había nada más difícil de matar cuando se vivían milenios con la misma rutina.,-"Por supuesto que si maestro pero no te preocupes, te acostumbraras a eso pronto y las mentes de los infantes son fáciles de distraer, además así podrás tener una nueva infancia llena de aventuras"-,Tal vez… tal vez debería intentarlo, las dimensiones alternativas por lo menos no sonaban aburridas.,-"Claro ¿por qué no? Algo diferente suena entretenido y ya estoy aburrido para ser honesto"- respondió Harry pensativo,-"Lo más divertido es que tu nuevos padres serán los más sorprendidos ya que no estabas destinado a existir, seguramente reconocerás tu nueva dimensión y te divertirás mucho… tú nuevo hogar se ha decidido maestro, tendrás un lugar importante en el destino pero solo si quieres hacerlo, tú eliges como vives y desde ahora el destino ya no puede controlarte"-,Antes de que Harry pudiera preguntar a qué se refería sintió como todo daba vueltas y lo último que escucho fue la horrible risa de Muerte,:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::,¿Qué hubiera pasado si en lugar de solo un beso Stefan hubiera tomado algo más?, esa noche cuando la beso y supo que nunca podría hacerlo de nuevo decidió saciar su egoísmo y tomar algo más valioso, pero no pensó en las consecuencias de esa noche y tiempo después nació un niño alado que sería parte de esta triste historia… un niño que no debió haber existido.,….,Cuando Stefan la beso y la vio sonrojarse y sonreír feliz sintió que perdió el aliento, ella era mucho más hermosa de lo que recordaba, por esta noche se permitiría soñar y dejarse llevar, ella lo abrazo y pudo sentir las suaves curvas de su cuerpo, su dulce olor, Malefica lo beso de nuevo y él correspondió con entusiasmo, lentamente el beso se transformó en algo más intenso y desesperado.,Una oleada de lujuria los golpeo y ambos decidieron seguir sus impulsos solo por esa noche.,Stefan era un simple sirviente sin importancia, era considerado un cobarde por servir en lugar de luchar en el ejército, desde que podía recordar siempre había vivido en la pobreza, nunca había podido pagar los servicios de una moza en el burdel y ninguna moza se enredaría voluntariamente con alguien tan insignificante como él así que Malefica sería su primera como Stefan lo seria de ella, de eso estaba seguro ya que no había competencia.,Maléfica no entendía bien lo que estaba pasando pero confiaba en Stefan así que no tendría miedo, él la había elegido a ella sobre su propia especie y ella se encargaría de hacerlo feliz el resto de su vida para que nunca se arrepintiera de su decisión.,La noche fue mágica, Malefica le conto con ojos brillantes y llenos de felicidad sobre sus planes para ambos, sobre la vida que tendrían juntos en el páramo, Stefan casi cambio de opinión sobre sus planes pero su ambición y sed de poder era más grande.,Al final no pudo matarla, a pesar de todos sus esfuerzos no pudo hacerlo… la amaba tanto, lloro después de cortarle sus hermosas y majestuosas alas, en ese momento se arrepintió de hacerlo pero ya no podía dar marcha atrás, tenía un sueño por cumplir y si tendría que arrancarse el corazón que así sea… pero Stefan seria Rey.,Acaricio su mejilla con dulzura y la beso por última vez, se permitió sentir todo el amor que sentía por ella en esta última ocasión y cada paso que dio lejos de su amor se sentía como una puñalada a su corazón.,…...,Dolor era lo único que sentía al despertar esa noche, nunca lo olvidaría, incluso pensar le daba trabajo al principio y cuando se dio cuenta de lo que había pasado solo pudo gritar y llorar, sentía que su corazón se rompía y a pesar de que trato de pensar que no había sido Stefan en el fondo sabía que solo había podido ser él ya que ella ingenuamente le conto cual era la debilidad de las hadas.,El dolor de la traición fue más grande que el de los muñones de sus alas.,-"¿Porque no me mataste…?"- gritaba y repetía mientras lloraba desconsolada –"¿Por qué?"-,Deseaba solo morir para que el dolor se detuviera, no tenía razón para vivir.,…...,La venganza y el odio eran las únicas cosas que la motivaban ahora, para hacer a esos humanos pagar… esas bestias.,Meses más tarde se sentía extraña pero no hizo caso al principio ya que supuso que era consecuencia de la perdida de sus alas, que la debilidad y molestias eran porque no estaba acostumbrada a caminar.,Debió haberse dado cuenta desde el inicio pero no fue hasta mucho más tarde que lo noto.,…...,Cada vez que sentía a la criatura moverse en su interior se ponía ansiosa, al principio le daba terror que un engendro de ese monstruo al que una vez llamo amigo creciera en su interior, tenía pesadillas sobre una criatura que rasgaba la piel de su estómago para salir de su vientre, lógicamente sabía que no era posible pero no podía dejar de tener miedo, apenas estaba intentando recuperarse de la terrible perdida paralizante de sus preciosas alas, no sabía si podría querer al fruto de esta traición.,…...,Con el paso de los días su vientre crecía, las amplias túnicas que ahora usaba ocultaban su actual condición de los miembros del páramo y con su aislamiento permanente ninguno de ellos lo notaria, solo su fiel sirviente Diaval lo sabía, extrañamente él estaba asumiendo parte del papel que le correspondía al padre de su hijo.,Hablando de Diaval ahora el ave permanecía en forma humana la mayor parte del tiempo ayudándole a través de los terribles síntomas, un embarazo de su especie duraba un año y medio completo después de todo.,…...,Algunas veces soñaba con una vida hogareña y feliz, con un Stefan sonriente que la esperaba en casa cuando llegaba de sus patrullas en las fronteras del páramo, con varios niños castaños o pelinegros alados riendo y volando por todo el lugar.,Luego despertaba en la dura realdad y el dolor de sus miembros amputados le recordaba que debía deshacerse de esos inútiles sueños ya que Stefan en realidad nunca la amo y solo la utilizo para obtener un estúpido trono.,Él cambio una vida feliz y llena de amor por un trono vacío en un sombrío castillo y un montón de riquezas inútiles a las cuales los humanos les daban un enorme valor.,Muchos de los humanos perdían sus vidas por metales y joyas que no servían de nada, para un hada eso era absurdo e incomprensible.,…...,Diaval siempre se había considerado un cuervo inteligente pero desde la primera vez que la magia de su señora lo cambio pudo sentir que nunca volvería a ser lo mismo, era como si cada vez que cambiaba de forma su mente se expandiera, como si dejara de ser un simple cuervo y se convirtiera en algo más.,Después de varios meses decidió que le gustaba estar al lado de su ama Malefica, no creía que hubiera alguna ave en todo el mundo que hubiera tenido tantas aventuras y emoción en su vida como él.,Pero en los últimos tiempos tenia sentimientos extraños hacia su ama, después de cuidarla y verla vulnerable en su condición se sentía protector, sobre todo después de enterarse de la causa de su dolor, Diaval se comprometió a cuidarla y tratar de alegrarla un poco ahora que sabía que llevaba un polluelo en su interior.,A veces veía el miedo reflejado en los ojos de Malefica cuando la cría en su interior se movía, Malefica no era mala aunque se esforzara por convencer a los demás y así misma de que lo era, tenía la sospecha de que Malefica no querría conservar a su hijo o de que lo odiaría una vez que naciera pero él se encargaría de que no fuera así.,El la haría sonreír de nuevo así fuera lo último que hiciera, los sentimientos humanos que Diaval sentía eran muy confusos así que no se molestó en entenderlos… después de todo era feliz en la forma en que eran las cosas y no creía que fuera capaz de volver a su antigua vida como un simple cuervo nunca más.,…...,Cuando la cosa nació Malefica no quiso ni verla, a través del tiempo se había encariñado del pequeño en su interior que la acompañaba en su sufrimiento pero si quería deshacerse de la cosa no podía verla ni darle un nombre.,-"Lleva a la cosa lejos de mí, déjala en un pueblo humano con los de su tipo"- ordeno a su sirviente transformándolo en un humano que soportaría el peso extra,-"Pero mi señora se parece a ti"- murmuro la voz de Diaval… y ella cometió el error de ver a la criatura a pesar de haberse prometido que no lo haría.,Ojos verdes vibrante le devolvieron la mirada, cabello negro como la tinta y piel pálida sin imperfecciones… se parecía a ella y era tan hermoso… no tenía cuernos y no podía ver sus alas pero estaba bien ya que podía pasar por un humano solo extrañamente muy hermoso entonces, Diaval comenzó a alejarse triste y el pequeño bebe parecía desconsolado, lloraba como si supiera que su madre estaba a punto de abandonarlo… al igual que Stefan la había abandonado a ella.,-"Espera… déjame cargarlo antes"- ordeno con voz rota pero cuando la pequeña manita se aferró a uno de sus dedos supo que estaba perdida ya que nunca podría separarse de esta… de su hijo.,Lo acuno contra su pecho mientras lloraba y susurraba promesas de que nunca lo abandonaría.,:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Petunia Dursley knew that something must have happened to her nephew at the freakish school he attended, he hardly ate or spoke, only leaving his room for chores and daily ablutions.,She had been sorting through boxes of her parents' things, when she found the letters exchanged between her father and his cousin abroad. It just so happened that a great-uncle was involved in the occupation of Japan post World War two and had an ill-begotten child with one of the locals. Blessedly, he had left an address and telephone number. She'd try shipping him off to Japan, and hopefully, be able to finally wash her hands of him. Goodness knows her family had dealt with him long enough, they had clothed him, fed him, and given him a roof over his head. All they received in return for their generosity was hostility and contempt, not to mention a tarnished reputation due to his presence.,As she dialed the telephone number, she briefly considered the telephone bill. Would Vernon notice it if she made it quick? Regardless, it had to be done for the sake of her family.,"Moshi moshi?" It was a young male voice on the other end, perhaps this was the grandchild he mentioned in his letter.,"Hello, I'm looking for Hiroichi Nanase, is he in?" asked Petunia as politely as possible, no need to estrange herself from these people who could take her truant nephew off her hands.,"Ah sorry, he's not home right now. Can I take a message?" the boy had an accent but she could understand him just fine, at least he had a proper education.,"I see, and is his wife in?","Ah no, she's also away. May I ask who's calling?" said the boy.,"How unfortunate. I'm Petunia Dursley, his cousin on his father's side. I'm calling from England on a family matter, but I suppose seeing as he's unavailable I'll just have to call later." She felt bitter disappointment settle into her gut, the phone bill would be tremendous.,"Ah, they're actually my parents." Her heart skipped a beat, perhaps there was hope after all. "They're currently away on business, but I can give you his e-mail if you'd prefer?",Petunia felt gratified, finally, some progress was being made. If she had her way, soon she'd be rid of the dark cloud hanging over her family. "That would be ideal, and what is your name?" She asked, soon this would all be over. "My name is Nanase Haruka.",Lurking up in his room, Harry James Potter felt a chill run down his spine. ',' Harry promptly brushed the feeling off as an over-active imagination, there was no way the Ministry would make such a big mistake so soon after Voldemort's appearance and then defeat at the Ministry. He could only be thankful for his wand connecting with Voldemort's at just the right moment, to recreate the Priori Incantatem of the year before.,As he lay there thinking about that fateful duel, his thoughts unerringly turned towards the fate of his dogfather. Sirius had died taking a lethal curse meant for him, ultimately leading to the connecting of his and Tom's wands as he attempted to do to him what he had done to his parents all those years ago. It was pure luck that his curse reached Voldemort's wand, finally ridding the world of such a twisted and hateful soul. The only consolation was the survival of his friends in the face of such a loss.

Ch. 1: WTF?!,Abbie let out a huff. Her and Ichabod just came back from dealing with, yet another, unexplainable, supernatural occurrence. "At least this time, it wasn't anything remotely related to prophecies or demons", Abbie thought. After dealing with Moloch, the Headless Horseman, and Henry, everything became a bit more peaceful in the little town of Sleepy Hollow. They still had to take care of some "special" cases assigned to them, but they weren't anything that they couldn't handle. Although... this case in particular was weirder than the others.,They had received a call from the local bookstore. The owner of the store was VERY hysterical the only words anyone could make out through her tears were "destroyed" and "break in". When they had gotten to the scene of the crime, they searched the perimeter, but found nothing out of the ordinary. They looked through every window and everything seemed fine on the inside. Abbie suspected it to be a prank call, and judging by the apprehensive look on Crane's face, she knew he was hiding something.,"Crane, do you know anything about this?", Abbie asked. Ichabod swiftly cleared his face of all emotion and placed upon it a mask. "Are insinuating that I, the person who was by your side the entire time during our latest conquest, would be so childish as to pull a so- called "prank"?", said Ichabod, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Instead of questioning him of where he learned how to do such things, she just gave him a look that said "we will talk about this later" and knocked on the front door. They waited a while, but no one answered.,A few more minutes, they waited. No one still answered. Both of them decided to head back to the station and were about to walk back to the car when they suddenly hear a shriek coming from the building. They turned back around to see a woman running away from...a book.,To Be Continued...

Merida was walking through her home when she saw Hiccup walking down the road, from one of her windows.,"Poor dear" she said out loud.,Kristoff told the other seven of the Nine about Hiccup having nightmares every night about Tadashi's death…talking and yelling in his sleep during them.,Merida knew where he was going; he went there every day that summer: the playground, where they would all play when they were younger.,Hiccup sat on the swing as parents began to take their children home from the impending rain that was about to happen.,A loud crash happened in front of Hiccup!,He looked up and saw Baymax in what seemed to be a red metal fighting outfit.,"Baymax?" Hiccup asked as he stood. "Where's-?" He was interrupted by Hiro.,"Here", Hiro said as he jumped off of Baymax's back, connected by magnets. Hiro came around Baymax with gloves and boots that had magnets on them to connect to Baymax. Hiro took off the gloves and tossed them to the ground.,"Hiro", Hiccup took a step to the younger wizard, "what are you doing here?",The younger boy stood in front of his robotic creation and said: "Tadashi is dead because of you".,Hiccup shook his head. "That's not true. Drago killed your brother".,"I know that!" Hiro yelled. He then pressed Baymax's chest and his chip container came out. "You're going to pay for letting my brother die". Hiro reached for the green chip.,Baymax said: "Hiro, I do not think Tadashi would want-" he was interrupted by the green chip being removed.,Hiro tossed the chip away; the chip container closed; and Hiro commanded: "Baymax, use Avada Kedavra on Hiccup Haddock".,Baymax's eyes became red, he lifted his arm, and the pulsar in his right hand began to glow green.,Hiccup pointed his wand at Baymax. "Hiro, tell him to stop!",Hirro furrowed his brows at Hiccup. "No".,Baymax said: "Avada-","Deprimo!",The entire right side of Baymax's body was destroyed! Armor and all!,"What!?" Hiro yelled and turned to the caster.,"Petrificus Totalus!" GoGo casted.,Hiro assumed a coma like state and to fell to the ground.,Hiccup looked to the group of: Fred, Wasabi, GoGo, and Honey Lemon. He nodded to Honey Lemon and said: "Thanks for stopping Baymax, Honey Lemon".,"You're welcome" she replied.,Wasabi picked up Hiro; and GoGo used Wingardium Leviosa to pick up all the pieces of Baymax.,Fred stepped to Hiccup and said: "Please don't tell anyone about this".,"Fred!" The others yelled at him, mad that he would dare ask Hiccup to not tell the authorities about being attacked.,"No, it's okay" Hiccup said to the others. He then looked to Fred sympathetically and said: "I won't tell anyone".,"Hiccup!" Merida yelled as she ran up to all of them.,Hiccup looked to Merida, over Fred's shoulder, and said: "Except her".,Merida came to Hiccup's side and pointed her wand at the others. "You all bettah leave, now!","Merida!" Hiccup pushed down her arm and looked her in the eyes. "They had nothing to do with this; they're just here to take Hiro home.","That boy needs to be punished!" Merida yelled.,Hiccup grabbed Merida's shoulders. "He's just a kid, Merida! His brother died! He doesn't know how to cope with that. Who would!? At his age?" Hiccup searched for compassion in Merida's eyes.,Merida sighed, giving in to Hiccup's plea. She went around him and pointed her wand at the others again. "You all bettah hurry before I change my mind.",They all started to huddle together to Disapparate.,"Thank you." GoGo said to Hiccup and Merida.,"Wait!" Hiccup yelled and then ran towards where Hiro tossed the green chip. "Akio computer chip.",The green chip flew into Hiccup's left hand.,He then took it to Honey Lemon. "Hiro extracted this from Baymax.",Honey Lemon looked at the chip solemnly. "Thank you" she said without looking to Hiccup. She backed into Fred and the six Disapparated.,Merida crossed her arms as she looked at her friend, wearing nothing but brown. "A'r you seriously not going to alert the authorities you big cac?",Hiccup grinned. "Just cause I'm wearing all brown doesn't mean you can call me a turd" his grin turned to a frown. "And besides", he turned to their homes, "I think the Ministry already knows".,Merida Dunbroch and the Order of the Phoenix,Author's Note:,Though the story is called Merida Dunbroch and the Order of the Phoenix, it is up for change. Merida's name may be replaced with another character's name, but I will allow you all to decide whether or not I should do so. Thank you for reading this and the ones before it and I hope you enjoy!

Harry was ecstatic.,He and his relatives were going to an art gallery.,Normally a young teen wouldn't be so excited to go to an art gallery, but Harry wasn't like many teens his age.,After all, not many teens are orphans who lost their parents to a Dark Lord who tried to kill that child but somehow failed resulting in that child becoming famous. Not many teens were locked in a cupboard, starved, forced to work as a slave for that child's relatives, and physically and verbally abused because that child is a wizard.,No, Harry definitely wasn't like many children his age.,Harry walked behind his oversized relatives-Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley- fingering a lace handkerchief that had his name sewed into the corner with golden stitching, Harry had gotten this handkerchief from an anonymous sender who told him that the handkerchief he was given was made by his parents before their untimely death.,Harry walked into the art gallery that was made up of the paintings and sculptures that an artist named Weiss Guertena had painted. Harry's relatives walked up to the front desk to pick up pamphlets.,"Aunt Petunia, may I go further into the gallery?" Harry asked politely hoping he could go off on his own to look at the paintings.,Petunia glanced at her nephew, loathing in her eyes.,"Go boy, just be back here at 4 o'clock or we'll leave you here in America.",Harry knew she was only saying things generally kind to him because they were in public, if they had not been in a public place she would have slapped him and told him that freaks like him were not allowed to ask questions.,"I will," Harry told her trying to be as polite as possible.,"Go then.",Harry nodded nonchalantly before walking into the next area.,Harry took notice to the gathered people all staring at what looked to be some sort of lake or ocean that had a gigantic fish-like monster in its depths. This huge floor painting was titled "Abyss of the Deep", the main painting in the gallery.,Harry walked around the bottom floor gazing at each painting and studying the ones he took the most interest in, which weren't a lot of paintings just the "Abyss of the Deep" and a sculpture of a red rose titled "Embodiment of Spirit".,Seeing no more interesting artwork, Harry walked out of the main area and walked into the next section of the gallery; the upstairs area.,Immediately upon getting atop the next floor, Harry could already tell that he would find more interesting paintings.,Harry glanced at the far wall, observing the unique paintings that others had found captivating for one reason or another. One strange purple haired teen, Harry took notice of, was gazing intently at a painting.,Harry turned down to his right to see a series of what looked to be three headless mannequin ladies, all identical except for their dresses, which were all colored differently in the colors red, blue, and yellow. Harry walked down the hall to look at the title. "Death of the Individual" it was titled.,"In my opinion, what Guertena is saying here is that 'the individual' lies in one's expression. Which is why these figures don't have heads, see?",Harry blinked upon hearing a sudden statement from a man who had been studying the mannequins, but after taking time to think about what the man had said, Harry couldn't help but find the man's theory quite logical.,"I guess so," Harry responded.,The man exclaimed with surprise, "Oho, I'm glad you understand! Yes, I'm sure that's it." The man turned back to the mannequin ladies.,Harry continued his way down glancing at the random sculptures and painting, yet strangely Harry could not shake the feeling of fear he received when he looked at the mannequin ladies and the painting of a women in a red dress with brown hair and red eyes titled "The Lady in Red". Harry found that the painting seemed to glare at him.,Harry continued his trip on the upstairs area for what seemed like hours until he came across a large painting that spanned across an entire wall. The painting was of a black background with other objects painted within, some of which seemed to be of a few other art pieces that were in the gallery as well as a red rose in the corner. The title of the painting was "Fabricated World".,Harry stared at the painting and felt a strange feeling within him, compelling him to reach out to the painting, to touch the painting. Slowly, Harry reached out with his hand to the strange painting.,Just as Harry's outstretched hand made contact with the painting, the lights flickered.,Harry looked around in surprise before realizing something.,"My relatives are going to blame me." Harry stated to himself, after all, if something strange happens Harry is always the one blamed, even if it was something or someone else who caused it.,"I better go find them.",Harry just turned the corner when he noticed something.,"Why is it so quiet?",The sound of classical music that had been playing before in the background was gone as was the sound of conversations and the sound of shoes scraping against the floor. Everything was quiet.,Curiosity filled Harry as he hurried to the reception desk.,'Everyone's probably down there,' he thought, going down the steps and into the lobby.,No one was there.,The lights began to flicker around him before shutting off completely.,Harry, terrified, ran to the front doors of the gallery and reached out to the doorknob. Harry's hand clenched the doorknob and turned.,The doors were locked.,Backing up, Harry looked around and spotted a window. Immediately, he ran to it and glanced outside. Seeing only darkness, he backed away from the window just as a blood red liquid poured down the glass.,Footsteps rang around from what seemed like everywhere.,Harry truly realized his situation at that moment. He was trapped in the gallery by himself.,Harry ran up the stairs and turned to the window across from him to see a shadow of a person walk past the window from outside. Harry crossed the short distance and glanced out only to see the same darkness as before.,Sighing, he turned away from the window and began walking down the hallway.,Harry jumped at the sudden noise and turned to its source, the window.,Harry walked over and looked at the glass to see small cracks against it. That was when Harry realized a startling fact.,He was on the second floor. It would have been impossible for someone to have walked past the window.,Harry ran from the window and down the hall not even caring about all the noise he was making.,As he ran Harry passed a picture with a piece of fruit drawn within its canvas. The fruit... fell from the painting and splattered against the floor. Harry heart sped up seeing this, after all he was in an art gallery made up of muggle paintings, nothing here was a moving picture from the magical world and even if it was, how could a piece of fruit fall out of its own canvas? Was it even possible in the magical world?,Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and turned down the corner and past a painting of a cat.,"MEOW!",'Did...that cat just meow at me?' Harry thought as he quickly passed the painting.,Harry came to the hall that held the large "Fabricated World" painting. However, something had changed about it. Some blue paint had begun dripping out from underneath it. As Harry observed it, he heard a strange dripping sound come from behind him. Harry turned to the around to find a series of letters spelled across the floor in blue paint.,Harry was just able to read them out when he heard a strange sound from behind him, turning around quickly he saw a message written in blue paint.,Harry blinked at the sudden message and he felt literally terrified but at the same time relieved. After all, it could be a trap but he had no place to go or anything to do at that moment, plus, if it was someone else from the gallery then at least he would have company, right?,Harry continued down the hallway and was just about to turn the next corner when he heard a sudden sound, a cough.,'Is someone else here?',Harry turned to face the spot where he had heard the cough only to see a painting; "The Coughing Man".,"W-what's going on?" Harry stuttered as he came to the staircase.,Harry walked on and came to the room that held the giant floor painting titled "Abyss of the Deep". At first the painting of the giant fish seemed to be the same as it was before, however, Harry noticed a set of blue painted footsteps that came to what used to be a part of rope that was now missing, opening the painting up.,Harry stepped over to the painting and glanced down to see the water of the painting rippling like real water.,"Well I got nothing else to do so I might as well get this over with.",Harry jumped into the painting.

Harry had been wondering the cold streets of the small town for a few weeks now. He had somehow been sent to this place after the four year old human had been beaten by his uncle Vernon after turning Dudley's hair green. it was just a dye. He had done it while Dudley was sleeping. But it apparently had been difficult for his aunt to get out. Then, early the next morning, he awoke to find himself a blue feathered birdie! He quickly learned to fly, but since it was winter, there wasn't much food wise. He had to rely on bread crumbs and popcorn that old ladies threw down in the park and other left overs of humans.,Until one evening. He was outside of a bookstore. Blue Macaw Books. A small store, but what he saw in the window made him gasp. It was a blue bird like him! He was older, but clearly male.,He saw the male perk up when he saw him. He looked him over and opened his cage.,"Hey little guy, what are you doing out there?" Blu asked through the glass.,Harry couldn't exactly speak yet. So he merely chirped.,"Ah, can't speak yet huh? Don't worry, hang on. " He called for someone named Linda and a red haired young woman wearing glasses appeared at the window.,"Oh you made a little friend." Linda said eagerly. "Wow and he's a blue macaw too! What are the odds?",Harry pitifully put his tiny winglet against the glass in front of Blu.,"Aww." Linda cooed. "I think he likes you Blu.",Blu watched his human friend bring the tiny chick inside. Carefully holding him.,"I wonder if he has a name?" Linda said as set him down next to Blu and the chick immediately cuddled up to him.,He definitely likes me. Blu thought with a smile.,"Looks like we have a new addition to this little family." Linda smiled at the interaction between Blu and the chick. She thought of names. He looked like a Harry.,"Hello, Harry Blu Gunderson." She smiled as she stroked his small head with a finger lightly. After all, naming the child's middle name after the father was tradition.,Dean the Cuddly Fox

says the sign. Harry feels a surge of relief. One thing he learned the hard way about North America is how large the continent is. It is much bigger than he imagined when he saw maps of it as a child, in primary school. Sometimes he would spend weeks without finding a town, city or even a village to stop at and replenish his supplies. He has often been forced to live off the land, trying to survive.,He's been stuck in this post-apocalyptic world for five months, now, and he's starting to get very bored. The novelty of a place with naturally occurring Inferi died a while ago.,He takes off one of the straps of his backpack and brings the latter around, in front of him. He crouches down near the side of the road. His back is to the metal barrier that borders the road, the one made to keep cars from falling down into the forest below. Keeping a wary eye on his surroundings in case of an unexpected attack, he opens his backpack and pulls out a tattered map.,Harry possesses two maps. One is of North America, showing the USA and all of its states, as well as Canada and Mexico. The other one is the map he has just pulled out, which depicts the state of Massachusetts, where Harry is right now.,Lincoln is a decently-sized town, Harry sees. Its size means that there will probably be a lot of Inferi there, though nowhere near as many as one would find in a city. He will be on his guard nevertheless.,Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he stands up and puts the map away.,He has two choices, now.,The first one is that he could continue walking straight and follow the road until he gets to Lincoln. Unfortunately, from what he's seen on the map, the road makes a large loop before getting to the town, which would cost him time.,The second option is that he could jump over the barrier lining the road and land in the forest area that's just a short drop down. He can already see that there is a natural path there, made by the feet of people who have passed there before. He can see a water tower beyond the forest, standing tall and proud over the trees, far in the distance. Some buildings are visible, but they are mostly hidden by the trees. He could cut through that forest to avoid he loop the road makes and get to Lincoln faster. On the other hand, the road is sure to bring him to Lincoln, while the forest might just make him lose his way.,For the thousandth time, he wishes he had his broom. With it, he could have flown in a straight line towards Lincoln without any dead ends or zombies to stop him. Unfortunately, when that portal appeared all those months ago, he was on the run with Hermione and Ron and didn't have a broom with him. He was pulled into the portal and appeared in this strange, magic-less world with nothing but his wand and the clothes on his back.,Well, now he doesn't even have that. His clothes have been replaced in favour of something more durable quite some time ago and his wand was crushed three weeks ago when he was ambushed by some of those blind deformed Inferi with mushrooms growing out of their heads.,He pauses, realizing how absurd that last thought sounds.,Yes, now that he thinks about it, this world , rather strange, despite having no magic.,In the end, after some thought, Harry decides to continue following the road. The last thing he needs is to get lost, which is why he avoids using the forest as a shortcut.,The road is in good condition. Unlike some roads Harry has seen, this one is whole, albeit with a few cracks here and there through which flora is growing.,Harry advances slowly, staying near the rotting carcasses of abandoned automobiles dotting the road, ready to take cover if an enemy appears.,Nature has taken over this place. He can see it in the way moss grows everywhere unimpeded, the way a bird twitters angrily when he unknowingly approaches its nest inside a car lacking its windows and wheel, and in the way he has to climb over a pylon blocking the road because oxidation had made the proud structure bow.,Finally, after a little less than twenty minutes of walking, the first of Lincoln's buildings come into view. Harry sees a gas station and some small shops. Beyond that, the level rises as the buildings become two-story apartments and, further, they grow even taller. The town is too small to have skyscrapers, yet Harry can't help but find the buildings tall.,It's one thing to see buildings when people are there. In that case, the buildings are full of life and activity. They are welcoming. But it's quite another thing when those buildings are deserted. The town feels cold and empty, and the buildings just give the impression of giants looming over him in a threatening manner, full of unknown threats.,Feeling abruptly too exposed in the middle of the road, Harry hurries over to the gas station, whose glass windows and doors are broken and full of holes large enough for him to pass through. He doesn't even need to try picking the lock. Once inside, he relaxes. The walls around him make him feel less vulnerable than outside. Safer.,Most of the gas station has been raided years ago for food, and what food is left is mouldy and unsafe for eating. All the canned food is gone, though Harry didn't expect any to be left. Still, he searches the small gas station until he finds, hidden behind two dusty newspapers, a few plastic containers filled with honey, with the image of a smiling bee on each. Honey is a food that lasts a very long time, which is why it's one of the first things he looks for. The lids on each container are still sealed, which is good.,Rice is another thing which can keep for a very long time. Unfortunately, the gas station has either never sold rice, or the rice has long since been taken. He does find some matches, though, which is a positive thing. While he can conjure fire wandlessly, it takes a lot of time and concentration.,He wraps the honey containers in newspapers to avoid any unwanted spills in case they break open and places them in his bag. The matches are put in a small front pocket, next to a packet of tomato and bell pepper seeds.,-x-x-x-,Around mid-afternoon, Harry decides it is time to find a place to settle down. He doesn't want to wait until dark, when he would have a hard time seeing properly and might be taken unaware.,He finds a three-story apartment building that looks relatively safe and heads towards it. Crouching down near some rubble behind a trashcan, he picks up a brick and, without standing up, throws it through the entrance. The entrance has a broken door that leads into a shop which takes up all the ground floor.,The brick falls, clattering loudly.,He waits.,After approximately five minutes spent fidgeting impatiently, he concludes that there are no nearby inferi and that he can proceed.,He enters the building and makes his way up, verifying that each room he passes is empty. Before entering a room he waits, listening for any sounds, and after that he opens the door and throws a small object inside. Then he waits and sees if the noise attracted anything. Only after all those precautionary measure does he enter the room and look around, before continuing his sweep of the building.,He does that with every room, without fail.,He can't find a pot, so he acquires an empty aluminium can from the kitchen of one of the abandoned apartments, as well as shattered pieces of wood that might once have been furniture. A chair, perhaps.,Harry brings it all up to the roof, where he starts setting up the wood so that he can light a fire later. He goes back down and out of the building to pick up some stones and bricks from the rubble. They are to be placed around the fire to avoid any risk of it spreading,As a precaution, he sets some traps around the building. Noise traps are the only kind of traps he's good at, so that's the kind of traps he places around the entrance of the building and on its different levels. If anyone or anything comes in, the traps will make noise and alert Harry.,His sense of precaution might seem overly paranoid to most, but since arriving in this strange world he has had far too many close calls and feels that there is no such thing as 'too much caution' anymore. Better safe than sorry, after all.,Harry climbs back up on the roof and blocks the door after him with a metal pipe, for additional security.,The roof is a nice place to be. It's entirely flat, empty, and is surrounded by a small ledge. It also has an excellent view on the street below.,It is a few hours away from sunset, so he lights a fire. He only ever uses fire during the day because it's too visible at night and would point a target on his location.,A makeshift roof has been set over the fire to spread the smoke and make it less visible in the sky. With that and the stones around the fire, Harry is confident that he won't accidentally set himself on fire.,He brings out the aluminium can and smiles reminiscently at the faded Coca Cola label, recalling all those fizzy drinks his cousin used to love, before Harry was on the run from Voldemort, and then stranded in this new world. Harry wonders if the Dursleys even miss him.,Harry uses his pocket knife to cut open the top of the can. He then points a finger at it.,",," he whispers, focusing.,Nothing happens.,He refuses to feel annoyed, and repeats the spell, concentrating on what he wants.,He fails again.,He tries a third time, breathing slowly, and something changes. His state of mind is still mostly the same, but he's feeling a small sense of urgency, which makes a trickle of water appear from his finger and fall down into the can, filling it in a few seconds.,It's one of the spells he's had to learn to perform wandlessly after his wand broke. It takes much longer than he'd like to fill the can wandlessly.,A wand is a tool to sharpen and focus a wizard's power. It helps them transcend their natural capacities. Without his wand, Harry has trouble achieving his usual level of power. That is why it takes so many tries to fill that can with water.,Afterwards, he places the can by the fire and warms the water. Once it is sufficiently hot, he digs through his backpack for the small amount of rice he has left, which he then places into the can to cook.,That evening, his dinner consists of rice and some of his reserves of salted dry meat. To quench his thirst, he drinks from a water bottle, unwilling to drink the conjured water in the Coca Cola can, because the spell doesn't last long enough for the water to stay inside his body.,He remembers Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. It was set in place to stop people from conjuring food and eating it, because conjuration requires a lot of power to be permanent, and it would be a very bad thing if the food disappeared when it has already been digested and is in a wizard's blood. Having parts of your blood disappear is not the best way to go.,He falls asleep on the roof and dreams of home.,-x-x-x-,The next morning, Harry is woken up by the sound of one of his traps being set off. He reaches for his glasses, listening intently. He is still on the roof, and so when he hears the insect-like clicking sound coming from the street beneath, his heart sinks. His fear has come true.,They're here.,As quietly as possible, Harry grabs his pocket knife and leans over the edge of the roof to take a look. It is just as he feared. There are several inferi on the road and unfortunately, they seem pretty intent on entering the building Harry is in.,During the months Harry has been in this world, he's encountered three different kinds of these pseudo-inferi. The first two look relatively human, and it's their erratic behaviour and lack of human intelligence that give their true state away. The third kind is the third stage of the infection. The sickness that creates these creatures is a fungus that perverts the body, and in the third stage, the mushroom takes over to the point that the inferi's head is a mass of misshapen fungal growths. Their eyes are gone and they are blind, but their hearing is unnaturally sharp. They are also stronger and more resilient.,Harry calls them the 'Blind Ones'.,The fungal infection that creates these walking corpses has nothing to do with inferi, but Harry persists in calling these beings inferi because it is the most appropriate term he could think of when he first encountered these creatures.,The inferi beneath him are all Blind Ones—Harry's least favourite kind of enemy. What he can't understand is why they are all forcing their way inside the building Harry chose to settle down in. Blind Ones use sound to orient themselves and Harry hasn't made any sound that could have attracted their attention, so how…?, Harry thinks. One of those Blind Ones might have been meandering about and probably accidentally bumped into one of Harry's sound traps near the building's entrance. The alarm that woke Harry up is most likely what attracted the large group of Blind Ones.,He made those traps to warn him if an enemy came close, but they have turned against him. The noise has attracted those creatures and now Harry is trapped.,Harry could pick something up and throw it off the roof and onto the street below. The noise would attract the inferi already inside Harry's building and make them go out, which would make Harry's escape easier. But that tactic is too risky—the noise could also attract inferi from elsewhere and leave Harry with more enemies.,Stealth is the best way to get out of this situation.,Harry begins hurriedly packing his backpack with everything he took out of it the day before. Once he is ready to go, he leans over the side of the roof again. He blanches when he realizes that all the Blind Ones have entered his building already. There's no way for him to climb down one of the building's outer walls, which means his only way of escaping is walking down , the building infested with inferi.,For a second, he hesitates to just stay on the roof and wait for them to leave. But even if they do lose interest, there is no guarantee they'd leave. And who knows, if Harry waits, more of them might show up in the meanwhile. That would just make things worse.,Harry breathes in slowly and tries to find the Gryffindor courage he needs. He exhales, his heart calming. He squares his shoulders, and stands up.,He's ready.,He takes off the metal pipe holding shut the door that leads downwards, and opens the door. He breathes. Once. Twice. Thrice. And then he descends into the darkness bellow.,There are no inferi on the top floor. They haven't had the time to climb up there yet. Harry makes his way towards the stairs, but freezes when he hears the distinctive insect-like clicking sound of a Blind One. An inferi is coming up the stairs.,Harry retreats into one of the apartments. He grabs some glass shards from the floor, somehow managing to avoid cutting himself. Once the inferi is close enough, Harry leans out the apartment door and throws the shards into the hall, far away from the stairs and Harry. The Blind One hears that and starts clicking excitedly. It moves at a surprisingly fast pace towards the glass shards Harry has thrown, its arms flailing about in the hopes of hitting the prey it cannot see.,The inferi is isolated from its peers, now. Harry could kill it, but he isn't sure he can do that silently enough to remain undetected by the other inferi downstairs. Blind Ones use their hearing to navigate and hunt, and their hearing is incredibly sharp.,Harry could also walk past the lone inferi, go downstairs and stealthily leave the building. But if he , detected, he would rather not have too many enemies to deal with, which is why it would be best to kill the lone Blind One in front of him.,The inferi in question has stopped in front of the glass shards, moving its arms in large sweeping motions. It is excited, thinking prey is nearby.,It was once a human being, Harry knows, but the fungus has destroyed its brain. Fungal growths are erupting out of its head like tumours, obscuring the eyes and making the head look like an amalgam of repugnant mushrooms.,Without his wand, Harry knows better than to try to use magic for combat. The few spells he can cast wandlessly take too much time and concentration to be effective in a fight, and he needs to say the spell out loud, which the inferi will hear.,He decides to take out his bow and grab an arrow.,Harry used to have a shotgun, but after he ran out of ammunition it became a dead weight and he was forced to leave it behind.,He found the bow and a few arrows in a sports store. After his wand broke, the bow became an important weapon. Unlike the rifle, when he runs out of arrows he can make more using branches that he sharpens and shapes with a knife. They aren't as damaging at the steel-tipped arrows he found in the store, but they do their job.,Harry hasn't got a great aim because of the home-made arrows, especially since he's more used to aiming with a wand. Still, the Blind One is close enough for it to matter very little.,He aims at the body—the largest target, and thus the easiest to hit. He shoots.,The arrow flies and perforates the inferi's body. The creature staggers, but doesn't die. Harry takes out a second arrow just as the Blind One's noise level increases. Harry shoots again. This time, the inferi dies.,Harry rips out the two arrows he used, wincing at the squelching sound he hears. Then, with a sigh, he heads down to kill more inferi.,The second floor only has three Blind Ones. He uses the same technique as before to kill them: He uses noise to isolate a inferi from its friends and then he kills it. He cleans out the second floor stealthily and easily, but it's after that that the problems start.,He goes down to the first floor. Turns 'round a corner and comes face to face with a inferi. Startled, he steps back. Unfortunately, he treads on the broken remains of a porcelain vase. It makes an impossibly , breaking sound.,The inferi's head snaps up and it gives a loud cry of victory as it moves towards Harry. Panicked, Harry shoots at it, but it's too late. The inferi's loud clicking sound has attracted its friends, who also start clicking noisily, gleeful at having found prey.,Harry picks up the remains of the porcelain vase and throws them far away. Hopefully the distraction will give him a few seconds. Then, giving up on stealth, he runs for the stairs.,He can hear the excited screeching and clicking of the Blind Ones behind him. He can feel himself panicking.,He goes down the stairs in large leaps, nearly twisting an ankle in the process. A Blind One is there to greet him at the end of the staircase. He grabs ahold of the railings and, using his momentum, both his feet lift off the floor to give the inferi a powerful double kick.,It falls over, stunned but alive. Harry jumps over it. He runs into the shop taking up all the ground floor. It is absolutely , with inferi. All of them are Blind Ones.,They start clicking madly, heading straight for Harry.,Heart beating wildly, Harry dashes out of the shop. At least twelve Blind Ones are tearing after him. He can see that the noise is attracting more inferi from other buildings.,He runs past a gutted lorry, its back doors wide open. An inferi comes running out of the lorry and Harry shouts in surprise. He veers sharply right, nearly getting clipped by a second inferi that has been flanking him. Harry continues running down the street.,His throat is like sandpaper and he can barely breathe. He's always been more of a sprinter than a long-distance runner and it ,.,He puts in another burst of speed, but his body protests. He gasps, wincing in pain. He can hear the excited clicking of the inferi behind him growing louder.,At that moment, there's the sound of a gunshot. One of the inferi behind Harry falls down, presumably dead.,Near the other end of the street, in front of Harry, is a figure with a gas mask, taking cover behind a rusty car.,"This way!" shouts the figure, its voice undeniably male. The person waves Harry over.,Suddenly hopeful again, Harry finds the energy to run faster. Unfortunately, he notices that a Blind One has managed to sneak up behind the shooter. Harry still has his bow in hand, so he throws it at the inferi. It doesn't do any damage whatsoever, but is enough of a distraction for the other man to turn around and shoot the inferi.,"Follow me!" shouts the man, running towards a side-alley.,Harry doesn't question him. He picks his bow up and follows the man. He can hear the sound of the inferi behind them getting louder as the Blind Ones close the gap separating them from their prey.,"Don't touch that line, it's a trap!" shouts the man as they run. He's pointing at two metal boxes fixed to the alley's two opposing walls, both connected by a wire.,The man leans down and passes under the wire. Harry does the same.,They continue their run, but Harry darts a glance back just in time to see a inferi run into the wire, triggering an explosion that kills it instantly.,While the explosion did kill one inferi, there is still an ever increasing horde to deal with. The sounds of the chase attract nearby inferi who arrive and join the crowd eagerly chasing Harry. In other words, the amount of enemies is growing exponentially.,Harry continues running after the man with the gas mask. They reach the end of the alley and emerge in a shopping district. The road is so clogged with rusted cars that it is almost impossible to pass. The man jumps onto the roof of a car and turns to help Harry up.,The next second, the Blind Ones run into the first automobile carcass, the one Harry is standing on. They scratch at the metal, making angry clicking noises. They don't seem to understand they are meant to climb over the obstacle.,The masked man drags Harry by the middle of his shirt and pulls him along like a disobedient child. They make an awful racket as they jump from car to car. The inferi hear it and enter a state of frenzy. They are excited and know their prey is close. One of them manages to climb over the first car, and its brethren follow.,"Goddamn!" swears the masked man.,He turns around and points his gun at an inferi that's too close. He shoots, and the head explodes in a rain of fungal gore. Harry and the masked man reach the end of the cars and jump back down on the pavement.,New inferi were attracted by the noise and have shown up in front of them, blocking their way. The two are trapped.,"Help me clear a way through!" orders the man. He shoots at a few of the inferi, but there are too many of them. He's going to be overwhelmed soon.,They will not make it, especially with the Blind Ones climbing the cars behind them, slowly catching up. Soon Harry and the masked man will be entirely surrounded and helpless. They do not have infinite ammunition, and there are too many enemies for them to defeat. They cannot face all these enemies head on. At the same time, there is no way to avoid a confrontation and escape.,It's time to do something brave and foolish. Something Gryffindor.,Harry places himself in front of the masked man and opens his hand, pointing it at the inferi. It looks like he's gesturing at them to stop. And then, he shouts:,Performing the spell wandlessly on the first try should have been impossible, but the desperation he feels creates a miracle. The pavement and the inferi are destroyed in an explosion so strong that it sends Harry and his ally flying. Harry falls on his side and gasps for breath, stunned. He looks up and sees the side of a nearby building collapse.,The inferi that were coming from behind have managed to climb over the cars and arrive on the other side. The explosion has confused them—they can't find their prey anymore and are wandering around the site of the explosion, several feet from Harry and the man with the gas mask.,The other man in question seems dazed by the fall, though the mask makes it hard to tell. He stands up, looking at the inferi crowding the explosion site. Staying to avoid the mob's attention, the man points in a different direction than the one he wanted to take before. Since the way he wanted the go has been victim of an explosion and is full of inferi, going elsewhere is best. They leave the scene quietly, escaping the horde of inferi searching for them.,-x-x-x-,The masked man brings Harry to some sort of small warehouse. Once they are inside, the man locks he metal door and takes off his gas mask. He seems to be in his late thirties or early forties, though stress has aged his face in a way that makes it hard to tell. His brown hair is long for a man, barely brushing his shoulders. His cheeks sag a little bit and though he isn't fat, he looks like he could stand to lose some weight. He's also half a head taller than Harry, with broad shoulders and an impressive build. Harry, who is still just a teenager, feels a bit intimidated despite himself.,"Who are you?" asks the man brusquely.,Harry puts down his bow, and then turns towards the man. "My name's Harry." Harry pauses, feeling awkward. Five months with no one to talk to has not done wonders for his social skills. He's also waiting for the muggle to start asking about the spell he'd used, but the expected question hasn't been asked. "Thanks for the help.","Help?" repeats the man. "I did more than help you. I saved your ass, boy.", thinks Harry, annoyed. ,"I'm Bill," the man continues, "and this is ,fucking town. Not only did I never allow you to pass through it, you never got permission to set foot here in the first place!" By the time he's finished, his voice has risen significantly.,Harry does not back down. "I didn't know." He doesn't cross his arms or do anything to make him look on the defensive.,Bill scoffs. "Everybody knows this is my town." He looks at Harry, his gaze calculating, and raises his firearm threateningly. "Were ya bitten?" he asks, pointing his weapon at Harry warily.,"What? No!" Harry denies. But the denial comes out too quickly and Bill just looks even more suspicious.,"I don't believe you," says the man. "Strip, or I'll shoot you.","No," says Harry firmly. He refuses to be that vulnerable in front of someone he doesn't trust.,Bill just looks annoyed. "You'll do as I fucking say," he orders, his voice low and dangerous, "or it'll be your corpse on the floor in ten seconds.","If I have to prove I wasn't bitten, then you should too.",Bill laughs. "I'm the one with the shotgun, kid. You're not in a position to make any demands.","I blew those inferi up. I can do the same to you." The threat of magic has always been the best way to make the Dursleys cower, so he feels it's the best thing to do.,Taking a step forward, Bill says with a sarcastic grin, "A pet name for the Infected? How cute." He abruptly goes back to being serious. "I can shoot faster than you can set up explosives, so strip. ,.",Harry blinks, surprised. Has the man not realized Harry used magic to blow up those inferi?,"Now!" yells the man.,Thinking furiously, Harry starts slowly talking off his backpack. He needs a plan.,",," he whispers.,It doesn't work.,Bill is getting visibly impatient, so Harry speeds up and starts taking off his jacket.,he whispers again, focusing intently on the man in front of him. He feels something inside of him, but it dies down before it can do anything.,He sets his jacket down, and says the incantation of the Freezing Charm once more:,It was too loud, and Bill aims his shotgun, but the spell hits him before he can fire. He falls down, all of his body unmoving save his eyes.,"I'm sorry," says Harry as he crouches down near the immobilized Bill. He takes away the shotgun and searches through the man's pockets for any hidden weapons.,As it was done wandlessly, the spell freezing Bill in place won't last very long. Harry could tie him up to keep him in place, but he feels that that would be going too far. After all, Bill did not do anything wrong. He was justified in asking Harry to strip, as Harry could have been hiding an infected bite. Still, Harry feels that his use of magic is justified, too. He isn't a prude, but there are some things he is not willing to do, even to prove he has not been bitten.,"I'm sorry," he repeats after thoroughly disarming Bill. "I didn't know what to do. I froze you because I didn't know what else I could do without being shot.",Bill will undoubtedly be very angry when the effects of the spell wear off, so Harry thinks it best to explain his actions while he still can and hope the man will be understanding. "I'm fine with quarantine to prove I'm not bitten, but I refuse to strip. I would rather not be naked in front of a strange man I barely know. I hope you understand.",Bill's eyes are moving around wildly. He is obviously either panicked or angry at the loss of control over his own body.,"It will wear off soon," Harry reassures. He sits down near a stack of magazines. "I'll just wait here until you can move again, and then we'll talk.",He could leave and continue on his way, but he doesn't. Bill has saved his life and does not seem to have bad intentions. Additionally, if Harry leaves, then Bill will be left defenseless until the spell wears off. Something could happen and Harry does not want that guilt on his conscience.,He waits.,And he waits some more.,Ten minutes pass and Harry begins to feel impatient.,Bill stays immobilized exactly twenty-one minutes before regaining his mobility. The man rises, holding his head. He did not fall painlessly. His head hit the floor and though there's no blood, Harry can guess the man has a large bump on his head.,"Well," says Bill, looking at Harry warily, "that's somethin' I never saw before. What was it? Some sort of freakish hypnosis trick?",Harry tries to stay unmoved when he hears the word 'freakish'. Life with the Dursleys has conditioned him to feel anger whenever he hears that word, but anger will not do him much good in his present situation.,"Magic," is what Harry answers.,Bill snorts and his expression, which was until now tense and unhappy, lightens up with amusement. "Sure it is, kiddo.",Bill's previous use of the word 'freakish', as well as the condescending tone he has just used, makes Harry forget about his decision to curb his anger for the sake of civility towards the one who has saved him. Bill's dismissal chafes and he wants to do something to change the man's opinion.,Harry can think of one spell he can get right wandlessly on the first try. He's had to use it so much that is has become second nature. He points his hand at his bow on the ground and says:,",The bow rises up in the air.,Bill's flabbergasted expression is priceless.,Harry knows it isn't smart to show off his magic. While the ministry of magic doesn't exist here and won't punish him for his actions, the law forbidding wizards from using magic in front of muggles is there for a very good reason. Muggles are human beings, and humans are greedy. If muggles are made aware of the existence of magic, they'd want demonstrations and magical solutions to all their problems. They'd also want to study magic, poke and prod at it in order to restrict it under rules of science and logic.,Harry is alone. He doesn't have Ron or Hermione with him. When he sleeps, he's vulnerable. If muggles are made aware of his magic, then they can easily get to Harry while he sleeps.,Five months ago when he arrived to this world, Harry decided that despite the lack of a ministry to punish him for performing magical feats in front of a muggle, he would follow that law as well as he could and only break it in case of mortal danger. And today, he broke that promise made to himself by performing magic just so Bill would stop being condescending. Harry feels dumb.,The first two spells Harry used were believed to be pre-set explosives and hypnosis, respectively. He could have gotten away with it without revealing himself to be a wizard. Bill's demeaning attitude blinded Harry with anger and made him forget all sense of caution.,Bill is poking the bow, trying to find a hidden string that might be holding the object up.,"Well I'll be damned. How…?" asks the man, fascinated. His gruff ways have softened in favor of wonder and awe.,Harry decides that honestly is the best thing to use.,"I'm a wizard. It's a family thing. All my family hid from normal people and when the inferi showed up, most of them died. I've been travelling alone for a few months now.","Infected," says Bill.,"I'm sorry?","They're called 'Infected', not 'inferi'. Some people who lost family and friends might get offended that you're giving those creatures fuckin' nicknames.",So far Harry hasn't met any other humans in this world so nobody was there to tell him that. He has been calling those creatures names he felt are most appropriate.,"I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't know.",Snorting, Bill claps Harry on the shoulder, the strength of it making the boy stagger. "No shit. You didn't know this is my town, didn't know how to avoid Clickers… There are , of things you don't know.",Bill ruffles Harry's hair. Harry refrains from scowling at the gesture, since it means that Bill is easing up and trusts him more. Instead, Harry asks:,"What're Clickers? Are they the Blind Ones that were following us?",Bill shakes his head in disbelief. "What kind of rock you been hidin' under, magic-boy? Clickers are the ones that look somewhat normal from the neck down, but have the fuckin' Cordyceps mushroom growing out of their head. They're nasty and I'm just happy they're blind, or fighting them would be a nightmare." Bill looks straight at Harry. "So what were you doin' in my town in the first place?",Unfazed by he subject change, Harry says:,"Surviving, just like everyone else. I wanted to pass through the town and continue on my way.","You going anywhere in particular?",Harry shakes his head. "No.",Bill pauses, looking intently at Harry. He then nods to himself, having seemingly found whatever he was looking for. "Then stay. I could teach you what you need to know so you won't get a horde of thirty Clickers after you again. I also have food and supplies. In exchange, you could use some of your magic to help me around town. Explosions and levitation and shit could be real useful. Whatcha say? Mutually beneficial relationship.",Harry's five months of loneliness and hardship make the decision obvious. "Sure.",And if the man turns out to be untrustworthy, then Harry will make him regret it.

Sadly, I do not own the Sorcerer's Apprentice or Harry Potter. Credit all goes to J. K. Rowling and Jerry Bruckheimer.,"Dave? Dave!" Balthazar Blake, the former apprentice to Merlin himself, called to ,apprentice. Yes, even though young David did defeat Morgana without his ring, Balthazar still considered him his apprentice. Dave still had much to learn, there is more about magic than what anyone could think.,"Whaaaat!" His black haired student came out from behind a tesla coil. "Can't you see I'm working? Yo-You can't just barg in here, what if Becky was here? O-Or if I was doing a experiment? You could get—" David fumbled in anger. Although, Dave wasn't really as angry as anyone could think.,"Dave, I'm fine. We need to talk about magic." Balthazar glared at David, almost daring him to object.,"Fine." The twenty year-old stripped off his welding mask. "What do you want to talk about, oh great Master?" He asked in dry sarcasm.,"Veronica and I have some business...Business that is 1000 years overdue—" The Sorcerer began, but was interrupted.,"You're going to get married?" Dave said, grinning his cheesy grin that—who knows how—got him a girlfriend.,"No. This is magical business, things that I couldn't do alone after Veronica was trapped. We must finish this business ,." Balthazar stated, staring at his apprentice his face darkened from under his hat.,"Okay, and you want me to stay put?" Dave guessed, he knew Balthazar would not let him come along, and Dave didn't really care. He wanted some time to spend with Becky alone anyways, without having to stop to do magic practice.,"No, actually, I'm going to send you to school, a magical school no less. I don't trust you alone." Balthazar said, enjoying the look on David's face.,"What? Aw, come on! You can trust me!" He stated.,"Dave, you're still a bad liar." The over 1000 year old Sorcerer walked pass. "Anyways, you will be going to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry-","Whoa, whoa, wait. You mean to tell me there are more sorcerer's in this world? Besides You, Veronica, Horvath and I?" Dave pointed out, obviously confused.,"No, these are witches and wizards.","What's the difference?","Didn't you read your ,?" Balthazar rounded on Dave, his eyes narrowed.,"Sh, yeah! Well, uh-actually...No." David scratched his head, looking at the ground.,"A sorcerer and wizard are different in many different ways. One, a wizard CANNOT use magic without his wand. The wand is a conductor of their magic, if a wizard tries to use magic without it, the magic would build and they would explode. Children can use magic without their wands, but only during their youthful stages, once their body is adjusted to the magic within...","They cannot use magic without their wands?" Dave guessed, fascinated for once.,"Bingo. Same with witches, since witch is just another name for a female wizard." Balthazar said, moving about and grabbing oddments and sorts. "Now that this unplanned lesson is over, we must be off. Pack your bags David, your ride will be arriving shortly." Balthazar finished packing a few items in his own bag. He gave one last glance at his apprentice and left the old turn around.,"And where will my ride pick me up?" David called after his Master.,What do you think? Did I display David and Balthazar okay? Good? Bad? Review please! (Chapter edited 1/8/2013)

Summary: "Frost, there's an ABC agent sitting in your spot.",Neither ,nor , belong to me. No copyright infringement intended.,- 1 -,Korsak stopped dead in his track, still on the phone with Frost, who was checking the scene over with Rizzoli. "Frost, there's an ABC agent sitting in your spot," he told his partner, staring at the suit through the window in the door.,"What?","Have you had any cases dealing with them lately?" Korsak probed, keeping a weary eye on the person.,The very same person who had planted their feet on top of Frost's desk without a thought.,"No, nothing I can think of.","Are you up for audit?" Korsak could feel his worry grow.,Frost thought it over for a moment. "Not that I know. But I suppose the point is that I don't.","Then get your ass back here.",Korsak finished his phone call, slipped the cell in his pocket, and donned his polite, yet indestructible mask. A deep breath, then he opened the door to their office.,"Hello," an accented voice greeted the older officer. "I'm not disturbing, am I?",For a moment, Korsak didn't know how to react. What was a ,doing here? In Boston, of all places?,"Not at all. Detective Vince Korsak," he held out a hand for her to shake.,The suit got up, finally putting her feet back down on the floor. Where they belonged, in Korsak's opinion.,As she stood up, he was again surprised by how small exactly she was. Maybe five feet, or something therabout. Short, black hair, which curled around a heavily scarred face. Her eyes drew his gaze, emerald green and glowing with some sort of emotion he couldn't discern.,She stepped closer, accepting his offered hand. "Harry, Harry Potter.",That told him exactly nothing about where she was from, aside from the small detail that 'Harry' probably wasn't her legal first name, but rather a nickname.,Considering the British and their stereotypical poshness, her parents could have settled the woman with something too horrible to disclose to anyone. (Later, he would discover that that was unfortunately quite close to the truth.),Korsak continued to examine the woman. She seemed younger than he had first assumed, but that could potentially be her height influencing his perception.,"How can I help you?","Oh, I'm just waiting for Detective Frost to get here," Miss (?) Potter told him airily, smiling slightly.,So something that would definitely require Frost's personal attention, rather than just something anyone from their department could deal with.,"I see. Would you like something to drink while you're waiting? Detective Frost is currently not in the building.",Potter shrugged, eyes still twinkling. "Some water would be appreciated.",So it couldn't be ,urgent, considering she hadn't asked for directions to the crime scene.,.,Korsak checked the clock every so often, wondering where the rest of the team was and what was taking them so long.,At least, the suit kept to herself after he brought her a glass of water. Occassionally, he would catch her staring at something entirely too subtly for his comfort, but that was it.,She didn't say anything, possibly because she didn't want to distract him from his work. Which was strangely considerate, especially for an ABC agent. But maybe the Brits , actually hardwired to be polite in all situations and circumstances.,Potter eventually got out a cell, entertaining herself, so Korsak didn't even have to pretend to keep up a facade of hospitality.,It was the nicest, easiest ABC visit he had had in a long time if one discounted the whole feet on the table idiocy.,Of course, that could (and likely would) change any second, once the others returned to the office.,.,An hour later, Frost and Rizzoli finally showed up.,As usual, Jane opened the door with her regular level of enthusiasm, nearly smacking it into the wall.,Frost followed in her wake, looking like he was trying to hatch an egg, but wasn't quite sure how.,Potter perked up noticeably at the sight of him, but refused to put her feet down right away.,Jane stopped halfway to her own desk, studying the Brit unabashedly. "Detective Jane Rizzoli," she offered.,"Nice to meet you," Potter replied, tearing her eyes away from Frost for a moment.,Frost finally seemed to have figured out who exactly was lounging in his desk chair, because he smiled brightly at the woman. "Harry! What are you doing here?","Oh, I was in the neighborhood and thought it would be nice to look in on you," she replied with a grin. Her eyes were still glowing.,It was a little eerie.,Potter finally got off her ass, meeting Frost halfway.,They hugged briefly.,"How long can you stay? Where's your bag?","At least until tomorrow. Already at your apartment," came the succinct answer.,They were still hugging and it was making Korsak a bit uncomfortable.,"You remembered to bring your key this time, then?" Frost teased, letting go of the suit only long enough to put an arm around her shoulder.,"Something like that," she admitted, looking up at him through her lashes. There was mischief in that look.,, Korsak thought.,Frost looked honestly far too fond for the words that came out of his mouth. "Do I have to replace the lock again?" He inquired mildly.,"I can do it if you're too busy," Potter offered, completely unbothered by the fact that she had basically admitted to breaking and entering in the presence of several police officers.,"I should make you sleep on the couch for destroying the lock ,," Frost mused, but the way he was looking at her made it clear that that was unlikely to happen.,Potter put an arm around his hip, a full-blown grin on her face. Her eyes could make a disco ball jealous by this point. "As long as you're joining me there, I'm game.","It's a deal.",Korsak busied himself with some of the papers closest to hand. He felt a bit like an intruder watching something innately private.,Jane cleared her throat unnecessarily loudly. "So, what's the deal with you two?" She asked bluntly.,Frost jerked slighlty, head turning to their boss. "Oh, I never told you?",Korsak's raised eyebrow and Jane's crossed arms should have answered that question.,"We're," he hesitated slightly, "friends.","With benefits," Potter added gleefully. "Also been together a few years. How many again?","Four, Harry.","You've been dating for ,years?" Jane wondered, sounding completely incredulous.,Both Frost and Potter shrugged.,"Yeah, thereabouts.","And you've never once thought that we might like to meet your girlfriend, ,?",He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well. It's not that easy.",Potter patted his hand gently. "My whereabouts are semi-classified, Detective Rizzoli. At least while I'm on the job. We usually don't know when we can meet up.",The , was heavily implied.,Korsak appreciated it.,"What job?" Jane demanded to know, in her usual bulldoggish manner.,Potter shrugged. "You're going to run my name through the database once I'm gone and figure it out for yourself. Much more fun that way.",She received a raised eyebrow from Jane, but at least neither woman continued to bait the other.,Korsak allowed himself to relax a bit.,"So, you're not here to arrest Frost for something?" Jane continued the conversation/cross-examination, trying to hide a smile.,Potter threw her head back and laughed. Genuinely laughed. "Who gave you , idea?","Korsak," Frost answered without so much as blinking.,Throwing his partner under the bus without a care in the world. The youth of today!,"Well, I might get out the handcuffs later, but certainly not to arrest him. It would be ,a bother to ,ourselves in prison.",Jane sighed exaggeratedly, but she was grinning as well. "TMI, Potter. TMI. Just take Loverboy over there and get out of here.",Potter's expression softened a bit, turning into something much more genuine. "Thank you, Detective Rizzoli. I promise to return him in one piece.","That would be appreciated.",The two lovebirds said their goodbyes and left in a bit of a hurry.,Jane sat down, reaching for the phone. "Rossi? What can you tell me about Agent Potter?",She listened a bit, waiting for the poor sucker doomed to sit at the reception the entire shift to find any information they had stored on Potter from her check-in.,"Thanks, Rossi. Can you send me a copy, please?",A moment later, Jane ended the phone call.,Korsak sidled over to her desk, looking at the screen over her shoulder.,It beeped, announcing the arrival of another email.,There was a photo of Potter's badge, but not much else.,Korsak flew over the information, unable to suppress a snort when he saw her first name. Henrietta. Poor kid, he thought, she must have been bullied a lot as a child.,But her legal first name couldn't hold his attention for long.,"She's ,? What was she doing around here?" Jane blurted out, voice a few octaves higher than necessary. "And what does that even mean?",Korsak shrugged. "I doubt, we'll find out from either her or Frost.",But they did see Agent Potter a few times a year from then on. It was always enjoyable to meet her, despite Jane's growing frustration that she couldn't find out anything about Potter's work.,Hopefully you enjoyed this one shot. I really like writing Rizzoli and Isles fics and I ship Frost and Harry. ,. So be prepared for more on them, although I'm not sure when exactly I'm going to post more.,Have a nice evening,,W

He leaped from world to world. Some he stayed in for several years, others only moments. He was currently in World 56 and found it rather fascinating. He had felt the scan as soon as he arrived, there was a flying football circling the globe and searching for things out of the ordinary. He followed it and found himself standing in the middle of nowhere looking at a warehouse. It wasn't an ordinary warehouse, he knew. There was power coming off it in waves.,"Well," he said to himself, "this is certainly interesting.",He strolled down the slight hill and picked up the football that had lead him to the warehouse. It had intent magic floating around it. Harry rose an eyebrow, impressed. It generally took quite a bit of willpower to fuel intent magic and this magic was old. It had been placed around the football almost eighty years ago, recharged every so often by someone. Presumably someone who lived or worked in the warehouse he was standing in front of.,The door to said warehouse opened and a woman stormed up to him, waving a screwdriver. "Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded.,Harry smiled at her, ignoring the screwdriver pointed threateningly towards him. "I'm a traveller," he explained. "I noticed your ball and followed it. I must say, the magic on this is really quite brilliant. Is it you that recharges the intent?",The woman frowned slightly, "I guess, I'm the one that upgrades it. But you didn't answer my second question, what do you want?","Nothing really. Just curious to see what this world has to offer. Would you mind terribly if I take a look inside your warehouse?","I…" she trailed off, her head cocking to one side as though listening to something. "Sure.","Thank you." Harry threw the football at her and proceeded to the still open door. The woman managed to catch the football and immediately threw it back into the air where it soared off on another trip around the globe. She followed him into the warehouse, not commenting on the bombs that lined the entrance tunnel.,Instead she said, "My name's Claudia. Claudia Donovan and this," she gestured around the room they had just entered, "is Warehouse 13.",There was magic everywhere inside the building. There were extension charms fuelled with intent stretching the building to impossible lengths. Computers were following the progress of the football and reporting back what it found, and there were items dotted around the main room that gave off varying energies. Outside the main office, there were rows and rows of items. All of them vibrated with magic.,"Amazing," Harry breathed out. And it was. He hadn't seen such a well of magic since his first world. He was distracted from the sight of the many shelves by a pinging sound and Claudia rolling over to the computer on the chair she had collapsed on. He watched as she typed and different items appeared on the screen.,There were newspaper clippings, books excerpts, police reports, and various other things popping up on the screen and being dismissed as another one was called up. This went on for several minutes before Claudia sat back and said, "I don't believe it. We've got an actual, real-life vampire case.",Harry moved to look at the screen and saw reports of bodies being found drained of blood. Unless vampires differed in this world to the others he had been in, that certainly sounded as though a vampire was wandering around. "I'm guessing you don't have blood pops in this world.",Claudia looked up at him. "Blood pops? Are those what they sound like? Because, ew, and also, you're from another world? One that has actual vampires and not just ones turned into a vampire by some random artefact?","If what you're thinking is a lollipop flavoured with blood; then yes, they are exactly what you think they are. I have been in many worlds. My original had vampires and that's where we also had blood pops. What does an artefact have to do with someone turning into a vampire?","Well, that's what we have in this world. We have things left behind by someone that take on some characteristic of that person. Houdini's wallet for instance, that thing is always trying to escape. There are several things I can think of that would potentially make someone a vampire. There's Blaskó's cape from the original Dracula film, Bram Stoker's typewriter, or Angel's necklace from Buffy. I really hope it isn't the necklace, that thing would be hard to find.,"It's also pretty recent which makes it more unlikely. Artefacts are generally pretty old. Of course, that doesn't mean that we can just cross it off the list and it may be something other than these three things but at least it's a start." Claudia wheeled herself over to another monitor and continued talking. "This is a pretty serious case but there's only me available. Pete and Myka are out in Sacramento looking at the animal situation and Jinx and Artie are in New York dealing with what we think might be Poseidon's trident.",The chair swivelled around and Claudia gave Harry a measuring look. "You know vampires," she started, "think you might be able to help a girl out here and see if we can bag and tag an artefact?","You want the help of a stranger who just happened upon what I assume is your top-secret warehouse?","Yeah, sure." she waved a hand dismissively. "The Warehouse says you're cool so you're all good in my book.","Well if that's the case, I would be happy to help catch a vampire." It would at the very least be entertaining. Vampire hunting wasn't something he had expected from this world but he wouldn't turn down the opportunity.,"Great! Looks like we're off to Philadelphia then.",And so they were, after Claudia had shoved various things into a bag and Harry had stopped her from ordering the plane tickets (instead he asked to see a place in Philadelphia and Apparated them both there). Claudia swayed when they arrived, holding her stomach. Harry let her regain her equilibrium and started looking around the place they had arrived.,It was an alleyway, the walls covered in new and old graffiti. There was a large trash bin near the entrance to the alley and rubbish strewn everywhere but in the bin. Behind him, Claudia finished recovering and pulled out the notepad she had scribbled on before they left Warehouse 13.,"Alright, we should head over to the morgue and see if we can get anything interesting from the drained bodies and go from there.","Sounds like a plan," Harry agreed. Together they moved out of the alley and headed to where Claudia's notes said they would find the morgue. Upon arriving, Harry held up his old Auror badge from World 1 and asked to see the bodies from the vampire case. The rather stunned desk clerk looked from the badge to him and back to the badge before nodding and guiding them back to where the bodies were stored. The badge had confounding charms layered on it, aiding him whenever he felt the need to play Auror again.,Claudia whistled approvingly. "Wish I had one of those. Would be right handy.","I find it to be so, yes.",The coroner looked up as the three entered the room from where she was standing over the most recent victim. "Hello, who are you?","They're with the Auror Corps," the desk clerk said and the coroner nodded. Harry had charmed the word Auror with the same confounding charms as the badge. It helped if he wasn't being asked what , the Auror Corps was every time he decided to use his badge. "They're helping with the vampire case.","Oh good," the coroner exhaled. She stripped off the gloves she was wearing and offered her hand to both of them, shaking their hands as she said, "I'm Penelope. I've just started the autopsy on this victim if you'd like to observe? Or I have the files from the other victims you can read and I can update you once I'm finished here.","Files, please, Penelope," Claudia requested, and Harry nodded in agreement. They would be able to cross-reference a lot easier if they had more data to work from.,Claudia was able to cross Angel's necklace off the list fairly quickly once they sat down and went through the files. Harry wasn't any help there—having no idea what Buffy was or who Angel might be. That left them with a cape, a typewriter, or something else entirely. At that point, Penelope came into the room holding another file.,"I tell you, this case is weird. I'm freaking out about it because I started writing a vampire story a few weeks ago and every body that's showed up has been almost exactly like what's happened in my story! I keep thinking that maybe someone's going through my manuscript and using it as inspiration, but the pages aren't disturbed when I check them.",Claudia and Harry exchanged a look. "You wouldn't happen to have a cape or typewriter, would you?" Claudia asked.,Penelope grinned, "Oh yes! I bought a typewriter ages ago and I decided to use it for this story. The guy who sold it to me said it belonged to Bram Stoker himself! And I thought; ,. So that's what I did.",Harry smiled at the cheerful coroner. "I'm sure Bram Stoker would be proud." He felt vaguely sorry for the woman, she didn't know she had just informed the two that they had to steal her typewriter away from her because it was causing deaths.,The whole thing was fairly simple after that. They left the morgue and headed in the direction Harry's , spell pointed. Once they had entered Penelope's home and found the typewriter, Claudia snagged it and doused it in purple goo. A twist from Harry and they were back in Warehouse 13 with Bram Stoker's typewriter.,"Well that was easy," Claudia remarked. "Thanks, my dude. I'll quickly go shelve this before it causes anymore trouble.",Harry watched her go. He knew he wouldn't be here when she returned, that wasn't how he operated anymore. No lasting attachments. Still, he liked Claudia, he wanted to leave her something to thank her for the adventure. It wasn't everyday he hunted down a murderous typewriter. He knew exactly what to leave, and grinned as he set it down on the main desk.,He felt a nudge in his mind and glanced around at the walls. "Is that so?" he asked the Warehouse and received an affirmative. "Alright then." A flick of magic and another item was placed down. "Thank you, Claudia Donovan," Harry said before taking another leap. World 57 was waiting for him.,When Claudia returned, she found an empty office. She shrugged, she had been expecting Harry to be gone, he hadn't seemed the type to stick around. She plopped into her chair and wheeled over to the main monitor to check if anything had happened while she had been gone. She stopped as she noticed the two items sitting on the desk.,She grinned when she saw the official-looking badge stating the owner was a member of the Auror Corps. Next to the badge sat a single yellow rose. A thank you, spoken in flower tongue. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the wall in front of her but grinned when she received an unrepentant smug feeling.,"Thanks," she said, both to Harry and the Warehouse. She leaned back in her chair and twirled the rose in her hand, thinking about the adventure she had just been on. A ping brought her out of her thoughts and she stuck the rose behind her left ear before starting the whole artefact identifying process all over again.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter and Hocus Pocus worlds, which is trademarked by J.K. Rowling and Disney. This story is for entertainment only and not part of the official storyline.,Halloween October, 2000,London, England,Hermione checked her map again before stowing it back in her beaded bag. "The map says it's just down this road. The museum closes at dusk. They recently added some new additions from the Salem Witchcraft Museum." Hermione hummed to herself in excitement.,"So tell me again why we're going to a muggle museum on Halloween?" Ron sulked.,Harry grinned at his best friend and reached for his girlfriends hand. The blonde moved closer, smirking at the question the red headed member of the group asked for the fifth time.,"Ron, nothing good has happened on Halloween in the wizarding world. So now we're going to spend it as muggles. Unless, you'd prefer to fight off a troll again?" Hermione snapped.,"And besides, our Slytherin friends have never spent time in the muggle world. I can't think of a better way then to let them see how muggles view witchcraft now, especially on Halloween." Harry joked, nodding his head towards Daphne.,"When Granger first mentioned that she wanted us to go with you to a muggle witchcraft museum I had my doubts. It's highly unlikely there is even anything magical in here." Draco Malfoy drawled from the end of the group.,Hermione shrugged knowing the group would still have fun. She steered them across the street and up the stairs of the small building. It stood between an abandoned building and a small convenience store. She had been visiting her parents when they had mentioned that the local museum had a new magical exhibit. She had laughed until they had showed her the brochure. The exhibit was from Salem and intrigued Hermione.,"Alright, does everyone have their tickets?" Hermione asked the group. Hermione glanced first from her Gryffindors; Harry, Ron and Ginny. They all held up a ticket. She moved on towards the Slytherin members of the group. Draco, Theo, Daphne and Pansy each held a ticket. Draco rolled his eyes.,"We understand the concept of a ticket, Granger. We haven't lost them yet." He smirked, waving the paper ticket in her face.,"Fine, Malfoy." Hermione sighed. Living with the head boy had absolutely drove her mad until they decided to try being friends. That didn't mean they didn't still bicker. There was no need to start an argument now when they argued daily anyhow. Malfoy had came back for their eighth year surprising many. His friendship with Pansy, Daphne and Theo had led to her friendship with the unlikely group who spent so much time in their head dorms. She had gradually became closer to Daphne and the pair had gotten a flat in Diagon Allley together after graduation.,She had been in Hogsmeade with Daphne when Harry had arrived during the previous Christmas holiday. Two butterbeers later and she had finally accepted that her friend was completely ignoring her in favor of Daphne. The pair had been inseparable since and surprised many with their relationship. It helped bridge the gap between the Golden trio and the Slytherin Snakes even more. Ginny had became friends with the blonde woman, not holding a grudge against her for making her exboyfriend happy. Daphne, in return, had introduced the red head to Theodore Nott. Surprisingly the headstrong girl enjoyed her time with the sly man. The only thorn in their side was Ron and Pansy always arguing. The group decided it was sexual tension.,"Can we go in now? Let's get this over with. I heard that Weasley Wizard Wheezes is having a Halloween Party later." Pansy stated with a flip of her hair.,"Why would you care if they were or not? That's my brothers' store." Ron glared.,"When I heard a rumor that one of your brothers got the drummer for The Weird Sisters to be there." Pansy sneered back.,Hermione opened the door into the museum and the group entered. A teen, slightly younger than the group was standing at the entrance to greet them. She handed the group a map of the floor and took their tickets. She ripped the tickets and tossed them in the wastebasket at her feet.,"Have a good time." The teen popped her bubblegum then turned to a group behind them.,"Well, that was inspiring." Pansy snarked.,"Pansy, can you just not? Just for tonight. It was very kind of Hermione to include you." Daphne said from the front of the group.,"It looks like the normal museum exhibits are on the main floor. Everything else is located above. Section four seems to be the exhibit from Salem." Hermione read the pamphlet.,"Well, up the stairs we go." Harry joked.,The group climbed the stairs quickly and made their way to section four. The area was separated by a wall from the other areas. Two large doors were opened leading in to the darkened room. Eery music played from speakers above the door.,Right as they entered, a wolf howled on the music loop causing some of the group to jump. Harry quickly explained about prerecorded music to the group. They moved on and began looking.,"Check this out." Ron pointed towards a small shelf with a book, candle, cauldron and broomstick. "Think it actually flies?","Let's try." Draco snuck under the rope separating the area from the people observing it.,"I don't think we should do this. We're not suppose to be on this side. They may have cameras." Hermione grumbled as the group egged Draco on.,"It probably wont even work, Hermione. Let them have their fun." Daphne soothed.,Draco raised his hand over the broomstick in the exhibit and called "up." The broomstick flew up and into Malfoy's raised hand. The group gasped and Malfoy raised an eyebrow, surprised.,"Malfoy, now put it back. I can't believe they have a real broomstick on display." Hermione squeaked in alarm.,"Relax, Mione. Next you'll be saying this candle is dangerous." Ron grinned at the curly haired woman. "Auror training has us working on wandless magic. Watch, I can do a lumos." He pointed a finger at the candle and muttered a quick lumos. The candle lit brightly into a black flame.,"Guys, it says here these items belonged to a trio of sisters that sucked the souls out of village children and would return when the candle is lit." Daphne read the sign below the items.,"It also says only a virgin can light the candle. Anything you need to tell us Weasley?" smirked Theo from the back of the group. He had been quiet for most of the time, hanging back with Ginny.,"Oh, a virgin. Mum will be so proud." Ginny grinned at her brother. "Maybe I should tell her at the family dinner soon.","Shut up. It's just a candle. Anyone could light it." Ron grumbled, red cheeked. "It's not my fault that I've been stalked by witches since we got You-Know-Who and they're all bloody insane.",Malfoy leered at Hermione. "I couldn't. Lost that requirement a few years ago. What about you Granger?","None of your business, you pig." Hermione glared at the Slytherin.,A loud rumble came below them. The floor started to shake. The bottles of fake potions and crystal balls on the other side of the exhibit fell off of shelves. Daphne reached for Harry just as Hermione fell in to Draco. Pansy had gripped the back of Ron's shirt. The large cauldron started to sway on the table before rolling onto its side and down onto the ground. It hit the marble tiled floor with a crack.,"What the bloody hell is going on?" groaned a red faced Ron. His hands were gripping the collar of his shirt as Pansy continued to hold onto him from behind.,"You lit the bloody flame, didn't you? This is your fault." Pansy screeched in his ear. "We couldn't just go to a party.",A sudden crack and a flash had the entire group spinning. Their battle ready stances, wands drawn, proved they had only months ago finished a war.,"What do we have here? Children?" A middle aged red haired woman standing between two other women asked to the group. Her hair was curled and short. Each woman had on dark corseted dresses. Cloaks wrapped around the women and their faces appeared pinched with disgust. "We must find the book." The red haired woman declared to the blonde and brunette.,The woman on the right, dark hair bouncing, sniffed the air. After inhaling a large breath she exhaled; "I smell children.","Merlin, Granger. You really go all out for surprises, don't you?" Pansy cackled at Hermione. The group turned to the dark haired girl questioningly.,"Well obviously Granger is just playing a trick on us. Witches don't just appear after lighting a candle. I mean this stuff is from hundreds of years ago. They'd be dead. You don't come back to life." Pansy stated, one hand on her hips, the other holding her wand steady at the three women.,"Pansy, I promise I have no idea what is going on. I didn't set this up." Hermione said slowly. She moved closer to Draco, his hand still gripping her shoulder from when he steadied her.,"Honestly. Did you just say people don't come back from the dead? Voldemort came back. And Hermione managed to do some freaky stuff and pull Sirius back from the veil. There was a whole article on it in the daily profit. Plus we killed a ton of pieces of old voldy's soul. I know you know about that." Ron rolled his eyes dramatically.,The group began to bicker until Draco had had enough. "Enough! Now, ladies. You three just appeared out of no where. Could you explain why you're here?" Draco grinned charmingly at the three women.,The blonde woman grinned at the group before sliding over to Draco pushing Hermione aside. Taking his arms, she pressed herself up against his tall frame. Her dress swished provocatively as her hips swayed. "I like him, Winnie. Can we keep him?",Draco smirked at Hermione as the blonde woman rubbed his chest and shoulders. "See, you just need to know how to speak to them.","We can suck his soul first. He seems young enough." The woman identified as Winnie spoke. "Oh book!" Winnie called. A black book that appeared to be made out of dried flesh with an open eyeball soared from the table to the woman's outstretched hands.,Draco jerked away from the blonde. "Excuse me?","Good job, Draco. You really know how to speak to them." Hermione smirked at the blonde scion before eyeing the magical book. She recognized the binding as similar to the dark arts books she'd found in the Black family library. Hermione released her wand into her hand slowly as to not alert the three witches across from her. She noticed the others girls and Theo and released their wands as well.,"Oi, what's your names?" Ron asked.,Ginny rolled her eyes. "What my git of a brother means is, maybe we could just talk nicely. No sucking of souls here.","I am Winifred Sanderson. These are my sisters Mary Sanderson and Sarah Sanderson. We are the Sanderson sisters." The trio of ladies flipped their long cloaks dramatically and posed.,"They could give Snape lessons." Harry chuckled quietly so only the Hogwarts graduates could hear. The group rolled their eyes at the boy who lived.,"Now really isn't the time Potter." Theo drawled from near Ginny.,"Well, honestly it seemed too good to be true. Having a quiet Halloween and all." Harry grinned again.,"Do you have a goal in mind, now that the candle is lit?" Hermione inquired to the women.,Draco rolled his eyes at the witch beside him. "Did you really just ask them if they had a goal? They're evil witches returned from the dead.","Well, it helps to know if we need to stop them or not." Grumbled Hermione.,"We will not need your assistance. We must be on our way. Lots of souls to suck." The blonde giggled. The three witches turned on their heels as one and began marching out of the room.,"Stupefy!" Draco shouted. His spell hit the dark haired, pudgy witch on the end. She dropped, smashing her face on the marble floor.,"What did you do!" screeched the red head. The womans face turned into a sneer as she waved her hands around dramatically.,"Ron, you related mate? Sounds like your mum." Harry laughed at his own joke. They were all familiar with Mrs. Weasley's howlers.,"Are you really choosing now to crack jokes, Potter?" Daphne snapped at her boyfriend.,The two remaining Sanderson witches screeched again before making their way towards the group. Hermione and Daphne cast stunners at the blonde, while Ginny, Pansy and Theo cast their own hexes at the red headed woman.,Hermione upon hearing two loud thuds, turned to the savior of the wizarding world. "Were you not going to help?" she glared at her best friend.,"I did a lot with the last resurrected wizard. I figure you guys could handle these witches. They hadn't even pulled out any wands." Harry giggled at the stunned faces of the group.,"Merlin, did he just giggle?" Theo asked the group.,"Let's figure out how to put out this damn candle so they disappear again." Draco muttered.,Hermione pulled open her beaded bag from around her waist. "Hold on I believe I have something." She reached a hand then her entire arm into the bag. Clanking could be heard as she moved things around.,"Undetectable extension charm." Harry grinned again at the quizzical expressions from the Slytherins. "She's brilliant at them.","Here it is! I knew I had one stored. We took it during the final battle." Hermione pulled out a goblin made metal case.,"You got a case for it? Excellent." Ron and Harry both grinned so hard that other members of the group took a step back from the Golden Trio.,Hermione flipped the lid of the Goblin made case open to reveal a very large snake fang. It came to a sharp point on one end and the opposite side was at least a foot wide.,"Basilisk fangs can be used for many things. Like killing horcruxes." Hermione recited calmly.,"She just pulled out a basilisk fang from a bag tied around her waist. You Gryffindors are weird." Theo grumbled.,"Who wants to stab the candle?" Hermione held up the fang. "I vote one of the Slytherin.","I'll do it." Draco snapped the large fang out of her hands and walked to the table. The candle, its black flame flaring, sat innocently on the table. He pulled the fang up over his head before slamming it down in to the wax of the candle. The black flame erupted, howls and screeches could be heard around the room.,Hermione glanced at where the women had been laying only to notice the dust now on the ground next to the book. A last screech and the candle melted into the table. The wick completely dissolved and the black flame fizzled out.,"So who's ready to head to Diagon Alley. I think we could still catch the party." Pansy jumped around ready to leave.,"I knew this Halloween wouldn't be any different from any other." Harry grumbled. "I say we get out of here and introduce the Slytherin's to pizza." The group started towards the stairs leaving Hermione and Draco to clean up the mess. She made her way over to the magical book before wrapping it in a cloth and sliding it into her bag.,Hermione took the large fang back from Draco, placing it in the secure case before sliding it all back in to her bag. She turned to Draco and gave a small grin. "So maybe I won't plan anything from now on, but at least you got to stab something with a basilisk fang.",He grinned in return, "Hey Granger, maybe next time I can just plan something. The two of us?",Hermione spun to look at the tall blonde man next to her. He was casually leaning against the wall, legs crossed and arms over his chest.,"Did you just ask me out after we eviscerated three witches using some type of horcrux?" Hermione questioned. She shifted from foot to foot appearing curious.,"Of course I did Granger. What do you say?" Draco smirked. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.,"I.. I guess that would be acceptable." Hermione mumbled. "Let's see how the rest of the night goes before I decide.",The pair grinned at each other before heading down the stairs to catch up to their friends.

" , , , , , ," ," ,",", ,

UmbrellaPotterLock,The philosophers stone,Chapter one,Harry got onto The Hogwart's Expess lugging his suitcases and Hedwig's cage with him.Occasionally there would be some people who look at him then look away and whisper, what was so interesting about him?,Did he look stupid? He walked to a car and glanced inside. Two people were sitting there.,"Um hi can I sit here everywhere else is taken." Harry asked politely.,"Sure sit down." A kid with red hair pointed to a seat next to him. The red haired kid stared at him for a moment then started nervously. "A-Are you Harry Potter?","Yes why?","D-Do you have the-the-","Scar? Yeah!" Harry lifted up his bangs,"Cool! Awesome even! I'm Ron by the way." They talked for some time, then Harry looked to the seat across from them.,"Hey you okay?" The kid had blond hair and looked really tired.,"Yeah I'm fine just homesick." He was interrupted by a knock on the window.,"MY GOD THERE'S SOMEONE OUTSIDE ON THE TRAIN!" The blond haired kid yelled. Ron threw the window.,"YOU COULD HAVE BLOODY KILLED YOURSELF!" The blond one practically screamed.,"Calm down I was observing how much saliva I could produce before my mouth got dry from the wind." The blond one stared then shook his head.,"Who are you?" Harry asked.,"The name's Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221b Baker Street.","Okay well um I'm Harry and that's Ron but I don't know who that is." Harry confessed.,"Oh um I'm John Watson." He was cut off by a loud bang.,"What was that?" John looked nervously at them. A kid fell backwards and into their car.,"Oh hi everyone I'm um Ben no I'm not Ben there's Ben right there in um um right I'm Klaus." The kid looked like he's been drunk for days.,"KLAUS!" They heard a voice yell.,"Oh shit." Klaus cussed just as John looked at Klaus then at the door of the car.,"YOU ARE LUCKY I DON'T STAB YOU RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW WITH THAT PLASTIC SPOON YOU BROUGHT AND CONTINUED TO MAKE OUT WITH!" The owner of the voice backed Klaus to the window.,"Um hi who are you?" Ron asked.,"Oh hello I'm Five but that doesn't matter and THIS MORON IS KLAUS!" Five opened the window and stuck Klaus' head out the window.,"WOAH WOAH LET'S NOT GET WORKED UP!" John pulled Five and Klaus back. John and Klaus fell on top of Five, the latter cursing.,"What did he do to make you so mad?" Harry asked. Sherlock looked at them on the floor in disgust.,"He brought alcohol and drugs on the train." Five pushed John and Klaus off of him.,"WHAT?" Ron jumped up. They all stopped as they heard a slap then a scream.,"ALLISON!" Five and Klaus said at the same time. Everyone ran out.,"Damn it Luther where are you?!" Five looked around. There was a pale boy pinning a girl up against the wall of her car while one his friends held her arms and covered her mouth. The other friend was threatening the rest of the kids in the car. Five stormed over.,"Here we go." Klaus sighed.,John went to go after him but Sherlock pulled him back.,"What's he doing?" Ron asked.,"To go kill that pale kid." Klaus answered.,Harry recognized the pale boy from Diagon Alley. Five punched his friend that was threatening the other kids. John flinched when Five's hand hit the kids face. The pale boy turned around then went to punch Five. Five looked like he was expecting something to take him away but he just got punched in the stomach. He was shocked for a second then mumbled.,"They don't work here. Oh what the hell." He got up and stood there.,"Move it shorty." The pale kid pushed him.,"Let my sister go.","She's your sister? Well she's obviously prettier then the rest of you." The pale boy retorted. Five rolled his eyes.,"What's your name?","Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.","What cruel parents you had.","Oh yeah then what's your name?","Hargreeves, Five Hargreeves." Draco snickered. Sherlock sighed then walked over. John followed and so did Ron and Harry.,"Look before I have to solve both your murders can your friend stop suffocating his sister and can we all go back to our cars?" Sherlock asked.,"No don't get involved freak." Draco retorted.,"Oh well I tried." Sherlock sighed.,"STOP IT!" A girl yelled. They all turned. It was a girl with puffy hair carrying a book of spells. She walked over and slapped Draco and Five in the face.,"You look like three year olds stop it." Draco looked disgusted and Five glared.,"And stop it she can't breathe!" The girl removed Draco's friends hand. ",Thank you." Five's sister thanked the girl. Five let his mouth hang open then crossed his arms.,"I'm Hermione Granger.","Allison, Allison Hargreeves." They shook hands and walked off together. The rest of the kids came out of the car. Klaus ran away. Harry, Ron, John and Sherlock left confused.,"Watch it Hargreeves it you might just end up with a broken arm." Five smirked.,"I'd be more worried about a broken arm for you Malfoy." Then he got back into the car with his siblings.,"What freaks." Sherlock climbed onto the seat across from Harry and Ron.Sherlock lay on John's lap.,"Um Sherlock." John squeezed his eyes shut with a sigh.,"Oh get over it." Sherlock didn't move until they all collected their luggage and shuffled out.,"First years right here Fris' years here!" A giant name Hagrid called.,"Watch it stupid." Malfoy shoved John on the ground. Sherlock turned around and subtly shoved Draco on the ground.,"Don't touch him."Sherlock hissed, then helped John and put the trench coat he brought with him. John turned red and mumbled his thanks. Harry and Ron giggled.,"Alrighty all fris' years come and get ready to get to see Hogwart's fir the fris' time." Everyone gasped at the giant castle sitting in front of them.,"Everyone git in a boat." Hagrid told all the kids. Hermione somehow caught up with them, Allison following. Harry, Ron, Sherlock, John and Hermione got in a boat together. Hermione chuckled when Ron almost fell off the boat. Harry eyes were focused on the castle. Allison waved at Hermione from the boat with her siblings.,Soon, they got to the dock and they all got out.,"SORRY!" A boy bumped into Ron.,"It's okay I'm Ron by the way I saw you in that car with Five, Klaus and Allison.","O-Oh yeah sorry about them that happens a lot I'm Ben." They shook hands. They got to a staircase and waited. Draco went in front of them.,"You're Harry Potter am I correct?","Yeah." Harry answered.,"Well I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy and that's Crabbe and Goyle." Ron snickered a bit.,"You think my name's funny do you? Well no doubt you're a Weasley. Red hair, freckles and hand me down clothes." Ron glared at him. Sherlock stumbled up the stairs as he dragged John along,"Best you hang around me Potter." Draco sneered.,"I think I'll decide who to hang around." Harry didn't didn't shake Draco's hand. A teacher came over and Draco quickly fled.,"Alright students shortly you will be sorted into houses." The doors opened l. All the first years were so impressed they gasped and gaped.,"I am Professor Dumbledore..." Professor Dumbledore had a speech he recited before people started lining up to get into their house.,"Draco Malfoy?" Professor McGonagall called the first name. He sat on the chair before the hat even touched his head it yelled.,"Slytherin!" He smirked then sat down at the table.,"John Watson?" He nervously sat in the chair. The hat thoughts for a moment then decided.,"Gryffindor!" He smiled and sat at the table.,"Five Hargreeves?" The hat thought on his head.,"Slytherin!" He glared at Malfoy and went to the end of the table.,"Sherlock Holmes?" Almost immediately it said.,"Ravenclaw!" ",Luther Hargreeves?","Hufflepuff!","Allison Hargreeves?","Slytherin!","Ben Hargreeves?","Ravenclaw!","Vanya Hargreeves?","Hufflepuff!","Klaus Hargreeves?","Gryffindor!","Diego Hargreeves?","Gryffindor!","Ron Weasley?","Gryffindor!","Hermione Granger?","Gryffindor!","Harry Potter...?" The room went silent. Harry walked up. The hat say there waiting.,"Not Slytherin Not Slytherin." Harry whispered.,"Not Slytherin eh?" The hat made everyone jump. Allison and Five looked at him in shock.,"Hmmm what to do put you in Slytherin or..." "Hmmm." The hat finally decided.,"Gryffindor!" Harry smiled and went and sat next to Ron and John.,"James Moriarty?","No." Sherlock mumbled. He looked straight at Sherlock smirked.,"Slytherin!" He walked purposely around to the side where Sherlock was and slipped a note to him then sat down.,"Alright first years come with me." Percy said. They were lead to their dorm,When it was later and they had unpacked Ron and Harry stays up later then everyone else they occasionally laughed when one of them made a joke which cracked John up every time.,"Shut uppppp!" John said shoving face into his pillow. That made Ron and Harry laugh even more. An owl flew in and landed on John.,"Great just what I needed." The owl dropped a letter then flew off. It read, ,Harry opened the attached package. It was small. It has a stone on the inside.,"Harry, what's that?" John asked.,"I don't know." Harry slipped it into his suitcase.,John slipped the letter into his luggage case then went to sleep. John woke up at 8:25 am and walked down to Sherlock.,"What is it?" He whispered.,"My enemy is here.","What?! Who?,"Jim Moriarty...","Who?","Me." A voice came from behind them.,"Go away Moriarty!" Sherlock shouted as he and John turned around quickly.,"You two aren't the only ones that are special though I thought Watson was meant to be a muggle. John glared at him.,"You two shouldn't be out here.","Neither should you." John said bitterly,"Yeah well I came anyways. And I observed that you two are a sweet little couple!" John sputtered like a dying engine.,"You are?! How adorable!" John started to protest when a voice came from behind him.,"Shut it Moriarty." Five appeared behind him.,"Ugh you again it's bad enough you tried you stab me in the eye.","You deserved it." Five scoffed.,"Good thing I knew you'd come." Moriarty reached into his sleeve.,"Well, what do you want a medal?" Five rolled his eyes. Jim took out a knife.,"Really we come to a magic school and you have a knife?","Yeah a wand isn't really my cup of tea." Jim turned around and pointed it at John.,"Why is it always me not Sherlock not Harry but me." John sighed.,"You've been hiding that knife there since last night you didn't know Five would come today you just guessed." Sherlock stepped in front of John.,"Well Mr. Detective... okay you're right.","MR. MORIARTY?! MR. WATSON, HOLMES AND HARGREEVES WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Professor McGonagall gasped.,"Jim tried to stab us Professor." Sherlock lied.,"Mr. Moriarty come with me we will be having a talk with Professor Dumbledore!" Jim scowled then left. They returned to their dorms and got into their robes.,"What's our first class?" Ron asked Harry.,"Um potions." Harry, Ron and John walked with each other.,"Hey guys!" Klaus and Diego caught up to them,"Did you hear that Jim kid almost got expelled?" Diego told them.,"He's nothing but trouble." Klaus agreed.,"Yeah he looked like a snake I swear." Ron shook his head.,"He's almost as bad a Malfoy." Harry laughed. They all laughed then they went into potions.,"Hello students I am Professor Snape and today we learn how to-" Klaus popped open a alcoholic drink. Vodka most likely.,"Mr. Hargreeves...","Yes?" All of the Hargreeves boys answered. Professor Snape counted how many there were then turned back to Klaus.,"The annoying one...","Oh Luther it's for you!" Diego yelled to Luther. Some kids giggled. Snape sighed then snatched the drink from Klaus and poured it out.,"Now we will be learning some simple potions today so go to a table and get out your textbooks. Once they started Snape didn't pay much attention to them.,"Mr. Watson why are having trouble with the easiest step?" Snape asked towering one the Gryffindor table.,"Because I don't know how to boil a cauldron." Snape sighed then called Draco over.,"Why him any kid in the class and you choose him?" John asked in shock.,"I can help him." Hermione raised her hand.,"Yes let the nice person help me please." Snape sighed.,"Fine ." Then left.,"Hey Harry can you help me chop this?" Klaus asked.,"Yeah sure." He chopped it in half.,"Here you go." Klaus looked at him.,"How did you-" Harry shrugged.,"Very good Mr. Hargreeves." Snape commented on Diego's cutting.,"Thanks." All the Hargreeves boys said. Snape inhaled then exhaled very slowly.,"You know at birth we were given numbers so just call us by our numbers Luther is 1, Diego is 2, Allison's 3, I'm 4, Five is well, 5, Ben is 6 and Vanya's 7." Klaus smirked.,"Yes Klaus let's tell a class full of entitled kids that we were numbered because that's not going to end in bullying." Five sighed. Everyone could tell Snape was hating this.,"I finished..." A small voice came from the Hufflepuff table.,"Who said that?" Snape asked.,"M-Me." Vanya raised her hand. Professor Snape looked at it then his eyes widened.,"It's... Perfect. 20 points to Hufflepuff." The Hufflepuff table cheered.,"Harry what's next?" Ron asked.,"Spells." "Oh no I'm terrible at this." Ron sighed. Hermione bumped into Harry.,"Oh sorry." She pushed past to get to Allison. When they got there it was Gryffindor and Slytherin.,"Alright students today we will learn about levitation can anybody tell me the spell?" Hermione raised her hand.,"Miss Granger?","Wingardium Leviosa.","Very good 10 points to Gryffindor. The hand movements are as followed swish and flick!" "The class followed.. Ron attempted to do it but Hermione corrected him.,"It's Leviosa not Leviosar!" Ron rolled his eyes.,"I've got it!" A boy in the back shouted but it exploded it his face.,"Neville!" His friend laughed.,"I've done it!" Harry shouted.,"Very good Mr. Potter 10 points to Gryffindor!" Once they left the class Ron was sulking.,"And she's like ,! Ugh." Ron did his best to mock her. Hermione pushed past them.,"Oops I think she heard." Ron covered his mouth.,"You guys are such jerks!" Allison pushed by them to get to Hermione.,"We should go apologize." John sighed.,"Yeah." But they didn't. Instead they just kept walking, afraid of confrontation. All was calm until dinner. Everyone was merry and jubilant, and food was heaped high onto plates. The doors burst open.,"Troll!! Troll in the dungeons!",A professor named Quirrell yelled. He fainted shortly after.,"Lead the students back to their dorms." Dumbledore yelled to everyone.,"But Professor the Slytherin dorms are in the dungeons!" Draco yelled.,"GO!" Dumbledore yelled again.,"Because none of the Slytherin's lives matter I guess." Five mumbled.,"What was that Hargreeves?" Dumbledore asked.,"Sorry I was just wondering... why don't the Slytherin's lives matter? We could all die. We're only first years.","Ooooh." Everyone in the room waited for what would happen next.,"That is where your dorms are the other professors will protect you.","What if they don't get to us in time and one of us is torn in half by this troll hm? Are we safe then?" Dumbledore was deep in thought then spoke.,"SLYTHERIN'S GO WITH THE RAVENCLAW'S!" Five smirked and left.,"That was so cool." Pansy caught up to Five.,"Yeah.","Wanna go out sometime?","Nope I'd rather go out with a mannequin besides I already have a girlfriend." Five grabbed a random girl in Hufflepuff and kissed her.,"Ew you like a Hufflepuff?! Gross!" Pansy ran after Draco.,"Thanks." Five went to leave.,"My name is Ellie if you ever want to go out sometime." Five smiled an actual real smile for once.,"That'd be nice." He left and caught up with Ben.,"You got a girlfriend Five.","I dunno." Ben looked at Five confused then shook it off.,Harry, Ron, Diego, Klaus and John heard a scream from the girls washroom.,"HERMIONE!","ALLISON!" They boys looked at each other then ran into the bathroom.,"RON, HARRY, DIEGO, KLAUS HELP!" Allison yelled. John blinked then sighed and took Diego's knife out of his pocket.,"Hey Wait that knife is-" It flew backwards. John looked at the mirror it had smashed into then the other boys.,"Oh for..." Hermione got up.,"STUPIFY!" The troll barely moved.,"Oh no." Diego jumped on the troll and started stabbing it in the neck.,"John! John! JOHN! JOHNNNN!" Sherlock ran in with Five, Luther, Vanya and Ben. Five climbed around to the front of the troll and stabbed its eyes out. Vanya took a pipe from the sink and hit it over the back making it fall over. Ron went to cast a spell but his wand flicked out of his hand into the trolls nose.,"Ugh really?" Harry cast the spell Hermione did.,"STUPIFY!" The trolls head flew backwards.,"Nice job Potter you beheaded a troll." Luther patted him on the back. The teachers came running in seeing all the kids covered in troll blood.,"Oh oh dear!" Professor McGonagall screamed.,"HARRY POTTER RON WEASLEY ALL OF YOU EVEN YOU VANYA HARGREEVES?!","Please Professor it was my fault I-I was crying in the washroom they saved me.","Miss Granger?! Well then 10 points from Gryffindor.","And for the rest of you... 10 points to each of your houses for each of you. Not every first year can take down full sized mountain troll." The professors left. ThoughSnape looked at Harry quite strangely.,"Take off that trench coat Mr. Holmes." Professor Dumbledore scolded. The next day they had broom lessons.,"Alright today we will learn how to fly so first how to get your stick to you hold you hand out and say up!","UP!" The broom hit John in the face.,"Sherlock Holmes what are you doing here it's Slytherin's and Gryffindor's only!" The teacher yelled. Sherlock looked up from his book.,"Oh so it is." Before he left he looked at Draco.,"You might want to put that slingshot deeper in your pocket it's obvious that it's there and don't fire it at my friends and other acquaintances or there will be one more ghost floating around this school." Sherlock smiled then left.,"MR. MALFOY HAND THAT SLINGSHOT OVER NOW!" He scowled then gave it to her.,"Ahhh!" Neville got on the broom he couldn't control it and smacked against a wall then got stuck and fell.,"Oh dear everyone stay here if anyone gets on their broom their house gets 50 points taken away." The coach left with Neville. Draco picked up something. ",Did you see his face? Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze he'd remember to fall on his fat ass." Everyone in Slytherin chuckled expect Allison and Five.,"Give it here Malfoy." Harry stepped forward. "Draco smirked.,"No, I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." Everyone in Slytherin laughed expect the same two people.,"What's wrong Hargreeves wishing you were with your boyfriend instead?" He directed at Five.,"You think you're hilarious don't you well I can tell you one thing, money won't buy you friends." Draco scowled and went to punch Five. Allison stopped his fist and went in front of Five.,"I heard a rumour..." "Allison they don't work here." Five whispered.,"I know." She whispered back.,"I heard a rumour that your hand..." She twisted Draco's hand. "...Was sprained." She twisted his hand until they heard a crack.,"Oh oh the humanity I think I'm going to die oh my get my parents tell them I love them." Draco whined in the ground.,"Luther would love you." Five mumbled. Draco hissed then threw the ball he picked up as far as he could. It flew through air, landing on the roof. Harry went to get on his broom.,"HARRY NO WAY YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIW TO FLY!" Hermione said sternly. Harry got on his broom and flew toward the roof.,"What an idiot." Allison and Hermione mumbled. Harry got it off the roof and stopped just in front for a window. Professor McGonagall looked out.,"Oh my Madam Hootch has to know." She left the room. Harry flew back down with everyone cheering. Malfoy lay on the ground pretending like his arm has been chopped off. Pansy ran over to Draco.,"How could you Allison I'll get-" Five interrupted Pansy.,"Our house points removed? Hm last time I checked we were in the same house if you forgot that but you're a Slytherin so..." Five wandered off smirking.,"I HATE YOU HARGREEVES!" Pansy yelled.,"Ditto"

SUMMARY : SONNY MUNROE, PEMAIN UTAMA SO RANDOM ! TERJEBAK DI HOGWARTS. HARRY POTTER SANG PENYIHIR TERJEBAK DI STUDIO. MAMPUKAH MEREKA KEMBALI KE TEMPAT ASALNYA?,HARRY POV.,vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

chapter 2 aladar learns the truth

(Updated 6-16-17),September 1991,Artemis Sarrasri was considering saying a lot of very bad words to Headmaster Dumbledore. Most of them she had learned from a raven a couple of years ago. He would probably be very confused, as most of the words would be gibberish to him, but Arri knew the meanings well enough to relish the thought of hurling them at the old, interfering man.,Knowing she wouldn't be able to say anything to him for at least another 9 hours, she crossed her arms and glared out the window where everyone else was saying goodbye to their families., Glasa said, as he licked a paw on the seat beside her.,Arri glared at her best friend, who happened to be a huge white dog. "And how, exactly, could this be worse?" she asked him as sarcastically as she could.,He looked up from his grooming, and hunched his shoulders in a very good imitation of a two-leggers shrug. ,The black haired girl huffed, and looked back out the window. She saw a large red-headed family as they laughed and talked amongst themselves. She ignored the pang in her chest and fought against the tears that burned her eyes. Crying wouldn't fix anything. Biting her lip, she drew both legs up on the seat and hugged them. Glasa rested his head on top of hers and leaned against her. Throwing an arm around his side, she managed a smile. Glasa was always there for her.,She didn't know how long it was that she spent lost in her thoughts and wallowing in self pity, but a voice startled her out of it soon enough.,"May I sit here? The other compartments are full." She looked up and saw one of the redheads in front of her.,She didn't particularly care, so she replied, "Sure, as long as you don't mind Glasa. He's harmless, but his farts usually aren't." She added a grin, and watched as the boy's face lit up.,"My brother Percy is like that too!" he said, as he dragged his trunk into the compartment. "My name's Ron." He paused as he struggled to hoist his battered trunk up. Arri leaped up to help him. "Thanks!" he said, as he fell into the other seat.,"So you're a first year too?" Ron asked.,Arri nodded. "Yep. What House do you want to be in?" she asked him.,"Gryffindor," was his immediate answer. "My entire family's been in Gryffindor. Mum'd probably pass out if I made it into anything else. Fred and George, they're some of my brothers, would make fun of me for the rest of my life!",Arri cocked her head. ", of your brothers?",Ron's face tinged with red. "Yeah." He muttered. "I've got five of 'em. And a sister, Ginny. She'll be in Hogwarts next year. Bill and Charlie have already graduated, but Percy is in fifth, and the twins, Fred and George, are in third.",Arri sometimes didn't think at , before she spoke. "Why are you embarrassed you've got so many siblings?",Ron's face got a bit redder. "Well, most Pureblood families can only have one or maybe two kids. For some reason, Weasley's have always been able to have a lot. We've made a lot of people mad because of it. Mum and Dad don't get invited to a lot of Pureblood parties, and no one wants their kids to play with us.",Arri screwed up her face. "That doesn't make sense!" she said hotly. "You can't help that.",Ron nodded miserably. "I know. I wasn't sure how you'd react to finding out I was a Weasley.",Arri shook her braid behind her head. "Don't worry, Ron. I don't judge people on things they can't help. I'm Artemis Sarrasri, but my friends call me Arri." She held out her hand, and shook his hand firmly.,"Sarrasri? I don't know if I've heard that last name before. Are you muggleborn?" Ron asked.,Arri shook her head, her wayward curls tickling her face. She pushed them out of the way. "No, my mum was a hedgewitch. Didn't know my da.",Ron looked confused, so Arri clarified. "Hedgewitches don't go to school. They're kind of like hermits. They learn from their mums, and never marry. It's rare if you know who your da is. They mostly know earth magic: healing, herbology, and potions. You don't really need a wand for those.","Ah," he said, and nodded. "Why are you coming to Hogwarts then?",Arri sighed. "Because mum thought I was a squib before I got my letter.",Ron's eyes widened. "What?","Yeah." Arri waved a hand like it was no big deal. "She tried so hard to teach me healing, but I could never get it. I was a dab hand at Potions and Herbology though. So when my Hogwarts letter came, I was so happy that I actually do have magic. But I-we thought that maybe Hogwarts would help me learn stuff because my mum couldn't teach me.",If Ron noticed her slip up, he pretended not to notice. Glasa chose that moment to release a burst of gas. Arri, by habit, pulled her dress neck up over her nose. Eyes wide, Ron did the same, choking a bit.,Once the air had cleared, Ron burst out with, "Blimey! That was ," Arri nodded sagely. She knew how bad Glasa could get, especially in tight spaces. "I didn't know you could even take a dog to Hogwarts," Ron commented, pawing through his book bag.,Arri cleared her throat, and he looked up. "Erm, you can't," she said, her face now tinged with pink. Ron's eyebrows went up.,"Then how…" He left the question hanging.,"I refused to go if they didn't let me keep him." Arri's face was a bit more red now.,"Blimey," Ron breathed. "That worked?","Er, yeah." Arri played with her braid. "They've not had a hedgewitch at Hogwarts for centuries, apparently. We know almost all there is to know about earth magic, and some of that is really treasured knowledge. My mum taught me everything she could, so I think the Professors of Potions and Herbology put a lot of pressure on the Headmaster to make me come. Hedgewitches are never found unless they want to be, so a lot of their knowledge never really leaves them.","Wow," Ron said, leaning back.,"So, yeah." Arri said, feeling awkward. She hadn't really decided yet whether to share what she knew yet or not. She didn't know if that was betraying her mum, and didn't want to say anything unless she was sure. It'd made for some strained moments between her and the teachers before Dumbledore made her go to the train station. She had been staying at Hogwarts for a few months, since her mum's hut had burned down and Arri didn't have anywhere else to go.,Ron and Arri spent the remaining hours gorging themselves on sweets and goofing off. Ron taught her a few wizarding games, and then decided to take a nap. Apparently he hadn't been able to sleep last night, what with being excited for Hogwarts and being afraid Fred and George would play a prank on him.,While Ron slept, Arri read her Potions book again. A few other first years stopped by looking for a toad, but other than that, Arri was undisturbed. Once the sun had gone down, a prefect stopped by and told them to get dressed. Ron went to the bathroom while Arri struggled with her school robes., Glasa offered, watching Arri get stuck.,"Oh haha, Glasa." Arri retorted, trying to pull on her white blouse without unbuttoning it. She hated buttons. She'd never had buttons when she lived in the Forest. Next was the plain black tie. She had no idea how to tie it, so just kind of knotted it, and left it hanging. Next was the plain grey sweater, whose warmth she was so grateful for. She had chosen to get mostly tights instead of socks, because she hated how her knees looked. Next was the black robes. Arri had chosen the kind that had a slit for arms, instead of the ones that had sleeves. She couldn't imagine the catastrophes in Potions because of them. She ignored the shoes, she wasn't going to put them on until the last minute. She , shoes.,Finally, she let Ron back in. He took one look at her tie and burst out laughing. She glared at him until he stopped.,"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, walking over to her. "It just looks so awful. I guess you didn't have ties in the middle of nowhere, huh?" Arri kept glaring at him as he fixed her tie for her.,"No. We didn't," she said, frustrated. He spent the next few minutes teaching her how to tie a tie. Once he was sure she got it, she tried it herself. It wasn't so hard, once she got the hang of it.,And then they were there. She had been inside the castle before, but never had she seen it like ,. Before she knew it, they were all huddled together, waiting for Professor McGonagall to get back.,"The name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Arri blinked. A pale-haired boy was standing in front of her. "I heard there's a hedgewitch in Hogwarts this year. Is it you?" A murmuring started through most of the first years.,Arri blinked. How did he know? "Yes." She said hesitantly. "I'm Artemis Sarrasri. This is-" She was going to introduce Ron, but Malfoy cut her off.,"A Weasley, I'm guessing." Malfoy sneered. "My dad taught me how to recognize you lot. All red hair and freckles, with nothing but hand-me-downs." Ron colored and glared at Malfoy, but didn't say anything. Arri was shocked. This boy was being downright rude, and she had no idea what to do or say. She wanted to defend her new friend though.,"You'll learn before long that some families are better than others in the Wizarding world. I can teach you that, if you like.",Arri frowned. What a crock load of-,"Why?" The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it.,The blond one was confused. "Why what?","Why are some families better than others?" She had read about blood prejudice in the Wizarding world, but didn't understand it at all.,"Because we're pureblood and not blood-traitors," he spluttered, shocked that anyone would question him. Confused and angry mutters rippled among the first years.,"Do you even know what those words ,?" she shot back, ignoring the mutters. Ron hid a snort in his hand.,"Of course I do!" The Malfoy scion drew himself up straighter. "If you're a pureblood, then you have four magical grandparents. And blood-traitors , let , blood into their line!",Arri couldn't believe the arrogance of this boy. "And what would you call a muggleborn?" she spat back.,",," he whispered with a smirk, and the silence around them burst into laughs and gasps and coughs.,A girl with bushy hair looked like she wanted to cry, but wasn't quite sure why.,"You would call names and look down on someone for something they can't help?" Arri had advanced on the blond boy, and his face hardened and he stood his ground.,"I can look down all I want on thieves," he glared at her.,Arri was furious, and Glasa had had enough.,He sprang out from her side and growled at the Malfoy brat. The boy stumbled back, and tripped over his robes, his eyes wide.,"Y-you can't have that here," he stuttered.,Arri rolled her eyes. "Try and stop me.",At that moment, Professor McGonagall swept into the room.,"Mister Malfoy! Why are you on the floor? Get up!" she whirled around and called "First years follow me please!",Arri followed, her hands in fists. Ron wordlessly walked beside her, shocked that someone would take his side like that. Logically, he knew that she wasn't defending just him, but it still felt pretty darn good. He chanced a look at the girl with large, bushy hair behind him, who was muttering the entirety of the first Transfiguration chapter under her breath. Ron rubbed his neck, before focusing on the tattered hat on a stool. He had rarely stopped to think about how hard it was for a muggleborn to come to Hogwarts, and though the thought niggled at him now, he brushed it aside to focus on more important things.,Headmaster Albus Dumbledore noticed that this year's crop of first years were more silent than normal as they filed into the Great Hall. One of the ghosts floated behind his chair and whispered in his ear.,Ah. It made much more sense now. It seems Mr. Malfoy got into a heated political argument with Ms. Sarrasri. He tapped a finger against his temple as he pondered that. Despite his slight distraction, he searched the crowd of first years for a girl who could be Harriet Potter.,",",",",",Petunia Dursley's accusing voice rang in his ears as he hopefully looked for any sign of ,., Came a voice, much like Glasa's. Arri looked around, but Glasa was licking Ron's hand, much to his disgust.,Professors Snape and Sprout held their breaths collectively, hoping for the hedgewitch to be in their House. Draco Malfoy scowled, hoping she wasn't in Slytherin. Ron wiped the slime from Arri's horse of a dog on his robes, and hoped she was in Gryffindor.,"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat. Arri smiled, and ran to join Granger, Hermione on the long bench. Glasa loped after her. Soon after Weasley, Ron joined and they were all able to enjoy a delicious Welcoming Feast. Arri smiled behind a hand when she noticed Ron hesitantly offer Hermione some rolls. Afterwards, they all headed up to Gryffindor Tower. After Arri was tucked into bed with Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati, she sleepily reflected that this was nearly as nice as the room she was in before. Glasa licked her face in agreement.,Arri woke up early the next morning, used to rising before the sun. She showered, and then struggled with her buttons again. She packed all her books she needed that day into the satchel Professor McGonagall had gotten and charmed for her in Diagon Alley. It was weightless, and had an Extendable charm on it. The stern Professor had avoided her eyes when she loudly voiced her gratefulness and claimed it was a birthday gift. Arri knew better though. Professor McGonagall had been good friends with her mum, Sarra when they were girls.,She and Glasa headed down to the Common Room and tucked herself into a huge comfy chair by the fireplace and began to read one of her Potion supplemental books. It was very elementary, but had good theory behind it. Her mum couldn't afford many books growing up, so Arri devoured them when she could. Most of her learning was oral, and a lot of practice.,She was about halfway through the book when Ron tugged it out of her hands. "Oi!" She glared at him. "Paws off the books.","I agree!" Cried Hermione, walking up behind Ron. The two girls smiled at each other.,Ron laughed and helped Arri out of the chair. "Alright, alright. You can have it back.",The three of them headed down to breakfast, laughing and goofing off. After breakfast, they went to their first class, Charms.,Before Arri knew it, her first day was over and done with. And she had two essays to boot. Hermione insisted on dragging both Arri and Ron to the library to get started on it. Arri didn't really mind. Magic was fascinating, and really, what else was there to do? Ron was less willing.,"C'mon Hermione! It's the first night! The essays aren't due for two weeks!" Thinking he'd made his point loud and clear, Ron put down his quill and rotated his wrist (like he'd been writing for hours instead of minutes).,"Ron Weasley!" Hermione exclaimed, aghast. "This is our future we're talking about, not the next two weeks! Arri and I are already nearly done with the Charms essay. Who knows what extra essays might be assigned between now and then?" Hermione picked Ron's quill back up and put it in his limp hand. "Besides, when we're done, we'll have time to review for Herbology tomorrow! Professor Sprout definitely going to go over the first chapter!",Her only answer was Ron's forehead ,ing into his partially written Charms essay.,On Tuesday, they had Herbology before lunch. Arri could feel her excitement pouring off of her. Finally, a class that she was interested in and was likely to do well in. Ron shot her several bemused glances as they walked down to the greenhouses, while Hermione was excited as she was.,"Welcome class!" A cheery woman greeted them as they all gathered in front of her. She was standing in front of a majestic greenhouse, the glass clear, and the details making a work of art out of something so practical.,"Today, we are going to work on getting to know our equipment and the greenhouse you will be working in this year. I will now pair you up with your partner for the remainder of the semester. If you have problems working together, you will first attempt solving it between yourselves. If that doesn't work, you may then come to me and we will figure out a solution. If I find that the two of you did not attempt to work on the problem yourselves, you will both find yourselves in a detention. Is that clear?" Though Professor Sprouts words were most definitely a threat, she said all this with a smile.,She began listing off the names of the partners, and Arri listened attentively for hers.,"Neville Longbottom and Artemis Sarrasri." Arri's eyes quickly found the shy boy's, and they moved towards each other.,"You will have the remainder of the class period to fill out this worksheet. It must be turned in at the end of class." A piece of parchment landed gently on top of ,. Arri noticed that Neville's book was similarly as worn as hers was, after having read it as many times as she could. She had known most of the names and properties beforehand, taught by Sarra, but she had never been able to read them in alphabetical order in a book before. It had been quite thrilling.,"I'm Arri." She stuck out a hand. He took it slowly.,"Neville Longbottom." He looked nervously towards her side, and she realized he was looking at Glasa.,"He won't hurt you." She assured him. "I just don't trust him alone while I'm in classes.", Glasa commented, sending irritation her way. She merely patted him on his head.,"Do you want to pet him?" She asked, wondering if he'd say yes.,Neville began to shake his head when he stopped, and then slowly nodded. She prodded Glasa forward a bit, and watched as Neville raised a trembling hand to pet the dog whose head came up to his shoulders. She resisted the urge to smile widely and settled on a small one. She decided to change the subject after he hastily pulled his hand back when Glasa shifted., Glasa sulked as he plopped to the ground. He didn't like it when people didn't like him. As she couldn't respond, she mentally rolled her eyes.,"I think we're going to be great friends." She announced, smiling as sincerely as she could. He looked confused, almost as if he was wondering who'd want to be friends with him. "You like Herbology, don't you?" she asked, wondering if she'd read his body language wrong. As his eyes brightened, and he smiled, she knew she'd been right.,They easily identified every piece of equipment between the two of them. There were a few that Sarra had never been able to afford, but Neville's grandmother could. After that, they wandered through the greenhouse. They'd chosen Neville to write down the answers, as his handwriting was much neater than hers, a product of Pureblood upbringing, while hers was all over, a product of being taught in the woods with little effort spent. However, both could also agree that Arri sketched the best, so it was her job to sketch the plants that fascinated them both the most.,They chatted as they worked, Arri working to bring the shy boy out of his shell. As they were in an environment that was comfortable to him, she had no issues. And so she learned that he was an only child, lived with his overly strict grandmother, and was thought to be a squib before he got his letter. Arri empathized with him, sharing her own story of not being able to do any healing like her mum wanted her to.,And soon they were done before the others, smiling as they handed in their parchment. Professor Sprout looked it over, her eyes widening as she went farther.,"Very good, you two. I'll be expecting much from the two of you, I wager." She and Neville grinned at each other, the slightly chubby boy transformed by his smile. Arri grinned harder, knowing she'd made a good friend.,""You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." (1),Arri sat entranced. This. , was a man who loved Potions, who breathed and lived and loved the ingredients. She had a feeling they were going to get along famously.,"Sarrasri!" Arri jumped at the sound of her name. "Let's see if your mother taught you anything worthwhile. What do you get if you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Arri smiled.,"Draught of Living Death, sir." She also answered all of his following questions as well. And then brewed the Boil Cure perfectly.,Oh yes. Arri and this Professor Snape were going to get along just fine.,Professor Snape's dislike for Hogwarts' annual end of September staff meetings were nearly legendary- at least that's what Professor Flitwick spluttered two years ago after a meeting ended in Headmaster Dumbledore providing Firewhiskey as dessert.,He sat in his corner, arms crossed over his chest, and glared at anyone who looked his way.,"And that is why we cannot hire a new History of Magic teacher." Dumbledore finished with a flourish.,"A new one?" Snape snorted. "We'd have to have an old one to get a new one. As it is, we have neither a young or old one. Merely a dead one.",Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Quite right, dear boy." Most of the staff ignored this exchange, they were quite used to both men's eccentricities.,"Now, is there anything anyone would like to discuss with the rest of us?" Dumbledore asked. Severus Snape had never added anything more than he had to at these meetings, and he wasn't going to break his record now.,"I'm a bit concerned about Miss Sarrasri." Professor McGonagall said, lacking a bit of her usual sternness. "She not managed to produce a single spell in my class, not even sparks.","She hasn't in mine, either." Added Flitwick.,"O-or m-m-mine." Stuttered Quirrell.,"That is disturbing." Dumbledore frowned. "Could it be that she lacks focus or determination?" Flitwick shook his head.,"She does all of the homework in a timely manner, and knows enough about each charm. I've personally watched her do the movements and pronunciations. She doing it correctly. It's almost as if…" He trailed off. "Albus, I hate to even ask, but are you , the child has magic? I know the List can be fooled, and-",And that's when Professor Snape broke one of his most steadfast rules. He spoke in a staff meeting without being asked to.,"This is ridiculous." He enunciated with a sneer. "Every potion she's produced has come out perfectly each time. No one without magic could accomplish that, I assure you.","Professor Snape is correct." Dumbledore responded. "I had my concerns as well the first time I met her. But the fact of the matter is, Minerva saw her use many different wands at Ollivander's before her wand chose her. It may be with her upbringing that wand magic is going to be very difficult for her to master.",Snape couldn't help himself. He broke his rule again. "I have another thought that may explain the circumstances." All eyes turned to him, and he frowned deeper. He steepled his fingers against his mouth, then said as clearly as he could:,"Wild magic, obviously.",(1)- Clearly a direct quote from the great J.K. Rowlings.,A/N:

"Are you sure we should do this?" Lily asked Dumbledore holding her youngest son in her arms.,"I'm positive. Harry will grow dark if he stays with you. He will become jealous of Kyle. Then he will probably grow dark. It is for the best if he goes to the Dursleys. It's all for the greater good." Dumbledore said kindly.,"Lily we have to. We can't let Harry go dark. We can get him back when he goes to Hogwarts." James said trying to calm his distressed wife.,"Your right. Here." Lily handed over her son.,The couple then left, and Dumbledore left Harry at number 4 privet drive. Little did he know he made a big mistake…,AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,The Dursleys took one look at the boy and drove him to the orphanage. There is no way they would allow that sort of freakishness into their household.,The lady at the orphanage took the child in and put it with the rest of the baby orphans.,A week later she got a call. It was from an orphanage in America. They didn't have many children, but a lot of families who want some. The orphan matron immediately sent some of them to the orphanage. This group included Harry Potter.,While Kyle got everything he wanted, Harry was drifting away. Little did the Potters know exactly what they did.,AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,There was only one family in the adoption room. A nice man, a kind woman, and a curious little baby. They were looking at all the babies. Taking them into a room and letting their daughter, Sabrina, play with them. They wanted to know which ones she got along with, and which ones she didn't.,After a while they both agreed that the baby named 'Harry' was the best fit. They signed the adoption papers and took him home. Harry's name was now Harry Grimm.,AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,Harry looked out the window of the train. He was almost 11 years old. He sat next to his older sister, Sabrina, and his younger sister, Daphne.,Sabrina was older than him by two months. He was adopted by the Grimms, they were a nice family and Harry wouldn't wish for another one, but they hadn't been a full family for a year, when their parents went missing.,They had been put in some very bad foster homes, and every time managed to escape. Though this time, he had a feeling it would be harder to.,They were going to older lady's house. She claimed to be their Granny. Daphne believes it completely. She can be pretty gullible sometimes. I don't believe it though. Neither does Sabrina.,You can't blame us for having trust issues. You would if you had been in the foster homes we have.,We were both so lost in our thoughts we didn't realize when we pulled up to the station. Waiting on the platform were an elderly woman, a strict looking man, and a humongous dog.,"Hello children. I'm Granny Relda. Welcome to Ferryport Landing."

Jay Gatsby had just witnessed something curious.,A green light across the water-a usually un-extraordinary occurrence, barring one fact.,It wasn't , green light.,He knew this because he had been out yachting in Manhasset Bay this morning (it had actually been a fabulously sunny day) and there were repair crews out there meddling with the wires. The familiar beacon on the end of Tom Buchanan's cement dock was very clearly broken somehow, and he'd been disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see it tonight. However, tradition was tradition; before the nightly fireworks show began he made sure that he was on his wide, private balcony, expecting to see absolutely nothing, but there nonetheless.,So he had been real surprised when he saw the little green glow ,.,But he knew that it was technically impossible, thus making this new phenomenon, by default, something else entirely. This new light was as fast as a camera flash, or lightning-very bright, not steady at all, the color a little less friendly and a little more...poisonous.,And it was gone as quick as it came.,Jay would almost believe that he had never witnessed it at all except that his champagne glass was still full and this was his first of the night.,(In any case, he certainly wasn't drunk.),He set down the crystal cup on the banister. If he didn't know any better, this experience-and he , live for fantastic experiences-would count as something mystical, or enchanting.,"Abracadabra, old sport," Jay hummed to himself, and turned his back to the expensive, spectacular fireworks that he was starting to get bored of.,Maybe West Egg was even more magical than he had previously thought.

Josh Birk,"You're robbing a bank, dressed as yourselves?",Johnny Gat,"Hell yeah. Who doesn't want to be Johnny Gat",JOHNNY GAT,"I got a plan",DEX,"Your definition of a plan is taking the biggest hammer you can find and smashin' everything in your way.",JOHNNY GAT,"Well, that sounds like a pretty good plan to me!",(Starts between SR and SR2),Stilwater, even cockroaches don't want to go there, but mankind? We'll do anything for money, and Ultor, well, they had a hell of a lot of cash. That's what saw Vernon Dursley board a plane bound for Wardill Airport, the southernmost part of Stilwater. He was supposed to sell Ultor some drills, as part of his job for Grunnings, and was the only volunteer to go to one of the worlds most violent cities. Even the large bonus wasn't enough to tempt anyone else. His son Dudley, the little tyke, was quite expensive to keep happy, and Vernon needed the money. Throw in the perfect opportunity to get rid of the freak, and it was worth the danger. It was a simple enough plan. Wait for a gang fight, and send the freak into the middle of it, dumb little +/-*(&% freak would be easily fooled into thinking it was safe. If that didn't work, do it again, and again. Ever since the 'Saints' (how violent thugs could consider themselves saints...) fell apart, after some kind of boat explosion, the gang wars had become more common than ever. There were a few holdouts among the 'Saints' and three new gangs in town. So fights were daily.,Ultor was not the only group Vernon was to meet with, just the main one, and he was to stay in Stilwater for a whole month. Fortunately, real estate was cheap in this town, at least while Ultor was renovating 'the Row', and was predicted to skyrocket afterwards, so as one of the perks for agreeing to sell drills in a virtual war zone, Grunnings had bought Vernon a house in the suburbs, for about £5000 in real (British) money. Only lunatics and desperately poor people would want to live in Stilwater, which made it so cheap. It was estimated that when Ultor was done, the house would be worth 20-30 times that, with the huge increase that was about to be made, and the development in the city center.,Unfortunately for Vernon, he got shot on his very first day, leaving the boy at the house, safe and sound.,Harry was normally a very obedient four year old. He had learned the hard way to do as he was told. However it had been three days since he had seen his uncle, and there was no food in the house. The police had knocked on the door a few times, but Harry had been told to make sure no one knew he was there, and the, already overworked and under trained. police officers concluded he lived alone, as his company had told them. Harry finally left the house in search of food. He did not need to look far, as there was a wonderful smell coming from next door. Harry went over, hoping they were nice.,For once, things went well for Harry, the woman, Aiesha or 'Eesh as she told Harry to call her, was very friendly. It seemed she was lonely, and couldn't go out much, though she didn't say why. But she was able to tell Harry why Uncle Vernon had vanished. And she offered to let Harry stay with her, and he would have a real room, and real meals, and toys that were his, and clothes that fit and everything.,(Some time later),"Bout time your burnt ass woke up","You ok Johnny?","Yeah aside from almost getting sent to the chair, I'm $*/*ing great"

The landscape all over that land was filled with creatures of epic sizes and species. Where people with alien-like features, one was a skin color light aqua with green eyes and the other was of different colors, but in a castle was a room of three people.,The first two were female, the first one was in a royal style dress in her early 30's while the younger female, about 9 years old, was in a royal white dress. But the third person was nothing but a baby in a pod.,"Is this the right thing to do mother?" the young female asked.,"It is for the best," the mother answered. "With the war going on it would be best for him to leave while there is still a chance Fabia.","Will we ever see him again?" Fabia asked.,Shaking her head, the mother said, "I do not know my dear.",Then before anything else could be said a circle appeared above as three small orb-like creatures fell.,"You called for us my lady," one of them, male by the tone, answered.,"Yes, I wish for White Angle and Whirl Wind to travel with my son since ever since he was born he had a close connection with those two, Aranaut," this was somewhat of a surprise since what the queen announced was true.,"But where will we be going?" One of the creatures, female by voice, asked.,"I've already set a destination for the planet Earth," the queen answered.,"We'll protect him with our very lives, my lady," the other creature, male by voice, said.,But as this was happening Fabia was staring down at her little brother. "Don't worry little brother we will see each other real soon," she whispered lightly ruffling his hair.,But this caused him to wake up immediately smiling at the face of his sister. Also smiling at the sight was their mother but it was a sad smile, "It's time for him to leave," she said.,Hearing these words caused Fabia to let out a single tear not wanting to let out more in front of her little brother. The baby was confused as to why his mother and sister was crying before forgot about it as two familiar creatures distracted the baby. "You may not ever remember us, my sweet child," the mother said as the flow of tears increased, "But no matter what you will always by my baby," the queen said kissing him on the forehead.,"And my baby brother," Fabia announced also kissing him in the same spot.,Closing the lid, the queen released a gas that caused the baby and the creatures to fall asleep. Then pressing a button the missile holding the pod launched into the night sky and watching the pod was the family forced to abandon their son/brother in hope of him having a better future than the war-torn world they were on.

A response to Blood Brandy's Vegas Vacation Challenge., This idea originated as part of my Harry Potter Story Fluffle fic, a collection of first chapters of possible stories, and it's the first to graduate to become a full story (the original draft is still there, if you want to go back and compare). This fic will be 24 chapters plus an epilogue and will be about 170,000 words. I started it back in February, 2016, and am happy that I finished in time to start publishing as the Wonder Woman movie is being released!,It's important to note upfront that this is an AU Wonder Woman who isn't precisely like any of her canon incarnations, though I try to incorporate as much relevant canon as possible. She's younger and less experienced than any of them, though perhaps closest in age to her incarnation in the New 52 continuity. Her origin story (as well as that of the Amazons generally) is mostly from the Modern Age comic run after ,. In my own mind, I've modelled her after the large, strong, Amazonian Wonder Woman drawn by nebezial (stjepan sejic) on DeviantArt. Look for the images "Morning Warmup" and "Death by Snu Snu.",Despite being AU, though, I'm writing Wonder Woman as a typical superhero: she's not someone who changes much internally, but rather inspires others to change. Consider Captain America in the recent Marvel films — his goals and values are constant from beginning to end.,As always, thanks to Bonnie for beta reading this and making it much better than it would have been had I simply been left to my own devices. Thanks also to Nicolás Farinasso for giving permission to use his work for the cover image. This is only a cropped version; you can see the full image on his Deviant Art page: nicofari deviantart com/art/Wonder-Woman-561744120,You can also find more of his art on his Instagram account: nicofari art., ,, by Forensica X. There is no "Girl Who Lived" because everyone believes that Lily and James' daughter died that night. Instead, she was taken to an orphanage where she languishes for years before finally being adopted by the Grangers. And that's just the start of many, many changes from canon! This is well written and different from most fics, so it's worth reading. Dahlia/Hermione., I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does. I don't own Wonder Woman, DC does.,Rose paused outside the casino bar and scrutinized herself in one of the many mirrors, self-consciously running her hands over her face as she made sure she still looked like a woman in her mid-twenties. She did, though the bright neon and flashing lights did absolutely nothing for her skin. Between the glamors and her magically created fake ID, she didn't expect to have any trouble being served alcohol. That didn't mean she wasn't nervous, however. The laws in magical North America were generally less restrictive than in magical Britain — for example, they allowed people to use magic outside of school starting at the age of fifteen, not seventeen — but she didn't want to run afoul of muggle laws.,A glance over her shoulder confirmed that Remus was still at the craps table, tossing back another free drink while some bimbo in a barely-there red dress blew on his hand for luck. Rose was tempted to be annoyed that he was doing such a lousy job watching over her, but that would defeat the purpose of getting away. She wanted to drink in peace and maybe forget about the past year — especially how it had ended.,It wasn't Remus' fault, and she tried not to blame him, but it was hard. They'd come to America to get away from the pressure in Britain, yet ever since their arrival he'd been hovering over her, almost smothering her, which wasn't much of an improvement.,Sometimes she wondered what would happen if she took off and never looked back. She knew she shouldn't, but the temptation was there. And growing. Let them solve their own problems instead of dumping everything on her.,, she thought, straightening her back and squinting as she entered the dimly-lit bar. , ,Her attempt to act like an adult hit a major stumbling block — literally, when Rose started wobbling on heels that were much higher than she was accustomed to. She'd only chosen them to help reinforce the impression of being older; certainly nobody wore them for ,. Without Remus' arm to steady her, though, they threatened to undermine all her efforts.,Suddenly her ankle twisted out from under her, so she lunged for the nearest stool at the bar and sat down with barely hidden relief. It was only when the bartender approached her with a questioning look that she realized there was someone sitting immediately to her left. Rose froze for a second, weighing the propriety of sitting right next to someone in a mostly-empty bar against the propriety of getting up and moving after having already sat down.,She nearly did move, but a painful twitch in her ankle stopped that cold. , She reached down to rub her ankle, but the bartender clearing his throat drew her attention back to why she'd left her room in the first place.,"Uh..." She cursed silently at not having planned ahead for what to order. What did she know about drinking at a bar? After a much-too-long pause, she finally said, "Piña Colada?" She had no idea what it was, but Petunia had sung a song about them more than once when she thought no one was listening, and it was the only cocktail she knew by name. Once she sipped it, the creamy, sweet flavors surprised her. , Rose sucked it down in just a few seconds, eagerly ordering another. She drank half of that in one gulp before slowing down enough to taste it again. And play with the little paper umbrella.,"You keep that up and you'll be drunker 'n me," came a voice from her left. The rich alto was a bit slurred but unmistakably female. Frowning, Rose turned towards the stranger and was surprised that she had to look up to see the woman's face, she was so large. Rose's glamor spell only affected her features, not her height, so she was still quite petite — that was why she needed the stupid high heels. Even so, the woman next to her was impressively big.,"Maybe that's the point?" Rose retorted, earning her a slight smirk she interpreted as condescending. , she thought sourly. ,"Yeah?" the woman asked, and Rose nodded once. "Well, then, here's to getting drunk," she continued, turning slightly on her barstool and holding up her own drink, a short glass of dusty-brown liquid. Rose hesitated for a moment, then mirrored the gesture, clinking glasses and downing the rest of her drink while her companion did the same. The woman, who looked as though she was barely old enough to drink herself, wasn't just tall, but large all over: broad shoulders, strong arms, thick chest, everything. Yet she didn't look masculine at all, even if having her dark hair in such a tight ponytail made her face a bit too severe. No, Rose thought she was quite beautiful and feminine, yet also powerful and dangerous. It was a combination she'd never encountered before, and she found herself unexpectedly attracted to the stranger.,After the way her fifth year had ended, she'd sworn that she'd never allow herself to experience such feelings again, but her hormones were refusing to follow orders.,"Two more!" the woman called out as she plunked her glass on the bar, and the bartender efficiently replaced their drinks.,"Thanks," Rose said, but the other waved her hand dismissively.,"Not a problem. You look like you need it as much as I do.","Yeah, kinda," Rose said softly, then she gathered up her courage and turned back to the woman, holding out her hand. "My name's Rose — Rose Potter.",The brunette smiled a bit blearily as she held out her own hand. "Nice to meet you, Rose-Rose Potter. I'm Diana Prince." Rose wasn't surprised at how strong her grip was, nor at how her own hand was practically lost in the other woman's. No, what surprised her was how warm and comfortable Diana's hand felt — so comfortable that Rose felt a pang of regret when she had to let go.,As she sat there and drank, she kept sneaking looks at the woman, wondering what her story was. ,It wasn't until she'd nearly finished her third drink that she got up the courage to ask. "So, uh, what are you looking to get away from? Or forget?",Diana gave her a measuring look, and several long moments passed in silence. Rose started to fidget in her seat and began to regret the question when Diana finally seemed to come to a decision. "I killed a man," she said shortly., wasn't what Rose had expected to hear. She was sure that her surprise showed on her face, but Diana didn't seem to notice. "But it's not the killing that's the problem, even though I abhor death. Max needed to die for others to live.","Then what , the problem?","The problem is how others have reacted, including those I saved.","You mean, they weren't grateful?",Diana snorted. "You'd think they would be, wouldn't you? But no, pretty much everyone turned against me — including friends I thought I knew well. Even Bat— well, Bruce, one of my closest friends. I've become a pariah, all because I made the hard choice to end the life of one evil person to save the lives of so many innocents. How does that justify people who don't even know me calling me a violent killer? Saying that I can't be trusted? Saying that maybe I'm as bad as the villains I've been chasing down?",Rose gazed at her drink, knowing that she should say something. As strong as Diana looked, she'd heard the woman's voice come close to cracking a couple of times.,"It's not easy, taking a life," she eventually managed.,"No, it's not," Diana agreed. "Don't get me wrong — I don't regret my decision. Not only was he going to kill others, but he was already a murderer. That doesn't mean I don't still wish there had been some alternative." She stared grimly into her glass. "Because if there had been, I'd have taken it. Every death is a waste — even his." She finished by taking a deep swig.,"But you did what was necessary," Rose countered.,Out of the corner of her eye she saw Diana turn towards her, and Rose could hear the surprise in her voice as she said, "You know, don't you? What it's like to kill?" When Rose met her gaze and nodded, she went on softly, "What happened?",Rose gulped, then finished her drink and called for another. "It's... it's not something I like to think about. A man attacked me. Tried to kill me, in fact, and once he was through with me he'd have gone on to kill others if I hadn't done something.","Then I'm sure you did the right thing," Diana responded as she finished her own drink. "How long ago was it?","I was eleven," Rose said, her voice barely above a whisper.,"Great Hera!" the woman exclaimed, putting one hand on hers. "No one that young should be forced into such a situation!","No arguments here," Rose agreed with a shrug, "but we don't always get to pick the problems fate throws at us. Or the battles we'll have to fight.","Wise words," Diana said as she sipped from her new drink. "The gods never ask our opinions when they decide to test us, or to use us to test others. I hope that , friends at least stood by you.","That time they did," Rose replied. When Diana gave her a questioning look, she provided an edited version of how so many had turned against her during her second and fourth years at Hogwarts, though the necessity of leaving out everything that would point to magic or her age made it rather disjointed.,"That may be worse than what I'm going through," Diana admitted when she finished. "But at least your one friend stood by you, staying loyal no matter what everyone else said or did.","Hermione," Rose said wistfully. "Yeah, she did...","But...?","Well, it's just that..." She trailed off, not sure how to explain recent events, or even if she should. Diana was patient, though, giving her time. "In June I thought my godfather was in trouble. That he was being tortured by... by a terrorist. The same terrorist who killed my parents when I was a toddler, in fact. I went to rescue him and several friends came with me, even though I said they didn't have to.",Diana had leaned in a bit closer, showing more interest in her story. "Hermione, too, I take it?","Yeah, she was the first to volunteer, even though she was convinced that it was a trap. Unfortunately, she was right: my godfather wasn't there. Most of us were injured, Hermione worst of all. And on top of that, my godfather and his friends were forced to come rescue ,, which led to my godfather getting killed." Rose paused for a moment before adding softly, "It seems that every one who gets too close to me gets hurt, sooner or later.",Diana put a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her. "And Hermione blames you for her injuries?",Rose shook her head and dabbed at her eyes. "No, that would be simpler." She swallowed hard and went on, "I was so scared when I saw her go down. She was always important to me, but it wasn't until that moment, when I thought I'd lose her, that I realized... Well, later in the hospital wing I spent a lot of time sitting by her bed, worrying about her. And when she finally woke up, I was so happy, I... I couldn't help myself.",Rose looked up at Diana, whose expression was mostly confused. With a sigh, she said, "I confessed my feelings for her. I confessed that I like her as... as much more than just a friend.","Oh? And she...","And she doesn't feel the same way about me. Or girls generally.","Oh.","Yeah, oh. Fortunately she doesn't hate me or anything — Hermione doesn't have a bigoted bone in her body. But things will never be the same between us now." She looked up at Diana, seeing the sympathy in her face. "You... you don't have a problem with that sort of thing, do you?",Diana smiled broadly and gave Rose's shoulder a squeeze before picking up her drink again. "Not in the slightest.","Thanks," Rose said. "I appreciate it.",The two fell into a comfortable silence again as they continued to drink, and Rose didn't notice that they were now sitting a bit closer, nor did she think about how Diana's arm brushed against hers every so often. She did notice her warm, friendly smile every time their eyes met, and the brightness in those eyes was hard to miss.,After a while, Diana said, "I know we both came here to forget our problems, but it occurs to me that neither of us will feel better from just sitting here and drinking.",Rose looked around and slowly nodded in agreement. It seemed like a nice place (not that she had much experience to go by), but like so much in Vegas it was all cheap. No, it was superficial. Shallow. Fake.,"I'm sure we could find some more interesting and fun places to forget our problems," Diana continued, spinning on her barstool to face Rose fully, "if you'd like to come along?",Rose looked at the other woman more closely now and found herself drawn again to Diana's extraordinary blue eyes — eyes that seemed to radiate kindness and warmth. She only gave Remus a moment's thought before tossing back the rest of her drink and saying, "Sounds like a great idea — I'm in!",She'd been unsteady on her heels when she walked in sober, but after four drinks she was far more wobbly than she'd realized, and when she stood she immediately lost her balance. It was only Diana's strong arms that kept her from sprawling to the floor.,"Thanks," Rose mumbled. "Guess I've had a bit more than I thought.","No problem," Diana replied, keeping one arm around her as they walked out to the street. "I'll keep you from falling.",Rose looked up again into Diana's smiling face and wondered about that. She hadn't had much luck with others keeping her safe, especially adults. For some reason, though, Diana seemed different. She wasn't sure why, but she felt safe and secure with this relative stranger. More so than she had in... well, ever, probably.,Coming to full consciousness was a slow and painful process. For the longest time, all Rose was aware of was the pounding in her head, followed closely by the sensation that her mouth was stuffed with cotton. Despite being no stranger to pain, it took her a while to fight back the headache enough to focus on her surroundings.,Along the way, a series of images drifted through her mind, none entirely clear or coherent. There were flashes of dancing, some of it fast and some of it slow. The latter group of images seemed to be dominated by a sense of comfort and security as she was held close by someone tall and strong. There were even more flashes of all manner of sweet, colored, alcoholic drinks, thus explaining the pounding in her head.,The strangest of all were images of a smiling Elvis next to a pink cake topped with two little white figures, but she chalked that up to alcohol-induced hallucinations.,Once she could focus on her surroundings, she became aware of the fact that she was in bed and naked, judging by the soft feel of a mattress under her as she lay on her left side. This good news was quickly followed by bad news: she couldn't move. She wiggled a little to figure out what was restraining her, only to feel her restraints tighten further, followed by a low murmur of pleasure that came from just behind her right ear.,Rose froze as her eyes shot open. She was immediately thankful that the room was dim, because what little light there was still hurt. Looking down, she confirmed that she was indeed naked. There were four arms and three legs in sight. Two of the arms were her own, but the other two, one of which was wrapped around her torso and the other under her head, were far thicker and more muscular than hers. The same was true of the extra leg that had been thrown over her hips, holding her own legs fast., she pleaded. ,With effort, Rose managed to free her right hand and place it over the larger one holding her breast, confirming that not only was it a female's hand, but also that the size was about the same as the hand of the woman she'd met in the bar the previous night.,"Mmmm, you're awake early," came a familiar voice, and the warm breath against her ear caused her to shiver. When the hand at her breast started to move gently, she bit back a gasp. "I expected us to sleep a bit longer, considering the workout we gave each other, but I wouldn't mind a repeat of last night.",Rose felt a blush that started in her face and went down most of her body as she realized that the woman behind her was as naked as she was. When the woman's arms and legs tightened, she became acutely aware of the large breasts pressed up against her back. Somehow, she knew that there was a tremendous amount of strength in the arms wrapped around her, enough perhaps to crush her; yet rather than endangered, she felt protected.,"First, though, I need to use the bathroom," the woman said with a sigh as she rolled out of bed. Rose turned in time to see her briefly as she entered the loo, and even though it was only from behind, the sight of the other woman's naked, muscular body almost caused Rose's brain to shut down completely. She shook her head to clear it, instantly regretting the move as her headache pounded so hard she wondered if the woman could hear it through the door. Gingerly, she forced herself to sit upright.,Clutching at her head in a vain effort to stave off the pain, Rose looked around. ,She then noted the way clothing had been tossed everywhere and that none of the furniture was where it was supposed to be. Some of it was even overturned. Someone's knickers were hanging from a blade of the slowly-spinning ceiling fan — and come to think of it, she was pretty sure she didn't own any red, white, and blue thongs. As she ran her left hand through her red hair to pull it away from her face, she felt something catch, and upon disentangling it she discovered a strange ring on her finger. It was a gold band covered with intricate runes and had a smooth, black stone at the top.,"What the hell is this?" she asked softly as she held it close to her eyes, not noticing the exclamation of "What the hell is this?" that came from the loo. As she looked at the ring, a distant memory from the previous Christmas started to form. Sirius was showing her some of the treasures of his family, including family rings. Among them were the Black family's enchanted wedding rings, which her current ring looked awfully similar to.,Before she could follow that line of thought any further, the bathroom door banged open, pulling Rose's attention away from her hand. This time her brain did freeze as she goggled at the tall, muscular, and very naked body of what she could only describe as a goddess standing there, one hand in the air and the other on her hip. The brunette goddess was speaking, and seemed to be annoyed about something, but all Rose could do was stare.,She might have drooled a little, too — not that she would have ever admitted it to anyone.,Eventually, the goddess in the doorway got tired of seemingly being ignored and walked closer to Rose, which only made the younger girl's reaction worse. It took another minute of this for the goddess to notice the glazed-over eyes and finally realize what the problem was. She huffed as she yanked the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around herself before snapping her fingers in front of the dazed redhead.,"Huh?" Rose asked, blinking hard and trying to figure out what was going on.,The woman rolled her eyes and held out her left hand. "Do you have any idea what this is or where it came from? I can't get it off! And Hera knows I tried.","Oh?" Rose asked again, looking down at the hand and seeing the ring. A very familiar ring. "Ooohh..." Rose said in a low voice as she lifted her own hand to compare. As expected, they matched.,The woman bent down to get a better look and frowned. "How do you have one, too? I don't remember seeing you wearing it last night.","You'd remember something like that?","I honestly don't remember much about last night, at least not until we got back here. What happened then, I'll , forget!" the woman said with a self-satisfied grin; yet it faded almost immediately. "But I know I checked your hand before we left that first bar, to be sure you weren't married or engaged. I don't go dancing and drinking with just anyone, never mind go to bed with them afterwards.","Married!","Yes," she replied, frowning again as she toyed with her ring. "These look a little more like engagement rings, come to think of it, though they're not like any I've ever seen.","They're not," Rose whispered, trying to quell the sudden panic over what she feared she'd gotten herself into.,"What?","They're not engagement rings. They're family wedding rings.","What family?","The Black family. Sirius Black, my godfather, named me his heir. Technically, my name is Rose Potter-Black.","That explains why you're wearing one — you must have taken it off before coming to the bar," the woman said, looking angry as she started tugging on her ring. "I don't appreciate being used to cheat on your fiancé or husband, by the way. But why do I have one? And why can't I get it off?",Rose looked up at her and shook her head. "They can only be worn by married members of the Black family.","Married?" the woman asked, clearly confused. "I'm not married! And I'm certainly not married to anyone in the Black family!",Rose stood up from the bed, heedless of her nudity, and started desperately searching for something that would help explain their predicament. On the dresser, underneath her bra, she found several pieces of paper — including a piece of heavy parchment with the words "Marriage Certificate" in big, bold letters across the top., Rose read as her heart skipped several beats. ,"Suffering Sappho!" a pale Diana said when Rose handed her the certificate. "This can't be genuine. Two women can't marry — it's illegal!",Rose herself was focused on a flyer from someplace called "Elvis' Magical Wedding Emporium and Espresso Bar." She grimaced at the dim memory of a smiling Elvis before handing the flyer over. "I think these are the people who did the ceremony. Maybe they can explain?","They'd better be able to explain!" Diana growled, snatching the thong as it passed by her head before hunting for the rest of her clothes. While they got dressed, it dawned on Rose that they wouldn't be having that promised repeat of the previous night's activities now — and judging by Diana's attitude, they probably never would, which meant she might never learn what her first time had been like.,, she lamented while struggling with her bra. ,By the time she was dressed, Diana had calmed enough to try calling the place first rather than storming over there and throwing people through walls. "The last thing I need right now is for my temper to get me into trouble here," she muttered as she dialed the number, while Rose tilted her head against Diana's so they could both listen.,A woman answered, her voice occasionally punctuated by the sound of her gum cracking as she spoke around it. "Hello, Elvis' Magical Wedding Emporium and Espresso Bar, can I help you?","Yes, hi, are you open right now?" Diana asked the woman.,"Sure thing, hon, we're open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week! But I'm afraid we're pretty booked for the rest of the morning—","No, no, I don't want to make an appointment. I, um, it seems that I was already there last night...","Well, congratulations! No refunds, though — all weddings are final.","Uh, yeah, thanks. Is the person who was performing weddings last night still there, by any chance?","Sure, hon, I think Reggie's taking his break now. Just a minute.",After a lengthy pause, a deep, resonant male voice came on the phone. "Can I help you?","Yes, it seems that I was there for a wedding last night, but... well, to be perfectly honest, I don't remember it.",The man chuckled lightly. "Well, you're certainly not the first, ma'am. I suppose you'd like some of the missing details?","If it wouldn't be too much trouble, yes.","Not a problem. What's your name?" he asked.,"Diana Prince.","Hm, let me see here. It was a pretty busy night for us." They could hear him flipping through papers. "Prince... Prince... no, I'm sorry, there's no Prince wedding here. Are you sure you have the right place? Maybe it was a different chapel?",The two women heaved a sigh. "No, I doubt it — your flyer was here with the alleged marriage certificate.","It must have been a prank my adopted uncle played on us," Rose put in.,"Exactly," Diana agreed, smiling in relief. "I knew it couldn't be real. There's no way you'd marry two women.","Women?" the man asked. "Oh, you mean the Potter-Black wedding? Why didn't you say so? Yes, I did that last night — I remember you now.","But... but..." Diana stammered.,"Yes, right here," the man continued. "Rose Potter-Black and Diana Potter-Black née Prince. Sorry, I was looking for the married names before. What is it that you need to know?","It's illegal for two women to get married!" Diana protested.,"In the mundane world, sure, but this is a magical wedding emporium. Our name lets people know that we handle magical weddings too, and same-sex marriage has been legal in magical North America for quite a long time.","Magical?","That's right, we've got all the magical paperwork here," he answered. "We got drops of blood from both of you, proving that you were authorized for a magical marriage. Heh, we needed three drops from each of you, your blood alcohol levels were so high — no wonder you can't remember! Then we needed another three to get the requisite blood for the binding marriage certificate.",Both women looked down at the document Rose was holding, finally realizing what the two reddish-brown spots were.,"We also have a copy of the signed permission form from Rose Potter-Black's magical guardian.","Guardian?" Diana asked sharply. Rose winced.,"Yep, let's see... here it is. It says, 'I, Sirius Black, hereby give my amazing goddaughter, Rose Potter-Black, permission to do whatever the hell she wants, because I'm such a devilishly awesome godfather and she bloody well deserves it. And if some meddling old coot with an overly large nose tries to stop her, hex him in the bollocks for me.' I have to admit, it's a little unorthodox for a guardian's permission form, but the magic checked out, so we were legally obliged to accept it.","Sweet Merlin!" Rose exclaimed, suddenly remembering the note Remus had found among the gold Sirius had left for them. This whole trip had been his idea, even before the fiasco at the Ministry...,"You also signed the waiver acknowledging that once you consummate your marriage, it's impossible to get an annulment, and divorce isn't possible for at least three years.","That's... interesting," Diana said. "Thank you. Thank you very much." She then hung up and fixed Rose with a hard stare. "Guardian?" she said again. "How old , you?",Rose sighed and ejected her wand from its invisible wrist holster, then cast , at her face. She couldn't feel it, but she knew that various small lines disappeared, her cheeks filled out, her red hair lengthened, and a dozen other little things changed that returned her to looking like a teenager. When she and Remus had arrived, they'd been informed that anyone over fifteen was allowed to perform magic, just so long as it wasn't in front of non-magicals. She'd originally assumed that Diana was a muggle when they met at the bar, but if she was authorized to have a magical wedding, that must have meant that she was authorized to see magic performed.,"How old?" Diana asked again, looking more than a bit horrified.,"I just turned sixteen," Rose said a little defensively as she crossed her arms. "I'm not , young. I'm not a child!","Merciful Minerva!" Diana exclaimed as she got up off the bed and started pacing back and forth. "Sixteen! Back home on Themyscira that wouldn't be a problem. I mean, when I was sixteen... but here in America...","How old are , Rose demanded.,"I'm eighteen.","So not that much older than me!" Rose said, torn between thinking it cool that she'd been with someone older and more experienced, and upset that not only was she married, she was married to someone ,.,"That's not the point!" Diana complained. "You're a minor!" She stopped at that, then sat heavily back on the bed and put her head in her hands. "Artemis shield me! Forget about the marriage, we had sex last night! Multiple times! I'll be thrown in jail!","How do you think I feel?" Rose retorted. "I came on this vacation to get away from the pressures back home. To get away from adults who want to use and control me. I went off on my own last night because even the adult who brought me here hovers over me. And now I'm tied down in a marriage when I don't even remember the wedding?","You at least aren't facing jail!","Somehow, I think that if that were an issue, it wouldn't have been possible for us to get married in the first place," Rose said. "I don't know what the muggle laws are, but apparently magical laws allow for sixteen-year-olds to marry eighteen-year-olds. Even when they're blind drunk. I mean, it did allow two women to get married, even if that's illegal for muggles.",Diana lifted her head from her hands and looked at Rose, blinking hard several times. "What is that, 'muggle'? And what do you know about magic?","Muggles are people who don't have magic," Rose explained. "At least, that's the term used in Britain. I guess you use a different term here. And magic... well, it's magic. Like, y'know, with a wand?" She pulled out her wand again and waved it in the air, creating multi-colored sparks.,"You cast magic... through a stick?","It's a wand," Rose corrected, frowning. "All witches and wizards in Britain use them. Don't you?",Diana stiffened and seemed to pull back slightly. "You're a witch?",Rose rolled her eyes. "It's not like in the cartoons or movies. Well, not exactly. I do have a cauldron. And a pointy hat, come to think of it. And... I do fly on a broomstick. ...OK, I guess it , like the cartoons, but I don't cackle! And I don't have warts, either. Really, every magical female is called a witch, and every magical male is called a wizard.","Sorry," Diana replied, visibly relaxing. "I know someone who is considered a witch. Circe is her name, and she's caused so many problems. So much pain and suffering. She believes she needs to kill me in order to prevent me from killing her, even though I honestly don't wish her dead.","Yeah, I know what , like," Rose muttered. "I can assure you, I'm nothing like that.",Diana nodded. "So, do all witches and wizards use wooden sticks... er, I mean, wands?","Powerful witches and wizards can do a few spells wandlessly, but otherwise, yeah. You don't?","No, nothing like that.","Then how do you cast spells?","I don't," Diana admitted. "One of my friends, Zatanna, does, but she doesn't use a wand. And she doesn't call herself a witch. I've never seen Circe use one, either.","Then... are you a squib?" Diana looked at her questioningly, so she clarified, "A squib is a non-magical person born to magical parents.","No. I'm nothing at all like that." Sighing, she stood up, stepped back away from the bed, and put her arms straight out before launching into a spin. Rose was briefly blinded by a flash of light, and when she could see again, Diana Prince was gone. In her place was an even more gorgeous woman wearing what looked like leather and bronze armor which was... incredibly form fitting. And revealing, which didn't seem to Rose to be quite appropriate for armor, but she was much too entranced by the sight to object. The woman also wore large, metal bracelets with swords etched into them and a gold tiara on her head, and there was a golden rope hanging from her waist.,"Diana?" Rose asked, and when the woman nodded, she added, "You look great — amazing, even — but it's a strange outfit. And what does it have to do with magic?",Diana frowned at the unexpected reaction. "You mean, you don't recognize me?" Rose shook her head. "Huh," Diana said before sitting down again. "That's surprising. But... kind of nice, actually.","Should I recognize you?" Rose asked before she was distracted by the sight of Diana's ample cleavage.,"I go by the name of Wonder Woman," Diana explained. "I'm an Amazon warrior who was sent by my people as an emissary to help teach the world about our ideals — love, peace, justice, and equality. I'm famous all across the world, to be honest, which is why I'm surprised that you don't recognize me.","Amazon, huh?" Rose said softly. "That would, um, explain how buff you are.",Diana turned to look at the distracted girl. "You like strong women, I take it?","I've, uh, never seen anyone like you before," Rose said, licking her lips. "But yeah, I sure do.",Diana put a finger under Rose's chin and gently lifted her head. "My eyes are up here.",Rose was immediately lost in the woman's deep blue eyes. "Yeah, they sure are.",Diana sighed and shook her head. "You need to focus.","Sorry," Rose said, blushing. "You're... well, you're pretty fantastic. After Hermione rejected me, I was sure that I'd never find someone I could be with romantically. I mean, one of the things that attracted me to Hermione, aside from her being pretty and smart and all, was the fact that she treated me like a regular person. She accepted me as just plain Rose.","Why would that be an issue?",Rose grimaced, then lifted her bangs to reveal the scar on her forehead. "It has to do with this, and the fact that I'm known as the Girl Who Lived. I'm famous too, but I'm famous in a small, closed community of witches and wizards." Rose then proceeded to give Diana a more detailed biography than she had the night before, starting with the murder of her parents and ending with the fight in the Department of Mysteries, not long before her pseudo-uncle Remus came to her with a bag of money and a letter from her godfather, telling them to take a vacation outside Britain.,By the end, Diana was holding the younger girl close. "There are a lot of things in that story of yours that don't make sense," she said when Rose was calm again. She held up one hand to forestall Rose's protest. "I don't mean that I don't believe you. Quite the opposite, in fact — I completely trust you.",Rose lifted her left hand and touched the ring. "I wonder if it's because of these? Sirius told me there were all sorts of special enchantments on them to help the married couple be closer, but I didn't ask for any details. I didn't think they'd ever be relevant to me.",Diana frowned, looking at her own ring. "We do need to find out more — those details could be important. But no, I trust you because I can tell when people lie to me. What I meant when I said that things in your story don't make sense is that some of the things that happened to you strike me as suspicious. I think you've been without proper support for far too long.","Yeah, no one has cared much about what happens to me, even most of the adults," Rose admitted as she stared at her lap. "Only Hermione cares, and she can only do so much for me.",Diana reached out with both hands and cupped Rose's cheeks, forcing the younger girl to meet her gaze. "Well, now you have me," she declared. "I shall return with you to your world and aid you against your foes." For a moment, her voice took on a depth and resonance that hadn't been there before.,"What about your job here? You can't simply give that up to follow me!",Diana appeared troubled as she dropped her hands and looked away. "I... I'm not sure about my mission here anymore." When the silence wore on, Rose touched her arm gently, and Diana reluctantly turned back to face her.,"You remember that I said I killed someone?" she began, and Rose nodded. "Well, Max Lord was someone whom everyone trusted, but his heart was as black as pitch. He insinuated himself into the lives of heroes like me because he wanted to destroy us, claiming that because of our powers, we are a threat to the rest of humanity. He almost succeeded.","How?" Rose whispered.,"His most recent plot involved taking control of the mind of Superman." When Rose looked at her in confusion, Diana shook her head ruefully. "It's easy to forget how little you know of us. Suffice it to say that Superman is the single most powerful man on the planet, perhaps only a little more powerful than me, if that. Under Lord's control, he nearly beat to death Batman, our closest friend and a leader among us heroes. Then the two of us fought, but I was at a disadvantage because I didn't want to seriously hurt him; he, in contrast, was fighting to kill.","Oh, no!" Rose gasped, reaching out to take Diana's hand.,"He injured me, but I managed to create a diversion long enough to get to Lord to interrogate him. I can force people to tell the truth, and when I asked him how to free Superman, he had but one answer: 'Kill me.'","That was the choice you had to make?","Superman was nearly upon me by that point. I had mere seconds to choose between killing Max Lord, trying to kill Superman, or letting Superman kill me so he could then start killing the rest of the earth's heroes. With me gone, the others wouldn't have stood much of a chance, even working together. That's how powerful Superman is.","I'll bet he would have moved on to witches and wizards, if Lord ever found out about them," Rose observed.,Diana looked thoughtful for a moment. "You're probably right. He seemed to fear and hate anyone with more power than him. Regardless, I made my choice. I didn't know that he was broadcasting the fight to the entire world, not that that would have changed anything. So everyone watched me break his neck. I didn't kill a mighty opponent in the heat of battle, but a bound, unarmed man in cold blood.","And your friends turned their backs on you?","Yes, even though it should have been clear that I saved their lives as well as the lives of countless others," Diana said, shaking her head slowly. "Superman and Batman believe that there are always alternatives to killing." She stopped for a moment, and Rose could see that she was struggling with what she wanted to say. "I respect them both, not only for their skills and courage, but for their moral characters. I respect their refusal to kill, and their insistence on trying to bring in criminals alive so they can be rehabilitated. It's what I was raised to do as well. However...",When she trailed off, Rose continued the thought: "However, sometimes killing is the only viable option." Diana looked her in the eye for a long moment before nodding. Rose went on, "I said that I killed when I was eleven, but I didn't do it intentionally. I didn't even fully realize what I'd done until months later." She paused as she tried to gather strength for what she needed to explain. "So I've never deliberately killed, but I don't have that luxury anymore.","Why?" Diana asked, shifting a little closer.,"When I told you about the fight in the Ministry, I said that the prophecy sphere broke. What I didn't say was that it smashed to the floor of the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. With Voldemort, the Minister of Magic, and a whole slew of aurors, reporters, and Ministry employees watching.","And after such a horrible year, too?" Diana exclaimed in sympathy. "What did the prophecy say?",Rose closed her eyes, allowing herself to return to that night in the atrium, and recited the words that had been seared into her mind: ,"So, it's you or him. No wonder you said you understood my problems with Circe," Diana concluded. "Only you can stop Voldemort, but if you don't, he kills you and takes over your world.","And then the rest of the world, too, I suspect.",Diana nodded. "Such people are rarely satisfied with just a little power. Like Maxwell Lord, they always reach out for more and more, caring nothing for those they hurt or kill in the process.","What's worse, everyone knows it, too," Rose said. "It's bad enough that Voldemort knows, but now everyone in wizarding Britain is looking to me to be their savior. I'm only sixteen... well, I was only fifteen when this happened, but that didn't matter. Lots of people back home are calling to have me pushed out into battle, regardless of how little training and education I've gotten so far. That's one reason why I agreed to this vacation in America: I had to get away, even if only for a little while. I can't stand everyone trying to control me, telling me what to do. People who care nothing for me are trying to make decisions about my life — not for my sake, but for their own." Rose's voice grew plaintive. "All I want is a chance to live a normal life. To have the same problems that other, normal teenagers have.","You've been given a terrible burden. It would be difficult for anyone to bear, never mind someone as young as you. What are people doing about it, though?",Rose shrugged. "A lot of them seem to regard the prophecy as permission to not do anything themselves. They say it's my job, and my job alone. I'm expected to kill and to win — to deliver peace and safety to everyone else, no matter what it costs me." She let that hang in the air for a moment, then exhaled heavily. "I don't know how I'm going to do it. Sometimes I'm not even sure I want to bother, and most of the time I doubt that I'll succeed. After all, the prophecy doesn't say that I'll win, only that one of us has to kill the other.","Well, you won't have to face him alone," Diana said firmly as she put her arm around Rose's shoulders and pulled her close.,"In the end, though, it's him or me," Rose said in a small voice. "And I don't know how I'll be able to win. To kill him.",Diana shook her head. "Like I said, you won't be alone. When you decide to return, I will be with you, right by your side. And I'll stay by your side until the end.","Really?" Rose asked, her voice betraying how hard it was for her to believe that. It wasn't the first time someone had promised to support her.,"Really.","But... why?" In her experience, it was only her friends — people her own age — who'd ever followed her lead, who'd gone along with her decisions. Adults only ever tried to push her down paths of their own choosing, often without bothering to explain themselves.,"I told you that my closest friends, as well as the public, have turned their backs on me. One of the reasons I was in that bar last night, aside from just feeling sorry for myself, was that I was trying to decide what to do next. I can't easily continue my mission as I have been because the people no longer trust me. It makes me wonder if I'm even up to the task; yet I don't want to return to my home in disgrace. Helping you will let me continue my mission, albeit on a smaller scale.",Diana paused for a moment, then added, "But even if that weren't the case, I'd still come with you.",Rose looked at her in surprise. "But... you hardly know me.","You didn't know Hermione well when you jumped on the back of a mountain troll to save her, and I'm much more capable than you were at eleven," she said reasonably. "Besides, I can hardly let my new wife march off into battle by herself, now can I?","Wife? I mean, sure, technically we are married, but... how can you think of me that way? You can't be happy about being stuck married to me. I'm just a kid, compared to you, and I'm not exactly a great catch. I'm too skinny, I hardly have any hips, my chest is practically flat — especially compared to yours — and I... I...",Diana smiled reassuringly and reached out with her free hand to gently stroke Rose's hair, calming the girl down. "I wouldn't have walked out of that bar with you if I hadn't felt a reasonably strong attraction to you. I wouldn't have made love to you all night if I weren't expecting — or at least hoping — to start a long-term relationship of some sort with you. Amazons don't simply jump into bed with strangers for casual sex, no matter how good it is. The age difference is a surprise, but as an Amazon warrior I was considered of age at sixteen, so it's not a deal-breaker for me. And as for the marriage... while I admit I can't remember the ceremony, I know I wouldn't have agreed to it if I didn't have strong feelings for you and weren't serious about our relationship. We Amazons do not treat marriage lightly, and that ties back in with why I insist on returning to Britain with you to help you confront the growing evil there.",Rose's expression shifted from hopeful to happy, then slowly slid to disappointment.,"What's wrong?" Diana asked, confused.,"About the sex," Rose said. "You've mentioned more than once that last night was good.","Mind-blowing," Diana corrected. "Never in my wildest fantasies did I imagine that it was possible for a woman's tongue to do such things — and I know something about the subject. I didn't realize at the time that you were magical, but that explains a lot. If all witches are like you, I have to wonder how your men compete." The grin that had begun to spread across her face at the memory fell suddenly. "Why? Wasn't last night great for you?","I have no idea!" Rose exclaimed, close to tears. "I can't remember it! Any of it! And it was my first time, too!",Diana's eyes widened in surprise before she chuckled. "Well, that means that we'll have to make some new memories. And in the process, maybe I'll manage to remind you of a couple of things." Rose's breath caught as Diana leaned in to kiss her, but just before their lips could meet they were interrupted by a loud buzzing from Rose's shirt pocket.,"What is that?" Diana asked.,Rose yanked out a small mirror and looked at it in alarm. "Oh, shite, it's Sirius! He's going to kill me when he finds out about this! Or prank me. Or both." She bolted for the bathroom.,"Sirius? ...Um, isn't he supposed to be dead?" Diana called after her as the door slammed shut.

ALICE POTTER THE CHESHIRE CAT,SUMMERY: The summer before fourth year Alice Potter receives a strange collar with magical properties...putting it on Alice gains a friendly Ally, freedom from Dumbledore and the Dursleys, Dobby as a free house elf friend and the strength to get through her toughest year at Hogwarts yet...one that involves The Triwizard tournament.,CHAPTER ONE: A collar of escape.,JUNE 20th 1994,Alyssa Potter the girl who lived more commonly known as Alice to her friends strode through Diagon alley with purpose and determination. The past three years in the magical world had taught Alice that the public were sheep...Lockharts fan base and treatment of Professor Lupin came to mind. The past school year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry had taught Alice that authority figures were corruptible -and abusive of powers- often placating with one hand like Fudge last summer when it was thought Sirius black was after her and Hermione's gift of a time turner and strangling with the other like Sirius being hunted on the run despite being innocent. The past forty eight hours however had taught Alice that freedom was attainable and worth fighting for...,Reaching the steps to Gringotts 'wizarding' bank Alice took a moment to bow slightly to the goblin guards as she passed them, Those with a brain however knew that the bank was pretty much goblin territory. Seeing that the tellers were busy and had queues in the lobby Alice sighed and joined the nearest one and resigned herself to waiting.,",Cheshire purred warmly from the back of her head,Alice replied playing with the collar around her neck,Cheshire replied sound smug as usual ",",Alice snorted to herself but remained quiet otherwise, she'd spent the night in a really nice London hotel thanks to the bank account she'd set up the previous summer with the galleons she'd exchanged for muggle money. The money she'd swiped from Vernon's wallet was more than enough to get a train ticket to London and to get to the hotel with some left over.,Reaching the front of the line Alice took a deep breath and stepped forwards knowing full well she didn't have much time since Goblins could see through most magic #,"Teller Pike I am Alice Potter and I come with a request to see the banker in charge of the potter accounts" Alice said as respectfully as she could slyly reading the tag at the front of the desk "I apologise for not sending a letter forwards but I'd been in no position to do so until late last night, I am willing to wait for a time at his convenience but I must see them...I am willing to prove myself by blood if need be","Please wait over there at those seats ma'am" Teller Pike said looking both surprised and a little confused "I will check with banker Bloodfang and send teller Griphook to you when it is time to head to the meeting","Thank you master Teller" Alice replied with a slight bow "May your money flow and your enemies quiver in their boots","May your enemies quake in theirs Ma'am" Teller Pike replied before watching Alice walk over tot he before mentioned chairs and sat down before turning to Teller Griphook as he passed his chair "Teller Griphook a word please",Alice sat and began humming the tune to the poem 'T'was Brillig' having heard Cheshire singing it earlier much to the joy of the cat at the back of her head. It was the second hum around when Griphook appeared before her,"Miss Potter" he said with a slight bow "Master banker Bloodfang is ready for you please follow me","Of Course Teller Griphook" Alice replied getting to her feet and straightening her clothing as she did so "Please lead the way",Alice followed the goblin across the lobby and down a corridor hidden in the corner of the room. They walked past quite a few doors and round a few right turns before reaching a door with a plaque stating Banker Bloodfang Potter Accounts. Griphook cleared his throat and knocked on the door. It didn't take too long for a deep booming voice to call out,"ENTER!",# # # # #,AUTHORS NOTE:,THANK YOU FOR READING THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ALICE POTTER THE CHESHIRE CAT,# # #,ALL POLITE, RESONABLEY CONSTRUCTED AND RESPECTFUL IN CONTENT WILL BE RESPONDED TO AND WELCOMED.,ALL FLAMERS AND REVIEWERS UNABLE TO WRITE RESPECTFULLY WILL BE DELETED AND BLOCKED.,# # #,CHAPTER TWO IS BEING WRITAIN AS WE SPEAK AND WILL BE POSTED SOON.

But in the end, even he had to die.,Everyone has to die.,That is the cycle of life.,Now, you may be wondering what the reason behind my mentioning Ignotus Peverell is, but you will find that out by the end of this story. If the mention of his name has led you to the conclusion that this is a story of the infamous Peverell brothers, then you are sorely mistaken.,As the title of this story suggests, this is the tale of a great encounter.,The fateful meeting of a certain gravely injured Dark Wizard and a scrawny book thief of thirteen.,I saw the book thief three times, and the Dark Wizard several times more.,And each time, I was not waiting for them.,Truth be told, I hardly have enough words to go around to recount this tale, let alone start at the very beginning.,So I'm just going to have to jump right into the thick of things.,The thickness, as it turned out, was the lung-burning, eye-watering conglomeration of dense smoke clouds that rose up from the burning German Ministry of Magic.,The year was 1942, and the day was the fourth of September.,It marked the day Himmel Street was faced with the very real danger of their first air raid, and the day Gellert Grindelwald slipped through my fingers by means of a very well-timed Disapparation.,The story is as you presume it to be.,The ,a term I have come to find just as endearing as ,and ,thought it would be intelligent an idea to make the skies rain explosives and fire and blood. And I, as usual, was meant to clean up after them.,So as I wandered about collecting the innocent souls of the fallen, I chanced upon something fantastic: two wizards battling it out amidst the raging fires of war.,What a sight to behold that was. I admit to having shirked my duties for a moment too long in order to witness the sheer magnificence of their duel.,Before I continue, I must take a moment to explain to you the brilliance of it all. Not that I'm suggesting so, but Gellert Grindelwald might have been one of the greatest, most genius Dark Wizards of all time. No one could possibly find any fault in his foolproof plan of using the World War II as a means of razing the Ministries of Magic and several other locations of continental Europe to the ground.,But someone did.,And that someone just so happened to be the single, most powerful wizard that Grindelwald feared.,Albus Dumbledore.,And so you have your beginning and I have the satisfaction of recounting an epic battle.,That's right, you've guessed it.,Gellert Grindelwald, evil mastermind that he was, underestimated the firepower of the Muggle weaponry that rained down on him, inevitably leading to his near death. If not for that well-timed Apparition I mentioned previously, this tale wouldn't exist.,And thus, I now arrive at the actual beginning of this story, as recounted by none other than the book thief herself, and narrated by yours truly, through hurriedly scrawled pages that still hold the sharp smell of paint.,As it so happened, whether this luck was good or bad, we will never know.,But for the sake of this story, let us assume luck was on Grindelwald's side when his emergency Disapparition landed him right in the middle of the Amper River, in which he lay floating, idly watching the ash grey and blood red sky 'til he could no longer feel the excruciating pain from the severe burns all over his body. He then dragged himself out of the river and laid haphazardly on the bank, gasping for breath.,Before he could so much as allow his swimming vision to settle, he could hear the faraway sound of sirens and feel the familiar pressure of the air being pummelled and ripped apart as more explosives zoomed overhead, heading towards the small town some way off from where he was.,What happened next could be considered nothing more than an impulsive decision on the part of a semi-conscious, injured wizard who had just suffered reasonable trauma by means of a bombing.,And so, Grindelwald, in all his scorched, delusional glory, used what was left of his magical reserves to alter the course of the missile so it skittered right over the little town of Molching and landed… well, somewhere that wasn't Himmel Street, and that's good enough for us and our other protagonist.,Thirteen-year-old Liesel Meminger.,Otherwise known as the book thief.,Rudy Steiner, who was, for all intents and purposes, our protagonist's right-hand man, was the first to discover the body.,'Oi, ,I think we can use that rotting log to climb over the fence,' was the first reaction at having caught sight of Grindelwald.,'What log?' was the second.,'That log,Can't you see?',By this point, Rudy had wandered over to the so-called ,and had begun prodding it with his shoe, all the while watching our other protagonist with a superior grin on his muddy face.,Liesel Meminger, having finally reached her friend, squinted down at the log and said, ',I think that's… a person.',Rudy paused mid-prod and stared down at the body wide-eyed, having realised that the patch of dirty, dried grass was actually someone's hair.,',Is he breathing?',Liesel squatted down and tentatively stuck her face close to the body's. She pulled away after a moment, wide-eyed and pale, and nodded once.,'I think he's alive.',Rudy didn't seem too happy to hear this for two reasons.,'Maybe we should tell someone,' Liesel began, already inching away from the body and her best friend.,'Don't be stupid,I've already got enough ,this week without voluntarily asking for one.','You ,voluntarily ask for one.',Rudy yelled ',and took off after Lesiel, brandishing one of his shoes over his head. It was a few minutes later that the two returned, panting, having remembered that they'd found a living person lying on the riverside and had to investigate further.,'I really think we should tell someone, Rudy,' Liesel was saying as Rudy, in all his foolish bravery, got very close to the body and smacked its forehead. Hard.,There was a mighty groan and a dark tongue that flicked out to lick burnt lips, and the two children screamed bloody murder as they turned tail and ran for their lives.,In the day that had transpired between their first and second encounters, Grindelwald had regained a fair bit of his strength.,At least enough to crawl to the closest tree and heal the worst of his wounds.,The pain had knocked him out an hour or two before the arrival of our two lovebirds.,',look! He's moved!','I told you he was alive.',The acknowledgement of having been right was the sole reason for Liesel to stalk up to the tree, some leftover plaster and waste cloth stolen from the cupboard under Rosa Hubermann's sink in hand, and peer at the injured man. No sooner had she discovered that his injuries seemed better than when she had first seen him, Rudy let out a sharp yelp.,'Oi,look out!',But it was too late.,Before she could take a step backwards, the man had reached up and grabbed her arm, piercing blue eyes locked with her own, murky brown ones.,He opened his mouth and closed it.,Opened it again and closed it.,The grasp on her arm loosened and she stumbled backwards, falling hard on her bottom.,'Liesel!','Shh, ,I think he's trying to speak.' Despite the thundering of her heart and the film of sweat above her brow, she leaned in closer, curiosity getting the better of her.,'Liesel, come on! Let's go!' Rudy was pleading, for once, but Liesel was too engrossed in trying to decipher the movement of the mysterious stranger's chapped lips to heed his request.,'I think… Rudy, I think he wants…quick,get some water!',Rudy blinked. 'What?',',Water!',Rudy fumbled, looking panicked, but it only took the snap of Lesiel's head in his direction and her urgent glare for him to rush down to the river, grab his shoe, dip it in the cool water, and return with it splashing everywhere.,'Ugh,you used your shoe?','What, you want me to use a cup, ,Should I make a picnic while I'm at it?',Liesel simply scoffed at him as she grabbed the weathered shoe and brought it to the man's mouth. He scrunched his nose and turned his face away, causing Liesel to throw an ,look at Rudy over her shoulder, but the man drank from the shoe nonetheless, his thirst getting the better of him.,'See,he doesn't have a problem drinking from my shoe.','If he doesn't die now, , you can be happy.',',And thus, the patient was transferred to a more suitable location: an old, decrepit barn that stank of animal excrement and rotten fodder.,Liesel wasn't very sure if it was a good idea to drag an injured man across the rocky ground using their bikes.,Rudy was delighted by the very thought of it.,'I told you it would work,' Rudy gloated as they heaved the man over to the cleanest looking pile of hay and dumped him on it.,'I think his injuries got worse.','What injuries? All I see is mud and filth. This ,looks like he was dragged through a fertilised field.',Rudy grinned wide when Liesel threw him a dirty look before turning back to her patient. 'Rudy, go get some water from the river. I want to clean his wounds.','The river is far,'I'll tell everyone you fed a dying man water from your dirty shoe.' Rudy didn't seem deterred. 'With your ,',That did the trick. Rudy muttered an angry ,and rode off down to the river, returning ten minutes later with two pails full of water balancing from each of his bike's handles.,'Give them here,' Liesel instructed as she diligently ripped the waste cloth into strips to make bandages.,'How about a kiss first, ,'With your ,Rudy made a grating sound in the back of his throat as he pushed the bike over, took the pails off the handlebars, and kept them on the ground, after which he helped Liesel clean the man's injuries.,The book of choice: ,Rudy initially seemed alright with the idea of reading to the sick, but after realising that all of Liesel's idle time became devoted to musing out loud about her mystery patient and when he would wake up and what story she should tell him next, the boy didn't seem to like it all that much.,He suffered from a common ailment that thirteen-year-old boys who were unrequitedly in love with their best friends were prone to: jealousy.,Liesel, of course, couldn't care less for Rudy's disapproval of her nursing methods.,'If you don't like it, then go home, ,' she told him one dreary afternoon when he wouldn't stop grumbling about her telling some stranger her life's story.,In his defence, his argument was pretty solid. ('Even ,don't know all that much about you!' ),To her, and my, surprise, he did as he was told. 'Fine, I will! Just don't come crying to me when he dies!,'Fine!','Fine!',',',But she did notice the hidden smile as he drove off and knew that he would come back to get her before sundown. Meanwhile, she turned back to her patient and began a new tale.,Disregarding the heart-breaking irony of the last tale, Liesel continued to narrate these stories to the comatose Grindelwald the moment Rudy left her to her own devices.,She was under the impression that her stories and careful nursing was helping her patient.,She was right.,About a month after they mistook the mysterious injured man lying on the river bank to be a rotten log (and a few days before Hans Hubermann was called off to war), Liesel and Rudy—who had finally succumbed to Liesel's infectious excitement regarding a certain apparently cured patient—arrived at the barn to find that their mystery man was nowhere to be seen.,',I know you said he was healing, but you didn't tell me he was well enough to walk around,' Rudy said as he peered out of the barn.,'He wasn't! He didn't open his eyes once this whole time or show any signs of waking up! There's no way he could walk. I'm sure of it.','Well,' Rudy stood with his feet apart and arms crossed, 'where is he, then?',Liesel continued to stare at the pile of hay that had the indentation of a grown man on it. 'I… don't know.','Of , you don't know! You're no doctor, how would you know if he's well enough or not?',Liesel ignored the truth in what Rudy had said, and, walking over to the hay, pressed her palm against it. 'It's still warm,' she murmured, eyes flitting around as she tried to find some sign of her mystery patient.,Her eyes landed on a crumpled, folded piece of paper. The jagged edges made it seem as though it was ripped from a book. Eyes widening, she thought back to the torn page in ,and briefly wondered why she'd never suspected that her mystery patient could have been the culprit. She quickly hid it under her shirt as Rudy came up behind her.,'Well? Did you find anything?','No.' She grabbed his arm and steered him out of the barn. 'If he's gone, he's gone. Nothing we can do about it.',Rudy eyed her with a suspicious frown. It wasn't like Liesel Meminger to leave a mystery unsolved. 'What, that's it? You're giving up just like that?,But the book thief's mind was too focused on the letter scratching her bosom to notice Rudy's scepticism. She nodded as she straddled her bike and took off down the road. 'Come on, Rudy, it's nearly sundown! It'll be ,for us if we're not home soon!','Wait, ,came Rudy's reply, and the two raced back to Himmel Street. The mystery man's letter was stuck to Liesel's skin the whole way home. Later, she would file it away in her book and it would remain there for a long, long time.,This is where we return to the very beginning of this story.,Before the beginning, I mean.,Remember Ignotus Peverell?,Yes, well, he seemed to have played a rather insignificantly significant role in the preservation of the book thief's book.,How, you ask? Well, I've already told you that.,Ignotus Peverell was the master of Death.,And thus, ,became a timeless treasure that would be passed on for generations and never succumb to even Death.,What great magic did Grindelwald leave the thirteen-year-old girl who saved his life and told him stories, you ask?,He left her a letter.,And a strange symbol.,.

First order of business, the ,-story is not on hold. I just thought it would be a good idea to throw this out there and see what kind of opinions it wakes up.,Second, this crossover happens in a different universe than then the other first four stories. As the first scene shows, Superman here is Henry Cavill's,-version.,Clark woke up from his old nightmare. The worst day of his life that had happened two years ago today. Life had always been hard for someone like him, with the things he could, but at least Clark had had his parents to support him and give him guidance. And then Clark had let his father die, because he believed in him. Mom was still alive and living in Smallville, but Clark had to leave there. He needed to find answers and the only clue he had was the silvery spike with the S-symbol hanging from his neck.,Right now, Clark was in a cargo ship arriving in London, Britain. Could have been worse, he had only learnt of the destination after getting aboard it. Working there had also helped Clark make money he was probably going need. Wasn't much, but he could always make more. Somehow, legally or illegally. Without any specific destination, Clark was merely a drifting traveler trying to find his place in the world.,''Hey, Kansas,'' some crew member told Clark as he was leaving the ship, ''good luck out there.'',Clark didn't say anything, but gave back a nod and an assuring smile. He was wondering if it was a good idea to go alone but what was already done was done. He could have asked Pete to come with him. Pete knew what Clark could do, maybe. But no, Clark had left alone. Guess that was better so he didn't have to worry about his friend's safety. Hell, Clark didn't even know if it would have been a good idea to trust some other crewmember that might have been leaving the ship as well and ask them to travel with him or awhile.,After stepping out of the ship and walking some miles, Clark noticed that London was foggy and cold with calm and awful weather. The city itself was alive with people, so many people with so many sounds and voices. Clark concentrated his hearing to cut out what he didn't want to hear. Gossiping, negotiations, conversations and whispers that might as well have been shouts and screams heard in Clark's ears. He heard everything there was to hear and as interesting as it all was, none of it was for Clark to hear:,Clark entered a coffee shop and closed the door behind him. Its walls weren't made of lead so he could still hear all that noise but at least less than all of it. Turning around to see the other people in the coffee shop, Clark saw that he stood out from the crowd with his ship work clothes. There were some teenagers who were wearing noticeably a size too small clothes and workmen among the customers. That made Clark the third party there with his light brown jacket, jeans and cap. Trying not to look weird, Clark walked past the other customers, who were preoccupied with their own business, to the counter.,''Just got off the ship, honey?'' asked the dark skinned salesgirl behind the counter smiling at Clark.,''Oh, yeah, just did,'' Clark said rather awkwardly to the salesgirl's complimenting hospitality and took the cap off his head. ''I'll have a… cappuccino. Hot, because of the weather. Its cold out.'',''It is,'' the salesgirl, Teri as Clark caught her name in her nametag, said as she began to make Clark's coffee. ''Are you a tourist or-'','','' '','',''Just passing through,'' Clark answered looking around the coffee shop.,He had just heard something troubling. Thought Clark tried not to eavesdrop on other people, his hearing sometimes picked up some things people said and now Clark thought it had caught something worth listening.,'', ,.'',''What?'' Clark asked aloud, in a low whisper and looked to where he had heard that last line. The workmen were the ones speaking.,'',?'' '',.'',Clark raised his eyebrow. He understood that England had some different slangs and words from America's, but those call names and talks of killing someone were bad signs. Turning to look at the other customers in the coffee shop, Clark saw the teenagers consisting two seventeen year old boys (one with red hair, other with dark hair and glasses) and an eighteen year old girl(sandy brown, bushy hair). Their speech however seemed, muffed and wasn't coming to be heard, even with Clark's hearing.,But from their body language, Clark saw that the teenagers were worried of themselves and something else. Taking a quick notice of their clothes again, Clark saw that the clothes they were wearing were tight and a size too small, like they had just changed into them. The three were on the run and those workmen were after them.,''Your cappuccino, honey,'' Teri said surprising Clark, who had been preoccupied with eavesdropping.,''Oh, yeah, thanks,'' Clark said taking his coffee and dropped the payment for it to Teri.,Then he went to sit near the teenagers so he could see the workmen and hear the teenagers better. The dark haired boy with glasses took a notice of Clark's presence, to which Clark gave back a friendly smile and probably looked like shmuck to them. Clark turned his gaze to the workmen and used his enhanced vision to see if they had weapons hidden on them. They didn't and Clark didn't see any hidden under the table either. What he did saw were some kind of sticks.,As the workmen drew out their sticks and pointed them at the teenagers, the teenagers drew out theirs and Clark witnessed some kind of lightshow where both parties were firing each other with beams coming from the said sticks.,''Avada Kedavra!'' the Workmen yelled.,''Stupify!'' the teenager yelled back as they fired their beams.,Having already heard that the workmen were there to kill, Clark used his breath to blow their sticks of their hands and so giving the teenagers the advantage. With Clark's help, the fight was over almost immediately. Clark got up from his table as the girl fired a beam at Teri, muttering 'Obliviate' and then turned her stick at Clark.,''I don't think so,'' Clark said, before using his speed to snatch the girl's stick and the boys' as well. ''Now, who's gonna explain to me what just happened and give me a reason hand these back?'',To continue what i started up there, this story is set during the Deathly Hollows in 1997. In Man of Steel, the gravestone of Jonathan Kent told that he died in 1995 and Superman said he has been on Earth for 33 years by 2013. By using math, I have deduced that Clark should be 17-18 years old, same aged as Harry, Ron and Hermione.,I am asking you to review should this story be continued with this logic. I'm still writing Hereafter, but if this story manages to gather enough followers, I'll continue working on this too.,EDIT: ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!? THE HURRICANE HAS BEEN SWITCHED INTO TORNADO! THERE! I FIXED IT!

To all my readers-I apologize for the lack of updates to my other fictions lately. I have had a BAD couple of months lately. I have tinnitus and during a space of a week the symptoms drastically changed. My doctor was useless, going from 'an infection' to 'build up of fluid' to 'blockage somewhere' to 'damaged or twisted nerve' to 'benign tumor'. Meanwhile one side of my face is numb and the symptoms continue to change, some so severe I am stuck at thinking it would be better if I'm dead. Believe me when your ears are creating high-pitched LOUD tones that give you incredibly blistering migraines, the last thing you want to do is write or read. I STILL have problems, however they are settled down to numb\deaf with a kind of...swishing sound, allowing me to go back to my writing. I am currently halfway through next chapters of both Dark Chakra AND Mutant Ninja.,********************Chapter Start*************************,He watched impassively as the vampire's body crumpled to dust. He didn't know why he bothered anymore, he should just greet the dawn now while he still had a thread of humanity left. But something stopped him every time, a sense of waiting, like Mother Earth was holding her breath, waiting for SOMETHING to happen. So he held on, trusting the mother of all Carpathians to know when his time had come.,Suddenly there was a twist in the air, like something had changed, shifted.,His head shot up, body tensed and ready, at first unsure but then recognizing the sound he had just heard.,A scream. A scream of pure terror and fear, tinged with concern. A FEMININE scream.,The voice was so pure, so beautiful, so...clear and clean, but so YOUNG, it couldn't be more than a child...However the innocence of it had another effect on him. He grunted and dropped to his knees at the backlash as color, emotion and pure...feeling flooded him, blinding and stunning him at the same time. He struggled under the flood, at least 700 years of repressed or blocked color and emotions drowning him in the flow.,Just when he thought he was going to loose consciousness the feminine voice came a second time, rending the air with the emotion, this time followed by words "NO! DON'T, PLEASE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? UNCLE REMI! DON'T! DON'T HURT HIM!" Followed by something he had never heard before. The only way he could describe it was a wolf howl from a HUMAN throat.,Immediately EVERYTHING locked on that voice. It was HER! The one he had waited so long for! The one that made every struggle, every torturous second of his grey existence mean something. His eyes narrowed and his entire world narrowed down to that one, fragile cry. AND SHE WAS IN DANGER!,With a furious snarl his white eyes changed to blood-red and he was off faster than he had ever moved in his long life, he had to find her! He had to protect his lifemate before whatever dared threaten her took her away from him! His mind opened to the earth under him, processing all the information he could find of her location. His top lip curled back when he sensed the overwhelming evil ahead vampire, he should have realized! The one he had destroyed was too new, too easy. It must have been a distraction while the master went after his lifemate and this...Uncle Remi! But what was the strange howl?,When he FINALLY came across the scene he found something he had-in all his long existence-never seen before.,A master vampire stood at one end of the clearing, the ground and trees around him contaminated. At the other end was two figures, one an five year old girl and the second...the second was something he had never seen before.,It was hairless and only slightly larger than a normal man. the arms and legs were longer and humanoid-as the rest of it-but the head vaguely resembled an wolf, however it was also humanoid. The jaw was too short for a wolf, the ears high and pointed, shaped like wolf ears but on either side of the head instead of on top.,At first he thought that the creature was some sort of mutation the vampire created, but then he saw the way the thing was crouched over the child, snarling threatening at the vampire, posture threatening but also protective of the child and he realized the thing was...protecting his lifemate! As if to prove him right the head lowered, snuffling at the child, smelling her closely before she whimpered and he saw and smelt blood covering the child's shoulder. Sniffing the liquid the creature raised its head and those amber eyes narrowed at the vampire and it let out an ferrous snarl at it.,Somehow this...thing...cared for the child, protecting her and in such a way despite the power of the vampire, its control didn't seem to matter. However if it was to bite the vampire, the parasites would infect it, possibly let the vampire control or even manipulate it.,He was about to move forward to face it instead when the child moved. As if sensing the creature was going to attack it, she gripped its leg and whimpered, two words "Uncle Remi.",His eyes widened, this thing was her uncle? It was RELATED to her?! Could she also become this?! Wait, she wasn't afraid of it and it knew her, even in this form, which meant that she had seen it before. Any other thought was interrupted as the vampire moved, flashing forward to attack. He couldn't let this...thing be injured, despite the fact it was an abomination of nature, so he misted his body between them and raised one hand.,Somehow, probably because of the fact it was so fixated on the the creature, the vampire didn't see him until too late. He impaled himself on his clawed hand, his fingers instantly tightening around the withered black heart and wrenching it free. Before the evil one could do anything to reclaim it's life he had called down the lightening, burning up the withered organ.,The vampires shriek of pure fury and fear was cut short as he burned its body up next.,Behind him he heard a small cry of "Uncle Remi!" and spun, just in time to witness the creature collapse, unconscious, body going through what he could only describe as a horrifying transformation as bones seemed to break and move under the skin, moving into new positions, skin shifting and changing color, hair growing and changing color until a naked human male lay where the thing once was.,He was well-built but incredibly pale, sandy brown hair, looking in his thirties and with his enhanced sight he could see long scars across his face, three of them, one starting just before his left temple and down, barely missing the eye,across the nose and halving the right cheek. The second started near the top of the left ear, went just under the eye, halved the mouth and touched the top of the right side of the chin while the last started below the corner of the left side of the mouth and stopped at the base of the chin.,It looked like some sort of wild animal had attacked him, but the scars were too wide apart to be any animal he could think of and were not caused by the vampire, no, these were old.,As he moved slowly towards them, eying the bleeding tears on his lifemates neck, he watched the girl shaking the male, begging him to awaken. He frowned, it was obvious both cared for each other, he would have to examine and heal the male for his lifemate. However her own wound was more serious, he had to examine them for parasites and clean then close them, he couldn't risk loosing her now he found her.,He was almost within reaching distance of the male when the child's head snapped up and she looked right into his eyes.,He froze, breath catching in his throat.,She was the most beautiful and innocent thing he had ever seen.,Long wild blue-black hair flowed down her back, streaks of intense red laced through it, reaching just to the tip of the small of her back, framing an perfectly oval face. Her skin was peach, even with the pale flush of shock and tears welled and flowed down cheeks from the most intense green eyes he had ever seen. The only flaw in the perfection of his lifemate was a scar shaped like a lightening bolt one the right side of her head, just above the eyebrow and more towards the temple. But to him, in his eyes, it made her look all the more exotic, not in a sexual way but like an unique and interesting-no fascinating-way.,She, like the male, was something unique and interesting. And those eyes...he had never seen a green quite like it, it even seemed to glow with the sheen of tears in them.,His breath and eyes were caught in hers briefly before her whimper broke the spell. Concerned he moved slowly forward, trying to not look threatening as he spoke gently "it's alright, Cistri, I will not harm you or your...Uncle. Let me see to your neck, I can heal it.","Uncle Remi" she whimpered, looking down at the figure, unconscious, grunting in pain every time his bones or some part else snapped out or back in the proper place. He slowly approached the two, hands out to show he wouldn't harm them and sending waves of calm and peace to them, hoping to sooth them enough to do what he had to do. The tear filled eyes looked at him, full of fear but also trust and it was just that level that humbled him. Even though they were lifemates SHE was human and didn't know that, yet, she was trusting him.,Slowly he reached out and gently moved the cloth away from the wound looking it over. Really it wasn't as bad as he had expected, her 'Uncle' must have pulled her away before the vampire could do more than pierce the skin, however since blood was drawn he would need to clear it of parasites. But he couldn't stay here, the vampire may have more servants or companions who would take advantage of his distraction to heal them. He couldn't take them to ground with him either, they were mortal., a voice popped up, using the common telepathic path of all Carpathians.,He froze, a predator ready to strike

This is a CHALLENGE! Please let me know if you want to take it, and just what you think!,Summary. Harry, Saya, and Diva are triplets. Some how harry was de aged and forced to grow up again as harry potter. But his name is Hadrian.,1. Harry dose not fall into sleep for 30 years because technically he was de aged, so he needs to reach full maturity again.,2. After harry is kidnapped and de aged his chevalier can't fix him so they stay close to him. His chevalier are snape, Lucius's, Tom(voldemort), draco, blaze and Theo.,3 at voldemort rebirth he gives harry his blood so he remembers everything.,4. Saya and Diva stopped fighting years ago and came to a mutual agreement, for harry to find him. ( Harry stayed out of their conflict. But stayed close with both of them) they are looking for harry because his chevalier are not in contact with them.,5. I would prefer harry to have a sexual relationship with ALL of his chevalier. But if that is not something you are ok writing that is fine! If you are I am. Cool with explicit to fluff.,6. Lucy and draco can or can't be related, it's up to you! So like they can alter memories to make people think they are.,7. After harry gets his memory ack he dose not hate any of his chevalier.,8. Harry is not effected by Saya and divas blood. Harry is way more powerful then both of them, being that he has magic.

Et voici une nouvelle fic :),Harry Potter et ses personnages ne m'appartiennent pas. Saw et ses personnages non plus.,J'ai beaucoup aimé l'écrire alors je voulais la partager avec d'autres lecteurs si ça vous plait laissez moi une review avec votre avis plz ^^,Merci et bonne lecture avec notre Hermione nationale et un petit peu de saw en prime ^^,Hermione Granger, seize ans et demi, sorcière diplômée de l'école de magie Poudlard, membre du trio d'or de Gryffondor, et héro de la deuxième guerre des sorciers opposant ceux de la lumière menés par Albus Dumbledord et son organisation L'ordre du phœnix contre ceux des ténèbres menés par Tom Elvis Jedusor alias "Voldemort" et son organisation Les mangemorts. Meilleure amie du survivant Harry Potter alias "celui qui a survécu" vainqueur de Voldemort après le décès de Dumby au cours de leur sixième année à Poudlard, et de Ron Weasley, sixième fils et enfant des Weasley, premier ami d'Harry et dernier membre de ce trio doré.,Notre trio n'eut même pas le temps d'attendre de se remettre convenablement de la guerre, ni prendre le temps de pleurer les morts qu'ils étaient envoyés en formation d'auror. Leur statut de héro de guerre ainsi que la victoire sur Voldemort ont fait qu'ils n'ont eut besoin que de 3 mois intensifs avant d'être diplômés du corps des aurors de Grande Bretagne. Le ministre Fudge, qui avait réussi on ne sait comment ni par quel moyen à se faire réélire à la tête du gouvernement sorcier anglais, avait eu l'idée d'ouvrir une nouvelle branche de la section des aurors et de former une équipe d'élite qui s'occuperait essentiellement de stopper et arrêter les tueurs en série moldus et magiques partout dans le monde. Et bien sûr pour que cette équipe soit un succès, il fut décidé que notre fameux trio d'or se verrait occuper chacun une place de choix dans cette équipe d'élite!,On pourrait se dire que Harry, Ron et Hermione en auraient eu marre de se battre et de risquer leur vie après la guerre contre face de serpent (aussi appelé Celui-dont-on-ne-doit-pas-prononcer-le-nom, vous-savez-qui, Voldichou, Voldemort, de son véritable nom Tom Elvis Jedusor) qui commença officieusement à leur 11 ans et officiellement à leur 6 eme année, mais ils avaient l'envie de le sentiment de devoir aider moldus et sorciers. Pour les premiers afin de rembourser un peu toute la folie de Voldichou et ses Voldettes contre eux pendant les deux guerres. Et les seconds...bah pour éviter que se reproduise la montée en puissance d'une autre face de serpent.,Harry, désormais libéré de la prophétie de Trelawney, était la plupart du temps occupé par son couple avec Ginny, la plus jeune sœur de Ron et septième enfant des Weasley. Il comptait bientôt la demander en mariage et enfin profiter de sa vie. Ron, quant à lui et malgré les envies de son entourage, ne voulait que profiter de son travail d'auror et de sa petite amie Lavande Brown.,Hermione, elle, gardait le nez dans ses bouquins. Les garçons l'avaient même surnommée la frigide, mais peu lui importait car pour elle ceux de son âge, qu'ils soient moldus ou sorciers, avaient le QI d'une huitre (à part Ron qui lui ne dépassait pas la moule!) Mais elle adorait ses meilleurs amis depuis qu'ils lui avaient sauvé la vie en première année contre un Troll des montagnes adulte. Ah lala qu'ils en avaient vécu des aventures depuis leur rencontre...La pierre philosophale et Voldy en première année, puis un basilik et une pétrification en deuxième année. Un dangereux criminel échappé de la pire prison sorcière de Grande Bretagne ainsi que des détraqueurs aspirateur de bonheur et accessoirement d'âme si on est trop près d'eux, et une année scolaire en double grâce à un retourneur de temps en troisième année. Un tournois hypra dangereux qui a vu son meilleur ami poisseux, alias Harry Potter, être contraint d'y participer par contrat magique, une dispute entre Ron et Harry et elle obligé de l'aider pour qu'il survive, le tout agrémenté d'un mangemort sous polynectar en cours de défense et le come back de Voldy dans le cimetière de son papounet pour finir la quatrième année.,La cinquième année à vue une folle raciste et barbare traumatiser les élèves de Poudlard sois disant en leur enseignant la défense par la lecture tout en leur faisant écrire des lignes de punition avec une plume qui utilise votre propre sang, puis poisseux a encore réussi à se mettre dans le pétrin en embarquant ses copinous au ministère pour sauver Sirius innocent mais grosse bagarre et papa Malfoy s'est retrouvé là...Résultat Sirius: mouru! Prophétie: connue de tous, ou pas! HP: Déprimé après la mort de Sirius et la possession de tonton Voldy...Enfin bref une fin d'année comme ils en avaient l'habitude. Pour la sixième année Dumby est mouru et les mangemorts rentrent dans Poudlard grâce à bébé Malfoy. Leur septième année à été remplacée par une chasse aux morceaux d'âme de Voldy cachés un peu partout en Angleterre, et enfin la bataille finale qui a vue beaucoup de leurs amis mourir. Ils avaient été exemptés de refaire, ou faire en l'occurrence, leur 7eme année grâce à toutes leurs connaissances.,Ça faisait une semaine que l'équipe d'élite était en fonction et ils avaient déjà un tueur en série moldu à stopper. Apparemment les flics moldus avaient tous subies les tests de ce fameux tueur aux puzzle alias Jigsaw. En attente du portoloin international que le chef devait leur fournir, le trio étudiait les dossiers du tueur et de ses victimes. Enfin Hermione était plongée dedans alors que Ron et Harry parlaient Quiddich.,Du côté des garçons:,Ron: Eh mec! Tu trouves pas qu'elle saoûle un peu mione avec sa paperasse?,Harry: Eh! Si elle avait pas été plongée dans les livres, on serait plus vivants à l'heure qu'il est je te rappel!,Ron: Ah les femmes! J'ai hâte que la saison de Quiddich commence, je vais avoir des billets pour l'ouverture...,Harry: Ouai moi aussi je vais en avoir, mais je me réserve pour la demie et la finale!,Du côté d'Hermione, les cellules grises étaient au stade de la fusion! Hermione avait pu déduire tout pleins de choses du tueur rien qu'en analysant le profile de ses victimes. Elle avait fait une pile pour celles qui avaient survécus et celles qui avaient échouées au test...car c'était bien cela, Jigsaw les mettait à l'épreuve, conduisant soit à leur rédemption soit à leur condamnation et donc à leur mort. Pour le moment la majorité de ses victimes sont toxicomanes: héroïne, cocaïne, crack; et autres joyeusetés.,~PDV Hermione~,Mais qui est-il? Il met à l'épreuve ceux qui ont vraiment touchés le fond! La vidéo de présentation ne ment pas, il n'est pas psychopathe ni vicieux. Il ne cherche pas à faire souffrir...mais plutôt à punir! Oui c'est ça! Aurait-il subit quelque chose qui n'a pas été puni? Où bien quelqu'un qu'il aime à subit quelque chose d'impuni... Je ne comprends pas pourquoi mais je sens ma magie qui m'indique que je suis dans le vrai au sujet de Jigsaw mais que je ne dois pas en parler...,Je préfère faire confiance aux livres ...enfin c'était avant...avant, maintenant je me fie à ma magie et je sens que nous sommes enfin connectées! Je ne fais plus qu'un avec elle, elle est ma confidente, ma meilleure amie, ma sœur et ma mère en même temps. En parlant de mère ce n'est plus la même chose avec mes parents qu'avant toute cette histoire de sorcellerie et de guerre...Avant nous étions comme les doigts d'une main, presque fusionnels, complices; mais depuis que le professeur MacGonagal est venue l'été de mes 11 ans et nous a appris que j'étais une sorcière, je sens cette réticence...presque de la peur. Je sais bien que tout ce que j'ai vécu au cours de ma scolarité à Poudlard a encouragé cette peur pour moi, et pour cette magie qu'ils ne peuvent pas comprendre ni ressentir...,Mais je pensais que le fait que cette même magie ait pu les protéger pendant la guerre aurait éventuellement eu gain de cause et surmonté leur peur; Or ce que je prends pour un don et une merveilleuse amie pour moi, est également la source de la fracture entre mes parents et moi. Ils ne me pardonnent pas de leur avoir effacé tous leur souvenirs de leur fille, et de les avoir expatriés en Australie, même si depuis l'inversion du sortilège de mémoire ils sont heureux d'y vivre. Nous avons eu de nombreuses disputes, notamment avec mon père qui exigeait que je renie la magie et vive en simple moldue, sous leur toit avec leurs règles de plus...Autant dire que le caractère de la princesse des lions est très nettement ressortit et que mon père à ravalé ses mots blessant au risque de me perdre complètement, je reste après tout leur unique fille. Des disputes aussi grosses chez les Granger depuis ma grand-mère Suzette et son club de French Cancan du haut de ses 94 ans. J'ai depuis pris de la distance et réside dans une maison à Godric Hollow non loin du manoir Potter qu'Harry à fait rénover après la guerre et où il vit avec Ginny, Ron et Lavande lorsqu'elles ne sont pas en étude à Poudlard.,~Fin PDV Hermione~,Hermione fut sortie de ses pensées par Harry et Ron qui venaient de réceptionner le portoloin.,Harry: Hey mione, départ dans 2 minutes! Attrape tes affaires vite!,Hermione: Ok Harry, je suis là. Allons-y!,Le trio atterri sur la dernière scène de crime de Jigsaw, et immédiatement Hermione enregistra , analysa, déduisit et tout autre chose dans sa tête qui la rapprochait un peu plus à chaque meurtre/épreuve de l'auteur. De leur côté les garçons discutaient avec la police moldue locale afin d'avoir des renseignements complémentaires pour le dossier. Autant Hermione était un peut trop investie dans ce dossier sur le tueur aux puzzles, autant Ron et Harry auraient préférés être à un match de Quiddich ou sur une enquête sorcière.,Bien qu' Harry ait été élevé dans la société moldue, comme un moldu, il s'était considérablement adapté et intégré dans la société sorcière sang-pur. A tel point qu'il s'était mis à lui ordonner des choses, lui imposer des règles de convenance qu'en tant que femme sorcière - même née de moldue- elle se devrait de respecter! Allant même jusqu'à essayer de la marier à un sang pur et à la chaperonner. Harry et Ron pensaient en bon sang pur, qu'elle ne devait pas vivre seule, c'est pourquoi ils débarquaient chez elle chacun leur tour et restaient à la surveiller, s'invitant même à dormir sans demander ou prévenir. Hermione avait aussitôt explosé et mis les pendules à l'heure, en leur disant qu'ils ne reviendraient chez elle que sur invitation, et que leurs règles pour bonne petite pouliche sang-pur ils pouvaient se les mettre où elle pensait! Le tout agrémenté de quelques malédictions grises bien placées et autant dire que depuis leur relation n'a jamais été pareil. Quelque chose s'était cassé, et ne pourrait sans doute jamais se réparer. Ils étaient restés amis mais plus aussi fusionnels qu'à Poudlard. Avant c'était le trio d'or de Gryffondor, désormais c'était Harry et Ron d'un côté et Hermione de l'autre.,Alors verdict? :),Merci pour votre lecture et pour la review si vous en avez laissé :D,A bientôt pour la suite :D,xoxo,Shalimare.

After Charlie Bone was forced to go to Bloor's, he couldn't take attending the Academy and decided to sneak off. Leaving his friends without any letters, he packed up in the middle of the night and took off. Even though it's a very foolish decision, he couldn't handle the Bone's. But he came stumbling upon a giant man, and he knew from that day forwards his life was going to change.

Years flew by with the Eppes family. Harry Snow now Eppes was happy to have a family, but he missed his friend, Kaiden, even more. His High School education had been finished within two years. He majored in art, culinary, and business. He also took mathematics, history, and other goodies. The eighteen year old was bored now.,"Harry!" A giggly voice squealed. Harry winced as the girl he was dating, latched around his neck.,"Maylee, get off me. You know I don't like that!" The girl huffed, moving in front of him.,"And why not? We went to the same high school, Harry. You let that stupid ghetto boy touch you!","I don't think this is going to work out between us, May." The girl's eyes darkened.,"Are you breaking up with me?","Yes, I am. You are clingy, possessive, and rude to my friends! I can't go to the fucking bathroom for five minutes and you demand where I was. I don't have time for someone like that! I'm opening my restaurant in a few days, and you keep getting in my way instead of being understanding!" Harry growled, glaring at the girl, who had just as a dark look. "And I , that I'm not your only boyfriend." Whispers started at that by the eavesdroppers. "Did you think I wouldn't find out about Tony?","W-what are you talking about?","Get out of my life, Maylee." Harry snapped, pointing to the door of the restaurant. "If I see you around any of my places, I'll charge with trespassing." And she was gone. Harry slumped against the wall behind him as he covered his eyes. "Why the hell did she have to bring up Kaiden?","Mr. Eppes, are you okay?" One of the workers who was fixing the walls asked.,"No, I'm not." Harry looked up. "Can you guys finish up with what you're doing? I'm going home.","Of course. It's just the last layer of paint.","Harry, is everything okay at the restaurant?" Charlie asked, spotting his adopted son laying on the couch face down.,"I confronted Maylee." The man made a noncommittal noise as he leaned over the couch to ruffle the teen's hair.,"Everything will work out.","I want Kaiden." Anytime something bad had happened over the last five years, that was Harry's want. "He knew how to cheer me up better than anyone. Why did he leave? I thought we had everything worked out, and then he went cold.","I don't know, Harry. I really don't know what to tell you.","Does he hate me?","No. He doesn't hate you. I don't know what his problem is." Harry frowned, moving so his head could face the tv. "Harry, is there a chance that you may be gay?" The teen stiffened. "It's okay, whether you are or aren't.","I don't know Charlie. Maylee was the first girl I ever dated.","Okay, I just had to ask. Are you mad that I did?","No." Just then, there was a knock at the door. Charlie sighed, going to answer.,"May I help you?","You adopted my godson." A gruff voice said. Harry stiffened as he rushed to Charlie's side, wand drawn.,"Go away.","I've been looking for you for years, Harry!" The man, Harry knew was Sirius Black. "I..at least let me give you your parent's things, and your vault keys." His voice was full of pain as he said that. "I understand, you have a family.","Why did it take you five more years to come yourself?" Charlie demanded as they entered the living room.,"I was working on clearing my name." The man glared at his feet darkly. "Dumbledore took you from me. He said I wasn't safe enough to be your guardian. So I reacted by going after the bastard that told where your parents and you lived. I was framed and sent to Azkaban. I broke out after thirteen years, and went after Pettigrew.","Harry," the teen looked at Charlie. "It's ultimately up to you, but why don't you give him a chance. He may never be your guardian, but he can tell you about your parents." Harry bit his lip.,"Why didn't Salem know who I was? Who am I anyways?","You were Harry Potter." Sirius said softly. Harry gaped at him.,"You aren't serious!","I am Sirius." Harry stared at the man with a frown. "Okay, bad pun aside, your parents were James and Lily Potter. You were born in Godric's Hollow on July 31st.","Eh? Really? I've been celebrating it in November." Harry paused. "You're seriously saying I'm Harry Potter, the defeater of Voldemort.","Not defeater...Voldemort came back a month ago. Its why I'm finally free. Pettigrew was spotted kidnapping Dudley Dursley." Harry stiffened.,"Does he know I'm alive?","Positive. However, he doesn't care about America. Apparently you're all too uncivilized for being his followers." Harry relaxed. "I'll send over your things to the local bank. I want you to have everything that belongs to you.","Thank you, Sirius." The man left after sharing a few stories of Lily and James Potter.,Harry sighed on his opening day. His restaurant opened in an hour.,"Hey, bossman, someone is at the doors, asking for you." With a deep breath, and forced smile, the young man went to the door.,The man standing there was taller than Harry. He had dark hair, deep blue eyes, and tanned skin. Compared to Harry, he seemed like he was a body builder. He wore a red shirt, blue jeans, and boots. Harry instantly recognized him.,"Kaiden?" The twenty-three year old rubbed the back of his neck. His other hand held a bouquet of violet hyacinth and white tulips.,"Forgive me?" Harry hesitated.,"Why should I? So you can just rip my heart out again? You hurt me, Kaiden, more than anyone ever has. I thought you cared!","I do!" Kaiden steamed before taking a deep breath. "I went to culinary school for you." Harry frowned. "Then I went traveling. I remembered that you wanted to have a chef that could cook anything." Harry finally accepted the flowers.,"You have to work a lot to earn that trust back, but I'm willing to give you a third chance.","Harry, I am really sorry. It's just, what I was feeling for you, would make me a pediphile if I had stayed.","That's why you freaked out? You couldn't have asked me how I felt and talked to me?","I'm sorry!" Harry snorted.,"Go help Ana. She's in the kitchen, and can use someone's help back there." With a sly grin, the eighteen year old leaned up and kissed the man's cheek. "Tomorrow, though, you are taking me out on a date.","Yes sir, bossman." With a grin, Harry went about getting the final touches up. His life felt right.

"So," said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered" ("Hmph!" said Hermione) "I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.,"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it.",The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched.,He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students.,"It is also my painful duty to inform you that Hogwarts has been placed under a quarantine with regard to owls. Until further notice, no owls may enter or leave the castle grounds.","," Harry gasped. Around the Great Hall, murmurings and mutterings had erupted. Harry turned frantically to Ron and Hermione. "Hedwig isn't back yet! I sent her to Sirius.",Ron winced sympathetically. Hermione bit her lip. "I'm sure it's just temporary, Harry. I'll look in the library tomorrow and see whether this has happened before.","Why d'you reckon they did it, though?" Ron asked.,Throughout the Great Hall, the same question was being asked. One small Ravenclaw was crying, apparently overcome by the notion that he wouldn't be able to contact his parents. Ernie Macmillan could be heard loudly lecturing those nearest him at the Hufflepuff table; Harry distinctly heard the word "plague.",He turned to his friends, intending to laugh off the idea, but Ron was looking worried. "It makes sense, if they're sick.","I'm sure they're not sick," Hermione said, glaring at Ron. "And if they are, Hedwig's outside. She's not in any danger.",This made Harry feel rather better, and he turned his attention to the dais again as Dumbledore held up a hand for silence.,"I am aware that this news is distressing to many students, and I wish to assure you that I and the rest of the staff are working as hard as we can to restore normal communications. Those with questions—",But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder, and the doors to the Great Hall banged open. A petite man strode in, followed closely behind by Professor Snape. The stranger was, oddly, dressed in Muggle clothing: a black overcoat flapped dramatically behind him, and underneath it a closely-tailored suit was visible. Lace could be seen to spill from his collar and cuffs in the sudden bright illumination as a fork of lightning flashed across the ceiling. His face was young and pinched beneath a greasy black mane. He looked, Harry thought, rather as though he were imitating Snape's hairstyle.,The stranger made his way to the dais. He did not look at the students to either side of him, but kept his sharp eyes trained ahead. A storm of whispers followed him as he ascended the steps and extended a hand to Dumbledore.,"John Mandrake," he said in clipped tones, loud enough that it was obvious he intended everyone in the Great Hall to hear. "I've come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to inspect this school.",Snape was right behind him. He spoke more quietly; Harry had to strain to make out the words. "I offered to escort him to your office, Professor, but he insisted on seeing you at once.",Dumbledore nodded and gestured for Snape to sit before turning his steely blue gaze on the stranger. The students fell silent. "Mr. Mandrake," Dumbledore said, his tone pleasant. "A most excellent dramatic entrance. We shall of course be happy to comply fully with your inspection. I will answer any questions you have, just as soon as the Welcoming Feast has concluded. Please, have a seat.",To the disappointment of the eager spectators, Mandrake sat obediently in the empty seat to Dumbledore's right. "Snape's livid," Ron whispered happily, and Harry saw that it was true—Snape's face was thunderous.,"Shh!" Hermione eyed them sternly as Dumbledore began to speak again.,"Lastly, I fear I must announce that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.",Harry looked around at Fred and George, his fellow members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, apparently too appalled to speak.,"This is due to an event," Dumbledore continued, "that will take up much of the teachers' time and energy—but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. The details are currently being worked out and I will provide further information shortly.,"It is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!",Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Professor McGonagall. Hermione was frowning.,"House-elves again?" Ron asked, rather nastily.,Hermione didn't seem to notice. "Where's the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?","What about ,?" Harry asked as they stood with the rest of the student body and began to move toward the doors. "Hey- do you reckon this is what Percy was going on about?","Must be," Ron said. "It had better be good, that's all I can say. Or Fred and George might actually kill someone.",Hermione was frowning. "Something seems off about this event, don't you think? The teachers were all exchanging looks when Dumbledore mentioned it.","Not to mention this Mandrake bloke," Ron said. They had reached the corridor in which the Fat Lady hung now, and joined the queue of Gryffindors waiting to climb through the portrait hole. "I've never heard of any Ministry of Internal Affairs.",Harry could not understand why they cared about school inspectors and mysterious events in the face of a serious crisis. He could not imagine going an entire year without Quidditch.,"Cheer up, Harry." Hermione smiled at him. "This is an opportunity, really. You can try a different club! Who knows, maybe you'll find you really like something else.",Harry had a sudden nasty vision of himself spending his free afternoons shut up in a dusty classroom, learning new and complicated spells 'for fun'. "Er, maybe," he said, trying to sound sincere. "Or maybe I'll spend some time practicing on my own, you know, keeping up my skills…",They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Password?" she asked.,"Balderdash," George said from behind them, "a Prefect downstairs told me.",The portrait swung forward, revealing a circular hole, which they climbed through. A crackling fire warmed the common room, which was full of tables and squashy armchairs. Hermione cast the merrily dancing flames a dark look, and Harry distinctly heard her mutter "," before bidding them goodnight and disappearing through the doorway to the girls' dormitories.,Neville joined Harry and Ron as they climbed the spiral staircase to their dormitory. There, they all got into pajamas and climbed into bed. Harry placed his glasses carefully on his night table.,"Internal affairs," Ron said musingly. "I might write to my dad, see if he knows anything…","Can't," Harry said glumly. "Quarantine, remember?","Oh, yeah…","What about this event, though?" Neville sounded nervous. "Think it'll be some sort of test?",Harry had not thought of this. For a moment his thoughts of Quidditch receded, to be replaced by the image of endless History of Magic exams, all filled with complicated essay questions that he couldn't begin to answer, and Hermione saying brightly, "Cheer up, Harry, this is an ,, you know…",And then, without his ever quite realizing that he had slipped into dreaming, he was looking at an overcast sky (the storm, it seemed, had blown itself out overnight) through the dormitory windows and Ron, already dressed, was shaking him awake and telling him that he had to get up ,, or he'd miss breakfast…

Conference Room, 8am,"Right, well, bit of an unusual one this morning. We have a new member of staff joining us on Secondment," Harry announced to the assembled members of Section D.,"Imagine that. " Tariq quipped, his voice dripping with dry sarcasm.,"Yes, thank you, Mister Masood," Harry said. "Due to the changing nature of the ongoing operation the Ministry of Magic has discussed the matter with the Home Secretary and it was decided that it would be best to do this as a joint op. We'll be receiving an Auror on Secondment for the duration along with a specialist in 'Muggle Relations'.","What's a 'muggle'?" Callum asked curiously.,"Uh, that would be us," Ruth said, her expression wincing slightly. She wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the wizarding world but in her assessment most of the wizards brought up in wizarding families seem entirely clueless about the real world. Of course Five had a duty to protect all citizens, including the magical ones, and had been coordinating magical cover-ups with the Ministry of Magic for decades now. What was unusual was that the Ministry of Magic wasn't taking this case on to deal with on on their own.,Harry said what they were all thinking. "I realise this is somewhat unusual. Normally magical cases are handed over to the Ministry of Magic directly. However it appears that the man we're dealing with may be a squib who has resorted to using conventional terrorist weaponry in the absence of any magical ability. Unfortunately for us he has collected some rather dangerous dark wizards around him.","Who's the Auror?" Ruth asked. "Tell me they're sending someone who grew up in the real world cause if we have another one that doesn't know how to switch a computer on and keeps trying to make cars fly I just might take my accrued holiday right now.",Harry opened his mouth to reply when there was a knock on the door. "Enter.",Ruth dropped her pen. Her jaw hung open. "Bloody hell!",Callum sat up at Ruth's exclamation. "What?",The man who stood in the doorway was of average height with unruly black hair and distinctive green eyes. He wore round spectacles and there was a distinctive old scar on his forehead.,"Section D, this is Harry Potter. Harry, Section D. Counter-Terrorism." Harry Pearce said.

Chapter 1,On a cold Halloween night in 1981 a young couple had just put their three children to bed. The eldest being four years old and even now the boy's parents could tell that he has an air of wisdom and grace that is far beyond his age; his name is Hadrian Corvo Potter his middle name being in tribute to his great grandfather on his grandmother Dorea black's side.,The young mother smiles down at her eldest and most well behaved child who is sleeping soundly. She stifles a giggle at her husbands failed attempts at begging their twins too fall asleep. She then kisses Hadrian's forehead as she coo's.,"Sweet dreams my little prince, mommy's already so very proud of you.",The woman then turns and walks over too her other children and taking pity on her struggling husband pulls her daughter out of the crib. The little girl already seems like she will be a carbon copy of her mother except her red hair will be a few shades darker most likely from her Black family side. As the young woman softly rock the infant she looks at the girls younger twin brother who is already showing will be an exact replica of her husband. she cant stop the smile because of her family as she whispers down to the little girl in her arms.,"Hush Amaranth don't cry because your bug brother will always protect you no matter what.",The little girl quiets and begins to relax at her mothers words and a few more minutes later her eyes slowly close as she falls into a deep and peaceful sleep. The young woman then gently places her back into the crib with her twin brother. She then leans forward to gently kiss the little boys forehead.,"Good night Charlus sleep tight.",As the two exit the children's bedroom the young father pulls out a vibrating mirror. The woman looks at her husband in concern as her husband has a rushed and whispered conversation and as he puts the mirror away she asks worry evident in her voice.,"James what's wrong?",James frowns as he looks over at his wife and replies quickly.,"It's Peter, Lilly he's being hunted at this very moment. He needs our help and no one else has answered and he doesn't know who else to trust.",Lilly nods at this and the two quickly go and get ready to save their friend.,A few minutes after the two leave the house a robed figure walks up the steps and pulling out a wand he unlocks the gate then the front door; his red eyes glinting with pure malice as a fat rat looking man follows behind him shivering with fear.,Back in the children's room the young boys eyes slowly open to reveal emerald green eyes that begin to glow silver. His eyes narrow as he feels two magical signatures enter his home that one he doesn't recognize at all and the other the traitorous rat that his father claims is one of his three best friends. He then gets out of bed and moves to hide in the shadows of the room. He watches as both the robed figure and rat enter the room the dark figure then hisses full of pride.,"Watch Wormtail as I finally cement my immortality by stopping that prophesy that Severus reported too me.",The rat bows meekly as he trembles and stutters.,"Yes my lord Voldemort, I'm honored you choose me to come with you.",Voldemort then points his wand at the little girl first but before he can use the killing curse a large bolt of lightning strikes outside illuminating the darkened room. The two then notice the child that is watching them coldly. Voldemort sneers as he aims his wand at the boy and hisses.,"Perhaps I should kill you first boy.",Hadrian's eyes narrow as he slowly smirks but before he can reply his little sister wakes up and begins crying, this causes Voldemort's attention to return to the girl and snarls.,"Be silent girl ,!",A girl arrow then fires from his wand however before it reaches the girl a beast flashes in front of her and crushes the spell in it's hand. What Voldemort sees shocks him to his very core as hovering in front of the little girl is a humanoid creature of both a dark violet and black of four feet with three curved horns on it head facing forward, on it back it has six spikes four being a few inches in length pointing upward while the the two spikes on the right and left shoulders almost look like the beginning of wings that reach to it's thighs. Both of it's feet and hands have very sharp claws with the right in a closed fist pointing at Voldemort.,Voldemort takes a step back in fear while the rat starts to cry and beg for mercy and before Voldemort could run the creature points at Voldemort a fires a blast of highly dense electricity at him there isn't even a scream as his body is destroyed with the extra voltage jumping at the rat and frying his insides.,Hadrian watches silently as Voldemort's soul destabilizes before half of what little he had breaks off and rushes into his little sister while the rest escapes. The creature then floats over to the boy and bows while Hadrian smirks.,:welcome back spirit of thunder. I hope you didn't have too large of a meal since it seem you will be getting a late night snack.",The spirit nods as it follows beside it's master till they reach the crib where it picks Hadrian up and then puts him into the crib beside his sister who is still crying. The boy starts by soothing his sister by running his hand through her hair and patting her head till she quiets and then begins to chant in a soft and long dead language.,Amaranth quietly watches as her big brother speaks in a foreign language as she feel her body warming up she begins to close her eyes and reach out to hold onto her big brothers shirt.,Hadrian smiles at his little sister as he moves to hold her hand. As he finishes the chant he feels his sisters grip tighten as an inky blackness seeps from the scar that is at the end of her throat. Before the the soul fragment can anything more or even escape the spirit of thunder grabs it and devours it quickly. Hadrian simply raises an eyebrow at his guardian spirit's distaste.,"Did that not taste very good my friend?",The spirit shakes it's head in agreement and Hadrian nods before yawning as he lays down to sleep his sister moves in her sleep to cuddle with him and holds his arm tighter. Hadrian sighs but a small and dark chuckle escapes him before he dismisses the ancient and powerful spirit.,Lilly and James Potter rush home as fast as they can when they couldn't find their friend Peter and they felt the wards come down and anti-apperation wards were put up. As they enter the house they see the half giant Hagrid walking up the stairs towards the children's room, the two look at each other in confusion and follow after him. They watch as he picks up Amaranth but they step in when they hear he plans on taking them to Dumbledore as he was asked too.,"What are you doing here Hagrid?",Startled Hagrid puts the little girl back down into the crib no one noticed that the spirit of thunder was prepared to execute the man where he stood on his master's orders had he tried to leave with the little girl. When he turns to look at the couple he looks genuinely happy to almost tears.,"Oh; James, Lilly I'm so happy and absolutely relieved that the two of you survived. we had all feared the worst when we could all remember where you two were hidin.",Lilly arches an eyebrow and asks once again with a little more tightness in her voice.,"Why are you here Hagrid?",Hagrid rubs the back of his head as he answers her innocently.,"Well you see professor Dumbledore asked me to come and check and see if you and the kids where OK and then bring the kids to him so he can check himself.",Lilly looks at the large man in disbelief but before she can tear a strip out of him and to go tell Dumbledore what he can do to a sheep she hears a growl and something hitting flesh. Lilly looks over to see her husband and kicked a black robed corpse. She gasps when that she hadn't noticed the dead body in her babies room then notices who it is. A look of horror crosses her features till James growls.,"Rot in hell you fucken death eater rat and pray that we never meet in the after life.",Lilly looks at James in confusion as how he can speak to one of his childhood friends like that till she notices the dark mark on his forearm. Her eyes flash in pure unadulterated rage as she looks the corpse with pure loathing, then points at Hagrid as she whispers harshly in an almost hiss.,Take that thing and get out of my house and tell Dumbledore I'm holding him personally responsible for putting my babies into danger!",Hagrid holds his hands out in a peaceful way as he says calmly.,"Now Lils let's not blame professor Dumbledore and I still need to take Amaranth to see if shes OK.",Lilly's eyes narrow even father as her magic explodes from her body causing her eyes to softly glow as she says in a deadly whisper.,"Leave now Hagrid and take the body with you and tell Dumbledore if he tries anything with my babies I'll strangle him with his own bread while the six most ancient and most noble houses turn him into a pariah of such notoriety that he will never be able to come out of what little hovel he will have to hide in.",Hagrid doesn't need too be told a third time as he grabs the body of peter and takes off. After he leaves Lily turns on James her eyes blazing a righteous fury as she pokes James in the chest.,"And you my idiot husband and in a such world of trouble with that mutt brother of yours that the couch will seem like a paradise to you by the end of it for even suggesting that rat",She then pulls he husband out of the room and points downstairs towards the couch.,"For tonight you sleep on the couch just so you can see what your going to be missing.",James meekly lowers his head and goes downstairs in depression that it was his idea that almost had him losing his most precious treasures in his existence.,Once James had disappeared downstairs from view Lilly goes back into a children's room; as she loses track of time watching the three sleep soundly having not even been awoken by the three adults quiet argument in their room. During this time she wonders what had happened and thanked every God and Deity in her vast knowledge that her babies are alright.,It has been seven years since Voldemort had attacked the potter's children and a few month's later Dumbledore had tried to convince the potter parents to let Lilly's muggle sister and her family take care of Hadrian; as he feared that three children would be to much work with one of them being famous. Lilly had responded to this attempt by decking him in the face and breaking the old man nose in Diagon ally before James had said for everyone to hear.,"How dare you try and have the next lord Potter and Black moved to live with a bunch of magic hating muggles to be abused and ignorant of his own station.",The entire nations media had jumped on that dog pile calling him a heartless old man for trying to take the girl who lived's doting older brother away from her. But Dumbledore was eventually able to calm the masses by explaining his reasoning's why he believed it to be for the greater good but he had lost most of his biggest supporters.,During the chaos that this media attack on Dumbledore, Corvo Arcturus Black had went for the throat and convinced the entire wizengamot to remove Dumbledore as the supreme mugwump of the ICW and the chief warlock of the wizengamot.,The wizengamot had unanimously agreed in concern that he may try to use his authority to do that with their own heirs.,Hadrian who had just turned eleven at the end of July now has black hair that has been spiked messily and deep emerald eyes, he's wearing a black hakama and a white muscle shirt. He quietly observes his little sister who is sitting in a lotus position meditating.,Amaranth brows then furrow in concentration as she then starts to frown cutely for a few moments before her eyes slowly open to reveal a similar pair of emerald eyes as her big brother and mother; she then pouts at her brother as she childishly whines.,"Mou, I really thought I had it that time. Hadrian why is this so hard big brother.",Hadrian lightly chuckles as he reaches out and pats her head.,"Because Amara, you just started learning shamanism two and a half years ago. Besides trying to connect your furiyoku with your magical core isn't even suppose to be possible. Right now in all of history their has been only a small handful of even capable of it at all.",Amara nods then lowers her head as she mumbles in a depressed tone.,"But you and Daphne did it at my age.",Hadrian sighs as he gently cups her chin and raises her head to meet his eyes.,"Yes we did, but it took Daph almost three years to be able too and you don't have access to the same knowledge as ether of us till grandfather Corvo thinks you are ready which is why we are doing this.:,Amara nods then moves forward to hug her big brother tightly and silently giggles to herself at her favorite brothers sighs of exasperation. Before he softly rubs her head. The little girl then sighs in content as she understands her big brother and his only real friend are different from everyone else. The two had been labeled as prodigies since they had used spirit possessen at the age of five and oversoul by the age of eight.,Hadrian soon brings her back from her thoughts as he stands and says softly.,"Come on Amara let's go for dinner everyone is probably already waiting for us.",He then holds out his hand for the little girl to take.,She smiles and with a little giggle as she grabs his hand and says happily.,"OK Harry!",As the two reach the dinning room Hadrian sighs as he hears a voice complaining that he's hungry. Hadrian silently curses under his breath but puts on a fake smile as the two enter all the occupants look towards them.,Lilly Potter smiles at the close relationship that two of her children have then laughs as her youngest daughter jumps off her uncles lap followed by the little girl of Hadrian Godmother. The two girls tackle the older boy and squeal happily.,"Big brother Hadrian!",The boy smiles at the two and pats both little girls on the head before moving to sit beside a girl his age. The girls name being Daphne Greengrass, she has lightly tanned skin, her hair is a mix of golden blonde on the outside and midnight black on the inside that just passes her shoulder while her eyes are a deep purple with hints of sapphire flowing inside them.,Lilly smiles as she calls to the two little girls.,"Jasmine, Mira come back over here and let your big brother get settled in.",The two little girls nod and go back to sit with their mothers.,Daphne gives the boy a teasing smile as her eyes dance with mischief and innocence.,Amara then sits on Hadrian's other side and sticks out her tongue at the two little girls before talking to another blonde that has a dreamy look in her blue eyes as she briefly look around the room. the blondes other side is Neville Longbottom and beside him are Hadrian's Godparents Sirius and Bellatrix Black; Mira Black is sitting on Bella's lap.,Sitting On the other side the of long table in front of Sirius and Bella is Remus Lupin Lilly Potter while James is at the head of the table. Sitting in front of Neville is Ron Weasley, Charlus's best friend, then it's Charlus in front of Luna, on Charlus's other side is Susan Bones a cute little red that looks about Amara and Charlus age. then beside her is a younger red head named Ginny Weasley who continues to stare at Hadrian hoping to get his attention only for him to completely ignore her the blonde girl beside him or the Greengrass parents that are sitting in front of him and Daphne that are also Amara's Godparents.,As the house elf's removes the empty plates of the main course and prepare the table for dessert. James Potter then stands up and get the tables attention.,"Thank you everyone for coming to Charlus and Amara's small birthday party among friends and family. even though it feels like only yesterday Lilly told me she was having another child.",Sirius then chirps up with a big grin.,"Do you mean the one where you fainted into the cake she used to tell you.",Bella cackles as she adds her own memories.,"Or when she told you that it was going to be twins and your dropped Hadrian..",She then glares at him and says seriously.,"Your lucky that your son is so incredibly gifted that he was able to stop himself in midair.",This causes both Remus and Sirius start to snicker at the memory of their friend sleeping on the couch for a month with a pacifier stuck between his lips for the entire time.,James eyebrow twitches at the reminder but says nothing at the glare Lilly, Hadrian, and Daphne gives him. He then coughs in embarrassment before continuing.,"As I was saying it's hard to believe that it's been eight years and I couldn't be happier with my loving-",Bella pips up.,"Patient let's not forget patient.",Sirius then adds his own two cents.,"Now we can't forget beautiful and terrifying.",Remus then jumps in.,"She's also very intelligent and tolerant... Why did she settle for you again Prongs?",James actually growls at being constantly interrupted but then sags at Lilly's off hand comment.,"His persistence just wore me down that I finally said yes.",James then crosses his arms and pouts as all the adults start to laugh as he grumbles.,"You're all jerks.",Hadrian then stands and raise his glass as he says.,"I'd like to wish both of you little cling on hellion's a very happy birthday and for a many more to come.",He then holds his glass up as a toast; followed by everyone else raising their glasses and wishing the two a happy birthday except for the red head boy who had started to stuff his face as Hadrian stood up.,Lilly looks at her oldest in pride and happiness that he no longer seems as cold and bitter as he did when he was younger. She then looks to the young blonde beside him giggling at something ether he or her daughter had said and knows that it is mainly because of those two that he had begun to open his heart too,Hadrian rolls his eyes at the two giggling girls girls then pokes Daphne in the side causing her to shriek and hop away from him as he chuckles, she glares at him for a few moments before crossing her arms then sticking her tongue out at him then turning her head from him.,Amara giggles at her big brothers shocked look, she then sees him stand and walk to his Godmother and the two start to whisper quietly to each other. Amara looks curious till she notices the pout on Daphne's face that her best friend didn't even try to ask for her forgiveness.,A couple minutes later Hadrian sits back down then taps Daphne's shoulder to get her attention. The girl looks at him but says nothing. Hadrian sighs then lifts his arm to show that he is holding Bella's wand as he says quietly a conjuration spell for a pair of blue and purple lotus flowers and offers them to her.,Daphne blushes scarlet; while all the females in the room chorus.,"AWWW!",Causing Hadrian to frown and look away. While the males have different reactions. Neville smiles and gives him a thumbs up, Daphne's dad Leon Greengrass goes into protective father mode and glares at the boy for trying to charm his daughter; but his wife pinches his arm and hisses under her breath for only him to hear.,"Behave!",His little brother is grinning and about to make a whipping motion but a glare from three of the ladies at the table stops him cold. both Ron and Ginny Weasley glare for a moment before hiding them and the scowls in jealousy. Ginny that Hadrian is paying so much attention to Greengrass and Ron that Hadrian can already do and is allowed to do such high level magic and also anger that a Potter is such a good friends with such a dark family like the Greengrasses. the both of them would never realize that their thoughts could be heard by the boy in question and that for the next week Ron would suffer from a severe rash all over his body and pus filled boils on his butt; his brothers would be blamed in the end for it.,The other three men couldn't help sicker as well as be in awe of how powerful the boy already is and without even his own wand. James then mumbles to his two friends.,"You know when ever I see him do that it's bittersweet. I'm proud of my son; but it cuts at my pride that he can do that at just 11with someone else wand.",Bella who had heard him snorts, then leans into for only them to hear.,"Ya well imagine how I feel I'm one of the small handful of shaman's left on the British isle and those two are almost able to sustain a proper oversoul in a battle.",The adults nod as a dark cloud hovers over them in sadness.,As the night's festivities comes to a close and the guests start to leave Hadrian pulls Daphne into a hug that she happily returns. As the two pull away Hadrian says.,"I'll see you tomorrow for our lessons.",Daphne nods her head then walks to her mother's side to leave for home.,The next morning as Hadrian steps off the stairs into the main hall he is tackled by one red haired bullet, the boy grunts; then sighs as he looks down to see his little sister holding his waist tightly.,"Good morning little sister.",Amara grins up at him as she says happily.,"Morning Harry!",As the two make their way towards the dinning hall Hadrian asks.,"So you looking forward to going out to the muggle world tonight?",Amara simply shrugs her shoulders as she replies.,"Kinda, I just wish Charlus didn't invite Ronald.",Amara frowns at the name and Hadrian chuckles darkly as he gives her a one armed hug.,"Cheer up who knows maybe your amazing older brother put the little boy out of commission for awhile . Now go on and eat breakfast and I'll see you later tonight.",Hadrian then removes his arm and walks to the fireplace and calls.,"Green sanctuary!",At the Green sanctuary or also known as the Greengrass family mansion Daphne is reading an ancient looking book till she notices the green flames of the active floo. A few moments later Hadrian walks out and brushes what little soot off himself Daphne puts the book down as she smiles.,"You ready to get your butt handed too you.",Hadrian arches an eyebrow mockingly.,"And a good morning too you as well, but really your still one thousand years to early to be claiming that to me.",Daphne blushes at forgetting to properly greet someone but then her eyes gain a mischievous glint.,"Well you know what they say the older generation has to move to the side for the next generation.",Hadrian scoffs at this as he says.,"Every new generation is beginning to get worse and worse.",This causes Daphne to giggle for a minute before she stands up and stretches.,"Alright old man let's go down to the basement.",The two then head down to the basement where the Greengrass training arena is. The two had greeted Daphne's parents on the way as well as Daphne's own little sister who had been sick last night and couldn't come to dinner. As the two enter the room a raven haired young woman with vibrant emerald green eyes appears.,"You know sweetie having to be constantly invisible isn't all that fun.",Daphne bows her head in respect as she apologizes.,"I'm sorry lady Lefay but you know if anyone found out you are my guardian ghost even more problems would come up then me being a shaman.",The young woman nods her understanding. Daphne then turns her attention back too Hadrian.,"So you ready for a good warm up.",Hadrian smirks as his eyes glow silver as a burst of lightning flashes behind him as the spirit of thunder emerges.,"You ready; we'll start with spirit possession. Then we will go on too oversoul.",Daphne nods as Morgana turns into a ball of spirit energy.,"Morgana Lefay: Hyoui-gattai!",With that Morgana's spirit ball enters Daphne's body. Daphne smirks as she walks over to the other side of the room. Hadrian looks rather amused as he uses his own spirit possession. The two watch each other for a few moments till Daphne eyes flash and fire surrounds then converges on Hadrian.,As the flames reach him he turns his hand causing the flames to move and surround his hand as he says softly.,"Remember that I am the flame. so the fire will not burn me.",He then releases the flames back towards Daphne.,Daphne's eyes flash again as she waves her hand causing a heavy gale force wind too disperse the flames and slams into Hadrian; who simply allows it to blow right passed him harmlessly.,Daphne narrows her eyes and begins to use even higher levels of magic to attack and defend as Hadrian continues to dodge or block as he smirks at her tauntingly.. Daphne growls as she releases her Hyoui-Gattai.,"How do you keep doing that.",Hadrian simply stretches his arms lazily over his head.,"You know that your still a few years to early for me too even think of taking this seriously; now show me how well you can maintain your oversoul.",Daphne's eyes begin to glow a dark violet as they slightly narrow and says softly.,"Morgana into the key of Solomon!",As the purple light fades Daphne is holding a leather bond grimoire with a intricate magic circle and pentagram. Her robes also change and is flowing around her body like water.,Hadrian grins as he holds out his hand while holding a strange looking dagger made completely out of bone.,"Spirit of thunder: Hikari into the first blade!",Hadrian's spirit then converges into itself as it then enters into the dagger. As the light fades Hadrian's weapon has gained a field of black and red energy that gives the blade an extra three feet of length with arches of white lightning streaming across it and his arm. At the end of the pummel is the right hand claw of the spirit of thunder. His right eye is a black sciera with a glowing silver Celtic triquetra knot.,Daphne's breath catches in her throat as she realizes that this is her teacher the man who mastered the six path arts, who conquered death and the rival of Asakura Hao. A prince of the shaman's Hyperion Corvo Darkstar who has finally started to acknowledge her as a shaman. Her grip tightens on the book in her hand as her blue and black robes continue to flow around her body like water.,Hadrian twirls the blade expertly in his hand as the strange sigil carved into the blade is glowing crimson red. With out a word Hadrian flashes covering the distance between them in a heartbeat, a blue energy shield easily blocks his relaxed slash.,Daphne then flicks her wrist causing the shield to pulse and release a small barrage of ice at him. However to late does she realize that her senses had been compromised as the ice passes through him; leaving her back exposed Hadrian then kicks her in the back sending the girl tumbling to the ground breathing heavily.,Hadrian smirks down at her as he reaches out ho help her up with a comment on the tip of his tongue.,Daphne's eyes snap open and raises her hand and launches one last icicle from the sleeve of her robe at his head, only for Hadrian to catch it only centimeters from piercing his right eye before he snaps it off.,Daphne groans as she let's her arm drop back to the ground and closes her eyes as her furiyoku becomes exhausted. As her eyes are closed she can only hear the disappointed voice of Hadrian.,"Sloppy you should know better then to trust your senses.",Daphne sighs in disappointment as she replies.,"I know the hell path completely distorts your perception of reality as well as the five senses. I should have relied more on my instincts and shaman senses.",Daphne doesn't see the boy nod but feels as he sits down beside her and bumping her side.,"Good that you are finally starting to understand this now rather then be caught by someone else later.",Daphne then looks at him in interest as she asks.,"Can others really do that as well.",Hadrian nods as he slips into his teaching mode.,"In some ways not to the extent of my abilities but in other ways even they can be even more fearsome.",Although Daphne doesn't understand everything that he had said she nods at him trusting that when Hadrian thinks she is ready he will explain in more detail. He then helps the girl to her feet just as Bellatrix and Leon enter the room.,Bella observes the two for a moment before nodding more to herself.,"Well looks like you two had a good warm up so let's start today's lesson!",The two kids nod before calling out.,"Lightning sprite/Water nymph Hyoui-Gattai!",Later that night Daphne is soaking her exhausted muscles in the outdoor Ossen of the Greengrass mansion; she sighs as her body begins to loosens up causing two different laughs, one male and the other a female. Daphne pouts as she looks at both Bella and Hadrian.,"It's not funny I'm still not use to this and you doubled my weights you sadist!",Bella laughs as she replies gleefully.,"Yes I did and it was Hadrian's idea he thought that you could handle it and I'm happy to say he was right.",Daphne's eyes narrow at the moment before they spark with mischief as Hadrian leans his head back to watch the setting sun. Daphne then turns the water around him ice cold; causing him to shiver for a moment till he brings it back to temperature he then stands up and gets out of the Ossen.,"I'll see you all later but I should head back home.",Daphne waves and wishes him a good night while Bella moves over to give him a hug.,"Night Harry, by the way grandfather Corvo wants to see you and Daphne tomorrow. He's curious about you two's shaman abilities.",Hadrian nods and then walks back into the manor to head home. While the other two girls continue to soak for a little longer before separating and going to bed as well.,Let me know what you think of this idea or if you want to try your hand at this idea. also in regards to Amaranth's shortened name Amara; Hadrian pronounces it AM-ARE-AH. while the rest of the family will pronounce it AM-AH-RAH.,Now in regards to Bellatrix when Sirius ran from his family and stayed with the Potters, Bellatrix found out that she was to be engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange she went to her grandfather Corvo Black who then got involved and told her parents that should they try to sign the contract he would disown them then kill them and as he is the true lord Black her family backed down also she isn't married to Sirius but her husband did take the Black name.,Now to explain Hadrian his hair is styled in the same way as cloud strife from final fantasy advent children. He is a little over 2000 years old and like how Hao is a grand master in the ying yang arts Hadrian is the grand master of the six paths. and like Hao had been corrupted by his ability to read minds and hearts of everyone around him without any control. One of Hadrian's six path is the ability to read hearts and souls that he has no control over.

I found this thing in an old backup file on my computer ...,If you like, please let me know ...,I greet you so much ...,(Obviously I do not own the characters of Harry Potter or Spongebob... nor Pat... not the other ones... You know the owners already: the marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, the tv network Nickelodeon, JK Rowling, the Warner Bros...),","...,Remember the great finale of ","? SpongeBob turned in a rock guitar wielding wizard and realized many magic, defeating Plankton, the villain of the story.,Well...,Forget every-thing!,* ,'s ,*,This film is to-tal-ly new!,Just for you: the ,!,(,),Bikini Bottom, bottom of the sea.,SpongeBob: "Look ... a drowned owl!",Pat: "A drowned owl in the sea! We could make it a song! Ha ah ah!",SpongeBob: "Ha ha ha!",Owl: "Bloob ... bloob ... bloobb ...",SpongeBob: "Has he an envelope? He's a mail-owl!",Pat: "But that envelope bears your name!",SpongeBob: "Let's see... let's see... let's see... let's see... let's see...,School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... of Hooooooooooo-gwartssss...",Pat: "And what does it say?",SpongeBob: "Mmmmmmmm...","I cannot read it! It's written in Gothic!",SpongeBob waves the sheet with eyes full of tears.,A few days later, at Hogwarts...,"Hello everyone!",McGonagall: "A sponge?",Snape: "A starfish?",The two together: "What kind of students does the Ministry send?",Minister of Magic (floating in his office before an angry god Neptune):,"Bloob bloob... bloob...",And now, the scene that you all have been waiting for years:,… ,Voldemort: "Dirty Mugblood ...",SpongeBob (with a huge smile): "But I do not have it, the blood! Don't you know? I am a Porifera! Ahahah! ",* , *,* , *,Voldemort: "Crucio!",The curse strikes SpongeBob in full ... and it does not do anything.,SpongeBob: "Hey, it's true! I don't have the nervous system! Oh oh oh oh...",Voldemort: "All right! * , * Imperius!",SpongeBob (eyes wide open): "... Dunno?" (The Imperius curse gets lost vainly trying to find the brain of S. and after long agony dies).,Voldemort (roaring): "You asked for it, stupid sea creature... Avada Kevadra!",SpongeBob (got hit by a green flash): "Aaaaaah! The Unforgivable Cuuuuuuuuuuuurse!",Voldemort: "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!",SpongeBob (hysterical, shining green light): "Aaaaaaaah! The spell that kills and neeveer faaaiiiIIIIIIiiillls...",(he continues to sparkling green from all sides while writhing horribly, putting his foot in his mouth and a finger in the nose and doing two somersaults).,Voldemort: "Ah, ah, ah, … ah... ah...",SpongeBob (more and more writhing): "AH! EH! IH! OH! UH!",Voldemort: "… Ah… ah…",SpongeBob: "AAAAAAHHHHH..." (stops shaking and closes his eyes),Voldemort: "...",SpongeBob (standing up suddenly, with a broad smile wide wide): "Do it again?",* , *,Next trailer: ",",Coming soon to all your screens!,That's all folks!,(Original story by Ghunzatrox, Signore Dell'Ato Scuro).

Well, this is an idea that struck me. It goes of the now classic Fanfic idea: What if the 'Power he knows not' is a power not native to the Wizarding World? In this case, Harry has inherited a power without any particularly defined upper limit. I know I propbably should be working on other projects, but this is where my mind took me. I hope you enjoy!, I don't Harry Potter, Spyro the Dragon, or any other works referenced in this story. I only own my original ideas.,The Legend of Harry: Legacy of the Realms,Chapter 1: A New Beginning,Little Whinging, Surrey, UK,July 31, 1995,Harry Potter was many things: 15 year old wizard, orphan whose relatives treated worse than a house elf, champion of the Tri (or should that be quad?)-Wizard Tournament. One thing Harry most certainly wasn't was an average teenager. Each of his years at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he'd found himself in mortal danger. First year, he'd confronted the wraith of Voldemort, his parent's killer, who had been possessing a teacher.,Second year, Lucius Malfoy had managed to get a diary containing a fragment of Voldemort's (Aka Tom Marvolo Riddle's) soul into the school, where it possessed a student and made her unleash an ancient basilisk upon the school. An odd memory flitted across his mind, remembering how the basilisk had hesitated.,Within the Chamber of Secrets,Harry still wasn't quite sure what to think of this interaction. In any case, his third year was strangely his least directly dangerous, despite the supposed mass murderer after him. Of course, it was still plenty hazardous to his health, what with the dementors having a bizarre attraction to him. After discovering the actual murderer, escaping a werewolf who forgot to take his medicine, and trace amounts of time travel, he made it through.,Then there were the events of his most recent term at Hogwarts, his fourth year. Entered into a tournament designed for 7th years and forced to compete against his will, Harry was really beginning to doubt that Hogwarts was actually the 'Safest Place in the World'… then again it might just be his luck. Again his memories came to the forefront, as he remembered odd occurrences during some of the tasks.,First Task,This unusual encounter led to many questions, people wondered what spells he used to calm the dragon, calling him a 'dark' wizard for managing to survive the task without a scratch. Ron was still angry at him for not feeding his ego properly. Since that day, Harry had felt some power within him slowly growing, changing into some new form. The next point of interest was during the 3rd task. Harry mind kept going back to that graveyard, where the portkey had been hexed to take whoever grabbed it to a different destination. Harry remembered seeing Cedric take the Killing Curse, and watched as Pettigrew performed the ritual the revive Voldemort. Harry of course couldn't forget the moment as he dueled Voldemort, and the power of their wands came in contact, causing the spirits of the past to come forth.,The Graveyard,Harry was still trying to piece together the meaning of all these events. He'd looked into the book he had available as to what kind of dragon he'd seen in that moment, but had come up empty. As well, he still felt terrible about Cedric's death. If he hadn't been so interested in fair play to let Cedric grab the trophy at the same time as him…,Another part of Harry's mind knew that it wasn't really his fault, there's no way he could have know… then again with everything that's happened, he , have expected something terrible like this to happen. Harry was also troubled by the fact that his friends hadn't been writing to him. He knew that he wouldn't dwell on his less pleasant thoughts as much if he had someone else to talk to. He'd also noticed the occasional unusual person around the Dursley's house (He never thought of it as home, and never would). Some of them he recognized. He was certain he'd spotted Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody a few times, but none of these members of the wizarding world ever spoke to him.,Harry decided that maybe a walk would help settle his mind. He slipped out of the house, not seeing any of his watchers at the moment, and headed down to the park. It was a typical summer day, with not a cloud in the sky. He soon arrived at his destination, and sat down on a park bench. Shortly thereafter, Harry noticed he wasn't alone. A blond-haired girl was approaching, her expression almost making her seem to be in a waking dream.,"Hello there Harry Potter," said the girl.,"Um, hi," said Harry, "I… don't think we've met?","We have, if only in passing," said the girl, "Luna Lovegood. I'm a neighbor and friend of Ginny's".,"Oh, well you're a bit far from home, aren't you?" asked Harry, "What brings you all the way to Surrey?","I noticed the Wrackspurts seem to be troubling you," said Luna, "The always leave your thoughts muddled".,"Yeah, I guess you could say I've got a lot on my mind," said Harry, "but still, how did you get all the way to Surrey?","Oh, don't worry about that," said Luna, "I'm just wherever I need to be when the plot demands it".,"What?" said Harry.,"Change is coming, Harry Potter," said Luna, "you must be ready for whatever may come".,Harry felt a chill run down his spine… and then noticed that it wasn't just him: it was suddenly getting colder. He remembered the last time he felt a chill like this… the last time he was in the presence of Dementors.,"Luna. Stay close," commanded Harry.,He reached for his pocket and then realized: he'd left his wand behind at #4 Privet Drive. The chill of the dementors grew worse, and soon he saw them closing in. the same horrific memories started being drawn forth from his mind. Luna fell to the ground, sobbing as her own worst memories were dredged up. There was no time to run, the dementors were closing in too fast. In his growing sorrow and panic, Harry reached deep within himself for that power he'd discovered during the 3rd task. He felt the power spark, and enrobe him in violet energy. The power burst outwards spherically, tearing at the dementors and disintegrating them. As the power receded once more, Harry felt the environment return to normal. As Luna recovered from the dementors' effects, she looked at Harry with interest.,"You are full of surprises, Harry Potter," said Luna.,"I guess, though I'm probably going to be expelled for using magic outside of school," said Harry, "I'm already on notice from when Dobby caused me trouble a couple of years ago".,"Not really, since you didn't use your wand," said Luna, "after all, you don't get in trouble for accidental magic, do you?","That… actually makes sense," said Harry.,"Now then," said Luna, "you should head to Gringotts. They can help you understand your abilities there".,"Wait a minute," said Harry, "how do you know that? How do you know any of this?","Oh, it's standard practice for this sort of thing," said Luna, "You better get going. The pink amphibian will not give up on trying to harm you. She has tried once today, and she will try again. You should go now, there is much you must learn".,With that last statement, Luna turned and began walking away, leaving Harry quite confused. At least now he had a lead of some sort. Harry returned to #4 Privet Drive, collected his belonging, and headed back outside. He summoned the Knight Bus, and was soon of his way to Diagon Alley., And there we go! Next time, Harry pays a visit to Gringotts, and begins a new journey see you then!

Disclaimer: Characters property of William Golding and J.K. Rowling,He was going to bring them back. He knew now that magic could do it. All he needed was the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand. He could bring them back ,make Jack Merridew pay. The time on the island, the losses of Simon and Piggy; all of it would be payed back in blood and the mistakes corrected.,Ralph hadn't missed any of Hogwarts while on the Island. But many thought there was something left behind. For the adults they could tell his innocence was lost, but even they felt there was something ,. Something much more important was gone, left on that island. There was a certain emptiness in Ralph's eyes and another presence, a darkness, something none would ever expect from a twelve year old. Ralph had a hidden savagery behind his eyes. A cunning mind was his key to hiding this monster, that was until he had what he wanted.,Ralph was hiding in the library of Hogwarts when he found the books he wanted. One had information on the Deathly Hallows, really just the fairy tale, another, oddly enough was a Hogwarts yearbook, even more odd, there were seven of them, the last book was restricted and was still covered by its chain. Ralph had never stopped having the deeper thoughts he had on the Island. He started questioning larger concepts, not just leadership, but Time, Life, and most feared; Death. This is what drove him to seek the Hallows, he , to bring his friends back from Death's grasp and keep himself from it. He couldn't let Death take him.,Ralph had become constantly plagued by nightmares of the island. Not even Dreamless Tonics could stop them. Occlumency and Legilimency, neither had any effect. Ralph was battling demons from the deepest darkest parts of his subconscious; he wasn't winning either. Coming back to Hogwarts he took the position of a Slytherin leader, someone feared enough by students to keep order, but to the professors seemed to only be respected for intellect and talent. All he needed now was to rid himself of his past life, Ralph Aldin no longer lived, not at all.,Ralph had searched endlessly through his mother's heritage for a wizard to be respected, one that many did not know of anymore, or whose whereabouts were unknown. That was why the yearbooks were out. Ralph's search had finally come to an end. He knew which ancestor he was going to take. The next step now was discovering how to cheat Death. After all, he was now Tom Marvolo Riddle; back from the dead. In truth Tom had simply disappeared from the face of the Earth no one knew where he had gone, only that his heir was born, Ralph's great grandfather, and from there his descendants continued, the descendants of Slytherin.,Cracking the restricted book Tom Marvolo Riddle , Ralph Aldin caught one word. This word would come to haunt all that opposed his new mission; wipe the Muggles from the world. Their savagery was unmatched. Lord Voldemort's rise would start with one Muggle in particular. One Muggle that would later be the sacrifice used for Tom's first horcrux; Jack Merridew.,This is how Voldemort , Tom Marvolo Riddle ,Ralph Aldin began his Dark journey, began his descent into madness.

ADVERTENCIAS:,DISCLAIMER: todos los derechos de R.A. Salvatore-sama, el uso de sus personajes es únicamente por entretenimiento. Al igual que lo de ,Corazón y orgullo…,Cap1:,RECUERDOS DE TI.,Cuantos encuentros habían tenido, ya no recordaba el numero de batalla que había librado contra el; sin embargo había algo de todo eso le quedaba claro, y era que en todos los intentos que había querido ganarle siempre era derrotado por su contraparte. Entre todo esto había un recuerdo, uno en lo mas profundo que no podía olvidar de dicho personaje.,Recordaba esa ferocidad con que se entregaba a la lucha, la manera en que maneja sus espadas dejaba a cualquier espectador anonadado por la magnifica esgrima que presentaba, recordaba esos ojos que lo mantenían cautivo, si esa mirada de la cual aun para su raza era algo extraña. Esos ojos color espliego que aumentaban en intensidad cuando entraban en combate se desplego un color a un mas obscuro del que normalmente tenían, era una forma de mostrar esa fogosidad por la lucha de la cual siempre salía victorioso.,Aquel cabello tan níveo y sedoso que estando en el frio invierno en aquellas laderas, lo recordaba tan bien preguntándose desde cuando había dejado de verlo como su enemigo, la ultima vez que se había topado con el había sido en la huida de Menzoberranzan, cuando ambos se ayudaron a escapar y en el final de carrera habían tenido una lucha mas que para matar al contrincante era para medir su fuerza y su agilidad, un combate en el cual lo que mas le llamaba la atención era esa esencia de canela que soltaba al encontrase en plena lucha, eso era algo hacia que a Entreri lo embriagara y nublara algo sus sentidos.,Más en esa lucha en específico había ocurrido un suceso que marcaria el destino de ambos, el piso tembló bajo sus pies en el momento cúspide de la lucha en donde ambos mantenían la fuerza de sus armas concentrándose frente a frente y en el momento en el que la tierra temblo ambos perdieron el equilibrio y la orientación por un segundo.,El humano cuando recupero dicha orientación hasta cierto grado, estaba sobre de el en una posición algo inusual, el corazón le latía como nunca lo había hecho en su vida, lo veía tan de cerca que el alma podría a ver tomado al elfo a quien tenia debajo. Las emociones estaban a flor de piel para ambos uno reflejo del otro en la mirada de ambos, platino contra purpura. El mercenario no pudo más y toco los labios del elfo obscuro con los suyos propios. El sabor de aquellos labios dulces, el olor de su cuerpo, la sensación de tenerlo bajo su poder no pudo evitar recorrerle la piel bajo aquella camisa que cubría su abdomen obscuro, de una musculatura desarrollada por los años de practica en los usos de las armas; sin embargo conservaba algo que aun era suyo y eso era su orgullo de que nadie lo podría dominar asi que se levanto sorpresivamente del lugar en donde se encontraba para encontrarse con la mirada de espliego con una mirada llena de duda sobre lo sucedido.,El elfo recogió sus armas que se encontraban tiradas en el piso de la caverna, Artemis ya había recogidas las suyas y se disponía a retirarse pero aun veía a un confundido Drizzt asi que hablo con un algo cortado pero que tenia un deje de amabilidad. Sacando al elfo de su transe.,Vamos aun tenemos que salir de aquí, tenemos un trato de no matarnos, no antes de que salgamos a la superficie entonces mi colaboración de ayudarlos estará saldada- dijo el humano saliendo de aquel extraño transe en el que habían caído ambos, el drow ahora lo acompañaba pero seguía con dicha confusión,Si no lo podía negar el al igual que el elfo estaba en dicha confucion, pero debien avansar hasta salir de ese lugar, no podían quedarse en dicha caverna ya que se derrumbaría tras lo sucedido con el temblor.,El elfo discernía entre sus propios pensamiento lo que hacia unos momentos había sucedido con el humano, los dos habían recorrido un camino algo tormentoso pero habían sido forjados omo buenos guerrero, esos ojos grises que parecían no expresar nada a los demás, para Drizzt era distinto podía identificar sus emociones y sin embargo era extraña la sensación que le había provocado el humano. El cariño que le tenía a Catti-brie era muy distinto de lo que en esos montos sentía por el mercenario. A la humana hubo un momento en que llego a considerarlo, pero no pudo era mas su cariño como padre pues la había visto como crecía y maduraba hasta verla convertida en una guerrera.,Los dos volvieron a recobrar un poco de seriedad ya que ambos intentaban salir de la antípoda obscura, después de algunos días de recorrido hasta la salida y un poco de fricción en su forma de tratarse, lograron su cometido de salir de la antípoda obscura. Ahora el humano por alguna extraña razón había vuelto al Valle del Viento Helado, el lugar nombrado por elfo como hogar aquella extraña palabra en la que aun que tuviera un significado para el un mercenario humano que jamás ha tenido.,Habían pasado algunos años desde ese ultimo encuentro Du Orden, ahora el por su propia voluntad había ido a lugar en donde habitaba el Drow, en realidad no sabia por que tenia esa necesidad de verlo, esos sueños lo atormentaban, mas frecuente durante estas ultimas semanas hacia que había tomado la decisión de ir a verlo.,Joder, se sentía ridículo pensando que iba a decirle al elfo, "Drizzt he venido por que no he podido dejar de pensar en ti" si que cursi y patético seria decirle algo así al elfo, aunque no sabia que era exactamente lo que le diría a el, por lo menos diría que había quedado un combate pendiente, aunque dentro de el sabia que era otra cosa la que buscaba.,Era temprano hacia que lo buscaría, pero ¿donde? Era una buena pregunta antes de que siguiera pensando en donde lo buscaría, sus sentidos le avisaron que estaba en peligro. Había unas formas blancas que se divisaban cerca del lugar, eran yetis que emboscaban para matar a sus presas, tanto podía ser para comerlas como para divertirse con ellas, estas criaturas eran demasiado crueles.,Desenvainó sus armas, y buscando alternativas para terminar rápido con las criaturas que en esos momentos se acercaban con gran rapidez en pos del humano, dos de ellas se abalanzaron hacia el, el paro las zarpas de uno de los monstruo con su espada para luego hundir su daga en la bestia, el arma empezó a absorber la energía de la bestia a gran velocidad y transfiriéndosela a el humano, rodo en el piso hasta un palmo y volvió atacar a la bestia con su espada haciendo la retroceder otra de las bestia estaba detrás de el y lo golpeo con brutalidad haciendo lo caer al suelo, a lo lejos oyó el rugido de una pantera antas de desvanecerse en el sueño.,Había visto la batalla desesperada con aquellas criaturas, el vigilante las conocía demasiado bien eran yetis que atacaban al humano, era extraño volver a verlo y mas que fuera precisamente en su hogar en donde se lo encontrara.,Estaba en grabes problemas y mas cuando cayo al piso, saco sus cimitarras y llamo a su fiel amiga Guenhwyvar quien también se lanzo a la lucha con uno de sus sonoros rugidos haciendo que la bestia que estaba cerca del humano volteara para ser atacada con la feroz quijada de la pantera que se agarro al cuello hasta hacer que la criatura cayera al piso intentándose quitar al animal, pero sin conseguirlo ya que ella lo tenia del cuello y con sus patas traseras quitaba los brazos que poco a poco iban desvaneciéndose hasta caer al piso desangrado y fue por el otro mientras Drizzt fintaba a la bestia y hundía en la bestia una de sus cimitarras.,Cuando la batalla hubo terminado los amigos se acercaron al mercenario que en esos momentos estaba tirado en el piso, con la respiración acompasada y con un golpe del yeti que había marcado uno de sus ojos dejando un gran moretón, en esos momento se encontraba inconsciente debido al golpe, así que el elfo lo cargo entre sus brazos hasta llevarlo a su pequeña guarida que estaba cerca de aquel lugar en donde habían lucha con los yetis, Guenwyvar abrió la puerta con su testa dejando espacio para que entrara con el humano.,Lo dejo en el sofá que estaba cerca de la cálida chimenea que tenia encendida, quitando le la gabardina que esta por completo mojada, dejándole solo con una camisola de gasa que traía puesta y el pantalón, tomo una cobija y lo arropo con ella para luego traer un ungüento para que se le bajara aquella hinchazón en el ojo.,Se retiro para volver a lo que estaba haciendo antes de lo que había sucedido, estaba leyendo en su pequeño estudio con Guenwyvar a sus pies hasta que vio como la pantera se levantaba y aplastaba las orejas haciendo que el vigilante se paro para ir al llano en donde la lucha estaba produciéndose.,Ya habían pasado algunas horas de lo sucedido y despertó de un sueño reconfortante que había tenido, pero ¿donde estaba? el ultimo recuerdo que tenia había sido de un rugido algo conocido después de eso había quedado en las sombras. Lo había despertado el hambre voraz que tenia y se paro observando el lugar en el que estaba era una construcción de madera algo rustica para sus gusto pero no por eso dejaba de fluir un ambiente agradable, escucho un sonido mas al fondo y fue a revisar entonces se encontró con la sorpresa del que el que lo había recatado no era otro que su némesis el elfo obscuro, el cual se encontraba en la cocina preparando algo de cenar.,Veo que ya estas mejor, seguro que tendrás hambre después de la batalla que tuviste –dijo tranquilamente poniendo otro plato sobre la mesa, el humano iba a protestar para irse sin embargo su estomago rugió sin darle tiempo para que dijera algo mas así que lo único que pudo hacer fue sentarse en la mesa y esperar la comida. – y que haces por estos rumbos- pregunto el elfo sirviéndole de cenar.,Solo terminar con algo que empecé hace tiempo, es un asunto que deje si concluir – dijo el humano comiendo después lo servido por el elfo con gran voracidad, el elfo solo suspiro sabiendo la intención del ojos gris.,El también quería volver a luchar con el humano, pero antes tenia que hacer un encargo del enano, quien le había pedido que fuera a luna plateada a preguntar sobre algunos extraños cambios que había visto en el elfo, aunque el mismo Drizzt sabia poco de los cambios que en el ahora se presentaban haciendo que parte de su vida se complicara hasta el punto tener que marcharse por su parte una parte del valle del viento helado en donde no era habitado por nadie.,Y ahora el destino le traía a sus puertas a su gran rival de luchas, sabia que también algo en Entreri había cambiado, algo tan tenue que solo alguien con la percepción de Drizzt habría adivinado. El humano no lo diría a la primera de cambio sin embargo le agradaba la idea de tener a Artemis cerca de el. Solo esbozo una pequeña sonrisa mientras el humano estaba absorto en su propio plato.,Se que quieres una batalla conmigo- dijo el elfo sacando de su estado al humano quien solo encendió un pequeño reflejo en sus orbes platinas –yo también quiero combatir contra ti, pero no antes de que valla a luna plateada,El humano solo bufo cuando oyó la repuesta del Drow, seguiría al elfo después de su travesía por la marca helada, no aun no tenia una repuesta a esa pregunta lo único que sabia es que la batalla estaba todavía presente en su mente. No pensaba dejar que se escapara de sus manos la probable batalla que tendría con el; sin embargo ¿el que haría? con el elfo obscuro. Solo suspiro y recargo su cabeza contra el asiento. Era una tontería, pero aun así lo seguiría, si el ya no era el joven mercenario que se había encatrado en duelo con elfo, ahora tenia mas de diez años de conocerlo, si lo acompañaría aunque dentro de el sabia que era por otra cosa por la que estaba ahí.,Entreri despierta, nos tenemos que ir en un rato –dijo el drow moviendo el honbro al mercenario, el cual solo se removió entre las cobijas volteándose al otro lado del sofá, el elfo solo suspiro y salió de la habitación al pórtico de la cabaña y se sentó en uno de los escalones, saco de su bolsillo la figurilla de ónice y admiro la forma de la pantera, era mas que un objeto mágico en el que habitaba una pantera que podía atravesar los planos de otras dimensiones, ahora era su fiel compañera de viaje, su gran amiga y después de todo ahora era su cómplice en esta nueva aventura que iba ha tener. Podía recordar como había obtenido a Guenwyvar en la antípoda obscura cuando aun era un estudiante en la academia de guerreros Drows, le había quitado aun mago que había intentado vengarse de el por lo que había hecho alguna vez su familia.,Llamo a la pantera en un murmullo, dejando la figurilla en el piso y viendo como se tranformaba en una densa humareda gris la que después se disperso para dejar ver a la magnifica pantera, el elfo le mumuro algo al felino quien de inmediato se metió a la casa y lentamente se acerco a Artemis y se sento en sus cuartos traceros y dio un rugido que hizo que el asesino se levantara de un brinco. La pantera parecía esbozar una sonrisa al igual que Drizzt quien en esos momentos se atacaba de la risa en el suelo como un chiquillo después de una buena broma.,Entreri lo miro con ganas de matarlo, pero también el se hecho a reir al ver Drizzt tumbado en el piso después de la broma hecha al asesino, dejo de reir y se ha acerco al Drow que se encontraba en suelo y le tendio la mano, a lo que lo miro un sorprendido Drizzt tomando la mano de el mercenario para levantarse no cabia duda que en esos momento ellos parecían viejos amigos.,Gracias, supongo- dijo el Drow, el asesino solo asintió algo nervioso, quien diría que Drizzt también podía llegar hacer un bromista de primera, verlo riéndose sin ninguna precupacion- vamos a desayunar para después irnos.,El asesino solo lo siguió al pequeño comedor, la comida era sencilla pero bien preparada, pero indudablemente estaba el toque Drow setas en la ensalada, si no fuera por que sabia que Drizzt no era malo podría esperar algo venenoso pero, no el no era un ser vil como lo eran los demás elfos de la antípoda, asi que comio al igual que el vigilante.,Los dos habían terminado de comer y ahora salían rumbo a luna plateada, Guenhwyvar iba a un lado de ellos a paso lento, con una gran sonrisa en el hocico, ella era una pantera muy especial era un ser mágico, había algo que jamás había hecho frente de Drizzt y era tomar la forma ya sea humana o elfina para poder hablar con ellos sin embargo sabia que el elfo la consideraba una amiga con una inteligencia muy superior a la que ellos pensaban. Jamás se había trasformado por sabia que el elfo podría comprender mal la situación, mas que lo había conocido siendo un jovenzuelo en la academia.,La pantera quería a Drizzt como,una madre a un hijo, y ahora que veía tan feliz al Drow en compañía del humano sabia que el elfo no aceptaría salir con el pues el humano era alguien que tendría una vida corta en comparación de el. Asi que había tomado una decisión ayudaría a ese par a entenderse y encontraría la manera de unirlos.,Entreri no era un ser malvado había sobrevivido en un entorno algo hostil, al igual que Drizzt había sobrevivido y ahora ambos eran magníficos, el reflejo del otro si le pudiera llamar de alguna forma, aunque para Drizzt era un poco mas complicado el asunto ya que de alguna manera había podido salir siendo un chico muy guapo, de gran habilidad y sin embargo para tener algo con alguien tendría ser por que tuviera un sentimiento de por medio antes de eso no haría nada con nadie mas.

For the Love of a Goddess:,A Harry Potter Tale.,NanoWrimo 2008 project,By: Stormer,It was supposed to be happy day, and from a certain point of view it was for her sister, Belledandy and her newly married husband Keiichi Morisato. The ceremony had been a small very private ceremony with only the auto club, Sayoko, and Keiichi's family. Megumi had been the maid of honor, Urd, Sora, and Skuld herself had been bridesmaids. The real kicker was that the almighty himself had come to give her sister away and to perform the ceremony.,She looked as Keiichi and Belledandy danced the night away and she remembered back to a time when she first looked as she did now a young adult of fifteen or sixteen and Keiichi had spent the day with her. On that day she had fallen in love him and his messy mop called hair and could understand exactly how they felt for each other 'doesn't that just suck, I fell in love with my sister's boyfriend.',It did suck for a while until she met Sentaro 'He was such a nice boy' she thought she had loved him but they never seemed to connect on the same level as she had connected with Keiichi She kept up her friendship with Sentaro, but did not feel the deep and abiding love. 'I need a change' Skuld thought to herself.,"Yes my daughter you do!" she looked up and there was her father, The Almighty standing there in what was his mortal avatar "Can I trouble a young lady for a dance with her old, old man.",Skuld smiled "Father you are not that old!" She chuckled "only if you count a few billion years? Of course I will dance with you father.",As they glided across the floor the almighty gave voice. "Would you like to tell me what's troubling you Skuld?',"Father did you ever find that you fell in love with someone you could not have?" Skuld asked her eyes firmly on the floor.,The almighty looked pensive for a moment before he spoke "Yes my child I have and I have a wonderful daughter, who though she is wild and has only a passing familiarity with the truth. I love Urd's mother very much, but I cannot have her." He paused before continuing "I take it this is about Keiichi? You fell in love with him five years ago on that day that you got a taste of being an adult.",Skuld blushed and said meekly "Yes Father" She could not hold back the tears anymore "yes I love him and it makes me a horrible sister to be jealous of her love and happiness!",The Almighty was shocked at this reaction from Skuld "Oh no my darling daughter it just means you are becoming more and more human and less like the divine being you are. You are becoming more like your mother." He stopped to hug his crying daughter "This is not a bad thing. It is a perfectly natural response.",They danced a few songs in silence when Skuld suddenly spoke up "Father I think I want to come back to Yggdrasil" She looked at her father for a moment before adding "I Want to join the battle division. I want to choose the einhjarar! I need to get away from all of this ..." She motioned around her.,"Are you sure Skuld? This is a huge step you know. Are you hoping you will forget what love is if you go away?" The questions were coming so fast that Skuld could not form a coherent argument.,And she broke down in tears and turned to flee from her father.,Keiichi and Belledandy were enjoying a piece of their wedding cake just generally enjoying the closeness that they had fought so hard to attain between demon attacks rogue angels escaping their prisons.,"Keiichi dear, what is it that you most want?" Belledandy asked.,Keiichi looked thoughtful for a moment "Belledandy I have everything I could ever want... I want to spend my life with you.","Oh Keiichi" Belledandy said with all the love showing in her eyes.,Keiichi's smile broadened as he leaned into to kiss her just as their lips were about to touch Urd popped up next to them "Hey don't look now but I think something is wrong with our little sister!" Urd said quietly "I think she might need us." She stated as she turned on her heel and walked toward where Skuld had run.,Keiichi stood for a moment and whispered into Belledandys' ear "I think it finally hit home with Skuld that there is no chance for her with me.","Oh Dear" was all Belledandy said as she too began to move toward the door,Keiichi caught Belledandys' arm and said "let me go first, give me a minute or two before you and Urd come out.","Ok Keiichi" was all She could say before her husband was gone out the door she turned to sit when her father walked up to her.,"Can an old man get a dance with his eldest daughter before he has to return to work" The old man said with a smile on his face.,"Yes father you can" Belledandy said with a smile.,–,"Banpei what am I supposed to do? What kind of sister does that make me? I fell in love with my sister's husband" Skuld sobbed "Oh Banpei what am I supposed to do?",During her self dialogue she failed to notice Keiichi approach from behind. Banpei did however and he knew his creator was in a great deal of pain and he also knew it was no fault of keiichi's... this time.,"Skuld" He said hesitantly. Then he did something that shocked Skuld to core. He pulled her into a hug any barriers Skuld had put up over the years came crumbling down as sobs wracked her lithe body and tears marred her makeup. He held her for what seemed like hours until Skuld could compose herself.,"Keiichi" She started "Do you remember the first time you saw me like this?","Yes Skuld, I do" He answered "I knew you would grow into a beautiful woman","Then why don't you love me?" she asked with fresh tears "is it my anger problem? is it that I keep messing up your laptops? Am I not beautiful enough? What does my sister have that I do not?",'Wow that was the last thing I expected' Keiichi thought to himself "In order of the questions I do love you but I am not in love with you. While your anger is scary at times it would not factor in to my loving you. I wish you would stop ruining my laptops but there is little I can do about it. As for what your sister has, he has my heart and has had it since the moment I laid eyes on her." Keiichi paused for breath and thought for a moment for what he could say "Skuld, you lack nothing your sister has. If I had met you first it would be you I was married to. There is a boy out there somewhere between heaven and earth that will love you for all eternity. Just keep your eyes open and you will see it.","He is right you know" Urd broke in as she walked up to them "The only thing you lack is opportunity honey. You are as beautiful as Belledandy, you are smart, and you are also a very loving goddess. In time you will find the one. And if you think Keiichi and belledandys' time together was a disaster. Watching you date is going to be fun.",With that she pulled Skuld into a hug and whispered "yes sis you are beautiful but you're not in my league." she said smiling "Yet! You will be though. You will be.","Urd are you feeling well?" Keiichi said in mock fear to which Urd responded with a laugh,"Yes Keiichi I am feeling just fine" she said "I have to get back up to Yggdrasil my time on earth is finished. I will however visit from time to time. So take care of my sister",Kiiechi looked thoughtfully at Urd "I love you too Urd and I will always take care of her she is my life.","Well I am glad you all have that worked out" The almighty said as he and Belledandy appeared with them. "Keiichi you are a good man. In time Skuld will find the one for her. However that is years down the road.",Belledandy said "Father what you mean... have you foreseen something",The almighty looked troubled "I cannot speak of it; the balance is delicate what I can say is that your little sister is now a member of the Valkyries." He looked at Skuld "My darling Daughter you have three days to report back to Yggdrasil",With a shimmer he was gone.,Urd and Belledandy were shocked "A valkyrie, our little sister is going to be a Valkyrie" They said in one voice.,"Skuld" Belledandy began "Are you sure this is what you want to do?","Yes, big sis this is what I want and what I need, if I go back to be an admin I will just end up resenting what you and Keiichi have. You are so lucky to have each other don't either of you let go or you will answer to me" she paused with the meanest look on her face and then poked them one at a time in the chest "Got it?","Yes Skuld oh dread Valkyrie" Keiichi said sarcastically before Skuld hefted one of her bombs causing him to gulp. "In all seriousness do you think I am ever going to let her go?","No" was all they heard as she vanished going back to heaven.,"I do hope she will be ok Keiichi." Belledandy said with just a hint of regret,Keiichi frowned "I hope so too, love.","She will be, her choice today will eventually stave off darkness that is forming in the west she will have another chance at love." the almighty said as he disappeared.,With a somewhat heavier heart the couple returned to their wedding reception.

Calvin groaned. He was lying on his back in the middle of the hotel bed, with Hobbes lying right next to him.,"Why can't we go do something?" he whined.,"Because we're tired, Calvin," his mom said resignedly. "It's the jet lag. You'll probably crash soon, anyway. It's not worth it to go anywhere.","But it's still light outside.","I don't care. Your dad's already asleep, anyway.","Fine," he growled out. "Be that way." He turned over on to his side to stare out the window. His dad had a business trip over to Great Britain, and they had decided to make a family vacation out of it. And while he appreciated going somewhere that wasn't that stupid dinky little island, it was still boring. They were staying the night at a small bed and breakfast in a dinky little town called Little Hangleton. Calvin heard a soft snore and glanced over at his parents. His mom had fallen asleep, her mouth slightly open. He grinned. Now maybe they could have some fun.,A few minutes later, Calvin and Hobbes were slipping out the door, a big grin on their faces and a backpack full of supplies.,. . . . .,"So, remind me again why we're playing Calvin Ball in an old graveyard?" Hobbes asked while setting up the wickets around the gravestones.,"Hobbes, you know you're not supposed to question Calvin Ball, right?" Calvin wrapped his mask around his head.,"This doesn't seem safe," Hobbes muttered.,Calvin rolled his eyes. "Hobbes, would I put you in danger?","Is that a rhetorical question? Yes, you would. You have. You continue to do so.",Calvin rolled his eyes. "Just shut up.",They had only been playing Calvinball for a few short minutes when they were interrupted by a loud crack.,Calvin gasped, grabbing Hobbes and pulling him behind a nearby gravestone. "What was that?","What was what?" Hobbes said, annoyed. "Are you cheating again? Just because I was winning doesn't mean-","Shhh!" Calvin hissed, covering Hobbes' furry mouth with his hand. "There's someone over there.","Over where?","There!","Oh, over there. I see them now.",Calvin and Hobbes peered through the darkness at the two figures. All of a sudden one of them fell to his knees, his hands flying up to clutch at his head.,"Look!" Hobbes hissed. "There's another one over there!",The new person was walking slowly towards the others. They were wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over their face, and were carrying what looked like a baby. They came closer and closer, until they were only six feet from the other two.,From almost out of nowhere, a high, cold voice said, "Kill the spare.",There was a flash of green light and a thud.,"Oh sweet chocolate frosted sugar bombs, is he dead?" Calvin whispered.,"That's it. I'm calling the police." Hobbes declared. "No!" Calvin gasped. "He'll kill you too. We can't do anything.",The boy and his tiger watched silently as the cloaked man tied the other boy to a headstone. He did some weird thing with a big bowl, and then the bundle he had been carrying was suddenly a tall sinister snake-man thing.,"Hey, he looks sort of like dad," Calvin whispered.,"I fail to see the resemblance," Hobbes responded.,Meanwhile, Harry Potter was freaking out. Cedric was dead, Wormtail had returned, and now Voldemort was going to kill him. Really, with his luck sometimes it didn't pay for him to get out of bed.,"Harry Potter," Voldemort said quietly, moving towards him like a cat stalking its prey, about to pounce. He took another step forward, but frowned when he heard a soft thunk. He looked down menacingly.,"Hey!" There was a loud cry from the side. "You hit the Wicket of Awesome Flatulence! That means you have to-","Shut up!" someone else hissed.,"Who is there?" Voldemort hissed.,"It is I, the magnificent Spaceman Spiff. FEAR ME!","Whatever happened to staying hidden?" the other voice complained.,A short blond boy stepped out from behind a gravestone, his yellow hair proudly defying gravity. He was holding a stuffed tiger. Harry frowned in bemusement. He was sure that he had heard two different voices, but . . .oh well. He had more pressing matters.,"Run!" Harry yelled. "Get out of here while you still can!","Never!" the blond midget yelled. "Spaceman Spiff never- AAHHHH!" he jumped behind another gravestone as Voldemort let loose a red bolt of light at him, barely missing him. "Never retreat!" he yelled.,"What is your intention, brat?" Voldemort hissed. "Have you come here only to mock me?","Spaceman Spiff doesn't mocks, he only destroys!","Then why do you wear the mask?",Spaceman Spiff's head popped up from behind the gravestone. "Never question the masks," he warned.,At that moment, the air suddenly grew full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind the yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards were apparating. All of them were hooded and masked. Then one of them fell to his knees, crawling forward toward Voldemort.,"Not now!" the Dark Lord snapped. "Kill him!" he pointed towards the gravestone that the blond midget spaceman had disappeared behind.,"Forgive me lord, but who do you mean?" the one on his knees asked cautiously.,"THAT SPACEMAN SPIFF!",Harry could almost feel the confused puzzlement coming from the kneeling pureblood terrorist.,"A spaceman? Named Spiff? Lord, are you-" he was cut off by the aforementioned spaceman, who jumped out triumphantly. "FEAR ME, YOU EVIL MUTANT MOTH PEOPLE, FOR I WHILE DESTROY YOU AND DANCE ON YOUR GRAVES!","Lucius," Voldemort growled. "Finish him," he gestured at Calvin.,"Of course, my Lord," Lucius said smoothly, bowing his head, his long blond hair glistening in the wand light.,"Egads!" Calvin cried out. "It's a gurl!","You take that back, brat!" Lucius hissed.,"Make me!" Calvin taunted him, turning around to wiggle his backside at him.,"With pleasure. Avada kedavra." A bolt of sickly green light flew at the air towards Calvin. An orange and black blur threw itself in front of Calvin, absorbing the deadly verdant bolt.,"Whoa," Harry said, still tied to the gravestone. "Dudley's toys never did that." Everyone else just continued ignoring him.,"Ha!" Calvin said. "The deadly laser glare of the gurl is no match for Spaceman Spiff and his loyal tiger companion!","You filthy little muggle," Lucius growled. He lunged at Calvin, but tripped on a wicket, falling to the earth with a surprisingly girlish shriek and hitting his head on a headstone with a crack. Calvin jumped over his comatose body triumphantly.,"HA! Take that, you foul zogwarg!" he yelled, dumping a thermos of ramen noodles that he had just randomly pulled out of his pocket at Lord Voldemort. He sputtered in indignation, reaching up to wipe the noodles off of his face. Calvin took the opportunity to grab Hobbes and run. Voldemort growled menacingly and ordered his death eaters to chase after them. They all rushed off in a crowd, each one vying for the chance to kill the impertinent fool who had the audacity to anger their lord.,Back in the now empty graveyard, Harry Potter was still tied to the stone a few feet from Lucius Malfoy's unconscious body. "Um, what just happened?" he nervously asked the empty air around him. "Seriously, what just happened?",Calvin ran as fast as he could through the fields surrounding the graveyard while Voldemort and his death eaters chased after him. He jumped a fence and ran through a garden, trampling the plants underfoot. As the death eaters followed him through the field, a few of them lit it on fire. "OH NO!" came a cry from the nearby farm house. "MY CABBAGES!",The chase continued until Calvin's erratic running managed to lose all the death eaters chasing after him. Eventually he stood by the side of the road, holding Hobbes close to his side. They were both covered with ramen noodles.,"I told you it was a bad idea," Hobbes muttered.,A car drove up, stopping in front of him. His parents came out.,"Calvin, what on earth did you do!" his mom shrieked. Calvin glanced behind him at the burnt and charred cabbage fields. "But mom, it wasn't me, it was the evil snake man and his gurl henchmen!",She grabbed him by the arm, pulling him towards the car. "Don't give me that story, Calvin. And have you been hitting the cactus juice again? You know you're not supposed to believe what the mushrooms tell you, no matter how friendly they are.",A few hours later, Dumbledore finally managed to locate Harry. He apparated into the graveyard with a crack.,"Harry, my boy, we have reason to believe that Voldemort may be trying to return.","Well, I hate to break it to you, but he already has. Why do you think I'm tied to this headstone?",Dumbledore shrugged. "I don't know. Your father had unusual hobbies.",Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't think I want to know. Anyway, I have good news!","And what is that, my boy?","I've figured out Voldemort's fatal weakness!","Well done, my boy! This is indeed a wondrous day. What is it?","Noodles.","Really? I had imagined it being more . . .dramatic or something. Thank you for this important information, my boy. We shall act on it immediately." With that, he apparated away.,"What! Come back here! I'm still tied up!" Harry screamed uselessly. He sighed. "Great. Just great. Now what?"

Just go with it. First person to figure out who is where gets my everlasting approval and respect.,Tonks groaned, finally waking up. Her entire body ached, but for the life of her couldn't remember why.,the young Auror thought to herself, wincing a little as her hand groped over her body to peel her t-shirt up a bit to discover bandages had been placed over her torso. Her eyes didn't seem to be able to move. Most likely leftover sleep paralysis.,Drip. Drip. Drip. It was raining outside. From what she could see through the crack of her eyelids, it was night time. Now that she thought about it, she actually was pretty toasty under the covers. The fight , have been a dream, Tonks reasoned, breathing a sigh of relief. This place felt an awful lot like home, it must be her parent's house. She heard footsteps approaching, a woman's concerned voice speaking to a man. Then, the sound of a door opening.,"Mum? That you?" Tonks asked.,"There, now." the woman whispered, as though she would wake Tonks. "Just relax. You've been asleep for almost nine hours now.","Ugh...what a horrible nightmare." Tonks sighed. She felt a warm cloth being pressed to her head by the woman. It felt good, really helped with the migraine "Had a dream I went...back in time or something. It was terrible.","Well," the woman said cheerfully, "You're safe and sound now in good old 1975.","1975?" Tonks cried out, her eyes shooting straight open, sitting up straight immediately. She immediately recognized her surroundings, having been there a fair amount of times in her day. It was the hospital wing. The woman Tonks had known was strict and proper, but the Madam Pomfrey of 1975 wore tie-dye clothes under her apron, frayed jeans, wore sandals, and had sunglasses with smiley faces tucked into the pocket of her apron.,"You - you - you're Madam Pomfrey!" Tonks gasped.,Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrow, not critically as she usually did .,", You must be mistaken, sister," Madam Pomfrey said. "I'm just a healer in training, man.",It was at this moment Tonks decided to use one of her Father's favorite (and one of her Mother's least favorite) phrases whenever things got out of hand, with no regard whatsoever to the fact she was currently housed in a school full of eleven-year-olds.,"WHAT THE FU-"

First contact: Monday, July 21th, 1969, 1h47.,The first encounter between Severus Snape and the spatio-temporal Agency happened by an unforgettable summer night. Not for the evens broadcast in live on the old radio in the living room but for the unexpected appearance of three strange strangers coming from the cellar. They were unlike anything the little boy had ever seen. Neither the wizard from Diagon alley he has met when he went with his mother buying some component for her potions, nor the muggle he used to pass every day in the streets of Cokeworth. He only noticed they barely look like the astronauts he saw the previous day on the television at his friend's house, Lily Evans. The first one, who genially greeted his father, was a stout man, about fifty, with dark skin and graying temples and a rich bass voice. The second was a blond man about thirty, taller than his father, with a beard and mustache neatly trim who was constantly casting suspicious glance around him. The third one was a woman. Unlike the two others guys in strange white spacesuit she was enclosed in a golden armor with no apparent juncture. But the strangest thing in this tall woman, so tall in Severus children eye he asked himself if she was part giant, was the fact this woman had four eyes who glowed in the dark.,The evening was quite usual for the last house in spinner's end. His parents, Eileen and Tobias Snape, have spent the evening fiercely arguing about him. His mother insisted he went to bed early like all normal little boy. His father, on his side, argued all the normal little boy will stay awake tonight and follow the first step of the man on the moon. The argument between his parents about that was a normal behavior happened more often these days. And their radically different view on the subject let Severus without any hope they will soon agree on a truce on this particular topic. Often the little boy wondered how his parents, coming from two worlds so different, could have finished together. Letting the two adult in the kitchen decide what was normal between potion and spell on one side and science and technology on the other, Severus returned to the living room. He seated next the radio on in intent to cover the ruckus coming from the other room and opened the potion book he was currently studying.,A few hours later, in the middle of the night, Severus was awakening with a startle by an unusual ear-splitting noise coming from the cellar. The fight in the kitchen stopped immediately and hurries footstep could be hear in the back off the house. Curious, Severus stood up and headed for the source of the noise. Catching a sign of her son behind her, Eileen turned toward him.,"Go in your room." She said harshly.,"Let the boy be Eileen." Tobias retorted while pushing his son toward the door with a firm hand in his shoulder.,"No! I refuse my son be involved with these … party." The mother replied before standing in front of her husband.,"Eileen! The time is come for him to learn. Whatever happens he has no choice. He will do his duty then the time will come. The Snape have been in charge of this spatio-temporal station for seven generations. And neither I nor my son will break the tradition." He said scowling.,"No Tobias! My son is a wizard. He will not meddle with this people. The things they are doing are not normal. It's not right. We can't do this kind of things." Severus could see fear in his mother eyes. It was strange. He had always known her with a stark or stubborn air.,"Don't be ridiculous. Come here Severus, there are some people you need to meet." Passing his wife Tobias opened the door and dragged his son after him. Without a word Severus followed his father in the stairs with a sorry look for his mother. But it was too tempting to finally discover the secret hidden in the cellar and the source of the strange noise. His parents always forbade him to enter in this part of the house.,"Tobias!" After a few second Eileen finally followed her husband and her son.,In spite of everything Severus had imagine the room was tidy, without any dust on the floor and the white wall seemed covers with luminous spot. In the middle of the room there was a strange machine he didn't recognize. The general form looked a little like the launcher he had seen in the picture book of Lily's sister but the engine was far smaller and some part looked like they were coming from the science-fiction TV show the two Evans sisters enjoy. The top of the machine spread open with a loud hiss and the first passenger came out. The large man headed directly toward Tobias, smiling, when the second exited the engine.,"Tobias! How are you?" He said, shaking his hand.,"Fine and you?" Tobias answered.,"Wonderful. Hey, it seems all your family is here." The man moved around his friend in intends to see Severus half hidden behind his father.,"This is my son Severus. Severus, this is Sun Rae, an old friend." Tobias said, pressing his son in front of him. Severus shook the hand of the man and shyly muttered a "nice to meet you sir." Behind them the second voyager was helping the third one to exit the machine. The moment he saw the woman of metal Severus was unable to look away, totally captive by the strange presence who seemed read him.,"Ah … Lad. It's the first time you meet someone like Kistna, don't you?" Sun Rae asked when he saw the young boy had the eyes glue to the golden armor. "Don't worry, the Wûûrm seems cold but they don't bite. Well … not literally. But stay away from her energy's blast.",Severus slowly nodded.,"Do you remember my wife Eileen?" Tobias asked while indicated his wife.,"Of course, Madam. My pleasure." He said. Eileen answered with a motion of the head without stopping scowling in the direction of the three strangers.,"I suppose your venue here is not a courtesy." Tobias said.,"No Alas. I need to go as soon as possible to the base with Jal and Kistna. Order from Lady Charlotte. Can you give us a ride?",Tobias answered with a nod and gestured the other to follow him up the stairs. Once upstairs, Severus observed his father and the three strangers exit the house and get in the car. With her husband away Eileen sent Severus in bed refusing to answers any of the questions the young boy threw at her. One week after the event, when Eileen was out of the house, Tobias finally explained to Severus everything about the machine in the cellar, the existence of the Spatio-Temporal Agency and his duty as the keeper in charge of a spatio-temporal station.

AN: This is the second story in ,. All three stories will be different fandoms, but will use 'the Sentinel trope/crossover' of having an AU world with known Sentinels with enhanced physical senses who bond to Guides with mental gifts. It's pretty self-explanatory in the story, but feel free to look it up online if you want more explanation. I love stories using Sentinels: the little black dress of fandom.,: Violence, attempted kidnapping, mentions of torture, Ron bashing, crossover cameos (The Pretender, Rurouni Kenshin, Sherlock),"Are you frowning because of that report or because Ron's been up here already?" Hermione asked from the doorway.,Harry leaned back with a wry smile and shrugged. "Both. Prophecies about fiery monsters and visits from fiery friends.","Oh good," Hermione said, ignoring Harry's surprise and confusion as she came inside and shut the door, "then I can hide out from Ron in here. If you hear him coming back with your enhanced Sentinel hearing, warn me. It's your duty as my best friend and Sentinel partner.","I'd probably smell him coming first," Harry joked, but when she didn't laugh he sighed. "How much is he still bothering you? I thought you were tentative friends again.",Scowling, Hermione stomped into the room and threw herself down on the bench next to Harry. "He broke up with Lavender, gambled away his last paycheck at the pub last week, and got reprimanded at that private security firm he works for. That's why he insisted on getting tested for Sentinel latency again, despite my telling him it's a waste of time. The Sentinel - Guide Center is so desperate for more of us that they keep letting him. He thinks that if he's declared at least latent, then we'd become the golden trio again and all his problems would just go away with our influence.","Never mind the fact that ever since I came online as a Guide, I can't be around him for more than an hour or two because his moods can get too toxic for my empathy to handle. Or that he always forgets to wear Sentinel friendly products and accidentally gives you rashes and hives.",Pausing in her rant, she grabbed his arm and turned it over to check the skin on his wrist. "How are your levels?","I'm fine; he didn't cause anything to spike but my temper." Harry pulled his sleeve back down with a sigh.,Rolling her eyes, Hermione continued. "Oh Merlin, don't get me started. He actually had the gall to order me to start packing my desk up because he knew the test would be positive this time and then he'd come Online and I'd have to bond with him and go help him at his work like he'd always planned. As if Guides have no choice! Or like he doesn't know I'm your preliminary Guide and have a platonic bond with you! I don't know when he turned from an occasionally irritating but fun and loyal friend into a sanctimonious, jealous git, but his current behavior is seriously poisoning what good memories of him I have left. He threatened to come straight back to my office with his results.","Are your coworkers fighting again too?" Harry asked sympathetically. Normally she didn't let Ron get to her this badly.,"Yes," Hermione moaned, flopping down onto his lap dramatically in the window seat. "My mental shields are a mess and I promised to volunteer at the SG Center right after work. Even though there're barely any Sentinels in Britain, there're even fewer Guides. They keep asking and even though I'm swamped with work I can't bring myself to say no to Sentinels in distress.","Let me shelter you while you take a break." Running his hands through her hair soothingly, Harry wrapped his primary shields around her mind. She relaxed with a sigh and closed her eyes. If they'd had more than a preliminary bond, he'd be able to shield her from a distance. Unfortunately, they weren't mentally compatible enough for a deep bond. He had his suspicions about who her true bondmate might be, but Hermione refused to even discuss it.,Snuggling more comfortably onto his lap, Hermione closed her eyes and asked, "What're you working on that has fiery monsters?","I'm reading reports investigating a new prophecy, which is as frustrating as you can imagine. Supposedly a monster is searching for animals, a monster made of fire, ash, and sorrow. The prophesy ended with a lot of hysterical screaming instead of dreamy words, so we've orders to take this seriously. Nevertheless, no one's reported problems with the local zoos, pet stores, or at animal control. I just got off the floo with Charlie Weasley and he reports nothing unusual with the dragons either. I have a stack more of reports to sign off on, but verbally everyone reports a big fat nothing." Harry ran his fingers through her curly hair again. They both found the action soothing.,"Let me know if I can help," Hermione slurred as she dozed off. Smiling fondly, Harry went back to reading reports.,About an hour later, Hermione woke up to the feeling of being watched. Opening her eyes, she met Draco Malfoy's gray gaze. His eyes glittered with longing and hunger. Then he dropped his lashes and turned his head. When he looked back, the emotion was hidden.,Draco watched her all the time. It should make her uncomfortable, but a traitorous and confusing part of herself liked it. So far she'd avoided figuring out why. Feeling vulnerable, Hermione sat up and swung her legs onto the floor.,"I brought those extra reports you requested, Harry." Draco placed them on Harry's desk along with a pack of Hermione's favorite fruit and nut mix from the trolley. "I also ran into Ron Weasley at the SG Center. As expected, he's still closer to international quidditch fame than he is to the psionic plane. When I told him that his boss still expected him to cover guard duty on the ladies garden club after his inevitable rejection, he ran off in a huff. I expect he'll be busy for the rest of the day.","Good thinking, Draco." Harry picked up the snack mix, hesitated for a moment, and then dropped it into Hermione's lap with a huff of laughter. Happily tearing into it, she mumbled, "Thanks," through a mouthful of food.,Pleasure drifted from Draco's direction as he watched her eat. "I'm pulling files for a personal project all day if you need me for something," he said as he turned to leave.,Hermione's head snapped up. "Wait, it's disgustingly dusty down in the archives. As an unbonded Sentinel, you shouldn't be down there alone.","I can control my levels just fine, Granger," he drawled with a slight smile. "Unless you are suggesting something?","Yes, get your assistant to do it," Hermione snapped, in no mood to put up with his confusing innuendoes that he never actually followed through on.,She may have imagined it, but it seemed like his shoulders drooped just slightly. Malfoy looked away. "I'll consider it.","She's got a point, Draco," Harry chimed in support. "If something big is coming, I'm going to need you at the top of your game as a Sentinel. You have more important work to do than fetching and carrying files anyways. In fact, you could have gotten your secretary to deliver these files too," Harry gestured to the stack on his desk.,Tossing the empty snack bag into the trash, Hermione cleaned her hands and teeth with a quick spell. "I've got to get over to the SG Center for my shift, but as a Guide I think both of you should not only stay out of the archives, but also cast a cleaning charm before handling any files. Thanks for the break, Harry. Take care of yourself, Malfoy.",Hermione left Harry's office, almost brushing against Malfoy in the doorway. She didn't miss his deep inhalation as she passed or the subtle sway of his hands towards her body, but as always she chose to ignore it. Thinking about it just drove her crazy, so she didn't.,Breezing into the lobby of the London SG Center, Hermione briefly looked down to untie her lightweight jacket. So distracted, she failed to notice the ruddy-faced Sentinel who stood up at her entrance and started forward. By the time she looked up it was too late to avoid him.,"Guide, have dinner with me tonight," he demanded abruptly, blocking her path.,Stepping around him with annoyance, Hermione replied, "No. I've told you a hundred times, Greg, I'm not interested in dinner or bonding with you. We're not compatible.",Greg scowled and followed. "You're just being obstinate and selfish. You know that a Guide of your power can force a bond with anyone. Our people are on the brink of extinction, with fewer coming Online each year. Of those, there are more Sentinels than Guides in Britain. If you don't choose soon, the council will make you choose one of us.",Hermione struggled to keep her rage contained inside her shields. There were too many sensitives nearby to let loose like she wanted to. Unfortunately, half of them thought the same way he did too. She bared her teeth in a fake smile. "Then I'd just choose Harry. You remember the Sentinel I already share a platonic bond with? Discussion over. Let's not have it again.",Face flushed and leaking temper and aggression, Greg stepped closer and opened his mouth in a snarl. However, before he could speak, a tall figure loomed up next to her protectively. "Guide Hermione, here promptly for your shift. I've always admired that about you, among many other things.",Taking a calming breath, Hermione turned. "Thank you, Jarod.",Turning an icy look on Greg, Jarod gallantly held out his arm for Hermione. She stepped up and slid her fingers onto the handsome Guide's forearm. Unlike other Guides, Jarod always felt a bit primitive. It made her feel an instinctive kinship with him that she so far hadn't bothered questioning despite the shortness of their acquaintance. Perhaps she felt like a primitive Guide to others herself.,"You're just like her," Greg snapped peevishly, unintentionally echoing her thoughts.,"You mean a Guide who's not willing to bond with you? Someone who won't worship you for merely being a Sentinel? Or someone willing to shred your mind and make you piss your pants if you so much as breathe on us inappropriately?" Jarod quizzed, a predatory gleam in his tawny eyes.,Tugging on Jarod to get him walking, Hermione said, "So I've been thinking we should hang out more. I'm a genius, you're definitely a genius, and despite the age difference I find you incredibly attractive.",Throwing back his head in a laugh, Jarod ignored the sputtering Sentinel as they walked towards the restricted area in the back for treating psychic traumas. "I'm more tempted than I should be, especially with the way that Sentinel you work with always stares after you longingly and you never tell him off for it. Too bad I already gave my notice that I'm leaving in a few days.","Your loss," then Hermione sighed glumly, "and mine." Taking off her jacket, she hung it up in her locker and pulled on a sterile, disposable jumpsuit over her clothes. "And Harry doesn't long for me. We're just best friends.",Flashing a sly smile, Jarod drawled, "Not Harry, the arrogant blond one.",Before Hermione could think up a suitably scathing reply, Guide John Watson burst into the room and began stripping off his bloody clothes. He scrubbed himself down at a sink and then pulled on a pair of clean scrubs. "I need you both for a healing. I just escorted an abused Sentinel from my surgery to here. He came Online this week and his girlfriend snapped when he broke up with her. She basically tortured him. He's mentally retreated and is on the verge of sensory collapse." Securing her hair in a high bun, Hermione followed John and Jarod into the healing suite.,Hours later, the three Guides walked slowly back into the dressing room. They'd managed to stabilize the new Sentinel, but he would need a lot of therapy and support to regain his health and confidence. His mother and siblings had come in after the healing and seemed ready and willing to take on the world to keep him stable and happy. Hopefully it would be enough if a matching Guide couldn't be found.,"Good job," Hermione told the two older men sincerely. "You did an impressive job repairing his mental landscape. I really appreciated working with you." She got the sense that people rarely thanked either of them.,Although Jarod was going to throw her into a fit of depression by leaving soon, at least John Watson lived in London. She'd rarely had such an effortless meld during a healing session and wanted to make sure he knew she'd love to work with him again. However, he was usually too busy working and consulting with the police to come into the SG Center regularly. When he did come in for his volunteer hours, some of the other staff gave him grief over being an unfit Guide because of his war injuries and lingering mental trauma. Those same staff had never experienced anything more frightening than a scary movie. It infuriated her, but she didn't have the political power to do anything about it.,Not yet, at least. If she ever managed a full bond with a Sentinel, she'd be much more powerful, perhaps even more powerful than the Guides currently in charge. Then she'd take her place on the council and change a few things. It was one of the reasons they wanted her to bond with someone like Greg. They thought they'd be able to control her then.,"Thank you, Hermione," John said with a crooked, close-mouthed smile. "Of course, we couldn't have done it if you hadn't held the center for us. I've never worked with a Guide as natural as you. Your power is impressive. He easily trusted you and let you stabilize his levels while we fixed the damage. It was a pleasure to work with you.",Suddenly his mobile chimed from his locker. It chimed thrice more in rapid succession. "What does he want now?" John sighed in exasperation, though in contrast to his voice, he leaked happiness and excitement.,Pulling out his mobile, he read his messages and typed a short response. Then he stripped down to boxers and quickly changed into a spare set of clothes. Being in the army had removed any modesty from the man, but Hermione wasn't about to start complaining. Sensing her appreciation, John sent her a wink. She laughed and shrugged, only blushing slightly.,"Sherlock needs me to go and fetch something, so I have to dash. Jarod, if I don't see you again, it was a pleasure. Hermione, let's coordinate our hours next time to avoid the other annoying people around here, shall we?" He paused for a moment with raised eyebrows, received her eager nod, and then strode out of the room.,Slipping into a changing stall, Hermione put on a fresh jumper and pair of slacks. When she came out, she found Jarod straddling a bench and doing tricks with two yoyos. He looked at her with compassion, seeming to see past all of her shields.,"Did you want to go for a walk in the gardens? I have a feeling that you need to talk," Jarod said as he put away his spinning toys.,Hermione was about to automatically refuse, but the comfort he mentally projected proved just too tempting. During the healing, the other Guides had bled traumas onto her as the apex of their triangle. You had to thin your shields in order to meld for a powerful healing. They probably weren't even aware of it and she respected them too much to bring it up. Then again, they'd probably endured some of her traumas as well, which likely led to Jarod's invitation. Without distraction, the memories threatened to surge up her throat like bile. She did feel raw.,"The rose garden is lovely in the evening," Hermione finally answered.,As they walked out into the cool air, the large evening sun edged the rose petals with orange gilding. Hermione tied her jacket shut and breathed in the scented air. Jarod pulled out a Pez dispenser shaped like the comedian Mr. Bean and offered her a pink candy. After eating two himself, he tucked it inside his black leather jacket and zipped it closed.,"Seeing other people in pain can remind us of our own wounds," Jarod prompted softly. "I want to help. You can talk to me, Hermione." He thinned his shields, projecting earnestness and comfort.,"I," she took a quick breath, "I don't really talk about it, but... did you see the Sentinel's arm? His girlfriend had written the word 'throwback' on his skin with cinnamon lip gloss. His sense of touch became so oversensitized that it left seeping gouges. Unless he bonds to a Guide, he'll probably be allergic to even minute amounts of cinnamon for the rest of his life.","Being betrayed by people you trust is hard to get over, but it is possible," Jarod said sadly as if speaking from experience. "He's strong and has a good support system. I think he'll get past this. However, the ex-girlfriend is a monster. The police have her and she won't get away with hurting a Sentinel. I already sent a lawyer to his mother. He'll make sure justice is served." The icy look in his eyes made her shiver, but also filled her with cold satisfaction. Hermione's heart also cried out for justice.,Then Jarod swooped down, picking up a fallen rose from the ground and twirling it in his fingers before plucking off the thorns. "Did that trigger your bad memories?" he asked softly.,Looking away, Hermione nodded. "When I was 17, I was captured and tortured. The woman who hurt me, she cut the word ', into my arm, trying to brand me as someone inherently dirty and inferior. She kept hurting me and laughing as I screamed and- and her emotions were so vile! They battered my mind as she tortured my body. My friends had to listen to me scream from the room next door. I could feel their horror and helplessness too as my shields collapsed. On the verge of going catatonic, I somehow retreated to the astral plane.",Jarod passed her the smooth-stemmed red rose. "Had you spent any time there before?",Running her fingers along the soft petals, Hermione shook her head. "You know they heavily discourage the few of us who can from trying, though perhaps more could if they practiced. The only Sentinels who've even seen it are those with the extremely rare sixth sense of empathy. Few Guides can even find it and those that do, well, we're told that you'll feel a growing dread, as if you're being stalked by something and should run away. I'd only been there once accidentally when I first came Online," she bit her lip and blushed, "although I've spent more time there in the last few years bonding with my spirit animal. For me, it's become a source of comfort and peace, not the threat they taught us.","What changed your mind?" Jarod asked, subtly offering his arm if she wanted the closeness, but not insisting. Hermione tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and immediately felt stiff muslces relax.,"The fact that it became my sanctuary from the pain," Hermione explained softly. "To escape the torture, I hid there behind a fragrant bush in a beautiful ocean cove. Then… well, it's hard to believe it even now. A Japanese woman appeared and pushed away the branches from my hiding place. She wore old-fashioned hakama and had a star-shaped scar above the v of her kimono. I could tell she didn't have a connection to the physical world anymore, but she was more than just a spirit. She was a Guide." Jarod's eyes widened, but he didn't interrupt her story.,"She pulled me out gently and held me until I stopped trembling. Then she took my hand and led me into the jungle. We stopped in a clearing with a pit covered by wooden bars. A tiger paced inside. He screamed at us from his prison, scaring me, but the woman merely rolled her eyes and pulled out a wooden sword. Then she shoved me towards the trap.",Hermione's lips quirked in a smile. "I only hesitated for a moment before something snapped. I started attacking the cage with the sword, taking out all of my pain, helplessness, and fear on it. Then I started channeling my rage. I wanted that tiger out! Abruptly the cage splintered open. I dropped in the broken bars at a slant and stepped back. The tiger crawled out, rubbed his head against my leg, and disappeared.","Then the Japanese woman spoke for the first time. She said, "They tried to keep him dormant. They're going to regret it." We shared a victorious smile and then I woke up. My friends rescued me soon after.",Hermione shivered and looked over at Jarod. "I didn't know the dead, even Guides, could still talk to you on the astral plane. I've also never heard of people being forced to be dormant.","You should look into Shamanism," Jarod said with a distant look in his eye. "It could help explain the Japanese woman. Have you read Blair Sandburg's work? He's based in America.",Flipping through her mental library, Hermione gave a little scowl. "They don't stock him here in Europe or mention him in the catalogues. I haven't heard of him, but I'll fix that.","I'll try to track down some copies and send them to the SG Center addressed to you," Jarod offered. "As for forcing someone to stay offline, I have heard rumors and seen some evidence of it. Luckily not many people know about it and most cultures have lost the knowledge. I'm glad you were able to help at least one of them. It sounds like you did the best you could to survive a difficult situation and even helped someone in the process. The bad memory doesn't deserve any more of your attention. Be proud of yourself for surviving and let it go.",A sense of compassion and peace flushed through Hermione. The sharp memory of Bellatrix's torture dulled. "Oh, you just did something, didn't you?" she sent him a surprised look.,A pink flush crossed Jarod's cheeks and he gave her a boyish look of chagrin, "I didn't think you'd catch me, but yes. Do you mind?","No… no I won't miss those nightmares." Giving Jarod a sideways glance, she prodded, "Have you tried it on yourself?",Smiling sardonically, Jarod shrugged. "It works better on others. I'm working through my issues, but the pain can be a useful reminder to not give in when things get hard. Perhaps one day I won't need it, but unfortunately not yet.",Hermione squeezed his arm compassionately. "When that day comes, look me up, Jarod. I'll mute them for you, no questions asked.",As his eyes crinkled in thanks, Hermione had to suppress her curiosity for the hundredth time. He'd appeared mysteriously at the SG Center for training a few months ago and looked set to leave just as mysteriously. Although he seemed the epitome of a Londoner, once or twice it had felt like a pretend instead of an inborn identity. She didn't know where he came from, but she had a melancholy fear she'd never see him again after he left.,"Mrs. Parker! Mrs. Parker you can't be back here. Mrs. Parker, stop!" called the harried voice of the front receptionist from around the corner. He finally appeared, chasing at the heels of a very determined woman marching around the corner. She had shoulder-length brown hair and an expensive, chocolate-colored leather trench coat lined with tawny satin that snapped in her wake. Her heeled boots clacked on the walkway as she increased her pace towards the only people in the shadowed rose garden.,Jerking away from Hermione, Jarod tensed and began moving towards an iron gate set into the wall. "Miss Parker," he breathed in surprise, fear, and longing.,Immediately Hermione's eyebrows beetled. "Just how do you know my mother?" she snapped suspiciously.,Jarod did a literal double-take as he looked at Hermione in shock and then back at the fast-approaching woman. "Oh," he said with a strange mixture of relief and disappointment, "I thought she was someone else.",Shaking her head, Hermione stepped forward. "Mum? What are you doing here?",Apparently sick of being ignored, the secretary put on a burst of speed "Mrs. Parker, you aren't allowed back here. This area is only for Guides and Sentinels, which you are NOT!" He reached for her arm angrily, but before he could make good on his threat to yank her to a stop, a large and very angry dolphin appeared in the air between them and dived at his hand with its sharp teeth bared.,Shrieking, he fell onto the seat of his pants and crab-walked backwards to a safe distance. The dolphin didn't follow, but swam back and forth protectively in the air between him and Hermione's mother. "What is that?!" he cried, pointing a shaking finger at the dolphin.,"My daughter's spirit animal, obviously," Mrs. Parker said coolly as Hermione stepped up by her side.,Looking towards Jarod in support, he sputtered, "But a dolphin's impossible! Everyone knows there's no such thing as aquatic spirit animals!",Jarod looked down at his shock indifferently. "Obviously everyone's wrong.","But how do they swim or- or breathe without water?" he gesticulated wildly while regaining his feet.,"Seriously?" Hermione asked. "What part of , animal did you miss out on? I know the SG Center is desperate to enlarge the Pride, but ,.",Red flooded his cheeks. "I guess that explains you," he retorted childishly. "It doesn't excuse her though. She's got to go." He pointed at Hermione's mother, but kept his distance from the dolphin swimming rings around the rose bushes.,Fed up, her mother snarled, "Shove off! I'm checking on my daughter and I'll leave when I'm ready.","Not only is she my mother, she's also a registered Sensitive. Don't overstep yourself," Hermione spoke with soft menace, "or I will make you regret it." The secretary wilted and, only finding more threats in Jarod's eyes, turned and stomped back to his desk.,Sniffing disapprovingly, Hermione's mother turned her back on him and placed her hands on Hermione's shoulders. Looking into her eyes searchingly, she asked, "Are you alright? I've had a niggling feeling about you all day, like something has or will go wrong. Since I knew you were here, I finally came over.",Hermione reached up and clasped her mother's hand. "We had a healing for an abused Sentinel. It brought up some bad memories, but I'm fine now. Sorry for worrying you and for the jerk at the front desk.","If you're sure," she murmured with a sad smile, leaning forward to press a soft kiss on Hermione's brow and think loud thoughts of love and support.,Then she stepped back, clearing her throat as she turned to Jarod. "I don't think we've met. I'm Helena Parker, FDSRCS. My husband, Patrick Granger, and I own a dental surgery just a few miles down the street.",Jarod gave her a charming smile. "I see where Hermione gets her strength of character. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Jarod. Sorry if I initially seemed scattered. For a second I confused you with someone else. My Miss Parker has a similar build and taste in fashion, but your features are quite different.",Laughing, Mrs. Parker turned to her daughter. "Do you think it's the same Miss Parker of the matching trench coat?" She slid her hands down the luxuriously dark leather.,Confused, Jarod looked between them.,"Stranger things have happened," Hermione smiled, turning to explain. "The morning before I came Online as a Guide, I went shopping with my mum. She splurged on that ridiculously expensive leather coat from a fancy boutique. Then she had to run over to another store to get matching boots. We separated for the sake of my sanity and promised to meet up in thirty minutes at the café.","I arrived right on time and saw her from behind wearing her new coat. I got some tea and dropped down across from her already talking. Of course, when I looked up, I realized it wasn't my mother after all, though the woman had the same expression when trying to decide whether to be annoyed or amused. Horribly embarrassed, I started babbling apologies.","Then a man came up, calling her Miss Parker and saying she needed to leave or she'd miss her flight." At this point in her story, Jarod's eyebrows had climbed practically into his hairline and his mouth had started twitching. Hermione continued, "I asked her if she was related to my mother, Helena Parker, but the American woman didn't know. I could tell she was curious to meet mom, but Miss Parker's business was too pressing for her to wait and, as usual, my mother had lost track of time while shopping." Her mother stuck out her tongue in response.,"Then I had the strangest urge," Hermione admitted. "I don't know why, but I asked her, just in case we never met again but she was really related to me, if I could hug her. She seemed surprised, but then said in a dry tone just like my mother's, "I can't believe it, but I'm actually going to say yes." We hugged and it was completely different and yet somehow still like hugging a familiar cousin. It was nice. Then she left. I'd probably forget about it completely except for the fact that I came Online that night.","Does that sound at all like your Miss Parker, Jarod?" Mrs. Parker asked.,"Yes and no," he laughed. "But I'd like to think so.","That's a complicated answer," Hermione noted.,"She's a complicated woman," Jarod smiled fondly.,Hermione's mother looked at her watch. "I've got to get going home. Your father will be worrying and it's getting dark. Come by for dinner sometime soon, dear. Jarod, do introduce me if your Miss Parker ever comes to visit." Giving her daughter a fond smile and Jarod a friendly one, she turned and strode back out of the garden.,"She seems like a very formidable woman," Jarod remarked.,"You have no idea," Hermione said with a groan that failed to hide her affection. Then she turned to Jarod seriously. "But she's right that it's getting late. Thanks for listening to me." Hermione's dolphin swam up and did a quick backflip through the air. Then she rubbed lovingly against Hermione's fingers and disappeared.,Jarod smiled sweetly. "Thank you for giving me something wonderful today. I've never heard of an aquatic spirit animal either, but she's beautiful. I also enjoyed your story about meeting Miss Parker. If I don't see you again before I leave, I want you to know that I appreciated your friendship.","I'm going to miss you," Hermione said wetly as she flung her arms around him in a tight hug, which he returned affectionately. Then she forced herself to say goodbye and leave him in the shadowed rose garden.,After leaving Jarod, Hermione apparated away to a café down the street from her flat. Healing took a lot of energy and always left her hungry. She felt a lot more content now, but that probably related to how she'd polished off a side salad, a breadstick, the entire plate of spaghetti with browned butter and mizithra cheese, and a small scoop of spumoni ice cream.,A bit too full to apparate home comfortably, she decided to take a shortcut home and walk off some of the surplus calories. Belly full, she barely managed to squeeze through the broken gap in the fence without ripping any buttons. An ally cat roared unhappily in the distance. Dusting herself off, she continued on her way.,Nearing her front porch, Hermione abruptly noticed that both the streetlight and porchlight had burned out. She slowed. Glancing around suspiciously, she dropped her hand to her wand and thinned her mental shields. The oily feel of smug anticipation and masculine avarice made her dinner threaten to reappear.,Immediately drawing her wand, Hermione spun around to confront the threat, but it was too late. A meaty arm clotheslined her across the chest, sending her crashing to the sidewalk hard. She barely managed to keep hold of her wand.,Short of breath, Hermione shot off two stunners from the ground, but neither hit. The attacker kicked her wand from her hand and wrenched her arms up, binding her hands together with a cord that magically slithered into a knot the second it touched her skin. Hermione lunged for him with her teeth, but he backhanded her across the mouth.,Tasting blood, Hermione finally got a good look at her attacker when the moon came out from behind a cloud. "Greg?" she asked with dazed horror. "Sentinel, what are you doing?","Taking my due," he snarled. "I'm sick of you strutting around ignoring me, trying to make me jealous by flirting with other men. This is for your own good. Tonight, I'm going to bond with you and then you're going to help me take over the SG council.",Greg grabbed her arm tight enough to bruise. "Now, are you going to pass me through your wards or are we doing this the hard way?",Hermione strained away from him. "We're not doing anything! You can't even apparate because you're too morally corrupt to keep your levels stable. You can't force me to bond. Let me go before you get in serious trouble.",Realizing that he didn't care, she started screaming. "Help! Someone help!","The hard way then." Greg began dragging her towards the nearby ally. "I cast a silencing charm. No one's going to hear you scream," he threatened. "And I may not be able to apparate, but I have a potion that's guaranteed to destroy your shields and leave you desperate for protection from the nearest Sentinel. Once I've bound you, you'll learn your place.",Pulling out a potion, he tried to force it against her lips. Hermione arched her head away and kept her lips sealed shut. Twisting sideways, she jabbed her elbow into his face. Greg shouted in pain but didn't let her go or drop the bottle. However he couldn't keep his eye open either as it rapidly swelled shut. She took some bitter satisfaction in that.,Grunting with effort, Greg pinned her with his legs and pinched her nose shut. The second she gasped for breath, he poured the potion into her mouth and clamped his hand over her lips until she swallowed, ignoring the tears streaking down her cheeks.,Within a minute, she could feel her protections start to collapse. Greg's putrid emotions slopped over her, then the people in the apartment building, then everyone down the street, then thousands, millions of emotions from all across the city. Eyes rolling back in her head, she arched her back and shrieked.,Hermione needed something, anything to stop the pain, but in the maelstrom of agony she held onto a single vow. Not him. She could feel the Sentinel trying to force his mental shields around her, enticing her to accept his claim, to stop the pain, but she refused. Not Greg.,Unfortunately, the pain and confusion was becoming too much. Rationality began to splinter. She almost forgot why she was resisting. Then she heard the faint sound of surf. Turning blindly, she dived into the crack between worlds.,Opening her eyes underwater, she felt a fin slide into her hand. Grabbing onto the dolphin, Hermione quickly surfaced next to a small jut of rock in the middle of an island cove. She crawled out onto the rock and rolled onto her side panting with her eyes closed. She left her feet dangling in the water for her dolphin to nuzzle against. Cradling herself protectively, she slowly felt safe again.,Suddenly a shadow covered her face, but it didn't feel dangerous. Hermione squinted up and saw the Japanese woman again. "Hello," Hermione said cautiously.,The woman sat down next to her. Immediately Hermione felt well rested and at peace. The Guide had an amazing aura.,Then the Japanese woman smiled wryly. "You get into a lot of trouble." Before Hermione could muster a retort, the woman winked. "I did too, when I was alive. Drove my Sentinel crazy.",Hermione sat up. "What's your name?","Kaoru, though I don't think it really matters. I promised to help you and so I will," the Japanese woman answered.,"Promised who?" Hermione asked.,"The answer would just confuse you more," Kaoru replied, "and you have bigger things to worry about. Ask me again later if you survive this. Otherwise, I'll just explain it all when you're dead." Hermione gritted her teeth with frustration.,Kaoru sighed. "Look, help is coming for your current problem, but there's worse out there than one bad Sentinel with delusions of grandeur. There's fire, ash, and smoke.","What does that even mean?" Hermione demanded.,"Ask your Sentinel about his ancestor's trip to Japan," Kaoru instructed.,Hermione blinked. "You mean Harry?","Harry's not your Sentinel." Kaoru stood up, shading her eyes to look over at the beach.,Something moved in the shadows of the trees. An familiar orange tiger came running out. It changed direction when it saw them, flinging sand into the air as it loped across the beach and splashed into the water. Hermione's dolphin swam up to look him in the face, then it let the tiger through, swimming in circles as he paddled forward.,"You should give your spirit animal a name, you know," Kaoru nagged Hermione. "Your instructors were idiots. Half the classes at your SG Center are useless, though after attending Hogwarts, you're probably used to that." Opening her mouth to muster up some sort of defense, Hermione realized she didn't have one and shut her mouth with a click.,Looking out at her dolphin companion, Hermione considered names. The cover of her mother's favorite biography popped into her mind. Lilian Lindsay, the first licensed female dentist in Britain, was also a librarian, historian, author, and leader. If Hermione's little sister had made it to term, they'd have called her Lilian. Every April, her mother read the biography again in baby Lilian's honor.,"Lilian?" Hermione tried it out on her tongue. Immediately the dolphin jumped up into the air. Then she danced backwards on her tail above the water while clicking in happiness.,"I think she likes it," Kaoru smiled.,"Then Lilian it is," Hermione answered.,Finally the drenched tiger reached their crowded rock and climbed up. Smiling fondly, Kaoru reached out and scratched him beneath the chin. "Good luck," she said and then disappeared.,Seconds later the tiger shook himself, spraying everything, including Hermione, with water. Amused by her shouting, he flopped down with his large head on her lap and sighed. Then he looked up at her expectantly.,Laughing to herself, Hermione ran her fingers through his fur. His purr vibrated through her entire body soothingly. However, after a few minutes he stood up and nudged her in the chest.,"What?" Hermione asked. He nudged her again and then tossed his head. "You better not be tricking me," she sighed, shaking back her curls and standing up. Gathering her courage, Hermione forced herself to return to her body.,Pulling in a deep breath, she braced herself for everything to hurt. It didn't. In fact, everything felt warm and peaceful and safe, insulated from anything psychic spilling in or leaking out. The only bond she felt was the freely-formed preliminary bond with Harry.,Opening her eyes, she looked around and then blinked in shock. She was lying in a bed with Harry on one side and Draco on the other. Confused, she turned to humor to break the tension.,"This may sound gauche, but I don't remember agreeing to sleep with either one of you, much less both at the same time," she croaked. "If we're going to have a threesome, I insist on proper preparation and research first. Also, less clothing.",Neither man laughed, though Harry at least gave her a weak smile.,Then John and Jarod stepped into view, faces lined with creases from a sleepless night. Jarod squeezed her foot and passed a pillow to Harry to help prop her up. "You're going to make us jealous if you talk to all the men that way," Jarod teased with a relieved smile. "Welcome back.",Exuding competence and calm, John jotted down a note on her chart. "They've been linking their shields around you while the potion flushed from your system. Now that you've woken up, I'm going to have them slowly back off to see if your natural defenses reform.",Dropping a kiss on her head, Harry slid off the bed and positioned the pillow behind her back while Draco helped prop her up. "You scared me to death, but I promised Draco not to yell at you until later.",Draco tensed, but otherwise didn't move from his deceptively relaxed sprawl by her side. Hermione hadn't looked at him again after that first, quick glance. His expression was too raw and unguarded as he reacted to her waking up.,She knew he needed to step back, but she didn't want him to. That scared her a lot less than it should. If she wasn't careful, she might finally stop swimming in denial and confront his lingering guilt and her disappearing antipathy until they had to actually talk.,"We're in a shielded room, Sentinel Malfoy. If the test fails it won't hurt her," Jarod said gently. "You need to let her try.",Finally Draco moved. The disappearance of his body heat left Hermione feeling cold. Draco's shield slipped off her mind with extreme reluctance. A familiar tiger appeared beneath his trembling fingers and the two joined Harry in leaning against the wall.,"Very nice," Harry complimented the tiger.,Realizing that the tiger was Draco's distracted Hermione. She forgot to brace herself as the shields disappeared. Grunting painfully, Hermione jerked in agony. It felt like standing on a stage completely naked beneath a hail storm made of pelting emotions.,Then her shields snapped back into place like an umbrella. Everything stilled and the pain disappeared. Hermione relaxed with a relieved sigh.,John did one more exam and then he and Jarod asked permission to mute the emotional trauma of the attack. She hadn't realized how much it had been tearing at her until they'd soothed her mental wounds. Hermione would still have to spend time in mediation processing everything, but she now knew with bone-deep certainty that she would be okay. It wasn't her fault. The two Guides left soon after.,Mind starting to churn, Hermione turned to her best friend. "What happened, Harry?","Up, Cadogan," Draco ordered, sending his tiger to snuggle next to Hermione.,She immediately felt better as she buried her fingers in his luxuriant fur. "What does his name mean?" she asked, abruptly wanting to delay Harry's answers.,"Cadogan means battle honor in welsh," Draco explained, watching her with pleased eyes as she petted his spirit animal.,"I thought you weren't supposed to name them?" Harry asked.,Draco blinked in surprise. "Who told you that load of rubbish? Spirit animals can't help stabilize you or increase your power unless you get to know them. Part of that is giving them a name.","They teach us not to get too familiar in the intro classes here," Hermione said with a wince. "I only named mine today after discovering my error. You should give yours a special name too, Harry.","Great," Harry sighed. "The entire Pride is probably weaker than it should be because of misinformation.",Scrubbing his hands through his hair until it stuck up like a porcupine, Harry decided, "We'll put reforming education on the list for next month. Right now, we need to clear up our current problems. Greg, your attacker, is in custody. There'll be no leniency for a Sentinel attacking a Guide. If you can, tell us what you remember, Hermione, and then we'll fill in the rest.",Hermione tried to be unemotional as she recounted the assault, ending with her escape to the astral plane. She didn't mention her conversation with Guide Kaoru. Thankfully the mental healing from John and Jarod kept her from re-experiencing the fear. Nevertheless, the two Sentinels became more enraged as she spoke.,Upon finishing, she had a realization. "Oh! My mother's bad premonition must have been Greg's attack instead of my upset with the healing. I wish I would have realized," she sighed forlornly, then looked around. "Speaking of which, how did I get to the SG Center?",Unexpectedly Draco answered. "I brought you here. I saw you at that café and followed you home.",Although Hermione should be irritated, she strangely felt unconcerned. Stunned, she realized that she trusted Draco. Completely.,Draco gave her a sideways look at her lack of outburst. "I worried about you being too tired to get home safely after your healing. I tried to be unobtrusive, but got stuck when you took that shortcut. By the time I finally got to your flat, I couldn't hear your heartbeat. However, I noticed the smell of your blood and that salty cheese you spilled on your shirt at dinner. I came around the corner and-," Draco bit back his words and turned to glare fiercely at the wall. He breathed deeply for a moment before stating evenly, "I dragged off your attacker and called in the aurors.",Frowning, Harry took up the tale. "I was practically feral, having felt your attack through our bond. By the time I got to your flat, Draco had left me nothing to do. He ripped that bastard to shreds and savaged his connection to the astral plane. Then Draco apparated away with you to the SG Center. I wanted to kill Greg, but the others wouldn't let me," he growled.,Forcing himself to calm down, Harry continued. "Greg's gone dormant. There's a reason Sentinels aren't supposed to fight amongst ourselves. I'm tempted to push for the death sentence, but I think he'll suffer more in prison. Once he wakes up from the coma, that is. Before your mundane Guide friends could rush in, we got some healing potions in you to fix the injuries. We weren't sure they knew about magic or not.",Biting her lip, Hermione had another thought. "But how did Greg even find me? I keep my address private and I always apparate away from the SG Center to avoid overeager Sentinels like him from tracking me down.",Harry dragged his hand down his face and struggled to get ahold of his anger. "Ron told Greg your address during his retesting. I've already told Ron to stay away from you and apologize by letter. You can see him whenever you want, but if he approaches you at all I'm going to rip one of his arms off and beat him mute with it," he finished savagely.,"I got him fired from his job at that private security firm," Draco added, seemingly absorbed with the trim of his nails. "I sent an owl to his boss. Anyone who can't keep a secret shouldn't be protecting vulnerable people. He can go work at his brothers' joke shop if no one else will hire him.",Hermione turned it all over in her mind. "The intellectual part of me thinks I should feel bad for them, but the emotional, vindictive side is thrilled that they're both going to be punished.",Both Sentinels seemed rather pleased by her admission. Sentinels usually had an instinctive drive for justice and aversion for anyone who failed to protect the tribe. If Draco hadn't been distracted by a Guide in acute distress, Greg would probably be dead. Then again, if Draco hadn't been there, she'd be suffering a fate almost worse than death, at least until Harry and her mom helped her kill Greg. Draco had saved her life.,Turning to the man who'd orbited her life through bad and good for over a decade, Hermione thinned her shields. For the first time in her life, she allowed herself to truly look at the Sentinel he'd become. Hermione ,.,Draco looked back at her with confusion. Then his face transformed with wonder as he noticed her complete absorption. His eyes dilated black and he inhaled deeply, swaying forward.,Draco was breathtaking. ,, her soul whispered. Hermione let the acceptance flow through her, disintegrating her walls and self-deceptions.,"Should I leave you two alone?" Harry asked with gentle acceptance.,Blinking, Hermione forced herself to look away from , Sentinel. No matter how she yearned for a full Sentinel-Guide bond, she had a higher priority right now. Protecting the tribe always came first. Several things had abruptly connected in her head. "You need to stay to hear what happened to me on the astral plane first," Hermione said.,"What were you doing there?" Harry scolded. "You know that's dangerous.","Or so we've been told in subpar classes," Hermione replied tartly. "I met a Guide named Kaoru there. She mentioned that something's coming, something fire, ash, and smoke." Harry abruptly straightened. "Didn't your prophecy say the same thing?",Harry nodded grimly. "Did she say anything else?","She told me to ask Draco about his ancestor's trip to Japan. The answer's there." They both turned and looked at Draco.,The blond furrowed his brow. "I don't know what she's referring to. I'll have to go look through the family diaries. I'll try to be quick but," Draco's face shadowed, "even with my mother's invitations, I haven't been back to the Manor in years. Not since that day…," he trailed off with a grimace. Cadogan jumped down and walked to his side, rubbing his head against Draco in comfort before disappearing.,"You mean when you came Online as a feral Sentinel, killed your aunt, maimed your father, helped us escape, and burned down part of the estate?" Harry asked. "I could see that causing some hard feelings.",Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "For Merlin's sake, Harry! Obviously he didn't want to talk about it! That's why he trailed off.","Oh," Harry winced, "sorry.",Laughing unexpectedly, Draco waved away his apology. "I suppose that's a succinct way to sum up the events, but yes. I still have a few hard feelings, especially when I realized that I started to come Online at eleven after your troll incident and was made to forget it. Nevertheless, it is my house and I suppose it's time I claimed it properly and put bad memories to rest. I'll go over immediately and start researching." He opened the door to leave.,"Let us come with you and help," Harry insisted, but Draco started shaking his head before he finished.,"The diaries have protections on them that only allow family members to handle them. This is something I have to do alone," Draco explained from the doorway.,Hermione stuck out her chin stubbornly. "Then at the very least stay for a meal. We're all tired and hungry. Share a moment of peace with Harry and me.",Abruptly she turned to look at the wall nearest the lobby downstairs and smiled. "Oh boy, I can feel my parents coming down the hall. My mom's about to punch somebody. Why don't you stay and meet my parents, though it probably won't be peaceful after all. Then you can go find out what our next big problem is. Please, Draco?" She knew using his first name instead of his last was slightly unfair, but making him rest was for his own good.,Draco folded, just like she knew he would. "Very well, I'll stay through the meal.",Then he gave her a wicked smirk. "I'm sure they'll want to know that your first thought upon waking was to research threesomes and insist we take off our clothes.",At her horrified face, Harry burst into laughter.,A few days later, Draco called a meeting at the Malfoy estate to discuss his findings. Hermione and Harry had both worried about bad memories resurfacing, but the reconstruction had been so extreme that the house felt barely recognizable. As they arrived at the front door, they met Narcissa Malfoy and several of her friends just leaving. Hermione recognized Lady Greengrass and Astoria, but not the short Indian woman with the haughty expression. After looking Harry and Hermione over sourly, she didn't seem interested in introductions either.,"Draco dear, come up for air, please," Narcissa Malfoy called through an open doorway. "I'm leaving and your colleagues have arrived.",When the usually immaculate Draco came out, Hermione swallowed hard. He had dust streaked endearingly across his chin and had unbuttoned the top of his shirt, exposing the base of his throat in what seemed like a shocking intimacy. Hermione felt a tingle in her stomach.,Looking over, their gazes locked together. Sensing her attraction, a warm, intimate smile grew on Draco's lips as he ignored everyone else in the room. "Have a nice lunch, Mother," Draco said vaguely without bothering to look her way.,All of a sudden Astoria Greengrass stepped between them, cutting off their stare. She practically stank of jealousy, ambition, and lust. "Are you sure you won't join us, Draco darling? Your business with these… , can't take that long." Astoria reached out possessively to touch the back of his hand, but Draco stepped back out of reach smoothly with a slight frown.,"I fear I must decline. I'm sure you'll excuse me" Face a blank mask, he turned from Astoria and touched his mother on the arm, expression softening. "Enjoy yourself with your friends. If I'm still meeting with Hermione and Harry when you get back, please don't disturb us.","Very well, good luck with your hunt," she said perceptively.,Turning to go, she suddenly stopped and sighed as if she just couldn't help herself. "Hold still, darling," she ordered as she pulled off her satin glove and somehow managed to make licking her finger look elegant. Then she rubbed the dust off his chin. Tilting his head, she examined the pale skin for redness.,Draco submitted with fond exasperation. "You're going to be late for lunch," he prompted.,"You're going to give yourself a rash," she replied as a house elf popped into view and handed her a handkerchief to wipe off her fingers. Then the little creature helped her slip on her glove.,Unexpectedly, Lady Malfoy turned to look at them. Hermione braced herself for something unpleasant, but it proved unnecessary "Miss Granger, you're a Guide, are you not?" At Hermione's cautious nod, she inclined her head with respect, "Please look after Draco, if you would. I know he trusts you.",Eyebrows climbing his forehead, Draco gave his mother a look of grateful surprise. She merely arched an eyebrow in return. Astoria seethed in the background.,"I'm already planning on it, Milady. I know he isn't as careful with himself as he should be." Hermione finally replied.,Lips twitching, she said, "I see you do know my son well. Good luck and let me know if you require my assistance." Then she gathered up her party and left.,"So what've you found out?" Harry asked impatiently as soon as the ladies had disappeared.,"Let's go into the study and I'll lay it all out." Turning, Draco led them into the room. A house elf unobtrusively brought a tea tray, then shut and locked the door on his way out. Draco immediately activated anti-spying privacy protocols for the room.,"Is it that bad?" Hermione asked in surprise.,Grim-faced, Draco answered. "This could be catastrophic for the Sentinel-Guide community. If the Prides found out, they'd probably slaughter my entire family and go on a hunt for anyone even tangentially involved. Even your mother could be targeted.",Immediately Hermione launched her own privacy spell. Then she demanded, "How is my mother involved? Does she need protection?","She's a Parker, that's enough," Draco said cryptically.,"Enough double-talk," Harry snapped impatiently. "Explain yourself.",Pacing across the room, Draco smoothed a hand over his pale hair. "Approximately 125 years ago, my ancestor accepted a lucrative contract to accompany a wealthy shipping magnate named Mr. Parker to Japan." Flipping open a journal, he displayed a picture of a man standing on a foreign dock with two children.,Hermione's eyes widened with surprise. Her mother had a picture of herself at 13 that looked extremely similar to the girl in the picture. The boy's bored expression also looked eerily similar to Hermione's.,Draco continued, "While in Japan, they conspired with a Japanese cult to rid the world of Sentinels and Guides forever. Together with a Japanese magician, they created a monster using volcanic fire, human sacrifices, and the desecrated remains of spirit animals. Then they let it loose on the astral plane to poison and eradicate our people forever.",Paging forward in the journal, Draco displayed a picture of a mountainside lit by the setting sun. Hermione gasped and jerked in shock. A smoky haze just out of frame cast menacing, reddish-black shadows. Mr. Parker and his children stood grim witness in the background. In the center stood a blood-stained altar made of matte black basalt.,However, it was the familiar woman chained to that altar that caused Hermione's horror. "That's Guide Kaoru," she whispered with shock. Both Sentinels leaned forward to get a better look. The Japanese woman stared at the monster out of frame with terror, desperate courage, and determination warring in her eyes. A fresh, star-shaped wound soaked the collar of her kimono with blood.,"That's who's been helping me on the astral plane. What happened to her? Did the monster kill her?" Hermione demanded desperately.,Flipping back and forth in the journal, Draco frowned. "It doesn't say. Her Sentinel got loose and started decimating all of the guards on the mountain while trying to reach her. My ancestor fled to safety back in Tokyo. He later learned from Mr. Parker that their ritual had been successful, but that Mr. Parker's daughter had died in the process. They all returned to England immediately afterward and then Mr. Parker lost his fortune, severing my ancestor's interest in him.",Trying to sooth Hermione's upset, Harry took her hand and squeezed. "Does it list Kaoru's last name? Maybe we could look her up in the historical records. Find out what happened to her that way.",Shaking his head, Draco said, "He never mentioned it, just called her the Guiding Star in his notes, but," he bit his lip thoughtfully, "there can't be that many woman in 1880's Tokyo who dressed like swordsmen. When we have more time, we can investigate.",After discussing the magical specifics of the ritual, the three of them lapsed into grim silence. Harry and Hermione struggled to digest what they'd just heard. "How do we even fight a monster like that?" Hermione finally asked.,"Is the use of lava significant?" Harry questioned.,Draco see-sawed his hand in the air. "They probably just used it as a primeval fire element to counter the spirit animals, considering their origin and all.","What origin?" Hermione asked.,"New spirit animals rise unformed from the astral ocean, of course. Then they seek out their final forms on land. Doesn't everyone know that?" Looking between them, Draco's face fell. "They don't teach that either.","As soon as this is over, you're telling me everything you know about Sentinels and Guides," Hermione growled fiercely.,"Look," Harry said with exasperation, "this monster is basically fire and necromancy. No one's seen it in years. For all we know, it's not even there anymore. Some of the spells have to be wearing off by now. Let's just go in and blast it to pieces.","Oh yeah, that's a great plan. Thanks for the intricate strategy there, Harry," Hermione snapped crankily.,"Do you have a better idea?" he retorted.,"It's worth a shot," Draco said slowly.,Hermione looked back and forth at the two Sentinels in disbelief. "You're both crazy.","If nothing else, it'll be a good reconnaissance mission. Come on, Hermione. We need you to pull us into the astral plane. I don't think I can get there by myself. I've never tried and they say most Sentinels can't." Harry wheedled.,Throwing her hands up in the air, Hermione gave in. "Fine, but I reserve the right to say I told you so. Let's all sit down on the ground in a circle and meditate. I'll tether us all together and pull you through to the other side. Don't fight me even if it feels weird.",They settled down on the floor and linked hands. The room became silent except for the sound of their slowly synchronizing breathing. Settling her shields around the two Sentinels like gossamer wings, Hermione opened a portal to the astral plane and dragged them through.,They came out in a cave overlooking the ocean. "You're right. That did feel weird," Harry said, sitting down woozily on the ground.,"Now what?" Draco asked, moving his jaw to pop his ears as he looked around.,"Wait, what's that?" Hermione whispered, pointing to a disturbance in the ocean below.,As they watched, a shining blob rose out of the ocean and scurried down the beach. It rolled up a tree trunk. For a moment it disappeared behind green fronds. Then the light reappeared at the end of a branch with an ovoid body and four nubby limbs. It jumped off into the air and morphed into a flying squirrel that glided joyfully to the sand below. The squirrel hopped around chittering in excitement.,Then it froze. It lifted its furry head, swiveled its ears, and looked around fearfully. "I hate this part," Kaoru said sadly, suddenly standing next to them in the cave.,Before anyone could ask what she meant, the shadow cast by the cliff moved. A being of fire, ash, and smoke crawled out. Cracks formed in its skin, oozing red lava down a shoulder that morphed into a wing and then dissolved down into a bizarrely proportioned arm. The monster rose up until it blotted out the sky, looming above the frozen spirit animal. Then it let loose a scream of superheated steam and swiped at the squirrel, grabbing its tail and dragging it back into the shadows squealing. Seconds later a trickle of dirty light seeped out and drained back into the ocean.,Hermione felt her gorge rise and heard Draco swallow hard as he moved to press his arm against her side. Two burning red embers began glowing through the smoke of its face where eyes should be. It turned, looking straight at their hiding place. Then it charged, racing towards them with inhuman speed, one minute on the beach and the next a fiery cloud of smoke at the mouth of their cave. Terrified, Hermione immediately yanked their spirits back to their bodies.,Swearing violently, Draco jumped to his feet and stumbled back. Harry had his wand clenched in a white-knuckled fist. Equally horrified, Hermione rubbed her icy arms vigorously.,"Well, that went well," she commented with hysterical shrillness. "Except for how we somehow forgot to blast it into pieces. Whoops. I'm sure we'll remember that small detail next time. That is, if it doesn't kill us first!","Hermione!" Draco's voice lashed out like a slap. "Calm down and breathe.",Sucking in a lungful of air, she tried to push back the terror and just concentrate on her body's natural rhythms. Then she focused outward. "Okay okay, I'm fine. How are your senses doing? Draco? Harry?","My vision flared for a moment, but I have it under control now." Harry answered. "Draco?",Mouth twisting, he gestured to the rash now crawling across the side of his face and neck. "My touch has gone off," he admitted grudgingly.,Immediately Hermione went over and took his face in her hands. Cradling his jaw gently, she talked him through resetting his dial for touch. Then she dipped a napkin into her tea and wiped down his face, patting it dry. Pulling a tin of ointment from her dimensional store, she slathered it across his skin. Draco closed his eyes and submitted to her touch with a trusting sigh.,"There, that should clear it up in a few minutes," she said softly, sliding her fingers away from his skin and stepping back.,Harry picked up his tea and gulped down the cold liquid. "Well, at least we now know what we're dealing with. The curse poisoning the astral ocean has worn off at least. New spirit animals wouldn't be emerging otherwise.","But the volcano monster doesn't look diminished at all," Hermione pointed out bleakly.,"So let's break down the weaknesses and come up with a battle strategy," Draco said practically. "Before that, though, let's eat lunch and settle down from the adrenalin rush.",After lunch, hours of bickering and research, Harry finally naming his spirit animal Arthur, three more pots of tea, and two bathroom breaks, they finally had a plan of attack. Once again they settled down in a circle on the floor. It took longer to achieve a calm state this time because now they knew what awaited them on the other side.,"If I'm incapacitated, use your spirit animal to escape back to your body just like I showed you," Hermione reminded them one last time. Then she dropped into a meditative state and pulled them through. This time they came out on the beach bordering the astral ocean.,As planned, Hermione stepped back until the surf splashed rhythmically against her knees and soaked up her thighs. She summoned Lilian from the water. Cadogan padded out of the jungle and joined Draco on the beach. The tiger rubbed against Draco's side, then crouched down and bared his fangs in preparation for battle.,As soon as they finished, Harry called for Arthur - and hadn't that been a surprise. Harry's spirit animal was a rare magical mulagon - part ferocious dragon and part stubborn mule. Flying in from the horizon, Arthur dropped down next to Harry with a loud spray of sand.,Calling on her Gryffindor bravery, Hermione spread her arms and dropped all of her shields with a whump of power that vibrated across the water. "I am Hermione Jean Parker-Granger," she called with a voice that travelled farther than a legion of silver horns. "I am a Guide. This ocean is not yours!",On the beach, Draco's wand slid into his hand and the air became unnaturally still. "I am Draco Dominion Malfoy. I am a Sentinel. This world is not yours!",Harry pulled out the elder wand and released his power with a concussion blast that rattled the sand at his feet. "I am Harry James Potter. I am a Sentinel. These spirits are not yours! As Master of Death, I call you forward, bakemono no yougan.",With a sound of grinding rock and whistling steam, the monster of fire, ash, and smoke crawled out of the shadows. Their spirit animals jittered in place, but loyalty kept them from running despite their visceral terror. The volcano monster moved forward cautiously on fours protruding limbs like a lizard, then began to stretch up towards the sky with spindly legs and a grotesquely long giraffe-like neck that collapsed back into its body and slowly reformed into a disturbingly asymmetrical head.,Abruptly the bakemono's lazy movements turned almost impossibly fast as it swiped at Harry. Blessing his seeker reflexes, Hermione watched Harry dive safely to the side and roll. It turned, but before it could grab the mulagon, Arthur flew up into the clouds.,With the monster thus distracted, Draco darted back a few feet and pointed his wand at the creature. His retreat uncovered the runes he'd carefully traced into the sand. In a commanding voice he cast counter-spells to undo the work of his ancestor all those years ago.,Enraged, the monster turned to stop him, but it was too late. A ruby spider web of cracks spread across its mottled black skin. For a second the misshapen beast blazed with barely contained fire. Then it shattered into clouds of ash. Draco flicked his wand and a zephyr dispersed the dust, leaving a column of lava hovering in the air for one heartbeat, two… and then it splashed down to the ground with a concussive blast that fused the sand into glass.,Damaged but still sentient, the lava turned and sped across the sand towards Draco and Harry. The molten rock spattered into the air, reforming into a menacing stampede of predatory animals flashing fiery teeth and claws as they headed for her Sentinels. The air shimmered with heat.,Standing fast, Harry called upon his power. "Spirits!" Harry shouted demandingly into the cacophony of sloshing lava and grinding rock. "As the Master of Death, I release you! Go free!",The rippling flames composing the animals slammed to a halt as if hitting a wall. The oily smoke grasped at them greedily, but the fiery animals turned translucent and thinned to skeletons. Enraged, the lava heaved and spat, but the trapped spirit animals seized gratefully at the elder wand's power and lifted up into the sky, dissolving into a cloud of light that floated out over to the ocean before raining drops of light back into the waves with a torrential downpour until nothing remained but blue sky.,Diminished but undefeated, the volcanic monster heaved itself across the sand. It oozed closer and closer to Draco and Harry with homicidal intent, splattering lava plumes into the air. The sky shimmered with blistering heat while sand fused into glass at their feet. The two Sentinels closed ranks and began retreating, desperately casting spells to slow the approaching magma, but with little effect.,Waiting had been agony, but Hermione and Lilian had been storing up their energy for this moment. "Come to me!" Hermione cried both mentally and vocally. Slapping her hands on the water splashing by her thighs, she sent her will surging though the ocean. "Come, my brothers and sisters! Come!" In her mind she chanted a continual summons into the waves.,Lilian rose up, riding the waves on her tail and chattering loudly. The dolphin dived deeply into the water and then jump up into the air higher than the surrounding clifftop. Again and again, Lilian arched through the air and dived through the water, calling demandingly.,A glow gathered on the horizon where astral ocean met sky. Channeling Boadicea, Hermione screamed an undulating battle cry and commandingly swung her arms up into the air. Like the most loyal of troops, the glow charged forward through the ocean depths and shot up into the sky, diving down onto the beach as a hoard of spirit lights that bravely harried the lava's flanks.,Flinching from the attack, the lava moved away from the shore. It didn't notice the water drawing back from the beach to form a gigantic wave behind Hermione's back, nor see Draco and Harry casting frantic protective spells towards Hermione. The monster retreated onto the exposed seabed as the spirits pressed their assault.,Then the bakemono jerked to a stop and bulged wildly. Swiftly it oozed back the way it came, but it was too late. Hermione dropped her arm with a roar.,Loosed, the titanic tsunami wave rushed forward and crashed across Hermione's small body and the lava creature cowering at her feet. The fiery bakemono contorted and shrieked in rage and denial. Great gouts of steam rose into the air, obscuring the battle between lava, water, and spirits.,Ever so slowly, the air cleared. A large shelf of shiny obsidian rock quickly disappeared beneath the incoming tide. Spray misted into the air, forming rainbows and cleansing the air.,On the beach, two anxious Sentinels searched the water desperately. Then Harry shouted, pointing to a shadow in the water. Within seconds, the shadow came close enough to resolve into a head of dark, curly hair. A bubble formed on the water, popping as Hermione's face breached the surface. Rising up, she stumbled onto shore. Harry and Draco splashed to their knees by her side, pulling her into a desperately relieved embrace.,Exhausted, they pulled each other up and dragged themselves onto dry ground. Then the three stood arm-in-arm as they watched hundreds of nascent spheres of light rise triumphantly from the ocean and shoot across the sky, newly freed spirits in search of their animal forms. Soon each spirit animal would travel over to the physical world to bring a Sentinel or Guide Online.,"Do you think one of those is my perfect Guide?" Harry asked with wonder and longing.,"Absolutely," Hermione answered with tears in her eyes, unable to believe in any other outcome for her best friend.,Slipping smoothly out of her grasp, Draco looked away down the beach. "Do you think one of those will be your Sentinel?" he asked Hermione evenly. Harry winced and took a large step back.,Hermione's jaw dropped open. Seeing red, her patience snapped. Hands on her hips, she whirled to face Draco.,"Of course not, you idiot! I'm both the brightest witch and strongest Magical Guide of our age. I'm also stubborn, but I'm too tired to be stubborn or patient with you anymore. Draco, we're a perfect match. I'm obviously meant to be your Guide. You watch me all the time. Are you ever going to make a move or what?","Have you really forgiven me for treating you so badly during school?" he asked.,"Yes! Isn't it obvious?" Hermione barked.,"To be fair, Hermione, not really," Harry chimed in.,Hermione huffed at Harry with great annoyance.,Abruptly, Draco laughed. Grabbing Hermione's wrist, he tugged her into his arms and took her lips in a startling, deep, and exploratory kiss. She felt their shields merge and slide together with sensual joy. The aching emptiness in her core ever since she'd come Online temporarily muted at his presence, showing the potential to make her whole once their bonding was complete.,Moving back just enough to talk, Draco grinned. "Hermione, you are a genius. I absolutely adore your intelligence and wit. Nothing has ever sounded, smelled, or tasted as delicious as you. You are gorgeous and the feel of your body drives me wild. Bond with me and be my Guide. Please. I love you. Let's get married and have a dozen beautiful, curly, blond-haired babies. We can even name the last one Harry if we succeed in having that many. Trying at least will be fun.",Feeling delightfully giddy, Hermione giggled. "You are out of your mind. I'm thinking two or three babies max and we have to sort out the troubles at the SG Center first, but I'll hold you to the name thing.",She kissed him again, already addicted to his feel and taste. Stopping to breathe, she admitted, "I've been obsessing about you for years and unsuccessfully trying to ignore it. I've rejected everyone but Harry because they aren't as perfect as you. I love you too. Of course I want to bond with you and marry you. Yes!",In another pause to breathe between celebratory kisses, Harry finally butted in to say, "And that's my cue to leave. I'm flattered by the name thing and all, but getting more uncomfortable by the second. Hermione, congratulations and good luck. Remember that he's sensitive," Harry ignored Draco's glare.,"Draco, congratulations and don't make me gut you with a plastic spork for hurting her. Remember that she's sometimes mental, but completely worth every second of it. I'll see you both at the wedding." Then he gave them a cheeky wink, touched Arthur's neck, and disappeared back to his body. Their platonic bond disappeared with him, but Hermione knew that nothing could break their friendship.,Then she got distracted. As a mischievous tiger jumped around on the obsidian rocks playing splash with a joyful dolphin and a Japanese woman with a star-shaped scar peeked in on them with a pleased smile before disappearing, Hermione and Draco went back to the much more enjoyable activity of fusing their souls together through the time honored tradition of kissing. Well, kissing and a few other delightful things.,"How do you feel about eloping tonight and then holding a big reception for our families in a few weeks," Hermione asked as she licked down Draco's throat and undid a couple more buttons.,"Will you explain it to our mothers?" he asked with a gasp as she nipped his shoulder.,"Mmm hmm," she hummed in amused agreement as he lowered her to the sand, pulled her arms above her head, and kissed a path from her wrist to the hollow of her elbow, memorizing the taste of her skin beneath the salt spray.,Nuzzling his lips against her bicep, he sighed happily, and then switched to her other arm. "Will we dress up at this reception in an extravagant wedding dress and dashing dress robes?" Draco asked intently as he delicately licked the veins in her wrist, causing her to squirm.,When she finally regained her wits, she replayed his words and barely suppressed a chuckle. "As your Guide and future wife, I want you to be happy. If you've always dreamed of wearing a fancy white wedding dress at our reception, I'll support you." She waited a beat of silence before adding, "And make sure to take lots of pictures of your pretty dress to share with our friends and future children, of course.",Draco reared back from her skin and scowled at being mocked, causing her to break into peals of laughter. Unable to maintain his indignation, his frown cracked into a smile. "You know what I meant. You in the wedding dress, though it doesn't have to be white, and me in the dress robes, you minx.",Then he dropped his fingers to her sides and tickled. Hermione squealed and squirmed, but Draco was relentless. Unable to breathe for laughing, she finally squeaked out, "I surrender! Stop!",Chucking, Draco dropped his fingers to the sand and looked down at her breathless face with humor and adoration shining from his eyes. "I love you. Of course you can wear whatever you like to the reception," he conceded.,"But the fancy dress and robe are traditional," Hermione drawled, "and you like to dress up in sartorial splendor every chance you get. You've probably had your wedding robes picked out for years.",Pink tinted his cheekbones adorably. "There's nothing wrong with being prepared. Quality dress robes take time, especially for such an important occasion. Besides," a sly look appeared in his gray eyes, "I had an exclusive couturier draw up a coordinating dress and set aside the fabric for you last year. It's a stunning mermaid-style dress with a ruffled organza flounce that looks like sea foam. I found a pearl encrusted ribbon for your waist that's the exact shade of your eyes. It took me visiting dye shops in five different countries to find the right color. I had them set aside some embroidery floss for my robes in the same color. You'll love it.","Last year, huh?" she drawled. "That's a bit presumptuous.","Yes, but you already know that I've been watching and loving you for years," Draco replied, unsuccessfully hiding his nervousness. "Are you going to deny my good taste and your own curiosity?",Unable to stop herself from smiling up at him indulgently, she shook her head. "No, I'm sure the dress is amazing. You do have good taste, you're in love with me, after all.",Draco's eyebrows rose hopefully, "So the fancy reception is on?",Hermione beamed with happiness. "Elopement and bonding tonight with a dress of my choice. I promise classy, but I want to choose it myself. Then an extravagant celebration with our families in a few weeks' time wearing your bespoke wedding ensemble, as long as it meets my approval. However, you have to make sure my mom gets an amazing dress out of this as well or she'll never forgive me.","Done and done." Draco's face beamed with happiness. "Anything else?",Looking sideways, she tucked her tongue into the corner of her mouth in thought and shook her head. "Nope.","Excellent." Abruptly Draco rolled them so she was straddling him, pushing his hands beneath the hem of her jumper and sliding them up the bare skin of her now available back. "Hmm, now where were we?",Arching into his touch, Hermione nearly moaned in pleasure. "We were making up for lost time by making out, I believe. Imprinting your senses on your Guide is very important, Sentinel. Let's do that for a while longer.","As always, you are a genius," Draco breathed. Then he rose up to meet her descending mouth with his own. Touching lips, minds, and hearts, they lost time as they found themselves through a spiral of love and devotion.,THE END,AN: This is the second story in the , a crossover series. Each story contains a female with the Parker family blood line (the Parker family is from ,), the most ancient bloodline with Sentinel and Guide gifts in my world. I intend this trilogy to be a collection of stories that can be read either together or alone. I've taken some inspiration for my lava monster from the red bull in , movie.,In the first story (,) set in Japan, we see the creation of a monster that will wipe Sentinels and Guides off the face of the Earth. (Rurouni Kenshin),In the second story (,) set in Britain, we see the monster destroyed by the descendants of those who created it. (Harry Potter),In the third story (,) set in America, we see the restoration of Guides and Sentinels across the world. (The Pretender)

Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Xena:Warrior Princess belongs to Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi.,Harriet Jamie de Potidaea-Amphipolis - The Girl Who Lived,Chapter 1,"Ugh!" Gabrielle de Potidaea-Amphipolis exclaimed out of frustration. "Xena! I just don't understand why the neighbors cannot control that child's temper. If I have to hear him scream for sweets this late at night anymore I will go insane!" She said loudly. Her face set in a grimace. She shoved the covers off of her frame and got out of bed. Hurriedly she walked to the window and pulled the curtain back to glance across the street. To the house that contained the spoiled brat.,Xena smirked at the irritation in her blonde companion. It was amusing to see her in such a fire spitting mood. Intoxicating even. "Other than the fact that they are morons." Xena replied. She thought nothing too highly of those idiots. The ones who called themselves the Dursley's. Upon their first week in living across the street from them, Xena, had had to threaten the fat oaf away from Gabrielle. His beady little eyes had strayed to the blonde, and Xena could imagine the disgusting thoughts oozing all around his small rodent mind.,"Xena!","Hey, I'm calling it like I see it." She stated. She grinned at Gabrielle, and continued to sharpen her sword. Although her weapon was considered absolute in this time, she maintained the weapon to perfection out of sheer habit. She narrowed her eyes. Alti. She shook her head in annoyance. The evil shamaness had tampered with Gabrielle and her life, one too many times. Alti's latest plot had involved cloning Xena and Gabrielle and bringing them into the 20th century. Xena glanced at Gabrielle who continued to glare out the window, she lifted an eyebrow at the woman. They had narrowly escaped Alti, by faking there supposed deaths. They had traveled the world. They started in Greece to find out exactly how they had died. Then on they went around the world learning the history and current trends of each different culture. Some Middle Eastern cultures were still similar to what they had been back in the ancient days, but for the most part the rest of the world had greatly improved upon its standards. Howbeit barbaric tendencies were still prone to pop up and Xena couldn't help getting in the way of the idiots who had no self-control over there urges. Plus Gabrielle still had a habit of getting kidnapped, even if the Amazon Princess could now fight back effectively. She still required some form of rescuing from the Warrior Princess. They had recently settled down in England. Little Whinging, Surrey to be exact. The neighborhood had turned up its noses at its newest members of the community, but Xena saw it as a blessing. No one was getting into her business or attempting to make small talk. Gabrielle had tried, but her efforts had fallen on deaf ears. They wanted nothing to do with the two foreign women.,"Xena, are you even listening to me?" Gabrielle demanded. Her hands rested tightly on her hips, her foot tapped impatiently, and her eyes were glaring flames in her direction.,"Of course." The warrior lied.,"No, you were not." The other woman argued back. Xena raised an eyebrow. "What did I just say?" Gabrielle challenged.,"No, you were not. What did I just say?" The brunette mocked back.,Gabrielle let out a small growl of irritation walked over to the bed, and hastily grabbed a pillow. She turned at chucked it at her friend. Xena easily caught the pillow and tossed it back onto the bed. She put her sharpening stone away and grabbed her sword. She pulled the curtain aside, and looked out the window. "What happened to the lights?" She asked.,"I don't know. I was thinking about going to the Dursley's and telling them if they didn't quite their brat I was going to call the constables. Then all of a sudden the first lamp at the start of the street went out, and one by one the others followed. Yet, they didn't pop or anything, it seemed like something had called the lights out of the lamp and balls of light were sucked to the beginning of the street." She looked at Xena whose eyes were now darkly scanning the street for any signs of movement.,"How long ago did the kid stop screaming?","About five minutes before the lights went out. I think he finally cried himself to sleep.","Well, the power isn't out. I can't tell if there is anybody out there, but I don't like the fact that the street lamps are out. Turn off the night stand lamp.",Gabrielle quickly turned the lamp off and allowed herself to relax in the darkness. The only light provided was from the moon, but clouds were swirling in and out of the moon. "It's the day after Hallows Eve. Demons and monsters could still be out and about." She stated.,"Just what I need, another battle." She grinned.,Gabrielle smacked her forehead. Fighting was all her friend could think of doing.,"Get your Sais, and gun. Go to the kitchen and be alert. I'm going to check out the neighborhood." She demanded of her friend. She quickly grabbed her scabbard, sheathed her sword, shoved it onto her back, and picked up her chakram and placed her favorite weapon her belt loop. She quickly made her way to the kitchen with Gabrielle hot on her heels. "Remember," she looked back at the blonde, "don't use the gun unless you absolutely have to. The thing is loud and will give away your position. Should you need to hide. Be safe." With that she opened the door and stepped out into the night.,Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark. Years of being a warrior and prepared her for many nights like this; when something fresh, and eerie is in the air. Quietly she made her way to the front of the yard. She stayed in the darkest of the shadows, and paused to listen for any sounds that would give away the presence of another being. At once she heard soft pattering's of shoes hitting the pavement. They were faint, but very close by. Also, there were the soft padded feet of a four legged animal, like it was walking alongside the person who was walking down the street. Slowly she made her way to the person and animal. Her breathing became soft, and non-existent. An old man, with a long beard, and wearing a cloak stood in front of a small cat.,"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.",Xena narrowed her eyes. , Xena thought. The cat was no longer there. There in its place was a woman. She also had a cloak on just like the man. She listened in on their conversation. She needed to know what threat they possessed to her, and her bard.,"How did you know it was me?" She asked.,"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.","You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said, Professor McGonagall., Xena pulled herself out of her thoughts and chastised herself for slipping up. The old man had said something about celebrating. Yet what in the world should they be celebrating. She looked back at the strangers in her neighborhood.,"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no—even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked he had back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars…Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent—I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense.","You can't blame them," the old man said gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for elven years.","I know that, said Professor McGonagall irritably. But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors.",Xena inched forward a little bit more. She would move no further, but she could clearly see the dilemma playing out on the woman's features. She was clearly distraught, when by their conversation, according to the man, she should be celebrating, after some kind of dark times that they've had. She had yet to figure out what a muggle was. She returned to their conversation.,"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone—","My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense—for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: ,." Professor McGonagall flinched, but the man, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldermort's name.","I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, , was frightened of.","You flatter me," said the man calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have.","Only because you're too—well—noble to use them.",Xena struggled to come up with any reason why this Voldemort person would be so terrifying that people no, ,, and would be afraid to use his name, unless some spell or curse was cast upon his name. She had met many sorcerers who thought that their names were too good to be spoken by the rest of the mortals. She had also seen those very types cursed themselves by the Olympian Gods. ,She thought. Once again she focused on the two who had disturbed her peaceful night.,"What they're saying," she press on, "Is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow, we to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are—are—that they're—dead!",The man bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.,"Lily and James…I can't believe it…I didn't want to believe it…Oh, Albus…That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's daughter. Harriet. But—he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little girl. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harriet Potter, Voldermort's power somehow broke—and that's why he's gone.",Albus nodded glumly.,"It's—it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done…all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little girl? It's just astounding…of all the things to stop him…but how in the name of heaven did Harriet survive?","We can only guess," said Albus. "We may never know.", Xena thought. ,"And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?",The warrior thought.,"I've come to bring Harriet to her aunt and uncle. They're the only family she has left now.", Xena shook her head at the old man's decision. ,"You don't mean—you can't mean the people who live here?" Cried Professor McGonagall. Jumping to her feet and point at number four. "Dumbledore—you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son—I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harriet Potter come and live here!","It's the best place for her," said Dubledore firmly. "Her aunt and uncle will be albe to explain everything to him when she's older. I've written them a letter.","A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly. Sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand her! She'll be famous—a legend—I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harriet Potter day in the future—there will be books written about Harriet—every child in our world will know her name!","Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very serious over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any girl's head. Famous before she can walk and talk! Famous for something she won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off she'll be, growing up away from all that until she's ready to take it?",Xena tilted her head slightly. She could understand both of their arguments clearly. However, this was no place for a little girl. Not one with an uncle as perverted as he was. This child would be better off anywhere, but here.,A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as the looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as at they looked up at the sky—and a huge motorcycle feel out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.,Xena's lip curled in a half grin. She wanted one. Her eyes traveled over the bike until they landed on the man who had flown it. He was large, larger than any man she had seen. ,She looked back at the witches and half-giant in front of her and grimaced. They were dismantling. The woman had transformed back into a cat and was at the other end of the street. The half-giant had hopped back on the motorcycle and was back up in the air. The old man, Dumbledore, was walking towards the center of the street, and had pulled something out of his pocket. At once the street lamps power returned. The girl was in a small basket, wrapped in blankets, laid gently on the front porch of the Dursley's home. Xena's eyes narrowed dangerously. It was one thing to leave a child with relatives, but another to abandon one on a porch, on a cold night. , She thought.,"Good luck, Harriet," the old man murmured. He turned on his hell and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.,Xena stepped forward, out of the shadows. Hurriedly, she rushed to the child. Harriet Potter lay asleep in the basket. Xena leant down and smoothed the hair away from the child's face. A lightening scar was on her forehead, freshly made. She glanced up at the door of her neighbors, and then back to her home, where Gabrielle was waiting for her return. She raised an eyebrow. It had been too long, and knowing Gabrielle the bard was probably already here. She looked around a little, and sure enough on the other side the bard was unsuccessfully, not hiding from her. She smirked. She took the child out of the basket and held her close. With one hand she motioned for the bard to step forward and grab the basket. Silently they made their way back to their home.,Once inside and little Harriet was tucked away safely onto the bed, Xena and Gabrielle sat in the chairs staring at her in the bed.,Gabrielle softly asked, "Are we going to raise her?",Xena leaned back in the chair. She put her feet onto the edge of the bed, and rested her head on the back of the seat. "I am no good with children. My firstborn was murdered—" Gabrielle winced at the painful memory of what her flesh and blood had done to her best friends family. "—my daughter had a bounty put on her head by the Olympian Gods." Xena paused and looked at the bard, "what do you think?","I don't think she should be left with her family. Her aunt is nosy, and always looking around at the other neighbors for gossip details and her husband gives me the creeps. Their son is a bully, especially on the playground. The other toddlers don't like to go to near to him. He always takes their toys and snacks." She stated. "And you know how I feel about the orphanages and the foster care systems around the world. They are horrible, filled with despicable and spiteful people. Hardly any of them actually care about the children.","Then it's settled then. You will be loved, safe, and have a wonderful family, Harriet Jamie de Potidaea-Amphipolis." Xena exclaimed.,"Hey, what about what was in the letter?","We'll tell her when it's time for her to go to that magic school. Until then, what she doesn't know, won't hurt her."

15 year old Eve Potter clutched the letter in her hands and looked up at the decrepit building in front of her. "Guess this is the place. I wonder why Mr. Drew wants to see me, though." She said aloud, and reread the letter, as if hoping she missed an important clue in it.,Eve sighed, then put the letter back in her pocket. She walked to the front door, and went inside. The inside looked a lot better than the outside did, and that was saying something. The wood in front of the door creaked ominously when she put her weight on it, causing her to gulp and gingerly step to the side, where it seemed safer.,She walked in to the main room and stared in amazement. Even covered in cobwebs the way it was, it looked amazing. "Hello? Mr. Drew? I'm here... Like you asked..." she yelled tentatively. ', Eve thought to herself. Wandering around, she came across an old Bendy plushie, that squeaked when she picked it up. Smiling to herself, she stuck it in her pocket happily, and got back to exploring.,On a table, she found a tape recorder with a piece of tape on it, with the name Wally Franks on it. Curious, Eve pushed play. She certainly wasn't expecting what she heard, though.,',"Huh... Wonder what he meant by machine?" Eve wondered aloud. She looked around and saw a directory on the wall. One of the available directions was, 'The Ink Machine'. She decided to go that way, and proceeded down the hallway. Stopping to step over the pipe in the middle, she came out onto a balcony. She saw the lift, and decided it needed some dry cells. She found the cells on a shelf and in a trunk, and placed them in the lift.,Machinery started, and the machine came out of its hiding place in the floor. Eve whistled in appreciation of the size of the machine. "Wally was right, that's a lot of ink!" she exclaimed when she saw the pipes on the bottom. "I wonder how you turn it on?" She left the balcony and found a room off to the side. Going inside, she found the pedastals that Wally was talking about. Each one had a picture over them. Altogether, the items needed was; An inkbottle, a record, a wrench, a cogwheel(or a gear), a plushie and a book.,Eve placed the plushie on the corresponding pedestal and watched it kind of click in acknowledgment. Nodding to herself, she went to hunt down the rest of the things she needed. She found the gear in the trunk on the balcony, the book in the break room, the inkbottle at an old desk with a picture of Bendy that changed whenever she looked away ("... Okay... Imma gonna go now...) and the record was in a little closet of a workroom.,She was now looking for the wrench. She had checked all the rooms, or so she thought. Turning the corner, she came face to face with a horrible sight. Dropping everything, she covered her mouth in shock and horror. Right in front of her was Boris, strapped to a table, and his chest was opened in a grisly manner. The wrench was in the cavity of his chest. Closing her eyes, Eve tugged the wrench free, and fled the room as fast as she could.,Returning to the pedestal room, she placed everything where it belonged. She tried to turn it on, then saw that it said 'low pressure'. She went to the projector room that she found the plushie in and turned the valve. It was obvious that it hadn't been used in years. It was very difficult to turn, but Eve managed to get it working. When she saw that the pipe in front of the door was leaking, she sighed in despair, then slogged through. She returned to the pedestal room and threw the switch.,Everything got bright for a second, then dimmed down to manageable levels. She walked slowly to the Ink Machine, unable to help it as unease swirled around inside her. She turned the corner and saw that the entrance was all boarded up. "What the..?" she exclaimed in shock, then was knocked back as something hit her in the chest.,Eve looked up and saw a tall and... Quite frankly, a scary looking version of Bendy. He looked at her and said, "Little Creator... You came." Eve stood up and bolted. She wasn't sticking around! She could figure out why he called her that later! "Come back! It's not safe!" Bendy shouted, giving chase. Eve ran through the ink that was flooding the place. Metal doors were slamming into place, then denting from the sheer force of the ink. The ceiling collapsed in some places, causing ink to rain down on her. Eve saw the exit door was partially open, and ran for it gratefully. She forgot one little thing though.,The floor in front of the door was straining under the ink, and when Eve added her weight to it, it broke under her feet, causing her to scream in terror at the sudden plummet. She landed in a room that was waist deep in ink. Coughing, trying to get the stuff out of her mouth, she stood up and looked around. She saw a tape recorder, this time with the words 'Thomas Conner' on it.,',Eve stared at the recording. ', she thought to herself, looking around. Spotting a valve on a pipe, she slogged over and twisted it. The ink drained out of the room, revealing some stairs. She walked over to the desk in the corner and grabbed the ax that was on top. Giving it a few experimental swings, she said, "That'll come in handy.",Eve walked down the stairs, into another ink-filled room. This time, the ink was mid-chest high, and Eve could barely see the valve. She twisted that one, then walked down the next flight of stairs into the , ink-filled room. The ink was up to her neck now, and she had to feel around the pipe for the valve. When the ink drained out, a door was revealed. She walked over and opened it up cautiously, just in case. When nothing popped out at her, she deemed it safe to move on.,She walked into the room and looked around. There was coffins lining the walls, and a ritual circle with random shapes in it. Eve decided to stay as far away from that as possible. She began looking for a way out, when she heard an odd noise behind her. It sounded like someone breathing. Eve whirled around and backed up slowly. She took three steps back, when suddenly her head throbbed with pain. The room felt like it was shaking, and all she could hear was ringing. She looked down and noticed she had accidentally stepped into the ritual circle.,Eve suddenly saw three images in quick succession; the Ink Machine, a wheelchair and Bendy. She collapsed onto the circle, ears still ringing. The last thing she saw before she blacked out, was a pair of black legs next to her. She then succumbed to the blissfulness of unconsciousness.

"I could use your help, my boys are in danger." A young man in black heard through his com. The three masked figures waiting in the courtyard of the church looked at each other, and with only a nod made their way to the main entrance. The three moved impossibly silently into the building, making a quick sweep of the main hall and toilet before moving on up the staircase onto the balcony.,One of the figures pulled a couple of sticks from his pocket whilst another pulled out a light handgun from her back pocket.,They did not have to look hard to see that the church was slowly catching fire behind the reverend woman, or to see the teenager lying on the ground, slowly getting back to his feet.,They didn't have to look hard to see that things were not progressing as they had planned in the last hours.,The three looked at each other before jumping off of the balcony to land on the ground without making a sound. Somehow noone in front of them noticed them as they moved to the young man's side as he moved forward to get his brother.,"I believe it would be wise for you to let Daniel go." A voice spoke up, seemingly from all around the church. "You are getting dangerously close to coming to a fight you will be unable to come away from whilst breath still lingers within your lungs.",The panic was clear on the womans face as she turned around to try and find the source of the voice that had spoke.,"My lord..." The woman sounded faint, completely different from her former manipulative and confident tone, her words now sounded more nervous and unsure.,"Oh, before I am done with you, taint of humankind, you will beg for your lord to save you." The voice sounded once more.,And with that the three figures appeared surrounding the teenage boy with their masked faces looking to the woman who used children for her own betterment and tortured those she did not see as pure.,One of the figures, the one wielding the sticks removed his mask with only a gesture.,"Hello madam, you stand to be judged by those deemed worthy by the ancients of old." The figure sporting burning green eyes spoke up loud and clear.,"Not even time will safe you for her mistress stands before you." a female voice spoke up behind the teenager.,"Now, Daniel, go to your brother, and let us handle this manipulative hag." The cloaked figure with the gun spoke up. "We want to be done here before the church has been burned down in its entirety, and really, he wouldn't do well if the fire took the life of a kid. " She finished jabbing her thumb at the green eyed teen.,"Daniel, Those are the beings the lord warned us about!" The woman spoke, trying to seem sure of her case.,At her words the other man who till now had miraculously stayed back a bit from the three raised his gun at her words.,"Daniel!, come on!" The teenager standing in between the three black clothed people yelled at his brother as he was looking at the flames slowly creeping towards his brother.,"Luna, extraction is necessary, be careful with him." The green eyed boy spoke quietly.,"Of course Harry, let me handle this." a dreamy voice spoke throughout the entirety of the church.,And with a single crack a woman appeared behind the boy and dropped something into his pocket, only for him to disappear in a great swirl of colours and for him to appear in between the three figures in the same manner.,"Sorry about the unpleasantness the woman stated as she appeared next to him once more, a similar stick to the green eyed boy in hand.,"Get him back! He belongs with us!" The woman screamed at the armed man, who was just staring at the slowly increasing group in pure horror. Without further thought the man started firing at the group, but not one bullet connected, however accurate the shot, it just seemed to move around the person it was heading to.,"Lord Death will grant your wish then." The green eyed man spoke, and without a word one of the sticks changed into a whip, and with one great crack it reached the man's gunarm, and only seconds later the man slowly started turning into dust.,"Death has convened with fate, and it seems you were blind of your behaviour thanks to your faith, you will start over anew like the ancients of old have decided. A life lived in a world decidedly different of ours, with a start not as lucky as yours had been in this one." No more was said of the dust that day.,The woman in the front was trembling in fear by now, seemingly unable to get any coherent thought out of her mouth.,"Now then, it is just you who still has not received her fate.","You will forever dole in time, never in your own, never able to interact with those around you, so time has decided, for death would have been to easy." The smaller female spoke, her voice cold. Without looking back the four figures moved outside corralling the two boys and the woman to the parked cars.,"Now then, we should probably tell you something." The green eyed teen spoke up.,"Hello, I'm Harry," Harry began "This is Max, she has indeed some power over time, but what she said is beyond her, she will just find herself going insane, and will find herself locked up in a mental institution within the upcoming days." He continued.,"And this lady with the gun... This is chloe, she loves her blue Hair, and is very much a fan of firewalk, no powers to her at all.","What I did to the man, well, that's simple, I used an illusion and teleported him to the toilet, his foot should be stuck in the hole, I thought that would be enough of a punishment for him." Harry finished a grin spreading on his face.,"What was that?" Daniel asked, pure innocent curiosity lighting up the young boy's face.,"Oh, the really bad unpleasantness was a portkey, honestly, it was the only safe way to get you away from there without activating your powers, sorry Daniel. The girl who put it on your person is Luna, she is an old friend of mine, and she sees things nobody else seems able to see. She is in the top 3 most powerful and smartest witches in the British isles.","We met your mother a couple of years back, and gave her our number if she ever needed help, and well, a couple days ago, she called us for our help in saving her boy from a dangerous cult, se here we are.","Thank you Harry, I can not thank you enough for helping us." Karen spoke as the two boys seemed to busy hugging each other.,"As we said, you needed help, we provided, and we did not hurt anyone too badly doing so." Harry spoke again. His eyes slowly moved to the burning church.,"Wel... ehm... bugger..." one second later the two people they had almost doomed fell from a meter into the air onto the hard concrete of the parking lot, one still with his foot in the toilet bowl.,"Let's get out of here Karen, let us get to the motel shall we.",The three cars quickly moved away, one more car following them with a young adult and a girl similar in age to Daniel.

I,"Oi Merlin!" Eggsy shouted into his earpiece as he slid around a corner, a hail of bullets raining overhead. "Where the fuck is the way out?!" There was no time for him to wait for a response, but with a relieved sigh, he smashed through the sliding glass doors and leapt into the lake twenty feet below.,Even if he had seemingly vanished, Merlin came to his aid once Eggsy hit the water. Not even an hour later, he was sat, drying and with a scowl on his face, as Merlin typed away on his computer. The clicking, which he usually found quite soothing, was grating on his nerves, until he snapped.,"What happened?" he shouted. "Merlin, I could've bloody died in there!" The USB better have been what he was fucking after, because Eggsy was going to blow a fuse if he had to go in blind again.,"I was... distracted," the man mumbled. Were Eggsy observant enough, he'd have noticed that Merlin was almost ,.,"Whatever," the new Galahad snorted, turning to leave, "and tell Roxy to stop spraying that god awful perfume of hers around!",With the slam of the door, Merlin returned to his computer, a knowing smirk on his face. Nimue had just visited, bringing him a sample of , to analyse for a sample match on their newest case.,II,Eggsy may not have been capable of picking up on the slight change in the atmosphere, but Roxy certainly was. She'd been watching Merlin - the way he'd drop his phone quickly once he realised that she - and by extension Eggsy - were trying to listen in on his conversations. What Roxy could catch though was definitely flirting.,"Who's Nimue?" she dropped one day. Merlin, in response, dropped his mug, the ceramic shattering on impact with the floor.,"Get out, the pair of you," he snapped at the young agents, who complied with raised eyebrows. He glared at the mug on the floor, which reassembled itself and floated up to his hands, before the coffee on the floor disappeared.,"Thanks, Nimue," grumbled Merlin, heading back to refill his mug. Green eyes glittered fondly from the corner, before their owner disappeared.,III,"I've done some research," Roxy announced. Eggsy groaned, burying his head in his arms.,"That's never a good thing.","In mythology, Nimue was the Lady of the Lake. Merlin's ,." That caught Eggsy's attention. He snickered, before it turned into full blown laughter. They were having a cuppa in a local cafe, and he was enjoying some time as a civilian.,Roxy scowled at him. Clearly, she'd been hoping for some emotional response. Perhaps a coo of 'how cute'.,"Finished your tea?" he asked, nodding to her cup. "We should probably get back to the tailors." Eggsy pushed his chair back and stood, turning right into the path of another man.,"Sorry mate," he said, steadying the man. He had startling green eyes, which contrasted starkly with pale skin and black hair.,"Ah, my fault," he reassured, brushing down his tailored jacket. The three parted with no further ado.,IV,"Merlin we would love some words of advice right about now," Roxy murmured into her earpiece as she and Eggsy pelted towards almost certain doom.,"Don't die," was the helpful response. Eggsy was screaming blue murder as the train rushed towards the tunnel, but Roxy's eyes narrowed.,"You aren't Merlin.","No," was the amused response. "I suggest quieting your colleague down, then using the Kingsman issued umbrellas. You'll find them quite useful right now, I'd imagine.","Who are you?" she demanded, before understanding dawned. She didn't need the answer, and the amused laugh offered her none.,V,"Nimue," the raven haired man said with an easy smile, offering a hand to Roxy, then Eggsy. They both shook it warily.,"You aren't what I was expecting," Roxy confessed.,"You mean he's a bloke?","Something like that.",Harry Potter, or Nimue, as this organisation knew him, didn't look a day over twenty thanks to his possession of the Deathly Hallows - not that anyone else needed to know that. His dark suit, definitely Kingsman, contrasted with his bird's nest of dark hair, and he shot Merlin a fond look.,Roxy definitely didn't want to ask.,"Thanks for your help on the mission," she settled on. "We couldn't have done it without you. That trick with the umbrella-","Why don't you go get some rest?" Merlin sighed, rubbing his temples. The pair leapt at the rare offer, and headed out of the room. This wasn't how Merlin had envisioned this - honestly, he'd never imagined that Nimue would override mission control via magic.,"Are you mad at me?" the wizard asked, feigning innocence as he rested his arms around Merlin's shoulders. Merlin hummed in response.,"More like disappointment." Harry cringed, raising his eyebrows. He felt like he was back in Hogwarts, under the scrutiny of his Head of House.,"I'll make it up to you," he promised, kissing Merlin on the temple, before vanishing with a ,.,His headache having magically disappeared, Merlin all but grinned at his monitor, knowing that the real wizard would more than keep his word.,AN: Hope you enjoyed this! I, as usual, fell in love with a rarepair. So, as usual, I became very distressed when I found that there were very few stories for them. I decided to add to the collection. Let me know what you thought!,- L'Angleterre

nasal voice cut through Sophie's music as he grabbed her MP3 player. "Have you decided that you're too smart to pay attention to this information?",Sophie forced her eyes open. She tried not to wince as she looked up at the glaring faces of her classmates.,"No, Mr. Sweeney," she mumbled, pulling her shoulder-length blond hair around her face, wishing she could hide behind it.,This was exactly the kind of attention she went out of her way to avoid. Why she wore dark colors and lurked in the back. It was the only way to survive as a peculiar girl who got herself in trouble every other day.,"Then perhaps you can explain why you were listening to music instead of following along?" Mr. Sweeney held up the device like they were evidence in a crime. Though to him, it was like they were. He had brought Sophie and her classmates to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, assuming his pupils would be excited about the all-day field trip. He did not seem to realize that unless the giant dinosaur replicas came to life and started eating people, no one cared.,Sophie tugged on an eyelash—a nervous habit—and stared at her feet. There was no way to make Mr. Sweeney understand why she liked the device so much. Whenever she felt a strong emotion, maddening things would occur, and it helped her mind off the bullies and secrets.,But she was still a freak.,It had been her secret—her burden—since she was young. She had tried blocking her feelings. Tried being normal. Nothing helped. And she could never tell anyone. They would not understand. She already treated like a mad girl.,Mr. Sweeney gave her one last glare and stalked off to the exhibit in the next room over, muttering under his breath. Sophie was about the follow when a class-bully shoved past her.,"Nice job, nutter," Garwin Chang sneered. "Perhaps they'll write another article about you. That other one was hilarious.",Sophie felt her face pink as her classmates erupted with laughter before following the teacher out. It was not particularly witty, but it still was bad enough. She somehow landed on the roof of the school yesterday after being chased by maddening dogs on the loose. It made quite the seen with the head-teacher and her parents.,She sighed when she caught sight of a tall, dark-haired boy reading yesterday's newspaper with the embarrassing black-and-white photo of her on the front. Then he looked up and stared straight at her.,She had never seen eyes that particular shade of blue before—teal, like the smooth pieces of sea glass she'd found on the beach—and they were so bright they glittered. He took a glance at the newspaper before he shrugged off the display, he had been leaning against and closed the distance between them.,The smile he flashed belonged on a movie screen, and Sophie's heart did a weird fluttery thing.,"Is this you?" he asked, pointing to the picture.,Sophie nodded, feeling tongue-tied. He was fifteen, and by far the cutest boy she had ever seen. So why was he talking to her? Something felt off about the conversation, but Sophie couldn't place what it was.,"I thought so.","Yes," she replied, and blushed, unsure what to say. "Are you in this class?" she asked, instead, wishing she could suck the words back as soon as they left her mouth. Of course, he was not in her class. She had never seen him before. She was not used to talking to boys—especially cute boys—and it made her brain a little mushy.,His perfect smile returned as he told her, "No." Then he pointed to the newspaper. "Do all pictures stay still like this around here?","Erm, yes," Sophie said, giving him a weird look.,He laughed. "Never mind. I will let you get back to your class. It was nice to meet you, Sophie.",He was a few steps away when two groups of young pupils barreled into the fossil exhibit. One of the pupils hit a small dinosaur replica, and it teetered on the edge for a moment, Sophie's eyes widening with surprise.,The replica fell over her head, and before she knew it, the replica floated above her, somehow held up by her mind. It did not even feel heavy, though she was sure it weighed a ton.,"Put it down," a familiar voice warned, bringing her out of her trance.,She shrieked and dropped her arm without thinking. The replica hurtled toward them.,"Watch out!" The boy shouted, yanking her out of the way, a split second before the replica crashed to the ground. The force of the impact knocked them over, and they tumbled to the marble floor. The boy's body broke her fall as she landed across his chest.,Time seemed to stop.,She stared into his eyes—eyes that were now stretched as wide as they could go—trying to sort through the flurry of thoughts and questions swirling around in her head to find something coherent.,She reached out for her forehead, wondering if it was a bruise since he was staring.,"Your scar," he whispered.,Sophie suddenly felt self-conscious. She had always had it and was not sure how she received it. Even her mother did not know when she asked long ago.,"I'm not sure, dear," she had replied, washing the last dish. "You must've gotten it in a fight with your sister. You two fought like cats and dogs when you were little.","What about it?" She asked now as she sat up. "Is it bleeding?","No, it's just..." he trailed off, looking around. "We need to get out of here. He saw," the boy warned, pointing to a caretaker who was mid-way cleaning the floors, staring at them like he'd witnessed a miracle.,"He saw," she repeated, feeling her chest tighten with panic.,The boy pulled her to her feet as he got up. "Come on, let's get out of sight.",But Sophie yanked away, her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and began backing away.,"It's okay," he said, holding out his hands as he moved closer like she was some wild animal he was trying to calm. "You don't have to be afraid. I'm one too.",Sophie froze.,"My name's Fitz," he added, stepping closer still.,Fitz? What kind of a name was Fitz?,She studied his face, searching for some sign that this was all part of a joke.,"I'm not joking," he said like he knew exactly what she was thinking.,She wobbled on her feet.,She had spent years wishing she could find someone else like her—someone who could do what she could. Now that she had found him, she felt like the world had tilted sideways.,He grabbed her arms to steady her. "It's okay, Sophie," he repeated. "But we need to get out of sight.",She was too overwhelmed to figure out a plan on her own, so she followed him reluctantly.,"Which way?" he asked when they reached the first intersection.,She did not want to be alone with him, so she pointed north, toward the East Lawn, where there was sure to be a crowd.,They took off running, though no one was following. She had no idea what Fitz was about to say—and it changed everything. Her mind ran through terrifying scenarios, most of which involved agents throwing her into dark vans to run experiments on her. She watched the road, ready to bolt at the first sign of anything suspicious.,They reached the park's massive parking lot, and Sophie relaxed when she saw people outside, milling around their cars. Nothing would happen with so many witnesses. She slowed her pace to a walk.,"Explain," she demanded when she caught her breath.,"Okay," he said, panting. "You don't know anything about that scar, do you?","No," she said, confused. "Why are you so obsessed with my scar? Does it mean something?"',"Yes, it does," he replied, looking at her in awe. "It means your Sophie Foster.","Sophie Foster?" she asked, shaking her head, exasperated. "My name's Sophie Freeman. Could you please explain what's going on, please?","But you must know about your mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous.,Sophie spluttered. "Famous? My mum and dad are dentists! You must be mistaking me for someone else.","You don't know ... you don't know …" Fitz ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Sophie with a bewildered stare. "Okay," he said finally, "—there's no easy way to explain this, so I'm just going to say it. We're not normal Sophie. You're a witch.",For a second she was too stunned to speak. Then a hysterical laugh escaped her lips. "Witch," she repeated, shaking her head. "Of course, that's it. I'm a witch.",Women with matted hair and dark robes stirring potions in heavy cauldrons popped into her head, and she nearly burst into laughter again.,"Where are you going?" he asked as she moved toward the sidewalk.,"You're mad—and I'm mad for trusting you." She kicked the ground as she stomped away.,"I'm telling the truth," he called. "Just think for a minute, Sophie.",The last thing she wanted to do was listen to another word he said, but the genuineness in his voice made her stop and face him.,"Can Muggles do this?",He led her through an alley and stopped when he found a broomstick. Sophie suddenly felt confused as he hopped onto the edge of it. He slowly lifted from the ground, it was not much, but it was enough to leave her reeling. She leaned against a car, feeling everything spin around her.,"But I can't do that," she argued, taking deep breaths to clear her head.,"You have no idea what you can do when you set your mind to it. Think of what you did with that replica a few minutes ago.",He seemed so sure—and it almost made sense. But how could that be?,"I suppose," Sophie said slowly, tugging on an eyelash. "But why would you think I'm famous?",Fitz stared at her, before fumbling for his wand. He looked up at the darkening sky. "It's getting the late-I'll need to ask my dad.","Wait—you can't leave now." Not when she had more questions than answers.,"I have to. I've already been gone too long—and you need to get home.",She knew he was right. She didn't want to get in trouble. But her knees still shook as he pointed his wand to the sky.,"Accio Broom," he called, and within seconds a broom was clutched in his hands, Sophie quickly ducked-startled. He grinned proudly as he took a seat on the broom. "Cleansweep Eleven, best one yet. Well, after the firebolt.",Sophie watched him, already fascinated with the magic. "Will I ever see you again?" she whispered.,"Of course. I'll be back tomorrow.","How will I find you?",He flashed a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll find you."

From a t.v. in a small house in Crawley you can hear a reporter. "I'm here in the heart of London where Sirius Black age 21 was just arrested for the murder of thirteen people with use of a bomb. Before that he was heard arguing with a man about betraying people. Short while later a bomb went off under the other man later identified as Peter Pettigrew. All that they found of him was a finger.I hope that the families can take condolence in the fact that their relatives murderer was caught. Back to you Joe." Then you hear a glass shatter and a young child start to cry .,Professor Mcgonagal,,I know that you are most likely busy meeting with the new muggleborns, and preparing for the up coming term but I was wondering if it would be at all possible to meet with you at some point in the summer holiday. I would like to discuss somethings about the up coming year as well.,Sincerely,,Hermione Granger,I read my letter multiple times and pulled my curly black hair into a high pony tail. Last night was my first full wolf moon which also means I won't be able to control the shift for at least a year and due to the fact that I'm only three quarters wolf and not full wolf I will eventually be able to prevent myself from making a forced change on the full moon. The change yesterday made me very tired and today I was to tired to change out of my natural appearance to my favored mask. My natural look makes me appear as a female version of my biological father Sirius Black with long curly black hair, a pale olive complexion, above average height, and striking blue grey eyes. My favored mask or appearance is that of a plain Jane with average height, bushy brown hair matching that of my step-dad's and chestnut brown eyes that match my mom's. Dad went to jail for mass murder when I was two and short while after we moved to the other side of Crawley with my step-dad Dan and my older half-brother Eric. Eric is a month shy of being 3 years older than me and was the male version of my mask with above average height. My dad recently broke out of prison so my mom had been over protective and territorial lately which is why I'm a little surprised I'm alone right now.,Mum was out meeting Alric as part of the Alpha deal they made when Lily died. Dan was getting groceries(Eric had finished all the meat), and Eric was at football practice. So I was left to my own devices. Looking back over the past two years I realized that Harry's hands twitch whenever he goes to talk and he is always more tired at the end of the day despite his magical cores extremely large capacity that I can see when the wolf's site is in control. He actually acts like lily or at least how my mum says she acted. Lily, our alpha for the first two years of my life, mum's childhood best friend, and Dan's adopted sister, had been diagnosed with Meniere's disease when she was six that caused degenerative hearing loss so she learned to sign, and, according to mum, used her magic to hear when the situation required it.,As she was Harry's mum there was a very strong chance that he was deaf. He was showing some of the same signs as her. I wanted to talk to him about it and his "family". I found out from Dan that Petunia Dursley shares no blood relation with him and Eric was more related to her than he was. As it turns out Petunia was Dan's older half sister and both of were placed up for adoption when their father passed. Petunia was four at the time and was immediately adopted by the Evans family. Dan, who was 1 at the time, was adopted by the Granger family. He stayed there until he was nine and it was discovered that the couple had turned abusive after having their own child. He would spend the next five years in and out of foster homes until Petunia found out and convinced them to take him in. He was very close with Lily and her best friend, my mom, Emma. When they were seventeen Mum and Dan had an opsie-daisy at a party and nine months later Eric was born. About two years later Mum was attending Aunt Lily's wedding and slipped up with the groom's best man my father Sirius. Nine months later I was born. Dad played a huge part in those first two years and he and mom were even engaged when he was incarcerated.,After that Mum and Dan got married out of convenience. They keep divorce papers in a safe in their home office for if either of them ever wants out. They don't share a room or a bank account it is more for the sake of Eric and I. The more I thought about the past couple of years the more I wanted to talk to Mcgonagal about somethings.

Dumbledore looked at the humanoid thing in front of him. It stood like a Werewolf but looked nothing like one. It spoke with four appendages on it's 'mouth' and stood about two meters tall. Though covered in what looked like armor it was see through, like a ghost. It was an oddity to say the least.,"Who are you?" The old wizard asked curiously. This thing had just suddenly appeared in his office, stopping his pacing and the growing apprehension in the old wizard., The being said monotony. ,Dumbledore frowned. Ancient temple? What was this thing?,"Temple? Hogwarts isn't a temple." The thing before him seemed to shift on it's 'feet' standing a little taller as it moved back a bit., The thing asked curiously. Beady, reptile like eyes examining the wizard.,"Hogwarts is a school of Magic." Dumbledore said., The creature said with a reminiscing tone.,"The Founders?" This thing knew the four Founders of Hogwarts? How could that be? Was it a magical creature?, Albus rolled that around in his head.,"If I may, what exactly are you? I don't believe I've seen a creature like you." The creature nodded., Albus's eyes widened and the creature spoke once more. ","No, I am the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, I was just surprised you knew of that. I am afraid I never summoned you." The 'AI' cocked its head to the side, a rather human movement that caused Albus's curiosity to grow., Albus Dumbledore never wanted to smack himself more than ever. He'd been muttering about a guardian to look after the Potter boy who would be starting Hogwarts in a years time. He'd been thinking of having Severus keep an eye on the boy but he worried how Severus would take the news.,"My mutterings seemed to have mislead you. I was wondering who I could trust to watch over a student who is coming next year. He is very important and his safety will be put in danger I fear. Evil can still find it's way into Hogwarts." Dumbledore took a seat, and the AI stood silent for a moment.,Dumbledore thought about it. This AI, whatever that meant, knew the Founders and seemed to hold its debt in the highest regrad. But who knew where its loyalties lied. Tom was the supposed heir of Slytherin.,"How can I know what you say is true? That you do not work for Tom Riddle. He is a heir of Slytherin after all. You sound like you were friends with the Founders." The being stood tall with snarl., The AI growled.,"If that is true how do you know that for sure?" Dumbledore questioned., Albus blinked.,"How is that possible? We only have Time-Turners that work backwards, no one has ever successfully gone forwards in time.",", Albus almost smiled when the AI shrugged like a child. Whatever it was, it still seemed fairly human.,"And Salazar Slytherins other child?",",Albus narrowed his eyes on the creature. "You can hear my students?","ALBUS! LET ME IN!" Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore flinched at the tone coming from his Deputy Headmistress.,"I believe it is best you hid for now. You're appearance would not go over well with Minerva." Looking over at the AI, the old Headmaster saw the AI nod its head., Dare he say it sounded like it was smirking. ,With that the white AI disappeared, and suddenly, Minerva was appearing. , Albus letting her in., He wondered idly as the old woman sunk tooth and claw, metaphorically of course, into him for something or another. He wasn't really paying attention. He was curious of his new discovery.,What was this guardian? And what in the name of Merlin did it mean it sent two of the Founders children to the future?,'Guardian' looked over the screens in her temple sadly. The four human children she watched grow into powerful 'wizards' and 'witches' were long dead, their children she knew dying with them. Beorhtric was still around, but he was a ghost. Helena was around as well, but she too was a ghost, and 'Guardian' revealing herself would probably not go over well.,one thousand ,She said in exasperation before remembering what the current Headmaster had said. ,One screen caught the AI's attention. Two identical humans were sneaking around the castle. Red haired students in Gryffindor it seemed.,"If Filch catches us, we're doomed, hurry up George." One said.,"Why don't you try unlocki-" The door in front of them swung open, startling the two. They took a few steps backwards, wands pointed at the once locked door.,"You didn't do that?" The first one asked.,"No, think it's a seventh year playing us for fools?" The second questioned.,"Maybe a Slytherin?","Nah, they wouldn't be missing dinner right now.",'Guardian' watched the two slowly enter, looking around for a few minutes more for a threat before putting their wands away.,"Maybe it's Hogwarts, the stairs do move after all. Maybe its telling us it wants us to do more pranks!" With that the two bowed at a random wall each before going back to what they were doing.,'Guardian' huffed. ,With that said, the AI turned, her avatar appearing in one of the vaults hidden far below Hogwarts, within the temple she'd been guarding for a nearly a hundred thousand years of Earths solar cycle. It was close to that of Sanghelios, or the records of Sanghelios she had. Maybe that was why her creators first came to this world, its solar cycle was close to Earth, as was its atmosphere, they could have easily grown and expanded from the single temple on the planet. Why they would abandon this world she did not understand. The native intelligent (she still wondered at times) race wasn't all that bad, the four children who accidentally found her were nice.,New screens started to appear. Files that should have been accessed were being taken by the AI.,Looking sadly at the only human thing in the alien vault, the sleeping portraits of 'Guardian's' four friends had yet to awaken., when," Dumbledore wasn't surprised this time to see the bipedal creature in his office. Its voice sounded less monotone and more alive. Its eyes looked like they were twinkling.,"And how would you know what the muggles have been doing?" Albus asked kindly.,The creature huffed.,"I did not know that." Albus sat back in his chair as the AI's arms crossed over its chest.,The AI motioned, with one of its odd looking hands.,"You probably have more than I do, but if you insist. I wish to know what exactly you are, I do not know what an AI is." The creature nodded its big head.,The AI shook its head. ,Albus felt like his curiosity would keep growing. "You can take a human form?",Not a second later, a young woman stood in front of him, but wore clothing that better suited the era from which Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron. A second after that the clothing changed into a more muggle style. A skirt, hoodie, heeled boots and hair tied into a neat pair of braids took over for the old frilly dress.,The new 'ghost' snorted with a more female voice. ,friendly,Albus flinched at the outraged female tone. The alien created AI was mad, and standing before such an old being that knew the Founders, the old headmaster felt chastised like a First Year. He often commented on trying to find a way to bring the four Houses closer together but it appeared this being put more stock in inter House unity then anyone else.,The girl snorted, turning to scowl at the lowering sun with a old gaze. Deciding even if she was just an AI (he would need to do some research in the muggle world more on Artificial Intelligence, this concept seemed interesting), the AI seemed very much female and experience taught him that it would be best to steer this conversation away from this right now. He'd ask about the Chamber of Secrets later.,"You said you had no designation, why is that?" The AI's attention returned to him with a small from. For some reason, she reminded him of Severus, which was really odd.,Albus looked at the girl curiously.,"Is that usual?" She shook her head.,The AI stood abashedly, turning back towards the setting sun.,Albus started to worry. What would happen ,? Without the four Founders.,The AI sighed. ,Albus looked at the AI with narrowed eyes. "Ship?",The AI said mournfully. ,"Why would that be? It was her home wasn't it?" The AI straightened up slightly and Albus wished at that moment, a light Legilimens on the AI.,He didn't know why, but Albus just had a feeling that he'd been lied to. ,"I'm afraid I do not know what a heavy corvette is." Albus smiled kindly., The AI snorted.,Albus thought about what the AI had said. A warship could come in handy. Voldemort would certainly never expect it when he returned. At that moment, Albus Dumbledore made a decision that would change Hogwarts, the wizarding world, and the future, but only a little.,"I have a proposition, if you are willing." The AI's eyes looked at the Headmaster curiously. "I will be asking my Potions Master, Severus Snape to watch over this boy I told you of earlier, but I would like it if you would help with the whole school in general. I worry that Tom Riddle, Voldemort as the rest of the Wizarding World knows him, will return and this boy will be a target and thus with him; the school. You said the school protects your temple, like your temple protects the school.",The AI smirked as Albus remembered his own sorting so long ago when the same hat in his office had said he too would do well there, but instead placed him in Gryffindor. ,"Thank you... Sasha." The humanized AI newly named Sasha raised an eyebrow.,She smiled.,"From what I understood, you are like but not the same as your creator Shapa, Sasha seems close to it." Albus's eyes were twinkling.,She snorted at the Headmasters rather innocent expression. ,It was Albus's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I thought Salazar had something against muggleborns and muggles.",Sasha looked both horrified and mortified. ,Albus asked in amusement as Sasha started ranting about humans as her form returned to that of what she'd originally appeared as, an alien bent on protecting Hogwarts from evil. ,Of the five standing in the War Room, Simmons, Grif and Tucker were the ones that wanted to sigh as the pissed of New Republic Leader and rather exasperated General of the Federal Arm of Chorus once more were at it again. Caboose was oblivious as always and Sarge was dreaming up a new scheme for the next battle against the pirates and mercenaries.,"No good snake! You just had to hand Felix the Sword?!" Vanessa Kimball growled.,"Not everyone can be a brave little lion! It was a split second decisions and I stand by it!" Donald Doyle retorted.,Vanessa just growled at him. "Well thanks to you, the mercenaries now have the power to kill all of us!","Only if ,die first!" Tucker was seriously contemplating what would happen if the two generals weren't fighting, maybe they'd have had a friendship like him and Church.,"Great, so now we'll get to waste valuable men to guard you twenty-four-seven." Vanessa snarled. Grif started to wonder what the mess hall would be serving while Simmons contemplating going to find Carolina or Wash before Kimball killed Doyle. That would not go over well with the Feds.,"Well, we'd have more men if you hadn't lead them all into a trap!","Don't you dare turn this around on me!","OKAY! ENOUGH!" Wash shouted, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Well, almost everyone. Caboose was still staring off into space behind his visor. "You two are acting like children!",Grif started laughing but a glare from the the generals and the ex-Freelancer Agent shut him up.,The two leaders thought as they glared at each other., , ,

Dead. That's what I wanted to be. Dead. I had suffered enough the last months — not to say years — knowing that I was already doomed.,Cancer; that was the cause of my pain and suffering. I was kinda old when I hit the final stage of the disease, fortunately, but deep inside I didn't want to die. There were several times that I had said I was not scared of dying, but... I was lying. I was I truly was afraid of death, and I would not fucking admit it. I tried to cheat death using all the methods I knew that existed. None of them worked. That's when I kind of gave up.,I started smoking and drinking much more than I used to. I stopped caring about myself, I just wanted to do everything I could just to enjoy myself before dying.,Then, there was something else that was bugging me, from the first second in which I became the Supreme; after my death, who would be my successor? Do I want anyone else in my position? And the answer was always no.,The witches, with whom I had been living at that house for a long time now, knew I wasn't willing to let any other witch become the next Supreme. So, they thought up a plan. With Cordelia, my daughter, who was being the one who made this whole thing up, two witches from inside the Coven bullied me merciless by constantly reminding me a bunch of awful things in the past or things that take place in my life right now, including cancer. Their purpose? To push me into committing suicide.,And that is what I did. When the lady witch that I had burned alive left my room, I already had swallowed the pills that the other witch had placed into the palm of my hand. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted away to my eternal sleep.,"She's almost dead..." the man sitting behind the mahogany table whispered. "She's almost dead!" now he was yelling and everyone in the room was eyeing him in sadness and despair.,Seconds later, almost every man and woman in that room was looking anywhere else, but the old man in front of them. One woman, though, was brave enough to even exchange a few words with him.,"We need to bring her here, Albus... This is not how someone's life should end... Besides, she's one of us. She may belong to a different wizarding world, but... that world seems to be hating this woman too much... If she is being hated there, you know we can't let her live in that world. She needs us! And we need her!",Albus had closed his eyes. A tear was making its way from his high cheekbone to his white, long beard. "I know, Minerva... And that's what we are going to do... Tell Rubeus to bring the lady here in Hogwarts quickly... In the meantime, Mrs. Trelawney, please prepare her chambers; use the room right opposite the Ravenclaw girls dormitories. I'll take care of the rest. Go, we mustn't spare another minute..." Albus gave everyone a nod and stormed out of his office in the next few seconds.,His next move was to make sure Madam Pomfrey would do everything to save Fiona's life. Madam Pomfrey was always into the infirmary, just in case someone was injured. And whenever there was a student or a professor that was injured, Madam Pomfrey would do her job perfectly.,Albus made it to the infirmary in no time. The nurse was tidying up some things left here and there on the bedside tables, but the old man captured her attention in seconds.,"Poppy, my dear, please hurry up! A dying witch is coming to Hogwarts and whom I need you to heal..." he anxiously yet kindly said.,"And what is her case?","Suicide attempt..."

Five individuals were walking home one night down a dark alley.,"I swear, Vector. If we regret taking this shortcut, I will kick your ass all the way back to Barian World." Misael said.,"Relax, Missy. When have any shortcuts I've suggested gone wrong?" Vector said smoothly.,The other four all stopped to stare at him. "Do you even want us to answer that?" Alit asked.,"Okay, okay! So every shortcut I've suggested has had something go wrong. You don't have to rub it in." Vector growled.,"Yeah we do." Alit protested. Vector threw a rock at his head. Alit fell on the ground, probably with a concussion. Gilag helped him up and Alit leaned on him.,"Vector! Don't throw rocks at our comrades! I can't believe I even need to tell you that!" Dumon rebuked him.,"It's Vector. We need to tell him serial killings are not appropriate behavior." Misael glared at Vector. Vector stuck out his tongue at him. Dumon had grabbed on to Misael to stop him from hurting their fellow emperor, when they heard a murmur of voices. They all stopped and listened. Dumon motioned for the other aliens to follow him. The five hurried behind a trash bin where they had a clear view of a group of people wearing dark cloaks. The aliens listened carefully to the discussion going on.,"Why can't we just kill the minister? He is an old fool and with him out of commission, the wizarding world would be in chaos.","Fool! He has turned a deaf ear to the dark lord's return and the chaos will only last for a few days until they elect a competent Minister of Magic. Have you not forgotten the goal of obtaining the power of the crimson magic? The dark lord wants the wielders of this magic working for him or allied with him.","I know! But I am getting bored with the calm in the wizarding community." the figure tossed a small stone in a random direction. As luck would have it, it hit Alit in the head causing him to gasp in pain. The eight whirled towards the noise.,"Quick! Do not let them escape!" a man cried. He and the other seven drew out, to the barian's perception, sticks and rushed at the five. Misael blasted all of them with an energy ball, efficiently stunning most of them. One shot a jet of green light from his stick (although the barians had pretty much determined it was a wand at this point) but Dumon deflected it with a barrier he had conjured. A hooded man had got up and grabbed his wand. Gilag teleported behind him and clapped the man's head between his hands. Another man had his wand land several yards behind the place he had fallen and decided to take Alit on mano-a-mano. Big mistake. In five seconds, Alit threw the guy through a brick wall. Vector ran over to their remaining attackers and killed them all very sadistically. When the five had caught their breath, Dumon stood up and glared at Vector.,"It was unnecessary to kill those people, Vector. They were not currently endangering us. And you certainly did not have to take so much pleasure in doing it!" Dumon scolded Vector for the second time that night. Vector just giggled crazily. Dumon sighed and surveyed the battle damage. The dumpsters and surrounding walls had multiple burn marks but those were mostly covered up with a paint job of blood, courtesy of Vector, and one off the walls looked like it was about to fall over. This was going to be one heck of a mess to clean up. As Dumon thought of a way he could possibly tidy this up before any humans noticed, a loud crack was heard and a man appeared. He was wearing a black cloak, but seemed different than the others they had seen. He had bone white skin and no nose. His eyes were like those of a snake and he was completely bald. This newcomer surveyed the damage before turning his cold eyes on the five children who were bracing themselves for another battle.,"Did you five kill eight of my Death-eaters by yourselves?" His voice was raspy and cold.,Vector snickered. "Death-eaters? That was the best name you could come up with? And yeah, we did. You know, you should do better screening on your widdle 'Death-eaters'. They started screaming and begging for their lives after only a little bit of extreme torture." Vector laughed.,The man fumed. "Do you know who I am, child?","Don't care, baldy." Misael retorted.,The man looked even more furious. "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT!" he roared.,"Cute, Voldey. You really can't come up with any good names can you?" Vector taunted him.,"Why you little-" before Voldemort could say anything more, another voice called out from the night.,"Stop right there, Voldemort!" a man with a long white beard appeared and pushed the five behind him. "These boys are in my care and you will not harm them!","Since when?" Gilag muttered.,"Don't know, don't care. As long as he keeps Lord Whats-his-name away, I'll go along with whatever he says." Alit whispered back.,Voldemort snarled. "You won't stop me forever, Dumbledore! You can't be everywhere.","Maybe not, but tonight I can and will! Go away and leave these children alone, Tom!" the other man, Dumbledore, commanded.,"His real name is TOM?!" Vector started laughing all over again.,Voldemort looked like he wanted to try and kill all six of them, then with a hiss he left in another earsplitting crack. Dumbledore turned to the five wondering barians.,"I suppose you all have many questions, but our time is short. To start, magic is real. In fact, there is a whole community of wizards and witches. I can understand this may be hard to believe-","We've had some pretty weird shit happen to us. Trust me, this is not hard to believe." Dumon said, exasperated.,Dumbledore nodded and continued. "Very well. To get to my point, you five have much potential. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There you can learn how to control and master your powers and it is the safest place you can be in all of the world. And, if you permit me to say so, Voldemort seemed very ticked at you five. What exactly, aside from murdering his Death-eaters, did you do?","Vector dissed him big time." Alit blurted.,Dumbledore chuckled and said, "Yes, that would do it.",Dumon interrupted. "Excuse me, but are you suggesting that we enroll in your school?",Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I am suggesting. Voldemort doesn't take insults lightly and will make attempts on your lives. In your own self interest, I ask you to seriously consider attending." Dumbledore pulled out five letters and handed them to the five children. Dumon looked at his. It read,,He wondered how it could tell his name, even the last name he had made up, but he reasoned that wizards could do stuff like that.,"Think about it tonight. I will drop in at precisely noon for your answer." Dumbledore pushed up his spectacles and vanished with a crack, leaving the emperors to process what just happened. Finally, Dumon broke the silence.,"Let's go home and sleep. We can discuss it in the morning. The others nodded and all of the barians teleported to their individual rooms in the barians and fell asleep instantly.

I own none of these characters - that would be Pittacus Lore and Jo Rowling - and I used some of the general dialogue from the books and other canon sources., Hello everybody and anybody who decides to read this, thank you :) I will keep this updated as I keep ahead of it. Now, let's get into it!,The events in this book are real.,Names and places have been changed to protect the Loric, who remain in hiding.,Other civilisations do exist.,Some of them seek to destroy you.,I am Number Four. The fourth of nine kids sent to Earth, fleeing a war on Lorien against the Mogadorians. Each of us had a keeper, a Cêpan, to guide us and mentor us. On Earth, we have hidden from the Mogadorians, who hunt us down, in order. That was part of the charm put on us kids; we could only be killed in order. We each have our symbols branded around our right ankles, and on our left leg we get scars of the other's symbols when they die. Currently there is only one, and now it is almost two years old.,I was nine when it came. I woke screaming in pain in the middle of the night. Everything was shaking. I remember Henri, how he had looked so scared but also, hidden behind the horror, relieved. It was the first sign the Mogs were here on Earth, and now we knew it. I think that was where the relief came from; there was no longer the question of the unknown – are they here? Are they coming after us? And then we knew. I was terrified. It proved everything Henri said about Lorien was real, and not just some ghostly bedtime story I had almost convinced myself it was.,We were gone within the hour, leaving the state, leaving the country. We've been moving around Europe for a year since, and now we're in the UK. We arrived in Essex a week ago.,It's a lazy Saturday. The sun lolls in the sky. It's a mild day, perfect July weather. The stray short-haired caramel tabby cat we've unofficially adopted while we've been here is lounging around the base of the bird bath in the front yard, lying in the sun. You wouldn't know by looking at him that he was living on the streets; his fur shone with health and he was very friendly.,Henri was in the large cellar, using all his computers to scan the news around the world. But that was only on one wall. The rest of the space had been cleared of normal cellar stuff and replaced with training equipment. Resting against the edge of the gym mats laid out were body pads for Henri that he wore when we were sparring. Even though he was a good fighter, he lacked the strength I had simply by being a member of the Garde – sometime in the next couple of years I would get my Legacies, my powers to help me fight the Mogs hunting me down. But for now I just had super strength and speed.,I'm not complaining though. Not about my Legacies, at least. If I have to live in constant fear, I deserve at least that. Yet, it's a normal life I want. No more running, no more hiding. No more training, no new schools, to be able to make actual friends.,I trudge down into the gloom of the cellar, resenting having to leave the warmth and sunshine of the weekend behind me. Henri's sitting in front of the monitors, a mug of coffee in front of him.,"How're you going, kiddo?" He greets me without turning, his words distorted slightly through his Loric accent. People often think that he's French because of it. We've picked up some of the language passing through Europe the last two years, which certainly helps.,"Missing the sun. Anything in the news?" I ask. Henri shakes his head with a sigh and spins in the chair to face me. His brown hair is greying though he's only 46, which is still young amongst the Loric, as our average lifespan is about 200 years. He's tired, his eyes rimmed with red. I wonder how many cups of coffee he's had.,"It's like all the weird in the world has gone on hiatus. There's been nothing even with the slightest possibility of being superhuman in the news or online for days. I haven't seen a silence quite like this since we got here." He sighs again and stands up, stretching. "Ready for some training?","Body or brain? 'Cos if it's brain, I vote we do it outside," I reply with a bit of a grin. Henri smiles back with a raised eyebrow.,"You're cheery today," he states, amusement in his voice. "Okay, we'll leave the sparring for tomorrow. And you're not getting out of that no matter how nice the weather is," he says with false sternness. I run upstairs while he drains his coffee and take the comfy chair on the porch, leaving the faded wooden seat for Henri. I stick my tongue out at him when he arrives, my legs tucked up to my chest.,"Kids these days. No respect," he chuckles, pulling the stool forwards into the sunlight. For a few minutes we are silent, just enjoying the uncommon warmth of the day and the life of the yard. The cat, dubbed Hadley by me, meanders over to greet us with a yawn and a stretch, toes splaying wide. Henri watches him in deep thought.,"Why did you name him Hadley?" He doesn't look up from the cat.,I shrug. "I wanted to give him a name that reminded me of Lorien. I don't remember hearing it or anything, it just came to me and seemed to fit. When I called him Hadley he seemed happy with it." I shrug again. Henri chuckles as though there's some kind of inside joke that I'm missing. I continue, "There were other names too, but none of them seemed to fit." Henri nods, encouraging me onwards. "Liren and Brandon." I stop when I see his eyebrows shoot up his forehead in amused surprise. "Who are they?","Liren was your father," he explains. "Your mother's name was Lara. Your father spent a lot more time with you than was normal for a parent, and that's probably why you remember his name…" he trails off, gazing thoughtfully into the yard. "Right then, scenarios," he prompts, snapping himself back to the present.,We spent most of the day on the porch enjoying the sun and theorising strategies to scenarios, taking breaks here and there for snacks and drinks. The sun is almost below the tree line when a steady beeping starts in the cellar. We both stare for a few seconds before we get up and hurry down to the computers. A few of the screens are blinking out warnings for news reports and web articles that have fallen into the criteria specified by Henri's search. On the right-most monitor, an antivirus program trills out a warning. Henri swears, sits, and starts typing furiously to counter whatever threat is looming. If it's not fixed in the next three hours I know we'll be packing up and leaving again.,I go back upstairs. With Henri working downstairs, I'll be ordering take-out for dinner. I grab a book and make use of the last rays of sunlight. When the light becomes unreadable, I gather the mail from the last three days. It's not a habit because we don't get personal mail, just advertisements and general junk mail.,Near the bottom of the pile, a 'Thursday' letter, I find a letter, handwritten and addressed to my current alias, John Smith. I'm immediately suspicious. There is a wax stamp on the back, sealing the letter shut. We're no longer in America, but I still have my accent, so why not exploit it in the most stereotypical way possible? I'm incredibly wary of it, and lay it aside on the table. I order pizza and wait for it to be delivered, skimming through the catalogues. My eyes keep darting to the mysterious letter beside me.,The doorbell rings. I pay the delivery man and take the pizza and the letter down to Henri. Giving him the letter, he raises an eyebrow.,"Well, Mr J. Smith, I think you have mail." He turns it over and sees the stamp. I refill his coffee. He still hasn't slept. "I think this one's safe to open. No Mogs hiding away in there waiting to jump out and slaughter you." He returns to frowning over his computers. "Well, are you going to open it or not?",I shove some pizza in my mouth and sit silently looking at the letter for a few minutes. My stomach is almost cramping with nerves. Henri seems to know what this is, I tell myself, it can't be anything that bad. He's not scared it's the Mogs so I shouldn't be. Anyway, if it were the Mogs, they wouldn't send a letter. I'd be dead already. I slide my finger under the seal and open the envelope.,"Magic?" I ask Henri. He looks troubled, working over his computers. I hold the letter out to him as he turns his attention back to me. He takes it and gives me a glance before he reads it. He takes a deep breath, then releases it.,"Do you want to go?" He asks when he's finished.,"It sounds good, but magic?" I reiterate. "And won't that mean staying in the same place?" I pull out a second piece of paper from the envelope. It's a list of items; uniform, books and equipment.,"Come on, John. What do you think this magic is? I've told you before that the Loric have visited Earth many times. What's your theory?","Some of the Greek gods, you said they were descendants of the Loric and they had powers. Is that what it is? The wizards and witches have some of Lorien in them?" I answer carefully.,"Good. You , been paying attention," he says. "Now, are you going or not? It's up to you. I don't think the Mogs will be able to find you there, there're some powerful spells hiding that school.","Wait, if I'm getting this letter because I'm a Garde, won't that mean the others will too?","Possibly. I think Hogwarts only caters to the United Kingdom though, and some of the others are different ages, which really reduces the risk of you meeting them. Then again, you may already be vulnerable.","What about you?" I suddenly realise Henri won't go with me.,"I'll stick around the UK, move maybe once or twice. I won't be hunted without you, so it'll be easier to stay put. You should go, kiddo. Without your Legacies yet, this will be a great way to learn to protect yourself and blend in. Don't worry about me, I'll send you my address for the holidays, and we can always write to each other." I feel bad for him, guilty. If it weren't for me, he'd be able to live a proper life here. He wouldn't be hunted, doomed to be slaughtered at the hands of the Mogadorians. I glance back down at the letter in my hands.

« Les sœurs Crawley VS les sœurs Black »,Quand je pense aux sœurs Crawley de Downton Abbey, je ne peux m'empêcher de penser aussi aux sœurs Black d'Harry Potter.,J'ai relevé quelques points communs entre elles. Tout comme les sœurs Crawley, les sœurs Black viennent d'un milieu aristocratique. Elles sont de deux époques différentes mais elles ont un même destin.,Mary Crawley et Bellatrix Black se ressemblent de par leur beauté physique et leurs épais cheveux bruns et de par leurs opinions sur l'importance du haut rang.,Pour Mary, il est inconcevable pour elle de se marier avec quelqu'un de pauvre et pour Bellatrix ainsi il faut qu'elle se marie avec « un sang pur ».,De même, concernant leur caractère, elles sont toutes deux autoritaires.,Quand Mary a perdu Matthew, elle descendait petit à petit dans l'abime de l'enfer, on la voyait qui descendait dans la folie.,Tout comme Mary pour Matthew, l'amour de Bellatrix pour Voldemort l'a rendu folle.,Elle est même allée en prison pour lui.,Sybil Crawley et Andromeda Black se ressemblent également comme Mary et Bellatrix.,Du côté de Sybil Crawley, ses traits de caractère, son côté rebelle qui la pousse à épouser un homme d'un classe sociale inférieure à la sienne. Cela se rejoint du côté d'Andromeda Black, qui elle aussi a épousé un homme hors de sa condition, un « né-moldu ». Elle a été reniée pour cela. Leur physique aussi se rejoint. Toutes les deux ont les cheveux bruns.,Edith Crawley et Narcissa Black ont le même destin et sont toutes deux de grande beauté physique.,Edith tout comme Narcissa est d'une grande beauté physique, elle a de beaux cheveux blonds tout comme Narcissa.,J'aime à penser qu'à la mort de Bellatrix et Voldemort, Narcissa va enfin vivre une toute autre vie, s'ouvrir à d'autres personnes en dehors de sa classe sociale et renouer des liens avec sa sœur Andromeda.,Edith Crawley va s'ouvrir et s'épanouir à la mort de sa jeune sœur, Sybil, comme imprégnée des valeurs que Sybil avaient.,Edith essayait de se démarquer mais pas trop comme Narcissa tout en conservant sa classe sociale.,Narcissa Black, la petite dernière des Black, qui ne sait de quel côté se ranger.,Narcissa tout comme Edith est peu sure d'elle. Narcissa sera amener à trahir tout ce en quoi elle croit et le seigneur des ténèbres par amour pour son fils.,Fin,Note D'auteur : Je n'avais pas prévu de publier cet essai sur . Mais elle a eu du succès sur Wattpad, alors j'ai décidé de le faire. J'ai prévu d'écrire une fic OS intitulée « Elles étaient trois » pour vous donner un aperçu plus détaillé sur ce que j'avais en tête quand j'ai écrit ceci.

LW: Time for a little fun between Harry and the Fae.,Summery: Lily had a secret (well 2) and Sirius informs Harry of it at the end of 4th year. Harry finds a new family and allies and they get ready to take down Voldemort even if it means taking the ministry down with him. AU 5th year and beyond.,The Wandering Mage – Family Secrets,Harry sat on the swing in the park near Private Drive one afternoon, for both the fresh air and to avoid his 'family', their presence not the best for any kind of intelligent thoughts, something he's been doing since Sirius pulled him aside and turned his world on its head,At the end of the previous school year, before he left with Remus for parts unknown to Harry pulled the boy aside alone. 'Harry' Sirius said looking oddly nervous 'I need to tell you something important' 'Ok Sirius' Harry replied. The ex-convict wrung his hands before coming out with it as bluntly as he normally does 'James wasn't your father...',Sirius went to continue that Lily had gotten pregnant before getting with James, and she wouldn't tell them his name, partly so they wouldn't hunt him down, just he was a good man but a bit of a wanderer. He had had to leave Lily and she hadn't known she was pregnant till she was dating James. He married her and they planed to blood adopt him, never to be mentioned again until they learnt something unexpected during the ritual; Lily was fae, she'd been adopted! This meant the adoption will break down by his 15th birthday, which was why Sirius was informed of this as well as why he was telling him. Harry felt hurt for the lies and for him father's abandonment of him but soon forgave him as he wouldn't have known, but had something different to direct his emotions (mostly anger) on; his mother being adopted meant their were no protections on his 'relative's' home, meaning he had been left in Durzkaban for the last 14 years for nothing.,Harry's head turned to a radio left by one of the other teens earlier as it turned itself on ' ,' then shutting off and Harry noticed the click of a cane and saw a man in a black suit and jacket approach him.,'Hello Mr. Potter, you have no idea how long I've wanted to meet you, I am the Wanderer' he said in a calm voice but there was an undertone of power. Harry looked at the man from his shiny shoes to his ether blue eyes and well kept hair and felt something calling within himself 'You're my father aren't you?' it was a statement though it was phrased like a question. The man to his credit neither looked ashamed nor tried to deny the accusation 'Yes Harry, Lily told me she had my child when you were born but they had to go into hiding and the wards around your home combined with your sealed fae powers made it impossible to find you until now, the ritual has almost completely decayed to the point you will be your true form. Until now I hoped you would be safe, plus I also had your sister to find as she'd actually been kidnapped by her mother so was a higher priority'.,'Wait I have a sister?' Harry asked, the only part of the man's explanation that surprised, after all the older fae might have needed some way to detect him, something difficult to do if he wasn't fae, plus their may have been wards to keep 'dark creatures' like Remus on the house to keep him away. The man smiled 'Thought that would get your attention yes little Ysabeau though she's about 30 now, is your half sister and was taken and hidden from me and until recently was a high priority, not that I hadn't gone looking for you too, but when my best went up against the protections I decided to wait till your powers activated, ,'. The last part peaked Harry's interest 'What happened?' he asked, the wanderer smiled and began to explain,Tamsin, high class Valkrye for the Wanderer continued her search for her boss's children, detecting a similar presence to the red head fae the wanderer said was the child's mother and followed soon coming to an unassuming house the exact same as every other house in this perfectly same neighbourhood. She sneered at the humans staring at her as she approached, seeing a young boy weeding the garden. He looked up to her with vibrant green eyes, the same as the girl in the photo she'd been given; this was the kid. A shrill voice was heard calling him in, Tamsin frowned and made to follow, until the wards turned a violent red and reacted to the Valkrye, Tamsin's mind having only one thought ','. She woke in an unknown location very confused and disorientated finding she'd lost 4 hours since she'd left on her mission. The landscape faded to mist and both Tamsin and the wanderer exited the pensieve. 'Well that was unhelpful' Tamsin grumbled, looking surprised by the wanderer's shaking head 'Actually we now know he's well protected, though it is unfortunate the ward prevented you from remembering his location. For now we'll leave him, and when the time comes I will collect him ,' the blond Valkyre stepping back knowing the serious look on the ancient fae's face was never a good thing 'Now I need you to find my other child; Bo',Harry frowned 'I remember her, I was about 5. My aunt wasn't happy when she showed up, thought I attracted freaks to her house; in a way I was as she wasn't a 'normal' human therefore a freak in her and her family's eyes.' A thought came to Harry's mind from mentioning the Dursleys 'Hey not that I'm complaining but usually Dudley and his brainless bunch harass me around now, where are they' he noticed his father ',' was smiling in a way he recognised on the twins or Sirius 'My aura has an interesting effect on mortals, I believe it's primal fear as they stay as far as they can from me. So do most fae but that's a learned consequence of who I am rather than what I am'. Harry nodded understanding what he meant; he could feel the man's power flowing from him due to its abundance, beings as strong as him often elicited 1 of 2 reactions; fear and worship.,The air soon turned unnaturally cold, and Harry's heart dropped, the howl of Dementors made their presence known, 2 but that was enough, Harry having forgotten his wand and unsure of the elder fae's abilities or their effect on a Dementor. The first went for the older one seeing him a bigger threat than a wandless teenage wizard, its scabby hands clamping on his shoulders as it began to drain him. The wanderer's face was until that moment passive and uncaring, then it flashed to anger and the decaying corpse like magical creature was hurled away ',' He was irate, his eyes glowing in their ethereal blue, with a similarly coloured visible aura. He briskly approached the struggling Dementor, attempting to escape the searing heat the fae's aura was producing to it. The Wanderer appeared to pull back his aura before releasing it at the pitiful creature causing it to burst into cobalt coloured flames, rapidly consuming the beast.,Harry cheered seeing the dead abomination, but his joy was short lived. The heat produced by the Wanderer's visible aura hid the 2nd Dementor's approach until it had already grabbed Harry. Instantly Harry felt like he'd been dunked in ice water, his mind running through painful memories; Voldemort killing his mother, Wormtail killing Cedric, the times his uncle nearly beat him to death. He had almost given up till a sibilant voice echoed in his head ',' ',?' Harry struggled to ask ',' Harry believed the voice, his mind clearer since it spoke to him. He dug deep within and felt something basic and primal, pulling it to the surface it took hold and he was blinded by a shining light, and in turn began to feel more powerful, in fact he felt stronger in all senses than he had ever been when the glow faded he saw he was on the ground, all that remained of the Dementor being dust and a tattered cloak.,Harry was helped up by the Wanderer just in time for the man to grab the letter of an approaching owl. He read it out his mouth fixed into a frown,Dear Mister Potter,You have been charged with using illegal ',' and are hereby expelled from Hogwarts, Aurors will be arriving soon to snap your wand and arrest you. Failure to comply will severely hurt your case if you choose to make one.,Sincerely,Martha Hopkins,Department of Misuse of Magic,Harry looked at the man's frozen expression before turning to him 'Where did you live?' he asked surprising Harry '4 Private Drive just down the road' Harry answered then followed the man who walked in the mentioned direction. He stopped outside the house 'Is there much here you need?' he asked looking distain fully at his son's oversized clothes. 'Just my wand, trunk, broom and owl' Harry answered hoping it meant what he thought it did. The wanderer nodded then waved his hands, both briefly flashing white before flicking his wrist and the window opened letting out Hedwig. 'Harry, we will be leaving immediately and never setting foot in this place again, understood?' 'Yes! Thank you' Harry yelled and hugged the man who smiled though the boy couldn't see it [Meanwhile unknown to Harry several of a bearded old wizards odd trinkets exploded]. They separated and Hedwig hooted approvingly from Harry's shoulder. The strange trio left in a whirl of black smoke arriving at a 3 storey building called 'The Crossroads'.,The Wanderer had it built for his family soon after he found Bo again, as a place for them to meet up and stay at times; Bo still preferring the 'crack shack' simply for all the good memories though here was nicer and had better facilities so was here often. Like today when she heard a whoosh and ran in to see her father with a young teenage boy and a snowy owl. She shook her head 'It's gonna be one of those days isn't it?' she asked to nobody and predictably got no reply 'So Dad who's the kid?' she asked not viciously more curiously. 'Well Bo, remember when I told you I had a child in England I couldn't get to, this is him' He lead his 2 confused children into the living room 'Harry this is your sister Ysabeau /Bo Dennis/McTaggert, the famously unaligned succubus, Bo this is Harry a currently unaligned Highbreed Wraith',TBC,LW: Well that's going well, see you soon,Kenzi: Hey people, good news; hopeful Bobo/Doctor Hot pants moments in future chapters as well as other HP characters turning out to be fae. See yah hoes!,LW: Please ignore the crazy girl, bye!,: Until Lost Girl shows us the Wanderer's face my Wanderer looks like Edward Norton from 'The Illusionist', don't like come up with own idea, or just ignore my thoughts, kinda like most ME fans and unsuited Quarians.,Basic idea of the wraith is from Stargate Atlantis but not completely. So anyone familiar with them will be happy to know Harry most likely won't be going on a huge killing spree anytime soon { },Writing the Wanderer every time rather than a name makes me feel like I'm writing a DW fic (Except Wanderer rather than Doctor and/or Master, but still point is it will stay like that because similarly no name is worthy of replacing it)

Chapter 1- The Beginning,."Sister!sister!wake up!",I groaned as I feel someone pull my sheets off,"Geez Hiro don't be so hurry!okay whats up?" I asked he smiled as he gave me a letter with a formal stamp.,My eyes widen while reading it,"I Couldn't believe it!I've been accepted!,I look to the letter at the supplies list.,-1 wand-,-caldron,cat,owl,etc.-,"after breakfast we'll go shopping" I hear my mom say as I sat down and begun to eat my butter toast.,"But Mom!I can't go I still Have my Practice on soccer"I hear my lil bro whines,As i smirk a little.,This is My Beginning of my Life I'm Mato Kuroi a half blood ready to become a trained wizard.,I continue follow my mom part of london I've been in we stop at a place called 'Leaky Caldron' some wizards greeted my mom but I pay no attention to them,just keeping my neutral face when i was a kid Some bullies cold me 'Ice Queen' because of my coldness around to people except my Family and friends.,My mom and I walked to a small outdoor area she stop then.,"Mom?why are we stopping?" I asked looking at her as a large man came in with a boy,who had piercing green eyes with a round glasses also he had a weird scar on his forehead.,"Hey Hagrid!"my mom greeted giving a hand shake to 'Hagrid'.,They begun to have a little convo after that he taps his umbrella on the bricks making it open, Did I also mention the green haired boy stares at me?but i caught him he looked away,I giggle lightly I felt unfamiliar spark in my chest but I Just didn't worried about it!,We all goto a bank,I learned my mom and hagrid were really close friends they keep talking!not looking I was walking I tripped I closed my eyes ready for the impact at my face,but a hand suddenly pulled me I landed to a chest that again I felt that spark again.,"You okay?" I hear a familiar voice I look up saw harry with a worried look I feel my face turning shades of red.,"Thanks?Umm..."I look at him pushing him slowly,"Harry Harry Potter" he smiled extending his hand,"Mato Kuroi." I smiled a little shaking his hand.,"Your a japanese?" he asked while walking down to our gaurdians,"Well Half, My Father is British but I haven't seen him when I grew up" I looked down,We separated our ways harry with hagrid while mom and I went to her vault, I just hold my moms hand, the goblin opens my moms vault I look inside, Many gold! Its even More high like mount fuji!,my mom took some coins what we need and we leave, now its time for to get some school supplies,Mom and I Buy some supplies in Various stores, we walk for a while until the last thing was wands, my mom just need to catch up so she leave me at Olivander's store,,I walk in shoving my hands at my pocket of my hood, its kinda dusty through I remember my cousin if he saw this he would make the person clean all of this.,I hear a faint bell Looking at my back I saw harry again.,"Hey, looking for a wand?" he asked as I nod not looking back to him.,"Hello?"he asked,when theres no answer, he ask a bit louder,but I join him though,,"Hello?" we said as a man appeared sliding in a ladder with wheels making harry jumped a little.,I looked around not paying attention they were talking too just looking around.,I shake my head as I hear my name being called looking towards harry who had again his worried face which its cute?well anyway I walk towards the Man and he gave me a wand, I give it a wave making some KABOOMSKI!,"Wait,Your Mato Kuroi Daughter of the greatest female wizard Alice "The old man says smiling at me,,"Hmmmm...maybe this wand is yours" he walked out but a few minutes he walk back and gave me a wand, he gave it then to me I gave a little wave I felt a Power that is miraculous,,"I see, it fits you a speacial Wood of Sakura tree the only one i made just like your mother but more special " The man smiled down again, my wand it had a little sakura design the wand is black and so cool!.,After that we bid goodbyes at Mr. Olivander, when we came out I saw Mom carrying a familiar Bird my eyes widen.,Its a phoenix! a black-blue-white one!,"Mom Thank you" my jaw was still drop but hey!Im not spoiled! I look over to harry who had a snow owl.,"Well time to go Harry" I hear hagrid say I look to him with a little smile and a little sad I think?50/50.,"See you soon Harry Potter" I smiled making my fist punch to his fist,"See you too Mato Kuroi" He smiled.,Author's Note: Yey! I just finished my First chapter of the story so, This story will be year one to seven... :) this is BRS X Harry Potter Crossover! So stay tuned for the next chapters :).

For as long as Lily Evans has known the infamous James Potter, he's been nothing but unkind towards anyone and everything in his path. Not having known him for very long, she supposes, lapses her judgement; for the others in the Institute seem to have quite a fondness for him despite the obvious qualms about his personality.,Need she even recount how only a few weeks prior how he utterly humiliated her – after she had been sure that he was quite interested in her romantically; the , had kissed her, told her that if she wanted to pursue any type of relationship it would purely be a sexual one because romantic relations between a Shadowhunter and ,are strictly forbidden and (if the rumors are true) and Lily is a warlock, well, she can't have children.,Which apparently renders her pretty damn useless.,She still hasn't forgiven him; but she's become more tolerable of his presence.,He's taken to avoiding her at all costs, mostly goofing off with his parabatai, Sirius Black, who Lily also regards as a common asshole, but he's at least a bit charming (Marlene McKinnon, the servant, has told Lily on multiple occasions that Sirius is more handsome than his parabatai, but Lily is disinclined to agree - not that she'd tell Marlene - of course. It's just there is something particularly charming about the way James Potter's dark hair is so unruly, and the way his hazel eyes light up a room when he laughs. The delight she gets from counting the few freckles that look like constellations across his nose is not something that she's proud to admit (and neither is the way she looks at his bum when he's training). Lily likes how her recent immersion into this new world used to give her an excuse to talk to him, to point out a rune on his arm, or his chest and ask about it; the best part was when he would respond, and for a second it would seem as if he actually cared).,So yes, maybe, she does hold some sort of affection for him; she knows that she shouldn't. She knows he all but called her a harlot, and he's terribly mean to Marlene and literally everyone else in the Institute.,While she's in the library one day, helping Sirius and Minerva read the papers (for the n-teenth time) in hopes of learning the location of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, she brings it up – how can they care for someone who cares so little.,Sirius honest to God snorts, and tells her that she's being quite daft.,Minerva ignores Sirius.,"James cares, dear," she says, "He's just got a funny way of showing it.","Yes, of course, but you'd assume that he wouldn't be such a prick about it.","You know what they say about assumptions, Evans." Sirius grins.,This time Minerva smacks him on the back of the head.,"If you're so curious, perhaps you should ask him yourself.",They all go back to reading after that. After reading the same line of print for the fourteenth time, Lily excuses herself. She's quite hungry; hopefully Peter's cooked up something delicious.,Lily, contrary to Minerva's advice, does not bother James Potter with her questions. He seems rather busy running to opium dens and other such places of vice for her to bother.,So, she stays quiet. She keeps to herself. Marlene tells her about the other boy here, Remus, who's got lycanthropy. He's another one of James Potter's good friends; so is Peter, apparently. She learns that James Potter did not spend his whole life at the Institute, instead Minerva explains how she found the twelve-year-old boy soaking wet on the porch; how he'd instantly taken to Sirius. How he'd never allow himself to outwardly display anything but displeasure or carelessness.,How she's come to care for him like he's her own son.,Lily trusts Minerva; the woman's done her best to support her against the Clave, she's one of the only women in charge of an Institute, and well, she's shown Lily a kindness that she hasn't received in a very long time.,She doesn't change her opinion on James Potter yet, even though her heart is telling her that she should. There's something else. There's something she needs to dig up before she allows herself to try forgiving him.,(She's lying. She had forgiven him the first time she caught him staring sorrowfully at her from across the library. This is just her using her curiosity as a scapegoat.),Lily considers Sirius to be her friend. He's posh, ,, if you will, but he's got a charm about him that Lily admires. He's got a bit of an abrasive wit about him, but Lily, having now lived with him for several weeks, has gotten quite used to it – often times finding it refreshing amidst such a serious and depressing atmosphere.,Sirius has decided, for some ungodly reason, that Lily holds a high opinion on romantic advice (as if he doesn't know of her failings), and casually asks her how to seduce a man.,And by man, she means that Sirius has specifically asked for advice on how to seduce (or woo, or whatever he plans to do) Remus Lupin.,Lily, having only spoken to Remus a few times, does not know how to answer the question. Lily, who also has no experience with dealing with male suitors (or seducing them, for that matter) also has no idea how to answer the question.,She tells Sirius as much.,He laughs.,"I expected more from you, Evans." He chuckles.,"What's that supposed to mean?" She raises an eyebrow while asking.,"It's just you are quite pretty, that's all.","You like blokes, Sirius." She deadpans.,"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the female aesthetic. And believe me when I say that I know the difference between an ugly woman and a beautiful one. You've never had the pleasure of seeing my mother.","Sirius Black, a regular Oedipus; my god, how scandalous.","I resent that implication." Sirius smiles, "Besides, she's the one that got me into liking men.",They share a laugh then. It's silent for a few moments.,"D'you fancy anyone, Evans." He breaks the silence, "I reckon it's only fair that you now confide in me, now that I've done so to you.","I don't think this is how that works.","Semantics.","I hate you.","No, you don't." He chews his cheek in thought, "But you do hate James.","Yeah, because he's a right prat.","You hate him a little too much though.","No, I –","It's alright, Evans. He's probably managed to find a way to get you to actually hate him.","What's that supposed to mean?","James has this, this ,where he tries to get everyone that he cares about to hate him. I don't even remember what he did to me, but I was furious with him for a good two weeks. But don't let that set you off; you've got nothing to worry about.","I'm not following; why shouldn't I worry about him not hating me? He made it perfectly clear when he compared me to a common whore that I mean absolutely nothing to him.",Sirius lets out a bellow of laughter; he's red in the face, and Lily swears that she sees a tear roll down his cheek as he clutches his chest.,"Evans, that boy looks at you as if you've hung the moon; I don't know what demon's possessed you to even consider making you think that he ,you.",And that's when she delves into the whole scenario. From the second James Potter had rescued her from Narcissa and Bellatrix (more commonly known collectively as the Black Sisters), to when he gave her his own copy of ,, to when he kissed her in the library then told her to forget about it (which included the whole revelation of his "true intentions").,Sirius listens – he's a lovely listener when he puts his mind to it, actually – but he's got no advice for her. He apologizes, profusely, on his friend's behalf.,"There's nothing that you can do.","No, but I'm not sure of what else to say.","Then I'm sorry will do, I suppose." She agrees.,It's quiet for a few minutes.,"I'm sorry I couldn't help you with your Remus situation.","Nah, I learned plenty of what not to do from your James situation.","Shut up." She smiles.,"Nah.",A few days later, she's sitting in the library reading , when James Potter all but prances towards her.,Usually this would get her angry, but there's something different. He's happy – happier than she's ever seen him. His eyes, usually a dull hazel all but gleam. There's a slight glow of rose on his cheeks, and his glasses are falling down his nose. The best part, Lily thinks is the way he's yelling her name.,Not Evans, but Lily.,She smiles despite herself.,"What is it, Potter?",She can see the nerves take over his exterior. The grin on his face diminishes and he runs his hand through his hair (which looks more like a rat's nest than anything else.) He quickly glances at the chair next to hers.,"May I sit down, this might take a bit.","Go for it.",Then his explanation begins. How his father was killed by a demon he released by accident when he was 12 years old. How he believed that he had been cursed by the demon, how he had believed that anyone he would come to care about was doomed to death. How he had been inquiring with a warlock about his curse since he met her.,How he is sorry.,How he learned that there wasn't even a curse to begin with, which Lily surmises is even more torturous.,She puts her book on the table beside her and walks over so that she can kneel in front of him. She grips his hands in her own. They're calloused and even a bit scarred, but she can't fail to notice how well the fit in her own.,"James," she utters, "it's alright.","There's no excuse, for how I've treated you," he can't look at her, "this would be so much easier if I wasn't so in love with you.","James," she tries again, he doesn't listen.,"I know that you probably don't care, because I've treated you like your worse than a piece of shit, but you must know that I'd rather you alive and hating me than dead because –","James." She says forcefully this time, "I never hated you. I don't think I could ever hate you.",",," he says her name. But James Potter never just says her name, he sings it like it's the most holy thing - as if it was created by the Angel himself. She's never quite understood what it was that she felt when James Potter ,spoke to her, but she's starting to get it now – it's affection, longing, adoration, and perhaps very nearly love. "Lily, I know that you don't care for me much, you don't have to lie for my sake, but I needed to tell you. I owe you this, and you need to know that on the roof, that night when we kissed, those things I said, I know they were hateful and terrible, but –","I know.","I couldn't lose you, and now I know that, I can, you know," he blushes, "love you without worry about you dying, you probably detest me; so there goes that. ",Lily, as her sister Petunia has said on too many occasions, has zero tact. Lily also wants to kiss James Potter because despite all that's happened between the two of them, she still feels as if she might be in love with the asshole.,So, she kills two birds with one stone.,This kiss with James is not her first. This kiss with James will not be her last. But, this kiss with James will probably be the only one that he wasn't expecting. Because as soon as her lips are on his, his arms start flailing wildly and Lily is forced to let go of his hands.,However, that enables her to run her fingers through his untamed hair, so she isn't complaining one bit.,The kiss is sloppy, it's wet, and Lily is very sure that she loves ever second of it. James's one hand finds its way to caress the nape of her neck while the other gently cups her cheek. When he pulls away, he's looking into her eyes, and she can't fight the blush that blossoms.,"Hey, Lily," he asks.,"Hmm?","Fancy doing that again.",Lily smiles.,Then she kisses him; it's really all quite romantic till Sirius comes in practically tearing the clothes off Remus as they're locked at the lips.,Poor James looks quite scandalized.,That is until Lily takes his hand and leads him back to her bedroom (not forgetting to wink at Sirius as she makes her way out).

Today simply wasn't his day. Firsty, he had found out that his 'dear' brother had went off to yet 'another' battle taking Lady Sif and the warriors of three with him. Later it was revealed that he had to assist the people by distributing food to keep up the image of a 'noble prince' and now the all father-his father had asked for his presence. Great. This was just an insufferable, irritating, ill-fated and unfortunate day for Loki. Where in the world were all the 'Mischief and Lies' today?,"Son",The word "Father" traveled after a brief pause as if Loki was about to ask life changing question.,"You have shown great assistance in the villages," Odin stood up "although my assignment for you today is not finished.","What do you wish me to fulfill for you father?","Habitually I would have assigned this for Thor since the task is not of your preference, however, judging by the circumstances he will not be back in time. I want you to travel to the 5th realm-","Midgard?","Yes. Do you remember the Polygon? Where I once commanded Thor to bury the sacred stone?","I can commemorate on it.","I fear that someone has the intention of using it for their own deeds. I need you to retrieve the stone for me. If someone decides to take it do not hesitate to attack. Is the assignment understood?","Perfectly.","Then you shall get started." Loki's shoulder was patted twice before he saw the look in his father's eyes, Odin's eyes were battling in questions.,Turning around in silence the figure which belonged to a 'God of Mischief and Lies' vanished from sight. He was heading towards Heimdall as his mind was sinking in a pool of thoughts.,…...,Hermione Granger had just awoke from a long nap. Looking at the time from her 'small muggle light box' as Ron called it she started panicking. It was only an hour before sunset.,"No, no, no, no, no." She looked at the small parchment which she had previously written as her hair was being tamed by a vast bristle brush.,"Vse horosho Germeeona?"(Is everything alright Hermione?) she heard an old voice call.,"Da, konechno. Prosto opazdivaiyu."(Yeah, of course. Just a little late.) she replied.,Hermione opened and carefully eyed the map before her, cautiously examining the shades of green and yellow. With one last glance at the print she disapparated into nothing.,Hermione Granger was on an educational trip, no-this was her vacation and it had been a year since the battle of Hogwarts and she had finally graduated. This meant that she had take her time and truly relax after suffering the intensity of the Second Wizarding War combined with the stress of taking her N.E.W.T.s, however, since this was 'Hermione Granger' she just had to mix her break with education. As a vacation she decided to learn some Russian while visiting the Russian wizarding school of Koldovstoretz.,She had also decided to experiment a little, finding out that some plants affected by immense radiation could potentially increase the effects they gave she wanted to get some dittany. She was in an advantage, Kazakhstan was a bordering country within which there was the Polygon. 456 nuclear explosions, extremely radioactive even after many years-sad but perfect for the dittany she was hoping to find. Who knew how the increased healing powers of it could benefit her.,Standing on the terribly dry land Hermione let her thoughts wander as she looked around for the plant. Ah! Perfect, she found it. Just before reaching towards the plant she felt herself drawn to something. Turning around and walking a few metres back until her legs decided to stop her she found herself facing a stone. In size it was a little smaller than the resurrection stone but the magnificent colour had hinted that there was definitely something magical about the rock. A moment later Hermione's fingers were twirling around it as she picked it up. A jolt of electricity passed through the nerves in the hand confirming her suspicions, looking at it sceptically she hardly noticed a rainbow light forming behind her.,….,Looking towards his feet Loki acknowledged the dry, now slightly burned grass under him. Taking a step forward he froze in shock. A young woman's back was turned to him, brown-gold hair laying on robes-unlike the midgardian ones he usually saw. 'This must be the 'someone' who wants to use it for their purpose' as soon as the realization hit him he sent out a magical wave that must have thrown her off her feet but to his surprise she turned around and blocked the spell by ficking a stick and saying something which to him sounded like "Protego Duo."He sent out another blast of power to hurt her, then again, with a flick of that wood she blocked it.,The girl decided to speak up before facing another attack "Chto vam nuzhno? Zachem vi menya atakuete?"(What do you want? Why are you attacking me?) This was Russian.,He spoke back."Ty ne obiychniy midgardetz. Ty k tomu zhe ne russkoiya. Kto ty na samom dele?"(You are not a normal midgardian. Certainly not Russian. Who are you?),"Hermione Granger." she answered in a cautious tone still holding her wand tightly."A kto ty?" (Who are you?),"I see you are an English speaker, I am Loki of Asgard and I am-" he vanished quickly appearing behind her confused form with a dagger to her throat. He then violently grabbed her wand using his free hand and just as he saw her hand going inside her pocket he stopped her.,"I advise you to stop, whatever weapon you are planning to take out of your robes will certainly not be able to save you, this dagger will lay inside your neck before you manage to perform your little trick. " he shifted the dagger closer to her neck. "Or I can decide to torture you in the most terrible ways. Maybe small cuts to start with, then I will slowly cut those pretty little ears-","Try your worst, believe me I can handle it."she shot back.,Casting the wand away he held her tighter. Irritated at her for interrupting him he whispered venomously in her ear. "Who do you answer to? Who made you come here?",Believing it was her last chance now Hermione pushed the dagger from her neck away not caring about any deep wounds assuming that once she gets home safely she'll heal them. Now a Hermione with bleeding hands around a small stone which she forgot she ever had was standing facing a Loki in rage.,"What the bloody hell do you want from me?" she was now screaming with water dripping at the side of her cheeks.,Loki observed how her blood on the rock had turned silver. Silver? He thought of her as a midgardian magical species, now he saw that he was wrong. Only Asgardian blood would turn silver on the stone. He needed to bring her back to Asgard. Relying on his lies he came up with a plan.,He smirked. "I want the stone which you are now carelessly painting in your blood.","Give me back my wand.",The wooden piece of art appeared on his palm as he slowly approached the girl.,"First, I need the stone back.",She handed him she stone as he cast it away. "My wand. Give it back.",He held out the 'stick' and she reached for it with her bleeding hands. Just as she touched it, it disappeared with a green shadow over it and her body was captured in a forced hug. She tried to get out, however, Loki's arms were wrapping around her much too tight.,"Heimdall send me back!" were the last words she heard before being surrounded by a bright light and passing out overwhelmed with the sensation of being split apart.

Hadrius Reaper,On this cold night of All Hallows Eve, in Little Whinging, a cloaked figure watches little kids trick or treating and parade in their Halloween costumes with a gentle smile on his face. He always loved children, because they have pure souls. Rare were the adults that have kept a pure soul and if there was one thing that he hated more than anything was those that hurt children. Seeing a group of kids pass in front of him dress as grim reapers, his smile widened behind his bone mask. You see this cloaked figure was none other than the Grim Reaper himself, Death given form.,Surrounded by pure happy souls, Death trekked down the street whistling a merry tune. You may be asking yourself what he was doing there walking among the mortals. Well he simply was in the neighborhood collecting the soul of an old lady that died that night and he was not going to miss the chance to be able to walk around without using his invisibility cloak for fear of scaring anyone. Suddenly he heard a soul cry in agony and fear. The pain and emotion was so powerful it was like being hit by a tidal wave. Falling to his knees, Death try to get his breath under control and once he did he took off running so fast in the direction of the cry that his passing was a dark purple almost black blur. Normally he wouldn't go to a soul that fast, but the one crying and calling for help was a child. A child with the most powerful and purest soul. He had only ever seen one like this only five years ago in a baby that survived the killing curse. It shone so bright he didn't have a problem finding it. Running in Privet Drive street, he stopped and did a double take, every house were the same.,Since he was so close, with his enhanced earring not only could he hear the soul but now he heard the child itself sob and cry for something to stop. Not even bothering to activate his invisibility cloak, Death barged into number 4 taking the door off its hinges. What he saw made him turn into his Reaper form, on the floor of the living room was a six year old little boy trying and failing to protect himself from a whale of a man beating him with everything he had. Shaking in rage Death threw the whale across the room and placed himself in front of the child, boney bat wings open wide to hide the little one from the man's gaze.,"HOW DARE YOU BEAT AN INNOCENT CHILD!"roared Death in total rage. Gigantic skeleton hands holding his scythe so hard it could brake and barely holding himself from killing and cutting the man in little pieces with his weapon. Skull concealed in the shadow of his hood, only his molten lava eyes could be seen burning with murderous intention at the man who was getting back on his feet. If Death had possessed a basilisk stare that man wouldn't have been dead fast enough.,"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO...!?"start to scream the whale but abruptly stop once he saw who or more what had attacked him. "W-what are you?" the man ask in obvious fear if the wet spot on his pants have anything to say.,"WHO AM I? I AM DEATH YOU DISGUSTING CREATURE! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO BEAT A CHILD? ANSWER ME!" raged Death and taking a threatening step in the whale's direction.,"He's a f-freak just l-like his p-parents" squealed the man in terror.,"NO HE'S NOT! HE'S A CHILD AND NO CHILD DESERVES TO BE BEAT FOR WHATEVER SPECIAL ABILITY THEY MAY POSSES!"screeched the Grim Reaper in absolute fury. "DUST!"called Death. Not seconds after that a black raven with green eyes came flying inside the house and landed on his shoulder.,"Yes master?"croaked Dust.,"Will you watch that disgusting creature for a minute" asked Death pointing the cowering man in the corner of the room.,"With pleasure master" answered Dust before taking off to perch himself on the back of the sofa and glare at the man with evil little green eyes. Calming himself a little Death made his scythe disappear in a cloud of purple and black smoke before turning around to look a the sobbing child on the floor. Crouching next to the little boy to asses the damage done to him, Death felt his heart break at discovering that this little one was the same baby that had survive the killing curse five years ago. The kid was so small that he looked like a four years old. The child's soul was in so much pain and loneliness that he could almost feel it as if it was his own. Looking at the soul closely, Death discovered that a little piece of soul didn't belong to the child but to the evil monster that had tried to kill the little one all those years ago. That dark piece of soul was trying to hide itself from him. He put that information in the back of his head for later use.,"Hush little one, it's going to be alright now. I won't let anyone hurt you again. I promise" croon Death. He had made his decision. He will take the child with him and raise him as his own. Taking a vial of glowing green liquid from it's hidden place in his cloak he tried to coasted the boy to drink it. "Here little one, drink this it will make the pain go away" he said gently holding the boney hand with the vial in front of the child and hoping that his Reaper form wouldn't scare the little one too much. The child eyed the vial in the hand with distrust, then the orange eyes glowing under the hood before slowly reaching for it with a trembling hand. Helping the kid drink, he almost chuckled when the child's eyes widened in surprise and awe when all the pain, bruises and injuries disappeared after two seconds. "There you go no more pain" said Death putting the vial back in his cloak. "What's your name child?","H-Harry, Harry Potter" said Harry in a whisper.,"Nice to meet you Harry. Would you like to come with me? I will take you away from here" asked Death gently.,"No come back?"asked Harry with hope shining a little in his emerald eyes.,"No, you will never see them ever again and no one will bring you back here either. If anyone tries, I will stop them" reassure the Reaper waiting for the child's reply to his offer. He hopes that Harry will want to leave, because he already felt attached to the boy.,"Yes" whispered Harry.,"Yes?" repeated Death unsure he heard right.,"Yes I want to leave" confirm the child and surprising Death, lifted his arms in the air in the universal pic-me-up motion. Careful to not hurt the child (because hey! raw bones can hurt when they poke you in the wrong place), the Reaper took Harry in his arms and held him gently to his skeletal chest. It sadden him that he could feel the child's ribs from under the three time too big hand me down shirt. The absolute trust Harry display toward him to hold and protect him from harm, made the Reaper wonder what have been done to the poor child.,"I won't be long Dust" he told his partner. The raven just nodded his head. Stepping outside in the cold air Harry shivers and Death folded his wings around him to bloc the wind, since he didn't generate heat when in Reaper form. "Tell me Harry, do you like horses?"he asked.,"You have a horsey?"asked Harry.,"Yes I do. Do you want to see him?" he confirmed.,"Will he hurt me?"asked the child.,"No he won't. Despair is a very gentle horse. I just ask you not to be afraid of him" he explained. Harry looked at him questioningly."Despair doesn't look like a normal horse","He doesn't?" asked Harry curiously.,"Why don't you see for yourself?"said Death before a low whistle broke the silence of the night. Not long after a haunted neigh was heard and a circle of green flame appeared in front of them. Then what could only be described as a gray-green zombi horse came out of the flame circle. The same flame taking the place of the mane and tail. It was also surrounding it's hooves. On it's back a creepy intimidating metal saddle with chains and design of monsters skulls. All in all, had he been a normal horse he could have passed as a Clydesdale. Once he saw little Harry, Despair nickered happily in greeting and extended his nose to be petted. Which Harry did hesitantly before a big smile broke on his face.,"Your horsey is not scary but do the flames burn him?"asked Harry.,"No they're just warm. Now I want you to stay with Despair while I go have a talk with your uncle. You two can get to know each other. I won't be long" said Death while setting Harry on the ground next to the horse. While the Reaper went back into the house, Harry looked at Despair, from the ground Death's horse was titanic for a six year old. The child head only reaching the horse's front knee. As if sensing the child's thoughts Despair bent his legs and settled on the ground. That way the child wouldn't need to crane his neck to look at him. He robbed his nose gently on the child's chest as if asking to be hugged and petted. Despair could never say it, but he loves to be hugged and since normally people run away in fear when they saw him, hugs were a really rare thing. Harry smiled and did hug the zombi horse's head.,"Hi Despair, I'm Harry" said the child. The horse nickered gently and nuzzled the child's chest resulting in Harry giggling happily.,"Giggling is healthy for hatchling" croak Dust startling Harry who looked at the raven perched on Despair's saddle.,"Hello" said Harry shyly.,"Hello hatchling" croak Dust. Not long after that the Reaper came out of the house again and turned to face it. Summoning is scythe, he started to move it in intricate movements and begin to chant in the lost and forgotten language of the nephilims. He cast a curse on the family that reside in the house not taking into account Dudley since he was a child. A curse of sickness and bad omen that no one would ever be able to brake not even the strongest wizard in the world. No cure would work and they will eventually die after many years. It was a curse that he'd cast only a number of time since the beginning of man kind. Each time was recorded in history and always sparing children and adults that still had a pure soul (not that they knew that).,As he finish casting the curse he looked at his scythe sadly. It was powerful but not as much as Harvester, his first and most powerful scythe ever created. The one he had now wasn't sentient like Harvester was either. Sighing softly he made it disappear before walking back to Harry and his two partners.,"...Well you three seem to get along just fine" he stated eying the horse laying in the middle of the street with a raven on the horn of his saddle and a child happily hugging his face. Quite a thing to see if anyone happened to come to this street. Harry turned to look at him and smiled shyly before lifting his arms to be picked up. If Death could smile in this form he would have a smile of adoration has he looked at the child. Walking to the little one, he pick him up gently and held him on his hip which Harry didn't seem to mind the lack of flesh. It made Death wonder why the child was so trustful of his Reaper form and not afraid like everyone else. "Now I think it's time to leave don't you think little one?" he said. Harry just nod his head. "Alright then but first I need to change","Change?" asked Harry curiously.,"Yes I don't always look like this. This is just the form I take to scare bad people like your Uncle" explained the Reaper.,"Really?"his only answer was a nod before Death started to glow. Once the glow disappeared, a 7 foot tall Nephilim stood holding the child in it's place. He was slim but muscular with deadly pale skin and long midnight black colored hair that floated in the cold wind. A dark purple cloak was draped across his shoulder and he quickly wrapped it around the child. "I like your mask" said Harry sleepily before snuggling on Death's warm shoulder and falling asleep right after. Chuckling the Reaper mounted his horse and placed Harry in front of him. Securely wrapping an arm around the child's waist so he wouldn't fall, they disappeared through a portal leaving behind a cursed family, a burned circle in the middle of the street and Despair hooves tracks.,No one would ever find out what happened that night and the wizarding world won't heard from their missing savior again until five years later.

A/N: This is going to be a series of one-shots that can be tied together of Tsurara's time at Hogwarts. This is after the series Nurarihyon No Mago ends so it's after Rikuo defeats Nue, 2 years later in fact. It's based on the 2 seasons of the anime and then the manga. Also most importantly this is a TsuraraXRikuo pairing! Hope ya'll love it!,Disclaimer: I don't own NNM or HP.,Harry entered Hogwarts feeling the turmoil he had felt the whole summer lift. He walked down to the Griffindor table with Ron, Hermione, and Neville noticing people whisper as he passed by. Trying to make it seem as though he didn't care he continued to walk, but knew that it bothered him extremely. When the friends sat down they immediately noticed two things. One: Hagrid was missing from the staff table and Two: there seemed to be a pink toad sitting next to the Headmaster.,"Who's that?" Hermione asked sharply, pointing towards the middle of the staff table.,"It's that Umbridge woman!" replied the boy-who-lived.,"Who?" said Hermione.,"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!","Nice cardigan," said Ron, smirking.,"She works for Fudge!" Hermione repeated, frowning. "What on earth's she doing here, then?","Dunno . . .",Hermione scanned the staff table, her eyes narrowed. "No," she muttered, "no, surely not . . .",Harry didn't understand what she was talking about, but he didn't ask. The doors to the Entrance Hall opened revealing Professor McGonagall leading the first years to be sorted. They lined up in front of the staff table facing the students, watching as the Professor placed the sorting hat on the stool. The whole school waited on baited breath until the hat opened it's mouth and started it's song. After the song ended the sorting had finally begun, some of the first years looked nervous while other seemed afraid. Once they were all sorted the Headmaster finally stood up to address the school.,"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! Before the feast begins I would like to announce that this year our very own Hogwarts will be playing host to a transfer student from Japan.",As soon as those words left Dumbledore's lips the Great Hall was abuzz, everyone was speculating on the new transfer.,"Wha?", exclaimed Ron. "Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?","Seriously Ronald is that all you have to say about this? Besides the Twi-wizard Cup last year Hogwarts hasn't had foreigners in decades. And for this transfer to be from Japan? Do you not know how important that is?", exclaimed Hermione.,"What's the big idea? I don't see why this transfer coming from Japan has to be a big deal, am I right Harry?" questioned Ron. Hermione turned to Harry as well with an expectant look on her face. ,Harry thought ,All he could do was shrug because quite frankly he really had no idea what got the only girl in their group so frazzled.,"I mean sure having a transfer seems exciting and all, but I don't know why this is such a big deal either." He replied.,The bushy-haired girl rolled her eyes at the ignorance of her best friends. "Honestly boys do you not read? On second thought no don't answer that. The ,is that Japan doesn't have witches or wizards." Ron spilled the juice he was drinking while Harry stared at her in utter and complete shock. "Are you ,? What are you talking about? Of course they have witches and wizards", shouted Ron not caring that he was wet in some places. Harry stared at Hermione blankly making it quite clear that his mind couldn't comprehend what she had just stated.,"Well if you had let me finish then you would know Ronald.", scolded a very exasperated Hermione before continuing on with her lecture. "Japan doesn't have witches and wizards, at least not in the sense that we do. There are people there who have magic, but they don't use it the same way we do. It's to say that it manifest differently there than it does here. A witch needs a wand to be able use their magic, they use it as a conduit so to speak to be able to channel their magical core. In Japan that isn't the case the magic user can use their magical core without the wand acting as a conduit. Instead they channel their core to one specific ability, where as we can use our magic to do many different spells. For example, a Japanese magic user might be able to conjure and control fire without the use of a wand, but wont be able to do anything else like let's say ,. Do you get it now? They use a completely different form of magic! Think of what we can learn from them!",The brown-eyed girl practically had stars in her eyes as she continued to talk of the wonders of eastern magic. "Bloody hell! They can seriously do that? With no wand? You went bloody nutters 'mione!", exclaimed an incredulous Ron. If Harry didn't know his best friend well enough he might have not believed her as well, but he knew that she was hardly ever wrong. Still doing magic without the use of a wand? He couldn't help, but be a little skeptical. He tuned out the sound of his two best friends arguing with each other realizing that the Headmaster hadn't continued on after that announcement. It seemed as though he was letting everyone vent their thoughts for a bit.,"Yes it is rather exciting," said Dumbledore quieting down the students before continuing on, "without further ado let's welcome our new transfer student Tsurara Oikawa!",Everyone turned to the Enterance Hall where the most beautiful girl Harry had ever seen entered. The transfer was a girl with long dark blue hair and light blue highlights on the top. She had snow white porcelain skin standing at about 5ft tall with the most beautiful violet eyes he had seen, the only violet eyes he had ever seen. She was wearing the school uniform and she made it seem as though it was a gown for a ball, looking at her made him forget about all his problems including his crush Cho Chang. She walked down the Great Hall gracefully her head held high looking like a goddess come down to be worshiped by mortals like him. She finally stopped in front of the Headmaster where she gave him a bow and spoke for the first time.,"Dumbledore-Kouchou thank you for having me." Her voice sounded like bells and was soothing to hear.,"Now my dear no need for that it is I who should be thanking you. Hogwarts hasn't had a transfer student for years and to have one from the east is an extra treat indeed. I'm glad you accepted my invitation and I hope you learn many things from us as I am sure we will learn from you." replied the Headmaster with an extra twinkle in his sky-blue eyes. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the students before your sorting my dear. I'm positive that they are all dying to meet you." The transfer nodded before turning to address the school.,"Hello everyone," she started with a cheerful smile on her face before giving the Great Hall a slight bow, "My name is Tsurara Oikawa and I hope that we can all be great friends please take good care of me." After the transf-no-Tsurara had finished her short introduction the Hall erupted in whispers making it suddenly obvious to Harry that up until that point it had been completely silent.,"Wow she's so beautiful","Do you think she has a boyfriend","I hope she comes to our house" Came from as you can guess most of the , in the Hall making it rather obvious what they thought of the girl.,While most girls could be heard saying,"Is her hair really blue?","She's so pale","I don't know what the big deal is she's okay I guess so what?",thought Harry. It was clear that many were jealous and if he were a girl he would probably be too.,"Now," began Dumbledore instantly quieting the whispers once again, "let the final sorting of the night begin.","Oikawa, Tsurara" stated Professor McGonagal as she read off the parchment.,The violet-eyed girl floated happily to the stool where the Professor placed the Sorting Hat on her head. The whole Hall was silent waiting in anticipation for the Sorting Hat to make his decision. Where finally after what seemed like an eternity the hat shouted "GRIFFINDOR".,A/N: Well here it is! Hope ya'll like and please review. Now I know this chapter wasn't enough Yuki-Onna, but don't worry that will change. Please review!,means headmaster, I dont know if I put it correctly with the name, but meeehhhh who cares.,As for my No wizards in Japan explanation I don't want wizards to be all knowledgeable about Yokai and their affairs. So I thought that if Japan had a Ministry of Magic and organized witchcraft schools then it would be super hard to not know about them. My reasoning is that a witch or wizard would be considered people like Princess Yo who had the ability to heal any wound. There was also other Princesses in that arc of the series which had special abilities, so instead of having wand waving witches the east has magical people with one special ability. That way I also have enough leeway to say that if any witch or wizard crosses paths with a yokai they would pass them off as just another Japanese wizard. If the yokai happened to not be in their human form or doesn't have that ability then they would be considered another magical creature. Because that's what all magical creatures are in my view here, Yokai.

It was summer and we had summer break, of course. I stilled lived with my stupid uncles. I wanted to get away from them. I wish I had an another family to live with. Like 10000 miles from here.,I was on my room when I heard my cousin say something about a letter that was to me and they all talked about something like that or more whispered. I opened my door slowly and tried to listen to what they were saying.,I got into my room quickly when I had listened a minute. They were talking about a family that were close to my father, they had sent a letter to my uncles. And I think it was about that they wanted to take care of me. I was happy and sad at the same time. I knew that I couldn't because of my uncles, they wanted the money. I was so sad and they shouldn't say anything to my about this. I was just lucky that I had heard them whisper in the kitchen.,When I woke up had I forgot the incident that happened last day til I walked downstairs. A police were at the door and talked to my uncles, when I came they stopped talking and the police took me from them. I was in the police car and the police man said to me that people had called them and they had said that it was jail bars on a widow and that my uncles didn't treat my right. And they asked if it was so and I said yes.,I was free from them. This was the best day ever. I asked them were they were taking me, they said that they had found a family that had been close friends to my father. The policeman said that the family lived in Derry Maine. It was long from there my uncles lived.,But I was a wizard and I didn't know if they were wizards or witches, and I couldn't see my friends anymore. I was happy and sad again.,My parents said to me and my brother that a old friends son were going to live with us for a long time. And he was coming today, I didn't know how I was going to react to it. I hoped that he shouldn't sleep I my room.,I heard people walk into our house, my parents yelled for me and George to come down and meet our new friend. When I came down I saw two policemen and a boy with glasses. He looked older than me and I got little bit nervous. My mom said that I should show my room to him and we got upstairs.,- What's your name? I asked.,- Harry Potter. What's your name?,- Bill. How old are you?,- Mh, 16.,- Oh, I'm 13.,We got down to the kitchen were my parents were. Harry asked them were he could sleep and my dad said that he could sleep on the couch. But just for the first night.

A crossover fic by cbgkitten,Several years had passed since Harry had defeated Voldemort and several things had changed since then. Harry and Ginny had tried to get together after the war, but had soon realized that without the threat of war over their heads, they had not much in common and soon broke it off. They remained good friends, though, and that meant a lot to both of them. Ron and Hermione too had tried to date after the war, but still fought like crazy because of their opposite views and also broke apart. The Golden Trio were all 20 now, and lived together in Grimmauld Place with Kreacher and were all training for their separate jobs. Harry and Ron were still in Arour training and Hermione was looking to be a healer.,They had to dodge reporters like Rita Skeeter nearly everyday still, but besides that, the three were finally living the lives they wanted and without the need to constantly look over their shoulder, they were much more relaxed.,But, on the other side of the world in Kansas, the United States, a girl named DG was just waking up from another weird dream about a woman with lavender eyes saying only, 'A storm is coming'. But she had no time to ponder that right now because she was about to be late for work again and Carter would have her head. Her motorcycle roared to life and she speed off to work, getting a ticket from Officer Gluch again.,While she was doing her work and Kansas and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were hanging out at home in London, in another world, called the O.Z. the evil queen Azkadellia was talking to his soldiers, heading down to see if Lilo could see her with the Emerald of the eclipse before the double eclipse.,A few minutes later and Akkadellia was asking him if anything would get in her way and the viewer breathed out, "Lilo see nothing, but...","But, what.", Az said ina cold voice, turning from the image of the emerald in the tube to look at him.,"Lilo feels a presence, 4 glimmers of light in the darkness, lights from.. the Other Side.","The Other side?", she said, and then commanded her general to awaken a travel storm and extinguish these lights.,The man did what he was told and got 2 different travel storms, one to go to Harry and his friends in London and one to DG in Kansas and eliminate these lights.,It was late night in Kansas when the first travel storm came to DG's small farmhouse to her. The longcoats tried to get to DG, but her parents got her to the roof and the three jumped into the storm and escaped them.,On the other had, at the same time, it was the middle of the night in London and Hermione, Ron, and Harry were asleep when the travel storm full of long coats came for them. Unlike DG's parents, the three had no clue what was going on and fired several spells athe longcoats, still having the reflexes for hexing they had left from the war.,Then, Hermione got an idea and told her friends to jump into the storm to escape the longcoats. Ron and Harry look at her like she was crazy. "Do you trust me!", she called to them. Ron and Harry looked at each other, but nodded, "Then jump in!",The three grabbed each other's hands from the second story, but jumped into the storm, screaming as it carried them away from what they had always known.

James Potter and Lily Potter looked down, with love filled eyes, on their little twins. Both black haired and mostly looked like James all the way. Kinda as if they were carbon copies, Lily chuckled a bit to herself. Though one of the boys had emerald green eyes and the other must have gotten her grandfather's dark blue eyes. She at least hoped they weren't too much like their father, such a mess they would make. They named them Hadrian James Potter née Evans and Hayden Sirius Potter née Evans. All so suddenly their wards alarm goes off and the door exploded off its hinges. "Lily take the boys upstairs quick!" It all happens so fast, she gathered them quickly and ran upstairs. This would happen someday but now was way too early. She laid them in the crib and mumbled a quick spell to protect her children which in price required someone's life willingly and that she would give. Lily begged Voldemort not kill her children and but her instead, not that he would succeed in killing them. The dark lord, on a dark Halloween night, vanished as if he never was there. No one would have known if it wasn't for the raging fire and crying hiccups. The same night after the murder and Lily's sacrifice, a black greasy haired man, with billowing black cape, came running in and fell to his knees soon seen hugging the dead body of the red-haired woman he loved. Even later in the night, an old man with long beard and a half-giant picked the boys up. This old man wondered who was the one who defeated and is suppose to defeat Voldemort. He did an old spell to see whose one had the largest magical signature but it was unfortunately pretty much the same amount. He, to his own fortune, found out that Lily had used an old spell out of love and sacrifice, and he used that excuse to send them to the Dursley, Lily's relative.,The twins grew up together by the Dursley who took them so generously. Hayden turned into the protective brother role between the two. He seems to have natural skills in making great food and apparently also has the biggest appetite out of them all. Then Hayden was barely 8 he started to sneak off in the night and work with cleaning, god knows where. He brought food for both of them, mostly just for Hadrian or Hari as he called him. He did most of the chores they got listed every day by Vernon and Petunia. All in all most things were good for Hadrian at least, space may be a little cramble but they managed. What worried Hari was every time he saw the dark blue eyes look at uncle Vernon with a dead blank stare. Dead stare as in absolute no shine in them, as if the eyes had seen too much horror already. After beatings Hayden would go emotionless for a minute or two, showing off his dead eyes, Vernon hates when Hayden got like that and soon mostly stopped even coming near him. Hari could clearly see how it was getting worse by every day that went out of the window. Around 11 years old Hayden often had a periodic emotionless moment, he always told Hari not to worry. Surprise, confusion and happiness were a major on their 11th birthday, they got their Hogwarts letter. Hayden had to hide them which confused Hari but he just put a finger to his lips signalling silence. When it finally was time to turn in bed for the night Hayden and Hari read their letters and found out their wizarding heritage. Hayden couldn't decide if this was a joke or not but it sure would explain the strange going on with them sometime. In the night he sneaked out of the cupboard and got some paper to write to this McGonagall.,~Dear Headmistress. We have no idea about the wizarding world and would like some assistance. If so, could we please meet at (some random place with a park)~,Hayden yelped in surprise as the letter disappeared from his hand. He shook his head and crawled back into the cupboard. The very next day had they had gotten a reply, reading it in the night. The twins, 3 days later, meet up with this witch hand in hand and follow. They got to know about the wizarding world. Hayden and Hadrian were furious when they got know all the things they were supposed to know, also the fact they could have been with another family. "Hari we should reveal it to our uncle and aunt then we get home, they can't say any against it." Hayden wasn't sure why he believe in that but it seemed like that by already knowing about the wizarding world made them unstoppable from going to the school. The black haired pairs bought a snow white owl and a black cat with purple eyes as pets. They went to get their wands by Ollivander's (as neither Hadrian or Hayden have a scar as connection, Horcrux, neither will own the wand Harry original pursue) Hari picked as wand made of willow wood with Phoenix tear as the core, (or the wand pick him) meanwhile Hayden got catalpa wood with thestral heartstring.,"How are we suppose to find perron 9 ¾ there isn't anything named perron 9 ¾ anywhere," Hari complained but shut up as soon Hayden hushed at him. "Listen." Hayden said and pointed in a random direction between perron 9 and 10. "This way!" A red-haired woman who looked out of the modern date. She ran with 5 redheaded children hot on the heels toward the pillar. She looked around before ushering her children into the pillar and to their surprise, they got through the brick pillar. "I guess we found our way?" Hari said gulping and Hayden nodded, dryly replied. "Yeah, we did." They got through the pillar, with next to no problem as Hari refused to go alone through it but they couldn't fit together with the carts. "Let's find an empty compartment shall we Onii-chan." It had become naturally for Hayden to call Hadrian Onii-chan or Hari and soon Hari picked up after Hayden. "Yup." They nearly ran in excitement to find an empty compartment. "Think, we are away from that awful place for the most of the year," Hayden said thoughtfully, Hari nodded and sat comfortably on Hayden's lap and started to rest a little. He patted his younger brother's hair and just let him rest.,The door suddenly opened and Hari jumped awake by the rude sound. Hayden glared at whoever dared to disturb his brother like this. "Hi, can I sit here? Great thanks mate!" One of the redheads they saw before exclaimed before they even could say anything, not bothering to do anything about the rude boy, letting the redhead have a seat. "Hi, I'm Ron. Ronald Weasley." The boy introduced himself and looked kinda hopeful. "No one has yet asked you," Hayden replied before Hari could say anything and pet Hari's hair to make him relax again. He complied and leaned back and relaxed. Ron frowned and stared glom at him. It was lucky enough silence for the most of the ride. The train pulled up to the station at Hogsmeade. An excited Hayden ushered Hari to hurry up getting off the train. They soon heard someone yell 1st year. He tugged Hari to a boat and soon was joined by a blond boy and a dark-haired boy.,It was silence and they stood impatiently at the door to the Great Hall. "Onii-chan what if we don't get in the same house?" Hari whispered in a worried tone. He sighed. "Hari. I will follow you no matter what okay. I think you're the first one to go and I'll follow even if we are supposed to be at opposite houses." He took Hari's hand reassuringly they walked together toward the front where the teachers are all seated. Before they knew it Hari's name was called. "Potter, Hadrian!" Hari walked slowly up to the chair and placed the hat on his head. There was a long while before the hat finally shouted "Hufflepuff!" (because he lived another type of life and is not that brave, he feel guilty about Hayden taking all the abuse for him and stay very loyal to him.) Hari pulled himself into a chair and waited for his brother hoping he would keep his promises. "Potter, Hayden!" On cue, Hayden went up with confidence and placed the hat on his head. ^My, my what do we have here? Another complicated Potter but just even more complicated.^ 'what do you mean?' Hayden narrowed his eyes. ^You don't remember… now I could sort about anywhere by the look of your memories. Your loyalty stays very unbelievable strong with those who are near you. You are very sly and cunning, use all mean to get what you need. But that clever mind of yours could sort you in Ravenclaw. You have a very Brave side but not doing rash or stupid decision but clever and sly ones, so not Gryffindor.^ 'Hold on! I will be sorted the same as my brother no exception!' ^Are you sure Slytherin could help you on your way and Ravenclaw can give the give the acknowledge you need.^ 'I don't care, I promise I would stay by his side and I will not betray him now.' ^Alright it will be^ "Hufflepuff!" Hayden hurried to the chair and sat next to his brother, he took Hari's waiting hand and held it nearly like as if it were a lifeline. "After all I promised," Hayden whispered to himself, it sounded so much more meaningful and pained. Was the hat right? did he have more memories than he was supposed to have? Like past life? The rest got sorted, a black-haired boy named Neville was sorted in their house, a girl very obviously a Ravenclaw is sorted in Gryffindor, lastly one platinum blond got in Slytherin which was the same boy they sat together with on the boat. The students entered a staring contest as soon the food popped out from the free air on the table, Hayden truly made a show out of his black hole for a stomach, even Hari was staring at him. "Your stomach is a black void Onii-chan." Hari finally snapped out of it and chuckled. "Hmmm… At least I'm burning it off anyway." Hayden gave a smile and keep eating.,That year would be changed for some new.,It was known that Hari and Hayden slept in the same bed nearly never letting go of each other let alone left each other sides. They were always seen together and Hayden was very obviously the one they knew to be careful off since he definitely is the very protective one.,"Hey. I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy." The platinum blond Slytherin had one day decided to strike up a conversation. Hayden narrowed his eyes but let Hari take this conversation. "Uhm. Hi, I'm Hadrian, Hadrian Potter and this is my brother Hayden." Hari shy voice was barely heard. "You aren't truly a Hufflepuff, I've been watching for a short while and can tell that you don't even belong there, so I'm guessing you just wanted to be with your brother." The blond boy pointed at him. 'Oh how much I wanted to bite that finger' He thought sarcastically. "That's true but I'm one for keeping words." 'That annoying platinum blond hair and ice blue eyes remind me of November 11' He thought annoyed with an emotionless face. '… Wait… Who is November 11?' Hari stared at Hayden, it was clear he was gone again, though barely a few second later he was back Hari sighed in relief. Hayden's eyes nearly widen, he swore he had never heard of anyone named November 11 before. The annoying blonde boy keeps blabbering off. "If you stop try being your father I'm sure, I could find some alliance with you." He cut Draco off and pulled Hari to their next lesson with Ravenclaw. Draco stared flabbergasted after them but finally went to his own lesson flustered. "What was that Onii-chan?" Hari starred with curious eyes. "By his choice of words, he sounds like he is going to be his own father and not himself. He has a serious obsession with his father and forgetting that he is not his father but only himself." Hayden replied monotone. The teachers like usually tried to split them but with no such a success.,'It's getting worse, isn't it.' Hari thought and looked down with a slightly sad expression. Hayden had been staring at the mirror for around 6 minutes now. He was pretty much none responsive other than when Hari gave him a command to follow him or something else. 'It's like talking with someone who is dead or completely lost in their mind.' "Hayden follow me to breakfast down in the dining hall." There was a hidden plead in his tone, plead to wake up and come back. Hayden turned setting the dead blue eyes on him but followed no less. He held Hayden's hand to ensure nothing would happen and he still was there. He pulled his brother down in his seat and had to, sadly, order Hayden to eat something. "What's wrong with your brother?" A certain redhead spat as he stood behind the two Hufflepuff. "Nothing you should worry about," Hari mumbled and poked his food with a fork. The other Hufflepuff sensing a disturbing air around the Weasley and the twins jumped in to chase the boy off. "Ummm If I may ask? Is something wrong with Hayden?" "I don't know. This is rather usual but it does seem to get worse. It's like he is lost in his own mind and won't respond, other than when you give him a direct command. It worries me a little as it keeps getting longer." Hari worryingly explained. "Wait. Are you saying he has this often even in the past?" "Yeah." Hari nodded and got up from the table tucking his brother's sleeves.,Christmas came but the twins weren't able to buy anything as they had to save the money for food at the Dursley. For them, it was not a problem as they already had the best gifts anyway, of course, it was by sitting near the fire with hot cocoa beside each other. To their own surprise, they had gotten one gift from someone unknown, it was an invisible cloak.,"He is not himself," Hayden muttered and Hari starred with a question like expression. He took Hari's hand and they ventured to their common room. "Quirrell. He lies at nearly every word, it can be seen because he looks to the side without moving his head. He stutters but Neville stutters for real and Quirrell doesn't sound the slightest like Neville, lastly, he seems to be talking too much to himself." He explained and knocked on the painting of a tree. "You have?" Hayden nodded in to confirm. "I think we should go to the library to check out some stuff tonight. The room on the 3rd corridor is holding a dog as a guard to a trapdoor." Hadrian just nodded, sure he wasn't brave enough to go out in the middle of the night but with his brother, he could do just about anything. The clock hit 01:00 am Hayden and Hari sneaked out from the common room, under the invisible cloak, and made their way to the forbidden section, looking for Nicolas. Hell Hayden was even prepared with a spell to stop the book from reacting from being picked up without permission, but Hari didn't know that and opened a book. The book screamed and Hari jumped away in terror hitting the candlelight. Hayden grabbed Hari's wrist when he heard someone yelling and their footsteps, and ran for the first open door. They held their breath until the couldn't hear anyone. The footsteps passed and they let a relieved sigh pass their lips, panting a little. "You all right?" Hayden's concerned voice reached Hari's ears as two hands held Hari's cheeks in his hands. Hadrian nodded but pointed past his head behind him. He took a look and saw a plain boring mirror or that's what he would have thought until he saw himself, not alone. This wasn't him? it was a man who looked as if he could be an older version of himself.,The, what seems to be, older version of himself stared back at him, cold dark blue eyes. Slightly behind him was a girl with dark/black brown hair in a skintight suit, bright blue eyes but blood on her forehead made her look possible dead. She had a familiar appearance to the older one as if she was the sister of the man. The girl put her hand on his shoulder her face never changing, expressionless. Five more appeared, 2 girls and 2 boys/men, lastly a cat. One of the girls had white hair and pinkish iris, albino, she stared down at the ground but took his hand with an emotionless face, was it always like that? The other girl had fiery red hair and pale green eyes. She smiled wide at him as she held a younger boy's hand. This boy was just like the albino staring at nothing and completely emotionless. He had blond hair and grey eyes holding a bottle in his free hand. The man was the only old looking one with the face of slight sadness yet a smug smirk plastered on his face. He had brown hair and brown eyes. Lastly was the cat laying in front of them all staring with purple eyes. He looked at the suppose older version, he was wearing only black clothes. Black trousers, black shirt underneath a black coat and holding a white mask in the free hand as the albino girl was holding his right. 'What is this? Why does it seem so familiar?' Hayden snapped out of it by Hari now yelling at him to snap out of it. "I'm sorry." He nearly stumbled over his words. "Let's go and get some sleep ne?" He smiled at Hari. 'Where had he seen them before, why couldn't he damn remember!?' He wouldn't sleep well for a few nights.,Hayden knew he had been stupid when he could just have asked madam Pinche if she had any book on Nicholas Flamel. "Ummm Madam Pinche? Do you have anything on Nicholas Flamel?" She brought her sharp gaze on him but nodded no less, she went to some shelves to retrieve a book. "This does briefly mention the most important part of Nicholas." "Thank you so much, Madam!" She nodded going back to what she was previously doing. 'I'm truly stupid. Going to the forbidden section without asking Madam Pinche first if had a book.' Hayden shook his head of his stupidity. Opening the book and scanned the list of titles and stopped at Nicholas Flamel. 'Page 207' Flipping the pages over until he hit 207. "So he is an old man, around 500 hundred years old. Hmmm. Ah, he made the philosopher's stone, it's a wild but good guess of what is hidden on the 3rd floor. Thanks, Madam Pinche." He said shutting the book and put it on her desk. 'Now let's find Onii-chan.' He took a few shortcut to the Hufflepuff common room, going up the stairs toward their bedroom. "Hi, Hari. Wakey." Hayden muttered close to his brother's ear. Hari mumbled something unintelligible. "What." He rubbed his eyes tired. "Well, it's time to go for the three-headed dog Onii-chan." Hari nodded and pulled himself out from the bed slowly. "Slowpoke." The blue-eyed boy chuckled and tugged Hari with him as soon he got up from the bed, Hari yelped. "Hei!" Hari stumbled right into his back. "What's wrong?" The blank stare of the usual worryingly emotionless state. "Onii-chan?" He gulped. "No, it's fine to call me Hei." Hayden uttered, snapping out of it and continue tugging Hari along. "Where are we going Hei?" Emerald eyes peaked at him questionably. "I said we are going to the three-headed dog sleepy head." He snickered, Hadrian could be cute sometimes. He just wishes he could stop being so protective of him as to give him a little freedom.,The twins sneaked off to the 3 headed dog and down through the trapdoor. They landed on the somewhat soft ground only to realise it was plants. "Plants?" Hei muttered to himself, his head snapped up when he heard Hari shriek. 'It's wrapping around him! What is it? it seems painful.' He was getting a little hysteric. 'Devil snare!' "Hari! be still or it will kill you!" It didn't seem to reach him. 'No no no, sit still. He won't call down! Devil snare, how do you counter it.' A painful minute went by. 'Sunlight!' "Lumos Solem!" Bright light filled the room but a certain spot was exposed and the snare pulled away releasing Hadrian. He went down after Hari. 'I've noticed. The snare didn't touch me why?' They caught their breath. "Weird it completely ignored me." He mouthed his thoughts. "It did?" Hei nodded and stumbled onto his feets again. He soon clutched Hari's hand in his right and opened the door to the next challenge. "Promise me you listen to what I say next time okay." Hari nodded in promise. They found them self on a chessboard, which nearly killed them going through the game. They were lucky enough with the next one as it was a sleeping troll, sneaking past it and to the next door. A table with vials on it and a piece of paper. "A riddle, definitely Snape's work." Hari mumbled in sarcasm. "You don't say." Hei replied with fake shocked face and a hand to his heart. Hari laughed at his antic. The black haired pair read the riddle and by pure luck found the right one and took a snip of the vial going through the flames. Once again Hayden and Hadrian found them self in front of the mirror. The emerald-eyed saw himself with the philosopher's stone this time but Hei, on the other hand, saw the familiar brown haired girl once again. She held a round object which seems to belong to a telescope, she stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear while slipping the licence in his breast pocket. It was soon forgotten when Quirrell started demanding them to get the stone from the mirror. Hari looked in a split second in Hayden's eyes, Hei noticed the horror in his eyes.,Hei grabbed Hari's wrist and made a run for it but they were unfortunately stopped by fire surrounding them. Quirrell fired a killing curse at him but just as it hit him, he lit up like a morning star just with a blue aura instead. A spreading sapphire bubble absorbed them, everything was white for a moment. Suddenly everything changed to darkness like the night sky and stars appeared. The three shone bright and clear in the darkness. The twins starred at Quirrell as he turned into a child yelling "Look there is mommy! Thank you!" The childish voice echoed. "What? What do you mean?" Hayden was gobsmacked and confused "I never got to see mommy, dad would never let me." The mini Quirrell took the hand of the gentle black haired woman. Hayden felt the dread in his stomach. 'This has happened before. He just died.' He had no idea where the thoughts came from but it explained the dread. He hugged Hari close afraid he could lose him. The Stars and darkness faded and Hei fell unconscious, exhausted, and of course, Hari was worried. It wasn't long lived as a screaming ghost-like thing went straight through him.,In the afternoon Hayden woke up in a hospital bed ~Flashback~ ,~End~ He wanted to get out of this bed for reasons. The dream, Memories? wasn't nice and creeped him out. He rose from his bed noticing his brother asleep beside him. He decided to pack the dream into a corner of his mind, slipping in the bed with his brother, hugging him close. The twins woke up by Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore standing by "their" bed, they were talking rather loudly. "Ah, I see you two are awake." Madam Pomfrey looked like she wanted nothing more than to strangle the old man. Hayden would do everything in the world to see that, he had bad feelings about this man and he swears he remember him from somewhere. Hari asked about the Philosopher's stone and got a blatant lie that Hei saw through. Later, on the same day, with a little more sleeping they were finally released from their bed and went to the "End of the school year celebration."

Harry Potter was not usually the type of person to wake up in the mornings grumpy and tired. Granted, his Aunt Petunia almost always woke him up screaming and rapping against the door of the cupboard under the stairs, so perhaps he'd have a better reason than most to do so. Even so, however, when it was time to rise from the welcome, soft blanket of slumber, he would make no complaints, sit up on the hard floor, brush the various spiders and other bugs off him, and crawl out of it with relative wakefulness. It was something one picked up after spending seven years living with the Dursleys: if one doesn't get up fully prepared for the long day ahead, one's workload will likely increase tenfold. Therefore, when he had a large amount of trouble even moving his legs and arms that morning, nobody was more surprised or annoyed than he was.,"WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG TO GET OUT OF THAT CUPBOARD, BOY?" roared Vernon, up early for once and reclining on his favorite seat in the living room, watching the morning news. "YOUR AUNT HAS ALREADY CALLED YOU THREE TIMES! SHOW HER THE RESPECT SHE DESERVES!","I would," Harry called back rather painfully and in a much quieter voice, "if I could actually move myself out of there. My limbs don't seem to want to do what I'm telling them to. I feel... kind of sick.",The moment the words left his mouth, he knew that it was only a half-truth. He , feel sick, but not feverish; his body felt weak and heavy, like something was attempting to squeeze the life out of him. His eyes were still a bit blurry from sleep, though, so he couldn't quite see whether Dudley had discovered some new way to prank him, or something. Straining as best he could against the exhaustion that had nothing to do from a lack of sleep, Harry struggled to his knees and tried to push open the cupboard door. It didn't budge, however, and a sense of panic started to well up in the eight year old boy. If he didn't get out of this cupboard, the Dursleys wouldn't bother to come open it for him, and he'd remain there indefinitely.,Harry's blood pulsed through his body, his heart beat increasingly rapidly, and without even fully understanding what he was doing, he slammed his fist forward into the door in a massive punch.,It flew open and the hinges screeched. Harry stared; he'd nearly punched it off its hinges.,Petunia's head stretched in from the left, and the woman with the longest neck on Privet Drive frowned in at him. "Treat our house carefully, boy, or you're cleaning it up!","I clean it up even if it's not , treating it without care," Harry pointed out, and his aunt pompously ignored him. Petunia's head slid back out of view and she went off to whatever it was she'd been doing before, leaving Harry to blink rapidly at his fist. How , he punched the door hard enough for it to nearly fly off its hinges? He'd always been scrawny and quite weak.,Harry, never one to let a random gift remain untaken, army-crawled as quickly as he could out of the cupboard, his body sweating unnaturally. He then maneuvered to the kitchen over the spotless, green-and-white floor, which he'd spent an hour sweeping it entirely clean of any dust and grime. Once there, the lightning-scarred boy reached up to grasp a handle on one of the drawers beneath the counter, and used this to pull himself up to a stand. His legs groaned at the effort of holding him up, but he didn't fall, which was nice. Harry rather liked a healthy amount of distance between his face and the floor.,This done, Harry set to work on that morning's bacon and eggs, his remarkably empty stomach rumbling at the raw ingredients as he prepared them.,Making breakfast passed without incident, although his exhaustion did not go away at all. This was strange, he thought, especially since he'd actually gotten nine hours of sleep the previous night. He should have, by all accounts, been wide awake. But his body was still sluggish, like he was trying to move it through a swamp instead of air.,It was at the end of breakfast when things really started to turn south.,Vernon hummed over the paper which Harry had retrieved after frying the bacon, examining the front page with a raised eyebrow. "Lots of mysterious deaths in Cairo," he observed, sipping his morning coffee. "Officers reported that all the blood from the victims had been drained entirely from their bodies. Weird marks on their necks, too. No idea what the cause of death is, although due to the large number of incidents as well as an increase in missing persons these past few years, they suspect foul play.","Terrible, truly terrible," hummed Petunia, who did not sound sympathetic at all. "You know, Mrs. Johnson just down the street was telling me yesterday that it's likely someone mad at their Prime Minister. Said he's been doing an awful job, and that they should've seen this coming.","It doesn't sound like someone mad at the Prime Minister to me," said Harry without thinking. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley all stared at him, and he desperately wished he could shrink down into his chair. "Er, ah... it sounds like... a...",He trailed off. He'd been about to say ,, but the Dursleys would've been furious.,"Um, nothing," he finished weakly, poking at his small plate of scrambled eggs (he hadn't been allowed bacon).,"I should think so," said Vernon, with a deep frown. He tilted his coffee mug back further, paused, then slammed it back on the table. Harry jumped. "FREAK! Go get me another cup of coffee.",With a quiet, "Yes sir," Harry reached over to grab Vernon's cup. He made to stand up... but he'd barely risen at all before his knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor. The mug, unfortunately, tumbled out of his hands and shattered.,Dudley's eyes widened. "You've done it now, Potter!" he said gleefully.,"BOY!" Vernon was furious. Eyes wide and dilated, he looked rather like a bull about to barrel at some poor sap who'd fallen off of its back. "YOU BROKE MY FAVORITE MUG! HOW DARE YOU!",Cold shivers ran down Harry's spine. "I-I-I'm sorry," he mumbled, staring in horror at the shards of porcelain scattered around his face. One had nearly lodged itself in his right eye, which was now pressed against the floor, but had missed by several centimeters. "I didn't mean to. I'll clean it up...",He tried to get to his feet, pushed against the floor with all his strength, but he wouldn't move.,"I... I feel really sick..." He moaned, his vision swimming.,"Sick... SICK!?" Vernon bellowed. In his anger, he smashed his fist against the table so hard the wood groaned and sounded like it might have cracked. "DON'T THINK SOMETHING LIKE BEING SICK IS EXCUSE FOR THIS, FREAK! GET TO YOUR FEET AND SWEEP IT UP! THEN YOU AND YOUR AUNT ARE GOING TO THE STORE RIGHT AFTER BREAKFAST, SO YOU CAN BUY ME A NEW MUG!","I... I can't get up... and I don't ,...","Can't get up?" repeated Petunia, and... was that a hint of concern in her voice? "Are you sure?","My body won't move...","Don't believe his crap," Vernon spat, glaring contemptuously at the pitiful form unmoving on the floor. "He's just trying to shirk his work.","Vernon, he's never complained about not being able to move before," Petunia pointed out. "And he said he felt sick earlier. What if there's actually something wrong? He might need to go to the hospital, and if we just let him... ,..." Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper, so quiet that neither Harry nor Dudley could hear, ",know, and they won't be happy.",Vernon's face closely resembled a strawberry for several seconds. In fact, his whole body was turning a unique shade of red specific to that fruit. Just when Harry was wondering whether the pudgy man was trying to transform himself into one, Vernon sighed and growled, "Fine. You take him in for a check-up while I go to work. But we're not getting him treatment for anything more than life-threatening.","Of course not," Petunia agreed, some small amount of relief settling in her stomach.,That day, it was discovered that Harry James Potter had come down with a mysterious, as-yet-undiscovered sickness that none of the doctors at the hospital knew how to treat. For many days and nights, he was kept under careful watch, and when the doctors asked why he was so very small and skinny for his age ("Almost like he was malnourished," several of them insisted), the Dursleys responded only that he was a very light and picky eater. Finally, though, after fifty five long days, Harry Potter woke up in his hospital bed as good as new. Better, in fact, since he'd been given enough food for a month and a half to actually function at full potential.,And none of them - doctors, Dursleys, or even Harry himself - saw the burly boy with the yellow skin and pink hair, with large muscles and white gloves covering his fists, who had been squeezing him in what amounted to a deadly tight hug for the previous month and a half, and who had mysteriously vanished on the fifty-fifth day.,-,-,Roundabout,Harry Potter,?

The Lost Mermaid,Hermione always knew she was adopted in her fourth year she found out her father was a pure blood descended from mermaids and her mother a mermaid princess from,the dark sea. However when her friends find out they break the friendship in disgust. Hermione (Harmony) is hungry for revenge wills she go to the dark side because of her in heritage or will she stand by her belief,Hermione was flipping through a random book on a shelf in the Hogwarts library when she saw a piece of parchment in the trashcan. She picked it up and saw the heritage,that must have been hers. Syreni are a rare type of mermaids their voices are beautiful, enchanting and can move the sad ones. There are known as the seven pearls.,Each pearl was a different color. The most powerful Syreni was the orange mermaid Sara. She looked there was a picture. She looked beautiful. She had an orange tail and,a bracelet on her left arm. Her hair was orange and so were her eyes. She touched the picture. Unseen wind swept her hair and touched her locks. A bright white light flashed between her eyes. She collapsed on the ground.,Sara woke up. Her daughter was alive and well the daughter she believed was dead.

Welcome!,I'm having a go at a horror crossover story! A Harry Potter crossed over with Friday the 13th, with a few changes to the Friday the 13th side of things.,: She had put up with so much, all the pain, the torment, but now? Hehehe, the perfect moment was here and as the saying goes, watch out for the quiet ones.,Now, first things first. I have no clue as to what Jason's condition is! So, instead of being born with whatever it was he was born with. I'm changing it so that he had an accident as a child that left the right side of his face scarred and slightly melted, like say an accident with fire perhaps.,Also, I'm messing with the Timelines but it's gonna go something like this.,- Jason drowns and Rose Potter is born at the end of the school year, her parents just entering their twenties and leaving Hogwarts. (Stupid Teens forgot to use protection!),- Rose is 10 when the Dark Lord attacks and is 'defeated' by her 1-year-old brother Hector, who was then called The-Boy-Who-Lived while Rose is left forgotten. A Month later Rose is sent to live with the Dursleys, she is later treated as a slave by the family.,As you can see I'm moving the timeline forward to the 2000's zone, makes things easier on me and my brain. I'm also sticking with calling the camp 'Camp Crystal Lake' since it's easier for me and my plot. And another thing, since I'm unsure about Jason's height I'm putting him at 7'0".,Also, sorry if the chapter is all over the place this is technicly my first horror based story.,I do NOT own Harry Potter or Friday the 13th, just any Oc's I make and my story idea!,Off we go!,Chapter 1: The Camp,It was a casual day at Camp Crystal Lake, the summer was fast approaching and the children and teenagers were coming out to play. But for now, one of the camp homes was being rented out for 2 weeks by a family.,Said family was just pulling into the camp towing a trailer with it, the car came to a stop and parked up. The door then opened up on the driver's side letting out a rather, large, man who honestly resembled a beached whale.,"Here we are, let's hope this godforsaken trip we won is worth it," The large man known as Vernon Dursley said with a huff as his horse-er, wife got out.,"Don't worry, we won't be here long dear," Petunia Dursley said as she moved and helped her son or rather a mini-whale out of the car.,"When are we going to eat? I'm starving!" Dudley said as his mother patted his clothing down.,"We'll be eating soon dear, why don't you go inside and look around?" Petunia said making Dudley whine before running on ahead as Vernon unlocked the door and went inside.,So, a nice family? Well, there is one other person. Said person was just getting out of the car, this person was way different than the Dursleys.,The person was female but it was kinda hard to tell with the baggy clothing she wore, which consisted of a grey hoodie that hides her face. She had on a pair of blue pants and brown shoes, she also had a black belt. Her height was also a real eye catcher, she stood at a height of 6'7". She tilted her head as Petunia turned to her.,"Well? What are you waiting for? Get the luggage inside! Now! Or else," Petunia said in a commanding and nasty tone before heading inside herself.,If she had turned around she would have seen the figure tighten her hands into fists, she shook for a second before relaxing with a huff. She then went to the back of the car to get the luggage as told, hopefully, it would keep the harpy off her back at least for a bit.,Once the stuff was moved inside and dinner was made The Dursleys sat down to eat while the figure took her chance to slip away, she went outside and looked around at the empty cabins for a few minutes.,She then decided to enter one thanks to the owner of the camp giving her a skeleton key for emergencies and because while the Dursleys had been busy, the manager had offered her a job at the camp as a caretaker up until they left. The main reason why he had offered her the job was because A. The place was in need of one badly and B. He was sure the Dursleys would trash the place mostly Dudley.,She chuckled a bit at the memory before closing the door behind her and went into the living room, looking around she spotted a mirror over a fireplace walking over the figure reached up and slowly pulled her hood down.,This showed her pale skin to the world, skin that was marked with scars slightly darker than her pale skin. Her scarlet red hair reached her shoulders but was in a braid, her emerald green eyes stared back at her as she reached up and gently touched her scared face.,Her name was Rose Pandoria, well, she wasn't sure what her last name was since she couldn't remember it. But she knew that it began with a P so she made up her last name, heck she couldn't even remember when her birthday was.,She had no memories from before the age of 10 before that was nothing just a big blank slate. All she could remember at age 10 was muffled noises, pain, then waking up in the Dursleys home apparently Petunia was her 'Auntie'.,But she could faintly remember other things, like a black shaggy dog and a big wolf but that was about it. She sighs taking her hoodie off to show her muscular build with a smooth but feminine six-pack from her years of the boxing club, her chest was big around a D-cup which to be honest annoyed her at times so she used both a bra and wraps to keep it under control.,She then looked at her hands, a small smile appeared as sparks of magic danced across her skin. Turns out she was a witch, it wasn't until she turned 11-years-old that she discovered this or rather a fellow witch and boxing club member discovered and told her.,She later introduced Rose to the magical side of the world with her family, under the Dursley's nose's mind you, it was also where Rose started to get some answers as for why she couldn't remember anything before the age of 10.,After meeting the Goblins and making an account it was discovered that Rose was from a wizarding family in England but the blood test used to help make her vault had the words burnt out, this meant she had been cast out of the family.,She had according to the blood test she had been the oldest of the family but was replaced by her younger brother as heir, another shock learning she had a sibling but also angry at how sexist it sounded. Really? Cast her out cause the family now had a male heir?! Really!?,Shaking her head Rose remembered her boxing friend going into a full-blown rant before convincing her family to adopted Rose as her cousin, which worked and became one of the happier days of her life.,Rose looked back up at the mirror wincing slightly at her face, she had gotten them when she turned 14. It had been a normal day of her slaving away and making the Durley's dinner when Petunia had come into the kitchen, at the time she had a mini-breakdown after having a bottle of strong wine to celebrate her husband's promotion at work.,She had taken one look at Rose before flying into a fury and grabbing the nearest kitchen knife and began to slash and cut at Rose's face, Rose could still remember the pain and the taste of blood as her Aunt cut her up. How her Aunt yelled about her having her sister's good for nothing beauty and how she didn't deserve it.,It was only thanks to the neighbors that Petunia didn't kill her, they had heard Rose's screams and Petunia's yelling and rushed in to help. The police got called in and Rose was taken to the hospital, the event was later put down to a 'drunken rage' and Petunia was held in custody until her breakdown was over.,Sadly there was nothing that could be done to take Rose out of the Dursleys care due to there being no evidence of previous abuse, though the family was put under close watch which Rose was thankful for.,Still, the scars had been a major blow to her self-confidence, this lead to her wearing hoodies and baggy clothing. Though the scaring finally got rid of the thunderbolt scar she had, mostly due to a combination of a Japanese cleansing ritual by the goblins to rid her of a pesky soul shard and the surgery to save her face.,She sighs lowering her hands and licking her lips as she noticed the sun setting, the Dursleys would be heading to bed now. No doubt they've locked her out, which was fine she could sleep here tonight.,(,),Shaking her head Rose sighs running a hand through her hair before speaking, her voice was quiet since she didn't use it that much.,"I best get some sleep, it's going to be a long two weeks," Rose said as she turned and made her way towards one of the rooms.,She was going to need all the sleep she could get, even if it was only a little bit.,Rose twitched as she stood in the kitchen making food, she was right when it was going to be a long two weeks! Her head pounded as she paused in her work, right now the Dursleys were out by the lake giving her time to think.,She sighs putting the knife she was holding down, she was nearing the end of her rope she really was. It was getting harder and harder to control herself and her magic from killing them, not like she had been tempted before.,Oh, how she had been tempted just to take a knife and slit Petunia's voice box or stabbing Vernon in the head. But no, she knew it would only get her in trouble. But now though, it was just them at camp all alone it was so tempting.,She glanced down at the knife beside her, fresh blood from cutting a steak stuck to it. She felt a rush an unknown thrill fill her body, the adrenaline making her hands shake a bit before she steadied herself.,',' Rose thought remembering her last-minute talk with her cousin.,It was true, thankfully her cousin understood why and said if she didn't return in two weeks or more then she'd hunt her down to help hide the bodies. Her cousin while strange was the best cousin she could ask for! Sadly the same could not be said for Dudley who had just fallen into the lake which made Rose chuckle.,Steeling herself she picked up the knife and got back to cutting, she had all night to think it over. Like where she could hide the bodies afterward.,"Freak! Get the dinner finished!" Vernon yelled as he stepped inside while Dudley ran past to the bathroom to get dry.,Rose bit her lip to stop herself from growling as her heart rate picked up, she needed to stay calm. She needed to control her magic, it was dangerously close to lashing out.,"Hurry up you ungrateful brat, after making dinner the firewood needs restocking and the trash needs taking out," Petunia said as she listed off the jobs for Rose to do.,Rose gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes, her back still towards her uncle and aunt as they sat at the dinner table. Her pulse was racing as she felt something build up inside her, dark thoughts swirled in her head as her grip tightens on the knife she held.,The last straw came when Dudley ran past and shoved her making the knife she held cut her own hand, he laughed at her before going to his parents as they praised him for putting the freak in her place.,Unseen by them Rose's eyes snapped open, no longer where they emerald green but blood red. Her pupils were slitted like cat eyes with a bit of yellow around them, her lips move into a snarl. (,),That was it, the Dursleys were going to die tonight! She was done being the slave of the family, all of her planning and waiting was over.,Smirking she was glad to have her hood up as she finished cutting the meat and put it to cook, she then reached into her hoodie pocket as she moved and made three drinks. She then pulled out six sleeping pills, unscrewing them she put two in each drink and stirred them in.,She had found them in Petunia's luggage, she had taken some to help her sleep in the new place but now though she had other uses for them.,Tonight would be the Dursleys last night alive and it would the start of her freedom. Besides, the Dursleys forgot a little saying she had heard on TV.,"You should have watched out for the quiet ones," Rose whispered to herself as she finished making dinner and took it over to the Dursleys.,She then went to clean the kitchen all the while planning how she was going to kill them, stabbing? Slicing? Drowning? Burning? So much to choose from, so little time.,Rose grins as an hour after dinner she heard three thumps from the bedrooms, it was time. Walking over she entered Dudley's room first to see him in his PJ's he was also eating a chocolate bar that he snuck in, she shook her head and when the grab him when something caught her eyes. Looking over she saw something red, walking over she knelt down and moved some blankets aside in the closet to show a mask.,It was a hockey mask, the bottom bit was slightly pointed. The eye holes had mesh across them, most likely for added eye protection. A previous tenant must have left it behind or it could have been a Halloween prop, humming Rose pulled her hood down and put the mask on. She grins when it fit snuggly on her face, almost like it belonged there. (,),Getting up she went back to Dudley and reached down and grabbed his arms she then began to pull him out of his room and out of the cabin, she managed to get Dudley into the barn and tied him up before going back inside. She went into the bedroom Petunia and Vernon was using, only to see them both half naked making her give a noise of disgust.,After a few minutes of struggling she managed to get Vernon into the barn before carrying Petunia in, she tied them both up and made sure to duck tape on their mouths.,"That should do it, now, where was that axe I saw on the way in?" Rose muttered as she moved away and began to look around the barn.,She was so going to enjoy this, 8 years of payback was about to begin.,In the next chapter! Hahaha! Gotcha with a cliffhanger!,Again, sorry if Rose is all over the place with her thoughts and personality this is mainly an introduction chapter and her 'snapping' in a way.,In the next chapter, Rose has some 'heart to heart' with her relatives.,Until then, Saberbladeprime signing out!

Harry sighed as he locked his office door. He was tired of working, but as he left the office he quickly found a dark alley and apparated away, unaware of a blonde that was following him. The same blonde who had been following him for a week. Once Harry reappeared in his home, he let the glamour fall off his hair, which made the glasses disappear. Harry knew he was an attractive young man, his list of sexual conquests attested to his attractiveness. However he also liked to use his effeminate looks in the club as a sub, it had helped him bag a few good Doms, but none of them stayed for very long. Sighing once more as the man changed his clothes, with Exilio in mind, it was his favorite club. He could let loose there, since none of his co-workers would recognize him without the glamour on.,Harry apparated a block down from the club, and after checking he stepped out into the crowd and made his way towards Exilio, unaware of the blonde who followed five feet behind him. Harry couldn't help but feel up beat when he noticed the club was having a latin pop theme, it would give him the perfect chance to let off some sexual tension through dance and help him find a partner.,The bodygaurd waved him forward, "Hey beauty, haven't seen you in a while. Thought maybe you'd found another place to be.",Harry just chuckled and shrugged. "Nothing so exciting Raz, got buried with paperwork. But i've come to party, is it super full?",The larger man shook his head. "Nah, we are having a "theme" night and it's just started.","Brilliant! I'll see you later, hopefully i don't need a lift." Harry joked as he headed inside.,Harry disappeared into the darkened room, but he could see that the dance floor was packed and he couldn't wait to get out there and move with the flow. He ordered a quick shot before going to catch the first song of the night. He had so much fun with a group of ladies when La Mamba came on that he exited the floor after to grab a drink since the next song was a rumba and he didn't have a partner. Harry left the girls at the bar and planted himself close to the dance floor, promising that if another rumba came on he would go out and hopefully someone would like to dance with him.,Rusty watched the Dark haired young man laugh with the group of women, he couldn't help but stare at the effeminate beauty of the man that had caught his attention a week ago after saving his life. Although the glasses were gone and his hair was long again, he'd recognize the man anywhere. He was going to get a dance in with the gorgeous man, which was why he'd requested the next rumba, so that he could drag the boy out and woo him into some sort of relationship.,Rusty made his way onto the floor, just as Harry stepped in. Making his way over, he quickly snatched the mans hand in his. "Be my partner, little one?",Harry bit his lip, "Yes, sir",The answer was almost automatic, and it sounded wonderful to Rusty, who tightened his grip a bit before twirling Harry. It took the younger man a moment to catch up as he moved with the Alpha in front of him. But he caught on and started the chase in earnest, teasing the blonde before "running away", not that he got far before the man pulled back with a set of spins and dips. Harry didn't let that sway him as he answered the mans flirty dancing with his own, making sure that his steps matched with the blondes perfectly. He could feel the lust and want swell up in him, but he kept it bottled, only allowing it to show in his eyes as he kept as much eye-contact as he could.,Rusty groaned as Harry twirled away, working his hips almost sexually before they met up again. However it was the look of want and need in the younger mans eyes that pulled the con in. He was more thankful for Danny's latest heist than ever. The music came to an end and Harry almost ran from the dance floor, leaving the man to stare after him like a predator.,Harry nearly slammed into the bar, "Can i get a Maker's Mark old fashion, please?",The bartender acknowledged him and Harry sighed. Good grief could that man dance, if he met him again on the dance floor, he'd probably go home with the blonde.,"Here ya go love," The bartender smiled, before moving on.,Harry took a heavy drink from the cup before moving to survey the room, he noticed absently that the blonde was nowhere to be seen, which was probably a good thing. So he moved to hover next to the floor, he wanted one more dance before he called it a night. No one besides the blonde had caught his attention, especially enough for him to respond submissively. Swaying with the rhythm that flowed from the music, Harry hummed to himself before finishing his drink. When he went to put it down, he felt someone snatch it from him.,"Hey!" Harry whirled around, before he caught sight of blonde.,"I figured you were done with that beautiful. Would you like another, i'll buy it for you." The man asked, as he stepped closer to Harry.,For all his training, he couldn't help but step away from the man who was pursuing him. Rusty took that as an invitation and herded the younger man onto the dance floor. Harry tried to protest, but Rusty just pulled him close and nuzzled into the dark hair.,"Once more dance, little one. You left to soon earlier." The deeper voice flowed like sex into his brain.,"I needed to cool down." Harry sighed as he followed the Kizomba.,Molding his body to the blondes, while they rolled their hips together and away, moving around each other like water and oil. Harry was so concentrated on flirting through his dance, that he didn't realize that people stopped to watch the sexual dance between the two men. Rusty focused on leading the ravenette while staring at him, he wanted this alluring man in his bed, and he would get him.,Harry was panting softly by the time the song ended and he let Rusty lead him over to a table, where a new batch of drinks were waiting for them. "What are you doing after this lovely?",Jade eyes took in the blonde that was leaning into his space, "Going home, love. I plan on a long bath and then to bed. Why, was there something else you had in mind?",Rusty just chuckled. "You've barely drank tonight, we can't let your night end with just two drinks. Why don't you join me for drinks at my place?",Harry stopped to think of it, "Where is this place of yours?","The Claridge?",The ravenette just snickered, "That's a lot closer than where i live.","Yes, i know.",Harry just stared at the blonde. "How? Do we know each other?","We've met before, in case you've forgotten. Danny introduced us during the bank job.",The memories came in a flood and Harry turned a bright shade of red, he was insanely grateful for the night, that would hide his embarrassment. "Ah yes, i remember you. What are you doing in London? Is Danny here?",Rusty felt a rush of jealousy for a moment, before he forced himself to calm down. "No, Danny's gone already. We just finished a job and i thought i might find you around here.",Harry chuckled, "What, did you stalk me?",Rusty chuckled with him. "Not at all, I've been coming to this club for the last few nights.",Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that, so he shrugged it off. "Well, lead me to your place then, Rusty.",A shiver traveled down the blondes back as Harry breathed his name. "This way."

It's 1993 in British Wizardry. Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban.,Everywhere, Aurors search for him. The wizardhunt is on. He couldn't have gone far...or, so they think. They think they've got a lead on someone in Chicago, United States...,Dawlish and Shaklebolt appear in a fancy Chicago neighborhood at nighttime. As they prowl around, it becomes apparent there's a light on in the house. Alas, they can't see through the window. Its sashes are translucent.,They orbit the house, casting enchantments. Muggles will not bother them as they make this major bust.,They burst into the house, and swoop down the hallways. They break into the room where the light shines. They break into the room WITHIN the room where the light shines. They pull back the curtain behind which Black is hiding...,A naked blonde teenager, Karen Smith, is showering. Confused, she looks around. She sees the two robed men, staring at her. She screams.,Shaklebolt covers his ears. Dawlish points his wand at her, and scratches his scalp.,"You're not Black," Dawlish gawks.,"Oh my god," Karen tells them, "you can't just barge into people's showers and tell them they're not black!"

There was once a beautiful and magic kingdom called Gold Crown. It was filled with many beautiful forests, high sculpted mountains, winding silvery rivers, and dense forests.,The people were very cultured there and adored one thing above all: dancing. There were many festivals in which the people would preform their best dances and ballets before the rulers.,The one who wrote the best ballets was a man named Albus Dumbledore. No one quite knew why, but many of the tales he wrote had such a ring of truth to them that they resonated with the people. He was lauded for his work.,The kingdom was ruled in alliance by the good King Arthur in the North and the wise Queen Lily in the South. Sadly, it had never been bound by blood, and the alliance had been made by King James (Lily's deceased husband) and King Arthur long ago.,But that was all about to change.,Arthur and Lily had cooked up quite a scheme—to wed their unwilling children! It was so perfect, they would bring them together every summer in hopes they would fall in love!,In Lily's castle, Lily and Harry awaited Arthur and Ginny's arrival.,"Hehehe, oh, here they come, hee!" Lupin said, smiling.,"Dear Lily, as lovely as ever." Arthur said to her.,"And who might this strapping young man be? Young Prince Harry, no doubt." Arthur said.,"Welcome to our fair kingdom, dear Arthur. And to you, young princess. Go on, Harry." Lily chuckled. "Dear, go on…","Mother!" Harry said.,"Harry!" Lily said.,"Hello, Princess Ginevra. I'm very pleased to meet you." Harry choked out.,Harry was eleven years old. He had shaggy dark hair, bright green eyes, and pale skin. He bowed to the princess, but was not happy to meet her at all. He could be outside, learning to swordfight or firing his bow, not inside with this, this—,"Pleased to meet you, Prince Harry." Ginny rolled her eyes as she curtsied.,Her tiny hands were balled into fists. Ginny had long straight ebony locks. She had bright brown eyes and caramel skin. Her mother had been very beautiful before her untimely death.,Their parents, his father, her mother, had died the same way. The evil sorcerer Voldemort had destroyed them. Ginny's mother had died the day she was born.,For a moment Harry gazed into her eyes, seeing the loneliness mirrored there. For a moment...then...,"Yuck!" Harry said. "I'm going to swordfight with Ron!","Harry!" Lily shouted moving to go after him.,"No." Ginny said imperiously. "I think its time I teach Prince Harry a lesson.",She drew the blade Excalibur hidden at her waist and strode outside.,"One match. If you win, I will leave and never return. If I win, you have to teach me how to fight like a man." Ginny said.,"No problem. You'll lose, princess." Harry said.,"Alright you two. Go!" Ron said.,Ginny struck faster than a cobra, and Harry's sword flew through the air, striking the center of the target behind him.,"I'm also fairly good with a bow. Don't ever underestimate a woman, prince.","Well she's certainly...something." Arthur laughed. "Quite a match, wouldn't you agree, Lily, dear.","Yes well, my son had it coming." Lily said. "He should have known. I hope Ginny comes around. She would be good for him.","And for our plan," Arthur said. "A marital alliance.",A few years later, in Arthur castle, Arthur was trying to get Ginny ready.,"Good heavens, child, don't dawdle," Arthur said. "We can't keep Harry waiting.",Ginny sheathed her sword and put her bow over her shoulder. "This year I'm going to learn martial arts. Harry has an excellent tutor, and he's great at teaching me. This arrangement is perfect.",In Lily's castle, in Harry's Room Lily was urging Harry to get ready.,"She soon will be arriving" Lily said. "Is that respect you're showing?","If she knocks me out one more time..." Harry said. "I'm throwing her out the tower window.",On the docks, Lily came to receive Arthur and Ginny.,"One day Prince Harry will be her intended" Arthur said.,"Splendid" Lily said.,The children were playing at Lily's castle.,"Ha!" Ginny swung and decked him. "Got you again.",Harry stood and glared at her.,"No matter how many times and you still show me no respect, all because I'm a woman!" Ginny swung her foot and knocked him to the floor. "Do I have to get you on the floor!","You haven't, for one instant this whole time, done anything but look down on me! Why should I respect someone like that! Your just a snob!" Harry retorted.,Ginny ran out in tears.,In Lily's Castle, the teens were playing.,"Ginny hasn't bothered us in a while." Ron said. "Not really at all this summer.","Yes, she's been training alone all this time. In the kitchens a lot too. I'm afraid her dad got through to her about the big wedding." Harry said.,A maid knocked on the door.,"Yes what is it?" Harry asked.,"A gift for you." The maid said.,"Who from?" Harry asked.,"Probably one of your many admirers." Ron laughed.,The maid presented him with a sword.,"This is..." Harry lifted it. "It's Clarent! The twin sword to Excalibur! But that would mean...",Harry ran out into the docks where Ginny was boarding the ship, Excalibur shining at her waist.,He lifted a hand and waved to her. "Thank you! Next year I'll teach you to hunt!",Ginny paused and came out to meet him. "You really like it? You aren't still angry?","Angry? I'm..." Harry paused. She had really taken the snob comment seriously. He grinned at her. "You were right. You always were. We both lost our family to Lord Voldemort. We should destroy him together. And with the twin blades, it will be easy!",Ginny and Harry were meeting for the summer now as adults.,Ginny headed for the courtyard, dressed as a warrior despite what her father wanted. Her sword was at her waist, her bow at her back, and her ebony hair braided down to her waist. Those sparkling blue eyes had a flicker of mischief as she drew her sword.,"I want to see how good my teacher has become, prince.",Harry, for his part, was now taller than her, with broad muscled shoulders from years of training to be a warrior. He was faster now, faster than her, and he knew it. His green eyes flickered to her, taking in her beauty for a moment before he drew his blade.,"I want to beat you at last, princess.",For hours they struck and parried at each other. She was fast and strong, but he had become faster and stronger. And he could tell her swordplay was partly for show. She was trying to impress him! Well, it was distracting her! She spun her sword to look fancy and he struck! The sword went flying through the air, and struck the target behind him.,"I'm also fairly good with a bow. Don't ever underestimate a man who fights for his bride, my love.",For a moment the words echoed through the courtyard. He had done it. He had said it.,What would be her answer?,"I suppose I never really knew...it was you I was dreaming of, my love." Ginny returned his words to him,The two sheathed their swords and turned to their parents.,"For the record." Their hands were joined. "This was our idea."

CHARACTERS OF GAKUEN ALICE (EXCHANGE STUDENT),Mikan Sakura Yukihira,Age : 13,Sibling : Rei Serio Yukihira and Youchi Hijiri Yukihira,In relationship with Natsume Hyuuga,Alice : Nullification, Stealing, Copying, Inserting and Erasing,Natsume Hyuuga,Age : 13,Sibling : Aoi Hyuuga,In relationship with Mikan Sakura Yukihira,Alice : Fire,Hotaru Imai,Age :13,Sibling : Subaru Imai,In relationship with Ruka Nogi,Alice : Invention,Ruka Nogi,Age : 13,Sibling : None,In relationship with Hotaru Imai,Alice : Animal Pheromone,Nobara Ibaragi,Age : 17,Sibling : None,In relationship with Rei Serio Yukihira,Alice : Ice,Youchi Hijiri Yukihira,Age : 3,Sibling : Rei Serio Yukihira and Mikan Sakura Yukihira,Alice : Summoning Bad Spirit,Tsubasa Ando,Age : 17,In relationship with Misaki Harada,Alice : Manipulating Shadow,Misaki Harada,Age : 17,In relationship with Tsubasa Ando,Alice : Doppelganger,Subaru Imai,Age : 19,Sibling : Hotaru Imai,Alice : Heal, Memorize The Pain, Transfer The Pain To Another Person Or Animal,Rei Serio Yukihira,Age : 24,Also being called by Persona in the Dangerous Ability Class,Sibling : Mikan Sakura Yukihira and Youchi Hijiri Yukihira,In relationship with Nobara Ibaragi,Alice : Mark of Death,Harry James Potter,Hermoine Jean Granger,Ronald Bilius Weasley,Draco Malfoy,Professor Dumbledore,Professor McGonagall,Professor Snape

"Words are powerful, Harrison. The most powerful weapon you will ever have. With words you can change lives, and end wars, create masterpieces or spin webs of lies. Words can destroy a man's life or lead them to salvation. Words, Harrison, can do great damage and bring great healing.",The young boy-who looked no more than four, but was in reality six years old-stared into the eyes of his mentor, confused, but hopeful in the way only a child learning a new concept can, before growing suspicious. "But how can something like a ,do all that? You're fibbing jus' like my p'fessors!","Oh, but that is the power in words, Harrison," the man said calmly. "They are what you make of them! A man's intelligence is judged on his ability to speak, and speak well. Whom would you prefer to teach you the art of our esteemed language: a man who ,he said with an air of royalty. ",Harrison looked at the man solemnly,truly giving it thought. "The first man, but that don't mean the other man wasn't smart too! I don't talk too good, but you always tell me I'm smart,Father MacDara!",The Priest laughed, and ruffled the already messy locks of his charge. "Right you are, Harrison, and a good lesson to keep in mind! Just because a man speaks better than you does not mean he is smarter, nor necessarily that he is better, only that God has gifted him with eloquence. 'Do not judge a book by its cover' they say, for the tattiest coverings may hide beneath a gleaming wealth of knowledge below.",The young boy looked down at his knees, pressed close to his chest from sitting on the floor next to his companion. He picked at the hole in the borrowed charity jeans he wore, a thoughtful look upon his face.,"How do I learn to speak better, Father?","Ah, dear boy! It is no secret. One learns to speak by first learning to read!",Harrison groaned, burying his face in his knees. He spoke into the knobby joints, but Father MacDara understood him just fine.,"Yes, yes. No one knows how to read when the are but wee sprouts! We must all learn to read first letters, then words, then sentences. What are books but sentences strung together. We will start slow, dear boy and make a learned man of you yet!",Harry his head on his knees. "Can we at least start tomorrow? I still gots some cleaning to do for Sister Mary Catherine in the 'fessorals.","Yes, dear boy, we can begin tomorrow. Wouldn't want to get the sisters' buns in a tighter twist, now would we?" He asked with a wink.,Harry tucked his latest book away as Sister Maria called for him. It had taken few years of tutelage under the direction of Father MacDara, but he could read, and well. His vocabulary was that of his peers two and three years ahead, though his math wasn't quite up to the same boastful levels.,He just couldn't understand why he needed to know how to multiply 5 and 9 when he could be reading another passage in his science textbook! Science and Reading were his favorite subjects each day.,Harry dusted his pants off from where he had been sitting on the floor, knowing better than to appear unkempt inside the cathedral. He'd lived with the Father and Sisters since his other family had tired of him, and here he was never disciplined more than once for something. He was a quiet and helpful child, and never ungrateful. He was never quite sure why he lived there, instead of the orphanage like some of his classmates, and he never wanted to bring it up with his minders in case he seem like he didn't want to stay with them. He never wanted to go back to his first family.,He tossed his head and moved the hair from his eyes as he turned the corner, coming to stand in front of the sister and two guests curiously. It wasn't strange for the church to have guests, but there was a man too old to still be alive and kid around his age standing next to the uncomfortable looking Sister Maria-in dresses! He knew Father MacDara sometimes wore long robes for ceremonies, but these people wore nothing like that! The man's were a fluorescent purple with bright blue moons on them and the boy had on a deep grey like the tile floors in the bathrooms.,Harry regained his tongue at the harshly cleared throat. "Yes, Sister?","This man is Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of a very prominent school in Scotland.",Harry looked the odd man over as he took over the conversation. "Yes! Yes. I am here, Harry because I would like to invite you to our boarding school for this coming academic year.",Harry gaped, then spluttered. "What? Me? I...I'm just an orphan, Mr. Dum...um, Mister. I can't go ,for school!","Oh? And why ever not, my boy?",Harry looked between him and Sister Maria, who looked exasperatedly at the man, hoping she could help him in making this fruity old man understand. When she finally met his gaze she simply lifted an eyebrow.,"Why not? I...well, I'm an orphan for one! I haven't any money!" He said, hoping to make the man see his line of thought, and wondering how the man couldn't understand the station and finances of a child without parents.,"No money, nonsense. Your parents left you plenty of funds in trust. Now, if that has eased your initial worries I was wondering if I might have a few words with you in private, Mr. Potter, concerning the fields of study offered at our school? No worries, Sister Maria, we shall stay within the building.",The woman sniffed and gave a solemn nod, leaving their presence in order to alert Father MacDara of their visitors.,"Now, Mr. Potter, I would like to introduce my companion. This," he gestured to the silent young boy at his side, "is Nolan Odom. He will be your fighter at Hogwarts this coming year. Already paid for by your late parents, of course!","Hogwarts? What is a Hogwarts? Sounds like a pig disease," he said with a look of distaste.,The older man laughed. "It does, doesn't it. I'm quite partial to it myself. However, Hogwarts is the shortened name for the school I head. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.",Harry's eyes widened and he took off running around the weird people, screaming, "Father MacDara! Father! Help! Hel-oof!" He grabbed onto the solid body as he slammed into the middle aged man. He looked up into his keepers eyes. "Father MacDara, you gotta send those loonies away. The man! He's talkin' crazy! Witches and Pigfarts and fighters! Magic! He's gonna try to kidnap me!",Father MacDara sighed, pulling the young boy to his chest, running his fingers through the dark hair. "Shush, young Harrison. He's not crazy, merely a bad conversationalist. You are not the first magic user to be left at our doorstep, nor will you be the last. What he speaks of, it is true. Magic is real. Your parents were magic users, though that is all I know of them. The letter I told you about, that was left with you on our doorstep? It told us as much, though we always told you it contained only your name and date of birth. We were waiting on a letter to be delivered to you as all the others have.",Harry could hear his heartbeat in his chest, feel the scratchy wool of the vest beneath his cheek, the fingers running through his hair. In that one moment Harry felt as if his entire world was crashing down around him.,Magic.,Magic was real?,A masculine voice sounded behind him. "Ah! Padraigh! So it is you still running the magical orphanage! I had wondered when Sister Maria, was it? Yes, she was most kind in gaining your attention.","Yes, Albus. I still keep tabs where I can. How ill thought of you, leaving the boy with such people. It was only by chance I came to have him. Found him on the steps one winter morn. You claim to have left him with family, but no family would throw away a child so blessed if they had even a ,for magic. You miscalculated, Albus.",Harry moved from the embrace of Father MacDara as he spoke, having never heard such anger in his voice. Especially not on his account. He watched the two adults and the other child quietly, waiting and gathering more information.,Albus simply waved the reprimand off with a laugh, though it never reached his eyes. "A simple mistake, Padraigh. One can never be sure of the reactions of muggles, and as you can imagine they ensuing days and weeks were very busy for us in the Wizarding world. You wouldn't understand the pressure I was under to place young Harry in a home safe from ill intended grasps.",Harry glared at the man, taking a measure of confidence as his hand bunched in the pants leg of Father MacDara. "But who are you? Why did you get to decide who was safe for me? They hurt me and didn't even feed me properly!" He hissed with an old resentment born of living five years in abuse, and only learning it was wrong when he was abandoned to a life of being the only child among children-less adults.,"Mere misunderstanding, I'm sure, my boy. I left you with family. Your Mother's only sister and her family. I may have been hasty in leaving without speaking to them-",Everyone's eyes widened, save Nolan who was silent, unmoving.,"But I felt it to be in your best interest, my boy. Your parents were newly deceased, and your godfather nowhere to be found...I had to leave you with blood relatives in order to enact various magical protections. I left you with best intentions.","I...I don't know what you want me to say, Mister," Harry said solemnly.,Albus' eyes gleamed, but with what he could not say. He just knew he didn't quite like it. "There's nothing to say, dear boy. Everything has been arranged for you. I just came to congratulate you on your acceptance and have you meet Nolan, your new partner when you begin learning magic at our esteemed school.","What if I don't want to go to your Pigwarts School?!" Harry demanded with a glare. This old man didn't get to come in here and bully him into something so logically wrong!,"Not go to Hogwarts? Preposterous. It is the ,school of Magic. You cannot afford to turn this down. You are far too powerful, Mr. Potter. If you do not learn to harness your gift you are likely to harm those you love and those around you. I have left your letter with Padraigh, please send your response as soon as possible. Come along, Nolan.",With that last comment, and thinking it was the best impression to leave for young Harry, Albus left. Nolan waved once with an opening and closing of his fingers, the he was gone. Albus disapparated after grabbing Nolan's shoulder, giving a good show of magic.,Harry wasn't sure if he was staring or glaring, but he knew his eyes never left the spot where the visitors had just stood. He was speechless from both the nerve of the man and his warning.,"He...I...what was that? Hurt you? I COULD HURT YOU AND YOU , TOLD ME?!" He yelled at his caregiver, but stopped when Father MacDara again simply pulled him into a hug. It was the easiest way to calm his little firecracker. Harry just sighed, and wrapped his arms around the solid body holding him. His breathing was ragged as he fought tears before finally whispering, "How can I leave you and the Sisters? But I can't stay, can I? I can't risk hurting you all.",Father MacDara simply sighed and rubbed his large hand up and down Harry's back. The boy was small for his age, no doubt born of the neglect of his early years, but growing into himself little by little. He'd be an appropriate size by summer's end.,"Let's get your chores done, and tomorrow we'll make a special trip for your school supplies." And with that he pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it over.

Harry Potter and The Vampires of Santa Carla,Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or The Lost Boys.,Chapter 1: Little Lost Boy,At five and a half years old Harry really should have known better. Looking around the unfamiliar and darkening streets, the boy tried to once again catch sight of his family.,Aunt Petunia's tall thin frame or even the wide bodies of his uncle and cousin; any of them would be welcoming now. But no, he couldn't see them. They really left him, it wasn't another cruel joke. This time they really did it.,What was he supposed to do now? His shaking had nothing to do with the dropping temperature and lack of jacket. No, Harry was scared.,For all that he may not like his family, he'd never been without them before. Well, them or the neighborhood cat lady. Scooting back against a wall to avoid being bumped into again, the boy slid down and wrapped his arms around his legs tightly before burying his face into his knees.,He should have suspected something was up when his family suddenly decided to take him with them on their Christmas trip, but he'd been too excited at finally being included for once. All he wanted was for his aunt and uncle to love him at least half as much as they did their own son. He didn't care if they never gave him nice things like they did for Dudley. Just being involved, not left behind, was more than he could have ever hoped for.,That's why when they didn't leave him with Mrs. Figg, he had been happy. The boy's eyes squeezed shut while he fought his tears. No, he wouldn't cry. Crying was pointless. It never helped.,Harry had been beyond ecstatic to get on a plane for the first time. To be able to fly was amazing. It was great, but the best thing was to be doing so with his family that for once wanted him there.,But that was a lie.,They didn't want him, they never wanted him.,If his family didn't want him then how could anyone else?,They'd told him if he didn't shape up that they'd abandon him one day. That if he couldn't control his freakiness he'd be a goner.,In a way he'd never believed they'd actually do it. Not only that, but in a place so far away from home that he'd never be able to find his way back.,He knew his address as Harry had been forgotten about and had to find his way back once before. Now it was looking like they didn't just accidently forget him that time that they'd taken him to the mall. It had been on purpose too.,This time he'd never find his way back.,But that's what they wanted.,Dudley had been teasing him before about all the missing people posters hung around everywhere but at the time Harry hadn't been overly worried but now… the sad thought occurred to him that no one would even bother to post a photo to claim him as missing.,Because he wasn't wanted.,Harry didn't know how long he sat there trembling in the corner tired and shaking, all alone and lost before a voice called out to him.,"Move it brat you're scaring off my customers!",Lifting his head his watery green eyes saw a tall tattooed man giving him a watered-down look similar to what Uncle Vernon did before he got a whopping.,Not wanting to get hit, the tiny boy scurried away quickly and into the crowd only to be pushed around by the overwhelming amount of people now wandering around. The sky was dark, the lights from the shops were bright and Harry was getting tossed to and fro as he fought desperately to find his way out of the crowd and into one of the darker areas in-between the shops.,Harry felt bruised and battered but he could finally breathe. Taking a few shaky steps further into the dank and dark alley, he tried to calm his racing heart and slow his breathing.,Wary and tired, he looked around, but it was too dark. Harry had never been able to see very well with his overly large glasses but, just now, he noticed them missing.,Looking back the way he came the dark-haired boy decided it was a lost cause. Even if he could find his glasses out there they would have been broken and useless by now. Kind of how he felt as he stumbled to keep his footing in the dark as his hand ran across the wall beside him. The light from the shops behind him had faded until the stars were his only light, not that it helped him any.,Stopping, he once again slid down the wall and folded in on himself.,The noise, the smells, the general fear should have kept the boy wide awake but being lost and alone for hours just left him exhausted and, before he knew it, his eyes drifted shut.,Startled, Harry's eyes snapped open only to see nothing but darkness. Panic caused him to swiftly stand up and nearly trip over something beside him.,He vaguely registered the sound as that of an empty can of soda being kicked while he recalled where and why he was currently in this unknown place.,Only to tense up again and warily look around as shadows start to shift. He wasn't alone.,Something was in the dark with him.,Harry's hand reaches for the wall behind him to steady himself and wondered if he should try and run but quickly decided against it. He couldn't see anything aside from the shadows. He could trip and hurt himself even more.,Staying quiet, he hoped whatever it was would just go away.,Growling started then and, suddenly, staying still was the furthest thing from his mind.,He had to run!,So, he did. The growling was following him; chasing him. He could hear it getting closer.,Whatever animal was after him was too fast. It was going to catch him! Panicking only served to cause his fears to come true as he tripped. Throwing out his hands to catch himself, he felt his palms meet the ground hard at the same time as his knees did.,The sting in his hands and pain in his knees didn't really register as the growling thing was practically breathing on him with it's foul breathe and next thing the boy knew is he was slightly dizzy and the ground felt different.,Like sand? He stared at the ground which went from black darkness to a blurry dark color. Sitting up confused, he looked around and that's when the sound hit him; no growling. The smell wasn't bad either.,It wasn't anything he'd smelt before, but it wasn't bad.,Harry had no idea what just happened, but at least he was away from the growling monster now. Standing up he winced as the boy looked at his sand covered hands and noticed their scrapes.,First, he tried to wipe them onto his oversized hand-me-down jeans, which had been the reason for his fall in the first place. The belt could only hold them up so much, so in his panicked run, they loosened up.,His pants were covered in sand as well and it did nothing but further irritate his torn skin.,Looking to the left, he stared for a moment. Harry had never seen the ocean before and that was probably what it was. He couldn't see much of it, but it was water and moving slightly with small wooshes. That must be what were called waves? Harry figured he could clean his hurt hands in there.,Getting closer didn't really clear up his vision but the smell was stronger now and so the young boy decided that must be what the ocean smelt like. Stopping he looked down to his, or rather Dudley's, old worn tennis shoes. It startled him for a minute when his shoes started to sink into the sand in an unfamiliar way.,Reaching down he grabbed at the sand to try and figure out the difference. It was noticeably wet. And not helping his injuries so he dropped the sand satisfied with his discovery about why the sand reacted differently when walking on it.,Getting within reaching distance of the water, he sat down on his bruised knees and brought his hands to the water to clean them. Harry jerked them away immediately with a sharp cry after submerging them, looking at the water as if betrayed.,It stung?,Noticing it getting closer to his legs he quickly backed away from the water not wishing to feel the burning again. No, it couldn't be water, so it wasn't the ocean?,Harry was frustrated, confused, hurt, tired, and hungry… tonight was the worst night he'd ever had, and he'd had some bad nights.,Holding his hands to his chest, he wandered away from the not-water and past the loud people lingering on the possible-beach. Avoiding the loud people made him recall the lonely dark alley and the growling monster. He shuddered.,Where could he go? He didn't trust the people but without them would the monster come back?,Green eyes gazed around the open area searching, for what he wasn't sure. Somewhere to hide, to sleep, to live from now on? He didn't want to think about it but just then he noticed something and awkwardly rushed to it as he was not used to running on sand.,Upon arriving the boy looked over what he'd found. It was some sort of overhang. Not a bridge, more like a porch, but it wasn't attached to a house… Well, whatever it was, the boy decided it was the best place to hide so far.,Underneath was a bit cooler and darker but even with his eyes he could still see better than before, and most importantly no monsters. Though, that probably had to do with the loud music playing in the distance.,Eventually, Harry laid down on the sand to try and sleep, only to find that as soft as it was to touch it was actually still hard to lay on. It left him wishing for the safety and comfort of his cupboard. Because right now the broken mattress and all it's prodding springs sounded heavenly to the disheartened child.,The sun was nearly in the sky as his tired body gave away to exhaustion.,Only a few hours later the sounds of happy chatter and laughter woke him from his sleep. Sitting up groggily the green-eyed boy slowly stood. His body ached and felt weird, it didn't help that he had sand all over. On his clothes, in his clothes, his hair, on his face, even in his mouth. That was gross, he never wanted a shower so badly.,Or a bed.,But mostly he wanted to go home even if his family would never love him, it was surely better than this. His mouth was dry, but he was not going to chance the fake-water again. Was there somewhere he could get water? Maybe he could find a washroom. He could drink from the tap if he had to. In fact, it sounded like a great idea right then.,His stomach growled and suddenly he was reminded that he didn't eat the day before.,Harry could go a day or two without eating even if he would rather not. So, pushing aside the thought of food, he made his way out unsteadily as once more he tried to remember how to balance himself on the sand.,Looking around, he saw that the beach was full of people though blurry there appeared to already be quite a few of them. It didn't even occur to the boy to try and get their help as he was unused to asking for it.,It turned out that finding his way off of the beach wasn't easy as everything was so blurry even in the broad daylight. He would bump into things and people and for the most part get shoved or yelled at for it. He was slowly starting to prefer those that ignored him.,Getting back to the shops after a bit brought about a new problem. Most would run him out even when he tried to just explain that all he wanted was to use their washroom.,People here reminded him of his family.,Maybe everyone was like that. Was that why they said he was a freak?,Eventually he gave up on the shops when upon entering one he knocked down a stand of something and got chased by a scary looking woman. At least, he thought it was a woman, but it was hard to tell.,The rest of the day was spent laying down on a bench until the heat got too much and then he moved underneath it. Harry was beginning to wish he'd never left the sandy place because at least that place had better shade.,The idea that it was this hot in December was a strange thing to him. He was used to the cold and wet weather of the country of his birth. Even during the summer it never really got to be like this. Spending Christmas eve in the blistering heat under a bench was not his ideal Christmas.,The day was a long one and it felt like it would never end to the child, but thankfully the sun set and the weather grew just a bit more bearable as he crawled out from under the bench.,If he learnt anything from last night, this area was going to soon be swarming with too many people. Before that happened, he needed to find a place to hide.,That was the plan but a smell distracted him and before he knew it his feet followed the delicious scent to a hotdog stand. For a while, he stood there watching people getting hotdogs before gaining enough nerve to ask for one himself.,The hotdog stand attendee took one glance at the small boy asking for a hotdog and shooed him away. Harry was saddened but not surprised that he was denied a hotdog even though others were not for some reason.,He couldn't see the money being exchanged with his bad eyesight, so he figured it must be because he was a freak and freaks don't get fed like normal people. Maybe he should ask for scraps? Would that be okay? Before he could the hot dog guy yelled at him to get lost and so he took off.,Harry hardly needed to be told that. He was already lost.,This area was much brighter than the last place. Not only that but there was music playing. It was unlike anything he was used to, it wasn't like on the beach either. Harry kind of wished he could see what this place was. Flashing lights, music, lots of people… it was probably a fun place normally.,Maybe it was a Christmas Eve party?,Wandering around aimlessly was a bad idea but there didn't appear to be anywhere he could hide so walking until he found somewhere was necessary.,Finding a less bright area with less people took some work but he did it. Looking at it, Harry saw what he guessed was a sign, not that he would've been able to read it had he had his glasses so he ignored it and headed inside with slight difficulty.,There were steps, so he had to crawl up them with both his hands and feet to keep from tripping, but once inside, he noticed the lights were dim and kinder on his eyes. Feeling the wall, he found that it was made of glass? That was weird but still... Maybe he could stay here?,Using his hand to feel along the wall, he quickly found a lot of turns and dead ends. It was a strange place and the dark-haired boy was getting worried about being able to find his way back out when a scream caused him to jump.,Looking around frantically and backing up to the glass behind him, he stayed quiet and listened to the screams and... was that laughter?,Covering his mouth, he tried to stay silent and then everything went quiet.,Until he heard footsteps.,And then a dark figure stood before him. He squinted up at the figure noting it was a person. His heartbeat was slowly calming as he removed his hand from his mouth. The boy tried to make out the person's features as they kneeled down to his height.,"Are you lost?" The voice was a male and, while not particularly kind, it wasn't angry either.,Harry nodded.,"Where's your parents?","Dead…" It was an automatic response that had been drilled into his head for as long as he could recall. His parents were dead, and it was his fault. Not that he understood how his parents drinking and driving could be his fault but if aunt Petunia said so then it must be true… right?,"…What's your name?" The man asked.,It took the boy a minute to respond, "Harry…",For the longest time he thought that his name was freak or boy but then the cat lady called him Harry, so he'd asked his aunt and pretty much got the confirmation that Harry was indeed his name and not a new cat's name the old lady had mistakenly called him by. Still, his aunt never called him by it. No one did really… he was constantly having to remind himself that he had a name so that he wouldn't forget it too.,"I'm Dwayne.","Nice to meet you," Harry said unsurely, because was it nice? No not really. It was just something people said to be polite and Aunt Petunia would smack him if he were anything but… she wasn't here though so did it matter?,He snapped back to attention as the other shifted and Harry's eyes tried to follow it only to focus back on the man's face area when he started talking again, "Are you able to see me?",Harry frowned, "Kinda… my glasses broke.",Another voice laughed and Harry jumped as his eyes darted to the direction it came from, behind Dwayne.,"That explains it." His voice held humor though Harry was uncertain why.,"Don't mind him, here-" Harry felt a hand grab his own. "I'll lead you out this house is a maze.","Yeah, what are you doing in a house of mirrors anyhow?" The second guy asked as Harry allowed the first one to lead him.,Harry stared at his hand that was holding Dwayne's. He wasn't used to holding hands. It was something people did for kids his age, but Harry didn't think he'd ever had anyone do it. No, Aunt Petunia would grab his arm and yank him with her if she wanted to make him follow.,Lifting his head, he tried to determine the direction the other guy's voice came from before answering, "There wasn't as many people…",It seemed safer with less people.,"Hmm… well good thing you ran into good Samaritans like us then." He laughed again, and Harry didn't get why it was so funny. "I'm Paul by the way.",Harry didn't bother with pleasantries this time, instead staying quiet until they were back outside and before Harry could even comprehend what was happening he was being lifted and then set back down.,Confused, he looked at Dwayne for answers.,"The stairs," he stated as if that answered everything.,Before Harry can question it, others approach and he turns to them. For a second no one said anything. It felt like a silent conversation was going on before another voice spoke up, "Hey little dude. I'm Marko!",The person introducing himself was suddenly bent in front of him and then, from the looks of it, tilting his head back to look at something or someone behind him. Not for the first time, Harry wishes he still had his glasses.,"I know let's keep him!" Marko exclaimed.,"Children aren't pets Marko," a new voice told him.,"Aw come on David, please." His head whipped back around and his grin was noticeable even to Harry given the blurry whiteness of his teeth. "Even Dwayne wants to!","Oh well if Dwayne wants to then I guess that's that." David's sarcasm went right over the young boy's head as well as Marko's, or at least he pretended that it did.,"Great!",With that Harry found himself once more lifted from the ground.,"He's too light I'm gonna go feed him," Marko told them.,Confused as he is, the mention of food brings Harry's stomach alive and the growl makes Paul laugh, "Looks like he agrees.","This is ridiculous," David's words barely reached him as Marko was carting him off somewhere.,David eyed the brunette vampire once the two blondes took off with the kid. He took a slow drag on his cigarette before exhaling.,"Marko's not wrong. I didn't know you had a soft spot for kids Dwayne.","He didn't see anything.","That's true. He'd be terrified otherwise." David shrugged letting the matter drop, "Whatever your reasoning he's your responsibility now. Marko will get bored with him soon enough. Kids can be so fragile."

En cette fin de journée d'Août 1996, dans un riche quartier résidentiel d'Angleterre, au fond du Surrey, la chaleur avait laissé place à un temps lourd et couvert.,C'était assez peu surprenant pour la région quoiqu'en pleine saison estivale.,Enfermé dans sa chambre, allongé sur son lit grinçant, Harry Potter observait les mouvements des sombres nuages par sa fenêtre. Ce temps n'était pas pour arranger ses pensées.,Quelques semaines auparavant, lui et ses amis pénétraient dans le sacro-saint Département des Mystères, à la recherche de son Parrain Sirius Black.,Piégés par les Mangemorts et le terrible Voldemort à leur tête, ils n'en avaient réchappé que de justesse. Mais ils y laissèrent Sirius.,Ce fut un terrible choc pour Harry. Et les révélations qui suivirent ce drame ne furent pas rassurantes.,« ,Harry avait voulu refuser, nier l'évidence. Il ne disposait d'aucun pouvoir particulier, mis à part le Fourchelangue, et ce serait risible de l'utiliser contre Voldemort. A chacun de leurs affrontements, seule la chance lui avait permis de s'en sortir.,Et, si diriger l'Armée de Dumbledore, ce groupe de défense illégal, l'avait maintenu en forme physiquement et magiquement, ce ne serait jamais suffisant. Au même âge, Tom Jedusor était déjà probablement plus puissant qu'eux tous, et des décennies d'apprentissage de la Magie sous ses formes les plus monstrueuses et redoutables n'avaient pas changé cet état de fait.,Et Sirius, Sirius….,Son parrain, le premier adulte à lui avoir donné l'impression d'avoir une famille. Mort, définitivement mort, sans avoir pu tenir sa promesse : ne jamais l'abandonner.,Et tout ça c'était sa faute. S'il n'avait pas été aussi imprudent, aussi stupide, aussi….faible, rien ne serait passé aussi mal.,Ces pensées le hantaient chaque nuit, rejoignant celles concernant Cédric Diggory. Il n'en dormait plus la nuit.,On tambourina soudain à la porte de sa chambre. Et vu la violence portée à l'huis, ce ne fut pas difficile de deviner qui.,- « Bouge-toi, Potter, ton abomination de directeur a dit qu'il serait là pour 19h. » Aboya la voix facilement reconnaissable de l'oncle Vernon. « Je ne tiens pas à le supporter plus longtemps que nécessaire. »,Et sans attendre de réponse, il redescendit les marches, les faisant trembler littéralement sous sa masse.,Harry soupira et se leva. Pour une raison inconnue, les Dursley le laissaient en paix depuis son retour de l'école. Non pas qu'ils soient plus amicaux, même Merlin ne réussirait pas un tel miracle, mais ils l'ignoraient totalement. Ce qui convenait parfaitement au jeune homme.,D'un regard las, il fit le tour de sa chambre, pour voir s'il n'avait rien oublié lorsqu'il avait fait sa valise.,La lettre de Dumbledore était arrivée deux jours plus tôt par un des Hiboux de l'école. Le vieil homme lui proposait de venir le chercher pour l'amener au Terrier. N'ayant aucune raison de refuser une si bonne nouvelle, il avait immédiatement renvoyé sa réponse affirmative.,Alors, ouvrant la porte, il descendit. C'est à cet instant précis que la sonnette de la porte retentit, faisant sursauter les trois moldus.,- « Au moins il est ponctuel » grogna Vernon dans sa barbe.,Pétunia alla ouvrir avec appréhension. Malgré le temps couvert, on voyait encore suffisamment aux alentours. Il ne manquerait plus que les voisins voient entrer un de ,chez eux,D'une certaine façon, elle avait raison de se méfier. Car, comme souvent, Albus Dumbledore était habillé d'une de ses tenues complètement excentriques, orange verte et violette.,Il jurait littéralement avec l'aspect bourgeois propret de l'habitation.,- « Pétunia, cela fait un moment. » La salua t-il courtoisement en inclinant la tête. « Mais nous avons bien sûr correspondu par hiboux. »,La tante d'Harry verdit à ce souvenir. Elle ne répondit pas et s'écarta pour laisser passer le directeur.,Ce dernier, après avoir salué le reste des Dursley, avisa Harry, très amusé devant la peur de sa famille. Il lui fit signe de le rejoindre.,- « Harry, mon garçon, je suis heureux de te voir d'aussi bonne humeur. » Fit-il avec son regard pétillant derrière ses lunettes en demi-lune. « Et je vois que tu as déjà préparé tes affaires, parfait, absolument parfait. »,Vernon se racla la gorge pour attirer l'attention du vieux sorcier, rappelant furieusement Dolores Ombrage à Harry.,- « Si je puis me permettre… » Commença t-il sur un ton désagréable.,Il fut coupé net par son interlocuteur.,- « Je crois que vous pouvez vous permettre en effet. Vous vous permettez d'ailleurs beaucoup de choses dans cette maison. Ce n'est pas toujours une bonne initiative.»,L'extrême courtoisie de son ton ne cachait en rien la froideur, pas plus que son regard sévère.,Vernon eut l'intelligence de ne pas répliquer. Même lui ne se risquerait pas à ce petit jeu.,Avec un certain dédain, Dumbledore se détourna de lui et reprit sa conversation comme s'il ne l'avait jamais interrompue.,- « Nous allons partir, Harry. La situation actuelle, que tu connais maintenant, ne nous laisse pas beaucoup de temps. Molly et Arthur nous attendent, et je ne vais pas te priver de leur excellente hospitalité. Je m'occupe de tes bagages»,D'un geste de baguette, il fit disparaître la lourde malle. D'un autre, il ouvrit la porte d'entrée.,- « Sur ce, madame, messieurs, nous vous laissons. Bonne soirée. »,Et il sortit, Harry à sa suite. Derrière lui, il entendit la porte claquer violemment. Il ne s'en soucia pas. Sa charmante famille était déjà sortie de son esprit.,- « Monsieur, est-ce que je peux vous poser une question ? » Demanda le jeune Potter dès qu'ils eurent fait quelques pas.,Ils seraient très vite à destination, et il perdrait de fait la possibilité de poser ses questions avant un long moment. Alors, autant profiter de cet instant.,- « C'est ce que tu viens de faire, Harry, mais tu peux très bien recommencer. » Lui répondit le vieil homme d'un air affable.,Harry allait l'interroger sur la lourde tâche qui l'attendait, lorsqu'il se dit qu'il fallait commencer par une question tournée vers son interlocuteur, par politesse.,- « Votre main, que lui est-il arrivée ? Lorsque vous avez sorti votre baguette…. »,Dumbledore lui sourit avant de dissimuler la dite main.,- « Oh, ceci est une histoire absolument incroyable, et que j'ai vraiment hâte de te raconter, mais, cela sera pour un autre jour. Le cadre ne s'y prête pas du tout. »,Harry grommela légèrement. Cette manie de l'homme de lui dissimuler des secrets était particulièrement agaçante. Enfin, cette fois cela ne le concernait pas directement. Donc, il n'insisterait pas.,- « J'imagine que tu n'as jamais transplané, Harry, dans la mesure où tu as tout juste 16 ans. » Déclara alors le directeur en changeant de sujet.,Le dernier des Potter acquiesça. Ce mode de transport lui était encore complètement inconnu. Il avait déjà volé sur balais, hypogriffe ou sombral, pris la poudre de cheminette ou encore le Magicobus, mais il n'avait encore jamais transplané.,Sur la demande de son ainé, il lui attrapa le bras. Un instant plus tard, il avait l'impression que son corps allait être écrasé tant la pression fut importante.,Il reprenait à peine ses esprits, sur la route menant au Terrier, que Dumbledore lui attrapa brusquement la main.,- « Harry reste derrière moi. » Commanda t-il d'une voix impérative.,Surpris, Harry leva la tête vers lui.,Alors il ,vit.,Cette abomination, son pire cauchemar, une tête de mort dotée d'une langue de serpent.,La Marque des Ténèbres.,Et cela ne signifiait qu'une chose, aujourd'hui comme hier. Quelqu'un était mort. La voir au-dessus d'une maison qui lui était si chère glaça littéralement son sang.,- « C'est impossible ! »,Dumbledore remuait silencieusement sa baguette, lançant différent sorts pour tester les barrières.,Elles étaient détruites. Il n'en restait plus rien. Comme si elles n'avaient jamais existé.,Au mépris de toute sécurité, alors même que l'endroit pouvait grouiller de Mangemorts, alors même que Voldemort lui-même pouvait l'attendre, Harry se jeta en avant. Il voulait savoir. Il ,savoir.,- « Harry, non ! » Cria Dumbledore vainement.,Il ne l'entendit pas. Il n'entendait plus rien. Tout son esprit était focalisé sur une chose unique.,La porte était défoncée, il entra, ne ralentissant même pas.,Aucune lumière n'était allumée, aucun bruit dans la maison. On aurait presque pu croire qu'elle était inhabitée.,Mais ce silence n'était pas naturel. Pas du tout….,- « , » incanta t-il, se moquant de l'interdiction de Magie.,Les chandelles et lustres se rallumèrent. Dévoilant un spectacle absolument atroce.,L'odeur lourde aurait du lui donner une indication. Il n'en avait pas tiré de conséquences…,Il aurait du.,Allongés sur le sol, dans des positions tordues remplies de souffrance, des corps. ,corps.,- « NOOOON ! »,Le hurlement fut absolument horrible à entendre tant il reflétait la douleur, tant il représentait la monstruosité absolue.,Dumbledore arriva, la baguette levée. Lorsqu'il vit ce qui avait causé ce cri, il ouvrit des yeux remplis d'horreur. Comment était-ce possible ? Une heure auparavant encore….,Il y avait Molly et Arthur Weasley, leurs enfants Fred et George, Ginny, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin. Tous dans un état catastrophique.,Non, c'était encore pire que catastrophique. Ceux qu'il avait sous les yeux n'avaient plus le moindre rapport avec les personnes pleines de vie qu'ils avaient été.,Tout n'était plus que sang et supplices. Le nombre de sévices sur chaque corps était inimaginable.,A cet instant, Harry comprit qu'il venait de perdre toute idée d'enfance. Si tant est qu'il en ai eu une un jour.,Son innocence venait d'être piétinée, son cœur déchiré et son esprit détruit.,La mort de Cédric Diggory n'avait été rien à côté de ça. Sirius et lui étaient morts presque paisiblement.,Eux…..non.,- « Ils ont été torturés » Murmura Dumbledore complètement dévasté. « Torturés avec une violence tellement monstrueuse et ignoble que ça dépasse l'entendement. C'est du pur sadisme.»,Harry ne lui répondit pas. Il ne pouvait pas. Ses yeux ne parvenaient pas à se détacher de ce spectacle macabre.,Mais lorsqu'il vit que le cadavre de Molly Weasley ne possédait plus d'yeux ni d'oreilles, ce fut trop. Il eut un haut le cœur et vomit.,Ce fut alors qu'il l'entendit.,- « Harry… »,Une fois tellement faible qu'on ne l'aurait pas entendue dans un tombeau. Mais le silence était encore plus lourd ici.,Les deux hommes se retournèrent brusquement. Quelques mètres plus loin, dans une mare de sang, il y avait….,- « Ron ! » S'écria Harry en s'agenouillant près de lui.,Le pauvre garçon était lui aussi complètement méconnaissable tant ses bourreaux s'étaient acharnés sur lui. Mais il était vivant.,- « Harry….je…. il nous a…par surprise. » Murmura le rouquin, à moitié conscient. « Ils….trop nombreux…. »,- « Ne parle pas, Ron, repose toi. » Supplia Harry en surélevant sa tête délicatement.,Dumbledore, pendant ce temps, alluma un feu dans la cheminée et lança une poignée de poudre de cheminette. Si Ron était encore en vie, il fallait prévenir un Médicomage de toute urgence.,Même le crépitement des flammes ne l'empêcha pas d'entendre ce qui suivit ensuite.,Le peu de contrôle qu'Harry était parvenu à reprendre fut littéralement broyé par cette phrase, par ces quelques mots.,Ce fut comme si le poignard avait tourné dans la plaie.,- « Harry,…il….a Hermione…. »,Et ce fut une peur immonde qui s'insinua dans chaque cellule de son corps. Une peur primaire.,- « Her…Hermione ? »,L'horreur allait-elle s'arrêter ? Où pouvait être Hermione ? Pourquoi l'avoir épargnée à l'inverse des autres ?,Une Née-Moldu aux mains de Voldemort,….ce serait probablement encore pire que ce…charnier.,- « Je…..désolé. » Les mots de Ron n'étaient plus qu'un souffle.,Mais que faisait Dumbledore ? Pourquoi personne ne venait les aider.,Ironiquement, c'est à cet instant que les choses s'accélérèrent. Que la situation…empira.,Il y eut soudainement un grand bruissement et une odeur acre vint flotter à ses narines. Une odeur de feu.,Un ricanement retentit à l'étage au-dessus. Un ricanement qu'Harry aurait reconnu entre mille, tant il hantait ses cauchemars depuis plusieurs semaines.,C'était le rire d'une folle sanguinaire. C'était le hurlement de joie malsaine de Bellatrix Lestrange.,C'était elle la responsable de ce crime ignoble.,Il avait épargné Pettigrow, à tort. Mais cette fois, il ne serait certainement pas aussi chevaleresque.,Il allait la tuer.,Alors qu'il se précipitait vers l'escalier, Dumbledore le retint par le bras, l'empêchant d'aller plus loin. Il tenta de se débattre, mais le vieil homme resserra sa main, faisant preuve d'une étonnante vigueur pour un âge si avancé.,- « Harry, elle a lancé un Feudeymon, un sort de Feu inextinguible. La maison va s'embraser entièrement si nous restons là ! Nous devons partir ! »,Il se heurta à un refus farouche.,- « JE NE LAISSERAIS PAS MON MEILLEUR AMI ICI ! » Hurla le jeune homme fou de rage. « JE REFUSE DE PARTIR SANS LUI ! »,- « Et moi, je refuse de te perdre toi aussi. » Répliqua Dumbledore sur un ton ferme quoique teinté de tristesse. « Tu ne peux plus les aider. »,Sans ajouter un mot de plus, il commença à transplaner, malgré les supplications d'Harry.,Avant de disparaître, il entendit des hurlements de joie ainsi que quelques mots qui resteraient gravés dans son esprit à jamais.,« A bientôt, bébé Potter… » Fit la voix enfantine de la femme qu'il haïssait le plus au monde.,Un instant plus tard, tous deux étaient dans le bureau de Dumbledore.,Et, exactement comme lors de leur dernière entrevue dans ce même bureau, le ton monta rapidement.,- « POURQUOI VOUS AVEZ FAIT CA ? »,Encore ébranlé, Albus s'assit dans son vaste fauteuil avant de répondre d'une voix faible.,- « La maison était en train de s'enflammer, Bellatrix Lestrange était toujours en possibilité de t'attaquer. J'ai choisi de privilégier ta vie. »,- « Vous auriez pu les…. » Tenta le jeune homme dépité. « Ron était encore vivant ! Et il y avait Bellatrix. Si on l'avait capt… »,« Harry, un feudeymon est un sort de magie noire, conçu pour détruire absolument tout, il se développe de façon exponentielle, se nourrissant de ce qu'il consume. A l'instant précis où il a été lancé, une maison entièrement en bois comme le Terrier n'avait pas la moindre chance de demeurer. Nous aurions péris avec eux. »,Harry le regarda avec dégoût. Le plus grand sorcier des temps modernes faisait aveu d'impuissance. Quelle déchéance de posséder tant de pouvoir et de ne pas les utiliser.,- « Et donc ça vous suffit ? Vous effacez tous vos regrets en vous disant que le feu allait détruire les corps ! ET VOUS CROYEZ QUE JE VAIS ME CONTENTER DE CA ? C'ÉTAIENT MES AMIS ! J'AURAIS DU LES SAUVER ! »,Dumbledore prit un ton plus ferme, plus rude.,- « Je comprend parfaitement ton sentiment Harry, et je n'hésite pas à dire que cette vision d'horreur restera parmi les plus atroces de toute ma longue existence.,J'ajoute, si tu en doutais, que j'aurais donné jusqu'à ma vie si j'avais eu le sentiment de pouvoir les sauver sans que tu y perdes la tienne et qu'enfin je ne me pardonnerai jamais, même en vivant encore un siècle, ce qui vient d'arriver.,En revanche, aussi glacial que ça puisse te paraître, tu as encore un rôle à jouer. Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin et les autres, crois-tu qu'ils auraient accepté que je sacrifie ta vie pour sauver la leur ? Ne me reproche pas d'avoir sauvé ta vie, Harry !»,Jamais Dumbledore ne lui avait parlé avec autant de sévérité et de force. Ses yeux étincelaient de colère.,- « Je suis désolé, monsieur. »,Le vieil homme soupira. « C'est un sentiment humain, Harry. Il est parfaitement normal que tu sois en colère contre moi, que ce soit pour cette terrible nuit ou pour une multitudes de raisons, comme tu le sais. »,Il caressa machinalement le phénix à ses côtés.,- « Cette attaque est, au-delà de l'ignominie de ce spectacle, un revers majeur. Tom et ses hommes sont parvenus à détruire les puissantes barrières autours du Terrier en un laps de temps particulièrement réduit. C'est incompréhensible. »,Pendant qu'il réfléchissait à voix haute, Harry s'était aussi installé sur un fauteuil. L'adrénaline et la fureur lui avait permis de tenir jusque là, mais tout s'estompait tandis que le désespoir l'envahissait petit à petit.,Tous ses amis, sa famille de cœur, morts, comme ça, sans aucune pitié. Et en plus, cette pauvre….,- « Hermione ! Ron a dit qu'elle avait été amenée par leurs attaquants. »,Dumbledore l'observa un moment avant de tourner son regard vers la cheminée.,- « Nous devons attendre des nouvelles par Severus. » Fit-il enfin. « Lui seul pourra nous apporter des réponses à cette attaque éclair ».,- « Qu'est-ce que Rogue a à voir avec ça ? » s'enquit Harry, surprit de la référence au Maitre des Potions. »,- « Le ,Rogue, Harry, est quelqu'un de très prudent qui sait écouter ce qu'il faut écouter. Il est mon espion auprès de Voldemort. Le fait qu'il ne m'ait pas prévenu prouve, à mon sens, à quel point cette attaque a été déclenchée sur un coup de tête. Mais malgré ça, ils sont parvenus à une efficacité effrayante. »,- « S'il faut c'est lui qui… »,- « Harry, je te conseille de réfléchir soigneusement aux mots que tu vas utiliser. » L'avertit Albus avec un regard extrêmement sévère.,Harry ne répondit pas. Rogue n'avait rien fait pour gagner sa confiance après tout.,- « Est-ce que je pourrais aller me reposer quelque part, professeur ? » S'enquit-il finalement.,Albus l'observa longuement. Il était clair que le choc avait été très rude pour quelqu'un de si jeune. Un peu de calme, aussi relatif, soit-il, ne pourrait qu'aider.,Pour autant, laisser Harry seul serait une erreur. Les événements de l'année précédente lui avaient enseigné qu'Harry pouvait faire preuve de beaucoup d'impulsivité et d'imprudence sous le coup de sentiments forts.,Il prit sa décision.,- « Les dortoirs sont fermés jusqu'en septembre, et je doute d'ailleurs que tu veuilles y loger après le drame de ce soir. »,Harry opina du chef. Le dortoir vide de Gryffondor, alors que les cadavres de Ginny, Ron, Fred et George, étaient aussi violents dans son esprit, ce serait terrible.,- « C'est pourquoi, je te propose l'infirmerie. Pompom Pomfresh vit ici pendant les vacances. Elle pourra ainsi t'accueillir. »,Ce fut entendu. Il passa directement par la cheminée directoriale pour arriver à l'infirmerie.,- « Évidemment, c'est toujours sur vous que ça tombe… » Marmonna la guérisseuse en lui lançant un regard inquiet.,Harry ne répondit pas. Il s'écroula sur le lit qui venait de lui être désigné.,Mme Pomfresh décida de lui laisser un peu d'intimité après lui avoir fait promettre de l'appeler en cas de soucis.,La nuit fut atroce. Comme si elles n'attendaient que ça, les images macabres vinrent flotter sous ses yeux.,Albus Dumbledore faisait les cent pas. Son esprit aiguisé tournait à plein régime pour essayer de comprendre par quel miracle ses barrières avaient pu être brisées si vite.,Et il ne comprenait pas. Parce qu'il n'y avait qui puisse expliquer cela. Il était le gardien du secret du Terrier. Il avait lancé, lui-même, un Fidelitas et plusieurs barrières supplémentaires.,Voldemort avait-il trouvé une faille au surpuissant Fidelitas ?,Et que faisait Severus ? Pourquoi n'y avait-il aucune nouvelle de lui ?,Les choses n'auraient pas pu être pires. Et cette terrible malédiction qui dévorait petit à petit son corps ?,C'est alors qu'il apparut. Celui à qui il pensait un instant auparavant. Son professeur de potion, et ami, Severus Rogue.,- « Severus, enfin vous voilà. »,L'homme était dans un état de fatigue effrayant.,- « Albus, je ne vais pas m'attarder longtemps. Je dois y retourner sur l'heure. »,Le vieil homme ouvrit de grands yeux. « Déjà ? »,Le potionniste s'assit sur un fauteuil vide avec découragement.,- « Les nouvelles sont très mauvaises. Ils tiennent miss Granger au manoir Malefoy. »,- « Oui, nous nous en doutions. Lorsque j'ai voulu amener Harry au Terrier, nous les avons trouvés tous morts. Savez-vous comment…. »,Rogue l'interrompit sans se soucier apparemment de courtoisie. La situation se passait de ronds de jambes.,- « Ils ont capturé Dedalus Diggle ce matin. Il avait sur lui le mot indiquant l'adresse du Terrier de votre main. Le secret est tombé. Le Seigneur des Ténèbres n'a pas attendu, il a réuni les Mangemorts et a lancé son attaque. »,Albus lui lança un regard perçant. « Vous y avez participé, Severus. »,Ce n'était pas une question. Ils le savaient tous les deux.,- « Je n'ai rien pu faire, Albus. » Répondit-il néanmoins d'une voix pleine de dégoût. « Les barrières sont tombées de , main. Elles n'ont tenu qu'un instant. Tous ont été pris par surprise, sans même la possibilité de se battre convenablement….stupides Gryffondors trop confiants. »,Le vieil homme ne dit rien. C'était inutile.,- « Pourquoi ont-ils capturé Hermione Granger ? » S'enquit-il néanmoins.,- « Ils veulent en faire un exemple. L'exposer à la vue de tous pour inspirer la terreur. Pour…briser toute la volonté des opposants. »,Dumbledore semblait avoir pris trente ans en quelques minutes.,- « Nous sommes en position de faiblesse. Ce sont de lourdes pertes pour l'Ordre. De plus, Harry n'est plus en sécurité du fait de ma faiblesse progressive…. »,- « Qu'allez-vous faire de Potter, alors ? » Demanda brusquement Rogue. « Allez-vous hâter ce sacrifice que vous prévoyez depuis si longtemps. »,Le directeur ne releva l'ironie mordante de son professeur. « Il ne reste plus qu'une seule solution. »,Ses yeux brillaient d'une étrange lueur.,A peine Harry était parvenu à sombrer dans un demi-sommeil que le cauchemar avait commencé.,Le rêve, qui n'en était pas un, il le savait maintenant, avait commencé par une grande salle peu éclairée.,Devant une assemblée de mangemorts, le Seigneur des Ténèbres ricanait avec une maléfique joie.,A quelques mètres de lui….,- « Et voici la Sang-de-Bourbe Granger, grande admiratrice du ,Je suis très honoré de te rencontrer enfin. »,Des rires moqueurs retentirent dans l'auditoire.,Voldemort avait alors esquissé un étrange sourire.,« Je sais que tu vois ça, Potter. Alors, admire avec quelle force ton amie va hurler lorsque je vais m'occuper d'elle. ,Et les hurlements de la jeune fille raisonnèrent dans la nuit sous le regard de son meilleur ami qui ne pouvait rien y faire.,Et cela dura longtemps, très longtemps. Pourtant, ce n'est que quelques temps plus tard qu'Harry fut tiré de ce spectacle macabre.,Il tomba sur deux yeux très reconnaissables.,- « Harry, je suis désolé de t'avoir laissé si peu de temps pour digérer cette terrible journée. Mais hélas, les minutes nous sont comptées. Severus vient de m'apprendre une terrible information. Miss Granger a été tuée. »,Pendant quelques minutes, Harry avait pensé que la situation ne pouvait pas empirer. Et le Destin se chargeait de le détromper, une nouvelle fois.,- « VOUS PLAISANTEZ ? JE VIENS DE REVER D'ELLE ! Elle était avec Voldemort ! Il la torturait il y a encore quelques minutes. Je…l'ai vue. »,- « C'était une fausse vision, Harry. » Fit tristement le directeur. « Voldemort voulait que tu la croies vivante pour que tu te précipites à son secours. Il a misé sur ta volonté de sauver ta dernière amie. Raison pour laquelle il n'avait jusque là épargné qu'elle. »,Alors Harry pleura. Pleura toutes les larmes de son corps. Pleura ses amis et sa famille de cœur disparus dans la haine et la souffrance. ,- « Harry, je crois que nous n'avons plus le choix. Voldemort se rapproche de plus en plus. Bientôt, il attaquera Poudlard. Alors, le monde tel que nous le connaissons sera la proie des flammes. »,- « Qu'allons-nous faire ? Allez-vous m'apprendre à me battre ? »,Le vieil homme soupira. « J'avais prévu un emploi du temps particulier, sous forme de séances régulières, te concernant. M ais les événements tragiques m'ont pris de court. Il ne reste qu'une seule possibilité pour éventuellement changer la tendance actuelle et te permettre d'accomplir ce qui t'attend. »,Harry acquiesça.,- « Je suis décidé à ne pas rester les bras croisés. Quelque soit votre idée, je suis prêt à faire de mon mieux. »,- « J'en suis convaincu, Harry. » Répondit-il tristement. « Prend mon bras. »,Le jeune homme s'exécuta. C'était la troisième fois de sa vie qu'il allait transplaner. La première datait de quelques heures, mais semblait provenir d'une autre vie, tant les choses avaient changé.,La douleur psychologique était si importante que même la pression du transplanage lui parut inexistante. Son cœur était brisé après tout.,Ils se trouvaient dans une sombre forêt complètement inconnue.,- « Où sommes-nous, professeur ? »,Dumbledore regardait de tous côtés d'un air à la fois méditatif et inquiet.,- « Dans un lieu oublié des hommes, à l'écart de toute chose. Un endroit où je ne suis pas venu depuis environ…un siècle. » Répondit-il d'un ton curieusement ému.,- « Pardon ? » Manqua de s'étrangler son élève. « Et pourquoi sommes-nous ici ? »,Dumbledore l'observa longuement. Il lui tendit un objet circulaire avec un curieux symbole dessus.,- « Il s'agit d'un….portoloin modifié par mes soins. Il t'enverra dans un lieu où l'on saura t'apprendre ce que tu dois savoir. »,- « Pourquoi n'est-ce pas vous qui m'apprenez ce que je dois savoir ? Vous êtes le sorcier le plus puissant que je connaisse, non ? »,Le vieil homme eut un sourire las.,- « Tu es très gentil Harry. Mais les derniers événements ont montré à quel point mes pouvoirs avaient leur limite. Je ne saurais pas t'aider comme je le devrais. »,Sur ses paroles mystérieuses, il se rapprocha un peu plus.,- « Maintenant, écoute-moi attentivement Harry. Tu dois te rendre à la Guilde, quelqu'un t'accueillera et te guidera. Sois très prudent cependant. L'endroit où tu vas apparaître ne ressemble à rien de ce que tu as pu rencontrer jusqu'aujourd'hui. Les hommes et la Magie elle-même évoluent continuellement. Et cela peut transformer ceux qui n'y prennent pas garde Je ne peux t'en dire davantage. Tu comprendras sur place. »,- « Vous ne venez pas avec moi ? » S'effara Harry qui n'y croyait pas.,Il n'allait quand même pas s'embarquer comme ça, au hasard, sans savoir ce qui l'attendait.,- « Ma propre mission se déroule ici. » Il fit un signe de la main et l'étrange objet s'illumina d'une lueur bleue étonnamment puissante pour un si petit objet.,Il pressa l'épaule du garçon à ses côtés dans un signe de soutien tacite.,- « Je te souhaite une bonne chance, Harry. » Conclut-il.,La lueur bleue se mua en un tourbillon de lumière aveuglante. Un instant plus tard, le Survivant avait disparu sans laisser de trace.,- « Je regrette de t'avoir menti, Harry. » Murmura Albus. « J'espère que tu sauras me pardonner d'avoir utilisé ton amie miss-Granger pour achever de te convaincre, et que tu pourras aller la sauver à ton retour. »

Harry stood there looking over the ruined grounds of Hogwarts, bodies were strewn across the ground, the bodies of his friends, his loved ones, his family, yes no one say him was left, the battle at Hogwarts took every one he held dear to him.,He stood up and levitated all of his loved ones into straight lines, leaving the DeathEaters for the vultures that he could just see circle Ing overhead. After doing that he walked one last time up through the ruined castle up to Griffindor tower, where he found his trunk still intact, he threw out all of his books, except his photo album, he took one last look around of what had been his home for 6 years then he apparated away to Gringrotts.,When he arrived at Gringrotts Griphook was all ready waiting for him.,The Goblin motion for Harry to follow him and they entered a small room where Griphook motion for Harry to sit, while the Goblin sneer at Harry saying;,"Mister Potter we appear to have a problem between the paper work you requested from us we found an adoption document that was signed by your late mother Lily Potter and your father James Potter. There is also a letter addressed to you, would you like to read the letter?","Yes please" Harry said.,Griphook past Harry the letter and Harry took the letter and unfolded it and started to read it,At this Harry raced an eyebrow, ;a Secret? Wonder what it could be?; He thought.,Harry looked up from the letter to Griphook and said; "I wish to withdraw all the money from the Potter's vaults, becouse I am leaving Britain for good.",Griphook's eyes when wide then he smirked at Harry and left the room after a few minutes he was back with the biggest trunk Harry has ever seen and the potion to remove the glamour.,Griphook shrunk the trunk for Harry, while the young man was drinking the nasty potion, win Griphook was done he turned and said;,''I wish you luck in your new Adventure, because knowing you, you will need it.'',Harry gave the goblin a smile as Griphook said;,"Have a nice life Mister Zala.'',with that said he left Harry who was enjoying his new look in the window of Gringrotts.,After admiring his new look for a few minutes, Harry walked out of the wizardIng bank and apparated into an alley next to what was left of the leacky cauldron, Harry pulled a stone out of his pocket, and thought back to something that Dumbeldore told him when he gave Harry the stone...,(flashback),''Harry... Dumbeldore started, ''I want to give you this stone, this stone is called a wishing stone, it does what the name suggests, it grants you one wish, it is one of the most rarest stones in the wizardIng world, and I believe you are serving to a wish granted after everything you have done in most likely will do for this world. So have a high say thank you young one for doing why most others fear.'',And with that Dumbeldore took his last breath and Harry weept tears of sorrow for his beloved headmaster.,( end flashback),He look at the wishing stone and he closed his eyes and said;,"I wish with all my heart, take me back home, take me to where I came from!",And with a flash Harry James Potter vanished from Britain and to never be seen again.

"Hobey-ho, Pendragon!" Spader said, "Where are we?" he asked looking around with curiosity.,"Hobey-ho, Spader!" Bobby Pendragon answered, "That is a most excellent question.","Oy! You there!" a voice shouted their way, "Who are you?","Um, I'm Bobby" he answered the voice, " Who are you and why are you in my story?" Bobby's voice cracked.,"Excuse me, your story? This is my story." a figure came out from behind a tree.,"Harry! Don't be so rude!" a female's voice exclaimed. Another figure came out from behind the same tree; "My name is Hermione Granger. This is Harry Potter." the figure named Hermione said. She turned back to the tree, "Ronald! Don't be shy!" a third figure came out from behind the tree, "And this is Ron Weasley.","Hobey-ho! My name is Spader." Spader waved, "I have a first name, but I have temporarily forgotten it.","Well, Bobby and Spader, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Hermione welcomed them warmly.,"Pendragon, I think the flume made a wrong turn or two." Spader whispered to Bobby, "This doesn't look like Eelong to me.","I didn't think the flume could make wrong turns." Bobby whispered back.,"Oy! What are you two whispering about?" Ron interrupted suspiciously.,"Ron, you over suspicious monkey! Don't yell at them!" Hermione scolded, "Can't you see they are lost?" she said observantly.,"I'm not a monkey! And I am not suspicious, you baboon." Ron retorted.,"Guys! Please, let's get back to the real story." Harry begged, "And please make that pleaded." Harry BEGGED.,"Ok, so, we somehow ended up at Hogwarts." Spader summarized, "This is a tum-tigger if I ever saw one, Pendragon.","I know what you mean, Spader." Bobby replied. Ron, Harry and Hermione looked at Bobby and Spader curiously.,"Oy! What is that noise?" Ron asked suspiciously, "And stop making me sound suspicious!" he added SUSPICIOUSLY.,"It sounds like notes." Hermione observed.,"Hey! Why does she get to sound smart while we sound suspicious and whiney?" Harry begged.,"So-rry! Didn't know it was a crime to ask questions." Harry mumbled.,"Oh, right. Anyway," Bobby started, "That would be the flume. Obviously it is having serious issues today." he answered.,"Hobey-ho, Pendragon! It must be Loor!" Spader exclaimed.,"Oh no!" Bobby grumbled.,The notes did a crescendo as a light started to appear. A flash emitted from the air and blinded everyone. Then it all stopped. All that was there was a dark figure.,She was dark-skinned and very athletic looking. She had no fat what so ever on her anywhere. She had dark hair and chocolate eyes. They were darting around suspiciously.,"What have you done, Pendragon?" the dark beauty asked.,"Why do you always think it is my fault?" Bobby asked angrily.,"Because it normally is." she replied.,"Oh." was all Bobby could say.,Ron visibly shook his head. His eyes had glazed over when he saw this dark stranger come out of the flume thingy. The sudden movement caused Loor to draw her weapon and swing it so it was a few inches from Ron's nose. Hermione drew her wand just as fast. She pointed it at Loor's head.,"Woah! Ladies! Calm down Loor. Put that thing away before you or some else gets hurt." Bobby said.,"Hermione, you don't have to curse every girl that looks Ron's way." Harry begged while he brought Hermione's arm down. Harry shot the author a look while Hermione begrudedly put her wand away.,"There, much better." Spader said nervously.,"Well, answer my question, Pendragon." Loor demanded while she kept an eye on Ron. Almost like she was daring him to move.,"For once, it was not me. Why can't you accept that?" Bobby pleaded.,"Hey! Why does he get to plead while I have to beg?" Harry begged, ANNOYINGLY.,"Ok, ok. Sorry." Harry mumbled.,"That was not normal." Loor observed, "Maybe it was not your fault this time, Pendragon, but the flumes do not do this regularly." Loor added, determidly.,"Is that even a word?" Ron asked suspiciously, "Bloody hell!" he swore SUSPICIOUSLY.,"Don't swear, Ronald! And is what even a word?" Hermione asked.,"Determidly?" Ron asked suspiciously.,"No Ron." Hermione answered, "Now stop making words up." she scolded.,"Sorry. Was just asking." Ron grumbled.,"Now, how do we get out of here, Pendragon?" Loor asked. Her eyes darted to the dark-haired boy with round glasses and a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightening bolt, "What is your name, Scar-Boy?" she asked him.,"Harry Potter." Harry answered.,"Hey! I didn't sound suspicious!" Ron exclaimed, "And Harry didn't beg!" he added.,-suspiciously.,-he begged.,"Not really." Ron mumbled suspiciously, "Oh, hell with it!" he swore suspiciously.,"Yes, let's." Harry begged.,"Well, maybe you should try the same way you came?" Hermione suggested observantly.,"It won't work. My ring isn't telling me there is a flume near-by." Bobby answered.,Suddenly, Bobby's ring began to vibrate. Bobby jumped. The grey stone was starting to glow.,"Oh, I stand corrected." Bobby looked to the author sourly.,"Fine," Bobby sighed, "I forgive you.","Maybe one of us should try and see if the flume is working." Loor suggested.,"Hobey-ho! I will, milady." Spader volunteered.,"Have a go if you want, my friend." Bobby said.,"Alright!" Spader said, "Wish me luck!",Hermione walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. Harry shook his hand and patted him on the back. Ron followed suit.,Spader smiled, "Eelong!" he shouted.,Musical notes could be heard and a light started to grow. There was a flash of light as the notes reached the end of their crescendo. Then all was still. Spader was gone.,"It is just like apparating." Harry muttered to Ron. Ron nodded in agreement.,Bobby laid his ring on the ground. He shouted, "Spader!" and it started to grow. Spader's head appeared in the void the ring created.,"Hobey-Ho Pendragon!" the Spader-head said, "I'm in Eelong!" he added.,"Okay, I will send Loor next." Bobby answered.,"But, can't she stay here?" Ron asked suspiciously.,"Um, no." Bobby answered slowly, "She needs to come with us and help us fight Saint Dane.","Why would you want to fight a saint?" Hermione asked observantly. "I don't need to observe everything, you know." Hermione added OBSERVANTLY.,"Anyways, couldn't she stay for a day?" Ron asked suspiciously.,"Ron, I already thought you had Lavender?" Harry begged, "Why do you need Loor?" Ron blushed.,"Nevermind." he replied, suspiciously.,"Right." Bobby said after a moment of awkward silence, "Ready Loor?","Yes." she replied, "See you in Eelong, Pendragon.",She waved good-bye to everyone and turned to shout 'Eelong.' Before she could do so, though, Ron jumped and wrapped his arms around her legs. Loor whipped her head around and grabbed her staff. She thwacked Ron on the back.,"Ouch!" Ron yelled suspiciously. Loor continued to hit him.,"Aren't you going to stop her?" Hermione asked Bobby observantly.,"Oh no." Bobby answered, "I know she can kick my butt. I'm scared of her." Loor's assault on Ron continued.,"Okay! I will let go!" Ron yelled suspiciously.,Loor stopped and Ron quickly took two steps backwards. She kept a wary eye on him.,"Eelong!" she shouted and the light appeared with the music and Loor was gone.,"NOOOOO!" Ron dropped to his knees and started crying.,"Okay, well, I will see you guys later." Bobby eyed Ron strangely, "Maybe." he added.,"Bye Bobby!" Hermione said observantly. She shot the author an icy glare. The author glared back with equal iciness, "Is that even a word too?" she said to the author.,"Anyways, safe travels, Bobby!" Harry begged.,"Good-bye!" Bobby said, "Eelong!",The music came and crescendo. The light flashed and Bobby was gone too.,"He was kind of cute!" Hermione squeaked observantly.,"Why did she have to go?!" Ron yelled suspiciously.,"Come on guys, we have double potions next. We don't want to be late." and with that, the three of them left.

House/Team: Hufflepuff,Class Subject: potions,Category: standard,Prompt(s): [Crossover] Wizard of Oz,Words: 1746,Dorothy Gale lived happily with a dog called Toto, her uncle Henry and her aunt Em, when suddenly out of nowhere a tornado came. Together they all ran towards the shelter. First uncle Henry got to the shelter. He was waving for them hurry and kept the door open. Then Aunt Em got to the shelter. Dorothy was very close. She was not fast enough. The tornado sucked the dog, the house and young Dorothy along and with a loud thud they all hit the ground.,Dorothy looked around. It was raining and the little houses looked dreary. They were different from houses in Kansas. Still Dorothy did not feel nearly as bad as you might think a little girl who had been suddenly whisked away from the place she stood merely seconds ago, would feel as she was put down in a strange, dreary place. "Toto, I have a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore," she spoke.,Dorothy then heard a male voice yell. "Lily, I am going to find out what happened. Something strange has occurred.","JAMES POTTER, DON'T YOU DARE!" Dorothy heard a particularly angry women shout.,Suddenly Dorothy found herself eye to eye with a surprised-looking man. He was holding a stick. It was very strange, now Dorothy was sure she was not in Kansas anymore. "Oh hello," the man said coaxingly, "Why aren't you home?" The man was waving his stick in complex patterns.,Dorothy eyed the man who must be James cautiously. "I was swept by a tornado.",The man smiled endeared. "Of course you were, do you know where you live?","Kansas," the little girl answered to the man's surprise. There was no way the girl could have come here all the way from Kansas was there?,He quickly ushered the girl into the house as he whispered some address into her ears, where his wife was waiting on him. Dorothy followed the man and felt very glad that she had her dog Toto with her, as without him she had felt particularly lost. As they entered the house, a redheaded woman furiously walked towards them.,The man was met by an angry tornado of words as woman yelled at him. "I can't believe you left the house! What if it was a trick? You could have died! You have no idea how worried I was. Do you want your son to grow up without a dad?" She then abruptly stopped as she noticed the girl. Her voice turned soft and kind. "Hi dear, what are you doing here?","Lily, something strange is going on, I have got to find it out-" James said urgently. He took in Lily's angry glare. "I'll send a patronus to Sirius and Remus to help." James then turned to the little girl. "May I ask you your name again?","Dorothy," the little girl answered.,"Okay Dorothy, this is my wife Lily and I am James and she is holding little Harry," James adjusted his glasses and smiled crookedly at both of them. "Dorothy just told me that she has travelled up here with a tornado all the way from Kansas, I do not know where Voldemort is and-",Dorothy stepped back and the dog Toto started barking, but stopped almost immediately as a second loud thud was heard and the dog jumped up to the man and started licking his face as if they'd been friends all their life. Then man then started gushing. "Oh Merlin's socks! You got little Harry a dog. You don't know how happy this makes me, that cat was aggressive and-","PADS," James then yelled, making Dorothy cringe. "The cat dotes on Harry and we have not bought a dog-" Behind James Lily had crossed her arms as she looked angry on behalf of their cat.,"Well, I-" Pads muttered hesitantly. "How was I to know? Everyone would jump to that conclusion right? Anyways why do you have this cute little bugger and how can you look at it and not immediately adopt it!" Pads then started playing with it and Dorothy felt it sting a little as the dog was growling playfully at Pads.,"Padfoot, mate," James said snapping his fingers. "I need your help. The dog is Dorothy's. We have been betrayed. Voldemort was here and then she appeared along with that dog and well- that house.",Padfoot however was no longer listening, but was looking at the uncomfortable looking girl. "I like you!" He winked at her, making her feel a little better somehow. "Nice dog as well." He then clapped James back. "So how do these things just appear here?",James looked puzzled. "A tornado.",In the meanwhile Lily and Remus had been trying to make her feel at home. They kept asking her questions about where she lived exactly and about her normal live.,Brightly smiling James and Padfoot came back. "He's dead, Lily," James said beaming. "We no longer have to hide!","We should party, I am going to get us firewhiskey and-" Padfoot excitedly exclaimed.,"We can't," Remus said decidedly. He then nodded at Dorothy. "We have to take her to Dumbledore and get her home.","We haven't had a reason to celebrate for so long-" Padfoot whispered. "Surely she doesn't mind..","I want to go home," Dorothy said looking upset.,"Don't act like a child, Padfoot!" Remus said. He then kneeled and looked at Dorothy. "We are going to take you to Dumbledore. He is a great wizard and will help us to get you home, alright?" Dorothy nodded relieved. "Okay, I am going to apparate you as traveling differently will take way too long. It might feel a bit strange, just hold my hand tightly and you will be alright!" Remus said. And then they apparated. Dorothy looked at a place that felt very magical. It was a large castle and they stood in front of a gate. Then Remus waved his wand and a silvery wolf spun out of it and started prancing towards the castle. "That is a patronus and it will send a message to the headmaster that we are here," Remus told her.,Next to them Sirius appeared smiling sheepishly at them holding her dog Toto, that climbed out of his arms to jump onto Dorothy who started laughing tearily. "Toto, I missed you!" Toto barked warmly in response.,Dorothy had not noticed the headmaster arriving. "My boys, what brings you here?" Sirius and Remus started explaining what had occurred as Dorothy was playing with Toto. At first seeing the castle had made her feel dazzled, but she was very sure there was no place like home.,"How very curious," the headmaster then said as his twinkling eyes set on Dorothy, who noticed the men for the first time. "I heard you wanted to go home?",Dorothy nods. "Very much sure. Even if this castle feels so magical and beautiful, but there is no place like home." Toto, her dog barked as if he agreed. In fact Toto did not really care whether he was in Kansas or at Hogwarts so long as Dorothy was with him; but he knew the little girl was unhappy, and that made him unhappy too, so he barked as if agreeing, earning a small smile.,"Good," the old wizard said. "I am going to apparate us back and see if I can find any traces of magic on the house. Dorothy felt another strange squeeze in her stomach and felt a little dizzy as they again were in the spot they appeared initially. The old wizard held what she realized was a wand.,Then the redheaded witch appeared again from the house she could now see. "There were some death eaters here. They disappeared. Albus, what do you think that meant?",Albus quickly seemed to reach a decision. "Get back into your home and stay safe with little Dorothy, little Harry and James. I am going to Kansas along with Sirius, Remus, Mad-Eye and Elphias." Albus then grabbed Dorothy's shoulder, who immediately looked up into his eyes. Dorothy felt the old wizard invade her mind delicately. She saw her home and her neighbourhood and then she looked at the empty spot where a few seconds ago Albus had stood.,"Okay, Dorothy, let's just get inside," Lily said. "Toto, you as well!",The next morning Dorothy awoke to the smell of pancakes and as she walked downstairs she almost expected uncle Henry to be baking them while aunt Em was still waking up and drinking some dark coffee. She felt her heart drop a little as she saw the old man- Albin? the redheaded woman Lily, her man James, Sirius to whom her dog had taken a liking, and the other man whose nam she had forgotten.,"Dorothy," The old man, whose name she suddenly remembered again, gently said. "I am afraid that the death eaters, bad man who followed the man who had been flattened by you old house, cut us to finding your parents and they have been hurt. We will visit them, but they have both been gone through a lot of pain, so you'll have to be gentle, okay?",Dorothy nodded. "Can we go now?","Let's eat something first," Lily said calmingly. Dorothy sat down agitated. She wanted to scream and demand them to take her to her parents this instant, but was also afraid to see uncle Henry and aunt Em hurt. Dorothy quickly ate two pancakes and was then moved by something called floo powder.,"Dorothy," aunt Em exclaimed. "We were so worried, especially after those bad man came and-" Dorothy ran towards her mum and hugged her. Uncle Henry was shivering and looked worse, but gave her a hug as well. He seemed very absentmindedly.,It made Dorothy upset. Albus seemed to notice it. "Your father will need some time to get better and there are still bad man wanting to hurt you, but with some courage from you and protection from the order, you all will be fine. With some time your live will get back to normal I assure you.","And what if I am scared, Albus?" Dorothy asked. "I do not feel a lot of courage at the moment.","You have plenty of courage, I am sure," answered Albus. "All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have plenty of.",Dorothy nodded as she hugged her parents again and Toto joined them happily.

Author's disclaimer – I'm not the one who created any of the worlds in this story. The Potterverse is obviously the work of the great J.K. Rowling. And the Old Kingdom (and surrounding lands) are the work of Garth Nix. All of the characters that follow (except for a few O.C.s) are the brainchildren of one of these worthy authors. I'm not making any gain from them. In fact, the only thing I have done is probably something I shouldn't have – introduced them to each other. They say that different types of magic shouldn't mix. Oops. But what the hey – sometimes, you have to tempt fate and give it a go. Which I have started to do here. Rated T for some fairly dark themes (the Old Kingdom is certainly a place that knows this, and don't even get me started on the river!). Canon compliance is go for everything except the epilogue of DH. Look for me to upload about once a week, if all goes well. That's the intention, even if life gets in the way. Reviews = longer chapters! ...and many thanks to colorfulraincloud aka ThatOneQueerFangirl for beta-ing!,Ronald Weasley was cold and miserable.,This was not the first time, he reflected. Diving into freezing ponds, guarding a tent in the cold,…, no, Ronald Weasley was quite familiar with being cold and miserable. Being out in this late October rain was nothing new. It still wasn't good.,But it was still better than disappointing Hermione. He had done that before, and the results were less than pleasant. Funny, that. In the past, he would have run away from the cold, hidden from the work, and looked for a warm fireplace and a nice game of chess. Being with Hermione all those years meant learning what it meant to work. He never really understood how his father dealt with his mother until he had been married for a few years himself.,Telling his father ,was an education in its own right.,Still, he had a job to do, and it wasn't just to please Hermione. He had Rose to think of as well. The girl was just as heartbroken as her mother when Crookshanks finally died. They were both inconsolable for days. The house was still somber, three months later. Funny thing – third year, Ron had thought Crookshanks a monster. Now he was looking for his successor. He remembered the conversation the family earlier that night.,"Are you sure you're ready for another pet?,"Daddy." Hands on hips, and that stare. Rose had a way of looking at him that made Ron feel weak, no matter how right he felt.,"Hermione! Help!","Ronald, we already talked about this. You know what I expect.","'Mione!","Maybe you should go right now, if you don't want to disappoint your daughter.","It's dark outside. It's raining! You know the Magical Menagerie isn't open!","Which is why you SHOULD have taken care of this today BEFORE you came home from work. This is the third day in a row you forgot. Go. Get out! NOW!" Her voice was starting to become hysterical – a dangerous tone that Ron knew all too well.,"Go where? To a muggle pet shop?","No. Rose wanted a magical cat. Find a magical cat. Find a stray in the alley, or such. Bring it back. Is that simple enough for you?" At this point, the glare on Hermione's face was rapidly approaching the danger mark. Ron was made of sterner stuff, but when Hermione glared at him like that, hands on hips, she bore a remarkable resemblance to his own mother on a tirade. This was never a good thing. Having learned that joking and teasing only inflamed her further, Ron tried one last argument, sounding weak even to himself.,"All right then. How are we going to keep this new cat indoors? Won't it just escape?","We can use Crookshank's kit from when he was old to get him used to us. Now go. The sooner you find a cat, the sooner you can come home.","What if I don't find a magical cat?","The menagerie opens in the morning.",And so he was out here in the dark and the drizzle. A jar of bluebell flames would be nice. A warming charm would help. But he had to find a magical cat, and the menagerie was closed. Nothing to do for it except keep looking. Even a revelio wouldn't work in this case – it wouldn't work reliably on any magical non-human creature, and it might just scare away any creature that might do.,At least he wasn't likely to be picked up by the aurors. Ron had chosen a spot behind Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, which meant that he was known. There had been more than a few occasions when experiments after dark had required the staff to leave the building. Ron chuckled to himself – last time, George and Angelina had to remain outside the store for three full days.,Maybe his need would draw the animal to him. Although, he thought ruefully, if it were truly that way, it should have been Rose outside, not him. The need would begin the binding, and he would have to get the cat home and hope that Rose needed the cat more than he did. And if the emotions were wrong, they'd make an enemy, one no doubt with claws and teeth. What was 'Mione thinking, putting them in this position?,There! A flash of white fur! One of the local alley cats was pouncing on a mouse, only 20 feet away.,Ron knew what to do. If he just tried to sneak up on the cat, it would escape. It might even turn and scratch him. Instead, he'd have to apparate, grab by the scruff, and immediate apparate again. One, two,….,Three! A bang, and he was on the cat. Grab and yell "HOME!",And a sly voice belonging to that white cat, with eyes greener than pickled toad, said, "Which home?" Ron felt a hook pull him by the navel, and everything went dark.

I own neither Harry Potter nor Hikaru no Go and I don't earn any money with this story.,: The bunny held me hostage and pressured me into writing this. So far I'm not sure if this will have a pairing or not, but I'm open to suggestions.,may or may not contain slash in the future,Harry is utterly bored and that's , a good thing.,It all starts with a half-hearted attempt at finishing his History of Magic summer homework, which quickly spirals into frustrated growling at everything goblin – their bloody countless wars in particular. Sometimes the brunet wonders how Hogwarts students have managed to get an O.W.L in the subject, when the teacher only ever drones on about one topic. Or, well, why nobody has gotten rid of Binns, for that matter.,When he's just about ready to throw his quill and parchment into the corner of his room, Harry stands up and vacates his desk instead. Approximately twenty minutes are spent listlessly leafing through an old edition of Quidditch Monthly and cursing the heavy rain pattering against his window, before he's leaving his room altogether.,Damn his friends for being out of the country or busy!,The brunet thinks of seeking out his mother for all of two seconds, before remembering that she's currently working on a new charms project and everybody knows it's a self-imposed death sentence to interrupt her. Spending time with his father and godfather doesn't even cross his mind, because Harry's currently giving them the cold shoulder and will continue to do so for quite some time. It's their own fault for thinking they can put him into a frilly, pink dress without repercussions. Needless to say, the brunet has carried out a more direct revenge, as well.,His dear uncle Mooney is – to his knowledge – mostly blameless, but the blue moon has left him cranky and exhausted and overall bad company. And uncle Peter, well, he's almost as dull as Binns.,In the end Harry roams around the manor in hopes of finding anything worthwhile to do, which ultimately leads him to one of the bigger storage rooms. Ever since he can remember the door's been locked to keep curious, little Harries out of it. As far as he knows it doesn't harbour anything overtly dangerous, but small children and old clutter usually don't mix too well.,The brunet surreptitiously checks his surroundings and draws his holly wand, when he sees neither portrait, nor family member. A quick - newly learnt - , unlocks the fortunately not magically sealed door and allows him to enter a room he has never before stepped into.,Harry has barely crossed the threshold, when several light orbs flicker to life, illuminating dusty furniture and boxes upon boxes of yet hidden treasures. His boredom is blown away like sand in the wind, giving way to burning curiosity.,The first few boxes contain baby clothing and toys. He recognises some of them, other items have probably belonged to his parents. All of it is completely uninteresting.,He circles around some gaudy armchairs, wrinkles his nose at a stuffed niffler and finally reaches a cabinet. It's filled with trophies of different sizes and shapes and rows upon rows of yellowed notebooks. Harry traces the engraved name of his maternal grandfather with his fingertips, before he carefully pulls one of the notebooks out. The brunet opens it towards the middle and is greeted with the sight of a grid, lots of circles and numbers. A quick inspection of the other pages and books reveal similar depictions, albeit with different constellations. These are obviously recordings, but of what, Harry isn't entirely sure, even with the additional information at the top of each page. What the hell's a 'komi' anyway?,Crouching down reveals a peculiar wooden block at the bottom of the cabinet. Whereas the trophies and note books have seemed normal, muggle even, this block's softly tugging on his magic. It doesn't feel malicious, though.,Harry hesitates for about a split-second, before his curiosity wins out. Some dusting brings forth a familiar grid, but what really catches the brunet's attention is the bloodstain coating the entire surface. He touches them with the tips of his fingers.,",",Jumping to his feet with a startled yelp, Harry reaches for his wand and frantically scans his surroundings.,"Who's there?" Nothing out of the ordinary is visible, but that doesn't mean much to a magical person, especially when one of their family heirlooms , an invisibility cloak.,",","Dad? Padfood? Is that you?" He certainly doesn't put it past them to play such a terrible prank on him and really, who else can it be? The wards are supposed to prevent everyone not linked to them from entering the property. Therefore, it can't be an intruder... right?,Maybe he has stumbled upon a boggart or a poltergeist? A dark, half-forgotten storage room is the perfect environment for them, after all. But why would they talk to him in a foreign language?,Biting his bottom lip, Harry stumbles backwards, trying to reach the door without turning his back to the- the ,. Before he manages to make any headway, though, he feels another brush against his magic and then something inside him snaps into place. The following pressure on his mind almost brings him to his knees. The brunet swallows back the bile that creeps up his throat and stares at the person materialising in front of him in wide-eyed horror.,His knees feel weak and barely able to support his weight, but Harry pushes past the sensation and rushes out of the room like hell hounds are nipping at his heels.,He finally reaches his mother's study and bursts through the door, all previous reservations blown out of the window. What does he care about her wrath, when he's being possessed or... or ,.,"MUM!",Harry sees his mother's hand twitch in surprise, thereby creating a significant ink stain across the parchment in front of her. The brunet winces as the redhead's glare focusses on him, but the guilt is drowned by renewed panic, when the spectre floats into the room. It's talking to him again in whatever language it speaks. It sounds frantic.,Harry still feels sick to his stomach, but he absolutely refuses to give in and throw up.,The hand on his shoulder almost gives him a heart attack, which is quite a feat considering he's barely twelve and thus too young to suffer from such health issues. His mother has somehow got up from her chair and crossed the room without his notice. By now there isn't an ounce of anger on her face, instead she almost exudes concern.,"What's wrong, sweetie? Did James and Sirius prank you again? I swear-",Harry stares first at her, then at the being and then right back at his mother. She isn't even looking at it, although it's right there in front of them!,"You... you can't see it?" the brunet askes with a faint voice and points a trembling finger at the man, woman, ,.,Lily follows his indication with her gaze, which quickly gains a suspicious, displeased quality to it.,"Are , trying to play a prank on ,, young man? If so, you've chosen the wrong person.","No, mum! I-I went into the store room on the first floor and I found this thing with blood stains all over it and suddenly there was this ghost thing. Now it's following me and- and it's ,. I don't know why you can't see it, but I , it's here. Please!",Green eyes meet green eyes in a prolonged stare down, before his mother starts to cast , and several other spells he doesn't recognise. She is most likely scanning their surroundings, but the frustrated look on her face suggests a lack of results.,"Does it look like it's going to attack you?",Harry cautiously redirects his gaze to the spectre, which is floating around in one corner of the room. It is staring at them - him - with puppy dog eyes that would have given Sirius' a run for their money.,"I don't think so.","Then let's call your father, before dealing with the problem.",„We should just burn it.","Don't be stupid Prongs. The spirit may be linked to this thing, but now it has a connection to Harry, as well. Destroying the haunted object will have a detrimental effect on Harry. The backlash could even kill him," Remus growls testily and glares at Harry's father, who has started to pace like an overgrown cat. Annoying a werewolf on the day after a full moon , isn't a good idea.,Harry sighs from within Sirius' almost suffocating death grip, which is probably meant as a comforting hug, and deeply regrets ever leaving his room. Had he ploughed through the rest of his homework like a good little boy, this whole mess could have been avoided.,Barely a minute after his mother has ordered one of their house elves to fetch his father from whatever room in the manor he was currently plotting nefarious - embarrassing – things in, the whole Marauders troop had burst into Lily's study. That part has been amusing, actually, especially the rainbow-coloured glitter his uncle Peter coughed up every time he opened his mouth. Afterwards everything went downhill.,The brunet got the order to recount his little trip to the storage room in as much detail as possible, which ultimately led to the retrieval of the wooden block for further evaluation. Considering the ghost's apparent nonexistence to anyone but Harry, it doesn't come as a big surprise that his family can't see the bloodstains, either. Nobody has, so far, called him a liar, though, especially after several spells have picked up unusual readings from the muggle artefact.,According to his mother it's called a 'goban', the playboard for an Asian strategy game.,Harry's grandfather used to be a big fan of the game and a dedicated player. Before his death he had imported the centuries-old goban and because his aunt Petunia didn't have any interest in keeping the thing, his mother had taken it, the recordings and the trophies and put them in the storage room.,"What else are we supposed to do?" Sirius inquired, frowning and squeezing Harry even tighter.,"Research for better ways. I'm sure there are a few spells and rituals we can try," Remus replied, getting up. "There's no time like the present.","Yeah, the sooner we find something, the sooner Harry will be rid of that… ,," his father growls, sounding astonishingly like , the dog animagus instead of Sirius. Harry can understand his reaction though, because his father's uncle has been possessed by a ghost, too and it has ultimately ended in said uncle's death. Nobody wants him to suffer the same fate, least of all Harry himself.,'I've changed my mind. Being possessed can't be worse than this,' Harry thinks a few days later. He's just regained consciousness, for once without anyone hovering over him. That's become a rarity since the whole ghost thing has stared, as has surviving a day without feeling utterly miserable and puking his guts out. Sometimes he even gets a migraine or bleeds from his nose or ears. The anti-possession measures aren't going particularly well. All of them spark an awful backlash and don't even work. The ghost is still there. Actually, it's hovering on the other side of the room and looking at him with concern. Harry has started to doubt that it would even hurt a fly (if it could).,Determined, he sits up, ignoring the vague feeling of dizziness, and turns to the Japanese man.,"I'm Harry." He gestures to himself for emphasis. "Harry.",For a moment, the ghost stares at him with a blank look on his face, but then he beams and comes as close as the countless anti-ghost wards around Harry permit.,"Sai. Fujiwara no Sai.",They share a tentative smile.,Before the new school year begins, Harry's parents request a meeting with Hogwarts' headmaster to inform him of the current situation. His family is still adamant about getting rid of the connection between Harry and Sai, but are looking for ways to do it safely. They too had noticed that they were doing more harm than good, so convincing them of letting off a bit has been relatively easy.,"Wow. Learning place, really?" Sai gasps as soon as they've crossed the gates. Harry convinced his mother to buy him an English to Japanese dictionary and Harry and Sai have agreed on using the other's language whenever they're talking to each other in order to improve more quickly. It's slow-going, but at least they can communicate a bit now.,Harry nods and points everything out as they approach the front door. He's just animatedly talking about the Quidditch pitch and his hopes of joining the team this year, when they arrive at the front door. Professor McGonagall is already waiting for them and looking at Harry oddly. She probably thinks he's got a few screws loose. This isn't even normal behaviour in the magical world, after all. Instead of commenting as Harry had expected, the witch nods at them in greeting and leads them into the castle.,"The headmaster is waiting for us in his office. I hope, it isn't a dire matter, you have to discuss?" McGonagall inquires. Concern is shining through her otherwise stern expression.,Harry's parents share a look, before offering their former teacher a somewhat forced smile.,"Let's wait until we've reached the headmaster's office.",Meanwhile Sai is zooming around like a humming bird, trying to take everything in. The thing that interests him the most are the portraits. There are quite a bit more than at Potter Manor and display a variety of interesting backdrops and even more interesting people. It's a shame they don't meet one of the castle ghosts, because it would be interesting to find out if they can see Sai and interact with him.,Almost fifteen minutes later, they finally reach the phoenix stature concealing the entrance to the headmaster's office. When they enter the room, Fawkes is squawking and flapping his wings. He's also looking right at Sai, who freezes.,"What's wrong my boy?" Professor Dumbledore asks his familiar. His hand comes up to soothingly stroke the bird's breast feathers.,"He can probably sense the reason why we're here," Harry's dad mutters grumpily. He's still unhappy with the fact that they haven't found a way to cut the connection between Harry and Sai so far.,"Well, why don't we all sit down and talk about it then," the headmaster suggests and conjures a few more chairs, before rounding his desk to sit down himself.,"My son recently found an object in our storage room that was possessed by an old, Japanese ghost. Now that ghost is possessing Harry," his mother explains, eliciting a gasp from Professor McGonagall and a widening of eyes from Professor Dumbledore. "We've tried quite a few things to get rid of the ghost, but so far we're unsuccessful. We're looking into more options, but seeing as it's the new school year soon, we wanted to inform you of this matter and to ask if you maybe have an idea we could try?" A hopeful expression spread over his mother's face, which quickly disappears again, when Professor Dumbledore shakes his head.,"Alas, nothing comes to mind at the moment, but I will consult Professor Riddle about the matter. He is, after all, an expert for all things Defence. Young Harry has been safe thus far, I hope?","He insists the ghost is friendly and resembles an overgrown puppy more than a vengeful spirit," his father grumbles and Harry nods, when Dumbledore looks to him for confirmation.,"I'm sure he wouldn't hurt anyone," the brunet insists stubbornly. "He used to be a Go teacher a long time ago and playing go is still pretty much the only thing he wants to do nowadays. He's been teaching me a bit, but I can't really get the hang of it..." Maybe he'll ask Ron if he wants to learn once school starts. His friend is already pretty good at chess, which needs strategic thinking, too.,"You've talked to him then?" the headmaster asks eagerly interested and steeples his fingers in front of him. His lips curl into a smile when Harry nods. "Which means you must have learned at least some Japanese. Very commendable." The brunet beams proudly. "I'd like to check if the Hogwarts ghosts are able to see your new friend.",Professor Dumbledore calls one of the house elves and instructs it to fetch one or more of the ghosts. It pops away mid-bow. While they wait, Harry tries to relate to Sai what is going on and when he understands, his new friend seems excited to meet fellow ghosts. A short while later Nearly-Headless-Nick and the Grey Lady drift through the wall, but freeze upon spotting Sai.,"A new colleague? What a peculiar way to dress," Nick gushes as he drifts closer. He puts his arm across his chest and bows. When he straightens up again, his head flips to the side. "Welcome at Hogwarts!" All of them are used to Nick's almost headless state, except for Sai, who shrieks and dives behind Harry, peeking over his shoulder. Harry can't help laughing, imagining what they probably look like right now. The Grey Lady quirks a small smile, while Nick looks nonplussed.,"Harry," Sai whispers, his voice frantic. "His ,!","What's happening?" His father asks with a frown, his gaze flicking back and forth between Harry and the two ghosts he can see.,"Sai's startled," Harry explains, still giggling and vaguely motioning towards his own neck in explanation. Sai drifts further away and pouts. "I guess that answers the question whether or not they can see each other." And the brunet is certain his parents (or Professor Dumbledore) will talk the Hogwarts ghosts into keeping an eye on Sai in order to make sure Harry is safe. As long as he isn't constantly followed by them, he really doesn't care.

I look over at Frank as we sneak through the woods. I glance at my watch to see that it's 11:59. The full moon peaks through the leaves as we continue to walk foreword.,"You see anything Frank," I ask my brother.,"Not yet. Let's hope that Mr. Walter was right about the wolf appearing on the full moon," Frank tells me as we hear a howl.,"I guess so," I tell him. "Also, why did he ask two teenagers like us to go out in the woods around midnight, on a full moon, to find a wolf? I mean, the wolf could be a werewolf for all we know," I say as we head towards the howl.,"We aren't going to fight it Joe. He ask us to confirm that he's not crazy about the strange wolf," Frank reminds me.,"I know that!","Quiet now. We are close," Frank whispers to me as we creep quietly closer to where the wolf is.,We hide behind some bushes. I peak over them and I see a creature.,"What is that? It's like a humanoid-wolf thing," I whisper as I look at it.,Frank pulls his camera out and he quickly snaps a photo of it.,"Alright let's go," Frank says as I nod my head in agreement.,We are about to turn and leave, when the wind suddenly change. We freeze and we glance towards the wolf. The humanoid-wolf stands still and sniffs that air. My eye widens as the humanoid-wolf turns towards us.,"Run," Frank tells me as we scramble up as we run away from the wolf.,The wolf howls as we continue to run. I glance to my right to see Frank running right next to me. I hear the humanoid-wolf chase after us as we continue to run through the woods.,"Look out," Frank says as I turn to see the wolf leap at me.,Frank pushes me out of the way. I fall onto the ground and I then hear Frank cry out.,"Frank," I say as I look over to see the wolf holding him on his left forearm.,I stand up and I grab a fallen branch, that happens to be next to me. I use it as a bat and I hit the wolf in the back of it's head. I then hit him in the eyes and he releases Frank. The wolf growls and he faces me. I swing the branch once more and I hit the wolf across the face. I then stand between my brother and the wolf.,"Yeah! You better run," I say as the wolf turns and runs away from us.,I drop the branch and I turn towards Frank to see him holding his left arm.,"Frank! Are you alright?!","Yeah. I'll live," Frank tells me as he stands up. "Thanks. Let's head home now.","You should be going to a doctor," I say as we start walking towards where we parked the van.,"I'll see one in the morning. It's late and Dad wants us home before 1:30," Frank tells me.,"Alright fine! But we are going to clean that wound and I'm staying with you for the rest of the night! Also, I'm driving us home," I tell Frank.,"Deal.",We walk out of the woods and I spot our van. Frank gives me the keys and we enter the car. I start it up and we head home.,"We can't tell Dad what happened until tomorrow," Frank tells me.,"Why?","Because he will freak out.","Alright. If Dad, Mom or Aunt Trudy is up, I'll distract and you head to our bathroom to get cleaned up. I will then bandage you up and we can have a sleepover in your room," I tell Frank.,"Great idea Bro," Frank says as I smile.,"Why thank you!",I look outside as we pull up into our driveway.,"Alright, now it's time to be ninjas!",I roll my eyes as we get out of the van. Joe acts like a ninja as I walk towards the front door.,"Come on Frank! We must be ninjas," Joe whisper-yells at me.,"They already know we are home. The van isn't really quiet," I remind Joe as he sighs.,"You're no fun," Joe says as he starts walking next to me.,Joe uses the house key to unlock the door and we walk in. I close and lock the door behind us. We then proceed to sneak up the stairs.,"Frank, Joe? Is that you," we hear our Dad call from his study.,"Yeah, it's us," Joe says as I continue to go up the stair. "We'll tell you what happened later.","Alright. See you in the morning," our Dad says as we sigh in relief.,We hurry off towards Joe's room, since his is the closest. We enter and Joe closes the door behind us.,"I'll see you in a bit," I tell Joe as I head into the bathroom.,"Alright. Just tell me when I can come in.","I will," I tell Joe as I close the door to the bathroom.,I wince as I slowly take my shirt off. I glance at the wound to see that it's covered in blood.,"It only looks bad because there's blood covering it," I mutter to myself as I finish getting undress.,I step into the shower and I turn it on. The warm water cascades down me as I wash myself. I wince as some soap seep into the wound. I finish cleaning myself and I turn the water off. I get out and I dry myself. I then wrap a towel around my waist.,"Alright Joe, you can come in," I tell my brother as the door to his room opens up.,"That didn't take long," Joe says as he enter with just underwear on.,"No. I just want to go to bed," I tell him as I stiffen a yawn.,"I agree," Joe says as he grabs the first aid kit from under the sink. "The bite doesn't look so bad.","Yeah. Though it looked worse with all the blood surrounding it," I say as Joe cleans the wound. "Careful," I say as I wince from the sting.,"My bad. Anyways, how you feel?","Better than when we were in the woods. You," I ask Joe.,"Tired. Well, you're done. I'm going to get clean now.","Alright. See you in a bit," I say as I enter my room and I close the door.,I turn my light in the room on. I grab a white t-shirt and some underwear and I put them on. After getting dress, I lay in my bed. I look up at my ceiling as Joe enters.,"Move over Frank. I can't lay down with you hogging the bed," Joe says as I move over a bit. "Gee thanks.","No problem," I say as Joe climbs into my bed.,"So then, who do you think at werewolf is," Joe ask me.,"We don't have any proof that the wolf we saw is a werewolf. Also, there have been no proof that werewolves even exist," I remind Joe.,"So?","Let's worry about that in the morning. It's late and we still need to take a look at the photo that I took.","Alright. Night," Joe says as he rolls to his side.,"Night."

"I'm dying.",The King inhaled and launched into a violent coughing fit as a result, despite his attempts to muffle it.,That was the last thing that Shrek thought he was going to hear that day. He had known that the King was ill, but he had not known just how badly. A guilty look flashed across his face, regretting what he had said when he had been summoned. The Queen rushed to the King's aid, propping the frog up slightly more. Her hand lingered on the edge of his head for a moment before she drew away.,"Harold-","Don't forget to pay the gardener, Lillian.","Of course darling." The Queen said with a smile, used to the King's kind of non-sequiturs, tears filling her eyes but not leaving King suppressed a few more coughs. He turned to Fiona.,"Fiona...","Yes Daddy?" She said, her voice breaking halfway.,"I know I've made many mistakes with you.","It's okay-","But your love for Shrek has taught me so much.",Fiona smiled. Shrek felt rather awkward himself, intruding on this family moment. Sure, he was married to Fiona, but he had never quite felt like he completely fitted into the family dynamic. He and Harold had never really quite seen eye to eye, but they got on for Fiona's sake. The King finished talking to Fiona and turned his eyes towards Shrek.,"My dear boy, I am proud to call you my son." The King said. Shrek felt a lump start to form in his throat.,"And I'm proud to call you my Frog... King Dad in-law.","Now, there is a matter of business to attend tooo…" The King started wheezing and coughing, unable to continue his sentence. It seemed to go on an age before he eventually stopped. Was he dead? Shrek saw Puss out of the corner of his eye remove his hat. No- he couldn't have already-,"The Frog King is dead." Puss muttered and Fiona started to cry.,The King suddenly woke up, coughing and shocking them. He wasn't dead; at least not yet.,"Put your hat back on, fool." Donkey hissed at Puss, who did as he was told. King Harold took another deep shaky breath in and then spoke.,"Shrek, please come hither.",Why out of all of them did he want to talk to him? Fiona is his daughter, he should be talking to her and spending his final moments with his proper family. Fiona gave Shrek one of those looks and he knew that he wasn't just going to be able to talk his way out of it. Shrek walked over to the King.,"Yeah, Dad?","This Kingdom needs a new king. You and Fiona are next in line for the throne.",Shrek felt his stomach drop. He had to be joking. Yes, King Harold had a sense of humour, it would be just like him to joke like this, even when he was dying. He couldn't be serious about that.,"Ooo. Next in line. Now you see Dad, that's why people love you. Even on your deathbed you're still making jokes.",The King stared at Shrek, stone-faced. Was he serious? Shrek blanched. What on earth was he thinking? They couldn't have an ogre for a king! They would hate him! He couldn't do the job properly either, as the past few days of filling in for Harold had proven. Shrek couldn't be king. He didn't want to be king," Oh, come on Dad...an Ogre as King? I don't think that's such a good idea. There's got to be somebody else. Anybody?" Shrek exclaimed.,"Aside from you there is only one remaining heir.",Shrek brightened. There was hope. He didn't have to become king, there was someone else who could take up the mantle. There was somebody else who could do it!,"Really!? Who is he, Dad?" Shrek asked.,"His name is... is... is…" The King struggled for his breath and Shrek's eyes widened. He couldn't die before he told him who the other heir was.,"What's his name? What's his name?",The King started to hyperventilate.,"Daddy!" Fiona cried,The King fell still, not breathing. He was dead. A fly came out of his mouth and flew away. Shrek swatted the fly away from his face, his stomach in his throat.,Suddenly a tongue darted out of Harold's mouth and caught the fly. He was alive! Shrek let out a sigh of relief. Harold chewed the fly, swallowed and then spoke.,"His name is Harry.","Harry?" Shrek asked, wanting to be sure of the name.,"He- He is my grand-nephew I know you'll do what's…" The King struggled for his breath. "riiiight…",His eyes closed and they didn't open again. Shrek put his finger on the King's neck to check for a pulse. He was dead, actually dead this time.,"Harold!?'',"Dad? Dad? Dad?",Donkey bowed his head and hissed at Puss to take his hat off. Suddenly Shrek's arms were full of a crying Fiona. Shrek thought he could hear the castle bell tolling, but it was as if he was hearing everything through swampwater. He couldn't believe that the king had actually died. He was dead. The king was dead. The king was dead and he wanted Shrek to be the next king. Shrek couldn't be king. All Shrek wanted was a peaceful life at home at his swamp. Shrek didn't want to rule a kingdom, he had no clue how to. Shrek decided that he would go and find this Harry person and make him become the new king. He had to.,###################################################,Pregnant? Fiona was pregnant? But that meant that he was going to be a-,"How did this happen?" Shrek muttered, they had been careful hadn't they? Well, most of the time anyway. He wasn't ready to be a father. He knew next to nothing about raising kids. How on earth was he going to cope? As he had told Fiona the other day all babies did was cry and eat and poop and combinations thereof. He didn't want that in his swamp! He was going off on this journey to go and fetch this 'Harry' so that he could go back to his nice and peaceful swamp. He didn't want kids!,Shrek deflected the stupid questions from Puss and Donkey and went below deck to think.,After a little while Shrek pushed all thoughts pertaining to his life's ruin aside and instead focussed his attention to the problem at hand. They had a 3 week journey ahead of them before they reached the land in which this 'Harry Potter' lived. The Queen had known more details about her grand-nephew, such as the rest of his name, how old he was, and where he could be found. Hogwarts was where they were headed. The name was weird, but then again so was Far Far Away. Shrek had no clue where this Hogwarts actually was in relation to anywhere he knew, but the captain knew which way to go so that was all that mattered.,############################################,Why he had taken Donkey and Puss along with him Shrek would never know. They seemed to love irritating him to no end, Donkey deliberately winding him up allegedly so that he could 'work on his patience for when the babies arrived'. Shrek just wanted to throw him overboard and not let him back on the ship. He had already done so to the nuisance once, but the Captain had had Donkey rescued. Sure, Dragon would eat him once she found out, but it was worth it.,###########################################,The days on board that wretched ship slowly but surely turned into weeks. Shrek wondered if they would ever get there. Suddenly he heard a shout from on deck, so he headed out to see what it was. Shrek emerged to see a castle and the ship slowly emerging from the water. How they had been underwater Shrek didn't understand, he only knew that they had been and now they were not. Shrek assumed some sort of hocus pocus must be involved, but he didn't particularly care either way. The castle that Shrek could see some way away from the ship was huge. It was at least four times the size of the castle at Far Far Away. Shrek felt slightly daunted, what kind of people were inside if they could afford to build a castle that big? What is this Harry didn't want to come with him? Shrek pushed that thought aside, he would have to come with him, even if Shrek had to force him to.,They all exited the ship, Donkey not shutting up with his endless questions until Puss slashed him across the face, his patience completely gone. Shrek had fought back a laugh, having wanted to do the same to him group of them split, the captain and crew staying by the ship, whilst he, Donkey and Puss started the walk up to the castle to find Harry. One of the first things that he noticed as he walked up to the castle was that there were absolutely no guards. None at all. Shrek half expected some to just appear suddenly, but none did. Their security was rubbish. The front door to the castle was even already open!,"So do we just go in?" Donkey asked.,They hesitated for a few minutes as Donkey wanted to knock, but both Puss and Shrek thought that it would be a stupid idea. The trio went inside and their jaws dropped, the Entrance Hall was huge! It was as tall as Rapunzel's tower and double the width. How rich were these people? The Entrance Hall as exquisite, but Shrek was far more interested by the noise that he could hear coming from behind the huge set of double doors at the end of the staircase in front of them.,Shrek decided that dramatically would be the best way in which to enter past the doors. He could hear, even through the doors, that there had to be over a hundred people at the very least inside. Shrek took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Well, he tried at least. Those doors were ,!,"Donkey, help me get this door open." Shrek snapped at his irritating companion, who had just stood there watching as Puss had joined Shrek in pushing the enormous doors open. Donkey walked over and put one hoof on the door and pushed against it gently when the doors burst open with a bang. Shrek had not been expecting this, neither had Puss, and so they fell into a pile on the floor.,Shrek could hear a gasp travel around the room beyond as whoever was inside fell silent. Shrek detangled himself from Donkey and Puss and looked up to see hundreds of children. What kind of a castle was this?,"Who are you?" the voice of an old man called. Shrek turned his head and noticed that there was a high table full of adults. The man who had spoken, who also stood at the head of the table and Shrek assumed that he was in charge, had a long white beard. The man was wearing some of the most ridiculous clothing that Shrek had ever seen. It was only surpassed by the clothing that he and Fiona had had to wear when filling in at court. The difference here was that the old man, despite the fact that he did not look completely happy to see him, but then again he had just barged into his castle.,"My name is Shrek, and I'm looking for someone. I'm looking for someone called Harry Potter."

"Are you here to purchase?" a soft voice asked, startling Harry.,He felt a cold shiver go down her spine and he did his best to act unfazed. It wasn't often that people managed to sneak up on him. He could count on one hand the number of people who could, and most of them were dead.,"Just…browsing," Harry said. He turned to look at the speaker and realized that this person wasn't human. If he was, then Harry would eat his hat. There was an inhuman aura about him that average people would likely dismiss as just eccentric or unsettling. Magic was more useful and he knew he had to be careful.,"Is this your store?" he asked just to be polite.,He was gifted with a smile so fake it probably invented plastic. "My grandfather owns it, I'm just watching over this for him." A contemplative look settled on the storekeepers face. "What is it that you seek?",If Harry were a betting man, he'd have said that he imagined the shadows squirming at that. But he knew better.,"What do you sell?" he asked, pretty sure he's just digging himself deeper.,"This is a pet shop. We sell all manner of creatures, from all over the world," was the reply. Harry was sure he didn't imagine the glint of mischief in those mismatched eyes.,He pursed his lips and said, "Magical creatures, you mean.",The storekeeper started. Then he smiled. "I see that you are a fairly magical young man yourself. I think I have the perfect pet for you.",All his warning senses were telling him he really had to get out of the store. Sheer curiosity made him follow the storekeeper to the back of the store.,.,.,"Harry," Hermione said in that really calm tone that said she was holding back shrieks. Ron called it the calm before the storm.,"Yes Hermione?" he asked, not looking at her. It made his self-preservation instincts scream, but he didn't want to face the music. Not while he was sober.,"There's a nine-tailed fox on your sofa," she said in that same calm voice. "And it's eating a bag of rats.","I'm aware,","Why is it on your sofa?" she prodded, voice rising. Harry took that as the warning bell and dropped the book he was using to try and reject reality. It was useless and it didn't work anyway.,"Because it didn't like sleeping on the floor?","Harry!",Harry cringed and turned to face her. Hermione's hair was trying to escape the tight braids and her eyes were flashing.,"I accidentally acquired a nine-tailed fox when I travelled to America. I mean, they always said you can get anything in Chinatown, and whoa, they meant that literally," he babbled.,Hermione sighed. "Only you, Harry." Utterly resigned. It was unfair, Harry didn't even mean to buy the fox. He'd ended up signing a contract for it though, only half-aware of the terms and conditions to keep it. He would think Imperius, except he could throw it off all the time.,The fox, who he'd dubbed Hermes, let out a little foxy smile that he'd realized heralded mischief.,"Oh no you don't," Harry said seriously, pointing at the fox. "Keep your mischief away from Hermione.",Hermione stood up quickly. "Harry, your fox is glowing," she said, perfectly wary.,Harry, already resigned to his fate, didn't groan. It took effort though.,.,.

Prologue,"Welcome to the World of Trophies, a realm in which trophies come to life and brawl to the death. Long have I served as the trophy guardian...I am known as Master Hand. I take care of the Smash Bros. fighters, ensure that they do not encounter any danger. To make sure of this, each fighter is given a unique attack, entitled a Final Smash, for use of defense. However, there is one fighter whom lacks a Final Smash...",Draco shivered in his blankets, barely recovering from the previous day's battles. The wind outside pounded against the windows, and the rain poured against Smash Mansion, making Draco feel ever worse. He kept thinking back to his mission back in London, and how badly he had betrayed his allies.,Finally, the rainstorm stopped and the sun came out. The storm had lasted all night, making its way to the early depths of the next morning, which Draco had no will to notice. Only when he heard a fierce banging did the silver-blond finally awaken.,"Draco! How much longer are you gonna be asleep?!" Draco mentally panicked; the finger pounding on his door was Lucas Lockwood, a veteran smasher from the Brawl tournaments. He pounded on his door again and shouted, "DRACO!",Draco sighed frustratingly. The last thing he needed was a fellow blond to drag him to the main hall, and he pulled his blankets further over himself. When Lucas pounded on his door and shouted his name a third time, though, Draco had had enough. "Alright, alright, I'm coming out!" he shouted angrily, slipping over his everyday attire a dark green robe and pulling his wand out of its pocket.,Lucas was impatiently tapping his foot on the floor when Draco had come out. "Finally! We've been waiting for you to get out here for an entire hour! Master Hand wants to talk to you," Lucas explained, upon meeting Draco's frustrated gaze.,"Why me?" Draco asked, subtley reaching into his robe pocket for his wand.

The residence of Privet Drive was a very ordinary neighborhood. In fact, most people would go ahead and say it was borderline dull. The houses were painted in white, with a small flower garden in the front yard. The families consist of a working husband, gossiping wife, and overly spoiled children. The husbands tried to one-up another with their cars and watches, their wife parade out their jewelries every month with the disguise of tea time. Children strut around talking about their new toys, their holiday destination. They were very overwhelming in their need to look best, even though they are, essentially, the ,. They have better days, worse days, trophies to show off, skeletons to bury.,Privet Drive number 4, however, has a very , skeleton that cannot be buried.,Harry James Potter was a very infamous skeleton of the Dursley family. A bad seed, they said. He was known as the troublemaker, with criminal records that matched a student of St Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. Mrs. Dursley talked very little about him, in condescending tone through pursed lips. But it was talked about in hushed whisper, from one wife to another. It was well-known to everyone that Harry Potter was a nephew to Petunia Dursley, the women of the house.,What they did not know, however, was that Harry Potter was one lonely, misunderstood boy. Innocent ,, perhaps, because when he was locked in his bedroom-the cupboard under the stairs-his imagination more often than not turned violent. When he was starved, he imagined the whale sized Vernon being flayed alive. When he was hit, he imagined the obnoxious Dudley being beaten to death. And among all chaos, he imagined Petunia-not aunt, never aunt-shackled and watching. Because where was she when Harry was suffering; shivering from cold and bruised all over? Watching. Always close by, always within arms reach to help if she so desire.,He never did know why they treated him so badly. When he was very little, he tried to ask. Why was he treated differently? What made him different from Dudley, who was spoiled rotten and cherished by his family? What was wrong with him? But it lead only to more beatings. He had learned his lesson, and kept quiet most of the times. If he stayed silent, it might stop them from thinking about him. Out of sight, out of mind. It did not always work, but it was the only thing he knew that somewhat worked.,Harry Potter cannot be blamed to have dark thought about his so called family. He just endure and endure, days and nights.,Until one day, a miracle happened.,-line-,It was one of those ordinary night when it happened. Harry was recovering from the latest beating he received from Vernon. He was huddled up in thin blanket on the corner of the room, trying to nurse his most likely broken arm. It was then when the lock on his cupboard door suddenly clicked open.,Harry froze, eyes sharp towards the door. There was no indication of what could have open the door. There was no heavy nor light footsteps, nor erratic ones. Anyone, anything that opened the lock was silent as a grave. He forced himself to hear for anything else he might have missed, but all he could hear was the faint sound of Vernon snoring from his bed. It was not his relatives, then.,But it was a chance, wasn't it? He could use it to run away. The key to the front door was hanged on the key holder beside the fridge. His aunt emergency money was inside a container above the fridge. He could leave the house with a couple of pounds to start with.,Yet where would he go, really? He could go to the neighbors for help, but they would just tell on him to Vernon and that guarantees more beating. He could try for orphanages, but all the stories Vernon told him about those places did not seem appealing. Living on the street was an option, but could he really evade criminals and police alike?,Oh well. Anywhere was better than here.,So Harry strengthened his resolve. Cautious, he waited ten minutes just to be sure before opening the door. Then, as quiet as he could, he walked towards the kitchen. He dragged the dining room chair closer to the fridge, wincing every time it makes so much as a screech against the floor. It could not be helped. He obtained the key and money easily, and quickly rushed through the door.,It was then that he saw her.,She was pretty, he guessed. Dirty, but pretty. She has chalky pale skin framed by long black hair, and was dressed in a purple knee-length dress and black shoes. Standing just on the edge of the property, she was smiling at him, in a way that is both warm and eerie. She stared at him, like knowing every demon he has inside.,"Harry Potter," she sang. Then she offered her hand at him.,Harry stared at her in wonder. She really came out of nowhere, knowing his name and offered her hand. Harry would bet his entire possession-not that there was many to begin with-that she was the one that opened the lock to his door.,How was she here? What exactly was she offering?,Then again, did it matter what she offered, if he could leave this place?,And so Harry walked forward and grasped her hand.,-line-,Thank you for reading! Do you like the story? Should I continue? Let me know!,shygirlbobby out! :D

A/N Well this was a fanfiction requested by Alchemicpikachu. This is set in the 1971. It is a mixture of the Dark is Rising and Harry Potter.,Marvolo's POV,Four years of teaching at Hogwarts and there was still nothing he hated more than visiting orphanages. It reminded him much of his own upbringing. He could deal with bringing muggleborns in. Orphans were another issue altogether. Still it was part of his job and he would fulfill his duty.,Marvolo stood in front of the Saint Mary's orphanage in a black suit. His black hair perfectly style and had piercing blue eyes. When he knocked on the door it was answered by a small child.,He asked his eyes wide," Are you here to take one of us home?",Marvolo could sense the hope in the child's tone. So many times he had seen kids like that. It never got any easier.,He said smiling to put the young one at ease," No I'm here to see Harrison Evans.",The child's face scrunched up like he smelled something disgusting. The boy asked sounding put out," Why would you want to talk to the freak?",Marvolo's eye twitched in irritation. If there was one word he hated the most it was freak. Once again it stemmed from his childhood. It took him several moments to remind himself that this was not one of his bullies. That this child didn't know him or his past.,Before he could say anything else a shrill voice asked," Who's at the door boy?",A stout women in her fifties came up behind the child. The child said meekly," He's here to see the freak Miss Smith.",Her grey eyes narrowed at him. His blue ones met hers without issue. He would speak to Mr. Evans one way or another today.,She said to the child," Go on leave. I'll speak with the man," once the boy was gone she asked," What do you want with Evans? If he broke something I won't pay for it.",Marvolo said his irritation rising," He didn't break anything. He has been accepted into a special school.",Her eyes narrowed at him as she replied," We don't have the money to send him to a special school.",A voice came from above them," Madame Smith? I'm heading out.",Marvolo's blue eyes met green eyed black haired boy. He looked no older than ten at best.,Smith said her eyes narrowed," Harrison. You cannot go just yet. This man is here to speak with you.",Green eyes darkened with suspicion. He said his voice rough as if not used to speaking," I didn't do it.",Marvolo said his lips twitching in amusement," I'm not accusing you of anything. In fact I'm here to offer you a position in school I teach at.",His eyes turned to the woman and said," Maybe we should take this to a more private setting.",The woman snapped out of her reverie and said," Of course. Mr...",He sighed," Riddle.","Of course Mr. Riddle.",They were led to the dining room where Harrison sat with his back to a corner. Marvolo took a seat across from him and the woman took her leave. For a moment they sat there in silence. It seemed the boy didn't want to say anything. By the dead look in his eyes he was used to people treating him like a freak. The words of the younger boy rang in his ear. Seems like nothing changed since he aged out.,With a sigh he said handing the boy his letter," This is your acceptance letter into the school.",The boy took it wordlessly. Silently he opened it and began reading. Marvolo watched with an amused smirk as the child's eyebrows rose. No doubt he was getting to part about magic.,The asked in a mere whisper," Magic? You expect me to believe that?",There was a sense of incredulity in his question. Marvolo leaned back as he replied," You have never done anything strange? Something you couldn't explain?",The boy seemed to think on his words for a moment. With how quiet the other was being he was tempted to use legilimency on him. He had to force himself to maintain his self control. It was illegal to use legilimency on a minor. He would rather not go to Azkaban to sate his curiosity.,The boy asked," Is that why animals don't like me?","Animals don't like you? That isn't usually associated with magic. No.",The boy didn't show any disappointment at his words. There was something else. Marvolo could feel it.,The boy said bluntly," I don't have any money to pay for these supplies. Or a way to pay the school back.",Marvolo said using all of his skills to keep his tiredness in check," We have a scholarship fund for orphans such as yourself.",The boy's eyes narrowed as he thought it over. He was skinny. Much to skinny for a child of his age even as an orphan.,Finally though the child nodded and allowed Marvolo to take him to Diagon Alley. It took some convincing on his part for the boy to allow him to touch him. Considering it was required for apparition he had to get the boy to allow the touch. Thankfully that was the most difficult part of their trip.,They went to Gringotts first. The boy's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the goblins. Marvolo was gone for no more than ten minutes to get the boy's year's money. When he returned Harrison was speaking with the goblin teller. Instead of telling him off the goblin was actually answering his questions.,Marvolo said shortly," Time to go, Mr. Evans.",Evans said bowing to the goblin," Thank you for your information. May your vaults overflow with gold.",The goblin said shortly," And may your enemies fall by your blade.",Once they were out of the bank Marvolo asked," How did you know to say that, Mr. Evans?",Evans shrugged as he replied," I asked.",He didn't know whether to call the boy out or be impressed that he was able to get the goblins favor. Either way there was something different about him. Like a snake waiting to strike.,They went through the shops getting the required supplies. They stopped for a brief lunch before going to Olivander's. The door chimed when they entered.,A familiar silver haired man came around the corner on a ladder. The man said with a smile," I was wondering when I would be seeing you, Mr. Evans. I would have thought I would have seen you on your 11th birthday but it seems Albus put you further down the list. And Mr. Riddle your wand was yew and Phoenix feather 13 inches. A powerful wand.",Marvolo inclined his head and the wand maker went back to the boy. As he looked over Evans his eyes widened. The man did a double take as if not believing what he was seeing.,The wand marker said shaking himself from his thoughts," Well come closer lad. What's your wand arm?","I'm right handed," came the short reply.,Marvolo watched as Evans was measured. It reminded him much of his own time getting a wand. Evans stood stock still as it went on. His eyes never left the wand maker. Like he was preparing in case of an attack on his person.,Finally the wand maker held out a wand for the boy to try. He said," Ash and Dragon heart string 11 inches.",Evans raised an eyebrow and the man sighed," Well give it a wave.",Evans did as he was told. The glass lamp exploded and the wand was gently laid back on the table.,The wand maker said grabbing a new one," No matter I will fix it later. Try this one. Ash shadow Phoenix feather 10 and a half inches.",The boy waved it and the boxes behind the wand maker shot out. This caused both child and man to duck out of the way. The wand maker took the wand from the child grumbling under his breath.,They were still there an hour later. The pile of discarded wands was growing.,The man asked suddenly," Who was your father Mr. Evans?",Startled the boy said," I don't know. I have always been in an orphanage.",The wand maker drummed his fingers on the desk. He said sounding far off," I wonder... could it be?",Olivander disappeared for several moments into the back. Evans asked suddenly," What happens if I can't get a wand?",Marvolo answered unconcerned," Worst comes to worst we will get you a custom made wand.",Olivander came back carrying a wand box. It was a grey box with a spiraling unfamiliar symbol on it. The symbol seemed to spiral forever.,The boy took the wand and it was like someone opened a window. The temperature dropped. When the boy gave it a wave green and gold sparks came out. It seemed like they had a winner.,Harrison's POV,When he picked up the wand he felt like it was his perfect fit. For the first time in his life he felt like something truly belonged to him.,Mr. Riddle asked from behind him," What kind of wand is it?",Olivander said his eyes never leaving the wand," Ash and time dust 11 inches. You are meant for great things Mr. Evans.",Harrison nodded carefully. This wasn't the first time he saw the symbol. In fact he had the exact same symbol on his right shoulder. One that he always kept hidden from others.,Everyone already thought he was a freak. There was no reason for him to give them more ammunition. So he kept it hidden from everyone.,Olivander said after they paid him," You should consider getting a belt, Mr. Evans. I'm sure it will come in handy later.",Harrison glanced at the old man from over his shoulder. He didn't get the chance to reply as they were leaving. Questions rang through his mind. What did the man mean? Did he know something that Harrison didn't?,He didn't get much time to consider this as Riddle pulled him close again. The feeling of being sucked through a straw overwhelmed him. He landed painfully on the ground when it stopped. Deciding he hated that form of transportation as he gained his feet he glared at the man.,Riddle held out a ticket and said," Spetmember first you must be at King's cross by 11 am. If you are late the train will leave without you. Platform 9 and three quarters is in between 9 and ten. You just walk in through the barrier. Good luck.",With that the dark haired man was gone. This left him to haul his trunk up to the orphanage and into his room. At least he had something to do for the rest of the summer. Maybe he could find out about the strange things that happened around him.

A Dream Night's Dream,It was 11 pm during the Christmas Holidays. I was very tired because of all the celebrations at the end of the year, I was at my desk when suddenly I received a text from Zak about the final task, "when will we see each other for the fanfiction?" So I realized that I had forgotten to think about the theme of the fanfiction. I began to read all of my lessons about Shakespeare to give me some ideas. As I read and reread my literature lessons, I remembered that I had already read a Shakespeare book, ,, and the character of Mustardseed fascinated me because she was a winx and I wanted to look like her as a child. If …,I woke up, and I realized that it was a simple dream. I'm going to call Letty and Zak to tell them.

"Albus, are you sure this is wise?" Questioned Minerva McGonagall to her long time friend, Albus Dumbledore, and fellow teacher as they approached a modest two story home in America.,"Of course I am. Besides, one can not ignore the last wishes of the dearly departed." He replied.,It was just impolite to do and Lily had also been insistent on the matter that young Harry was NOT to go anywhere near the Dursleys. Something Minerva easily backed up after a report of her's where that family was concerned. "I am quite aware of that, its just… Sherman Potter is a former member of the United States Military.","James assured me that the man is one to trust, my friend." Soothed Albus.,The two came up to the front door of the modest home with a bundled baby in Albus' arms, making for Minerva to be the one to ring the doorbell. Seconds later saw Mildred Potter open the door. "Oh, hello there." Greeted the woman.,"Greetings, and apologies my dear for the late hour of our visit but it was most important that we come here." Greeted Albus in turn.,Mildred looked at the two and the baby in the man's arms. "Let me get my husband.","Very well.",Gently closing the door, Mildred hurried off to get her husband and the two British Natives didn't have long to wait for Sherman Potter to appear at the door. "Yes? How can I help you?",Albus took a deep breath and released it before speaking. "We are here regretfully to inform you that your Nephew, James, and his wife, Lily, were recently killed. As per their wishes, they requested that should anything happen to them, their son, Harry, was to be brought to you.",Sherman looked visibly shaken by the news. "Sweet Horse Hockey! I just, I just spoke with that boy not even a week ago!",The two gave him a sad look. "Is the one responsible in a cell?","At this time, we are unsure how it happened but young Harry here was able to stop Lord Voldemort. Allowing many to now believe the man is dead.","But you don't think he is?" Questioned Sherman after easily noticing the doubt in the other man's words.,The very idea however was greatly troubling to Minerva and she greatly hoped to Merlin himself that that vile man was truly gone! "That is correct. Perhaps I am being overly worried for nothing but it never hurts to be cautious.","Yeah, that's true." Replied Potter with a sigh as he gently took his great Nephew from the other man.,"Thank you for bringing me the little one.","Think nothing of it, my friend.",Minerva sniffled a little. "Take good care of the young lad." She requested.,Sherman saluted her with a smile. "You have my word.",The two nodded in thanks and made their leave and young Harry would grow up in a loving household with many Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Allowing him to have a variety of exposure by the time he was 11 thanks to the fact the Potters and a few others had started their own hospital for Soldiers (old and new) and a small town they chose to name MASH-4077.

Malcolm woke up sweaty and hot, as he usually did on summer mornings. He groaned. What was even worse was having your eight year old brother practically laying on top of you.,"Get off, Dewey!" He grunted.,Dewey didn't budge. He tried to shove him off but he wouldn't move.,Well, he was stuck like this for awhile.,About forty-five minutes went by until his older brother, Reese, woke up.,"Good morning, krelboyne," He muttered toward Malcolm. "happy birthday." He smirked.,"Stop calling me th-Birthday? Did you just say birthday?","What did it sound like I said?" He asked him.,"It sounded like it was my birthday." Malcolm flashed Reese an evil grin an pushed Dewey off of his back with all his strength. (Not really, Dewey's pretty light.) "Ow, Malcolm, I HATE YOU! I WAS SLEEPING!",Reese and Dewey started punching him, but he paid no attention.,"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HOW COULD I FORGET? HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!" He screamed at the top of his lungs in the tune to "Happy Birthday" "I'm 11! Reese you ain't got nothing on me!" He shouted at his brother.,"Actually I've got a year on you. Your pretty dumb for a genius." But Malcolm didn't hear him, for he rushed out of the room when he heard a knock on the door.,"FRANCIS!" Francis was Malcolm's ,older brother, who was sent to military school and he barley ever saw him.,"Malcolm, the family genius! Happy birthday!","Stop calling me that!" He grunted as Francis pulled him into a headlock and gave him a brotherly punch.,"What is going on here?" Lois yelled. She stepped into her slippers and walked into the living room, finding her oldest son, Francis. "Oh, Francis! It's so nice to see you!" She pulled him into a hug.,"Lay off mom. Oh, here Malcolm, I found this letter on the porch, apparently these creepers who sent it to you know where you sleep." Francis retorted. Lois looked very uncomfortable at this, but of corse, no one noticed. But she flashed a look of anger at Francis. Malcolm grabbed the strange looking parchment letter. It read:,He un-carefully ripped open the envelope 'Probably a Krelboyne' he muttered as he took the letter out.,"Broomsticks? Hogwarts? Witchcraft?" Malcolm asked in awe. and then he came back down to Earth. "nice job, Francis.,This looks like a real acceptance letter.","Malcolm, can I see you in your room please?" Lois asked anxiously.,"Yeah, sure mom. I bet your in on this too. I'm calling Stevie." Lois grabbed him by his hair and dragged him into his bedroom.,"listen, honey. I know this has been hard for you. Finding out your a genius, being placed in a class you don't want to be in, your brothers teasing you and everyone counting on you.,"Well, I'm just going to get this out in the open. I'm not your mom. I'm your aunt. Your, mom and dad were killed before you had a chance to remember them." Malcolm stared at her, his mind re-thinking every moment he and his 'mom' had spent together; every word, every argument, even every hug. And then his mind flipped to the fact that his parents were...were...,Wait! Reese was really his ,"But most importantly...You are a...a wizard.",At this point tears were rushing down her face. "I'm sorry." She whispered.,"What? I don't believe you! DAD!" He rushed to his parents room. He had an urge to cry, but boys don't have feelings, and crying means you have feelings.,Malcolm was careful to not be caught by any of his brothers in the kitchen.,His feet carried him to his dad's...no, ,bedroom...,"Dad... Mom said that I'm a wizard!","Just listen to your mother." He groaned.,Well he was asleep. He slammed the door and ran to his room.,"Why were my parents killed? How?" He barked at her.,"Well, it's a long story, but basically, there was a very bad man in the wizarding world who wanted to kill your parents, my sister (not Susan, honey.) and her husband, and well, he did. But then he, ummm, tried to kill ,But something about you stumped him. Apparently he used a spell and it did work, that's how you got that scar.,"Don't get me wrong, he didn't come at you with a knife or anything, he used a wand, like most wizards do.,"And when magical kids turn 11, depending where they live, they go to a school. Your father was born in England, so when you were very little, your parents decided to send you to Hogwarts. It's in London.",Also, Francis was you cousin on your dad's side, but then his parents sadly died of cancer, so we took you both in.","Did Francis go to this school too?","Yes.","But I remember him being here.","Well, you have a great imaganation, I'll go tell the rest of the family."

Raven Serenity Grey was a young teeenager just like any other. Other than 2 things.,She was a demon and a super hero. You may think, well don't those two ever clash? The answer, well, is still out there to be found out. But there is good and evil, and there is a far line in between the two extremes.,Raven was a pale, 16 year old ready to get up and knock on Beast Boy's door, (like usual) to get him to quit snoring.,The Teen Titans always used to joke about how they should sound proof all the walls around Beast Boys room so no one would have to deal with the horrid racket. Raven would laugh it off, but it still was almost as annoying as when she had to quit reading in the middle of a chapter.,She chalked her communicator to check the time. It was currently 5:30 a.m when Raven got out of bed to knock on Beast Boys door.,"Beast Boy!? SHUT UP WITH THE SNORING YOU STUPID LITTLE GREEN NUISANCE!" Being mean was always Ravens specialty.,A tired green boy in a monkey covered onesie, emerged out of his room. "Mama Raven?" Raven rolled her eyes at the green boy. He obviously knew she hated that nickname. He grinned. It took all of Ravens power not to strangle him.,"Look, B.B, could you quit with the snoring?" Beast Boy looked confused. "What snoring?" Ravens patience was getting lower and lower by the second. "Your snoring!" She grimaced. "Oh, sorry mama. I'll try to stop. Good night." He shut his door on her.,Raven didn't care she got a door shut in her face, but more or less happy with herself. She walked back to her room when she saw a red flash slit across her vision. "Huh!? Anyone there?" She asked loudly.,Quiet.,She stepped into their ginormous living room/kitchen/make a mess whenever and wherever you would like room.(mostly Beast boy and Cyborg used this room) another red flash.,Then green light appeared behind her. She looked behind her and saw a blinding green light. The light was so bright, she couldn't see a thing.,This storyline is not in the original Teen Titans.,This version has all of the same facts and figures as the show other than the fact that ,Two villains are working together

A request oneshot.,Disclaimer: Don't own either Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Harry Potter and their rightful characters.,Love at First Sight,Summary: The moment Salem sees Harry Potter in the distance he gets what his younger sister means about falling in love at first sight. Who would have thought it would happen to him?,Warnings: Au-modern day, Human Salem, Teen Salem, Sibling Salem and Sabrina, Alive Potters, crossover pairing,"Be nice to fall in love especially at first sight," the soft sigh from the blonde teen sitting on the navy blue beanbag gets the raven hair teen to roll his eyes.,"Really Sabrina? That's just a joke." Salem scoffs earing a raise brow.,"It can happen," Sabrina answers with a slight pout before giving a cheeky smile. "Besides I'm sure there be a boy for you someday. You can have a little prince of your own instead of a princess.","Sabrina! I'm bi," Salem hiss, cheeks flushes a bit glancing at the open door biting his bottom lip hoping their aunts didn't hear his sisters words. "Besides Mom and Dad didn't take it too well and I'm sure Aunt Zelda and Hilda will react like them.","They need to think it over big brother," Sabrina answers giving a frown. "They come around.","I guess," Salem sighs flipping a page of the book he's reading when the sounds of a moving truck driving up the road stops follow by new voices.,"Guess the old house is for sale," Sabrina muses looking out the window making a comment. "Hey a new kid is moving. Looks rather cute with black hair and green eyes!","Hm?","Yup probably be your type Salem," Sabrina said hearing her older brother get off of his bed and come by her side.,Salem's mouth drops seeing a slim raven teen with long raven hair going pass his shoulders pull into a small ponytail carrying some boxes talking with two adults that must be his parents. His crooked smile seems so adorable to him. In that moment the world stop spinning for Salem. His mouth dries up. His palms sweat. His heart stops than beats faster.,Is this what his sister means of falling for someone at first sight?,"Salem, Sabrina come outside to meet our new neighbors!" the call of their mother downstairs brings Salem out of his daze.,"Huh?" He chokes out.,"Come on and quit drooling for now," Sabrina gently tugs him out the door finding it cute her big brother seem to fall for a new kid. It will do him good after the mix feelings he been going through ever since he realize he's bisexual.,Salem wipes his hands on his pants to dry them off. He let himself be guide out of the house by his younger sister only to find the new family is living across the street.,"Thank you for welcoming us," The redhead woman said to his mother and aunts smiling warmly and her green eyes much like her son are full of life and joy.,"It's a quiet neighborhood," the raven man adds looking at his wife with love in his hazel eyes.,"Get a room Mom, Dad," the raven teen whines before laughing as his parents pull him into a hug before glancing at Salem and a shy smile tugs on his lips. "Hi, I'm Harry Potter.","Hi," Salem returns feeling a small smile tugging and cheeks wanting to burn with heat. "I'm Salem Saberhagen-Spellman and this is my younger sister. Welcome to the neighborhood, Harry.",'Ask him,' Sabrina things looking between the two seeing them just gazing into each other's eyes and small smiles form.,"Salem would you be kind enough to show my son to school Monday," Harry's mother ask seeing love blossoming between the two teens.,"Sure thing Mrs. Potter," Salem replies glancing away from Harry for a moment with a polite smile as the younger raven gives a soft chuckle warming his heart.

The Dream,A Harry Potter and bloodborne fanfiction,I think, there for I am. A simple quote one that describes the state of being self aware thus sentient. I wish it had stopped there.,Once I was normal or at least as normal as i could be considered being in a school for magic in the middle of a war, one in which i was the center piece of which side obtained the ultimate victory. On one side the Light, though kind to there own, was feircelly unable to even allow anything that was considered dark or evil to exist.,On the other the Dark, cruel they maybe but their methods a desperate attempt to save what they saw to be their birthright and heritage. Both sides right, both wrong.,Then theirs me, Harry James Potter. I was called many things back then. The Boy Who Lived, Chosen One, Magical Britain's most Wanted, unspeakable number 1. All true in their own way, all completely wrong to the eventual reality that I would become.,I remember it clearly, the dusk that covered the forbidden woods was as complete as it had been in my second year when i traveled their to speak with Hagrid's friend.,I walked calmly to my death at the hand of my 'fated' enemy. Each step a small noise in the dusk, my breath came out in puffs in front of me reminding me of when a dementor attacked me in my third year at Hogwarts. My hands trembled in fear at facing some unstoppable force like in the first task of the tri-wizard tournament.,My heart was filled with dread at my friends reactions to my death, similar to when Hedwig died taking a killing curse for me in the desperate fight above muggle London.,Most of all tho my resolve was unshaking as the night Dumbledore told me his 'plan' to have Severus kill him, throwing everything i knew on its head.,It was time, I was here. Voldemort stood there surrounded by his followers all directing there sneer's towards me. 'Beast's on a leash, no humanity left to them.' I thought I turned my gaze to meet Voldemort's, his crimson eyes looking at me with a small amount of respect before it was crushed by a vicious sense of victory and cruelty.,"The boy who lived... come to die." he whispered. I flinched at the hiss of his tone, reminding me of my own ability with parseltounge.,"Any last words boy?" he asked. I was shocked i full expected the killing curse to have been his next words. I thought of all the things i wanted to say to my friends,,to my ally's who stood at the castle waiting for the next wave of death eaters to descend on them and end their lives.,"I ask that for ignorance to the truth that you don't punish any that stand against you at the castle." I said, desperate to at least spare my friends that had made these years at Hogwarts truly the happiest days of my life.,Voldemort stared at me in contempt, but their in his eyes was a begrudging acceptance of a fellow wizards last request, it put my heart at ease for what i knew was coming next.,"Granted, none will be harmed for the next 24 hours. After that if they continue to defy me then they shall be punished but not killed.",I turned and started walking way, I knew he wouldn't let me leave, but i preferred to walk towards my family as i died. I never heard the spell, i just walked into darkness.,-,A/N So um i know its kinda a small start and it might be a little confusing but i really like the idea for this story so much that i booted up my old computer to write it out.,As any that have seen my profile i wasnt always very articulate or really good at writing for that matter either, all of my old stories were really hash and go and didn't have a clear outline that was guiding it along a story path, that being said i hope i get some good feedback from everyone that reads. I hope to put a full sized chapter out next week, this is more of a pilot, a way to set the mood so to speak. Anyways obvious for the disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter or Bloodborne. review let me know what you think and ill be glad to reply to any messages i get. Thank you for reading,Your's Truly,Akuma no Sage

Chapter 1,September 1st,I pick up my trunk and check I have everything,Black walnut,11" long,Unicorn hair core wand:Check,Robes:check,Various clothing:check,Lots of pyjamas:check,Stationary:check,Once I finished checking everything I picked up a book called:, and started scamming the pages to make sure there was anything else I did not know my sister Polly who is starting her second year at Hogwarts gave me this book saying it might help me learn about Hogwarts she was right this book is so interesting well obviously not as good as my Nancy Drew book.,"Betty come on the nightbus is here"called my mum Alice Cooper from downstairs. Dad got my trunk and I quickly ran into Polly's room and snuck a pack of exploding snap from her bedside table and ran downstairs.,"Betty remember grades are important try your hardest and don't forget your legacy to Gryffindor"My mum said "Yeah I know mum you have said it all summer"I said she pulled me in a tight hug.I kissed my dad goodbye then I saw bright red hair.I sprinted towards them trying not to drop my trunk."Arch!"I exclaimed Then Archie turned around "Betty!"he said happily.

The Boy Who Wanted A Family,It was the night before his sixth birthday. Harry was sent to his cupboard early that night without supper, like every night before and every night as long as he lived under his Aunt and Uncle's roof. This time was because Harry asked if his 'loving' family could celebrate his birthday and the response was a beating and being locked in the cupboard. The reason; Freaks don't have parties and are lucky that they get a roof overhead and a warm bedroom; if you could call it that.,Harry could barely see the clock that hung outside his room, but he could hear the lone chime's as the clock chimed 12;00 midnight as upstairs his Uncle snores, Harry looks down at the pile of dirt and grime that cover his floor; with his slender finger he draws a cake into the dirt and with a huff of air Harry blows out the candles he made that sat upon the cake he drew, and with a slight whisper he wishes with all his might and hope.,"I wish I had a family that loved me, I wish I had a mother and a dad to cuddle me and make sure I was loved." Harry says to himself his tear-soaked cheeks stare up into the lone light that hangs overhead, and with a slight sob Harry turns his head to the side and with a slight wince, Harry lays his head down to sleep.,If Harry had not gone to sleep he would have seen the dust become more smoke-like; the smoke escapes from his room and the house he stayed in, the smoke drifts upwards away from the home & away from the Earth.,The smoke lands in the skeletal hands of a cloaked figure, it curls around the bone-like fingers of the cloaked figure. Around the figure devices unlike anything has created whirl and churn, a door slams open as another figure cloaked in gold appears in the room followed by two more; one in silver and the other in blue.,", a woman's voice asks as the figure dressed in blue steps forward.,"Indeed I am Magic, indeed I am." the skeletal cloaked woman says, her bone-like hand still holding the smoke.,", the figure dressed in gold says waving its sleeve-covered arm towards the other figures in the room.,"I do Life, that boy is connected to me due to his family." the skeletal woman says; her own cloak sweeps towards the centre of the room where a strange device sits., the figure dressed in silver asks.,"He's my master." Death says simply; her bone-like hands cradle the smoke.,", Life asks joining Death at the centre of the room.,"Because his family bested me, I gave his ancestor a gift; My cloak and he bested me." Death says as a hand grabs at her cloaked shoulder., the figure dressed in silver asks; its own hand being the one upon Death's shoulder.,"Yes Fate, the very same." Death says shrugging her sister's hand from her shoulder.,Life looks towards Fate and Magic and all there gazes look towards the device that Death stands over, in her hand the smoke rests clasped tightly around her bone-like fingers., Life, Magic and Fate say at the same time; their magic opens a doorway into a world they have visited before; a world full of creatures, unlike anything any mortal has seen before. Death looks towards her two sisters and her brother and with a nod from the three of them Death lets the smoke drop into the device, and with a shudder, a pathway opens once again towards the forgotten world., Fate says watching Death leave the room with a small Pop.,",Magic asks; sweeping her hand over the device, an image of a boy wearing a red hoddie battle a creature made of socks; while another figure, a woman with a crown of fire strikes down a monster with the base of her scissors.,", Life says simply watching the image flicker and start to fade from the device; just before the image fades completely a bespectacled child jumps into the arms of the boy, and with a sigh, the child cuddles into the boy's chest while the other figure watches with a slight chuckle.

,Harry stared emotionless at the people in the room, his green eyes stopped on his so called best friends. And...dear Merlin, it hurts! He couldn't believe they did this, they were supposed to be his friends, his family and he wanted to shout, to cry. But, he couldn't allow them to see him break down. Besides, he smirked, all his stuff and money was in a bottomless bag. He told them that it was just herbs that were meant to calm him down.,"Harry James Potter," the man he had helped sneered at him, Harry smiled bitterly. "You are here-",Harry interrupted him, "I know, just get to the end. Don't drag this on." Hemione tsk'ed as she looked at him disproving.,"Potter! Don't talk to him like that! You Queer!" She screamed. Harry ignored her as he stared at the Minister.,"Do you have any final words?" He asked as he looked at him. Harry bent his head down.,"Yeah...I have saved you and you do this. From now on, this day would be remembered as the day..." He looked up, his green eyes glowing. "That my betrayers had lost their magic! I, Harry James Potter, wish Lady Magick would punish my betrayers as she wishes, so mote be it!" He hollered, everyone gasped as a light from the Veil of Death grew. Ron moved forward and cast a spell that threw him into the veil.,Harry felt hands grabbing him, a freezing cold seeped into him. He accepted his death and closed his eyes. He could finally rest, he smiled. Suddenly, he was standing up in a familiar castle. "Not yet, my dear master." A voice croaked, a cloaked figure appeared in front of him.,"Well..I guess I am not going to the afterlife." Harry said impassively. The figure chuckled, Harry sighed. "Alright, I am going back or...","I cannot send you back, mostly because I don't want to keep sending you back. I have work to do, you know. So, I am going to send into a world of heroes where your magic could be easily overlooked." Death informed him as he waved a hand. Leaving behind a portal. Harry opened his mouth, but Death continued on. "You are allowed your bottomless bag and the Deathly Hallows. Have fun!",-x-,Harry screamed as he started to fall. The ground was getting closer to him. Shit! Not even one minute in and he's going to die! Suddenly a man in a suit was holding him. He looked at the older man gratefully. Before he could say anything, he passed out in his arms.,"Hey, don't fall-too late." The last thing he heard was the man sighing. If he was more awake, he would be blushing.,-x-,Harry groaned as he rubbed his eyes. What happened? "Hello, are you alright? Did you know you fell out of a blue light in the sky?",He opened his eyes to see a black haired man in his pajamas looking at him as he seat across from him. "W-What a-are you talk-talking about?" Harry asked as he sat up with a grunt.,"A bright blue light appeared in the sky and you fell out of it." The man said uncaring. Harry blinked, well at least someone caught him.,"You know...you are taking this really well." The man shrugged a bit as he looked at him. "Um, I am Harry Potter. The master of Death, I come from a different dimension." He smiled politely, the man raised an eyebrow.,"I am Saitama and I come from this dimension." He said nonchalantly. "Why are you here?",He blinked, " I was banished because, well...I am the Master of Death. To be honest, I don't even know what that exactly means." Harry scratched his head. "Death didn't want to bring me back to my original world so that they don't have to keep bringing back to life. They have a job to do, so they brought here, the world of 'heroes' or something.","So...do know what are you going to do?" Saitama asked him. Harry shrugged.,"I wasn't really prepared to be alive again, I actually thought I was going to the afterlife. Do you think I can stay here, I have gold?" Harry dug into the bag and pulled out a small solid gold bar. Saitama started to cough. Harry looked at him worried. "Are you alright? Are you sick?" Harry got up clumsily and walked to the man who was coughing harshly.,"Do you need a doctor? I will go get one-" Saitama grabbed his wrist before he could leave.,"No, it's okay.","Are you sure?",-x-,Harry shook his head, it has been a couple months since he first appeared in this world. Somehow Harry ended up staying with Saitama who is a very nice man, but is very...distant? Closed off? Aloof? Harry placed the clean dish in the rack as he thought about his roommate.,Harry was able to get a job working in a bakery last week. It was a nice place, the other workers were pretty decent too. It was very peaceful and calming. So far, he hasn't seen any heroes nor any kind of villains. He was glad yet...some part of him feels bored doing nothing. He chose to ignore that part and enjoy the peace while it lasted.,The door was thrown open, causing Harry to jump as Saitama stumbled in. Harry looked at Saitama's bloody face with horror. He ran forward to Saitama and he helped him to the couch. "Bloody hell, Saitama. What happened?" Harry asked as he looked at a small cut on his forehead.,Saitama shrugged, before he winced. "I was turned down again when I was walking back. This huge lobster man was creating chaos as he looked for this big chined brat-very uncute. At first, I planned to just leave the kid, but decided, butainst as I found the kid." Harry nodded as he grabbed a first aid kit. Cleaning off Saitama's face. "Harry, I have decided I will be a hero.",Harry paused before he looked at Saitama with disbelief. "...Are you serious about this, Saitama?","Yeah." They sat in silence as Harry continued to patch Saitama up.,"I guess you're going to have to train hard." Harry said as he started to put away the kit. Saitama nodded seriously as he leaned back.,"I will become so strong that I will defeat my enemies with one punch." He said determinedly. Harry had a feeling he would be able to one day.

Dying hurt, the boatman decides as he stares upward into the darkening sky from the floor of his beloved Amaranth. The sunset is exquisite- if not highly ironic- the different shades of orange, red, purple, blue and black clashing together like an inventive masterpiece emulsioned by some underalded Diety for the world to witness.,He could think of worse ways to die besides being oscillated gentle by the sea he loved within the one object he cherished most with such a wondrous view. For expample: ,could be here.,"Oh Samuel, what am I going to do with you?",... He needed to learn to keep this thoughts to himself...,"I cautioned you not to let him in.",If this is going to turn into another ,disquisition, the boatman wants to die faster. He doesn't want to hear how right the other was and how fallacious Samuel was for having optimism in a man he shouldn't have. He was already dying for his blunder the least the other could do was permit him to sucumb in peace.,An amused laughter filled the air before the night sky was replace with eyes reflecting the void.,"Sorry Samuel but I fear out indentures not finished just yet. After all," The smile upon the Diety's face reminded the boatman a lot of a shark detecting blood in open water, "You did promise forever.",The last thing Samuel Beechworth sees in the darkness of the void held within those unnatural eyes.,Its pitious, Erland can't help but think as he stares down at the body within the bottom of the Amaranth. He had always warned his boatman the other's kindness would see him killed. He had bluntly warned Samuel to stay away from Corvo Attano.,Corvo Attano was not a safe man to be around. He wasn't safe before the Empress' assasasintion nor his rather extended stay within the walls of Coldridge. Afterwards, The Royal Protector was fragmented, nothing more then a silent killer driven by revenge and monophonic protectiveness.,Maybe he should have done more? Been more forceful in his insistance the boatman avoided the man? He should have dragged the other, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the void for his own safely once the Boatman had made his intentions clear. Would it have made any differnence? The boatman cared too much and would have attmepted to help fix the broken man one way or another.,"I should have taught you to be more selfish.",Or at least how to tell when the person you where trying to help went from friendly into outright creep.,It doesn't matter now though. Samuel had died a rather messy and bloody death but Erland wouldn't permit the boatman to stay dead, he just needed to figure out exactly where he wanted to place the other...,Well there was one place he could think of.,Every since her son, Harry, had been announced stillborn; life had slowly but surely been crumbling around Lillith 'Lilly' Potter nee Evans. Her parents where dead, her sister dispised her soley for existing, an unforseen complication in the pregancy had left her barren, her son was dead before he even had a chance, and her husband couldn't stand to be in the same room as her- let alone actually look at or comfort her.,She was desperate, so she did something. Something she hadn't done since she went to Hogwarts, since she discovered she was a witch. She went to back to her Family Occult.,The Outsider was said to be a being of unfathomable power, a being capable of wrapping reality itself. Surely he if no one could grant her what she desired.,Though she had hoped, Lilly hadn't actually expected the ritual to work.,Yet there he stood holding a bundle of golden fabrics within his arms.,"His name is Samuel.",Emerald eyes glance, she could just see the tuffle of black hair and pale skin from within. A baby, the thought alone caused the rouge's fingers to twitch in the urge to snatch the young life away from the avatar before her. Yet she forces herself to resist the urge, stealing from a God wasn't a wise idea after all.,"Now, now Samuel. There is no need for such language even if she can't hear you. ",An amused smile twists onto those lips as void black eyes gaze down into the bundle accommodating an open fondness before they flicker onto her being as boredom becomes the prominent emotion.,"Lillith Potter, I have an assignment for you.",Samuel Beechworth wasn't a man to usually consider revenge.,He had witnessed first hand how it twisted and swiveled good men into monsters. He had heard the countless of screams as the once Royal Protector carried out his own revenge, he had witness the waters turn crimson, observed those crimson waters becoming nothing more then a sea of bodies wrapped in white. And to think he played a part of that, he had ferried death.,He had even attempted to save the monster that slathered death with its every breathe. He was naïve to actually believe he could aid the other, he sees that now, you can't rehabilitate someone who doesn't want to be after all. It was rather obvious how his endeavors turned out...,Samuel Beechworth wasn't usually a man to consider revenge, but right now; in the body of an infant being held to the bosom of a woman he knew to be a witch in a world of magic; Samuel was reconsidering his policy on revenge.,Witches...,Erland was giving him to a witch...,Good Gracious Father Above...,"Its not that bad Samuel.",Yeah right, being a witch in Dunwall- Natural Born of not- was practically the worst thing a person could be.,"Then its a good thing you're not in Dunwall.",Samuel pities the man that is conjectured to be his father and he pities the lad he is supposed to replace. He abhors the woman that is presumed to be his mother. Adoption is brilliant and all by the once boatman's book yet to completely eradicate the memory of a child who never had a chance and make the world think he is that child...,It makes Samuel sick.,Since he is stuck in a infant's body his protest of the inhumane act against his moral code is rather petty. Lilly still hasn't figured out why he screams like a banshee every time she gets within ten feet of him. James just laughs and says it because he's a ,.,Samuel can feel his pity for the man growing with every passing second.,The once boatman doesn't believe in Prophecies, to be honest he fount many of them self-filling. If you openly acted, whether against or for a prophecy they tended to come about, but if you ignored them as a whole they would fade away into nihility. He also fount them exceptionally vague, holding an indefinite amount of ambiguous meanings and no practicable way for a lucid answer.,Then there was the issue of this prophecy having absolutely nothing to do with him.,For one, his parents had defied a tremendous number of people, but Samuel doubted a Dark Lord capable of using magic was on the list. Secondly, he was born on the tenth day of the Month of Clans- a time of ice, darkness, being ensnared within one's home and family- the Dunwall equivalent of December.,So why where they still going on about him or the Longbottom Child being the Prophesied One? Why where they discussing moving from the assured safety of the old Potter Manor and century old wards for the less then safe; Godric Hollow Cottage where loose lips -or cowardice, if they actually plan to use the rat-face Pettigrew- would get them all killed before morning tea?,Wizards, Samuel finds, have an unnatural lack of common sense. He ponders if its a Curse on the Society as a whole, after all, no one could possible be this stupid without outside aid...Right?,For now the first time in his life the man once known as Samuel Beechworth hates being right. James is likely dead downstairs, Lilly is lying on the floor before the once Boatman and his crib while a Dark Lords ashes rest across the room.,Erland is gone and if not for the scar on his head and the fact he wasn't as dead as everyone else in the household, Samuel would have thought he imaged the deity ever being there.,"Lilly!",A man in black robes rushes into the room, dark eyes quickly darting about before landing on the woman upon the floor. The man doesn't even seem to realize Samuel is there as he cradles the body close, a pained bawl that could only come from a man who lost everything tearing from his throat.,Its a sound the once boatman has perceived too many times, one he had aspired to avoid hearing for some years to come. If he could, Samuel would walk away; but since he's currently trapped within a wooden prison the once boatman just looks away, permitting the man to grieve in the closest thing to peace he can offer.,Its only after the bat like man is gone with a sharp crack does Sirius appear. The man always reminded Samuel of an older, male Emily; so the boatman sees no problem in sleeping within the safely of his arms.,Its a mistake he promises not to make again as he's woken on a cold November morning, wrapped solely in only a thin practically burnt blanket to the sound of a shrill scream.,If Samuel is honest, he never liked horses.,They where beautiful, yes, but he never saw a reason to own one. Compared to the river and his beloved Amaranth they where a rather uncomfortable and a slow means of transportation. And unlike his beloved Amaranth, they tended to drop shit everywhere they went while prancing about all high and mighty.,Petunia reminds the boatman significantly of a horse. Every time she opened her mouth utter bullshit would come flowing out. Samuel likes the woman less then horses. At least horses didn't throw one year old into a dark cupboard and forget them for a week. He feels half deafened when the woman finally gets the dignity to check upon him only to scream at the sight of a completely heathy infant.,For some reason Samuel gets the intuition she had wished him dead.

The day I have been waiting for five long years has finally come. I have been jumping around whole day firing rapid instructions to Harry, Ron and Ginny who are helping me with the packing. Well I had already packed everything about two months before they are just helping me sort them in respective boxes, they know how much I hate not being organised. Of course now I'm busy packing my treasure because honestly I don't trust any of my friends around my books. I know it sounds crazy that I trust them completely with myself but not my books, well what can I say I'm paranoid about my books. I gaze longingly at my second edition of "Hogwarts a History". Harry and Ron got it for my 20th birthday, I absolutely loved it and I was so ecstatic that I told them to ask me whatever they want and I would give them. And well Ron being,.. well Ron asked for a week during which I would not boss them around, nag them or call on some of their disgusting habits. Honestly it was very frustrating having to shut my mouth and bite my cheek every time I was in a lecture mood, I hope you can imagine because I'm always in bossy mode. But it was completely worth it to read the 2nd edition. I keep that book and the first edition of "The tale beedle and the bard" which was given by Dumbledore in my handbag so that I can read it soon without going through the hassle of unpacking.,After the death of Voldemort at the battle of Hogwarts the Wizarding Britain had incurred so much losses in life and property. Everyone everywhere were mourning for their loved ones and members of order of phoenix and aurors were capturing death eaters left and right. The Hogwarts was in ruins and the Ministry was in complete chaos. Kingsley shacklebolt had to step up as a temporary minister of magic till the Ministry was organised, all the Death Eaters captured and the Wizarding Britain was under the control of ministry. He had been elected as the minister by Wizengamot after that and he is been the Minister ever since. After weeks of mourning for Fred, Remus and Tonks along with Harry and the Weasleys and helping with the reconstruction of Hogwarts I met up with Kingsley regarding the situation with my parents. I thought about them everyday and it hurt so much that they couldn't even remember me when all I could think about was them. I needed my family with me too to mourn about every person I had lost. I needed to feel safe in my father's arms and comfort in my mother's words after having been in constant danger since almost Voldemort had risen again. But I couldn't trouble anyone so soon. So I waited for a few weeks. Kingsley sent a team to locate them in australia and I was totally devastated to hear that they couldn't even find a trace of them.,I threw myself at work day and night to escape the immense guilt that was clawing at my heart that I was the reason that they no longer exist, they would have been safe here but instead I chose to erase myself from their memories, gave them a new identity and sent them off to Australia. If only I could've found another way to keep them safe.,After six months I was like a walking living automated robot. I avoided almost everyone including my best friends and the Weasley family. One day when I was rushing out of ministry after work to avoid harry and Ron for the hundredth time, I fell on my back when someone threw a jelly jinx curse on my legs. I turned around and got in face to face with a furious red head. I was surprised she didn't combust then and there where I could literally see the smoke coming out of ginny's ears. After lot of apologizing, explaining from my side, tears and comfort from their side and a big hug I was forgiven. I went to Weasley dinner that weekend and Molly burst out crying after see saw me. I was feeling very guilty because I know that she took Fred's death the hardest after George, it must have been very difficult for her not to see me during the dinners and me not replying to their letters. Since then I have become even more close to the Weasley family than before if such a thing was even possible. Ginny and me have been inseparable since then. She was always my best girl friend but I never used to spend much time with her before. We all have become more like a quartet now from trio after Ginny and Harry got together.,They got married just last year. It was a simple and beautiful ceremony with just family and friends. I have never seen two people so in love with each other. I'm very happy to see that they have found each other. Both deserve to be happy after all they have been through especially Harry who has carried so much baggage on his shoulders since he was just a kid. I won't ever admit to anyone but sometimes I envious of the bond they share. I wish I had shared something similar to this with Ron. But our relationship was doomed even before it had begun. We had more arguments than before if such thing exists. He began resenting my need to boss him around all the time and not needing him like he wanted his girlfriend to. Me not being able to dim my intelligence in order for him to feel good about himself and in turn resenting him for it. We were constantly at each other's throat for the entire duration of our disastrous relationship.,Fortunately for us we realized soon enough that if we continued our relationship there would surely be an irreparable dent in our friendship so we called it off. I tried dating other people but it never went beyond two dates. Though I did date Oliver Wood for a month and we broke up when he moved to another country. I did like him quite a lot, too bad he moved.,I had completely given up hope that my parents were even alive. After five years of battle of Hogwarts Kingsley got to know from his contact at MACUSA that my parents were staying in Seattle. I had never been so escatic in my life, not even after we'd defeated Voldemort. I packed my things and Kingsley got me a job at MACUSA so I can live there for a while and get my parents used to me before administering the potion on them so as to eliminate any chances of permanently damaging their brain.," Okay everyone shrink all the boxes and put them in the bag there, we have ten minutes before we need to use our portkey, I need to get Crookshanks from Mrs. Figg." I say coming into the living room.," Bloody hell! Someone voluntarily agreed to take care of that thing?! That thing tries to scar me every time it gets a chance!" Ron shuddered.," Well if you keep playing pranks on him at this rate I'm surprised he hasn't caused you a serious injury yet." I muse.,"You're joking right?!" Ron nearly yelled in fear dropping a box he was shrinking.," I'll leave it to you to determine if I was joking or not, that'll teach you to think twice before pranking Crookshanks when I'm not there. Felines are beasts after all." I smirk as I see color draining from Ron's face. "You're lucky I haven't caught you or else you'd have been hexed real bad." I answer and head off to my neighbour's house.,By the time I come back I see Harry and Ginny sniggering and trying to bet on the time frame in which Ron would get hexed and Ron seemed to be having one of his little dramatic food tantrums.," Hermione come back now, mione at least give me food since you have enslaved me to do all your hard work. And stop laughing you too and get back to work." He whines.,"Shut up Ron, you just stuffed your face at the burrow not an hour ago!" Ginny exclaims.," Well all these manual labour has made me my stomach nearly empty, I can eat a Hippogriff at this rate." Ron says and just as in if on cue his stomach grumbles loudly.," You're disgusting Ronald! I'll get you some food at my new place, now if everyone is ready grab the portkey." I say holding Crookshanks and portkey in the same hand and bag in another.," You put that monster away from my face I'm telling you now else I'm not coming!" Ron exclaims.,"No offense Hermione but please we don't want to inhale any of its lion's mane fur. Merlin's knows what disease we'll catch." Harry says holding my owl and it's cage in his hand.," Harry! Crookshanks has perfectly healthy fur and for the last time it's fur doesn't resemble lion's mane!" But I shift crooks to the other hand to placate him. " Now let's go.",We land on a meadow with a whoosh which seems to be far away from the city.," No matter how many times I do it, I'll never get used to this nauseating feeling while portkeying." I say slightly disoriented.," Miss Granger, Mr. and , Mr. Weasley, Welcome to Seattle. I'm Joseph Saunders, auror at the MACUSA. Minister sent me to receive you. I have arranged a muggle truck for you to unload your luggage into so you can reach your new place. I have already given your new address to the muggle driver he would be helping you to unload your things there also." A short, thin looking man in his late twenties says in his american accent.," Pleased to meet you Mr. Saunders. Thank you for the transportation but I don't think it will be necessary for loading the truck though." I say politely.," On the contrary I find it quite necessary Miss Granger. The apartment you will be living in has neighbours who have hired security and it will seem suspicious if they don't see any packed items loading to your house. Here at the ministry we try as much as possible to avoid oblivating muggles so we try to do things the muggle way around them to avoid suspicion as opposed to other ministries where workers in muggle wizard cooperation live off on oblivating them." He says with a tone of superiority.," Alright let's get this over with. Thank you for receiving us Mr. Saunders and convey my regards to the minister." I sigh.,"Very well Miss Granger, Congratulations on being the new head of DMLE for the MACUSA. I'll expect you at work on Monday. I don't know what kind of rules you follow at your ministry but here rules are very strict and tardiness will be punished by deducting from your salary. " He says superciliously.,"Not that it's any of your business but I'll let you know that I absolutely detest tardiness. I appreciate your rather vain wishes Mr. Saunders and since I'M the HEAD of DMLE I think it's fair to say that YOU WORK UNDER ME and you will be following my orders not the other way around. And in case you have missed I'll be working as the head of Department of Magical Transportation for the my first month at the ministry since there seems to be lot of issues with transportation which hasn't been fixed for a long time by your ministry. On that note I bid you Goodbye and I suggest you keep your sniffy attitude in check as I have no qualms taking necessary action if its causing trouble at the workplace." I grit out through my teeth fuming and start walking to the truck which has been parked with the others following me.,After we silently unload my things Harry calls the driver who was at a block down drawing cigarette.,"The nerve of that man to talk to me like that! I really hope others are not like that. I would hate to be stuck with a bunch of stuck up prats as if I didn't have enough of them to deal with before." I rave.," You are right but on the brighter side it was very much rewarding to see his face turning beet red with anger after your little speech." Ron says clearly amused.,"I don't know Hermione, but you really need to be careful since you will be dealing with the new territory. As much as I have tried to find out about the ministry here, all I got was just that this was an ideal ministry with absolutely no pureblood supremacy. I think they have put in a lot of effort to bury something they don't want others finding out. I've met the minister here, you are not going to like him Hermione and something about him seems very suspicious. I want you to be on constant alert, don't let your guard down." Harry says, ever the voice of caution.," Harry, Hermione's come to a new place, let her have a breather first and do the main job she is here for. I know you won't be able to resist Hermione but if anything seems dangerous don't get too much involved, you are here to try to bring your parents memory back and for that you will have to ease them to you for atleast three to four months for the potion to work and then reveal your identity. Don't let your work side track you." Ginny advises me.," Ginny's right hermione, we know you are very curious and want to change everything for good but anything dangerous and suspicious activity about the whole ministry should be handled by International confederation confederation of magical ministries and not you alone". Ron says thoughtfully.," I know I know guys, I'll try to keep my inquisitiveness in check and continue practicing Constant Vigilance." I concede rather reluctantly though I plan to do otherwise.,We stop our discussion once we arrive at my new flat building.,"What the hell does ESCALA mean?" Ron asks.,"It's a Spanish word which means scale; ladder, since the building is so tall I think escala suits it perfectly." I answer in my best swotty voice that I know Ron hates.,"Whatever let's get this over with, I can't go on without food for any longer." Ron grumbles irritated with a hand on his stomach.,After we eat pizza for lunch Harry, Ginny and Ron leave via portkey giving me time to unpack my things and with a promise to visit the next weekend.,I first start unpacking my precious books. The flat has one guest bedroom. I have so many books that I had to place them in the guest room closet. By the time it was close to 7pm only less than half of my books are unpacked and I decide to go get some food from a nearby restaurant. I walk through the parking lot of escala and notice all the cars parked. I don't even remember the time I had seen so many new models. I suddenly realize that I'm totally outdated here, having been living like a total witch. It was definitely good to be back in the muggle world. I wander around aimlessly and get a parcel from nearby restaurant. While heading back I decide to explore the city a bit tomorrow since I have a weekend to look forward to.,By the time I reach escala it is one minute to 8pm. As I look around the parking spots I notice a woman hurriedly getting out of a shiny red audi. Don't act so surprised, Of course I knew quite a few standard cars, I'm not a dunderhead when it came to muggle stuff like Ron or any other purebloods, I was a muggleborn for godric's sake! It was just after spending nearly half of my life in wizarding world, I don't seem to keep track of all the little things in muggle world. But I have been very adamant about being up to date with the on goings of the muggle world. I would never give up my origins though I belong in the wizarding world.,The woman looks like she has put up lot of makeup not long ago and is participating in some kind of fashion show. She has brown hair, petite with a stunning figure. I notice that she has quite a few similar features to me. As I approach the elevator area, I notice the woman staring at me with a frown marring her beautiful face.,"What are you doing around here? Are you also here to visit Mr.G.. someone?" The woman asks in a hostile tone glaring at me after correcting her little slip up.,"I'm Hermione Granger. I moved to one of the flats here just today actually. Do you also live here?" I say ignoring the woman's hostility. I might has well play nice if the woman is indeed going be my neighbor. I don't feel like getting into petty fights.,"Oh well I didn't realize. No actually I'm visiting someone here. I'm Miranda Moss by the way. You sound British." She says in a haughty voice and as though being a British immediately puts me to a station below hers.,"Nice to meet you too. And by the way I'm British that's why I sound like one. Now if you don't mind i have things to do, stuff to unpack." I don't even bother to keep my tone straight this time. So much for playing nice. Well it's not like she is staying her and she is starting to grate my nerves already.," Sure. Oh No I was supposed to be here five minutes before. Sir will be…." She is frantically mumbling to herself with a hint of fear in her voice.,I decide to ask her what she is mumbling about but then I don't really want to get involved in anyone's private business so I turn around and find a tall build man in his late thirties dressed in suit walking towards me. He is very well built, if I had to guess I would say this man was a part of military. He gives me a strange look and addresses Miss Moss turning her way.,"Shall I escort you Miss Moss? Sir is waiting upstairs for you and has asked me to bring you there.",She tries to mask her fear barely and replies with a rude and haughty tone "Of course Taylor, it's good to see you actually do some useful work around here. I was merely making a conversation here with Miss Granger, a brit and a newbie staying at escala.",He perfectly masks his anger and turns to face me, this time not giving me any more strange looks but instead looks a bit surprised. It's difficult to read emotions on his face and eyes since they are blank, I guess it's the military facade. But ever since I learned legilimency and occlumency I can detect even faint change, not that I would ever use legilimency on an unsuspecting muggle.," Welcome to Escala Miss Granger. I'm Taylor" He says not disclosing any further information and moves his hand forward for a handshake.,I firmly shake his hand and reply "It's nice to meet you . I guess I'll see you around then" and I start to walk away. Thankfully they take another elevator.,Once in my flat I completely decide to ignore my new neighbour and stuck up women's existence and completely get lost in admiring my books while unpacking them and much later I go to bed hoping to atleast get a glimpse of my parents tomorrow.

Word Count: 1433,Title: Love Of A Daughter,Note: AU! & Crossover. After the explosion that almost kills Pandora she and her husband decide it is better for her to leave to protect Luna, and once Luna is told the truth that her mother is still alive she decides to go and find her.,Warnings: angst,Hogwarts,Assignment 8: Task #13. Write a crossover or AU in which your chosen character(s) are attending one of the schools in the list above. Crossover!Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children,Yearly:,Prompt 905 [Family] Lovegood,For years Luna heard the tale that her mother had died in a Potions accident that destroyed the house and almost killed them all, but when she turned sixteen her father finally told her something that changed her whole world around.,"Luna, I have something to tell you," Mr Lovegood said, he was cooking pancakes in the kitchen while she sat with a book and read. She placed it down and looked up at her father with a smile.,"Yes, father?" she asked.,"It's about," he coughed. "Your mother.",Her eyes shone with curiosity.,"What about mother?" she asked puzzled.,"Well, the truth is, she didn't die that night," Mr Lovegood admitted. Luna's expression changed to disbelief.,"Then where is she?" Luna said in a slightly more demanding way than usual. She had lived her whole life without her mother, to hear that she didn't die in that accident.,"Well, Luna, dear, I don't know," her father started. "It was a long time ago, and it took me ages before I realised she hadn't been killed…","How did you find out?" Luna asked, now sceptical, perhaps her father just had trouble facing the facts. That could cause desperate people to grasp at straws.,"She called me," Mr Lovegood said, his face was pale.,"Mother?" Luna asked curiously.,"No, a woman named Miss Peregrine," he said. "She says that your mother had been living with them in their time loop for a few years now, and she thinks its best your mother returns before it becomes too late.","Too late?" Luna asked.,"Yes, apparently if it reaches a certain period that she remained with them, she wouldn't be able to adapt and she would turn to dust upon entering the normal world again," Mr Lovegood announced.,Luna shuddered. "Well then, I'll find her, and bring her home," she said.,"Such a good girl," Mr Lovegood said. "It would be nice to see my wife again," he added.,Luna searched all over before she eventually found the place, and she was lucky she could. According to legend, normal people couldn't find the portal to the other world, where Miss Peregrine was keeping her wards safe from the world.,When she entered the portal in the cave, she felt the magic rush over her, and she walked around the time period her mother had been hiding in. She saw an owl, and a tawny owl sitting on a branch, and it seemed to be glaring at her.,"That owl is staring daggers at you," a blonde girl said from behind her. Luna laughed and turned around, and the owl flew off.,"Hi, I'm Luna," she greeted.,"Oh gosh, Luna, I'm Emma. It's so strange, you're Pandora's daughter?" She asked.,Luna nodded surprised. "You know my mother?","Of course," Emma grinned. "You just saw her.","You mean the owl?" Luna asked.,Emma nodded. "Come on then, Miss Peregrine is expecting us, we don't want to be late.",Luna followed Emma, thankful to have a direction to go in. When she thought about her mother's glare, she didn't feel like she was going to be able to bring her back, but that wasn't something she had time to focus on.,She reached the house and rang the doorbell, and it swung open to reveal a slender woman dressed all in black.,"You're late," Miss Peregrine said as she checked her watch.,"I'm sorry, we got to talking," Luna replied.,"Okay, Emma, time for chores," Miss Peregrine said to the other girl and Emma disappeared off into the garden.,"I suppose you would like to see your mother now, I must say I didn't have much luck convincing her to return," she said.,"I assumed, my mother had always been strong of opinion," Luna replied. She took Luna by the arm and led her to the study, where her mother sat, the same age as the day of the accident. Pandora was reading and Luna could tell she was actively trying to ignore her.,"Mother," Luna said, and Pandora looked up from the book she was absorbed in.,"Luna, why are you here?" She asked, her voice was cold and nothing like Luna remembered her mother.,"I can ask you the same," Luna responded. "But I came to find you.","Well, I already told Miss Peregrine that I'm not leaving," she said. She set her book down, and Luna realised her mother wasn't ready, but the problem was, she might never be.,"I don't blame you for what happened, neither does dad," she spoke softly.,"I need you to leave," Pandora said suddenly.,"But I-","Leave!" Pandora shouted. Luna turned and ran off, only until she reached a nearby field and sat down to cry.,"You've let me down," Miss Peregrine said as soon as Luna ran away.,"I told you I didn't want to see her," Pandora said, and started sobbing in the chair.,"You also told me almost ten years ago this stay was only meant to be temporary, and that you wanted to learn to control your telegenic abilities so you aren't a danger…" Miss Peregrine started.,"I know what I said, but I didn't…" Pandora interrupted then trailed off herself.,"Oh Pandora," Miss Peregrine said, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. "You have been studying every day for all these years, can you really tell me you aren't ready?" She asked. Miss Peregrine was aware that Pandora's time had come to return, and then suddenly the phone rang in the foray. She left Pandora to her thoughts.,Luna sat in the field when she saw Emma appear again. "I'm sorry it didn't go very well," Emma replied, sitting down beside her.,"I wasn't sure what I was expecting," Luna said. "I believed I was here to bring her back, but I think I came here for the wrong reasons.","What do you mean?" Emma asked curiously.,"If my mother wants to stay, that's her choice, I've lived without her this long, I love her more than anything, and leaving her would hurt. But her happiness means more than having her back.",Emma nodded. "That's very wise," she replied, touching Luna's hand softly. "I was happy to have met you though, and I'll never forget you," Emma added.,"I'm glad to have met you as well, Emma, I would love to spend the rest of the day with you, if you can," Luna said, and Emma's eyes lit up.,"I always enjoy making new friends," she said.,The two of them went into the cabin again near the ocean, and Emma used her abilities to empty out a ship underwater, and the two of them spent the day just talking.,"It's time to get home," Emma whispered, her voice sounding hollow in the air vacuum. Luna sighed, she wished it didn't have to end so soon.,"I would have liked to stay longer," Luna replied.,"I know, but your father needs you," Emma said, turning for them to walk back to the house.,"I'll stay the night," Luna said.,Emma laughed.,When they got back miss Peregrine asked Luna if she wanted to watch them reset the clock. Luna felt silly for forgetting there was no night to spend.,Luna left after watching the clock rewind and hugged Emma goodbye. She didn't even speak to her mother, she was stuck with immense grief that her own mother didn't want to be with them anymore.,She walked off alone to the cave, and once she got back to the right timeline, she Apperated back home.,"It's almost like you were never away," Mr Lovegood said, putting the kettle on.,"I wish I didn't leave," Luna admitted.,"I'm sorry my girl," Mr Lovegood said. "I never should have tried to make you go.","I would have gone anyway," Luna sighed, "I didn't realise that she wouldn't want to come back." She sat fiddling with a teaspoon in the coffee mug.,"I did want to," they heard a voice and they turned to see Pandora Lovegood standing in the kitchen.,"Oh really?" Luna asked, the disappointment clear on her voice.,"I was scared, I kept seeing myself come back and causing both your deaths, it's no excuse, but I finally stopped seeing it," Pandora said.,Mr Lovegood walked towards her with open arms, eyes shining with tears.,"I missed you so much," he said softly.,"I missed you too, you should thank our daughter, her love has given me the courage to return," she replied.,Luna looked at her mother and smiled, their family was finally whole again.

Coming from a large family,With a lot of familiar yet friendly faces,Everyone else is special,But we maybe the runt of the litter,Being the littlest in the family,But that doesn't mean we're going to try and find our voice,And make ourselves heard loud and clear,In this rather large crowded family that's over run by boys,And quite possibly everything in between

Greg Heffley hated his life.,He hated his grades, "You'll never get into a college with those grades" his dad yelled at him nearly every weekend.,He hated his athletic ability, "This doesn't look like the girl's soccer team to you does it! Get off your ass and run!" his coach yelled at him on the day of tryouts.,He hated how he was on the lowest rungs of the social ladder in his high school, "Greg Heffley, that loser, are you out of your mind! You'd be better off going with your sister, Jessica!" one of the cheerleaders had said to her friends. He was so low on the social totem pole, that they said it five meters away from him, not even caring.,If there was one thing he was glad about in his life it was Harry Potter.,Every day after he got home from school, he would do two things: jump into bed and hoped he would die in his sleep. Inevitably, when it didn't occur he would awaken, and spend the rest of the time reading Harry Potter fanfiction.,He had given up on his grades, and decided to focus his time instead on absorbing as much as the fandom's theories and speculations as possible.,Greg was tired of it all though, the teasing, the bullying, the abuse from Manny, today he was going to end it all.,He gathered up all his belongings, and set them on fire in his backyard.,Then he grabbed his Harry Potter posters, his printed 'official' Hogwarts letter, his signed poster of Daniel Radcliffe, that he had spent 18 hours in the rain to get, and finally the box of his mom's medication.,He placed them all in the bathroom and went downstairs.,His family was sitting around the table eating what could've been fried rat brains for all he cared.,Greg was about to open his mouth, to go on a long rant denouncing his family, but his dad beat him to the chase.,"Gregory Heffley, what is the meaning of this! Straight F's, do you have a brain tumor?!",Greg Heffley burst into tears.,"Stop those dirty tears, it's time for you to grow up and stop acting like a 3-year old bitch!","Language, dear" his mom cautioned.,"I don't care what you think of me, I'm beautiful and that's all that matters. I may not be a social butterfly like you guys, but I'm unique, my own special snowflake" Greg yelled back.,"What have they been teaching in these schools" Greg's mom muttered to himself.,"SHUT UP!" Greg yelled,"How dare you question what they teach us in schools, you don't even care about me do you? Always pampering Manny, the little shit that he is!",His mother covered her mouth in horror, "Gregory that language is not..","Oh yeah!" yelled Greg cutting her off" OH YEAH!","Can't handle the truth can you" he sneered,"Here's another question, why the fuck do you try to poison me with the dog shit you serve us every meal",Greg knew he had far overstepped his bounds, but he didn't care anymore, he was tired of being his family's pack mule.,His dad's face turned purple with rage and he could see a vein throbbing.,Greg turned to face his father, "Oh you too Dad, you wanna hear the ugly truth","Why the fuck are you so embrassed to go to your company's parties, you always make me go in your place, I wonder why that is huh?",The fist smashed into his nose so hard the cartilage broke and the force slammed his head back so hard it the wall.,Greg was dazed and stars danced around his head.,"The nerve... The nerve..." his father growled, trembling with barely concealed rage.,Greg spat at his father's feet,"Hah you fools that you control me, make me your tool" Greg laughed, "haha that rhymed...,He was interrupted by a fist flying into his left cheek with so much force that it dislocated his jaw.,Greg spit out blood, and was about to spit out a witty retort, when his father's hand slamming into his throat, and began crushing his windpipe.,Greg's dad's eyes were red with rage, and he looked murderous.,Spittle flew from his mouth when he spoke,"I've had enough of this bullshit! ENOUGH! What the fuck are you good for you piece of shit! Exactly what the flying fuck are you good for!","Good for keeping your fucking temper in check, mate" Greg said mimicking an Aussie accent.,Greg's dad's head looked like it was going to explode. He suddenly began beating Greg with insane fervor. "Worthless piece of garbage! Rubbish! You piece of dog shit! Horrible grades, horrible at sports, no friends, horrible breath...","AHHHH!" he screamed, Greg had just bitten his hand so hard, blood flew freely. "You rabid dog! I'll put you down myself!",Greg sprinted up the stairs and locked the bathroom door behind him.,Greg's dad bounded up the stairs and swung his fists at the doors, denting them.,Inside Greg took out his brother Rodrick's lighter and set all his Harry Potter memoribilia on fire, he leaned over and breathed the fumes in deeply.,They made him woozy and he almost passed out, but he managed to hold on.,After they all had finished burning, Greg crushed all his mother's tablets into fine powder and mixed it with the ash. Then he took the combined mixture and snorted it up his nose.,At the same time, Greg's dad had gotten a nearby fire extinguisher to help him knock the door down. With inhuman rage, he relentlessly pounded at the doors until finally they broke. Then he rushed in and slammed the fire extinguisher onto Greg's head, just as he finished snorting the ash-medicine mixture.,Greg's world exploded into multiple flashing colors, twisting and swirling about.

Sequel to ,. Read that first, otherwise you won't get what's happening in this fic.,London was different than New York.,Of course, Draco had known that before; he wasn't stupid after all and yet now as he was here, he could practically feel it. New York was always busy, always changing, experimenting and evolving. London was busy and hectic, too – every city with millions of inhabitants would be – but there was a certain gravitas to it that New York simply lacked. Every nook and cranny, every street and house, every corner stone around here reeked of history, as if the spectres of everything they had witnessed still hung over everything and imbued it with a sense of importance.,He didn't really have the words to describe it properly, but he couldn't deny what he was feeling. It wasn't unpleasant, just...there, at the back of his head.,He wouldn't really spend much more time in London, though. Tomorrow the Hogwarts Express would take him to the school from Kings Cross Station. Every time Draco thought about it, there was this confusing mess of feelings that made his stomach turn.,His parents wanted him to go to Hogwarts, Draco knew that. And the thought of walking the same halls as his parents had, listening to the same lessons they had, reading the same books as them, made this yearning course through Draco. It wasn't as if he didn't love Mike (or Harvey) and he often felt bad for these thoughts, but he couldn't help but wonder about his parents: What kind of people had they been? What did they believe in? What did they strive for? Did they love each other?,Where did Draco come from?,It wasn't as Mike had never told him anything. He hadn't held anything back – even the bad parts (mainly the bad parts) – and had answered Draco's questions whenever he had them, but there were many things he didn't know because he had seen his mother once when she had given Draco to him and then she and his father had died.,Maybe going to Hogwarts would give him the answers he sought, so that he could finally be sure of who he was in order to become who he wanted to be. Maybe he would find the connection to his parents that he never had and could finally lay all those doubts and insecurities to rest.,But Draco was also afraid of not fitting in. He hadn't grown up in Wizarding Britain, didn't know its culture and tradition like someone who had lived it since birth would. Of course, Mike being who he was, had devoured book after book about the matter and had told Draco nearly everything, but reading things in books was different than actually living through them. His passport was American, his values were American, even his accent was American, so what if there was no place for him at Hogwarts, as well? What if they sent him home when they noticed that he wasn't who he was supposed to be? What if they found him lacking?,"You're looking way too sombre for someone who's about to go to a school that's housed in a castle and teaches magic." Draco looked up to see Mike sitting across from him, the traveller guide for London shut close on the table between them.,"Where's Harvey?" he wanted to know. He only ever called them 'Dad' (Mike) and 'Father' (Harvey) in front of other people, because when he just called them 'Mike' and 'Harvey' they usually asked questions about his background and he would need to explain that his parents' death and how he came to be with Mike. It was easier to claim them as his parents in public, especially as he and Mike shared some outward traits, but in private they were just Mike and Harvey.,His parents were dead and he didn't need new ones. He had Mike and Harvey.,"At the reception," Mike replied. "He found a hair and a little bit of dust and is now trying to get us a discount on our last night's stay." He let out a sigh of suffering. Draco could sympathise: Harvey was a horribly demanding guest to have. Sometimes it was borderline embarrassing for Mike and Draco.,"Don't think you can distract me, though," Mike continued. "Tell me what's going on with you." Draco gazed down on his hands, looking at every finger as if it would stop time and get him out of answering Mike's question.,"What if I don't fit in?" he finally mumbled, barely intelligible. He looked back up at Mike and saw nothing but understanding and kindness in his father figure's eyes.,"That's what has you worried? That no one's gonna like you?" Draco nodded.,"Well, I obviously can't promise you that everything will be roses and sunshine," Mike told him. "But statistically speaking, there have to be at least one to three people who you can stand and want to be friends with. It was the same for me: I wasn't really that much liked during school, but I had Trevor and Jenny, so I didn't care." He smiled at Draco. "You just need to find your Trevor and Jenny and everything's going to be fine." Hearing those words made the pressure on his shoulder ease a little bit. Mike had always had a gift with words and with taking away Draco's fears.,"And as for your fear of not fitting in? Again, I can't promise you anything, but if you don't try to force it, then it will happen by itself. And if it doesn't? Your parents never specified how much time you had to spend in Hogwarts or that you needed to graduate there. If you really don't like it there, Harvey and I will get you out. We went over the will quite a few times and found all the loopholes we'd need.",Sometimes, Draco just loved how smart his guardians were. Other times – especially when he was about to get in trouble – not so much.,"What am I hearing about loopholes?" Harvey entered their hotel room, a satisfied smirk tugging on his lips. "Who are we going up against?","No one," Mike told him. "I just told Draco that we had contingency plans in place should he not like Hogwarts.",Harvey scoffed. "Of course, we do. We wouldn't be much of a lawyer if we didn't." He sat down in one of the chairs. "By the way, I did get us a discount.",Mike rolled his eyes. "Did we also get put on the hotel's black list? Will mugshots of us go up in the staff's break room?","When they call themselves a five-star establishment, they should be held to the concomitant standards," Harvey sneered. "After all, they were more than happy to take all of our money.",Mike sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I agreed to marry you.","My irresistible charm and dashing good looks?" Harvey shot back without missing a beat.,"Gross," Draco exclaimed.,"I'll remember that for when you bring your first girl- or boyfriend," Harvey threatened. "Oh, all the stories I could spill.","I'll just join a monastery then," Draco replied. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Mike smiling at them.,"Draco's train will leave tomorrow. How about we have one last diner together before that?","Track 9 ¾," Harvey complained under his breath as they shoved their way through the crowds at Kings Cross Station. "There's a reason why my family emigrated to the US and that's because European wizards are fucking crazy.","Language!" Mike hissed at his husband.,"Mike, you know I've heard that pretty much all the time," Draco reminded him. "Uncle Trevor uses it in nearly every sentence when he thinks Anna or I aren't around." He was nearly trampled over by a woman in seven-inch stilettos who was angrily shouting into her phone, but Harvey snatched him away before anything could happen.,"Remind me to tear Trevor a new one for cursing in front of my kid," Mike mumbled darkly.,"As if you don't use foul language all the time," Harvey replied, but Mike's dark glowers shut him up. "By the way, why am I the one pushing the cart with all of squirt's stuff?","Because Draco can barely look over the cart's handle?" Mike pointed out.,"Don't call me squirt!" Draco exclaimed. "Besides, you offered to take the cart!","And see what it got me," Harvey replied, his eyes shining with amusement. "Nothing but complaints from the two of you.","Do you suppose they're wizards, too?" Draco suddenly asked and pointed towards a cart that was shoved by a harried looking man accompanied by a boy whose grin seemed to fill his whole face.,"What gave it away, the huge owl or the ancient looking trunks?" Harvey responded. "There's another one over there." He pointed at a pair of Indian descent with two daughters. "Or over there. I can't believe Mundanes around here still haven't discovered them if they're that obvious.","Maybe there's an enchantment over the whole station?" Mike mused. "Or some sort of ambient magic that makes Mundanes not notice." He fidgeted with his left ring finger where a simple silver band sat. Draco knew that Mike had gotten it from their family lawyer many years ago and that it was enchanted so that Mundane repelling charms and other magic that kept the Wizarding World hidden had no effect on his guardian.,"There was nothing in the books you read?" Harvey inquired.,Mike shook his head. "I'll do some research once we get back, but now let's just get to platform 9 ¾ which should be right over here." He pointed towards the platform between track nine and ten. "We're supposed to just run at the pillar over there which in reality is a disguised portal." His eyes shone with amazement. Apparently, Draco wasn't the only one looking forward to their foray into the second magical location after Diagon Alley.,"Like, I said European wizards are crazy," Harvey huffed, but before either Mike or Draco could say anything else, he was already running towards the pillar. Just when Draco thought he would crash against the massive stone barrier, he just vanished through it as if it wasn't even there.,"Wow," Mike let out. "I think it's best you go next and I'll follow you." He twinkled at Draco. "I don't think you actually need to run. Harvey just likes to look impressive.","Did it work?",Mike sighed. "Yeah.",Draco turned back towards the brick wall, slowly setting one foot in front of the other. It was difficult because his eyes were seeing the massive stone wall which made all of his instincts scream at him to stop moving, but he had just seen Harvey running through it. The dissonance between what he sensed and what he knew, was dizzying and nearly made Draco try to evade the brick wall in the last moment, but then he was already stepping through.,It happened so fast that his body didn't even have the chance to react to the sudden change in location. One moment he was walking on the platform between track nine and ten and the next he was suddenly standing in a completely new location.,Draco's eyes grew wide as saucers as he took in his new surroundings: There was a huge steam locomotive, painted in scarlet red, that was huffing and puffing wide stream like a sleeping dragon. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.,Outside the train the platform was also filled with children of all ages and their parents, some of them already wearing their Hogwarts uniform while others were still in their everyday clothing, some of it Mundane in nature, some of it obviously magical. You could spot the difference between adults with mundane background and those from Wizarding Britain with ease: The former were wearing clothes Draco was familiar with while the letter mostly dressed in robes that looked like they came straight out a Shakespear play.,Tearing his gaze away from the wonderous scene, Draco spotted Harvey standing a few meters away and walked towards him.,"Glad to see that you were brave enough to make it through," Harvey teased him.,"Mike said you just ran through the barrier to impress him," Draco shot back grinning which shut up Harvey immediately. The next person coming through the barrier was Mike who took in the scene with the same wonder as Draco had before he walked over to them.,"That was awesome," he grinned at them. "Now, let's move a little bit down the platform. It's a little bit crowded here." Mike took the lead while Harvey and Draco followed him.,Draco had to crane his neck to take in everything around him.,A mother was scolding her two children, both looking exactly alike, who just grinned at her in amusement.,"Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or -","Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet.",The rest of her tirade was swallowed by the sound of the platform when they moved on, though Draco wondered why one would blow up a toilet at school. The further away they got from the portal the less crowded the platform became, which didn't mean that there weren't many people still around. It was just that now Draco was able to walk a few steps without stepping on anyone else's toes.,"I guess were far enough," Mike commented. "You might even be able to find an empty compartment for yourself.",Draco swallowed. This was it: Time for the last good-bye before he would go to Hogwarts. Now that the time had arrived he didn't really know if he wanted to go. He couldn't imagine spending months without Mike and Harvey before seeing them again during Christmas holidays.,"Hey, everything's gonna be fine," Mike assured him and then Draco was engulfed in a fierce hug. Mike was a good hugger. "You'll make friends, have fun and learn magic. You might even forget us.","Never!" Draco protested.,"He's right, though," Harvey told him, squeezing his shoulder as a reassuring gesture. "Once you find your people, you won't miss us that much. Time will pass by faster than you might think." Draco nodded.,"Do you think my parents would be proud of me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.,"I'm sure," Mike assured him. "They only ever wanted what was best for you. They had different views than us, but I don't doubt that they would have loved the person you are now: Self-confident, intelligent, cunning and kind.","What house do you think they'd want me to be in?","Slytherin," Mike answered without missing a beat. "But I don't think it matters much. Your parents were very...set in their views, but in the end, they decided to give you to me to save you, so I don't doubt that they were capable of change." He crouched down so that his face what at the same height as Draco's.,"No matter which house, Harvey and I and they will be proud of you. Don't let the house you end up in define you. Cunning should be tempered by loyalty and compassion; bravery and courage should be restrained by caution and intelligence. Make friends wherever you can and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.","It doesn't hurt to get your own house on your side, though," Harvey interjected. "And should you get into fights, which you will, because this school is filled with hormonal teenagers, what's the most important thing?","Plausible deniability?" Draco replied. Harvey held up his hand for a high-five which Draco enthusiastically gave him.,Mike shook his head in exasperation. "You're undoing all of my good work.","You were thinking the same," Harvey replied cheekily.,A whistle echoed over the platform.,"I think it's time to hop on the train.",Steeling himself, Draco took his trunk and nodded. "I'll write as soon as possible." Then he took the steps leading up to the carriage and was in the train. He turned around one last time: Mike and Harvey were standing on the platform, the latter's arm slung around the waist of his husband, pressing him against his side, while they waved at him. Draco waved back and then he walked into the carriage.,The third compartment he stumbled upon was still empty, so Draco pushed the door open, stowed away his trunk in the baggage rack and sat down on the seat at the window. Not a minute too late for it was in this moment that the next and final whistle rang out and then the train slowly began to move.,Draco pressed his face against the window and watched the platform slowly shrink into the distance until it was swallowed up by the city around it. He actually had brought some books with him for the journey, but Draco found that he was way too excited to read, so he chose to look out of the window and watch the city passing by. The buildings became smaller and smaller and less dense until the first meadows and fields disrupted the monotony of concrete and brick.,Draco's silent observations were interrupted when someone knocked at the compartment's door. He turned his head and saw one of the Indian girls he had seen in the Mundane part of Kings Cross station standing in the gangway.,"Oh, hello, I just wanted to ask if one of those seats were still free?" she inquired after she had pushed the door open. Draco just nodded.,"Great!" she exclaimed and pushed her trunk in which was much bigger than Draco's.,"Would you mind lending me a helping hand?" she asked after she had stared at the baggage rack in dismay. "I just couldn't decide which of my stuff I should leave at home and which to take with me." Together they were able to wrangle the trunk upwards.,"My sister actually brought two trunks with her," the girl told Draco after they had both fallen back into their seats, breathing a little bit heavy from the effort. "But I can't figure out why. It isn't as if she will have time to change between lessons or something." She let out a sigh. "But how impolite of me; I haven't even introduced myself. Padma Patil.","Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself.,Padma raised one of her immaculate eyebrows. "Malfoy, you say? There was quite a stir a few years back about you. I was six back then, so I didn't care much, but it was all my parents and their friends were talking about at their coffee parties for a few weeks.",Draco just shrugged. "I didn't care much either.",Padma laughed. "I think it's only fair that I tell you a little bit about myself first, because I'm going to ask you quite a few things. It drives my parents insane, because they think it's insensitive, but I can't help myself, you know? I need to understand things and you can only understand something if you ask questions.","By all means, introduce yourself," Draco replied, making a sweeping gesture with his hand as if he was conceding the floor to Padma. He could already tell that the girl liked to talk...and talk fast.,"So, as I already told you, I have a twin-sister. Her name's Parvati and she loves make-up, fashion and a good romance novel. I'm more inclined towards crime or thriller. I love to bake – I've got some cupcakes with me, you can have some later – and read about India. Our parents came to England before we were born, but I want to know everything about where we came from." She bit on her lip.,"I know what you mean," Draco told her. "I was born here, but I lived in America for nearly my whole life.",Padma nodded. "So, you know how it feels? That's so nice. Parvati doesn't really care, so I can't really talk with her about it." She straightened her skirt. "Anyway, did you hear? Harry Potter will be in our year! What house do you think he'll be in?",Draco had heard of Harry Potter, who hadn't, after all? But to Draco the tale of Harry Potter was as tangible as the tales of Merlin. He had heard of both of them, but unlike the people of Great Britain to whom Harry Potter was their personal hero, he had no connection to the boy.,Draco had grown up in New York where Europe was distant and far away. He hadn't lived through the First Wizarding War, hadn't seen the scars that remained after its end, hadn't been brought up on tales of Harry Potter's heroism. The only connection he had were his parents' murder at the hand of the Dark Lord's followers and that was something Draco didn't really like to dwell on much.,"I don't know him," Draco shrugged. "He could get into every house.","I bet he'll be a Gryffindor," Padma sighed. "After all, he defeated You-Know-Who. That takes bravery and courage.","He was one back then," Draco pointed out.,"Even more impressive then!",Draco shook his head. Harvey was right; British wizards were all crazy. Before Padma could continue with her hero worshipping, however, there was again a knock at the compartment door. This time it was a boy with bronze skin and his hair cut to a short buzzcut.,"Excuse me, are those seats still free?" he asked. "Anywhere else is full and I really don't want to spend any more time with Pansy and her gang.","Of course," Padma invited him in. "I'm Padma Patil and blondie over there is Draco Malfoy.","Malfoy, you say?" The boy completely ignored Padma and stepped towards Draco, stretching out his hand. "Blaise Zabini." Draco took the offered hand and shook it, because Mike didn't raise him a caveman.,"Zabini, you say," Padma injected offhandedly while she inspected her nails. "Didn't your mother's latest husband just die under mysterious circumstances a few months ago? The seventh was it, wasn't it? That's what my parents say at least.","My mother had nothing to do with that," Blaise insisted, his voice restrained, but in his eyes Draco could see anger glinting.,"Oh, I wasn't trying to imply anything," Padma apologised. "Me and my stupid mouth. Draco and I were just talking about Hogwarts houses. What house do you want to get into?","Slytherin or Ravenclaw," Blaise replied. "Gryffindors are much too uncouth for me and I think Mother would disown me if I was sorted into Hufflepuff.","She wouldn't really, would she?" Draco asked aghast. Blaise just shrugged.,"I don't care as long as it's not the same house as my sister," Padma spoke. "I mean, I love her very much, but for my whole life it was always 'Padma and Parvati' and now that I'm finally going to Hogwarts I want to be my own person. My favourite is Ravenclaw, though.",Now both of them looked at Draco expectantly.,"I don't care much either," he shrugged. "Both of my parents were in Slytherin, so I guess I wouldn't mind it, but I don't think the other houses would be that bad, either. My guardians don't care either way." Padma looked intrigued while Blaise stared at him in horror.,"But Malfoys have always been in Slytherin!" he exclaimed. "All the proper families have.","What's that supposed to mean?" Padma wanted to know sharply. "I'll have you know that we Patils can trace our lineage back for far longer than many English pureblood lines can." Blaise looked properly cowed by her outburst.,"I didn't mean it like that," he tried to assure her.,Padma raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, how did you mean it then?",Mike had told Draco about the prejudices and cultural bias that existed in the Old World magical societies against anything Mundane or mundane-related. He had tried to coat it in nice words, but Draco had gotten the gist of it. He was eleven, after all, and not stupid. That didn't mean that he liked it, though. His best friends back in New York were Mundanes after all, the children of Mike and Uncle Trevor's 'Femmes Fatale' who bonded over the embarrassment of having parents who were just so loud and gossip-y. Even Mike. Especially Mike.,"Leave it be, Padma," Draco spoke. "It's our first train ride to Hogwarts and I don't want to spend it fighting. If Blaise has problems with our views, he can just decide to ignore us once we're at the school." Padma eyed Blaise in suspicion, but finally nodded after a few tense seconds.,"I've heard that History of Magic is taught by a real ghost," she said, a tentative offering of peace.,"I've heard that he only talks about Goblin Rebellions," Blaise said, thankfully taking her offer.,They were eleven, so of course, they wouldn't hold grudged very long. Maybe one day they would come to blows over the issue or not, but now they were just three kids who wanted to enjoy their first foray into the world of magic without their parents.,A few hours into the trip, the trolley lady arrived and offered candy and other snacks. And because they were all children from affluent parents who had given them way too much money for a seven-hour train ride, they bought a ridiculous amount of it. Draco especially enjoyed opening the chocolate frogs in giddy anticipation of the cards that he would find within. Quite a few Dumbledores, but also one Flamel which Blaise eyed with barely concealed envy. Padma, meanwhile, was quite cross at the lack of women in the cards.,"I'll have you know that there were quite a few Dark Ladies in European history," she told them. "They could at least have added them." Draco offered her his card of Morgana LeFey, which she thankfully took. She offered him one of her cupcakes in return.,Hopefully, they wouldn't get sick from all the candy they were eating.,"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A huge man, who was towering over the students like a mountain, shouted across the platform. Staying close to Padma and Blaise, Draco walked over to where the other first years were assembling, thankful that he had not, in fact, gotten sick, from all the candy. For a split-second, Draco caught sight of the boy he had met at Madame Malkins near the giant man, but then the crowd moved again and his sight was blocked by masses of black robes.,"How do you think we'll get to the castle?" Padma asked. "I can't see it from here.","Well, we'll obviously find out, if we follow that man," Blaise drawled. Padma shot him a withering glare. Honestly, Draco couldn't quite figure out if they actually hated each other now or not.,"Don't worry, Neville, I'm sure your toad will show up eventually," a bushy-haired girl spoke to a timid looking boy.,"Oh, my grandma will kill me if I manage to lose him on the first day!",Eventually, Blaise was proven right as they followed the man down a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Draco thought there must be thick threes there. Nobody spoke much, not even Padma.,"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man called over his shoulder. His thick accent was really difficult to understand, at least to Draco. Even that one Texan client of Harvey's had been easier to listen to. "Jus' round this bend here.",There was a loud "Oooooh!",The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.,"No more'n four to a boat!" Their leader called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Draco, Padma and Blaise took one boat and one everyone was seated, the giant man shouted: "Right then – FORWARD!",And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.,Draco couldn't really describe the way he felt when he first laid eyes upon the school which would be his home for (hopefully) the next seven years, an occurrence which seemed to occur very often when it came to magic. This castle was where his parents had met, where they and many Malfoys before them, had learned and lived. It was as much part of his family's history as everything else and Draco couldn't wait to discover its secrets.,Taking in the magnificence of the castle, a melancholic twinge shot through Draco as he realised that this was the closest thing, he would ever get to be close to his parents. His mother and his father had sat in the same boats as he currently was and had first seen Hogwarts the same way he did now and it connected them somehow, even if it was a little bit.,"It's beautiful," Padma spoke next to him, her voice full of reverence.,"It is," Draco agreed quietly. Blaise didn't say anything, but he was probably thinking the same.,"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.,"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Asked the man, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.,"Trevor!" The timid looking boy from before shouted blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after the man's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.,They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.,"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?",The man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.,The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face which Draco thought might even be able to cower Harvey into submission.,"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the man.,"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.",She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of their house in it, Draco thought. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. It was so unlike anything Draco had seen in America that he feared his neck would break from all the craning he was doing so that he could take everything in.,They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Draco could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.,"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.,The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.,The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She then left the chamber.,Immediately, Padma turned around and grabbed his hands.,"Promise me that we still be friends, no matter which house we get sorted in," she pleaded, anxiousness shining in her eyes.,"I promise," Draco told her.,Right afterward, Padma let go of his hands and turned to Blaise. "You can hang with us, too, if you're not so mean about it.","I'm honoured," Blaise drawled, but Draco thought that he saw the other boy's shoulders sag a little bit in relief, even if it was barely noticeable.,"This is it," Padma continued, running her hands down her already immaculate robes. "The first step to me becoming an international recognised researcher...or Minister of Magic, whatever comes first." Draco and Blaise gazes locked over her shoulder and they both rolled their eyes.,Suddenly someone behind them gasped and he could hear a girl scream. All three of them turned around to see what the commotion was about.,About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance – ","My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?",A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.,Nobody answered.,"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?",A few people nodded mutely.,"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know.","Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start.",Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.,"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me.",She led them out of the room, back across the hall they had come from and straight through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.,Draco nearly gasped when the doors opened and they were led into the most splendid place he had ever seen. Thousands upon thousands of candles were floating mid-air above the four long tables that filled the room. It looked as if a swarm of fireflies swarming around, glittering brightly like diamonds in the sky. At the top of the hall another table was placed were the teachers were sitting. Craning his neck, Draco looked up only to see the night sky staring back at him, its millions of stars unobstructed by clouds or smog. Back in New York he had never seen anything like this.,"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History," he heard someone behind him mumbling.,Once they stood at the stairs that led up to the teacher's table, Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of them and put a pointed wizard's hat atop of it. For a few seconds there was nothing but silence, but then the hat suddenly twitched and began to sing:,",The whole hall applauded and fell silent again.,"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Professor McGonagall explained to them. "Abbott, Hannah.",Draco tuned out after the first few names until it was his turn.,', a voice in his head suddenly whispered after the Professor had placed the hat on his head. Draco nearly jumped off the stool.,"You knew my parents?" he whispered.,The hat just harrumphed. ,"I don't really care," Draco said and surprisingly he meant it. Maybe his parents had been in Slytherin – and he certainly wouldn't mind it – but as much as he wanted to walk their path, like Mike had said, he was also his own person.,', the hat repeated. ,GRYFFINDOR!",The hat was taken off his head. Professor McGonagall was looking at him with an undecipherable expression. The whole hall was silent as most of the students stared at him in confusion. It was exceedingly awkward as Draco made his way towards the table on his left until suddenly the two red-headed twins stood up and shouted "We got a Malfoy! We got a Malfoy!" while clapping enthusiastically. The guy next to them with impressive looking dreads on his head, stood up next and fell into the boys' chant as well until the whole Gryffindor was more or less clapping.,Draco sat down next to the bushy-haired girl (Hermione Granger if he recalled right from the sorting) and opposite the boy with the lost toad, who was called Neville Longbottom. They both offered him timid nods and then they continued to follow the sorting.,Padma was sorted into Ravenclaw, just like she had wanted, and Draco clapped enthusiastically for his friend as she walked down to her table.,Then McGonagall was calling out "Harry Potter" and the whole hall fell silent. The boy Draco had met during his robe fitting shuffled forward awkwardly., Draco thought. So, he had met Harry Potter without even realising it. Hopefully, he hadn't made a bad impression. It would be really awkward if he had insulted him somehow without even realising it.,Potter's sorting took quite a while and the first people already started whispering when the hat suddenly shouted: "GRYFFINDOR!" The applause and screaming that erupted was worse than when Harvey had taken Draco to see the Yankees, but he endured it with grace and applauded, too, because they were all Gryffindors now and he had house pride to uphold after all.,Potter sat down next to another red-head student ('Dear God, how many of them were there even?'), much to the disappointment of everyone else, except maybe Hermione Granger who was much more interested in other things.,"What subjects are you looking forward the most?" she asked, nervously fidgeting with the fringes of the table cloth. "All of them sound so interesting, but I can't decide which sounds most interesting." There was honest desperation in her eyes, as if the fate of her whole school carrier was depending on it.,"I don't know," Draco admitted honestly. "I mean, it's magic, so I guess everything's kinda cool?","I just hope it won't be too difficult," Neville added quietly.,Another red-head was sorted (apparently their family name was Weasley) and took the seat right next to Potter, who looked quite relieved. Maybe they were friends?,Finally, Blaise was sorted (Slytherin, of course) and then the sorting ceremony was over., Draco thought as he again looked around in wonder. He couldn't wait to see what the future would bring., What I actually can say, with 99,9%, is that I will never re-write all seven years, because that's way too much work. I will, however, write a last part with outsider POVs. I just don't know when.,A few parts are taken directly from "Philosopher's Stone" as I didn't want to completely re-write what didn't change from canon.

ANNIE AND HALLEY,Annie was a young lady of 21, the most prestigious of her kind, she liked to think. Her dream was the same as her mother's, to design wedding dresses and was taking up her mother's business while she stayed with her dad at the vineyards for the Summer.,Little did her parents and twin sister know that she would be coming back for the week of Fourth of July.,There were always parties held at Hallie's place, and even though Annie had never really celebrated Independence Day before because of her living in London, she knew surprising the whole group would just be fabulous! Maybe even more fabulous than her expensive wedding dresses.,During the early hours of the morning, Annie got up, did her makeup and ran out the door with her luggage. Hailing a cab, she ordered the driver to London's International Airport, where she would be flying off to America, the land of expendable party goers.,Once in the states, Annie drove over to the house where so long ago she pretended to be Hallie just to get a glimpse of what living with her dad was like. Although it was four in the morning, Annie reached under the flower pot at the front door and sneaked in with the key she found there.,Sneaking into Hallie's bedroom, Annie tried not to giggle when her found her sister snoring on her bed, her legs and arms sprawled out like a starfish.,Quietly sitting on the edge of the bed, Annie reaches into her purse, pulling out a blow horn. Still trying to keep in her laughter, she holds it up to Hallie's face.,The deafening sound of the horn goes off and Hallie jumps out of bed. Realizing that it's her sister who woke her up, Hallie throws a pillow from her bed at Annie.,"I'm going to kill you!" She exclaims as the both of them erupt in giggles.,FRED AND GEORGE,"Ay, Fred, you don't think this tie is too flashy?",George was looking in the mirror at his Fourth of July tie, flashing fireworks lit up the front of it and glitter made it hard for any eye to focus on it for too long.,"Loose the glitter. And the lights. And how about you just don't wear a tie, it's a Fourth of July party, not a Christmas ugly tie and sweater party. Loosen up, literally.,Fred was wearing a nice suit as well, though with no tie, and it was safe to say that he was the one who really liked parties, and particularly girls at parties. In the mirror, George was using his magic wand to make the tie disappear, while in the background Fred was messing with his collar.,"I just can't seem to get this bloody collar right, what do you think? Should it be turned up or down?",George looked into the back of the mirror at Fred, who had his collar up. Shaking his head, George went to messing with his hair.,"Let's hope this party has some fireworks, if not we'll have to bring our own.",Fred smiled at the idea of taking magic fireworks to a muggle party. I'd be like shooting fire out of nowhere. George chuckled at the thought as well, then walked over to Fred with his wand in hand.,"Ready?","Huh?" Fred looked up from his collar. "Oh, yeah, let's go.",Fred and George begin to wave their wands for the spell that will take them to the house of the party, but both are stopped by Mrs. Weasly who speed walks into the room.,"Now wait a minute you two! You are not going to be springing up out of nowhere when muggles will be about. Go get into the car, tonight, you act like muggles.",Both Fred and George groan, walking out to the car with their mother.,"We did not come all the way to America on vacation just so you could expose magic to muggles!",Mrs. Weasly scorns them one last time then lets them get in the car with a smile on her face.,"You boys have fun now, and don't forget to bring the car home like you did last time!",The boys pull out of the driveway in haste, not wanting to deal with their mother again. Molly mumbles to herself after they leave.,"They better not get into too much trouble, I really don't like erasing muggle's memories."

Nathan Wallace can be a patient man. Careful, deliberate, precise, all the qualities needed in a profession such as his. Today, though, in the presence of the strange woman who appeared at the gate of his home, it took all of his willpower not to twitch, and to keep his anger in check.,"You must have the wrong house." He insists once again.,"I assure you I am not. Shilo Wallace is listed as having this address and you have already acknowledged yourself as 'Mr. Wallace'. Clearly I am exactly where I mean to be.",Nathan grit his teeth at the woman's assurity. Nevertheless, he held firm. "What's this about?","I will explain my business once your daughter is present, Mr. Wallace.",They went back and forth for another few minutes. Nathan, trying to convince the woman that Shilo was too sick to see anyone. The woman, insisting that she speak to Shilo with or without his presence, and that she had the authority to do so. Nathan couldn't figure the woman out. The only person with true authority over his life was Rotti, but he's never seen this woman at GeneCo before. Eventually, after much posturing on both of their ends, Nathan relented and fetched his daughter. With any hope, whatever Rotti was planning wouldn't put any more strain on him and his family.,Magic.,Of all of the things he had expected, it wasn't this.,The strange woman, no - , -, who had come to his house had just turned a flower vase into a mouse and back again, all with a flick of a wand. His daughter, his Marni's precious babe, supposedly had the potential for this same, strange ability. Shilo, his sweet eleven year old girl, had become so excitable that her blood pressure spiked, requiring another dose of medication. The witch had observed the exchange with little comment, other than to retrieve a glass of water at the swish of her wand for Shilo to use for her medicine. Still… even after the episode, Shilo seemed delighted by the idea.,"Out of the question." He said immediately, even before Shilo had opened her letter. She pouted and begged, but he couldn't allow for this sudden revelation to take place. Even the woman, a teacher at this ,, went at odds with him. He gave his reasons with all of the logic and authority he could muster. Her condition, her ill-knowledge of the outside world and it's dangers, the continuing NOS epidemic, any one of those should have been good enough. Yet the vile woman had scoffed at it all. She claimed that magical people were virtually immune to NOS since 'potions masters' had found a cure that , only work on magical people and that plenty of home-schooled children have adjusted and thrived well at the school. Worse than all of that, she claimed that a potion could be created to cure his daughter.,Nathan had been shaking with rage at that point. Yet… what could he say? He couldn't tell the truth. He certainly couldn't deny his daughter a chance for a cure to her face and then act like this was all one big dream. Sure, with the right drugs, perhaps it could fade from her memory… but what if the woman became suspicious? What if she simply 'magicked' her way into the house and took Shilo away for good? He couldn't allow that, couldn't , to lose the only thing left of his precious Marni.,...so what could he do, but consent?,By the time the witch left his home, his little girl was thrilled. Her eyes, her mother's eyes, were overflowing with tears of joy. He hated it. He loved… he loves her, but, god, how will he go on without her here?

The first thing that Rubeus Hagrid and Minerva McGonagall heard upon entering number 4, Privet Drive was the sound of a child crying. Not the loud, screaming wail that a spoilt child would use when they didn't have their way. But a high, drawn, wail that seemed almost melodic in its softness. It was the sound of a child crying silently, and it was coming from the cupboard under the stairs. The transfiguration professor knew that crying. It was how children cried when they can't stop. Slowly, she motioned for her large companion to open the quadrilateral door to the cupboard.,Inside of the cupboard was a young girl wearing rags.,Eleanor Potter had always thought of herself as skinny and fast for her age, especially when her only longstanding comparison was her cousin (and he was quite large only at ten years old).,She could easily outrun him and his gang when they decided to have a game of 'Eleanor elimination'. Although she had to run for her life during it on many occasions she was actually impressed that he had come up with the name himself. He may have asked his uncle if there was a word that meant 'kill' that started with 'E', but even so…,Speaking of her uncle; he was currently investigating the merits of forehand vs backhand blows when applied to a prepubescent girl, being closely observed by her aunt and cousin.,You might ask: why?,FOR THE GLORY OF SATAN OF COURSE!,No, the real reason he was investigating forehand vs backhand blows was to see which was better at hurting her. Why a little girl like his niece, Eleanor Potter? Well, it was more of just the fact that it was Eleanor Potter.,Ellie (she much preferred to shorten her name) Potter was different, she could do incredible things, like making her teacher's wig turn blue, making glass vanish (that one was just today!) or duplicating some bacon after she burned her hand on the frying pan so that she wouldn't have to continue cooking until dinner that night came. She couldn't really control these things, they usually happened when she was angry, scared, or in a lot of pain; like now.,She felt a strange tug, and then a sensation that felt like she was being forced through a tight rubber tube. The sensation seemed to go on for hours until suddenly…,She came crashing down into a large pipe half full of sewerage. Ellie sat up quickly, the undoubtedly septic water slowly draining off the rags she wore, she noticed two mounds of fat that were her uncle and cousin nearby and the fading white of flashlights in the distance.,"What do you think you're playing at girlie!?" Screeched Aunt Petunia, who was already up and brushing herself off.,This, as it turned out, was a mistake.,There was a distant roar, splashing and scrambling then out of the darkness hundreds of people charged. Aunt Petunia and Ellie instinctively started running away from the hoard, Vernon and Dudley completely forgotten about as they tried to sit up. The two mounds of flesh were instantly set upon by the monsters. Petunia and Ellie exited the sewer pipe and emerged into a large room full of water. The hoard had faded into blackness, but the sound of sloshing water was getting louder again. Ellie spotted a light in what she reasoned was the centre of the room and ran towards it, her raggedy clothes weighing her down. Ellie reached the light patch and saw a rusted ladder leading up and out the water and into the light. She grasped the first rung and started climbing. She was halfway up before she realised that her Aunt Petunia had followed her.,Then, the hoard emerged into the room, Ellie started to climb faster, with Petunia also accelerating. Ellie could only guess what had happened to her uncle and cousin, but she had no intention of finding out first hand. She was almost there at the top, when those , began to climb the ladder. Ellie emerged, blinking, into daylight as the hoard caught up with her Aunt, she fell screaming, and many of the monsters dropped recklessly back into the sludge to have at her.,A large number of cars were dotted around the area that Ellie had emerged up into; she swiftly ducked around one to see the entrance to an auto repair shop. She crawled past the red metal towards the storefront. Ellie reached the door, yanked it open, and ducked hurriedly inside.,From what the young girl could see of the room, there were a few shelves with what looked like miscellaneous car memorabilia (fluffy dice and the like), car tools and bottles of what she guessed was headlight fluid. Some chocolate bars, glossy packets of microwave popcorn and packets of gum adorned the front counter. A car was off to the side in a sort of the garage covered in an oily sheet. Did she mention the man in the middle of the room? He was rather large, with a similar build to uncle Vernon, but with more muscle in his upper body, and was currently going through a cupboard on the other side of the room.,He didn't appear to have noticed her yet, was he one of ,? Ellie quickly ducked underneath the car, pulling the sheet right as she covered her mouth to stifle her breathing. The stranger mucked about the workshop for a few minutes before he seemed to head towards the door. It opened and shut with a crash and a clunk came soon after that sounded suspiciously like a deadbolt locking into place. No windows, a locked door, no exit, minimal food. Ellie coughed.,Three days later, Ellie had made up some bedding in the cupboard out of the sheet from the car and a pillow from a towel she found. She had shed some of her clothes, shredding the sleeves and midriff of her shirt, this place was obviously not England. Aside from that, she had eaten the gum from the counter.,Four days after that, the chocolate bars were gone. Heat seemed to permeate the room and Ellie felt light headed. She tried to cook the microwavable popcorn, but that was to be a onetime only occurrence. The popping was loud and drew , to the doors. They beat at the corrugated metal of the garage door and Ellie didn't get a wink of sleep.,During the next three days Ellie had given up looking for alternate food than the popcorn and in trying to find a way to shield the microwave from making too much noise. She ended up just eating the raw kernels after picking them out of the buttery mixture. She had ripped her pant legs so that they ended in the middle of her thighs. At first she had thought that the heat was due to the change in location, but she soon realised, through exhaustion induced afternoon naps that she was sick.,Five, no, six days later.,Fading.,¿̟͚͚̭̺̗̯͙̄̓̔ɹ͚̪̮̘͌̎ͩ̋͑ǝ̲͎ͦ̔͐ͭʇ̩̜͙̙̼̫͗̿̌̑ɐ̦̰̞̖̤͊ͮ̆̔ן̲̞͌ͥͩ̄͒ ̤̹͒̋̄̂̊͆͒͗s̭̝̣̗̩̲͇̦ͬͣͨ̌ʎ̟͍̫̭͉͗̂͌͗̐̆ɐ̮͉̐̎p̖͙͔ͫ̃͗ͭ ̭̯̭̲͔͚̞̳ͮͯ̐̅u̠̫ͭ̓̑ͩ̎ͣͥ͒ǝ̤̫̗͚͌̎ͪ̽͆ͯ̇ͥʌ͇̥̥͕ͯ̑ǝ͓̪̯͖͔̐̉̉̐ͧͭ͌s̥̟̺̜̝͉ͥ̍̂͒̈́ͅ,'Need. Safe. Cupboard.' Ellie's mind seemed to say in her numbed state. How much time had passed? 'away.',She once again felt the passage through the tight rubber tube.,The girl was thin. Skeletal thin. Pale sweat covered skin was stretched over her exposed ribs, and her hair was the colour of plaque covered teeth. Her laboured breathing, combined with the sweat, seemed to indicate a sickness of some kind, perhaps a fever? What seemed to have been a very loose brownish-crème shirt was now ripped into a ragged poncho.,As light shone from the windows in the sitting room across the hallway and into the cupboard under the stairs the weeping stopped, and the figure slowly turned. Razor sharp, foot long, blood red claws adorned the young girl's hands and her eyes glowed with a poisonous yellow glow. A vicious growl exited the creature's lips and it lunged with those claws…,Only to be caught in a levitation charm by Minerva. It hung in the air, still trying to claw its way through the atmosphere to the one who had startled it.,"Wha' is I'?" asked the giant of a man off to her side. "Where's li'l Eleanor?",The transfiguration professor slowly levitated the being back into the cupboard, and then, half a second after she cancelled the charm she sent a stunning spell at the thing.,"I think, Rubeus, that this might BE Eleanor." She said.,"She will live, Albus." Said Severus Snape as he removed the beak shaped mask. "I identified her condition of one infected with a mutant strain of the 'Green Flu', I had some vaccines in my store just in case. She is not able to infect other humans and her appearance may eventually return to what it was. However, when she experiences powerful emotions the symptoms will return.","I've ne'er heard o' the green flu." Said Hagrid. "wha' is I'?","Could you explain to them, Albus?" Snape said, stifling a yawn behind his hand. "I did work for nearly 20 hours straight to bring her to her current stable condition.","Very well, Severus" The old wizard said. "We will wake you if there is any change in her condition." The black cloaked potions master swept from the room, leaving the elderly witch, half giant, and merlin-like figure in the room, occasionally peering through a porthole in a door at a young girl secured onto an operating table.,The three settled in chairs and two looked expectantly towards the old man.,"Approximately eighteen years ago that a virus being studied by muggles in the United States of America broke containment. We, meaning myself, and certain sections of the British and American Governments to name a few managed to… ahh… Retcon the event." Albus said. "Severus, several other potion masters and muggle scientists across the world were granted access to the flu to study it, we managed to cure it and were able to manufacture a preventative in case we are unable to use our former method again if the virus broke out.","So the virus, this 'Green Flu' did this to people?" Professor McGonagall asked in horror. "It turned people into… whatever it is Eleanor Potter is now?","I believe the colloquial term is 'Zombie', however, no, this is not the result of common Green Flu, but rather a mutant effect." Dumbledore said. "This particular effect is only seen in adolescent girls, and the infected people have come to be known as 'Witches'. Unlike other strains of the virus they were not aggressive unless provoked or approached but were EXTREMELY strong despite their size due to an increased metabolism.","So wha's gonna happ'n to Eleanor?" Asked Hagrid.,"As Severus said, she is in a stable condition, I am not sure how long she has been exposed to the virus but it has permanently altered her body and mind beyond what the vaccine can restore entirely.","You said that it was Retconned. Albus, how did she become infected?" McGonagall asked.,"I am not sure, Minerva." Albus said as he lowered his eyes. "We can only hope that it poses less threat than I fear.",When Ellie Potter woke the first thing she saw was white sheets, those are new. The second thing she felt was an overwhelming sense of tiredness, like she had had a pulled an all-nighter and caught a nap at 3.30pm then woke up at 6pm thinking it was a new day then you realise you have to go back to sleep in three hours. She then realised that the white sheets were rather blurry, so, guessing that's where someone would put them, she reached over to where a bedside table would be for her glasses.,And that was when her hand impaled the table.,The resulting scream drew the matron out of her office.

(quote) "Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die." Kris Carr,(quote) "The mind and body are not separate. what affects one, affects the other." Anonymous,(song) "Be Still" by The Killers,xXxXxXxXxXxManipulatorxXxXxXxCheatxXxXxXxXxCheatxXxXxXxXxManipulatorxXxXxXxXxXxXx,sSsSsSsSs,sSs,"Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die." - Kris Carr,sSs,He was on the prowl.,On the prowl through Hogwarts - and people fell to his claws.,Wherever he could, he sowed grief, destruction and death.,A little boy in his way; he bit him dead.,A young woman in his way; he maimed her with his claws.,And maybe he would have continued, just like that, if the moon hadn't shown herself to him.,The moon stepped out of the rubble that had once been part of the school and stepped in his way so that he couldn't kill the woman he'd maimed.,"Leave her be, wolf-born," she said, her eyes dreamy and her white-blond hair reflecting the sun. "You've raged enough.",'Never,' he wanted to say. 'It will never be enough!',But her silver eyes quieted his words before they could leave his mouth.,"Moon," he said instead, his voice lengthening the word as if it was attempting to howl it - and maybe it was and he had just forgotten how to actually do a proper wolf's howl over time.,"You've raged enough," she repeated, but her eyes were soft.,'I know you,' her eyes told him. 'I know your heart - and maybe, just maybe, I know you better than you yourself.',And no matter how much he wanted to deny the unspoken claim of her eyes - maybe, ,, they were right...,sSs,"Life is a terminal condition," his father had always told him. " No matter what happens, in the end, we're all going to die.",So being told that he was dying wasn't that surprising to him when he was small. More surprising was the fact that his father was fighting it.,"I'm your father," his father said when asked. "Parents shouldn't bury their children - and I will do everything in my power to ensure that I don't have to… even if that means to be reborn and get you reborn with all your memories as well.",And no matter what else could be said about his father - , ,- he was stubborn as hell.,When his father wanted to, he'd always find a way...,Waking to the moon was his first memory.,His fingers had curled into claws, his nails unnaturally long and sharp.,"Shh," a man said, sitting next to his bed. "You're safe. It was just a nightmare. You're safe, my child.","Father!" he had whispered, his claws finding his father's robes and burying themselves in it. "Father, please!",His breathing was harsh.,He couldn't get oxygen in his lungs and his lungs were burning.,The moon was standing next to his father in the body of a woman and looking down on him.,"He's turning," she said. "His body is answering my call.",His father's emerald green eyes settled on her, but there was no accusation in his gaze.,The Moon raised her hand and carded through his father's black locks.,"I'm sorry," she said.,"He lives," his father replied. "He lives and that is all I care about.","He will be forever trapped by my call," she replied and his father shrugged.,"The mind and body are not separate. What affects one, affects the other," he replied. "I will ensure that his mind and body are strengthened. It won't be a curse for him - I won't let him suffer. He's alive - and that's all I care about.",It was then that he understood that his father loved him more than anything in this world.,"Father," he whispered and his father turned and smiled at him softly.,"I will help you," he said, determined. "I will help you so that you learn how to control the call.",And he did, too.,It would take years, but in the end, his turning wouldn't be controlled by the moon any longer.,sSs,"I'm a monster," he told the Moon in front of him. "I will never rage enough.",He might only have said it to object her gaze, but he meant it anyway.,She frowned at him.,"You're one of my children," she countered. "My children aren't monsters, they never have been.",He scoffed at that, his claws dripping with blood.,"I'm an abomination who doesn't follow you like everyone else who is like me, does," he countered.,"You're your father's child," she countered, amused. "I've always known you would be different. Your father has always been different as well, after all.","He's my father," he argued. "He was never like the rest of our family… never like my uncle, my grandfather-","He wasn't born into their family," the Moon replied amused. "But I understand what you mean. And no matter what you think, you're far too much like him to ever be common.",Then she looked at the woman to her feet.,"And that's the reason why I think you've raged enough." Her dreamy eyes found his. "You're more like him - not a monster, no matter what everybody else has said.",And he had to admit that maybe part of his reasons had always been the opinions others had of him...,sSs,"He's a monster!" His uncle had said when he was forced to shift under the moon in front of him for the first time. "He's going to bring the end of civilisation if he stays!","He's a monster, Loki!" His grandfather said when he saw him for the first time under the light of the moon. "If he keeps his freedom, he will kill me sometime in the future!","Not a monster," his father objected. "A child - a child like any other child.",But neither uncle nor grandfather wanted to listen.,"Murderer," they called him, even though he hadn't done anything, yet. "Killer! Destroyer! World-ender!",And no matter how often the father objected and tried to step in, in the end, uncle and grandfather kept their opinion of him, no matter what.,"More beast than man!",And like a beast, his grandfather's war-hero captured and bound him.,He fought his capture, even went so far as to shift into the wolf willingly for the first time in his life to defend himself.,He defended himself and in the end Týr, the war-hero, lost his hand.,Yet, no matter what he did, he wasn't strong enough.,"I'm sorry," his father begged. "I'm so sorry!",His father had been held back in the grip of his uncle, too weak to free himself and yet fighting with all his might.,"I'm sorry!",And no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't reassure his father that he didn't blame him.,'Life is a terminal condition,' he wanted to remind the man. 'We're all going to die.',And while no parent should bury their children, sometimes there was no other way - and yet, instead of dying, he ended up shackled and restricted to the form of the beast he had learned to live with over time.,So he lived, forced into the body of the beast - and the beast shackled and quietened with an iron rod through its snout.,sSs,"What are you doing here, Moon?" he asked the moon in girl-frame in front of him. "Why are you defending the weak from my claws?","Because they weren't the ones who hurt you, Lokison," she replied. "You might still hurt - but they aren't the ones who are at fault.",He just scoffed at her for that.,"What do you know, Moon?" He countered. "Tell me - have you ever suffered beneath them? Have you ever watched them and what they do?! I did - and I tell you: they don't deserve your mercy!",She crooked her head and looked at him thoughtfully at that.,"This is your justification?" She asked, sounding more interested than offended. "That they , people?",He stared at her for a second, then he turned away, unable to look into her silvery eyes any longer.,"They took my cub," he replied, instead.,And inwardly he mused if he should feel guilty for taking theirs instead.,sSs,It took centuries to free himself, but when he did, all of the worlds had changed.,Midgard had changed.,It was Midgard he saw first, after he managed to free himself from his shackles.,He had fallen the moment he was free - fallen, long and deep - just to end up in Midgard at the end.,When he woke, he had been weak.,His body had been barely bigger than the body of a normal wolf and he had been unable to change it into anything but the form it had been forced into so many years ago.,What was worse was the body had been twisted through his fall and what once might have been male and strong, was now female and soft.,Yet, after centuries of torture, he wasn't in his right mind and while he , his body was wrong - his tortured mind couldn't comprehend how it could be wrong when it had never truly felt right in the first place.,It would take years until his mind finally comprehended what else had changed with the body that had never felt right in the first place.,"Moon," he begged instead. "Please, Moon, give me a purpose!",And she answered because she always answered him.,"You're a female now," she said. "A female's purpose is to be a mother - is that what you want? Do you want to be a mother like your father was a mother once?",He thought about it, just for a moment.,"Yes," he finally agreed. "I am my father's cub. I will be a mother if he was once one as well.",, he would call one of his cubs, and ,, because he couldn't stand the idea of his cub having just one name when he had been called many in his life.,, he would call the other, or , when he felt like it.,It didn't matter to him - he was a wolf after all; and while he knew that he had been once something else, his mind was too tired to remember.,"You're mine," he told his cubs. "You're mine and you will always be.","Even if we die, Mother?" Remus asked him with huge eyes and a body so different, so much more naked and pink than his own.,"Even if you die," he agreed. "Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die.",And when he said those words, they sounded familiar, even if he couldn't remember why.,Like that, he, now she, wet-nursed and raised them - right until that time people came and took them from him.,They took them and left him weak and without propose.,"My cubs!" He begged, his voice a ragged barking-sound. "Give them back! You didn't truly want them - but , , So give them back! Give them back so that I can be a mother for them!",Yet, he was left alone, abandoned and too weak to go after them.,And maybe he would have died then, maybe he would have given up - but he was his father's son, and no matter what, his father didn't give up.,Instead, he forced himself to become stronger and stronger until finally he was able to shift back into human form.,The first shift was agonizing.,It was as if everything that had been twisted in his body with the fall was forcefully put to right again.,He shifted and when he opened his eyes again he wasn't only human but male and strong again.,"Give them back!" He growled and left his cave to find them.,He came too late.,He found them just in time to watch one of his cubs trying to kill the other - and succeed.,It broke his heart… and it broke Romulus as well, because while he had shifted into a wolf before, he could never again after.,sSs,There was sympathy in the Moon's eyes, as if she understood all too well what he was talking about.,"It's hard to be a mother," she said softly. "It's even harder when your children die before their time. When you have to bury them instead of them burying you.",He didn't answer at that, instead he stared at the young woman behind the Moon.,"Why do you shield her?" He asked bitterly. "She's human. She's part of those who hurt me - so why don't you let me rage against her?!","Because you aren't a monster," the Moon replied, her dreamy voice full of conviction. "You aren't a demon, a monster or worse. You're a wolf. You were born to carry a witch on your back.",He wanted to snarl at that and correct her - but he knew he didn't have a leg to stand on.,As much as he hated humans, he had never hated magicals in the same regard.,Instead, he had pitied them.,He had pitied them, because while he was a wolf and half-wild, he had always known what he was.,A lot of magicals, on the other hand, thought they were human, were raised by humans, until the day they displayed their magic and were outed as ,.,For the most part, this ended with the death of the magical - and therefore their fates were worse than his…,sSs,"For your deeds, you will burn, witch!",The words were spoken by a fat, old man - most likely the mayor of the village he had entered just the day before.,He turned and looked at the commotion in the marketplace.,There was a young woman tied to a stake. Her blonde hair flew like a flag in the wind and her clothing was ripped.,She looked half-wild and yet so free.,It nearly hurt his eyes to see a wild spirit like hers tied down and on the way to death.,", his father had told him once and for all he had been banished as a monster, he still believed his father's words. ",",His eyes found the wild ones of the woman and for the first time in a long time, he decided to give somebody else a chance.,Without a thought, his face lengthened, and within seconds he dropped on all four legs, his teeth vicious and long.,He bared them and snarled.,Being a wolf whose shoulder was at least two heads above an average male human's head, definitely helped when he decimated the people who had thought to kill one of their own.,In the end, he left the village with a blond-haired witch on his back.,"Who are you?" she asked him when they were safe.,Above them, the moon was shining and nudging him to tell the truth.,He kept his mouth shut, but the woman in front of him didn't seem offended.,"My name is Helga; Helga Hufflepuff and I'm a teacher in a school for magicals just up the north," she declared. "And I have never seen someone like you.","Someone like me?" he asked.,"Someone who can change against the moon," she replied. "I've seen others - but they all were bound by the moon.",For a moment, he looked up to the moon, then he returned her gaze, finally willing to actually speak with her, now that she had proven more curious than dangerous to him.,"Fenrir," he said, using his name for the first time in a long, long time. "I'm Fenrir Lokison.",She smiled at that.,"It's nice to meet you, Fenrir," she replied before reaching out to him. "I think I will call you Greyback.",He scoffed at that, but he had never had just one name, so Greyback was as good as any other.,She seemed to see those thoughts because she just grinned.,"Fenrir," she said. "It's a bit too much like the legend. Like Ragnarök and Loki. People will fear you if you use that name.","What does it matter?" he asked. "It's not as if I plan to tell anybody else.",She just smiled and didn't answer.,Instead, she asked a question of her own: "Will you come with me?",He had always felt pity for the magicals who lived in a world so dangerous to them and Helga - she reminded him of his father: all wildness, all power and determination mixed with a mean streak of mischief.,It hurt.,And it soothed him at the same time.,And he should have said no, ,"Somebody has to look after you, don't they?" he countered.,She smiled.,She would be the first rider, ,first rider but not his last for long.,sSs,"I'm not a mule!" He denied the Moon in front of him. "I'm not somebody you can ride just because you want to!",The Moon looked at him in sad understanding.,"The mind and body are not separate. What affects one, affects the other," she said. "And your mind was broken long ago.",He turned his head away, not denying it.,"They took your cub," the Moon continued. "They took you and banished you. They tried to make you the monster they saw you as - and no matter how long you resisted, in the end, they succeeded, didn't they?",He growled, his eyes searching hers to stare her down.,"Nobody ever succeeded in changing me in a way I didn't want to!" he objected.,"They took your cub," she countered. "And they didn't do it only once. They did it twice.",And no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't object to her words this time around.,sSs,His cub had been dead for centuries, millennia even.,He had never expected to see it again - so seeing it running around the garden of a magical home was like a punch in the gut.,Not older than four and yet, he could already scent the wolf slowly but surely surfacing.,His curse might not have saved the cub the last time he had been born and was dying - but it definitely had followed his cub in his next life.,"Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die," he whispered to himself and maybe he would have been able to walk away from his cub.,Maybe he would have been able to leave his cub in the hands of his new parents, safe and happy and maybe a bit more wolfish with every passing year.,Maybe, he would have been able to ignore that he had been mother once, but then, the man stepped out of the house and Fenrir… Fenrir ,him.,"," had been the man's description of werewolves in the past - and Fenrir couldn't leave the cub with him… not when the cub would be more wolf year after year.,So Fenrir did the only thing he could think of: he went and bit the child, ready to take him with him and save him.,It was the mother who kept him from taking the boy.,"Remus!" she cried and her voice sounded so broken, so much like Fenrir's own when he had lost his cub for the first time…,",",And no matter rebirth or not, he was still the cub's mother and he couldn't watch somebody else suffer the same he had once.,So he turned away from his child, praying with all his might that Remus's mother would forgive him for hurrying along the curse that had slumbered in the boy all along…,sSs,"The second time, I gave him up," he corrected the Moon and his eyes, ears and nose searched the battlefield around them for the smell of his cub. "I gave him up, knowing that he wouldn't remember and that I would never get him back.",She smiled her tired slightly sad smile at him again.,"And yet, you rage against them for taking him anyway," she countered and he bared his teeth.,"They're biased against him!" He countered heatedly. "They close him out, leave him in the cold! I can't stand by and watch any longer! They've done it with all the others who bear a curse similar to mine and they've done it to me! I couldn't keep watching them doing it to ,!",His fists clenched, his nails drawing blood from his palm.,"I'm his mother! And if I have to go and join a megalomaniac, so be it! If I have to lose rhyme and reason, ,! As long as he's safe, as long as he doesn't have to suffer any longer, , ,",The Moon smiled at him at that.,"I know," she agreed. "I've always known. I'm sorry, Fenrir. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there.",With that, the girl with pale hair and dreamy eyes dissolved into nothingness, showing him that their discussion had been a part of his imagination all along, and he found himself in front of the young woman he had maimed again.,His claws were still dripping with her blood and there was nothing stopping him from killing her but the short gaze he had shared with the Moon over the battlefield and his own memories.,"Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die," a voice whispered in his memories. It sounded like his father's. "The mind and body are not separate. What affects one, affects the other.",But before he could step away from the young woman, a spell hit him from behind and a crystal ball knocked him out.,sSs,He found himself in a cave.,There was a man shackled to the stone and a woman standing behind his head, holding a bowl that stopped the venom of the snake in the ceiling from reaching the man's face.,"Father," Fenrir said, suddenly feeling small and vulnerable again.,"Fenrir," his father replied and looked at him with tired eyes.,"I… what?" Fenrir couldn't help but stutter at the state his father was in.,His father just smiled.,"I've always known they would turn on me," he said, his voice sad. "I've known the moment they named you a monster.",Fenrir turned his head away from his father.,"Then why did you stay?" he asked.,His father just smiled at him.,"The mind and body are not separate. What affects one, affects the other," he replied as if it was the answer to Fenrir's question. "My mind couldn't bear the thought of leaving everything behind and hide.", - not that his father would ever say that.,"So I stayed even if I knew the consequences would be dire," his father's mouth twitched a bit self-depreciating. "But don't worry, my child, my suffering long since ended.",Fenrir's eyes snapped up to meet his father's.,"What-?!","Life is a terminal condition," his father reminded him softly. "We're all going to die.",Fenrir swallowed hard at that.,"Will I see you again if I do?" he asked instead.,His father just smiled.,"Always," he agreed. ", - because you will , be my son.",sSs,It was then that Fenrir woke.,The battle had paused but he knew that it would start again within the hour.,A girl was kneeling in front of him.,Pale hair reflecting the sun and dreamy, silvery eyes.,"Moon," he whispered, a nearly silent howl of a wolf towards the night-sky.,She smiled at him.,"Luna," she corrected. "I'm Luna in this life.",At that, he reached out and touched her pale cheek with his dirty claws.,"In my next life - will you be there?" He asked, hesitatingly.,She just smiled at him.,"I'm friends with your father," she agreed. "I will never leave you.",And he smiled at her.,He still smiled when he was finally confronted by Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom an hour later.,The last thing he saw was the eyes of the Moon when she took the life they left him to spare him Azkaban.,His eyes closed.,sSs,And with a scream, his eyes opened again.,He was fighting his blanket, shivering in the dark.,"Shh," a voice whispered and a hand carded through his hair. "Shh, you're safe.","Father," he voice was choked.,"I'm here," his father agreed. "Just like your siblings are. Don't be afraid, we're all safe and we're all here, James.",And with a sob, James buried his head in his father's lap.,"Just a nightmare," his father assured him. "Just a nightmare.",James's claws curled around his father's chest.,"You're not a monster," his father's voice whispered in the dark. "You're just a child. My child. , ,.",And James Sirius Potter believed the man who was once Loki - like he always had.,sSs,"Life is a terminal condition. We're all going to die." - Kris Carr,sSs,xXxXxXxXxXxManipulatorxXxXxXxCheatxXxXxXxXxCheatxXxXxXxXxManipulatorxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Claire!" Myrnin called, running into the house.,"What?","Get down here!",I went downstairs to find him in the living room with Michael, Shane and Eve.,"Yeah?","Amelie wants all of you to come to the lab for a while.","Why?","Apparently, vampires are getting vicious. They're hiding a few select humans, and I'm assuming Michael wishes to accompany you all. Pack your bags.",We all packed quickly, and Myrnin threw us through a portal, and followed after us.,"Myrnin?" I asked.,"Yes?","This isn't the lab.",I looked up into the face of a bearded man.,"Hello. I am Professor Dumbledore. Who are you?",I stood up. "Hello, Professor. My name is Claire Danvers. This is Eve Rosser, Shane Collins, Michael Glass, and Myrnin. We seem to be lost. Where are we?","Hogwarts.","Hogwarts? Is that anywhere near Morganville?","Well, where is Morganville?","Texas.","You are a long way from home. You are in England!","Oh... Myrnin, we need to fix the portals!","Well done, Claire.","Well, you are clearly not human!" Professor Dumbledore exclaimed.,"Sir, I do believe the same could be said about you!","I am a wizard.","I am a vampire. As is Michael.",Professor Dumbledore stared at him for a moment before smiling to himself.,"Well, if you're going to be here for a while, we'd better get you sorted!" He brought us into an office and placed an old hat on Eve's head.,The hat shouted, "Gryffindor!",The hat was then placed on Michael's head, and it said, "Gryffindor!" again.,On Shane, the hat took its time before saying, "Slytherin!",On Myrnin, the hat took even longer before saying, "Ravenclaw!",The hat was then placed on my head.,'I'm more smart than brave," I thought.,"Ravenclaw!" it shouted.,Dumbledore smiled. "I'll show each of you to your dorms.",He showed us separately. Me, Shane, and Myrnin waited as he took Michael and Eve to Gryffindor.,"So, I'm all alone, then?" Shane asked.,I kissed him. "Don't worry, you'll be fine.","Claire! You're going with ,.","So?" I asked. "Oh. Jealous?","Maybe...","Aw, don't be!",Dumbledore came back. "Mr. Collins.",Shane followed him, leaving me with Myrnin.,"So, we're roommates?" he asked.,"So it would seem.",Dumbledore came back. "Come.",We followed him to the Ravenclaw common room.,"Because you are not in any year, you will sleep down here.",A girl sat on the couch, smiling. Dumbledore introduced her.,"This is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Claire and Myrnin." We shook hands. "You may go to classes with her if you wish. She'll wake you up for breakfast. Night!" He left.,"You're probably real tired, night!" Luna called.,I was actually wide awake, and Myrnin doesn't sleep much. We sat up talking about Hogwarts for a while before I fell asleep. Luna woke us up in the morning.,"Breakfast!" She dragged us down to the 'Great Hall' - which was , - and sat us down at a table.,"Hello, Luna!" a girl's voice called.,"Ginny! This is Claire and Myrnin," she introduced.,"Hi." She looked back at Luna. "There's new people in Gryffindor, too. I've been asked to show them around. They seem pretty cool.",I tuned out the conversation. I saw Shane walk in with a blonde boy.,"Who's that?" I asked Luna.,"Draco Malfoy," she replied. "Wait, who's he talking to?","Shane, my friend." ,, I mentally corrected myself. Wonder why I didn't say that?,"Oh.",Luna's first class was Herbology, and she was with the Gryffindors. I saw Michael and Eve there, and Myrnin and I went over to talk to them.,"Poor Shane!" Eve exclaimed.,"He seems fine, Eve. Looks like he made friends with some guy.","Oh, well that's good.",We tuned in to the class. Professor Sprout was telling the group about Mandrakes. She helped all of us, knowing we wouldn't be very experienced with magical plants.,"Good, Eve!",Eve was a natural with plants! But potions was my subject - and Myrnin's. I didn't even realise Shane was in that class until it was over. He glared at me and Myrnin, we'd been working at a cauldron together. Professor Slughorn had been talking to us all class, amazed at how we'd been doing so well. Shane glared at us, but left the room as soon as we noticed.,Next was Defence Against the Dark Arts. And Professor Snape was talking about vampires.,"Now, perhaps our guests would like to tell us about vampires?" he asked.,Myrnin stood up.,"I don't know what to tell you," he laughed. "But, I'm happy to answer any questions." He nodded to me. "And my lovely little assistant," I blushed at his words, "who lives in close proximity to a lot of vampires, will also answer your questions too.",A girl raised her hand.,"Yes?",She nodded to me. "Why do you live with vampires?","Well, I went to college in the town they run, and by the time I knew what they were, I couldn't leave.","Why not?","They wouldn't let me.",Everybody looked shocked at this.,"The vampires run the whole town," I explained.,"But you couldn't leave?","Nobody leaves if the vampires don't want them to.",Later, Luna introduced us to some people in Gryffindor that Eve and Michael became friends with.,"This is Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Luna introduced. She gestured to us. "Claire and Myrnin.","Nice to meet you!" Hermione squeaked, blushing. She was staring at Myrnin. Well, I know a crush when I see one!,"Hi," Myrnin and I said, smiling at them. Although I was under the impression that the houses didn't mix, Luna sat with them. Myrnin and I sat down, too.,"So, which of you are vampires?" Ron asked.,Hermione smacked him. "Myrnin, obviously!","How can you tell?" Ron asked.,"Well, after seeing Michael, surely even you can see the similarities!","Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed.,Hermione sighed. "I swear, its like you can hear the penny drop with him sometimes!",Ron looked clueless. "Is that some Muggle thing?",Hermione sighed again. "Muggles are non-wizarding folk," she explained to us. We nodded.,"Hey, Claire?" Michael whispered.,"Yeah?","Shane's looking over. You should probably get Myrnin to take his arm off you.",I blushed, and shook my head.,Michael looked shocked, but didn't mention it again. Myrnin's arm stayed wrapped around my shoulders.,When the bell rang, Shane came over to us.,"Claire?","Hi!" I hugged him.,"Myrnin's arm was around you for all of lunch!","So?","So? ,","Oh, turn down the dramatics, Shane!","No! My girlfriend spends the whole of lunch with her crazy-ass vampire boss's arms around her, and tells me to turn down the dramatics!","Yeah! It didn't mean anything, Shane!","Oh, just piss off, Claire." He stalked away, leaving me speechless.,Tears fell involuntarily down my cheeks.,Myrnin came up and hugged me. I buried my face in his chest, staining his shirt with tears.,"Ssh, Claire, ssh," he murmured, smoothing my hair.,"That was a pretty obvious break-up, right?","Yes, I think so, little Claire," he sighed.,I choked on a sob, and tried to pull myself together. It didn't take long, and then Myrnin and I followed Luna to Care of Magical Creatures.

Circée a voyagé dans des centaines de monde, mais elle n'a vraiment « vécu » que dans un peu plus d'une vingtaine. Voici une liste approximative qui pourra être actualisée par la suite, avec quelques détails sur la manière dont elle vivait dans ces mondes :,1) Fate/Stay Night : Le premier monde qu'elle visita et dans lequel elle est restée près de cinquante ans. Elle est arrivée quelques heures après que Caster ait tué son Maître et les deux femmes se sont croisées avant que Caster ne parvienne jusqu'au temple pour rencontrer Kuzuki. Circée décide de devenir le nouveau Maître de Caster, mais le duo de sorcières n'est pas très intéressé par le Graal étant donné que Circée peut aisément exaucer par elle-même le vœu de Médée. Elle se met tout de fois d'accord avec Caster pour attendre qu'on arrive à la moitié de la guerre, afin que personne n'invoque un autre Caster si Médée devient humaine. Elle invoque aussi un Servant Assassin, Semiramis, avec qui Médée et elle s'entendent à merveille. Le trio a créé grâce aux riches ressources de Circée un bon nombre de trésors magiques que l'Association des Mages envierait à coup sûr. Circée profite de la guerre pour kidnapper Sakura, tuer Zouken et visiter Arturia après que Shirou l'ait invoqué. Lors de cette visite, elle l'appellera « Grand-tante » et donnera à Saber des conseils pour séduire Shirou, la traitant même comme une poupée qu'elle pouvait habiller et maquiller avec l'aide de Médée. Après la guerre, Circée devient le professeur de Sakura et maudira Shinji pour qu'il ne puisse plus être excité par les femmes… Disons simplement qu'il ne sera plus le dominant après qu'elle en ait fini avec lui. Circée se liera aussi d'amitié avec Zelretch dans cet univers, affinant ainsi sa maîtrise des voyages interdimensionnels.,2) Fate/Grand Order : Circée visite ce monde juste après avec Semiramis mais sans Médée qui a fini sa vie avec Kuzuki par un étrange hasard. Circée rejoint Chaldea avant la Singularité F et est ajoutée à l'équipe A car elle a déjà un Servant. Elle est courtisée par Kirschtaria Wodime à son grand amusement mais le rejette pendant plusieurs mois, elle ne lui donne une chance qu'après la quatrième Singularité à Londres. Avec sa présence, tous les Maîtres qui se trouvaient dans leurs « cercueils » pour être envoyés à Fuyuki, ainsi qu'Olga, ont survécus sans être blessés. Chaldea a donc tous ses Masters, mais le reste de l'équipe a tout de même des pertes. Lors des Singularités, elle retrouvera ses enfants après qu'ils soient tous les six devenus des Pseudos-Servants des Esprits Divins dont ils portent les noms ( Viviane la Dame du Lac, Hadès, Lugh, Loki, Niké et Hestia). Circée épouse Kirschtaria après la fin de la menace sur l'humanité et son histoire, elle reste une bonne centaine d'année dans ce monde pour veiller sur son seul fils et sa descendance. Semiramis reste dans ce monde comme familier de ses descendants.,3) One Piece : Circée visite ce monde pour s'éloigner un peu de la magie et ses conséquences, elle rencontre Ace et intègre son premier équipage en tant que docteur/pharmacienne et second cuisinier, puis celui de Barbe Blanche avec son capitaine et le reste de ses camarades. Pour protéger Ace, elle jette le sort de Fidelitas sur les circonstances de sa naissance et l'identité de son père biologique, faisant d'Ace le gardien du secret. Elle reste une cinquantaine d'années dans ce monde épousant même Ace au passage, même si leur union sera sans descendance. Elle collectionnera un paquet d'épées rares de ce monde qu'elle stockera dans une poche spatiale qu'elle a créé avec l'aide de Médée et Semiramis. Elle utilisera sa magie uniquement pour soigner, se téléporter et de manière discrète pour se renforcer physiquement, son style de combat sera surtout spécialisé en tant que sniper/tireuse d'élite.,4) Fairy Tail : Elle arrive dans ce monde quelques heures après qu'Erza décède et comme elle connait la trame de la série et l'importance du personnage par la suite, elle décide de tenter de prendre possession du corps de la défunte afin de remplacer Erza. Lorsque Jellal arrive, elle utilise des sorts de magie élémentaire pour éliminer tous les gardes sans exception et prend la tête du groupe d'esclaves afin de fuir la tour. Au passage, elle aperçoit Ultia et décide de l'enlever pour la convertir à son camp, chose aisée puisqu'elle a toujours ses flammes du Ciel. La troupe d'esclaves rejoint le territoire principal de Fiore et prévient les autorités de ce qu'ils ont vécu dans la tour. Erza, ses amis et les futurs Oraccion Seis qui étaient eux aussi des esclaves rejoignent Fairy Tail en suivant Rob, renforçant davantage la guilde qui lorsque Lucy arrivera, aura 10 mages de classe S : Makarov, Gildartz, Luxus, Mystogan, Erza/Circée, Mirajane, Jellal, Ultia, Midnight/Macbeth et Hot-Eye/Richard. La présence de Circée à la place d'Erza entraînera de nombreux changements, notamment lors de l'arc sur le Nirvana et les Oracion Seis. Elle finira par épouser Jellal, même si celui-ci ne saura jamais que l'originale Erza dont il était amoureux, était morte il y a bien longtemps. Ils auront deux enfants, un garçon et une fille, qui seront eux aussi de puissants mages de Fairy Tail. Au final, Circée restera environ quatre-vingt ans dans ce monde, étendant encore davantage son répertoire de magie et sa collection de trésors en créant des copies de toutes les clés des Esprits des Constellations, plus une collection assez large d'armures et d'armes (elle remplace Erza, surnommée Titania la Reine des fées de Fairy Tail après tout !). Elle organise le « décès » d'Erza Fernandez née Scarlett et laisse donc le corps d'Erza être enterrée dans ce monde.,5) Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (et Destiny) : Parce que la technologie lui manque, Circée visite un univers bien plus avancé technologiquement que ceux qu'elle a connus. Elle arrive dans le laboratoire du père biologique de Kira Yamato et décide de prendre possession du fœtus qui était sensé devenir Kira, sans changer son sexe par curiosité. Elle grandit donc dès la naissance en tant que Kira Yamato, un génie dès son plus jeune âge, se lie d'amitié avec Azran sur la Lune, puis se rend à Héliopolis avant le début de canon Gundam Seed. Kira/Circée se montre un encore meilleur pilote que canon Kira, sauvant ainsi au passage le père de Flay et la navette des réfugiés. Kira ne sortira pas avec Flay, mais cherchera tout de même à la faire changer d'avis sur les Coordinateurs avec l'aide de Lacus. Il épousera Lacus et Circée lui révèlera son secret avant le début de Destiny. Le couple aura trois enfants ensemble et Circée restera environ quatre-vingt ans dans ce monde, préparant le décès de Kira Yamato, un an après celui de Lacus. Elle emportera toutefois des Mobiles Suits avant de quitter ce monde, qu'elle stockera dans sa poche dimensionnelle.,6) Pokemon : Circée se rend dans le monde de Pokémon qu'elle explore pendant trois ans pour capturer une cinquantaine de Pokémon, avant de décider de devenir la championne de l'arène de Jadielle deux ans avant que Sacha débute son voyage avec Pikachu. En tant que championne, elle se spécialise dans les Pokémons de type fée et présente ainsi à ses adversaires des Pokémons d'autres régions afin de les encourager à voyager. Lorsque la Team Rocket commence à étendre ses opérations, elle aide les héros à l'affronter mais ne se mêle pas trop des voyages de Sacha. Elle est la seule championne d'arène que Sacha ne vaincra jamais au final, ce qui changera canon car Sacha obtiendra son dernier badge de la ligue de Kanto dans une autre arène que la sienne. Son équipe en tant que championne est composée de Melodelfe, Grodoudou, Gardevoir, Togekiss, Nymphali et Diancie. Elle sortira pendant quelques années avec Peter, le maître de la ligue de Kanto et Johto, avant de décider qu'ils étaient plus heureux en tant que simples amis. Circée restera quarante ans dans ce monde avant de donner sa position de championne à l'une de ses apprentis et repartir en voyage avec tous ses pokémons.,7) Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas : Circée décide de faire un doigt d'honneur aux Dieux pour s'amuser lorsqu'elle arrive dans ce monde, plus précisément dans une petite ville d'Italie là où se trouve un certain orphelinat dont elle adopte tous les orphelins, notamment la réincarnation d'une déesse, l'un de ses futurs chevaliers et le futur hôte du Dieu qui est leur ennemi... Hadès renonce très vite à poursuivre les Guerres Saintes avec la présence de Cissy qui par sa connexion à Hel, Hécate et Morrigan détient une certaine résistance au Cosmos du Seigneur des Ténèbres. Le fait que son fils aîné (James Vicento Hadès Black) soit lui-aussi le meilleur hôte d'une version alternative d'Hadès jouera d'ailleurs en sa faveur. Par un étrange concours de circonstances, elle finira marier à Sisyphe et ensemble ils élèveront les orphelins du village de Sasha, Tenma et Alone pendant des décennies. Elle quittera ce monde au bout de soixante-dix ans, quelques mois après le décès de Sisyphe avec une copie de l'armure de Chevalier d'or du lion créée par Héphaïstos (après qu'elle l'ait harcelé bien sûr).,8) Fire Emblem Awakening : Circée remplace Robin lorsqu'elle est un bébé et décide qu'un certain agaçant géniteur et mage noir ferait un excellent hôte de Grima à sa place. Sa mère fuit Plégia avec elle et Aversa (au temps ne pas laisser Aversa avec Valldar et puis la compétence unique d'Aversa la rend l'unique unité capable d'utiliser la magie noire dans toutes les classes utilisant des tomes ! ) et lorsque canon commence Robin/Circée (non-amnésique) et Aversa rejoignent ensemble les Veilleurs. Robin/Circée utilise principalement une épée orage lorsqu'elle combat au sol en tant que Stratège/Maître Stratège et une lance orage lorsqu'elle vole sur un Pégase Noir, dans les deux cas elle peut utiliser tous types de magie sans tome ou bâton. Chrom et elle nouent une relation sérieuse, mais Circée ne souhaite pas l'officialiser et épouser un membre d'une famille royale. Donc peu après la fin de la guerre (avec la survie d'Emmeryn), elle rompt leur relation et quitte Ylisse pour rejoindre le continent de Valm avec Virion, Aversa, des troupes de Férox, Lon'zu, Olivia, Gregor, Nowi, Tharja et Anna afin d'aider la Résistance à lutter contre Walhart. En chemin, Circée leur expose son idée d'appeler Priam et ses mercenaires en renforts, (elle et Aversa ont rencontré Priam quelques années avant le début d',) ce que le descendant d'Ike accepte. Son groupe s'allie avec Yen'Fay et Say'ri de Chon'sin parvenant ainsi à stopper Walhart jusqu'au saut temporel de deux ans lorsque les Veilleurs les rejoignent. Durant ces deux ans, elle découvre qu'elle était enceinte de Chrom et donne naissance à son fils, Morgan, qui est de quelques mois plus âgés que Lucina et possède la marque de Naga dans son dos. Elle se rapproche aussi encore plus de Priam qu'elle épouse un peu avant que les Veilleurs les rejoignent, Priam reconnait même Morgan comme son propre fils. Chrom ne saura jamais que Morgan était son fils, même lorsqu'il retrouvera Robin et les anciens Veilleurs à Valm. Walhart est rapidement vaincu et les efforts des Veilleurs se tournent ensuite vers Valldar et Grima, même s'ils ne peuvent que sceller Grima avec Falchion puisque Valldar refuse de se suicider. Par la suite, Robin et Priam parcourent le monde avec Morgan lorsque celui-ci atteint sa dixième année et deviennent de célèbres aventuriers et mercenaires. Au final, Circée restera environ soixante-dix ans dans ce monde.,9) Fire Emblem Fates : Circée remplace Corrin/Kamui lorsqu'elle est encore un fœtus et naît avec un œil rouge et un vert. Elle sauve la vie de son père adoptif, le roi Suméragi, mais se laisse enlever par Garon. Elle feint d'avoir perdu ses souvenirs de son identité comme princesse d'Hoshido et se lie d'amitié avec ses nouveaux frères et sœurs adoptifs. Lorsque Laslow, Selena et Odin apparaissent, elle reconnaît leurs véritables identités et les taquine subtilement sans s'identifier comme Robin. Elle suit largement la trame de la route Révélation, mais sauve Gunther, Mikoto, Izana et Scarlet. Après la mort d'Anankos, Circée devient la « reine » de Valla mais puisque c'est un royaume sans peuple, elle crée des passages reliant Valla à Nohr et met à la disposition des Nohriens les terres fertiles de Valla, Mikoto récupère toutefois certaines de ses vieilles possessions. Pour unifier les deux royaumes, elle épouse Xander et devient donc aussi la Reine de Nohr. Elle donnera naissance à Siegbert, qui deviendra l'héritier de Xander, et Kanna (fille) qui épousera Shiro et deviendra plus tard reine d'Hoshido. Quelques années après la mort de Xander et une fois tous leurs petits enfants adultes, Circée organisera son décès et quittera ce monde.,10) Yasei no Last Boss ga Arawareta! (A Wild Last Boss Appeared !): Circée remplace Ruphas Mafahl lorsqu'elle est encore un fœtus et décide de conquérir ce monde (par curiosité et pour suivre la trame du light novel) afin de changer les mentalités entre certaines races, notamment la discrimination contre les anges avec des ailes de couleurs autres que blanches. Encore une fois, elle suit principalement la trame canon, même si certains éléments changent avant le saut temporel de deux cents ans. Virgo par exemple est la fille de Ruphas/Circée avec l'un des sept héros, Megrez, elle est née en secret quelques mois avant que Ruphas soit scellée et a été confiée à Parthenos en cachette. Même les autres Etoiles du Ciel ( Twelve Heavenly Stars) ignorent l'identité réelle de Virgo. Lorsque le sceau est détruit, Circée/Ruphas réunit ses minions pour affronter la Déesse tout en visitant tous les Héros encore en vie. Au final, elle vivra près de 1500 ans dans ce monde avant de mettre en scène sa mort.,11) Percy Jackson/Héros de l'Olympe : Circée prend possession du corps d'un fils d'Hécate de la génération de Percy et décide de se faire passer pour un demi-dieu afin de rejoindre le camp. Circée participera aux grandes batailles aux côtés des autres Demi-Dieux tout en profitant des similarités entre ce monde et celui dans lequel elle est née afin d'amasser le plus possible de connaissances normales. John/Circée deviendra même professeur à l'université durant ces décennies, même s'il ne se mariera pas et n'aura pas d'enfant. Au final, elle quittera ce monde au bout d'une soixantaine d'années car elle commençait à s'ennuyer.,12) Sailor Moon : Circée arrive durant l'ère du Millenium d'Argent juste avant la naissance de Sailor Venus, qu'elle décide de remplacer sur un coup de tête. Elle devient ainsi une guerrière Sailor, mais utilise comme prétexte la relation interdite entre la princesse Serenity et Endimion pour faire sortir la planète Venus de l'alliance du Millenium d'Argent. Ainsi, quand la Lune fut attaquée, Circée/Venus ne s'y trouvait pas et pour éviter que Sailor Saturne fasse disparaître toutes vies dans le système solaire, elle convint Uranus et Neptune de ne pas quitter leurs planètes, en échange elle anéantirait elle-même Metallia, ce qu'elle a aisément accompli. Circée prend ensuite le contrôle de l'alliance planétaire après la mort des autres Sailors et de la famille royale de la lune, qu'elle dirigera jusqu'au début de canon ,. Lorsqu'elle apprend la réémergence du Royaume des Ténèbres, elle décide de quitter Vénus pour se rendre sur la Terre et lutter contre le Royaume des Ténèbres jusqu'à ce que les autres Sailors réincarnées s'éveillent. Elle sauvera ainsi les anciens quatre Généraux d'Endimion et fera tout pour briser la relation amoureuse entre Bunny et Mamoru, allant même jusqu'à convaincre Mamoru que Bunny pourrait l'utiliser pour devenir la Reine de la Terre dans le futur. Au final, la majorité des Sailors décident de lui obéir plutôt qu'à Sailor Moon et Crystal Tokyo n'existera pas dans cette ligne temporelle. La Terre reste isolée dans le système solaire et Mamoru décide de ne pas rétablir son ancien royaume mais simplement de vivre normalement avec ses généraux. Circée retourne sur Venus à la fin du combat contre Sailor Galaxia et Chaos et règne encore un millénaire avant d'abdiquer en faveur d'un membre distant de sa famille. Cette fois-ci, elle ne met pas en scène sa mort, mais révèle « l'intention de voyager à travers la galaxie » à ses sujets, alors qu'en vérité elle change simplement de monde, mais garde en stase le corps de Sailor Venus.,13) Dragon Quest : Les sentinelles du Firmament : Circée remplace le protagoniste du jeu et explore avec ardeur ce monde pour créer par alchimie des armes, armures et objets en tout genre pour sa collection. Elle sauve son maître, Aquila, in extrémis de l'attaque de Govin puis lorsque Corvus apparait en tant que Boss final, elle le bat seule. Même si elle perd momentanément ses pouvoirs de Célestellien après le combat final, elle en retrouve rapidement une partie et peut revoir Stella et Aster avec qui elle voyagera pendant des décennies tout en amassant les carcasses des monstres qu'elle tue pour les étudier. Elle accomplira toutes les quêtes du jeu et affrontera tous les monstres possibles, lorsqu'elle aura complété tout ce qui pouvait être fait, elle décidera de quitter ce monde en disant ainsi adieux à Stella et Aster après quasiment cent ans.,14) Naruto : Circée prend possession d'un fœtus dans le ventre d'une kunoichi de Konoha appartenant au clan Kurama, elle devient donc Yume Kurama, la cousine éloignée de Yakumo. Elle a le même âge qu'Itachi et est très vite reconnue comme un génie tout comme lui, devenant même un Genin en même temps que lui et faisant parti de son équipe. Lorsqu'Obito/Tobi attaque leur équipe pendant une mission, elle réussit à protéger ses coéquipiers grâce à des illusions qu'Obito ne peut percer, s'attirant ainsi la colère du déserteur. Elle est spécialisée en Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu et Ninjutsu médical et même lorsqu'Itachi rejoint ANBU, elle restera très proche de lui et de son cousin, Shisui. Elle stoppera le massacre du clan Uchiha en révélant grâce à certaines manipulations une partie des actions de Danzo. Elle commencera à sortir avec Itachi un an avant le début de canon et travaillera en parallèle sur un remède contre la maladie de son petit ami. Quand canon débute, elle terminera ce remède et soignera Itachi, obtenant ainsi la reconnaissance du clan Uchiha qui acceptera leur relation. Itachi et elle se fianceront, puis se marieront juste avant que Naruto quitte le village avec Jiraiya. Sasuke ne quittera pas le village pour rejoindre Orochimaru. Après l'attaque de Pain, elle ressuscite discrètement Nagato dans le corps de Yahiko grâce au pouvoir de l'Heaven Feel et Obito échoue à récupérer ses Rinnegans. Lors de la Quatrième guerre, elle « soigne » (en vérité, ramène à la vie) Neji et soutient l'alliance en scellant les Bijus. Après la guerre, elle soutient Itachi qui est choisi par Tsunade comme sixième Hokage et donne rapidement naissance à un fils puis une fille de deux ans l'aînée de Boruto. Elle met en scène sa mort après celle d'Itachi à soixante ans.,15) Macross Delta : Circée arrive dans ce monde cinq ans avant le début de l'animé et elle décide de devenir chanteuse après s'être créée une nouvelle identité, celle de Lacus Pendragon. Elle devient la Sempai du groupe d'idols Walkure en tant que chanteuse solo luttant contre le syndrome Var, elle ne fait donc pas partie des Walkure, mais est une de leurs collègues. Lady M l'engage en parallèle comme « professeur » de chant et de danse de Mikumo peu après la création du dit clone. Elle rend donc Mikumo plus humaine et cette dernière adopte une partie de la personnalité de son mentor sous cette influence. Même lorsque Mikumo rejoint les Walkure, les deux filles restent en contact tout le long et quand Mikumo est enlevée, Lacus/Circée en devient folle d'angoisse. Pour la sauver, elle décide de prendre la place de Mikumo dans le groupe temporairement et comprend ainsi qu'elle est tombée amoureuse de l'Homonculus. Après la fin de canon, elle confesse ses sentiments à Mikumo et les deux filles commencent à sortir ensemble. Leur relation perdure pendant vingt ans, mais Mikumo meurt prématurément à cause de sa courte espérance de vie en tant qu'être artificiel. Après sa mort, Circée décide de quitter ce monde et disparaît sans un mot.,En tant qu'idole, les chansons de Circée sont des reprises de celles de Lacus, d'Azura et des chansons de son monde d'origine.,16) Slayers : Circée débarque dans ce monde peu après que Lina et Gourry se rencontrent, elle décide de rejoindre leur groupe par curiosité et en profite pour apprendre certains sorts de Lina au « cas où » au cours de leurs aventures. On ne sait jamais quand on peut avoir besoin d'un Giga Slave ou d'un Laguna Blade après tout. Lina et elle développent d'ailleurs des sorts ensemble et pillent avec fougue les bandits et pirates croisant leur route. Les deux sorcières sont une plaie pour les Mazokus dans cet univers qui souhaitent ardemment leur destruction, mais échouent sans cesse. Circée restera tout au long des aventures de Lina et ses amis, ne quittant ce monde qu'à la mort de celle-ci après quatre-vingt ans.,17) Overlord : Circée arrive dans YGGDRASIL par accident et comprend après quelques semaines qu'elle se trouve dans un monde virtuel plutôt que la réalité. Elle manipule les données du jeu à son avantage et fait de son corps virtuel celui d'un hétéromorphe dragonoid avec des yeux vairons de dragon rouge et vert et des courtes ailes noires et rouges lorsqu'elle prend forme humaine. Dans le jeu, elle conquit seule un donjon, Atlantis la Cité sous-marine, et créé sa propre guilde après avoir obtenu la seule base de guilde avec 3000 niveau (par hacking, elle a rajouté 1000 niveaux de données) pour PNJ d'Asgard. Sa nouvelle guilde, Silver Pegasus, se situe dans la cité d'Atlantis, une ville sous l'eau mais qui peut monter à la surface selon les commandes du chef de la guilde. Elle est composée d'une ville au rez-de-chaussée et au centre le palais avec rez-de-chaussée et onze étages supplémentaire qui est occupé uniquement par des PNJ. Les étages 1 à neuf sont tous gardés par un PNJ de niveau 100 créé par Circée (et dont les capacités ont été hackées afin de les rendre encore plus puissants) et ils disposent tous de minions PNJ sous leurs ordres. Par nostalgie, Circée a créé ses PNJ en s'appuyant sur des personnes réelles qu'elle a connues au fil de ses voyages. Tout comme Momonga et la Tombe de Nazarick, sa guilde et elle se retrouvent transportées dans le Nouveau Monde près de la Théocratie. Elle commence donc une nouvelle vie dans ce monde avec ses PNJ qui sont devenus vivants et dont les personnalités sont maintenant identiques aux personnes dont elle s'est inspirée. Elle y reste quasiment cinq cents ans, puis décident de transporter sa guilde dans une poche dimensionnelle après cela.,18) Tate no yuusha no nariagatari (The Rising of the Shield Hero) :,Alors qu'elle voyageait d'un monde à l'autre, elle a été invoquée par le Roi de Melromarc comme Héro de l'épée à la place de Ren. Lorsqu'elle arrive, elle comprend tout de suite que quelque chose cloche à cause de l'attitude du roi envers Naofumi. Après l'invocation, lorsqu'elle discute avec les trois autres héros, elle explique qu'elle ne connait rien de ce monde et qu'elle a été invoquée quand elle était tranquillement chez elle. Ce soir-là, elle utilise son charme pour soustraire des informations à Itsuki et Motoyasu en la présence de Naofumi. Elle leur conseille à tous trois de ne pas faire complètement confiance au gouvernement de Melromarc et mentionne l'attitude étrange du Roi vis-à-vis du Héro du Bouclier. Pendant la nuit, Circée plonge dans les records Akashiques de ce monde et découvre que Melromarc n'est pas le seul pays à être menacé par les « Vagues », elle apprend aussi l'histoire de ce pays et de ce monde. Le lendemain, lorsque le roi leur présente les aventuriers qui devraient rejoindre leurs groupes, Circée refuse poliment les candidats en déclarant qu'ils étaient bien trop faibles pour elle et pour prouver ses dire elle les vint tous en utilisant seulement des arts martiaux. Craignant pour la vie de Naofumi, elle l'embarque avec elle pour explorer rapidement la ville et acheter des œufs de monstres. Lorsque Circée achète des œufs, Naofumi découvre Raphtalia dans la boutique et décide de l'acheter pour la soigner. Circée donne trois œufs (Firo, Sakura et Midori) à Naofumi et en garde deux pour elle (OC : Daphnée et Millie). Le trio avec leurs œufs quitte la ville et Circée utilise sa magie pour éliminer en masse des monstres afin de faire gagner des niveaux à Raphtalia après l'avoir aisément soigné. Quand Raphtalia arrive au niveau quinze, Circée l'entraîne à l'épée puis la pousse à affronter des monstres faibles avec Naofumi comme Tank en fin d'après-midi avant d'entrer dans une ville loin de la capitale. Circée surveille à distance le duo afin de ne pas perdre l'avantage que les armes légendaires donnent en Expérience. Parce que Naofumi ne se trouvait pas dans la capitale, Malty n'a pas pu l'accuser de viol mais elle a tout de même intégré le groupe de Motoyasu. Circée accompagne ensuite Naofumi, Raphtalia et leurs Filolials dans les autres pays du continent afin de se synchroniser avec les Sabliers de chaque pays. Lorsque Naofumi atteint le niveau 40, Circée décide qu'il peut se débrouiller avec son équipe sans son aide et elle part de son côté. Circée rencontre Atla et Fohl qui intègrent son équipe, et conduit Sadeena jusqu'à Naofumi et Raphtalia. Rishia intègre elle aussi son équipe par la suite après que Circée ait donné un coup de pied dans les bijoux de familles des hommes du groupe d'Itsuki et des gifles aux filles. Elle tue Malty discrètement et pousse Eclair vers Motoyasu afin qu'elle rejoigne l'équipe du blond et contrôle sa stupidité. Lorsque les Vagues prennent définitivement fin, Circée reste dans ce monde pendant quelques décennies afin de s'assurer que ses camarades ont une belle vie, puis le quitte avec Daphnée et Millie qui disposent d'une grande longévité.,D'autres mondes seront ajoutés par la suite, mais pour le moment vous avez déjà de quoi avoir une idée des compétences de Circée aujourd'hui !

Cammie looked at the castle standing before her, it really was beautiful. It looked so powerful. As she got closer, Cammie got that feeling, yes, the one where you think the building is about to fall on top of you.,Looking to her side she saw her friends, Liz, the genius, Macey, the beauty queen and Bex, the badass of the group. They all had a look of intense concentration. The Prime Minister himself had assigned them to this top secret case. Bex focussed on the boy who walked in front of them. He stood tall and confidently, his hair well groomed and his uniform immaculate. He had introduced himself as Mr Draco Malfoy, but according to the information Liz had compiled, his was in fact titled with Lord Malfoy.,Everyone was a bit unsure about this Malfoy character, he seemed too posh to get his hands dirty, well everyone except Macey, after all she knew better than to judge people on their status.,They neared the entrance, and all the girls felt humbled by the beauty of the castle. "Welcome to Hogwarts," Said Malfoy. The doors opened, and waiting inside was a raven-haired man. Malfoy strode up to him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before introducing him as Lord Potter and Lord Black.,Liz gasped, "Harry Potter?" She exclaimed, earning a few confused looks from her friends. The man nodded.,"Harry Potter is the saviour of England, if not for him we would be cowering at the feet of a dark wizard!" Explained Liz excitedly.,Harry chuckled, but Draco flinched as if affronted by memories. "You would get along well with Hermione, that's for sure!" Harry said. Liz smiled at the thought of meeting Hermione Granger, the brains of the group. Draco, mistaking her smile as for Harry, wrapped his arm around the man possessively.,Cammie stepped forward, and introduced their group. Once finished, the two men led the girls to the room they would be staying in for the duration of their mission.,It was a similar layout to the Gryffindor dormitories in that the room had the beds next to each other. The draping's were a calm blue colour. The boys introduced it as an empty Ravenclaw dorm room. Liz felt happy, as she knew that she would have been sorted into Ravenclaw if she had the gift of magic.,"Well, I hope the rooming is sufficient, we will allow you to 'make yourself at home'" Said Draco, turning to leave. Harry grabbed his sleeve and then smiled solemnly at the girls. "Thank you, thank you so much for doing this,". Then they walked away, leaving the girls to sort themselves out.,Once they were gone, Liz handed them a sheet with notes. It was a thing she had been doing recently, as if they started talking out loud, they would end up giggling about some joke about how ugly their new teacher was or something. The rules were simple: Read, Remember, Report.,The sheet read:,After reading it though, the girls all memorised the information then disposed of it by throwing it into the fireplace. Liz gave Macey a questioning look when she put it into her pocket rather than disposing of it, but she did not comment as they all knew she had trouble remembering things.,None of them were aware the one of the girls had been IMPERIUSED!

The forest was dark and forbidding, the silence seemingly impenetrable. A slight rustle in the trees the silent scurrying of eight hairy legs. A long low call echoes through the forest, "That's new," grumbled Hagrid to himself. Hagrid considered himself well versed in the sounds of the forest and had come immediately upon hearing something new. He walked through the forest crossbow in one hand lantern in the other.,He walked until he came across a small stream where he stepped into what seemed to be a large footprint, he bent down to examine it closer. "Blimey! If I didn't know better I'd there was a dragon about, but that can't be right." Right then he heard the rustle of the tree branches above. Looking up just in time to see a creature leaping from the tree seemingly towards him, he reached up and slapped it from the air. It hit the ground with a bone jarring thud and a screech of pain. Hagrid bent down to examine the creature, it had leathery wings and a toothy beak, its tail was long and ended in a diamond. It was unlike anything Hagrid had ever seen before. He noticed one of the wings was bent at an awkward angle and realised it was hurt. Hagrid shouldered his gigantic crossbow and lowered his hand to lift the creature. It snapped at his fingers in a feeble attempt at self defence but merely whimpered and laid its head back. Hagrid whispered gently, "S'alright little fella, I ain't gonna hurt ya." He gently lifted the creature into the air, the long low cry sounded again across the grounds followed by a light hooting unlike any of the sounds he had come to know and love. "I'd best get you back to my hut before ye get hurt anymore," and with that Hagrid turned and began to head in the direction of his hut.,The Alarm blared throughout the ARC. Connor ran towards the detector followed closely by Cutter and Abby. They arrived as the detector was attempting to pinpoint the location of the anomaly, so far it had narrowed it down to somewhere near a small village in the highlands of scotland. They waited for further details, ten seconds passed then 20 after thirty seconds Cutter turned to Connor, "What's goin on Connor?" Connor jumped into the chair and began to type furiously at the detector, "I don't know Cutter it just can't pinpoint the location of the anomaly.",Lester strolled up to the detector and the small group standing around it, "What's going on I thought you people were supposed to be on the road already?" Cutter turned and stared at Lester, "We're having a bit of trouble figuring out where to go." Lester peered around and looked at the screen, "Ah well I believe I have the solution. Why don't you all head to that small village I believe its called Hogsmeade and I'll arrange for everything from there. The Prime Minister warned me something like this might happen in a couple places.",The rest of the team looked bewildered and Cutter went to argue , but lester interjected, "No don't argue that is a direct order I will contact you shortly.",The team loaded into the truck and headed off. "What's goin on Cutter?" Connor whined.,"I don't know, but I have a feeling we are going to find out," Cutter replied. Abby piped in, "Its just it seemed like Lester didn't even really know what's going on." "Best not to ask questions we are going to find the answers too," said Becker.,An hour into their drive they received a call from Lester, "I've got with me here the Prime Minister and he has made the necessary arrangements for you to visit Hogwarts, don't ask me what that is I am just told that that is where the anomaly appears to be located. You will meet with a man named Albus Dumbledore at a Hog's Head Inn. He will explain the rest to you, also Becker and Cutter, you are to keep a tight leash on the other two while you are there, there can be no mistakes.,The truck rolled to a stop a mile or so outside of the village, they would have to walk from here. "Alright everybody out," ordered Becker. He stepped from the car and walked around to the bed removing his shotgun and an anomaly detector.,Abby stepped next to him reaching in and grabbing a tranq pistol while cutter grabbed a tranq rifle. "Why don't I get a gun?" whined Connor.,"I don't think you'll be needing one Connor, anyways this should be mystery enough for you." Intoned Cutter and began to walk up the dirt path that led to Hogsmeade. The path was not a well traveled one weeds were popping up on the trail. The forest encroached from all sides and crowded the path threatening to invade. They all felt an irresistible need to turn around and return to their truck. They all turned and began to turn and head back when suddenly a loud crack sounded, and there before them stood an absurdly dressed man with half-moon spectacles and long flowing gray hair and beard. He waved what seemed to be a stick through the air and as though a fog was being lifted from their mind they realized what they had been about to do. Beckers gun was up before they could all blink, "Who are you?" he demanded.,The man chuckled softly, "You have no reason to fear, I am Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts. We have much to discuss before you enter Hogwarts please follow me." Dumbledore turned and headed back in the direction of the village.,Cutter hurried to walk beside the man, "So Mr. Dumbledore…","Professor.","Professor Dumbledore, can you tell us is goin on? What did you do back there I mean its like you just appeared?","Apparated, which means that I did just appear in a way.","Alright so you did just appear, then what did you do with that stick of yours?",Dumbledore looked confused for a moment and then understanding seemed to dawn, "Ah you mean my wand, well to put it simply i lifted a charm that compels muggles such as you and your companions to simply go away.",Cutter was discouraged by this, "So you are saying that you waved your wand did some magic and we were able to keep going? Hang on Muggles?","Yes non-magical people are known as Muggles in the wizarding world.?,"Wizards? You mean the stuff behind fairy-tales, I hate to break it to you but that's all make believe.",Dumbledore smiled kindly and nodded towards a building just ahead, "I know it is hard to believe but magic is real, it may not explain what I am told you call anomalies but that is a whole nother matter, please come inside and I will explain everything."

I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people., This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers., This story is a response to the , Challenge posted in the Facebook group ,. The , Challenge is the monthly challenge for February., Nikola should have been there. It was their daughter's wedding. It was wrong that he wasn't there. But that wasn't his fault, was it? It was hers.,-= LP =-,Echoes of Forgotten Hope,Part 01: Melltith,-= LP =-,Then leans on me the weight of the year, and crushes,My heart. I know that Beauty must ail and die,,And will be born again,—but ah, to see,Beauty stiffened, staring up at the sky!,Oh, Autumn! Autumn!—What is the Spring to me?,– Edna St. Vincent Millay, ,-= LP =-,Melanthe watched as her latest daughter danced with her husband. The fading sunlight caught in Marigold's hair giving it a truer hue than the red normally appeared. The girl laughed as her groom spun her about the dance floor and Melanthe smiled, even as her heart wanted nothing more than to weep. Nikola, her Nikola, should have been here to see this. Not for the first time, she regretted sending him away all those years ago. Perhaps if she had kept him close—if she had just risked that the cabal would be able to follow as they had from where she had hid them after New York—then maybe she could have prevented his death. In seeking to protect him, she had inadvertently ensured that he missed out on the pleasure which was raising Marigold.,Marigold had been a surprise, to say the least. If there was one thing which her long years had taught her, it was that children were the price paid for the longevity she and her kind enjoyed. Lamiae rarely had children, cursed as they were, and even as closely related as lamiae are to vampires and succubae, the chances of conception was only marginally better than lamiae and humans. Typically, extraordinary measures had to be taken, and even then, the Church had managed to sterilize the vampires which prevented them from natural means of reproduction. The only remaining methods they had was direct blood and flesh transfers which were tricky at best and more likely to produce a mindless beast than anything resembling a true vampire. Marigold should have been impossible, conceived accidentally in an affair which had lasted less than a fortnight.,Then again, Nikola had mentioned that he did the impossible.,Raising Marigold had not been as easy as raising her other children had been. The times were different. Unwed mothers were not currently acceptable, though thankfully not illegal as they had been at various times. Fortunately, the war with Germany had made many a widow and as her sources had confirmed the public reports of Nikola's death, grief had not been hard to demonstrate. Even now, over a decade and a half since she had "saved" him only to lose him, his loss pressed against her chest like a boulder, crushing her beneath its weight. There had been times when Marigold had said something or done something which was just so , that Melanthe had to fight to recall how to breathe.,While drawing in some man to stand as a shield against societal disapproval would have been easy, Melanthe hadn't the heart to replace Nikola. She still didn't, even as her instincts called out for fulfillment. Nikola had been special to her in a way she had thought she had lost. From the moment she had seen him in that New York bar, she had felt the connection they had with each other. She had planned to use him and send him along as she had so many others over her long life. Then they had been attacked and she realized that for all that he was perfectly happy to be played with, Nikola was not a mere toy to her. So when he pushed against her, she pushed back, bonding him to her in way that only lamiae and vampires can, not caring that she had known him less than a week. For five wonderful days, she had rejoiced in their mateship. It was her first since her Kerbasi had died almost a millennia past.,It still pounded at her occasionally, the feel of their bond. It lingered like an aftertaste on her tongue, an echo of things better off forgotten. Occasionally, she would be walking down a street and a scent would drift out of an alley or shop that would be an almost perfect replication of Nikola's flavor. Renewed loss would hit her so suddenly and fiercely it would be all she could do to move out of sight and teleport away to privacy. Certainty that Marigold had somehow been spared the potential blood-legacies of both her parents was cold comfort when it bore the additional knowledge that Marigold was destined for the mundane world and a mortal lifespan. Eventually, the last bit of Nikola would pass beyond her care and slip into the gentle embrace of the Long Night.,She watched as her daughter buried her face in her groom's shoulder, embarrassed about something but still laughing. It was hard letting her go. If she had doubted even the tiniest bit that Harold loved her, Melanthe would not have been able to stand it. Marigold was still her baby, being barely sixteen. No matter that the girl had just enough of the lamiae blood to give her maturity beyond her chronological age, sixteen was nothing in terms of experience. Joining her life with a widower ten years older than her could be the height of folly, especially when said widower came with a toddler in tow. Yet Melanthe could see how their love shone when they were together, as bright as the bonfire they had jumped last Beltane and as steadily warm as the banked coals which had been the only light in the little cottage where she had raised Marigold on the Solstice night that the girl had haltingly confessed her suspicion of pregnancy. Harold loved her daughter and Marigold loved him in return. The Mother had blest their union even before a formal ceremony had been enacted. Who was Melanthe to go against such a sign?,It still broke her heart to let her little girl go, even into wedded bliss.,Nikola should have been here. He should have been by her side, safely held in her arms as they watched their child mix her blood—,—with the man she loved and who loved her in return before their wrists and fates were tied. He should be excitedly debating what to teach , grandchild first. He should be here and it was through her failure to protect him that he wasn't. If she hadn't sent him away on his own—if she had only sought him out instead of trying to lure the Triple Crowns away from London—if she had only protected him, her brilliant but brash Nikola, then he would be where he should have been, instead of reduced to ashes which being bickered over by museums and churches.,It was the curse of the lamiae, to have forever or near enough but to have no way of keeping those they loved with them. They were creatures who lived on love, in all its expressions, but couldn't stand to be near others of their kind for longer than it took to raise a lamia child to maturity. They were capable of wondrous feats but incapable of stopping Atropos from stealing their cherished ones into the embrace of Achlys.,As she watched Marigold scoop up the tiny blonde that was now her daughter, Melanthe gave a prayer of thanks to Clotho for spinning her youngest daughter free of such a fate. If that Moirai was truly kind, the babe would be just as free.

Debout sur une plaine étendue, le garçon fixait le château devant lui.,Au dessus de lui, le ciel déployait son manteau étincelant, et ses innombrables étoiles illuminaient l'herbe sous ses pieds d'une lueur tamisée.,L'immense bâtisse élevée sur une falaise qui surplombait un lac argenté semblait ancien, et il émanait d'elle un charme énigmatique. Ses tours se dressaient vers les cieux, imposantes. Par les fenêtres, on percevait la clarté des chandelles se déversant à travers les carreaux.,Le garçon, lui, offrait un contraste saisissant par sa banalité affligeante qui tranchait avec ce paysage nocturne et fantastique.,Ses cheveux ébouriffés laissaient à peine voir ses yeux dissimulés derrière de lourdes lunettes. Une longue cape enveloppait sa silhouette maigre.,Une cicatrice en forme d'éclair marquait son front…,Et soudain… le jeune garçon inspira une bouffée d'air, avant de…,-HÉ MAIS C'EST PAS G*NTAMA ICI ! D'OÙ SORT CE CHÂTEAU ? OU ON EST EXACTEMENT ? ET POURQUOI… J'AI MAL AU FRONT ? Attends… UNE CICATRICE ?,Un écriteau apparut dans les airs comme par magie (enfin c'en était sûrement) . Le garçon s'approcha pour lire ces énigmatiques lignes écrites en élégantes lettres arabesques, sur un support en marbre poli :,«, »,-MAIS QU'EST-CE QU…,Mais il s'interrompit en voyant apparaître de nouvelles lignes.,« Ah, et au fait...Tu es un sorcier, Hari ;) »,-JE NE M'APPELLE PAS HARI MAIS SH…,Une troisième fois, le texte fut complété par des mots, toujours en arabesques, mais en caractères majuscules.,«,-OY, C'EST MÊME PAS TON UNIVERS, TU PLAGIES GRAVE LA !,Mais ses paroles ne reçurent pour réponse que l'écho de la solitude. L'écriteau avait disparu. Il était seul.,Les jambes d' Hari fléchirent et il se retrouva à genoux, à s'arracher les cheveux, secouant la tête comme pris d'un brusque accès de folie.,-Mais c'est pas vrai, pourquoi j'ai atterri dans une saga de sorciers ?! J'suis un samouraï, moi ! Envoyez-moi dans Sam*rai Deeper Kyo ou Sam*rai Champloo, un truc qui parle de samouraïs ! Je sais pas utiliser un bout de bois qui ne tranche même pas ! Et surtout, RENDEZ MOI MON VRAI PRÉNOM ! JE M'APPELLE SH******* ! HE ME CENSURE PAS !,Au bout d'un moment, après s'être lamenté durant quelques minutes, il se releva et sécha ses larmes d'un revers de la main.,-Bon, j'imagine que tout ce qui me reste à faire, c'est de trouver un moyen de revenir à *do. Commençons par voir si je pourrai trouver quelqu'un dans ce château.,Le jeune garçon se dirigea vers l'immense bâtisse qui se découpait du paysage nocturne. Arrivé devant le portail aux barres de fers aux pointes aiguisées, il fit mine de chercher une sonnette avant de se reprendre. Les sorciers n'avaient sûrement pas besoin d'alarmes de Moldus pour détecter la venue des autres…,Ne sachant que faire, Hari finit par inspirer à pleins poumons, porta ses mains en guise de porte voix près de ses lèvres, et…,-HE OH, IL Y A QU…,Clic.,Une voix grésillante domina la sienne.,-TU TE CROIS OU POUR CRIER COMME CA EN PLEINE NUIT ? Y EN A QUI PIONCE, LA.,Cette voix… Hari parcourut l'ensemble de l'enveloppe obscure autour de lui, mais il ne voyait aucune autre ombre humaine que la sienne.,-Euh..Excusez-moi, mais… je voudrais vous demander l'asile…,-ET T'AS PAS VU QU'IL Y AVAIT UNE SONNETTE ?,-Que...Ah.,La fameuse sonnette était une sorte de plaque munie d'un bouton et d'un haut parleur qui pendait comme un rat mort, fixée par un fil électrique autour d'un barreau du portail.,Hari sentit une pointe de déception lui percer la poitrine. Où était la magie, dedans ?,-Euh… Donc est-ce que vous pourriez m'ouvrir, s'il vous plaît ?,-Donne ton nom, d'abord !,-Ah, je m'appelle…,Il fit une pause, le temps de réfléchir. Et s'il pouvait se faire passer pour Hari ? Ce nom était célèbre dans ce monde, et puis c'était celui que lui avait accordé la narratrice...après tout, ce n'était pas comme s'il lui avait volé l'identité…,-Je m'appelle Haricot Ter.,Un ange passa.,Hari s'efforça de ne pas maudire sa maladresse. Enfin… était-ce lui qui s'était trompé ? Ou bien la pauvre narratrice aux jeux de mots mortellement bidons avait le pouvoir de contrôler sa langue ?,Un toussotement provenant du haut parleur l'interrompit dans ses pensées. La voix se fit plus grave, plus solennelle.,-Hari… Je t'attendais.,Le portail s'ouvrit dans un grincement sinistre, ce qui rassura moins Hari. Mais cette voix… il lui était impossible de l'affirmer, mais il avait l'impression qu'elle lui était familière.,-C'est sûrement le mal du pays qui me fait penser ça.,Avec une grande inspiration, il franchit les vantaux et pénétra dans la propriété. La distance qui le séparait de la porte d'entrée lui semblait interminable. La froideur de la nuit le transperçait de part en part, comme des aiguilles de glace.,-Et en plus, tu peux contrôler la météo, sale narratrice sadique… grommela-il et il jura avoir entendu un rire s'élever depuis les tréfonds des ténèbres.,Ou bien c'était un cochon qui se faisait étrangler. En tout cas, ça y ressemblait.,Quand il arriva devant le château, la porte était déjà ouverte. Lorsqu'il franchit le pas, une tiédeur l'enveloppa et il ne sentit plus aucune trace du temps glacial.,Le couloir d'entrée était éclairé par les flammes de bougies fixées dans des chandeliers en acier.,Le sol, en marbre poli, lui renvoyait son propre reflet. La construction du bâtiment inspirait une majesté ancienne, avec ses sculptures intimidantes directement taillées dans le mur, qui grimpaient jusqu'au sommet du couloir d'entrée.,Un escalier menait à l'étage supérieur.,Un bruit de pas en provenance des marches attira l'attention d'Hari.,Une ombre s'y étendait au fur et à mesure que le son des pas croissait.,Une voix grave et pénétrante résonna dans la salle.,-Mon garçon...te voilà enfin.,La lueur des flammes vacilla, comme si elles subissaient la puissance écrasante qui émanait de ce nouveau venu.,Hari écarquilla les yeux.,Devant lui se tenait un homme dont la moitié du visage était grignotée par une longue barbe blanche. Derrière ses lunettes en croissant de lune transparaissait un regard bleu acier.,Bouche bée, Hari mit du temps à retrouver l'usage de la parole, avant de s'écr…,-MAIS QU'EST CE QUE TU FOUS ICI, G*N-SAN ?,-Qui est ce G*n-san ? Je ne le connais pas. Tu as devant toi, le plus grand sorcier de tous les temps : Dom Ball d'Or.,-TE FOUS PAS DE MOI ! C'EST PAS EN METTANT DES LENTILLES, DES LUNETTES ET UNE BARBE QUE JE VAIS PAS TE RECONNAÎTRE ! T'AURAIS PU PRENDRE LA PEINE DE CHANGER DE VÊTEMENTS AUSSI !,En effet, l'illustre sorcier portait un kimono blanc et bleu, serré à la taille par une ceinture.,-Ça va pas ? J'allais pas m'habiller avec des trucs de vieux schnok. Ca me démangeait la peau.,-C'est pour ça que la voix me paraissait familière, dans le haut parleur… Ce n'était pas une illusion. Bon, au moins, je ne suis pas le seul à être égaré dans ce monde. Tu sais comment on a atterri là ?,-Mmh… médita Dom Ball d'Or en se frottant la barbe. La dernière chose dont je m'en souviens, c'était que j'étais allé aux toilettes avant de dormir. J'étais déjà à moitié endormi quand je pissais, et puis je suis tombé la tête en avant et puis…,Silence.,-...plus rien.,-T'es tombé dans les chiottes en fait… Non, c'est impossible ..ça reste invraisemblable !,-Peut-être que nos toilettes étaient magiques, sans qu'on le sache. Comme le distributeur automatique.,-Non, ce n'est pas une vraie machine à remonter le temps. Le scénario le plus probable… c'est que cette maudite narratrice a trouvé un moyen de nous arracher de G*ntama pour nous envoyer ici… Reste à savoir comment faire pour revenir…,-Attends, Hari… Peut-être que…,Dom Ball d'Or sortit une baguette de l'intérieur de son pantalon. La Baguette de Sureau.,-Euh… Où tu la mettais depuis tout ce temps ?,-Il n'y a qu'un seul endroit pour une baguette chez un homme. Je pense qu'on peut essayer d'employer une formule pour nous renvoyer chez nous. Après tout, tout est possible chez les sorciers, ils peuvent tuer rien qu'avec ce bout de bois. C'était quoi déjà la formule ? Ah oui, Avada Ked…,-Ne le prononce pas, tu risques de me tuer ! Bon, et où est-ce qu'on la trouve cette formule ? On n'a pas assez de connaissance pour la connaître !,-Bah ça doit être un truc du genre « Tête de grenouille, citrouille, et paires de co*illes, j'veux retourner chez moi parce qu'ici j'ai trop la trouille »,-Euh non...Ah !,En voyant le regard d'Hari s'éclairer, Dom Ball d'Or se retourna. En haut de l'escalier était apparu un tourbillon galaxique qui rétrécissait un peu plus à chaque seconde.,Une voix retentit.,-,-Oh, faut qu'on se dépêche alors !,-,-Et vivre dans un château peuplé de fantômes ? Ca ira !,-,Alors qu'ils s'apprêtaient à franchir le seuil du tourbillon, ils s'arrêtèrent net.,-Quoi ?,Mais la voix ne se manifesta plus.,Les deux gens restèrent silencieux, jusqu'à ce que Dom Ball d'Or s'avança un peu plus pour être emporté par le tourbillon, mais Hari le retint par le bras.,-Tu ne l'as pas entendue ?,-C'est toi qui ne l'as pas entendue. C'est la seule occasion où on pourra s'échapper d'ici !,-Mais il y a K*agura-chan et Sad*haru ! Elle est ici aussi !,-Eh ben, elle nous rejoindra plus tard.,-Elle a été capturée ! Elle est en danger !,-Hari, même une horde de Bouffemorts ne pourrait pas venir à bout de sa force. J'ai confiance en elle. Et elle pourra se fier au flair de Sad*haru pour rentrer. Alors maintenant laisse-moi y aller !,Mais Hari résista, jusqu'à ce que le tourbillon ne devint qu'un simple point moucheté d'étoiles avant de disparaître complètement dans un bruit de succion.,-VOILA, A CAUSE DE TOI ON EST COINCE LA POUR TOUJOURS, BORDEL !,-OY ON NE PEUT PAS LAISSER K*AGURA-CHAN ET SAD*HARU ICI ! Il faut qu'on les retrouve !,-,-A rentrer chez nous ? Parce que tu nous dois bien ça. Si t'avais fermé ta bouche, on serait déjà parti !,-,-Ah… Ou-oui, évidemment, on allait pas les abandonner, p-pas vrai Hari-kun ?,-… Bon, sais-tu où elle est, et peux-tu nous y emmener ?,-,Dans une lumière bleutée apparut une couverture que Hari s'empressa de rattraper avant qu'elle ne touche le sol.,-,Silence.,-Mais…,Silence.,-Mais…,Dom Ball d'Or explosa dans un rire tonitruant.,-MAIS C'EST PAS MARRANT ! ELLE EST OU LA FAMEUSE CAPE D' INVISIBILITÉ ? C'EST QUOI CE DRAP MOISI QUI PUE LE CACA DE RAT ?,-Au contraire, ça fera l'affaire. Si tu portes ça, ça éloignera tous les ennemis.,-JE PORTERAI JAMAIS UN TRUC PAREIL ! Mon dieu, je suis déjà épuisé… Bon, qu'est-ce qu'on fait ?,-Ben, on suit les flèches.,-Quelles flè…,Hari prit le temps de relever la tête et, en effet, des flèches vertes flottaient dans l'air en indiquant une direction spécifique.,Quelques instants, ils se retrouvèrent à avancer dans les couloirs du château, éclairés par un éclat teinté de vert et d'or, par le mélange des flèches et des bougies qui les entouraient. Ils arrivèrent bientôt devant un cachot. Hari sortit sa baguette et se racla la gorge.,-Alohomora.,-C'est qui Omora ?,A la grande satisfaction du jeune sorcier, la lourde porte en acier s'ouvrit dans un grincement. Un courant d'air les accueillit aussitôt.,Au début, l'obscurité semblait complète. Mais rapidement, les ténèbres se mirent en mouvement. Trois paires de crocs acérées déchirèrent la pénombre. Trois paires de pupilles jaunâtres les fixèrent.,Le chien à trois têtes occupait toute l'espace, ses oreilles frôlaient le plafond. De la bave gouttait de chacune de ses mâchoires tandis que ses trois grognements comblaient le silence des deux sorciers.,Maîtrisant les tremblements de son corps, et l'engin à l'intérieur de son pantalon qui menaçait de lâcher, Dom Ball d'Or bégaya :,-J-joli toutou… mi-mi-mi-mignon c-comme toooout… Euh Hari… on s'est sûrement trompé de chemin…,-Non… elle nous avait prévenu… il y aura de grands dangers qui se dresseront devant nous…,-Mais lui, il est plus que grand ! Il est énorme, t'as vu la taille de ses mâchoires ?! Oy, c'est peut-être le moment d'utiliser ta couverture pourrie ! On va retourner son flair contre lui !,-Bonne idée !,Hari lança le drap sur la tête du milieu du monstre, mais celle-ci l'arracha directement en morceaux, avant de l'envoyer dans un coin de la pièce.,-Mais...Mais… CA A SERVI A RIEN CE TRUC !,Dans une vision d'horreur, ils virent le chien bondir sur eux. Ils fermèrent les yeux,, un cri étouffé dans la gorge, sentant leur dernière heure venir.,Mais ce qu'ils sentirent ne furent que des coups de langue fraîches sur leur visage.,En rouvrant les yeux, ils découvrirent un chien pas noir, mais blanc.,-SA...SAD*HARU !,Sad*haru les lâcha pour revenir auprès du chien à trois têtes. Ce dernier ne parut pas du tout menaçant en présence de Sad*haru. Au contraire, il leva une de ses énormes pattes pour caresser sa tête.,-Depuis tout ce temps il était là ?,-Mais, je ne vois pas K*gura… Elle était censée le sauver… mais il n'a pas l'air en danger… au contraire il s'est fait un ami ! Mais ça m'étonnerait qu'elle ait eu autant de chance que lui… Quelque chose doit vraiment la retenir pour qu'elle ne puisse pas être en mesure de le retrouver !,-Attends, on peut utiliser Sad*haru pour nous faire laisser passer. Oy, le clébard, dis à ton pote qu'il enlève son gros postérieur de là. (Dom Ball d'Or reçut un coup de patte). AIE ! Je veux dire… s'il te plaît.,S'ensuit alors une discussion animée d'aboiements enthousiastes de la part des deux chiens. A la fin, Sad*haru fit signe à ses compagnons qu'ils pouvaient passer.,Hari et Dom Ball d'Or ne quittèrent pas des yeux la créature jusqu'à ce qu'ils sortirent de la pièce, de peur de sentir la morsure brûlante de ses crocs sur leurs postérieurs s'ils avaient le dos tourné.,Dom Ball d'Or épongea son front couvert de sueur.,-Hé ben, je me fais vieux après une telle épreuve. Ma barbe s'est allongée d'au moins dix centimètres.,-Arrête de dire des âneries, et avançons.,Sur leur chemin, ils se confrontèrent à des fantômes farceurs, qui auraient causé une crise cardiaque à Dom Ball d'Or si Hari n'était pas intervenu avec le sort de Stupéfix, à une armée d'araignées que Sadaharu chassa au bout de quelques coups de pattes, et d'un homme déguisé en papillon noir qui les attaqua avec une horde de petits Akumas qui tentèrent de noircir leurs coeurs.,-HE, LE DERNIER ENNEMI S'EST GOURE D'UNIVERS !,Les flèches les menèrent finalement à l'entrée d'une salle située au bout d'un couloir sombre, mal éclairé. Sur la porte en marbre gris étaient taillées des entrelacs végétaux fluides et stylisées.,Sadaharu renifla et lâcha un aboiement triomphal.,-Elle doit être derrière cette porte.,Ils inspirèrent un bon coup.,-Quel que soit le danger qui nous attend… nous y ferons face.,-Pour K*gura.,-Pour K*agura.,-Arf !,-Bonjour ?,-Bonjour… Hé ?,Ils se retournèrent en remarquant que cette voix fluette n'appartenait à aucun d'entre eux. Au début, rien ne semblait leur faire face.,-Par ici.,Ils baissèrent simultanément la tête, et leurs regards rencontrèrent les yeux globuleux d'une créature aux oreilles pendantes, vêtue d'une chemise déchirée.,-Un… un elfe de maison !,-Monsieur le Directeur, dit l'elfe en se courbant. Que me vaut l'honneur de votre visite ? Avez-vous faim ?,-Faim ?,-Venez, normalement nous avons encore de quoi vous offrir à manger.,Sans comprendre, ils restèrent immobiles, et furent encore plus ébahis lorsque l'elfe poussa les battants, pour leur laisser découvrir l'intérieur de la salle… complètement ravagé.,Des ustensiles de cuisine jonchaient le sol sali par des restes de nourritures écrasés. Des dizaines d'elfes se pressaient de tous côtés sur leurs petites jambes maigres.,Et derrière un amoncellement d'assiettes vides qui s'accumulaient à la vitesse de K*ro-sensei émergeait une frimousse rousse.,-K… K*gura !,-Mmh ? Oh, qu'est-ce que vous faites là ? Ooh vous avez retrouvé Sad*haru, c'est génial !,-Tu n'étais pas censée le sauver ?,-J'ai été distraite, comme vous le voyez !,-Tu… tu n'étais pas censée être en danger ?,-Ah oui, ces maudits lutins m'ont appâté avec de la nourriture, et je risque d'exploser maintenant !,-BAH ARRETE DE BOUFFER !,Un elfe s'approcha d'eux.,-Pardonnez-moi, mais… elle est restée ici de son plein gré. Nous n'avons rien fait. MICHEL VOUS LE JURE !,-C'EST BON JE VOUS CROIS, REPOSE CETTE CASSEROLE ! Et c'est pas un nom d'elfe ça, Michel...,-Tu vois, Hari, je t'ai dit qu'on aurait du la laisser, cette goinfre. On s'est démené pour elle, et elle était juste en train de s'empiffrer. OY LAISSE MOI AU MOINS UNE PART DE PUDDING !,-C'EST PAS LE MOMENT, on doit trouver un moyen de partir d'ici !,Hari réussit à les convaincre de quitter la cuisine, bien que K*gura n'accepta qu'après avoir pris quelques « en cas pour la route » avec elle.,-Bon, faut qu'on essaye de trouver la sortie ! Mais tous les couloirs se ressemblent tous !,Prout.,-Hé, K*gura, ça schlingue, t'as trop mangé !,Au bout d'une heure et quelques pets, ils parvinrent à la porte d'entrée. Alors que Hari ouvrit la porte, soulagé de pouvoir sentir à nouveau l'air frais sur son corps transpirant, il sentit un malaise le gagner lorsque ses yeux s'accoutumèrent à l'obscurité, et qu'il distingua des silhouettes encapuchonnées et masquées devant eux.,-Oh non… Ce ne sont pas…,-Nous avons été attirés par cet odeur curieux. Et voyez sur qui je tombe !,Une silhouette pâle comme un cadavre se distingua du troupeau. L'éclat de la lune rendait son crâne chauve luisant. Ses yeux sanglants les fixaient comme une panthère observerait sa proie.,Hari sentit ses membres se pétrifier. Il avait peur. Terriblement peur. Il avait devant lui, une vision cauchemardesque, celle du Seigneur des Tén…,-Oh, G*n-chan, il a pas de nez ! Il est handicapé ?,-En plus, il n'a pas de chaussure. Et mon dieu, cette calvitie… je préfère garder ma permanente plutôt qu'être aussi moche.,-Il a dit qu'il a été attiré par une odeur…,-Cherche pas, c'est parce que tes pets se sentent à plusieurs kilomètres de là.,-E-euh… taisez-vous… vite…,Lord Voldemort s'approcha doucement, en flottant, les pans de sa robe effleurant à peine le sol.,La Mort approchait.,Mais Voldemort s'arrêta à seulement quelques pas d'eux, avant de reculer.,-Tu n'es pas Harry.,Les Bouffemorts étouffèrent un cri de stupeur. Le regard du Seigneur des Ténèbres devint nettement moins intéressé et ce fut d'une voix morne qu'il lâcha :,-Allez y.,Ses fidèles serviteurs s'élancèrent comme un seul homme.,-MON DIEU MON DIEU ON FAIT QUOI ON FAIT QU…,-Laissez moi faire… et partez.,L'humble Dom Ball d'Or s'était déjà avancé, pour faire face aux innombrables adversaires. Sa barbe ondulait dans le vent telle une traînée d'argent.,Il émanait de lui une telle gravité que les Bouffemorts ralentirent le pas.,Dom Ball d'Or écarta les bras, ses longues manches fouettant l'air comme dans un ultime avertissement, avant de s'exclamer d'un ton impérieux à faire gronder l'atmosphère.,-VOUS NE PASSEREZ PAS !,Mais l'air ne gronda pas, pas plus que ne tremblèrent les Bouffemorts.,On pouvait deviner le sentiment d'incompréhension qui faisaient grimacer leurs visages derrière leurs masques.,Dom Ball d'Or reprit sa posture normale, c'est-à-dire une main sur la hanche, le petit doigt de l'autre dans sa narine.,-Bizarre. Je pensais que ça allait au moins déclencher un ouragan.,-MAIS T'ES TARE QU'EST CE QUE TU T'IMAGINAIS,,-Bon, laissez moi essayer un autre truc.,-Je le sens pas trop…,Dom Ball d'Or sortit la baguette de Sureau et en la voyant, les ennemis effectuèrent un mouvement de recul. Voldemort émit un sifflement de serpent, qui glaça l'air.,Dom Ball d'Or ricana.,-Il est temps d'utiliser ma fameuse magie…,-Vas y G*n-chan, éclate les !,L'intéressé exécuta des formes de long en large avec son arme, avant de la jeter par terre, de mettre ses paumes en coupe, et les projeter vers les ennemis, avec un cri de guerre qui transperça le voile obscur…,-KAAAAMEHAMEHAAAAAA !,Rien ne se produisit.,Les lunettes d'Hari pendaient sur son nez.,-BON SANG MAIS POURQUOI T'AS JETÉ LA BAGUETTE PAR TERRE ? FAUT TE BATTRE AVEC ELLE !,-Je pensais qu'elle permettrait d'amplifier la force qui sommeille en moi. Visiblement, elle sert à rien.,-C'EST L'ARME LA PLUS PUISSANTE DU MONDE DES SORCIERS, LA TRAITE PAS COMME UN JOUET EN PANNE !,-Vous me saoulez tous, j'ai trop faim. Dégagez, qu'on en finisse.,De la pointe de son ombrelle, K*gura écarta les garçons sur son passage. Elle se retrouva seule devant l'horde des Bouffemorts.,-Mais… K*gura-chan !,-Hari… nous, on se ferait bouffer par ces Bouffemorts. Mais elle, elle va les bouffer tout cru. Ne jamais sous estimer une Yato qui crève la dalle.,K*gura pointa son ombrelle face à ses ennemis.,-AAVADA KEDAVRAAA !,Les Bouffemorts furent mitraillés de part en part, désarçonnés face à cette arme inédite.,-DEGAGEZ LE PASSAGE, MOI J'VEUX ME BATTRE CONTRE LE CHAUVE ! HE TOI LA BAS ! TA CALVITIE ME RAPPELLE TELLEMENT PAPI QUE J'AI ENVIE DE TE DEFONCER LA FACE !,-Heu… G*n san, il faudrait la calmer.,-Laisse là, il faut qu'elle libère ses hormones.,-...ne prend pas un air aussi sage pour dire ça.,-,A cette voix familière, ils s'exécutèrent.,Un tourbillon semblable au précédent s'était ouvert.,-Oh, vous êtes venus nous sauver !,-,-...sympa… K*gura, reviens !,-PAS AVANT D'AVOIR MASSACRE L'AUTRE !,-Si tu te dépêches pas, tu resteras coincée ici !,-PAS GRAVE, JE POURRAI BOUFFER CHEZ LES ELFES.,-Oui… mais il n'y a pas de sukonbu.,-RIEN A F… OK J 'ARRIVE !,Elle tourna sur ses talons et revint vers eux en écrasant sur son passage le crâne de ses ennemis abattus qui s'apprêtaient à se relever.,Dom Ball d'Or n'attendit pas plus pour sauter la tête la première dans le passage magique qui se rétrécissait à vue d'oeil, avec un dernier cri d'amour :,- KETSUNO *NA, ME VOILAAAA ! »,Hari laissa passer K*gura et Sad*haru et, avant de se laisser entraîner par le tourbillon, il voulut risquer un coup d'oeil derrière lui, pour marquer une dernière image de ce monde ensorcelant, bien que dangereux, auquel il n'appartenait pas. Il avait frôlé la mort plusieurs fois, et pourtant, il devait avouer que cette aventure en dehors de sa réalité n'avait pas été désagréable… Après tout, chaque expérience, aussi pénible soit-elle, est une pièce de puzzle qui nous construit, nous aide à évoluer, à nous épanouir, à vivre pleinement. C'est sur cette pensée que Hari voulait quitter cet univers…,… mais en voyant la horde d'assassins masqués et l'horrible face de serpent du Seigneur des Ténèbres déformé par la rage, qui se précipitaient vers eux, il s'empressa de plonger dans le trou.,Après la sensation d'être précipité dans le néant à une vitesse vertigineuse passée, il prit conscience de la surface chaude sous son corps, et son nez reconnut avec soulagement l'air embaumé du parfum familier de chez soi.,En l'occurrence, l'odeur de la merde de Gin-san.

Prologue 1:,Jack was sitting in his office, thinking. Contrary to popular opinion, he did think about things. He may not be a genius like Henry, Fargo, Allison or everyone else around him, but that did not mean he did not think. Right now he was thinking about Harry, his adopted son, and how everyone just accepted that he had magic.,Then Vincent of all people walked into his office.,"Vincent, what's wrong?" asked Carter, starting to panic a tiny bit. Vincent never left the Cafe Diem; as far as Carter knew, he had an apartment above the restaurant.,"Well, Jack, I've come to tell you about Eureka-M division," said Vincent.,"M Division?" asked Carter.,"Yes. You see, It's about Harry and, well, my Brother is Jacob, and is the Wizard in charge of Eureka-M. I'm a sq...squib. My brother and I are...we've never been very close, and after Mom was killed by You-Know-Who, well..." said Vincent,"I'm sorry, You-Know-Who?" asked Carter, then he thought about it, and asked, "Oh, you mean that Lord Voldemort?",Vincent flinched. "Well, yes. He killed our mom. I don't know where Dad is, I haven't heard from him in a while, and Jacob...he and I made up at Mom's funeral. So, Eureka-M, is our division dealing with magic. Jacob, my older brother, is in charge of Division-M, much like Allison is in charge of Global Dynamics. They experiment with Magic and have their own security. They have never called up because most of the magic is nullified by their anti-magic barrier. It prevents the magic from interfering with the technology and vice versa. Anyway, I just thought I would tell you that you should schedule a meeting with Jacob. Oh and you'll need to meet Serena. She's my older sister and is in charge of Division-M3. She's also in charge of security coordination," said Vincent, "I will get you a special pair of mundane-viewing goggles. They allow mundanes to see magic.",Vincent got up and left. Even though he and his brother made up, they weren't as close as they were before it came out that Vincent was a squib. His brother was disappointed. This led to a huge argument and Vincent left the family. He was sent to live with his uncle in America. That was scary for an 11 year old kid to just move because he was different. And his uncle was the most awesome man; he was a genius at potions, and came to America because Great Britain would not let squibs study anything. So, when his uncle finished his college at Oxford, he moved to America and got a job teaching Chemistry. It just so happened that his boss was a squib and introduced him to several key potions masters, and he studied potions from a chemistry stand point, because they needed someone who had a mundane view. Eventually he was hired by the American Council of Magic as an Assistant Potions Master in Research and developed several potions. It is what helped Vincent decide on Molecular Gastronomy as a career. He had a Mastery in Potions as well and a potions lab under his cafe. He made almost all the potions for Eureka Division M - Section P.,Then his brother moved to America, to Eureka Division M. They had another huge fight because up until then, Vincent had been studying both Molecular Gastronomy and Potions. He was already at Journeyman level. Then, news came that their mother died, at the hands of Lord Voldemort. They made up at her funeral. They would never be close. He agreed to give Vincent a chance to prove his potions prowess, and was shocked when he was almost as good as Severus Snape. So Vincent was made Potions Brewer for Division M, Section P

While Soren was bringing the small youngling to the healing chaw, Gylfie and ezylryb were submitting their reports to Boron and Baron.,"While flying in an unknown region through an ice storm we came across a seemingly abandoned youngling, a quick field diagnostic showed the youngling to be at least 2 years old but still the size of a hatching.'Gylfie reported with a sigh, she hated rescues like these. At east they had taken care of her and Soren at st. Aggies the prospects where starting to lean toward abandonment.,The entire council hollow tensed, no one liked hearing such stories. Finally Baron asked the question on everybody's minds "What type of owl is the youngling?' the small reply of snowy made feathers instantly ruffle. every owl knew of how every time their monarchs tried for chicks unforeseen circumstances had resulted in untimely deaths. Gylfie had heard stories with everything from assassins to a bad case of tuberculosis, their unfortunate luck had made them extremely protective of chicks of all breeds especially their own.,Boron clacked her beak, determined and shrieked before any one else could stake a claim. "Baron and I are taking the chick in and that is final.",all heads turned when a small voice quivered out,"Really?"

Ok, so this idea came to me COMPLETELY randomly... I got this idea after I started playing Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings a sequel to FFXII (I had no idea there even WAS a sequel)... Anyways, in it there are two characters called Shivar (Shiva's husband) and Shivan (Shiva's Heir). And this idea naged on me since I saw the Shiva adopts Harry stories like "Raised by Espers by Fairystail".,Their story was pretty amazing, but it's time I started talking about my own... I have immense trouble writing from a guys perspective, so like always, this is a FEM HARRY STORY! If you don't like those,For those who are still reading, this story is about a little girl who lived with a family of human shaped animals called the Dursley family. Her name was Neve, and she loved winter more than anything.,The Dursleys hated her with a passion though, so they decided one snowy Christmas morning that they would rather Neve outside than let her ruin their Christmas. So that fateful morning Petunia, the horse shaped gossip hound house wife of the family; went into Neve's cupboard and wrapped her up in the few tatters that they called blankets, and hauled Neve into the family's car.,Vernon was waiting eagerly in the car, ready to drive Neve into the local forest. They may want her got, but the Dursley have been trying to groom Neve into the perfect housemaid ant they didn't want all their hard work to go to waist so easily. the forest had a thick layer of snow over it, so the walrus of a man left Neve under a tree where the snow was only an inch or two high.,Neve's pale skin and white sheets made it nearly impossible to find for a normal human. Yet luck was on Neve's side. That day, Shiva and her paramour were having a look through the beautiful wonders of winter without the aid of a Yarhi. Shiva was doing her best to thaw the frozen heart of her husband enough to maybe have a chance at having an Heir, but had little to no luck. Yet she was a stubborn spirit till the end! It was to her immense shock to see a living creature in a pile of rags nearly buried in snow.," Shivar," she said in a worried tone, something that was rare to hear from the queen of ice.," What is it?" The man replied with a harsh tone. He was like usual a icy, insensitive prick.," Never mind," Shiva replied with an exasperated tone. She then floated over to the bundle and gently unraveled it to find a tiny black haired girl with skin that was nearly as white as the snow she slept in.,As soon as Shiva touched the chilled skin of Neve, the tiny girl opened her green eyes. To shiva the shade was so bright only the crystal that could summon her so long ago could match it.," W- who are you?" The tiny girl asked, and immediately retreated into a ball for fear of being punished for asking a question.," Aren't you cute," shiva cooed, " my name is Shiva, and the grumpy puss over there is Shivar." The man mentioned, humfed in reply, not at all interested in his wife's discovery. "now can you give us your name?" She asked in the same soft captivating tone as before.," N-" she began and with more of Shiva's natural charm Neva managed to get out, " NevePotter," without a pause between the words.,"Neve?" Shiva replied, " that's a beautiful name little snowflake!" Shiva then started to tickle the little girl and all around make Neve feel safe and cared about. After Shiva settled down, she finally asked, " Now could you tell me why your out here?",That simple question made Neve freeze like a block of ice, with an aura of sadness. Yet she still managed to say, " probably because my family doesn't want a freak to ruin their Christmas...",The gentle breeze that traveled through the town came to a sudden halt as Shiva let these words sink in. Fury slowly crept onto her normally friendly face, and without warning a whirlwind of ice and snow crashed upon the unsuspecting town, leaving everything buried in show except that small quiet forest. Even though Shivar didn't show it, even he felt anger at the little girls words. , He thought with the spark of what remained of his emotions.,Neve was scared when she saw the fury on the pretty blue ladies face, fearing the worst she furled up in a ball again. Yet when she felt Shiva's hand petting her head Neve was surprised. She expected something harsh like a slap or a kick, but the gentle petting of the blue lady was far from expected.," If you want, well take care of you instead," Shiva said gently, barely keeping her anger at bay. " Just tell us there these relatives are.",Neve was shocked but was able to mutter, " Number four Private Drive."," Thank you snowflake," Shiva whispered. She then picked Neve up and said, " Now lets go tell your relatives the news," before they disappeared in a shower of ice and snow.,Before Neve knew it they were in front of the house she had said not moments ago. Shiva kicked down the door with her Stiletto heeled slippers, startling freezing the residents of No. 4 private Dr. Shiva had a merciless grin as she sauntered into the residence, Shivar not far behind her.,Petunia was the first to speak, with a cry of, " put some clothes on! There are children here!","why should I? Because it's normal?" Shiva replied harshly, " or is it because of all the wonderful ice and snow around you?"After the last word a harsh wind started to swirl around the room, freezing it and its occupants slowly. " I just wanted to thank you for taking cake of this little snowflake for so long, and tell you that we are adopting her," Shiva said with an all too cheerful voice, letting Neve peek out from behind her, " well be leaving now, enjoy freezing to death!" They then disappeared from private drive, never to be seen by its occupants ever again.,AN: and that's the prologue! I'll hopefully have the next chapter done soon... Oh! Before I forget, Neve DOES have a meaning... if you didn't get the hint I put in, Neve means Snow! ^^

This summer has been so much fun. Claire spent the first month catching up with her family, baking with mom, teaching her dad everything she learned in the History of Magic, and swimming with Todd. She hadn't seen much of Mandy, Sari, and Sara. They seemed quite bitter that she didn't go to Hadley's Beginning of Summer Party. Mandy still came by occasionally when Mandy's mother would come by trying to convince her parents to join their church. Mandy's mother always made Claire feel a little nervous. She used to drive them home from school when she was a kid and would not let them listen to music because she found it to be the "devil's work". Plus there was one time when her mother came over to try to convince her parents to sign a petition to ban "Magic the Gathering" cards from school because magic is pure evil. Claire's parents were quick to escort her out. Claire actually felt bad for Mandy. She always seemed so embarrassed by her mother's antics. Mandy was actually kind of pretty and would have probably been a popular girl if her mother wasn't so extreme. Sari and Sara had fairly religious parents too, but not to the extent of Mandy's mother, Mrs. Mary Caldwell.,Despite Mrs. Caldwell, Claire had the perfect summer. In July Olivia came and Olivia was super excited about all the muggle things. She got to learn how to bake with Claire's mother and Claire's dad took them all to Disney World. Olivia could not comprehend how the roller coasters moved without magic. She had a blast. Claire's parents were very careful to keep Mrs. Caldwell away from Olivia because Olivia's innocence was quite peculiar and might raise some eyebrows. They did a good job until Olivia's last day. Olivia's mother was supposed to apparate there later that night and then take the two girls and Todd to visit Aliquam Velit. Then they were going to travel to England to get their school supplies and attend the wedding of Harris Fisher and Sammi Harrington.,Mrs. Caldwell knocked on the door at around dinner time.,"Todd will you get that?" Claire's mother asked as she put down a giant bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.,Todd went to get the door.,"Oh Todd would you mind grabbing your parents. I found some great pamphlets on the evils of evolution and I wanted to make sure they weren't sending you and your sister to a school that would teach such hocus pocus," Claire heard from a distance. She grimaced as she found the irony in Mrs. Caldwell's use of the term "hocus pocus".,"Oh good Madame Troll has decided to grace us with her presence," her dad groaned.,"Jay!" her mom warned.,"Woah you guys have trolls here? I didn't know muggles socialized with trolls," Olivia gasped.,"We don't sweetie," her mom smiled getting up to get head towards the door.,"Much rather take on a troll to be honest," her dad muttered. Claire giggled.,Before her mom could leave the room it seemed that Mrs. Caldwell had let herself in and made her way to their dining room.,"Oh hello Mary," her mom said. Todd was standing behind Mrs. Caldwell giving an apologetic look.,"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said, but Claire could tell that she didn't really care.,"We were just about to have dinner actually," her mom said. Mrs. Caldwell ignored her.,"Oh who is this?" she asked looking at Olivia.,"I'm Olivia Ryan. I'm friends with Claire. We go to school together," Olivia said with a warm smile.,"Claire's friend is visiting from New York. They are actually about to leave tonight so we wanted to have one more family dinner," Claire's mom said.,"Well I won't be long. I just wanted to drop off of these pamphlets," she said not taking her eyes off of Olivia. The way she was looking at Olivia was unsettling.,"Well thanks for the pamphlets," her mom said trying to rush her out, but she wasn't budging.,"Tell me Olivia, what do your parents do?" she asked.,"Her dad is a doctor and her mom is a nurse," Claire said quickly. Claire wasn't sure if Olivia knew that the term "healer" did not equal doctor in muggle terms.,"I believe I asked Olivia," Mrs. Caldwell said getting a closer look at Olivia and then back at Claire. She then glanced over at Todd.,"Well as nice it is to see you, I must insist that you leave," her mom said.,"I see the devil in your eyes," she said ignoring Claire's mom. Olivia's eyes grew wide. Claire's dad stood up quickly.,"That is enough! Leave Mary!" he commanded. It was rare to see Claire's dad get so angry. It was actually kind of scary.,"Your kids have it too. Spawns of Satan. I've suspected it all along and when our Savior returns you all will burn. Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood [shall be] upon them," she said with fury.,Claire always knew that Mrs. Caldwell did not care for her. Mandy was never allowed to hang out with Claire without Mrs. Caldwell present. Claire never experienced this behavior though. Did Mrs. Caldwell finally snap? Olivia looked like she was about to cry. Claire was close to tears as well.,"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO MY CHILDREN OR THEIR FRIENDS IN THAT MANNER! I have always been nice to you and your daughter, but if you ever come near us again I will call the police, is that understood?" Claire's mom said. She was red in the face. Claire could barely move she was so scared.,"The devil's presence is strong in this house, but the Lord will protect me from evil! Don't think I haven't seen the owl leave this house in the middle of the night to do your evil bidding. A familiar I'm sure. If you care about your children's soul at all you will drain the evil from their blood it is the only way!" she said grabbing the cross she wore around her neck.,"Stop!" Todd yelled and then all of the lightbulbs shattered and the room was dark.,The room fell silent for a second before Mrs. Caldwell spoke.,"Don't think I won't be informing the neighborhood about this. Witches all of you!" she squealed.,Just then Claire heard a pop. There was a stern looking woman with short blonde hair and piercing greens eyes that Claire could see through the natural light.,Mrs. Caldwell froze in fear.,"Obliviate," the woman said pointing her wand at Mrs. Caldwell. Mrs. Caldwell had a blank look on her face.,"You will return home and forget that this ever happened. You will no longer feel the urge to stop by this residence and will keep your outdated views to yourself," the woman said.,Mrs. Caldwell exited the room. The woman then flicked her wand and the lightbulbs were fixed.,"Mrs. Gregory you came just in time," Olivia sighed.,"What did you just do?" Claire's mom asked.,"I'm an obliviator for the American Ministry of Magic. Whenever a wizard or witch does magic in front of a muggle we are notified and we are sent to erase their memory. Since Todd here is underage we have a tracker on him so we were notified right away and I came to stop her before she told others of what she had witnessed," Mrs. Gregory said.,"Well thank you. That woman has been a pain for quite a while," Claire's dad said.,"Yes well the Ministry has had an eye on her. She is from a long line of witch hunters," Mrs. Gregory explained.,"Witch hunters?" Todd asked.,"Witch hunters have been around for a long time, but are a lot more rare now than they used to be. They were most prevalent during the Salem Witch Trials, but were never actually successful in finding a real witch or wizard. She actually has been suspicious of most families though. This time she just happened to be right. She shouldn't be a problem anymore though," Mrs. Gregory said.,Claire never learned about witch hunters, but the idea of them is scary. What if a witch hunter tried to sacrifice Claire or Todd? No wonder most witches and wizards lived in magical communities.,"So are there more witch hunters out there?" Claire's mom asked.,"Very few and we have our eye on all of them. You do not need to concern yourself with them though. Mrs. Caldwell was the only one close to you and she will not bother you anymore. Now I must be off. My husband and daughter are waiting for me at home," she said and with that she apparated away.,"Well then lets get back to dinner," said Clarie's mom.,Claire had to admit that she was a little shaken, but Olivia seemed to be back to her perky self. Todd seemed a little nervous about this too. She just hoped that her parents were safe. Even though Mrs. Caldwell shouldn't bother them anymore, it didn't make Claire feel any better about them living so close to her.

',She wasn't sure what had gotten into Aunt Petunia. "I'm only a few months off of my seventeenth!" she protested incredulously. A scowl marred her lightly freckled features as the blue-eyed woman still ushered her into the car, shoving a carryall with her uniforms and schoolbooks into the teen's arms.,"I don't care," Aunt Petunia snapped in return, then abruptly looked contrite, "My father has asked that you spend this summer with him and you , do so.",The Girl-Who-Lived sank back into the back seat of the car, feeling as though someone had punched her in the gut. "I have a grandfather?" she whispered in shock.,Aunt Petunia nodded tensely, "Kian Evans. He has Tourette Syndrome, and is a veteran of the second World War, so you better respect him.","Tourette. . . That's where you say stuff randomly, right?" Siobhan hesitantly asked, remembering the small book of common mental disorders that Hermione had given her when she had started to 'hear voices' in her second year at Hogwarts.,The Dursley woman pursed her thin lips, nodding curtly. Thankfully, her niece fell silent for most of the trip.,"You never told me why your , closed early," Petunia muttered. Siobhan had been sent back to the Dursley residence in early January, instead of late March. Pale, leaf green eyes meet Petunia's cornflower blue ones.,"I suppose I didn't." The , was left unmentioned. Petunia flinched, ,"There was an attack," Siobhan murmured, turning her eyes away from her aunt. "Dumbledore, some of our muggle-born classmates, and a few of the professors where killed. It will probably disappoint you and Uncle Vernon that I was one of the students almost killed." The teen shivered faintly, but Petunia's eyebrows were drawn together in confusion.,"Why would we be disappointed?" ,"I didn't die. I know you both hate me and want me gone.",Petunia felt tears prick at her eyes as she opened her mouth to retort, but she stopped. What had they done to refute that, after all? They had always insisted that Siobhan was a burden, that she wasn't worth the clothes on her back. They treated her almost as badly as lepers were in the old days, even after she had saved Dudley's immortal soul.,Disgust roiled in the woman's gut, suddenly realizing what harm they had wrought upon their own blood.,When they reached the London Heathrow, Petunia emptied her purse of bills and dug out a silver necklace – the simple little cross pendant shining even after all these years.,"I'm sorry, for what it's worth," Petunia admitted quietly, "We were horrid to you when we should have been kind. The. . . The necklace was Lily's." The woman passed the teen the necklace, bills, passport, and ticket. , she thought to herself, self-hate finding its root.,Siobhan studied her aunt, wondering if this was all a joke. But, no. . . she seemed sincere. "The attack was committed by Voldemort's people. You're a target because you're my family, so get out of Britain while you're alive." That was as much of an offer of forgiveness as any of the Dursleys would get from her.,Aunt Petunia nodded in understanding, her eyes shining oddly in a way that reminded Siobhan of Hermione or Luna when they were sad.,"Goodbye, Siobhan.",The flight lasted longer than Siobhan had thought it would. Eventually, out of boredom, she turned to the man – the priest – next to her.,"I'm sorry to bother you, Father, but do you have a Bible I may borrow?" Siobhan needed something to read, after all, and she never did get a chance to read all of any single version of the Bible.,The priest turned to her, his dark eyes twinkling beneath the mass of white hair on his head and face. He rather reminded her of Hagrid, in that manner. "I am afraid I only possess a , my dear child." Her face must have showed her confusion.,"A , is a Bible, but written in one of its early forms – in Hebrew," he explained quietly.,Siobhan bit her lip, brow drawn together. She didn't know Hebrew, only Latin and Gaelic, thanks to her lessons in school prior to Hogwarts, and while she picked up languages rather easily. . . She was unsure of how to ask for lessons in at least reading Hebrew from the priest.,A light touch on her forearm made Siobhan flinch away from the priest next to her, but it did catch her attention.,"Please, allow me to show you." He was holding a worn leather-bound book between them. Cautiously, Siobhan leaned forward.,"This is ',. It means 'one who does evil magic'. This passage translates, roughly, to 'suffer not the witch to live'." Siobhan felt her face harden.,, she thought angrily.,"Most modern translations leave out the 'evil' part, deeming it a reason to kill witches. Those who are of proper ranking in the Church do not believe so, my child, so worry not. Your magic is a God-given gift," the priest assured her quietly, placing a large, rough hand upon her shoulder, ignoring her flinch away., Siobhan realized abruptly, turning back towards the inside of the plane, eyes searching for the kind Priest. The grey Job's Tears rosary with a bone crucifix dug into her hand.,The kind priest was nowhere to be seen. She waited, for a short while, but the plane quickly emptied with no sign of the man who had given her a precious Bible and the Rosary from around his own neck. ,A soft chiming of bells brought her attention over to her left, behind the witch. A rough cardboard sign bearing her name was held aloft by a sun-kissed man, a shorter – would it be moon-kissed, for a pale dark haired man? It should be – man with blue eyes visible even from this distance beside him, and an older man wearing large glasses looking at the crowd that had disembarked. The night and day men seemed to be arguing, not paying attention to the crowd mulling around them.,The moon-kissed man noticed Siobhan first. "Are yeh Siobhan, ,?" he asked, edging forward slightly. Her eyes flitted over him, his friend, then onto the old man.,"Kian Evans?" Siobhan asked quietly. Her voice had lost some its typical British lilt – which she usually picked up after returning to the Dursleys – due to her impromptu lessons with the Priest.,"Y-yes. I-I'm glad t'see yeh're well, Siobhan," Kian replied, a grin lifting his aged face. Her eyes once again darted to the two men, but she gave a partial shrug.,"I've been better, honestly, sir. I'm early due to an incident at my school," she admitted, her face not changing from its cautious mask.,"At Hogwarts? 'S everythin' alright?" Kian inquired, a few curses slipping out of his mouth. She ignored them – the curses, not the people.,"The school's been closed until further notice," she equivocated dully, "So. . . I can stay for longer, if you wish me to.","A'course! I'll b-be happy t'ave yeh, my dear!" he said, almost as if he were shocked that she had to ask. Maybe he was. Aunt Petunia had seemed honestly ashamed of her behavior, and that had to have had a reason.,Or maybe he was just nicer than Aunt Petunia ever was. Time would tell.,It was as Siobhan was tucking away her under-uniforms that the night and day men finally introduced themselves as Connor and Murphy MacManus – regular patrons of the pub her grandfather owned, ,.,"It's nice to meet you," she stated blandly. Living at the Dursleys had left her with little modesty – Aunt Petunia had always supervised her showers or rare baths, after all. Hogwarts' dorm-showers and restrooms, and the Quidditch locker rooms had further driven in that lack of modesty.,"How'd yeh get hurt?" the sun-kissed one – Connor – asked, his voice suspicious.,"I , say there was an incident at my school," she hedged, "I was one of the ones injured in that.",Blue-eyes – Murphy – scoffed lightly. "Jus' tell us, , Ain't any use in hidin' it." He wavered under the flat stare Siobhan directed at him.,"Please stop using that petname. If you must give me one, use Shiv. It's what my –" She cut herself off, closing her eyes as she desperately tried to block out images of bloodied corpses, of unseeing eyes. She continued after a moment, her voice wavering slightly. "It's what my friends used to call me." ,Kian came in not long later, carrying a sandwich and glass of water, presumable from the small kitchen in the flat above ,, where he – and now she – lived.,"Why don't yeh tell us what happened?" he asked – a few sputtering curses calmly ignored by Siobhan and the men.,She looked up at the ceiling, her hand finding the bone crucifix as they brought up the past. The attack.,"Very bad things happened," Siobhan said quietly, "Some people died. Can we not talk about it?","Are yeh hurt? Was it ,?" Kian demanded urgently, stepping forward with a worried look upon his weathered face. She looked at him with a small frown.,"I , say I was one of the people hurt in the incident at school," she stated, a far too mild tone in her voice for their comfort.,"How bad were yeh hurt?" the sun-kissed man asked, stepping forward before his moon-kissed brother did.,She must have looked bewildered. "I'm not going to die from them, if that's what you're worried about," she said, feeling her face contort – unwillingly – into a confused expression.,"More worried about yeh bein' in pain," Murphy said lowly – he sounded almost. . . Siobhan looked away, trying to dismiss images of Neville. Of what he was now cursed with.,"I'm on medicine," she lied instead, "So I'll be fine. Really.",Somewhere deep inside, she wished they hadn't believed her.,Siobhan bit her lip, looking at the tattoo shop warily. It was one of the few places she thought would hire her, as she was under eighteen. The other was , the meat packing plant, but Connor and Murphy worked there. As much as she liked the men, it. . . It was probably best if she at least tried to stay distant.,Yes. Yes, Siobhan thought it would be best. At least for now. She didn't want to . . . , her friends so soon after, well, since they were gone.,With a soft sigh, the teen entered the tattoo shop, glancing around for the owner or at least one of the artists. An older man was hunched over a sketchbook, his pencil moving furiously. She just stood awkwardly, waiting for him to finish., Okay. All of these were recompiled into one joint chapter at the suggestion of some reviewers. If you'd like to see the original version, it's still up. Yay nostalgia.

Hhheeeeellllooooo!,I have a challenge for you!,I've noticed many fanfics about Harry's animagus form. He's been a wolf, a kitten, and cat, a lion, a puppy and a dog.,So here's my challenge: A Harry Potter Xiaolin Showdown crossover.,And here are my rules:,1) The twins must live, no bashing on the forever awe-inspiring twins!,2) Harry must join Chase Young, any reason good enough for me.,3) Harry's animagus is a black tiger.,4) I would prefer a yaoi pair, mainly ChaseXHarry, but not necessary.,All my other CNTOAN writers are asked to try my challenge!,Post it yourself or send to me to post here! It'll be a chapter!,For an idea of a black tiger search 'melanistic' or 'pseudo-melanism' tigers.

More Than You Know,Chapter 1,Green Eyes,Rise by Will Dailey,Breathe. Run. Breathe. Run. Breathe. Run. Breath –,"That's hot!" Amaryllis hissed as she shook her hands trying to get rid of the coffee. She shifted around as she stood back up. She hardly noticed the hand that helped her up as she tried to gain her bearings. She hissed mentally as she spotted her scabbed knees and scrapped leg. Blood trickled down at uneasy pace. The coffee mixed in with the red of her blood on the sidewalk as she tried to remove what remained of the coffee on her shorts.,"Listen I am so sorry about this and I do want to make this up to you but I'm in a bit of a rush," the man quickly rattled off before she could even straighten herself out. Scant seconds later a small white card was shoved in her hand and the man was off. "Call me and I'll make it up to you!" Amaryllis watched the man as he took off once more. She sighed. It was only six in the morning, what a great way to start the day. As Amaryllis limped/walked back home she finally looked at the white card she was still clutching. , she read. Below his name was a couple of numbers listed and as she opened her door she decided she would in fact make use of the card in her hand.,-0-*-0-,"Get lost on your way in?" Danny questioned when Don walked up. Don scrunched up his face as he responded to Danny.,"No there was an accident blocking my way here so I had to come on foot to get here at all," Don corrected as he looked down at the body. "Is that what I think it is?","Yeah it's a stiletto," Danny confirmed. Don blinked.,"Interesting choice of weapon," Don noted. "Means our killer is likely a female.","Ah but you can't rule out males – crossdressing, transgender, and so on means a man might wear a stiletto as well," Danny corrected. "However considering the choice of weapon, this wasn't planned." Don nodded.,"I'm going to canvass the area and see if I can find any witnesses," Don said as he pulled out his pad and pen. Danny nodded and continued taking photos. Over the next few hours, Danny processed the scene with the help of Lindsey when she arrived. Don canvassed the area with several cops but did not come across any pertinent information. Once he finished talking to an older woman about her cats he headed over to the lab to see if they had found an I.D. on the John Doe. Before he could get very far out of the elevator, his phone rang. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered.,"Detective Flack," he said automatically.,"Uh, hi?" the voice was hesitant. "You ran into me earlier today…spilling coffee on me?" Don reared back in surprise. The events from that morning rushed back to him. He remembered a beautiful young woman looking stunned – she had just been covered in coffee.,"Ah yes, I am so sorry about that," Don apologized. "I had to rush in to work but I was on foot because of an accident nearby. I should have been more careful.","Probably a good idea," she agreed. "I'm calling because you said you'd make it up to me.","I did," Don remembered. "Are you collecting?","I suppose I am.",-0-*-0-,When she saw him, she was surprised. It was not every day that a grown man would sit in front of a restaurant ignoring the world around him. From what she could tell, he had been crying. He was staring straight ahead, not blinking. She crouched down in front of him.,"Excuse me are you okay?" Amaryllis asked. He jerked up in surprise. He really had been ignoring the world around him.,"No – no I'm not," he told her. He rubbed his face. "I just – I can't go home without thinking about how I'll never hear his laughter or hear him bang at my door early in the morning so he could ride his bike." Amaryllis took a seat next to him on the sidewalk. "He was just 10 years old. He had a great life ahead of him." She could see him slowly losing it; he wasn't fighting the tears anymore.,"I was a year and half old when I was first confronted with death," Amaryllis admitted. Danny turned toward her startled. "My parents were in a special branch of MI6. At the time, there had been a series of unexplained deaths. Scotland Yard was stumped. It got the attention of MI6 when an agent was killed. The deaths were all across the board – families, groups of friends, a couple of kids, on and on. They couldn't find a pattern until the agent was killed. That agent was a school friend of my dad's and he decided to take a closer look. He figured out that a man was leading a group who were clearing the world of those they deemed of unclean blood.,"He got to close for the leaders taste and he put out a hit on my family – including me. Once the agency caught wind of it, we were sent into hiding. However, another agent – someone who had been close friends with my dad, betrayed us. After we went into hiding, there were several narrow escapes and the leader decided he was going to go after them personally.,"I can still hear my dad telling my mom that he was there and to take me and run. I could hear my dad fighting against him, see my mom crying, and then silence. Footsteps and mom cries harder. He walks in and my mom pleads with him for my life but he ignores her and kills her. He went for me and then – boom. The door was thrown open and down he went. My dad had managed to call for help before he was killed. It saved my life but not my parents.,"He managed to escape from prison when I was 11. For several years, he would try to kill me but when I was 14, MI6 decided to train me instead of just protecting me. When I was 18, he grabbed me after killing my two bodyguards. He taunted me telling me about how after he killed me he was going to go after my friends, teachers, even the man who sold me candy. He did not realize I had destroyed the restraints. I took him down but he fought back. He had a gun and we wrestled for it. It went off and he dropped to the ground. It was over." Although she was still talking, tears streamed down her face. She had accepted a handkerchief a few minutes before.,"I blamed myself for years that I didn't stop him sooner. In his journey to come after me, he had killed several people. I lost my godfather, several friends, classmates, even complete strangers – all gone before they could truly live. I never had a childhood; I lost it the same day my parents were murdered. That young child no doubt witnessed something that would have haunted him for the rest of his life. Because someone else made a choice that day his mom, his dad will not get to see him grow up and change the world one-step at a time. He could have done so many things but the fact is you did not kill him. Nothing you can do will change that. Thinking of all the 'what if's' will only drive you crazy because life can change in a second.","It was a robbery," he told her. "We had just come from his bike being blessed. He was up in front of me when I heard the gun go off. I told him to go home; we were not far from home. He lived down the hall. I am a CSI and my first instinct was to go to the man bleeding in the store and trying to find out what happened. It was not until later, when I saw his body in the morgue, that I found out he never made it home. A stray bullet returned by the sister of the person who was hurt went through an orange and hit Ruben. He probably did not even realize he had been hit until he went down.","I remember someone telling me when you have lost a loved one, eventually it's always better to carry a part of them with you, than to leave a part of you with them," Amaryllis told him.,"Thank you," Danny said. Amaryllis smiled.,"You're welcome," Amaryllis responded. "Would you like something to eat?",-0-*-0-, Don looked at his watch again. She was 20 minutes later. He sighed. Maybe this was her collecting her payment, having him sit in a coffee shop making people feel sorry for him as he tapped the table and constantly looked at his watch. Finally, when his watch showed that she was now 30 minutes later he decided it was time to leave. He stood and –,"I'm here! I'm here," a female's voice broke through. Startled Don turned toward the voice. It was the woman from this morning. She looked harried but she was still put together. Don wondered what had held her up for over 30 minutes. She weaved through the tables and headed straight for him. She took the seat across from him while Don sat back down, bewildered.,"I am so sorry I am running late," she apologized. "I own several restaurants and a stove exploded at one of them. Thankfully, no one was too badly hurt but my manager of that restaurant was one of those injured so I was called into deal with everything. I just spent the past couple hours at the hospital, with the insurance agency, and so on. I was going to call but I killed my battery before I could." Don chuckled.,"It's alright I am well aware of how the job can take over your life," Don admitted. She smiled.,"I noticed your card said you are a detective," she remembered. "I can imagine you are up and all over all hours of the day because of that." Don chuckled and nodded.,"Very true," Don conceded. "Now that I am not rushing off to a crime scene, let me introduce myself. I am Don Flack, an NYPD detective. In addition, I am so sorry for spilling coffee all over you this morning. And you are?" She laughed at his introduction.,"I'm Amaryllis Potter-Black, business owner," she introduced herself. "And I accept your apology as long as you get me a hot chocolate as compensation." Don laughed. He could tell she was teasing him but Don stood and gave her a mock bow before he ordered her a hot chocolate. When he returned several minutes later, he had no idea that they would get along so well.,For the next couple of hours, the pair talked about a variety of subjects – ranging from family to the political situation in North Korea. After Amaryllis told him, about what happened to her parents and a bit of her childhood, Don took hold of one her hands to comfort her. It wasn't until his phone went off that he realized he hadn't released her hand. He gave her an apologetic look and answered the phone. He was being called to a crime scene. He put away his phone and stood.,"I am so sorry but it looks like I have to go, another crime scene," Don told her as he put on his coat. She stood and wrote something down on a napkin.,"Tonight, tomorrow night – whenever you and I will go on a date," Amaryllis told him when she handed him the napkin. Don looked at her surprised by how blunt she was being. "For some reason talking to you is the easiest thing I have done in a long time and although I don't like hot coffee being spilled on me, I'm glad it brought us together. I would like to think there was a reason I ran later than normal today, a reason why you did not use your car to get to the crime scene, and a reason why we were brought together. Who knows? Maybe it is nothing, maybe it is a love for the ages. Either way I would like to find out. What do you say?" At first, Don was stunned but looking at her and thinking over the past couple of hours, he realized she was right. Talking to her, being with her was so easy it felt right. Don looked at the napkin and gave her a kiss on her cheek.,"I say that I am ready for the journey and I can't wait to find out," Don told her keeping his eyes on her eyes. He raised his hand and caressed the cheek he had just kissed. "I'll call you. Tonight, even if it is just to talk. We will have that date soon." Amaryllis smiled and leaned up and kissed his cheek then whispered in his ear.,"I look forward to it. Stay safe detective.",-0-*-0-,Don has seen many crime scenes in his life. Gruesome, dangerous, confusing, and bizarre were only a few descriptors of what he had seen. This one fell more into the confusing category.,"Is this become a new thing?" Danny asked while he processed the scene. Don raised an eyebrow at the man, wondering what he was talking about; as he crouched down to look closer at the scene.,"You showing up to crime scene late," Danny expanded. Don shook his head.,"I have a life Messer," Don told him. "I was on a date when I got the call so I was on the other side of town from the crime scene. It takes time to get across town, you know that." Danny snorted.,"Let me guess you were on a coffee date with some girl you badgered into going out with you," Danny ribbed Don. Don shot him a withering look.,"Actually no I met her this morning on the way to the crime scene," Don told him. "I spilled my coffee on her so I gave her my card and said I would I make it up to her. She called me late this afternoon. We talked for several hours.","So are you going out again?" Danny asked as he pulled of his gloves. Stella and Mac walked over to them. The look on Mac's face told Don he knew something important.,"Yeah we are," Don confirmed. "What do you got Mac?","We have an ID on our victim," Mac told him. Don jerked back, surprised.,"That was fast," Don said. "Who is she?","Morgan Donnelly," Mac read off his pad. "She was reported missing by her boss, a manager at one of the locations of Marauder's Den. She's a waitress.",-0-*-0-,From the outside it appeared that, the diner was closed. However, the fact that they could see various people wearing the diner uniform told Don and Mac that was not entirely true; they were just closed to the public. The reason why, well they hoped they would find that out, and knocked on the door. An employee looked over at the door confused and spotting the badges went over to open the door.,"Hi how can I help you detectives?" the woman asked curiously.,"We need to speak to your manager," Don told the woman. The woman sighed.,"Well you will have to go to the hospital to do that," she told them. Both looked at her confused. "We had a stove explode earlier today and several employees, including the manager, were sent to the hospital with a variety of injuries. Nothing severe but the owner shut us down for a couple days to get everything back in order." Don and Mac exchanged looks.,"Is the owner here?" Mac asked. The woman nodded.,"Yeah she's in the back dealing with the insurance agent again," she told them. "I'll go get her." Don frowned as he thought back to something Amaryllis told him early that day. Before he could even finish his thought process, his beginning thought was confirmed.,"Hello detectives, how can I help you?" she asked walking up to them. She looked up and stopped when she saw whom she was talking to, Detective Don Flack. "Detective Flack good to see you again. Emma said you two wanted to talk to the manager here?","Yeah he filed a missing person's report a couple of days ago on Morgan Donnelly," Don informed her. Mac studied her as he tried to figure out why she seemed so familiar. Her eyes in particular seemed to bring forward memories but he was struggling to remember.,"He called me a couple of days ago saying one of the waitresses didn't show up for work again for the second time," Amaryllis recalled. "Normally that wouldn't be anything bad but when I went by her apartment she didn't respond to me asking to talk to her. I figured something was wrong and told him to file a missing person's report.","Do you know of anyone in her life that would have cause to want her dead?" Mac asked. Amaryllis sighed.,"A week and half ago, I got a call from the manager saying he had to throw out her boyfriend," Amaryllis told him. "He showed up at her work and they got into a volatile argument. He called in the cops to have him removed because after he approached him and told him to leave he tried to fight the manger too. There should be a police report.","Do you know what they were fighting about?" Don asked.,"Money," Amaryllis remembered. "It was about money. From what Anthony, the manager, told me it was not the first fight about money they had. I know that Morgan has two other jobs just to keep her head above water. We gave her as many hours as we could here but it didn't seem to be enough.","Okay thank you," Don told her.,"If you know of anything else, let us know," Mac said as he handed her his card. She nodded and the two left.,-0-*-0-,Mac paced the length of his office as he thought about Amaryllis's eyes. They seemed so familiar but Amaryllis herself was a stranger. Why were her eyes, someone he had never met, so familiar to him?,"We caught the boyfriend," Don said without any preamble. "He killed her because she refused to give him anymore more money. Apparently, he had been spending his money on drugs and she refused to give him money to support the habit. So the case is closed but something else seems to be bothering you." Mac sighed.,"How do you know Amaryllis?" Mac finally asked after he was quiet for several more minutes. Don scrunched up his face wondering where Mac was going with this.,"I met her on the way to the crime scene this morning," Don told him. "I spilled my coffee on her in my rush to get there. I gave her my card, said to call me and I would make it up to her. I was with her when I got the call for this crime scene. Why?","I'm not sure," Mac admitted. "When I know, I'll let you know." Don nodded.,"Go home," Don, told him. "Get some sleep, maybe you will figure it out once you have a clear mind." Mac nodded and watched Don leave. He sat there for a few more minutes before heading home himself. He headed into his bedroom and pulled out an old shoebox. For the next hour, he looked through old photos, notes, and mementos of his past. It was when he found a picture from when he was in London teaching specialized training for soldiers that he realized why Amaryllis's eyes seemed so familiar.,He had gone out a couple of weeks into the program and met a woman at a bar. She had been crying because she had been recently informed her husband had been killed in the line of duty. For a whole month, they were lovers and friends. He almost believed that there could be a future for them, the white picket fence kind of future.,However once day he woke up to her packing all of her things. They began to argue because Mac feared she was leaving him for good. Then she told him the news. She had gone to boarding school and one of her close friends had been admitted to a hospital. Her friend had been missing for six months; they believed her to be dead. Marlene, her friend, had no family to take care of her and Lily had been her emergency contact. He let her go with a promise from her that she would return, she never did. He tried everything he could to find her but it seemed as though she disappeared into thin air. Comparing the picture of him and Lily to the one of Don and Amaryllis he realized something rather important, Amaryllis was Lily's daughter.

Disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter,Summary: How will RENT be if Harry Potter is in there? What I mean a 13 year old Harry Potter who ran away from home after blowing up his Aunt Marge.,A.N.1 The RENT I am talking about is the 2005 Movie because unfortunately, I haven't seen the musical. Everything is canon up until Harry ran away from home before his third year. Please don't mind the year inconsistencies.,Warning: OOC Characters, Grammar and Spelling Mistakes (I have no Beta) and of course cursing and sexual themes (This is RENT after all),'I need to get out of here! They'll snap my wand and I just can't let them! It's the only protection that I'll have if Voldemort was to ever return. But where should I go? Common sense tells me to go as far away from the Wizarding world since they're all idiots when it comes to the Muggle world. Muggle world it is then but where? I don't know anyone here in England? Wait, should I even stay here in England? What if a muggleborn saw me? Outside the country then? But where?' Harry thought quite frantically as he grabbed all of his belongings and placed them to his trunk.,He then let Hedwig free and told her to go hunt and find him in a week's time. Hedwig is a smart bird; she'll know what he meant.,Running outside of the disgustingly normal house, Harry stopped when he reached a park for a thought struck him. He doesn't have any money!,Maybe a visit to his vault is in order but what if they're waiting for him in Gringotts! What should he do? Wait, doesn't he own an invisibility cloak? Why doesn't he use it to sneak in to Gringotts. And he has his key so it's not technically stealing if he's going to his vault. But then what? He couldn't possibly use wizarding money to be able to live in the muggle world! He needed to convert it.,What if he only showed his to the goblins? Would it be enough?,Okay enough of that, he has so little time in his hands before the ministry comes barging in to the Dursleys. What he needed to do now is to somehow arrive into Leaky Cauldron. Should he fly? Okay that is quite stupid. Floo? Nope, not possible for he needed to find a floo powder.,"Oh my god, I've been staying in the wizarding world for so long. My common sense is slowly dying! For god sake, why did it take me so long to think of using the muggle's way? Bus anyone or maybe a taxi cab?" Harry muttered to himself as he put his hands to the pocket of his coat. Wait, what wallet is this? He doesn't own any wallet so who- JACKPOT! He remembered that he took his uncle's coat as a sign of annoying him even more before he left that goddamn house for good.,Looking at the wallet's contents he couldn't help but thanked his lucky stars. His uncle seems to be loaded! Imagine, his uncle seems to have a thousand pounds in his wallet!,Now, he doesn't need to go anywhere near Leaky Cauldron. What he needs now is a place to stay for the night particularly somewhere in London where the Ministry won't easily find him. The rest, he'll think about later once he finally rested for the night.,Walking down the street as fast as he could while rolling his trunk behind him, Harry finally arrived at a bus station.,A few minutes later and a bus arrived.,"Where does this bus go?" Harry asked the conductor.,"London. Are you going to come in?","Yes please.","Let me help you with that one." The conductor said while helping Harry brings his trunk up the bus.,"How much to London?" Harry asked.,"2 pounds.","Here." Harry said as he gave the conductor exactly 2 pounds.,While waiting for the bus to arrive to London, Harry couldn't help but drift into a dreamless sleep until the conductor woke him up.,"it seems that I was tired. Thank you for waking me up." Harry politely said while following the conductor bringing out his trunk outside.,"No problem lad. Anytime.",Walking around, he found a small inn. There he made a story of how he only arrived in London to visit a sick relative but it seems that he got lost so he just need to stay for a night in this lovely establishment.,How he came this on the spot convinces Harry that he has this inner Slytherin inside him after all. Thinking about it while lying down on one of the inn's comfortable bed, thinking like a Slytherin doesn't really sound bad at all. It's not as if he's evil. It's just that he's got to use more of his brain in surviving.,That was the last thought Harry has before he fell into a deep sleep.,A.N.2 Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry no RENT this chapter nor will there be on the next chapter. But no worries, I promise on the third chapter, RENT will come in. Again sorry if it's short. See you on the next chapter.

Harriet Potter was exited. Her Aunt and Uncle had reluctantly agreed to take her along on their family trip to Tokyo. She was only allowed to come because Ms. Frigg had broken her ankle earlier that week. The Dursley's were not happy at all to have to take the "freak girl" with them. Dudley wailed for a good hour when he had found out. Despite having the cheapest seat on the plane, and having her one change of clothes in a ragged backpack, she was the happiest that she had ever remembered being in her seven years of life. She had never been allowed to go outside the house for anything but school and chores, much less a vacation out of the country!,After departing from the plane the family took a rented car into the city. Harriet was bouncing in her seat with excitement, until they pulled into a rundown and abandoned area of town. Vernon stopped the car and turned around to face Harriet, "Out girl," he said, and Harriet scrambled to do as she was told, and as soon as the door had shut behind her, the Dursley family drove off leaving her behind in a run-down part of town in a foreign country. She stood there shocked for a moment, then broke down in tears. She ran into a nearby alleyway and hid between some of the cardboard boxes. It was nearly sundown when she calmed down, and the small seven year old girl set off walking. She walked along in the shadows until after dark, and eventually she reached a forested park. There she found a small alcove in the roots of one of the trees, and settled down there for the night.,It was cold when Harriet woke up. There was dew all over her body, soaking her ragged and too large clothes. She crawled out of the alcove and began to explore the park. She stuck to the forest cover, out of sight from the other people she saw in the park. Near the afternoon her stomach was growling, but she was used to going long periods of time without food, so she ignored it. She brushed her hair out of her face, it was naturally a messy mop of black that faded to red at the tips. Her relatives hated her hair.,She spent the next week living at the park, searching for food after dark so she wouldn't be seen. On Saturday (she had arrived the previous one and her relatives were leaving today) she ventured close to the playground during the day. A small family caught her eye, it was a mother and her little girl. The girl looked about her age with blonde hair tied back in several short braids. She took off towards the woods, and Harriet's hiding place. Harriet tried to scramble away, but the other girl saw her. Harriet froze like a deer caught in headlights.,Pudding's pov,My mom and I are going to my favorite place today, the park! I love to climb around in the trees at the edge! When we got there I took off towards the trees, but when I got there I saw another girl hiding in the bushes. She saw me too and froze. She had the brightest green eyes that I have ever seen, and the prettiest hair that went from black to red, but her clothes were huge on her, and she was covered in dirt. Her hair was an absolute mess, but it was black at the top and turned into red when it got to her shoulders. She looked terrified. I slowly moved closer, stopping when she flinched away. I then crouched down and spoke quietly, "Hello there, I'm Pudding, what's your name?" I tilted my head curiously at her, but her face had a look of confusion, then she responded in a language I didn't understand, but I recognized it as the one my parents used when they talked about grown up stuff! I had an idea, I stood up, and the girl flinched away again. I gently reached out a hand to her, and spoke in the same voice my mom used when I had a nightmare. She slowly reached out and took my hand. I held her hand gently and led her to my mom, I got my mom's attention, "Mom! I found this girl in the bushes, and I couldn't understand her. I thought you might be able to.",She looked shocked, and looked over the girl I found. She then keeled down in front of us, and spoke in that language that the girl had used, and the girl's face brightened when she realized she could understand my mom. They started talking, and the girl broke down crying, I reached out and hugged her, and so did my mom. I let go and my Mom picked up the girl and turned to me,,"Pudding, darling, this is Harriet. Her Aunt and Uncle left her here because they didn't want her, so we're going to take her home with us and get her some food and new clothes. As well as a bath." I noticed that there were tears in both of their eyes, and Harriet's story made me cry too. So we took home the girl I found at the park.,No pov,After that day Harriet was adopted into Pudding's family. They all learned both English and Japanese to the point of being fluent in both. The years passed, and the scars left behind by the Dursley's were healed with memories of love, family, sisterhood, mischief, and acrobatics. Pudding and Harriet, or Hari, had become like twins. They wore the same clothes, wore their hair the same way, and liked to finish each other's sentences. They also gained five younger siblings that they adored. Everything was great until their mother got sick. They were very close to their mother as their father was always off doing things. They did their best to take care of their siblings and mother, but in the end their mother died, and the girls had to move with their siblings to a homeless shelter, and they became street performers to support their siblings. They always had each other to rely on, and were always greeted with five little smiling faces when they got home. When Pudding and Hari turned ten things started to change, and become much more exciting and strange.

What if Goku's Pod took a detour to the Potter House…,I hope you enjoy!,In the midst of space, a small silver orb could be seen flying at a tremendous speed. In this small orb lay a small, Saiyan boy sleeping peacefully. He had jet black hair that stood up in all directions and a gentle face he wore the traditional black Saiyan battle armour, his name is Kakarot. Unknowing of the future he holds as the small Saiyan pod flew across space towards the Planet called Earth.,When Kakarot had finally arrived at Earth, his pod flew down during a meteor shower. That was seen by what seemed to be a newlywed couple, as the pod came crashing down to the ground the couple ran to the pod where they saw the strangest thing…,"It-It-It's a boy! James! It's a baby boy!" as the red-haired female figure turned to the male figure as her voice cried out to the figure right next to her.,"It is… Lily, but the kid is in some sort of ball with a red tinted window. I'm not sure how to get him out-" the male figure who was called James started but was cut short as the metallic door opened to find the baby boy crying, then they saw something strange this boy had a monkey-like tail.,"Can we keep him? ," the woman named Lily asked and pouted with huge puppy-dog eyes.,"Yes, Lily we should blood adopt him then. When you use your 'perfect puppy-dog eyes' it's impossible for me to say no. You know that? Right?" James remarked sounding defeated.,"We need to give him a name… What about Harry?" Lily asked for which James sighed "We were going to name our first son Harry anyway.","Lily! Run! Take Harry and get out of here! It's Voldemort! I'll try holding him off for as long as I can!" James shouts to Lily for which she responds with tears streaming down her face, "No… Please… James… Please, James then promise me that you will join us when y-" the sound of splintering wood echoed around the house leaving a deafening silence.,"Lily! Run! Ta-" James cried out to Lily but was cut off as he fell to the ground… dead.,Muffled footsteps and a quiet 'THUD' could be heard from the nursery where Harry lay seemingly asleep. Lily frozen in fear instantly knew that James was dead, her mind was screaming out in angst as the man she loved fell to the floor dead… she couldn't dwindle in the past as for each second she stood there the closer Voldemort would be to Harry and her. As the door opened eerily with a squeak a tall ghostly pale man in a long black cloak lifted up his wand as to which Lily pleaded the man "Voldemort, please kill me instead of Harry! Please take me instead!" with Voldemort being a lying manipulator sneered and spoke in a tone that made a Dementors' kiss seem like a prick of a needle "Fine you filthy mudblood, ," that was it the beam of dull green light struck her in the middle of the chest as she fell Harry had woken to see a pale man with stick and his Mother falling to the ground then 'THUD' she landed flat on her face. Harry saw this and something snapped the world seemed to slow down as the man faced the stick at him and started the chant of the killing curse,"You. Killed. My. Parents. You. Will. DIE!" a deep voice said as the man was caught off guard from what he just witnessed. A boy with his hair lit to a dull sliver-black and his once vibrant emerald green eyes went a slightly dulled silver with a thin ring of emerald and black. Everything around him started to rapidly heat up as he gained an aura of heat.,The startled Voldemort quickly chants the curse "," but he is to slow as Harry disappeared and appeared right in front of him holding a ball of dull green energy he crushed it into green sparks and fired a Ki beam decomposing him as Harry falls to the floor he unconsciously called his pod to bring him somewhere that was away from Britain. Little did he know that a fragment of the curse struck him leaving him without a scratch save for a Lightning Bolt scar. When he woke up he found himself in an unfamiliar home

I love the way you die,Harry Potter X Destination finale ( Ouais, je sais, personne ne l'avait vu venir ),Parodie, Humour ... Et un peu de gore., M, Parce qu'on parle de Destination Finale, donc du sang et des trippes :3,Merci à , pour son boulot :3,• L'histoire appartient à ceux qui ont eut cette idée très drôle des destination finale ; Harry Potter appartient à JK. et ce point de vue de l'histoire vient de mon esprit dérangé, parce que ça ne peut être que ,.,Il écarquille les yeux en voyant les gamins être sortit de force de l'avion. Deux autres jeunes gamins se lèvent ensuite et les suivent, et Harry secoue la tête, interloqué.,- Quoi ?! Mais non ! Qu'est-ce que vous faîtes ? Mais revenez !,Sauf que bien sûr, personne ne l'écoute, parce que personne ne l'entend. Debout, incrédule dans l'allée de l'avion, la Mort regarde les âmes condamnées disparaître dans le terminal.,Il se secoue et fouille furieusement dans la poche de sa cape pour en sortir le parchemin. Exaspéré par les discutions des mortels autour de lui, il agite la main et le temps se suspend. Du calme, enfin ! C'est apparemment trop demandé pour eux.,Il déroule le parchemin avec un soupir et fronce les sourcils en scrutant la liste des passagers du vol 180 et trouve les noms qui, contrairement aux autres noms noirs, sont rouges vifs. Tod Waggner, Terry Chaney, Valery Newton, Carter Horton, Billy Hitchock, Claire Rivers, Alexander Chance Browning. Oui, ils sont tous là, mais...,- Non, non ! Crache la Mort en frappant du pied sur le sol. Bande de petits...,Énervé Harry relance le temps comme il se doit, les gens murmurent toujours de l'éclat du jeune homme qui a paniqué et provoqué l'écoulement de leur vie, de leur sursis, et sort de l'avion pour les retrouver dans le terminal.,- Bande d'abrutis ! Leur crie-t-il sans qu'ils ne le voient. Vous vous fichez de moi ? Allez, remontez tout de suite dans cet avion !,Mais les agents de la sécurité refusent que les Condamnés remontent dans l'appareil et il peste un peu plus fort quand Larry Murnau, Blege, 64 ans, est le seul à remonter dans l'avion. Il regarde les Condamnés, puis l'avion que l'on voit aux travers des vitres du terminal, puis de nouveau le groupe de futurs rescapés, et grogne. Il ne peut plus rien changer maintenant, l'avion va partir et eux n'y seront pas.,- Zut ! Crache-t-il.,L'un des gamins, Alexander, commence à parler d'une vision qu'il vient d'avoir du crash de l'avion, et Harry ouvre de grands yeux.,- Destinée ! Comprend-t-il enfin. Tu te fous de moi ?! Hurle-t-il au vide.,Parce que Destinée n'a jamais trouvé corps pour s'incarner, pas comme Mort, avec qui l'ancien sorcier Harry Potter qu'il avait été des centaines d'années plus tôt et , ne font plus qu'un aujourd'hui. La nouvelle Faucheuse, s'il faut dire les choses plus clairement.,- Destinée ! Je sais que je me plains tout le temps de m'ennuyer, de m'engluer dans la routine, mais ce n'est pas une raison pour me donner du travail en plus !,L'avion explose, et la liste dans sa main se déduit aux quelques noms rouges, signe qu'ils venaient ,!,- Eh voilà ! Bravo ! L'équilibre des Univers et des Réalités à restaurer, rien que pour ma pomme, parce que je n'ai que ça à faire ! J'apprécie, Destinée, vraiment, merci pour ce cadeau, dit-il d'une voix soudainement douce, réellement touché par ce petit changement bienvenu dans la monotonie de son existence, avant que la réalité ne le rattrape.,Il secoue la tête et les mains pour s'éclaircir les idées, la liste des rescapés miraculeux s'agitant dans sa main.,- Oui, mais non, attend ! Tu crois que je n'ai que ça à faire ? Sérieusement ?,Il fusille du regard celui à qui Destinée avait murmuré à l'oreille.,- Et toi là, hein ? Tu te fiches de moi, de croire à un cauchemar ? Tu n'aurais pas pu faire comme tout le monde, prendre une grande inspiration, croire au fait que ce n'était qu'un mauvais rêve et passer à autre chose ?! Le dernier sorcier a disparu il y a 257 ans dans un murmure silencieux, tu n'étais pas censé reconnaître une prémonition !,Bougonnant, la Mort suit le groupe de désormais réfugiés, leur crachant des insultes les plus farfelues les unes que les autres tout en fusillant la liste du regard. Il se remet à crier au nez d'Alexander, qui ne le voit ni l'entend toujours pas.,- Parce que tu crois que je n'ai que ça à faire ? As-tu la moindre idée de la paperasse qu'entraîne ton petit acte héroïque ?! Terra n'est pas la seule planète avec de la vie, d'accord ?! Et là où il y a la vie, il y a la Mort ; aka moi, qui ai du boulot ! Je n'ai pas vraiment le temps de m'occuper d'une bande d'enfants capricieux alors qu'il y a la plus belle supernova qui est censé se passer dans un mois à 137 milliards d'années lumières d'ici ! Trois planètes habitées, raillées d'un coup, d'un seul ! J'ai du boulot, moi ! Mais non ! ,Il se retrouve haletant - bien qu'il n'ai pas besoin de respirer, pas vraiment, mais ça fait du bien de hurler un bon coup. Même si personne ne le voit et que personne ne lui répond.,- Connards d'humains, auto-centrés, égoïstes, crache-t-il une dernière fois.,Il les regarde tous à tour et renifle dédaigneusement en remontant ses manches, la liste flottant à côté de son visage, le titre changeant pour " , ".,- Ok, vous voulez jouer à ça, on va jouer à ça, peste-t-il. Je vais venir pour vous, les uns après les autres.,.*.,La supernova s'est bien passée, merci beaucoup.,Et maintenant, Harry est de retour sur Terra - la Terre des humains -, aux États-unis, dans l'état de New York pour venir récolter les âmes qui se sont échappées. Il s'est un peu calmé depuis, heureusement. Mais il reste un peu frustré, ce genre de situation étant.. Rare.,- T'aurais jamais dû suivre ton pote, mon pauvre Tod. Tu as troqué une mort rapide pour un trépas... Un peu moins cool. Désolé, mais c'est comme ça, explique-t-il en fermant la porte de la salle de bain du premier condamné sur la liste, Tod Wagner.,Il ouvre un peu l'eau de la canalisation, qui commence doucement à gouter et l'observe couler sur le sol. La flaque d'eau grossie et se dirige implacablement vers l'humain, qui se rase face à son miroir. Harry jubile un instant en le voyant allumer la radio puis grimace quand il débranche la sono et s'éloigne, sans que l'eau ne le touche.,- Mais quoi, encore ?! Je te propose une mort par électrocution, c'est simple et efficace, rapide. Mais non ! Tu veux la jouer dure ! … OK, on va la jouer dure.,Il soupire et croise les bras, et Tod glisse dans la baignoire. La corde à linge suspendue s'enroule autour de son cou et Harry sort une montre à gousset alors que le mortel se débat, glissant sur la faïence de la baignoire pleine de savon.,- Allez... allez... Soupire-t-il.,Puis enfin, le jeune homme meurt et Harry hoche la tête, l'énergie de son âme le rejoignant enfin pour se reposer avant d'être réatribuer.,Tandis que l'eau responsable de son trépas retourne dans les canalisations sous son ordre, la Mort sort une plume et raye le nom de Tod Wagner, l'écriture passant de rouge à noir. Parfait.,Un, plus que six.,.*.,La Mort soupire de frustration en voyant le duo improbable se glisser dans la morgue. À quoi s'attendent-ils, hein ? À ce que leur ami revienne à la vie ?,Un peu fatigué de les voir essayer de trouver une réponse autre que vie + vie = mort, il les laisse s'approcher avant de faire bouger le bras du corps sans vie, et ricane fort de leur panique - Hey. Il n'y a pas de petits plaisirs quand on est la Grande Faucheuse, ok ? -,Le fossoyeur leur parle, cryptique, et Harry roule des yeux à cause de son air lointain et mystique. Les gamins s'en vont et la Mort secoue la tête. Le croc-mort, un descendant lointain de chaman, pose son regard sur lui et la Mort hausse un sourcil.,- Aucun commentaire. Quand tu seras mort et que je viendrai pour toi, que tu seras sous mes ordres, tu riras moins des mortels.,Harry n'aime pas vraiment les futurs faucheurs qui seront à son service une fois leurs heures venues. Ils connaissent toujours trop, beaucoup trop, et s'amusent beaucoup des autres mortels et de leurs questions existentielles qui resteront à jamais sans réponses.,De plus, ils aiment les paniquer... Et les âmes paniquées n'ont pas vraiment bon goût.,.*.,Harry est de nouveau outré.,- Alexander, je te hais ! Pourquoi il faut que Destinée s'accroche à toi comme une moule à son rocher ?,Parce que le gamin sent, il voit certaines choses, il sent beaucoup trop de choses, graaaaa ! C'est frustrant, vraiment !,La Mort haussa un sourcil en se tournant vers lui.,- D'où te vient cette idée saugrenue ? Il y a la Vie, il y a la Mort, et puis c'est tout, qu'est-ce que tu crois, que ça m'amuse de , ? Crie-t-il au final.,Il le regarde se lever pour parler aux autres et, ooooh... Ils sont tous là. Tous les rescapés. Hey bien... Allons-y, alors.,Il sort sa liste et regarde le prochain nom. Terry Chaney. Très bien. Il regarde autour de lui et hoche la tête en voyant tellement de possibilités... Tellement ! Il se lève, réfléchit, laisse le film passer devant ses yeux, voit la chose arriver et acquiesce.,Il se retrouve dans le bus. Là, il regarde autour de lui et donne un coup, un tout petit coup à la jeune adolescente encore timide, encore en enfance avec ses couettes sur le haut de la tête. Elle est mignonne, et sous le coup de la Mort, trébuche et percute son meilleur ami, qui grogne en balançant le bras. Ce dernier cogne une petite vieille qui se mets à vitupérer d'une voix forte, insultant cette jeunesse décadente, détournant efficacement l'attention du chauffeur, qui ne voit pas. Harry s'assied sur un siège vide et sourit quand le bus percute de plein fouet et à grande vitesse Terry Chaney.,Plus que cinq.,.*.,La pauvre professeur fait un peu de la peine. Elle croit dur comme fer qu'Alexander va la tuer. C'est triste, parce que c'est si loin de la vérité. Elle a presque la mort la moins agréable. Mais après tout, c'est... Ce n'est pas faux, c'est de la faute d'Alexander. Plus il essaye d'intervenir, plus il empire la situation. Ce n'est pas de sa faute ! ... Enfin, pas trop.,Ok, un peu quand même. Mais il fallait le comprendre ! La Mort personnifiée ne se déplace que pour les grosses catastrophes prévues et déjà toute tracées dans le tissus de la réalité. Lui n'était là que pour s'assurer que cela se passe sans dommage et sa présence est supposée calmer et guérir les âmes meurtries, celles qui sont encore choquées de leur trépas initiale. Mais il n'y a pas d'échappatoire, c'est comme ça.,Injuste ? Mais qui a dit que la Mort est juste ? La Mort est Mort, un point c'est tout. Ce n'est pas son département, le Karma est le juste retour des choses, d'accord ? Lui, il prend les âmes, elles macèrent en lui quelques temps, puis elles repartent dans le monde des vivants. Parce qu'il y a un nombre maximum d'âmes disponible pour l'ensemble de la réalité, et qu'il n'a pas trop envie d'assister à l'effondrement de cette dernière si des bébés commencent à naitre sans âmes parce qu'il n'y en a plus de disponible, merci bien. Et puis quoi encore ?,Alors oui, certes, la mort de Valérie Lewton aurait pu être plus douce. Mais Harry ne s'en fait pas, quand elle reviendra, elle prendra revanche sur sa précédente vie insatisfaisante, même si elle ne s'en souvient plus. C'est de la faute d'Alexander, de toute manière. À tant vouloir intervenir, il bouscule ses plans - non, tu ne peux les déjouer, calme-ton égo, petit -, forçant Harry à prendre des dispositions... Drastiques. Aloooors ouiiiii... Le couteau dans la poitrine après l'éclat de verre dans la carotide, c'est peut-être beaucoup, mais duh ! Valérie avait fait différemment à ses habitudes, parce qu'inconsciemment, les mots de son élève l'avaient secoué et elle était plus prudente, embêtant la Mort ,Si Harry n'avait pas sentit Alexander se rapprocher de la maison, la Mort aurait pu prendre l'âme de la professeur avant qu'elle ne se sente mourir par exsanguination afin qu'elle ne souffre pas trop. Mais Alex venait, et sans son côté radical, il aurait pu retarder son trépas, la laissant souffrante, dans le coma ou quelque chose comme ça.,Alors oui, radicale : la carotide tranchée, couteau dans le cœur et ,la maison. Namého.,Si avec ça, ils ne comprenaient pas tous que Sa Venue était inévitable, il mange son chapeau.,.*.,Harry roule des yeux.,- Heureusement que je n'ai , de chapeau !,Les condamnés sont dans une voiture, dans la voiture de Carter, et Harry s'est glissé entre Alexander et Claire, prit en sandwich sur la banquette arrière. Les deux jeunes gens lui passent au travers et il n'aime pas ça, mais c'est quelque chose par lequel il faut qu'il passe, puisqu'ils sont dans une voiture ; et que la Mort ne se voit pas du tout, mais alors ,, courir à côté du véhicule. Et puis quoi encore ?,Un sourire éclaire ses traits quand Carter semble être le seul qui comprend enfin que la situation est inévitable, et qu'il commence à paniquer.,- ,Harry lève les mains.,- Enfin quelqu'un de sensé !,Sauf qu'Alexander, et tous les autres en fait, essayent de changer les choses, encore, et la voiture évite les autres véhicules par des putains de coup de chance de m... Parce que Destinée trouve ça hilarant et ,?! Harry essaye de secouer Alexander, mais il prend ça pour les cahots de la voiture.,- Mais arrête d'interférer, connaaaaard ! Lui hurle-t-il.,Puis Carter freine d'un seul coup, sur une voie de chemin ferrés. Et un train approche.,- Ah, bah voilà ! Bien Carter, parfait, surtout ne bouge plus !,Les trois autres s'excitent, paniquent, et arrivent enfin à descendre du véhicule. Carter reste au volant mais Alexander commence à lui donner le doute, à le faire changer d'avis. Alors Harry soupire et empêche le démarrage de fonctionner. Il verrouille les portes d'un geste de la main et renforce la résistance de la ceinture de sécurité. Sifflotant, il sort le parchemin, la liste des rescapés et une plume apparait face à lui.,- Alors...,Il hausse un sourcil surprit en voyant que la liste a quelque chose d'étrange... Mais roule très vite des yeux et grince des dents quand Alexander se précipite et commence à vouloir aider l'autre jeune homme à sortir de la voiture.,- Noooon... Non, ne fait pas ça... Arrête... ! Marmonna-t-il.,Le train est là et Harry est à côté de Billy et de Claire. Le train , la voiture - dommage, elle était bien belle - et Alexander et Carter halètent de panique dans la poussière, à un mètre du train passant.,La Mort lève les yeux au ciel et soupire, fatigué.,- Destinée... Arrête... Je n'ai pas tout mon temps, je te rappelle !,Billy hurle que Carter est le prochain, qu'il faut l'éviter comme la peste.,Harry cligne des yeux surprit alors que la tôle de la voiture explosée de Carter tombe au sol après avoir tué Billy, la tête coupée en deux à l'horizontal.,- Euh... C'était prévu, ça ? S'enquit-il auprès de... Eh bien, personne.,Alexander commence - continue - de délirer. Et là, c'est l'égo qui craque complètement.,- Tu ne crois pas si bien dire, Claire, s'étonne Harry en fixant le gamin. Tu craques complètement.,La Mort soupire et se frotte la nuque, fatigué... Vraiment fatigué.,- C'est pas vrai...,Claire et Alexander s'en vont alors que les policiers se rapprochent et il est lui aussi prêt à partir quand quelque chose l'arrête. Un policier en particulier. Il écarquille les yeux.,- Mais qu'est-ce que tu fous là, toi ?! Tu es... tu es censé être sur un braquage ! Tu es censé prendre une balle et ta survie est supposée être joué à pile ou face avec Destinée ! Si l'infirmière de garde de l'hôpital où tu devrais être transporté prend demain un plat de pâtes ou bien les carottes... tu n'as rien à faire là, tu-,Il se tait et baisse le regard sur Billy.,- Oh... Oh ! Oh non ! Ne me dis pas que leur survie à eux va avoir chamboulé le trépas d'autres personnes !,Il gémit et se frotte le visage.,- Damned, je suis maudit.,Avec un grognement - parce qu'il n'y en a plus que trois, par l'Après-Monde ! - il s'éloigne pour chercher les vies qui étaient chamboulées par la survie des passagers du vol 180.,.*.,Ça lui a prit un peu.. beaucoup de temps. Mais oui.,Douze vies avaient été chamboulées, et ça ne plaisait pas du tout à Harry. Sérieusement ?,Soupirant, la Mort secoue la tête en trainant des pieds dans la ville des amoureux, Paris, France, Terra. Son regard tombe sur la petite table du café où se trouvent Alex, Claire et Carter. Six mois après, ils sont tous là, quelle ironie. Il les écoute parler du fait qu'ils l'avaient déjoué et il fronce les sourcils en sortant cette fois un carnet. Il remonte la vie d'Alexander, tournant les pages pour voir le parallèle avec la vie de Claire et hausse un sourcil.,- Ah non mes p'tits loups... Votre "," contre "," devant la maison de Claire il y a six mois, ce n'était pas moi, c'était Clotho, ça. Clotho et l'Ironie du Sort, deux concepts différents. Il y a beaucoup de hasard dans la vie, vous savez.,Personne ne l'écoute et la Mort soupire une nouvelle fois. Il se retrouve sur l'échafaudage, et donne un coup de pied à un pot de peinture, qui percute une boite de clous et se déverse ; Et Alexander panique, pauvre chose. Désormais adossé à l'enseigne du Miro 81 - 180, t'as comprit, Harry aime ce chiffre, allez savoir pourquoi -, il regarde les choses s'enchaîner, et quand le lampadaire percute la structure et l'affaiblit, Harry ne fait que sourire en donnant une petite pichenette dans l'enseigne.,Enfin, il était temps.,Carter est broyé par la structure en essayant de sauver Alexander, mais ça n'a jamais été Alex, de visé. Parce que ça y est, il a enfin comprit comment se servir de l'influence que les autres condamnés peuvent avoir sur les choses pour les tourner à son avantage.,- Bon, maintenant, vacances ! Je l'ai bien mérité, hein. Alex, à dans quatre mois. Claire, à dans sept. Amusez-vous bien pendant que je ne suis plus là !,Et la Mort s'en fut. Aux Bahamas. Avec un cocktail orné d'un petit parapluie bleu ciel.,Eh, qui a dit que la Mort ne peut-elle pas elle aussi profiter de la vie ?

Snape sighed heavily as he followed two Death Eaters, Amycus and his sister, Alecto, to where they'd find another tool of their Dark Lord's. They were telling him not to be such a spoil sport as it should be an honor to serve the Dark Lord in such a way. He wasn't entirely sure whether that was true or not. Honestly, he didn't even want to be here at all. They were strange territory, everything had an Asian feel to it. Snape had never been here before, nor had he seen anyplace quite like it. He grew mildly concerned when he noticed his companions were distracted by something. He followed them cautiously until they stopped at one of the shops. Snape watched as Amycus eyed a feast that was laid out, checking to see where the owner was. Snape knew something was strange when the Carrows started gorging themselves on the food before them. He tried to get their attention, reminding them of the reason that they were there. However, they continued stuff their faces, completely ignoring him.,Snape sighed in defeat as he briefly watched them eat everything that they could reach. He turned to the way they came and continued on. He just didn't get it, he knew that the Carrows weren't that bright, but he never knew them to behave like such pigs. He actually expected that more from Crabbe and Goyle, Sr., maybe even Greyback. Something about this place unnerved him greatly as everything seemed off. Walking up a set of stairs, Snape looked up to see a massive building. Possibly might be a bath house I've heard so much about, he thought as he looked up at it. Upon hearing a bell, he looked over the side of a bridge leading to the building curiously, to see a train. How peculiar, Snape thought casually. He suddenly sensed someone was watching as he turned to see a strange looking boy that he could sense magic from.,"Hello," Snape said hesitantly.,"You really shouldn't be here," the boy replied. "You need to leave before the sun's set.","I take it something bad happens if I'm not gone," Snape stated, groaning as the boy nodded.,Snape didn't waste any time as he turned to leave, quickly making his way down the stairs. He raced back to where the Carrows were when he left them. What he had found was not at all what he expected. Placing an urgent hand on Amycus's shoulder, he was shocked when a pig turned to look at him. He tried backing up, only to back into a beam when he saw the same of Alecto. How could I not have noticed that that the food was laced with potions, he thought. He wasn't going to wait for them as he decided to run back the way they had originally come. He raced past ghosts that were coming out from practically everywhere. Nothing could stop him from leaving this place, except maybe for a growing river that he slipped and fell into. He crawled out, sputtering water before turning to see a ferry coming in his basic direction. I can't take off, he thought morosely, what if there are Muggles on that ferry? Carefully, he snuck away to an alleyway where he hugged his knees to his chest in attempt to get warm. He looked up to see the boy walking over to him.,"I thought I could make it in time," Snape admitted.,"It is all right, you're not the first to be stuck here," the boy stated.,"I bet I'm the first wizard," Snape said with a small smile.,"Actually, no you're not," the boy replied.,"Oh," Snape muttered sheepishly, shivering from the cold.,"You might want to eat this," the boy mentioned, handing him a berry.,"Something bad will happen if I don't, huh?" Snape asked as the boy nodded. With a sigh, Snape took the berry and ate it. "Ugh, that's sour." He was surprised when the boy pushed him against the wall and hovered over him, seeing a bird in the sky. "It's looking for me, isn't it?","Humans aren't usually welcome here," the boy answered.,"What's your name?" Snape asked.,"Kohaku, you know, you're the first to ask all of these intuitive questions.","I guess I'm just lucky when it comes to knowing what to ask?","Or you've learned how to ask the right questions.","You make it sound as I've been to Wonderland," Snape chuckled.,"Come on, they'll be looking for you," Kohaku stated, offering his hand. Snape took as he pulled himself up. "I will say this, you're probably the first person I have dealt with that didn't have trouble standing up.","I'll take it," Snape laughed. "I'm Severus.","Come Severus," Kohaku chirped, taking Snape's hand and rushing off to who knows where.,Snape tried to keep up with him as he kept running. He looked to either side of him as they raced past buildings and restaurants before entering a storage building for food, where Snape was amazed by the size of a mere fish they passed by. That thing's big enough to try and turn the squid in the lake into calamari, Snape thought. When they entered a massive pig pen, Snape held his hand over his nose as he eyed the number of pigs. Oh, I highly doubt the Carrows envisioned their untimely demise as being eaten for supper, he thought as they raced on. When they finally stopped, Snape nearly collapsed as he tried to catch his breath.,"Ah, cramp, cramp, cramp!" Snape wheezed.,"Best hurry and catch your breath," Kohaku stated.,"Well, I'm sorry, I'm not as young as I once was," Snape gasped.,"You'll be fine," Kohaku commented, "just take a deep, slow breath and then let it out slowly.",Snape did this and was surprised to find that breathing had indeed gotten a little easier. It must be something in the air, he pondered. Slowly, he stood up as hid from view as he peeked past Kohaku to see what the boy was looking at. He saw a myriad of creatures walking across the bridge to what he had earlier assumed was the bath house. He could hear people greeting them as they came.,"I'm going to need you to hold your breath as we cross the bridge," the boy mentioned, "as long as you hold your breath, they won't be able to see you.","Alright, sounds simple enough," Snape answered.,Kohaku guided him over to the bridge and cued him along the way. Snape couldn't help but gawk at the frog men greeting the creatures at the front of the bridge. I suppose that even us wizards don't know about all of the creatures that exist, he wondered silently as they crossed the bridge. He had recognized some of the creatures that were crossing the bridge from what he had read in books and from classes at Hogwarts. He was mildly alarmed when he saw the normal-looking frog racing their way in a tiny top and speak Kohaku's name. He continued to hold his breath as they chatted. Kohaku tried to persuade to the conversation to their destined side of the bridge, however, the little amphibian refused to move as he chatted away. How much can this thing talk? Snape thought in exasperation, He talks more than anyone I know! Snape was beginning to struggle holding his breath, but tried to hang on as it seemed the conversation was finally drawing to a close. Kohaku and Snape were at a loss when Snape gasped as the frog tried to take off only to bolt straight into Snape's gut.,"A human?" the frog gasped.,Kohaku bolted, taking Snape with him as they made their way across the bridge at a pace he only thought possible on a broom. They went through a tiny door in the wall before hiding in a garden outside the main building. Everyone inside was panicking as they ran around, looking for Kohaku.,"Well, so much for me holding my breath," Snape said sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just a reflex I have from getting hit there on occasion.","It's alright, I think that you would have been the first to make it if that hadn't of happened," he replied.,"What should I do now?" Snape asked.,Kohaku touched his brow as an image formed in his head of where he needed to go and what he needed to do. "Do you understand?" He then asked.,"Go to the boiler room, and ask Kamaji for a job," Snape replied.,With that, Kohaku stood and said, "I need to leave you now." Snape watched as he entered the building and stayed hidden until the traffic had died down before leaving through the secret door that he was shown. Snape instinctively backed against the wall as he gazed over the edge. Oh how I hate heights, Snape thought, the only other person who knew that took that to his grave. Cautiously, he took the stairs down as he held a baited breath. He was relieved to see that he had almost made it to solid, stone steps, instead of these wooden ones that made him entirely uncomfortable. He was about to breath in a sigh of relief until the third step from the bottom broke beneath him. He screamed out before his face slammed into the concrete landing. He laid there for a moment, sprawled over the bottom two steps as he groaned in pain. Ow, he thought, I think I broke my nose. Slowly, he crawled over to the wall of the landing and backed up against it as his eyes watered up a bit. He gently touched his nose to make sure it wasn't broken, it still hurt, but nothing felt broken and he didn't feel blood. He paused in shock when he heard a window open above him and looked up to see another frogman sticking his head out with a cigarette in hand. Snape crawled over to the second set of stairs as quietly as possible while the frogman enjoyed himself a smoke. Snape held his breath for dear life as he got steady footing before racing down the stairs as safely as he felt possible. When he reached the final landing, he felt it was finally safe enough to breath a sigh of relief.,He looked at the door that Kohaku told him to enter. Nervously, he opened the door and walked in, steam blowing in his face. He paused at the corner to peak out. To his surprise, little fuzz balls carrying coal to an opening mouth of flame. He watched as an older man fiddled around with everything around him. Snape's eyes went wide as he saw a third and then a fourth arm come out from nowhere. Spider-man, Snape thought with a dry chuckle, no way, not happening, I know that Hagrid's pet spiders will eat anything that comes too close to their nest. I'm not being eaten by a complete stranger, Snape thought as he backed away. He gasped when steam blew against his back. All right, Snape thought calmly, you have to ask him for a job, Kohaku said so. Snape walked out, gathering his courage with surprising ease.,"Excuse me, sir," he called out. The one he assumed was Kamaji turned and looked at him curiously. "I'm in need of a job, and I was informed that you could get me one.","I have all the workers I need," Kamaji growled, "the places is covered with soot. All I need to do is cast a spell on it when the need for more workers arrives. Go somewhere else.",So these are soot sprites, Snape thought as he looked down at the myriad of fuzz balls surrounding him. He sighed in defeat as he said, "Where can I go? Kohaku told me to come here and ask you for a job." Snape watched the soot sprites as they continued their work as one tripped over their own foot to be crushed under the coal it was carrying. Snape went over to pick up the coal when he saw the sprite struggling underneath it. It was heavier than he thought, but he was still able to pick it up without much trouble. He watched as the sprite ran back into the hole it came from and then turned watching the others as they took their coal to the burner.,When he was about to set the coal down, Kamaji growled, "Finish what you started human.",Snape looked at him surprised, but followed the sprites to the opening maw of flame, tossing the coal into it like they did. Snape was mildly shocked when he saw the other sprites purposely dropping the coal on themselves. "Now hold on," Snape snapped, "I can't just help all of you, I'm only one man.","You runts get back to work," Kamaji barked, "and you, you can't go stealing someone else's job, go somewhere else.","I wasn't trying to steal anyone's job," Snape defended as the sprites griped at Kamaji while surrounding Snape's feet.,"Lunchtime," someone called.,Kamaji turned to the person talking to him as he took something before yelling, "Mealtime, take a break!",Snape gawked as a raccoon dog person started tossing what looked like star-shaped candies to the sprites, which they grabbed greedily. Snape swallowed reflexively when the raccoon dog turned his way and gasped. "A human! You're the one everyone's looking for!" Snape backed into the wall behind him as the raccoon dog pointed at him maliciously.,"He's my nephew," Kamaji said with his mouth full.,"You're nephew?" The raccoon dog questioned.,"He says he needs job, but I already have help," Kamaji continued, "Maybe you can take him to Yubaba, he's strong despite his size.",Thanks, Snape thought sourly as he glared at Kamaji. He then watched as the raccoon dog recoiled into himself uncertain. "I don't know, Yubaba really doesn't , humans.","What if I gave you this roasted newt?" Kamaji teased.,"Oh, now that is racist, just because I'm a raccoon dog doesn't mean that I think with my stomach! However, I won't turn down a good bribe." With that, the raccoon dog pocketed his newt.,Kamaji looked to Snape and says, "If you want get a job, you'll have to speak to Yubaba, she's the head honcho around here. Just follow Hibaru, and he will take you there.","Thank you," Snape said before running over to Hibaru.,"You might want to leave your shoes," Hibaru sighed as he gathered the basket he was carrying.,"Alright," Snape replied as he took off his shoes and socks, leaving them where the sprites eyed them curiously. He then continued to follow Hibaru as he lead him to an elevator. Snape watched beams in the pass until the elevator stopped, and hid behind Hibaru as they looked up at a giant white man... thing.,"The radish spirit," Hibaru said happily. The spirit mumbled something as he pointed up and Hibaru replied, "I'm so sorry, but this is as high as this elevator goes. If you would follow me, I'd be happy to take you to an elevator that will." Snape stayed close behind Hibaru as the radish spirit follows them. Before he could even say something, Hibaru whispered, "Don't worry, radish spirits are normally peaceful." Snape nodded as he continued to follow him to Yubaba's office. Just as they were about to get into an elevator, a frogman called Hibaru's name. Snape hid behind the radish spirit as it seemed to know what to do. Hibaru distracted the frogman as the spirit grabbed the handle and pulled.,Snape stood there as he waited for the elevator to come to a halt. When it finally did, both Snape and the radish spirit looked out into an ornate hallway before the spirit backed up into the elevator. Snape bowed out of respect as the spirit tilted his head in acceptance. He walked up to a pair of golden doors that had head shaped knockers. Cautiously, he took a knocker and knocked twice. He jumped back in surprise when the eyes roll back before the knocker says, "You're the first to have enough sense to knock." Snape was on guard when the doors opened on their own volition. "Well, come in," he heard an older woman say. Where am I suppose to go? Snape thought as he looked down the dark hallway. "I said, come ,," she growled before a force grabbed his top and pulled him in. He grasped the invisible hands that pulled at his top and was dragging him to what he could only assume was Yubaba's office. He tried to catch himself when he was pulled through the last door, but ended up falling flat on his face in front of the fireplace. He groaned as he sat up and rubbed his nose gingerly. He turned to see an older witch sitting at a desk, counting money.,"Excuse me, ma'am," he muttered, "I'm in need of a job." He stared at her curiously as she looked up to him before she lifted her hand and moved it like she was opening an invisible zipper. He was shocked as it felt like his lips literally zipped shut. As he tried to open his mouth he thought, How did she , that? That's so cool, he thought frantically, I'd love to learn to use it on my students!,"Don't be ridiculous," she croaked, "I don't want to hear about it. This is a bathhouse for the gods. It's where they come to replenish themselves, and your friends gobbled of the food like pigs. They got what they deserve!" Why does this sound rehearsed? Snape thought. "And you, you should be punished, too. I could turn you into a pig, or maybe you would prefer a lump if coal?" Her eyes widen drastically at that before she hacked out a laugh. "Actually, I'm impressed you made it this far, but I'm sure you didn't do it alone. Who helped you? Why don't you tell me?",The moment that his lips unzipped, he said, "I would like a job, ma'am.","Don't start that again!" she snapped.,"I'm not leaving until I get a job," Snape replied forcefully.,"Don't start that," she growled before she rushed him, continually poking him in the gut with her sharp nails. "Why on earth would want to hire a smart aleck like you? Anyone can tell that you're sarcastic, temperamental, and you're two-faced liar. I have enough troublemakers working for me already. So, there's no work for you! Or maybe I should give you the hardest job I've got, and work you to your very last breath.",As she said that last sentence, her nails spidered their way up to his neck as she became uncomfortably close to him. His mind screamed, Personal space, personal space, personal space! the entire time. There was a dead silence before they both gasped at a loud thump. A large foot crashed through a door near the desk as a child started crying. Snape's eyes went large when she rushed over to the ruined door, complaining that he woke the baby. Baby? he thought frantically, How did that tiny woman have a baby , big?!,"Why are you still here?" She snapped when she took notice of him again.,"I am ,leaving until I get a job," Snape raised his voice.,"Okay! Okay," she caved before turning her attention to the child, "Here comes mommy!",A few moments later, a pen and a contract flew toward him before everything started fixing itself. She had stated that that was his contract and to sign his life away before muttering about frustration over taking an oath about giving a job to anyone who asks. She griped over not enjoying being so nice, which he mentally muttered about her talking to the choir as he signed the asked if he was done before taking the contract from him.,"So, your name is Severus?" She asked as he nodded, "What a unique name!" He watched as she waved her hand before gripping her hand in a fist. "And it belongs to me, now. Now your name is Ves, do you got that? Answer me, Ves!","Uh... yes ma'am," Snape muttered.,"You called for me?" He heard Kohaku ask.,"This man signed a contract, set him up with a job," she said, waving them off.,Kohaku turned to him and asked, "What is your name?","But I..." Snape began until he remembered he had been given a new name, "It's Ves.","Very well, follow me," Kohaku stated as he turned for the elevator. Snape followed him solemnly as he thought to himself how much he was going to hate his new name. For the first few minutes they rode the elevator quietly until Snape tried to talk to Kohaku only for Kohaku to look at him and place a finger to his lips. Instead of some two-faced hostility that he was expecting, he read a hidden message in that one action informing him that the walls had ears. Snape nodded as he wondered what his stay here would be like.

Okay, so this is sort of like a little test. I want to know if this seems like a good story to read. Please review and let me know. If you think it's good enough to continue I would love to continue it. Thanks! Let me know. (Or if you have any tips, because I tend to be under-descriptive.),"Slytherin!" shouted the Sorting Hat, that's when I saw his big blue eyes. I didn't know who he was, but I wanted to and I would find out soon enough.,I went and sat with the green, cheering table. My cousin Draco Malfoy patted me on the back and stated, "Of course you would get Slytherin. It's the house of the purebloods, like us." I flashed him a smirk, and returned my attention to the rest of the sorting. I was waiting for a my blue eyed boy, I had to know who he was.,"Hollingsworth III, Miles!" shouted the witch, McGonagall.,'So, his name is Miles,' I thought looking done at the table, 'cute.',I know it was INSANELY short, but that's only because I want to know if anyone will be willing to read it.,AND YES, like my other stories I will put something funny at the end.,-Do you ever notice how like, we have our own language for fanfiction that only readers understand?,-For example,-"36k wip destiel hs au on ao3"

(England),Ninja. The Warriors of the shadows. The hidden blade about to strike down evil. The silent killers of a forgotten era. Or at least that's what people would like to think.,In a small English town, one ninja was currently running across the rooftops, silently as a mouse. The young ninja's outfit was dark brown and black with a black piece of fabric covering her mouth, this was Ibuki the young kunichi and she was looking for her target. About a week ago, the school got a call to assassinate a magic user who had been causing chaos. The head ninja had been sceptical of the warning as there had been no new of any attacks.,So they decided to send her to find this 'Terror' and she was ecstatic. "Cute boys with those smooth English accents. Ah, pinch me now!" she had said but now, now she had realised that not all Englishmen were handsome. 'My god, the teeth!' she shuddered from the memories. She was so distracted that she slipped on some ice on one of the rooftops, and with a yelp she fell into a snow pile screaming all the way down.,She landed in the pile head first sending snow everywhere, the only thing that could be seen of her was her black skin-tight behind sticking out for the world to see. The rear end began to quiver from the cold. Little did she know that she was in the exact area that her 'target' was…,Little Harry Potter was cold, miserable and alone. His family…no longer wanted him. He whimpered at that fact. His uncy wanted him to clean the house, but he was too small and didn't understand what to do. He ended up knocking down a vase and that's when he was hit. His uncle grabbed him and tossed him into the boot of the car, and then after driving for about 5 minutes, tossed him into an alleyway with a snarl and left, ignoring his cries and pleas to forgive him and not to leave him here.,This was where he had been ever since. He whimpered as his body shivered in the cold. He turned his head when he heard someone scream nearby and screamed himself when something landed near him, he whimpered in pain as he had moved at the wrong angle and hit the area his uncle had hit before.,Ibuki groaned slightly as she felt her body shiver and her teeth began to clatter 'this is so embarrassing' she thought as she began trying to wiggle her way out. She then heard it. The sound of someone in pain. Someone was in trouble! Using her ninja ability, she exploded from the snow and spun in the air before landing in a crouch, her hair blowing in the wind. "Alright! Who dares disturb the peace around here?!" she began to hop up and down in a fighting stance.,"I'll fight you for the sake of just-" she looked around and blinked when she saw no one. "Huh? I could have sworn" she began to say as she was walking before she tripped over something. With a yelp, she ended up with the top half of her body stuck in another snow pile with her bottom sticking up to the sky awkwardly 'well, this is just ,'.,Harry had heard someone yell, so he curled himself up into a ball at the sound, trying not to be seen. When he felt someone's foot connect with him, he let out a startled yelp. When he heard a crash, he looked up slowly. He saw the bottom half of a body trying to wiggle itself free from a snow pile. He tilted his head in confusion, and yet the act in itself was funny, so he giggled.,Ibuki groaned at the fact that she had embarrassed herself twice. 'stupid ice, stupid snow, stupid Winter!' she thought bitterly as she continued to try and free herself, she then heard giggling and her face glowed a bright red. 'oh great, someone saw that' she thought with dread.,She pulled herself out of the snow and turned towards the noise, she had intended to give the person giggling a stern talking to only to freeze as instead of the laughing man she had suspected, she came face to face with a toddler who looked cold and tired, he was staring up at her with emerald eyes that seemed to sparkle.,She stared at the boy as the boys stared back at her. The boy opened his mouth hesitantly "Wady?" and it was in that very instance that a beautiful bond was born, her eyes began to sparkle in delight at the sight in front of her. "Cutie!" she squealed as she rushed over to him and lifted him up into a hug, electing a cute yelp form the toddler. It just added to his cuteness. She rocked him gently in her arms all the while humming softly and admiring how cute he was.,Harry potter was confused at the action. He had always wanted huggies from his aunt, but she told him she didn't want to catch his freakiness. Yet her was this beautiful lady holding him, hugging him and calling him cute. He tilted his head adorably at this. What was cute? He wanted to ask but at that moment he started to shiver again as the cold was nipping at his tiny body.,Ibuki noticed this instantly and gasped "Aww your cold" she commented sadly. "Don't worry I have something that will warm you right up" she said carefully as she closed her eyes and envisioned what she wanted, after a moment, a black blanket appeared from a puff of smoke and landed in her hand. She quickly wrapped it around him allowing only his head to be exposed. "There we are, all warm and snug".,He sighed in content as he felt the warmth of the blanket and snuggled more into the girls arms "Rhankwoo" he babbled adorably at her. "Awwwww" Ibuki cooed, tightening her hold on him. "Oh my gosh, I'm crying" she gushed. Harry gasped. "Cy? Makoosa?" he exclaimed, upset that he possibly made the woman sad. She giggled. "no, not sad…you're just so CUUUUUUTE!" she pressed him tightly against her chest and rested her cheek on top of his head. He giggled softly. However, they had company…,Walking down the side walk was a large man with a scowl on his face as he walked towards the place he had dropped the freak off. He had come to see if the freak was dead yet, he had recently called in help to end the freaks life. So now as he walked down the street, he was finally excited to see the freak dead and the assassin there, so he could shake the killers hand in thanks.,Yet he was not expecting to here feminine squealing. The fat man grew suspicious, so he quickly turned into the alley and what he saw made him livid. A teenage girl dressed as a ninja was holding the freak in her arms tightly, if he looked closely enough she had hearts in her eyes. A sickening sight for sure. He was so angry, she was who they sent to kill the freak?! A teenage girl pretending to be a ninja! Worse was that she was not hurting the freak, as he could see a SMILE on the freaks face.,Freaks should never smile. He growled lowly and shouted loud enough to shake the glass in the windows "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ibuki stiffened at the sound , and she snapped her head around and almost laughed at the Walrus like man "Umm…I'm holding a baby, Walrus. What are you doing?". "WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?!".,"…What? What are you talking about?" "THE HIT! I PUT THE HIT ON HIM!" the temperature dropped dramatically as she stared at the man with wide disbelieving eyes "What-Why?" she asked confused and horrified. Vernon turned red "BECAUSE HE'S A FREAK! FREAKS NEED TO DIESO US NORMAL PEOPLE CAN LIVE IN PEACE! HIS STUPID FREAKISNESS NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED!" he shouted not knowing he had just unleased hell on himself, after all there is nothing more dangerous than a killer with maternal instincts.,Ibuki lowered her gaze, so that her eyes couldn't be seen. Yet her grip on the boy tightened drastically and now held him protectively in her arms. Vernon growled "So do what you were assigned for and kill the brat" he shouted only to yelp as he felt a stinging sensation on his cheek. He reached up and he felt it, it was wet, he pulled it back and looked at the substance on his hand in horror, blood.,His head snapped up as he now saw the girl in front of him had a kunai in her hand and the brat was nowhere to be seen, her eyes glowing with anger. Young Harry was laying against the wall with his eyes closed not wanting to see the lady fight his uncle. He didn't like fighting, so he covered his ears to block out his uncles loud screams of pain.,"HOW DARE YOU, YOU MONSTER!" she roared "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO KILL A SWEET BABY ANGEL".,"STOP!" Vernon pleaded.,"NEVER! NOT UNTIL YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON, YOU…FREAK!". With one final CRACK, Vernon Dursley was laid out on the wall with multiple kunai stuck in his clothing, hanging him from the wall. He was beaten black and blue with some blood leaking from his mouth. Ibuki took a deep breath as she dusted her hands off before spinning around to get the baby. Only to freeze as she saw him huddled in his blanket with his eyes closed tight and his hands over his ears, he was shivering.,"Baby?" she asked softly and approached him worriedly only to freeze as he sobbed slightly. She rushed over to him and lifted him into a hug, trying to let him know that everything was okay. When he opened his eyes, it broke her heart. They were so scared and sad "Uncy Wycallfreek. Mefreek" he muttered softly. Ibuki's eyes widened "A freak?! You!? No! Never!" she protested.,"Am…" "No, you are not! You are just a little baby. No freaks here at all" "buam!" "shhh" she soothed into his ear gently as she rocks him back and forth "You're a sweetheart. An Angel" she comments softly whilst kissing his head lightly. He whimpered lightly and nuzzled into her embrace trying to be closer to her. Ibuki frowned down at him and lifts him up as she stands and starts to walk out of the alleyway. But first.,She was shrouded in a puff of smoke for a second before it dissipated, afterwards her clothes had changed, she was now wearing a White tee shirt with light blue jeans, he face was now fully exposed as she leaned down and kissed the child again. He whimpered lightly, before looking up and blinking at her new look "Wankwo" he whispered softly.,Ibuki giggled "you're most welcome, cutie" she said gently. She began to walk out of the alley when Harry began to whine in protest "What is it sweetie?" Harry looked back at the alley "Teddy! Blankie!" he pointed at the area they were in "oh, you still have things back there?" "uh-huh, wanback…" "Well okay" she walked back into the alleyway and started looking for his stuff, she kicked Vernon on the way for good measure.,"Where did you leave them sweetie?" Harry pointed to a cardboard box and she felt her heart drop as she approached it. She looked inside and saw a Teddy dressed as a ninja and a blanket covered in shurikens, she stared at the items for a moment before she squealed again in joy for the cuteness overload. "Awww, they are a Ninja bear and Blanket" she baby talked to him making him giggle.,She made the blanket she had created disappear before wrapping him up in his blanket and handing him the bear "Here comes Ninja Bear, sneaking in~~" she sang. Harry giggled and hugged his bear tight. He did find it strange that the bear and blanket had changed from broomsticks and sticks to this, but he didn't care, he thought that this looked much cooler. He giggled up at her and leaned in, he nuzzled his face against hers "Wankwo" he cheered again.,She giggled "Aww, your welcome" she said gently he looked up at her with pure adoration "Oonice!" she smiled down at him "oh yeah?" she planted a kiss on his forehead "well your nice too, baby". Harry giggled at the kiss, then held up his bear "Beawkisstoo?".,Ibuki smiled as she leaned down and kissed the bear on the head "One for you too" she said patting the bear on the head and winking at the child, making him giggle. She smiled as his laughter warmed her heart and she walked out of the alley. She gazed down at him as he nuzzled his bear and smiled up at her. Gosh he was just too cute, she wasn't sure if her heart could take it. She decided to head for her apartment as it was getting dark.,She cooed and gushed over him all the way there, and many people along the way who witnessed the actions smiled to themselves at the adorable display that they thought was a mother and her baby boy. And the ninja girl, she was just fine with that.

1986,Eli 14,Tretij 13,Harry 6,Eli hated adults, ever since Tretij convinced him to move to England they had been out in swarms. Even walking to get them food had been Eli's worst experience, he loathed to interact with them.,He walked down the last aisle and wished that Tre was with him, some reason the adults never ever approached them, maybe that's why he stopped coming. He needed to stop marooning around and get this mission completed.,"Hello, how are you today.","Fine",He loaded up the counter with his goods and finally made eye contact with the ditzy blonde supermom. Eli always seem to wind up down her lane to check out his goods,every week she would try and always fail to ask where his parents were and if he were alone.,"Lovely day isn't it" she smiled down at him.,Eli looked at her with a cold gaze and shrugged, he never did like England's weather. It was either too damn cold and windy or it was raining. He missed Africa and his men, he wondered what they were doing and if they even thought about him. No he thought. They didn't care about him, no one really cared. He was a leader, no one was meant to like him.,"Your awful quite today love. Is there something wrong" she asked, scanning the last of his items.,He didn't answer and simply threw the cash down on the table, glancing at the price that came up on the electronic screen.,"Would you like your receipt" she asked quickly before he could make a escape.,"What do you think" he uttered sarcastically and the next customer in line looked at him and shook his head. It Almost tempted Eli to rebuke back, but some of Tre tendences seem to be rubbing off him since he just took his bags and walked off.,Zap,"Eli please!. oh god! Help me! " Tretij appeared crying and truly terrified, he had never seen him like this.,"Tre calm down, i told you, not yo use your powers like this. What the hell is wrong with you " he said while Tretij collapsed and started hugging his legs making him drop his groceries.,Meanwhile a crowd started to gather around the comotion.,"Get up for god sacks, everyone is looking at us now. " he picked him up and managed to grab back the groceries left on the ground. " alright get us out of here, take us to your phantom pain.",Zap,They appeared in a playground, not somewhere Eli would ever go. They saw a group of boys beating up a young child, he didn't scream out in pain but held it in with inhuman resolve, no wonder why Tretij felt it compalde to act. Eli thought about breaking it up, But an idea formed seeing his friend in distress and the amount of power he possessed made him wait few more minutes. Maybe he would defend this boy.,"Eli please, something bad is going to happen" Tre said looking between him and the group of bullies still beating up the child. Eli just waved him off, waiting for the moment Tre lost his control, it wouldn't be long he thought.,Boom,Tre disappeared from sight, the bullies were hit by some invisible force and flew threw the air. Eli stood upright, a manic gleam in his eye. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation and suddenly Tre appeared next to the boy, hovering above him. Eli frowned slightly, the red beret around Tre shoulder was gone and replaced by a sliver green crest on his heart.,Eli couldn't help but laughed at the bullies reactions, they didn't know whether run or fight back. Though when the sky darkened and the boy who they had beaten up got to his feet. A hiss louder than anything Eli had heard made him cover his ears. A massive snake launched itself out from the edge of the horizon, its body almost blocked out the hidden sun and it crashed mouth wide open into the group of bullies.,Eli tried to brace himself for the resulting shockwave but slammed back with it. He felt a hand secure his arm and the loud zap of Tre sounded off. Eli landed on soft grass and looked up to mushroom cloud sky miles away "Fuck.. what have you done.. Shit..they'll find us now" Eli said grabbing a hold of Tre's arm.,"I...i couldn't help it..Eli, theres two people in that boys head...he..he made that snake...he was so powerful i couldn't help but obey him" He glided over to the unconscious boy in question. Eli thought it was strange to have another soul trap inside another being, but he had sneaking suspicion only someone looking for away to cheat death and live on. He liked that idea, he needed to outsupiour Snake in every way. if was to take his revenge.,"What of the boy, do we need to worry about him being weak. We cannot be weak if we are to take down Snake, otherwise…" Eli turned towards the boy with that same manic gleam in his eye and felt himself frozen in place " Tre you better have some explanation for this. Now!" Eli barked at him ready to explode with anger..,"Stop it" Tre grabbed his head in agony, struggling to rein himself.,"You will not stop Tretij, you will fucking listen to me" he yelled at him, anger filling his head. Eli could manage to clench his fist, while Tre fell to his knees sobbing "Look at you, you need to man up and serious consider how to control your powers. Where's the Tre that almost destroyed Snake. " Eli said reeling all his anger into the words, he felt his head and neck loosen.,The boy laying beside them started to come to, Eli watched him blink a couple times, releasing a set of brilliant green eyes. Eli discovered he was now free from Tre's hold and rubbed his eyes and neck from the unconformable stiffness, he notices Tre had calmed down slightly weather was due to him holding the red beret around his shoulders or if the awoken boy had something to do about it.

When the world found out about the existence of massive prehistoric creatures, it was the Japanese that pretty much said we told you so. As they had a massive 'statue' in the middle of Tokyo of a giant monster that everyone had been told that it was one of the new additions to the city to promote its own smash hit monster movie franchise. Turns out, after San Francisco, the world was forced to accept the existence of massive creatures that had ruled the world long before mankind had. It wasn't long after when more of these creatures were being spotted, which suddenly led to the realization that something was going on.,It wasn't until two years after San Francisco that the creature that showed up to destroy the M.U.T.O.'s resurfaced, killing off the 'Alpha' of the parasitic species, but not without suffering a massive wound that left its' back a boiling, smoking and radioactive hazard. One year later, the awakening event happened, causing all of the now named titans to awaken and attack the largest cities on planet Earth. It wasn't long before the one that instigated this was killed off, by the creature now called Titanus Gojira.,Or his other name…,Godzilla, the King of the Monsters.,Or, at least they thought it was the end of it. The beast that had ended the threat called Ghidorah had another secret, something that had been closely guarded since it was found out. Titanus Gojira was, in actuality, nothing more than a teenage boy called Harry James Potter. Nor did they know that he had only recently begun to learn of his place in the much more vast ecosystem that made up the Earth.,Not only did this cause much strain to the young man, but he also had to face problems in his own life. Time and again, his life would be put in danger in the place he would of called home but now, it was only a thinly veiled location of security and relief. Having just faced and survived the TriWizard Tournament before having to face off against Ghidorah, he had been pushed to the breaking point. Things would change, or he would force a change.,Harry James Potter opened his eyes, showing his reptilian emerald green-yellow slits before they turned into a more human shape. As he sat alone in the dilapidated park, the young wizard could only think on what had transpired over the summer months. After not only bringing back Cedric's body and a warning that Voldemort was back, but also saving the Earth itself from a massive cosmic hydra, the wizarding world had turned on him completely. Most of the articles were written by Rita Skeeter, which the magical populace had gobbled up as the truth and any naysayer would have been lynched if the Government had allowed it.,The latest article was all about his "delusional mindset" and "reckless magical oath" he had made moments after announcing the return of You-Know-Who. However, it seemed like this was more of a desperate ploy to try and ignore the magical oath, but, it seemed that some people weren't absolute morons and had taken his oath seriously. Which had led to an investigation and evidence that he had been right that someone had used a ritual to reform one's own body. Harry had a right old laugh as the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was forced to acknowledge that he, Harry, had been witness to a very dark ritual and faced a powerful wizard or witch.,That had been the only victory that Harry had won, the rest was slander and ridicule against him. They would learn eventually, he thought to himself, rising from the only remaining swing on the playgrounds' swing set. His feet took him back to his 'Relatives' house, on instinct, as his mind remained focus on his problems. He was pretty much alone at number four, Privet Drive, his 'friends' having refused to write anything back. Worse, they were keeping his beloved familiar, Hedwig, from returning! He had pretty much used a Ministry delivery owl to tell them that if Hedwig wasn't released from her imprisonment, he would use the Ministry to find her as she was his legal Familiar.,The Ministry had its uses, this was one of them. It was illegal to keep ones' familiar away from the Master against its' will, after all. But, it seemed that they hadn't listened and he finally sent a legitimate complaint to the Ministry about this. That had been a few days ago, which was probably the only thing that was good about them, they took magical familiar's seriously. Harrys' feet pounded the ground as he crossed under the bridge that connected Wisteria Walk to Little Whinging before he stopped dead.,The air was cold, icy even, the lights flickering before they shut off. His senses seemed to be muted for the briefest moment before he snorted, neon blue flame flying out of his nostrils. He growled deeply, rolling his shoulders back as his body filled out, gaining muscle mass and height. His clothing seem to have vanished as his body grew darker, scales forming over his human skin. Claws grew from his fingers as thick talons dug into the pavement under his feet. A long tail snaked out from behind him, as his face elongated into an animal's snout. Out of his back grew three rows of dorsal spines, the central one being the largest as Harry shook his body, growling loudly.,The cold backed off, his body radiating heat that made the intense cold retreat. The pitch black space around him was illuminated by the bright glow from his dorsal spines, blue beams shoving the darkness back. Harry looked around, using his senses to find the only things that could create this scenario, Dementors. His ears picked up, hearing the long, rasping, rattling breaths that announced the presence of the foul creatures. Widening his stance, he let out a guttural bark into the darkness as the breathing momentarily paused before the first creature appeared.,The Dementor floated above the ground, a long, withered cloak the only thing covering it. The hood showed none of its face as the skeletal hands that were covered in slimy, rotted skin, hung at its sides. The smell of it was worse, that of mold, rotten flesh and death. Harry hissed darkly, his dorsal spines flashing several times in warning. It didn't heed the warning, only drawing closer, arms lifting to wrap its corpse like fingers around its victims throat. Harry opened his jaws, as the air vibrated and hummed. Out of his maw surged a torrent of blue fire, not actual flames but pure radiation, striking the Dementor head on.,Despite popular belief in the magical communities, there were forces on planet Earth that not only counter Magic, but negate it and even leave once magically rich environments nothing more than barren wastelands. The Magical communities of Japan and America knew for a fact that radiation was one of those forces, as Magical representatives of the American Magical Congress had lost their magic for several months during the first testing of the Atomic Bomb. Japan knew it from when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hit with the same weapons. Then it was reinforced when the Castle Bravo test was done, those magical representatives had been unable to use magic for several years afterwards.,The Dementor, being a magical creature, had no defenses against one of the natural energies that the planet produced. It shrieked in agony, its cloak instantly burning upon contact as its rotten flesh liquefied before evaporating. The foul thing tried to make an escape, shrieking loudly but it was struck down with another blast of the blue flame. Harry snarled as he quickly turned, roaring as his claws slashed the cloak of the second Dementor. It backpedaled, but didn't last as long as his fellow. Harry turned it to ash, its haunting shrieks hanging in the air for what seemed like an eternity before everything changed back.,Moon, stars, lights, sounds, everything returned to its natural state before Harry broke the night with a roar of victory. He shook himself before returning to his human body, shrinking and returning to normal in a matter of heartbeats. He was just about to turn for home when a feminine voice broke the night like a gunshot.,"Such bravery from the Alpha," The voice said, making Harry spin around, "when he didn't really need to show it."

Hermione Granger's parents knew that their daughter was...unique. That much was made clear when Hermione was first born. When Hermione had been cleaned and handed to her mother, she had opened her eyes for the first time. Hermione's mother had been a little shocked to find out that her daughter had pink eyes.,"It looks like it's a genetic mutation," The doctors had told Hermione's mother and father after they had done a check up on Hermione, "It doesn't seem to be causing any problems as of now but come back here in a few weeks so we can run more tests on her.",After two years of testing, Hermione's parents had brought her to the park to play for her third birthday. Hermione's father tossed Hermione up and down in the air, who giggled in delight when she was caught.,"Honey I'm not sure you should be doing that..." Hermione's mother said.,"Don't worry, we're having fun, aren't we Hermione?" Hermione's father asked.,Hermione giggled and nodded. And Hermione's father smiled as he turned to his wife.,"See?" he said, "She's fine!","Okay Hermione I'm going to throw you up really high, are you ready?",Hermione giggled in response, and her father threw her into the air. Hermione stayed suspended in the air for a few seconds before she fell back into her father's arms.,"Do you want to go again Hermione?" Hermione's father asked, but Hermione shook her head.,"You go next Daddy!" Hermione shouted,Hermione's father laughed. "Hermione I'm too big for you to throw me!","Let me try!" Hermione shouted. "Please?","Alright Hermione," Hermione's father said as he placed her on the grass, "But I don't think-",Hermione's father blinked as Hermione effortlessly lifted him off of the ground.,"Huh?" Hermione's mother rubbed her eyes. "Hermione did you just...?","Ready Daddy?" Hermione asked. "When I count to three I'm going to through you, okay?","Wait Hermione how did yo-","1...2...3!",Hermione flung her father into the air; Hermione's mother could still hear his screams as he became a speck in the sky.,"AHHHHHH-!",Hermione's father plunged down from the sky, his scream was cut short as Hermione caught him in her arms.,"Did you have fun Daddy?" Hermione asked her father, "Do you want to go again?","N-no Hermione, I'm fine." Hermione's father said before he dropped to the ground, knocking himself out.,Because they knew about her...uniqueness, it was much easier to accept the fact that she was a witch. As crazy as it sounded, it was the only thing that made sense. They just hoped that her time at the school wouldn't change her for the worse...,Hermione knew it was rather pathetic that she let Ron's comment get to her. But she'd had enough of people making fun of her just because she liked to tell other people about things. She liked being helpful, but it seemed that everyone in Hogwarts would rather go without her help., Hermione thought to herself, ,Hermione turned on the sink and splashed herself in the face with cold water. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes before looking at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying so much, she sniffled again. If she went out now, people would make fun of her if they saw her walking alone in the corridors. Hermione sighed, Could this day get any worse?,That was when Hermione noticed the putrid smell that had wafted into the room. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.,"Excuse me, but someone's in he-",That was when the door to the bathroom burst open, revealing a large troll. The troll lumbered into the bathroom, its footsteps caused the ground to tremble as it looked dazed and confused. Then the troll spotted Hermione, who was rooted to the spot in fear. The troll roared and swung its club in a wide arc, hitting Hermione in the stomach. Hermione was winded as she was sent flying through the air, she came to a stop as she crashed into the wall. Hermione hit the ground as she slid off the wall, and the troll lumbered towards her.,Hermione noticed something strange as she was on the ground. She knew she should be in excruciating pain, and while the blow to her stomach did hurt, it had become more of a nuisance than anything else.,"Hermione!" Hermione heard a voice shout, before Ron and Harry raced into the bathroom. The two of them blinked in surprise as the troll turned to face the two of them. The two boys pointed their wands at the troll and cast spell after spell at it. But the spells bounced off the troll, and the boys began to panic., Hermione thought to herself, ,Unfortunately, she had no idea of what she should do. Spells weren't going to work on the troll, and she doubted that she could convince it to leave them alone. If she was going to resolve the situation, it would probably be best to use force.,"Hey!" Hermione shouted, catching the troll's attention, "Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?!","Hermione what are you doing?!" Harry shouted as the troll lumbered towards Hermione, "You're going to get killed!",Hermione ignored Harry, as she raced towards the troll. Sparks of pink light traveled behind her as she leapt into the air, surprising the troll and the two boys as she started to fly. When Hermione got close enough to the troll, she cocked her fist back before she punched the troll in the face. She felt the troll's nose break underneath her fist, before the force of the blow sent it crashing through the walls into the hallway.,"What the hell?" Ron looked at Hermione who was still floating in the air, and then at the troll that was unconscious in the hallway. Suddenly the professors turned up as well, each one of them looked at Hermione in shock.,"Um, I took care of the troll." Hermione said, "But I might've broken a few things..."

I am mildly surprised that there have been so few Simpsons/Harry Potter crossovers. Sure, the Simpsons are American and their show is but a shadow of its 90's heyday, but they are apparently still moderately popular in the US and their legendary 'classic-era' episodes stand undiminished in their greatness. The idea of Bart using his magic to raise hell within both the muggle and wizarding worlds while Lisa tries to act as his restraining bolt is also an amusing concept.,The portrayal of Bart largely comes from the Classic Era seasons of the Simpsons (IMO Seasons 2-8, 1990-1997). During this era, he was not only a troublemaking hell-raiser, but he was also cunning, resourceful, socially adept, street-smart and highly intelligent when the mood took him. After all, not being particularly academically inclined does not make one stupid. For example, he singlehandedly took down the highly-intelligent Sideshow Bob when he tried to explode Aunt Selma.,My A/N's will explain more obscure references to the Simpsons, as they crop up.,Obviously, both Bart and Lisa will be magical. Marge and Homer are No-Maj/Muggles (thankfully in the case of Homer – who knows the amount of destruction that he could have wrought around Springfield by using magic)?,After some deliberation, I have decided not to make any of the supporting characters wizards. Put simply, they would either not add anything to the story (as with Milhouse, a dorky kid with average intelligence and poor social skills), would seem superfluous next to existing HP characters (Ralph Wiggum is basically an intellectually-impaired version of Luna Lovegood; for Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney read Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle; for Martin Prince read Hermione Granger) or are otherwise hard to place within the existing HP universe (Nelson).,Although Bart and Lisa will initially expect to be attending Ilvermorny, the American wizarding school, instead of Hogwarts, they will obviously wind up at Hogwarts one way or another.,As to the various HP characters, they will initially conform largely to canon/fanon stylings; however, interacting with Bart and Lisa will change them considerably over time. Bart and Lisa will also change somewhat as a result of being exposed to a world which has a very different culture from small-town, provincial Springfield. The plot will also diverge from canon as time progresses.,Plotting aside, the HP/Simpsons universe will mostly adhere to canon, with a few variations here and there for novelty's sake.,Any praise and constructive criticism will be appreciated highly. Hell, I might be able to use more scathing commentary to try and improve the story…,BTW, I obviously don't own HP or the Simpsons, never mind both, otherwise I would have fame and wealth approaching that of Bill Gates.,Where I appropriate or modify lines and take plot cues from HP or the Simpsons, they deserve due credit.,At 6:00pm, Homer walked through the door after a long day of lazing away at the nuclear power plant and nearly causing two meltdowns. As he did so, he saw an 11-year old Bart and a 9-year old Lisa sitting on the sofa, with Bart in his Ilvermorny robes.,Even a mind as limited as Homer's could establish that something was very wrong with this picture. After all, Bart had only left to attend Ilvermorny that morning. Also, as far as he understood Ilvermorny was meant to be a boarding school, which meant that Bart was meant to be out of his hair until at least Christmas.,"Boy? Why have you returned from Ilver-whats-its so soon?" Homer enquired.,"I got expelled", came Bart's lengthy reply, showing Homer his broken wand.,"That's my boy", Homer replied as he went to the fridge, cracked open a beer and walked back out. As his slow mind comprehended what Bart had actually said, he then did a double take and shouted, "Wait, WHAT?","Don't worry, I can make my way as a lovable chimney sweep", Bart exclaimed, trying to head off Homer's rising temper. "I'll be as clean as a whistle, sharp as a thistle, best in all Springfield, yeah!","No son of mine is going to be some lowly chimney sweep! We're going to get you a wizarding education! And what the hell did you do to get yourself expelled on the first day anyway?" Homer demanded.,"As if you care", Bart retorted.,"Tell me now boy, or I'll give you the strangling of a lifetime!" Homer threatened.,At this, Bart relented and began to recite what had happened, reminiscing about the day's events as he did so.,Bart woke up at 7:00am that day to a clear, crisp blue sky. He was actually looking forward to his first day at his new wizarding school. Making the lives of his teachers at Springfield Elementary a living hell with his magical abilities, including using a colouring charm to turn Principal Skinner's hair pink and transfiguring a rake into a dog before having it attack Groundskeeper Willie, had gotten somewhat stale, as had hexing the school bullies to dissuade them from menacing him over his 'freaky' ability to perform magic without using a wand.,He had in fact learnt how to do this from a very young age, firstly to prevent his magical prodigy of a sister from monstering him, but also to get back at the kindergarten teacher who spent much of her time demeaning Bart's abilities. To Bart's pleasure, she had permanently fled the premises after her clothes mysteriously vanished from her person one day, rendering her stark naked in front of a group of laughing kindergarteners. Much to Principal Skinner's displeasure, he was unable to pin this incident on Bart because according to his classmates, Bart had not moved a muscle when the teacher's clothes vanished.,That being said, when Lisa displayed similar abilities to fend off a group of older bullies, suspicion around the two quickly spread throughout Springfield, with only Marge's intervention preventing them both from literally being burnt at the stake. However, much to Bart's undiluted glee, both were forbidden from attending church by Reverend Lovejoy on the basis that their powers obviously made them agents of Satan. Additionally, acting on the theory that both were possessed by demons, Ned Flanders constantly pursued them with his trusty exorcism tongs whenever he encountered them. Meanwhile, both had become pariahs at school, with only the perpetually oblivious Ralph Wiggum being completely unafraid of them.,Such pariahdom wore on the ever-social Bart, so it came as a relief when an attractive brown-eyed, middle-aged witch with hair in a brown bob came to the door of ,, as Bart had christened it, one day. After the witch introduced herself as Professor Griselda Goldstein, she informed Bart that he was a wizard, duly taking him to acquire his robes, textbooks and a cage with an eagle owl that the shopkeeper had named Balthazar. Bart had originally wanted to acquire a flesh-eating bat to deliver his mail, but after discovering that those weren't actually used by wizards, he selected the eagle owl for its sleek facial features. He vividly recalled the exchange which took place between him and Balthazar after he had learned the owl's name.,"What kind of name is Balthazar? I'm renaming you Bart's Littlest Helper.",At hearing this, the owl clucked in displeasure.,"I don't think he likes that name", the shopkeeper noted.,"What does he care? He's a damn OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Bart yelled as the eagle owl used its beak to contort Bart's ear into a highly unnatural position.,"Ok fine, fine! Balthazar it is!" Bart moaned. "Stupid owl.",Upon hearing this, Balthazar set upon Bart again, this time trying to peck his face into a bloody chunk.,"I don't think he appreciates being called stupid", the shopkeeper dryly noted.,"How does he even understand me? He's a goddamn owl!" Bart exclaimed.,"These aren't regular No-Maj owls Mr. Simpson. Wizarding owls are highly intelligent. They can not only deliver mail, but they can also understand English", the shopkeeper explained.,"Great, now you tell me", Bart groaned. "Alright Balthazar; I'm sorry I called you stupid.",At this, the owl ceased its attack and perched itself on Bart's shoulder.,He heard a soft chuckle behind him. Turning, he realised that Professor Goldstein had been watching the scene with considerable mirth the entire time.,Soon afterwards, Bart commanded the owl to return to its cage, for he didn't want Homer chasing it out of the house with his shotgun. After that, Bart and Professor Goldstein apparated back to his house, an experience that Bart felt was akin to travelling in a flexible tube at warp speed. In other words, the most nauseating thing he had experienced since he had that squishee-induced hangover.,Focusing his mind back to the present, he dressed in his blue and cranberry Ilvermorny robes. He then placed his textbooks into his trunk and place his trusty slingshot and a few Lil' Bastard Stink Bombs into his pocket. After this, he levitated his trunk and cage down, ate breakfast, bade his family farewell and strode onto the front lawn as a yellow school bus revealed itself, emblazoned with the words 'ILVERMORNY SCHOOL OF WITHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY', revealed itself.,Bart pondered. Upon entering the bus, Bart quickly realised that it had been magically enhanced to fit as many students as necessary.,, Bart thought as he took a seat next to some nameless wizard. Upon doing so, seat belts magically appeared to restrain both him and his cage as the bus suddenly flew up into the air and hurtled through the sky at Mach speed, stopping periodically to pick up students.,"Hey dude, won't regular people see this bus as it comes down or goes up? Also what happens if you need to take a whiz?" Bart asked the wizard next to him, who had an eagle owl of his own in a cage.,With a degree of humour, the wizard responded, "Nah, this bus is invisible to No-Maj. Also, there are two toilets on the bus – the seat belts will also come off if you say 'UNLOCK' but they won't do that if the bus is ascending or descending.","Well, too bad if you're taking a piss when the bus goes down – or up", Bart slyly responded, to which the other wizard laughed. "By the way, what the hell's a No-Maj?,"They're people who can't use magic.","So, how do you know all this stuff?","Eh, my family are wizards. I take it that your parents are both No-Maj? Your town isn't known for producing wizards", the wizard mused.,"Yeah. Even if Hom-I mean, ,, was a wizard, he still wouldn't know which end of the wand to use", Bart joked, causing the other wizard to chuckle.,"Anyway, I think introductions are in order. The name's Boot, Seraphinus Boot. My ancestors, Chadwick and Webster Boot, founded Ilvermorny", Seraphinus stated, turning to offer Bart his hand. As Seraphinus did so, Bart took note of his curly brown hair, high cheek-bones and dark brown eyes which burned with the passionate intensity of a thousand suns.,"That's cool. The name's Bart Simpson", Bart replied, shaking Seraphinus' hand.,"Pleasure to meet you Simpson. So tell me, what do you know about magic?",At this, Bart recounted how he had used both non-verbal and wandless magic from a young age, going over some of his most impressive pranks, one of which included levitating a stick and transfiguring it into a beehive before banishing it towards Groundskeeper Willie, who was promptly attacked by a bunch of angry bees. At this, Seraphinus was both amused and impressed.,"You could transfigure objects into animals without a wand and cast non-verbal spells at such a young age? I'm really impressed Simpson. You're going to be a very powerful wizard if you apply yourself", Seraphinus enthused.,"What, you mean not every young wizard can do it?" Bart exclaimed with genuine surprise. "I mean, my little sister knows how to, um, transfigure stuff as well.",Seraphinus surveyed him with surprise before shaking his head. "No Simpson. Not even I can do that. That said, I'm really good at Charms. I take after my ancestor Chadwick in that regard. He actually wrote our current charms textbooks.","Pfffft. I hate reading textbooks. That's more my sister's thing", Bart blandly responded.,Feeling rather put out, Seraphinus duly changed the subject. "So what house do you expect to be placed in? I think that I'll be placed in either Wampus or Thunderbird like my ancestors.","I dunno. How are you selected?","Well, there are four: Horned Serpent, Wampus, Thunderbird and Pukwudgie." At hearing the name Pukwudgie, Bart burst into laughter.,Ignoring him, Seraphinus continued. "Horned Serpent prefers scholars, Wampus favours warriors, Thunderbird prefers adventurers and Pukwudgie prefers healers. I personally think that you'll be placed in either Wampus or Thunderbird.",Bart nodded in response, as Seraphinus engaged in a lengthy monologue documenting the exploits of his ancestors and family members. Not wanting Seraphinus to dominate the conversation, Bart responded by regaling Seraphinus about his various activities outside of school, including solving crimes, travelling to various locations and even causing an international incident with the Australians. At this, Seraphinus struggled to control his laughter.,Bart then asked whether Ilvermorny offered baseball, soccer or American football. Looking utterly perplexed, Seraphinus dryly noted, "I wouldn't know those sports from a hole in the ground. No, students at Ilvermorny can play either Quidditch or Gobstones. Quadpot is also popular in America's wizarding community, but it's not played at Ilvermorny – it's too dangerous, you see.",Barely containing his laughter at those names, Bart nonetheless asked what those games entailed, to which Seraphinus gave another lengthy explanation. Bart ultimately wasn't sure whether he found flying on broomsticks and beating opponents with bludgers more enticing or simply handling an exploding Quad. Seraphinus explained that his father had been a reasonably skilled Chaser for Thunderbird and hoped that he could in turn prove his worth on the Quidditch pitch.,At this, Bart decided to mine Seraphinus for information regarding where the school's brooms might be kept, for he thought that he could have a little fun with one during his spare time.,Oblivious to Bart's intent, Seraphinus simply responded, "My father told me that each house's broom is kept in a secure shed within a certain part of the Quidditch grounds to prevent them from being tampered with by members of other houses.",Bart was unfazed by this information; he had long since perfected the unlocking charm in order to sneak into places, such as Springfield Elementary teacher's lounge, and wreak havoc.,Bart then asked Seraphinus why he acquired an eagle owl. "Well, my family have used eagle owls for generations, since my family have historically been closely associated with the Magical Congress of the United States of America, or MACUSA for short, which has an eagle as its emblem. Why did you get yours?","Oh, I just thought it looked cool", Bart responded with his trademark nonchalance.,Before long, the flying bus had landed on Ilvermorny Castle grounds. Both Seraphinus and Bart walked into the entrance hall, with their owls having been taken to the Owlery by the groundskeeper beforehand. The supervising teacher, who turned out to be Professor Goldstein, explained that students were to step on a Gordian Knot in the centre of the hall. At this point, the large wooden statues representing the mascots of the four houses would react if they wanted the student in their house.,The name "Boot, Seraphinus!" was called out in rather short order by Professor Goldstein. At this, Seraphinus patted Bart on the back and said, "Good luck, Simpson. Hope to see you in whatever house I get placed in", before confidently strolling off. When he stepped on the Gordian Knot, the Thunderbird carving beat its wings.,At this, the Thunderbird house cheered and chanted, "We've got Boot! We've got Boot!" However, before he could sit down at the Thunderbird table he was directed by another professor to another large hall to obtain his wand.,At this display, Bart slyly mused inwardly, ,.,Eventually the name "Simpson, Bartholomew!" was called out and Bart proceeded to the Gordian Knot. When he did so, the Wampus carving roared and the Thunderbird carving beat its wings.,After murmurs of surprise rippled through the Great Hall, Professor Goldstein implored, "Choose your house quickly, Simpson!",Enjoying the attention, Bart trolled Professor Goldstein by taking the next five minutes to decide before shouting "Thunderbird!" in a bid to stay close to Seraphinus.,Seraphinus applauded heartily along with the rest of the house, but Bart had to obtain his wand in the large hall first. In the large hall he met four wandmakers: Shikoba Wolfe, Johannes Jonker, Violetta Beauvais and Thiago Quintana.,Beauvais had him try a 13-inch wand which was made of swamp mayhaw wood. This wand did shoot out some sparks when Bart tried it, but Beauvais seemed unimpressed and had Quintana hand Bart one of his wands, a sleek 15-inch wand with a core from the mysterious White River Monster. Much to Quintana's annoyance, this wand simply disintegrated in Bart's left hand, to which Bart quipped, "Ay carumba!",Jonker then handed Bart one of his wands, an 11-inch wand which a mother-of-pearl inlay and a Wampus cat core. Bart tried to cast a levitation spell using this wand but found his aim not to be true.,Finally, Wolfe handed him a 12-inch wand intricately carved wand which had a Thunderbird tail feather as a core. He then fired at a table and transfigured it into a cheetah, which bolted from the hall with teachers in hot pursuit.,At the display Bart yelled "Oy vey baby!" knowing that he had found his perfect wand. From there, Wolfe simply shortened the wand so he could grip it more easily, after which Bart left the hall and sat next to Seraphinus.,"Congratulations on being sorted into Thunderbird, Simpson! I hope this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship!" Seraphinus effused.,"Yeah, so do I,, Bart casually replied. They then engaged in a little bit of wand play, cocking each other's wands back and forth, taking in the fact that they had nigh-on identical wands, with Seraphinus' wand being a tad longer.,After savouring the most sumptuous feast that Bart could recall and enduring a speech from Headmaster Agilbert Fontaine, a clean-shaven, stern-looking man with sleek black hair and black eyes that seemed to penetrate one's soul, the prefects led Bart along with the rest of the first-years to the Thunderbird common room, which was located in one of the castle's highest towers, christened Thunderbird Tower. The common room itself was painted in the house colours of red, gold and green, with a fireplace alongside several sofas and tables being featured in the middle of the room. At this, Bart thought, ,.,The female prefect then went into a long speech about what Thunderbird stood for, how students could best live up to such ideals and what students needed to do if they had any problems. Bart didn't pay much attention to this speech, instead losing himself in fantasies regarding Itchy blowing up Scratchy with a Quad.,Professor Goldstein eventually strode in and gave each student their schedule. To Seraphinus' joy, they had Charms, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, with a spare period in between the latter two classes. At this, Bart evilly thought, "That's when I can have a little fun with one of the house brooms.",For Bart, Charms was a fairly prosaic business. Along with Seraphinus, he of course knew how to perform the Levitation Charm, having used it in many a prank, but he wrote as little as he could get away with. Transfiguration, as taught by Professor Goldstein, was equally dull for Bart, as he could transfigure the alphabet in his sleep. Nonetheless, Goldstein awarded Bart 5 points, despite being annoyed by Bart's proclivity for writing as little as possible.,Mercifully for Bart, Transfiguration ended, allowing him to try and locate the Quidditch grounds and therefore the shed with Thunderbird's house brooms. Before doing so however, he misled Seraphinus into believing that he was simply seeking out the nearest toilet, before surreptitiously casting both the Disillusionment and Silencing Charms to avoid unwanted attention from teachers and students. He recalled that those charms invariably allowed him to perpetrate certain semi-legal activities without detection, such as shoplifting at the Kwik-E-Mart.,After some searching, he finally found the Thunderbird broom shed on the Quidditch grounds. He suspected that these locks would be more difficult to undo than regular locks, so he chanted the incantation for the unlocking charm that he had only recently learnt about in his newly-acquired textbook, ", duly opening the lock and allowing Bart to sneak into the shed before leaving the door partially closed.,He then examined the brooms. Finally, he laid his eyes upon the house's newest broom; the Cleansweep Seven.,All of a sudden, Bart 'heard' the broom in question calling out to him, "Hey Bart; I'm Mandy, fly me!",, Bart thought to himself, having second thoughts about the endeavour.,"What, aren't you a real man Barty boy? Do you like getting it on with boys instead of girls?" Mandy taunted.,At this, Bart bristled and narrowed his eyes at the broom. "Let's go, Bart commanded.,"Now you're talking", Mandy purred as Bart took the broom off the wall and sat on it, holding it in a death grip.,"Ready?,the Cleansweep seductively asked.,"Whenever you are, baby.",At this, the broom shot out of the shed at frightening speed, blasting the door off its hinges and leaving Bart clinging onto the broom for dear life while screaming for the divine intervention of every deity that came to mind. Indeed, the broom more or less had its way with Bart, dragging him around the Quidditch grounds like a particularly hyperactive dog would drag its owner.,Unfortunately, while Mandy was busy treating Bart like a ragdoll, Headmaster Fontaine and Professor Goldstein had come out to inspect the grounds, with both having their back to Bart. Seeing something on the ground, Fontaine bent over to determine what it was.,To Bart's horror, Mandy suddenly straightened, sending both the broom and the terrified boy clutching on to it on a collision course with Fontaine's posterior. At this point, Professor Goldstein saw Mandy coming and shouted to the heavens, but by then it was too late – Mandy crashed into Headmaster Fontaine's behind with a comical KAPOW!,Bart was thrown a short distance when this happened and almost immediately fell unconscious, with his last thoughts being filled with dread regarding what the two professors would do to him once he regained consciousness.,Regrettably for Bart, his worst fears came to pass as soon as he regained consciousness in the infirmary, with Headmaster Fontaine, Professor Goldstein and another man that he did not recognise looking over him. Headmaster Fontaine in particular looked like he wanted nothing more than to flay Bart alive, but instead elected to allow the unknown man to make a statement. The man, who introduced himself as Tychus Tolliver from MACUSA while twirling Bart's wand like a plaything, stated as such:,"Mr. Simpson, Ilvermorny is a school which holds itself to the highest behavioural standards. The truth is, Headmaster Fontaine had reservations about allowing you to attend this hallowed institution because your antics are somewhat…legendary among the wizarding teaching community. He knew about the various feats of magic that you've used to terrorise your No-Maj primary school teachers. However, he believed that all American wizarding students should be granted an opportunity to attend Ilvermorny and so he decided to give you the benefit of the doubt.,Unfortunately, he now believes, and I am minded to agree, that this benefit has been misplaced and that you are incapable of adhering to this school's behavioural standards. You are hereby expelled from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and so I will have to snap your wand.,However, while you will be forbidden from attending a wizarding school within the United States as per Congressional regulations, Headmaster Fontaine has generously allowed you to attend a wizarding school overseas, for he believes that your magical talent may eventually benefit the global wizarding community.",At this, Tolliver gripped Bart's wand, with Bart's eyes bugging out like saucers as the lovingly crafted wand slowly began to creak under the pressure Tolliver was applying to it. Eventually, it discreetly snapped, although to Bart's delicate ears it may as well have sounded like a gunshot, because his ability to practice wand magic was for the time being terminated with extreme prejudice.,After this had occurred, Tolliver and Headmaster Fontaine left the infirmary and the matron gave him a bone-healing potion and cast a concussion-healing charm on him. After this, Professor Goldstein unceremoniously dragged him out of bed, took him to Thunderbird Tower to collect his belongings, to the Owlery to collect Balthazar, and then out of the school grounds. She then apparated with Bart to his house and left him standing outside the front door, at which point he walked in to face the music.,After recounting his story, Bart stopped to look at Homer, who had a look of pure rage etched upon his face. He then uttered, "Why…you…little!" before choking Bart like a chicken.,Bart's antics being legendary among the wizarding teaching community is a reference to 'Special Edna', wherein it is discovered that his actions have made him a legend among the No-Maj teaching community.,Bart being able to transfigure is inspired by 'Treehouse of Horror II: The Bart Zone'.,Bart's ability to cast charms/hexes non-verbally/wandlessly will be explained in later chapters. Bart only having very recently learned the actual incantations for spells is to be expected since it would not be easy, if at all possible, for Bart and Lisa to acquire any wizarding books on the topic, given how their parents are No-Maj/Muggles. Just because one can use controlled magic verbally/non-wandlessly does not mean they know any specific incantations, as Tom Riddle proved. I just realised this and made some minor edits to that effect.,BTW, Bart might not be very studious in general, but he is eager to learn if it helps him accomplish a specific goal, such as pranking people, which the Unlocking Charm incantation would.,While this is never made clear in canon, I would assume that Professor McGonagall apparated to Hermione's house to deliver her letter personally since she was a Muggle-born, so I have had Professor Goldstein do the same here.

The Hitchhikers Guide To Wizarding.,{Insert the original radio theme here},Idea: Oneshot in which Harry Cheats at Quidditch, Marvin Makes a friend and Arthur finds some tea... Or does he? Ok yes he does.,-0-0-0-0-0-,Harry flew his Firebolt around the Quidditch pitch in hot pursuit of the golden snitch, just five meters out of arm reach when a bludger cut across his sight and forced him to dodge it and lose sight of the snitch. He flew up above the match and began to circle, looking for the snitch. Without warning a bludger impacted with his broom and exploded for reasons completely not atall perfectly understandable destroying the broom completely. Harry fell... He continued to fall... Ten metres from the ground the snitch flew across his line of sight and distracted him as he reached for it. He missed the grab however the distraction had left him bobbing above the ground in a slightly foolish manner. With instinct he immediately did his best to not think about it and began to float higher. He concentrated on the snitch, he began to look for it and, THERE! Forgetting about his lack of a broom Harry launched forward and grabbed the snitch. He flew up for a victory lap, he had do e it again! Griffindor had beaten Slytherin once more!,"Hey Potter!" Came out the voice of Malfoy "You realise you lost your broom?" Harry realised he was flying by himself and with this realisation he promptly fell Fifty Feet to the ground and died.,-0-0-0-0-0-,Severus Snape was walking through the corridors of hogwarts dungeons when a grey green alien appeared infront of him. "Severus Snape?" It said in a kind of efficient yap. "Uhh yes?" He confirmed with some confusion. "Your a massive Greasy Git." It informed him and disappeared. Snape was left standing still and confused as a white robot with triangular green eyes that despite being perfectly emotionless managed to convey utter contempt of all things human. Walked into the hall. "He was right you know your hair is made of Ninety Four Point Two Zero Five Four Two. And life is a Git. Life! Don't talk to me about life!" It complained "I never even mentioned it." Snape decided the most sensible thing to do was also quite simple; "Avada Kedavra!" He yelled at Marvin, only to have the spell bounce off into a mirror and down the hall. Little did he know that this would cause a temporal rift to appear for a never of an eternity just in the hall through witch the spell flew. The other end of this hole was on a Large white sneaker shaped star ship the spell flew out of the hole in this ship and hit a machine labeled a 'Nutri-Matic' that a certain Ape-Decendant Arthur Dent was attempting to get a cup of tea from and succeeding in producing.a brownish liquid that was almost, but not quite entirely unlike tea. After the spell hit it began to pour out liquid cups that turned into normal china cups with blue flowers on after a moment and then began to spew out a small amount of a different brownish liquid that after an hour of barely filling the cup was found to taste Almost but not quite, entirely unlike the thing that was almost entirely unlike tea.,-0-0-0-0-9-,That's it guys! Hope you enjoyed this thing that came from boredom.

He was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place. His heart beating very fast, Harry stood listening to the chill silence. Could the basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? And where was Ginny?,He pulled out his wand and moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. He kept his eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following him. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, he thought he saw one stir.,Then, as he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.,Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with red hair.,"Ginny!" Harry muttered, sprinting to her and dropping to his knees. "Ginny don't be dead- please don't be dead-" He flung his wand aside, grabbed the girl's shoulders, and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't Petrified. But then she must be...,"Ginny, please wake up," Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side.,"She won't wake," said a soft jumped and spun around on his knees.,A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry were looking at him through a misted window. But there was no mistaking him.,"Tom- Tom Riddle?" Riddle nodded at Harry's realisation, not taking his eyes off Harry's face.,And then it hit him. "What do you mean, she won't wake?" Harry said desperately, turning to him, adjusting his crouch beside Ginny's lifeless form. "She's not- she's not-?","She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just.",Harry stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen.,"Are you a ghost?" Harry said, his voice rather uncertain.,"A memory," Riddle corrected quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years.",He pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant mouth. Lying open there, in front of the gaping void of blackness, was the little black diary Harry had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. For a second, Harry wondered how it had got there — but there were more pressing matters to deal with.,"You've got to help me, Tom," Harry said, raising Ginny's head again. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk... I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment... Please, help me.",Riddle didn't move. Harry, sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor, and bent to pick up his wand again. He almost swore he saw Ginny stir- her eyelids, maybe.,"Ginny?" Harry asked, tentatively, but she was still out. He looked around for his wand- but it had gone, too. Like any sign of life.,"Did you see —?",Harry looked up. Riddle was still watching him — twirling the holly wand between his long fingers.,"Thanks," said Harry, stretching out his hand for it.,A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.,"Listen," said Harry urgently, his knees sagging with Ginny's dead weight. "We've got to go! If the basilisk comes-","It won't come until it is called," said Riddle calmly.,Harry lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer. "What do you mean?" he said. "Look, give me my wand, I might need it-",Riddle's smile broadened. "You won't be needing it," he said. Harry stared at him.,"What d'you mean, I won't be-?",Ginny's eyes fluttered. She was fighting something, Harry could tell, but he kept his eyes on Riddle. He needed to find a way to ask her where Ginny went.,"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," said Riddle. "For the chance to see you. To speak to you.",Confusion struck him, so suddenly that there seemed to be a sickness, forming inside his gut. He looked down at Ginny once more.,"Look," said Harry, losing patience, "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets! We can talk later-","We're going to talk now," said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry's wand. Harry stared at him, and swallowed back dread.,"How did Ginny get like this?" he asked, slowly. Worriedly.,"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginevra Weasley's like this is because she was a thief who opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger.","What are you talking about?" said Harry.,"The diary," said Riddle. "My diary. Little ,been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes- how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second-hand robes and books, how-" Riddle's eyes glinted "-how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her...",All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left Harry's face. There was an almost hungry look in them.,"One day, Ginny," Tom repeated her name, and when Ginny stayed very motionless, supported by Harry, he gave a predatory smile. "Well, ,had more troubles than her poor family and her second-hand robes. Her big brothers didn't understand her, and she was sorted into the wrong Hogwarts house- Slytherin, instead of Gryffindor, and oh, the conflict she feared would result with her family, rejecting her...","It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. ,",Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Harry's neck.,"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted... I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Ginevra a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her...","What d'you mean?" said Harry, whose mouth had gone very dry.,"Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter?" said Riddle softly. "Ginevra Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat.","No," Harry whispered.,"Yes," said Riddle, calmly. "Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries... far more interesting, they became... ,," he recited, watching Harry's horrified face, "' ,Flora ,'",Harry's fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into his palms.,"It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting the diary," said Riddle. "But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you came in, Harry. You found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you, the very person I was most anxious to meet...","And why did you want to meet me?" said Harry. Anger was coursing through him, and it was an effort to keep his voice steady.,"Well, you see, Ginny had told me all about you, Harry. She had long stopped writing me, but after Ginny, I thought I was pleased enough," said Riddle. "A pure-blood girl, from the wrong family, of course- but one who grew to appreciate my lessons and ,, too. But you... She told me ,about you.","Your whole fascinating history." His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, and their expression grew hungrier. "I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust-","Hagrid's my friend," said Harry, his voice now shaking. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but-",Riddle laughed his high laugh again.,"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, ,, poor but brilliant, ,, but so brave, school prefect, model student... on the other hand, ,Hagrid- in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls... but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance... as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power!,"Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed... Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did...","I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," said Harry, his teeth gritted.,"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," said Riddle carelessly. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work.","Well, you haven't finished it," said Harry triumphantly. "No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours, the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be alright again-","Haven't I already told you," said Riddle quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been- you.",Harry stared at him.,"Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny again, who was writing to me, not ,. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who'd been strangling roosters? So, the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery — particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue...,"So, I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall, and made her come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her... She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last... I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter.","Like what?" Harry spat, fists still clenched.,"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you — a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?",There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now."Why do you care how I escaped?" said Harry slowly. "Voldemort was after your time...","Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter...",He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:,Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:,"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry- I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!",Harry's brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry's own parents, and so many others... At last he forced himself to speak.,"You're not," he said, his quiet voice full of hatred.,"Not what?" snapped Riddle.,"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," said Harry, breathing fast. "Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days-",The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.,"He's not as gone as you might think!" Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true.,Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.,Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry's scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.,A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.,A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at his feet, then landed heavily on his shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Harry looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.,The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Harry's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.,"That's a phoenix." said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.,"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and he felt the bird's golden claws squeeze his shoulder gently. Aquila was beginning to take some of her own weight, now, and Harry knew he might have but one opportunity to get this right.,"And that-" said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat-",So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Harry's feet.,Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once.,"This is what Dumbledore sends his defender! A songbird, and an old hat! Do you feel ,, Harry Potter? Do you feel ,now?",Harry didn't answer. He might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but he was no longer alone, and he waited for Riddle to stop laughing with his courage mounting.,"To business, Harry," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice- in your past, in my future- we have met. And twice I failed to kill you. How did you survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he added softly, "the longer you stay alive.",Harry was thinking fast, weighing his chances. Riddle had the wand. Where was Ginny's? He, Harry, had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which would be much good in a duel. It looked bad, all right... but the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny... and in the meantime, Harry noticed suddenly, Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid... If it had to be a fight between him and Riddle, better sooner than later.,"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked me," said Harry abruptly. "I don't know myself. But I know why you couldn't kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother," he added, shaking with suppressed rage. "She stopped you killing me. And I've seen the real you, I saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you're foul-",Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful countercharm. I can see now... there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even ,must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike... but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know.",Harry stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to raise his wand. But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again.,"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him...",He cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Harry, fear spreading up his numb legs, watched Riddle stop between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed — but Harry understood what he was saying...,","Harry wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on his shoulder.,Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Horror-struck, Harry saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole.,And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. ,was slithering up from its ,.,Harry backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and as he shut his eyes tight he felt Fawkes' wing sweep his cheek as he took flight. Harry wanted to shout, "Don't leave me!" but what chance did a phoenix have against the king of serpents?,Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Harry felt it shudder — he knew what was happening, he could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then he heard Riddle's hissing voice:,",.",The basilisk was moving toward Harry; he could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Harry began to run blindly sideways, his hands outstretched, feeling his way- Voldemort was laughing.,Harry tripped. He fell hard onto the stone and tasted blood the serpent was barely feet from him, he could hear it coming.,There was a loud, explosive sound right above him, and then something heavy hit Harry so hard that he was smashed into the wall. Waiting for fangs to sink through his body he heard more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars.,He couldn't help it- he opened his eyes wide enough to squint at what was going on. The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. As Harry trembled, ready to close his eyes if it turned, he saw what had distracted the snake.,Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabres as Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake's tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry, and before Harry could shut his eyes, it turned- Harry looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony.,"NO!" Harry heard Riddle screaming. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU. YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM. KILL HIM!",The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes.,"Help me, help me," Harry muttered wildly, "someone — anyone..."The snake's tail whipped across the floor again. Harry ducked. Something soft hit his face.,The basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry's arms. Harry seized it. It was all he had left, his only chance — he rammed it onto his head and threw himself flat onto the floor as the basilisk's tail swung over him again.,Harry thought, his eyes screwed tight under the hat. ,. There was no answering voice. Instead, the hat contracted, as though an invisible hand was squeezing it very tightly.,There was a scream. Ginny had awakened fully.,"," she was crying.,"Ginny!" Harry shouted. "Ginny, the snake!",Ginny Weasley seemed to finally realise what was going on and screamed, scrambling back. And, almost frozen, staring at Tom Riddle, she spoke.,"What have you ,?" Ginny's voice was high and scared.,Tom Riddle, however, was preoccupied. He seemed to have faded, slightly, his form perhaps less corporal, but just as deadly. Just as frustrated. Screaming in Parseltongue.,"KILL THE BOY! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU. SNIFF — SMELL HIM.",Ginny was already on her feet, ready. The basilisk's head was falling in front of her, her nearest, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face her. Harry could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow the ginger-haired girl whole, lined with fangs long as his own arm, thin, glittering, venomous-,She looked so small against the thing.,It lunged blindly- Ginny dodged, and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue lashed into Ginny's side. Harry ran forward, watching in horror- as Ginny screamed again, high and shrill.,Something seemed to happen. At once, the basilisk tried to lunge, but started twitching, ,twisting- until in one go, with a flick of Ginny's arm, its spine snapped.,And the Basilisk fell, splitting in two, the snake's grotesque, reptilian features seemingly melting from the force of it all. Blood rained down, and the ground and ceiling shook, as the beast fell. Dead. There was a ringing in Harry's ears.,",Tom Riddle's voice filled the chamber, as Harry and Ginny were doused in blood and water, and rocks.,For a moment, there was silence.,",!",From out of the rubble.,Ginny stood there, panting, and out of breath. Harry stared at her with shock and awe. As significant as the action Ginny had taken, she looked terrible- there were bruises under her eyes, giving the appearance that she hadn't slept in weeks. She was pale, and thin, and there was a trickle of blood coming from her nose. She looked terrified, yet almost like an animal. Her ginger hair was wet and slimy, and her face was pale. She was covered in blood, and so was Harry.,It was like this all had occurred inside a terrible dream: the snake, Riddle, and Ginny's strange powers. But this felt like more than just their victory- only for a moment, a short moment, in which Ginny and Harry looked at each other, breathing hard, through the dust.,The cavern was completely caved in. What could be seen was the half-melted corpse of the Basilisk, sticking out from the rocks, and Riddle, on the other side of some rock. The atmosphere had become dense. And the world around them still hadn't completely settled, when-,In a rush of wings, Fawkes- who was still inside the Chamber, had soared back overhead and something fell into Harry's lap- the diary. Then, without thinking, without considering, as though he had meant to do it all along, Harry scooped up the book, dashed over to the great serpent's head, which was severed from the rest of its body, and fell to his knees. He seized a basilisk fang from the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book.,"GINNY!",There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Harry's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then-,He had gone. Harry's wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady ,of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk fang had burned a sizzling hole right through it- as the world seemed to ,at the same time. ,Deep chasms had erupted through the floor of the chamber, the wet stone, cracked. It seemed that the cavern was covered in a white fog, spore-like particles dancing in the air, as Harry called, desperately, "Ginny?",It was suddenly too difficult to see, but with the death of Riddle, he could tell that she, too, was gone.,"GINNY!"

This is my first story I've ever posted and is, obviously, a Harry Potter/ Akame Ga Kill Crossover set mainly in the Akame Ga Kill world. So go easy on me… Please?,I do not own, in any way, shape, or form Akame Ga Kill or Harry Potter.,-T.G.O-,With a sickening crunch he landed inside the small cupboard, rolling onto his aching back just in time to see the door slam shut behind him, the sound of a bolt slamming into place with the thud of a tombstone and a heavy figure stomp away. Sitting up painfully and suppressing an involuntary whimper as the movement's aggravated his injuries, he began to look himself over.,He ignored the pain. Pain was something he could handle.,Methodically checking over his injuries he let out a small sigh of relief. Mere bruises and a couple of scraps from landing in the cupboard that would be gone by morning. He wouldn't have to worry about bleeding all over his sleeping area or banging a fractured bone in the small confines.,Lying back carefully he stare up at the ceiling. A long time ago he would have been angry right now, full of hatred and rage at the world, at the parents who abandoned him, at his relative for being such horrible excuses of human beings.,But just like all things hatred is not infinite. It did not fade in him. He simple ran out.,Just like he ran out of tears and grief. And now he was empty. No happiness or joy. No love or hate or tears of misery.,In his life there was only three true constants, three things he took a kind of twisted comfort in.,Pain, a reminder and proof of his continued existence.,Labour, a distraction from the things he didn't want to face.,Finally the eternal cold that seemed to be everywhere he went, his constant and only ally through the years.,They were things not child not yet eleven should ever find any form of comfort in, but they were his and they were all he had. Them and a single, hollow wish. Every night, like a clockwork machine engraved into his very soul he would wish to be somewhere else, anywhere else, away from things he had ran out of hate for.,Somewhere he could learn to be human again.,The final part of that wish was never really granted.,-T.G.O-,Magic is a funny thing. If it is sentient then it is so vastly different, its morality so blue and orange to our black and white that humans, or any living beings for that matter, cannot comprehend it as a sentient thing.,That makes it no less effective.,A single, simple wish, repeated for years by a empty boy whose emotions had died long ago, combined with the body's natural instinct to escape that which could cause its termination, and a dash of unpredictable, incomprehensible magic that may or may not have an odd sense of morality and even odder sense of humour.,In a flash of light the boy named Harry Potter vanished from the cupboard under the stairs that was his home.,Now it would be noted that magic can be rather unpredictable. So is fate. So it may or may not have been a vague concepts odd sense of humour that the next Monday a teacher, realising Harry hadn't shown up for his detention, would give Harry's home a surprise visit.,He would then speak with a flustered and suspiciously uneasy Vernon Dursley.,He would then notice Vernon's less than subtle attempts to keep attention away from the door under the stairs with a rather odd bolt on the outside.,Driven by curiosity and a growing feeling of dread that same teacher would then, while shrugging off Vernon's attempts to stop him, open the door and see the small, filthy sheets that someone had slept in recently within.,In less than half an hour the police would then arrived and, after restraining Vernon after a violent outburst that really didn't help his case, had begun investigating the cupboard under the stairs.,They found the small, ragged, filthy sheet that someone, the missing child, obviously slept in.,Further inspection then lead to the discovery of the bloodstains throughout the cupboard, some of which were years old.,Even further inspection resulted in Vernon being kicked in the balls by and furious female officer.,Hard.,By the end of the week the local news revealed that the delinquent of 4th Privet Drive was actually the victim of a horrifying case of child abuse and forced child labour.,The community of Little Whinging would then come to question how exactly they believed the smaller than average, polite ten year old boy who was always in old clothes far too large for him was a delinquent.,Not that Harry knew. Or cared. He had his own problems.,Far, far bigger ones.,And in a place between places, on a throne that was not quite real, a being that was more fantasy than reality laughed the kind of laugh that sent empires tumbling into ruin and gave rise great nations from nothingness.,In other words a ridiculously OP entity found something amusing. Why? Well… who knows?,Magic is incomprehensible. That means you can't comprehend it. That's why it's magic.,Now it begins.,The beginning of something…,…Horrifying.,-T.G.O-

Oliver Wood felt the rocking of the small Viking ship they'd gotten on. The tossing back and forth of the boat as the storm raged on around them was beginning to make him feel sick to his stomach. He felt a soothing hand run up and down his back as he for the twentieth time that trip threw up over the side of the boat.,One of the men nearby laughed and muttered something about some people not just being made for raiding.,"That will be quite enough of that," Percy said, his voice not brokering any argument. Besides the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, who was leading the raid, Percy was well respected among the many clans of Vikings with them. "It's not like you didn't get sick your first time on a boat, Garrick.",The man's face turned a bright shade of angry red, as he huffed and muttered something under his breath about Percy and Oliver. He glared over at the duo, as Percy helped Oliver sit down and get comfortable.,"I don't feel so well, Perce," Oliver murmured, as sweat started to pour down his face. He hadn't been feeling well when they got on the ship that Ragnar had told them to get on. "I think I might be getting sick.","You'll be fine in a little," Percy said in a soothing voice. He gently stroked the hair out of Oliver's face. He liked Oliver's hair long, like this. It made him look more attractive in Percy's mind. "You just have to concentrate on not getting sick.","Easier said than done," Oliver said, diving towards the side of the boat again. He made it just in time to empty his stomach into the sea. Sighing he walked back over to where Percy sat. He was beginning to feel just a tiny bit cold. "Do you mind if…","Of course, I don't mind," Percy said, patting the spot beside himself. He pulled Oliver gently into his side, feeling the slight shake and shiver of the other man's body. It was then that he knew that Oliver was truly sick and shouldn't have come on the raid with them.,"Don't worry," Percy said, laying a gentle kiss on Oliver's forehead when he was sure no was looking, "I'll keep you nice and warm.","I'm sure you will," Oliver chuckled wryly as he snuggled firmly against Percy's chest. He could feel the warm heat radiating off Percy's body and it felt good against his own cold form.,"I'm sorry," Percy whispered into Oliver's hair as they drifted along on the tossing boat on the rough sea.,"For what?","That I made you come on this raid. Ragnar made a really good pitch about raiding in England and I didn't think to even ask you for your opinion on the matter. I should have asked you what you thought about the whole thing.","I'm fine with wanting to raid. I would go raiding with you no matter what circumstances I found myself in. Even if I was half dead and with one foot in the grave I'd still be here by your side. Don't you know that?","I do. It's just…","Just what?","I don't want to be the reason you die," Percy whispered against Oliver's neck, leaving soft kisses there. "I don't want to be the reason for any unhappiness in your life.","You are the reason for every happiness in my life," Oliver whispered back, as Percy's lips moved to his shoulder bone. "Don't you know that I love you?",Percy looked around them. He was pretty sure that if anyone had just overheard what Oliver had said they'd be looking pretty judgmentally on Oliver. No, on both of them, after all Percy felt the same way that Oliver felt and it was pretty plain to see.,"I do know that," Percy said, gently rocking Oliver. "I love you too. You should know that by now.",Oliver mumbled something tiredly as the warmth of Percy's body made him feel more and more sleepy by the minute. He wanted to continue talking to Percy. He wanted to do more than to talk but his body betrayed him. His eyes slipped gently closed as he Percy cradled him close all through the night.,Unbeknownst to the two lovers lying in each other's arm they were being watched. Ragnar Lothbrok had known for some time about the love shared between Oliver and Percy. He didn't judge them for it. But he also felt a sort of jealousy of the two men lay huddled together to stay warm. He wished that he could love that freely and deeply. He wished for that and to be loved as freely and deeply in return. But that would probably never happen again. He'd ruined that life for good.

Death. A rather interesting concept. Some claim that death is the end. Some claim that it's only a step on the road of life. And some find salvation in death to end their torment.,This is the tale of a child who found salvation in death and gained something that they thought they would never have, true family.,It was a very cold night in the middle of December when tragedy struck, the death of a child. Something that made the entity simply known as Shinu, or Lady Death, frown. She might only be an aspect of the concept of death, specifically the premature death of children, but it still didn't make her job of either sending the souls of children to the afterlife or (more often) returning them to the river of life for reincarnation any easier or better.,This one was no real exception, other than the fact that that their premature death and eventual rebirth was only a stepping stone towards the child's destiny, and that this was the better path towards their destiny than the path a meddling old man had attempted to set up for the child.,This child was once the boy known as Harry Potter, the boy who died from frostbite because of intentional neglectance. A child who has been suffering from abuse and much worse treatment. A child who found salvation in death. A child who found true happiness in a new life, in another world. In the world of Gamindustri U, also known as the Ultradimension, to be more precise.,In the Basisicom of Planeptune in the Ultradimension, a brand new room was added to the building, indicating that something that has never happened before in the Ultradimension. The birth of a CPU Candidate.,The Candidate was, like all other Candidates and true CPUs, a girl. A roughly thirteen year old girl with long light blueish purple hair. Hidden underneath a pair of somewhat pale eyelids was a pair of dark pink eyes with strange pupils that appeared to be green when the light hit them from certain angles. Below her eyes was a pair of bags that one would normally only gain after a very long period of sleep deprivation, but the candidate had them anyway despite the fact that she had just been ,. She wasn't wearing very much when it came to clothing. Correction, she was only wearing a couple of sizes too large t-shirt and absolutely nothing more than that. Meaning that if the shirt was removed, she'd be completely naked. And she had a very voluptuous figure, even though she was only physically thirteen years old, that many women, including the CPU of the nation of Leanbox, would be extremely jealous of.,The candidate appeared to be very comfortable sleeping on top of the bed, something that she could contentedly continue with for about an hour until someone stumbled upon the freshly made room that was hers. And said someone was the Planeptune oracle, Histoire. The oracle was somewhat torn between frowning at the candidate's lack of modesty when sleeping and being happy that it was Planeptune that was the first nation in the Ultradimension to get a CPU Candidate.,What the oracle wasn't expecting to happen when she slowly approached the sleeping candidate was for said candidate to suddenly grab her and squeeze her into the CPU Candidate's large chest when the oracle tried to wake the candidate up by touching her. It took the candidate a while before she finally noticed quite a lot of things. One, she wasn't freezing her ass off outdoor anymore, which was actually quite nice. Two, she was a she and not a he! Not sure how to feel about that, she wasn't really complaining about it though. Three, she had a very voluptuous figure (not that she really knew what the word , meant)! Four, she was currently hugging someone that was much smaller than herself. Five, said someone was currently getting suffocated in her cleavage. And six, she was currently only wearing a couple sizes too large t-shirt and nothing more than that.,The candidate quickly let go of the much smaller person and sat up on the very comfortable bed she'd been sleeping on and quite frankly wasn't against continuing on doing. Said smaller person was just glaring at the newly reincarnated girl in front of her, who eyes were only opened halfway, leaving them half closed, and the oracle got the feeling that the candidate would probably never open her eyes completely.,"Uhm? Sorry?" Apologized the candidate sheepishly, while rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish and tired expression on her face. "Uhm, where am I?","Apology accepted. And as for where you are, that would be the nation of Planeptune in the Ultradimension. Does that answer your question… I don't actually know your name. My name is Histoire." Exclaimed Histoire, while looking at the sleepy candidate with an expression of suspicion.,"Uhm… my name is…" started the candidate, searching through her memories after a name, only to find practically nothing except for a few flashes of her previous life. And then, suddenly, something provided her with a name. "Lulu. I think that's my name at least. This is just weird.","How?","Well, the last thing I can remember is that I was freezing my butt off in the middle of winter and everything turning into black. The next thing I know I'm here, sleeping on this very comfortable bed… not that I'm complaining *yawn*.","Hm… it seems that your soul is a reincarnated one.","Reincarnated… soul?","Yes. How much do you remember before waking up here?","Not much really, just flashes mostly.","That means that it was either an incomplete reincarnation or a complete one but most of the memories are mentally sealed away, or at the very least highly suppressed… maybe repressed.","Right." Exclaimed Lulu before yawning and falling asleep again, to which Histoire just rolled her eyes while smiling fondly at the young CPU Candidate snoozing away as she stealthily left the room, catching a glance of the candidate smiling contentedly in her sleep.,Inside a tower of a school of a castle somewhere in Scotland, a large amount of various tracking devices either exploded, simply stopped working or went kaput in some other fashion. The only ones that didn't were the ones that were tracking souls. The uncountable amount of headaches would not make themselves known until it was far too late.,The following day Lulu was still asleep and showed no signs of having any intentions of waking up. Her nation's oracle used this as an opportunity to get a read on the candidate's power and was pretty much mortified and relieved at the same time once she got the read. The candidate's power reading was off the charts! In fact, most of Lulu's stats were either EX-ranked or A-ranked! Meaning that she had the potential to be the most powerful entity in the entire Ultradimension! And she was only level one! Meaning that it was only her laziness and preference of sleeping over doing pretty much anything else really that was holding her back!,The new candidate of Planeptune finally woke up when she heard Histoire talking to someone who's voice she didn't recognize, though it sounded more like the oracle was trying (unsuccessfully) to scold whoever she was confronting more than anything else really. She was still wearing the oversized t-shirt and only the t-shirt when she walked in on the one sided lecture Histoire was giving another girl who looked a lot like Lulu. The most noticeable difference between the two being that Lulu was physically older and had a more buxom figure than the other girl, who easily could have been her ,sister.,"Histoire, who's that? She looks a lot like me, why's that?" Asked Lulu while yawning, unintentionally revealing that she wasn't wearing anything more than the oversized t-shirt she was currently wearing. Which caused the two other girls to blush and the oracle to sputter some nonsense until she was finally able to say something comprehensible, which was…,"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! PUT SOME CLOTHES OR AT LEAST SOME UNDERWEAR ON!" At that Lulu just tilted her head sideways, not understanding what the problem was, until she realized that she wasn't wearing anything other than the t-shirt and promptly entered her room and put a pair of panties on before returning. The oracle and the other girl were still blushing when the candidate came back, but seemed less upset than earlier over Lulu's unintentional lack of modesty.,"Sorry.","Never mind I guess. Now where were we?","You were giving that girl a lecture until I walked in and asked for her name. Then you told me to put something more than the t-shirt on, by screaming out of embarrassment." Deadpanned Lulu in her by now usual sleepy tone, before yawning again as she finished her sentence.,"Right. Anyway, this is Plutia, the CPU of Planeptune, and your older sister." Exclaimed Histoire while pointing at the girl who was apparently supposed to be Lulu's older sister, even though Lulu was the physically older one. At that, Lulu's left closed completely while her right eye opened a bit more, now being two thirds opened, an action that Histoire and Plutia interpreted as the candidate's way of raising an eyebrow. "She's been around and the CPU of Planeptune for longer, therefore making her the older sister, despite the fact that she is physically younger than you, as she is chronologically the older one.","Oh. Okay." Exclaimed Lulu as her expression returned to its previous state with a shrug.,The two newly acquainted sisters about an hour or so to get to know each other… until they both fell asleep and spent the remainder of the day sleeping, and neither one of them were complaining about it. It seems like the beginning of a very small, albeit happy family.

"Let me buy you a drink, Sha? It's breakin' my heart to see such a pretty face looking so sad during Mardi Gras.",Harry started at the voice, breaking him out of his spiral of self-pity, hand flying reflexively to the holster at his hip before he caught himself. Voldemort was long dead, the war long over. Heart beating too fast for comfort, slamming against his ribcage, Harry turned towards the man fully, reflexive denial dying on his lips when he saw him.,Eyes, black as night, bored into Harry's. the man's eyebrow quirking in gentle question as he fiddled with a deck of cards, the motion hypnotic and strangely soothing.,"Sure.",Wait,what? Some long denied part of Harry's mind, recently brought back to the surface which was definitely Malfoy's fault, commandeered his brain, ruining what scraps of a plan Harry had thought up for this evening.,It wasn't much of a plan, but it had been a comfort in the beginning of his downward spiral, a life raft in his sea of panic. It boiled down to this; Find a bar, get drunk in that bar, don't talk to anyone else today.,And he'd nearly succeeded.,This bar was small and somewhat dingy, tucked away down several side streets and so away from any stray wandering tourists drawn in by the Mardi Gras festivities. The bartender had calmed somewhat from the battle ready stance she had slipped into when Harry first entered the bar when she realised he was just there to drink, not to presumably ask awkward questions, and she was willing to help him in that regard, even with his unfamiliarity with American currency despite his time in the States. Harry didn't care at this point. The drinks had kept coming, and she stopped looking like she was getting ready to smash a bottle over his head when he kept paying and tipping. It was a win-win. But now...,The man grinned, and Harry felt himself relax despite himself, fingers pleasantly warm as he grabbed for his glass and drained the last of it.,"Deux autres s'il vous plaît mon ami!" The man called to the bartender, who seemed to fully relax in his presence, clicking her tongue at the other man as she busied herself fulfilling his order. He turned back to Harry, eyes slowly rolling over him in an almost salacious manner causing Harry's stomach to flip and his skin to light up. It was nice, in a way he hadn't been expecting, preparing himself for the sickening rush of panic he experienced in his teenage years and found it missing, replaced with satisfaction.,"My name's Remy, Sha," Remy said, raising his glass in a toast, "Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez!" as Harry clumsily responded in kind.,"Harry," Harry answered, sipping his drink slowly. It was good whisky.,"Your accent, Harry, you ain't a local New Orleans boy, or even a local American," Remy said, taking the cards out of his pocket and fluttering them between his hands, the snapping sound almost masked by the gently playing jazz emitting from the jukebox in the corner, "English?","Yeah, I'm here for work," Harry answered, pausing slightly, trying to find the right words, the delicate balancing act that talking to Muggles, or No-Majs as the Americans called them, required.,"I have an English friend, he never lost his accent either," Remy chuckled, leaning forward to rest his head on his palm, the other twisting the deck of cards rhythmically, looking up at Harry,,"Are you here for long?","Not sure," Harry sighed, swirling the ice in his drink, suddenly very tired, "Part of the reason I'm in this bar.","I will drink to that mon ami," Remy laughed, "I'm in a petite trouble myself so I believe we are both in hiding.","It's just... Old childhood troubles coming up again. I think I'm free of it and then it just comes back around again," Harry broke off, biting his tongue and staring at his drink. Why was he telling a random stranger this? Wordlessly, wandlessly, he cast a detector spell, every nerve tense despite the soothing fluttering of the cards. Nothing. Remy wasn't magical. Harry wasn't being influenced by anything other than alcohol and his own terrible decisions.,"Like I said, I hate to see a pretty man upset, it's a curse," Remy said, voice softer, accent thickened into a soothing purr, "I offer nothing more dan a listening ear. After that?",Remy shrugged, splaying his free hand.,"We can part ways and you will never see me again, or we can remain friends, or something else, non?","You make a compelling argument," Harry murmured, dimly noting the way he was slightly slurring his words, drink slightly stronger than he expected from Americans.,"And maybe you can help me with my problem. A little lagniappe for me, yes? Company and drinks.",Harry nodded slowly, ignoring the way the room slowly shifted around him, collecting his thoughts for a few seconds before he spoke, "Am I going first?",Remy slapped the pack of cards into his other hand, cutting Harry off with a wave of his hand.,"I'll go first, yeah? I spring dis on you, the least I can do.",His accent thickened for a brief moment before he seemed to make the conscience effort to push it down, clicking his tongue against his teeth as Remy thought, card dancing between clever fingers.,"I'm polyamourous, yeah?",Harry nodded. This day was already unusual enough, what was one more thing atop everything else?,"I got a girlfriend, yeah?",Another nod.,Remy pulled in a shaky breath, fingers drumming against the wood, cards spinning but never once slipping out of his iron control.,"I- I messed up. I didn't listen to what I was I was being told and it backfired, badly.",Remy laughed, darkly, downing his drink and signalling for another in one fluid motion. Harry frowned, glancing over Remy once more, noticing for the first time the tight way he held himself in comparison to the fluid motions of his hands, all the signs of a fresh injury. Harry opened his mouth to ask, but was cut off once again by a toothy grin.,"I will heal mon ami, I'm tough tough. I want to apologise, but the words get stuck. I worry this is unforgivable, but she has seen me through worse. Ah-",The bartender arrived with his refills, whisking away their empty glasses and replacing them with full. She paused, glancing between the two of them before peering deeply into Remy's unusual eyes as if she was searching for something. The glass bottle made a heavy thunk as she placed it down and moved away.,"Merci," Remy called, the bartender blowing him a kiss in response.,"If you still want to share Harry," Remy said, rolling Harry's name until he laughed, Remy's eyes sparkling, "I am always happy to share drinks with a lovely man.",Harry fought against the blush, but it still spread across his face, warm like the burn in his throat.,"My new boss is my old school crush," he said finally, ripping off the proverbial bandage, Remy hissing in surprise, eyebrows raised.,"Do they know?" Remy prompted after a few seconds of silence, topping up Harry's glass as if sensing it was going to be needed.,"He does now. He didn't even know I liked men until he just made some snide remark-",',Harry growled. Even now, it still made his blood boil, head woozy with alcohol but he still drained the glass, coughing as it hit his system.,"Easy Sha. No rush.",Remy's hand was warm on his, thumb tracing a random soothing pattern on the back of his knuckles.,"Ah mais that is bad bad," Remy signalled for another round, keeping hold of Harry's hand until the drinks were delivered, the bartender casting a critical eye Harry's way before she complied.,"You're family Remy, but no more for him," she said, "Not even during Mardi Gras.","You are too good to me choupette," Remy began, but she cut him off.,"No, no silver tongue and no sticky fingers.",Remy held up his hands in surrender at her glare and finger jabbing in his face, her nail curled suspiciously like a…,"So now he knows. The dangers of hot blood," Remy said, effectively distracting Harry, "Do you want to date him?",Harry gaped at him, mind suddenly silent.,Date? Malfoy? Date Malfoy?,He'd pictured it of course, mind wandering in the dreamy warmth of Trelawney's tower, imagined some sort of future where Draco wouldn't insult his friends and family and something could happen. Childish dreams he thought.,Dimly he remembered Draco's face at the funerals, pale as a porcelain doll, back impossibly straight as he weathered the scowls and snarled insults, never once retaliating but instead taking them all as some sort of penance. Even the memory made his heart beat a little faster in his chest, face flush.,"Ah, jeune amour," Remy sighed, fanning himself with a hand of cards.,Harry sighed, scrubbing one hand along the stubble on his chin.,"I'll have to grow up and confront him at one point. Thank you.","Anytime mon ami.",Harry cast a critical, slightly wobbly eye over Remy.,He was hiding something, that much was certain. He wasn't magical, or least not magical enough for Harry to pick up on anything. Eyes black as night with a flash of dull red around the iris' caught the eye immediately, concealed behind a shock of red hair, but what drew attention to him was his hands, constantly moving, cards a pennant between them.,"Apologies are just words if you don't back it up with actions.",Harry liked Remy, felt comfortable around him despite only knowing him a few hours. He wanted to help him, like he had just helped Harry, a complete stranger.,"You said you messed up? Apologise and then change, it's the only thing you can do to not feel this bad again," Harry said darkly, focusing on not slurring his words.,"I will do that my friend mais now? We get you home," Remy said, slipping back off the stool and pulling Harry up with him. Harry blearily looked towards his glass and found them both empty with no recollection of drinking.,"Geaux," Remy encouraged, looping one arm around Harry's waist and setting them both on a wandering path out onto the Louisiana streets.,/\\/,Harry woke and immediately wished he hadn't, head feeling like an ice pick was being driven through his eye socket. He was never drinking again. How'd he even get back here? Must have told Remy at some point during the blurry walk back.,He groaned, burying his head further underneath the pillow, yelping as his face made impact with something sharp. Cursing everything, Harry blearily cracked his eyes open enough to see the small plain playing card half tucked underneath his pillow, blue pen scored into the surface.,Harry grinned, for once looking forward to the future.,/\\\/,"He's a good man for a wizard.",Remy LeBeau threw a card idly at the opposing wall, the charged paper exploding into a firework of sparks before it made contact.,Logan grunted in response, taking a swig from his beer as he watched the local football game, one hand splayed protectively on Remy's bandaged stomach.,"Cher?",Rogue patted him on the knee with one gloved hand despite the heavy denim he wore.,"Go see him again, he gave you good advice, maybe he'll rub off on you.","Mais la!" Remy groaned, casting his hands up in despair as Rogue and Logan chuckled at his misfortune.

T,Mentions of abuse, slight bit of neglect.,Harry, Roland, Scooter, Marcus, Dr. Zed, and Miss Moxxi.,Harry had it rough until his relatives take a vacation where he is brought to a whole new world where adventure awaits.,Hey guys! Story's already planned I just have to re write it. This is a rewritten version of my old Hyperion Wizard, if you want to have a faint clue as to the direction this story is taken then you should read that. There will be vast changes though. I will be going into a lot more detail and some of the scenes are majorly changed. So it will only be a faint clue. I hope you enjoy!,Quote,Roland (Borderlands 2),Memories, they were crucial to knowing who you were, and he unfortunately remembered more than most his same age did. At least he assumed it wasn't normal from what his Aunt Petunia had said, he never was natural, he was a freak. He hadn't always been called a freak, he remembered a blurry figure, a soft voice calling him 'Harry'. He remembered a different figure with a warm voice calling 'Prongslet.' He remembered smiles and laughter, warmth and being happy.,He also remembered when that all changed, voices screaming, cackling laughter, "Not Harry!" Green, so much green. Stillness, pain, feeling empty. Then he remembered being cold, so cold. Then there was a screech and he was being pulled into a warm place. Then he remembered a voice bellowing, a screechy voice shouting at him, and his new name 'freak.',His life was painful, not a day went by where he didn't get hurt someway or another, whether it was emotional hurt or physical hurt. He had cried a lot in the beginning, but by the age of three he had stopped crying. Tears no longer would come. He would not satisfy the monsters who were his guardians. They enjoyed his tears and his pain, so he learned to blank his face from showing his pain.,"Up you stupid freak!" The screechy voice of his aunt came through the door as she flung it open and pulled him out.,She dragged him to the kitchen and recently had him help her with cooking. She said that now that he was old enough he would have to earn his keep, and so she was teaching him how to cook. She had him cook the scrambled eggs while she worked on the bacon, she also had him pour three glasses of orange juice, with one glass of water. He set the table and his uncle came down carrying Dudley.,The three ate a big portion of the meal, while Harry was allowed only one piece of the bacon, a small spoon of eggs, and a slice of toast to go with his water. The day passed by normally with his aunt forcing him to help her with the chores while his uncle went to work. When the chores were done Petunia placed him back into the cupboard and continued to help Dudley with expanding his vocabulary and getting a head start on writing.,The next week passed and he noticed in the times he was out of his room that his relatives seemed to be packing up. He wondered why before he overheard them speaking about Dudley's birthday.,Soon he was forced onto a plane, his relatives being forced to take him as Ms. Figgs had to go to the hospital because one of her cats had scratched her eye. They arrived and spent the night in a small hotel, Harry being forced to sleep on the floor. The next day they went to explore some place with a lot of stones. He had accidentally wandered away from his relatives, or maybe they had purposely lost him. Either way he found himself alone near some of the stone structure. He continued wandering, but he couldn't find his relatives. The sun was now directly overhead and he noticed that the weird stone structures seemed to be shimmering.,Curiosity gripping him he went to one where it lit up in a brilliant spectacle of lights. The light spread to encompass one of the gateway like stone structures and Harry walked closer to it. He entered into the light, and then his vision went black.,When he awoke it was to a man shaking him none to gently. This man had dark skin, and wore some kind of armour plating that was a dark greyish green, he had a large gun on his hip. He looked like a military officer. In a gruff voice the man asked, "Kid, you alright?",Slowly he gave a nod as he replied, "Yes sir." Which he was okay by his standards, he didn't hurt anymore than usual, though the pain seemed more spread out.,The man nodded, "What is your name?",He paused before he slowly said, "I was called Harry.",The man gave him a strange look at how he said that before he asked, "Where are your parents? It isn't safe to be out here.","They're dead, sir." Harry replied.,"Oh." The man looked awkward.,"Well, if you need a place to stay, sanctuary is pretty safe." The man offered.,Harry gave a slow nod, at this point anything seemed better than living with his relatives. "My name is Roland. I'm a soldier fighting against the Hyperion corporation.",He stayed silent even as he wandered what the Hyperion corporation was. Roland walked with him for awhile until the reached a strange device that was next to a couple of pads on the ground.,He frowned at the device having no clue as to what it was, he wanted to ask, but his relatives told him freaks weren't allowed to ask questions.,The weird device said "Hey Y'all! Welcome to the new and improved Catch-A-Ride! Now with 47% more than 26% death annually. That's down from last year-hold your applause.",Harry frowned, taking a guess that the system was called Catch-A-Ride as Roland messed with it and suddenly a vehicle appeared from nowhere. Roland told him to get in and then they were racing through the dusty terrain. Eventually they made it to a snowy terrain and finally to a gate, the got out of the vehicle and entered the gate on foot. After a few minutes they arrived at the top of a hill and they looked down on a run down looking city, "This is Sanctuary. The last bastion of safety from bandits and the hyperion.",He gave a nod showing his understanding, even if he didn't understand, what did the man mean by Bandits? What was Hyperion? "This is your new home now, since it's getting late you can sleep in the headquarters, I'll have someone show you around tomorrow, and we'll see about getting you a place to stay.",He nodded once more. He followed Roland to a building, the man pointed to a bed, "It's not the softest, but it's better than the couch.",He gave a nod and laid down in the bed and soon fell asleep, this was the most comfortable bed he could remember sleeping in.,The next morning he was woken up to the smell of bacon. He got up and slowly made his way to a desktop with Roland was sitting at with a heaping plate of bacon and eggs, while a woman only had eggs and toast, "Why must you always eat bacon? Bacon is for sycophants, and products of incest." The woman complained wrinkling her nose.,Roland chuckled, "I like bacon.",The woman rolled her eyes, her eyes glanced at him then to Roland. "I see your up, help yourself to some food Harry, please don't mind Doctor Patricia Tannis here, she's not very social.",The woman grunted in what seemed to be an affirmative before taking a bite of her eggs. He just gave a nod. "Anyways Harry, today I will show you around sanctuary, and introduce you to some people who can help you out if needed. Then we will see about finding you somewhere to sleep.",He gave a nod as he grabbed a small spoon of eggs a piece of bacon and some toast. He ate carefully watching Roland and Dr. Tannis. When he finished Roland stood up his plate empty, "Are you ready?","Yes sir." He said quietly.,Roland gave a nod and got up, He walked out and Harry quickly got up to follow him. The man led him back to the entrance and a large shop with a couple of garage doors, "This is Scooters place, he's a crazy son of a bitch, but if you ever need a vehicle repaired or designed he's your man.",They entered the shop, it was loud and noisy and there were tons of sparks flying around. "Scooter!" Roland called out.,"Yeeah? Whatcha need?" a voice replied from underneath the vehicle and sparks. The sparks slowly stopped and a man popped out from underneath the vehicle, he stood up and dusted himself off spreading oil onto his clothes. He wore a dirty yellow vest over a dirty green shirt, his hat was also grey and yellow and had a silhouette of a woman on it lifting her leg up.,"Introducing the newest stray, this is Harry.","Nice to meetcha. Name's Scooter." The man said offering a hand.,Harry reluctantly shook it, his hand getting a greasy feel to it. Then Roland led him through the shop and up through a back door. The building next door they entered, "Harry this is Dr. Zed's place, he is our resident medic, if your injured he will patch you up for a small fee. ",He looked around shocked at the dirty looking clinic, it was dirty with dirt, but mostly blood. The whole place was covered in it, and he could here whimpers coming from one corner. A bloody man with a mask over his nose and mouth came out, his brown hair was slicked back and he wore a light whitish blue shirt covered by a dirty white apron that was stained with blood. "Hello, name's Zed, if you need some healin I'm your man.",He gave a slow nod and shifted back away from the crazy looking man. "This is Harry, I found him by the pig motel.",Zed just gave a grunt as he turned back to the corner.,Roland rolled his eyes as he left, "Next I will show you the quick change machine. Which will be where you can get a better outfit. It has a few other features, but only Vault Hunters can access them, and it's really only useful for them.",He was led to what was the center of the town and to a machine that had a block person on it, kinda like the person on a bathroom sign he had seen. "Anyways, you might want to see if the Quick Change machine has an outfit or two in its program, if not I'll look around for a program that will have clothes your sizes when I'm out and about.","Next up were going to meet Marcus. He's a stingy bastard, but if you ever get enough money to buy a gun, his stock is usually a bit better than the stuff you can find normally in a vending machine. Just remember, no refunds.",They entered to see a man standing behind a caged area with a small opening for money, and probably guns to go through. The man looked up, "Hey! Oh, its just you Roland." The man started an enthusiastic greeting before his voice went flat, the man then blinked, "A new kid Roland?","Yeah, this is Harry.","Nice to meet you kid, names Marcus, if you ever need a gun, I'm the guy to come to, seriously, I'm the only non Hyperion gun provider on Pandora.",He gave a small nod.,"Alright next up is Moxxie, she's… well shes something, she runs the bar here in town, and it is the only restaurant." He said as he led Harry down the street.,They went into a flashing bar, "Hello sweetie, whos the kiddie?" a woman with a purple top hat and a red top asked with a grin.,"This is Harry, I'm showing him the town." Roland replied.,"Nice to meet you, Harry." She said before eying him up and down, "Hmm, he's gonna be a handsome lad when he grows up. Look at those eyes, they look like emeralds.",Harry blinked at that, his relatives had always said he was ugly, and that his eyes were unnatural. "You ever need help with anything and I'm your woman." She said grinning at him.,"You look hungry, sit down and I'll get you some food." she said gesturing for them to sit. They sat down and she pulled out a box of pizza. The duo ate lunch as Moxxie continued tending the bar.,"Ahem." Roland said with a cough, "Let's see about finding you a place to stay. ",A few hours passed with Roland asking the 'More trustworthy' residents if they were willing to take care of him. People apologize while saying no, or just outright said no, or gave excuses for why the couldn't take him in. Roland said he had asked everyone trust worthy, not including the people he introduced, but he said they were much too busy to take care of him properly. While they were going around Roland pointed out a few other nondescript looking buildings that sold food and tools and other basic commodities.,Harry just shrugged at that. "Well I guess you can stay in the headquarters until someone wants to take care of you." Roland said leading him back to the headquarters.,With that he got settled into his new living space. The next day Roland said he had to go out for another supply run and told Harry he was free to explore. So tentatively he did, he looked around Sanctuary, opening a few boxes. He found some money randomly in a box as well as some boxes of bullets. He even found a pistol in one of the boxes. His hands full he wondered what to do with the stuff before he decided to head to Marcus. The man looked at him as he entered and grinned, "Looks like you got your hand full kid, I guess that's to be expected without having a backpack.",He tilted his head a bit, afraid of being hit he dared to ask, "Where would I get a backpack?","Well, usually a parent would give their kid a backpack on their fifth birthday so the kid can scavenge around for stuff, really you would be surprised by the kind of stuff people leave around. Tell you want you give me all the guns you find for the next month and I'll give you a backpack. It's only a basic model, but it'll work.",He just nodded in agreement. "Good, give me a moment and I'll go grab it.",The man opened the vault door behind him and went in rummaging around, "Ahah!" The man said and came back out with a small device. "Here we go, your very own personal storage device, but most call it the inventory.",He took the device which was strapped onto his hand. "Tap it on the center to open your inventory, if you had an echo communicator there would be more tabs, but for now you just have the inventory tab.",Marcus showed him how to work it and Harry watched as the weapon in his hand faded away into blue and appeared in his inventory. He brought it out of the inventory and gave it to Marcus. "You can only hold a certain amount of guns and ammo, so make sure you bring the weapons to me whenever your backpack gets full, happy scavenging Harry." The man said.,He smiled a bit and nodded and went to continue scavenging around, the money and bullets he found going into his inventory. Feeling hungry he went to Moxxi's since it was the only restaurant. Entering he cautiously made his way to the bar and sat on top of the stool, "Hello honey, here for some food?",He gave a nod and hesitantly asked, "How much is the food?","25 dollars." She answered with a smile.,He handed over the dollars, he only had a few dollars left, so he would have to scavenge around a lot in order to pay for his meals. Moxxie brought out some food, "Here you go, enjoy." She said going to another person before he could say thank you.,He ate quickly before heading out and scavenging some more. He found a couple more bucks another couple packs of bullets and another gun before night started to fall and he returned to the headquarters and went to sleep.,The week fell into a routine, wake up and eat whatever breakfast was laying around. He and Dr. Tannis didn't speak to each other, he because he was still learning that it was okay to speak without being spoken to, and her because she had a crippling social anxiety. Then after breakfast he would scavenge around Sanctuary. Around lunch time he would head to Moxxi's place and spend 25 and eat whatever she gave him. Then he would continue scavenging around for the rest of the day until night fell and he would return to the headquarters where he fell asleep.,Slowly the year passed, he mostly scavenged around, but sometimes he got a mission to do from one of the residents, mostly it was finding something and bringing it back to them for a small bit of cash in return. He even did another bargain with Marcus, giving him all the guns he found for a couple more months in return for an echo communicator. With it he had a lot more options available to him. He could now see what his health looked like, and he had an exp bar. Which he found weird that people had levels, but Roland explained that it was mostly an estimate of what the person's strength was based on how many enemies they killed or the quests they did.,Which brought up the new tabs, one was a quest tab which kept track of all the missions he was given, another was a map. Then he had the inventory system, which was followed by a skill page, though it was empty. Roland said that most people didn't really use the skill page, and that it was mostly used by Vault Hunters. There was another tab but it was blocked, apparently it was a page only for vault hunters.,Anyways he was starting to get a hang of things, and learning what people were talking about, Hyperion was some kind of gun company that was trying to take control of Pandora, but the resident's didn't want to be under there control and were rebelling.,Vault hunters were people who were after mythical vaults that were rumoured to contain great treasure. Roland mentioned at one point that he used to be a vault hunter, but that he was retired from vault hunting.,Over the year when he wasn't scavenging he could be found eating at Moxxi's bar, or observing Scooter or Dr. Tannis as they worked. Dr. Tannis slowly got used to him silently watching her work, him learning as he watched about mechanics and building stuff. He wasn't particularly interested in actually building some mechanical device, but he liked watching them work. Scooter had taken to explaining what he was doing while working.,Dr. Tannis at least continued her ramblings in a slightly louder voice. About five weeks after he arrived he admitted that it was his birthday and they had a small gathering to congratulate him for a couple minutes. There was no gifts or anything, but it was the best birthday Harry could remember having.,Three years after he arrived it was going to be his seventh birthday and he decided he wanted to explore outside of Sanctuary. Over the past couple of years he had scavenged around enough to have a blue rarity pistol though it was by the Bandit manufacturer. He enjoyed Sanctuary and it's residents, but he was bored. He wanted to see the outside world, he kinda wanted to become a vault hunter.,He also didn't really agree with most of the citizens about the Hyperion corporation, from what he learned they were trying to resist the efforts of a company that would make the planet more civilized, like the Eden's he had heard of. He had seen his fair share of violence even in the 'safe haven' that was Sanctuary. He could only imagine the horrors that would await him outside, but he was also excited.,The thrill of adventure called to him, and he could no longer resist the urge. He figured that spending a day outside of Sanctuary would be wonderful birthday gift to himself. He grinned as he grabbed his supplies, he was going on an adventure.

"Are you sure this is wise, my Lord?" said Bellatrix, voice trembling.,Bellatrix Lestrange certainly lived up to her name. Everything about her exuded an aura of darkness and madness. She had wild, raven hair which was entwined with a few silver streaks at the front, and hung over her hooded black eyes. Her skin was pale, the sort that had seldom seen sunlight. The way she stood indicated that she was an exceptionally proud woman, although it was clear that she was trying to compose herself in the presence of the cloaked man beside her. This woman obviously used to be astoundingly beautiful, but her features were now rugged, like a once ornate antique that had been left to rot in a dark, damp attic.,"You surely do not doubt me, dear Bella?" he replied, his voice barely more audible than a hiss.,"Oh no, my Lord, please do not think I did. I would never-,"Hush now Bellatrix, your pleading bores me." said the cloaked figure that evidently terrified her.,This was the very person who killed Harry Potter, 'The Boy Who Lived'. Lord Voldemort was a powerful, dark wizard who was feared by many. He ruthlessly killed thousands of people during two wizarding wars that spanned over 27 years and when he was almost destroyed by Harry Potter, a mere infant at the time, he swore to exact his revenge. All of the wizards that were brave enough to stand up to Voldemort were murdered and the rest of the world either joined him or went into hiding.,Bellatrix remained fixated on the frost covered ground while Voldemort paced in the glow of the fogged moonlight.,"I must do this." He whispered.,He too was pale, but his skin was so unnaturally pale that he scarcely looked like a man at all. His eyes were crimson red and he had a slit for a pupil, they were unforgiving eyes that occasionally flashed and revealed the twisted insanity within him. The cloak he wore gave the illusion that he was floating and was so long that you could only just see his long, spindly fingers. There was a chance that you could mistake this person for a serpent. When he moved, it appeared as though he was slithering across the hard, frozen ground, waiting for his prey.,"Yes, My Lord." Bellatrix nodded hastily, waiting for her Masters approval.,They were standing in a vast, solitary field. The ground was covered in ice and a bitter chill lingered in the night air. It was silent. Voldemort was placing stones engraved with runes into a particular order and muttering a curse that was out of earshot.,"Come here." He ordered Bellatrix, his faithful servant.,She obliged as fast as she could and waited for her next command. It was almost comical at how much she wanted to please him. Although, he was the man that could mercilessly murder anyone without a second thought.,"Stand in the middle of this circle I have created with these Rune Stones." He instructed.,She did so. Without warning, he took her shaking hand and pierced it with a knife. She let out a small sound of pain, but stopped immediately. Briskly after, he did the same to his own. He grabbed her bleeding hand and pressed his own to it.,"Ad eum ego vadam" He hissed.,The ground began rumble and let out thick, white smoke. The pair was gradually enclosed, limb by limb, into the unusual vapour. All of a sudden, the two of them faded and slowly disappeared, leaving behind the empty field…

It was not the sort of pub that Harry Potter normally hung about in. It was dark and dingy, the vinyl seats were cracking, and the floor was sticky. It smelled like smoke and brimstone.,He didn't have much choice, however. He needed to find a very specific and very dodgy sort of bloke. And he needed to find him fast. John Constantine was not an easy man to locate, nor was he an easy man to like. But Harry had a lot of experience getting what he wanted out of unlikable blonds. He just had to hope that it would be enough to get him through this encounter and get what he needed from the man. A bit of magic and a lot of leg work later, here he was.,When you needed the loo fixed you went to a plumber, when you needed new robes you went to a tailor, when you needed a curse lifted you went to a curse breaker. When you needed an exorcism, you went to an exorcist. When you needed to save a man's soul, literally, and everyone else in town had turned you down blank, well then and only then, you went to John Constantine. It should have been a simple transaction. Harry knew it wouldn't be.,Worst of all, it was the shock of blond hair that caught his eye first. The wrong blond, Muggle bleached and rough cut, not pureblood sleek, but nonetheless eye catching in the dim pub. Harry didn't hesitate. He walked right over, like he belonged there, and took a seat at the bar next to Constantine.,Constantine twisted slightly, cocked an eyebrow and took a very long look at Harry. He cataloged each scuff mark and soot stain, and the broken decorative buckle on Harry's blood red Auror robes. Harry had charmed himself from Muggles' notice but it was obvious that it didn't work on the man next to him.,"Bit outside your jurisdiction, ain't you squire?" asked Constantine.,"I'm not here for the Ministry." Harry spoke with confidence he didn't feel.,"That right?" Constantine didn't sound like he believed a word of it. He glanced at Harry's robes again, taking note of his rank and not, Harry realised, his face. Constantine knew , Harry was but either didn't know, or didn't care, about who he was.,Constantine snapped his fingers and lit a Silk Cut cigarette with a tiny spark of Hellfire. Harry shivered despite himself. That wasn't Harry's kind of magic, it was wordless, wandless and wrong. Not just the magic, either. The cigarette was the wrong brand, the wrong smell - so close but not close enough. Constantine blew the smoke from the first drag in Harry's direction. He held it wrong, too. It made Harry want to scream with the indignity of it all. The brutal parallels of what he wanted, of what was missing, close but nowhere near. Draco smoked a wizarding brand and used a cigarette holder, which Harry told him made him a complete ponce but Harry secretly loved it. If only he'd realised that fact just a little sooner. Maybe then they wouldn't be in this mess.,"What the bloody hell would one of your lot want with the likes o' me then, mate?" Constantine's voice snapped Harry's attention away from the curling smoke and back to the man next to him. Harry certainly didn't feel like the bloke's 'mate' when he said it like that.,"I need your help," Harry admitted. "To get a man out of a deal... with the King of Hell.",Constantine laughed, smoke rough and caustic. "Is that all? Always something like that with one of you, innit? And what are you offering in return?","My name's Harry Potter," Harry said, offering his hand. "And I'll owe you a favour.","Is that bloody so?" Constantine smiled more like a snake than Voldemort ever had. "We might just have a deal there, Harry. We just might." He shook Harry's hand a little too hard. "Never know when a spot of that wand waving bollocks could come in handy for a man in my line of work. I happen to know a bloke that's got the number we need on speed dial. If you're up for a hop across the pond and a bit of blood sacrifice, that is?",It was a very bad idea. Anything involving this man always was. But if it saved Draco, Harry supposed it would have to be worth it. Anything would.

The,PHANTOM,of fair fortune,High on a hill in an enchanted garden, enclosed by tall walls and protected by strong magic, lived the Phantom of fair fortune.,Once a year, between the hours of sunrise and sunset on the longest day, a single unfortunate was given the chance to fight their way to the Phantom, ask of a favor, and receive it.,On the appointed day, hundreds of people traveled from all over the kingdom to reach the garden walls before dawn.,Male and female, rich and poor, of magical means and without, they gathered in the darkness, each hoping that they would be the one to gain entrance to the garden.,Three witches, each with her burden of woe, met on the outskirts of the crowd, and told one another their sorrows as they waited for sunrise.,The first, by name Asha, was sick of a malady no Healer could cure.,She hoped the Phantom would banish her symptoms and grant her a long and happy life.,The second, by name Altheda, had been robbed of her home, her gold, and her wand by an evil sorcerer. She hoped that the Phantom might relieve her of her powerlessness and poverty.,The third, by name Amata, had been deserted by a man whom she loved dearly, and she thought her heart would never mend. she hoped that the Phantom would relieve her of her grief and longing.,Pitying each other, the three women agreed that, should the chance befall them, they would unite and try to reach the Phantom together.,The sky was rent with the first ray of sun, and a chink in the wall opened. The crowd surged forward, each of them shrieking their claim for the Phantom's benison. Creepers from the garden beyond snaked through the pressing mass, and twisted themselves around the first witch, Asha. She grasped the wrist of the second witch, Altheda, who seized tight upon the robes of the third witch, Amata. And Amata became caught upon the armor of a dismal-looking knight, who was seated on a bone thin horse.,The creepers tugged the three witches through the chink in the wall, and the knight was dragged off his steed after them.,The furious screams of the disappointed throng rose upon the morning air, then fell silent as the garden walls sealed once more.,Asha and Altheda were angry with Amata, who had accidentally brought along the knight.,"Only one can ask of the Phantom! It will be hard enough to decide which of us it will be already, without adding another!",Now, Sir Luckless, as the knight was known in the land outside the walls, observed that these were witches, and, having no magic, nor any great skill at jousting or dueling with swords, nor anything that distinguished the non-magical man, was sure that he had no hope of beating the three women to the Phantom. He therefor declared his intention to withdraw outside the walls again.,At this, Amata became angry too.,"Faint heart!" She chided him. "Draw your sword, knight, and help us reach our goal!",and so the three witches and the forlorn knight ventured forth, into the enchanted garden, where rare herbs, fruit, and flowers grew in abundance on either side of the sunlit paths.,They met no obstacle until they reached the foot of the hill on which the Phantom lived.,There, however, they entered a building that stood in their path. Upon entering, they beheld that they were in a single large room, with them on one side, upon a balcony. Directly across from where they stood was another such construction. A chandelier was tied to their own, and on the floor before it lay the words: PAY ME PROOF OF YOUR NEED. Asha and Amata attempted to create a bridge across the gap, but failed. Sir Luckless attempted to descend to the floor, but there was no way down. At last, weary from their attempts, they sat upon the chandelier.,But as Sir Luckless sat, his sword cut the rope that held their seat to the balcony, and it began to swing across the chasm. Terrified, they held on to one another as it tinkled and chimed.,Finally, it gently bumped against the edge of the second balcony, and glittered as a ray of sunshine hit it. They stayed, frozen, before they moved, exiting the room, and sent up a great cheer, finding themselves on the slope of the hill.,Heartened, they began to climb, sure that they would reach the Phantom before noon.,Halfway up the steep slope, however, they came across words cut into the ground before them: PAY ME PROOF OF YOUR STAMINA.,Sir luckless took out his only coin, and placed it upon the grassy hillside, but it rolled away and was lost. The three witches and the knight continued to climb, but though they walked for hours more,they advanced not a step.,The summit came no nearer, and still the inscription lay in the earth before them.,All were discouraged as the sun rose over their heads and began to sink toward the far horizon, but Altheda walked faster and harder then any of them, and exhorted the others to follow her example, though she moved no farther up the enchanted hill.,"courage, friends!" She cried. "We will not allow this mound to defeat us!",She wiped her brow clean of sweat, and spat upon the words cut into the ground.,As the glob fell onto the earth, the inscription blocking their path vanished, and they found that they were able to move upward once more.,Delighted by the removal of this second obstacle, they hurried toward the summit as fast as could, until at last they glimpsed the house in which the Phantom resided, glittering like crystal in a bower of flowers and trees. Before they could reach it, however, the ground leveled, they came upon a tunnel partly filled with water, and with a boat on the surface of the liquid.,Above the mouth of the tunnel a sign read:,The,PHANTOM OF FAIR FORTUNE,can't get," It's a small world after all.",Out of his head.,Below that, there appeared more writing: SHOW ME PROOF OF YOUR BRAVERY.,Puzzled, they entered the boat, and sat.,Not a second later, the boat jolted forward. As they moved onward, horrifyingly cute creatures and children appeared and began to sing to them:,"It's a world gone crazy, a world gone wrong,,when the Phantom can't even write a song.,Sure he's using his head, but what's up there instead?,It's a small world after all.",and then what appeared to be the chorus:,"It's, a small world after all,,angry cursing fills the hall.,Now, he's crawling up, the wall.,It's a small, small world.",And the song repeated over and over, and at times, screams of horror could be heard from the boats occupants.,At last, the boat carried it's pale and horrified passengers out into the sun, and stopped.,For several moments, not a soul spoke, so amazingly creepy their trip had been, but at last, the small group shook it off, and continued onward.,Finally, they found themselves at the door. The sky burned ruby, and it was time to decide which one of them would ask of the Phantom.,Before they could make their decision, however, frail Asha fell to the ground.,Exhausted by their struggle to the summit, she was close to death. Her three friends would have carried her to the Phantom, but Asha was in mortal agony and begged them not to touch her.,Then Altheda hastened to pick all those herbs she thought most hopeful, and mixed them in sir Luckless's gourd of water, and poured the potion into Asha's mouth. At once, Asha was able to stand. What as more, all symptoms of her dread malady had vanished.,"I am cured!" She cried. "I have no need of the Phantom – let Altheda ask!",But Altheda was busy collecting more herbs in her apron. "If I can cure this disease, I shall earn gold aplenty! Let Amata ask!",Sir Luckless bowed and gestured Amata toward the Phantom's door, but she shook her head. "The journey through the terrifying tunnel has made me feel grateful I have not suffered worse! Good sir, you must ask, as a reward for your chivalry!",So the knight clanked forth in the last rays of the setting sun, and knocked upon the door. Silently, it opened. With no small amount of nervousness, Sir Luckless entered the house. In contrast to it's glittering exterior, the building was dark and gloomy on the inside. It also appeared to only have one room. It was empty except for a large mirror on the opposite wall.,"Why do you disturb me?" A voice, echoing around the room, asked. Sir Luckless, now with a small amount of fear, answered. "It is I, Sir Luckless, and I wish to ask a favor.",There was a moment of silence, and the Phantom, for it was he, spoke. "And what is this wish?",Sir Luckless, in turn gave an answer. "I – I would like to ask of it face to face. And now I must ask, where do you stand?",The Phantom, sounding amused, replied. "As you ask." and then he sang. "look at your face in the mirror, I am there, in- side!",The knight turned to the wall on which the mirror hung, and beheld the mirror swinging open. And from inside came a man in a white half mask. "Now, what is it you wish to ask?",Sir Luckless gulped, for the man was an intimidating figure. "I wish to have enough gold to live happily for the rest of my life, and for others as well.",The Phantom nodded. "So be it. Your wish shall be granted." And after saying so, the masked man revealed a large mound of gold behind him, along with enchanted bags to reduce the weight to almost nothing. Sir Luckless thanked him a thousand fold, and loaded the gold into the bags. He emerged as the sun fell below the horizon, with the glory of his triumph upon him, and threw his gold laden self at the feet of Amata, who was the kindest and most beautiful women he had ever beheld. Flushed with his success, he begged for her hand and her heart, and Amata, no less delighted, realized she had found a man worthy of them.,The three witches and the knight set off down the hill together, arm in arm, and all four led long and happy lives, and none of them ever knew or suspected that the Phantom didn't belong in this story.

Sniper looked at himself in the rearview mirror, thankfully his sunglasses covered most of his face so it wasn't obvious he was nervous. He'd shaven last night so he would look presentable knowing that 'Tuney would need him to appear completely normal or else she'd freak. Mundy had been sent to a boarding school abroad at the same age Lily had gone to Hogwarts to learn magic, which was where he had gained his Australian accent. At the age of 34 now it had been 6 years since he was able to take a holiday away from Teufort and the crazed RED and BLU teams, so he took some of it to visit his sister and nephews who'd be 16. He did hope they were treating little Harry better than they had been last time he had visited. "oh bushman do not worry, they are your family, no?" a heavy french accent spoke from behind him, something that years ago would've scared the crap out of him but after all this time being frenemies he was used to it and relaxed slightly into the other mans arms. As always Olivier was in a deluxe blue suit with his balaclava in place ready to deal with the Dursleys, Mundy having told plenty of (horror) stories about them. Sniper straightened out his jacket and made sure his plaid shirt was buttoned properly underneath and tied the laces on his leather brown shoes.,The duo stepped out of the campervan that was parked around the corner from number 4 Privet Drive so it wouldn't stand out too much amongst all the plain ordinary houses that made up Privet Drive and so that Petunia couldn't moan at her brother for not having a 'proper' car. As they rounded the corner Mundy began thinking to himself ,smirking slightly as we reached the door. Taking a deep breath i knocked on the door and put on a fake smile, Olivier sticking with his expression of seriousness as he squezzed my arm in comfort.,"Boy! Answer the door!" a loud voice bellowed and swiftly the door was opened by a teenager that was clearly undernourished if his size was anything to go by, although the two mercs could see that he had some light muscles , Mundy thought as the two walked in. Harry recognised Mundy and immediatly went to hug the Aussie man "Kiddo your looking taller since i last saw you, took your grandfathers tall genes i see" he smiled and ruffled the messy black hair, the kid leaning in to the touch, eyes shut in content. "I still have that present you gave me last time you visited! I even made a few modifications with my Magic!" Harry informed looking very proud, and saw the shock on his uncle's face causing him to laugh. "BOY! GET IN HERE NOW!" an angry voice called from the living room, causing Harry to groan as he showed the two men in. Petunia walked over to her older brother and gave him a very awkward hug, one that was more formality than any kind of love. "Matthew, who is this...gentlemen you have brought with you?" she questioned but before her brother could reply the frenchman moved forward and kissed her hand before introducing himself "Bonjour Madame my name is Olivier and i am a close friend and colleague of your brothers" trying not to grimace and stay polite Olivier was glad for his balaclava as it meant she couldn't see his facial expression. "Oh my, well dinner shouldn't be too long, right boy?" the end of her question being aimed at her nephew who nodded and went to the kitchen.,Making lots of awkward conversation it was safe to say all the adults when Harry called that dinner was ready, drills were not as fascinating at Vernon apparently believed. As Harry was dishing the meal up the two mercenaries were amazed at the star quality, the food actually looked like it was from a top star restuarnt in London! It was a traditional roast beef dinner, the beef was cooked to perfection and was just chewy enough to get the maximum flavour, the mash was light and fluffy, the vegetables were cooked perfectly with them all cut and placed around the plate like a work of art. In the middle of the table sat a bowl of roast potatoes that were neither burnt nor undercooked and the mercenaries had to control themselves as they tasted the food. "Harry this is amzing! You have a real talent! Safe to say if you don't want a magical job you could become a Michelin-star chef!" complimented Mundy as he finished his food, nothing left behind. "I agree petit and i could eat this forever, besides we all agree that french gourmet is often a lot better than the Brits, no?" causing Harry to chuckle and go bright red rubbing the back of his neck, not used to praise.,"Hmmf cooking is all the brat is good for, did more for us than his good for nothing parents who killed themselves, we have to house him so why not take advantage of a free worker?" boasted Vernon causing the two other men sat at the table to grow angry. "What did you just say about him, and about my sister?" Mundy questioned in a monotonous voice to which his ,sister replied with a haughty tone in her voice "Oh come on, you know our sister did nothing with her life, she just gave me her responsibilities, ones she nor that good-for-nothing-husband of hers wanted" turning her nose up as she finished. glancing over to Harry Mundy could see he was shaking badly and with a nod to Olivier he took Harry out of the dining room so he could deal with the Dursley's how he would do a target, not before saying "I never thought you would let your jealousy blind you Petunia, Goodbye" and he shut the door. Blocking most-but not all of the noise coming from inside.,"Harry, Harry! Look at me! Your mother was one of the bravest and smartest women i have ever known, her nickname was Tiger-Lily because of how fierce she was. Ignore your Aunt, not that she deserves the title" consoled Mundy, hugging his nephew tight letting him go after a minute so he dry his eyes. "Now kiddo where's all your stuff? We'll be going soon" he questioned, Harry's eyes widening in surprise at his Uncle's insinuation "Yo-you're taking me away from here? Thank you! I keep all my school stuff around my neck as a locket, i don't trust the Dursley's with my school stuff just let me go and get Hedwig-My owl" and he darted up the stairs at the moment Olivier made his way out of the dining room and straightened his suit jacket and tie, although a few specks of blood could be seen on his shoes and gloves. "Well i do not think they shall be a bother anymore" he smirked benath his mask at the state he left the husband and wife in, contemplating their sons reaction when he came home from his friends. "Enjoyed yourself? Let out some anger " mocked the bushman turning around as he heard his nephew coming down the stairs carrying a birdcage that held a beautiful snowy owl.,The trio (plus an owl) stepped outside and Mundy asked his nephew one last question "Are you sure you are ready?" and with Harry's nod of affirmation they made their away from the plain houses of Privet drive.

Before,Sirius was ill on Halloween and had Moony taking care of him. Late into the night, they both got a bad feeling and floo Snape. Snape did not attend the meeting where Peter told Voldemort where Harry was. So he was shocked at what he found when he went to check on the Potters finding James and Lily dead, Harry knocked out, and Peter standing in shock. In his shock state, Peter admitted to the crime so Peter was arrested.,Harry kill Voldemort without getting the soul fragment but does hit his head leaving a small cut that disappears in a month.,Dumbledore takes Harry away and , to place blocks on his magic while muttering his plans for Harry. Baby Harry's magic sends him to C.O.D.Z. verse after hearing Dumbledore's plan for him.,The Kino der Toten Zombies find Harry but didn't bite him when they found him in the center of the entrance portal.,The Zombies takes him to Sam who was working on controlling Yuri's mind. Who at the time was in a cage in Sam's room trying to escape. Both stopped what they were doing when the Zombies brought Harry to Sam.,Sam calls Harry 'little one' and asks what he is doing in a place like this and where are his parents. The Zombies shrugged to say they didn't know and left to hunt the humans while looking for any signs of the missing parents but found none.,Sam has Fluffy feed Harry milk when he starts crying for food since Fluffy is in a permanent nursing state and knew how to deal with a baby.,The milk gives Harry a dog tail and the teleporting ability of Fluffy which causes Sam to let Yuri out of his cage to help them with a teleporting baby.,Once Harry doesn't need milk anymore the Group 935 find them in the secret room only access by teleporting by the teleporter on the stage. They were surprised that Harry that wasn't in their timeline was there.,They tell Sam that her father was evil and the humans were trying to help her.,They give Harry a new name Trent Zymbd Maxis which has a little of everyone in the name to stay they will always protect him and he will always be a part of their family.,Sam's father's machine woke the magic in her and a few others in the world,Edward and Tank teach Sam how to fully use her wandless magic since they were from the future they know how to control it fully.,Sam teaches Trent wandless magic when he is old enough to understand and after a few accidental magic burst that almost got them killed.,The others teach Trent how to fight without magic. They also teach Trent and Sam how to speak, understand, read, and how to write all of the world's different languages. Once Trent is old enough and could protect himself they leave Kino der Toten.,The group ports around clearing the zombies, teaching others wandless magic, and fixing the damage Sam's father did.,Now,Albus Dumbledore stood in front of the Goblet of Fire holding the three names of the contestants thinking how his weapon should be there beside him when he was about to give the after the choosing speech the Goblet lit again shooting out a four name which reminds him of his bring his weapon back plan and that it was working. He opened the paper and spoke the name with a fake shocked voice "Harry Potter" the room goes silent and a bright light fills the room as the light faded six new adults, one 14-year-old boy with green eyes and long messy hair, and a group of creatures that looked like dogs stood near the Goblet. One of the adults swore and ask "why is everyone wearing Fucking dresses and where's the hell is the vodka I am way too sober for this.",Trent's view,Today is Mom's , 24 birthday to celebrate we decided to bring her to the past to see her father before he snapped. So we all went to the portal which included Uncle Nikolai age 64, Uncle Edward age 56, Uncle Takeo age 49, Uncle Tank age 37, Uncle Yuri age 67, Mom, Zombie sister Fluffy, five of my nieces and nephews Hellhounds, and myself. As the portal was underway there was a magical change to the drop zone which I thought was weird since I was the only one that could change the drop zone magically. I looked around the room the portal dropped us in while I was waiting for the others to recover from the drop change. I couldn't recognize the time we were now in but the people in the room had magic that felt similar to my own magic.,I then hear Uncle Nikolai swear as he sees the room full of people in dresses and asks "why is everyone wearing Fucking dresses and where's the hell is the vodka I am way too sober for this." I shake my head as I walked over to him. I tripped him with my dog tail and said "language uncle" while I was helping him up I gave him a Vodka bottle I wordlessly and wandlessley summoned for him which caused the room full of people to gasp.,Uncle Edward asked, "Trent was that you that I felt that changed the portals drop point?","Nope" I stated looking over the shocked people in the room. "I might have strong teleporting powers thanks to sister Fluffy but that wasn't me uncle Ed.",Uncle Takeo said "I don't recognize this time period or this place. Do any of you?" Everyone except for myself shook their heads.,"I don't know where we are uncle Takeo but it feels familiar," I answered.,Uncle Tank looked at me with a concerned look and asked me "could this be where you are from?","Maybe Uncle Tank. Is your magic telling you to stay far away from the old man Mom, Uncle Ed, and Uncle Tank?" The three looked at me then looked at the old man who was standing near them and was looking at the paper in his hand then at me then back at the paper in his hand shocked.,Uncle Yuri stated, "the old man knows what is going on and he has the ability to control people for as he says 'for the greater good'." Since Uncle Yuri can sense magic, what the person used it for, and why they used it thanks to the years Mom tried to control Uncle Yuri before I came into their lives. "Keep your shields up Trent Zymbd Maxis around him. He wants to use his ability on you.","Yes Uncle Yuri, your ability to see what magic people used in their life and why it was used is still freaky by the way Uncle, especially since you are a Normal," I stated matter of factly.,"Well, Normal's tend to get that ability after a Magical Person controls them for so long right Sam?" Uncle Tank stated which cause Mom to glare at him and the Hellhounds growled in warning.,"Mom wasn't herself at that time you know that Uncle Tank," Trent said.,"Um...sorry to interrupt but who are you people and why does he smell like my missing Godson." asked a man with long black hair at the table behind us where only adults sat.,n. e. t. t. y. r. d. b. z. m.,Trent Zymbd

Magic and the Dead,A Harry Potter/High School of the Dead Crossover,By Sheya,Beta read by: Slicerness,o-,Chapter 1: Spring of the Dead,o-,Fifteen year old Harry Potter, boy wizard, was stuck in Japan with his ',' family, all because that stupid wannabe world conquering megalomaniac Voldemort attacked his school just before spring break, damaging the wards. Luckily he had been repelled, unluckily the wards needed to be repaired and the school could not be full of curious children while that was happening, lest they be turned inside out by magic itself.,Harry wasn't sure if Dumbledore had been joking when he said that, and he wasn't too keen on finding out. So, Harry and all of the students were sent home.,Now for a normal student, the Headmaster had no say in where the student spent his or her time during school breaks, but as he was , reminded, Harry's life was anything but normal. Since Harry was the ever hyphenated 'Boy-Who-Lived', his school Headmaster, as the less hyphenated but apparently more important 'Leader of the Light', took great interest in keeping him mushroomed - that being; kept in the dark and fed a lot of bovine excretion. So Harry was stuck in Japan with his relatives because Dumbledore felt the need to ruin Harry's life.,The reason for being in Japan was that Vernon was at a drill convention, his boss at Gunning's chose his top five men and Vernon had mysteriously managed to shoot up the corporate ladder to place fifth, where before he was barely able to hold onto his position somewhere in the top 100. How ,...,So, Harry was stuck in Japan for the foreseeable future. Thankfully for Harry, he was able to get his own room and avoid his family; a setup everyone agreed was the best way to do things.,Honestly, the trip so far hadn't even been that bad!,**Flashback**,When Harry got off the train from school he was picked up by Vernon.,"Boy when we get home you are to pack one small bag and , one small bag, unfortunately that Bumblebore fellow is forcing us to take you on my trip to my Drill Convention. Since this year it's in Japan you will stay in the room and not make any noise.","I have a better Idea. My parents left me some money, at least enough to get through school and a bit more. You will bring me to Charing Cross road, I will take out money, and once we get to Japan I will disappear and you won't have to see or deal with me until it's time to go home." Harry counter offered.,Harry's deal would have went over flawlessly if it wasn't for one thing; Vernon's greed.,"You will give me all that money or you will regret it." The man demanded.,Harry's jaw clenched. Well that was a failure. "No. You can come with me to the bank if you'd like, but you'll find that you couldn't take a single galleon from me if I didn't want you to. The Goblins, they run the bank, and they have this policy about thieves, and considering what you've been doing since you took me in..." He trailed off, waiting for a reaction.,He wasn't disappointed.,Vernon started spluttering, face going both pale and purple at the same time. It was sickening to look at, but Harry took satisfaction in it all the same.,He continued, "Yeah, my Trust Vault has been used to send you money for my care, you've been using it completely for yourself. Lying to me, calling me a burden, when you get enough to get a new car every year on TOP of all the latest gadgets for Dudley?" Harry gave a cold chuckle, enjoying watching Vernon squirm. "I don't think so. You're lucky I'm willing to let this slide as is, would you prefer I file a claim to get all the stolen money back? I hear Goblins have a liking for drinking fine wines out of the skulls of those who don't have enough to cover their debts.",Harry smirked as the purple dropped from Vernon's face, all that remained was a ghostly paleness.,"In fact, the goblins went through my memories in my third year and calculated all the work I've done for you that went unpaid. Learned a LOT in third year, actually. Which is why you no longer get money ten months of the year." He didn't think he could get any more satisfied with how this talk was going, so he allowed a bit of smugness to sink into his posture and voice and gave his ultimatum again. "So take me to Charing Cross Road, I will get what I need, and when we get off the plane we won't see each other until the flight home.","Fine." Vernon turned the car in the direction of Charing Cross Road.,Harry got out of the car and turned to look over his shoulder, "I won't be long.","Like I have a choice?" Vernon said quietly, still shaken.,Harry shrugged and walked into the Leaky Cauldron. Nobody even looked up as he made his way to the back and went through the arch to Diagon Alley. There, he meandered his way to Gringotts to get some things he knew were in his vault. It was a good thing for him fifteen was the youngest he could take items out of the main vaults.,"I need to talk to Snapclaw." Harry said to the teller when he reached the front of the line.,"Fine, you know the way I assume?" The goblin growled.,"Yeah, thanks." Harry nodded and walked to the back of the floor through an archway to the offices in the back. Snapclaw's office was easy enough to find, having the Potter emblem on the door, since he oversaw those accounts.,He knocked, got a positive response, and entered. Without preamble he started speaking. "So my relatives are going to Japan, my oh so caring Headmaster is forcing them to take me with them. I have no passport and would be detained instantly. Something that seems to have slipped the old man's mind. As such I need a few things; a passport, a decent amount of money in both Pounds and Yen and lastly that Enchanted Translation Ring in my vault." Harry said before finally sitting down in the chair before the desk of the Goblin that had been so monumentally helpful in his third year.,That day, in the summer before third year, had been a barrage of surprises, the first of which being that the Snapclaw hadn't met him at Gringotts, but instead at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Apparently the Goblin had a sweet tooth he didn't get to satisfy very often.,After an exhausting talk, Snapclaw had ordered a unique form of ice cream with a Roborante* potion mixed in before they had done a bit of shopping. Snapclaw had a great deal of advice on what to get to best maximize his wealth, and had wanted to make sure Harry followed them perfectly if he so chose. First had been a trunk, complete with a mass of compartments for plenty of room and several dozen features that would make it undetectable and easy to travel with.,After that had been purchased, next had been the bookstore. The fact that it took them four hours to get everything needed was testament to the amount of material Snapclaw wanted Harry to be familiar with.,But now, in the present, he needed several things from the Goblins and he needed them fast.,Harry was out the door in fifteen minutes, immensely satisfied with the service of the bank, though calling it just a bank seemed rather lacking considering all Gringotts could do. With everything he needed, as well as some info on Voldemort and his experiments with Inferi - why anyone would experiment with the walking dead Harry had no clue. Regardless, a quick stop to get a wardrobe that would help him blend in, with all the bells and whistles that magic allowed of course, he headed back towards the Leaky Cauldron.,He found Vernon parked where he'd left him, looking a far healthier shade (still pale for the man, since his usual tone was far from healthy, but progress) and surprisingly neutral when Harry stepped into the car.,"Take long enough, boy?" The man grumbled, apparently not able to help himself.,"I needed a passport. Would you like to be arrested because they think I'm a terrorist and you're an accomplice?" Harry sniped back, seeing no reason to tell the truth. Harry however dropped a package in Vernon's lap. "Portkeys. If you are in trouble the password is Sanctuary.","..." Vernon remained silent as he shifted gears and pulled out into traffic.,**kcabhsalF**,Thus two days later they were in Japan and Vernon was schmoozing with other drill salesmen, incident all but forgotten. Harry, on the other hand, was bored out of his skull.,They were in a small little place called Tokonosu City, which was NOT a tourist attraction and the absolute lack of attractions made it show.,Presently, Harry was wandering the town, thoroughly lost. Too bad it was the middle of the night - closer to morning, really - but something was nagging him badly, especially about the guy coming towards him. He noticed that the man was walking kinda like the zombies in video games an-',?!' The lack of blood was even more damning proof.,Harry was glad that he was able to get an exemption to use his wand after totally out maneuvering Fudge and his lackey (and the newest inmate of Azkaban) Umbridge, during his trial. A quick Reductor at the Inferus' skull made quick work of it.,Of course then again there were three more coming his way already, as was the nature of most Inferi infestations., Harry decided as he took out his broom and flew up high. He was so focused on the zombies mindlessly groaning and raising their arms, the ones that worked anyway, that he almost didn't notice the beeping coming from his pocket. He initially thought maybe it was his alarm clock and he was about to wake up, but it turned out to be the Goblin communicator Snapclaw had insisted he take just in case his most profitable client needed something on the fly.,"Harry here?" He answered absently, hovering in place and looking around. He had absolutely no idea how he missed the chaos before. Things were on fire and there was plenty of smoke rising from various points around the city.,The goblin, as most of his race did, started in on business right away, harsh voice a characteristic growl as he explained, "Potter, that moron Riddle lost control of his Inferus. Not just in Britain but ,.","That would certainly explain the walking dead. I have about ten meandering about below me." Harry deadpanned.,"Well the good news is that Magicals are immune to their bite, or at the very least highly resistant. The bad news is that a single bite, or even a scrape of teeth hard enough to break the skin, is enough to infect a non-magical. That happens, it's over for them; just a matter of time. Contact that godfather of yours, these Inferi are still blocked by Undead Wards so most magical places are safe from them, for the moment. If Riddle has even a single smart follower they're going to try to tear down those wards when they recover from this accident." Snapclaw cut off the communicator and got back to helping the rest of the Goblins trying to fix this.,Harry snapped his communicator closed and placed it back in his pocket. "Right, get Sirius on the line." He reached into another pocket and pulled out the communication mirror Sirius had given him and called his name. "Sirius, you there?","Yeah Harry, things are going crazy out in the Muggle world." Sirius commented, voice distant enough for Harry to assume he was either watching or reading something.,"It certainly is here in Japan. The Goblins say that Voldemort created a new kind of Inferi. Good news is that bashing it in the head destroys it, the bad news is it's immune to fire and one bite turns a non-magical into one of them." Harry flew up higher. "We're mostly immune; from what Snapclaw hinted there might be some unlucky bastards that could still be turned, so don't go getting cocky. Even if we are immune though, that won't save us if every Muggle turns and we have billions of these things hammering on our doors.",Sirius seemed shaken by the thought, "Right, well, your friend Hermione and her parents arrived an hour ago or so. Apparently there was a nest of them near her house and she noticed something wrong and used her Portkey here.","That's good, I wouldn't want her to lose her parents in this." Harry sent another Reductor into the group of Inferi below him. "Well I'm going to look for survivors. If my relatives were lucky they used the Portkeys I gave them to my house in Wales. But I don't know if they did or not.", A part of Harry thought viciously.,He picked up again after the momentary pause. "I'll give Portkeys to survivors to my estate here; the Statute of Secrecy is fucked anyway and I'm willing to bet the local government is going to be doing the same thing once they get their forces mobilized." He chuckled, "Glad my family was so spread out and I still have cousins here though, albeit very distant ones. See ya Sirius.","Sure, come home soon." Sirius ended the call.,With the broom firmly between his legs and wand at the ready throwing around Reductor curses like it was going out of style, Harry began flying around and finding as many groups as he could that had barricaded the doors and stairways to various establishments and homes. It was simple to do, Muggles couldn't actually see magic once it left his wand, so even the stubborn groups fell to a compulsion charm or two to hold onto the hoops he kept for Portkey travel. He just loved the Potter family Library, it had the most interesting books - even a Grimoire - which had lots of spells and suggestions on how to use them. Granted he mostly just hit the Portkey with a sticking charm and tossed it, since he had so many hoops in his bottomless bag, but it was still very useful to have a Portkey that could also have other spells placed on it. The standard spell reacted quite violently to tampering.,As Harry wandered through the city on his broom he noticed the sun rising. He continued wandering around the town watching the chaos and helping where he could until he came to a surprisingly calm area. He flew over the streets and finally saw a well-armed group of people driving in a convoy towards a mansion. He landed on a side street put his broom away, no sense in scaring these people. And walked out to the main road where he saw the convoy.,The group of vehicles stopped as Harry stepped out into the street. "Hi, are you going to a safe place?" Harry asked,A man with a militant air about him stepped out of the front vehicle and nodded to him.,"I'm Harry, I know of another safe place that could use some direction. Can we use your safe place as a staging ground to the other one? The one I know of is safer than anything else because these things can't get in no matter what.","Come with us and we will discuss this." The leader of the convoy said.,"Thanks, it's kinda scary out there on my own even if I do have ways of protecting myself." Harry jumped into one of the vehicles and rode with them to a lovely mansion with dozens of large tents on one side of the lawn.,The straight laced man gestured for Harry to follow him inside. When they got there they were met by a lovely red-violet haired woman. "My wife Yuriko. My name is Soichiro Takagi.","Harry Potter, pleased to meet you." Harry bowed to the two adults before they all sat at a large table half covered with plans.,He started things off, telling his tale. "My relatives and I came here for my Uncle's drill convention and I got separated from them, intentionally - we don't get along. But you wanted to know more about the safe place I mentioned… It's about ten miles north of the city in the mountains. It's part of my family's holdings, not the relatives that I came with; they're from my mum's side and never liked my dad, or my mum for that matter. But my dad has family all over the world, so the collective family maintains holdings all over the world. As I'm the last of the main branch I have control over it all, but my cousins help a lot.","Very well, your story is interesting so far, how would you transport everyone there?" Soichiro asked.,"Well that is part of what I need to show you. I also have information on how this outbreak started, let's just say an idiot was tinkering with things he shouldn't and lost control... for now." Harry pulled out his mirror. "Sirius Black","What's up kiddo?" Sirius said from the mirror, the two Japanese jumped.,"Well I made contact with a group that seems to know what they're doing and are bringing people together, I assume that while things are good now dissension will start up when everyone thinks it's safe... even if it isn't safe." He commented with a sigh. "So I thought that we can make it safe enough that it wouldn't' matter. The adults in charge need an explanation for everything and I figured you, an adult, telling it would go over better than a kid telling it." Harry explained before he passed the mirror to Soichiro, who took the familiarly shaped but bizarre device gingerly.,"Hi, I'm Sirius, Harry's godfather. And this is a magical communication mirror that Harry's Dad and I made in School. The school we went to is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And yes Magic is real.",Soichiro, never a man to lose his cool, took the realization in complete stride. "Well that is quite the introduction… if you were sitting in front of me telling me this I would worry about your sanity. I can see why Harry wanted you to tell us. I'm not sure that we believe it even now.","Well that's the thing, I can show you the estate and then we can come back here and that would be a much better show than the mirror." Harry pulled a ring out of his bag and enlarged it.,"Portus" He incanted, before he held the ring out the Soichiro and his wife. "Would you like to see my home here in Japan?",The married couple glanced at each other briefly before they turned back to him and nodded. "Yes." They both took hold of the Portkey as Harry scooped up the mirror.,Seconds later Harry landed on the floor of a grand entrance way in a heap and Soichiro and Yuriko both landed in crouches on their feet. "Ugh, I hate portkey travel…." Harry's voice floated up from the floor.,Yuriko put her hand up and snickered, and Soichiro let out a full laugh. "I see that you do have trouble staying on your feet at least.","Got any pointers?" Harry asked as he stood up. "I hate Floo too." Harry looked around the room. "Wow, this is the first time I've ever been here. It's great, perfect looking for what we need.","Have you sent any others here?" Soichiro asked.,"Yeah, but not to the main house, I sent them to the guest house which I understand is set up like a resort about a mile from here. I know there is a cousin here somewhere and several house elves." Harry jumped back as an elf popped in and bowed.,"The master is here. The master has sent many people here, what does the master want to do with these people?","Well I was hoping to set up some homes for them and help them turn at least some of this place into a temporary town. I understand that this estate is several miles in the real world and also copied several times over in the Fukuhan** right?","Yes Master Harry this could be done. The people you sent though are not happy, they don't understand why you sent them.","What? They don't understand that I saved them from a Zombie Apocalypse? Or they don't believe that they were saved?","They don't know what to think Master. Cousin Master is trying to understand too but Cousin Master Kentaro does not know either. And the Teribi is not making any sense.",Harry sighed and turned to his guests. "Mind If I take care of this?","How about we take care of it, they may listen to us better. I am fairly well known, they should have at least heard of me." Soichiro and Yuriko left the building with Harry following.,The trio got into a car and drove to the 'Resort', the trip not taking long at all since the road was straight, flat, and magically spelled to be completely clean of anything. Once they arrived Soichiro was in his element, explaining what was going on to the people. He effortlessly convinced them all that Harry had probably saved their lives, Soichiro had seen many places that had been barricaded but broken into even still, his impassioned speech about how happy he was so many people survived won over the last of those that were still fit to make a fuss.,He finished off by telling them all the tentative plans to set up a village, and finished off with a rallying cry announcing that many more survivors were expected to show up, safe and sound.,A quick word from Harry had the man stepping back up and requesting aid in organizing everything since Harry understood that he was rather young to be doing it himself – he had the know how, sort of, but the charisma he would need to get people to look past his age was something he didn't possess. Maybe in the magical world, since people saw him as a symbol or some nonsense, but not here.,Giving a brief introduction to the crowd, Harry gave a general description of the Portkeys used, making sure to emphasize the safety of them, and the protections around the estate. The people were incredibly relieved to hear that the protections not only kept out the Inferi, but also those infected. Those poor souls would be bounced off the wards around the property and sent right back to where they started when the Portkey picked them up.,o-o,Several hours later Harry and the Takagi's returned to the Takagi estate, and Soichiro started organizing an evacuation, sending everyone who wanted to go, which was most of the refugees, to the Estate. The rest decided to help calm down new refugees. Harry spent the next few hours creating Portkeys that could be enlarged to ten times their original size and activated with a word. He had no intention of staying with the Takagi's forever, he planned to use his broom to find others that the Takagi's may not get to in time or something- he hadn't decided yet.,The next morning Harry woke to a commotion of a group of people near his own age joining the estate, as well as finding out that the Takagi's had a daughter and she was among this group. He watched them for a bit and decided, based on their personalities and the way they carried themselves, that they wouldn't stay. They had a taste of freedom from adult rule and they would not go back under it. He went to see if they would let him join them.,After talking with Takashi and his friends he found that they were willing to have him especially after he demonstrated an air whip - similar to a fire whip but made of air particles strung together to razor sharpness. The new Inferi, which Takashi and his group called ,, were rather resistant to fire and the flame whip. Harry found that out the hard way after looking it up in the Grimoire during his travels. Thankfully it was easy to master the Ventusflagellus or Airwhip, even more so after mastering the Ignisflagellus or Firewhip, since they were essentially the same spell with a slightly different feel.,The next few days were spent sending refugees to his estate and making more Portkeys. Harry also warded an abandoned building with the Undead Repelling Wards and created a permanent Portkey to that place far away from any muggle electronics - though his magic had not been interfering at all anyway, he thought it better to be safe than sorry.,Then the EMP wave hit.,Harry had been in the warded building when it did, stocking up on voice activated Portkeys. He felt a shock run through his magic and ran to the estate. In his dash he caught sight of the Inferi making their way through the streets. Streets that were supposed to be undead free, due to various barricades set up to keep them out.,He skidded in through the gates seconds before , reached it. It didn't take more than a glance to see that the gate wouldn't hold for long.,He tossed three separate Colloportus, locking spells, at the door and linked two halves of a unique charm that turned mass into explosive force. The second the gate wasn't touching the wall keeping it in place, the gate's metal would disintegrate, turned into energy to power an explosion. It was risky, but he was confident he could get everyone nearby out of the blast range before the undead broke through.,In the name of that goal, he turned and began yelling at everyone to grab a Portkey, handing them out like candy on Halloween. Most of Takagi's people were firing at the Inferi, keeping the monsters from actually putting any force into knocking the gate over. It was a losing battle, as one of the three locking charms had already been overpowered, but they were buying much needed time.,By the time the second fell, Harry had given up on calling out to people and was literally hurling the Portkeys at people.,When he finally finished giving out the last transportation device, he saw the other teens and sprinted over to them. They turned back to look at him as he hopped in the buggy right behind them.,Saya was the first to speak, or at least the loudest and most commanding. "My parents?" She queried.,"They're out. Anybody left out there can Port out at any time, and are probably only there to buy just a bit more time." Harry answered hurriedly. He had no idea when the gate was going to blow, and he would like to be gone when it did.,"And what about their plans to save as many people as they could?" Takashi asked.,"I made a small safe house Warded to keep the Inferi out filled to the brim with Portkeys. Saya's dad can Port in and out with as many people as he wants and that can be the new staging area. There were some cars there, but I'm not sure they were protected from the EMP – my wards might or might not diverted them." Harry rambled rapidly, looking over his shoulder. "Look, we need to leave, like now." He said blankly.,Kohta perked up, "Wh-,He was interrupted by an earth shattering explosion, the buggy actually briefly balancing on two wheels from the force.,"That's why!" Harry said loudly but blanky. "The gate's clear, but that's going to attract a whole hell of a lot of them!",Shizuka nodded and slammed on the accelerator, tearing out of the garage and through the gate, the large tires easily able to overcome the rubble that used to be the walls, sidewalk, and even a bit of road.,Once they were clear Takashi turned to look at Harry. "Okay, can you make us Portkeys to my home?",Harry shrugged, answering. "I either need a Portkey to the place that I can copy or I need to have been there. While I feel like I've wandered all over this town in the last week or so I'm sure I'm not even close." Harry explained.,Takashi nodded, not happy but satisfied with that answer,The group continued on towards the highway where they ran into a snag. They were forced to split up. There were just too many Inferi to bring the buggy, so Takashi and Saeko took it one way, attracting attention, and the rest continued on foot.,Harry took point and cleared out any stragglers with well-placed Airwhips. They were, thankfully, much less noisy than reducto. He normally wouldn't care about noise, but he had people to protect now, and the two heaviest hitters were elsewhere when it came to melee combat.,They made it to the agreed upon meeting point, a nearby mall, with relatively little fuss thanks to the distraction the buggy had created. Harry still secured the door behind them when they had piled in though, no sense in leaving a weakness uncovered in case they were actually being followed.,o-,Revision,08/07/15,*Pepperup is for colds so I created a NEW one called Roborante Potion Which SHOULD be Invigoration Potion just cause It pisses me off when people use Pepperup as an energy drink. (BTW: if you read this before the revision I did not put pepperup in I think my beta suggested a energy potion and we used pepperup as a substitute/placeholder. I just reread and it annoyed me so I changed it.),**Fukuhan=Duplicate I figured that is is a Japanese magical thing that the Potters brought to the rest of the world. After the Latin world is not the be all and end all of the magical language.(I originally called it the Double but that annoyed me today as well.)

ESPOSO VAMPIRO,Lestat de Lioncourt/Harry Potter,Capituló 1,La bruma es lo único que lo rodea desde hace días o meses ya no sabe cuánto tiempo ha pasado o porque se encuentra así solo oye los susurros una seductora voz palabras que no entiende unas manos que vagan por su cuerpo, la lengua, las caricias esa sensación de vértigo después todo es oscuridad.,La claridad regresa poco a poco se mueve puede sentir las suaves sabanas contra su piel desnuda no ve muy bien la habitación es oscura no se oyen ruidos es la segunda vez que despierta en este lugar recuerda que solo hace unos días trato de salir pero no pudo se levantó sin hacer ruido ya con sus lentes trato de ajustar su vista a la oscuridad reinante tomo una larga playera se la puso para cubrir sus desnudes abrió la puerta con el menor ruido los largos pasillos le recuerdan un poco a su colegio baja las escaleras casi ha terminado un pequeño ruido lo hace saltar voltea pero no ve nada se acerca a una ventana ya que la última vez la puerta no la pudo atravesar.,Quito el seguro de esta la abrió despacio se sentó en el borde para salir saco las piernas luego lo demás del cuerpo listo para saltar unos brazos lo tomaron de la cintura metiéndolo.,-Petit, Petit no de nuevo-paso la lengua por su delicado cuello lo que lo hizo temblar-Mon amor-Suéltame-gruño él lo soltó con una gran sonrisa el moreno volteó para encararlo entrecerrando los ojos como tenía el descaro de sonreírle este vampiro que lo había secuestrado hace casi dos semanas.,Hace dos semanas el caminaba al atardecer ya que sus tíos no lo querían en casa ya que unos socios cenarían con ellos no es que se avergonzaran de moreno sino que este verano que regreso a Private Drive se veía más guapo su cabello lo había dejado crecer desde el cuarto año por lo que ahora lo traía abajo de los hombros aunque rebeldes se ve sexy ya que enmarca su bello rostro lo que logró que la mayoría de vecinas y vecinos contando a los amigos de su primo babear cada que sale.,Ya que su socio venía con su familia no querían que lo conocieran porque Dudley ni en sueños se compara con él así que salió desde temprano de buena gana se hubiera quedado con Sirius pero después del enfrentamiento en el ministerio al terminar el año no se querían arriesgar a que Fudge buscara un pretexto para atrapar a su padrino.,Tan perdido iba en sus pensamientos que cuando sintió una presencia a su lado solo vio unos bellos ojos azules después todo se oscureció hasta hace unos días que despertó por completo sin la bruma que lo rodeaba intento salir de ahí pero el vampiro rubio lo atrapaba cada vez aunque ahora está seguro que lo dejaba tratar de escapar solo para atraparlo como si fuera un juego no ha usado su magia ya que la siente un poco rara tal vez sea que en unos días cuándo cumpla años recibirá su herencia como le dijeron Sirius y Remus aunque no sabían que sería ya que los Potter eran muy reservados en eso.

"Lassie! Jules! What are you doing here?" It was midday in Santa Barbara and sunlight poured through the office window. Shawn and Gus sat at their desks, and standing in the doorway was Detectives Lassiter and Juliet.,"We have an overload of minor cases." Juliet explained, "We," Lassiter grunted in protest, "As in the Chief and I, Thought you guys could help out." Shawn grinned.,"Will we get paid?","Yes.","We're in.","Good." said Juliet, though Lassiter looked unhappy as ever. The foursome were about to exit the office when they heard a crash behind them.,The hogwarts train sped through the countryside, it's scarlet steam engine gleaming in the September light. In a compartment halfway along the train, 14 year olds, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat. Ron was not in a terribly good mood, due to their latest confrontment with Malfoy. The golden trio were silent as the train sped along. They didn't know that that was about to change.,The four detectives spun around, Lassie and Jules drawing their guns. What they did not expect to see was a silver teapot, faintly glowing blue. Juliet lowered her gun, and Shawn and Gus exchanged looks.,"What the…?" He trailed off. Shawn shoved Gus forward, telling him to pick it up.,"Nuh uh. I'm not touching the creepy teapot." Gus complaided.,"You'll be fine Gus. It's just a teapot.","If you're so sure, you pick it up." Gus challenged. Shawn glared at him.,"Fine." He tiptoed forward and picked it up. "See Gus? It's fin-" but he stopped talking, surprised by the sensation in his fingers. He went wide eyed and looked up, but before he could say anything, all four of them felt a pull behind their naval, and the world seemed to start spinning.,All the sun started to set, clouds of rain and thunder rolled in. Harry gazed out the window not seeing what was in front of him. He was hoping that Sirius was okay, and Hedwig also. He hadn't seen his feathery friend for a while and was starting to miss her. Hermione had her nose buried in, "Standard Book of Spells: Grade 4" and Ron was trying to shut Pigwidgeon up with some owl treats. The compartment was silent except for the occasional turning of the page or noise from the small owl. This was until four adults from a different dimension came crashing out of nowhere.

End of August.,An incredibly bored middle-schooler was lying on his back. His backpack under his head, he stared with a sour expression at the sky going dusky.,He had been like that - on his very own - for quite a while. His head sometimes seemed to remember things past, but most of the time he couldn't make head or tail out of what he saw.,It all seemed absurd. Surreal, even.,Trying to get it all to make sense in his head was a task he worked hard to accomplish, without the best of results. In the great common dormitory which was practically the only home he had known, he was a number among many other numbers.,Yet Odoroki Housuke was indeed a peculiar boy. An average one at that. Short size, but full of self-confidence. Slim weight, but not athletic. Friendly, yet reserved. Rather acerbic, yet also likable. Slackerish in class, yet hard-working. Intelligent, yet not a genius. Not a bullied boy, not a pampered one. A rather independent, preppy one.,He had just turned eleven that year. The mandatory age to leave the shelter was drawing near, and the world outside just looked bleaker and bleaker for him as time passed.,Because he wanted to be a lawyer. A profession met with scorn and contempt in his country. A job no one in their sane mind would flaunt in front of others, in the world he inhabited.,But to Housuke, it meant everything. It was his engine, his reason, his entire self. He had an example to follow, but little more than that. Was he doing that for someone? He felt like it was, but he couldn't make sense who could that be.,After all, he had no one.,Yet, as of now, he was feeling down.,This wasn't giving up, or throwing the towel on hi self-propelled enthusiasm. He just felt... a little tired of holding the fort, nothing much.,By all other accounts, he seemed a normal average kid, with his loud voice being his only distinguishing feature.,By loud... we mean "capable of breaking things".,And by "things" we don't mean windows or glasses... We mean reinforced steel...,One fateful day, he protested in Gym class about not being able to use the crossbars. His yells managed to chip dents on the parallel bars somehow...,But strange things happened to him all the time, and although he was a skeptical by nature... it was difficult to make sense of all.,Every time the kids needed a haircut, try as the barber might to snip off two rebel strands of hair that looked like feathers atop his forehead... they regrew down somehow before he even left the chair. He was oddly proud of them for a reason he himself couldn't explain.,A curious bangle he sported on his left hand... seemed to shrink every time other kids wanted to slip it off him to play with.,Said bracelet had been on him since forever. He couldn't remember where did it come from.,His voice wasn't a, well, 'normal' kid's voice. He could break objects if he yelled loud enough. A ban on hollering indoors was issued for his sole benefit. Sometimes he just had an urge to shout, hence he retreated to yell himself hoarse in the farthest point of the main courtyard.,What did he scream? "I will be fine!",And another thing. People seemed to materialize out of thin air, and vanish as soon as he wanted to take a closer look. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him... because no one else around him seemed to notice.,It was a lot for a kid to take in, sure.,These days, he would have appreciated answers, but who was ever going to give him any?,It was getting dark. Scowling, he prepared to pull himself up from the grass and walk inside. Dinner would be ready about an hour after sunset, and he shouldn't miss it...,As soon as his head grudgingly left his backpack, one of the things that Housuke was unwilling to admit that could happen... happened in front of his eyes.,A small figure materialized just next to him.,At first glance, it looked like one of the younger kids playing hide and seek. But looking closely, this child had a travelling cloak pulled over the head, so the face was barely visible.,A big grin materialized on the child's face, as a hand pulled out of the cloak and...,*YOINK*,His schoolbag was snatched in a flash and the figure retreated, big grin still covering the visible part of their face.,"Ex-c-cuse me?" he stammered. "What do you want with my - I have homework I need to do, you know?",The response was a giggle. If he had to guess, the person underneath the cloak was a young female.,"And what are you doing here? This is a boys school!" He stood up gingerly, as the figure retreated farther into the courtyard.,"Oi, it's not funny, give it ba-!",Housuke was not the athletic type, and it soon showed to his disadvantage. As he tried to run after the figure - and man, was that little bugger quick! - he tripped over and fell forward. He lifted his head in time to see the child seemingly... vanish from sight...,("My backpack...!"),*POOF*,Before he could yell in surprise, his backpack fell out of seemingly nowhere and landed squarely on the stranger's head.,"OWWW! GEEZ BOY, DON'T ATTACK ME!",His reaction was automatic, the type of reaction anyone with vocal chords would have, confronted with something this alien...,"BUT I DIDN'T...! AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!",The voice didn't seem to boom through the way he was used to, though.,"Yo, calm down, don't yell! My, you've grown, kiddo!","You... you know me?","Har har har, these days, who doesn't! But yeah, I know you from way back!",Housuke's hands were fisted, not taking his eyes off the stranger.,"Dh- oh, someone told me not ta' tell you, but I just had to!,Housuke's alarmed face seemed to finally register with the stranger. "Oh, that's right. You won't know me. Okay. Rewind.",And he puffed out.,And in again.,"Har har har! Scared you much? Yeah, you were a tad scaredy back then, I remember!","Sorry? Back ,?","Oh! Right. Well. This is awkward but - hello, total stranger kid whom I've never seen before or anything! I'm Dattsu Dinigesu!","Uh. right. I'm...","Har har har! Presentin' yourself? That's rich! As if there ain't a lad in this side of the world who doesn't know you!","Oh? Then say my name!",Defiance to an adult? Yes. Definitely. But as a kid who had no one besides the orphanage, he was rather distrustful of others when he couldn't find a reason to trust.,"But of course! Y'are "THE" Housuke Odoroki!","Well yes, that's m- , What do you mean?!","Heh, as in "the famous Odoroki Housuke!" What else could that mean?",A sour expression covered the boy's entire face.,"This is stupid. I have no idea where you came from, but I've had enough... I'm leaving. Don't follow me or I'll call the principal!","Wouldn't do that if it was you. Bet this ain't the first time you see something others don't!",Good point there. He turned around, frowning.,"So you expect me to listen to you, right?",Vigorous nod. "Look, this will make no sense, after all. I just came to deliver yer school letter and help you prepare for school, see?","What do you mean? Don't you see I am going to school right now?","Har har, as if a lackin' Muggle school is where the likes of ya belong!",Sour turned to sourer. "Will you stop badmouthing the school? It's not useless! And don't dare to go check my grades with the principal, I'll yell if you do!","Yell? Seriously? Ya've noticed that yer voice sounds a bit off? That's because I contained it. It's real dangerous to let it out, believe me you!","But wait, how did you...? You cannot contain a human voice!","Not fully, and not yours! But yeah, that's why I say yer education's been' lackin' sorely! Here, yer letter. Open up!",He pulled a shabby looking envelope, with what seemingly contained a shabbier looking leathery paper. At a glance, it looked like a very elaborate practical joke.,"What's... Wand, quill, parchment? You are pulling my leg, right?","Naah, that's standard 'quipment there. I'll go grab it with ya, that's why I came!","Wait a minute, you are not my legal guardian! You'll need an order from court...!","Har har har, my, how uptight! Yer guardian would be proud! Guess the spell really affected your personality!",", What is that supposed to mean?",The man (Dattsu, was it?) looked at him squarely in the eye. "A'ight, tell me this... remember anything of your life before comin' here?","Uh, not much that makes sense...","So, what is it ya see? Trees? Mountains? Scared of water an' wary of fire much?","How do you... Wait. No, you can't be...","Naaah, I know whatchare thinkin! No, yours truly ain't got no kids yet! just happen to know you from way back, kiddo! And well, you don't remember us for your own protection! See, you can't recall me... cuz you have a spell put on you!","Come to think of that... nothing makes sense... And you speak funny, but I can understand you?","Weeeell, we do speak a common language! Would tell ya more, but what's the use of it, innit? And it makes no sense cuz hear, we really had to pull a number on yer brains! If you had gone out and about with yer memories intact, you could have been done for! So here you have it. We even had to put you here with them Muggles...","That is the second time you say that...","Aye, them are the non magical guys! Couldn't keep ya stayin' with magifolk, 'twas dangerous, mind!",A little shake. In one swift movement, his head attempted to distribute the load of information. Nothing had prepared him for this, it had no evidence, save for his eyes, and yet...,And still, there was a feeling that the man in front of him wasn't lying.,"Okay, we got stuff ta' shop, so... let me go to the man in change. Principal, you said? You said 'tis not legal? Heh, we have permission ta' give him","You are not -thinking to do something to his memory?" Housuke sounded as stiff as an adult.,"Gee, 'f course not! Man, you're uptight! We don't do that! We have permission, an' legit, I said!",And he took from his pocket another letter. "So, where's this principal? Can ya take me? Crikey, it's not everyday that one can ask The Odoroki Housuke to lead the way!" he exclaimed dramatically, grinning as an overgrown kid.,After a short pause of doubt, and already dreading the outcome, the double-fringed boy lead the way.,Nothing had prepared him for what was to follow.,Never would he imagine, nor forget, the spectacle he would bear witness to.,As the principal denied having a prior meeting with Dattsu (and showed him a completely void agenda page as proof), Housuke saw him take out of his pocket something that resembled a wooden knife... and twirl it in his palm...,"But we had an appointment, look it over!",Housuke's mouth opened, but no sound came out. As the principal, frowning, reopened his agenda, there was a slight puff and the next second, there was a sticky note there.,"Oh, so it is you! Funny, I forgot I had that note...!",One look at Dattsu's smug face and it was clear whose doing was it.,"See? Yeah, the appointment was fer the legal guardian, but I'm his representative, he can't come over now! Housuke here was accepted on a different school, and I need to take him out to buy the school stuff!" He twirled the knife again idly and the principal buried his eyes in the letter he was offered.,"I see this document is perfectly legal...","As it should be! Fer 'twas a lawyer that wrote it!","Well, I see no problem. You still need to bring him back tomorrow by dinnertime, as per our rules.","Oh, an' here I had hoped to stuff you like a turkey, wiry that you are!",Once they stepped out, both sighed. Housuke of relief, Dattsu of contentment.,"Okay, then we're set! Only thing, I can't fill ya' in with all details, innit?","Right",A wary Housuke, frowning in puzzlement, followed Dattsu into the complete unknown.,Normal, yet special Odoroki Housuke went out into a world that had christened him as ,...,...and the wheel of fate, stopped years prior, started to spin once again.

Harry woke early and stared at the roof of Hogwarts' Hospital Wing. He was still numb from the shock of surviving the last battle against Voldemort and awed by the knowledge that his life was finally his to live. He looked towards the curtains that separated his bed from the rest of the Hospital Wing and wondered if they had finally cleared the battle grounds of the dead. Harry couldn't help but wonder what they would do with the fallen Death Eaters. He hoped even they would be given a peaceful resting place and not shunted off into unmarked graves. Even if they were evil and had murdered they still deserved a resting place. After all, who were the living to judge the dead? That was the job of whatever god they believed in.,Harry's wandering thoughts went out to those he had lost and those that would be marred irrefutably irreparably. by the war. He wondered after George who had lost his other half, his twin. After poor sweet Teddy who had no mother or father to raise him. After Andy and even the Malfoys.,"The Malfoys!" Harry shouted as he bolted out of bed, only to nearly collapse the minute his feet hit the cold floor of the castle. Only by clinging to his bed was Harry able to force his legs to stop shaking and stumble almost drunkenly to the curtain around his bed. Harry flung away the curtain and ran shakily to the Hospital Wing's door. Pushing open the large doors made Harry's arms quake in effort but soon enough he was through the doors and sprinting down the hall towards the Great Hall. Harry dismissively recognized Madam Pomfrey shouting at him about not being ready to leave her wing as he fled down the hall. Finally, out of breath and shaking, Harry arrived at the Great Hall's doors. It took all of his strength to push open the doors as he stumbled, exhausted, and plummeted towards the floor. Luckily, Kingsley was able to catch him before his face met the stone floor.,"Harry!" Headmistress Minerva McGonagall shouted in surprise. "What are you doing out of the hospital wing?! Poppy said you need to rest for another week! At least a week!","Come now, Minerva. I'm sure Harry has a good reason to be rushing about." Kingsley said with a gentle smile as he helped Harry to stand and held him until his legs stopped shaking.,"The Malfoys." Harry managed to croak out, "Where?","We are here, Potter." Lucius Malfoy responded, somewhat desolate.,Harry turned to stare at the Malfoy family. They were surrounded by Aurors. Both Lucius and Narcissa were being held by Aurors while Draco was simply surrounded. Neither Narcissa nor Draco would raise their heads to meet Harry's eyes but Lucius was staring at Harry pleadingly. Harry turned to study the others gathered in the Great Hall. Besides Kingsley, Minerva, and the Aurors he didn't recognize, there were the surviving members of the Wizengamot.,"Trial?" Harry croaked as he moved to sit at the closest table, which just so happened to be the Slytherin table. Kingsley sat beside him with a bone-weary sigh.,"Harry it has been decided..." Kingsley began.,"No!" Harry shouted, his magic causing a wind to blow through the hall. Everyone's eyes shot up and focused on Harry. Lucius looked at Harry with hope while the other two Malfoys looked at him with surprise. "Let me speak on their behalf." Harry whispered weakly "Please?",Kingsley looked down at Harry with confusion then turned to look at the Wizengamot. The Wizengamot looked at each other then began to whisper in barely audible voices to one another. They whispered among themselves for a few minutes then turned to look at the Aurors and Malfoys. After a few minutes of silent debate, Augusta Longbottom stepped forward from the Wizengamot and turned to face Harry.,"We will hear what you have to say, Mr. Potter, but let me tell you now it will take a lot to convince us to change our decision." Augusta said in a no nonsense tone.,"Thank you." Harry intoned politely then took a deep breath.,After releasing his breath, Harry launched into a tale about the Malfoys that spanned decades and touched two generations. Harry spoke about what he himself had experienced by Malfoy hands and what others, including Severus Snape, had as well. After spinning his tale for almost an hour, Harry sat back with a sigh. If this couldn't save the Malfoys, Harry didn't think anything could. The Wizengamot was silent for a few minutes as they digested Harry's words then turned as one together and began to whisper again. Lucius smiled gratefully at Harry. After barely five minutes Augusta stepped forward once more.,Before Harry could say anything Augusta beamed at him and said, "You truly have done what I thought was impossible." She waited momentarily as more then one breath gasped in disbelief. "Thanks to the testimony of Mr. Potter the Wizengamot has found the entire Malfoy family innocent of their supposed crimes. They shall be released from Auror custody immediately and their wands shall be returned to them once the Ministry is once more up and running in one month's time.","Well done, Harry." Kingsley whispered before rising from his seat beside the exhausted Savior. "You heard the woman, Aurors! No one here needs to be arrested! Let's head out, we have criminals to catch!" Kingsley shouted before marching out of the Great Hall with the Aurors following, bewildered looks on their faces.,"Minerva, it was pleasant seeing you again." Augusta said as she inclined her head to Minerva then made her way out of Hogwarts with the rest of the Wizengamot.,Minerva sighed heavily then smiled at Harry. "Well done, Harry. Well done." Minerva mumbled as she hurried after Kingsley in hopes of speaking with him about Hogwarts' restoration before he headed back to the Ministry.,Lucius moved to leave the Great Hall with his shell-shocked family following him. He gave a heavy sigh of relief then smiled and nodded to Harry as he passed. Harry returned his smile then purposefully looked towards the door. Lucius understood in that one moment more about Harry Potter then anyone truly did. Lucius smiled one last time at the odd selfless young man then made his way out of the Great Hall with his wife following quickly behind him. Neither noticed their son stop directly in front of Harry and study him intently. Harry looked up at Draco and met his stare evenly.,"What can I do to repay you?" Draco whispered in ill-disguised unease.,"You don't need to repay me for anything." Harry whispered back, unsure on what prompted them both to feel like their conversation needed to be whispered.,Draco studied Harry again for a few minutes then offered his hand.,Harry smiled then took his hand. "Friends?" He questioned with more power behind his voice.,"Friends." Draco responded.

"Stop it, guys!" a little red headed boy yelled. "I'm gunna tell Mum!","And what are you gunna tell her," started a slightly older looking, equally red headed boy teased back as he leaned on his twin who finished for him, "Ickle Ronnikins?",At five whole years old, little Ron Weasley was supremely confident in his answer. "That you were teasing me!" The twins looked at each other in mock horror.,"Dear me, Fred! Not TEASING! Anything but that!","Goodness, George! Whatever shall become of us! Mum will surely murder us!","Especially after committing such a terrible crime!",They twins turned back to their little brother with matching grins on their faces. "I daresay, little brother dearest," one started.,"That after six sons, a bit of teasing from us is-","Down right expected of us, really.","Hey, you three!" shouted another red headed boy. This one looked to be well in his teens. "What did I say before we left the Burrow?" he said to the others.,The twins looked at each other with, admittedly, less chagrin than the elder boy would have liked.,"That we can only go to the muggle park if we behave ourselves," they replied in unison.,"But Bill," one added. "Can you really blame us?","Yeah Bill," said the other. "We're just performing our brotherly duties!",Bill knelt down, pulled the sulking Ron over as well, and spoke to all three. "Boys, I'll only say this once. There is a fine line between teasing in fun and outright bullying. Teasing means you ALL can laugh TOGETHER. Now, I wasn't close enough to see what, exactly, was going on, but I was close enough to see that Ron wasn't laughing. Now, I know you two aren't bullies," he paused to give the twins a pointed look. "I want you all to remember that. Jokes and pranks let everyone laugh in the end. If even one person isn't, it wasn't funny.",Ron furrowed his little brow. "But what about when we all play jokes at the Burrow? Mum just yells a lot. Does that mean we're bullies?","A fine question, little brother," Bill smiled. He looked to the twins. "Do you two want to try and answer it?",The identical boys took a moment to think. "Mum does yell at us, but she doesn't stay mad," Fred began.,"Yeah," George continued. "She's usually laughing with us all about it by dinnertime. Or, "he paused with a grin.,"She's at least shaking her head with a smile!" they both finished together.,Bill smiled brightly at the three boys. "Exactly! That's the key! As long as everyone is laughing together in the end! So," he got back to his feet. "How about you three go have some fun together on that playset over there!" He reached out and ruffled the three mops of red hair in front of him before they all trotted off to play on the playset.,Moving to sit on a nearby bench, he watched them play around, usually with Ron trying to catch up to his brothers. Now, with no more tears in his eyes. As he watched, he didn't see the woman approaching his bench.,"That was some lovely teaching over there," came a clipped, but pleasant voice beside him. He turned and saw a very well dressed woman. Her hair was in a neat bun, and she held her carpet bag comfortably at her side with an umbrella tucked under her arm. With a start, he scrambled to his feet causing the woman's smile to widen just a touch.,"Good afternoon, Ma'am! Um, thank you!" He looked down uncomfortably. The woman chuckled a bit at his awkwardness.,"No need for 'Ma'am', young man. Miss Poppins is just fine. Mary Poppins," she said. "I just wanted to say that I saw your little lesson across the way, and I absolutely agree with you. That is certainly a lesson that more people need to learn these days, and you taught it beautifully.","Thank you, Ma- um, Miss Poppins! I'm Bill, by the way! Bill Weasley. It's a pleasure to meet you," he smiled and offered his hand. She reached out and clasped it securely. It was a handshake between equals. Bills smile grew wider.,"The pleasure is entirely mine, Mister Weasley. I assure you." She released his hand and looked over his shoulder. "I best let you on with your day, Mister Weasley. It was lovely speaking with you." Bill turned to glance back at his brothers and turned back to...nothing?,"Miss Poppins?" He looked around. There was no sign of the proper lady he had just been speaking with anywhere! "Huh," he said quietly as he sat back on his bench. Looking back to his brothers, his smile returned as he watched them play.,A/N:,Another spin of the roulette down! This one was quick to come to me. The mental gymnastics are quite natural...sometimes. I fear the next spin!,You are welcome to let me know what you think! If anyone else starts spinning their own character roulette, toss a link my way! I'd love to read 'em!

Both are burning with endless energy,As we are both streamlined,And race around the track,The other are two twins with fiery red hair,You'll never see one without the other,Yet they have a passion for trickery and playing jokes,Much to everyone else's dismay

When she thought about it before, she really wanted to go to Hogwarts. But now that she had met some really good friends, she wasn't so sure. None of them were witches or wizards, so they couldn't attend Hogwarts with her.,She had also just gotten her acceptance letter.,She was ecstatic when she had received it, but now that she realized that she had to leave her friends behind, she really didn't want to go. It hurt her to have to say goodbye to them. They had known eachother since they were six, and now she was throwing all of that away.,Penny Forrester. Her bestfriend of 5 years.,Wilbur Robinson. The snarky, hilarious and fun boy that had always made her laugh.,And ,. The awkward, adorable, and smart boy that she had come to love.,She would miss them.,Violet had told them that she had gotten accepted into a boarding school that was in the USA, and that she would be leaving them. She promised that she would come home on the holidays though.,',The time to leave for Hogwarts had finally came, and she was at platform 9 ¾. She was about to run into the pillar, but stopped when she saw a boy with big round glasses looking around frantically. He was obviously a wizard, so Violet decided that she would help him get onto the platform.,"Hey. Do you need help getting onto the platform?" She asked him, "'Cause I could help you if you'd like.",He swiveled around to face her. "Wait, platform 9 ¾, right?" She nodded and he continued, a smile now plastered on his face. "Yes please, I would like that very much.",She guided him to the pillar and swiftly walked through it. The boy followed. "Whoa! This is so cool!" He exclaimed.,"What's your name? I mean, you must be a muggle-born if you didn't know how to get through the barrier, right?","My name is Harry. Harry Potter. I just found out that I'm a halfblood, and that my parents were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.",Violet shook Harry's outstretched hand. "Violet Parr. Nice to meet you Harry." She knew who he was of course. Everyone did. He's the boy who lived for Christ's sake! Then again, her family was pretty famous too.,They continued to talk about their family for a few minutes. Their conversation was interrupted however, as they had to get onto the Hogwarts Express. "We can chat on the train. Hurry up before all of the good seats are gone!" She shouted as she ran to the Hogwarts Express.,Soon enough she had found an empty compartment for Harry and herself to sit and chat in.,"So Harry, what house do you think that you'll be in?" Violet exclaimed.,"What are the houses?" The black haired boy questioned with a confused look on his face.,"Well, first there is-" Her train of thought was disrupted as the door to the compartment opened suddenly, revealing a red haired boy. , She thought as he started to walk towards them. With the red hair and green eyes, it was kinda hard to miss.,"Can I sit here? There are no other open compartments." He said as he made a move to sit down. Harry nodded, and they all engaged in conversation.,"I'm Ron Weasley, who are you guys?" The boy said as he made pointing gestures.,The purple eyed girl sighed. "Violet. Violet Parr." Ron's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when he heard her name.,"A-As in first wizarding family to ever exist, Parr? Most noble family in Wizarding Britain, Parr?",She nodded. Last thing that she needed was another wide-eyed weirdo ogling over her family name.,"And who are you?" He asked.,"My name is Harry. Harry Potter." Ron looked as if he was going to faint.,"The Harry Potter?! Do you have the scar?",Harry nodded and pulled up his hair, revealing a lightning shaped scar.,"Anyway, as I was saying. The houses are-" She was once again interrupted by the compartment doors opening, this time revealing a bushy haired girl with brown eyes.,"Excuse me," She started. "Have you seen a toad? Neville has lost his.","No." Potter stated bluntly.,"Well, thanks anyway. I'm Hermione Granger by the way." She then walked out of the small compartment, shutting the doors on her way out.,Violet sighed, and continued with what she was saying. "The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You will be sorted based upon your personality traits. For example, Gryffindors are brave and ambitious. Hufflepuffs are loyal and compassionate. Ravenclaws are smart and logical. And Slytherins are-","EVIL!" Ron shouted abruptly, "Slytherins are evil bastards.",The black haired girl was insulted. Not only was her entire family in Slytherin, but that was the house that she was hoping to get into herself. "Don't pay him any mind Harry. Slytherins are known for being sly and cunning. Not evil." She shot the red head a look. "Besides, that's the house that I want to be in. What about you?",Harry thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I think that I want to be in Slytherin too.",Ron looked at them as if they were crazy. "Really? You guys want to be in Slytherin? Shame. I really thought that we could be friends." He then walked out of the compartment, not saying a word to either of them.,"Wow. The only evil bastard here is him." She stated with a laugh.,They were getting closer to Hogwarts, so the duo had to get changed into their robes. The train soon came to a stop, and they exited, only to be greeted by hundreds of boats.,"Well blimey! If it isn't 'arry Potter. And 'oo is your friend?" Said a giant with a long beard. Violet knew him as Hagrid. The gatekeeper of Hogwarts.,"Oh. This is my friend Violet. Violet Parr.",Hagrid's eyes visibly widened. "Well, nice to meet ya Parr. Name's Rubeus 'agrid. But most people just call me 'agrid.",She smiled and walked over to the boats that all of the first years were supposed to board. Harry and her got onto the same boat, as well as three other people. One of them being the girl from earlier. Hermione Granger. She assumed that the girl was a muggle-born due to the name.,The trio talked until they reached their destination. Hermione and Harry looked starstruck, while Violet just rolled her eyes. She had seen Hogwarts before, it wasn't that big of a deal.,They all got off of the boat and approached the large castle. "Wow! It's so much bigger than I thought it would be!" Hermione exclaimed as they walked to the great hall. It really was huge though.,The friends walked into the crowd of first years in the great hall. Everyone was talking so it was extremely loud and hard to hear. After a few minutes of this, the hat that was placed upon the stool in the front of the hall burst out in song.,"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,,But don't judge on what you see,,I'll eat myself if you can find,A smarter hat than me.,You can keep your bowlers black,,Your top hats sleek and tall,,For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,And I can cap them all.,There's nothing hidden in your head,The Sorting Hat can't see,,So try me on and I will tell you,Where you ought to be.,You might belong in Gryffindor,,Where dwell the brave at heart,,Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;,You might belong in Hufflepuff,,Where they are just and loyal,,Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil;,Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,,if you've a ready mind,,Where those of wit and learning,,Will always find their kind;,Or perhaps in Slytherin,You'll make your real friends,,Those cunning folk use any means,To achieve their ends.,So put me on! Don't be afraid!,And don't get in a flap!,You're in safe hands (though I have none),For I'm a Thinking Cap!",The entire hall applauded as the Sorting Hat finished it's song. Violet could even see Professor Snape clapping.,Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.,"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!",The list went on and on, until she reached a familiar name. "Forrester, Penny!",Professor McGonagall finally stepped up and said her name. It was about time! She walked up to the sorting hat and slowly put it on her head.,The hat screamed as she took it off of her head. The brown haired girl walked down to the Hufflepuff table and engaged in conversation with her housemates. It was too bad that she couldn't sit with her friends Hiro and Wilbur, as they weren't sorted yet. She missed Violet. That girl would always be by her side, even when she wasn't being the best friend.,It was too bad that she wasn't magical. Penny had only just found out herself that she was a witch this summer, when her letter came. Apparently, she was a 'muggle-born'. A witch born of non-magical parents. She was excited to go to Hogwarts, but sad that she would have to leave her bestfriends. And with Violet leaving for that boarding school that she had to go to, the brown eyed girl didn't want to leave the two boys by themselves.,That all changed when she had gotten onto the train. She was searching for an empty compartment when she found the boys there chatting. They caught up and talked about how excited they were to attend Hogwarts. The trio would miss Violet, obviously. But they saw this as an opportunity to make new friends.,"Goyle, Crabbe!" And, "Granger, Hermione!" Were called, and they were both put in Slytherin. Then there it was. "Hamada, Hiro!",Soon enough, Hiro was sitting right next to her at the Hufflepuff table. Two sorted, one to go.,But just when Penny was just about to ask Hiro a question, McGonagall shouted an all too familiar name. "Parr, Violet.",Violet strode up the aisle. With every step feeling more and more confident. She had to be in Slytherin, she just had to.,The girl slowly picked up the hat and placed it on her head. ',The entire table of Slytherins applauded. She could hear their whispers even from the pedestal. ",The girl sighed. She wished that they would accept her for her. Not for her bloodline.,"Hey! Vi! Over here!" She heard from across the table. It was her cousin, Draco. "Come sit by me!",She swiftly walked over to her cousin and sat down in the empty chair beside him. On her opposite side was Hermione. "Draco! I haven't seen you since last month!" She said as she hugged the blonde boy.,They took a few minutes to catch up until another familiar name was called. "Potter, Harry.",After a moment of silence as the sorting hat was placed upon Harry's head, it finally called out. ,Harry came to the table and took the seat right in front of her. "Hey Violet! I'm so glad that we got into the same house.","Yeah. It's pretty awesome, isn't it?" Talking about the house they were in eased Violet's mind. Ever since McGonagall called Penny and Hiro's name, that was all she could think about. It couldn't be a coincidence, but it was possible that her friends were all muggle-borns. A few minutes later, Wilbur's name was called. This couldn't be happening. She had spent the entire summer dreading the day that she would have to leave them, but now she didn't have to leave them at all!,If only she could find a way to talk to them...

Harry Potter's Adventures Prologue,It was a dark, stormy knight, overlooking a big dark mansion. A door opened to dusty and spider infested family room as 4 shadowy figures entered.,Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, a pale, balding man who didn't look human due to splitting his soul into 7 pieces. El Jefe, an animorphic tiger. Slurhk, a giant scorpion creature. And Witty Phantom, an orange goblin wearing a purple tuxedo.,The 4 dusted off most of the furniture and sat down around the table. "Alright. Now that we've assembled our new Cabal, we can begin our plan to conquer the dimensional universes in the entire multiverse." Lord Voldemort said. El Jefe raised his hand. "Yes, El Jefe?" "Lord Voldemort, have you a plan on which universe we should start with?" The tiger asked. "Actually, that's what this meeting is about." Voldemort answered. He pressed a button on the table and opened a dimensional map of the known universes. "Ooh! So many to worlds choose from." Slurhk said, impressed. "Indeed. But of course, there will be other villains in these other universes." Witty Phantom informed his new allies.,"We'll worry about those other villains when and if it comes to that." Voldemort said, getting up from his seat. "Before I first met you 3, I thought to myself 'If there are any other villains out there, where might one find them?" He explained, walking around the table. "So, after my body resurrected itself from the ashes of my last encounter with Harry Potter, I decided to go through some old books and found something about stories of other existing universes, unlike mine. So, I began to explore different ways to find a way to open a portal to another universe. My first few attempts were a failure, but finally, I found the way to open the dimensional barriers to the multiverse. Thus, our little meeting.",The 3 smiled at his intensions. "So, in which I've offered you to join me. Together we will gather a bigger force of villainy and conquer the universe." El Jefe stood up. "Then what are we waiting for?" He asked. "Yes, this is will be a day long remembered in villainy history." Witty Phantom agreed. "Where do we start?" Slurhk asked. Lord Voldemort walked towards the map. "We start here." He said, pointing his finger at a specific spot on the map.

This story is a one, a fusion of Dark Angel and Harry Potter, rather than a traditional crossover.,And two, it is also set in North America, where I've taken up the idea that a Native American wizarding culture would have survived much more intact than their muggle counterparts, with a mixed Euro-Indigenous society/magical-tradition emerging. I wanted more than another transplanted British version (which is not to say a horrible or racist conclusion in planning an American Potterverse; I'm a huge fan of Alexandra Quick for instance). I just decided to something I haven't seen explored before and created a social conflict related to an issue other than blood purity.,Below is a lexicon for terms unique to my setting, as well as general Potterverse and applicable Dark Angel terminology. This list will grow as the tale moves along, with new terms and expansion of the definitions already presented. This is not to say they won't be elaborated on in the story itself. I'll write as if this list doesn't exist, but it will be here for any reference., – Nahigua term for outsiders. Generally used to describe non-Miskehni; but also has connotations of being of non-Nahiguan/Native American (it's original definition).,- A wizard who can shapeshift into an animal associated with their inner-spirit/nature., Magically created super soldiers, who have the traits of various spells and creatures fused into their souls. ,equivalent to ,Transgetics., A magical race that originally lived underground in the American Southwest. They are renowned craftsmen of North America/Turtle Island., – A cosmic snake goddess, worshiped by the alliance of dark wizards that overthrew much of the old wizarding and muggle orders in North America and Europe., A wizard nation in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions of North America/Turtle Island, A Miskehna territory that governs over the eastern seaboard of North America/Turtle Island, A cult/coven of witches and wizards who use the dark arts and worships fate through Asasara. They could be compared as a Miskehni equivalent of the Death Eaters; but are focused on the purity of Nahiguan magical use rather than a wizard's pedigree in regards to how much muggle blood is in their veins. They currently rule the remnants of the Post-Blight League., The Nahigua term for a witch or wizard, – A global calamity that was unleashed by the Death Eaters and Awasis, that shattered the Statute of Secrecy. It ravaged the environment, devastatingly so in central North America, and unleashed storms that had a similar effect to an electromagnetic pulse. Equivalent event to , 'Pulse'., The title of the highest office in the Miskehna League. Equivalent to a Minister of Magic., Dark wizard hunters. In many European nations they are known as Aurors, while Chimali is a common term for them throughout Turtle Island., A scepter, staff, or cane that is a common magical focus for Miskehni wizards. An adoption of wand use., Nahigua term for dumbass, Dark, ghostly creatures that feeds off happiness. They were used as guards for Britain's wizarding prison of Azkaban, but joined the Death Eaters in the Second Wizarding War (or the Great Wizarding War in ,)., An organization of mainly British dark wizards, lead by the infamous Dark Lord Voldemort. They were defeated once in the early 1980s, but had a resurgence toward the end of the following decade. In , they won the war and are a primary faction in the web of Asasara worshipers that unleashed the Blight., A song that explodes things. Miskehni version of the Expulso spell., The term for the Awasis government over the Miskehna League., A wizard mispronunciation of firearms, commonly used during the era of the Statute of Secrecy., – Incense that brings about an intense calming. Hard to produce and primarily used to ward off the Kinipek., The Nahiguan word for slow. Used specifically by the Aniihkos as a term for normal humans, muggle and wizard alike., A Miskehna territory that comprises much of the American Pacific Northwest and British Colombia., A derogatory term for mainly wizards of Europe, and any wizarding culture that focuses on their magical pedigree., A Nahigua term for magic, Serpentine spirits of hatred that haunt the Blight Lands. Similar to Dementors., A magical race of merfolk. They control much of the commerce of the Miskehna League, much like the Goblins in other parts of the world.,Miskehni name for a wizard who specializes in healing and herbal magic, A wizard born with the power to shift any part of their body, from color to shape., The wizarding nation that covers most of North America/Turtle Island, comprising most of the United States and Canada, with territories reaching into northern Mexico. Often simply referred to as 'the League', Denotes an inhabitant, custom, object, etc. originating in the lands of the Miskehna League., Slang term for a muggle,A non-magical human,The primary language of the League. It is a creole tongue of several Algonquin languages and Latin. It can also refer to the mixed Indigenous and European magical and cultural practices (and to a lesser extant, African and Asian), along with the main mixed 'ethnic group' of the League., pronounced 'Nee-tee'. It is a term of endearment often used for children or very close friends. 'Nii' is a slang term generally used for the later., The newspaper for the League under the Awasis regime, similar to the 'Daily Prophet' of Britain's Wizarding world. A mouth for mass propaganda., Summons a semi-intangible being that can take on the shape of either an incorporeal force or into an animal representative, which bares a significant and symbolic connection to the caster. It is a difficult spell and highly effective against the dark creatures. Can only be used by those pure of heart., A magical pool used to review memories. Aniihkos can relive their own recollections in a similar manner., A magical race enslaved throughout much of the wizarding world.,– A broom sport, popular in Europe. It involves players riding brooms while throwing a ball, called a quaffle, through goal posts or catching a smaller semi-sentient flying ball called a snitch; all the while dodging other semi-sentient iron balls that attack players. It is a very dangerous sport that has the popularity of football (soccer) and the violence of rugby., A variant of quidditch popular throughout the Americas. It involves tossing an quod - a quaffle that will explode in a variant amount of time. The object is to get it in the opposing teams pot before the explosion., A pejorative for wizards/awiyak,– Equivalent to a spell in Miskehni magic/iska. Their incantations are traditionally sung, and the pitch and fervor they are delivered with effects the strength of the magic. A consequence of this practice has lead to Miskehni to generally refer to all 'spells' by this term., – A sub-national unit, similar to a state or province that the Miskehna League operates as a confederation over., The common term for North America amongst the wizards who reside there. It is commonly extended to 'Turtle Islands', to include South America (mimicking the muggle practice of saying 'the Americas'), A wizarding nation that comprises the majority of Mexico and Central America., - A magical focus commonly used throughout Europe., A song that creates light. The Miskehni version of the lumos spell, A domed dwelling made of branches and birch-bark. It traditionally housed many eastern woodland tribes of North America. Not to be confused with the tipis of the plains tribes or the longhouses of the Iroquois., – A Miskehni Territory that largely encompasses the northern great plains of the United States.

Bill Weasley was tired. That was the long and the short of it. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to just go back to his tent and go to bed. In retrospect, that was what had caused the whole fiasco. Bill would have never have been that careless if not for the back-to-back curses he had had to break the night before. The first rule of curse breaking was to be aware of your surroundings – you never know what kind of trap some ancient wizard might have laid. He'd been in Egypt for about a year now and had not only stayed alive but thrived because of his Gryffindor courage and his common sense. And his common sense had given him three rules: 1. If something seems dangerous, it probably is. 2. If it seems like the goblins are plotting something, they probably are, and 3. If it seems like nothing is amiss, you're wrong - see rules one and two.,But Bill Weasley was not at his best that night. It had been a long and arduous dig, and he did not notice that the tomb beneath the pyramid had dark shadows that seemed to drink in the light. He did not notice that the goblins that had assigned him to this dig had done so with a malicious glint in their eyes. And he did not notice the strange whip that was hanging from clay rafters just above the glowing red ruby he had been sent to retrieve.,Bill took out his wand and tested the surrounding area for all of the obvious curses only for all of the spells to come back negative. He gave a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat off his forehead, reached out, and gently picked the ruby up off of its pedestal.,Immediately the cavern around him began to shake and grumble. Bill turned frantically to see a gigantic boulder coming down the corridor directly toward him. That couldn't be right – how could he have missed the spell? Bill realized that if he didn't act soon he was going to be crushed between the boulder and the wall. He took out his wand and prepared to hit the boulder with a perfectly timed ,when all of a sudden he felt a hand grab him by his back collar and haul him up into the air and onto the rafters above the cavern. The boulder passed harmlessly by, and Bill turned in confusion to see who his would-be-rescuer was.,A tan, musty man with hard eyes and a strange hat was peering back at him from his place perched next to Bill. The man looked Bill up and down for a moment, then gave him a wry half-smile and held out his hand again. "You alright there, son?',"Um, yes." Bill blinked, reached out and shook the hand that was offered. "Uh, who are you?","I'm the owner of that whip you're stepping on." The man drawled, giving Bill's hand a quick shake and then dropping it immediately.,Bill looked down and realized he was indeed crouching on a leather whip, which he carefully disentangled and held out to the man. "I hate to be rude, no one's supposed to be allowed on this dig but Gringotts employees. Who are you?","The name's Dr. Jones. But you can call me Indy if you're feeling risky. Who are you?","Bill. Bill Weasley. I'm the curse breaker assigned to this dig.",Indy snorted. "Curse breaker? Is that supposed to be some kind of cover?",Bill squinted at the stranger suspiciously and let his hand drift slowly back to his wand. "No. And you still haven't said what you're doing here.","Relax kid, I'm not here to steal anything. Got a call from some museum called Gringotts. Said they needed some help excavating an old temple.","Museum? Gringotts isn't a museum. It's a bank." Bill was growing more confused by the minute. Why would the goblins hire this strange man – who Bill was quickly beginning to think wasn't even a wizard – to help out with one of their digs? It didn't make any sense.,"A bank?" Indy's frown deepened as he mulled over the word. "No one said anything about a bank. All I know is that I was called to come and see about a ruby. Next thing I know, you go and trigger the booby-trap and we're up here on this here ledge. What's the matter with you anyway? You can't just go around taking things willy-nilly like that, you're bound to get yourself killed.",Bill bit back his retort. ,He forced a laugh. "I suppose I'm just lucky you were here.","You're damn right about that." Indy looked around and frowned again. "And I've got more bad news.","What?","We're trapped.",Bill turned and saw that the boulder had come to rest in a way that prevented them from exiting back down the corridor. His heart sank. One spell and the way would be free – but he couldn't do magic in front of a muggle. What was he going to do?,The despair must have shown on his face because Indy reached out and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's alright kid. The pharaohs who made this place would never have designed it without a back door. And I think I see it.",Indy stood up and carefully balanced on the rafters, then pushed upward on the clay ceiling next to a small, insignificant looking hieroglyphic of a beetle. There was a hiss of air and then the ceiling opened up to reveal a trap door. Indy quickly climb up and gestured for Bill to do the same. Bill climbed up after him with an internal sigh, resisting the urge to chance a well-timed ,.,The chamber they found themselves in was damp but surprisingly clean, and filled with dozens more hieroglyphics. Bill quickly muttered a few spells and determined that this room too, was free of curses. Indy moved to single door jutting out of the wall and forced it open with a muffled ,He cursed, put his head in his hands for a moment, then looked up at Bill.,"How do you feel about heights?",Bill walked over and stuck his head out of the doorway. There was a hallway that seemed to lead to another room – and possibly to an exit. But that hallway was at the bottom of a one-hundred-foot drop. Bill groaned. One ,or ,and they would have made it to the bottom no problem, but no – they would have to do this the Muggle way.,Indy misinterpreted his groan as one of fear. "Buck up kid, it'll be over in a second. Hand me those linens over there.",Bill grabbed some linens from nearby corner and handed them to Indy with no small amount of trepidation. He watched as Indy began to tie a series of complicated knots and finally fashioned a make-shift rope for them to propel themselves down on. "Grab ahold, and don't look down.",Bill took a deep breath and tugged lightly on the three-thousand year old fabric. ,He thought sarcastically to himself. Then he closed his eyes and followed Dr. Jones down the cliff.,After what felt like a lifetime but was probably only a few minutes Bill felt his feet touch the ground. He let go of the linen immediately and Dr. Jones let out a low whistle. "I have to admit kid, I didn't think you'd do it. Good for you." Then he turned and opened up the door –,And immediately leapt back with a yelp of fear.,"Gah! Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes!1",Bill rushed forward, wand at the ready, only to find himself face to face with a boggart. ",!" he muttered as quietly as he could. He strode into the room and looked around carefully. "It's alright Dr. Jones. I got rid of them.",Indy gave him a strange look then entered the new room cautiously. "I gotta admit, that's a nifty trick you got there. Maybe someday you'll tell me how you did that.",Bill chuckled sadly. "Maybe someday I will.","Or maybe someday you won't." said a third voice from the shadows.,"Damn it kid, can't you even check a room right?!" Bill spun around in alarm – his spells hadn't registered anyone else in the room, which could only mean that the third voice belonged to someone magical who was blocking his spells with spells of their own. Bill realized this just as he felt his wand ripped out of his hand by a silent ,, and a menacing figure emerged from the shadows.,"Dr. Jones, thank you for accepting my invitation. I thought that you might be some assistance to me, and I was right. Now, if you would kindly hand over the ruby I can be on my way. I promise the goblins will be here to let you out soon ...or at least sometime in the next hundred years.",Indy pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the man. "Who are you?","Who am I?" The man twirled his wand between his fingers and smiled maniacally. "I am more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I possess abilities your Muggle mind couldn't begin to wrap itself around. I am the terror in the dark, I am death upon the wind, I am-",BANG!,The still unknown villain fell to the floor, dead.,Bill turned in shock and saw Dr. Jones re-holstering his weapon. "What did you do?" demanded Bill in amazement as he scrambled on the floor for his wand.,Indy gave him a strange look. "I shot him. I hope you don't mind, I thought I'd spare us both the speech. Hey, how much you want to bet this door right here is the exit?",Bill stared at the dead wizard for a moment, then silently followed Dr. Jones through one last door and out in the Egyptian night air. They paused for a moment to catch their breath, then Indy turned to Bill and casually said, "That was some trick with your stick there. With the snakes, I mean.","Thank you." Said Bill politely.,"And back there, with the dead guy. You had your stick out again, like you were getting ready to fight him with it.",Bill's stomach sank and he pulled his wand out again. "Yes. I did.",Indy nodded and gave him a shrewd look. "You want to tell me what exactly is going on?","I'm sorry Dr. Jones. I'm afraid I can't do that. I hope you understand.",Indy laughed. "Kid, as far as all the strange things that I've seen goes – this doesn't even make the top ten list. Don't worry about it.","I'm glad to hear you say that. And once again, Dr. Jones. I'm so sorry.","About what?" Indy stood up and reached for his gun again, but this time he was too late.,",","So, you did manage to retrieve the ruby." The goblin eyed Bill's bag greedily and held out his hand. "Hand it over then.",Bill grumbled and reached around in his bag for it. "Did you not hear a word I said?","We'll look into this intruder, and to this Dr. Jones. We goblins do not take thieves lightly. But for now, the ruby Mr. Weasley.",Bill frowned and fumbled around in his bag again. "I don't understand it's- it's gone!","Gone?" The goblin smiled a smile devoid of any bit of amusement. "Did this dark wizard manage to capture it after all?","No, there's no way. He never came near me. But – oh.","What is it? Where is the ruby?" the goblin demanded.,"The other wizard never came close enough to take it… but Dr. Jones did.","The Muggle you obliviated? Why would he do that? Where is he taking it?",Bill thought hard for a moment, then smiled. "Well I can only guess, but Dr. Jones didn't seem too excited when he found out Gringotts was a bank. If I had to guess I'd say he decided… it belongs in a museum2.,Indiana Jones and the last crusade,Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc

I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).,Harry found himself in a deserted King's Cross Station. He sat on a bench. He felt very tired, physically and emotionally. Everything came back to him in a rush. Voldemort. Dumbledore. Hermione. Ron. The Weasleys. Malfoy. The Dursleys. Hogwarts. The moment of his death. All the pain he had endured. Distractedly, he rubbed the scar on his forehead. He sighed. "Well... that could have gone better, I guess.","Yeah, it could have..." Harry looked around, looking for the source of that voice. It was definitively the voice of a young male, with a curious accent. Next to him, a teen sat heavily, with the same tiredness he felt. His head hung limply between his shoulders, his forearms rested on his thighs and his hands simply hung down.,The young man was dressed in what seemed to be a muggle school uniform. White shirt, black undershirt, black trousers held in place by a too long black belt, black running shoes with white soles. He was taller than Harry, but he was also skinny, Harry thought they looked similar, but while he himself was simply underfed, the teen was simply wiry by nature.,The teen kept silent for a few minutes, Harry waited, respecting his silence. To be truthful, he himself wasn't really in the mood for idle talk; and anyway, he had never been good at chitchatting with strangers.,"You know?" the unknown teen finally said, "I like it here.","Why? There's no one here? Just you and me, and I think I'm dead.",The teen shrugged slowly, "Yes. You are dead. So am I. It doesn't matter much. All I wanted was to be left alone.",Harry sat straight, looking at the boarding signs. "Why? Don't you have any family? Friends?","I don't deserve to have friends." There was such a finality in his soft voice. "I'm a fraud. A coward. A pervert, even... I was supposed to be this hero. To save the world. In the end, I failed. Everybody is dead and I'm too scared to take that last step," he waved a hand towards the boarding signs, "to find my final punishment.","A-and your family?" Harry gulped, fearing the answer.,"My mother died when I was little, and my father dropped me with my uncle and aunt." He shuddered. "They always said I was a waste of space and I should be grateful they didn't sent me to the streets.",Harry recognized himself in that. "And you had to do all the chores, you learned to cook for them.","Yeah. How did you know that?" A small amount of vitality showed in his voice, he even raised his head a little.,"Had to do it myself. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, gardening, you name it. I had to do it or starve.","You too, uh? Well... I got spared of yard work after I overwatered the flowers." A sad smile crossed his face for a moment.,"Well... I guess we are kinda like mates. I'm Harry, Harry Potter. Nice to meet you." Harry extended his hand.,"What? Really? No, It can't be!" The teen stood up suddenly, now Harry could see his face for the first time. He had dark brown hair, framing an almond shaped face, his eyes were dark blue, with a fold at the edge of the eyelid. "You aren't real! Just a character in children's books!" A hand parted Harry's hair, uncovering the infamous zigzag of his scar. The teen stood silently before Harry, seemingly paralyzed.,Harry slapped the hand away. "Those are just stupid faerie tales somebody wrote about me! I never fought a harpy, o-or a kraken!",The teen sat down on the floor, his eyes wide in shock. "I k-know... they never asked about you, the real you, not the Boy-Who-Lived. Those are just stories made about a perfectly brave hero. A hero who is not you. Kami... I... You... you... you fought Voldemort in your first year at Hogwarts... after going through several traps... With the Philosopher's Stone at stake... You-you just touched Quirrel and he burned up from the inside.","How can you know that? Dumbledore hushed everything up. I think not even the Aurors know that.",The teen began to shake. It took a few moments until Harry realized he was shaking with laughter.,He laughed for close to five minutes, to Harry's best estimation. Finally, his hysterical laughter abated. "Oh, sorry." He wiped a tear from his left eye and smiled. It was a small smile, but it was a smile, after all. "Oh, gods, that felt good. I thought I would never laugh again..." he hiccuped twice.,"That bad?","That bad, and worse." He nodded and shrugged. "Oh, my apologies," he stood up, and bowed deeply to Harry. "Ikari Shinji, at your service. Sorry, I am so sorry; where are my manners? You're British. Given name goes first, shake hands. Shinji Ikari. Please, call me Shinji." He extended his right hand, and Harry felt compelled to answer in kind.,Shinji smiled like a broken doll. Like a man without hope who suddenly finds a tiny sliver of actual, honest to god, hope. "Would you terribly mind some spoilers?"

Keith's POV,",",",",I snapped back to the present as Iverson says to me, "This girl will be a great addition to our medical program if she decides to transfer here so don't you do anything to deter her from transferring.",Shiro who was slightly behind Iverson looked at me for a second his gaze pleading for me not to lash out at Iverson. "Fine." I tell them as I glare at Commander Iverson.,"She will be here tomorrow. You will be here with the other cadet to welcome her." Iverson informs me. I nod to them then turn around and leave for my dorm.,After dinner,Shiro came to my room that night to talk to me. "Hey Keith I understand that your not really good with social interaction but can you at least try to make friends. I worry about you with you having only me." Shiro says. I reply, "I know. I'll try but I won't guarantee anything.","That's all I can ask for. Have a good night." Shiro tells me as he leaves the room.,After he left the room I couldn't help but think back to the memory that surfaced as my mind wandered unable to stop wonder how she was, how her life turned out after we had lost contact after my third foster family when I was ten, after my dad died. How it has been six and a half long years since I last heard from her. When we had lost contact. Her smile and face was in the forefront of my mind as I drifted off.,The next morning,The fighter and cargo pilot cadets were in two rows of ten to welcome the medical student to a tour of the school to see if she wanted to transfer. Keith was in the row of fighter pilots waiting for her to arrive in the hall with Commander Iverson and Shiro. "And these are our top twenty pilots who are around your age. As I said when we arranged this tour last time you can ask for any one of these cadets to accompany you on the tour or tour you around instead of us if you want like you asked." Commander Iverson was telling a brunette female teenager as they entered the hall. Lance started to puff up to try and gain her attention though she ignored him after a glance. She seemed familiar to me but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then she locked eyes with me and I knew who she was.,Daniella's POV,I arrived at Galaxy Garrison that morning a little nervous. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to join their medical program but I needed to get away from my family and live my life my way. I came up to the door to meet with Commander Iverson and Captain Shiro to go over the tour if I don't decide to choose one of the cadets to tour me around instead. "Welcome to the Galaxy Garrison Ms. Dove." Commander Iverson says. I reply, "Good morning so where are we starting?" Commander Iverson then tells me as they lead me into the building and continued into a hall, "This building is where we help make the next generation of elite astroexplorers and these are our top twenty pilots who are around your age. As I said when we arranged this tour last time you can ask for any one of these cadets to accompany you on the tour or tour you around instead of us if you want like you asked." I look at the cadets lined up in two rows of ten. I see one trying to get my attention. I glanced at him and decide to ignore him. As I look at the cadets I see one that is familiar to me with that black hair in a mullet hairstyle. He then locks eyes with me and I knew immediately who he was with those blue-violet eyes. He was towards the end of his line and I started to walk towards him. "Hola. Would you mind being my tour guide on this lovely day cadet?" I ask him my eyes gleaming with mischief.,Lance's POV,I watched as a pretty young lady walked in with Commander Iverson and Captain Shiro and I heard them say that she could choose one of us to be her tour guide. I try to puff myself up so that she would choose me to be her tour guide. Only to watch as she glanced over me and walked over to that asshole Keith Kogane and asked him to be her tour guide. How dare he beat me again. Though he might refuse and then I can get my chance or if she transfers I can get her to see that he is a total loser and that she should hang out with someone like me.,Keith's POV,After we locked eyes I saw that she recognized me as well. She then walked over to me and said, "Hola. Would you mind being my tour guide on this lovely day cadet?" with mischief gleaming in her eyes. Only for just before I can reply Iverson tells her, "I wouldn't recommend letting this cadet be your tour guide." Only for her to glare up at him and reply to him with, "And why shouldn't I. You told me I could choose any cadet that was in this hall to be my tour guide and I choose him and if he refuses then ok I will continue this tour with you and Captain Shiro but only if he refuses and you didn't even let him answer." Before Iverson or Shiro could reply to her I answered her with a smirk, "I wouldn't mind to help show you around the Garrison today. Miss?" She relies with, "Daniella Dove, and your name would be?" and she held out her hand to shake. As I shake her hand I tell her, "Keith Kogane nice to meet you.",Iverson then blurted out, "Are you sure you want this cadet? He has disciplinary Issues.","Yes, I am sure." Daniella replies. She then turns to me and says, "Lead on good sir.","Ok." I say as I start to lead her deeper into the building. After we exit the hall I start to lead her to the library. "You want to see the Library first Dani?" I ask her. She then exclaims, "You remembered how much I love books Keith!" I then tell her, "Of course I do.",Back at the hall (third person POV),Iverson excuses the rest of the cadets to do what they want for the rest of the day since it's the weekend. He then turns to Shiro and asked him, "What the hell was that I know for a fact that Kogane ignores most people why didn't he ignore her?",Shiro replies, "I don't know." He then walks off in the same direction as Keith went.,At the library (Daniella's POV),"I'm sorry I lost contact with you six years ago." I tell Keith.,"It's ok I moved homes and my new foster parents wouldn't let me contact you so I couldn't send you stuff and when I was able to, you had moved so it wasn't entirely your fault." Keith replied.,"Well if your here I definitely will transfer here so we can catch up and you can teach me how to fly and I'll teach you medicine." I tell him. Time started to fly as we toured the Garrison and talked. When the time came for the tour to be over I said to Keith, "Time for me to go to Commander Iverson and Captain Shiro to start my transfer here. I will talk more after I transfer here. It's nice to see you again after so long apart Keith. Hope you have a goodnight tonight.",As I turn I spot Captain Shiro from the corner of my eye as Keith tells me, "Hope you have a goodnight too. It's good to see you too since we lost contact after my dad died.",Shiro's POV,I turn a corner only to see Keith and Daniella Dove at the end it seems like they are ending the tour and I hear Daniella say to Keith, "Time for me to go to Commander Iverson and Captain Shiro to start my transfer here. I will talk more after I transfer here. It's nice to see you again after so long apart Keith. Hope you have a goodnight tonight." As She turns towards my direction Keith tells her, "Hope you have a goodnight too. It's good to see you too since we lost contact after my dad died.",I then decide to enter into the conversation by calling out to them with, "Hey Keith, Daniella.",Keith startled and turns to me as Daniella turns slowly to face me with a small smile. "Hey I was just about to go to find you or Commander Iverson to start my transfer." Daniella says.,"So you decided to transfer?" I asked. "Yep," Daniella replied. She and I then go to the office to start the transfer.,At Daniella's home (Daniella's POV),"Hey. I'm home." I call out after I enter the door. No one answers. I think that's strange. "Homenum Revelio." I whisper. The spell tells me that there are two people are in the kitchen, one in one of the bedrooms and another one in the other bedroom. "Hey why didn't you guys reply to me?" I ask as I enter the kitchen to find some my family there.,"Did you use your magic to see where in the house we were?" My dad asked.,"Hey you know I graduated from the magical school at the end of December and as long as I don't use my wand they can't sense me using magic." I tell my dad.,"But you know that no witch or wizard or any magical creature from Earth has ever left earth not even to explore space! I worry about you transferring into the Garrison." My mom then says to me.,"But you know I'm not human. Well not technically. I have human blood but I'm one-fourth galra who are from space and I'm a neko from grandma, though I haven't got my ears and tail yet." I tell them. "I am going to space one day I know it and I'm going to learn and besides. I found Keith, I'm going to catch up with him.",Keith and Daniella grew close as the months passed and on July fourth on Daniella's birthday when she got her ears and tail. She decided to tell Keith about being a neko and how she could use magic and cast spells. She also tells him about how her grandfather was from space but how she never meet him cause he died before she was born. Daniella and Keith were both there with the holts to see off the Kerberos crew. Daniella and Keith started dating shortly after the Kerberos crew left earth. When they were said to be lost due to pilot error and Keith got expelled from Galaxy Garrison, Daniella visited him when he was drawn out into the desert and was there when she could as they deciphered what the carvings of the blue lion they found were saying.

"Harry! Wake! Up! We're going to Diagon Alley and I don't wanna be late!" Was the first thing Harry heard on the morning our story starts.,Harry groaned. Note to self: no staying up past 2 AM, birthday party or not. He honestly didn't understand how Tony did it.,",, not everyone is part plant and needs a little bit of sunshine to stop being sleepy",Jaime (who most definitely preferred Jara) just rolled her sky blue eyes "I'm not part plant and if you're not in the kitchen in five minutes, I'll show you why.","Yeah, yeah, go. I'll be there in a minute or two".,-QoK/THS-,Four minutes (and 50 seconds) later Harry walked into the kitchen and was greeted with a familiar sight; Marie, youngest of his older triplet sisters, was bouncing around (who had given her caffeine?) and her glasses were bouncing with her, it was a funny sight.,Laura, the middle one, in both length and age (her own words, not Harry's), was eating sandwiches and drinking cold milk while grumbling about the heat. Laura wasn't a fan of summer, or heat, or warmth at all actually. Though it was worse in the morning.,Jaime, the second oldest of Harry's sisters and the oldest triplet, was eating warm chocolate muffins. Her glasses (that she had grabbed , between waking him up and getting her breakfast) had damp on them for some un-explainable reason. She was video-chatting. Harry couldn't see who she was talking too, but judging by the science-y talk she was talking to either Peter, Tony or both. Maybe Barry too.,Lois and Clark were just eating their breakfast like normal people, good for them.,Harry grabbed his breakfast and started eating it, while he was doing that he was thinking about how his life was going to change when he started.,First and foremost was of course spending 9/10 months a year, seven years long, in Scotland. He hadn't lived in the UK since he was four and his memories of living there weren't all that happy. While Harry had been attending Ilvermorny for four years, Ilvermorny was mainly a day school, only a boarding school for kids who lived too far away, didn't want to correspond and didn't have means to get to school quickly (Floo travel, Portkey, apparition, brooms, superspeed).,Another big change would be the size of the classes.,The Magical communities of the US, Canada and Mexico had been greatly reduced by the wars of the last 2.5 centuries, there were maybe a million witches and wizards in the US, of which only half didn't completely leave behind the magical world behind as soon as they could, a fifth mainly lived in the muggle world. About 15 percent had dual jobs (like a magical CSI mainly did muggle crime scenes, but they are also qualified to do magical ones, and most Aurors mainly work in muggle law-enforcement), 10 percent lived in the Magical world completely and the rest were kids.,Most of those kids did correspondence courses so their muggle education wouldn't be completely and utterly screwed up , there were three schools including Ilvermorny. the result was that classes were ridiculously small.,He expected the classes at Hogwarts to be bigger.,Lastly, but most importantly, he would simply miss his family.,He was just finishing up when a loud voice rang out from Jara's spot;,"Screw you Tony! My suits are ,prettier than yours!",Tony then.,-QoK/THS-,About 20 minutes later the whole family was gathered in front of the fireplace, ready to go to Diagon Alley.,"Are you all ready? Do you have your lists?" All the kids nodded. "Ok" Clark stepped into the fireplace with his wife yelling "DIAGON ALLEY". After Lois and Clark, Jaime and Marie went and after them Laura and Harry went.,The first few minutes after arriving were spent hugging and involved a heavy amount of insults and jibes exchanges between different sibling. Fred and George were always insulting each other while Ginny snarked at the both of them and Ron, Percy and Angelina visibly decided not to get involved, Luna was busy frustrating the heck out of Cedric with her Nargels and Humdingers. Colin and Dennis were (quite like the other set of twins) always sniping at each other and even Jara and Marie had joined in on the 'Fun'.,Joy.,Luckily for Harry's sanity and ego, the adults quickly intervened and the shopping trip soon started. Nothing particularly interesting happened during the trip. The only interesting thing that happened was when Harry, Colin and Dennis were at Madam Malkins and there was this pale blond boy, whose attitude just screamed 'Pureblood!', and the more words came from his mouth the more Harry had the feeling he was rather prejudiced also. Colin and Dennis noticed it too, Colin seemed to have found a permanent footrest the shape of his twins foot.,Dennis was limping the rest of the day.,Surprisingly enough the rather large group had finished the majority of their school shopping in the morning, as chaotic as a group with three of his siblings, Fred, George and more than half a dozen cases of ADD could be, they did get things done rather quickly. The group ate lunch in one of the private rooms at the Leaky Cauldron and topics of conversation rang from "Is Barry the Bucky Barnes or the Peggy Carter to Kara's Steve Rogers?" to "When are Pepper and Tony getting married?".,After lunch they finished their shopping and went home. That evening Harry went to bed early.

He was lost. Lost in the sprawling metropolis that was New York city. By the odour in the air, he would say he was in a wretched sewer, but by the sights around him he was quite certain he was in a dark alleyway surrounded by brick walls at every side. How in Merlin's name he found his way into an enclosed area unintentionally, he did not know, but Harry was beginning to realise that foreign travel was surprisingly difficult. When he tried to make his way to the bazaar in Cairo, he found himself at the end of two wands, both being wielded by a pair of, most likely deceased, religious fanatics. When he attempted to travel to one of South America's famed beaches, he found himself in the middle of a dense jungle staring at a carven stone totem which appeared to have some degree of sentience. The point was, when he was trying to get to the Museum of American Magical Activity, he found himself in a dank alley way without a clue as to where he was, how he got here, or whether or not he would give up on using his resourcefulness and intelligence to get him out his present predicament and simply apparate to a registered apparation transit facility. He did recall the one in Chelsea serving an excellent Merlin Macchiato, not to mention the scrumptious Patronus Pecan Pie, but that might have been before The Cata-BANG!,It was one of his abilities, as Master of Death, to slow down his moment of demise to a speed so sluggish, time didn't appear to move at all. After everything he'd been through, it seemed as if he were to die at the hand of some low life street thug, looking to make an easy galleon. He'd managed to survive the second wizarding war without serious injury, and he'd made it through The Cataclysm without a scratch. And to contextualise such an achievement, for those not well versed on the intricacies of contemporary wizarding history, The Cataclysm was the end of the wizarding race. One day, an over ambitious wizarding archaeologist (idiot) inadvertently activated an ancient wizarding artefact in Norway. Harry only managed to survive the ensuing global catastrophe because he was on a research expedition to The Moon. Since the beginning of magical life, not a single member of the wizarding race had ever stepped foot on the Moon. From what he gathered from Astronomy lessons, it appeared his kind believed the moon to be a slumbering deity that had created all magical life at the universe's inception, and if disturbed had the capacity to end all magical life. They'd even made attempts to stop the Apollo mission, but sadly every wizard and witch they'd sent didn't know what exactly a space shuttle was and therefore had terrible trouble stopping its launch. Harry hadn't travelled to the Moon by space shuttle of course. He originally planned on getting there via a retrofitted broomstick, but in the end he opted for a magic carpet; they'd always been better for long distance travel. Obviously, whatever this artefact was, it only worked at a certain range, and evidently the moon had been beyond that range. He'd travelled there on a last ditch attempt to locate the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, as a thank you to Luna for using her powers of prophecy to determine the weather for that upcoming Saturday (a Saturday he hoped to play Quidditch on). He didn't find it of course, there were a few interesting craters and a new species of magical fungi, but not a hint of any creature that could be considered a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. He had arrived back no more than two days later, to find every wizard and witch wizard across the globe gone. Everyone of them seemed to have vanished without a trace. Magical artefacts, objects, structures, and animals had remained of course, but no longer could Harry call himself one Wizard of many. He was alone, and had been since that day 6 years ago. This trip was one of a number he'd embarked on to secure the world's magical paraphernalia. He'd managed to fill 478 warehouses with his various finds, and now it seemed his journey was coming to a close.,He braced himself for the impact, quite satisfied with his achievements up to this point, and was willing to enter the great beyond. While he'd made his peace with the world, it seemed the cosmos had another plan for him. At the last possible moment, the bullet hurtling towards his forehead was batted from it's path by a blood red baton. With a couple of graceful punches and kicks, his assailant was down and his life saved. All of it, he had to thank the man in the crimson devil suit for and based on his recent display of physical fitness, he frankly wouldn't mind thanking this daredevil of a saviour. Seeing him beginning to retreat from the alleyway he took his chance.,"Thanks for, you know… the help. It's nice to know this alley way has a defender." Harry said, stumbling over his words, partly due to his near death experience and partly due to his immediate attraction to the man in red.,"It's really more of a city wide operation. And I happened to be in the vicinity, so saving you from a grisly death was really just a convenience" The mystery man gruffly stated, though Harry was sure he could detect a smile on the man's shadowed face.,"My name's Harry, by the way. In case you wanted to know. Harry Potter" Harry said, now more comfortable with his full name, in the knowledge that he was no longer a famed figure.,Just as Harry had finished, he saw the man in red was bounding away, springing from one alley wall to the other. Realising that he may never see this chap again, he discreetly launched a tracking charm at him. While admittedly the man was somewhat rude for springing out of their conversation, the horns were really doing something for him.

"Hey Washu are you okay? You've been acting weirder than usual all day." Ryoko asked looking at her mother worried but hiding it a bit as she sat at the couch next to the woman who was in her little girl form at the moment.,"Ryoko? Yeah I'm fine. Just a headache." Washu said shaking her head as she looked up at her full grown daughter with a weak smile on her face.,"Never knew you got headaches given all your inventions." Ryoko said frowning while Washu gave a weak grin as the rest of their family wandered into the room.,"I don't usually get them, not since I became a goddess at least. There's nothing normal about this headache. Especially not with those flashes I keep getting." Washu said as the rest of the rather strange and dysfunctional but loving family looked at the resident genius worried.,"Flashes?" Tenchi asked worried and making Washu grimace.,"Of a different place, different life, different ,! One I haven't used since I was , and became a goddess." Washu said making all of them look startled and confused, they never heard the red haired woman say anything about a different name before.,"You became a goddess when you were seven?" Ayeka asked curiously and earning two nods, one from Washu and the other from Sasami who had Tsunami's visage floating above her head.,"Yes Tokimi-onee and I were searching for a third Goddess to balance us and make sure there would never be a tie between the forces of life and death. Searching throughout all of time and space…and , found ,. It was quite a surprise. One moment Kimi-nee and I are arguing over a potential goddess, the next a red haired seven year old literally appears above us and falls on top of us." Tsunami said with a chuckle while Washu gave a sheepish half grin.,"She was in a bad way, between life and death and yet... she was so different from every other person in that state. She was not angry, scared, or pleading for help. She was smiling and at peace." Tsunami said softly as she stared at Washu who gave a small derisive snort.,"Of course I was. All I knew at the time was pain, agony, fear, self-loathing and helplessness. I hated my life and had nothing to live for so naturally when death came to claim me I didn't mind. I was happy to die at the time." Washu said causing everyone to look horrified at that except Tsunami who winced.,"Quite. So after seeing what all she faced in such a short time frame and seeing how she understood the world better than any other, Kimi-nee and I decided to adopt her as our sister and raised her to be the third and final goddess. Giving her a new name and family, this one consisting of two sisters who loved her and she loved them. Later on in time the family expanded to include you all, starting with Washu's beloved daughter Ryoko-chan. She was quite the spitfire and a bit spoiled when she was little but all three of us loved her anyways. She was the first child any of us three had ever had that inherited some of our goddess powers so naturally we adored her." Tsunami said chuckling as Ryoko blushed and scowled, looking away from her mother and aunt although when she thought no one was looking she gave a soft smile.,"So if Washu is having a headache and flashes of when her name was different…" Tenchi brought them all back on point as Washu winced and rubbed her temples again.,"Then that means that this is likely the time frame she came from, and those from her past are trying to get her back. I'm not sure how or why however. Washu would have to enter her Goddess Form herself to figure that out." Tsunami said promptly and making Washu scowl slightly.,"I hate using the All-Knowing part of my powers and you know it Nami-ane. I'll do what I always do, resear-AH!" Washu began with her normal dry tone before she grasped her head as her body began to glow with blue flames and everyone felt the house shake.,"An earthquake?" Tenchi asked as he went sprawling to the floor, Ayeka kneeling down to help him as the others caught their balance and Ryoko caught Washu by the shoulders to keep her from hitting the floor.,"No it's no natural disaster. There is a great power buildup targeting Washu!" Tsunami called from where she was in her ghostly form holding Sasami tightly protectively when the small girl nearly hit the floor.,"Mom!" Ryoko shouted as Washu seemed to be consumed by flames and her head lolled to the side, her eyes hazy and unfocused as she and Ryoko disappeared leaving a small burn mark on the floor where Ryoko had knelt after catching Washu.,"Where the hell are we?" Ryoko demanded glaring as she held Washu close as the still out of it woman shook her head a few times to regain her senses while Ryoko glared down the giant room filled with kids, teens, and some adults.,"And who the hell are all of you?" Ryoko spat glaring around the room as Washu blinked her eyes a few times before looking around and groaning.,"Are you okay?" Ryoko asked instantly turning her attention to Washu who pinched the bridge of her nose.,"I'm fine musume. Right now we're at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the upper European area." Washu said smiling slightly at Ryoko before being set on her feet.,"There's a school named after a pig with pimples?" Ryoko asked snickering even though she was still wary of everyone.,"Yes there is. Now what do you want?" Washu said shooting Ryoko a fond smile before scowling as she glared at the man with long white hair.,"My dear girl. It is good to finally see you again Tamar-","I'm not your anything except pain in the ass if you don't tell us why we were forcibly summoned from our home and family and dragged halfway across the world by people who abandoned me to die when I was three. And for further reference, I have a new name and if you use my old one I , hurt you." Washu interrupted immediately making Ryoko snicker slightly.,"Young lady sh-" A woman with red hair and green eyes began to shout making Ryoko and Washu snort.,"Young? Lady ,over a thousand years old. , is more than twice that at least. Who the hell are you anyways?" Ryoko asked amused as she jabbed a thumb at Washu. Washu answered instead and her words caused a brief moment of shocked silence before the flurry of whispers and a few yells started.,"She's your grandma Ryoko. She's my birth mother, Lily Potter."

Hadrian Ghaulsen looked out at the skies of Torobatl from the hanger deck of his flagship, ,, with a mug of hot caffeine in his hand. He looked back at the sound of a Gladiator's war cry to see members of his Legion engaged in spars and other training exercises. Seeing nothing wrong, he turned back to the open hanger door and leaned against it.,It had been over two decades since he had been removed from his Terran homeworld and he could honestly say that he had loved every moment of it.,He could still remember how he came here.,He had been unceremoniously dumped at the feet of Dominus Ghaul and the Consul. Hadrian had been only partially aware of his surroundings at the time but had understood enough that the Consul had advocated for his death, the reason of which Harry did not know, even to this day.,It was only by Ghaul's mercy that he lived and joined the Cabal, for which Harry was eternally grateful to the being who had spared him. This act had inspired Harry to change his name to Hadrian and cast aside any remnants of his past.,Beyond allowing him to join the empire, Ghaul had gone on to personally train him from a mere skin and bones human to a lean and powerful member of the Red Legion.,Hadrian had gone on to earn first his assigned squadron's respect, then the other Bracus', then the Val above them, their Valus, their Primus, and then Ghaul himself all over again with his efforts in the campaigns of the Legion.,Those campaigns had dipped Hadrian into the blood of dozens of species the Cabal fought, often drenching him in the blood of his squadron, many of whom had died over his ten-year-long membership in the Legion. All the while, Ghaul continued to participate in Hadrian's training.,",",",",",",Ghaul had beaten Hadrian in their regular trainings, often ending with Hadrian ending up in the medical bay. Despite the broken bones and gashes, Hadrian found himself healing at an extraordinary rate beyond what would be normal for humans.,This had led Ghaul to enlisting Otzot's scientific expertise to study Hadrian. In the midst of one of Otzot's experiments, they had found his gift for using Psionic power much like how Otzot's people could.,Otzot had been ecstatic on the abnormality Hadrian presented and had demanded that Ghaul allow her to teach Harry everything about Psionics while also studying him.,He had grown strong over the years.,"Primus?",And then there were those under his command.,Hadrian turned to find a glowing red female humanoid standing behind him. Burning yellow anti-matter ran under her ruby shell and blazed behind her retinas. A cloak made of the same crystal as her shell hung from her shoulders.,This was Korosivash, a Red Sentient from a world just outside the Cabal Empire's reach that had been found by the Cabal shortly after a Hive infestation had overwhelmed the majority of the Sentient populations of the Red homeworld and Modulus 5.,Both of them could recall the day they met.,",",",",",",",",",",",In a way, Hadrian was.,The Stormborn had found hundreds of Red and Blue Sentients in stasis and moved them off world. Korosivash had stayed with her people for a year to ensure that they had been safely integrated into the Cabal before she moved on.,Hadrian had been very surprised when he found Korosivash's profile amongst the new recruits for his Legion. When he had questioned her, she had admitted to finding him more of an interesting choice than the other Cabal commanders, most of whom wanted to put her with the Psions and treat her as such.,"What news, Koro?" Hadrian asked as he pushed off the edge and walked back into the hanger. He took the offered Data Pad and scrolled through the information on it.,"The fleet is fully restocked. Final inventory is occurring now," Korosivash said as they walked past the training soldiers. "The last of the squadrons are onboarding now. I've already directed them to start preparations for combat drops.","Clever Girl." Hadrian nodded his approval.,They entered the elevator and were quickly moved to the bridge.,"Hail, Primus!" Gilal thundered as soon as he noticed them enter.,The bridge crew snapped to attention and saluted.,Hadrian returned it as he moved to the command station.,Korosivash closed her eyes. "Final preparations complete. We are ready to depart, Primus.",Hadrian checked the clock. "Less than a forty-eight-hour window. Nicely done everyone." He cracked open the navigation screen. "Koro, do we have any marching orders from the Dominus?","Negative, Primus. Dominus Ghaul has indicated that he wants the Legions to maintain the border while searching for the Traveler.","Of course." Hadrian rolled his eyes as he looked around the map of the empire. He tapped a small world highlighted. "Ia. An athenaeum world lost to the Hive shortly after the Coup." He turned to Korosivash. "Any of the other Legions have their eye on it?",Korosivash closed her eyes as data flowed through her processors before she reopened them. "None of the other Legions have submitted plans to assault this athenium world. We are clear to proceed.",Hadrian grinned as he turned back to his console. "All ships, set a course for Ia.",Professor Albus Dumbledore rolled a lemon drop in his mouth as he paced his office.,It had been nine years since Harry Potter had disappeared.,When he had first found that Harry had disappeared, Dumbledore had tried to keep the information under wraps. He had called the members of the Order of the Phoenix in and had set them about on a search for young Harry.,Six years they had managed to keep the story hidden.,That ended the minute Harry's Hogwarts letter failed to deliver.,The enchanted quill that wrote out the address had been indecipherable, and the owl set to deliver it had circled Albus' office before it had landed and dropped the letter back on his desk.,Albus had been forced to reveal Harry's disappearance to the public when people noticed his absence from the First Years of 1991.,Needless to say, public opinion had turned against him very quickly. His position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamont had been stripped by the group.,Albus didn't see that as too much of a deterrent seeing as how he managed to keep his positions as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and Headmaster of Hogwarts. He didn't care much for politics anyway.,Despite this setback, Dumbledore had adapted as much as he could. The Order had continued to search for Harry both in Britain and abroad.,After nine years, the morale of the Order members was falling rapidly. It was only through Dumbledore's instruments that indicated Harry's survival that kept Remus and later Sirius in the Order when the Marauder of the Black family had escaped Azkaban to find Harry.,He was down to his last few cards.,The Philosopher's Stone had been secured and Voldemort's shade had been banished. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened and Dumbledore had rescued poor Ginerva Weasley only after she had been reduced to a Squib. The Horcrux of Voldemort had been destroyed in the battle and Dumbledore had narrowly avoided losing the Headmaster position. Sirius had escaped Azkaban and had retrieved Peter Pettigrew in the ensuing chaos.,Now the Triwizard Tournament was on the horizon with Hogwarts at the center.,With this new challenge on the horizon, Dumbledore saw an opportunity in the chaos.,The Goblet of Fire was not just an impartial judge. It was a vessel of ancient and powerful magics. It was capable of drawing in powerful beings from anywhere in the world and perhaps even beyond. Dumbledore had found written descriptions of beings summoned by the Goblet that he wouldn't be able to stomach had he not found one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.,He could only pray that the people could forgive him for putting children in the firing lines of this tournament as a result.,All for the Greater Good.

"How are you?","I am fine, as I have already told you several times before," the answer was like a trained reflex. Repeating every time that question was asked. Both of them knew it, well more or less. The raven not bothering thinking about it just wanting to slip into a fantasy world of his own making, were nothing bad ever happened. Harry had become rather good at it actually perfecting it when he still lived with the Dursley's. But this time it wouldn't be that easy, seeing everyone you had ever spoken to lying dead around you did that. Harry knew though that his companion would not allow them to take him to the mental ward. Being the precious boy-who-lived had its good points.,"We both know that is not the truth," the figure behind him said while taking short steps to stand besides him.,"Then tell me what is, amuse me, just don't expect me to laugh right now I feel a little tired," his answer, true to what the raven had said, sounded tired.,"I think you blame yourself, not such a large leap, considering it is in your personality,","Pentecost, why are you here really? It cant be for little me after all you got something more important to worry about," the voice had an irritating tone to it.,"I want to recruit you,","No. I won't, so take someone else,","Is there anyone you recommend? After all I thought you were the only one dwelling on these kind off things," Pentecost said, clearly a tiny bit amused behind the steeled tone and the impeccable mask.,"Not really, not anymore anyway, you know what? It might be fun, I will give you four years and after that I will quit," Pentecost turned and left the scene, having gotten what he wanted. A little light went off in his head and a tiny smile graced his lips.,"The Becket brothers will be happy," he said still walking towards the black car. When hearing the Potter heir turn around sharply, the smile grew larger. Who wouldn't jump at the idea of getting back to the only living friends in the entire world?,"I will expect you on Monday then?","Sir, yes sir," Harry answered a smile on his face but the former jaeger pilot could practically hear the stiff pose in his new subordinate. No worries there, that would go away, it is only a matter of time. Like all others the young lord would heal.,This might become a multi-chapter but I feel that if I don't continue it will not be this weird thing (I don't know what to call it) I think (or rather I want it to be able to be a one-shot if I don't write more on it. As you might have noticed it is sometime after the whole Voldemort scandal thingy (my brain don't want to work today I am so sorry). Also it shows that Harry knew the Beckets before but somehow broke off contact (probably in fifth year or something, might become a story on its own or a flashback chapter in this one) and that they meet up again in this story (or might not be story, I don't know so I won't promise anything). I don't know what Harry should work as so please leave a suggestion in the comment box below. For NOW (or for EVER) it will stand as completed.

In an attempt to inspire my brain towards continuing book six, I ended up on Netflix, found a show called Blacklist, and now cannot get the show out of my head. Therefore, to help myself get the creative juices flowing in my head and to appease my desire to write a Blacklist one-shot, I'm posting this crossover. It's an AU to the Alexis series with a few of my own headcanon ideas towards Blacklist.,Blacklist characters have been swapped out with Harry Potter characters as following (warning: ages, genders, and ethic beliefs may vary from canon):,Raymond Reddington - Rodolphus Lestrange,Donald Ressler - Harry Potter,Harold Cooper - Kingsley Shacklebolt,Tom Keen - Viktor Krum,Ranko Zamani - Igor Karkaroff,General Daniel Ryker - Amos Diggory,Bethany Ryker (changed to a boy) - Cedric Diggory,Samuel Scott - Remus Lupin,Houston (the dog) - Ruby (the female Rubeus Hagrid. Because I couldn't not include him),And lastly, Elizabeth Keen - Alexis,A healthy number of Harry Potter and Alexis series references will be made but no magic will be used. ,.,Enjoy!,"Are you sure about this?",A grand structure stood before him as he sat gazing upon it from his seat on the park bench. However, if he was being honest, typical was a more suitable adjective for the building. It lacked any form of creativity in it's designed, but then again, he supposed, that had been the idea after all. They had wanted a simple look and they had gotten just that.,Typical.,"Must be good to be home again, sir," said his right-hand man when he had failed to answer his earlier question.,Without looking at the man, he breathed a single word reply, "Yeah.",Unable to stop himself, a smile graced his sharp featured face.,"Well, we'll see about that," he added with a chuckle before reaching over for the bag the man had placed at his side and standing up.,Without so much as another word, he rose to his feet, bag in hand, and began his slow walk to the typical building. It was all about to begin now. He was making his first move in a grand game of chess and like every first move, he had thought this out most of all. Everything rested on this move and the reactions it would cause. All of his planning, his work, everything could end here.,The mere idea was exhilarating.,Calmly, he entered the typical building, passing through two glass doors as he approached the front desk. The woman sitting at it looked exhausted, an amusing fact for him considering the day had only just begun. Nonetheless, the woman tried to smile amicably at him as her job required.,"Good morning," he said with a charming smile in return, not missing the way the woman seemed to relax. Clearly, she was used to less than friendly callers approaching her desk. "I'm here to see Assistant Director Kingsley Shacklebolt.","Do you have an appointment?" asked the woman as he retrieved a roll of parchment from his bag.,"I do not," he said, handing her the paper calmly. "Tell him it's Rodolphus Lestrange.",As the woman went away typing into her computer the information he had just given her, he walked back to the seal in the center of the entrance hall. Placing his bag down beside it, he removed his well-tailored suit jacket, folded it neatly, placed it atop his bag, and then reached for his fedora. He paid no mind to the strange stares he was receiving from the woman behind the desk nor anyone else in the entrance hall. His hat followed his jacket and he stepped onto the seal just in time for a noise he was all too familiar with filled the air.,Sirens. Typical.,Calmly going to his knees, he listened amusingly as the sound of heavy footsteps began heading his way. He put his hands behind his head and bit back a smile as he soon was surrounded by armed FBI agents.,Let the game begin.,.,Agent Harry Potter was very good at his job, especially when it came to being prepared for the unexpected. He was famous within the bureau for thinking on his toes and snaking his way out of some very sticky situations even when he had been fresh off the farm. In fact, he had earned the nickname the Boy Who Lived in early days as an agent for just how good he was at adapting and surviving all kinds of crazy.,Nothing caught him off guard, that is, nothing until he was told Rodolphus Lestrange had turned himself in.,As the bureau's top man when it came to the number four Undesirable in the United States, it only stood to reason he was put on the case and it was with that same reasoning he hadn't been surprised to find himself debriefing everyone involved on who Lestrange was and what the man was capable of.,Of course, none of what he had to say prepare anyone, himself included, for what Lestrange had to say - that he wanted to , them catch an already dead terrorist by the name of Igor Karkaroff. But then Karkaroff wasn't dead at all and Lestrange was quite smug when Shacklebolt admitted that little detail, a detail the bureau would never have known if it hadn't been for Rodolphus freaking Lestrange all but pointing his finger at the evidence.,And then, once more and for the third time that day alone, Lestrange caught him off guard when he gave his demands if they wanted his help.,"From this point forward, there's one very important rule: I speak only with Alexis Krum.",.,With her raven-black hair tousled every which way and her mouth opened partly as she slept, Alexis Krum née Lupin could not be a more appealing sight to her husband - or she would have been, were the two not fast asleep together. The young woman buried herself deeper into her husband's chest, unconsciously seeking him out for warmth despite the three layers of blankets above. Alexis was many things, and a cuddler was one of them.,Another was someone who was going to be very late for her first day on the job. Thankfully, however, her husband was already late when it came to walking the dog as not-so-little, little Ruby used her big head to push open their bedroom door before promptly jumping onto her owners demanding affection.,"Ruby," grunted Alexis as her dog pulped on top of her. "Viktor.","I have her, princess," chuckled Viktor as his wife shoved the massive dog over to his side of the bed in a last ditched effort to get a few extra minutes of sleep. "Good morning, by the way.","Good morning," Alexis sighed, trying to will herself back asleep by closing her eyes and burying her head back into her pillow as Viktor wrestled the excitable dog next to her.,Alexis's eyes suddenly snapped open and she shot up looking at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It blinked neon numbers that read 12:00. Fighting a panic, she looked down at her wristwatch.,"Shit!",.,"I am starting to find this a regular occurrence, princess," chuckled Viktor as Alexis, now showered and clothed, skirted around the kitchen like a tornado. A very late tornado.,"Oh shut it," huffed Alexis with a scowl. She allowed Viktor to kiss her cheek anyways but swore it had nothing to do with the adorable grin he had on his face. "I'm not always late.","No," smiled Viktor, catching his and Alexis's toast as it finished in the toaster. "Just when it is firsts. Your first interview, your first appointment, our first date -","Alright, alright," sighed Alexis, stealing a bite from Viktor's toast before he had a chance to take a bite for himself. She grinned up at him as he tried and failed to look affronted. "You've made your point.","Have I?" Viktor asked, leaning forward so that Alexis suddenly found herself pinned against the counter. Not that she exactly mind - no wait, she did. Work.,"I'm going to be , late if you keep looking at me like that," said Alexis. Thankfully, Viktor backed up just enough so that when he gave Alexis a kiss it wasn't too heated. "Merlin, if I didn't really want to keep my job...","Which is why you get the car," smirked Viktor, handing Alexis the keys to their jeep. He returned his attention to his toast before adding in afterthought, "And remember, we have our last adoption meeting today. One-thirty.","One-thirty," repeated Alexis. "I'll be there.","Good," smiled Viktor. "I'll walk you out.",Alexis smiled back at her husband as the two walked out of the threshold of their apartment. She had planned to give him one last kiss goodbye, perhaps even tease him about the student that had sent him flowers last week, but the moment they were both standing outside both ideas were immediately scratched.,"Err, Viktor?" Alexis began, as a bifocaled man with a lightning bolt scar and sharp green eyes climbed out of one of the many police and government vehicles surrounding their house and made his way over to them.,"Yes, dear?" asked Viktor, looking befuddled at the sight in front of them. And was that a helicopter flying above them? It sure as hell was.,"I don't think I'm going to need the car," said Alexis handing the keys to her husband just as the man reached the foot of their stairs.,"Agent Krum," began the man, raising his FBI badge so that Alexis and Viktor could see it. "Harry Potter. Washington field office. I need you to come with me right away.",Alexis sighed.,"Yeah, definitely don't need the car.",.,"Agent Krum. Am I getting that right?",Alexis tried her best not to look too nervous as Assistant Director Kingsley Shacklebolt smiled warmly at her from across his desk in a technically none existent FBI office known as the Post Office. The ride over had been strenuous enough with Agent Potter filling her in before spending the rest of the flight staring at her like she was a criminal. She hadn't even done anything!,"Yes sir," said Alexis, proud at how her voice had sounded calm and collected despite her nerves being all over the place.,"Kingsley Shacklebolt. Assistant Director of Counterterrorism." He offered his hand for a shake.,"I know, sir," said Alexis with a nervous laugh and trying her best not to avoid the man's eyes. She always had a problem with making eye contact. She always felt as if she could see what others were thinking when she looked them in the eyes and some times that was the , thing she wanted to do. Luckily, it seemed Shacklebolt had the same train of thought Alexis had.,"Can you tell us what's going on?" Shacklebolt asked, taking his seat across from Alexis after a brief nod hello to Agent Potter. Merlin, Alexis wished the guy would stop staring at her so she could concentrate on the director.,"I wish I could," started Alexis, sitting a bit straighter in her chair when the unnatural prick of Potter's glare continued to bore into her neck. "I can tell you that... I've been vetted by the agency like everyone else, you know, same background checks, psych profiles. I'm sure OPR's trolling my digital footprint right now, and I know exactly what they'll find.","What will they find?" asked Shacklebolt, leaning back in his chair and crossing his fingers over his stomach.,"Nothing," said Alexis. She ignored Agent Potter's very noticeable snort. "I have no history with Lestrange.","They tell me today's your first day as a profiler," said Shacklebolt.,"Yes, sir," said Alexis, straightening in her seat again. Potter was still staring at her with those unforgiving green eyes. "I was reassigned from New York. I graduated Quantico last month.",Shacklebolt smiled politely.,"Congratulations.","Thank you," said Alexis, smiling as well. Training had been hell but she had come out on top of her class, a fact she was quite proud of.,"Do me a favor," said Shacklebolt, not missing a beat. "Profile yourself.","I'm sorry, sir?","Who are you? What is he looking for? Profile Alexis Krum.","Oh, um, uh, okay," stumbled Alexis, with a nervous laugh.,',,' Alexis could hear the voice of Tom McPherson, her late best friend, and mentor, who had passed away when she was still in high school. When she was nervous or stressed, she had a tendency of imagining him giving her advice like he used to when she was younger. It was crazy, but it helped her cope. ',.',Taking a steady breath, Alexis started.,"Well, I've been with the bureau for four years. I was the head of the Police Mobile Emergency Psych Unit in New York. We worked murders, extortion -","Read your résumé." Shacklebolt had the smile that fit the description of half amused and half professional.,"Of course," said Alexis, looking flustered.,',,' reminded McPerson. Alexis did so.,"I'm what most people would call... a bitch," Alexis began, forcing herself not to cringe at her already rash start. She could all but hear McPherson laughing at her. She actually did hear Potter hold back a snort. "I have a strong tendency to be blunt and stubborn about things I dislike or disagree with. Like most kids who raised themselves, I can display narcissistic behavior. I can be withdrawn, disconnected. Sarcasm is second nature to me. Uh... I have a deep yearning to understand and relate to the criminal mind... I'm board certified in forensic psychology, and yet I operate under the delusion that I can rewrite my past by having kids of my own...",Alexis gulped, rubbing the scar she had on her wrist as she remembered the appointment later that afternoon. She had the feeling she wasn't going to make it. Moreover, now Agent Potter and Shacklebolt were now both staring holes into her forehead.,"Do you find it odd Lestrange surrendered himself the day you started working as a profiler?","I think that it suggest he was waiting for me," answered Alexis.,"But why you?" interrupted Agent Potter. "Why you, specifically?",It took a mental reminder to keep herself from shrugging at the question. It was hard to remember to act professional while looking into Agent Potter's eyes and seeing so much distrust directed at her. She hadn't even done anything, damn it!,"Because I'm new and he thinks I can be easily manipulated," said Alexis. A genuine smirk crossed her face then. "The man obviously doesn't know me very well.",.,Minutes later, Assistant Director Shacklebolt and Agent Potter were leading her to a large open section of the Post Office that held only a slightly smaller glass cage. Inside sat a man in a well-tailored suit but it was all Alexis could make out at this distance. That, and the fact that the man known as Rodolphus Lestrange looked extremely at eased with the situation he found himself in.,Alexis scoffed at the very sight.,"If you need anything," started Shacklebolt, touching Alexis's shoulder in a calming gesture. "Remember, we're right here.",Alexis nodded, breathing out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Wordless, Agent Potter opened the door for her as Shacklebolt opened the cage.,The moment she stepped out of the control room and the cage began opening, Rodolphus Lestrange's eyes locked on her. Even from a distance, Alexis could see the bright green orbs examining her. They reminded her of her father's eyes - though, Lestrange's were far more noticeable - but they were the only similarity the two men shared. While her father was fair skinned and light featured, with brown hair flaked with gray for as long as Alexis could remember as well as scars covering most of his body, Lestrange was well tanned, his hair a raven black, well-groomed - beard included - and his face ageless and scarless. He looked almost aristocratic. Scratch that, he , look aristocratic. There was no almost about it. And smug. Quite smug, actually, as Alexis approached him.,',,' Alexis thought to herself as she kept her eyes locked on the Concierge of Crime the whole way. She just wished he would stop looking at her like so damn pleased to see her.,Without breaking eye contact, she took her seat across from Lestrange and waited.,"Agent Krum," began Lestrange with a hearty chuckle after a long moment of silence. "What a pleasure.","The pleasures all mine, I'm sure," Alexis said sarcastically before she could help it. Luckily, Lestrange seemed to find more amusement in her words than anything else.,"Alexis Belle Krum," he started again. "I must say, I find Alexis Belle Lupin to have a better tune to it.","I don't," said Alexis bluntly.,"Though, Alexis is such a common name," continued Lestrange, clearly unperturbed by Alexis's words.,"Well, we can't all have names like yours," replied Alexis. Again Lestrange seemed to not hear her.,"Josobelle," he said casually. "Josobelle suits you much better. It's French. It means pure child or beauty. Oddly enough, few use such a perfect name these days. Rather foolish if you ask me. Who wants their spawn running around with the same name as the garbage man or a desk jockey with an alcohol problem? No, Josobelle Lupin is quite unique.","Shame that my name is Alexis, then," said Alexis evenly.,"Of course," agreed Lestrange with another smug smile.,There was a pause. Lestrange continued to smile.,"Well," started Alexis, clapping her hands together. "I'm here.","Indeed," chuckled Lestrange. "Indeed you are. And looking lovely as well. Tell me, do you get back home much?",Alexis bit back a sigh. For a criminal, this man seemed to have a strong case of ADHD.,"Tell me about Igor Karkaroff.","I haven't been home in years," continued Lestrange, as if, once again, he hadn't heard what Alexis had said. He smiled again.,Alright. Alexis knew two could play at this game.,"Why involve me?" she asked. "I'm nobody. It's my first day. Nothing special about me.",Lestrange only smiled wider. And, Merlin, did he look smug.,"Oh, I think you're very special," he said, his green eyes holding no room for argument.,It took Alexis by surprise. She didn't know what to say in response. Thankfully, she didn't have to.,"Within the hour, Karkaroff will abduct the son of U.S. General Amos Diggory," a stoical mask covering his face without any warning. He looked completely... impassive, the exact opposite as to what he looked like seconds ago. "There'll be some kind of diversion, communications will be scrambled, then he'll grab the boy. He wants to be out of the country within 36 hours. If you don't move quickly, the boy will die. That's what I know.",Alexis swallowed, sitting straight in her chair. "And how do you know this?","Because I'm the one who got him into the country.","And I'm supposed to believe you?" asked Alexis with a scoff.,Lestrange threw his head back and laughed. "No, of course not! I'm a criminal. Criminals are notorious liars. Everything about me is a lie.","But if anyone can give me a second chance, it's you," he continued, the laughter once again wiped completely from his face. "The two of us have... overcome so much.",Against her better judgment, memories played out in front of her, darker memories she'd rather forget. McPherson dying in front of her, her father nearly losing his battle against cancer, the fire...,"I mean, look at you," said Lestrange, his voice drawing her back out of her thoughts. "Abandoned by a father who was a career criminal, a mother who died of... weakness and shame.,"And yet here you are," smiled Lestrange, "about to make a name for yourself, about to... capture Igor Karkaroff.",Lestrange leaned as far forward in his chair as he could with his restraints. His smile looked less smug and more... felonious? Could smiles even look illegal? If they could it was Lestrange's would be.,"I'm gonna make you famous, Josobelle.",.,"What the complete fuck?" Alexis hissed the moment she was alone with Shacklebolt and Potter. She hardly had to imagine McPherson sighing at her use of colorful language. He had always tried fixing that habit of hers.,"Language," corrected Potter. Alexis took one from Lestrange's book and ignored him.,"What was going on in there?" she asked impatiently. "What was all that nonsense about my mother and father? Does he know who they are?","I think we're the ones that should be asking you that," said Agent Potter. "How come your father's criminal record never showed up?","Because I'm adopted, you twit," snapped Alexis before turning to Shacklebolt. "I think we need to contact the SWAT commander at Quantico. Roll a team out to pick up the boy.,"He's bluffing," huffed Potter.,"No, he's establishing value," corrected Alexis.,"I've been on the case for this guy for five years," argued Potter. "Trust me -","Oh, real proud you've made it five years with nothing to show for it," quipped Alexis scathingly, silencing the room and putting a baffled look on Potter's face. Good. "You asked me here, you asked for my opinion. Here it is. That boy is gonna get taken.",Then, in the exact manner she was sure McPherson would tell her not to use to get her point across, Alexis spun on the Assistant Director.,"Do something." It came out as an order. Luckily for Alexis, Shacklebolt seemed to agree with her. That didn't stop him for scolding her before sending her and Potter out to pick up the General's son.,',soo,?' huffed McPherson.,"Shut up.",.,Eight-year-old Cedric Diggory was absolutely adorable in his Cub Scout's uniform. Unfortunately, it only served as a reminder to Alexis that she had left Viktor to face the adoption agency by himself. Fighting back a cringe, Alexis tried to distract herself from that fact while Potter drove her and Cedric to their rendezvous point.,"It's Cedric, right?" Alexis asked the young, grey-eyed boy shifting nervously in the seat next to her. He nodded sheepishly.,"My dad calls me Ced sometimes," Cedric said shyly.,"Oh?" smiled Alexis. "My dad sometimes calls me Hex. You can call me that if you'd like.",Cedric giggled.,"Hex?","Silly, I know," laughed Alexis. "But I was a rather unlucky kid around your age. Tripped over everything. Couldn't ride a bike longer than a minute before running into a tree. Funny things like that. Said I was hexed with clumsiness.","So why didn't he call you clumsy?" giggled Cedric.,"Well, I suppose he didn't want me to get confused with one of the seven dwarves," mused Alexis.,Cedric brightened at that.,"Snow White," he said. "My dad used to read me that story when I was little. It's my favorite." Cedric frowned. "But boys don't like fairy tales.","Why not?" asked Alexis.,"'Cause they're for girls," muttered Cedric.,"That's not true," said Alexis. She glanced up to see Agent Potter watching her from the rear view mirror. "I bet, Agent Potter has a favorite fairy tale too and he's a boy.","Erm, yeah," said Potter awkwardly. "Err, I like... uh, Cinderella?",Cedric and Alexis both giggled at that.,"What?" huffed Potter.,"Nothing," said Alexis with a smirk.,"Oh yeah, well then what's your favorite, ,?",Scowling at Potter using her childhood nickname, Alexis turned back to Cedric with a soft smile. "Beauty and the Beast.",Cedric grinned.,"I know that one!" he said cheerfully.,"Yeah?" smiled Alexis.,"Yeah! Dad used to say mom was his Beauty," added Cedric. "Though, he's not much of a beast 'cause he doesn't have any hair, you know?",Alexis let out a chuckle. Just then Potter started turning the car around.,"What's wrong?","Bridge is closed," he said. "We'll have to -",All hell broke loose.,.,Alexis marched herself to the slowly opening cage holding the calm Concierge of Crime, leaving a storm in her path. Her left eye was twitching with pain thanks to a large gash above it and her bottom rib had been cracked making motion difficult but Merlin help her if that slowed her down.,Lestrange greeted her with a warm smile. Alexis wanted nothing but to return it with a punch to his face.,"Where's the boy?" she asked as evenly as she could. "It's been four hours. Your people haven't made any demands.",Lestrange scuffed, having the audacity to look affronted.,"My people? I told you Karkaroff would take the boy. I told you that's all I knew. This is in your hands now.","I need your help with Karkaroff," she bit out, fighting back the desire to hit the well-groomed man once more especially when he smiled once again.,"How about a trade?" he offered. "You tell me and I'll tell you. Tell me about the scar on your palm. I've noticed how you stroke it.",Alexis personally believed she deserved an award for how well she kept herself from throttling Lestrange to just give her the location of Cedric Diggory. She knew if she wanted the man's help, she would have to appease him even if he was a criminal.,"There was a fire. I was fourteen.",Lestrange held back a smirk at her words, clearly not believing her but deciding against calling her out.,"Someone tried to hurt you.",It was a statement, not a question. Yet, Alexis treated it as such. Taking a seat once more across from him, she schooled her features into looking impassive about their topic of choice.,"Not exactly, no.",Lestrange's smile softened to something other than amusement although Alexis was hesitant to call it fondness. This man was a criminal after all.,"May I see it?" he asked calmly.,Alexis hesitated before unfolding her fingers and showing him the scar that crawled up from her palm to her wrist. She had never been unconscious about her scar, but the fact that Lestrange was so interested in it made her wary. It didn't help when Lestrange suddenly grabbed her arm.,The guards' guns all cocked and were pointed at him instantly but Lestrange seemed quite unperturbed by that fact. Instead, all of his attention was paid to the scar painted across Alexis's hand. He almost seemed to be in a trance at the sight of it.,"Is a child really what you want, Josobelle?",Lestrange's sudden, out of the park question, surprised Alexis. She tore her hand away from her without much resistance from the man.,"How on earth...","But a baby won't fix what happened in the past," Lestrange continued over her.,"You lost the right to speak about parenthood when you abandoned your wife and daughter on Christmas Eve." Alexis snapped, wanting to cut him as deeply as he had her. It worked. Lestrange's stoic mask was once again in place. "The boy, Lestrange.","You won't find the boy until you learn to look at this differently.","And how should I look at this?" Alexis scoffed,"Like a criminal," answered Lestrange, his smile return as well as a twinkle in his green eyes. "May come easier than you think. Shall I show you?",.,Alexis would never use the term impressive to describe Lestrange. She was afraid his ego might swell to a dangerous level if she did - not that it wasn't already at a dangerous level. Unfortunately, impressive was the only term she could think of that fit just how well the man changed the direction of the case, and by change the direction, Alexis meant gave the case a direction in the first place.,Especially now that they've discovered that Karkaroff plan is to get revenge on General Diggory for being the reason behind the death of his family.,But now, with the Chemist caught, and the fact that a chemical bomb was somewhere in D.C. The last thing Alexis wanted to think about was Lestrange sitting all nice and cozy in his fancy suite. All she wanted was at least four hours of sleep back home, a shower, and to see her husband. Any order of the three would do.,Opening the front door to her and Viktor's apartment, Alexis let out a sigh while throwing her jacket haphazardly on the couch. Her step faltered at the sight greeting her. Balloons, streamers, and a colorful sign that read: It's A Girl!,"I can't believe it!" Alexis cried happily, picking up the sign. She let out an excited squeal. "Oh, Viktor, how did you - we're going to be parents!",She could see Viktor sitting at his place at the dinner table, no doubt waiting for her. Alexis hurried over to the fridge for the red wine they had bought for this occasion.,"Merlin, this is amazing news," she said grabbing the cool bottle. "A baby, a -",The bottle slipped out of Alexis's fingers. She had turned around to find her husband bloodied and restrained to his chair.,"Viktor!" Alexis gasped, rushing over to her husband only to find a gun against her temple.,"Sit down," hissed a thickly accented voice belonging to the house intruder. He was a gray-haired man, with a thick goatee and sharp yellow teeth that sneered at Alexis as she stumbled back. It would seem Igor Karkaroff had decided to pay her a visit.,"Sit down!" snapped Karkaroff, impatiently. "Do as I say or I'll shoot your husband." Alexis didn't hesitate to do so, leading to a nasty smile to cover Karkaroff's face. "See, Viktor and I, we have been talking, trying to figure out how you knew I was in town.",Alexis shuddered a sob as Viktor's head bobbed dangerously.,"I tell him," continued Karkaroff, "you figured out my plan to take the general's son.","Viktor," whispered Alexis, reaching for him. "Look at me, Viktor.","Make for nice surprise," said Karkaroff. "But my people handle quite well, I think.","It's going to be okay," said Alexis, squeezing Viktor's hand, his blood covered hand.,"But then, your people come for my Chemist friend," continued Karkaroff, popping some pills and swallowing them with a swig of wine. "I was finished with the Chemist, so you saved me payment for services. And for that, I thank you. But it did make me wonder what else you know. What else do you know?","That you're a sick bastard," hissed Alexis.,Karkaroff scowled.,"I ask question," he growled dangerously. "What else do you know about my plan?","A bomb," said Alexis. "We think you're going to us a bomb. Maybe. We're not sure. We only know about the boy but the rest is just speculation... Viktor, it's going to be okay.","You think so?" sneered Karkaroff. With a wild jerk, he stabbed Viktor in the leg.,"You son of a bitch!" Alexis shouted.,"What else do you know about my plan?" Karkaroff hollered over her.,"Nothing," hissed Alexis. "Nothing else except that it won't work!",Karkaroff scoffed, pulling his knife out of Viktor's leg.,"You're not as smart as Lestrange says," he taunted, smiling cruelly as Alexis watched a pool of blood stain her husband's clothes. "My friend, he is always so obsessed with you. I'm not sure why.","It's going to be okay, Viktor," Alexis sobbed.,"Now, what I have planned will make for many casualties," continued Karkaroff. "So now you have a choice. Stop me now and save many Americans, or save only one...",Alexis screamed as Karkaroff stabbed Viktor in the abdomen.,"What do you choose?",.,Agent Potter was not one to turn a blind eye to law breaking, especially when it came to physically harming a defenseless individual, but when he had seen Alexis Krum storm into Lestrange's suite with her hair blowing behind her as if crackling with electricity and her green eyes alight with a mad gleam only an hour after he received news that the woman's husband had been attacked and left in critical condition, he wisely decided to stay out of her way.,After seeing the barely over five-foot woman all but throw the much larger and stronger Lestrange against a wall demanding answers, Potter was certain that his decision was more than wise and decided to instead watch the scene from safely behind the camera screen.,"Good evening, Josobelle," greeted Lestrange, only choking slightly with Alexis's elbow digging into his throat.,"You son of a bitch!" she hissed. "He was in my house! My husband is in critical condition because of Karkaroff -","Do calm down," chided Lestrange. "I would appreciate a little more information as to what I'm being yelled at for as I currently have no idea what you're going on about.","Don't play stupid," growled Alexis. "Karkaroff. He talked about you. Said you were , with me.","Did he mention the boy or the bomb?" asked Lestrange.,Potter casually turned the volume down as Alexis threw a lamp at the wall. Well, at least she hadn't thrown it at Lestrange.,"My husband is in the hospital!" shouted Alexis.,"Yes, you said that," said Lestrange dispassionately, adjusting his collar that Alexis had wrinkled while all but choking him. "But that's not what's important. The bomb, Josobelle. That's what we're concerned about.","He only mentioned casualties," growled Alexis. "Starting with my husband.",Lestrange sighed.,"We're still on that?" he bemoaned. "The truth is, Karkaroff did you a favor by getting rid of your husband.",With those words, Lestrange found a pen in his neck and Potter found himself begrudgingly hurrying to the rescue of a criminal mastermind.,.,One hospital trip, a dead terrorist shot off the roof, a chemical bomb deactivated, and a D.C. zoo saved by a random Ukrainian bomb tech later and it was all over. Cedric Diggory was safe again with his father, Viktor was finally out of critical condition, and Lestrange was once again smiling smugly at the FBI agents around him back at the Post Office.,Only the later didn't seem like a success to Alexis.,"Who is the Ukrainian?" asked Shacklebolt.,"I'm not going to tell you," Lestrange all but sang.,"You gave him a chemical weapon.","He took it," corrected Lestrange. "That's the price of doing business, Kingsley, with certain people who can get certain things done. You know that. You never look at the larger picture. The bomb didn't detonate, the boy is safe, Karkaroff's dead. Frankly, I think this all went down rather swimmingly.","This was never about Karkaroff." Potter spat. "You surrendered and infiltrated the FBI to get at our intelligence.","Your intelligence?" Lestrange scoffed. Clearly, he didn't think much of the FBI.,"To get that weapon," clarified Potter.,"I certainly don't want your intelligence, Agent Potter. I'm quite happy with my own. I think it's more likely that I tried to help you in good faith and had to finish the job myself because... you couldn't.","I think we're finished." Shacklebolt went to stand when Lestrange's words made him pause.,"Well, this was fun," smiled Lestrange. "Let's do it again. Really, let's do it again. Understand, Karkaroff was only the first.",Lestrange crossed his legs and leaned back as if he didn't have a care in the world. Alexis was starting to think he didn't.,"The first what?" asked Shacklebolt.,"Name," said Lestrange. "On the list.",Shacklebolt looked at Lestrange for a long moment before motioning for the scribe to close her computer. He sat back down and returned his attention to Lestrange.,"What list?","It's called 'The Blacklist'," grinned Lestrange. "That sounds exciting. That's why we're all here, of course. My wish list. A list I've been cultivating for over twenty years. Politicians, mobsters, hackers, Death Eaters... spies.","Death Eaters?" repeated Alexis.,"A later point," Lestrange waved away dismissively.,"We have our own list," pointed out Potter.,"Agent Potter, please," scoffed Lestrange. "We all know your Top Ten is little more than a publicity campaign. It's a popularity contest at best. I'm talking about the criminals who matter. The ones you can't find because you don't even know they exist. Karkaroff was a small fish. I'm Ahab. And if you want the whales on my list, you have to play by my rules.",Alexis had to admit. Lestrange knew how to gain everyone's attention. They all waited patiently for his demands.,"I never sleep in the same location for more than two nights in a row. I want a fully encrypted 8-millimeter tag embedded in my neck... not that garbage from AlphaChip you stuck in my shoulder. I want my own security. I've compiled a list of five acceptable applicants. Pick two. Whatever I tell you falls under an immunity package that I negotiate myself. And finally, most importantly, I speak only with Josobelle.",Alexis sighed.,"That's not my name.",Lestrange sent her another smug smile.,"Of course.",.,Later that night, Alexis, having grown overly frustrated with the blood stains on her kitchen carpet that she began cutting and tearing the cursed rug off the ground only to find a trapdoor hidden beneath. A hard wood box was revealed to be inside and as she opened the box up, Alexis could not have dreamed to discover what she found.,Several passports, at least a few thousand dollars of hundred dollar bills, and an unmarked handgun greeted her, some of the objects, quite literally, with Viktor's name all over them.,.,"You've discovered something curious about your husband, haven't you, Josobelle?",So that's that. Really had fun writing this and wouldn't mind making a few more if people are interested. It definitely helped me plan out Rodolphus's character in book six. Please tell me what you think and if you have an episode you want to see done with this cast.,Please review!,DCF

Minerva McGonagall wasn't happy, not one bit. She had recently learned that her godson, James Potter, and his wife lily were murdered by Lord Voldemort, aka He-Must-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who. Now their precious son, Harry James Potter, was orphaned, and other than those that James and Lily chose to be his godfather and godmother, with herself being the boy's god-grandmother, Harry didn't have any immediate family left. Except for one from his mother's side of his family, and Minerva remembered that Lily heavily expressed that under no circumstances, was Harry to go to her sister Petunia Dursley.,Such was the reason why she was upset, and unpleasantly found herself on Privet Drive. She had recently learned that her friend and co-worker, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has decided to place Harry with his aunt, and her family. She knew this was something that went against Lily Potter's wishes, and such was why she was here. She had already spoke with Albus, but she knew how stubborn the man could be, and thus she was having a hard time trying to convince him to change his mind.,"But Albus, these people are the worst sort of Muggles I've ever seen!" She exasperated, recognizing that she was losing. "They really are ...","The only family, the boy has left Minerva." Dumbledore said, staying true to his plan.,"That's not true Albus," Minerva continued, adamant in her fight. "He has his godfather Sirius Black, his godmother Elizabeth Greengrass, and me, his god-grandmother! Anyone of us can provide him a suitable family.","But can any of you truly manage to protect him?" Albus stated, stopping in his tracks and turning sharply to look at her.,Minerva took in a sharp breath, as she carefully watched the bundle in Albus' arms. This bundle was her precious god-grandson Harry, who had been brought to them earlier by Hagrid on Sirius Black's flying motorcycle. Honestly, she could never truly understand Sirius and James' interest in Muggle motorcycles. Minerva didn't want anything to happen to him, even if Albus was being careful, the sharp turn he made had jostled Harry, and Minerva didn't like it. In hopes of keeping Albus' attention, Minerva looked back up into his blue eyes.,"Of course we can Albus," She said, unwilling to back down. "We are his family. Elizabeth, along with her husband Cyrus Greengrass, their manor is located on unplotted land, and is protected by the most strongest goblin wards. Sirius' cottage is the same way.",Albus sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping slightly, not too much, but it must've been enough to frighten Minerva as she quickly moved forward to grab, take and hold Harry in her arms from Albus', allowing his arms to drop to his sides. The truth was, Albus knew that Minerva was right, but she couldn't understand why Petunia Dursley was the better candidate. Then he realized that he could give her part of the information, and perhaps she would see reason. Quickly casting a silence charm around them, he looked at her, allowing her to continue holding the baby in her arms.,"Minerva, what I'm about to tell you, is extremely important." He said, looking deep into her eyes, and almost looking like a man his age. "If anyone were to learn this, then Harry would be in great danger.",Minerva gave Albus her full attention, hoping to learn why Albus chose the vile woman in the house with the number four on its door to be Harry's guardian.,"When Lily's body was found, it was directly between Harry's crib and the door to his nursery," He began, willing to share this part of information. "While I can only speculate on what happened, I believe it is possible that when Voldemort entered the nursery, Lily stood between him and Harry, and he might've tried to order Lily to move out of the way.,Lily, undoubtedly, more than likely refused to stand aside and allow Voldemort to kill her infant son, and Voldemort killed her, but her sacrifice more than likely created a form of protection for Harry. A protection of love.",Minerva thought heavily about what Albus was saying. She had no doubt that Lily would've sacrificed herself for her child, rather than selfishly stand aside and let Voldemort kill him. As she heard what Albus was saying, she was slowly understanding what he was leading to. That still didn't mean she was willing to let Lily's vile sister to take possession of her nephew, knowing the kind of person she was from both Lily's conversations about her childhood, and what Minerva herself saw that day.,"This protection can only be kept alive by the blood of the person who cast it onto the individual who benefits from the protection," Albus continued. "Thus this is the reason why Petunia Dursley, and only Petunia Dursley, can protect him. She shares the same blood as Lily, and this she would keep the protection alive.","That doesn't mean she'll love him Albus!" She spat at him, venom rising in her voice, and her arms tightening around her god-grandson. "I know exactly what you're saying, but there's one thing that you're forgetting about the ancient protection that Lily Potter placed on her son, and that's love. The protection may require blood to stay in place, but it also needs love to be at its strongest, and Petunia Dursley has no love for her sister!,And if you think that she'll love Harry, just because he's the son of her now dead sister, then you're going to be massively wrong! I spoke with Lily often throughout the years, and she told me of how her sister mistreated her, and called her names when they were younger, and just because Petunia was 'normal', and Lily wasn't!",Albus paled at what Minerva told him, as he didn't know that piece of information. As he thought more of it, the more he began to realize that Petunia Dursley would undoubtedly abuse the young boy in Minerva's arms. He had no choice but to change any of his plans to protect the child.,"Then what do you recommend Minerva?" He asked, stroking his beard as he began discuss possible ways to keep Harry safe. "As much as I want to let either you, Lady Greengrass, or Sirius to take proper custody of Harry, what will happen if the remaining Death Eaters discovers your guardianship? With Voldemort dead, and Harry being the one responsible, they will either want to seek revenge, or train him to be the next Dark Lord, and will more than likely do everything they can to find him.",Minerva looked down at the small child sleeping peacefully in her arms, wrapped safely in the blanket that had been personally hand-sewn by his mother, who he would never get to know. In truth, she couldn't help but admit that Albus' logic was true. Even if Voldemort was gone, his Death Eaters would stop at nothing, until they found Harry. She would have to take Harry somewhere that she knew he would be safe, and be with someone who would be able to keep him safe, as well as give him a happy life, and more importantly, a family.,Then, an idea struck her. She knew exactly who she could trust to take care of Harry, and keep him safe. Determined to go through with her plan, she looked at Albus.,"I know how he can be safe Albus." She simply stated, rising his interest.,"Really?" He asked, at this point willing to go with what Minerva was about to suggest, and protect the child of two of his former students and friends. "And where can we send him to keep him safe?",Minerva occasionally looked back and forth between Albus and Harry, as she began to walk away from Number Four, Privet Drive, causing Albus to follow, after he ended the silencing charm. She knew that she was taking a risk in what she was about to say, but she was only to give part of the story, and just tell Albus enough information to satisfy him. Albus was a good man, and a greater friend, but if there were a few flaws that he had, it was that he often kept things too close to the vest, and he had a tendency to be a little bit controlling.,"Do you remember when I took a sabbatical to New York City in America, a couple years ago?" She asked, knowing that she would have to risk a personal secret that she kept.,Albus furrowed his eyebrows, as he thought of what she was talking about.,"Yes, I believe so," He said, as he began to remember. "If I remember correctly, I believe that you went to New York to visit a family member who had moved there.","That's right Albus." She answered, trying to keep the answers short. "While I was there, I met a young man who was the same age as James, and became good friends with him. Of course my meeting with him was quite accidental, but fortunately he was already aware of the existence of magic, due to the fact that he had several magical friends from his birth country of Japan.,He came to trust me with the secret of his unique little family, and I've kept it since. He can keep Harry safe, and give him a home and a family. My friend already has four adopted sons, so Harry would have four older brothers to look up to. Plus, the Death Eaters would never suspect to look for Harry in America, they would more than likely still think that he's in Britain. By the time they realize that he's living in America, it'll be too late; Harry will be eleven and attending school at Hogwarts, and there'll be nothing they can do to find him. My friend has a very good place to live in, and it is very well hidden in New York City.",Albus thought about what Minerva was suggesting. Although he would've preferred that Harry Potter would stay in England where he could be able to better protect the boy, and one day train him for what he needed to know, he knew that Minerva may be right. If she was willing to trust the safety of Harry Potter to this friend of hers in New York, then he would trust her judgment. Not to mention that he agreed that it would be beneficial for the young boy to have some older brothers to look up to. The Weasley Family quickly came to mind, and so he made his decision. He would step aside, and allow Minerva to go through with her plan.,"Very well Minerva," He stated, apparently surprising Minerva, who undoubtedly must have thought that he would not agree with her plan. "If you are willing to trust this friend of yours, then you may go ahead and take Harry to New York City.",Minerva McGonagall couldn't help but feel shocked and surprised that Albus Dumbledore was actually going along with her plan. She did expect that he would try to argue against her, and convince her to do something else about Harry. Instead he was actually willing to let her take Harry away from England, and let him be raised in another country. Regardless, the two of them had a mutual agreement that Harry needed a family, and a place that he would be safe in, and thankfully they both agreed that her friend would be the best candidate.,"If I may ask though," He began, at least a little curious as to who she was willing to trust with the safety of her god-grandson. "What is your friend's name?",Minerva carefully contemplated as to whether or not to answer Albus' question. She had made a promise to her friend that she would not tell anyone about him and his family, and she already partially violated that promise by telling Albus the little bit of information about them. But, she supposed that even after telling Albus that much, she owed him at least that. Plus, she was sure that her friend would understand, once she explained the circumstances that gave that information.,Turning to look at Albus, she placed a serious look on her face. She could tell by the expression in Albus' eyes, that he understood that what she was about to say couldn't be repeated to anyone.,"His name," She began. "Is Hamato Yoshi, but he usually goes by the name, of Splinter."

Danny was sitting in bed thinking. His adopted father, Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman, was out on patrol. His adopted brother, Dick Grayson, was also on patrol. Dick and his adopted father, battled crime as Batman and Robin. Unlike Dick, who Bruce had adopted after the teenager had witnessed his parent's murder, Danny had no idea if his parent's were actually dead, he had appeared on the doorstep of Wayne Manor, with no memory of who he was.,He appeared a few months after the incident at christmas, which started with the death of Commissioner Loeb, and ended with the emergence of a new supervillain, the madman known only as the Joker, and the conclusion that Blackgate was no longer capable of holding the worst of Gotham's criminals. Bruce had just come back from stopping yet another riot at Blackgate, and was treating himself to a cup of coffee, when the doorbell rang. Alfred answered the door to find a ten year old boy who couldn't remember anything exept a flash of light and then waking up in front of Wayne Manor.,The only clues to the boy's identity was a backpack with the name Danny scribbled on it in permant marker, which also contained a bat like costume, Bruce, who had met all kinds of costumed criminals, just assumed that the boy was the son of a copycat, but after scanning the costume with the Batcomputer, Bruce was shocked to learn that the costume was made by a version of himself from the future. Danny was offically adopted by Bruce and turned eleven two days ago. Alfred had thrown him a party down in the Batcave and baked Danny a chocolate cake. Bruce had given Danny a book on martial arts, Dick had given him a video game, and Alfred, aside from the cake, had given Danny a book on stage acting, knowing Danny's gift for mimicry would lead him to become a great actor.,Suddenly, there was a tapping at the window. Crossing his room, Danny opened the window and stood back as an owl entered, a letter tied to it's leg. Danny untied the letter and the owl hooted and flew off into the night. Shutting the window, Danny sat on the edge of his bed and looked at the letter. On the back it had a shield, which was separated into four quarters, each with a different animal, a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake. The words on the bottom said, Draco,Dormiens, Nunquam and Titillandus. Danny opened the envelope and read the letter.,"Dear Mr Wayne, in accordance with your father's request, we are pleased to inform you that you are invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.",Just then Alfred entered. "I'm sorry Master Daniel, I didn't realise you were still awake." He noticed the letter. "Might I enquire as to what that is?","It's a letter telling me I've been invited to attend a magic school, "at my father's request". What exactly does that mean, Alfred?",The butler sat down next to Danny. "A few nights ago, Master Bruce recived a letter from the Deputy Headmisstress, asking if he could come to the school to guard a student who would soon be arriving. When told why he would be guarding the student, Master Bruce told them he would be unavailable, but he would send you in his place.","But I don't have any magic powers." the boy replied.,"No, but your gift for mimicry allows you to copy the powers and abilities of those around you. Being surrounded by so many witches and wizards should enable you to soak up all the magic you will need. I will accompany you to London in the morning so that you will be able to buy everything you will need.",Alfred then left the room and Danny fell asleep dreaming of magic wands and spells.

Chapter 1-Yer Wizards, and Hogwarts!,The Penguins were hanging out in the HQ, minding their own business. Everything was fine. Kowalski wasn't working in the lab. Rico isn't hanging out with his doll girlfriend, Private isn't watching the Lunacorns, and Skipper isn't training the boys. They're all just hanging out.,"If we get to go to Hogwarts one day, how will everyone else react?" Private asked.,"They'll tell us that there is no Hogwarts, because magic and Hogwarts doesn't exist" Kowalski said.,"Kowalski, Kowalski, Kowalski" Rico said.,"If it did exist, then Hagrid would tell us we're wizards by now" Skipper said.,Suddenly, a penguin enters.,"Hello, penguins!" he said.,"Hangrid is a penguin?" Private asked.,"True. I knew so many magic skills to turn into animals" Hagrid replied.,"And what are you going to talk about with us?" Skipper said.,"Yer wizards, penguins" Hagrid replied.,"Wizards?!" The penguins said.,"Yes. Wizards. And yes, Hogwarts does exist" Hagrid said, looking at Kowalski.,"Pack some essentials you'll need, and I'll be at Central Park" he continued.,Hagrid left afterwards.,"Oh boy! We're going to go to Hogwarts!" Private said in happiness.,"Yeah yeah yeah!" Rico said.,"Lets pack our blankets and water bottles" Skipper said.,"Yeah, whatever. I mean, what if it's a trap?!" Kowalski said.,"It's not a trap" Skipper reassured him.,"Whatever" Kowalski said, packing his blankets and water bottles.,Once the Penguins finished packing, they went to Central Park, where Hagrid was waiting.,"How do we get to the train station?" Private asked.,"I'll use my teleportation spell" Hagrid replied.,He did so, and he and the Penguins were immediately at the train station to Hogwarts.,"Whoa…." they said in unison.,They continued walking until a wall blocked them.,"A wall?!" Rico asked.,"Walk through it" Private said.,Rico ran through the wall, making it to the other side. The other penguins followed, along with Hagrid.,"Let's hop on the train" Skipper said.,He and the other Penguins went in the train.,A few hours later, the train finally reached Hogwarts.,"Whoa….it is real!" Kowalski said.,"Ah hah" Rico said.,"Let's hope we're all in the same house" Skipper said.,Hagrid was seen in a boat by the shoreline.,"Guys, hop in" he said.,The penguins hopped in the boat. Hagrid steered the boat over to Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Private was opening a little box to see a little brown frog.,"Hello there, brown frog" Private said, stroking the frog's back.,"That, little guy, is a chocolate frog, made with 70% Croakoa (did I spell that right?)" Hagrid said.,"No wonder. I need to taste it" Private said.,Just then, the frog escaped.,"Darn it!" Private said in disappointment.,Soon, the boat reached Hogwarts. The Penguins entered through one door. They saw a huge room with many tables and chairs, with a chair that's alone facing the tables. Hagrid turned back into a human and went behind the chair. There were people sitting in tables, ranging from ages 8 to 19. The Penguins sat in four empty chairs.,"Hey! Penguins can't do magic!" a boy aged 10 said.,"Yes they can!" a girl aged 9 said.,Every one argued on whatever Penguins can do magic or not. The Penguins sat still, looking at Hagrid. Hagrid was now holding a brown hat with both hands.,"That hat has a face. Did you guys know that?" Kowalski whispered to the rest of the penguins.,"You don't have to whisper. We're all new students here at Hogwarts" a boy aged 15 said.,"Everyone, meet the Sorting Hat. He'll choose houses for you in this room" Hagrid said.,"I'll get a list. I want to know your names in alphabetical order, and we'll do the list in alphabetical order….expect for the Penguins. They'll be first on my visit. Penguins, what are your names?" Hagrid asked.,"Kowalski" Kowalski replied.,"Private" Private replied.,"Rico" Rico replied.,"Skipper" Skipper said.,"Alright, so….Kowalski, you're up first" Hagrid said.,Kowalski got up from his seat. He walked over to the chair. He sat down on it. Hagrid used a shrinking spell to make the hat smaller so that it would fit Kowalski. Hagrid then put the hat on him. The Sorting Hat began to speak.,"Kowalski, is it?" The Sorting Hat said.,Kowalski nodded.,"Hmm….let me think about which house you belong in" The Sorting Hat said.,Kowalski sat there, everyone looking at him.,"Hmm….you have a lot of wit….you like to learn...and you have a lot of wisdom here, I see. I believe I have the perfect house for you" The Sorting Hat said.,"I hope I don't get Slytherin" Kowalski whispered to himself.,"Kowalski, you belong to the Ravenclaw house" The Sorting Hat said.,Hagrid took the hat off and Kowalski sat back down.,"Private, you're up" Hagrid said.,Private ran over to the chair, sitting down.,"I can't wait to know which house I belong in!" Private said.,Hagrid put the hat on Private. Private smiled.,"Private, is it? You seem really excited" The Sorting Hat said.,"I am excited!" Private said.,"Let me think" The Sorting Hat said.,Excited, Private stood still in the chair, not moving an inch.,"You value hard work, I see. I see you also have dedicance, patience, loyalty, and fair play….I say you belong in the Hufflepuff house" The Sorting Hat said.,"Woo!" Private said.,Hagrid took the hat off, and Private ran over to his seat.,"Rico" Hagrid said.,Rico sat down at the chair. Hagrid put the hat on him.,"Rico, is it?" The Sorting Hat said.,"Ah hah" Rico said.,"Hmm….you're resourceful…..ambitious…..I see those traits in you….hmm….how about Slytherin for you?" The Sorting Hat said.,"Nope. Not Slytherin" Rico said.,"How about Gryffindor instead?" The Sorting Hat asked.,"Yeah yeah yeah!" Rico replied.,After the hat was taken off, Rico went back to his seat, and Skipper went to sit down in the chair. Hagrid put the hat on him.,"So you're Skipper?" The Sorting Hat asked.,"Yes" Skipper said.,"Hmmm….you're a tough one….hmm…..a lot of courage, I see….a lot of chilvary…..and a lot of determination. You, Skipper, you lucky fellow, belong in Gryffindor" The Sorting Hat said.,"Huh?" the whole room said.,"This penguin, Skipper, is the first flat-headed penguin student of the Gryffindor house. Flat-headed penguins usually get Slytherin, but Skipper is a lucky fellow here" The Sorting Hat said.,Skipper smiled and everyone cheered. After the hat was taken off, he sat back down.,"You're lucky, Skippah!" Private said.,"I know, right?! It's so awesome!" Skipper said.,After the sorting ceremony and welcoming feast was over, the Penguins, along with fellow students, went to their new houses. Skipper and Rico felt proud that they were going to be together in the same house, but Kowalski and Private aren't as lucky. One day, the Penguins will come together, but Skipper and Rico will both have to fight against Kowalski and Private in tournaments.,"I can't believe it! We're in Hogwarts!" Skipper said to Rico.,"Yeah yeah yeah!" Rico said.,The duo enters the house.,"It's huge!" Skipper said.,"Ah hah" Rico said.,"You know, if you did get Slytherin, then that would make sort of sense" Skipper said to Rico.,"Ey!" Rico yelled in anger.,"What?! I was just trying to be funny!" Skipper said.,Rico and Skipper laughed.,"It's a good thing you didn't get Slytherin! I heard the people there use dark magic!" Skipper said.,"Ah hah" Rico said.,When Skipper and Rico hopped on the stairs, the stairs started moving on their own.,"How in the world of Hogwarts do stairs move on their own?!" Skipper asked, surprised.,"It's not just us who uses magic in Hogwarts. Hogwarts uses it's own magic, too! It stairs move on their own, it's candles float on their own! It's because of magic!" a girl aged 12 replied.,"Have you been in Hogwarts before, because I don't know how managed to know this information, or how you managed to understand me, a flat-headed penguin, in Hogwarts" Skipper said, confused.,"This is my 4th year here. I can do a lot of cool spells now, like the spell to communicate with animals! As for me understanding you, that's because of the magic here causing you and the other Penguin students at Hogwarts to speak English" the girl replied.,"Oh. I see. Well, this is my first year here. Rico's, too" Skipper said.,"Yup" Rico said.,"I'm Katherine. What are your names?" the girl said.,"I'm Skipper" Skipper said.,"It's so nice to meet you" Katherine said.,"So you're not new in Hogwarts?" Skipper asked Katherine.,"Nope. I am new to this house, though. I've been a Hufflepuff for a while, and then Hagrid realized I was put into the wrong house, so he put me in Gryffindor this year" Katherine replied.,Skipper giggled.,"Never thought the Sorting Hat can put Hogwarts students in the wrong house" Skipper said.,"The Sorting Hat rarely puts students in the wrong house. But when it does, Hagrid realizes it within a year or two" Katherine said.,"Oh! I'm Rico" Rico said.,"Hey, Rico!" Katherine said.,"Where'd you originally come from?" Skipper asked Katherine.,"Wales" Katherine replied.,"Rico and I came from New York City" Skipper said.,"New York! I love hearing about that place! I want to visit that city one day!" Katherine said, feeling happy.,"I love New York. At first, I didn't like it that much, but over time, I started to like it. Another one of my penguin friends, Kowalski, didn't believe in magic or Hogwarts until today" Skipper said.,"Oh. Kowalski! I've heard many rumours about him once him, you, Rico, and a penguin named Private got sorted into houses. One rumour I know is from a 17 year old boy who says that Kowalski should've been put in Slytherin. Weird boy. Kowalski belongs in Ravenclaw, which is the house he's been chosen to stay in" Katherine said.,"Never believe in rumours, even if they sound true" Skipper said to Katherine.,"Yeah. I never believe in rumours. They're always fake" Katherine said.,"Yes" Skipper said.,"Hey, your first class is tomorrow, isn't it?" Katherine asked Skipper.,"No. Tomorrow's Saturday, which is the weekend. First class is on Monday" Skipper replied.,"I totally forgot it was almost the weekend! Oops!" Katherine said, giggling.,Skipper giggled along with her.,"Where do students stay in Hogwarts?" Skipper asked Katherine.,"Dormitaries. 5 students each sleep in a dormitary" Katherine said.,"I see" Skipper said.,Rico babbled and grunted a lot.,"Rico's trying to say that he's really excited about sharing a room with me" Skipper said.,"Each student stays in Hogwarts for 7 years" Katherine said, "10 new students for each house, 40 students total in one year, 280 students total in Hogwarts" Katherine said.,"I know. I saw only 40 students at the tables during the welcoming feast" Skipper said.,Suddenly, a beam of magic that came out from the window dashes towards Skipper. Soon, the magic hits Skipper on his forehead, causing him to pass out.,"'Kipper!" Rico screamed.,Rico picked up the unconscious Skipper. He brought him to the Gryffindor Boy's Dormitary.,(3 hours later),Skipper woke up, his forehead hurting.,"Ugh…..my forehead" Skipper complained, putting his flipper on his forehead.,Suddenly, he gasps when his flipper felt a scar on his forehead.,"Does anyone have a mirror here?" Skipper asked.,"I do" a boy aged 9 said.,The boy gave Skipper a mirror. Skipper looked at his reflection. He gasped when he saw a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.,"A lightning shaped scar?!" Skipper screamed, surprised.,Suddenly, Skipper woke up again.,"So….." Skipper said, feeling his forehead.,There was no scar on his forehead. Suddenly, Skipper felt his head hurt.,"Ugh! My head! It hurts!" Skipper complained.,Skipper put his flippers on his temples. He couldn't take in the pain anymore. He put his head on the pillow on his poster bed. He groaned. He soon felt Rico's flipper pat his back.,"There there" Rico said.,Skipper took his head out of his pillow.,"What happened?" Skipper asked.,"Magic hit your head" Rico replied.,"Ouch" Skipper said.,"So…..Skipper, are you excited about your first class on Monday?" a 9-year old boy asked Skipper.,The boy looked familiar. Skipper gasped. It looked like the same 9-year old boy from his dream!,"Yes I am" Skipper replied, still freaked out.,Skipper looked around in the room, then looked at a clock on the wall.,"We should hit the hay. It's 10 in the nighttime!" Skipper said.,"I can sleep whenever I want!" a 17-year-old boy yelled.,"Teens nowadays" Skipper muttered under his breath.,Skipper went to sleep. He actually liked how quiet it is in Hogwarts. Back in the zoo, Skipper had trouble going to sleep due to the lemurs partying all night every night. Now Skipper was in a lemur-free environment. Skipper loved this quiet. He smiled in his sleep, happy to sleep in a comfortable mattress and comfortable blankets and a pillow instead of concrete bunks. He hopes the first class on Monday goes well for him and the other Penguins.

Author's Note: Please note that I follow Harry Potter book canon almost exclusively, with only minor forays into the movies, Pottermore, and fanon tropes. This story takes place in what would have been Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, equivalent to season five of , and, like the previous story in this series, assumes technology concurrent with season five.,As always, all rights in this work are hereby given to the copyright owners of , and ,.,Hermione Granger's fourth year at Hogwarts was turning out to be only somewhat less dull than her third year. First year, of course, had seen a troll, a Cerberus, and a professor possessed by the spirit of Voldemort. Harry Potter had returned to the wizarding world that year, and just as abruptly left it again, though this time at least it was with people who cared for him and would give him a real home.,Second year had seen a student also possessed by the spirit of Voldemort. Thankfully, Ginny Weasley had managed to break free of her possession long enough to report to Madam Pomfrey and the professors had taken over from there, destroying the diary that had been the conduit for Voldemort's spirit.,Third year had been surprisingly uneventful, at least as far as Hermione was concerned. Draco Malfoy had had a brief run-in with a hippogriff, but nothing much had come of that.,Now, fourth year brought the return of something called the Triwizard Tournament. Hermione supposed that was exciting enough, at least for those students who would be selected to represent their schools in what sounded like a magical version of the Roman gladiatorial combats, only more dangerous.,For her, though, and likely for the other students, the tournament meant that she'd have to watch the three tasks set before the school champions, but not much else would change.,Ron Weasley, of course, lamented the loss of the Quidditch games - loudly and often. Hermione felt sorry for the seventh-year Quidditch players who wanted to try out to play professionally and now wouldn't have the opportunity to showcase their skill before they graduated, but otherwise didn't care. Quidditch lost whatever little appeal it had had for her when Harry Potter left Hogwarts and therefore wasn't playing for Gryffindor anymore.,The delegations from the other two schools competing in the tournament - Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic - arrived yesterday. Last night, the Goblet of Fire appeared in the Great Hall, and those students who wanted to compete were invited to put their names in the goblet for consideration.,Headmaster Dumbledore had put an Age Line around the goblet, so that only students of age would be considered. Naturally, Hermione thought, Fred and George Weasley - along with a few others - tried to get past the Age Line by using an aging potion, but they had been rebuffed rather forcefully. As though the headmaster hadn't thought of that. Hermione could only shake her head at their naive enthusiasm.,Now, at the Halloween Feast, the Goblet would select the competitors. Hermione tried to look like she was interested as Ron prattled on beside her.,"Be cool to enter, wouldn't it," he said between mouthfuls of food. "A thousand galleons prize money! Too bad Fred and George couldn't figure out how to get past the Age Line. I might've gone for it, myself.",Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud at that. Ron hadn't applied himself in any of his classes, ever, so for him to think he had a chance in a contest that measured magical ability, intelligence, and courage… well. Hermione knew Ron had a ton of courage - not just because he was sorted into Gryffindor - but she'd never seen him display enough magical ability or intelligence to believe he'd have a chance in the tournament even if he was selected.,Finally, the plates cleared and Dumbledore stood. The room fell almost eerily quiet as he surveyed the assembled students.,"The Goblet is almost ready to make its selections," he said. "When each champion's name is called, please go into the antechamber -" he gestured to the door behind the staff table - "to receive your first instructions.",With that, he drew his wand and made a sweeping gesture with it. All the candles in the room, except those inside the carved pumpkins, went out, leaving the glowing Goblet of Fire the brightest thing in the now semi-darkened room.,The blue-white flames inside the Goblet suddenly flared red. Sparks flew from it, then a tongue of flame leapt up, resolving into a piece of parchment. Most of the students gasped.,, Hermione thought. ,Dumbledore caught the parchment and held it at arm's length so that he could read it by the light of the Goblet's flames, which had faded to blue-white once again.,"The champion for Durmstrang," Dumbledore announced, "will be Viktor Krum.","No surprise there!" Ron yelled.,Hermione winced at the volume, not just of Ron's yell but the cheering from the other students. Krum might already be a professional Quidditch player, but that was no reason to fawn all over him. She applauded politely as Krum rose from the Slytherin table to slouch toward Dumbledore and past him into the antechamber.,The hall fell quiet again, and once again the Goblet's flames burned red. Again a piece of parchment flew from it.,"The champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore announced, "will be Fleur Delacour.",Hermione looked toward the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons students sat as well and swallowed back a groan when she recognized the student who rose to cross the hall and join Viktor Krum.,As if Ron's Quidditch crush being selected wasn't enough, now his veela crush had been, too. He was going to be insufferable - if only because he wouldn't know who to root for.,The Goblet's flames burned red a third time, and a third piece of parchment flew from it.,"The champion for Hogwarts," Dumbledore read, giving it the same inflection he had for the first two champions, "will be Cedric Diggory.","No!" Ron said loudly, but Hermione doubted anyone but she heard him over the ruckus that erupted from the Hufflepuff table. She clapped harder and longer for Cedric than she had the other two - school pride counted for something, after all - as he went to the antechamber with the other champions.,"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real -",He stopped speaking suddenly, and the reason was obvious, not just to Hermione, but to everyone in the room.,The Goblet's flames burned red a , time, and a , piece of parchment spat from it.,Dumbledore caught it, turned it so that he could read the name on it, and then just stared at it. While he stared at the parchment, the other students stared at him. Finally, he cleared his throat and read -,",.",This time, there was no applause, no cheering, just a low buzz of confusion. Hermione turned to Ron, intending to ask what he thought could have happened, but Ron's expression made her keep silent.,Ron's face had turned a dark purplish red, and he was scowling - though whether at the Goblet or the parchment Dumbledore still held, Hermione wasn't certain.,"Potter gets ,," Ron snarled, and Hermione flinched from the venom in his tone. But he hadn't been talking to her directly, so she turned away from him and pretended she hadn't heard.,At the staff table, Professor McGonagall was whispering madly to the headmaster, and the headmasters of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, as well as the other organizers of the tournament gathered there, appeared to be completely flummoxed.,It wasn't long before Dumbledore dismissed the students, and Hermione hurried back to her room, retrieved her mobile phone from her trunk, and then to the top of the Astronomy Tower.,The mobile phone was strictly for emergencies, according to her parents, and even if she wasn't sure they'd agree tonight's events were strictly an ,, Harry deserved to hear about it from a friend before he heard about it from anyone else.,A quick Time Charm told her that it was nearly eight p.m. - which meant it would be noon in California where Harry was, and Hermione frowned. Noon on a Monday was right in the middle of Harry's school day, and his school didn't allow mobile phones in class.,Still, there were other people she could call.,G Callen usually enjoyed stakeouts. He and his partner, Sam Hanna, had worked together long enough that they'd gotten comfortable with each other's quirks and could talk or not, as they chose.,Today, though - today Sam had brought along a Hebrew version of Scrabble - Hebrew being one of two languages they had in common besides English. G didn't bother asking where he'd gotten it, just settled in to play. Five rounds in, though, he noticed a pattern.,"Everything okay at home? Kids doing all right in school?","Sure," Sam replied without looking up from his tiles. "Why?","Because your last three words were ,, stupid, ,, idiot, and ,, someone who makes mischief.","So? Those were the tiles I got.",Before G could pursue that question, his cell phone rang. He passed the board to Sam and dug the phone from his pocket. It displayed an international number - the U.K., if he remembered the country code correctly. Which meant it was probably one of Harry's friends, though he thought he had all of their numbers in his contacts.,With a frown, he answered. "Callen.","Mr. Callen?" It was a female voice, definitely English accent. "It's Hermione Granger.",And why didn't he have her number as a contact? Had she gotten a new phone? That answer could wait until he found out, "Something wrong across the Pond?","It's about Harry - or rather, what someone's done to Harry.",G straightened in his seat at the mention of his ward's name. "Explain.","Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard Tournament," Hermione said. "Three schools competing, one champion selected for each school. Only a fourth name came out of the Goblet - Harry's.",As always, G appreciated brevity, but one detail demanded explanation. "Goblet?","The Goblet of Fire. Students who wanted to compete were given twenty-four hours to enter, then the Goblet made the final selections." She paused. "And unless Harry's in Scotland without telling me ….","Someone entered ,him," G concluded grimly.,"I'm sure the headmaster, or maybe Professor McGonagall, will get in touch, but I thought you should hear from a friend first." She paused again. "Whoever put Harry's name in ….","Doesn't have motives as pure as the driven snow," G finished. "Right. Thanks for the heads up. I'm sure we'll see you sooner than summer vacation.",G ended the call and looked up to meet Sam's questioning look. He relayed what Hermione had told him, and Sam's expression darkened.,"I read about the Triwizard Tournament," Sam said. "They stopped holding them two hundred years ago. The body count got too high.",Which, G reflected with dark humor, was not the way to convince him to allow Harry to compete, even if he wanted to.,"We'll get Kensi and Deeks to take over here," G said. "I have to tell Harry, and then probably head back to Scotland.","Not without Nell.","Or Hetty." G agreed. Nell Jones, his girlfriend and co-guardian of Harry Potter, would not be pleased with this news. Neither would Harry's godmother, Hetty Lange.,"Go," Sam said. "I can keep up surveillance until Kensi and Deeks get here. Just keep me in the loop.","Thanks, partner." With a moment's focus, G apparated away.

This is just a dumb little thing that flitted through my head the other day, and since I don't usually write HP stories that , about Harry, and I was certain it wouldn't stretch beyond a small one-shot (because while I may enjoy MAG I have basically no idea what's going on most of the time) I decided to push on and see it through, because why not?,The Magnus Institute was only one of dozens of places, from multiple career paths, that Hermione had sent resumes and job applications to. It had been, at the same time, the place she thought would most benefit from her skill-set, and one of the places she least expected to hear back from.,When she'd gotten fed up with working for the Ministry, and fed up of their technologically backwards and still startlingly stagnant society, her parents had welcomed her back to the muggle world with open arms. Unsure if it was just a vacation to get her head on straight, or something more permanent, they'd been happy to let her freeload off of them at home – they hadn't seen much of each other since she rescued them from Australia and gave them their memories back – but Hermione hadn't been satisfied with that. Getting a job was the least she should do – she was in her thirties damn it – lest she start to stagnate herself.,And so her job-hunt had, somewhat surprisingly, led her to an interview at the oft whispered about – and even more often disdained – Magnus Institute.,Being an archival assistant was certainly one of the more interesting positions she'd applied for – she'd even gone so far as to apply at supermarkets and malls, for at the moment any job would've done – but she had to admit she'd heard a lot of conflicting chatter about the Institute.,Of course, at first she simply hadn't – heard anything, that is. She'd had no idea it even existed. People didn't tend to talk about it unless they'd been involved with it somehow, even just tangentially, so until Hermione overhead someone muttering about it she'd been blissfully unaware. But that one whisper had caught her attention, piqued her interest, and so she sought it out herself.,Now she was here, at the Institute itself, Hermione felt a little… uncertain.,There was nothing off-putting about the building or the area, and she couldn't feel any hints of magical power, but it was like the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end.,But, she told herself, she was a grown woman, a fully capable witch, and also well-versed in physical self-defence, so if the tickle turned out to be something more sinister than nerves she was well able to protect herself.,So, determined, she continued on inside.,Hermione's interview, it turned out, was with the head of the Institute himself.,"This is just a formality," he said, after they exchanged pleasantries and Hermione had seated herself. "I think you'll fit in quite nicely here.","Thank you?",Hermione wasn't quite sure what to do with that. This was her first personal contact with the Institute – she hadn't even spoken to anyone over the phone, it had all been email up to this point – so how could he be so certain? She hadn't even thought there were any current job openings; she'd only applied out of curiosity.,"I'm sure working in the archives will be a step down – or at the very least a broad leap sideways – from your previous work, but I think your personal experiences will be a fascinating addition to our team.",Let it never be said that Hermione Granger was unintelligent.,To most people, her resume would be vague and confusing. Although she'd obtained her high school credentials after the war, she'd never as much as been , in a high school, and her previous work experience stated only a non-functional – but technically existing – sector of the British Government that could be used in the muggle world to talk about work done for the Ministry of Magic. Only people given clearance to use the code knew what it really meant.,That he was implying he knew anything at all about her background was more than a little alarming.,"Mr Bouchard?",Elias simply smiled indulgently at her across the desk, and Hermione suddenly had the unsettling feeling that even if there was , Elias Bouchard could be authorised to have access to the knowledge, he knew exactly what the stupid government code on her resume truly represented.,"You start work on Monday," Elias said, jovially but with a surprising note of finality, as he slid her resume into a manila folder and set it aside.,Hermione could have protested, could have stormed out the door and never returned, but now she was even , curious.,What did he know? , did he know it? What did he think she would learn here, or that he would learn from her?,She could have said no, but her thirst for knowledge, for understanding, meant that come Monday morning she found herself once more stepping into the Institute, this time with a job.,Barely three weeks after starting her new job at the Institute a man had been found dead in the archives, and the Head Archivist had vanished, wanted – potentially – for his murder.,Having heard mutterings about Gertrude during those three weeks, and having looked into it herself, Hermione found herself asking Elias, almost against her better judgment, if the mortality rate at the Institute was usually so high.,Elias simply smiled at her, that same unsettling, knowing smile from her interview.,It was only then, between Martin and Tim's arguments, and the general doom and gloom of the archives in the aftermath, that Hermione began to feel like perhaps she'd finally made a mistake that she couldn't turn back from.

"I'm not dead yet. I think I'll take that back." Rain said to her secret girlfriend of over a year, who had a gun pointed to her head in case the black haired Latina turned into one of the mindless zombies that were infesting the HIVE.,"I could kiss you, you bitch." Alice said laughing slightly as she put a relieved hand on Rain's cheek, causing the Latina to smirk at her.,"I ain't gonna stop you if you do, you know that by now." Rain said causing Alice to laugh again and give Rain a soft kiss on the lips just as the roof was torn open and Kapling was dragged out by a Licker.,"SHIT!" Alice and Matt shouted as they tackled Rain out of the way of the Lickers long tongue, neither of them notice their Latina friend glow blue briefly before the three of them suddenly found themselves in the middle of a large Hall in what appeared to be a castle.,"The fuck? Did I get drunk and imagine the whole thing?" Those were the first words out of Rain's mouth when she got a look at her surroundings, causing Alice to snort slightly behind one hand as she helped the Latina woman to stand slightly.,"I doubt all three of us imagined the same thing, let alone something like what we just witnessed." Alice replied quietly causing Rain to shrug slightly and wince as it stretched some of her injuries.,"You okay babe?" Alice asked just as quietly before as she saw her girlfriends wince while everyone else in the hall seemed to be getting over their sudden appearance, if the rather plump woman running to check on them was any indication.,"I think I'll live. I still maintain what I said earlier." Rain said as the woman used a stick of all things to look over Matt.,"If you turn, shoot you?" Alice asked raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend who gave a short harsh bark of laughter.,"That too. What I meant was that I'm getting laid after all that bullshit." Rain said causing Alice to snicker slightly in agreement, she could help with that easily.,"Language young lady." An old man that seemed to be colorblind if his dress was anything to go by, chastised her causing her to flip him off rather weakly.,"Blow me." Rain said rather deadpanned and startling a snort out of most of the Halls in occupants while Alice and Matt laughed.,"Yep. Rain is gonna be just fine." Matt said laughing and causing Alice to nod slightly in agreement as the plump lady began to check her over with the stick.,"Dear Merlin. What happened to you three?" The plump woman asked pale as she began to look over Rain who merely snorted derisively at this.,"Trust us lady. You don't wanna know." Rain said as the cure took care of the last of the infection that resided in her body, the woman using what the Latina woman recognized as a healing spell speeding the process along.,"I'll need to give you some potions in order to take care of your less dangerous wounds like the bite mark on your hand but for that bite mark on your neck I'll have to heal now." The woman said shaking her head in disbelief while Rain and Alice, and heck even Matt, looked at her like she was insane.,"Lady we just came from what can be safely classified as Hell in a War and you think I'm just gonna take some weird liquid from you when I don't even know your name, let along certifications?" Rain asked raising an eyebrow even though she was thankful for the woman healing the large wound in her neck caused by her zombiefied former squad partner.,"Poppy Pomfrey, St. Mungos highest graduated healer currently in active service, has served in two wars as both medic and combatant, under oath to heal any friendlies I can, save as many lives as possible, and in general protect my charges. I brew all of the potions I use to make sure no illegal tampering is done to them by any outside forces. Now drink." Pomfrey reeled off easily and as if she had done this before as she pressed a vile full of a strange purple-green liquid into Rain's free hand.,"…The Poppy Pomfrey that American Healers swear is a goddess in the art of medicine? The one who wrote the standard issue healing text for all field medics and medics in general that have a single ounce of magic in their bodies? , Poppy Pomfrey?" Rain asked after remembering what her teams field medic, Olga, used to say in praise of the woman.,"I wasn't aware the Americans thought so highly of me." Pomfrey said sounding rather flattered at what Rain had said and causing the Latina woman to snicker.,"Think highly? Lady my teams field medic, Olga, practically had an altar of you she worshiped before going out on an assignment! If she was here right now she'd probably be squealing like a high-school freshman that was asked out by the senior football star." Rain said laughing harder as Alice let her stand on her own two feet and Rain popped the top off of the vile easily while Pomfrey looked flattered at this and curious.,"Damn that's some nasty shit! Not worse than the potions J.D. would try and make but shit!" Rain said almost spitting the potion out at the horrible taste it left in her mouth.,"Fuck. Reminds me of the time J.D. had managed to talk Captain into helping him play a prank that left the two of them cooking all the teams meals for a month. Even now that mess those two made almost tasted better than this." Rain said scowling at the empty vile in her hands and desperately looking around for something to wash her mouth out with, causing Alice and Matt to snicker at her plight.,"Terribly sorry dear but that particular potion is rendered useless if sugar is added. Here use this to wash it down." Pomfrey said in sympathy as she handed the Latina a chocolate frog, the black haired woman quickly snatching it up and biting the head clean off.,"Thanks. That was some nasty shit." Rain said swallowing down the rest of the chocolate frog while the colorblind man and several other adults were scowling at her for her repeated use of curse words.,"Young lady! Please watch your mouth! There are innocent children around." The colorblind old fool chastised again causing Rain to sneer at him, looking quite a bit like the greasy haired guy in a black dress.,"Go blow yourself, cross-dressing colorblind old fool." Rain said without skipping three heartbeats and causing her two companions to snicker even harder, as well as quite a few of the rather foreign people.,"Yep. Rain is back to normal alright." Alice said smirking at the look of shock and outrage on the adults faces at Rain's words while the Latina merely flipped them all off again.,"Where are these teammates of yours if I may ask Ms. Rain? If they are as injured as you were then they need medical attention immediately!" Pomfrey asked realizing that the girl spoke of her teammates but there was no one else that had come with them.,"They're all dead. Olga got decapitated by a laser in that hell, Drew died a few seconds later of shock when his fingers were lasered off, Alfonso was cut cleanly in half like a hamburger bun by the same laser, Captain was diced up by a laser net, J.D. was caught by the enemies and eaten alive, Kapling was killed by one of the freakier things down there, what's the name of that ugly sonuva bitch again?" Rain asked the other two curiously and causing Alice to sigh, same old Rain as usual.,"It's called a Licker, Rain, you know for that lethal and long tongue it has?" Alice asked more than said causing many others to wonder where exactly they had just come from.,"Yeah that sonuva bitch grabbed Kapling and threw him out the train so he's gone, the stupid bastard that started the whole mess was killed by that damn Licker too so he's dead, good riddance to him I say. The three of us are all that's left and those two weren't even on the team." Rain explained trying not to let her sadness at having her teammates all killed when she could do nothing to save them show.,"Dear Merlin. What kind of assignment was your team on?" Pomfrey asked pale at how casually the Latina woman was talking about her teammates deaths.,"An assignment that sent us straight into the depths of Hell while it was a Warzone." Rain said with a derisive snort while Matt and Alice nodded, what they had escaped from could actually be considered Hell in a warzone.,"The name is Rain by the way, Rain Ocampo. This is Matt Anderson and Alice Abernathy." Rain said introducing herself and her two companions to the whole Hall at once.

Sorry about the wait, but at long last, we're embarking on the long-awaited sequel to one of my most popular works, , To give you an idea of how popular it is, as of the time of writing, it ranks fourth on the amount of views of my fics overall (and second only to , for my Harry Potter crossovers), ranks second overall (and first amongst my Harry Potter crossovers) for C2s, and is, to date, my only fic outside the Cetra Heritage Saga to be recommended on TV Tropes.,I've dilly-dallied for long enough in bringing the sequel out, though. And here it is. Hope you enjoy.,Anyway, time for my disclaimers. Firstly, as with all my fanfics, there will be heavy annotations.,Secondly, there will be spoilers for both , and the Harry Potter series. You have been warned, don't come crying to me.,Finally, the following is a fan-written work. , and Harry Potter are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, Wheatley will do something stupid that you'll both regret…

The shadow that appeared out of the night went almost unnoticed as it approached the miserable, windswept island, hidden by magic and shifting seas. The craft's engines were whisper-soft, the sound of the blades blending into the roar and crash of the ocean against the isle's rocky coast. The Aurors on duty never even looked up as the black and white shape ghosted over the prison's roof. A low, wolfish rumble was the only sound it made as it hovered in place.,Anderson fumbled with the helicopter's door, but managed to pull it open with a soft , from the door seal. Loki followed him into the black craft's interior and their rescuer brought up the rear. The rescuer exchanged a solemn nod with the pilot, then the pilot pulled back on the controls, lifting the helicopter off the ground. The co-pilot tapped the controls to raise the landing gear, then the black 'copter turned away from the prison and flew away, vanishing into the sunrise without a single spell impacting its metal skin.,Holleran rose, pulling the transcript clear of its binder; both men sucked in a shocked breath when the commander opened it to see pages and pages of blank white paper. Holleran looked up at Simmons, pale and furious. "What the , is going on, Auror Simmons?","One case of missing explosives," Commander Holleran reported, "Four cases of missing ammunition as well as some climbing gear. None of the hot calls in the past month required explosive entry of any kind and training isn't enough to explain the quantity of missing ammo or the climbing gear.",Giles whirled, right into a gunshot. The man stepped forward, sneering as the Auror slammed down on the ground, the file in his hands spilling to cover the floor around him. The shooter angled his gun at the fallen Auror, but Onasi didn't move as blood soaked his chest and robes.,Alanna blinked back tears and hugged him fiercely; Greg savored her warmth. "Love you, Uncle Greg.","And I love you, too, ,," Greg whispered back as his nephew joined his sister. "I have to go now," he admitted when the Aurors behind him started shifting unhappily. "See you soon.",Moffet considered a moment, tilting his head to the side. "Phase one is complete," he purred, pushing the helicopter's controls forward. "Phase two…is just beginning…",Alanna sniffled as she ducked out of sight. In an empty room, she forced her tears down and locked her most determined expression in place. She , to believe that Uncle Sam had shot Auror Onasi. It wasn't ,, but the only one who could say , for sure was Auror Onasi, which meant they needed him ,.,Cautiously, Alanna peeked out of her hiding place and watched as the Healers congregated outside of the room where Auror Onasi was. She bit her lip, forcing a scream of impatience down. It seemed to take ,, but the Healers finally left, giving her an opening. She skittered across the hallway, pushed the door open, and ducked inside before anyone could see her. Inside, she panted a moment, catching her breath.,Red light played on the inside of the door and she turned, her eyes widening in utter shock at the sight of Roy Lane, still and stiff as a board on one of the hospital beds. He wasn't breathing and Alanna swallowed nervously at the way his eyes seemed to be staring right at her. Stubbornly, she turned in the other direction to see Auror Onasi, lying on the other bed. She hurried to his side, examining him as much as she could.,"Wake up," she hissed as softly as she could, shaking him. It didn't work and she forced herself to stop, step back, and look more closely at him. His breathing was shallow and starting to rasp, his color was pale and grayish, and when she pried one lid up, his pupil didn't react to the small light she conjured.,"Well?",Alanna yelped, jumping and whirling in one motion to come face-to-face with her amused brother, who stood smirking at her with his arms crossed. "Don't , that," she scolded.,Lance rolled his eyes. "C'mon, sis, as if you were going anywhere , when you snuck outta bed." Stepping forward, he asked again, "Well?",The redhead bit her lip. "He's in bad shape," she replied, ducking her head. "I…I think he's dying.",Her brother nodded thoughtfully, as though he'd already known what she would say. "Can you heal him?",Alanna clenched her fists. "I have to, for Uncle Greg and the rest of them. He's the only one who knows what really happened, who really shot him." She looked over Lance's shoulder and shuddered. "What about Roy?",Lance followed her gaze, but he didn't shudder at all; instead, his expression turned sad. "Uncle Greg should've let us come here," he remarked flatly. Alanna's expression turned confused and her brother quietly shook his head. "We could've fixed , a lot easily before now, but I think I can still help him. Not here, though…it would make too much noise.","Copy," Alanna whispered, turning back to Giles. "Go big, you think?","If you think he might be right on the edge, yeah, sis," Lance confirmed, stepping back.,Alanna reached out, resting one hand on Giles' chest, right over his heart, and bringing the other to hover right over the bullet wound. ",," she intoned firmly, letting her magic swell and burn in her eyes.,Violet light flowed out of her hands and into the patient, rapidly sinking in. Alanna's forehead wrinkled as a strange shadow fought her magic, attempting to complete its deadly task. "No," she growled, fighting back. Her magic murmured and Alanna summoned up her Animagus talents. Tears formed in eyes that blazed with her magic. Lance's hands pulled away the sheet as she leaned forward, tilting her head to the side. Two tears dripped into the wound, which glowed an instant, then began to close over.,Onasi's breathing eased as the violet magic fought the shadowy magic, ripping it to shreds as it also burned out another attempt on the Auror's life; Alanna jerked at the sharp sting against her power, but held firm. When it was done, Alanna was sweating and shaking; her brother supported her as she crashed to the floor.,He knelt beside her anxiously, but she waved him off. "I'm okay, it just took a lot out of me," she told him, before frowning. "Lance?","Sis?","What is ,?" Alanna asked, pointing to a shiny , under Auror Onasi's bed.,Lance craned his head to look under the bed, then frowned himself and whispered a quick summoning spell. The object flew to them, but neither touched it as it hovered before them. "A syringe? In St. Mungo's?" Lance questioned. " 'Lanna, see if you can find a bag or something.",Alanna nodded, pushing herself upright. She grabbed the edge of the bed as her legs wobbled, then walked slowly to a nearby table stacked with supplies. The teen poked around the medical supplies for a few moments, then came back with a small bag that she and Lance carefully maneuvered the syringe into without touching it. As they finished, there was a soft groan from the bed.,Lance finished with the syringe as Alanna stumbled to the bed and covered the Auror's mouth. "Don't yell," she hissed in his ear. "It's me 'n' Lance.",After a second, she pulled her hand back. "What are you two doing here?" Auror Onasi demanded, though his voice was just as soft as hers. He peered over her. "St. Mungo's? Are you two nuts?","They arrested Team One tonight," Lance announced solemnly. "One of the charges was , attempted murder.","What?" Auror Onasi jolted upright, then gasped and clutched his ribs.,"It might take another minute for the pain to go away," Alanna informed him, a wan, tired smile peeking out.,"Noticed that, thanks," Auror Onasi rasped out, blinking as Lance handed the makeshift evidence bag to Alanna, then trekked over to Roy. "You can't touch him," the Auror remarked, "No one can.","Really," Lance drawled, pausing by Roy and looking back. "Is that so?" Smirking, he reached out and poked Roy's shoulder, doing his best to hide the faint flicker of gold behind his fingers, gold that whispered , to the scarlet. The magic flexed, allowing the touch with a sense of near amusement that felt faintly of his uncle.,"How?" Auror Onasi breathed in shock.,"Tell you later," Lance promised, gold swirling around him as he reached out again. The Auror's jaw dropped as Roy's form relaxed for the first time in almost five weeks, slumping bonelessly down on the bed, though his eyes and face were still frozen and staring, scarlet magic still swirling around him. "You can touch him now," Lance announced, though he still kept his voice down. "You can even move him, which is what we need to do. Now.","Now?",Both teens nodded. Alanna looked up at the Auror. "Whoever's really doing this, you're a threat to them.",Auror Onasi grimaced and stumbled out of bed, gasping as the cold air hit his skin. "I'm not going far in these," he observed, plucking morosely at the hospital garb.,Alanna studied the garment, grimacing in agreement. Holding out her hand, she incanted, ",(1).",The thin fabric twisted and flexed, rapidly changing form to a basic Healer's robe. Lance glanced down, offered a grimace of his own, then moved to Roy's feet, cautiously working his magic against the scarlet light around Roy enough to pry Roy's boots and socks off. He brought them over to Auror Onasi, who made a face, but nodded and tugged the socks and boots on. They were a bit too tight, but when Alanna lifted her hands again, Auror Onasi waved her off.,"It's good; I can manage," he reassured the girl, standing up again. He swallowed hard, then walked to Roy's bed and reached out to touch his partner for the first time in well over a month. Instead of pushing him away, as Giles had half-expected, it thinned, almost parting as he leaned close and gently gripped his friend's shoulder. "Hey, Roy, guess we're finally making some progress, huh?" he murmured in the other man's ear. "Let's get out of here, you been here long enough already, partner." He was disappointed when Roy didn't react at all, glancing over his shoulder at the two teenagers.,Alanna regarded him with open worry, Lance with quiet understanding. Giles drew in a breath, let it out, then turned back to his partner and hefted him up, ignoring the protesting twinge from his stomach muscles, still sore from the gunshot wound. The magic around Roy surged for an instant and the Auror felt it lash at his hands before subsiding, as though it had judged him worthy of helping his friend.,Though Giles felt a smidge of indignation at the idea of being , by ,, the feel of the magic against his skin wasn't haughty or sneering. It felt like desperation. Last chances and last stands and , to give up. It felt like Parker. Only…not. As though somehow Parker had imbued his spell with part of his own ,. Unnerving and the Auror hoped he was wrong.,"The light," he hissed, realizing it all at once. "They're going to see it.","No," Lance replied, his voice quiet. "We're going to make sure no one notices us. Otherwise, they , going to notice that you're , Roy, not using your wand." As he spoke, Alanna scooted over a table right next to the bed Giles had been lying on and snatched his wand up.,Despite knowing – somehow – that the magic around Roy would not allow anything other than physical contact, Giles flinched sharply. That was , wand, not Alanna's, and to be deprived of his only weapon stung. Stung and throbbed in time with the pull on his chest from where he'd been shot. In the dimly lit room, neither teen seemed to notice his split-second of distress; the Auror forced it down, sternly reminding himself that Parker's charges wouldn't let him get hurt. Heck, they'd probably , the chance to deal with his attacker and , their displeasure with the threat to their adopted family.,Forcing his attention away from Alanna, Giles examined Parker's nephew; the young man bore up under the Auror's gaze with steady calm, his sapphire eyes meeting Giles' without a twitch. The moment stretched as Giles tried to place where he'd seen that kind of calm before, then he remembered. "You remind me of my old partner," he rasped, old sorrow in his voice. "He was hard to rattle, too. Even when he jumped into something without a plan, you trusted him 'cause you knew he always had a way out, no matter how bad it got.","I'll take that as a compliment, Auror Onasi," Lance replied, bowing his head in thanks.,"Giles," the Auror corrected, smiling wanly. "You've earned it, both of you." He hefted Roy up a bit higher and slung the limp man over his shoulders. "Let's get out of here, kids.",It was beyond weird, to walk through St. Mungo's hallways with Roy over his shoulders and , be spotted. Lance ranged ahead while Alanna covered their rear and any time someone came close, Giles saw a faint light in his companions' eyes before there was a sound or a rattle or even a random object tumbling to the ground.,The Auror shook his head at the simplicity of the strategy, but it worked. Every. Bloody. Time. If he hadn't been in the middle of sneaking out, he'd have rattled more than a few cages over how , the Healers were being. To his further mixed dismay and amazement, they reached St. Mungo's Floo without being spotted even ,; even the Welcome Witch had fallen prey to the siblings' tactics.,Alanna looked nervous with their destination, but Lance was calm, cool, and collected; he knew , what he was doing. He turned, waving Alanna forward. "We're headed for Shiloh," he told her. "When I saw you were gone, I headed for the Taylors' and asked them for help. They're waiting for us at Shiloh.",The girl went solid red in embarrassment, then plucked a pinch of Floo powder out of the hospital provided supply and tossed it in the fire. "Shiloh Academy," she called, stepping into the fire.,Giles shifted, then winced as pain jabbed his chest, emphatically reminding that he , been ,, healing spell or no. Grimacing, he ignored the flare and shifted again, trying to judge how much he could adjust Roy's body on his shoulders before he overbalanced, but Lance was well ahead of him, grabbing a double pinch of Floo powder from the bowl on the mantel and tossing it in. Giles nodded thanks, called out their destination, and stepped into the Floo, letting it haul himself and his partner away from the hospital.,On the other side, Giles did something he hadn't done in ,…he fell; automatically he twisted so that , hit the ground first instead of Roy. Again he felt the scarlet magic flare indignation, then it settled, as if sensing that he hadn't , to fall. He suppressed a yelp of pain when Roy landed on his still sore chest, driving the air from his lungs. Hands grabbed him and dragged him clear of the Floo; the Auror kept ahold of his partner as he was pulled, no sense in leaving Roy in the way for Lance to sprawl over. When the pulling stopped, he looked up, unsurprised to see Grant and Brooke Taylor.,Grant spoke before he could. "Giles! You're okay!",A rueful grin touched the Auror's jaw. "I hear it was touch and go for a while," he drawled, letting Grant heft Roy off him. Behind them, Lance stepped clear of the Floo.,"Touch and go?" Brooke demanded. "Way , heard it, they were already planning your funeral." She whacked him. "Don't scare us like that again, Giles Onasi! Understand?",Giles rubbed his shoulder – Brooke could hit , when she wanted to – and pushed himself up. "Yes, ma'am." He looked for Roy and was somehow unsurprised that Lance was pointing Grant to a mat normally used by the students during their warm-ups. "We're doing that here?" And never mind that he still had no idea what 'that' was.,"Yes," Lance returned simply. "Probably for the best." He looked up at Brooke. "Did you call Aunt Shelley?",Her lips pursed. "I did." Propping her hands on her hips, Brooke scolded, "Lancelot Artorius Calvin, 'Going after 'Lanna, be back soon' is not an appropriate message! Shelley was frantic when I called.",Lance ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry.",Brooke snorted and looked down at Roy. Seeing his frozen expression, she shuddered. "What are you going to do?",The teen followed her gaze. "I'm going to break the time freeze," he replied simply, moving over to Roy and crouching down behind him. "Giles, I need you in front," he ordered. "Roy's not going to know what's going on when he wakes up." Next, he looked up at Grant. "Can you get his shoulders?","Sure," Grant agreed, crouching down at Roy's head and gripping the time-frozen man's shoulders. Giles scrambled into place at Roy's front while Alanna hovered off to the side. "What are we doing?" Grant questioned, his gaze intent.,Lance considered, then made a face. "I can break this, but I'm not gonna be good for anything after that." Brooke abruptly moved into position at Lance's back. "And I can't explain it, Mr. Taylor, I just have to do it.",Grant grimaced, but nodded.,Giles, for his part, watched closely as Lance reached forward, one hand resting on Roy's back and his left glowing gold as he gripped the frozen man's neck.,Gold curled around Roy's form and the scarlet pulsed, surprised by the intrusion. Unlike the first few times, this time it pushed back against the gold: it had to keep the man alive until help could come. The golden light paused, then nudged at the scarlet again.,The scarlet swirled faster. , the scarlet pointed out, though it was confused. Help , have arrived long before now…, the fledgling explained. ,Scarlet flexed, pushing lightly at the gold for clarification. The golden magic obliged, nudging an image of the scarlet's human at it: a sickly gray tinged man who'd walked in the door , day and nearly collapsed right then and there. For a moment, the scarlet was appalled. Whipping frenetically in agitation, it demanded, ,Another image pressed in: the same human being dragged away from the fledgling and his sister. The scarlet withdrew, growling and snapping in indignation. Without Greg Parker's conscious mind to guide it, the magic was wild and feral, bound to its gryphon instincts and Greg's desperate last order.,The gold hovered patiently, then 'spoke' again. , it explained. , the scarlet countered. ,The scarlet magic jerked, thrashing from side-to-side as it tried to consider that. , it pointed out after several seconds., the fledgling insisted, ,never,Scarlet ,, but did not immediately respond. When it did, the words were slow. , it observed. ,Above Roy's body, golden eyes closed. ,In answer, the scarlet light pooled, lighting up Lance's hands and arms as it flowed upwards and into him; his eyes turned dark amber as the red and gold mixed. He jerked as the magic swirled, settling into his skin, then his eyes rolled up and he collapsed backwards into Brooke's arms.,[1] Old English for 'Change clothing.'

Salut, tout le monde,Voici mon premier crossover Harry Potter x Twilight,Bien sûr, aucunes de ses deux œuvres m'appartient.,Le Rythme de publication ne sera que peu régulier. Je veux pas promettre qu'il sera pour qu'au final se soit faux.,Je remercie djennys pour sa correction.,Bonne lecture :),James Potter avait un secret inconnu de tous. Ni sa femme Lily ni même son meilleur ami Sirius Black ne le savaient. Pourtant ce soir d'octobre, il allait à la rencontre de ce secret. Il marchait dans la sombre et étroite ruelle de l'Allée des Embrumes. Heureusement qu'il était sous glamour sinon il aurait été reconnu en peu de temps. Tout le monde savait que le grand James Potter, chef des Aurors et mage blanc de son état détestait l'Allée des Embrumes. Malgré cela, il s'enfonçait plus profondément dans celle-ci jusqu'à se retrouver dans les quartiers les plus sombres et les plus malfamés. Il aperçut une sombre façade ne demandant qu'à s'effondrer vu le nombre de fissures. Mais il savait que ce n'était rien d'autre qu'un sort d'illusion pour cacher la vérité. Il savait, comme la plus part des créatures magiques, que juste ici se trouvait un bar semblable au Chaudron Baveur bien qu'il était plus chaleureux. Le bar s'appelait ,Il était tenu par une jeune femme aux longs cheveux châtains légèrement bouclés et aux petits yeux marrons. C'était une jeune femme du même âge que lui et très souriante. Elle s'appelait Ange Cold, de son vrai nom Gabrielle Potter. James entra et la vit derrière le bar en train de nettoyer un verre tout en discutant avec un homme qu'il reconnut comme étant un loup-garou de la meute de Greyback. Il ne put s'empêcher d'être surpris de voir la facilité qu'Ange avait de discuter avec cet homme tout en échangeant quelques mots avec un autre homme aux yeux rouges qui devait sans aucun doute être un vampire. Il s'assit sur un tabouret en bout de bar à côté d'un homme brun aux yeux bleus qui semblait surveiller Ange. Celle-ci se détourna poliment du loup-garou et se dirigea vers l'homme et lui.,-Jack, tu vas finir par réussir à faire bouillir ton whisky à force de le tenir. Plaisanta-t-elle en regardant de son regard rieur l'homme brun,-Je suis un mauvais pilier de bar dans ce cas. Rétorqua le dénommé Jack,Ange rigola de son rire si doux et apaisant. Elle lui donna une tape amicale sur l'épaule et fit apparaître des glaçons dans le verre de whisky de Jack. Elle se tourna enfin vers lui et lui dit :,-Que puis-je vous offrir, mon ami ?,-Un Mojito royal, s'il-vous-plaît. Lui répondit-il,Il l'observa se retourner vers le rayonnage à verre et commencer à sortir ce qu'il fallait pour faire la commande. Elle se fit la reflexion que ce n'était pas tous les jours qu'on lui demandait cela. Il est vrai que peu de sa clientèle savait qu'elle possédait aussi des boissons autant alcoolisées que non-alcoolisées moldues.,-Ange, c'est quoi un mojito royal ? Demanda le loup garou d'un air curieux en l'observant,-C'est un cocktail moldu. Il se compose de menthe, sucre de canne, citron vert, champagne et bien sûr de rhum blanc. Expliqua-t-elle en apportant la commande à son client.,-Ca a pas l'air mauvais ton truc. Dit le loup garou en regardant le verre de James.,-Tu veux que je t'en fasse un petit, William ? Demanda-t-elle.,-Ouais, je veux bien. Mais j'espère pouvoir rentrer chez moi en un seul morceau. Rétorqua William qui semblait avoir déjà bu un ou deux verres d'alcool avant.,James entendit le vampire rappeler distraitement à William qu'il y avait des chambres à l'étage et que Ange ne le laisserait pas repartir s'il n'était pas en état. On entendit dans la salle dire qu'Ange était un vrai démon dans ce genre de moment. Certains se mirent à rire à cette remarque alors qu'Ange se mit à bouder comme une enfant en disant que ce n'était pas vrai et qu'ils étaient tous méchants avec elle et que de toute façon ils ne l'aimaient pas.,-Dis pas n'importe quoi. Tout le monde t'adore. N'est-ce pas, les amis ? Dis Jack en se tournant vers la salle.,-Ouais ! On t'adore maman ! S'exclamèrent-ils tous d'une même voix en rigolant avant de trinquer à leur maman adorée qui n'était autre qu'Ange.,Ange quitta son bar pour faire un tour dans la salle parmi les clients pour voir s'ils désiraient quelque chose d'autre ou tout simplement pour discuter. Elle vit Jack discuter avec cet homme qui lui avait demandé le mojito. D'ailleurs, il avait un petit quelque chose qu'il lui faisait penser que ce n'était pas un inconnu. Mais elle ne réussit pas à trouver quoi. Elle se concentra sur ses clients bien que la plupart étaient davantage des amis. Elle était en train de rigoler à la blague de l'un d'eux tout en ramassant des verres quand elle entendit Jack questionner l'homme sur d'où est-ce qu'il connaissait le mojito royal.,-C'est quelqu'un qui m'a fait goûter, il y a longtemps. Cette personne disait certaines fois que le Mojito royal devrait s'appeler Le Serpentard. Dit l'homme.,En entendant cela, elle ne put s'empêcher de lâcher les verres qu'elle avait dans les mains. Elle disait souvent cela à son frère jumeau. Ils avaient même eut tout un débat sur le sujet. Le silence se fit dans le bar. Il était rare qu'elle casse un verre. Le plus souvent c'était les clients qui les cassaient. Elle aperçut du coin de l'œil les sorciers près à sortir leurs baguettes en cas de besoin alors que les vampires et les loups-garous observaient James. Ils étaient tous près à la défendre si l'inconnu faisait quoique ce soit de suspect. Ange se tourna vers l'homme qui l'observait depuis sa place. Elle s'approcha de lui comme dans un état second. Elle lui caressa le visage du bout des doigts avant de le prendre dans ses bras, surprenant tout le monde. L'homme sembla surpris avant de refermer ses bras autour de sa frêle silhouette.,-James, mon frère ! Souffla-t-elle dans son oreille.,-Gabrielle ou devrais-je dire Ange. Dit-il au creux de l'oreille de sa sœur.,Ange se détacha de lui non sans laisser ses mains sur ses épaules. Elle lui donna un grand sourire qu'il lui rendit. Elle s'éloigna de lui et regarda les morceaux de verre au sol.,-Bon ben, il va me falloir d'autres verres. Ca faisait bien longtemps que j'en avais pas cassé. Laissez les gars, je ramasserai. Soupira-t-elle en voyant Damien, un veela roux aux yeux bleus, ramasser les morceaux,-Je peux bien les ramasser, Ange. Si tu ne veux vraiment pas, tu n'as qu'as m'offrir un coup. Dit Damien,-Très bien. Mais c'est juste parce que tu insistes. Dit-elle,Elle jeta un rapide coup d'œil sur la salle pour voir qu'ils baissaient tous progressivement leur garde. Elle leur fit rapidement signe qu'il n'y avait pas de risque. Elle devait parler à son frère. Cela devait être très important pour qu'il vienne jusqu'ici sous glamour. Mais elle ne pouvait pas laisser le bar comme ça. « Et si… » pensa-t-elle en regardant alternativement Jack et le bar. « Bonne idée ! Il a toujours eu envie de passer derrière. »,-Jack ! Est-ce que tu veux bien me rendre un service ? Lui demanda-t-elle.,-Bien sûr ! Qu'est-ce que je peux faire pour t'aider ? Répondit-il tout souriant.,-Est-ce que tu veux bien me remplacer derrière le bar pendant que je vais à l'étage parler avec ce jeune homme ?,-Tu…tu me confis le bar ? Demanda-t-il incrédule.,-Eh bien, oui. A moins, bien sûr, que tu ne t'en sentes pas capable et que tu préfères que je demande cela à William ou bien à Damien ou peut-être à ce cher Dorian. Dit-elle en les observant chacun leur tour.,Le vampire qui se trouvait à côté de William était plus que près à passer derrière le bar pour l'aider. Dorian avait déjà aidé Ange. Il allait souvent lui chercher des choses dans la réserve ou simplement l'aider avec ses commandes. Elle aimait beaucoup faire les choses à la moldue si elle le pouvait. Elle trouvait que c'était cela qui rendait le bar plus convivial. C'est cela ainsi que les sourires et la gentillesse d'Ange qui avait fait la renommée de , D'ailleurs, celle-ci c'était très vite imposé chez les créatures magiques. Les loup-garous comme les vampires pouvaient y trouver leur comptes. Ils avaient chacun leur coins s'ils le souhaitaient. Il y avait même une arrière-cour pour se battre s'ils le voulaient mais ils devaient réparer les dégâts après.,-Je m'occupe du bar ! N'ait crainte, chef Ange ! Dit Jack en se mettant au garde à vous.,Ange rigola en le voyant faire. Il avait l'air d'un enfant face à son cadeau de Noël. Elle lui laissa donc le bar en disant qu'ils avaient le droit de l'aider s'ils voyaient qu'il commençait à faire des bêtises. Jack bouda légèrement en disant qu'il ne ferait pas de bêtise.,-Mais bien sûr. Tu boudes comme un gosse. Dit Dorian.,Tout le monde rigola à cette remarque qui fit bouder encore plus ce cher Jack. Ange en profita pour prendre la main de son frère et partir à l'étage. Elle les fit entrer dans une pièce qui servait à faire des réunions quand certains avaient besoin d'un terrain neutre. Comme elle ne prenait jamais partie pour la moindre espèce, c'était assez pratique. Sinon la salle servait aussi pour faire des variantes de jeux d'argents interdits aux mineurs. La pièce était assez spacieuse. Il y avait une grande table au centre de celle-ci qui d'un coup de baguette devenait une table de jeu. Il y avait des fauteuils blancs autour de la table alors qu'un peu plus loin se trouvait un petit coin salon avec un canapé et des fauteuils blancs entourant une table basse en bois clair. Les murs étaient d'un joli orange crépusculaire éclairé par les rayons de lune passant par la grande fenêtre au fond de la pièce. James observa avec curiosité la belle pièce. « C'est sûr que c'est pas le genre de pièce qu'on trouvait au Chaudron Baveur » pensa-t-il en s'asseyant dans le canapé. Ange ne tarda pas à s'asseoir à côté.,-Et si tu retirais ton glamour, James. Dit-elle,James sortit sa baguette et le retira. Il n'eut pas le temps de ranger sa baguette que sa sœur le prenait déjà dans ses bras. Il pleura dans les bras de sa sœur. Cela faisait si longtemps qu'ils ne s'étaient pas vus. Elle lui avait tellement manqué. Tout le monde avait oublié sa sœur Gabrielle. Ils étaient faux jumeaux. Ils ne se ressemblaient pas du tout pourtant ils partageaient la magie des jumeaux. Si l'un était blessé, l'autre le ressentait. Il pouvait même finir les phrases de sa sœur. Ils se comprenaient et se complétaient. Mais, ils avaient dû s'éloigner à cause des aléas de la vie. Ils avaient pris des chemins différents. Elle avait ouvert un bar dans l'Allée des Embrumes et lui était devenu chef des Aurors. Il avait pris en main ses devoirs de Lord et elle s'était tournée vers les créatures magiques, tout particulièrement celles dites des Ténèbres. Deux chemins totalement différents quand on regarde bien. Pourtant sans que personne ne le sache, il avait continué à voir et parler avec sa sœur. Elle l'avait aidé dans certaines de ses enquêtes touchant aux créatures magiques.,-Comment vas-tu, Ange ? Demanda-t-il finalement en séchant ses larmes,-Je vais bien. Comme tu as pu le voir, tout va bien ici. Et toi ? Il y a quelque chose qui te tracasse, n'est-ce pas ? Dit-elle en s'asseyant sur ses genoux,-Moi, ça va. Tu as raison. Il y a quelque chose qui me tracasse.,-Dis-moi. Est-ce que je peux t'aider ? Dis-moi.,-Tu sais que j'ai un fils, n'est-ce pas ?,-Oui. Il s'appelle Harry. Tu m'as envoyé une photo de lui. Il est vraiment a-do-ra-ble. Dit-elle en repensant à la photo représentant James, Lily et le petit Harry peu de temps après sa naissance.,James esquissa un sourire en voyant combien sa sœur adorait Harry sans l'avoir rencontré en chair et en os.,-Oui. Je veux que tu me fasses une promesse Ange. Dit James avec sérieux.,-Pourquoi ? Demanda Ange avec inquiétude.,-Lord Voldemort en a après ma famille. Si nous ne nous n'en sortons pas Lily et moi… Sirius Black, le parrain d'Harry, aura sa garde. Mais si par hasard, il y a un problème, je veux que tu fasses en sorte qu'Harry ne vive pas chez Pétunia Dursley, la sœur de Lily. Pétunia est une moldue qui déteste la magie. J'ai peur pour Harry.,-Pourquoi y aurait-il un problème avec la garde d'Harry si tu as fait un testament ? Car te connaissant, je suis sûre que tu en as fait un.,-On a fait croire que Sirius est le gardien du secret alors que c'est Peter. Sirius est impulsif, encore plus que moi. S'ils nous arrivent quelque chose j'ai peur que la première chose qu'il fasse soit de chercher Peter.,-Très bien. Moi, Ange Rose Cold née Gabrielle Aurora Potter jure sur ma magie de tout faire pour qu'Harry James Potter fils de James Henry Potter et Lily Isabelle Potter née Evans ne grandisse pas chez sa tante Pétunia Marguerite Dursley née Evans épouse de Vernon Timothée Dursley. Dit-elle avec un sérieux glacial.,Un fil doré alla s'enrouler autour du poignet de James et du sien. Ils étaient maintenant liés par un serment inviolable. Ils restèrent une petite heure à discuter de tout et de rien. Finalement James repartit chez lui sur une petite dispute amicale sur le fait que : « non, il ne payerait pas le mojito royal ». Ange termina sa soirée en discutant et rigolant avec ses clients et amis. Alors que dans un coin de sa tête elle espérait que James se trompait.,Coucou, j'espère que cela vous a plu.,Une Reviews?

Episode 1,Pilot,: Oh, bloody hell…,(speaking into the Fireplace) Minister's office!, You've reached the office of Minister of Magic. Cornelius Fudge is unavailable…,: This is bad.,: Everyone, lock the doors, turn out the lights, pretend to not be here., (calmly) Are we in danger?,: I don't know. There's no time to think about if this is real.,: Shh, shh, shh!,: (muffled through the door) Hello?,: The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and I did not get off to a great start.,[Opening Credits - Upbeat music],[Hogwarts: A Magical Workplace],(to the Camera)I've been at Hogwarts for 64 years, the headmaster for the last 25. If you want to through here…,This is my kingdom, as far as the eye can see., Ah, this is our Potions Master, Snape. Snape, Snape, Severus Snape! Say hello to the camera, Severus.,Snape has been with us for forever, right Snape? About 10 years?, That is correct, headmaster., If you think he's creepy looking now, you should have seen him a couple of years ago.,Wait, what?,Anyways! What can I do for you, Snape?,Sir, the first-year students have arrived. Hagrid's bringing them across the lake now., ,Students say I'm the best Headmaster. They go, "We've never gone to school in a place like this before, you're hilarious, and you get the best out of us.",: I think that this pretty much sums it up. I found it at Potage's Cauldron Shop, I'm a first-year student at Hogwarts. I was raised by my aunt and uncle, who don't have magic, so this all still very new to me…,: I have no idea what I'm doing.,a ,: The sorting is some sort of test. I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking.,: He was joking…right?, Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words., Don't ever, for any reason, do anything for anyone, for any reason, ever, no matter what. No matter where. Or who, or who you are with, or where you are going or… or where you've been… ever. For any reason, whatsoever…,Sometimes I'll start a sentence and I don't even know where it's going. I just hope I find it along the way.,New Guy! Quirrell! Come, come, I'll introduce you to the other professors.,Quirrell, I'd like to introduce you to Minerva.,Minerva McGonagall, Assistant Headmaster.,Assistant ,the Headmaster. She's is our Transfiguration Professor, and sort of like the Grandmother of the office., I'm younger than you, Albus., Well, I don't know about that…, You were a teacher when I was a student here.,And this is Severus Snape. He's our potions master. Severus has an amazing new cauldron, right Severus?, Yeah,I've got a pewter self-stirring, collapsible cauldron. I've got pictures…,Bloody hell! They put my stuff in Jell-O again.,That's the third time and it wasn't funny the first time!, ,: It's okay here, but some people take advantage because it's so relaxed. I'm a death eater on the weekends. You cannot screw around there. It's one of the rules.,What is that?,: That's my wand.,: Ok, you know what? You can be a witness.,: Can you reprimand the Weasley twins, please?,: These two are the culprits.,: (eating Jell-O) How do you know it was us?,: (also eating Jell-O) Yeah!,: It's always you. (To Dumbledore) Are you gonna discipline them or not?,: All right, here's the deal you guys: the thing about practical jokes, is that you have to know when to start, as well as when to stop! And yeah, Fred & George, now is the time to stop putting Professor Snape's personal effects into Jell-O.,: Ok, Professor Snape. I would like to say I'm truly sorry because I've always been your biggest Flan,: Nice!,: You should have put us in custard-y!,: Yes!,: Ok that's great, I guess, what I'm most concerned with is damage to property. That's all.,: Lemon Drops... I'm trying to think, another dessert to do., People have been looking at me kind of a lot all day. I would be creeped out by it, but it's nothing compared to the way Snape looks at me…, Why if it isn't our newest celebrity - Harry Potter., (to Harry) Question! What is the greatest danger facing Hogwarts today?,I know the answer, Professor Snape!, I'll be the number one student here in six weeks. How? Name repetition, personality mirroring, and never lowering my hand. I'm always thinking one step ahead. Like a …carpenter…that makes stairs.,The,Potter?, Being discovered by the non-wizarding community?, Wrong! Flash Floods! What is the real reason the Bloody Baron killed himself?, Depression?, Wrong! He hated himself. Final question: What is Albus Dumbledore's greatest fear?,: Umm, loneliness. Maybe women., Wrong! He's not afraid of anything! Also, I would have accepted snakes. Guess fame isn't everything, huh Potter?, He really doesn't like me., He does not. But he didn't have to say it to your face.,If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Voldemort, Grindelwald and Potter, I would shoot Potter. Twice., But at least we made it through the first day without any fires, trolls, or dark lords breaking out., Should I be worried about those things?, Not for several more episodes.

A queda – Capitulo 1,Harry Potter abriu os olhos e não fazia ideia de onde estava, era um lugar com muitas arvores e ele estava caído em um chão bem duro. De repente um gato bem grande e laranja passou bem encima dele com um leve salto e foi correndo em direção aos gritos.,"Gritos? " Harry se levantou depressa e viu que estava em uma praia e logo atrás dele tinha uma enorme floresta, mas então uma voz conhecida gritou um nome também muito conhecido:,_Rony! Rony! Acorda por favor! - Hermione Granger uma garota de cabelos armados e castanhos gritava. Harry conhecia ela da escola mais ele ainda não se lembrava por que o garoto ruivo em seus braços estava desacordado.,Ao olhar para o lado ele viu um avião caído, ele estava pegando fogo em algumas partes e tinha muitos corpos sem vida lá dentro.,Mais antes que Harry pudesse pensar mais, ele avistou uma garota com longos cabelos loiros, e não precisou olhar de novo para saber que era Luna e ele logo correu ate ela.,_Luna! Tudo bem com você? Onde estamos? O que aconteceu? Você se lembra? - Harry perguntava sem nem parar para respirar e quando acabou foi que ele viu que ela estava chorando.,_Calma Harry são muitas perguntas. Ainda estou em choque!- Luna falou enquanto secava as lagrimas.,_Luna? - Harry chamou meio vacilante,_Não se lembra Harry?,_ Lembrar do que?,_ Olhe em volta Harry! - Luna disse voltando a chorar- Estão todos desesperados e tristes! Nosso avião caiu!,Foi então que Harry se lembrou de tudo, de Hogwarts, do sorteio que Alvo Dumbledore fez, o passeio de avião, a turbulência e depois tudo escuro. E ele entendeu que sua amiga não estava assim só por causa da queda do avião...,_Luna... Cadê o Neville?,E a garota começou a chorar de novo, e só quando conseguiu se controlar falou:,_Ele... Ele estava na... na parte de trás do avião quando ele caiu...,Harry não entendeu, "o avião tinha se partido?!",_ O avião se partiu em dois no céu e não sabemos onde a parte de trás caiu e quando nos aproximávamos da terra a parte da frente se soltou e caiu na floresta...- Luna respondeu como se tivesse lido os pensamentos de Harry.,Harry acalmou Luna antes de andar em volta para ver se alguém precisava de ajuda. Ao longe ele viu uma ruiva tentando ressuscitar uma garota de cabelos loiros. Era a mais nova dos Weasleys, Gina e ela tentava ressuscitar Pansy Parkison uma sonserina.,"Pensei que elas se odiassem! Afinal a Parkinson sempre anda com o maior inimigo dos Weasleys. Afinal onde está aquela fuinha? " Então Harry viu Blaise Zabini se aproximar correndo de Gina e eles começarem a conversar. Independente da conversa Blaise parecia apavorado e Gina parecia tentava acalma-lo.,Harry se aproximou e escutou:,_ Zabini você tem que se acalmar e me ajudar! Quer a Pansy viva ou não?,_ Eu busquei a água que você pediu e não está fazendo efeito Weasley! Se você deixar a Pansy morrer...,_ A culpa será sua também! Eu estou aqui te ajudando então se acalme e faça o que eu mandar ok? - Disse Gina já sem paciência.,_ Tudo bem gente? Querem ajuda? - Perguntou Harry se aproximando.,_Mais ajuda quem não atrapalha Potter! - Disse Zabini sem nem o encarar.,Harry até iria embora mais ele sabia o que fazer para salvar Pansy então ignorou Blaise e se ajoelhou ao lado de Gina.,_ O que você fez até agora? - Perguntou Harry,_ Zabini fez uma respiração boca a boca e fiz pressão no coração mais como não deu eu vou tentar da água para ela... -Perante a expressão séria de Harry ela completou envergonhada -Mais na verdade eu não entendo muito disso...,_Deu para perceber, mais tudo bem. O fato de você ter tentado é incrível. Ainda mais ela sendo... Bem... Ela! -Mesmo com a presença de Blaise ele não pode evitar de perguntar- Porque está ajudando ela? Achei que se odiassem?,_Na situação que estamos eu não acho que devemos pensar: "Será que eu salvo essa? Melhor não ela é chata." – Disse Gina. Apesar dela não conhecer muito bem Harry ela nunca pensou que ele fosse o tipo de pessoa que escolheria quem salvar, e essa pergunta deixou ela indignada.,_Não foi isso que eu quis dizer...- Disse Harry envergonhado -É que com o seu irmão desmaiado pensei que estaria com ele!,_Meu irmão... Desmaiado... Ó Merlin! Eu preciso vê-lo! Zabini me desculpa! Mais espero que o Harry possa te ajudar! -Ela correu em direção onde Hermione estava.,_ Então Potter você me ajuda? -Blaise estava com lagrimas nos olhos e parecia desesperado.,Harry nunca pensou que ouviria Zabini pedindo ajuda. Mais lá estava ele olhando para Harry, com um olhar desesperado, triste e por mais estranho que parecesse humilde.,_ Preciso que arranje uma caneta Zabini.,_Caneta?,_Sim, ela está sem ar e precisamos fazer um buraco para que o ar entre...,Perante a cara de terror de Zabini, Harry sorriu de forma amigável e completou:,_Não se preocupe eu sei o que estou fazendo.,_E como é que você sabe Potter?,_Minha mãe é medica, e por ter estudado em casa até o meu sexto ano, ela me ensinou bastante. –Explicou Harry. Mas Zabini não parecia convencido -Confia em mim Blaise... Pela Pansy.,Zabini não falou mais nada apenas se levantou e foi correndo em busca de alguém que tivesse uma caneta.,Gina chegou correndo e se ajoelhou ao lado de Hermione que estava em prantos.,_Mi, calma ok? Ele vai ficar bem... –Gina falou, ela mesma não acreditava nisso mais precisava acalmar a amiga.,_Ele... Ele não está acordando... Ele nem respira! –Hermione falava desesperada.,Gina olhou para trás pensando o que fazer e viu Blaise correndo em sua direção.,_Weasley você tem uma caneta?... –Blaise perguntou, e automaticamente Hermione tirou do bolso da blusa e deu para ele uma caneta sem nem olha-lo –Ah... Obrigado e sinto muito por ele... Eu... Er... O Harry é bom nisso vou falar com ele pra vim ajudar quando terminar com a Pansy... Ok?,_ Ah claro... –Gina respondeu e torceu para que Harry viesse logo.,"Tomara que ele realmente entenda dessas coisas... Não posso perder meu irmão..." E com esse pensamento Gina não conseguiu mais resistir e começou a chorar junto com Hermione.,Blaise chegou correndo e entregou a caneta a Harry. Ele observou a caneta por poucos e segundos e sem nem pensar enfiou no pescoço de Pansy, o que fez com que Blaise quase caísse para trás.,_O que você fez seu... –Começou Blaise mais logo foi interrompido por Harry.,_Confie em mim! Eu disse que consigo! –Harry falou tentando parecer firme, mais ele tinha medo de que algo desse errado.,Harry retirou a caneta, fez o ar entrar tudo de uma forma que para Blaise parecia ser um médico profissional, e ele realmente esperava que fosse.,Então Pansy respirou, e abriu os olhos com dificuldade, sem nem pensar Blaise se jogou em cima dela.,_A Pansy! Pensei que você fosse morrer. Ainda bem que voltou! –Blaise se virou para Harry e sorriu para ele como nunca sorriu para ninguém –Muito obrigado Potter, acho que te devo essa... E já que você é bom acho que deveria olha o Weasley... Prometi a Gina que falaria com você para ajudar.,Harry olhou para onde o ruivo estava desacordado e viu as duas garotas chorando.,_Não foi nada Blaise, E não se preocupe vou lá olhar o Rony.,Harry correu em direção as garotas e Gina rapidamente se recompôs.,_Harry você acha que ele ainda pode ficar bem? –Sua voz era firme mais ela estava prestes a desabar de novo.,Harry colocou as duas mãos no ombro de Gina e sorriu.,_Ele vai ficar bem prometo!,Então Harry entrou em ação de novo e em alguns minutos Rony estava acordado agradecendo ele por ter salvo sua vida.,_ É sério cara... Não sei o que seria delas sem mim... –Rony falou e recebeu dois olhares irritados em troca.,_ Só não te mato agora Rony por que você acabou de ressuscitar! –Gina falou irritada então ela se virou para Harry e o abraçou –Muito obrigado por ressuscitar o bobão do meu irmão Harry!,_ Não foi nada! –respondeu Harry corado por causa do abraço –Bom se me dão licença tenho que ir na Luna... O Neville estava na parte de trás do avião e...,_O que?! O Nev... Ó Merlin! Tenho que falar com a Luna também! –Gina exclamou e sem nem pensar correu em direção a Luna puxando Harry.,Harry e Gina ficaram muito tempo conversando com Luna, já que ninguém mais precisava de ajuda. Os dois estavam caminhando agora de volta para o lugar onde todos estavam e deixaram Luna lá, ela disse que precisava de um tempo sozinha.,_ É triste né?... A Luna e o Neville sempre se gostaram e eles se declararam e estão juntos apenas uma semana e... Bem... Isso acontece com eles. –Gina comentou e algumas lagrimas escorrerão pelo seu rosto.,_Muito tris... –Harry não conseguiu terminar a frase porque sentiu uma dor enorme nas costas. Ele se ajoelhou no chão e tentou alcançar a área dolorida.,_Harry o que aconteceu? –Gina se ajoelhou no chão e ajudou ele a tirar a blusa para ver se havia algum ferimento. E havia. –Ó Merlin! Tem um corte muito grande aqui! Temos que parar o sangue!,Harry tirou do bolso uma garrafinha de Firewisk e uma agulha com linha e entregou a Gina.,_Aqui... Peguei assim que caímos eu sabia que tinha um machucado e que precisava costurar... Mas acabei me esquecendo com tudo que aconteceu... –Harry estava sem fôlego graças a quantidade de sangue que perdeu.,_Você quer que eu... Costure? –Gina perguntou atordoada.,_Você precisa me ajudar... Eu não alcanço... Por favor! –Harry implorou. Gina hesitou mas concordou. –OK. Você tem que jogar a bebida na agulha para limpar já que contem álcool... e depois costure... é como uma roupa... –Gina estava com uma expressão pasma e Harry terminou. –Eu confio em você!,_Eu não consigo! –Resmungou Gina.,_Gina vou te contar uma historia... E você vai costurar está bom?,_Ok... –Disse Gina desesperada.,_Uma vez minha mãe estava fazendo uma cirurgia e eu estava perto, era uma menina... Tinha a mesma idade que eu na época, 14 anos e tinha sofrido um acidente... –Harry estava com lagrimas nos olhos quando continuou. –Minha mãe estava fazendo tudo bem... Mas ai ela cortou uma artéria da menina... Por que eu tirei a concentração dela! –Harry soluçou e continuou. –Eu vi todos aqueles nervos saltando e minha mãe se desesperou! Mais aí ela parou olhou para mim e disse: "Nunca deixe o medo te comandar, vamos contar até cinco juntos... Nesses cinco segundos vamos sentir todo medo que pudermos! Mais depois não vamos sentir mais." E fizemos isso. Contamos e depois ela costurou e terminou a cirurgia e a garota voltou a andar! Então Gina deixe o medo agir apenas por cinco segundos depois você comanda. –Harry olhou para ela e sorriu. Gina fechou os olhos, e quando abriu ela sorriu confiante apesar das lagrimas nos olhos.,Ela costurou e por mais que Harry resmungasse de vez em quando ela conseguiu.,_ Uau. Ficou melhor do que eu esperava... Doeu um pouco... Mas é o efeito de não se ter anestesia... –Harry falou e então ajudou Gina a limpar as mãos que estavam sujas com sangue –Eu realmente agradeço Gina... Não sei o que teria feito se não fosse você –Então ele abraçou ela.,_Não foi nada Harry. Afinal você ajudou meu irmão e eu ajudei você... E eu apenas costurei, você salvou a vida do meu irmão. –Gina disse após se separar do abraço.,_Se não fosse você me costurando perderia sangue demais e você sabe o que aconteceria... Então você também salvou a minha –Harry sorriu para ela e recebeu um lindo sorriso de volta. –Acho que estamos quites certo? –Harry perguntou e piscou para Gina que riu.,Então eles finalmente chegaram até onde estavam os outros e encontraram as pessoas montando barracas com galhos e folhas, fogueiras e recolhendo comidas do avião.,_Uau! Fizeram um ótimo trabalho! –Comentou Harry,_Agradeça a Mione, ela que dividiu a tarefa para as pessoas –Comentou Rony que os vira chegar e se aproximou.,_Para que barracas? Acham que o resgate vai demorar assim? –Perguntou Gina. "São quatro horas da tarde será que o resgate vai demora tanto... Vamos ter que passar uma noite aqui..." Ela pensou.,_Gina nós não sabemos quanto vai demorar, então é melhor estarmos preparados caso a gente precise dormir aqui. –Respondeu Rony.,_Claro... Mas dormir nesse lugar estranho... Nós nem sabemos onde estamos... Isso parece uma ilha deserta! –Falou Gina imaginando as piores coisas possíveis. –E se tiver outras pessoas aqui? E se forem canibais ou sei lá?,_Não seja bobinha Gina não tem nada aqui... Anda vendo muito filme... –Riu Rony e fez Gina ficar corada.,_Ela pode estar certa, não sabemos onde caímos pode ter alguma coisa aqui sim –Disse Harry. –De qualquer forma podemos formar um grupo para vigiar cada hora da noite... E nos três podíamos dar uma andada na ilha enquanto não escurece para ver se achamos alguma coisa... –Harry sugeriu.,_Não acho que seja uma boa ideia... Não que eu ache que tem algo aqui mais pode ser que tenha bichos... –Respondeu Rony.,_E depois eu sou a boba... Esta com medinho Roniquinho?... –Provocou Gina e Rony ficou com as orelhas vermelhas.,_Olha eu só acho que devo ficar e ajudar Hermione... Vá você então senhorita coragem. –Falou Rony constrangido e nervoso.,_OK eu vou! Eu não tenho medo Rony! –Gina respondeu nervosa. E se virou para Harry. –Harry vamos chamar mais alguém e ir? Três é melhor do que dois né? –Perguntou Gina.,_Claro vamos lá! –Responde Harry animado com a coragem da garota.,_Nos deseje sorte Roniquinho... –Disse Gina ao se virar.,N/A: Bom Galerinha... Minha primeira fic! To tão nervosa aqui (Cara de ansiedade) rsrsrs...,Mas vamos ao que interessa, essa fic usa os personagens da saga Harry Potter (Jura? kk) e a história é inspirada na série Lost, foi uma das primeiras series que eu assisti e eu amo ela! Algumas partes são muito parecidas com as cenas da série, como o avião caído, e a Gina costurando o ferimento do Harry, mas não é plagio ok? Não faço isso para lucrar em nada! Apenas por diversão e para divertir os leitores!,Espero realmente que gostem! E deixe sua opinião ela é sempre muitoooo bem-vinda!,Não sei de quanto em quanto tempo vou postar... vou tentar ser rápida prometo!,Bjss de Luz! ,N/A 2: Galerinha, eu fiz essa fic uns três anos atrás e essa N/A acima também. Nunca tive coragem de postar e agora resolvi que seria legal. Pode ser que tenha (E tem) uns errinhos e tal, mas relevem por favor. Eu realmente acho está história bem legal e tem um tanto de capitulo escrito que eu pretendo ir arrumando para postar também, até poder continuar de onde parei. Quando chegar na parte que volto a escrever vão notar algumas diferenças na escrita (três anos muda muita coisa!), de qualquer forma se eu fosse reescrever tudo certinho e tal, nunca sairia, pois, eu não tenho esse tempo e sou preguiçosa hahaha.,Não desistam e esperem o próximo capitulo!,Deixem comentários por favor!,Bjss

Once they had passed beyond the range of the great Ukrainian Ironbelly, Harry Potter noticed the silence of the vaults for the first time. The smooth stone passages and great metal doors of all sizes seemed like they would create a myriad of echoes, but he could not even hear their footsteps as they walked deeper into the depths.,If his nerves had bothered him before, they were really putting him on edge now. Even putting Travers under the ,had not bothered him as much as the quiet did now.,One of the first vaults they saw had a smooth, gleaming silver door. Hermione had to look twice as they passed, for the design did not match any of the vaults they had seen to this point. It seemed at once both ancient and ultra-modern - perhaps even futuristic, if the gleam of its polished silver was any indication.,"What vault is this?" she asked Griphook.,"Not the one we're here for," he replied. The goblin sneered at her. "I'm already doing enough to break my oaths, Miss Granger, I won't help you do more.","She didn't ask for a look," said Ron, stepping a little closer to the goblin. "She just wanted to know whose vault that was.",Griphook glanced up at the redhead, before scowling at Hermione. "That vault is one of several that belong to Gringotts. It houses unidentified artifacts.","Uh huh," said Harry, unconvinced. He wanted to say more, but stopped himself when he saw Griphook stop in front of another, more traditional looking vault.,"This is the Lestrange vault," the goblin said. "Let us begin.",oOoOoOoOo,Once they escaped the vault, they found a squad of goblins waiting for them. Griphook's betrayal was not a sudden attack of conscience, it seemed. The trio began fighting their way out of the passageway, stunning and shielding as they could.,"Harry, we're going toward the dragon!" Ron said, once he realized which way they were going.,"I've got an idea!" Harry shouted in reply. "But I don't think you're going to like it!","Bloody hell!" was Ron's answer, as he blocked another attack.,When the dragon heard them approaching, it gave as mighty a roar as it could. Even in its weakened and underfed state, even at its advanced age, it was still a full grown dragon - and it was angry at the disturbance.,"Shit," said Harry, as he realized where they were standing. "Duck, now!",Hermione had been shielding, and yelped as Ron tackled her to the ground. A blast of fire shot over their heads, blasting several goblins away and impacting the odd vault they had seen earlier. The door melted readily, which surprised them - it was made of silver, or a silver-like metal, and not the steel it had seemed to be.,Before they could get back up, the three found themselves surrounded. A second squad of goblins had flanked them as the dragon was attacking, and they were even angrier than the first group.,Griphook swaggered forward. "Commander, these three tricked me into breaching a high security vault. Let them face goblin justice.",One of the soldiers stepped forward, his face hidden behind a golden helmet. He looked at Harry. "Is this true?","We told Griphook what we needed and why, and that we were stealing from the Dark Lord, not from his customer. He brought us here willingly." Harry was in no mood to defend their betrayer, and basically said as much. At the back of his mind, he hoped that the soldier would at least listen before killing them.,"Did he?" Turning to Griphook, he nodded once. The soldier nearest to Griphook raised a hand, and Griphook fell to the ground. "Take him away.",Before the goblins could comply, they seemed to freeze in place. It was not a stunning spell, nor were they immobilized - they simply ,, as if frozen in time.,Harry, too, was frozen in place - but unlike the others, he was simply unable to move from where he stood. He could look around, and did so, seeing Ron and Hermione also frozen. The dragon remained active, unfortunately, and let loose another angry roar, but did not attack.,A heavy noise drew Harry's attention to the melted vault door. The vault it protected remained dark and ominous, with no internal lights to reveal its contents. The only thing Harry could see was an odd set of runes that glowed with a pale, yellow light. What's more, the runes seemed to be approaching the doorway.,Shortly before the runes - and whatever carried them - made it to the door, Harry saw two more lights. They were both the same yellow color, and their size made him think of eyes. The thought chilled him - no creature he knew had eyes like that.,Once he saw the being to whom those eyes belonged, he understood. The yellow eyes were set into a broad metal face. It appeared to be vaguely human, in the way a blind sculptor might carve a human face sight unseen. Its mouth seemed set in a perpetual frown, but one of disappointment rather than anger or sadness.,The being seemed to wear armor of some sort, its thick shoulders displaying the ridges of what might have been plate. As it approached, Harry realized that there was no armor - the metal ridges were part of its body, and its body was seemingly made of a dull silver. It's movement was precise and steady, with more than a hint of inevitability in its stride. It was obviously a device of some sort, a mechanical thing, but the eyes conveyed emotion nonetheless - and right now, that emotion was confusion.,The dragon roared again, and the being turned to look in its direction. It raised a hand toward the dragon and Harry could tell that a pulse of magic had been used, somehow. The dragon seemed to freeze, just as the others had.,"Bolas, you are not," the being said to itself. Its voice was a smooth, rumbling bass, and Harry could not help but hear a deep weariness in it. When the eyes turned back to him, he saw something in them he had not noticed - they looked impossibly old. Or, rather, the being behind them seemed ancient.,It walked toward Harry, its head tilting as it considered the individuals in the passageway.,"You are a mage," it said.,Harry found that he could nod.,The being considered him for a moment, before his eyes glowed briefly. Before he could consider doing otherwise, Harry had glanced up at the brilliant yellow. As soon as they made eye contact, Harry felt a gentle brush against his mind.,It was not the brutal mental attack of Voldemort, nor the bludgeoning assault of Professor Snape. The image that came to mind was of a diagnostic charm like those used by Madam Pomfrey. It felt analytical, as if it were making a list of books on a shelf rather than reviewing the contents of those books.,The probe withdrew from Harry's mind, and he became aware that the being was still looking at him. Now that he got a better look at the face, he got the impression that it was contemplating its options.,"Where are we?" it finally asked.,"Gringott's," Harry replied. "We are in the vaults of the goblin bank.","Goblins?" asked the being, an almost amused tone in its voice. "These creatures, then?" it asked, indicating the guards.,"Yes," Harry confirmed.,"And you are thieves? That one," it pointed at the lead goblin, "Seems to think that you had stolen something.","We fight against a dark wizard, who took steps to prevent his own death." Harry spoke cautiously, not wanting to reveal too much - but he felt that he could trust this being, whatever it was. "We must destroy several items before the Dark Lord can be defeated. One of those items is the cup in the bag on my friend's shoulder.",The being saw Harry's look, and walked over to Ron, who remained frozen. Again, the being's hand came up, and Harry saw the glow of a spell on its fingertips. The only reaction Harry saw was a narrowing of the being's eyes as it realized what the cup actually was.,"A soul jar," it said. "This wizard created a soul jar?" It straightened up and looked back at Harry. "Distasteful.","That's one way of putting it." agreed Harry.,The being raised its hand again, this time at Harry. There was no indication that he was being scanned, just the barest touch of what felt like a breeze across his face.,"He created more than one." It was not a question.,"Yes," Harry said, without thinking. "How did you know?",The being stepped closer, its movements smooth and fluid, despite its size. A finger came up and pointed at Harry's forehead. "Your friend carries one in his bag, and you carry another in your wound.","In my…." Harry's voice trailed off as the being's words sank in. "My scar…","Yes," stated the being, simply.,"Merlin," Harry's voice was a whisper at this point, his eyes closed.,A scrape of metal shook Harry out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see one of the goblins shifting slightly. The metal being also noticed this, and seemed unconcerned.,"The 'goblins' will be free momentarily," it said. "We will need to be gone before that happens.","We will?" asked Harry, emphasizing the 'we'. "You would help us?",The yellow eyes turned to him, and Harry stilled under the attention.,"I find that a dark mage who has gone so far as to create artifacts of this type is beyond redemption," it said. "You cannot stop them if you are captured here." Its hand came up, and closed into a fist. With a pulse of magic, Ron and Hermione were unfrozen. Harry, too, found that he could move again.,"Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked, just before she turned and saw the being standing there. Her hand came up to bring her wand to bear, but stopped partway through the motion. "Who are you?",The being looked amused. "You may call me Karn.","Karn has agreed to help us escape, Hermione," said Harry. He could see Ron's look of disbelief, but also saw that Ron was keeping his wand down - for now. He was playing it by ear, just as they all were these days.,"Oh, well, um… Thank you, Karn." Hermione spoke haltingly, as she processed the fact that Karn - whatever it was - was an ally, at least for the moment. "We do still need to get outside of the wards, though.",Karn's eyes narrowed. "That would be the energy field permeating this area?","Probably," answered Ron. "You can't apparate from within the bank.","I do not know how to 'apparate', as you say," replied Karn, raising his hand and pointing it at a nearby wall. "I am adept at other forms of travel, however." With an intricate motion, Karn seemed to open a hole in the wall. Its edges glowed a bright red, and soon the hole was a solid disc of light.,"I saw a house in your memories," Karn said. "A dark house, hidden from view.",Hermione shared a glance with Harry. "As soon as we set foot outside that house, we would be captured again.","Indeed," said Karn. "So why not enter the house directly?","Can you do that?" asked Harry.,"I can," was the simple reply. The red disc faded, to reveal the foyer of 12 Grimmauld Place. As Ron, Hermione, and Harry stared in shock at the sight, another goblin began to move slightly. Karn noticed, and nodded toward the portal. "Time is of the essence, it would seem.",Ron approached cautiously. "We can just step through?","You can," answered Karn. "If you do so quickly.",When the disorientation passed, the goblins realized that their quarry had vanished. The lead goblin growled in anger as he saw the melted vault door.,"Inform the Director," he said. "The Tolarian Vault has been opened." He sheathed his blade, taking one halting step toward the ruined vault. "Gods help us.",oOoOoOoOo,Ron and Hermione both gave Harry a nod before leaving the sitting room. Hermione wanted to make sure that Ron's injured shoulder was healed properly, and trusted Harry to ask the right questions of their new ally. Ron, for his part, was starting to calm down from the heat of the battle, and had realized just how close they came to losing everything. He very badly needed to sit down for a while, and Hermione was pleased that she did not have to press the issue, for once.,Harry went to the kitchen to make himself tea, and paused. "Karn," he began, turning to the passive face of the metal being. "I'm sorry, there's no way to ask this, but…",Karn nodded slightly, and again Harry got just a hint of amusement in the gesture. "In your tongue, I would be called a silver golem." The corners of Karn's mouth moved slightly, almost giving the impression of a slight smile. "And I have no need of sustenance. But please, feel free to tend to your needs.","Right," said Harry, shaking his head as he prepared the tea. "And you were locked in a vault in Gringott's.","Yes," Karn replied. "Tell me, what do your people know of planeswalkers?" Off Harry's blank stare, Karn paused. "Tolaria? Dominaria? The Nexus?","I'm sorry, I've never heard of any of that before," answered Harry. "I am just a teenager, though, so there may be some wizards who know more.","Perhaps," said Karn, thoughtfully. "Suffice it to say, there are many planes of existence, each filled with its own magic. I, and many others, can use magic to travel from one plane to another. This makes us planeswalkers.","Alright," said Harry. "And while you were walking between planes, you found yourself on Earth?","Earth," repeated Karn, as if saying the name for the first time. "Yes, I found myself here quite by accident. Whatever drew me here seemed to drain me of my magic, such that when I finally awoke I found myself being examined by those… creatures. They thought I was a statue, I imagine.","If you weren't active, they may have," Harry said.,"They reacted poorly when I spoke, and rendered me inert once more. Then I woke today, when the vault was breached.","I see," said Harry. "How long were you in there, do you think?",The glow of Karn's eyes brightened slightly, which seemed to happen when he was trying to answer a difficult question. Harry wondered if the golem's mind was like some of the computers he had read about, or if it was something more in line with magical artifacts like the sorting hat that were self-aware.,"By your reckoning," Karn said, "I arrived on this world in the year 1792.","Bloody hell," came Ron's voice. Karn stepped to the side, turning as he did so, revealing Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway, looks of shock on their faces.,Smiling to himself, Harry went to get two more tea cups.,oOoOoOoOo,Over the course of the next hour, the three told Karn the tales of the Dark Lord Voldemort. How he had murdered Harry's parents in a bid to forestall a prophecy, how he had split his soul to thwart death, how he had rampaged across the country in the past year. At every turn, the silver golem listened attentively and asked few questions.,The only real show of emotion Karn exhibited was when they explained that Voldemort was known as the Dark Lord because of his use and affinity for Dark magic. Here, the golem had almost scoffed at the term.,"There is no such thing as dark magic," said Karn, when Hermione questioned him on his reaction. "Magic is a force of nature, nothing more. It is what one does with that power that charts their course.","This war is entirely about light magic versus the darkness," said Hermione, as if lecturing. The truth of her statement was self-evident, though perhaps not to an outsider.,Karn turned his yellow eyes toward her. "How many colors might one find in a rainbow, Hermione Granger?",Puzzled, she answered. "Seven, sir.","Indeed. Do they not bleed together at the edges? The red meets the orange, which meets the yellow, and so on. Where colors meet, do they not form different hues?",Hermione was not sure. "Possibly…" she ventured.,Karn raised his hand, and it glowed softly. Five orbs of light rose into the air, circling between him and the three humans. They watched, fascinated, as the orbs took on different colors.,"In my experience," Karn began. "Magic comes in five basic forms. Each can be used for nearly limitless purposes, bounded only by the creativity and will of the spellcaster." As he spoke, the orbs slowed, taking up positions in a rough circle, floating in the air.,As he indicated each orb, it glowed with a brilliant light.,"White magic, or what you might mistakenly call 'light' magic, is the magic of the plains. It is the color of healing, true, just as I suspect your light magic might be in this world. But it is also the color of both order and justice. Law, bureaucracy, authority, these all hew to white magic." Karn focused on the orb as he spoke. "How many in your world, I wonder, sought power for pure purposes, and ended up being worse than those they replaced?",An image of a sun appeared within the orb. "The symbol for white magic is a sun. It brings life and growth to the lands, but can also bake the desert and slay the unwary with its heat.",The green orb glowed next. "Green magic is the magic of the forest. It is the magic of life itself, of nature, of growth. It is the strength of the hunt, but also the bloodlust of the hunter, the killer instinct of the predator." A tree appeared in the orb. "The tree is our symbol for green magic. One can easily shape wood to their needs, cut it, burn it, as you like - but given time and room to grow, the forest cannot be so easily tamed.",Hermione watched, fascinated, as the blue orb began to glow. Ron and Harry shared a brief look, each amused at her reaction. This was old knowledge, something she would never find in a book.,"Blue magic governs knowledge and reason. It is the magic of insight, creativity, invention, cleverness. But even cleverness can give way to trickery when wielded as a weapon." A drop of water appeared in the orb. "Water is our symbol here, for the realm of knowledge is as vast as the oceans - and like the oceans, those who delve too deep often find themselves drowning.",The red orb glowed next. "Red is, as you might expect, the magic of fire and destruction. Chaos and the devastation of war are both aspects of red magic, just as the rage of the planet itself can be, as one might see with a quake or a volcano or the like." A small ball of fire appeared in the orb. "Fire is the symbol used for red magic - but not just any fire. The fireball is an aspect of red magic that exemplifies its nature, for it is a magic that is trivial to cast, but utterly impossible to fully control.",The fifth orb turned an inky black, eliciting a gasp from Hermione. "This is your dark magic, the magic of the swamp. Black magic." Karn waved his hand, and a stylized skull appeared in the orb. "Death and despair are the provinces of black magic, but death is not always evil or unnatural. Black magic is without moral imperative, lacking external control. It is individualistic, in a way no other realm of magic can be. The most ambitious of mages are students of black magic, and that frequently serves them ill, as your Dark Lord may learn to his regret.",Karn watched as the three teenagers gazed upon the five orbs, their fascination evident. With a flick of his wrist, the orbs began shifting once more.,"No being, no mage, no planeswalker, is entirely devoted to one aspect of magic." As he spoke, the white and green orbs merged briefly in the center of the circle, separating moments later. The red and black orbs were next, before the green and blue, red and white, blue and black, and so on. "Just as with your rainbow, there are many different blends of magical skill.","So," began Harry. "I'm not a light wizard, then?",Karn held his hand out toward Harry, and his palm glowed once more. As they watched, a sixth orb appeared, blended evenly with white and green magic.,"You see yourself as a protector, Harry Potter. At some level, you are offended at the continued existence of your Dark Lord, as your current mission proves. The nature of your protection, though, is thick with the magic of life." Karn tilted his head, considering what he saw in Harry's magic. "I see a great horned beast, striding through a forest, defending all who have need.","Prongs," Harry whispered, staring at the orbs in awe.,After a moment, the white and green orb faded. Karn turned his attention to Ron, who nodded in response to the unasked question. Again, the palm glowed, and again a sixth orb appeared. This time, it was a blend of white and red.,"You, too, are a protector, but your magic is much more chaotic than that of your compatriots. What you lack in skill and precision, you make up for with strength you did not know you possessed. That will serve you well in the battles to come.","Could you…?" Hermione's voice trailed off as Karn turned to her, his palm glowing. Instead of a blend of colors it was a bright blue with streaks of white, almost like clouds across a sunlit sky. Harry saw the wonder in Hermione's eyes, and watched as she reached a tentative hand toward the orb.,"You are a seeker of knowledge, Hermione Granger, much like the scholars of my home. But always your hand is guided by a strong sense of justice and order." Karn looked at the three, all of whom were still gazing at the visual representation of Hermione's magic. "None of you are surprised by my words.",It was Hermione who spoke first. "It all makes sense, when you look at it from this perspective. I never knew… Karn, this is amazing." Ron placed a hand on her shoulder, nodding his agreement.,"Voldemort would use black magic, then?" asked Harry. With a simple motion, another orb appeared - this one a dark black. To Harry's surprise, there were also streaks of red and blue as well.,"Your Dark Lord delved into magics best left untouched, it would seem," Karn said. "His rage is evident, and I suspect he would be a brutal master even to his most devoted followers." He nodded toward the small patch of blue, lurking at the edge of the orb. "Had he been given the chance, and with the proper guidance, he may have become a gifted teacher of magic. But his lust for power, his ambition… these doomed him.",oOoOoOoOo,Harry tilted his head, watching the golem. Something in the being's words gave him pause. "You've seen this sort of magic before.",A nod. "Once, long ago." The central orb grew, absorbing the others. In the cloudy depths, a shape began to form. Harry was the first to recognize the shape as that of a dragon, but one unlike any on Earth. Its wings were enormous, to carry its massive form. Its horns were equally impressive, and Harry could see that they almost crackled with magical power.,It was the creature's eyes that chilled him, however, for the dragon gazed out of the orb with unfathomable malice. Without thinking, Harry Potter took a step away from the orb, reaching for his wand as he did so.,"Behold Nicol Bolas," Karn said, disgust plain in his normally stoic voice. "Different worlds called him by different names over the eons. The Deathbringer, The Forever Serpent, The God-Pharaoh of Amonkhet, countless others.",Harry noticed Hermione reach over to hold Ron's hand as they watched the display, both troubled by the idea of such a creature. Harry focused himself on the meaning behind the comparison - on why the idea of Voldemort reminded Karn of a dragon known as the 'Forever Serpent'. The hatred in the features of Nicol Bolas could easily be compared to the Dark Lord, but the destruction Harry saw in the orb's images was well beyond anything Voldemort had managed in either war.,It was as if Karn had followed Harry's train of thought, for the images changed to depict a great battle, hordes of witches and wizards, alongside creatures of all sorts, fighting in a massive war.,"Even among magic users, planeswalkers are special. Each has the ability to pierce the boundaries between one world and the next, and thus tend to wield great power. Nicol Bolas was one such, perhaps the most ancient, said to be old before his world was born." Karn gestured toward the orb. "On a world known as Ravinica, he lured planeswalkers in by the thousands. Then he trapped them, intending to feast on their magic.",Harry saw the battle, saw the unimaginable power of the wizards arrayed against the hordes of what looked like zombies fighting for Bolas. In that instant, he saw a similar battle, wizard against wizard, taking place on the steps of Hogwarts, and felt the anger growing inside him. , he thought, ,"What happened, Karn?" asked Harry.,"In his arrogance, Bolas sowed the seeds of his own defeat. He had created a weapon of immense power, a spear fit for a goddess, containing some of his own essence. With that spear and his magic, he corrupted Hazoret, the Amonkhet Goddess of Zeal. She remained under his control until he betrayed her and left her for dead. Years later, when our alliance sought to fight him, Hazoret gifted me with the spear. The dragon Niv-Mizzet impaled Bolas on the spear, allowing him to be stopped once and for all.","He did the same thing…" said Hermione to herself. Off their looks, she gestured at the frozen image of Nicol Bolas. "Don't you see? Bolas left part of himself in the spear, and that was what defeated him. You-know-who left pieces of himself all over the country, never believing for an instant that they could be found and used against him.","If we can find them," said Ron. "We're still missing one.",Karn looked intently at Harry. "How many soul jars did this Dark Lord create?","Six," said Hermione.,"No," said Harry, remembering the conversation in the vaults. "The diary, the ring, and the locket are destroyed. We have the cup. He has his snake. Something of Ravenclaw's is hidden at Hogwarts." Harry turned toward Ron and Hermione, his shaking hand on his forehead, lifting his hair to display his scar.,"And the seventh is here, in my scar." He sighed. "In me.",oOoOoOoOo,Karn watched passively as Hermione went to hug Harry, following his revelation.,he realized. ,Ron stepped closer to Karn, giving Harry and Hermione their space. "Can you help us?" he asked.,Karn looked down at the redhead, but said nothing.,"Look, we're Gryffindors, and normally that means that we'd charge in without a plan and without a clue." Ron nodded toward Harry. "If I know my friend, there, he'll want to go to Hogwarts right away, and hope that we figure it out before You-know-who does.","You hope for another way." Karn said, simply.,Ron nodded. "There's a prophecy, you know, about Harry and the dark lord. How does it go… ,He looked up at the silver golem, his expression unreadable. "The way I see it, there isn't much magic that Harry knows that You-know-who doesn't. But what they don't know is that you're here.",Karn seemed to be amused by the thought. "You believe that I am the power this dark lord knows not?",Ron shrugged. "Could be, mate." Ron's eyes went to the image of Nicol Bolas. "Seems to me you've already taken care of one dark lord, and a much worse one than ours. We could use your help.","Every act of destruction has repercussions," said Karn. His voice sounded more weary than it had all evening. "I cannot slay your dark lord for you.","No," agreed Ron. "But that doesn't mean you can't help us in other ways.","Perhaps not," said Karn. "I told Harry that a mage who created soul jars was beyond redemption, and I stand by that. Just like the Nameless One, he must be stopped before his rampage consumes your world.",Karn's yellow eyes met Ron's. Neither of them noticed Harry and Hermione watching them, listening. The great silver face nodded once, and the deep voice spoke once more.,"I will stand with you, all of you.","Thank you," said Harry. "Truly, thank you.",Karn nodded in acknowledgement. "We will want to get moving, then.","Right." agreed Harry, standing up. "To Hogwarts."

"Aaaaa I absolutely love the holidays" Gordon said to no one in particular. As he took fresh baked sugar cookies in christmas shapes out of the oven. "Now who wants to help me decorate them" Gordon Tracy shouted. Seconds later he heard footsteps coming down the hall smiling to himself Gordon Tracy knew who they belonged to. "COOKIES!" Danny Tracy shouted and tried to swipe one from the cooling rack. Gordon quickly saw this and quickly swatted Danny's hand away.,With his back turned once again Gordon said "You wouldn't want to eat them all and not leave anything for Santa." Grabbing whatever he needed out of the fridge Gordon set all his supplies down and looked at Danny who was about to cry. Sighing Gordon decided to make a compromise with Danny and said "How's this Danny boy you help me decorate them and you can have one after dinner." Danny Tracy instantly agreed with his Uncle Gordon. As Gordon placed Danny on the seat next to him he looked over and saw a rather bored looking Harry Potter looking up at the ceiling. "Hey Harry want to help decorate some christmas cookies?" Gordon asked Harry.,Teenaged Harry simply shurgged his shoulders as he thought to himself that he had nothing better to do. I mean it would be a lot better than staring at the ceiling. As Harry and Danny picked a cookie and began to decorate them with an assortment of sweet things. While Danny and Harry continued to decorate till their heart's content. Gordon noticed one cookie left on the cooling rack that no one touched; and it was in the shape of a certain owl that everyone else seemed to love and he was the only one that hated that bird. Gordon also sensed that the bird in question was nearby and he was right.,Hedwig was watching him not to far away daring him to mess up his cookie look made Gordon sweat a little bit. It looked like he was going to have to call for backup and Gordon Tracy just knew who to call and his name was Virgil Tracy. A slightly annoyed Virgil appeared seconds latter wondering what Gordon could want? Virgil couldn't understand why Gordon of all people couldn't give him any peace and quiet after all he just came back from a rescue. Coming into the kitchen Gordon asked "Virgil I need your help painting a cookie for me?","That's what you called you me over for!" Virgil said exasperated. "Forget it Gordon just forget it!" Virgil said walking away. Gordon who was by now pleading with Virgil said "Virgil please hear me out your the artistic brother in the Tracy family; and I am afraid of messing up Hedwig's image because that bird will not leave me alone if I do." "Ok fine Gordon!" Virgil said reluctantly agreed finally giving into Gordon's constant pleading. "Quit your whining already Gordon I'll do Hedwig's cookie alright" Virgil said.,Gordon felt like a ton of weight was lived off this shoulders and true to his promise Virgil stayed and copied Hedwig's image on to the cookie and that's how the rest of the family found them Gordon, Danny, Harry and Virgil all decorating christmas cookies.

, ,Standing in a driveway on a June night dressed in casual clothes, seventeen year-old Harry Potter stared at the house. It wasn't a remarkable house, really it was the worst place he knew. At least, it appeared to be. The Dursley household, Number 4 Privet Drive. Except the address was different whereas everything else looked the same. ,Taking a deep breath Harry stepped forward, ',' he thought, thinking of his prick of a cousin and the pig's despicable parents. He reached the door and just as he was about to knock it slowly creaked open of its own accord and Harry was left looking into a void of pitch black, knuckles still raised in slight confusion.,",",Harry spun on the spot, wand at the ready, heart pumping loudly in the ensuing silence. There on the sidewalk stood a stoic little girl, watching him. Harry swallowed, a lump in his throat.,',' he thought to himself, a chill running up his spine as looked at the unnerving child in return. "Who are you?" Harry asked her suspiciously. He received no discernible response.,Deciding that nothing would be accomplished by standing there in a staring contest, Harry began walking towards her. The door slammed shut with a ,and Harry jumped and twisted around to aim his wand behind him. Nothing. Turning back to the girl he found her not even a foot from him staring up at him with coal black eyes with no whites wearing a red and green striped sweater. Her lips peeled back as she hissed menacingly at him, before lunging for his face with a clawed hand.,"HARRY!",Harry leaped up and rolled from his bed, somehow holding his wand and aiming at… ",?!" He panted, sleep fading from his vision.,She was kneeling on the bed in her nightshirt looking at him with concern. "Harry? Are you alright? You were having a bad dream.","M'fine," Harry mumbled, lowering his wand. ',wrong,' he mused recalling the general creepiness of the nightmare. Rubbing his eyes to get rid of a stray eyelash, a pinch of pain alerted him to a shallow cut on his cheek. Harry pulled his hand away to see a slight smear of crimson.,"Harry! You're bleeding!" Ginny quickly got out of the bed and bent down to examine Harry's face.,"S'just a scratch," Harry responded, absently. His brain was awhirl with the possibility of the dream having been real...somehow.,"Voldemort?" Ginny whispered, anxiously.,Harry looked at her, "No, I don't think so. There was this weird girl, I was at my aunt and uncle's house. She hissed at me before she attacked.",Ginny seemed relieved at Harry's assurance, then her face formed into one of seriousness. "Let's go talk to Bill, he can check to see if this a curse or not.",",The hair on Harry's neck raised as he looked around for the source of the haunting, child-like voice and saw nobody. Just a lit, empty street and the house. The same house, same address. He drew his wand. How he had the wand he didn't know, but he took comfort in it's presence.,This time Harry reached the door and simply turned the knob to let himself in. The lights were on, yet they were clearly off when he was outside… Taking a breath, Harry called out, "Hello? Aunt Petunia? Uncle Vernon? Dudley…?" He trailed off in the silence, then braved the threshold and into the house.,Standing in the hall, he saw the pictures on the walls, containing Vernon, Petunia, Dudley, Marge and some landscapes. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. Stepping forward, he passed the entrance to living room on his left. ',' he thought to himself after taking a glance around.,Harry's head jerked upward to look at the ceiling, breath caught in his lungs. ',,' he thought panickedly.,Licking his lips and breathing again, Harry turned toward the stairs, ',',It took him a moment to get his feet moving again and he made his way to the staircase, grasping the wooden rail with one hand and keeping his eyes and wand trained at the exit from the stairs to the first floor hallway. ',' he noted, fear clenching his stomach.,One step after another, he ascended. It felt like an eternity. Harry knew fear, knew it well, but this was a different sort of feeling. Stronger, more irrational. The fear he was used to was a knowing fear. He knew Voldemort, the dark wizard was a tangible person. A psychopathic, fearsome, and powerful man, to be sure, but a man nonetheless. Walking up those steps took everything Harry had, because he didn't know what lay in wait for him. The girl came to mind, but she too was an unknown. The very atmosphere was oppressive, charged with malice and full of tension as he strained his ears for the next startling sound or horrific appearance.,As Harry crested the stairs he came upon the landing, except it seemed to stretch unnaturally far, too far to accommodate the house it was in. ',' his mind sang uneasily.,Harry pushed himself forward again, wand at the ready, and made a few feet. A door to the right opened, slowly, a glowing red light beyond it. Harry's eyes widened, following, as it swung on its hinges and he swallowed the lump of fear in his throat.,A scuttling body charged from the room, its limbs twisted unnaturally as it skittered on all fours towards him at an unearthly speed. Harry screamed and fired a silent ,, missing by a mile. The terrible..., grunted raspily as it closed in and Harry stumbled backwards blindly as he cast Sectumsempra over and over again, his spells flying embarrassingly far from their intended target.,The creature dodged, climbing the wall effortlessly and scuttling across the ceiling like a spider without pausing for a moment. Its impossibly twisted, horrific face stared straight at him, its mouth open in a silent snarl. The leathery expanse of its face was scarred with burns that warped its facial features beyond recognition. On its body was the same striped shirt as from the first dream, the one with the horrifying girl.,Harry backpedaled until he reached the staircase and he stumbled, falling backwards down the stairs. The thing chuckled cruelly and leapt like a predatory creature, its arms and legs twisting backwards. The creature's voice wasn't anything like Voldemort's. It was deep, echoing, and unfathomably sinister. Its slimy tongue whipped out, stretching impossibly long and reaching for his throat as Harry landed heavily at the bottom of the stairs, his body aching and-,Harry's eyes snapped open, but all he saw was the ceiling of his and Ginny's room. He lay on his back on the floor, breathing heavily. He heard footsteps running down the hall to the bedroom door. Ginny burst in looking worried having left for the restroom earlier.,Looking at one another, they reached a silent understanding. This wasn't just going to go away.,Harry and Ginny had floo-called Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville and apprized them of the situation.,"So, this , looked like a little girl at first then it was a burned, human-looking monster? How do you know it was the same thing?" Ron asked, slightly disbelieving.,"Because it wore the same shirt with green and red stripes," Harry said a tad impatiently.,"Did it look familiar? You said wasn't Voldemort, so what it it?" Hermione asked.,"I don't know, but there were these rhymes. ,," Harry recited. ", I think it's a he and he's called Freddy.",Everyone stared at Harry. He rolled his eyes, "Obviously not , Fred.",Ron muttered, "Creepy stuff Harry.","You could take the Dreamless Sleep potion," Hermione suggested.,"Yeah, but for how long?" Harry responded, "I can't just live my whole life drinking it and avoiding my dreams. Pretty sure there'd be some side-effects from that.","You haven't managed to hit him with a spell yet. Do you think you could kill Freddy?" Neville asked.,Harry looked at him, a little surprised Neville would be the first to suggest killing. "I don't know," Harry answered.,They weren't really getting anywhere, they didn't have enough information to go on. All they knew was a monster named Freddy had taken residence in Harry's dreams, and Harry couldn't just stop sleeping or depend on the Drought of Dreamless Sleep forever.,And soon, the sun would be setting.,"Can you take turns watching me sleep? If things seem to be getting really bad, will you wake me up?" Harry asked them.,His friends looked at each other and back him. Luna spoke for them all, "Sure, Harry. Just don't do anything reckless, it wouldn't be fair of you to get mortally wounded and die after we wake you up.",Harry smiled tightly, nodding.,They drew lots and Ginny took the first watch.,Harry was at the landing on the first floor of the nightmare house and once again everything seemed ordinary. No stretching hall, no dimness, no Freddy.,Yet.,Reaching for his trusty wand Harry's hand grabbed thin air… ',"," The next verse flowed nowhere and everywhere.,Glancing at the floor in the vain hope that it had dropped out of his pocket, Harry frantically tried to think of what he could use as a weapon.,', He found it stashed under the sink in the bathroom.,"It probably won't burn him with my luck, but it's better than my fists," he muttered.,Standing, Harry left the bathroom, holding his makeshift weapon in one hand like a club. Suddenly, the lights flickered and he heard a hissing to his left he slowly turned his head to look and saw a rather big snake. It was striped red and green and had the head of the monster he had encountered last night wearing a brown hat. It would have been comical if he'd not already experienced two nights detailing exactly how horrible it could be.,The face grinned, but the expression didn't reach its eyes, which stared predatorily at Harry as if he was a tasty meal. Then it spoke… with , voice. "Harry my boy, tucker in.",It lunged, its mouth gaping with pointed teeth. Harry was barely able to dodge, jumping to the side, his face still frozen with shock at the demon's mimicry of his old mentor. He climbed to his knees as the Freddy-snake readied to launch itself at him again. Outrage and desperation coursed through him as he swung the curling iron at the monster's head and with a dull, wet crack it split open like an egg. Vile fluids leaked out onto the carpet, but the thing still moved. It slithered itself, broken head swaying, up and over the rail of the staircase to the ground floor of the house.,Harry, avoiding what he assumed to be the foul creature's blood, followed and looked down. Nothing. ',died?' He wondered in shock. Picking up the curling iron, he headed downstairs after it.,",",Harry reached the bottom and saw a trail of the black and green ichor trailing around the corner. The telly in the living room switched on of its own accord. A figure in black was strolling up to the screen, it wore a robe and the same brown hat.,",?" Harry questioned, deeply disturbed. He quickly realized it couldn't be the real Voldemort. The Dark Lord was long dead.,"Harry Potter, we meet at last," it quoted at him in the same whispery cold voice the Dark Lord had used back in his first year.,"What do you want?"Harry asked, shakily.,"Your , boy, I want your soul," Freddymort answered. It smiled at him, flashing rotted teeth. "And what Freddy wants, Freddy GETS!",The screen zoomed in on the face and suddenly blew up.,Harry felt a calmness settle into him. Freddy wasn't such an unknown anymore. Still frightening, because the twisted, demented creature wanted to kill him in the most sadistic ways possible, but he'd confronted the same in Voldemort. He could face Freddy too.,The trail led to the hated place where he had lived for many years: the cupboard under the stairs. A faint red glow seeped from under the door.,Gathering his determination, Harry gripped the curling iron.,',' Harry's lips quirked at his mind's attempt at levity when faced with bad odds. Said quirk vanished as claw marks suddenly slashed diagonally through the door, as if the wood was made out of paper.,Harry gulped, but steeled himself and moved forward. He turned the handle and the door swung open.,Instead of his old sleeping quarters he found it had become another staircase that wound down under the house. ',' his mind rationalized. He descended.,Pipes came into view and steam occasionally billowed from a leak here and there, the red glow which seemed to have no source only increased the ominous feeling he had. ',' he thought.,Finally the winding stairs came to a grated landing. It was almost too hot and humid to bear. He spotted the massive furnace and the floor below. Then there was a screeching, the sound of metal sliding against metal. Harry looked across the way and saw a man on the landing at the other end of the place. The details weren't readily visible, but he was wearing a sweater and hat. Harry knew it was Freddy.,"So, Harry," Freddy's voice rumbled in predatory smugness. "Do you like the stage?","Who are you? Why do you want to kill me?" Harry asked in an attempt to get more answers.,"I'm the guy who's going to butcher you and your friends. I only needed you to mention me to them and now I have a foothold in your world," Freddy answered in that demonic voice as he walked around the landing that circled the room and towards Harry.,"My world?" Harry pressed, closing in on the ladder that would take him to the floor.,"The parents killed me in an act of vigilantism," Freddy went on, tone taking a vengeful quality. "But I came back in the dreams of the children who still lived and remembered me. Now I am eternal, and infecting your Wizarding World!." Freddy began to laugh, obviously pleased at the opportunity presented to him.,Harry who had been climbing down ran to the open furnace looking around for something, anything, he could use that would be better than the damned curling iron.,'Should have stopped by the kitchen,' he thought darkly.,He saw a desk to the right of the furnace and ran towards it. He spotted a familiar shape. ', Just as he was grabbing for it the wand floated, seemingly of its own accord, out of Harry's reach. His eyes followed it up to Freddy's hand, who still stood above on the landing. The brief bubble of hope became a moment of panic. 'He can't use it can he?!',"Is this what you want, Harry? Your little ,?" Freddy taunted.,Stepping back, putting distance between himself and Freddy, Harry said, "It isn't like you can use it.",Freddy frowned, his scars pulling with the motion. "I don't need a little stick to kill you Harry. I may not have magic as you do, but with the powers I wield here in the dream, well, it's as good as," he growled. Then he vaulted over the rail and onto the floor, a fifteen feet or so. He landed without so much as a grunt.,Passing the furnace Harry found inspiration, ',',Freddy stalked closer, "'Laughter is the sun that drives winter from a human face,' Harry." Bringing Harry's wand up and watching for a reaction, Freddy effortlessly snapped it in half and laughed.,Harry boiled in anger. ',' he thought, restraining himself.,Freddy was now directly in front of the opening of the furnace, ',' Harry made his move and charged at the monster. The burned man's eyes widened at the show of courage before he was tackled. Harry brought the curling iron to bear on Freddy's face once, twice. The third attempt failed as Freddy slashed Harry's chest.,Bleeding, Harry flinched and fell away, shrugging the pain off while Freddy was getting up holding head. Harry came at him again, knocking Freddy into the furnace and kicking as hard as he could at the man's bottom half that hadn't made it through the opening.,Freddy was howling in pain and terror, legs kicking as he tried to force himself back out. Harry wasn't having that though. Grabbing his legs, Harry used the last of his reserves to push his enemy the rest of the way, then shutting the furnace for good.,Opening his eyes Harry felt Ginny shaking him and saw her in tears. She grasped him and he hissed in pain, remembering the cuts he received. "It's done," he breathed.,"Was so worried about you…" she said.,"I mustn't have been gone THAT long, Ginny. No one else has taken a shift yet," Harry said, with a wheeze. Ginny had stilled at that. "Ginny?" She moved to sit back and he looked at her, and horror constricted him as he saw her bloody face, eyes missing from their sockets. She slowly reached for him, as she chanted:,","

I do not own Harry Potter or Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I do however own the plot for my story and my characters.,Now I have changed quite a few things. Let's start the list off, shall we?,Harry does not exist in this world and has been turned into Evangeline Lillian Potter, the fifteen-year-old daughter of James and Lillian Potter., It takes place in season one of SVU and book five of HP.,Most of what happens in HP and SVU has happened, with the exception of Hagrid getting Eva, her and Dudley hating each other, and that's all I can think of at the moment., This will have some dark subjects in it. Such as underage drinking, perhaps alcoholism, self-harm, rape, and child abuse. If you've ever watched SVU you'll know that's what the show revolves around.

~oo00oo~,The room was cold and damp. A small girl was huddled in the corner, shivering from fear and pain. Tears rolled down her face as the ache in her side increased, her stomach sore and swollen from where the thugs had kicked her. She wanted her mummy, she wanted her so badly. She wanted her mummy to kiss her head and hold her tight. She wanted her daddy to swing her up and tell her it would be all okay.,Her red hair lay plastered around her pale and gaunt face, unwashed she had last been outside, in the rain. She buried her face in her knees, sobs filling the silent night.,Ginny hated this, this misery. It was so much a part of her daily life that she almost didn't remember what it felt like to be a normal child with loving parents. It had been so long since she had felt the warm embrace of her mother, the reassuring hand of her father on her shoulder.,The familiar feeling of numbness crept up her limbs. She pulled her thin jumper closer to her, snuggling into its worn threads she had watched her mother knit her for Christmas the last time they had been together.,It had been years since that fateful day when she was separated from her family. She could just barely remember what they looked like, her mother with her warm smile and her father with his strong arms, her brothers, too, loud and obnoxious and funny.,She remembered the man who dragged her away from her mother while they were shopping. She remembered his piggy eyes and his pug nose, as he clapped a dirty hand over her mouth and snatched her away.,She had been tossed into a locked room with a bunch of other terrified children, crying and wailing for hours on end. They had been kept in there for months, before she had managed to pry the rusting bars off and escape into the night.,An old woman, blind and mute, had taken her under her wing, showing her the ways of the streets. She had always made sure that Ginny had enough to eat, even if it meant she went hungry herself. And then she too had died, gone to sleep and never woken up.,A woman had coaxed her inside a building, promising food and a warm bed. There had been neither. Instead, she had been locked in this room, alone with only the pale glow of the moon through the broken window ten feet above her head.,She gave a sob as pain spiked through her side, putting her head on her knees and squeezing her eyes shut. Her grip on reality began to fade, and she felt herself begin to fall asleep. Maybe she could dream of being safe and happy with her family…,Light and warmth suddenly covered her whole body, and she brought her head up to squint at the source. A boy was floating in front of her, his bright smile just as blinding as the light illuminating from the ball of pure energy by his side.,He held out a hand to her, and she stared distrustfully at it.,"Hi!" he said. "I'm Harry Potter. I'm looking for my glasses. Have you seen them?",Ginny shook her head no, trying to both shrink away from the strange boy and get closer to the radiating warmth. He beamed down at her, his smile contagious.,"Can you help me find it then? We can go on an adventure! You won't have to be lonely, 'cause I'll be your friend forever!",His attitude was infectious, and Ginny found herself nodding. Harry gave her a radiant smile. Slowly, she took his offered hand, and felt a shock like electricity and liquid sun spread through her body at his touch, warming her to the tips of her toes.,A smile graced her face, and she happily stood to her feet. Harry positively beamed at her.,"Are you ready?",She nodded, laughing happily as he sprinkled faerie dust on her. She felt her feet begin to leave the ground, and felt panic start to grip her heart, but Harry was there to help her.,He grabbed his hands up in hers, his tinkling laugh easing her fears.,"It's okay, trust me. All you have to do is believe; believe me, and trust your heart.",Ginny closed her eyes and relaxed, and felt the stony grip of fear slowly release, to be replaced with wonder and amazement. Together, they flew through the broken window and to join the Lost Children of Neverland.,Ginny never realized that from the minute Harry appeared, her pain and fear had melted away like dirty snow. She never realized that when she flew away to the land of dreams, she left behind the body of her mortal suffering, a serene smile on cracked and bloody lips.,When the thugs went to check on her the next morning, they found her body. A smile that struck fear in their dark hearts was on her face, an expression of happiness and victory. They found footprints, blackened with heat and sunken into the concrete. One pair smaller and feminine, the same shape as the bare feet of the red-headed girl they'd killed, and another, just as small but more boyish, that seemed to dance even as they never moved. No amount of scrubbing would ever remove them, just like no scrubbing could possibly remove their sins from their souls.,Severus Snape hated his outfit. It was garish and ridiculous, and very unbefitting of a man like him. But he wore it, day in and day out. Always had, and always would.,He would never quite have the afterlife he had thought he would, but in a way, this was so much better. He would never have his perfect heaven, but he could make one for these kids.,They needed a villain, they needed someone to play bad guy. So Severus did it. Because if he didn't, then these children would create their own. They were the children of hard lives, and miserable deaths. They intimately knew the evils of the human race, and none of its good facets. If he didn't play the villain, their imaginations would bring forth the demons from their own pasts.,So he wore the silly pirate outfit, and he played the part. He watched as the laughed and played, and he was happy. They would eventually forget about the horrors they had experienced, instead filling their minds with friendship and family and happiness.,He entered the captain's quarters on his ship, noticing the log book grow another entry. After the details of Hermione Granger's and Dean Thomas' lives and deaths, the newest child's appeared.,'Captain Hook' snapped the book closed, sinking into his desk chair and reaching for the alcohol. He felt the tears and anger on behalf of the children in his care well up, and he threw his tumbler at the wall, watching the falling shards of glass catch the light.,It was better that he be the harmless villain than to have the real monsters of the human world appear. They had been through too much already, they deserved all the eternal happiness and love Neverland could offer.

Harry Potter and the Phantom Thief,Chapter 1,It was large, with big crossed yellow eyes, and slightly rumpled brown feathers. It looked slightly confused, but upon seeing Daisuke, it held out one long, black leg. Attached to aforementioned long, black leg was a letter.,After only a moment's hesitation, Daisuke took the letter. He carefully examined it for explosives, and finding none, opened it.,Daisuke looked the letter over again, read through the strange list of supplies, briefly wondered where King's Cross Station was, and then noticed that the letter was dated three years ago. He wondered if the offer still stood.,"Mom!" he called, running back inside. Azumano Jr. High could wait until the mystery was solved.,"Yes, dear?" she answered, hurrying up from the basement in a black robe. "Dai, you should be heading to school now.",Daisuke looked at the letter and held it up. "I think I should have been going to school three years ago. Maybe.",Emiko looked puzzled, but she rolled up her long sleeves and took the letter from Daisuke. The fourteen-year-old stood in silence, waiting.,She took one look at letter and shrieked, startling her son. "Oh, Daisuke! You got in! I always knew you had it in you!","Wait, you know something about this?" Of all reactions, this was not one that he expected.,"I didn't tell you before because I knew it'd break your heart if you didn't get in when all of your ancestors back even before Dark have gone there!" Tears welled up in her eyes as she beamed at Daisuke with all the maternal love she could muster.,"What's all this racket about?" Daisuke's grandfather appeared, also in a black robe. "Eh? What's that?" He gestured towards the letter.,Emiko held it out to him and he held it at arm's length so he could read it. "Great Scott!" he cried. "This is an acceptance letter to Hogwarts!" He paused and then added in concern, "But it should have come ages ago...","Well, it was attached to an owl, so anything could have happened to it. it probably fell out of a mail truck or something," Daisuke explained. He pointed outside to where the owl had been. "The owl was right out there." Daisuke peered out the window. "In fact, it's , there.","Oh, nonsense! Owls are wonderfully reliable creatures," Emiko responded, ignoring the last part and Daisuke's uncertain tone that went with it. "They only get lost if they have a strong memory charm placed on them.","What's a memory charm?" Daisuke asked, clueless. He imagined something that might go on a cell phone but was instead attached to an owl.,"Oh, there's so much for you to learn!" his mother said fondly. She started humming something bouncy and dancing around the room.,Daisuke could only hope this learning was less dangerous than learning to be a phantom thief.

Title ,Summary ,Pairings ,Warnings ,A/N ,-,-,Everyone had been celebrating the last few weeks, the joy of Severus Snape announcing his resignation from the role of Potions Master after the first week of classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry being one that everybody apart from half of Slytherin House could see to be good.,It had only taken a day for the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, to engage a new Potions Professor to the role, a famous squib being the one to take the role. As Ron Weasley and his two friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, a couple who had been dating since Harry had been forced into the TriWizard Tournament were entering the classroom, Hermione squeaked as she saw the new Professor…,…Gordon Ramsay.,She knew instantly that something was going to go wrong from the off as he took the roll call and paused at her boyfriend's name…,"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Someone to rival my own…celebrity.",Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. "Looks like you have got no chance of passing this class Potter." Malfoy whispered behind the back of the Gryffindor Trio. "They say he makes Professor Snape look kind.",Hearing the blonde-haired student speak without his permission, Professor Ramsey threw a blackboard rubber at Malfoy, hitting his head. "Detention Mr Malfoy, after your free period, with Professor Grawp!",Things didn't improve for the class as the Potions lesson continued. The new Potions Professor put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils, testing their knowledge of First Year potions. He swept around in his white chef's outfit, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Hermione and Daphne Greengrass, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Hermione had stewed her horned slugs when clouds of ginger smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor.,"It's that ginger, it is almost a Weasley!" Professor Ramsay shouted across the room. "Get out. Shut it down. I don't want to see any of you fuckbags again. Fuck!",Leaving the Potions classroom, many repetitions of the sentence "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck" coming out of his mouth, the Professor failed to hear what Malfoy had to say as Ron started crying at Ramsay's comparison to his heritage...,"At least it wasn't raw!",-Ramsay's Potions Nightmare-,I don't own the , Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, and are not my intellectual property. ,is the property of Fox and ITV Studios America. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only. Any text used from the Harry Potter series is used under the fair use allowances of various copyright acts,Please remember to review this story as it helps improve the stories that I write for you guys. It's the only payment, along with adding to community's and favourites that I get for writing these, and I admit I enjoy that payment.,One-Shot / / / ,Complete / / / ,FFN, AO3 / / /

we,new,Anything,The curvature of the sphere was barely illuminated by the young yellow star reacting light years away. Upon her dark and light faces there was not a single object to be found among the upper dusky blue atmosphere which blanketed her denizens. It would be six years until the Soviets launched Sputnik 1 and in turn launch the Space Race, and Humanity, to the next step of their inexorable evolution.,But now, a legend and a ghost would prove testament to their future success. A child returning home. Fully grown... and now lost.,Among the twinkling balls of life issued one that moved at a speed beyond description. Neon cyan and glowing with the power and energy of a lost race. It flared mightier than the sun as it eclipsed the event horizon of Mother Earth and, if possible, shone all the brighter as it streaked through the stratosphere; slowing against the chemical and magnetic blanket.,Gravity took over and began to pull the celestial object towards the Northern hemisphere while trailing a freshly oxygenated, flaming cobalt comet tail. Bio-luminescent rays illuminated the clouds a Persian green, sweeping them along in a cyclonic wake as the rapidly oscillating temperatures clashed with the free flowing ice crystals; eliciting lightning sparks that only added to the majesty of the scintillating meteor's glowing ablation route. Luckily for the sleeping populace of the British Isles - the shooting star was headed for a collision course with its polarising attractor, a deep black lake in the heart of the Scottish highlands. Its dark waters thrumming with the liquid counter-stance that would stop an explosion capable of wiping out every last living thing on the surface of the planet.,Loch Dubh's nearly still skein shimmered and sparkled as the early morning night sky was split asunder. The great comet bathed the surrounding mountains and the imposing, crenelated castle with its brilliance, its travel marked with the sound of a million avalanches - woke nearly everyone from their beds.,While the following impact event certainly roused the rest as the newly christened meteorite struck the huge body of water. Trees in the nearby Toirmiscthe Forest were uprooted as the shock-wave not only sent a quarter of the lake's water pluming upwards in a hundred foot geyser but shattered several of the enchanted unbreakable windows in the keep's great hall.,In his high tower office, the immensely elderly Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Armando Dippet - was sent rolling out of his own four poster. Not only due to the earthquake tremors shaking the building from battlement to dungeon depths; but due to the institute's wards being seamlessly bypassed with an immense magical backlash to his person.,"Merlin!" the geriatric warlock gasped, never in his three hundred years had he felt such ,...,From within his oval study, he heard the office door swing open and the voice of his deputy, Albus Dumbledore, call out: "Armando! You have to see this!",As fast as his wizened frame could carry him - Dippet threw on a robe over his nightshirt and staggered through the curtained partition of his sleeping quarters.,Albus's gaze was fixed out of the panes of the latticed glass main window. A turquoise glow reflecting off his startlingly sky blue eyes and long auburn beard. Dippet joined his taller colleague to see the black lake roiling with some great light emitting force; dull at the edges of the shore but positively burning with light at the centre - throwing an incredible ripple light fresco effect onto the ancient walls.,A column of super-heated steam rose from the loch. Dippet turned, wide-eyed and terrified to face a wary yet intrigued Dumbledore.,"What could have done this, Albus?" he gasped, clutching his heart.,Albus was pensive but his answering reply was tinged with that same maddening curiosity that caused him to look beyond the mundane of the Wizarding world... not to mention why many considered him a dopey old loon.,"Something beyond our ken, Headmaster... with your permission I'll assemble Ogg and the rest of the faculty to investigate this anomaly. The selkies will surely aid us as well... if they haven't all been obliterated at ground zero.","Oh good heavens!","It is ,. But I think not, Armando. We would have, been destroyed otherwise... no, I think a form of synthesis is taking place here - and the Black Lake is its crucible...",Under the water there was an amorphous many blue-shaded orb of organic gel, alien mineral deposits and anti-matter charged energy fields congregating together. Looping and twisting, re-shaping and re-forming under an invisible sculptor's hand while casting distorted shadows over the sea bed; such was the intensity of its light-emitting properties. Currents of power vibrating outwards caused the Merpeople to hide at the entrances of their grottoes in superstitious awe.,Inside the castle, the Ravenclaw students got a birds-eye view of the event from their tower dormitories, while the Slytherins got an even better view from their lens-flaring, aquatic port-holed common room. Not that the Prefects could keep charge of , of the awakened children, teenagers and young adults. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff weren't left out either; rushing to find the nearest south facing windows they could and press their young features against - to witness a spectacle like no other.,For now, the rim of the clouds moved at speed, the eye of god growing smaller as they darkened grey, then black, filling with precipitation before the heavens opened, releasing pouring rain, bolts of lightning touched the now turbulent lake; accompanied by rumbling thunder moments later.,Deep below, the mass coalesced into a white-blue glowing nervous system and three-nuclei, six hemisphere, interconnected brains. The blood-delivery circulatory system came next, followed by primary organs of formidable size and healthy robustness. Large particles drew up skeletal support, density unparalleled as well as cartilage, sinew, tendons, small bones, bizarre membranous muscle groups where digestive tracts and secondary organs would be located on any normal Hominid were omitted in favour of resilient and in-humanly flexible cell structures. Light flowed through the being's veins and under new skin as it covered hard flesh, subcutaneous tissue molded to anatomical perfection, pathways connecting to diamond hard, short finger and toe nails, along with the sharp, slightly angled, , features of an apex predator.,The woman. For she had rock solid curves at her hips and chest despite being as lean as a young honey badger, with perfect, unmoving proportions that would make Aphrodite herself jealous of this creature. Yes, she was beautiful; in the same way a snow leopard or a timber wolf was beautiful.,Her magnificent, supine, naked form drifted into a foetal position. Epidermis smoothly transitioning between the opaque solidarity of a mammal and the translucency of the Phylum Cnidaria. Eventually the light show faded to nearly nothing. With just the slightest pulses momentarily highlighting arteries and capillaries. Across her bald skull, a fuzz the colour of barley wheat at sunset was already beginning to spread, lengthening until golden locks hung to the small of her back. Her skin as unmarred as a babe's; free of goosebumps.,Any and every creature in that freezing cold water didn't , approach, even while unconscious and sedentary, what they instinctively knew this female animal to be.,The top of the food chain.,Slowly but surely, natural buoyancy began to draw her up to the rain scorched surface. Tossed on the waves, the party of teachers and support staff could just see the figure through the driving wet bullets. They were helming three magical boats usually reserved for the first years' induction to the sorting ceremony so as to retrieve the stranger - while the students with personal Omnioculars were badgered to pass them around.,Albus cast a levitation charm but to his surprise, the woman did not float from the lake; all their water-repelling enchantments had been disrupted as well by whatever wavelength the comet had produced. Resulting in them all being as bedraggled as the star nymph.,Instead it took both the ogrish groundskeeper, Ogg and his assistant, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid to lift her into the boat, where the deputy head conjured a blanket to cover the poor dear. Who was still completely out of it. In the dark, Albus could not see if she had visible injuries but when he attempted to light his wand tip, the Lumos flashed into static form and its accompanying jolt caused him to fumble and drop the branch of Elder. Upon retrieving it from where it had rolled up to the gunwale, the baton seemed to warm in proximity to the stranger and grow colder when taken away...,What, he mused as Galatea Merrythought passed him the boat's lantern to better see their mysterious guest. She was a very distinctive looking human being; one you wouldn't fail to notice in the street - and yet she seemed to posses the air of someone who could remain hidden from view if she so wished. It was times like these he thought, (while he tucked her in with an extra blanket and overhead canvas tarp to keep the rain off her.) That he was extremely glad that his youthful indiscretions with Gellert had remanded him a doddery asexual eccentric.,Soon enough, they had reached the castle and proceeded to take the female straight to the hospital wing. On a stretcher carried between six of the younger and stronger Professors. She was , heavier than she seemed. Students were bouncing up and down to get a good look at the woman who fell to earth but were all soon shepherded back to their dormitories by members of staff.,Hogwarts's current physician, the kindly, brown bearded Healer, Évariste Lamar, quickly ushered the party to the nearest gurney. Once they laid the woman down, and had left him alone with his patient; the French Wizard cast a suite of diagnostic spells to ascertain her condition. All of them turned up blank. Undeterred, Lamar used a custom foe-glass to scan for hidden curses that could be affecting her, eventually he detected a nodule of magical energy embedded in the broad, taut muscles of the woman's back; underneath where the scapula joined the collarbone. It started to glow, a red circle of dull vein show-casing light; similar to when one shines a torch up close to one's finger-tips.,Whilst the rest of the staff waited outside the clinic, Lamar sanitised the area with antiseptic potion and muttered: "Diffindo." Surprisingly still, nothing happened. With no other recourse, he turned to the Muggle method. His ordinary scalpels bent and dulled against her skin as well, it took one of Goblin manufacture to finally make the first incision. The golden haired female was silent and unmoving throughout the operation, though Lamar had plied her with local anesthetic; just in case.,Ever so carefully, the Hogwarts doctor removed a small golden, oval yet thick disc from underneath her flesh with a pair of forceps - and dropped the strange amulet in a metal tray. Before he could apply concentrated Dittany, the wound sealed itself, flecks of blood evaporating as if they had never been there. The healer took a step back, his brain refusing to believe what his eyes had just shown him. No humanoid creature he knew of could recover, quickly.,After indeed confirming that the wound was utterly gone, Lamar exited the curtained cubicle and begun to run the talisman under a jet of water from the sink, most washed off, what gore remained dissolved of its own accord.,The amulet was curved at the corners and intricately carved with a multitude of glyphs, patterns, even tiny etchings on both sides - and at the centre, there was what appeared to be a lightning bolt 'S' symbol; full of even tinnier lettering. On the reverse side was a circular collection of twelve different sized, geometric runes coming together to make a whole. Curious, Lamar retrieved his medical foe-glass and examined the artifact up-close. Though it revealed no hidden grammyre, suddenly, every hair-thin vein of the minute scripture began to glow a Kelly green, momentarily dazzling the physician through the telescopic lens.,He turned the artifact away and as he did, it beamed one sentence of misty luminous script onto the wall. Évariste couldn't make heads or tales of the lime neon scratchings, but the strange device certainly proved that this woman was a rare and powerful sorceress to have crafted such an artifact - not to mention her other unusual abilities...,Pursing his lips, Lamar stepped out of his office and headed over to his patient. He drew back the curtain.,She was gone.,But not for long.,He hadn't even heard her footsteps, she may have been barely coherent but she was ,. And , strong. The doctor was seized from behind and swung, or was he thrown? The impact was colossal - into the nearby wall - the stone colliding with the back of his head. Dimly he realised that she was roaring in a language he couldn't comprehend while pulling him off his feet. When iron fingers closed around his throat he attempted to shout in English, hoping to calm the woman. Though her choking him made his cries come out strangled.,"You're , This is a - school! You were in the lake! We - we pulled you out!",Pinned and bent backwards over a tall filing cabinet, a large talon of a hand cutting off Lamar's air supply - the woman glared at him; with eyes that had seen far too much. Demanding and questing in that strange tongue of hers.,An idea sprang to the forefront of Évariste's now swimming mind as black spots began to dance in front of his vision, he repeatedly spluttered out a quick phrase in the first foreign language that popped into his oxygen-starved mind. Slovenian.,"Jaz sem prijatelj! Jaz sem prijatelj!" ,To his surprise, she released him instantly.,He slumped onto all fours, shaking all over before delivering several sharp coughs in relief. He could see that the tall stranger was moving past him. She crouched suddenly as if she were a large cat ready to pounce, muscle bunches standing out in high relief against her skin; like fine blades etched softly into water-tamped velvet. No-one had even been able to , her magically.,Lamar turned to see Minnie McGonagall out of bed, the tawny haired Scottish lass had been in the wing due to a Qudditch run-in with a bludger, a roll of bandages wrapped around the twelve year old's crown. But the nearly teenage girl, such an exact and rigid student even among her elderly peers was displaying her comparative youth while she stood and stared - clutching a tartan teddy; understandably frightened of this strange human creature who had been strangling a member of staff and who was now viewing her with a quizzical tilt of her golden-maned head.,The woman spoke quietly, soothingly: "ná bíodh eagla ort, beag amháin. Tá siad ag imithe, tá muid saor in aisce." Lamar did not know a word of Gaelic, and Minnie frowned at the newcomer's statement, though its sincerity seemed to calm her enough to make her take an inquisitive step forward. Mesmerised.,The woman towered over Minnie even while sat on her haunches, balanced as she was on the tips of her toes. It was as if gravity didn't have the same pull on her form. She extended a ropey arm slow but sure and offered an outstretched hand to the student while the healer could only watch this strange transition.,The unknown Saviour of the Universe sighed in happiness as the child took her hand. Contact of a peaceful nature ensuring she was still a part of something wholesome and right, everything that was , protecting.,Within moments the girl was asleep again in her hospital bed and the woman sat on the edge of her own. Clothed in shadow.,"Where am I?" she posited. Harsh, a command. She possessed no discernible accent.,"The British Isles. Scotland," Évariste rubbed his neck tenderly.,"Huh, these surroundings... what year is it?","... Nineteen, forty seven. But why would you nee - ","I am sorry about our altercation, my mind was not as lucid as usual and my thoughts are , not completely clear. Forgiveness must be asked if I hurt you.","Think nothing of it, occupational hazard." Then, remembering, he drew out the strange token from his pocket. "This was in your back, can you tell me what it is?",She observed the medallion critically and before Lamar could blink she had snatched it from his hand. "Yes, I think I could - but I won't. This is - precious to me.",Within the next second she was stood tall as if to leave, Lamar plucked up his renewing courage and spoke up to her.,"My dear, please. You've just been through an awful ordeal. You need to rest.",She came to a curious halt at his concern, then sat down once more, slowly. With that same deliberate purpose. She made the simple motion look like an extreme act of defiance and he knew without a doubt that she was humoring him. This was a woman who did not know the meaning of sloth. The Hogwarts medicine man pulled the bed covers over her to preserve her modesty, a fact that seemed to amuse her further. Though she seemed to be in the prime of her life, she had extensive laughter creases that sometimes popped into life; as if remembering how to express themselves.,"Very good. Now, I am Dr. Évariste Lamar, healer of this fine institution, what is your name, ma chère?"," - I ..." Her emotionless features had collapsed into a momentary blanch of fear as her crow's eyes stood out hard then softened. But it was so quick Lamar wondered if he had imagined it.,"What's your name?" he stated insistently, then with a more gentle timbre he repeated his question softly: "... what's your name?","I - I don't remember... oh, Shallah..." She began to speak in frenzied gibberish, alternating languages a mile a minute, small nick-knacks and even some beds began to levitate; much to Lamar's consternation; before she fell away in a dead faint.,"Évariste," Dumbledore said in a hushed voice as his old friend from the Second World War exited the hospital wing. "What news?","She is a strange one. I can't determine anything for certain. Her physiology seems to reject most of the Power's ambiance despite having an accidental magical episode of her own. On top of all this she has a moderate case of retrograde amnesia regarding the very foundation of her distinct personality - apart from that she is - very well adjusted; all things considering.","Could she be a threat to us, to the students?","Perhaps... she nearly broke my spine. The dame is as strong as a half-giant; stronger, even.",Albus stroked his beard, inferring... "could she have had military training?" He knew of only a few people, (apart from himself,) that had had such presence and self-command, not to mention being participant to such large-scale magical experimentation. This was the only feasible reason Albus knew of to explain her disruptive, and hopefully temporary, influence on wand-lore.,"Hard to say. I doubt she'd tell us off the bat. She's inordinately intelligent for one; an omniglot if I'm not mistaken. Probably your equal if not your superior at language translation. Even that small piece of information is illuminating. She's multi-talented, resourceful, charismatic. Dangerous...","I can't wait to meet her!" Albus twinkled inanely, rubbing his hands together.,When they re-entered the ward, they were both surprised to find their guest clinging to the wall above the double doors after about ten minutes of frantic searching. She sat against the twenty five foot wall with her feet and buttocks planted like you or I would lie on the floor, arms rested on toned thighs - her astonishing dark cerulean malachite streaked eyes absorbing every detail.,If Albus had to guess, he would have said she was in her late thirties to mid-forties judging by the age lines around her eyes but he was reminded that one should never judge a book by its cover. For one, Albus himself would be sixty six in a few months and didn't look a day over thirty five discounting his waist length beard. The second most apparent factor to take into account: was the fact that her still naked form radiated a spiritual vigour that wasn't quite aligned with the forces of most magic, but for a distinguished Aura Reader such as he, was overwhelming compared to most magical cores. No intrinsically arcane manipulation would affect her. He had thought the lake full of this alien power after the meteorite had melted into its depths but the individual observing him from on high was in fact the very source of these wave lengths!,"If you wake the girl. You , leave," she stated dispassionately.,"Good evening, my dear. Perhaps, if you would be so kind as to come down. We could confer even more quietly?",She didn't budge.," - What , this place?","You are in my school for the gifted. A school of ,.","Magic. A word for scientific fields one can't comprehend. You understand it, don't you, teacher?","Very intimately, yes.","Then it's , magic.","Well, you have me there, my good woman, but we truly have no other word for it, I'm afraid.","I see. , - is not familiar to me.","You are not a Witch?","Not to my knowledge.","You are a Muggle?","Beg your pardon?","A Muggle, a , human being.",Though her features remained impassive, her following words carried warning and weight. "That sounds like a racial slur... never utter it in my presence again. And no; I do not think I can claim to be that ,. One should be careful not to segregate into absolutes.","Then you have found a like-minded personality. Évariste here tells me that you have displayed abilities most... obscure...",The golden lady descended and explained what she knew of her own happenings. They were cryptic to say the least. Wrapped in half-truths and misdirections. She did not react like most Muggles would when confronted with a Transfiguration example of their abilities or a Conjuration of clothing. A look of polite puzzlement crossed her face when she point-blank refused to wear the robes they offered her, stating that she was acclimatising to energy currents within the castle and could map her surroundings better without. She said this with such seriousness that both men could only accede. At least until Madame Pompfrey, Lamar's protegee and eventual replacement, nearly re-woke the faculty upon seeing their patient walking around in the buff.,Somewhat irately, their mysterious stranger materialised a pair of olive khaki trousers and a white tank top, as well as a black corduroy jersey with synthetic grey shoulder patches. The garments hugged her frame far too tightly for the prudish practitioner's comfort. But they were , appreciated by one of the males present. She still walked, silent and bare-footed around the wing and would sometimes scale the walls and perform balance beam gymnastics on the vaulted ceiling rafters, cup an ear to the walls or floors like a Plains Native American, she even tasted the stone dust rubbed off a column with her index finger. Upon which she determined the exact age of the West Wing down to when the keystone had been laid.,Introductions followed, the stranger was polite enough. Though when he presented several others that had been present in her retrieval, including the maintenance team, Professor Diggle of Muggle Studies and the matron in more than a customary instigation, the woman couldn't contain herself.,"Let me understand... Daedalus Diggle?" she pointed at the man quickly, "Poppy Pompfrey?" acknowledging the nurse with a click of her fingers. She turned to Dumbledore. "Even the girl's name is Minerva McGonagall. So what do they call you? Bumble Bee?" she sniffed in good humour. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I'm out of here.",She moved to exit the wing, only for the Keeper of Keys to stand in her path, his chest thrown out. Though he was seven foot eight, it was the nameless stranger who seemed to tower over him personality-wise.,"So you're Ogg, huh?" She seized his lapels before anyone could blink and lifted him clean off the floor to everyone's accompanying horror: she brought her face offensively close to the massive skull of the groundskeeper. "You want to get out of my way?" she stage-whispered. The ogre gulped, looking to the deputy for help. Diplomatic as always, Dumbledore managed to get their guest to put his staff member down and agree to stay at Hogwarts for a little longer while she recovered.,"I don't , medical attention.","Of course. But you must surely be hungry after your ordeal.","Thank you for the charity but it's not necessary.","Well I'll have to ,t, my dear. Please, indulge me.",She raised a tuft yet sharp eye-brow at his offer, before an idle shrug signaled an acceptance of Wizarding hospitality. Before long, the school's House Elves had brought her and the Headmaster plates of half a braised duck in plum sauce, served with red and yellow peppered couscous and buttery garlic mushrooms. Albus only had to look away for a moment before their mystery stranger inhaled the whole meal silently. He chuckled as she stared at her spit clean dish somewhat guiltily.,Albus indulged her quirks, lord knows he had enough of his own, asking her questions all the while: where did she come from? Why was she here? How did she keep her hair in such excellent condition? Though she could not answer the first two, she stated that her powers seemed to keep her well groomed and consistently clean if she so wished. In fact, there was not much she , do with her wandless magic, from the urbane to astonishingly complex manipulations of the temporal and metaphysical world. She proved this well enough when, on her second day in the castle, she stopped Peeves from pranking her, nearly dissolving his 'ectoplasmic incarnation with dark energy molecule warping.' Whatever that meant. The fact that the poltergeist was now more respectful of her than the Headmaster or even the Bloody Baron, left her very popular with the children who would seek her protection from the malevolent spirit. Accordingly, the brilliant old Wizard determined that she was a foreign magic-user of prodigious strength and intellect and could hardly contain himself from wanting to place her on the staff immediately.,But his guest would not accede to anything until her memories were returned and or at the very least; knew her own name once more. That - and she was an explorer of the highest order. For the first week, the stranger unearthed the topography of the entire state and grounds, mapping secret passage-ways, invisible doors and ever-shifting rooms. She would go for long treks through the dales and rough terrain around the castle, sometimes alone, or accompanied by Ogg and Hagrid. The students found her a joy, for she was drawn to any instances of bullying and could stop the perpetrators cold by her presence alone. None would challenge a person who could call Peeves 'Jingle-boy'. Sometimes, standing in the courtyard for morning break they would see her clambering up the misted battlements with frightening grace, even leaping huge distances from spire to gargoyle steps, though it was a rare occurrence that she let herself be seen. Albus remembered in those early days, two instances most vividly: one being the morn where she balanced by one arm at a nigh-impossible angle from the astronomy tower's weather-vane and began to exercise placidly with contained, serene power. And two, when she dived nude into the Black Lake and swam fifty laps of the great body of ice water without even tiring.,Intrigued, Albus and the staff tried their utmost to uncover their guest's past, but although her presence had lost the edge that blunted all other magic, she herself remained as resilient against all efforts to charm or coerce remembrance through both spells and potions. Much to her immediate consternation.,After twenty one days living at Hogwarts, Brian found Nameless poring over a collection of obscure texts in the restricted section of the library; he had discovered only a few days before when she had waited for him inside his warded office; that any enchantments or defensive magics, no matter how powerful, could be ignored by her. She was truly extraordinary.,"And how are we doing today, my dear?","... Fine." Nameless didn't even look up from where she stood over the charts and writings.,"You know dinner is already being served, you'll miss it again.","Something I've noticed that is definitely different from my past; I don't need to eat at all. I only partake occasionally to make everyone else feel comfortable. Not that I don't appreciate the fare, it , excellent. Pity the same can't be said for your tomes on astrology and astronomic phenomena, based on my last recollections I came from space.","Astonishing..." Dumbledore whispered, although he couldn't say whether it was due to her outlandish conclusion or the paper he had just begun to make sense of. It was a massive parchment scroll stuffed full of fresh, elegantly written Arithmantic calculations, most of which even he could not make hide nor hair of.,"What do we have here. Did you write this? So it's all starting to come back, yes?","No, those calculations are like everything else, I find something and it just clicks into place. The same way I can perform advanced calculus for applications that supposedly don't even exist, I can reason, I can deduce, I can strategise - ","Yes, yes, it is all coming back to you - ","No-it's-not-coming-back-to-me-god-dammit-that's-the-point," Nameless snapped quietly, but with such clarity and power it might as well have been a guttural bellow of frustration. "I have been here for weeks, looking through all this - this , rubbish!" she punctuated by sweeping the scrolls and grimmoires off the workspace. "It's not working! I don't even know , to look for!" The woman with no name calmed as fast as she had erupted, Albus tried to smile grimly as he helped her pick up the scattered material, all things considered; she looked somewhat ashamed by her lapse of control.,"Forgive me, Albus, that was out of turn.","Nonsense, my dear. You have suffered more than most. That I , see, an impossible grief that has strangled your remorse and hardened you against the world. But I have watched you these past few weeks, how you treat others around you and I , know that you are of purest heart, no being of malign intent may enter these walls and, though I may flatter myself, I am absolutely sure of the unvarnished capacity for love that you possess, no-one can endure this life without it.","Perhaps. Though you would probably think less of me if I told you how I perceive and utilise my own emotions. It was how I wished to be - and my - guardians - obliged... how... ?","You see? It , come back.","What if it doesn't? ... I can tell you the names, positions and serial prints of , book in this library, I can tell you that the new caretaker, Apollyon Pringle, weighs two hundred and fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best places to find components to successfully construct a fully-functioning tier eight illegal firearm plus munitions in the potions laboratories and the inner-workings of that self-repairing clock tower of yours. And - at this altitude, I can run flat out for , before my hands start to shake. Now why would I know that? ,, can I know , and , know ,?",Dumbledore was silent for only a moment: "It seems to me then - that you would definitely know; , to start looking.",Upon a high cliff at the heart of Toirmiscthe, Nameless studied the artifact she knew to be hers but for what purpose, she could not divine. Meditation followed, and after three hours of contemplation she looked upon the medallion with a fresher gaze, she concluded that Lamar had activated the device through close proximity to focused magic. Summoning a smidgen of her own telekinetic talents, she was rewarded with glowing scripture that infused every line. Nameless responded with the only tic she couldn't control, a feral yet twitching grin that lasted all of a half second, none who spoke with her could tell whether it was an expression of happiness or of pain. It was used so frequently in differing situations, otherwise she was a neutral mask.,Studying the beamed message, Nameless understood the language written instantaneously. The language of her true family and then the bits and pieces flew back into place; her mind beginning to truly recover from the reanimation of her body. Dextrous fingers found the hidden nanoscopic buttons along the grooved surface and within moments the piece of technology had expanded through dimensional compression to the size of two put together discus's; now here was a magic she understood well.,Neon mist hissed from every crevice as the device opened along several changing vectors, the complexity, breath-taking.,Nameless sat with crossed legs, feet upturned, resting the receptacle on her lap as she sorted through the wealth of content inside: what she was imminently drawn to were several chains adorned with metal stamped identification tags. She set them aside to pursue first; for the rest just seemed like old clutter in comparison. Eager as she was for a solid title to grasp onto.,However, to her annoyance the information upon them contradicted, some were etched with crude titles that boasted of bloody deeds and others yet seemed like grim trophies that didn't belong to anyone. But she did have a variety of female names to pick out from ID chips that just , to be pseudonyms, for she liked them all: Dianne Greer, Yehuwdiyth Luigia, Claudia Rains, Soleil Jager, Ellen Hentschal, McKayla Adair and Akilina Yesfir to name just a few, the one that caught her eye, however, was a battle scarred military dog tag with the words: Shepard J. Aran, 5923-AC-2826, AB Positive, ESAMC, N7 Spec. Ops, SR-1.,That particular artifact incited more remembrance, a life of conflict and of war. And of truth.,Aran cataloged the rest of the items: an unbreakable piece of Tuchankan quartz that shone silver in the dark, a chunk of Aetherian solidified matter anti-matter, dubbed a light crystal. A beautiful ring composed of many rare-earth metals, one of such being platinum, a whetstone composed of petrified black Phazon. A beautifully embroidered bag full to bursting with a variety of seeds and collected herbs from many alien ecosystems. A thick sheaf of inflexible photographs and a Prothean memory capsule that still glowed minty energy wisps of contained recollections. Although she could sense her own brain patterns had been absorbed into the advanced ancient technology, Aran was not tempted to retrieve her past the fast and expedient way.,Instead, she explored the ambient traces retained within the Chozo relic, eventually activating a three-dimensional, teal monochrome map of the planet. Points on every continent and under every ocean were highlighted. Markers for sites of ancient alien activity long before Humanity was the dominant species to walk the Earth. At that moment, Samus knew what to do, the relic clipped to an invisible cybernetic tattoo on her broad back before being assimilated into her organism, within Aran was a contained power, stronger than the crushing forces at the core of Gaia, mightier than the magnetic seas scouring the atmosphere and more powerful than the lightning of heaven.,Technological scripts in a tongue only she could understand beamed instantly onto her retinas, and Samus Aran truly smiled for the first time since she had arrived. Things were about to get , interesting..., - ,"Fuuuu - Fudge..." Aran growled.,On her way back to the castle, she distressingly had to relate to Hagrid how she had halted a small forest fire that had consumed a large dry hollow tree near the centre of the first wood. Rubeus fled into the dark trees, sobbing. Sam took no pleasure in the task or the deception. But she would be damned if Acromantula were in the same , as the children living at this school, let alone a couple of leagues away from their play grounds. Hagrid was a gentle soul but rather naive when it came to treating dangerous non-native wildlife as pets.,Striding as if she were not affected by Gaia's petty limitations on the human form, Aran headed straight through the great castle's cloisters to reach the head of the Transfiguration Department's office. But a certain sight delayed her. Professor Archimedes Scamander of Charms had grasped a student roughly by the upper arm for evident misconduct, that was not what concerned her. What did it was the bamboo cane he brandished. Aran narrowed her eyes as he adjusted his hold and began to beat the raven haired boy across the calves and hamstrings, below the line of his shorts; other students winced in sympathy but didn't dare intervene. After the fifth blow, Scamander prepared to , flogging the now weeping child, only for his motion to halt as he raised the cane.,He turned to witness the mystery woman encircling his wrist with a grip of unassailable strength. Shocked, he couldn't even resist as Aran plucked the instrument of pain from his limp fingers and struck him with it once across the face, drawing a thin red angry line on his right cheek and forcing him to release the scruff of the boys robes.,"There. Hurts doesn't it?" Samus chided with a voice of iron. The Charms Professor could only clutch his face with a mixture of rage and shame. "If you need the whip to teach a child, then you are unfit to be a teacher.","How dare - " Scamander began, but he stopped as soon as Aran's look became truly ugly, it was the mask of peace that she wore so casually being ripped aside and in that instant; Archimedes didn't know whether he'd live to see the end of that day.,"Go. You're done," Aran enunciated with slow thunder, the cane turning to dust that trickled from her fist. Outraged at the blows to his authority, Scamander practically fled down the aisle, which rung with the cheers of the children. Samus was not finished yet though, with a wave of her hand, a tiny aura of her own formidable regenerative energies was shed and lathered over the third year's bleeding legs, he stood without grimacing. Surprised at the sudden absence of pain.,"Are you alright Mr... ?","Potter, Ma'am. Charlus Potter. I mean - yes, Ma'am thank you very much, but... caw! You don't even know what , to deserve that.","Was it something worthy of a biased beating, Mr. Potter?","Maybe...","A prank on your recently departed Professor?","How - how did you know?","Instinct. Corporal punishment is not enforced so zealously unless a personal harm has been wrought upon the punisher. And if he could not defend himself against your evidently embarrassing little stunt then in your minds he doesn't deserve your respect in the first place. I'm aware of how you little , operate," she said with a disarming grin. "The playground is not so different from a battlefield.","You've fought in battles?" the Gryffindor chirped eagerly, his friends from the house of the brave gathered at her feet to hear tales of her exploits. But Aran was not so easily misled as she leaned down to peer at the boy with startling wisdom.,"Learn your lesson, young Potter. All your life you will be beset by fools that require your unwilling obedience, never let them make you lose sight of your goals. And if you can't be safe from them - then be careful of them. If I catch you being caught again, you'll know the life of a prankster won't be in your family line. And my detention would make you research your true calling seven hours a day until you were absolutely certain. Are we clear!","Crystal clear, Sir! Ma'am!" Charlus squeaked as he scampered after his fleeing class-mates. , Samus mused as she reached the entrance hall to look upon the panoramic window that displayed the Hogwarts animal crest in detailed stained glass of red and gold, green and silver, blue and bronze and yellow and onyx., Aran thought with a hint of scorn. ,A few days hence, Albus had decided to meet their guest at a place of her choosing, considering he had been down in London that day. She apparently had important news to tell him and Dumbledore was quite certain of its nature. He had come to the door of her choosing and entered to find a wing of the castle he had never stepped foot in. Magic permeated the air as thickly as the dust motes blazing from the shine of white enameled window ridges. Moving between the sparse book shelves and cobwebbed desks, Albus reached a new door and entered, to find a two hundred foot tall enclosed turret room.,"This building is hallowed ground, Albus. It does what it wants..." Samus remarked conversationally, reclining with nearly absurd poise on a high window ledge. Before the deputy could respond, Aran flicked a tarnished but obviously well cared for ID chip down and into his veined hands. He proceeded to examine it.,"... Citizen of... Earth Colony... K-2L... Seamus Aren?",Sam laughed, a short snapping 'huh!' before answering Albus' unspoken question: "it's my birth name, and it's pronounced 'Ah - Rahn. Zsah - Mus, Ah - Rahn'; ,," her voice dripping with friendly abashment.,"She who supplants... like an Irish feminine version of - ,, none the less. It is a good name. Strong yet speaking of growth and adaptability." He held the marker aloft and Samus summoned it to her palm to give it pride of place around a military ball chain necklace of eclectic tags. There must have been over ten upon it.,Not wanting to reiterate his offer of employment just yet, Albus drew attention to the elephant in the room: "I have never seen this area of the castle before...","Peaceful isn't it? This is one of the many places I come to contemplate the Universe. There is an - , here, all en-compassing, yet profound.","The magic of the earth revived you, Samus. This place is now a part of you.","It couldn't be any other way." Aran dropped to the floor without even bending her knees. "It allowed me to find the heart of the castle. What the Elves refer to as the 'come and go room' and decipher its Arithmantic Runes. The power of this place, like the most powerful ghosts that haunt its halls... it is a power one cannot see... recondite powers that leave little mark of their presence. Powers that gave a Danish Geat the might of fifty men in either of his hands, that allowed a poor Hebrew carpenter's son to walk on water. Or for any individual to become immortal in both body and legend. The Earth is still yet rich with mystery for those willing to find it. And now I know this place of rest like I know myself. Utterly and ineradicably once more.","This is very good news I take it?","Yes. But it means I now have to leave Hogwarts. At least for a while.","Are you certain...?","There are things I , to do. Places I have to visit - to put everything in perspective.","I thought your memories had just returned?","They have, but they are jumbled in my mind, no order, no time. And since Veritaserum is useless on me...","I'm sorry to hear that, Samus. Just remember, there is , a place waiting for you here.",Aran stepped forward and shook Dumbledore's proffered hand firmly: "I neglected to mention it before, but thank you, Albus. For ,.","It was my pleasure, my dear.","Enough of that 'my dear' business - I'm old enough to be your great-grandmother fifteen times over.","Will you never cease to amaze?","Huh, don't hold your breath. We all have our secrets, Albus. Perhaps one day we can share them all together.","Wouldn't you have too many to impart?","Never change, ,!","You as well, ,...",The following morning, Dumbledore introduced Aran to his most valued companion. Deep in the mountainous hills surrounding Hogwarts. The Phoenix, Fawkes.,"You're bonded with a Mycenaean Fire Bird?" Since the first time he'd met her, Samus was reacting with clear and open wonder. "Or is it a Fenghuang?" she wondered.,Albus stroked the plumage of the magnificent animal as the beautiful familiar rested comfortably on his outstretched forearm.,"I believe , is from Egypt, descended from the Solar Bennu's themselves, supposedly they were the first apostles of Ra in the creation of the world.","Incredible. I have always had an affinity for - ,... not that my foster parents were even related to birds, they weren't even arthropods. They were , in every sense of the word. Birds always remind me of ,, not the other way around. It was the way I felt regarding Humanity; they became the , aliens when I returned.","You don't consider yourself ,?","No. Oh, I ,. So long ago...","... Well. You should get along with Fawkes famously then!" And indeed, the bird had already flapped its crimson and gold wings, to alight softly on Aran's shoulder, trilling Phoenix song all the while. And Aran's spine shivered as the harmony of a Chozo monastic choir echoed through - imparting ancient strength through an inner warmth.,"You claimed it was a ,? I thought all Phoenixes were gender neutral? Or the yin to the dragon's yang?","They often are, but you'll find on your travels that Fawkes communicates through mental waves. It, at least to my mind, is rather masculine in form.",", wants to come along - with ,?","You don't want to walk , the way, do you?","True, most magical means of travel don't accept my energies and I , circumnavigating the entire globe...","Splendid! You shall both keep each other company on this odyssey of yours. How long do you think you'll be gone?","A few years...",Albus's face fell.,"But I'll write to you every week!" she added hastily, having become very fond of the kind-hearted genius. Dumbledore's smile at the promise of world-wide correspondence from a being as intelligent, if not more so, than himself; could have lit the frozen wastes of Planet Cyuun. Samus, by proxy, was fulfilling one of his oldest and most cherished dreams by exploring all the culture Earth had to offer and thereafter sharing it with him. Though his reasons for travel a life-time ago had not been anywhere near as noble; even if they were both self-serving.,"That makes me very glad to hear. I of course will send replies post haste and notify you of what is occurring in the Magical community.","It doesn't , ,, does it? That I'm completely different from everybody else.","We are all different, Samus. But my brother once told me, well, ,at me really: 'it is not our , that make us who we are - it is our ,.' I made mistakes and I paid for them, because I did not recognise the value of family, of ,.","Words we , should live by. Your brother is very astute... for a goat-herder. ... I should go," she said with a smile of fond nostalgia.,"Travel safe and god speed to you, ,.",Dumbledore watched as Aran's form shrunk into the distance, crested the horizon; and was gone.,...,A ball of flame sprang into life, steaming a patch of the highland showers peppering the sparse tundra. The statuesque figure that had materialised, was garbed in a thick black travelling cloak over practical but oddly refined clothing, not anything that would have been worn in a time predominantly of tweed and wool. Her Phoenix companion roosted comfortably on her forearm, his mirage heat misting the rain drops of his newly burnished feathers. He had burned recently. The pair battled the wind and rain as they traversed the dark hillsides, September saw night coming quickly to this part of the far north but there was enough gaps through the thunderheads to witness a smattering of the aurora borealis, red, green and even the rarest blue. A fortuitous sign...,Aran mantled an ancient boulder that jutted from the rough landscape, walking the length of the volcanic plateau she looked out and across the misted landscape - to see a familiar lakeside mountain and the formidable, torch-lit keep that resided there through a curtained haze of precipitation.,Even from this distance, Aran could feel the currents of magic permeating the autumn air and loamy, moss covered earth, drenched through with the water of life. For all her ability to detect variegated conversions of energy, she could only harness one. Wizard-kind was powerful, she had no illusions regarding that, considering what she had seen in her travels, but as a society they were deeply flawed. Issues of race, blood purity, class.,It was back to the dark ages for Aran, at least in equal-opportunity outlook; but that was neither here nor there. She did not care to actively pursue evil in any of its forms anymore. But evil was evil. Lesser, greater, middling. She would know it when she saw it, and cosmically, she knew it was her lot to engage these monsters, a fate she did not begrudge.,As she neared the boundaries of the school, she reflected on the Hogwarts wards. True they would halt anyone with deliberately malign intentions from crossing into the grounds. But what of animals who operated on instinct? Fanatics who believed in the righteousness of their own destructive cause? And worst of all, those who hid beneath a thin veneer of civility, but were in reality a thousand times worse than a rabid beast. The institution had to be protected, such was the way of the world.,She had the means, and it was her duty to protect those who could not protect themselves. Inwardly, she hoped for calm, such as she had felt working in conservation, as a care worker, manual labourer, university lecturer, museum curator, explorer, guide, bodyguard, the intelligence services. Or even tinkering away with her Cornucopia inventions. And though there was no shortage of conflict upon Gaia, she had abstained from war, hell, she hadn't raised her hand in violence for the longest time in living memory. And Aran had a , memory.,What worried her was that insatiable , for battle, bottled beneath the surface like Yellowstone Park. Nothing compared to the moment when life could be taken and preserved through terrible and some would say , means. Aran was a living dichotomy, a nurturer of existence and a messenger of the last breath. A true avatar of the Reaper. And in turn, no matter the hardships she had endured; fear and love were , Gods and she would never stop offering up sacrifices of both friend and foe to that two-faced bastard. Fulfillment and suffering were inevitable, so she would , concede her life when her old friend had seen fit to only tease her once more with blissful oblivion. She would meet her final companion as an equal and perhaps even as an idol of her own for Death to bow down to - in return.,Reaching the castle's main gates near Hogsmeade, Aran gestured with the first two fingers of her left hand and the Gothic railings parted; creaking all the while. , Sam mused, ,Rubeus was a curmudgeon. Endearing but aggravating in his priorities none the less. Though they had a shared interest in magical fauna, Aran privately wanted to make him take a serious re-evaluation of his duty to the children under his care - not to creatures unfit to be familiars.,One sodden trek up the path, over the lawns and through the entrance. Samus and Fawkes were inside and better for being out of the rain. To their right, they could hear the hubbub of the start-of-term feast.,"What say you to an entrance, Fawkes?",The Phoenix sung a hesitant answer.,"Don't tell me you're shy!" Aran said with mock-surprise. She received a reply in the form of a shorter, even more non-committal note.,"Well," Aran continued, searching rapidly. "... Albus will be there.",Fawkes was unsure.,"You don't have to leave your perch if that's what's got you -",Fawkes chirped happily, hopping to her right shoulder and fluttering his dazzling gold and ocher inner wing feathers.,"Alright, Newborn," she chuckled affectionately, tickling his chin and causing him to lean into her stroking digits. He enjoyed such pampering. "You can stay right there through the feast. But we need to find you a partner of your , kind.",The gentle cuff around the back of her head, was the Fire Bird's rejoinder, along with a sharp whistle that appropriated for a remarkably human huff of sarcastic acknowledgement.,"And you say , the show boater?" Aran took hold of the beautifully carved, ceiling high double doors and threw them wide.,"Now that the sorting ceremony has been completed. I have a few start-of-term notices to announce," Brian sonorously projected, so much so that his old friend had heard the exact cue for her dramatic entry: "Accordingly, our new staff appointments are - ",'BOOM!',Albus clapped eyes on the individual framed in the Great Hall's archway. He couldn't believe that same held sight. Especially since when he had last received a letter from her, she had apparently been in the Pacific!,Students and faculty craned their necks alike to get a look at the Phoenix bearer, while some Seventh Years gaped in remembrance at the familiar face that had been etched to memory during their midnight awakening all those nights ago. For Samus had cast back her dripping cowl to reveal herself to the assembly. Her hair was shorter, just below shoulder length, scraped back and braided on one side in a thin distinctive bang. She had aged exceedingly well since her reanimation, she now stood six foot nine inches tall, broader in the shoulder, invigorated from her journey.,As Aran strode over the threshold, many students were shocked to see her Familiar but many still were even more shocked to see their usually taciturn headmaster rush from his podium, descend the teacher's dais and rush up the central isle to greet the newcomer with a kiss to both cheeks and a gentlemanly proffering of his arm to escort her to her seat of honour. (On the centre throne chair's right side.) No-one knew, but Aran and Dumbledore were discussing her placement in the faculty a mile a minute through their shared psychic link with Fawkes. There was much murmuring from both staff and student alike.,"Everyone!" Dumbledore spoke for quiet once Aran had been seated and had removed her long coat. "May I introduce a very old and capable friend; who has just returned from a half decade's world-wide adventure. Our first new, full-time multiple doctrine stand-in teacher - and successful applicant of the long considered post as Head of Security, Professor Samus Aran!",Polite applause echoed through the hall, though some of the elder males were a bit more enthusiastic in their welcome. Aran raised a hand and summoned her commanding aura, pleased to note that most of the students quietened near instantaneously without even realising the effect she was having on them.,Sam nodded inwardly, planning to start as she meant to go on. Give a child an inch and they would take a mile. Especially since she had heard that Albus had passed a bill to get corporal punishment banned at Hogwarts, a revolutionary reform for the times. Not that Sam subscribed to physical reinforcement but she could bet some milder teachers would be taken advantage of; being a Professor or a paramilitary Commander were not so different after all.,Once the banquet had been concluded, and the students escorted to their dormitories. Dumbledore invited Aran to his first floor office off the interior courtyard for a nip of fire whiskey and to catch up.,"I thought you were headmaster, now?","I am in all but name," Albus said as he poured two fingers of Ogden's Finest. "Dippet was taken ill and is considering full retirement next December. The governors haven't made it official just yet, but for all intents and purposes, I am the Head of this fine boarding house.","Huh. You look worse for wear, old timer. A full-time political career , running this place. It's no wonder you've gone grey before your time.","We cannot all be as lucky as you, Samus. You haven't aged a day.","Thank you," Aran replied, accepting the shot glass from the white beard. "You have a deputy?",", have enough responsibilities with keeping us safe and learned, not to mention your - ,.","That's not a 'yes'.","I will look into it and I , hand over some of my duties in the Wizengamot to friends of my family.","Just like that... I've convinced you," Aran stated sceptically.,"Why do you think I rejoiced at your return? You're the only one who can, my dear.","It seems someone has to. You'd work yourself into an early grave otherwise." She studied the many lengths of meticulous script-stuffed parchment littered over the aging wizard's desk. Aran looked up.,"It seems that academia is not the worst of your problems either," she noted. "Who is this young man?" she posited, picking up the file to examine it closer while downing her drink.,"A former alumnus of this school, a prodigy. There have been - , reports of his activities; both on the continent and here on the mainland.","Blood purist?","Worse. He's a leader of men. A Tin Hitler if I ever saw one, relying on prejudices, past grievances and hide-bound tradition to gather extremist support from both the underclasses and the houses of the Wizengamot, along with collecting those in high-profile Ministry positions.","You've been curtailing his power politically?","Yes, old friend. But I am tired of saving others from their own mistakes. I learned long ago the cost of manipulation on a grand scale.","Some would argue that government-sanctioned education is one step away from such propaganda.","True, but the lines between enlightenment and zealotry are difficult to distinguish at best. The Ministry has no active presence within these halls. Hogwarts could be the staging ground of a revolution that would see the end of wizard-kind; or it could mark the resurgence of a society of tolerance and peace.","And you say the game still holds no interest for you, Dumbledore... it will and always has concerned me to look to young ones futures, people in our position can enjoy the time given to us. But we live for others first, guidance, protection, sometimes - even intervention. I want to know which page you're on, Albus. Why do you want to secure the future? And what are you willing to sacrifice to protect it?","... My family... moved to Godric's Hollow in 1889, there had been an - , in our home prior.",Two hours later, Aran exited Dumbledore's office, musing on the history her friend had related. He had waited to tell that story for many long years. Aran could work quite comfortably with a redeemer. She had been one herself. No man alive could get a lie passed the Hunter. It did make social interaction somewhat prosaic, but then again, even Aran could not defend against experienced liars of omission...,Liars, betrayers, traitors: she had been both the deceived and the deceiver. While she would ally with this man, she was her own agent of change. Never again would she demean her integrity by fawning at the feet of those of position and rank. She made what was deserved of the world and fought against upset and chaos, but then, when one such as she had the power to change the world - what could one do to live with one's self if they didn't try to make it a better place?,Although Aran had concealed quarters within the castle, by painstakingly re-creating the Arithmantic Runes that conjured the Room of Requirements adaptive flux space to her at any time. She had also sealed the original room by altering its glyphs and had decided to set up a permanent home-away-from-home within the Forbidden Forest.,So within a couple of days, Aran had raised a comfortable cabin for herself in the foothills of the wooded mountains. Utilising a Chozo fusion of future technology and natural materials, her very comfy nest was soon complete with its own unadulterated water supply, plumbing, heat, craft workshop, vegetable and herb garden, even clean environmental power; meshing with nature and the environment while being under the radar of the Centaur herds. She had everything she needed to remain self-sufficient from the rest of the school community. It utilised a great deal of swooping lines, there were no angles to be seen or heard; the interior was both cozy and closeted and yet appeared well-lit and spacious; due to the variable ceilings.,Beneath the Black Lake, Samus toiled to complete a project that many were not in the know about; Albus included...,"Welcome to my secret underwater lair," Aran joked in a nasal voice that the soon-to-be headmaster was quite unfamiliar with as he exited the turbo-lift with a look of astonishment on his aging features. One could quite clearly see through the entire width and breadth of the lake thanks to the Denzium melted dura-glass that made up the logistics and command centre. Although there were multiple monitors and PCs hundreds of years more advanced than anything Humanity would build. The centre-piece was a conference-sized table detailing a live map of the school and grounds. Though the Hunter was as capable of employing sorcery as any non-magical, she more than made up for it in the realms of Herbology, Potions, Arithmancy and Runes, with a little help from Albus when magical forces could not help but be employed.,"You have been busy... I , what you've done with the place," quipped the Warlock, amazed by the alien geometry and whirring devices that put his own collection of gizmos to shame.,"Some things can be put in order in less than a decade. Building a new ship though, even , all the materials I've recovered and shipped to Britain. Without the available infrastructure or my armour it'll take me long into the twenty-first century to finish this great project of mine.",Dumbledore raised the blueprints up to his crooked nose and popped his half-moon spectacles on to take a gander: "it certainly looks complex.",Aran plucked the schematic from his fingers and turned it the right way up.,"Ah! Thank you! I've read some of the works of Wells and Asimov but I never imagined I'd meet a denizen of a far-flung world...","I'm only a small part of a greater whole, Albus. Only a small part.",It was on a snowy winter's evening in late January of 1956 that Aran met ,.,She stood in what had once been the office of Armando Dippet, now Albus Dumbledore's, hands at rest, posture at ease, to vet the young prospective Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. The meeting was late. Green yellow streaks of light touched the horizon for the sun had disappeared and a blizzard began to whip the castle's battlements as night set in.,Exactly upon the appointed time, there was a knock on the door which merited Albus to welcome the visitor inside. It opened to reveal a pale man that Aran immediately didn't trust as far as she could spit. He exuded an air of perfect civility, but apart from reeking of dark magic like corpses in a death chamber; she could see that all aspects of his façade were just that. He wore a 'person' suit. A disguise that couldn't possibly conceal the atrocities that danced behind those disturbing, baby blue eyes; that sometimes pulsed with blood, his pupils were diamonds and aside from classically handsome features - he looked for all intents and purposes. ,.,He wore his worsening scars of soul experimentation like some sort of twisted badge of pride. Aran was always willing to take things for more than their face value, but magic made decisions of character remarkably simple in this regard. It was there for all those not, to see. He was an unabashed megalomaniacal monster. A monster with terrible forces at his command, Aran had often been told she feared nothing alive or dead. That was a damn lie.,She feared just as much as any sentient being, if not more so. It was why she had stayed alive for so long. The secret was - she forged her own fear into will; ,. The complete and utter destruction of any threat to her and home. This gave her every advantage over men who suppressed their fears, or worse, divorced themselves from such a ,entirely; instead of learning to confront it, to harness it, to turn it into something positive. The steel of benevolent emotion, tempered in the waters of survivalist logic was in its directed purest form - unstoppable.,"Good evening, Tom," Albus welcomed easily from his high-backed chair. "Won't you sit down?",The , called Tom Riddle didn't even spare the second occupant of the room a glance from where she stood in the shadows atop the balcony, smoking one of her Blue Root cigars placidly., Aran mused, pleased at the thought.,"Thank you," Riddle said politely, taking the offered chair across the desk from Dumbledore who immediately stood up to serve his guest some wine. While Albus busied himself with the glasses, Aran studied the interloper further, cataloging... Dumbledore and Riddle exchanged pleasantries but eventually the Hunter decided to join the parley.,"They do not call me 'Tom' anymore," he said. "These days I am known as - ",", - ,," the silent up till now warrior spoke with just a hint of menace; causing both men to affix their gazes upwards. "A tad pretentious but considering what I've heard of you, ,. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The stories of your adventures around the globe are somewhat notorious.",As expected, the man's pale slightly serpentine features twisted momentarily. All too easily believing she was mocking him. But just as quickly, he'd risen from his chair to profess the perfect gentlemen, taking her hand as she descended the stairs and dismounted the lower step.,"You have me at a disadvantage. I don't believe I've had the pleasure, Miss...?","Aran. Samus Aran.",",..." he nearly hissed, the warmth in his voice never softening those pitiless eyes of sky, lighter even than Dumbledore's. When he bowed to kiss the back of her hand, Aran half-expected a forked tongue to slide across her knuckles. She barely repressed a shudder. She could feel it now. He was ill. , ,. His very presence repulsed her and she was , easily nauseated.,"Madame Aran here is the school's new huntswoman, head of security and the primary Keeper of Keys, Tom. I'm afraid you just caught us discussing the latest , being put into place. I hope you don't - ?","No, not at all. The safety of Hogwarts and her students is of , importance. , must have received my letters of recommendation, I assume?" Riddle directed his question to Aran as he was corralled back into his chair, while she chose to sit on the edge of the desk, still situated in a higher position of authority.,"I did. They were , with praise, with backers such as yours, ,occupation in the top echelons of government would be yours for the taking.","Ah, but Tom and I are in some ways kindred spirits. To wizards such as ourselves: forgive me, for , present - there can be nothing more important than passing on ancient skills, helping hone young minds. If I remember correctly, Tom. You once saw the attraction in teaching too.","I see it still. You must indulge an old student, Dumbledore. I have often wondered why ,- who is so , called upon to advise on international policy in the ICW and who has,,, I believe been offered the post of Minister - ","Three times at the last count, actually," Albus ribbed. "But the Ministry never called to me as a career. Again, something we have in common, I think.",Riddle inclined his head, unsmiling and took another sip of wine. Since Dumbledore refused to breach the ensuing silence that stretched between them now; it was up to Aran to break the ice.,"This , an interview, boy," she mock-yawned, standing to walk over and pet the awakened Fawkes. "Speak your peace.","I have returned," he said, with some annoyance at Aran's implicit order. "Later, perhaps, than when I'd intended to but I have returned none the less. To request again what Professor Dippet said I was once too young to have. I have come here tonight to ask that you permit me to return to this castle; to teach. I am sure you both must know I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard ,.", Aran scoffed inwardly, scratching Fawkes behind the ear.,Dumbledore considered Voldemort over the top of his own goblet for a while before speaking.,"Yes, I certainly , know that you have seen and done much since leaving us. As my colleague here has made clear, rumours of your - ,, have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe , of them.",Riddle's expression remained impassive as he began to speak but there could be no mistaking the scarlet that pulsed through once white sclera. "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You of all people should know this, Dumbledore.",Aran couldn't let that one go unanswered. "You call it 'greatness', what you have been exploring, do you?","Certainly, I have read journals on your own investigations into advanced and obscure Arithmancy, Madame Aran. , are experimenters, and I have ,; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have , been pushed - ","Of , kinds of magic," Dumbledore corrected him quietly. "Of others, you remain - forgive me... , ,.",For the first time during the meeting, Riddle smiled. Aran wished he hadn't. It was a taut leer, an evil thing. She had to restrain herself from vaulting the desk and doing the entire world a favour.,"The old argument," he said softly. "But nothing I have seen in the world has ever supported your famous pronouncements that , is more powerful than my kind of magic, Headmaster.",Aran wanted to snap that he must have a childishly narrow view of power, but instead the words Albus had once told her came to the forefront. "Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places," she suggested.,Voldemort inclined his head, as if validating her point. "Well, then, what better place to start my fresh researches than here, at Hogwarts? Will you permit me to return? Will you let me share my knowledge and experience with your students? I place myself and my talents at your disposal. I am yours to command.",Aran's brow creased as she exchanged glances with Dumbledore, the elderly wizard only hesitated for a moment before saying strongly: "and what will become of those whom , command? What will happen to those who have dubbed themselves - or so rumour - has it - the Death Eaters?",Riddle looked less than pleased at this unwelcome news. "My - ,. Will carry on without me I am sure.","I am very glad you , them to be friends," said Aran brightly. "However, we were both under the impression that they were more in the order of - ,","You are mistaken," Voldemort nearly snarled.,But Aran's interrogation didn't abate. "Then if I were to pop down to the Hog's Head this fine eve, I would , find a group of them - Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov - awaiting your hopefully triumphant return? Devoted friends , to travel this far with you on a night such as this; , to wish you luck as you , to secure a teaching post.","Such an , perception you possess, Madame Aran. I am , to be at the centre of your attentions.","You'd honour me more by paying me the compliment of rectifying your ways. Pah, like so many wizards, you,, but you do not ,.",Before Voldemort could reply, Dumbledore interjected. "Tom, let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we all know you do not want?",Voldemort looked coldly surprised.,"A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much.","Oh, you , to come back to Hogwarts, but you do not want to , any more than you wanted to when you were eighteen. What is it you are after, Tom? Why not try an , request for once?",Riddle made a sneer unworthy of his aristocratic heritage. "If neither of you want to give me a job - ","Of course we don't," said Dumbledore. "And I don't think for a moment you expected us to. Nevertheless, you came here, you asked, you must have had a ,...",Voldemort stood up sharply, chair sliding back with a harsh grinding sound of wood on stone. "This is your final word?" all his rage was directed at the Headmaster, for whom he had known much longer, completely ignoring Aran's admittedly unnoticeable tensing for a physical confrontation.,"It is," Dumbledore stated, also standing.,"Then we have nothing more to say to each other.","No, nothing," said Dumbledore, and Aran could not quite believe the notes of unmistakeable sadness and regret infusing Dumbledore's next words. "The time is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repayment for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom... I wish I could...",If Aran had been a few millennia younger, she would have jumped immediately to the attack when Riddle's hands twitched for a weapon. As if longing to wrap them around Dumbledore's throat. Instead she crossed the room and opened the office door for him to leave. With a swirl of his sable travelling cloak, Voldemort was walking past her. In that moment fixing her with a look of similar loathing. Aran stared the murderer down, before closing the door on the hem of his cape and spoiling the dramatic exit. There was a sharp ripping sound of costly fabric, followed by low cursing and the rapidly retreating foot-steps down the spiral staircase.,Dumbledore beamed. "You know what you have to do, my friend.","He'll never see me coming.",Through the halls of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle strode as if he were King of the World. He marched up the main staircase to reach the seventh floor. After several twists and turns he'd entered the East Wing of the castle and halted opposite a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy's attempt to teach trolls ballet. , he thought.,Voldemort longed to make this area more worthy of his power and prestige. A monument to the wizard who had discovered the deepest mysteries of this great fortress. With a swish of his yew wand, powerful yet untraceable concealing enchantments were raised along the corridor. Holding onto the antique box beneath his tailored vest, he closed his unsettling eyes and walked back and forth three times, thinking: , Over and over, he stopped and raised his bone white eye-lids to reveal...,Nothing.,Riddle tried again, this time murmuring to himself: ,Hardly daring to believe that someone else had discovered this secret. When that also failed, he was filled with a mixture of relief and rage. He cast a swathe of powerful Rune revealing charms, repaired those that had faded and transferred a large amount of his magical signature into the stone as if by doing so he could bend the castle to his will.,Upon his third passing, he opened his eyes to jump back in surprise. Aran was standing right in front of him. Mere inches away. How?! He hadn't heard a thing!,"No, no, no," she chastised him gently. "It's the keystone you have to alter and that takes several rare potion fumigation treatments and specialised alchemical equipment to even , the correct Arithmantic sequence. Do you understand?",Tom could not speak for shock, he took another step away from this indescribable woman.,"Of course the limestone inscriptions can only be altered ,, else you risk catastrophic magical cascade effects. Did you actually , my articles? Let alone understand them?",Riddle retreated further.,"I didn't think so. Now ,. Get out, or I'll , you.",Tom turned tail and fled. Samus stood still. Then she laughed deep from the belly. That , been easier than expected.,With that, she decided to turn in for the night, in her quarters on the sixth floor. But once she reached the door, her hand stayed from unlocking it. Adrenaline circulated far too strongly for her to even , settling in with a book and brandy, to meditate or lucid dream the night away. She pocketed her keys - and began to walk.,Her feet carried her towards the entrance hall, from the frosted windows she could see a solitary figure trudging fast through the building snows.,Within minutes she'd reached the darkening high street of Hogsmeade. Easily catching up with Tom, who'd had to wade through the crushed ice while she walked atop it, not slipping once.,Five men exited the pub, stopping cold at the solitary figure atop the drifts who confronted them, back-lit by the formidable castle, colourful dusk and a curtain of heavy snow flakes.,"That's her. She's the one," Riddle hissed to his lackeys. Before, as the leader of the small gang, he stepped forward; not wishing to lose face in front of them.,He approached warily until they were centimetres apart, literally face to face.,The Knights of Walpurgis waited with bated breath...,",," Voldemort whispered, fixing his eye-line on the windows to the soul. He cackled mirthlessly when his mental attack easily passed into her consciousness. She had no skill in Occluding her thoughts what so ever.,But then everything went wrong. Instead of finding the triggers to invade and control memories, physical and chemical sectors and even subconscious actions. There was just a great blackness, that was slowly lit by stars. Billions. , even.,Aran's voice echoed around and from everywhere at once., Riddle screamed, unwilling to believe he had been outmaneuvered ,, let alone once within a single half hour!,The invisible ground beneath him fell away and Tom felt himself plummeting through the endless blackness of space; it was the single most terrifying experience of his entire life. To be lost without direction, time, or light save for those disorienting sparks of white.,. ,some,immortal,might,long,I,anything!,one,After a silence that stretched indeterminably long. The two figures shifted. Aran leaned down to growl lowly in Riddle's unblinking waxen mask of a face.,"Stay , of my territory...",No more words were spoken. Voldemort flinched involuntarily - and backed down. Saving face by vanishing into a pillar of black smoke that soared far above. His followers apparated away after him.,Aran stood proud. A sensation akin to a strong breeze blowing away the haze of heat permeated her spirit. She spread her arms, left the ground behind and took to the sky as if the world had turned to her design.,Her blood singing.

Daily Prophet Special Edition,International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy Broken!,By Rita Skeeter,This Daily Prophet was shocked to find that muggles are not only aware of magic, but have documented ways of controlling witches and wizards. While working a different story, the Daily Prophet's reporters were assigned an investigation in the muggle world.,Our reporters were amazed upon seeing a device which allowed remote viewing. It was called a "Telly". Imagine our disgust when we saw a documentary detailing the life of a pure-blooded witch and a muggle. The title of the documentary was "Bewitched". In it, a pure-blooded witch, capable of wandless magic, was married to a muggle. Her entire family displayed the ability. She had to swear to never use her magic. Thankfully, she was smart enough to not swear on her magic or her life.,The show came from America. However, the witch Samantha had British roots. Her mother, Endora, a beautiful pure-blood Lady, detested the muggle, Darrin Stevens. She strove to free her daughter from the clutches of the man who makes her daughter live as a squib. Endora was a proud witch. She refused to bow to Darrin's demands of not using magic. She never used the muggles true name. Derwood, Darwin, Dummy are some of the names she uses for him. We respect her and will follow suit.,We were able to see how the witch, Samantha, was enticed into marriage. Our viewing of the event showed that her "love" began while they were eating a meal together. Why would a strong, independent witch deign to have a meal with a magic hating muggle? The only explanation available was that she must have been potioned. Dare we say, Amortentia? We do not know. What was evident is that Samantha fell deeply in love with someone she had nothing in common with. Additionally, upon learning of magic, Derwood derided it and asked for the above mentioned oath.,Like any good mother, Endora tried to discover what had happened, but was rebuffed at every turn. Endora even went into the past and gifted the Stevens family with magic. When the muggle began performing accidental magic, he forced Samantha to remove his magic. Yes, dear reader, you see it right. He rejected the gift of magic. Of course, it required Samantha to use magic to remove his gift. That was an acceptable use of magic to him. Why? He gave permission.,Maurice, Samantha's father, has the look and demeanor of a pure-blood Lord. He speaks correct English, not the American slang. He, too, attempted to break the hold the muggle has on his daughter. Alas, whatever purloined potion used on poor Samantha is still effective.,Why was this allowed? What is MACUSA doing? Does the ICW know? The Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore was asked. His quote, "Love is the strongest power in the world.",The Daily Prophet's editorial board has called for an investigation into the chilling enslavement that has befallen one of our own. We await either the Wizengamot's or ICW's response.

Title: Prize Pig Pimple College [Hogwarts Spoof!],Authors: Goonipers & Barb,Fandoms: Harry Potter & Parodies and Spoofs,Rating: T or PG13 for swears.,Notes: Barb came up with all the parody names and ideas, and I wrote the school days and battle.,Summary: When it's Harold's - Roldy's - turn to go to sixth form, he picks the hardest subjects and the hardest life at defeating Lady Goldiewart, the local transvestite queen.,Harold Rotter, known to his friends as the cutesy name Roldy, not Harry, which was far too famous for his liking, was a secret wizard and a spy.,He exited the magical taxi cab in style, wearing a turquoise robe and hat. His trunk floated behind him. He was sixteen and old enough to go to Prize Pig Pimple College, the best magical college around for young adults.,He had picked the hardest courses for his ASPs - Astounding Student Progression tests and was looking forward to them. He was a high achiever and had scored all 8 and 9's in his end of year exams. His favourite was Potions and his worst was Defence Against the Dark Arts as he had had lazy tutors.,Roldy had come from a large family full of step-siblings and half-siblings because dad had gotten around a lot, and he'd been adopted by his Uncle and Aunt to make room for the young'uns. He was to stay at college in a dormitory. He hoped to get into either Pixie or Dwarf House, which were predominately white. Roldy was biracial and wanted to even it out a bit.,Dark Elf and Brownie Houses were predominately black or Indian. They had an old-fashioned sorting system that was rumoured by white kids to be random. Roldy didn't know what it was.,Each had its own emblem or magical pet. Dark Elf had an owl, which made sense as they were all good readers. Dwarf had a rabbit, and they tended to date a lot, usually people from other houses or burrows. Brownie had a tiger or a lion, depending if there were more Asians or black kids. And lastly Pixie - or Puck House - had a sly, clever fox. Those kids weren't very well liked, but Roldy didn't mind going in there as he had good people skills.,Roldy trudged up the steps and wondered if wheelchairs could fly. There were no ramps in sight. Maybe they had another door with a lift, he thought.,He rang the doorbell. A butler opened the door. He was black and posh.,"This is the front entrance," he said. "Students go round the back, over the lake," he said louder.,"So-rry!" muttered Roldy, adjusting his hat. He ran down the steps, his trunk still doing a U-turn behind him.,He wandered through some sticky reeds, worrying about the mud up to his boots. He was technically in the lake and could see the car park, where the students were being offloaded by concerned parents. He didn't know how to get there.,He sat on his trunk and clicked his heels. Suddenly the trunk rose up and flew into the air. It dumped him head-first into a rose bush. He got out, itchy and scratchy, and staggered in front of a car. He didn't know how it got there; it was just there.,A black girl leapt out. She had a weird hairstyle, all shaved down either side and a thick Afro wedge in the middle.,"Sorry!" she called. "My dad has an electric car!",She must be from a non-magical family, thought Roldy. She was wearing a silver hoop earring in her left-hand ear and black robes. She grabbed the pointy hat from the back seat and her hand luggage and went round to the boot to grab the rest.,She met him in the road, and helped him up. His feet were slippery from the lake and it showed on his turquoise robe hem.,"My name's Hermi Ranger," she said, offering him a hand.,"I'm Roldy Rotter," muttered Roldy. "It's short for Harold. Piss off!" This was to the next magically-chugging car that roared along the parking strip.,He took her hand and they walked to the edge where the trunks safely stood. He let go, feeling like a little baby kid. He wasn't. He was sixteen and biracial about to go into a white kid's school.,He opened his trunk and rummaged through it for the look of it. He found his guide and flipped through it. The old assembly photos were all white and so were the teachers. It had gotten better though in recent years, but the sorting system said it all.,"I've read all of it," chuffed Hermi. "I've already read all our textbooks.","What a clever clogs," said Roldy, sounding like his dad, what he remembered anyway.,She took umbrage. He knew big words like that.,"Sorry!" he called as she stalked off.,Next he was besaulted by a blond bespectacled boy called Ducko Badfoy. Roldy tried not to laugh at the name. He ignored his hand.,"I don't mix with your kind very often," sneered Ducko. He was very white and pale. He was definitely going to Puck House, thought Roldy.,"My dad was white," explained Roldy, just in case he got into Puck House with his people skills, which were lacking today due to nerves.,"I see.","My mum was black, that's how I got all this caramel hair.",Ducko peered down his nose through little spectacles. "And why do you have ginger highlights?","I don't!" It came out in a rush. "I don't have ginger or red highlights or whatnot.",Ducko sneered. "Suit yourself anyway." He strolled off, his beige robe caught in his trunk lid.,Roldy made it out of the car park alive - some of those people were maniacs - and into a boat! They were lined up on the jetty, little rowing boats, each with a suited butler on the oars. Roldy hoped even then they were magically powered somehow.,He slid in next to a red haired white girl, who turned out to be called Gilly Squirrel. She was from a large family too and had been magical for generations.,Roldy's family had only been magical for two. They'd been black for generations on his mum's side, and he was of the first biracial kids they'd had in the whole family. He wondered if they were racist, but he dismissed it. They were nice to everyone.,Their butler was light-skinned Asian, Thai or Chinese, guessed Roldy. He saluted.,The butler saluted back. "Present, sir!" he cheered. The boat rocked as Hermi stepped in and they almost went over.,"There's nowhere else," she sniffed. Gilly ignored her, and like his mum, Roldy made the introductions.,"...and I'm from Manchester," finished Roldy. "Although my dad's from Derby." And he said it 'Darby'.,"City boy," teased Gilly. "I'm from a magical house from god knows where in the countryside. We keep chickens and a cow and a pig.","A prize pig with pimples," said the other boy in the boat. He introduced himself as Won-Won. He was Asian, but didn't look it. He was biracial, guessed Roldy, and could pass for white.,"Why is the school called this? It doesn't keep pigs or many animals, just the emblems," sighed Gilly.,"It used to house a farm," answered Hermi, who'd read all the books, remembered Roldy. "To support all the college kids with red meat so they'd be athletic. It's different nowadays and supports organic and free range.","It has wind powered windmills, too, not electric," added Gilly.,"I think they've adapted the magical tree to solar power," said Hermi. "There's a note about it on the Internet.","Wait a moment," said Won-Won. "Prize Pig Pimples has an Internet website?!" He was from a magical family, sussed Roldy.,"Yes, but it's not called that online. It's called Hogwarts instead, and pretends to be for little kids, like eleven. It gets all the details wrong.","Eleven's secondary," said Won-Won, looking pleased with himself. "My friend went to one.","What's your friend's name? We might meet him or her here," said Roldy, not believing a word of it.,"Er... I don't know. I've forgotten," mumbled Won-Won.,They ignored him and the Butler unfortunately for the rest of the boat trip. Hermi was becoming fast friends with Gilly.,They all got out and filed single file into the double doors open for them. There they met Professor McDonalds with a nifty haircut. She was nice and had dyed hair too.,She was Scottish. "Och Aye the Noo!" she cried to greet them. They said it back like little kids.,"Well done. This here is Prize Pig Pimples College, one of the oldest magical colleges of its kind. The farm and the prize pig contest may be defunct, but its reputation lives on.",Someone put up a hand. It was Won-Won.,"Yes?","What about Lady Goldiewart seeking to take over the school and turn it into a beauty pageant for pigs?!","You have nothing to fear here. Lady Goldiewart is in the next town, already enrolled in a new course... teaching makeup!","And how to talk to foxes!" called someone out from the small crowd. Some of the latecomers looked wet, thought Roldy.,"Not true," said the Professor. "Lady Goldiewart was merely in Pixie House, and that is all." She led them into the Great Hall which resembled a cathedral made with gray stone. It looked cold and demanding.,There was a stool in the centre with a piece of cloth atop. Four large tables dominated the hall, with a fifth perpendicular to the others at the head. There were empty with no pews or benches.,"Dwarf, Pixie, Dark Elf, and Brownie," whispered Hermi behind him. "The four Houses.","And Unicorn, the teachers Table," added Gilly. "It's tradition to call them that.",Professor McDonalds announced, "It's going to be shaken up this year, and we're mixing all the races." Behind her, the crowd went wild. They were finally ditching the segregation! No longer would they have different dormitories and sporting teams. For some years now, they'd been mixing classes, but this was a leap in the right direction.,"We're resorting everyone," she added. "Year Twelve first, then the others. Then we all say grace and eat.","Please sit on the stool, Aryan!" called the Headteacher. He appeared in a burst of smoke and was holding a long, unravelled scroll.,Aryan, a dark-skinned Indian boy, stepped forward. He sat on the stool shaking and looking pale at being first, and wore the bib.,Roldy tried not to laugh. He had to wear a what?,"Am I wearing it right?!" called Aryan, clutching the strings to do up. Just then a fox jumped out and bit him. "Ow!",The stool divided itself and the replicate with Aryan on top slid along the tiled mosaic floor to Pixie House, whose emblem was the fox.,"Burgundy!" called the Headteacher. "Aryan, leave the bib behind, just hold it next time.","Next time?" called everyone. Was he an old fussypot racist who wanted the segregation back? Ducko pushed his glasses up his nose.,Burgundy sat on the stool and held up the bib. An owl swooped out and raked him with her claws.,"Dark Elf House," said Professor McDonalds. The stool slid over and deposited on the floor halfway there.,The Headteacher, Professor Bumbles, helped him up. His back creaked, and Roldy could hear him from the other side of the hall.,Both Gilly and Hermi went to Brownie House. Roldy couldn't tell what they had in common other than talking.,Next, it was his turn. He scooted over and held up the bib. A tiger leapt out.,"Brownie House!" called Professor McDonalds. She was a bit redundant, thought Roldy as he hung onto the replicate stool. It was quite fast and exhilarating. He landed next to Hermi and Gilly, who parted to make way for him. They talked in front of him about Hermi's hairstyle.,"This wedge, I'll have you know, is my Mohawk," confided Hermi. "I wanted to go bald all over like Okoye, but mum wouldn't let me.","Wow," said Gilly. "I don't know what you're talking about, but it sounds awesome.","You haven't seen Black Panther?! I thought everyone magical had seen it, judging by the comments on Facebook.","Hermi, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I love you.","Aww, I love you, too, sweetie. That's kind of you.",Harold Rotter leant his chin on his forearms on the table. It was going to be a long night.,By the time everyone in the whole of Prize Pig Pimple College had been sorted, it was almost too late for dinner. They'd been a lot of roast carvery meat, and not a lot of vegetarian suited for non-Indian. It had been too spicy for Roldy, who liked the odd bit of vegan food, especially gluten-free.,He picked at a piece of meat that had recently gone moo judging by the colour.,Hermi had had gammon, and Gilly had eaten chicken. Hermi liked steamed veg, but there was only boiled half to death and mashed. It was swede and carrot, and not very exciting.,Roldy missed his aunt's cooking. She had been a kind chef. He looked forward to dessert, like ice-cream or sorbet, but there wasn't any. It had been stodgy chocolate cake and custard. Hermi turned her nose up at it.,She put up a hand, but it was ignored, so she lifted her wand - which was banned until practice tomorrow - and shot sparks into the air. Instant detention!,Roldy felt sorry for her, and patted her arm.,"Ow!" she said. "Why did you hit me for?","I just punched you. Poor you in detention already.",Gilly ate everything. Obviously, very magical families didn't mind old-fashioned food. That was before Jamie Oliver's School Dinners. Roldy wondered if it were fatty and sinewy turkey twizzlers next.,They went to bed feeling full and heavy. It had really been stodgy. Roldy parted at the boys dormitory, and realised that both Gilly and Hermi and Won-Won were all staying overnight.,Time to pay rent. Roldy gave the cashier his debit card and paid for a good room to share with someone else. Unfortunately, it was Won-Won, who was in Brownie House.,His trunk floated from the corridor to inside. There was a good view of the lake, if that was your idea of fun. Suddenly, his phone rang. He checked. It was just his mum. He decided to ignore her and call her back after he'd unpacked.,He also had some texts from his uncle, aunt, siblings and friends. He vowed to answer them all before he went to bed. He wondered if there was a TV in the common room downstairs. There were still no lifts for wheelchairs, and he noticed that he hadn't seen one disabled kid here. So much for equality, Prize Pig Pimples College.,He flipped the bird at the ceiling, after jumping on the best bed. Won-Won was struggling with his trunk. It had jammed at diagonal corners in the door. Roldy groaned. The bathroom wasn't en suite.,He answered a few texts in the meantime and checked social media. He took a selfie of himself and a half-unpacked trunk into a chest of drawers, and posted it on Snapchat. His Instagram account just didn't load on his phone like it did at home. There was something wrong with the Internet connection here. He switched to mobile data, but that was expensive, so he switched back.,Won-Won extracted his trunk. It squeaked into the room.,"Why did you take the furthest bed?" he enquired. Roldy looked up.,"I don't know. I like it. Why?","This bed has wheels," complained Won-Won. "I can't jump on it.",Roldy sighed inwardly. "I've just unpacked all my stuff. You can have the wardrobe for robes.",Won-Won looked like he was hunting around for a coat hanger for some greying underpants.,Roldy said, "Fine. I'll move my stuff out of the top drawer.",Won-Won beamed. "Thanks, my friend." He was definitely magical family, thought Roldy. He went back to texts. One unpacked item, one text, one book moved... It made the work less boring.,Soon his trunk was all books and shrunk-down broomstick. He was looking forward to Broomstick Football.,He wanted to catch the Snatch. Or snatch the Snatch. He wondered this year what the lucky item would be that won all the points. He had played it at home with his younger siblings before he'd moved to his uncle and aunt's home.,He hoisted his toiletry bag out and headed to the door. He wanted to clean his teeth. He suspected it was an early night with no TV, as he couldn't hear the telly, but he wanted to check downstairs too.,Roldy went to the door, tripping over Won-Won's books dashed about, and bumped into Hermi.,"Hermi, what are you doing in the Boys' Corridor?" he whispered.,"To see how you are, silly," she said and gave him a piece of paper. "Here's the wifi code, and our numbers, and our avatars.","Your... oh, your names online. Thanks, give my love to Gilly. I'm going to check out the TV downstairs.",She laughed. "It's too old-fashioned for that. There's no TV, no computers, and they won't let me use my laptop. The cord unplugs itself when I tried to charge it. It's phones only until the battery runs down, I think.","What? They're barbarians! How can they live like this?!","There's wired phones - landline - downstairs along one corridor like in an airport. Have you seen Airplane? It's like that.",He hugged Hermi against all the evils in the world. "I wish I hadn't come, but then I wouldn't have met you or Gilly.","Who's in your room? We all have to share.","Won-Won, the nutter. I don't think he's Asian at all. I think he's white and pretending. I forget what his real name is from the sorting.","It was a magical-sort of name, I think. I forget too. Burgundy?","No, not that. He tried to hang up his underwear in the wardrobe.","At least you're not in with Ducko. I was watching you in the car park.","He's going to be hell. I don't think he's a geek at all.","Just because he wears glasses? No, he's not. I think he's racist. At least the teachers aren't any more. It used to be hell for the first black students. People used to think they were from Africa.","Hah. They didn't have a clue. I gave up and only looked at the pictures, and read the ending," he added, when he saw her face. "They're now half multicultural. It took a lot of pressure.",He linked arms with her and walked to the bathroom. He left her at the door.,"Be careful heading back to your own dormitory," he hinted.,She stood on tiptoe to meet his eye level. Hermi blinked. "I will," she said, and strode off.,Roldy went into the bathroom, foamed up his toothbrush and cleaned his teeth, among other stuff. He could do some magic without a wand, and had some control. In there, he changed into his pyjamas so he didn't have to change in front of Won-Won. His turquoise robe magically disappeared over his arm.,Roldy padded downstairs to have a snoop. He'd almost forgotten that he was a spy, and wanted to suss out the former white Dwarf and Puck Houses for his younger siblings when they arrived next year. His family included two sets of twins.,There was no TV, a lot of bookcases, some empty, and lots of squishy sofas and armchairs. There was an electric fire and some radiators dotted around. Unfortunately, it was a warm September and everything down there was boiling.,He left it, and found the phones. He copied down his mum's number onto his hand and used a pay phone free of charge with magic.,"Hello Mum!" he greeted her. "I got here safely. Thanks for the cab.","Jamie! Stop swearing. Tiana get out of those high heels, you'll break your neck! You are not leaving the flat looking like that, young madam!","Mum? It's Roldy," he shouted. He'd caught her at a bad time. He should've called back when she'd called.,"Are you wearing your pyjamas?" she said, peering down the phone at him. He dropped the phone in shock. It hung from its cord, swaying.,"I used to go to Prize Pig Pimples, you know," she called. "I know how everything works.","I don't think they let us charge laptops here," he said, picking up the phone.,"I see you've made friends. Jamie, put that down! Stop eating that, Freddy. Paint's not good for you. How are you, darling?","I'm very well, mum. I almost got knocked over by an electric car, and almost drowned in the lake.","That's nice. Jamie! Jamie! Stop doing that. Go do that revolting thing in your room, NOW please.","I made friends with Hermi and Gilly," he said, looking at the notepaper. "Do you want me to text you their sites, mum? So you can suss them out?","No, Jamie, that just wouldn't do. PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON, Freddy, NOW!","Fine, mum. I won't. I don't know if the iPhone will charge or not yet.",She looked at him. He could see one big brown eye looking him over.,"I expect it will. It's modern now. What house are you in?","Brownie, with Hermi and Gilly, mum.","YES!" He saw her back up and punch the air. "My little boy's a Brownie. YES!",She clapped her spare hand against a magical hand. Jamie looked like he was calming down. He was 14 and horny these days. He was an embarrassment to the whole family. Why couldn't he cover it up?,Freddy did something naughty out of shot, judging by Jamie's face. Mum hadn't noticed the toddler.,"Mum you make it sound like I'm a Girl Guide," he whined. "Watch out for Freddy.",The phone ticked over. "You haven't got long. How much did this cost you?","Less than my texts outside of family and friends, mum. I want to save the battery.",She sneered. "You shouldn't have taken all those selfies," she said, then said before he could deny it, "Are you settling in well?","The food is terrible.","The custard used to be lumpy. At least there's no corporal punishment these days.",His eyes rolled back in his head. He couldn't even begin to imagine what magical punishment looked like. Like, torture, really.,"Everything vegetarian is spicy, mum. You could have warned me. You were Dark Elf, weren't you?","Black and proud," she said. "It says on the website it's all mixed up this term. That must have come as a shock to the teachers. Hah!","It came as a shock to the racists," he corrected her. The phone started hastily ticking, and he couldn't magic it better.,"Love you, mum," he shouted down the phone before it cut off.,"Love you, Roldy," she cried back, her voice dwindling and cutting off.,He went to bed.,The next morning, he had Assembly and Potions. He was looking forward to the latter, it being his best subject.,Roldy met up with Hermi and Gilly in the breakfast canteen. There was toast and marmalade, and Scottish porridge. The juice looked a bit weird. He tapped a jug.,"What is this?" he asked.,"Rhubarb juice," said Gilly. "Or prune juice to make you go!","Disgusting," said Ducko, behind her. "Everyone just magics it out.",Hermi licked her dipped finger. "I think it's pumpkin," she whispered. The chef looked cross, but slung another round of hot toast onto the counter.,Roldy selected some with jam instead of marmalade. There was no worthwhile cereal, but there was a jug of milk, so he poured some out.,After breakfast, they headed towards Assembly. When they arrived, there were no seats. Roldy dreaded going cross-legged in his robe. It was standard black now, and made him look pale and deadly, when he should have looked tanned and bronze. His caramel hair had been corn-rowed by magic this morning within seconds.,Hermi was wearing a shade of red lipstick, and Gilly looked natural but awesome. Her red hair glowed in the warm sunlight.,Assembly was a standing affair, it turned out, with Christian hymns and very little information. The Headteacher, Professor Bumbles, told them all to wash and keep their hands to themselves.,Roldy involuntary thought of Jamie. He was better than that. And older, just older, really.,Next was Potions as they all filed out. That was in the Lab, a large airy room with high slit windows to let the steam out.,Roldy unpacked his books from his floating trunk, which no one seemed to have with them as book carrier, so he stashed it under his workbench and hoped no one would notice.,Ducko did. "Brought your nanny with you, Mouldy Roldy?" he jeered.,"Yes, I did, Fucko-Ducko." He stuck his tongue out, childishly. Ducko shut up. He must've been called that before. He pushed his glasses up with one finger.,Won-Won showed up, late. Everyone had everything out, even pencil cases. He staggered into the room with books that he didn't have in Assembly and sprawled next to Gilly. She wrinkled her nose.,Their Professor this term or year was Professor Snap, one of the college's most feared professors. Roldy hoped it was for the term, then they would swop.,"Today we will be making a Draught of Death," he announced, gazing around the room. Roldy stuck his chest out, hoping he would be picked.,Hermi put her hand up. "Isn't that illegal, sir, nowadays?","No. Prize Pig College has always been a cut above the rest. You will learn!",The Professor waved his wand, and small cauldrons appeared each to them on the work benches. Roldy's had a small Bunsen burner underneath it.,"Sir? What's this?","Silence! You shall keep quiet at all times, students!" he spat the last word. Obviously, he didn't know about learners or people yet.,Potions ingredients began to appear on the work benches. Roldy began to chop his up enthusiastically. His mum had taught him how to cook when she'd had the first set of twins ages back, and that gave him some flair, he thought.,"Do not eat it," instructed Professor Snap to Won-Won.,"But I only like a nibble, sir," said Won-Won sheepishly.,Roldy opened up his textbook mid-way like Hermi. The Draught of Death was advanced. Unfortunately, Roldy couldn't tell one potion leaf from another from the way they'd been cut.,He tried to piece together a leaf on top of the page outline. It matched! He slung it in the cauldron, and added magical water from the tap.,No one else had a Bunsen burner, so he didn't light it and set it bubbling with an incantation like Hermi did. Gilly was having trouble next to them, and so was Won-Won, who had obviously never used a knife before.,Roldy gave Gilly the Bunsen burner. "Here, use this instead of magic," he said.,"Quiet!",Gilly shrugged the Bunsen burner onto Won-Won, and tapped him on the arm. He plugged it in and lit it.,The smell of gas rolled out. Professor Snap gagged and opened the slit windows. "Turn that off!" he yelled, and yanked the Bunsen burner away.,Won-Won looked downcast.,"Detention!",Afterwards, Hermi said, "I'm in detention, too, for the sparks yesterday.",Won-Won cheered up.,Roldy asked, "What's your real name again?","Marigold, but I hate it. It's a Muggle-name for a girl.","Muggle? What's Muggle?","It's an offensive term for a No-Maj," said Gilly. "You're not supposed to say it.","And because of Lord Goldiewart," added Won-Won.,"Lady Goldiewart these days," said Gilly again. "She's gotten better now and runs a make-up counter in a department store.","Which store?","I can't remember. Somewhere posh. Next town. We're allowed shopping trips there.","Pimpletown?","No, that's the local one. It's shut down now, no one goes there. It's historically preserved with magic.",Roldy thought of his thundercloud birthmark on his chest. It was prophecised that someone with a lightning bolt tattoo would defeat the once-evil Lord Goldiewart and stop him from turning the school into pigs. When it used to be a school, not a sixth form college.,He thought of all those poor eleven year olds turned out from their families, and forced to live at boarding school until they were eighteen. There had been shitloads of bullying and torture. Mostly, from the teachers. They'd been beaten, starved, and abused. No one had gone home over the holidays, and the place turned into a sort of orphanage. An expensive orphanage.,It was better now. Ofsted had gotten to it about three decades ago, and tried to shut the place down. Rumours were that Prize Pig Pimples bribed the education board.,It's real name wasn't Prize Pig Pimples, just Prize Pig like Professor Snap had said. Gods know why it was called that, a remembrance left over from Edwardian rural times. All the kids called it by its full name, Pimples. How could you not call it that?!,The school song was worse, and had a rude version. Roldy hadn't heard the full version yet, only the daft one at the end of the guide.,Hermi had been explaining about Pimpletown. It was where all the servant staff had lived. They lived in the castle now, a few doors down from their dormitories, and the teachers lived en suite. The Headmaster hadn't changed his room in a hundred years, it was rumoured. He was 150.,He also wore the sorting bib on his head as a nightcap, he learned. Surely that was a myth.,It was Transfiguration next. Roldy was half-looking forward to it, but not as much as Hermi.,Just then, a troll lumbered into the dungeons. They were warned about it on loudspeaker.,"WARNING! WARNING! A troll has wandered into Puck House," called the student announcer. "Sorry, miss, a troll has wandered into Pixie House. Please leave immediately to the courtyard.","Is this fire drill magical style gone wrong?" asked Hermi.,"No, it's a troll," said Gilly, taking her hand and leading her into the girls' toilets on that floor. Roldy followed them. It was nice in there.,Ducko followed too and so did Won-Won.,"Hey," said Gilly. "This is the girls' loo, you know." She stood defensively.,Roldy noticed that a shield was forming protectively around her. Hermi stood on the outside.,"He's throwing curses!" yelled the announcer across the loudspeaker. "He's taken down seven - no eight students - so far, sorry, miss.",Someone lumbered past outside. They all went quiet. Ducko locked the door, and hid in a stall.,Gilly opened the girls' loo door carefully. "It's out here!" she squeaked.,Hermi got her wand out. So did Won-Won, but he just looked at it. Roldy got his out and frantically tried to remember some hexes, but none came to mind.,Gilly walked out. "Here, troll!" she called. A curse bounced off her shield.,Using her shield as a shield, Hermi dodged behind and shot a curse over Gilly's right ear. The troll roared.,Roldy thought ,, and leapt out. He was hit immediately, and began to vomit up hairballs. Won-Won was next and spat out snails.,"We're useless," said Won-Won, in-between snails.,To Roldy's amazement, Hermi countered them. She really was the best witch in the year. She pulled them behind Gilly's shield.,At the far end of the corridor, the troll shuffled one foot to the other. It looked like it was about to charge or fight in a boxing ring. It was large, big, and hairy with dark brown fur. It carried a stave that shot lightning bolts down the corridor.,On instinct, everyone ducked. They'd left Ducko behind in the toilet.,Roldy thought about defending the girls, even though they were doing a good job of it themselves. He leapt out in front and fired off a curse he'd remembered. It rebounded off the troll's stave and fired a lightning bolt down the corridor, right back at him. It hit Roldy in the chest.,It burnt through his black robes and scorched his chest, right below his thundercloud birthmark.,"Cor," said Won-Won. "You're going to defeat Lord Goldiewart.","Lady Goldiewart," snapped Hermi and Gilly together. They rushed to help him up, Gilly hampered by her dome shield. Hermi dabbed at him with a tissue where it was blistering over fast. Now it just looked like a mark.,"I thought it was supposed to be a tattoo," moaned Roldy. He looked down. There was a thin zigzag scar below his birthmark. "Oh no! Oh shit!","You'll just have to beat Lady Goldiewart at make-up," confirmed Gilly. She chuckled. "May the best woman win!",Roldy was facing off Lady Goldiewart at the make-up counter. He couldn't decide on peach or purple.,Half the school had dragged him here after news of his new scar got around. There was a fine crowd. Hermi had selected a red lipstick that they wouldn't let her wear at school/college.,Gilly was cheering him on. He looked in the huge mirrors. He thought purple would go best with his bronze skin. He picked it.,Lady Goldiewart looked bored. "I would've selected the pink, sweetie," she said, filing her long fingernails.,"That's sexist," explained Hermi. She admired the red. "Pink stinks!",Roldy reluctantly put it on. The crowd roared. Lady Goldiewart threw down her nail-file and selected hot pink lipstick. She drew a scar on her forehead with it.,"This is where it's supposed to be," she said, pointing. She tapped him on the bare chest. "Not here, sweetie.","I couldn't help where I was hit," he said, sweating. Now it was eyeshadow, and he wasn't keen on anything apart from manliner.,Won-Won threw him some different brown shades of eyeshadow. "For Brownie House!" he cried.,Roldy opened the powders and selected a dark shade. He put it on his eyelids with a finger like warpaint.,"Now contour," said Lady Goldiewart, handing him blush on a brush. Roldy flung it back. He selected a lighter shade of bronze and tapped it into the corners of his eyes and blended it with his thumb.,He checked the mirror. Gilly surprised him by kissing him on the cheek. She left peach lipstick marks.,"How's this?" he said, pointing. The crowd aahed.,"Better," said Lady Goldiewart, her hands on her hips. She looked a bit like a drag queen, in a blonde gold wig and fantastically contoured make-up. She wore a leopard print catsuit to hide the infamous warts. And although Roldy couldn't see behind or lower down, he imagined her in red high heels with a fox tail. She was taller than he was.,He thought that the make-up battle was stupid, and almost said so, but Gilly looked fabulously turned on. So did Hermi. And so did Won-Won.,He applied blusher and bronzer to one cheek, and then the other. It stuck to the peach lipstick and looked darker.,"And now down here," said Lady Goldiewart, tapping his lower chest.,"NO!" he said, a bit louder than he meant. "I don't need to cover up my birthmark any more!", he thought. She always got him to wear a T-shirt because it was massive, and people would stare.,Lady Goldiewart smiled like a fox as she thought of something. She lifted off her wig.,"May the best man win," she simpered.,"Hah!" Roldy stood on the chair, and stood on the counter. He strutted along it, knocking over lipstick stands and foundation with his kicks. He stuck his arse out and farted.,The crowd cheered their appreciation. Won-Won started chanted, "Roldy! Roldy!" but no one else joined in. It died off.,Lady Goldiewart grabbed him by an ankle. "What do you think you're doing?!" she hissed angrily. "Get down from there. You'll all get me into trouble!",Roldy turned and caught sight of himself in a mirror. He'd forgotten he was wearing make-up. He just stood for a second, before he thought of singing the school song. He substituted pimples for warts and sang it, slightly off-key.,Lady Goldiewart folded her massive arms. She pursed her perfectly painted lips next time Roldy caught sight of her.,Won-Won jumped up onto the chair and steadied himself on the counter with his knees. Roldy helped him up. The counter creaked. Then Gilly decided she wanted to get on too, and so did Hermi.,The counter broke under their jumping weight and Roldy tried to grab everyone so that they wouldn't fall. Hermi was quick-thinking and cast a net out of her wand before they smacked the floor.,Lady Goldiewart pressed her hands to her mouth. "You horrible kids, what have you done?!","Beaten you," said Roldy, rolling over in a net. "You're finished, you're done for, and all without magic!","Yay!" cried the crowd. They relaxed. Lady Goldiewart's days as an evil huntress were over.,"Not so fast," she simpered, lifting her wand. It was big, made of crow's feather and shiny.,"I'll turn you all into pigs like the prophecy dictates!" she cried. She waved her wand, and the crowd turned into a mass of grunting, oinking, snorting pigs.,All still wearing robes and behaving like animals. They barfed.,"Just how I like it," said Lady Goldiewart. "Hmph." She stowed her wand away, and turned on one heel. Behind her, the manager looked shocked. She forced him into a pig's shape too, with a wave of her perfectly manicured hand.,As a pig, Roldy turned to Hermi and bit her wand. He still had his mind. He set it to countercurse, and turned all four of them back into human form. Won-Won was still foraging in his robes.,"What?" he said. "I have chocolate." He sat up.,Hermi grabbed her wand and caressed it. "How did you do that?" she asked.,"I don't know," confessed Roldy. "I just knew I had to.",Gilly kissed him. They held hands, and he helped her up. She caught sight of the blonde wig, and he was flung backwards into a net again by her forcefield.,"Steady on," said Won-Won.,"Which way did she go?" asked Hermi, wand battle-ready.,Roldy picked himself up and the net dissolved. Behind the counter, someone oinked. They looked over the wreckage, and saw a pig in department store coloured robes.,"That way!" cried Won-Won, pointing. They jumped over the counter and ran into the back area, through a beaded curtain.,Lady Goldiewart sans wig was waiting. She was surrounded by department store pigs. She flung back her head and laughed. She still had the pink lipstick lightning mark on her forehead.,She drew her wand and pointed it at Roldy's bare naked chest.,"You won't catch me," she said. "The prophecy's awake, and I need to change the whole school into pigs!","College," snapped Gilly. "We're sixth formers.","All the aged-up to deal with you now," sang Won-Won. "What?" he said to the others. "I thought we were all going to have sex. We're all over sixteen.",Lady Goldiewart stared. "If you must know, I don't want to do it. It was that dreadful Professor Bumbles that predicted it when he first started being Head, and didn't want me to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts because he's homophobic.",Hermi gasped. "We thought you and he were together and broke up!",Lady Goldiewart looked shocked. "No, sweetie, he's a white racist, cantankerous, deranged old fellow from a former century who believes in corporal punishment, segregation, and bullshit like that. If he were ever gay, he's never said it out loud, written it, or even hummed it.",Roldy thought Lady Goldiewart was off her rocker at 'hummed it', but said, "He can't be that bad, they wouldn't let him teach!" at the same time that Won-Won asked:,"How do you hum it?",Lady Goldiewart hummed 'I'm gay' and said, "We used to do that in class when he taught Transfiguration. He sent us to detention, so he knows what it means.",Hermi said, "That must have been terrible.",Lady Goldiewart nodded. "It was. I want him to quit!","So do I!" said Roldy. "My mum's a lawyer; she'll help, if someone can take care of the twins. She's a bit busy balancing family and work these days," he mumbled.,Gilly said, "We'll do it. I've got older brothers who all looked after me. We know what to do.",Lady Goldiewart finally relaxed her wand. She twirled it between her long painted fingernails.,Hermi still held hers. "Turn these people back from pigs into... people!" she ordered.,"OK, sweetie. If you say so." Goldiewart launched her wand into the air, and all the oinking stopped. People stood up tentatively.,"Now, look here..." began the manager.,"I quit," said Lady Goldiewart. "I have a new job now. You can take your sticker and shove it where the sun doesn't shine." She thrust her job label into his face.,She turned on her heel, and marched out with the gang.,And she did wear a fox tail, noticed Roldy, following her.,"Now, now, see here! This is preposterous!" roared Bumbles. His beard fluffed up and floated around in all directions in irate anger.,"You racist old coot, you're done for!" raged Lady Goldiewart. Hermi was standing with her wand at the ready in case a fight broke out.,Roldy didn't have his mum with him, but this was a few days later after he returned to Scotland from an important job meeting in London. They'd contacted the papers and wrote down Lady Goldiewart's side of the story.,"Get out of my school!" he said.,"Get out of my life," simpered Lady Goldiewart. She slapped him.,Bumbles' beady eyes twitched. "HOW VERY DARE YOU!" he roared. He punched back, right in the jaw. She didn't budge.,"You can't hit a lady," said Won-Won, sticking up.,Gilly activated her forcefield around Lady Goldiewart. Bumbles struck it next with a curse that rebounded off and hit a statue. It was of a prancing bear, and it exploded.,His head turned. "That was three centuries old and it was priceless," he wept. He dragged a handkerchief across his tired eyes. "Who are you people?",Roldy's jaw dropped open at misuse of people. "We're students, sir," he said, through gritted teeth.,"Learners, in fact," said Gilly. "We live here now.","So you have to abide by my rules," he said cheerfully. He pointed a finger up. "Ah, I require an assistant.",A door opened, and a burly assistant walked in. "What's happening, sir?" he asked.,"See these people out!" he snapped. "They're expelled and don't belong here at our traditional school.",Hermi gasped. "It cost so much to come here," she said.,"I won the scholarship," agreed Gilly. "You can't do this.","I can and I must," said Bumbles, looking more cheerful by the minute. "And to think I thought you were a threat.","I am," said Lady Goldiewart appearing in a haze of smoke. She caught him with a spell on his upturned finger. It ricocheted off, however.,"I'm protected like you," he said, beaming. "I can't turn into a pig.","I wasn't aiming pigs," she said. A pimple grew on the end of his nose. "Take that, you warty old bugger.",Hermi gasped. Prize pig pimples were growing all over his head and scalp as his hair fell out. He held gnarly old hands up to his face, shaking.,"What have you done to me?","What you did to me!" roared Goldiewart. "I am covered, you homophobic, transphobic, old nutter!","I do what Christ commands me to do.",Roldy gasped. "Don't bring Him into this!" he shouted. "What has He ever done to you, except good?","Not in my time, and not in my school. What I say, goes!" He slammed his pimply hand down on his desk. A statue whirled around and fell over and shattered. His head turned again.,Goldiewart was aiming at the statues, portraits and knick-knacks. They weren't scientific at all, just full of cogs and springs. A particularly mighty dragon roared flame before it imploded.,Bumbles held a hand to his mouth. "That was fifteenth century!" he claimed. "It was over two million pounds. A real treasure.",Won-Won rushed to open a trophy case and tripped over his own feet and hit a plinth. The statue there toppled onto his head. Hermi bandaged him up with spells. Gilly rushed to the trophy cabinet and opened it instead.,Goldiewart aimed long and low, and hit every one to implode. The cabinet exploded in a mess of wood and steel. Droplets of liquid metal rained down on the carpet.,Bumbles said, "You won't harm me, I can repair everything. I am a genius!" To prove it he aimed at the dragon statue and tried to repair it. Veins stood out on his cheeks with effort.,Suddenly, he slumped forward and breathed his last. Roldy crept forward. Goldiewart hadn't noticed, and was destroying everything of worth in the office.,He felt for a pulse. There was none. "I think he's had a heart attack," he muttered.,Won-Won said, "We should try to resuscitate him. Give him the kiss of life, I mean." He looked at Gilly.,She said, "I'm not doing it. He's too old. He's over 150.",Hermi said, "He was a monster. I'm not doing it either.",Roldy said, "We need to take him to trial. He might come back as a ghost otherwise, and he'll be insufferable as Head." He pointed to the spectre starting to form in mid-air.,Won-Won leapt the desk and hauled Bumbles onto his back on the floor.,"Gilly, hold his nose or something," he said. "I'm not doing it.","Fine!" yelled Goldiewart. "I'll do it." She hit Bumbles in the chest with faint gold light. The ghost faded, and Bumbles began to breathe again. His eyelids flickered. Veins were still popping out on his pimply cheeks.,Hermi got out her phone, switched on the precious battery power and called for an air ambulance. "Where are we?" she asked.,"Scotland," said everyone.,"No, where are we? I can't say near Pimpletown, it doesn't exist on the map.","Near a loch," volunteered Roldy. He pushed Bumbles on the floor into the recovery position with his foot.,Gilly said, "You really didn't mean all that religious Christ stuff, did you?",Roldy looked shifty. "Maybe. Mum brought us up that way. Got a problem with it?",She shrank. "Not really. It's just a bit old-fashioned.","Mum went to Prize Pig Pimple College when she was younger. She was segregated into Dark Elf House and had an owl as a pet.","We should have pet tigers not cats," added Won-Won.,"I think they catch rodents in the kitchens," said Hermi slowly. "Puck - sorry, Pixie - House doesn't have pet foxes, do they?","No. But Dwarf House have rabbits outside. Why are we talking about this?","Do you want 'Does he look better?' instead then?",Bumbles coughed. It was wet and filled his beard with blood. Goldiewart smiled.,"He'll be a long time in hospital after this," she simpered. "I hope he doesn't lose the pimples. They suit him. Hmph.",THE END

: Now this is just a taste of an upcoming idea I had in mind for a Scooby-Doo / Harry Potter crossover, so it's gonna be a little shorter than normal. There aren't many of these, so I thought I'd add one to the pile. Now, this takes place , the Scooby Doo Gang started their little Junior Paranormal Investigator/Detective group. A lot can happen in that amount of time, so the Mystery Incorperated are going to be a little OOC. Also, Velma is 20, Daphne is 21, and Fred and Shaggy are both 22. This also takes place right after Prisoner of Askaban, so the american meddling kids are 7-9 years older than our beloved british meddling kids. (Let's be honest, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are basically the british, magical, versions of our favorite meddling kids. (unless you believe the "Shaggy has Magic and Scooby is his Familiar" theory like I do.)) Oh, and one more thing (more like two), Werewolf!Shaggy and Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Velma Poly.,On with the story!,Chapter One - Meeting the Cousin,Norville "Shaggy" Rogers waited patiently at John Glenn Columbus International Airport with his loyal canine companion, Scooby-Doo the Great Dane, his therapy and service dog, at his side. The two were waiting for Shaggy's cousin, a young boy of thirteen years old, to show up. He had gotten a letter from him saying that he needed somewhere to stay for the summer since his previous caretakers where out of commision and no longer an option. Shaggy readily accepted, if only to get to know a relative.,Shaggy was twenty-two years old now and had been traveling the nation with his friends, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley, solving mysteries and exposing criminals. He had changed a lot since they started their little junior detective career in high school, they all have. For one, he had finally grown a full beard, well, more like goatee, but he's still counting it! He hadn't grown much in height, still he stood at 6'4" and possibly taller because of those low-heeled, black-leather, shoes he wore. His body had the fisique and structure of that of a runner or swimmer, surprisingly he was pretty strong despite his appearance. He was still as tall and lanky as ever, but didn't quite hold himself with the same amount of anxiety and nervousness as before. For the most part, he had mellowed out and calmed down, finally. Nowadays, he was completely calm and level headed on the outside, while on the inside, he's still that screaming, terrified, idiot 24/7. He has an attitude more along the lines of, "oh, well, this is happening, let's just roll with it and try not to die.",So, yeah. He and his cousin are gonna get along ,. Especially with that "saving people thing" his cousin has going on. And the fact that he is a self-sacrificing idiot, but not that Shaggy knew that.,Scooby-Doo sat patiently at Shaggy's side, waiting for his Master's little cousin to show up. He kept his Master from trying to wander off or get too distracted by something. Scooby had changed as well. No longer was he quite the same cowardly dog, but was a respectable canine companion and truly cared and looked after his scatterbrained, anxiety-induced, Master. Although, that isn't to say he wasn't cowardly, while he definitely had his more brave moments, well, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. He was still the loving, gentle, giant of a dog that absolutely loved food, his master, and his friends, but was still afraid of ghosts, ghouls, monsters, demons, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. He just was better at standing up for himself and his friends, now.,Suddenly, a flurry of white feathers swooped down from the rafters and a beautiful snowy owl perched on the shoulder of a young boy. He was about thirteen years old and was only around 5'2" maybe 5'4" at most. He seemed to be more Hispanic, maybe Indian, in descent, with a crisp, warm, honey tan skin tone. His hair had a natural curl to it that looked, well, ,, in texture, with thick, messy bangs that covered his forehead and seemed to gather in a particular spot, like he was hiding some sort of scar. It was a pitch black color with slight red, almost coppery, undertones. He had almond eyes of a bright, almost acid, emerald green that seemed to have a supernatural glow all of their own, which were hidden behind thick lenses and thin, black, frames. He had a heart shaped face with a broad jawline and high, chiseled, cheekbones, but still managed to be pretty baby-faced.,Shaggy had no doubt that this kid would be a little heartbreaker, the kid was definitely handsome enough for it. Was it weird to call your relative handsome? Nevermind, it was his clothing that was a little worrisome, though. It looked like the kid only had hand-me-downs in his wardrobe, Shaggy liked wearing baggy clothes, but this was ridiculous! His clothes were three sizes too large and his shoes looked like they were coming off his feet! Oh, Daphne was gonna have a field day finding new clothes for this kid. Shaggy could help but feel a sinking sensation in his stomach that definitely , hunger. He just hoped he was wrong.,Now that he had a closer look at the kid, he looked like he was bordering on anorexic. He looked like a stick, a twig, and was definitely underfed. He still looked healthy for the most part, but it was a little worrying. He only hoped that the kid had a underactive thyroid or something and not some sort of bad eating disorder like anorexia, or that his previous caretakers neglected him. He seemed to be well built, a runner or swimmer's body, like Shaggy's own. So, he must have some sort of muscle. Eyes of Emerald met Honey Brown and the boy sunk a little into himself upon meeting Shaggy's gaze. Scooby let out a small whine next to him, recognizing the signs of anxiety. Shaggy gave the boy a friendly gesture to come closer, that he wasn't going to hurt him. The boy began to stalk towards him, on guard and ready to run if he need to.,"Like, hey there, kiddo," Shaggy said gently, holding out a hand for the kid to shake. "My name's Norville Rogers. I'm your cousin. But like, uh, just call me 'Shaggy.' All my friends do.",The boy looked down at the outstretched hand and then back up at Shaggy. He had an unsure, scared look on his face. Then again, this was the first time they were meeting and the poor kid was stuck in a new and unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar relative. Shaggy, sensing the fear, gave him his signature dopey, funny, and friendly smile, trying to lighten the atmosphere and relax the kid. The boy calmed down slightly, but didn't drop his guard completely, which was to be expected. He returned Shaggy's grin with his own lopsided, shy, smile and grasped Shaggy's larger hand in his smaller one.,"Nice to meet you, Shaggy," He said, voice soft and thick british-scottish accent very evident. "I'm Harry."

Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl. Chapter One: A New Year,DISCLAIMER: Daria is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Wizarding World. I own neither franchise, nor do I expect or deserve any financial compensation for this work of fiction. I am writing for my own amusement and ego gratification, not for financial remuneration.,Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl,It was very early New Year's Day. Another year had started for the young witches and wizards of Highland, Texas, a year rung in by eating black-eyed peas for good luck. It wasn't the way Daria Morgendorffer expected to ring in 1990, but on the other hand old Mrs. Johnson had made it a surprisingly powerful, meaningful ceremony. And now it was time to go home.,She and Raven Caswell walked out to Jeanette Johnson's car. Jeanette would drive them home. Outdoors some people were celebrating in the crazy, destructive ways all too many people in Highland marked certain holidays: with alcohol, drugs, fireworks, and gunshots fired into the air and occasionally at each other. They got in, Daria buckled her seatbelt, and Jeanette started her car. Their drive was relatively short and mercifully uneventful. Other people's weren't: Daria and Raven saw the flares on the road and the red and blue blinking lights of the police and emergency rescue vehicle and were sobered. Someone's year was off to a horribly bad start.,Jeanette dropped Daria off at her door at River Run Cove. Her Mom had given her a key so she could let herself in when she got back from Mrs. Johnson's and Daria felt very grown up about using it. She let herself in, then closed the door and locked it behind her.,Her parents were still up. They'd been watching a movie and sharing a bottle of champagne.,"Hey, Smidget," said Jake. "How was your party?","Fine, Dad," said Daria. "It was OK.","Nobody did any drugs or anything, did they?" said Helen.,"No, Mom," said Daria. "No drugs or alcohol.","No wand-waving?" said Jake. "No magic spells?","No, Dad," said Daria. "We each got little cups of black-eyed peas and ate them for good luck.","Black eyed peas?" said Jake.,"Black eyed peas?" said Helen. "I haven't thought about black-eyed peas for years." said Helen. "Germaine used to ask me and my sisters if we had any black-eyed peas for good luck each New Year's Day back when I was growing up. If you and your friends were quietly eating black-eyed peas at midnight instead of going hog-wild like some people around here, I definitely approve.",Bemused, Daria retired and went to sleep shortly afterwards.,The Morgendorffers got a phone call that afternoon from Edgar. The Fink-Nottles had not only returned to the UK but had bought a house not too far from Edgar's employers' main office. Cuthbert now had a limp, but in spite of his injury, he remained about as cheerful as ever. Edgar and Camille wished them all a happy new year, then hung up.,School started a few days later. Ellen Bowden stopped by briefly and told Daria that she should try to study as hard as she could between now and the end of her school year at James Ferguson Elementary School.,"It might not seem this way now, but you'll find your arithmetical and composition skills of great help at Ilvermorny and possibly even more so if you do get into Hogwarts," she said.,Her mother concurred with Ms. Bowden's opinion and added that what she was learning now were the foundations of what she'd need to learn if she wanted to go on to college after she graduated from Ilvermorny or Hogwarts.,Late that month, Helen was surprised to find Mrs. Gonzalez, Mrs. Ocampo, and the Aldrete twins at her door. She stared at the delegation, then invited them in. She called for Daria and her eldest came out of her room and stared in surprise at the older women. Helen offered coffee for Mrs. Gonzalez and Mrs. Ocampo and hot tea for the Aldrete sisters.,She then sat down, wondering why they'd come by for a visit.,"I'm sure you're wondering why we stopped by," said Mrs. Gonzalez. "We came by to tell your daughter about our potion-making class. Potion-making is an important part of our education and Marta here teaches rookies like your daughter how to make them properly." Sarita and Connie grinned at Mrs. Ocampo calling Daria a rookie.,Helen thought that early instruction was a good idea but silently wished Jake was here so she could make it look collegial, but Jake and Quinn were out and she and Daria were alone with Veronica, so she had to make the call by herself. Before she could say anything, Veronica came out of her room and saw the visitors.,"Hi!" she said.,"Ah, la niñita!" said Mrs. Gonzalez. "This is your youngest one?","Yes, this is my youngest daughter Veronica," said Helen.,"Ronnie, could you say hello to these nice ladies?","Hi," said Veronica. "I'm Veronica.","Veronica, this is Mrs. Gonzalez, Mrs. Ocampo, and these two girls are Sarita and Connie Aldrete," said Helen. "Sarita and Connie go to school with Daria." Preoccupied with watching Veronica's reactions to her guests, Helen missed Connie raising her eyebrows at Sarita and Sarita looking back at her sister and shrugging.,Helen then turned her attention to her oldest daughter. "Daria, there's nothing like having a good start for your education. I think you ought to enroll.",Daria wanted to say no. She would have preferred to put off potion-making until school started that fall, but she looked at the adults in the room and realized that the odds were stacked against her.,"How could I refuse?" she said with less than total enthusiasm.

It wasn't the first time that Max woke up in the middle of the night, plagued once again by haunting dreams of the mistakes she made, her mind cluttered with "buts", "ors" and "what ifs". And like every night for the past several weeks, she would stare up at the darkened ceiling of her old room, wondering if she deserved to be here – deserved to be alive – when so many had suffered because of her decisions. The light of the full moon spilled through the window as Max raised her right hand over her face, thinking of all the damnable things this one limb had made her do.,You see, Maxine Caulfield – or "Max, never Maxine" as she would always say – was far from a normal girl as one can be, even when you are living in a world where witches play racing games on brooms and aliens buy fresh fruit on the market street. Max had the power to control time. While that may seem impressive, the most she has ever done was turn back the clock a few seconds and, at best, travel back during her own life through photographs. There was one time where she actually stop time itself, but that's a story she'd rather not repeat.,The one question that constantly plagued Max's mind was: why? Why her? Up until a couple of months ago, she was just an ordinary high school senior that had no special qualities other than being a cliché wallflower that always sat back and just watched the world go by through the lens of her camera.,But then she started having these nightmares – premonitions about the future of Arcadia Bay and its destruction at the hands of a massive tornado. At first, she though they were just wild, imaginative dreams – stress-induced visions from working too hard. But her whole life changed that very same day when she went into the girl's bathroom and watched a girl being shot in broad daylight.,Max didn't know what compelled her to do it – looking back, it seemed rather stupid – but she instinctively held out her right hand and suddenly, time rewound itself. She was back in class just minutes before the shooting occurred. That's when she discovered she had the power to reverse time with her right hand. She used that power to prevent the shooting from happening; she altered the course of history. Or maybe she was always meant to do that. Ever since Max learned she had time controlling powers, she had done a lot of research on time travel, even after Arcadia Bay was destroy. A recently submitted thesis by some scientist named Croix Meridias said that history cannot be altered and any changes that happen in history only occur because they were meant to. So if that were true, the Max was always supposed to stop that girl from being shot – or at least, that what she believes to make herself feel better.,As if fate was in motion, the girl she saved turned out to be her childhood friend, Chloe Price, whom Max had regrettably lost contact with during their five-year separation. Chloe was rightfully pissed at her for not staying connected; Max admitted that her excuse for not calling her was rather pathetic. But when she found out that Max had time controlling powers, she was very eager to get back into Max's good graces. It was likely out of selfish reasons, but Max didn't care at the time; she was just happy to have her best friend back. They had played around with her power for a while: making funny predictions, trick shots on bottle (finding the bottles, on the other hand, was pure ass), and sneaking into the school pool at night and slipping past the guards without getting caught. Max had wished from the bottom of her heart that those days would have lasted forever. But when you have time-altering powers, you quickly realize that nothing is eternal.,Though they stumbled into it by accident, they uncovered a hidden conspiracy that not only lead to the death of Chloe's friend, Rachel Amber, but was responsible for a number of tragedies that nearly caused one of her closest friends to kill herself. Max wondered if she was still alive; the hospital was more fortified and a good distance away from the main part of town; maybe she got out okay. But it was probably finding Rachel Amber's body in the junkyard that hit them the hardest – having to watch Chloe, who always seemed so strong, break down like that was heartbreaking. And then she was shot, right in the forehead, in front of her. Max managed to prevent that from happening again, but it still haunted her memories. And the man who committed all these atrocities – Max quickly shook her head. No, she didn't want to think about ,for as long as she lived.,And then it finally came: the predicted tornado that would devastate Arcadia Bay and kill hundreds of people. Max and Chloe had been at the lighthouse when it happened, watching the terrible weather giant inch closer to the shores. Maybe it was out of desperation to change something, but Chloe had insisted that Max go back in time and let her die, somehow believing that her being alive was somehow the cause of all this. But that…that was just plain ridiculous. How could a weather phenomenon be the result of her not dying? Max had had the visions ,she had seen Chloe in the bathroom, meaning it was already happening even before Max had her powers. And if Professor Croix's thesis was right, the tornado was going to happen regardless of whether or not Chloe was alive. Max rejected the idea. If the tornado was going to happen anyway, then the only difference would be that Chloe wouldn't be with her anymore, and Max, after everything they've been through during that week from Hell, couldn't do it.,They watched the tornado devastate their hometown from afar, holding each other for strength.,The morning after, they had driven through town, hoping by some miracle that there would be survivors waiting on the roads. But there were none as far as they knew. The street was littered with bodies; neither Max nor Chloe stuck around long enough to see who they were. They were quiet the entire ride out of town, only Chloe's hand in her own giving her some warmth from the numbing feeling in her chest as she looked back at the ruins of Arcadia Bay for the last time.,After that, they had made their way up to Seattle toward her parent's house. They had expectedly been worried about Max and nearly drowned her in happy tears when she and Chloe arrived on their doorstep. Max's parents had, of course, allowed Chloe to stay, more than understanding of her predicament. They had spent the past few weeks trying to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and figure out what they were going to do next. Max had tried getting into contact with her school friends in hopes that someone would respond and prove they were alive, but there had been no messages thus far.,And that's what brought Max to where she is now, lying awake at night, staring at the hand that had changed so much of her life in such a short amount of time. But she was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and felt a weight on her shoulder. She turned her head sideways and stared into Chloe's big blue eyes.,Another thing that had changed since the destruction of Arcadia Bay was her relationship with Chloe. Max wasn't sure if it was because they needed each other after experiencing such devastating loss, but she and Chloe had crossed the border from best friends to a more romantic sense in a few short weeks. Some may think it's unrealistic and that they are just using each other to cope, but Max liked to disagree. Her parents, of course, were well aware of their relationship; so much so that they were forced to sleep in separate rooms. Luckily, her parents were away for the weekend to visit her sick aunt, so they had no worries about getting caught. Not that Chloe ever cared about caution to begin with.,"Hey," Chloe muttered softly in her ear. "Still thinking about…you know?","I don't see how I can't," said Max. "It just happened a little while ago.","Look, none of that was your fault, all right," said Chloe. "That Doctor Crew guy – ","Professor Croix," Max corrected.,"Whatever," said Chloe, rolling her eyes. "They said the tornado was going to happen anyway, so it's not like you did anything wrong.","But I didn't do anything right, either," grumbled Max. "I don't know, Chloe. I feel like I could have warned people, at least. Maybe I could have gone back far enough and told them what was coming.","That tornado came completely out of nowhere; no one would have believed you until it was too late," said Chloe sympathetically. "Believe me, I wish I could have saved mom and…okay, maybe David, too. But that professor guy, he said history can't be changed. It was going to happen, no matter how hard we fought it. I think at this point now, the best thing we can do is accept it.","Look at you dishing out sagely advice," said Max teasingly. "Are you high again?","And what if I am?" said Chloe with a wicked grin. Max slapped her playfully and Chloe laughed as got up off the bed. "Ugh…now I can't go back to sleep because of all this depressing shit. I'm gonna get a beer from the fridge.","Try not to pass out on the couch again," said Max as Chloe stepped out the door.,"No promises!" Chloe called back.,Shaking her head lightly, Max fell back on her bed and stared at her hand once more. She was making an effort to get past all the tragedy she had suffered in recent days, but there was still something that Max couldn't quite figure out about the whole thing. Where did her power come from? In a world full of magic, one wouldn't think too deeply on the matter, but Max knew that she wasn't a witch or a Demi-Human – she and Chloe had gone to multiple doctors around Seattle to be sure. And even if she was, she had been told repeatedly that bending the fabric of time-space was impossible for any single person, even for those strong witches over in Europe. So where did this power come from –,Max quickly shot up in her bed. She recognized the sound of a smashing bottle from those hellish hours of searching for them in the junkyard. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Did Chloe trip or something? But then she heard a muffled yell, followed by a quiet ,! Then came the voices – there were multiple, and all of them sounded like men. Someone had broken into their house and they had Chloe! Max quietly threw herself out of bed and stealthily edged her way out of the door and into the hallway. Time for a little Blackwell Ninja action, she thought.,Max silently stepped down the hall, thanking her mother for investing in the godawful pink shag carpeting she had bought on a whim, because it muffled the sound of her feet as she started to climb down the stairs. When she reached the bottom step, the stairs opened up to the living room, and she saw at once where the intruders were: two men were standing in front of the fireplace as they lit the grate, illuminating the darkened room in a reddish-orange glow. The man who had set the fire was wearing a long, tattered white coat that concealed his face, and the other man was wearing a dark-drown hooded coat and covered his face with a bronze mask. And there, lying on the floor, Max could make out Chloe's electric blue hair against the carpeting.,Max covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping. Immediately, the worse thoughts occurred to her. Then she listened intently, for the man in the white coat started speaking; his voice was harsh and raspy like it was straining.,"You didn't kill her, did you, Amon? It would be such a shame to lose such a healthy specimen.","I do not kill unless it is necessary, Ruvik," said the man called Amon; his voice sounded strong and imposing. "And neither will you. This girl is not involved; she was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.","Did you say the same thing when you killed Charlotte Jansson and her husband?" said Ruvik with an amused chuckle.,"A necessary sacrifice," said Amon resolutely. "If she were still alive, she would have hunted me down and we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we?","I suppose so," said Ruvik. He kneeled down next to Chloe, running a hand through her hair. In the firelight, Max could tell that his hand was covered thoroughly in burn marks. "Ah, such a waste. By the way, where is Acnologia? I assumed he would be here by now.","That arrogant dragon does whatever he wishes," said Amon, crossing his arms with a hint of annoyance. "In truth, I will be surprised if he does show up.","Don't worry, my old friend, he will turn up," said Ruvik confidently, standing up straight. "After everything we've told him, he would be a fool not to accept our offer. Although, I personally never thought we would ever ally ourselves with a monster like Acnologia.","Normally, I wouldn't either – that man has a habit of betraying those he works with," said Amon.,Brow furrowed, Max inclined her ear around the corner of the stairway, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then Ruvik spoke again.,"How long do you plan on staying here, Amon?","Only a few days," said Amon, "just until the owners of this home return. After I am finished with my business here, I shall move westward, crossing the ocean until I reach Japan. I figured the sense of irony would be appropriate. However, we still can't move forward with the plan just yet. It would be foolish to act before the International Chariot Race Tournament is over.",Chariot Race. Max was sure she heard something like that before – maybe from Warren? He was always into some weird, super obscure shit.,"The International Chariot Race Tournament, you say?" said Ruvik. "Forgive me, Amon, but I don't understand why we should wait until the Tournament is over?","Because, at this very moment, Demi-humans are pouring in from all over the world, and every meddler from the Magic Council will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security. I only made it this far because I was careful. I'm not going to risk losing everything now.",Max was lost in a haze of confusion. She had distinctly heard the words "Magic Council" and "Demi-humans". It became clear to Max that the people lounging in her parent's living room were Demi-humans, and if they were talking in such hushed voices about the Magic Council, then they were clearly dangerous. Max gripped her shirt in anxiety and listened more closely still.,"So you are still determined, then?" said Ruvik coolly.,"Certainly, I am determined, Ruvik." There was a note of menace in his voice now.,A slight pause followed – and then Ruvik fell back on the loveseat, making himself comfortable near the warm fire while his feet were raised on Chloe's back; they were as scarred and scabbed as the rest of him.,"Forgive my ignorance, Amon," said Ruvik, "but why do we need to wait until ,we have caught Akko Kagari to move forward with our plan? We can do it just fine without her.",Another pause, more protracted, and then –,"Without Akko Kagari?" breathed Amon softly.,"It just doesn't make sense to risk so much for one girl," said Ruvik, folding his hands together like a shrewd businessman. "Certainly, the girl is an important factor to consider, but one we only need to worry about for a later date. After tonight, we will have all the components we need to move forward. You know Akko Kagari is well guarded by a number of powerful witches – there doesn't seem to be any reason to take that risk when we are already in the final stages – ","You're not wrong," said Amon in a low voice. "We do have everything. There would be no point in going after Akko Kagari….","So you agree with me, Amon?" said Ruvik, sounding relieved to be free of such an arduous task. "Once we have what we need from here, we can leave and carry out our plans as intended. There would be no need for us to even lay a hand on Akko Kagari.","So then we agree we should forgo any attempts at seizing Akko Kagari. It's like you said, we will have everything we will need to carry it out after tonight…. But then, that would mean going against the Master's orders, wouldn't it? They specifically said that Akko Kagari must be in attendance, but I'm certain the Master will be understanding as to why we had to defy their wishes. They won't be too mad, I'm sure….",From her place at the corner of the stairway, Max could see the man called Ruvik sit up straight in his seat, his hand was gripping the rest like a frightened cat. A staggering silence filled the living room as Amon and Ruvik stared at one another. For a few seconds, Max could hear nothing but the fire crackling. Then Amon spoke once more, in a whisper that was almost a hiss.,"The Master has their own reason for using Akko Kagari, as I have already explained to you, and it is not our place to question their orders. We have waited fourteen years. A few more months will make no difference. As for the protection surrounding the girl, I believe the Master's plan will be effective. All that is needed is a little patience from you, Ruvik – patience you will find, unless you wish to incur the wrath of the Master – ","I have no doubt of our Master's ability, Amon!" said Ruvik impatiently. "All through our journey, I have gone over the plan in my head – Amon, Aleister Crowley's disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed, if I murder – ","If?" whispered Amon. ",? If you follow the plan, Ruvik, the Magic Council will never need to know that anyone else has died. Aleister Crowley has always isolated himself from the world, so it will be a long time before anyone takes notice of his disappearance. We will proceed quietly and without fuss. Just one more necessary death, Ruvik, and our path to Akko Kagari will be clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. As we speak, our hidden ally will have rejoined us – ","That's another thing that I have to question, Amon," said Ruvik, the merest trace of contempt in his voice. "How do you know they can be trusted. You know who - or more specifically - what they are - ","And that is why we must have faith," said Amon. "The Master's plans are more complex than either of us could perceive, but we both know they will succeed in the end.","I hope so," said Ruvik, leaning his head in his hand. "Do you understand what I had to go through to get to Aleister Crowley? Sneaking my way into Academy City wasn't easy.","Your actions will not go unnoticed by the Master," said Amon, nodding slightly. "We needed someone of Alesiter Crowley's intelligence to make this work. Luckily, his body was already crippled, so he didn't put up much of a fight when you arrived and brought him to me. And on top of that, we managed to pry some useful information out of him. The Master will be very pleased with you, Ruvik.","I will admit, I didn't think he would tell us ,when I captured him," said Ruvik. "Another one of the Master's mechations, I suppose.","It wouldn't surprise me," said Amon. "That little bit of information proved itself to be invaluable. Without it, we could never have formed our plan. It's a pity that we had to kill him. With a mind like his, he could have proved useful, but his belligerent attitude towards Demi-Humans would only have proved a hindrance in the long run. Rather hypocritical, considering he was one himself. In any case, letting him return to Academy City would have led to awkward questions being asked by the Magic Council, and his own shrewd mind would have no doubt formulated a thousand different ways of seeking revenge before breakfast. It was better this way.",Around the corner of the stairway, Max suddenly became aware that her hand was shaking violently and dripping with cold sweat. These intruders had killed a man. They were talking about it so casually as if they were talking about the weather. They were dangerous – a couple of psychopaths. And they were planning more murders – this girl, Akko Kagari, whoever she was – was in danger –,Max knew what she must do. Now, if ever, was the time to go to the police. She could creep back upstairs, make a call on her cellphone, and wait for help to arrive…but then what would happen to Chloe? What if they used her as a hostage. Max considered maybe using her powers again – she could turn back time again and again until she rescued Chloe and they both got out of there…. Then Amon started speaking again, and Max remained where she was, frozen to the spot, listening with all her might.,"One more murder…our hidden ally in Luna Nova…Akko Kagari is as good as ours, Ruvik. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet…I think Acnologia has finally arrived….",Ruvik lifted himself up from his seat and then they both turned towards the darkened entryway into the kitchen. Max strained her ears to listen…and then she heard movement coming from the darkness. Someone, or something, emerged seamlessly from the shadows, and for some reason, Max found herself paralyzed with fright.,A tall and muscular man stepped forward into the light of the fireplace, stepping over Chloe's unconscious body, though it seemed unlikely that he did this out of consideration for her. His skin was so dark that it nearly blended in with the background, but much of his skin was covered in dark-blue tattoos that matched the color of his wild, unruly hair. Max has no idea who this man is, but he radiated with strength and malevolence that even someone like her could recognize. Horrified, transfixed, Max stared at the monstrous man as he seated himself on the couch facing the fireplace; Ruvik seated himself once more and Amon chose to remain standing.,There was a sweat on Max's forehead now, and her hand was trembling so much she needed to hold it down with the other. She was so out-of-her-mind terrified that she missed Amon and Ruvik exchanging words with this new person, Acnologia if she heard correctly. Max didn't understand why this was happening to her. She wanted more than anything to go back up to her bed and wake up with Chloe beside her, pretending that all of this was a part of some vivid nightmare. The problem was that her legs didn't seem to want to move. As she stood there shaking and trying to master herself, the new intruder suddenly spoke up, his voice deep and menacing.,"We came to this worthless human household for a reason, didn't we?" he said.,"Yes, the girl that lives in this home has something we need," said Amon.,"Then shouldn't we invite her inside?" said Acnologia. "I smelled her scent the moment I arrived. She's been standing on the stairs this whole time, listening to every word we say.",Max didn't even have a chance to raise her right hand. Amon suddenly threw his hand her way and her entire body suddenly seized up. It felt like every cell in her body was screaming in pain, her blood was boiling like it was on fire.,"Eavesdropping is very rude, Miss Caulfield," said Amon. "Please, come join us.,Before she even understood what was happening, she was suddenly hovering inches off the ground and floating inside the living room. This Amon person seemed to have the power to control her body, which was bad because she couldn't activate her rewind power unless she held up her right hand. Amon beckoned her closer and Max's feet brushed against Chloe's unconscious body as he moved her in the middle of their group, setting her in front of the fire so that it cast long, spidery shadows upon the walls. Though her feet were planted firmly on the ground, Amon didn't let her move freely – he seemed to be aware of Max's power and wasn't taking any chances.,"You heard everything, girl?" said Ruvik coldly.,"Just enough to get the police interested in investigating you creeps," said Max defiantly, for now that she was inside the room, now that the time had come for some action, she decided to be braver. "I heard about how you killed that Crowley guy and your planning on killing more! And before you get any ideas," she added, on a sudden inspiration, "my parents will be back any minutes now, and when they see – ","You parents are gone for the weekend to visit an ailing relative," said Amon, very quietly. "The only people in this house are you and your girlfriend. Nobody knows we are here and you have not called anybody to warn them. Don't bother lying to us, Miss Caulfield. We planned this visit with every angle covered.","Why?" asked Max. "Why come here? Why my house?","Because you're special," said Amon. "By now, you have already discovered that you possess the power to reverse time – yes, we are fully aware of it, Miss Caulfield" he added to Max's surprised look. "I can imagine that you've been asking yourself for weeks now why you suddenly have the power to warp the very fabric of temporal space despite being born a human. Well, the answer is actually much simpler than you might think. For you see, inside your right hand, is something that we desperately need: The Star of Time.","The Star of…Time?" Max repeated, feeling very confused.,"An ancient stone with the power to manipulate time itself," Amon explained. "It's one of the Seven Stars of Arcturus which, when brought together, can reshape reality itself.","But why do I have it?" asked Max. "When did I get it?","You received the Star purely by chance," said Ruvik. "It used to be guarded by a woman named Charlotte Jansson, an old colleague of ours. But when she was hunting down our good friend Amon here, she decided that it would be too dangerous to keep on her person when they finally confronted each other. Charlotte was in Arcadia Bay when she made that decision and decided to hide the Star inside an ordinary human. It really was quite brilliant. No one would ever think an object of infinite power could be hidden inside an ordinary girl from a backwater town in the middle of nowhere. Had our Master not been ten steps ahead, we would never think to seek you out.","Charlotte must have thought you would never abuse the Star of Time should it ever become active," said Amon. "She would never do something as reckless in sealing it inside any random human. But the Star of Time has been awakened at last, and it's current residing inside your right hand.","So…what are you going to do?" asked Max, biting her lip timidly. "You're not going to…kill me, are you?","As I told Ruvik, we don't need any unnecessary deaths," said Amon. "You and your girlfriend will live this night – Ruvik will modify your memories after we leave so that you will have no recollection of what has occurred. However…we do still need that Star in your right hand…and breaking the seal around it will take more time than we actually have to spend in your home. And with that in mind….",Without warning, Amon suddenly raised her off the ground again, but then quickly slammed her down on her back on top of the coffee table. Max tried fruitlessly to struggle with the invisible bindings, but Amon only seemed to be getting stronger, especially as he stood in front of the window, bathed in the light of the full moon. Ruvik sat up once more and reached inside his coat, withdrawing a tattered rag and stuffing it in Max's mouth.,"You may want to bite down on that," he advised before stepping back.,Max was clueless as to what he could mean until Acnologia raised his foot on top of the table, leaning over her with a sadistic grin. He wrapped one of his powerful hand around the bicep of her right arm, and the other holding a firm grip on the wrist. Max's eyes went wide when she realized what was happening. She tried to scream, but the cloth in her mouth muffled any sound, and Amon's power kept her front flailing away. Acnologia reaffirmed his grip, leaning forward slightly – then he sharply pulled back -,Thousands of miles away, the girl called Akko Kagari awoke with a start.

Harry lied on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room, enjoying the silence for once. Of course he would soon break it once Ron woke up or Hermione but for now he was just going to watch the sun rise and try to block out the fat lady denying someone entrance. Only I can't with her screaming, Harry thought moodily getting up and walking out to see who had forgotten the password.,/,"Uh, hello." Harry greeted when he walked out of the common room to see four older teenage boys, he never saw before, begging for entrance.,"No password no entry!" The fat lady screamed as Harry went unnoticed.,"We told you, we don't know the password - we're new!" The boy with blond hair and green eyes responded a little bit desperate.,"I know the password." Harry told the group making them notice him.,"You do?","Yeah it's Cornish pixies." Harry responded as the blond smiled his thanks before turning back to the fat lady.,"What he said Cornish pixies." The boy responded making the fat lady open to reveal the Gryffindor common room making Harry lead the way inside.,"Woah this is - unbelievable." Another boy, wearing a black helmet told the group making Harry shrug his shoulders as he sat back down on the sofa.,"What's your name?" Another boy asked, smaller than the blond and skinnier.,"Harry. What's your names?","I'm Logan, Carlos is the one with the helmet, James is the one checking himself out, and Kendall is - where is Kendall?" Logan responded looking around as Harry grinned spotting Kendall by the radio.,"Over there." Harry told Logan pointing to Kendall and making him rejoin the group.,"What you never saw a radio before?" Logan teased him making Kendall just shrug his shoulders.,"Not a wireless one. So Harry where is everybody or is this everyone?","Everyone's sleeping I'm awake because - I don't know why I'm awake." Harry responded as Kendall and Logan sat on the floor across from him, while James and Carlos took the armchairs.,"Well it's a good thing you are awake otherwise we would still be outside." Logan told Harry who didn't really know how he felt about the older boys.,"I guess. So you're new here?","Yeah and we know nothing whatsoever about this world.","Wait you're all muggleborns?","Yes. But even in the muggle world we're special.","Um?","We're a famous band called Big Time Rush." James told Harry excitably making Harry moaned, he was too familiar with the band thanks to Hermione, and now that he looked at them he was surprise he didn't realize it was them sooner. How many times have I seen their face, Harry mused as James frowned at him seeing he wasn't interested.,"I'm guessing your not a rusher?" James asked somewhat disappointed.,"My best friend Hermione is obsessed with you guys, when we aren't here she makes me listen to all of your songs. When we are here and she is upset or sick she asks me to sing your songs. When we are in class and my other best friend Ron and I are not paying attention she lectures us and asks us what would Logan do. So please forgive me if I'm not interested in the band." Harry explained making Logan blush when he was mentioned.,"No problem Harry, I think if we were in your shoes we would be sick of ourselves also, but for James' sake do you like our music?" Kendall asked making Harry think before answering.,"Yeah you guys are good. I mean I don't really know all of the songs by name or have a favorite one but - " Harry began than stop hearing someone scream. Harry turned around to see Hermione screaming as she ran over to BTR.,/,"Hermione shut it you're going to make us deaf or wake up everyone!" Harry screamed putting his hand over her mouth.,"Now are you calm?" Harry asked making Hermione nod her head.,"You're done screaming?" Hermione nodded her head again and Harry removed his hand from her mouth letting her hug each member.,"I love you guys! Ask Harry if you don't believe me I took him to one of your concerts last summer and he actually sang with me!","Yeah Hermione your not embarrassing me or anything." Harry mumbled making Kendall laugh.,"Hermione what's your favorite song?" Carlos asked Hermione as she sat down next to Harry who look like he wanted to duct tape her to the sofa.,"All of them! Harry seems to like-","Moving on why are you here I mean aren't your suppose to be touring and stuff?" Harry asked cutting off Hermione.,"We still have to learn how to be great wizards while we also make music and tour and stuff.","Well welcome to the hard life of wanting a normal life." Harry greeted making the band look at him confused as James asked him.,"How is your life hard and why do you want a normal one?","When I was one I lost my parents thanks to a mental evil wizard name Voldemort who then tried to kill me. Yeah but for unknown reasons I survived the killing curse and went to go live with my uncle, aunt, and cousin who hate my guts and then once I was eleven I found out the truth and the reason my parents were dead so I came here and I love it here, but in my first year I faced Voldemort again only he was possessing our defense professor and I killed him, well the professor with my bare hands and then last year I found out I could speak to snakes and luckily I can because the chamber was open by Ginny who was being possessed by Voldemort's diary so I wound up killing him again and saving Ginny's life." Harry finished to find everyone starring at him.,"Are we sure this school is safe?" James finally asked making Hermione nod her head.,"Hogwarts is one of the safest placed there is. Harry just has a tendency to go looking for trouble.","Hey I don't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me!" Harry responded folding his arms. Hermione smiled at him before turning towards the guys.,"Do you want me to show you around today?" Hermione asked kind of shyly which Kendall thought was kind of cute only he had a feeling Logan was more her type.,"Sure, I mean if you want too and you're allowed too." Logan responded making Harry somewhat interested in hearing if Hermione was willing to miss class for these guys or if she was going to treat them like she treats him and Ron.,"Of course I'm allowed too!" Hermione scream making Harry a little, no a lot, annoyed he would have to take notes in class today. I could always play sick Harry mused looking at Hermione flirt with the band. Yeah I can fake being sick Harry thought as Ron came down and made for the portrait.,"Harry, Hermione, lets go get breakfast." Ron moaned as Harry gladly followed him to the great hall.

The British Prime Minister was sitting at his desk, staring at a file entitled 'Project: Assassination Classroom.' He rubbed his temples as he skimmed the document, trying to relieve the headache persistently throbbing his need for sleep.,"The Minister would like to see you.","Is now a good time?","Ermm... I guess?",The small fireplace in the room was consumed in green flames and a small, bowler-hatted man stepped out.,Cornelius Fudge, for once in his term as Minister, had had an uneventful week. It had been lovely and magnificent and ever so normal (by magical standards, that is). Everything had run smoothly, there had been no form of memo crisis for the past ten days, and his underlings had all been competent for once in their lives. It was a dream come true for anybody in government work. And the only person who would understand the ecstasy of an average week would be another Prime Minister like himself.,Did Fudge visit a Muggle to brag about his job? Yes. Is he proud of it? No comment.,"Hello my friend! It's been awhile, eh?",British Prime Ministers, and the British in general, have a long and proud tradition of 'stiff upper lip,' or not showing any form of negative emotion ever. In keeping with this tradition, the British Prime Minister took all his frustration and apprehension, stuffed it in a tiny bottle, and hid the bottle deep down where it would never see the light of day again. Having done so, he donned an all-business pokerface and looked up at his magical counterpart.,"It has. So, what's wrong?","Wrong? Oh, nothing is wrong.","But didn't you say you wouldn't visit unless something was wrong?",The Muggle Minister's patience was wearing thin, and fast. He quickly pressed onward, hoping a curt tone would be enough of a hint for his magical counterpart.,"Why are you here?","Well, I had a fairly uneventful week on the job and decided to check in. I had time and all.",A small flicker of jealousy coursed through the Muggle Minister. ,"So, what are you working on?",The Muggle Minister sighed.,"Something that makes a magical government a lot less crazy-sounding.",At this, Fudge's interest piqued. Had there been some form of leak? Had a Muggle actually sighted magic, in one form or another?,Fudge tried to downplay his panic.,"Oh!? Err, say, can I see?",The Muggle Minister sighed and flopped the file down in front of Fudge defeatedly.,"It's your perogative. Just please, the public can't know about this. There'd be a mass panic.",Fudge grabbed the file and started reading as fast as he could, apprehension building.,Twenty minutes later, Fudge looked up.,"That's one of the... more interesting phenomenon I've come across.",The Muggle Minister sighed and nodded.,"Japan is planning to yield to the demands, with the condition that no harm may come to the students. They're planning to train the children to assassinate him, plus send in hired hitmen undercover.","Right. Given the nature of this creature's threat, I'll check in near the end of the Japanese schoolyear and give you some magical assistance if you need it.",The Muggle Minister surveyed his magical counterpart. ,"Well, I thank you for that. Anyway, thanks for the check-up. I suppose I'll see you in March?",Fudge nodded.,"March.",The two men shook hands and Fudge vanished into the fireplace.,"Minister!",The Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland looked up to see Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic of Great Britain and Ireland. Fudge whisked into the room from the fireplace, smiling broadly.,"I see your decision to reject our aid was not a rash one.",The Muggle Minister nodded.,"Yes. Turns out we didn't even need the laser.",Fudge quirked an eyebrow upwards.,"Oh?","Yeah, the kids broke past the military line and did the monster in. Something about it being their duty to kill him. I have to say, that's some serious job commitment. Kinda scares me too, knowing that a class of kids can defeat five squads of the best the militaries of the world have to offer, plus a Mach 20 superbeing, and come out the other side unscathed.",Fudge considered.,"Well, they were trained quite intensively, correct? It's not like some random kid off the street could do that.",The Muggle Minister nodded.,"Anyway, it's impressive at minimum. When we sent a fighter jet at him, he waxed it in midair for us!",Fudge gained an expression of confusion.,"A fighter jet?","Just forget it. Point is, the guy was damn hard to kill.",Fudge nodded.,"Based on that file you let me read, he is. Anyway, since that's over, I bid you good day and good luck in your endeavors. There's a memo crisis I have to attend to.",Fudge's tone when saying the last sentence was bordering on bitter. The Muggle Minister nodded empathetically, and Fudge left.,Cornelius Fudge was in the room pacing. The Muggle Minister pontificated on this new development. ,"Hi... uh... look... I hate to ask this of you but I really need help... everyone is in danger... we need to protect Potter... Black is out and will probably kill him... but you don't know who Black is...",The Muggle Prime Minister looked up at his rambling counterpart, set down his paperwork, took a deep breath, and did the only logical thing to do.,"Shut up and calm down, you're rambling.",Surprisingly, the Prime Minister's blatant rudeness did not affect Fudge. He just nodded and continued.,"Of course, sorry.",Now fairly concerned, the Muggle Minister looked up.,"So what's going on?",Fudge stopped pacing and looked straight at his Muggle counterpart.,"Alright, here it is: a very dangerous man known as Sirius Black recently escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison. He is very dangerous. Last time he was out he killed thirteen people, including Peter Pettigrew, his friend from school, and twelve Muggles. The thing is, he used to work for a Dark wizard we now only refer to as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and a boy named Harry Potter orchestrated the downfall of the Dark wizard. Now Harry Potter is at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, in his third year, and we think Black might be after him. We're reinforcing the school of course, guards and such, but Potter has a tendency to... stray away from areas he would be safest in. So we need someone who can join his group of friends and protect him if he gets in trouble. That's where I was hoping you would come in. I was thinking maybe you could help me get in contact with the kids from that Assassination Classroom project. You said they brought down five units of the Muggle world's best soldiers, right?",The British Minister was very well-versed in pretending not to be phased when he was shaken to his core. Voters are drawn to strong and decisive leaders after all. So when he needs a moment to process, he really needs a moment to process. This occasion required three moments. (Two moments to process the threat of a magic-wielding mass murderer, one to process the irony of sending a class of assassins to protect a boy from a murderer.),"Ummm... Let's see, I can put you in contact with the project supervisor, but that doesn't guarantee they'll go along with you.",Fudge nodded.,"Anything helps.",The Minister nodded briefly before a look of recognition crossed his face.,"But wait a minute, you said it's a school of magic, right?",Fudge nodded, waiting for his counterpart to continue.,"So wouldn't the kids stick out? None of them could possibly be magical, they've spent their whole lives in non-magical schools.",Fudge nodded.,"Valid concern, but I've already considered that. See, after World War Two, Americans got all mixed up in Japanese politics and economics and such.",The Muggle Minister nodded, recalling his middle school history classes.,"So the Japanese inherited America's obsession with purebloodedness. They don't educate Mudblooded, or Muggle-born, witches and wizards. Chances are at least one person in the class is magical, and one or two people ought to be enough. Of course, ideally we could get the whole class in, but I doubt that would be possible, if not due to lack of magic then due to the suspicion it would arouse.",The Muggle Minister nodded again, not really understanding but knowing he didn't really need to.,"Right then. Here is the phone number of the project supervisor, a Mr. Karasuma.",The Muggle Minister handed Fudge a slip of paper.,"I bid you the best of luck. I'll alert the public to Black's presence. Nothing magical of course, just some excuse like a gun or some such.",Fudge nodded his thanks, taking the paper and exiting promptly.,Back in his office, Fudge was composing a memo to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.,"Well, the thing is, for certain calls you have to add some more numbers beforehand, and the numbers you add beforehand change depending on which country the phone number is from, so-",Fudge finally snapped.,"Alright, that's it! I am going to do the reasonable thing and send a regular owl, Muggle or no",Fudge then pointed an accusing finger at a brass spin-dial telephone Arthur Weasley had his hands on as if to pick up.,"And that... abomination... is going to rot in the pits of hell where it came from.",Fudge sat down and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.,"You may return to your duties.",Arthur looked just slightly crestfallen, but nevertheless picked up the telephone and exited promptly. As he did so, Fudge shot one last glare at the old spin-dial.,As he began to write, Fudge muttered under his breath.,Tadaomi Karasuma had a stoic expression on his face as he composed an email to one of his superiors. He was trying to decide how to phrase his recommendations without sounding demanding when he heard a tap on the window.,Special Forces instincts kicking in, Karasuma pulled a cocked pistol from its holster and aimed it at the window, before warily lowering it in curiosity. He stepped closer to the window to get a better look at the anomaly in front of him.,He blinked a few times to ensure he wasn't seeing things, then re-holstered his gun. He proceeded to open the window, allowing the large, strong, weathered-looking owl that had been pecking the glass to fly in and settle on his desk.,The plain brown owl gracefully landed on his desk (somehow managing not to knock or ruffle any of the paperwork sitting there), then gently and precisely set a letter with a wax 'M' seal on the top of Karasuma's to do pile. He then did an awkward hop-flap to the windowsill and settled himself down.,Karasuma warily surveyed the owl, who merely looked back at him expectantly with piercing yellow eyes.,Not taking his eyes off the owl, Karasuma walked backwards to his desk and grabbed the envelope. He quickly ripped open the wax seal, completely mangling the envelope as he did so (Stupid wax seals. Who even used them anymore?).,When Karasuma opened the letter, a brown pellet tumbled out, which caused the brown owl to shoot out from its perch and retrieve it before it could hit the floor. Once it had devoured the pellet (treat?), it returned to its perch on the windowsill. Karasuma paid the owl little mind as he read the letter.,Karasuma re-read the letter a few times for good measure. His English wasn't the best out there, but he was fairly competent with it when he had to be. But he knew his English wasn't competent enough for this. That letter obviously couldn't be from a, 'Minister for Magic,' and how was an owl supposed to carry a letter from Japan to the UK? Or from the UK to Japan for that matter? No, the problem was obviously his English. It was probably just some prank, and the letter was probably a bunch of slang terms declaring that he had been pranked. Nevertheless, he would have to call in the best English-speaker he had available. Just for good measure.,Karasuma sighed.,Mentally bracing himself, he picked up his phone and deftly dialed a number he had long since memorized.,"Hey~",A voice with a way too seductive to be professional intonation flowed out from the phone.,"Irina. I need you to come to my office right now.","Of course! Anything for my boyfriend~","This is a strictly professional meeting. Me being your boyfriend has absolutely nothing to do with it.",Irina had already hung up. The owl was staring at Karasuma inquisitively.,"What? It's not like I let it interfere with our work.",The owl kept staring. Karasuma sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Deep down in the back of his mind, he was wondering what kind of prank note would be written in English when they were located in the middle of Tokyo. And where that owl, which didn't appear to be a Japanese breed, came from. But the letter couldn't be genuine. Right?,"I don't know why I'm talking to you. You're an owl for god's sakes.",The owl hooted indignantly, but was drowned out by a knock on the door. A high-pitched, singsong voice penetrated the door.,"Kara-suma! I'm he-ere!",Karasuma responded bluntly.,"Come in.",Irina Jelavic burst through the door with a strut. She was wearing the suit standard of all Ministry of Defense officers, but with some adjustments that set her apart from her coworkers. Namely the bordering on too short grey skirt instead of pants and the white shirt she was wearing unbuttoned very far down.,"You requested me boss?",Irinia's voice had a none-too-subtle seductive lilt to it. Karasuma either didn't notice or didn't react.,"Yes, can you please translate this? I'm having trouble with the English.",Karasuma extended the letter to her. She looked slightly put-out, but nevertheless grabbed the parchment. Her eyes quickly flicked back and forth across the paper. As she read, her mouth started to curl down in an expression of confusion.,"I'd ask if this was a joke, but you're the polar opposite of the type.",Karasuma nodded.,"Seemed odd to me too. At first I assumed it was some sort of prank, but given the fact that it's in English and that owl-",Karasuma poked his thumb at the brown Blakiston's Fish Owl.,"-is way too large to be from Japan, I'm actually starting to believe it a little. Though I'd like your opinion.",Irina nodded, and bit her lip.,"Well... Once on a mission in London I heard some rumors of a guy called Mundungus Fletcher claiming to be selling anti-chizpurfle cauldrons and wand guards, but I wrote him off as some crackpot and completed the mission...",Irina looked up at Karasuma indeterminately.,"He may have been involved with something magical. It would make a Minister of Magic a lot less far-fetched. But it could still be a prank...",Karasuma sighed.,"Well, might as well go along with it. Worst case scenario, nothing happens and we have a laugh about it with the kids.","You know, the way you said that made it sound like you were talking about our biological kids. Of course, we don't have any yet, but that can change~",Karasuma ignored Irina's implication.,"I'll email them to be at the old 3-E classroom on Saturday. That'll be the twelfth, right?",Irina nodded.,"Right then. I'll email the kids and write a letter back to the supposed Minister. I take it you'll be coming along?",Irina smiled.,"They're my kids too you know.",Karasuma smiled and nodded.,"Ok, so do I just set this down near you or do I have to attach it somehow?",Karasuma had a letter in his hand addressed to 'Cornelius Fudge.' He hadn't written anything else, as he had absolutely no idea where this man may reside or work. The large owl on his windowsill was staring at him with its head tipped 90°, so it looked like it was wondering what was going on.,Karasuma tried setting the letter down next to the bird. The bird did not react. He tried inspecting the bird for any marks or bald spots that might indicate some form of binding or harness for holding mail. Again, nothing. He tried sticking the letter in the bird's beak. Unfortunately, he shoved to hard and the bird started gagging. The bird spit the letter out.,"Just take the letter you damn bird!",Ruffling its feather indignantly, the owl took the letter and flew off. Karasuma just sighed, and prayed he would never have to go through that again.

I claim no rights to the creations of J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl, and Tim Burton. This story was written for fun, not for profit. Also, under absolutely no condition is this story an endorsement of the actor who played Willy Wonka (and Gellert Grindelwald). Therefore, while ,contains many shout-outs to Burton films in honour of my favourite director, I do NOT support the actor who starred in them. (For Tim Burton fans like me, this whole situation is quite sad, to be honest.),And I must warn you, readers of all ages, that if you are seeking a mere fantasy novel in which nothing truly horrible happens and problems are solved by magic and luck, this story is not for you. Dark themes, prejudice, betrayal, and trauma will be shown clearly (and that's putting it mild). However, I assure you that underneath the darkness, there is also light. So if you read to wish a grittier version of ,, starring Mr. Dahl's two most beloved characters—if you are seeking a tale of hope and friendship and pure imagination, despite the cruelty of the outside world—then you have come to the right place.,Sincerely,,Arrietty Maplewood, , In order for certain events to happen at the same time, and for the sake of the plot and setting, I've tweaked the canon timelines slightly. Most notably: , instead of 1980, , instead of the early '90s, and ,. For more on this ''alternate timeline'', please read the Author's Note in Chapter Three. And keep in mind, while my version of the Potterverse contains some differences from canon, I'll do my best to retain the original version's spirit.,PPS: I've put together a soundtrack for this story. The links to the music are on my Profile Page.,Based on , by J.K. Rowling,— Neil Gaiman, ,(2002),~o0o~,— Mara Wilson,~o0o~,CHAPTER ONE.,1. ''Into the Candy Shop'' (''Little Alice'' by Danny Elfman),2. ''Willy and Matilda'' (''Casper's Lullaby'' by James Horner),3. ''To the Library and Beyond'' by David Newman,It's a funny thing about some parents. Even if they are in fact the meanest, most disgusting human beings you can possibly imagine, they still believe themselves to be ''the good sort''. They see themselves as fine, upstanding citizens incapable of wrongdoing, and they jabber on about such nonsense until their children are sick of it. Some parents go even further. Not only do they consider their narrow-minded worldview to be infallible, they also bully and belittle their offspring if they dare disagree.,Dorian and Titania Greengrass of Number One, Knockturn Square, were such parents. They married in the winter of 1982 (not long after Dorian was rejected by his original fiancée, Andromeda Helena Black). Mr. Greengrass fathered four children in total: Daphne came first, then Astoria, then Toby, then the last one. Every time Mr. Greengrass announced the birth of a new family member, the local people shook their heads and gossiped among themselves that another ''bad seed'' had entered the world.,''That Greengrass,'' said a local widow in February 1996, while sipping beer in the Leaky Cauldron (a shabby little pub that was invisible to the eyes of most). ''His wife's given birth to a son, at last. The long-awaited heir! No doubt the boy'll be snobbish, rich, and obsessed with blood purity, just like that dreadful father of his.'',''Aye. That I agree,'' replied a bearded old man. He took out a pipe and puffed on it vigorously. ''I shudder to think what young Tobias will become. Just look at his big sister—little tyke's only eight, and she's a nightmare! Last week, Miss Daphne marched up to me shop and called me a filthy Mudblood. Then she told me, 'Mother says she wishes you were dead'!'',The widow jumped in such surprise that she spilt her beer. ''You're joking!'' she said.,''No, I'm not,'' the old man replied. ''Mark my words: unless the other two kids grow some brains and ditch 'em pureblood values like Miss Andromeda did, they'll end up a pair of Muggle-hating loons, just like Mister Dorian and his wife.'',The years passed, and the children grew older. Astoria and Toby did , end up like their spoiled sister, much to everyone's surprise. In fact, the moment Astoria started seeing the world outside her parents' home, she also began to see her father and mother for what they truly were.,In the end, Astoria's rebellion got so out of hand that her father confined her to the house, in order to control her. As for little Toby, by the time he was nearly nine and a half, , For if the other pure-blooded families knew what sort of , the boy was, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass would surely die of shame. But concerning the Greengrasses, I must stop here for now. Their first official appearance in our story must wait. Later, I shall also explain what so-called ''purebloods'' and ''Mudbloods'' are, and why the Leaky Cauldron—or indeed, the whole neighbourhood surrounding it—is invisible. These explanations regarding the Greengrasses and their secret invisible world shall have to wait. Let us turn our attention, therefore, to a little girl by the name of Matilda Wormwood.,Our story begins on a dark, dismal night in April 1992. Back then, the Wormwoods lived in a town called Greysbury. (This town is located in the Republic of Rainland, an island country situated between the United States and Britain.) Most of Greysbury's residents were obsessed with conformity. Even their buildings looked alike: grey-brick, boring-looking, and lined up in identical rows.,On the stormy night where our story begins, a cold wind swept through residential streets, scattering wet leaves everywhere. Countless raindrops crackled onto the pavement: they went , and ,, like the beat of a thousand drums. Greysbury's children slept soundly in their beds, having been tucked in by their parents.,All except one.,Barely catching her breath, her innocent young mind plagued by images of evil grown-ups and monsters, the little brown-haired girl ran so urgently that she skidded across the wet sidewalk... and she fell, her things scattering from her backpack and spreading across the pavement.,Matilda was all alone.,The cold, unfeeling rain poured down, soaking her clothes. She was very hungry, and her legs ached from running. (A scary grown-up chased her for nearly half an hour and she'd just managed to escape his sight.) Forcing herself not to cry, she got up and began to gather the belongings she dropped. Matilda could hardly open her eyes against the drenching rainfall, and it felt disgusting to shove her wet things into her equally wet backpack. She wished she hadn't lost her umbrella during the chase.,Suddenly, a door swung open, revealing a prissy-looking woman wearing expensive nightclothes. Small, curranty eyes narrowed disdainfully at the small girl in the wet blue dress.,''Who are you and what are you doing in front of my house?'' the woman demanded in a cold, unfriendly voice. While most people would have been shocked to see a four-year-old child wandering the streets at night, the prissy-looking woman couldn't care less. All she knew was that no strange little brat had any right to intrude upon her territory!,''What is the matter with you? Are you deaf, or what?'',''No, I'm not...'' Matilda tried to explain, but the woman kept shouting.,''I dunno what people teach their children in these blasted modern times, but it's terribly late for little brats like you to be wandering about! Well, I don't want any trouble before bedtime, so you'd best be off to wherever you came from.'',The door slammed shut, so harshly that it stayed in Matilda's mind twenty minutes later. She walked alone in another street, trembling as she hugged her backpack, no longer able to tell if the droplets streaking down her face were from the rain or from her eyes. Who was she kidding, anyway? Did she honestly think that she'd somehow land herself a better home? It was a stupid idea, really. If her own parents hated her so much, why would anybody else want her?,Matilda knew her address; she also brought a map. But she didn't want to return home, even if it was the only option. She didn't belong at home.,Then again, she didn't belong out here, either.,So Matilda walked on with no destination in mind, hugging her backpack as a scant source of comfort. The sheets of rain dwindled in time. Clouds parted to reveal the moon, a pale silvery cup painting a ring of peacock blue into the night. Matilda was about to enter the next street when something bright and cherry-coloured caught her eye. It looked like a building. That couldn't be right... weren't the houses supposed to be grey, or pale brown at most?,Despite being cold and wet with nowhere to go, Matilda couldn't stop a spark of curiosity from blooming, like a small firework flickering in the darkest night. Slowly, very slowly, she turned around. No sooner did the little candy shop enter her full vision, Matilda forgot everything else. She stared at the scene before her in absolute wonder.,The candy shop's outer walls were a gleaming cherry-red, a stark contrast to its grey-brick neighbours. A soft, welcoming golden light spilled from the windows and onto the street. Just by looking at it, Matilda felt a surge of warmth from head to toe. Uncaring of the rain puddles in her way, she ran to get a closer look. Through the glass windows, she saw giant swirly lollipops, all bunched up and nestled in-between purple boxes filled with chocolates shaped like tiny birds and flowers and stars and snowflakes. (Matilda , snow.) Bottles of fizzy lemonade were flanked by jars of gummy candies, which in turn stood beside a pile of chocolate bars. Each chocolate bar had a brightly-coloured wrapper bearing the name WONKA in swirly white letters.,It took Matilda a moment to realise that the Wonka logo was emblazoned over the windows, too. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips as she stepped backwards and stared. For every child in Rainland knew the name of Willy Wonka, and despite knowing many stories about the legendary candy-maker, Matilda had never actually seen his famous shop... until now.,Willy Wonka began his candy-making career seven years ago, starting with the tiny shop on Cherry Street, but the whole world wanted his candy. Mr. Wonka's ever-increasing popularity had to be among the most exciting things to ever happen in boring old Greysbury—second-only to that miraculous night in December 1984 when Rainland had its first white Christmas in history, and the children of the town played in the snow for the first time.,Very little was known of Mr. Wonka himself. In fact, not many people knew what he looked like. Why, you might ask? First of all, he never appeared anywhere in the candy shop where customers might see him. Only his workers could be seen.,Secondly, reporters never succeeded to interview Mr. Wonka. Well, they did try to interview his secretary, Andromeda Helena Tonks—but Mrs. Tonks was bombarded with such rude questions that she kicked the reporters out of the shop, ,, with the hard tip of her shoe. One reporter, who had the gall to ask Mrs. Tonks if she was having an affair with Mr. Wonka, got a gigantic bruise on his bum that lasted for days. All chances of further interviews were ruined.,Lastly, Mr. Wonka never made public appearances, the sole exception being the time he opened his legendary Chocolate Factory. Even then, he obscured his face behind a pair of huge dark goggles; with his hair neatly slicked-back and hidden underneath a crimson top hat. (Matilda knew this because she had seen some coloured pictures of the Factory's opening in a newspaper from two years ago.),Matilda had seen the Factory with her own eyes a great many times, but always from afar. Towering majestically above Greysbury's monochrome little buildings, the Factory could be seen from the window of the Wormwood household.,And little Matilda, who now stood outside Mr. Wonka's famous shop, simply couldn't help what happened next. Her fingers shook with excitement as she reached for the shiny brass doorknob. Turning it once, she opened the door and walked in.,A silver bell jingled merrily as a rush of sweet-smelling air permeated Matilda's senses, dispelling the cold and replacing it with something warm and cosy and so incredibly ,. It was like all the world's loveliest smells mixed together, like different musical notes forming a fantastic symphony. Matilda seemed to gain a newfound energy as she breathed in the glorious scents of chocolate and peppermint and peanuts and sweet sugar and lemonade and flowers and ripest berries and candied citrus peels... and many others.,Using a towel from her backpack, Matilda did her best to dry off (even though the towel was slightly damp). It would be terribly rude to drip water over Mr. Wonka's floor, after all. Afterwards, Matilda explored the shop, her eyes shining like the sea.,The shop's inner walls were covered in red-and-white stripy wallpaper, inspired by the pattern of peppermint sticks. Brightly painted shelves displayed tasty-looking treats of all colours and shapes and sizes—from glimmering red and green jellies like traffic lights, to soft marshmallows like pillows, not to forget the sugary gumdrops and pink candyfloss and shiny black liquorice sticks!,A long cherry-wood counter displayed homemade pies and tarts beneath the gleaming glass front. A funny little sign read in emerald-green letters, ''ANDROMEDA HELENA'S FAMOUS PASTRIES: THE BEST IN THE WHOLE TOWN, I MEAN UNIVERSE. CONTAINS EVERY FLAVOUR, EXCEPT HUMAN BEING''. Having taught herself to read at the age of three, Matilda understood the words and laughed. (Well, it was quite funny.),Behind the counter, hand-painted teacups, toys, and other souvenirs sat behind the round glass windows of a large white cabinet. On the cabinet's left side was a doorway, in front of which hung a sign that said, ''EMPLOYEES ONLY''. On the cabinet's right side was a wooden door with another sign, this one saying, ''NO BREAKING AND ENTERING''. And next to the door was ,Matilda couldn't believe her luck! It had been her wish for a long time that she could read an actual book, but when she told her father, he merely scoffed in disgust and responded that books were ''outdated'' and ''for losers''. But Matilda's ever-curious mind needed to devour something more interesting than Daddy's newspapers or Mummy's fashion magazines. So she happily plucked a book from the massive shelf.,It was a moderately-sized volume, not too big for Matilda to hold. On its cover was a black-and-white photograph of a girl who was much older than Matilda, perhaps twelve or thirteen. ,, the title proclaimed in skinny white letters. Matilda wondered what sort of things a much older girl would have to say. So she flipped the book open and, her heart beating with excitement, read out loud:,Matilda stopped there. Daddy and Mummy hated it when she asked questions. Every time Matilda dared to ask something (such as ''Mummy, why doesn't the moon fall down from the sky?'' or perhaps ''Daddy, why are there rich people and poor people?'') her parents always told her to shut up. In fact, Mrs. Wormwood said, ''It's not good for a little girl to be all , and poking their noses into matters that don't concern them!'' Deep down, however, Matilda suspected long ago that her parents might be wrong.,She glanced again at the book cover to observe the older girl's face. Matilda was glad to know that someone else thought it wasn't wrong for a child to ask questions, and that thinking could be good. It was refreshing (and almost a relief) to listen to somebody who wasn't mocking and dismissive of such things, even if it was through a book.,Matilda didn't notice the dark-haired young man watching her read, a small smile upon his face as he leaned against the bookshelf. He cleared his throat to speak.,''Well, this is rather surprising.'',Matilda froze, rooted to the spot, as if her blood had turned to ice.,The young man continued, still very brightly, ''I can't wait to tell Mrs. T when she comes back! You know, little lady, when I installed that bookshelf just a week ago, my dear friend Mrs. T told me that nobody in the whole town will be interested because they're all obsessed with the telly these days! I must admit, I was kinda surprised to see a kid your age reading a book like that and actually understanding the words... oh, I can tell from your eyes.'',The person speaking didn't sound angry at all. He had a unique voice, gently masculine with a musical lilt, somehow both mature and youthful. Matilda had never heard anything like it. Glancing around, she saw the person who spoke to her.,He was tall, slender, and quite young—no older than twenty-two or twenty-three. In contrast to the mostly grey-and-brown palette that Greysbury's adult population preferred for their wardrobes, this young fellow dressed in bright colours to match the candy shop. He wore a Victorian frock coat made of a beautiful plum-coloured velvet, a paisley-patterned dress shirt, and bottle-green trousers. Mismatched socks and glossy black shoes adorned his feet, and on his hands were vintage gloves made of bright red silk.,''It's kinda late to be away from home,'' he said, tilting his head to one side. ''Not lost, are you?'',Matilda didn't reply. She was too busy staring at the oddly-dressed stranger. Dark curls framed his face; and he was very pale, like the porcelain doll in the local toy shop. It felt silly, comparing a grown man to a doll, but it was the first description that came to Matilda's mind. Then again, his features were too unusually elegant and ethereal to describe in a normal way. And he had the clearest and loveliest eyes Matilda ever saw. They were a curious violet colour, ringed with little flecks of indigo. Those eyes seemed to be sparkling with cleverness and emotion and a hint of mischief, all at once.,Then Matilda noticed that the young man was wearing a crimson top hat upon his head. ,Matilda felt like the bottom of her stomach had dropped out. She felt dizzy. Her mind reeled from the shock of it all.,The next few seconds happened in a blur. Matilda thrust the book back into the shelf, where it belonged. She turned and ran for the front door; but on her way, her backpack split open, and she tripped over her things and skidded to the floor in a crashing heap.,''Dear me!'' exclaimed Mr. Wonka, running over and bending down to Matilda's level. ''Great whizzing whangdoodles! You didn't have to run, little lady. I didn't think you were ,that book! I was merely worried about you, that's all. Are you hurt?'',Matilda was only half-listening. Her throat tightened as tears stung her eyes. With everything inside her, she fought the urge to blink. ,, she thought to herself. If her family saw her right now, they would most certainly be laughing.,Seconds the span of eternities passed by before Matilda wiped away her tears, quickly. She was ready to tell Mr. Wonka how incredibly sorry she was for dirtying his floor, that she'd pick her things up and get out of here at once, and please please please don't call the police, she didn't want to be sent home... but then she looked up and saw Mr. Wonka's expression.,An distant glaze quivered in the candy-maker's eyes, and he stared at the little girl without truly seeing her. It appeared that his mind had wandered off to a faraway place, beyond the reach of anyone else. Gradually, his eyes settled on the ruined backpack dangling from Matilda's hands, a backpack with a gaping hole in it... his vision traced the line of belongings that had fallen out... the extra clothes, the towel, the toothbrush and comb, the doll with red-yarn hair...,For the longest time, no sound existed apart from the ticking of the clock, until Mr. Wonka spoke up.,''Did you run away from home?'',He didn't say it harshly. If anything, he sounded gentle and concerned.,Matilda didn't know how to react. She was used to being alternately yelled at or ignored by her parents. As far as she remembered, a grown-up never spoke kindly to her before. Besides, her mind was still processing the fact that this was ,. The man was a legend, something from imagination; not only Matilda's, but of every child in Rainland. Impossible, yet here he was.,''I don't know what your story is,'' Mr. Wonka said, adjusting his position so Matilda could look him in the eye. ''But it's awfully dark outside, and not safe for you to be wandering about. And I have no intention to call the police either because they'll bring you straight home, and that's probably the last thing you want.'',''How d'you know that?'' asked Matilda, who couldn't contain her surprise. ''I thought all grown-ups think that children should stay with with their parents, no matter what. The lady next door said so.'',Mr. Wonka merely smiled. It was a smile that seemed merely friendly and affectionate at first glance, but many years later, as Matilda recalled it, a strange sadness seemed to lurk beneath.,''Not all grown-ups are alike,'' Mr. Wonka said. ''In fact, I believe that nobody can truly be the same as everyone else, even if the folks around here seem to deny it. But no matter. Have you eaten dinner?'',Matilda shook her head.,''What a coincidence! I haven't eaten anything, either. It's surprising how busy a person can get, running both a shop and a factory. That's why Mrs. T is always trying to give me second helpings when she can. She's not here this week, though. So I cooked something up, hope it's not too bad. D'you like chicken soup? There's also salad and baked potato.'',''I-I'm not a picky eater,'' Matilda managed to say. ''But... Mr. Wonka, is it really okay for me to stay here?'',''Ah. So you do know who I am.'',Mr. Wonka grinned mischievously. He got up from the floor. With an exaggerated flourish, he swept the top hat from his head and made a funny little bow in Matilda's direction.,Despite herself, Matilda giggled. And Mr. Wonka straightened up, placing the hat back on his head. He motioned for Matilda to stand up as well, and when she did, she realised that her backpack didn't feel as empty as it did minutes ago. Frowning slightly, she looked down... and her mouth fell open in surprise.,She double-checked her surroundings to see if her eyes had deceived her, but no. The floor was clean: no trace of rainwater at all. Matilda's belongings sat firmly in her backpack, which no longer had a hole in it. Even the clothes she wore had turned perfectly dry. It was ,.,''It's alright, little lady. You're not dreaming. Let's go upstairs now, shall we?'',Matilda jumped. She glanced up to see Mr. Wonka standing by the door next to the bookshelf, the one with the ''No Breaking and Entering'' sign. The door was open, revealing wooden stairs.,''This door leads to where my secretary lives with her husband and daughter,'' Mr. Wonka explained. ''They're in England visiting some friends, so it's just you and me here tonight. The dining room's upstairs.'',Matilda was silent. Her parents had drilled into her from a young age that nobody could possibly be nice to her, because she was a freak, a burden, a case for population control. According to this mindset, if a grown-up as extraordinary and well-liked as Mr. Wonka was acting friendly to Matilda, he was likely trying to trick her. But the kind look in Mr. Wonka's eyes were genuine and honest and swore that he would not tell her a lie.,''I understand that you don't know me well,'' said Mr. Wonka, as if reading the girl's thoughts. ''But there's no reason to be scared at all. I promise.'' He held out a gloved hand in Matilda's direction. The meaning of the gesture was clear.,Hesitating only for a second more, Matilda made her decision. She allowed the candy-maker to take her hand, and they went upstairs together.,And so it was that Willy Wonka, the greatest candy-maker in the world, allowed the four-year-old Matilda Wormwood to stay in his shop for the night. The candy shop provided a safe haven for the girl and the candy-maker as the moon shone outside, illuminating the dark clouds and the town below.,The dining room upstairs was small, but well-furnished and comfortable. It had old-fashioned floral wallpaper, a polished wooden ceiling and floorboards, and an elaborate fireplace next to the oval-shaped table. A vase of wildflowers stood elegantly on the mantelpiece along with many framed photographs. Mr. Wonka was in a few of them: he was easily recognised by his shiny dark curls and dimpled smile. Several other people were also in the photographs. Matilda recognised the brunette woman in the wool cardigan as Andromeda Helena Tonks. The kind-faced man with the stocky build had to be Mr. Tonks. And the girl with shocking pink hair and a cheeky grin must be their daughter.,The Tonks family had moved here a few years ago, and they'd been a great help to Mr. Wonka ever since. The flat upstairs used to be Mr. Wonka's home as well, before he moved into the Factory. He did, however, agree to look after the Tonks family's living space whenever they had to visit England for long periods of time.,Mr. Wonka said all this while he and Matilda had dinner. The girl listened in complete concentration. She felt strangely elated and also relaxed as she allowed Mr. Wonka's voice to lull her into a deep sense of comfort. The food was fantastic, so much better than the cheap TV dinners Mrs. Wormwood liked to buy. Matilda took enormous care with each bite, making sure not to leave any splatters or stains on the tablecloth.,She and Mr. Wonka talked about many things. However, Matilda's instincts stopped her from talking about her family too much, even though Mr. Wonka tried to ask questions. The candy-maker was rather concerned about Matilda's family situation, but he decided not to push the girl too far.,That night, Matilda slept in the guest bedroom. She was given a white nightdress to wear, one that used to belong to Mrs. Tonks's daughter when she was Matilda's age. While Matilda was sleeping, Mr. Wonka went to the study across from the guest bedroom. It was a fascinating place, filled with leather-bound books and ink-pots and quills and other such old-fashioned objects. At an old wooden desk that had seen much use, Willy Wonka composed the following letter:,Dear Professor Burbage,,Upon finishing the letter, Mr. Willy Wonka did something that was both very unusual and very interesting. He got up, opened the window, and whistled softly into the night. Barely a minute later, a large white owl appeared in the darkness. Mr. Wonka stepped aside to let the owl enter through the window and swoop downwards. The owl grabbed the letter by its claws and flew back outside, on its way to where Professor Charity Burbage was staying.,Mr. Wonka closed the window. He tiptoed out of the study, across the hallway, and into the guest room. The girl was fast asleep, her small frame dwarfed even further by the size of the bed, the blanket wrapped around her like a cosy cocoon. Only the top of her head was visible. She was snoring slightly.,A fond smile appeared on Mr. Wonka's face. He reached out and tenderly pushed a lock of hair off the girl's forehead. Backing away with soft footsteps to prevent any noise that might wake her, Mr. Wonka turned off the lights in the hallway. Heading off to the bathroom, he changed into his nightclothes, got into the bathtub, yawned loudly, curled up like a cat, and fell asleep.,~o0o~,When morning came, sunlight slanted into the guest bedroom through the window. Birds twirled around in circles, chirping and hopping from one roof to another. The sky was a plain, pale blue.,Matilda woke up seconds ago, but she didn't want to throw the blankets off and find herself at home again. Yet she knew that she had to face reality. ,, she thought to herself firmly. ,The sunlight shone through the blanket. Matilda blinked. She lifted her arm, which was covered in a white sleeve, to rub her eyes.,Hold on.,Matilda's pyjamas were ,, not white. And she'd left her red pyjamas ,, because they didn't fit in her backpack when she... ran away.,Matilda sat up, hardly daring to believe it. The blanket fell away, and she was faced with Mr. Wonka's guest room, with its old-fashioned furniture and William Morris wallpaper. The square window was large, letting in the bright sunlight and the morning song of birds. Matilda's mysteriously-mended backpack sat on a cherry-wood chair in the corner.,No, it wasn't a figment of her imagination. Even though this dream was fantastical, it was real. The only unreal dream she had last night was the one in which she flew on a broomstick.,Matilda was so happy, she thought her heart would burst from it.,A while later, Matilda had washed her face and put on her blue dress. She grabbed her backpack and went downstairs, following the muffled sound of machines whirring and Mr. Wonka's voice counting something. She came to the doorway on the left of the souvenir cabinet (in front of which hung the ''Employees Only'' sign).,''Is that you, little lady?'',Mr. Wonka, who heard Matilda's footsteps, called out from where he stood at the feet of a huge machine.,''It's alright! You can come in, I'm just preparing for the shop's opening! I'm sorting candy boxes with a special machine. Wanna see?'',Matilda ran inside eagerly. Now, she wanted to see ,.,The Employees Only Room was HUGE. The walls were white; the floor, black; the ceiling, dark red. In the centre of the room was a colossal machine that wouldn't be out of place in a Dr. Seuss illustration. Intertwined around the machine was an intricate system of odd-looking pipes, cogwheels, valves, and other such parts. White smoke billowed from the machine's top as the cogs went round and round, and machine parts moved about, making strange noises in their wake. Conveyor belts were studded with an array of candy boxes.,Whenever a box came out of the machine, the widest conveyor belt brought it in Mr. Wonka's direction, and he would wrap the box with a ribbon before placing them on either two tables to his right side (the blue boxes on one table, the yellow boxes on the other). A basket of red ribbons hung from the ceiling, close enough for Mr. Wonka to reach.,He smiled at Matilda's look of amazement, before pressing a red button. The white smoke ceased to come out from the machine. It was turned off.,''Good morning,'' said Mr. Wonka. ''Did you sleep well?'',''I did. Thank you,'' Matilda answered politely.,''I'm sorry that I couldn't make breakfast for either of us,'' Mr. Wonka said apologetically. ''I've been sorting these boxes since 4 A.M. There's just so much time... I mean, so little time and so much to do! Any interesting dreams last night? I dreamed that I was roasting a Pineapple. It had eyes. Creepy, mismatched eyes. It had a bad haircut, too! Yuck.'',''Pineapples don't have hair, Mr. Wonka.'',''No, but the one in my dream most certainly did. Now, what did , dream about?'',''I was flying on a broomstick.'' Matilda felt a bit embarrassed. ''It was lovely. But it's impossible, so I suppose it's a bit silly...'',''Of course not!'' exclaimed Mr. Wonka, pointing a gloved finger in a serious manner. ''Now, you listen here, missy. Just because something is impossible, doesn't make it silly or improbable! Why, I make it a rule to think up six impossible things before breakfast!'',''That's a funny sort of practice,'' Matilda remarked.,''Yes, but it's loads of fun,'' Mr. Wonka said. ''So, don't forget your broomstick dream. I have a hunch that it's more important than you think. A child's imagination is a beautiful thing, so don't dismiss your dreams as silly just because some ignorant grown-up says so.'',They were quiet for a moment. Mr. Wonka hopped off the chair to sit on the floor. Matilda sat down with him.,''I understand that you're a very busy person, Mr. Wonka,'' Matilda said suddenly.,Mr. Wonka looked at her in surprise. ''I beg your pardon?'',''I know that I can't stay here, and your secretary already has a daughter, so I don't feel comfortable asking her to keep me, even if she's nice like you say,'' Matilda explained. ''So I thought it over while washing my face. I think I'll go home.'',She said all this very quickly.,A frown creased Willy Wonka's brow then.,''Are you really sure about that? Your p... family members don't sound like nice folks, judging by the bits and pieces you told me last night. They don't... er, your parents don't hit you, do they? 'Cuz if they do, then it's a really, really bad idea for you to go back. , bad.'',''I saw a neighbour hit his son once,'' Matilda said. ''But Mum and Dad never hit me like that.'',''They don't?'',Matilda shook her head.,Mr. Wonka still looked a bit unsure. Eventually he took a deep breath and nodded. ''I did guess that you might choose to go back. I'm sorry that there's so little I can do for you, by the way.'',''But you've already done loads,'' Matilda insisted. ''I really do so thank you, Mr. Wonka. Honest.'',''You're a very well-mannered little girl. Don't your parents even see that?'' asked Mr. Wonka.,Matilda shrugged in response. ''No, not really. They're always mad at me for everything. They're obsessed with money and new things and the telly, and they think I'm strange because I'm not interested. Daddy thinks I'm a freak because I taught myself to read way too early, and Mummy hates it when I try to talk to her. I think she prefers talking on the phone with her friends. My brother Michael doesn't like me, either. He throws garbage at me when I pass him in the hallway.'',This was the most Matilda had talked about her family since her arrival in the candy shop. As Mr. Wonka listened, his expression swiftly changed from tense to blank and then to one of sadness and disbelief. He was stunned by the girl's casual tone as she talked about the way her family treated her.,''I'm sorry, little lady. I didn't mean to pry. Sounds like a dire situation.'',''It's alright, Mr. Wonka. I'm used to it.'',Matilda tried to keep her nonchalant mood, but she couldn't help but feel a bit sad.,Noticing this, Mr. Wonka glanced towards the ribbon-basket hanging from the ceiling. An idea struck him.,''Do you like sweets? You said you've never had one of mine before. I still can't believe that your mother would buy , candies over mine...'' Mr. Wonka pulled a face. ''Yuck-yickety-yuck. But hey, I should have thought of it earlier! Why don't you try a candy, right here, right now? These are new, so I need someone to taste-test 'em anyway. But Mrs. T and her family ain't here, so... could you help me?'' Smiling brightly, he stood up.,Matilda was surprised and pleased at the idea. She nodded and stood up as well. ''I'd like that very much.'',''Fantabulous!'' Mr. Wonka exclaimed. Practically pirouetting, he sashayed over to the table with the blue candy boxes. He picked up box after box, shaking his head and frowning, before he found the box he was searching for. ''Ah-HA! I found it.'',Walking back to where Matilda stood, the candy-maker placed the small blue box in Matilda's hands.,''It's for you. Try the candy inside!'',Mr. Wonka's enthusiasm was palpable, like that of a little kid in an amusement park.,Matilda carefully undid the red ribbon that tied the box. She opened the lid to uncover a small star-shaped candy. It was semi-transparent and glittered like a jewel.,''Go on!'' Mr. Wonka encouraged. ''Taste it. And then swallow it.'',Matilda took the candy in her fingers, admiring the way it shone in the light of the room. Then she popped it into her mouth. Immediately, a burst of flavour splayed across her tongue. Honey vied with marshmallow for sweetness, and a rich fruitiness exploded somewhere in the middle. Warmth, security, and relaxation spread from Matilda's very core. It was an extraordinary feeling.,''Not many people can flavour candy with moods,'' Mr. Wonka said triumphantly, ''but I managed it. I take that you enjoyed it?'',''I will never eat another Slugworth candy again as long as I live,'' Matilda responded in all seriousness.,Mr. Wonka grinned in satisfaction. Truth be told, Willy Wonka never approved of Jim Slugworth's business practices. Neither were the ingredients in Slugworth's products healthy. Mr. Wonka was glad that his little guest would no longer be buying candies from ''Greedy Jim'', as Mrs. Tonks dubbed him.,Matilda was about to return the box and the red ribbon to Mr. Wonka. Silk-clad fingers accepted the box, but not the ribbon. Instead of taking it back, Mr. Wonka said, ''The ribbon's for you, my dear girl. I've sewn little messages onto all the ribbons in my shop, and I thought you might find this particular message useful.'',With her fingers, Matilda raised the red ribbon to her eye-level. Upon a closer look, she saw dark crimson words sewn into the ruby-coloured material:,A long silence followed in which the girl and the candy-maker looked each other in the eye.,''Thank you,'' Matilda said reverently, folding her small fingers around the ribbon. A soft smile was her only response.,From a long distance away, the clock tower of Greysbury struck seven. As if on cue, the silver bell at the front door jingled merrily, and a woman entered the shop. She passed the candy-shelves and the counter, walking into the Employees Only Room and stopping a few feet away from Mr. Wonka and Matilda.,''Hello, Willy,'' the woman greeted.,''Good morning, Professor.'' Mr. Wonka doffed his hat and gave Professor Burbage a deep bow. He turned to Matilda. ''This is Professor Charity Burbage, a good friend of mine. She teaches at a very distinguished school in Scotland. I think you'd like it there.'',''Hello, Professor Burbage,'' Matilda said, hoping she sounded polite enough.,Charity Burbage was a short woman with straw-coloured hair and clear blue eyes like the morning sky. She dressed plainly in a brown jacket over a floral-patterned dress, and around her neck was a blue-and-bronze striped woollen scarf. A coat of arms was sewn onto the scarf: a lion, badger, eagle, and serpent encircling a letter ''H''. In her hands, the Professor held a brown carpet-bag and a purple umbrella.,''I'm very pleased to meet you.'' She smiled kindly at Matilda. ''Willy shall be opening his shop in half an hour, so I'm here to take you out for breakfast.'',''And if it's what you prefer, Professor Burbage can walk you home,'' Mr. Wonka added quickly.,''Let's go to the front room, my dears,'' the Professor suggested.,Once Matilda and the Professor were standing at the door, Mr. Wonka retreated to the stairway. Hand just brushing the rail of the stair, Mr. Wonka turned to look at Matilda once more. An overwhelming silence welled up between them. Neither knew what to say.,''Well, then.'' He paused, lips turning down at the sides before speaking again. ''Farewell, little lady. I'm glad to have met you.'',''I'm glad to have met you, too.'' Matilda meant it more than she ever meant anything else.,Mr. Wonka's smile reached his eyes, and their twinkle resembled that of the purest, highest-quality amethyst. Then he turned around slowly and disappeared upstairs.,''Come on now, dearie.'' The Professor opened the door. ''We'd best be off.'',They left the candy shop. A dampness filled the early morning air, in courtesy of the rain. The street-lamp lights flickered weakly, struggling to brighten up the dull grey streets. Despite so, Matilda felt cheerful and content, more than she ever remembered.,~o0o~,The Wormwood family's new home turned out to be in Hazell Village of Buckinghamshire, an old-fashioned country village surrounded by green trees and fields. One morning, Matilda stood in the kitchen of the newly-bought house, peering at the flurry of activity that was her father, mother, and brother preparing for work, shopping, and school; respectively.,''I want dinner ready when I come back here tonight, you lazy, air-headed, money-wasting woman!'' Mr. Wormwood shouted as he jammed his ugly hat onto his head. ''And not fish and chips or any of that microwaved trash, either! I want something decent on my plate and I want it TONIGHT! You hear?'',Mrs. Wormwood sneered at him in response. ''Yeah, sure. Whatever.'' After she caked on her usual heavy makeup, she pointed a red-nailed finger at Matilda without even looking at the girl. ''There's fish fingers in the microwave! Heat 'em up if you get hungry!'',With that announcement, Mrs. Wormwood sauntered outdoors (shopping bags in hand, pearly-white heels clicking). Next to leave was Michael, who left with a schoolbag and a burger. Mr. Wormwood walked out the door after adjusting his tie and grabbing his suitcase.,Matilda was left by herself, and that was how she liked it.,Returning to her room, she changed into her favourite blue dress, white stockings, and little black shoes. Tying her red ribbon into her long brown hair, Matilda grinned at her reflection in the mirror.,She went downstairs and back into the kitchen without a glance at the microwave. For breakfast, she fixed herself some pancakes and orange juice, listening to old songs on the radio as she did so. After washing the dishes, she took out her map of the village. Her small finger traced the route from the Wormwood household to the library.,And so Matilda was on her way.,The morning air smelled of budding leaves and fresh raindrops. In the village High Street, a truck rumbled down the road while a farmer pushed his wheelbarrow along the sidewalk. Matilda passed the grocery store, where busy housewives hunted for apples and milk and other goods. She passed the butcher's shop, which displayed bloody lumps of raw meat and naked chickens in the window. She passed the clothing store, where teenage girls happily admired the latest fashions. Finally, she arrived at the library.,Mrs. Phelps, the librarian, fell off her chair in excitement when Matilda showed up. These days, the villagers were far too obsessed with television to bother with reading, leaving Mrs. Phelps with nothing to do all day. Under the librarian's guidance, Matilda became familiar with numerous classic tales, her imagination sparked to life by the stories she read.,Through these books, Matilda was transported to new worlds and introduced to new people—real and fictional—who led amazing lives. All this reading gave Matilda a view of life her parents never knew. Having read stories about children who grew up unloved by their families, yet studied hard at school, learning about the world and eventually putting things right for themselves, Matilda decided to do likewise.,And so Matilda's strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books—along with her red ribbon—gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message:,(1) The first few chapters of this novel were originally posted in October 2017 but taken down by me, because they were poorly-written. I've revised the chapters several times since then, but it is only until now that I finally got the story right.,(2) In this story, Matilda is a mixture of her book, film, and musical counterparts. While she has an August birthday in the film version, I've given her a birth date in late January for plot reasons.,(3) My version of Willy Wonka combines elements from the original book and the Tim Burton movie, with my own ideas thrown in. He's got the ''abusive dentist father'' backstory, but unlike in the Burton film, he allowed Charlie's family to move into the Factory right away, rather than insisting that No Parents Are Allowed. I much prefer the book's ending because it shows the compassionate side of Wonka's character, which Burton's film (mostly) ignored.,Unlike in the film, Dr. Wilbur Wonka doesn't get a redemption arc in the , universe, and Willy remains estranged from him. And as in all of my Wonka stories, the Factory is located in the Republic of Rainland, a fictional country of my creation.,(4) I modelled Mrs. Tonks after Helena Bonham Carter, who not only played Bellatrix Lestrange in the Potter movies but also starred in many Burton films. (The books describe the sisters Bellatrix and Andromeda as looking extremely alike. I went further and made them identical twins.) Some of you might remember that Helena also played Charlie's mother in Tim Burton's Willy Wonka film. To avoid any issues, I based my version of Charlie's mother on her 1971 film counterpart, played by the lovely Diana Sowle (with blonde hair and blue eyes).,(5) Anne Frank, a Jewish girl, went into hiding during World War Two in the real world. In this story, Matilda will go into hiding because of Voldemort's War.,(6) ''Just because you find that life's not fair...'' is a reference to ,.,(7) Mr. Wonka appears to hold a grudge against the Bloody Pineapple Head, I mean Gellert Grindelwald. Hmm, I wonder why?

Hermione sortit de la douche et s'habilla d'une simple chemise blanche et d'un pantalon noir, elle prenait toujours l'habitude de ne portait que des manches longues pour que personne ne pose des questions sur sa cicatrise , puis elle sortit de son petit appartement . La guerre avec Voldemort était terminée, Harry avait gagné mais avait malheureusement il avait été tué juste aprés la défaite de Voldemort par un mange-mort qui voulait surement se venger de la mort de son maitre, Ce joue Harry, Ron ainsi que de beaucoup de ses amis étaient morts ...c'est parent ...malgré toutes les précautions prises par Hermione furent eux aussi tués . Hermione avait maintenant 23 ans, elle était devenue une jeune femme très intelligente et charmante, ces cheveux autres fois en broussaille avaient disparrus pour laisser place à de magnifiques cheveux bruns Chatain ondulé, la jeune femme était parti du monde sorcier malgré les nombreux postes que l'on lui proposait, mais elle voulait s'éloigner de ce monde qui lui avait tant pris ... Elle était maintenant dirigeante de deux grandes bibliothèque dans le monde moldu . Elle allait en ouvrir une troisième à Londres, il lui fallait donc déménager car le contacte avec les livres lui manquer . C'était déjà programmé, elle irrais emmenager chez une amie de ses parents .,Hermione monta les escaliers âpres la vieille femme qui portait un sac d'épicerie .,-" Sherlock " appela Mme Hudson;,Ils rentrèrent alors dans la grande pièce en désordre,-'"Sherlock j'ai quelqu'un à vous présenter " répéta Mme Hudson,- " Qui Mme Hudson ? Vous voyez bien que je suis occupé, Anderson ne touchait pas à mes affaires ! Cria-t-il a un autre homme derrière la porte,-Sherlock, je vous présente Hermione elle vient d'emménager dans la chambre en bas " Dit la femme en montrant Hermione derrière elle ; ; - " La chambre où nous avons trouvé les chaussures du garçon mort ? "Dit Lestrade en se tournant vers Sherlock qui ne prêtait aucune attention à la nouvelle venue,- " Charmant " dit Hermione ironiquement à l'intention de Sherlock,- " Bonjour, je suis le colocataire de Sherlock, Dr John Watson , pour vous avertir nous faisons beaucoup de bruit ",- Hermione se présenta et dit " Vous prenez de la drogue tout le temps ou est-ce pour vous une "activité " du dimanche soir ? ",- "Comment savez-vous cela ? " dit Sherlock toujours absorbé par son téléphone portable,- Les fumées ... bien que les médicaments ne produisent pas d'odeur aussi forte, leur fabrication produise une odeur reconnaissable, donc cela veut dire que l'un d'entre vous se drogue et sens doute en fabrique ici, je dirai plutôt Sherlock car les yeux du Dr John ne présente pas d'abus de stupéfiant . Dit Hermione en haussant les épaules,- " Oh, un autre monstre " dit une femme habiller en noir derrière Hermione,- " il vous a dit qu'il allait quitter sa femme ? " dit Hermione à la femme habillé en noir,- Comment vous ?,- " À en juger par votre tenue et votre main vos êtes sur une relation de deux mois, pas de bague donc vous êtes pas marié mais dit amant a en juger par les collier qu'il vous a offert , de plus vous portez un parfum d'homme , le même que Anderson , on le sens à des kilomètre , vous lui avait dit qu'il était papa ? ",Sherlock et John était encore en état de choc,- " Ses parents été dentiste, des gens sympathiques, il habitait ici avant de déménager " dit Mme Hudson,- " ...Ils ont été assassiner quand j'avais 17 ans " dits Hermione tristement, elle reprit,- " Je dois retourner à mon travail, je reviendrais demain pour la suite de mon déménagement ",-"Où travaillez-vous ? " demanda John,- " À la bibliothèque au coin de la rue principal " elle leurs fit signe puis elle partit,- " Je l'aime bien " sourit Lestrade " Pour une fois que quelqu'un vous impressionne " dit-il à Sherlock,- " Tu es enceinte! " Dit Anderson à la femme,- " Oh la ferme , pour une fois que quelqu'un veut être avec vous Anderson " Déclara Sherlock en roulant des yeux essayant de se souvenir d'Hermione, il ne l'avait pas impressionnait lui aurait pu faire l'ai même déductions qu'elle , se qui le surprenait le plus c'était surtout la cicatrice qu'elle avait tenté de cacher sur son avant bras .

Great just great 2 years ago my parents transfer me from Hogwarts School Of WitchCraft And Wizardry to St Trinians School For Young Ladies, and now Hogwarts is coming to St Trinians.,I haven't spoken to anyone from the magical world since I left and no one at St Trinians know's about magic. Hogwarts are arriving tomorrow and boy are they in for a supprise.,Kelly Jones is our head girl and has never one belonged to a group but if St Trinians was in troubble she would be the girl to sort it out.," Alright girls lissen up, as you know we got isiters coming 2 moz and were going 2 give them a welcome they'll never forget" Says Kelly,Now St Trinians isn't like your normal ll girls school were a boarding school and we also havrr cliques.,First up is the Posh Totties, they run their own chat line and have spoken to a member of the royal family.,Chavs, also know as rude girls, they are the cocky girls and arnt affraid of getting their hands dirty.,Goths, Well that world just sums them up anything you want to know anout death go to them.,Flammables.,First years, can really say much about them.,The Geeks, you want extra credit you go to them.,Then theres the Eco Freos they are obsessed with going global nutural.,Your probably wondaring what clique i belong to well i don't when i came here 2 years ago i was given a make over ( what annabelle was wearing in the first film) i look more closer to the posh totties but I hang around with all the cliques. When Hogwarts comes they are going to get the shock of their lives.," So heres the plan,Posh Totties there are lots of boys at this school pick three and do what ever you want to them.,First Years your explosives set them off.,Geeks make sure this is all filmed live and broadcasted on youtube.,Monie me and you are responsible for the teachers.,Meet in the stairwell 11:30 prompt with all memberrs of the school and we then on my command unleash holy hell on Hogwarts".,Next chapter Hogwarts arrive and they see hermione for the first time in 2 years.,Question Should i bring annabelle into it or not .,Reviews need 10 at least untill then next chapter.

"Come on, Rose! Hurry Up or we'll be late," she heard her cousin yell from downstairs. Rose chuckled as she finished getting dressed. She wore an ocean blue T-Shirt with a strange design reminiscent of a dragon's skull on the front, dark blue jeans, brown mid-calf boots, and a black leather jacket with white angel wings on the back. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. "That should do it," she commented.,Rose Potter was rather tall for an almost 11 year old. She had pale rose colored hair, mocha skin, almond-shaped, bi-colored eyes (the right, icy blue and the left, emerald green). Although she could not remember her adoptive parents, she knew that she looked nothing like them. She was told by her family that she was adopted when she was old enough to know.,She shook her head from her thoughts as she left her room and headed down the stairs. As she walked down, she spotted her cousin standing in the hall. "It's about time you got down here," her cousin grumbled, "why do girls always take so long?",Rose chuckled and said with a half smirk, "It's not that girls always take a long time, it's that you have no patience Dudley. Besides girls aren't the only ones who do it, Guys do too." Her cousin never liked waiting.,Dudley was a tall boy only slightly shorter than her. He was very lean and well-muscled for someone his age due to all the boxing he did. He had short sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a plain blue T-Shirt and jeans as well as he black trainers.,Just as Dudley was about to retort, her aunt walked in. "Alright you two, that's enough. Rose, don't antagonize your cousin. Dudley, she's right. Girls aren't the only ones who take a while," her aunt spoke with slight amusement. "Yes, Aunt Petunia/Mom," they both replied in unison. Petunia smiled and rolled her eyes at them.,Her Aunt Petunia was a thin woman with long sandy-blond hair like her son, and pale blue eyes. "You look very nice, Aunt Petunia," Rose said looking at her aunt's beautiful blue blouse, skirt, and flats. Her aunt smiled and replied "Thank you, Rose.","Right then, are you two ready to go to the zoo?" she asked. They both grinned and nodded excitedly as her Uncle Vernon came out of the kitchen. "Everybody all set," he asked.,Vernon, like his son, was tall and in shape from years of boxing. He had short greying black hair, a big bushy mustache, and dark brown almost black eyes. He was dressed in a blue shirt, beige pants, and black shoes.,"All set, dear," Petunia replied. He grinned and said "Excellent! Let's be on our way shall we?" Rose and Dudley cheered with happily and raced out to the car. Vernon and Petunia simply shook their head and chuckled with amusement at their antics. They walked to the car as the kids, talking excitedly about the animal they would see at the zoo, got in and buckled up. Once they were in and all buckled up they left for the zoo.,"So kids, what animals are you most excited to see," asked Petunia. Rose and Dudley grinned and open their mouths to answer at the same time. They laugh as they saw the other about to talk as well. "You first Dudley," laughed Rose. He nodded and said "I can't wait to see the alligators and lions!" Everyone laugh at his almost fan-girlish squeal of excitement. "And what about you, Rose," came Vernon's laughing voice from the driver's seat. "I want to see the wolves, wild cats, and pandas," she replied. "And the snakes," Dudley chimed in.,Rose gave a shy smile at that. It was no secret that she had a fondness for snakes. Snakes reminded her of dragons. ,, she thought as she said "I like snakes but it's mostly because they remind me of the dragons I read about in Mom and Dad's books." Everyone chuckled at her shyness about the subject.,Her family was, to most of the neighborhood, strange which she couldn't argue they were strange but not for what the neighbors thought. The neighborhood thought they were strange because they accepted the fact that she had pink hair and was gay. Sure, her family liked being 'normal' but their opinions on the matter while slightly different added to the same answer, "It's not bothering us.",Dudley's opinion was, "It doesn't matter to me, guy or girl I'll still kick their butts if they hurt me cousin." She couldn't help but laugh when he told her that.,Vernon's opinion was pretty much the same as Dudley's, "I don't care what their gender is. You are and have always been my little girl since the moment we found you on our doorstep. If they break your heart or hurt you in anyway, they'll have me to answer to." She just giggled and kissed his cheek after he said that.,Petunia's opinion was," So long as you bring them over every now and then for dinner, and don't do anything stupid I have no problem with it. Though, I reserve the right to remind them that while the boy's will threaten bodily harm I am one to worry about. Especially since, I know how to leave no evidence behind." Her aunt said with a deadly grin on her face. Rose often wonders if her mother had planned on this happening when she taught her Aunt potions.,It made Rose happy to know her family was fine with it. Though, there was another thing about her that the neighbors didn't know that her family was okay with, her magical heritage. Her aunt and uncle had told her about it the moment they knew she was old enough to understand and even helped her learn how to control it. They put her in meditation classes and even gave her the books parent's left her in their old school trunks, though they always made sure she memorized each one before give her the next.,Hearing her uncle say "Bloody fool, riding a motorcycle like that." Shook Rose from her thoughts and memories. She looked out the window and saw a man riding a motorcycle in jeans, a t-shirt, and trainers. She scowled at the man's lack of a leather or padded jacket. It was a pet peeve she and her uncle shared. That and reckless drivers.,Rose and Vernon were both what her aunt and cousin affectionately called 'Grease monkeys'. They loved working on cars and motorcycles and would often go down to the local junk yard to look for parts and old cars to fix up and sell or keep. They were currently working on an old Harley motorcycle that would be all Rose's when she had her license.,"I had a strange dream last night about a flying motorcycle," Rose said. "Was in the one with the strange people from that place you saw, Cocoon," asked Dudley, her statement having caught her family's attention.,She often had strange dream of other worlds called 'Gran Pulse' and 'Cocoon' as well as people she never knew yet seemed so familiar. People like 'Lightning', 'Fang', 'Serah', and 'Vanille'. The fact that these dreams often left her waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and scared also had her family concerned.,Shaking her head, Rose said "No, this time it was different. This time it was about the night before Aunt Petunia found me. At least, I think it was that night, I don't really remember much of it. All I remember is a giant man on an old motorcycle that was flying." They all nodded and looked a little relieve at that.

An exerpt taken from an article by Violet Bones, written in Britian in the year 2198.

Chapter 1,Calypso Daffodil Potter, whom still wondered if her mother was still high on pain killers when she gave her Daffodil for a middle name, sits on one of the swings close to her home and she used the term loosely. She thought her life would have gotten better when she found out about magic instead it got worse, thankfully she had stunned Cedric before grabbing that thrice damned Port Key. Now the Dark Tosser was back and Fudge was burying his head in the sand. Though she at least did have the presence of mind to say she had only seen Death Eaters and swore this on her life and magic. Voldemort did happen to be a Death Eater, he was the head Death Eater after all. The fifteen year old knew that she needed something or someone on her side that no one could turn on her. Ron couldn't be trusted, the whole tournament fiasco proved that. Hermione couldn't either because of her authority figure fetish.,She knew she could count on Sirius and the twins but that was about it. She failed to notice a golden eyed teen with brown hair as messy as hers observing her. Train Heartnet was wondering why such a good looking girl was frowning like that. His attention is diverted to the local thugs and Calypso's head lifts, " Oh, Dudders, what do you want anyhow? "," This is our park, Potter. ",It was then Calypso spotted her other observer, " You gonna tell him that, Piers? ",Train chuckles as the punks scatter, " They really don't like me since I have no problem with beating their asses into the ground. I'm Train Heartnet. "," Calypso Potter, you have to be new around here, otherwise you would avoid me like the plague. "," Unlike the rest of the idiots in suburbian hell I can think for myself. Why's a pretty girl like you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders anyhow? " Train asks her.,Emerald eyes blink at this and her head tilts to the side like a curious kitten. Train could feel his pulse kick starting at this, why did she look like no one had ever complimented her before in her life anyhow? " Simple, I have an insane inbred moron after me and no one will lift a finger to put him down permanently. The leader of the resistance against this inbred buffoon thinks murderers and rapists should be given second chances instead of just putting them down. He fights back with non-lethal force. ",Train considers all this and then he sees the scar, " Huh, did not expect the GWL to be in suburbian hell. I'm currently living in number seven Privet Drive. "," Oh, good, I'll be locked out and I really don't feel like picking the lock and breaking in, can I crash at your place. " Calypso says, he was still treating her like a normal girl.," You're trusting someone you've just met? "," You're not a fanboy, thank Loki for that, if you were here to kill me you would have already done so, and Dudley is terrified of you. " Calypso states.," The least I can do is take you out to dinner, Calypso. ",Train watches her eyes as she processes what was happening, " In what capacity? ",Golden eyes dim for just a bit, had no one ever just done something for her, " I feel like it, besides, a pretty girl like you deserves to have some fun. ",Calypso lets Train drag her off and finds that she's actually enjoying herself. It was when they were heading home that Calypso pales as she can start hearing the last moments of her parents, " Bloody hell, what are Dementors doing here? ",Train stiffens, " You're sure? "," I'm bloody well hearing my parents be murdered by that Dark Tosser right now, yes, I'm sure! " Calypso snaps at him and the damned thing was she didn't dare cast a Patronus Charm either.,Train pulls out Hades, a gift from Belze for when he joins Chronos. He removes the bullets and smirks, " Leave this to me, I registered Hades with the Ministry and the ICW just in case plus, I am seventeen. ",Calypso nods, barely holding on to her consciousness. Train fires the instant the Dementors come into view and both of them just pop. He was quick to steady his companion, witnessing her parents murders at the hands of a madman was not a pleasant memory. He swings her up into his arms and races for number seven. Calypso allows herself to relax, her magic said she could trust him so she would. Thankfully Train had some chocolate on hand and feeds it to Calypso. After he gets her settled he frowns, he'd read the Daily Prophet, they were crucifying her at the behest of Dumbledore.,It was the whimpers that drew his attention and he curses under his breath, of course she would have nightmares. He slips into the room he had given her for the night and runs his fingers through her bangs, slowly calming the sleeping teen. Maybe he should have given her a Dreamless Sleep potion before letting her drift off? The older teen just settles himself comfortably and lets himself drift off. However not deep enough that he wouldn't wake up if someone entered his temporary home. Calypso doesn't even blink to find Train in her bed. She was used to curling up with either Fred or George in the Gryffindor Common Room. Everyone in the Tower knew that they considered themselves siblings.,Train woke up when she did and Calypso sighs, " Guess I need to go deal with my charming relatives. "," I'll come with you, we can pack up your stuff since I really don't like the idea of leaving you alone with Vernon. " Train says, he made sure he had Hades with him and plenty of ammunition.,Calypso did make them breakfast first, " I'm going to eat before dealing with them. Might actually be able to get decent meals before I get back to Hogwarts. ",Train frowns at this, " How bad is it? ",Calypso sighs, " Before my letter came I was essentially their House Elf. Thanks to having a wanted criminal for a godfather they leave me alone for the most part. He's innocent but I haven't told them that yet. ",Train smirks, " You sure you're a lion? "," I'm a snake in the lion's den. " is the prompt reply.,Calypso leads the way over to number four and walks in, " You ungrateful girl, where have you been? ",Train winces, she'd had to put up with this. Now he understood why she stayed at his place. " She got locked out accidentally and I allowed her to stay over at my house. I live at number seven. " Train says, golden eyes hard.,Calypso was quick to move closer to Train when Vernon walks into sight. Train pulls out Hades and holds it loosely in his right hand. Vernon takes in the gun and goes to sit at the kitchen table. He knew an alpha male when he saw one, Train would not hesitate to shoot him. Train waves a hand to summon all of Calypso's things, the fact that she was staying so close to him with her uncle around told him plenty and none of it was good. " You're one of those good for nothing freaks as well. " Vernon snarls only for Train to cock Hades' hammer back and level the gun at the whale.," As big as you are a novice wouldn't miss. Calypso will be coming with me and if you even attempt to come anywhere near her I will end you, got it. " Train shrinks her possessions down and they walk back over to number seven.,Calypso sighs as her trunk is unshrunk and she gets to work on her summer homework. Train looks over her shoulder and nudges her when it comes to Arithmancy. The fifteen year old smiles at this, " How would you like to come to Hogwarts as my bodyguard, I am an heiress to several old families after all, Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, Black through my godfather, and Slytherin through right of conquest. I am allowed a bodyguard. "," Let me get a Sweeper license first, that way I can get some bounties before we leave. " Train says.,It only took Train one day to get a license as a Sweeper or Bounty Hunter, to celebrate he took Calypso to Diagon Alley, having hid her scar with concealer. She also wore Ravenclaw colors as well. He took her to a little known about shop, Mundanely Magical. The Potter heiress smirks and goes power shopping. Then they tour Knockturn Alley where Calypso gets another wand, several books and Train checks in with the Magical Sweepers. After Calypso's shopping spree they head back to number seven, Train had gotten himself a Nekomata that he named Loki while Calypso had gotten a puppy that she named Fenria since her pup was female. Fenria was actually a child of Fenrir and a Dire Wolf.,After Calypso is out for the night and the two new pets are curled up with her Train calls Belze, informing him that he wouldn't be joining Chronos after all. Belze was there in two hours to talk to his surrogate son in person. " I'm sorry, Belze, I'm a sweeper now and been hired as a bodyguard to the Potter Heiress. ",Belze looks at him, " You've met her, haven't you? "," She's here right now. Dammit, I compliment her and she doesn't even know how to react to it, I'm pretty damn sure her uncle would have defiled her if not for the fact that she used her innocent mass murdering godfather as a shield. " Train states.,Belze sighs, " Hades is yours, I had Hades made for you and if you ever change your mind there will always be a place for you in Chronos. "," I'm a sweeper, hire me on an as needed basis. Right now I have a teenaged girl that needs someone around her that isn't a sycophant. " Train states, not knowing that he had saved himself from meeting Creed Diskenth, his psycho stalker in several other dimensions.," I raised you well and so did your parents. Miss Potter does need someone like you in her corner. Don't be afraid to ask me for help if you really need it, Train. ",Train nods, he was making his own decisions now and he had more than enough money to live on his own for a while. Once Belze leaves he slips out to catch a crook and get the bounty before heading home and sleeping. Train and Calypso settled into a routine of sorts, she'd cook breakfast since Train was not a morning person and he'd handle the clean-up, then he would have to handle lunch while they alternated dinner. He was also helping her out with her potions as well teaching her about basic safety, how the ingredients interacted and getting her brewing up to par as well. She was half tempted to hire him as her Potions instructor as well. They'd cleared him as her bodyguard with the help of Griphook and taken care of her accounts as well.,It helped that Train also got her to talk about things she wouldn't with anyone else, got her to vent since she couldn't be seen going to a mind healer. She'd be crucified in the media. She had also, on his advice hired a lawyer through Griphook and a PR person as well. This meant that several people were going to be taken to task for running roughshod over a Pureblood family name. That morning however Calypso was still in bed, hiding from all sources of light when Train made the mistake of opening the curtains. He got hit with a wandless stinging hex immediately. " Callie, you're the morning person. "," Migraine Relief Potion and I might be civil. ",Train flinches, he'd seen how nasty a few females could get when in pain. He closes the curtains with a wave of his hand and summons said potion. He helps her drink it and uses a gentle warming charm on his fingertips while massaging her temples, " You didn't mention migraines. "," Used to no one caring when I'm not at school. Even Snape treads lightly around me when I've got a migraine, it's worse when I'm also hormonal, the only ones safe from me are the Weasley Twins as they learned early on how to handle me like that. " Calypso admits, she was almost purring in contentment, her animal form was feline in nature.," Well, I do care, Callie. " Train murmurs, though he makes note to stock a certain other potion as well for his female housemate.,Callie knew this, he just did things for her, little things that usually only the Twins would do for her. Then there were the looks when he thought she wasn't looking. The small lingering touches, Train knew she didn't like her personal space invaded so the touches were always light, gentle. Just like how the Twins got her used to them touching her as well. Their talks had also helped as Train genuinely wanted to get to know her, not the GWL, but her, Calypso Potter. For the first time her summer was actually looking up.,Train knew that as her bodyguard he shouldn't get too close but she also needed someone that she could trust fully, which was why she had learned about his past and his training. She had just rolled her eyes and told him about her second year at Hogwarts. After that she had learned how to use a sword from Nearly Headless Nick. One of the other ghosts had taught her how to use knives as well. Train was slowly getting her fitness up and working to undo the damage of malnutrition as well. Calypso always frowned at the potions but she drank them after making sure she knew what was in them, she did have some allergies after all.,Two weeks with Train and she was actually starting to look her age, was getting to a healthy weight, and she looked happier. Train was actually a licensed medi-wizard as well so her was allowed to treat all of Calypso's conditions, malnutrition being the worst. He also took her out to do fun things like a normal teenager and got her hooked on anime and manga. It shocked him that she went straight to Cardcaptor Sakura. Then he realized that she was actually trying to recreate the cards and sealing staff with runes, drawing, and Arithmancy. He shrugs and starts to help her, it was a good idea to have something unexpected on your side.,The very day they finished her deck and she discovered that chaos was her element to call upon, was when the Order of the Phoenix came looking for her. Thankfully she had her familiars or guardians for her Chaos Deck and her sealing wand in a mokeskin pouch she had picked up along with everything else that she didn't want anyone else getting their hands on. Fenria registered as a familiar and so did Hedwig, she had also filled out the appropriate paperwork and so had Train. They came towards evening just as Train had finally decided to test the waters with Calypso. The brown haired sweeper is cursing under his breath at the invasion of his home though Calypso quickly checks to see if Moony was her Moony or not.," Potter, why are you at number seven? " Moody asks her.," Train's my new bodyguard and quite frankly if not for holding my mass murdering godfather over my fat ass uncle's head he would have already added sexual abuse to his long list of crimes against me that the old goat gets swept under the rug. " Calypso states.," Check with Gringotts, I am her bodyguard along with her personal healer, and a desperately needed friend that doesn't see her fame. " Train states, loosely holding on to Hades.,Loki was draped around his neck while Fenria was at her mistress' feet and ready to attack anyone that was a threat. Remus could see that his cub was much happier and she did look healthier as well. Train waves a hand and packs all of their stuff up before informing Moody that he was not flying all the Kami damned way to where ever they were going and his patient did not need that right now. Moody apparently had a deeply ingrained fear of healers because he listened. He showed them the piece of paper with the address and Train apparates them away, then knocks on the door while Calypso is cursing him out in his native Japanese.,Sirius was the one to answer the door and the female teen hugs her godfather before introducing Train. Then Walburga Black starts up and Calypso straightens, her emerald eyes steely, " Would you shut up already you bint. No one likes to hear you screaming at them and I may just let my bodyguard shoot your portrait to shut you up. I have Black blood in my veins through Dorea and I do happen to be a Metamorphagus. You'd think you'd be satisfied with the fact that Sirius isn't batshite insane like his cousin is! ",The portrait of Sirius' mother stares at her, gaping while Train has Hades trained on the portrait. The curtains shut on their own, " I see why you ran away, Sirius. ",Train holsters Hades and sticks close to his charge, he glares Mrs. Weasley down, " First, I am seventeen, second Calypso damn well deserves to know what the hell is going on, third, you are not my mother or hers, fourth, I am her bodyguard and personal healer, fifth, I actually care about Calypso and not the Girl-Who-Lived! " Train says coldly.," Plus, this is my damn house, not yours, I'll tell her anyhow. " Sirius snaps.,Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Black Cat.

Ok, I have no idea where this came from, but its been sitting in my archive of prompts and random-ideas and I just stumbled across it resently and I was bored so I finished it... So yeah.,I don't own Harry Potter or the ViewFinder Series, they would be very different if I did.,He grinned as he walked after off of the plane, moving determinedly towards the bag pick up area. It was not his first time in this particular airport, so he knew his way around. He smirked and readjusted his sunglasses as he remembered his first time in Japan, he had been completely clueless at the time, what with knowing nothing of the language or culture.,The emerald-eyed man came back to reality as he caught sight of his luggage, just a single worn and faded, black leather duffel bag, about twice or three times larger than the brown (again, worn and faded) leather satchel bag he had at his side. He knew that both bags were weird or curious looking to "normals", as the leather looked as if the leather had come from a very, very large snake or reptile and both were lined by emerald green satin, and were locked/closed with actual locks that a "normal" would normally see on a briefcase. When his emerald eyes saw that he was gaining curious looks from the naive "normals", he had to contain a sigh of exasperation and annoyance.,'I mean really,' the ebony haired man though, 'it was like they had never seen a nomadic warlock before.',He had been looking for his luggage when his golden eyes had caught sight of something strange and beautiful. He found himself unable to look away, for the person - no, being, for no human could ever give off an aura of power and wisdom and experience and untamable wildness that could only ever be found in the most feral and intelligent big cats of the jungle. It was fascinating and exhilarating for the man to find such an exotic and defiant creature among the common and weak-willed humans in such a commonplace. No, this creature wasn't just exotic, he was otherworldly.,The being seemed to have a permanent golden tan, with no visible tan lines, that was (unfortunately) mostly covered by form fitting clothing that (fortunately) left little to the imagination. The creature was wearing dark green cargo pants with black leather combat boots that had the legs of the pants tucked in. There were three brown belts in different hues and conditions on the creature that were quite curious, as they had a multitude of different pouches and boxes on them with some empty spaces, that he couldn't help but think that that was where the being put the sheaths of it's weapons. The shirt that the being wore was a sleeveless turtleneck that looked to be made from black satin with brown leather wrappings on his forearms and the palms, while it's upper arms and fingers are exposed to show a multitude of scarring and tribal tattoos. They were curious, as it seemed that some of the being's tattooes were composed of words and/or symbols written across the creature's arms, and the man wished then to be closer and hoped that it was in a language that he knew. The creature's hair was long, ending at the small if it's back even when pulled tightly into a french braid and tied off with a silver cord, while the hair itself looked to be weaved from ebony silk with crimson accents. The bangs of the being's hair were thick and varying in length, as the hair seemed to create a veil around and over the creature's face. He was quite frustrated that he couldn't see this angel's face…,Golden eyes watched as the beauty took the, quite large, black leather duffle bag off of the conveyor belt. The two bags the being had were also curious. They looked to be of Western origin, and old fashioned at that, only adding on to feel of exotic, untamed feralness that the being excluded.,Golden eyes watched as the feral beauty picked up the duffle bag (but didn't put it on its back, how curious…) and started to walk for the exit.,The golden eyed man followed.,He felt his ear twitch.,He was being followed.,Again.,.,It wasn't anything new for him. After all, the normals thought he was strange and sometimes set their law enforcers after him for lies or delusions that they make to better suit their image of the world.,He signed again as the presence came around the corner that he had just turned. The presence didn't have any Magick or Chi or anything at all, but he could sense some latent creature blood within the almost-normal. The almost-normal had been following him since he had picked up his bags from the airport, which was just under an hour ago, and he was starting to get annoyed.,The man was amused by the beauty's attempts at getting rid of him. He could tell that they were used to being followed and were also used to getting rid of them easily, but the normal tricks were not going to work on him so they would have to get creative.,He had followed the beauty through many alleyways and crowded areas by now, and he had only been able to keep up with them out of sheer determination to catch them. The golden eyed man was impressed at the being's patience and perseverance, but he knew that he would eventually corner the being; it was only a matter of time.,So when the beauty took a turn into an alleyway that the man knew was a straight dead end, he knew that it was his chance. His walk sped up marginally so that he could see the beauty's expression when they realise that they are corned. But by the time he had caught up with the being, they were already leaning against the wall of the dead end, watching him.,They just stared at each other for a moment, exotic green clashing with enchanting gold. The man could see the defiance in the beauty's eyes, and took a step forward unconsciously, wanting to cement his dominance on the flighty creature.,A new glint entered those emerald green eyes, and the man only had a second to back up before the creature threw a glass bottle in between them that shattered on the pavement and released blue tinted white smoke.,The man felt his eyes water and was filled with shock when his sense of hearing and smell disappeared as soon as the smoke engulfed him. He had never realised how much he had realized on those senses to keep track of the creature until they were gone, and now he couldn't 'sense' them at all!,When the smoke disappeared just a few moments after it had formed, his senses returned and he could 'see' that the beauty was gone.,The golden eyed man let a smirk cross his face as he walked up to the broken glass bottle- no, it was a blue tinted glass tube that now had nothing in it, and picked up one of the bigger pieces of glass.,'Yes.' He thought, as he placed the piece of glass into his handkerchief. 'This will be an interesting hunt.',So, I don't know what I'm going to do with this. I don't know if I'm just going to leave it or continue it, but I'll consider any idea or sudjestions that are sent my way. Or, if anyone wants to adopt this, go right ahead, just tell me that you are doing so please.,~ Blue

the original conjuring cat,summary : on a cold October night old deuteronomy finds an orphaned tuxedo kitten. After thirteen years the truth of the cats origin must be faced.,Deuteronomy was taking a scroll around his beloved Human's home, a rich but eccentric old man, who treated his companion with as much respect as he would to any human. he had just finished visiting his sons, The sly Macavity, his eldest, the Noble and proud Munkustrap the middle Kitten, And the very young but Rambunctious Rum Tum Tugger!,the old but noble cat head perked up, he had heard a small meow as if coming from a kitten, old Deuteronomy turned his elderly head to the sound and started to follow the small mew. the sound led him to a back alley, where with his old wizened eyes he saw a shivering small kitten, who was huddled in an open cardboard box . he slowly tried to get the kitten out of the box, without making him too uncomfortable after he had managed to get the kitten out of the box, he carefully turned the kitten over with is paw.,The kitten had a beautiful soft and short tuxedo Coat, the fur surrounding his chest and face was as a dark midnight black. but the fur on his chest and face was as a pure white.,the kitten's eyes slowly opened to show a beautiful almost unnatural Emerald green. "meow?" The kitten looked up to wizened old Cat face and put up his paw, as if to swat at him.,"What are you doing out here, little one?" Deuteronomy asked as he sniffed the kitten. his scent was odd, a mixture of a human and a Jellicle, however there was also something that even with his nose he could not place.,"Everlasting! Your a Jellicle he said surprised it was very rare to find a kitten who was of his kind but it did very rarely happened. "Thank the Everlasting, I found you little one." he purred as he picked up the Kitten in his mouth and started to carry him to the junkyard. the kitten squirmed when he first picked him up, but he soon relaxed in the eldar Cats mouth.,Deuteronomy gave a small smile this kitten was a lot easier to carry then his youngest, at least he didn't get a hairball from carrying him, unlike Tugger. That cat! what would he do with him hopefully the maine coon would calm down as he grew.,The walk to the junkyard was brisk and cool, his thick long fur protected him from the cold air, however the kitten with his short fur was shivering in the breeze, the kitten let out a small sneeze. The old cat almost dropped the kitten, when instead of what would usually come out of nose, was sparkes.,He then knew that this kitten,was twice blessed by the everlasting Cat, all jeliciacls had some from of Magic bining able to transform, however rarely there would be a jellicle whose magic was magnitudes more powerful than the others. There was usually only one in a litter. he had thought that it was his eldest Son Macavity. who did not show any magic till he was three, still young for a jellicle as they became adults in the tribe there thirteenth year, and could live up to eighty years. but to see a KItten whose by the looks of him is one year old, produce magic. even if it was fairly weak, it was still and incredible. he figured that in this litter there would be twoMagical Cats, in the litter.,As he entered the junkyard, the other cats came running to their leader, tales up in happiness. They all stopped when they saw what their beloved Leader was caring. Deuteronomy gently dropped the kitten onto the ground on a blanket.,"Is he a jellicle or a normal Cat?" Jennyanydots asked as she looked at the kitten with curiosity,"there is no doubt in my mind that this kitten is Blessed by the Everlasting Cat. he is to young to transform into the jellicle from, but he should be able to in two years, same with speaking." when deuteronomy told the tribe that the kitten would be able to transform into the Jellicle from, it allowed them to take on a Humanoid from, that was only about the size of a cat standing on its hind legs. all jellicles could do it., but it normally took five years for them to have enough magical energy to make the transformation.,"he will be raised as any other Kitten in this tribe, I will act as a grandfather to him, but I Can't take care of him alone, I need someone to help me with the raising of him, i must ask who will be able to help him develop in the tribe,",Bustopher Jones stode up and tood in front of Deuteronomy. the cat who had been adopted by a very rich and well respected family. like the kitten he was a Tuxedo cat. "I'll take care of the kitten at the junkyard at least.",Deuteronomy nodded as he put out his paw to Bustopher as they both transformed into there Jellicle Form, they both held out there now hand like paw, as if to sake. however they nuzzled each others in a way of agreement.,"Thank you, Bustopher, now what do you think we should name him, as your his mane caretaker you may pick one of his Names.",Bustopher John's stopped for a moment, it was a great honour to give one name to a cat. he thought for a moment, "Quaxo" he said finally,,the newly christened Quaxo, looked up his big green eyes widened as he looked at his new family.,o-000-o,hundreds of kilometers away, in a small english town, in a beautiful classical english style house. a messy dark hair man. he had slowly began to wake from the unconsciousness he was forced into. he slowly raised his heavy head and took a long look around, he slowly regained his wits, when he had remembered what happened, Voldemort coming through the door, telling his wife to run and take his son and hide upstairs, when he would defend them from the dark lord, however despite all odds the dark lord only casted a stunner at him.,he slowly stood up, legges wobbling under his wait, he slowly made is way up stairs holding onto the rail for dear life, when he got up he with a burst of speed that he didn't know he had in him in this moment, he made it into the nursery, the door was wide open.,"God's No," James cried as he saw the fallen body of his wife crumbled on the floor. he ran over to the body and checked the pulse of Lilly, and noticed with happiness that she had a slow heartbeat and her breath was steady,James ten turned to look for his little boy, his panic slowly began to rise as no matter where he looked he could not find his son, not even his body. he heard no sounds besides that of is wife soft breath.,He fell to his knees and started to cry, he slowly began to fade back into darkness.,o-000-o,the next time James awoke he noticed that he was in a bright white room that he recognized as saint mungo's. he looked over to his bedside table to see hundreds of flowers, get well cards and sweats.,the door to his private room was opened as a tall mediwitch came over to his bedside. her light brown eyes were full of stern comepation.,"I see that you're finally awake, mr potter, you were out for a few days," she said as she casted a medical detection spell on him.,"what happened to my wife!" James crooked as he looked for a glass of water,"She is fine. She is resting in the next room! she has been awake for a few hours " the witch told him as she conjured a glass of water and gave it to James. "i'm sure you will be happy to know that he who must not be named has been killed!",James didn't hear that all he could think of was his son. "what happened to my son did they find him .",the witch eyes softened as she told him what he already knew, that no one found his son. however deep inside his soul he knew that his son was alive in some from.,o-000-o,author's note.,okay i have finally gained motivation to write again. for the time being my other stoises mare paused for the time being. if you are wondering if this is a crossover with The musicals Cats particularly the London run which is the one in the 1998 movie. If you haven't seen it you can watch most of it on YouTube and could purchase it on amazon.,Thank you for reading this piece of garbage that I only wanted to read.,-Leo

It was a fast and hurried ride through the woods in England to safety; Heather was right on the way to passing out on top of her horse when Scout whinnied and bucked her off, she landed on her already wounded leg; the one that had an arrow embedded in it.,Screaming in pain, she tried to hold on to consciousness long enough so that she could at least see the people who were going to kill her.,They were just a day's ride behind her, but she had no doubt that they were going to get her back, to do the things to her that made her nauseous just by thinking it. She had tried so hard to hide who she was but someone had seen her healing a woman who was about to die in childbirth.,"Scout!" She croaked out to her horse; her voice was growing threadlike, already there were black spots in her vision. Scout immediately stopped and walked back to her and stood by her faithfully never to abandon his master. Heather looked around for the cause of his bucking and found it in the booby trap that was laid on the forest path, Scout rarely acted up, so it was nice to know it wasn't her.,Heather was about to pass out when she saw a group of men and a woman surrounded her; one was really tall and big, the rest were of a medium height. Heather gave a sigh at the inevitability of whatever would happen to her and finally passed out.,When she woke up next, it was a nice big encampment. She felt the pelts beneath her and a couple of blankets covered her, she also saw that she wore different clothes on. Her old ones were all torn and bloody, though she blushed at the thought of someone had dressed her while she was unconscious. When she tried to move she a shot of pain in her leg, she pulled back the covers and saw her wounded leg bandaged and the arrow was removed. She felt groggy like she slept for a full week, she blinked her eyes open and saw a young woman sitting beside her bed with a bowl of something. Heather looked at her surroundings and saw a bunk bed above her.,"Ah, you're awake, good," the woman said and went to open the flap of the tent. "Robin, she's awake!" She called to someone outside the tent.,"What happened to Scout?" Heather wheezed dryly, both her cloak of invisibility and the Elder wand were in the saddlebag. They were the only things she brought with her and they were very dear to her, for they were her only connection to home.,The Woman looked confused at first, she reaches over to grab a jar and hold it to Heather's lips to drink, Heather promptly gulped down the sweetest water she had ever tasted since she was trapped in this time. She took the time to get a good look at the woman, she had short, cropped black hair and green eyes, she was a Saracen from the East.,"Scout?" She asked as she drew the jar away from Heather's lips when she finished drinking.,"He's my horse," Heather explained now that her voice was clear, the water had replenished her very quickly and her magic was once in full strength after having a drink and a long rest.,"Oh, he's with our other horses," the woman assured her, "he's fine.",Then someone entered through the tent flap, a young and handsome man with a stubble beard, short cropped mid-brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in green peasant clothes and wore leather arm guards for archery and hung from his neck a hand-made necklace with a circle and a bow and arrow in the centre of the circle.,"Djaq, how is our guest?" He asked her.,"She's well, Robin, however, do not stress her, she needs more rest," Djaq cautioned him as she walked out of the tent.,Heather studied Robin, he looked a little stressed but it was underneath the surface. But also seemed happy to be among his friends in the woods. Heather had heard of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men back when she used to live with the Dursleys and read stories about from the library, but she never thought she would actually meet him.,Robin, in turn, was studying her, she knew she had a very strange appearance, with her long dark red hair and green eyes she inherited from her Mother.,"What is your name, fair maiden?","My name's Heather, sir," she answered, she was never called a fair maiden before.,"So, Heather, what brings you to our doorstep and with an injured leg?" He asked in curiosity.,"I,… I am being pursued by men; who think that I am a witch. They aim to burn me at a stake." Heather answered, she was not sure about her being welcomed here, she hopes that Robin won't turn her over to the hunters.,"I had been held a captive in that prison," she continued while shaking with the remembrance of what she had been through, "it felt like I've been in that cell forever, but I managed to escape!","I'm just a healing woman who has knowledge about herbs and how to use them!" She exclaimed and yelped in pain when she moved her injured leg too much.,"All right, all right, calm down," Robin composed her trying to get her to settle down, "you are safe now, they won't find you here.",Djaq came running back into the tent when she heard the fuss and made a frown face at Robin for overexciting her poor patient.,"Did they do more than hurt you?" He asked with a serious expression.,"No, but I think they would like to," Heather grimaced.,Robin reaches out to grasp her hand and gently squeezed in assurance.,"We won't let them have you, Heather, it seems they have already caused you enough pain for a lifetime," he promised, "now you must rest now and we'll talk when you are well. We'll head your pursuers off their track, don't worry you are safe with us.","Thank you, Sir," Heather murmured in gratitude.,"You shouldn't have made her overexcited, Robin," Djaq scold at Robin as she raised a smaller jar to Heather's lips to drink and Heather drank it greedily. As she drank from the bottle, she could taste the herbs mixed in the drink and reluctantly she felt drowsy and started to fall asleep, aware that she needed it.,As soon as Heather was asleep, Robin glanced at Djaq sheepishly; who was clearly not happy with him for causing the poor girl to make her injury worse.,"We needed to know her name and why those people want with her, not to mention wish her harm." He gestured at her leg injury, "Did you discover any other injuries when you treated her, Djaq?" He asked her as they watch over Heather in a deep sleep breathing in and out deeply.,Djaq tucked Heather with the blankets. "No, I found no more injuries on her," she confirmed, "I stitched up her wound when I removed the arrow from her leg and I tend the bruises from when she fell off her horse.",Robin watched as Djaq took her small jar of the tincture and went out of the tent to clean the jar in the stream not far from the campsite.,"I'm just glad Marian was able to find her some spare clothes," he muttered to himself and left the girl in her sleep and went outside to gather his men as he grabbed his archer bow and his quiver full of arrows.,"Well, lads, let's go and get rid of the poor lass's pursuers!" He announced and the men gave a roar in agreement and set off on their mission.

Hermione sat on the edge of the bed in the third year dorms as rain pinged on the window pain. The +Anima as they called themselves had only been there for a few days and things at Hogwarts were already changing and she honestly didn't like the change. She hoped that Harry's words "," wouldn't come back to haunt her.,Taking a deep breath she shook her head imagining various shapes in her head. She blinked a couple of times as the water droplets on the window suddenly moved to into the shape she imagined of a Raven. This caused it to disperse and look like rain droplets again. She got up from the bed and walked over to the window and imagined the shape of a lion and watched as that formed on the window.,The bushy haired female took a deep sigh. "Really... it's not as if I asked for this.",Going over to the bed she flopped down and then placed her arm over her eyes. She dozed off and woke up the next morning to the sunlight streaming into the room. Getting up she saw that the window still had rain drops on the window pane. She then changed and headed down the stairs in time to see the other members of Gryffindor speaking with each other.,Ginny looked up. "Hermione... what kind of control do you have over your ability?",The female blinked a couple of times before shaking her head. "I really don't want to talk about it.","Rumor has it that you have little control." Lavender spoke then, only to have Ginny cover her mouth.,"Honestly, I just figured out I have this power and I'm finding myself not yet ready to accept the fact I have this ability. Actually, it is kind of still strange this whole legend with the +Anima. There has to be something more to all of this.","Good grief. You're over thinking things like you always do.",Hermione flinched before heading down to the dining hall. As she walked down the stairs she came across Cooro who was watching a puddle of water off in some corner as the water twisted and moved. Letting out a deep sigh she walked over. "What are you doing?","The water is moving. It's pretty cool.",The female shook her head. "Don't you want breakfast?","Oh yeah!" The male +Anima's attention was distracted and the water stopped moving and even reformed into a regular puddle. He then stood up and placed a hand behind his head. "I was trying to find my way to that big room where everybody eats but I got lost.","Well, if you'll follow me I'll help you find that place.",Cooro's eyes widened. "Wow! You're such a nice person.",Hermione turned then to head towards the dining hall. As she walked along she heard the various whispers about her and her abilities. One of the people in Ravenclaw spoke then. "I think they should try resorting her. She should be in Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor. This isn't fair at all if you really think about.",This caused Hermione to stop. "This really isn't fair? Really... do you even understand what you're saying?","If you happen to have the water power you have the traits of a Ravenclaw and thus belong in there.","You know... why weren't you guys saying that way back in first year when I was getting the best grades for my year.","What are grades?","Grades are a way to measure how well you do in academics." Hermione turned back to Cooro who was staring at them as if no argument was going on. She turned back only to find him asking another question.,"What are academics?","They're reading, writing and other stuff you learn." The bushy female continued her conversation with the three girls. "You very well could have brought this up a lot sooner. Truth of the matter is the reason I ended up in Gryffindor is because on top of having traits of a Ravenclaw I also have traits of a Gryffindor. I choose Gryffindor though because I didn't want my smarts to be my defining trait, unlike some Ravenclaws I know.","Excuse me?",Hermione turned to see Alannis glaring at her. "What do you mean excuse me?","What do you mean that our smarts are our defining traits?" Alannis placed her hands on her hips. "I take offense at that.","That was meant as an insult.","Well, what makes you think that such statements are true?","The fact you... all of you pretty much... have been telling me that I should be in Ravenclaw because I have the traits of a Ravenclaw but don't accept that I can fit into other houses. You know... what will be really funny is if the earth based powers which are supposed to go to Slytherin end up going to someone everyone feels should have been in Hufflepuff but ended up in one of the other two houses. Would serve everyone right with how they're acting all high and migthty.","Well, I'm going to push for a resorting for you.","Excuse me?","I'll repeat what you said. What do you mean excuse me?","You know exactly what I meant. You have no business even suggesting such a thing. As if the teachers would even go for it.","Yes they will. I'm going to write a letter to my parents today. You getting the powers and not being in the house is not right. They'll agree with me and they'll use their influence to make sure that you end up getting sorted into the correct house, that house being Ravenclaw. Don't think that just because you are a stuck up brat that you can get away with acting like you're better then us." The girl spun on her heals and took off with the other girls from Ravenclaw.,Cooro blinked a couple of times. "This may just be me, but isn't the person acting full of themselves that girl?","You're not very bright, but you're honestly right about that.","People tell me that all the time, that I'm not very bright. They do say I'm a good judge of character though. It's one of my strong points. At least... I think it is. Sometimes it gets me in trouble because I want to see the good in everybody and sometimes while I'm right that they're a good person their intentions aren't always good. Not sure how that actually works."

Demon magic was a rarity in the world most of it having been banished centuries ago and even many dark lords feared to summon them, even voldemort for all his ego and arrogance was not foolish enough to tamper with them. Using made by demons spells yes but using actual demon magic was a far different story.,That wasn't to say such magic didn't exist in the world but rather it was hidden by the very sorcerers who made them. Dormant and waiting for a chance to unleash their dark powers. Only someone with demon magic of their own could ever sense the dormant books. Several books throughout history had the title of demon archive. Once one was found the others were normally dismissed as fakes containing powerful magic but fakes nonetheless. But the demon archive wasn't a single book but rather it was entire archive of such books a collection of books hidden so well even the most powerful of demons would have trouble finding them.,But no system was perfect over the years some of them had been found and lost countless times. Being found by an a powerful dark wizard only for them to be defeated and the book lost.,Of course this caused plenty of problems for the various magical governments of the world, because of how easy it was for wizards to find lost objects with the exception of the few magical tombs scattered across the world archaeology was a rarity for wizards. The closest thing they had were curse-breakers. On the other hand non magicals were completely willing to go trudging through the though endless amounts of rubble for even so much as clay pot. Several of the books had been found by non magicals and now resided in several museums around the world, sealed away still but waiting for a chance to be free once more.,Kaito Watanabe smiled as he watched the children who came to the library become completely enraptured in one of his more exciting stories about being an archaeologist, it was of course embellished a bit for the children. As he wrapped up his stories he noticed once again a small boy in ragged clothing sitting in the back he had been here for the last seven sessions, the boy would come in sit quietly and listen for all his stories. He had been brought in by the public library to try and get some kids interested in history and while a few had left being interested most were just here expecting to hear Indiana Jones style stories.,As he left the library for what would likely be the last time he saw the boy walk up to him, he wondered if the boy was going to talk to him, he seemed very shy no doubt he had been working up the courage to come ask him a question. "Can I help you?" he asked with a small smile.,The boy looked down nervously and he let out a small laugh. "I don't bite.",The boy pulled a book from his bag. "Yo-you l-left this behind." he peered at the book closely. Oh yes now he remembered it, it was why he came to Britain in the first place a person thought they found one of the old japanese books worth a small amount but he always had an interest in them. He quickly realized though that it was a fake. The cover was in far too good of condition for a book of it's supposed age, the binding was far more advanced than anything they had before fifties and the writing was complete nonsense speaking of demons that would cover the world in a thousand years of darkness it was filled with such obvious cliches that no doubt some schmuck got conned into thinking this was a valuable old book a few decades back.,"Thank you but why don't you keep it." the book wasn't worth anything but maybe the boy would get into archaeology and find a real one.,The boy seemed surprised before he gave a sloppy bow no doubt having read about in a book and poorly attempted to copy it. "Tha-th-thank you." he stuttered out, and the man smiled before walking off.,"Good luck maybe I will see you finding the lost city of atlantis one day." he said with an amused grin. "Just remember to thank me if you do." the boy seemed to get the joke as he giggled before waving goodbye putting the book back in his bag.,Harry pulled the book out of his bag and looked at it their reading teacher told them to bring in a book and get ready to make a copy of ten pages by hand. Harry wondered why the teacher had them do this, he said it was to see how difficult it was to make books centuries ago and why they were so rare. He hoped it would make them appreciate how easily they could buy books nowadays and value them more. But the problem was most kids brought in picture books with overly large words.,Harry had the book given to him by Kaito because Dudley had taken the book he brought and threw it into the mud ruining it. Mr. Hadlen smiled when he saw Harry had brought in a real book rather than a overly large picture book. He heard Harry was a troublemaker but he never saw any evidence of that, in fact it seemed like his 'saint' of a cousin was the real trouble maker. He picked up harry's book and held it up for the whole class to see. "This is the kind of books that people would spend days weeks copying as slowly as they could to make sure they got every detail." several kids looked down at their books which they had spent the hour making copies of and realized how hard their wrists hurt and realized their teacher was right about how valuable books were. smiled when saw several students realize how valuable the books were.,However he missed Dudley shooting Harry a dirty look, the freak shouldn't be praised he should be punished just like his parents said. Harry finished his book surprisingly fast he had plenty of practice with Dudley forcing him to his work. he doodled once he finished drawing shapes in his notebook. But his eye caught the cover of his book, it was some kind of scary mask on the front. It looked like some kind of halloween mask, Harry without realizing it began to draw the image onto a blank piece of paper with marker.,When class ended for lunch Harry walked down the hallway where he didn't notice Dudley waiting for him. As he passed dudley the boy stuck his foot out right as Harry walked pasted as puddle in the hall tripping and get soaked in the water. His notebook fell open as he did so and the image he drew in his book fell on his pressing it into his skin.,"Watch where you're going freak!" Dudley laughed before a teacher's voice echoed.,"DUDLEY DURSLEY!" Mr. Hadlen yelled as he marched down. "I don't know what your parents are teaching you but we do not use that language in school." he scowled. "Now apologize." he ordered but Dudley refused.,"No the freak deserved it.",Mr. Hadlen held in a glare and grabbed Dudley by his hand as he dragged him towards the principal's office. "Than we will see what your parents have to say.",Harry pulled his notebook off his arm and saw that the picture he drew was now on his arm as well. Harry couldn't believe it! He had a tattoo! If Harry was older he would have know that the image he drew never should have been able to move from the paper to his arm so seamlessly that it at best should have only gotten part of the image. He rubbed the picture but it wouldn't vanish.,After lunch one of the meaner teachers saw the image on his arm and told him to scrub it off. When it wouldn't come off he marched Harry down to the principal's office where the Dursleys had just arrived.,"I have no idea why Dudley is in trouble he is a good boy are you sure it wasn't th- his cousin Harry." Vernon said.,Mr. Hadlen's eyes narrowed. "So than it was his own cousin he called a freak.","Don't think the boy is innocent Halden." Miss Mets said as she drew everyone's attention to her and Harry. "The boy has even gone as far to give himself a tattoo and used something so that it won't wash off.",Halden glanced at the 'tattoo' and was surprised to see it was the same image as the one Harry was doodling in class earlier. But he nearly scoffed. "I saw the boy's arm just an hour ago and that wasn't there, he most likely just used water resistant marker. On the other hand you son shoved another boy down and laugh before hurling a slur at him." Halden said directing the attention back to the two Dursley's, who frowned they had hoped to direct the negativity to the boy.,Harry knew as soon as he got home he was going to be in trouble for getting his cousin the innocent little 'angel' into trouble because god forbid he actually learn that there are consequences for his actions.,As soon as he walked through the door his uncle grabbed him by the shirt and pinned him against the wall. "You Little Freak! We take you in and this is how you repay us!","By teaching your son that he can't expect to be a bully and get away with it!" Harry shouted before he knew what he was saying. If anyone had been watching they would have seen the 'tattoo' on his arm glow for a moment as he said and the shadows move as well.,"HOW DARE YOU! YOU LITTLE FREAK!" Vernon bellowed throwing Harry across the room and into the wall. Petunia was slightly surprised by her husband's violent reaction normally the worst he did was smack the boy around a little. But saw it as justified her angel did nothing wrong the little freak got him in trouble because he was jealous.,Harry felt his arm bend the wrong way as he landed on the ground he looked up as he heard Vernon stomping towards him and wished for someone something to help him. Suddenly his uncle's stomping stopped and after a moment he looked up and saw Vernon on his back staring in fear as the kitchen was suddenly full of ninjas.,He shifted slightly to get a better look at the ninjas only to wince in pain as his broken arm was aggravated. Suddenly one of the ninja was in front of him and started wrap his arm in a bandage.,Harry looked at his bandaged arm in shock then to his uncle who was looking at the ninja's in fear. He didn't know what was going on he just wanted to go to bed! Suddenly one of the ninja's picked him up and carried him up to the Dudley's second bedroom and placed him on the bed. Before vanishing back into the shadows. Harry looked down at the strange tattoo on his arm as it glowed red just as he fell asleep.,Deep in Harry's soul though a battle was being waged. The mark of the shadowkhan was able to subtly influence Harry getting him to give into his darker impulses right up until he summoned the actual shadowkhan and it tried to strengthen it's influence, at that point the blood wards that protected Harry against powerful dark magic flared to life and pushed the mark back.,Now despite being made to defend against dark magic the blood wards were very neutral in how they were worked, it only attacked dark magic it deemed harmful to it's charge. Such as a power mental alteration curse that would get him addicted to the power given to him by the mark. But the rest the mark's magic was beneficial to the charge of the blood wards. Thus instead of destroying the mark it did the same thing it did to a fragment of the dark wizard it was made to defend against. It locked it away tightly taking what was useful and keeping the rest imprison.,Of course dark curses didn't get along with anything not even each other, the two curse now forced together began to attack one another both trying to destroy the other curse. But the Mark had a distinct advantage it was not weaken from almost seven years of being trapped by the blood wards. Slowly the fragment of Voldemort was crushed from existence. The blood wards noticed but didn't care, it's charge was safe and there was no loss from the destruction of the fragment.,Harry woke up the next morning and realized it wasn't a dream when he saw he was in Dudley's second bedroom. The fact that it wasn't a dream was given further credence when his aunt paled and ran out of the room when he entered the room. Jumping every time she nearly stepped on a shadow.,Harry picked up his backpack and began to walk to school knowing he was unlikely to make it on time, but the teachers never cared it was always just 'that Potter boy skiving again.' he didn't want to be late his newest teacher Mr. Hadlen had given him a fair chance and was always nice to him he didn't want to disappoint him. Suddenly the shadows came alive and two of those shadow ninja's popped out of the ground placed their hands on his shoulder before suddenly there was darkness and he was in front of the school. He turned to the ninja's only to see them sinking back into the shadows. Harry entered the school to find out for once he was earlier very early.,"Harry?" Mr. Hadlen said seeing the boy in front of the school. "You are early aren't you?" he had no idea what those other teachers were talking about when they called him a troublemaker.,"I-I-I" Harry quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "I set my clock an hour early by accident and I normally walk to school so...",Hadlen laughed. "Well trust me enjoy sleeping in while you can. You going to miss it when you're older." he opened the front door of the school. "Come in." he said before he nearly dropped the box he was carrying before Harry caught it.,"Thanks." the teacher smiled. "If you wouldn't mind carrying that for me.","Okay." Harry nodded following Mr. Hadlen to his classroom before setting the box down. Harry opened his bag for a piece of paper to doodle on while he waited for class to start when he saw the Book, the same one he got that strange tattoo from. Opening the book he was surprised when he could read it or at least some of it. Beneath the seemingly normal myths and legends there was an entire page full of spells. Normally he would have dismissed this because magic wasn't real but the last day and half proved that wrong. It was also from this page he learn the name of those shadow ninja's they were called the Shadowkhan.

Phones are some of the most interesting devices. They have evolved through the ages, and have changed in both shape and size as the years have gone by. Yet most humans take their phones for granted. They complain about how their phones can't get service in some areas rather than enjoy the fact that a phone , connect so many people! What makes phones even more fascinating is how they have started to be able to use the internet, and even have games can be downloaded onto them!,Yet there are some who like to abuse the gift that they have been given.,Take Dudley for instance; he uses his phone to show how wealthy his parents are and to get his gang to be in the right (wrong) place at the right time.,He especially loved to bully his younger cousin Arachne, who had nothing to her name but the clothes on her back. She was fated to have a horrible life being oppressed by her family till her eleventh year of life.,But that doesn't make an entertaining story does it? No, this is the story of how Arachne's fate was changed, merely by accident. All it took was for a small blue flip phone to fall on her head.,~~~POV Change~~~,Although Hibiki Kuze became the new Administrator for the Akashic Record, things weren't going as well for him as their group would have expected. They had to battle other Administrators who wanted control of the Akashic Record constantly. It was extremely tiring for Al Saiduq to protect Hibiki so often!,So Saiduq came up with a plan. Humans have an amazing rate of adaptation when they start something at a young age, especially when it came to games. If his plan helped a lonely little kid, then all the better.,To accomplish his plan, Saiduq looked through the records of human children whose fate seemed bleak. In the end, he decided upon a small child who had obsidian like hair, and eyes of the brightest Emerald imaginable.,Once he decided on the recipient, he made a small blue flip phone like what Hibiki owned. Rather than using Tico, he made a copy of his data and adapted it for the new Nicaea app. The result was an interesting AI that nearly always smiled, and would hopefully be a good companion.,With the prep work done, he finally dropped the phone onto the human world.,~~~POV Change~~~,Arachne was extremely surprised to be woken up by a blue phone drop onto her head. The phone came out of nowhere, while she was in her tiny room under the stairs. Once Arachne's head stopped hurting, she picked up the annoying device.,The phone had a black sticker across the tilt that said:,Nicaea,A dead face (small white heart made of squares) delivery site,(It looks like the stick in the record breaker box),After she read the top, she turned it over to find a white engraving that said, "Property of Arachne Lilith Potter" in a loopy script.,Finally done with examining the exterior, Arachne listened for her relatives snoring. Hearing them fast asleep, she opened the phone. It had a dark blue and black screen. (Think about what it looked like on DS2). Soon after she opened it, the phone showed a screen that was asking for a name.,'My name?' Arachne wondered, not knowing what her name was. Looking at the back again, she entered; Arachne Potter.,It then went to a screen with a white haired boy wearing a red and black striped dress shirt. The man on screen wasn't a picture either. He was waving and said, " thank you for signing up for Nicaea, my name is Al Saiduq," in a friendly manner.," Um… Hi,"Arachne greeted shyly.," It's a pleasure to meet you, Arachne," Al Saiduq began, " would you like me to show you how the new Nicaea app works?",Arachne was surprised that it seemed to understand her so she tried saying, "Yes please." The page changed from showing just Al Saiduq, and showed three squares and half a square on either side of the page. Each square had a different image. The one in the middle was highlighted with a blue glow, and had the image of a phone.,"This is your phone, you can call people by opening this app and dialing their number," Al Saiduq's voice said.,The squares moved to the right by one revealing that they were in a list. The newly highlighted image was of a letter, "this is your mail, you can access your messages and email from here. When you signed up for Nicaea, we made you a new email to use.",The squares moved again, and now showed what looked like the top half of lined paper with an upside down triangle topped with a circle taking up the left half of the page. " this is the Fate app. It shows how close you are to people and information about them, including contact information.",The squares moved again, now showing three upside down triangles topped with circles. " This is the team app. It shows your stats, how to add to them, and your demons," he continued, not pausing in his near robotic description.,The boxes shifted right yet again, showing a heart with two sides. The left half was dark grey while the left was a nearly white shade of grey. " this is the Cathedral of Darkness. You can fuse two demons together to make a new one here. You can also see what demons you can make if you looking for something specific," he introduced.,The next one was an image of a mallet with a thin oval under it. " this is the Auction app. You can buy and sell on the demon market here. The common currency is called Macca. Normally demons are sold here, but we have now been updated to display demon made items now. Tico-Tico can help guide you if you wish to hear more.",Without pausing, the boxes shifted to the right again displaying what looked like a large sack style backpack, " this is the Inventory App. You can store and remove your possessions from here.",He then got to what looked like a stylized u-turn symbol that was on its side. "You can go back to the main screen from here. If you'd ever like to talk to me, you open this button," the AI said at the end of his tour.,Arachne, using what little curiosity she had left clicked on this last option, hoping to get to ask Al Saiduq a little.," is there something you need?" He asked.,Arachne timidly asked, " why did this phone land on my head?",Al Saiduq had an odd look in his eye that Arachne had never seen before, then replied, " I'm not quite sure," making Arachne drop the subject.," would you like for me to summarize your day before you go to bed each night?" He asked. Tico use to do that and Hibiki didn't mind, so Al Saiduq decided to see if that would be good to continue.," Summarize?" Arachne asked, not knowing what summarize means.,Al Saiduq was not too surprised to see that he needed to teach Arachne. The program had been given the necessary information about his charge, making it easier to help her grow and adapt. Her natural adaptation factor was a boon as well. One of the main factors that made Arachne the one to get this phone was how her magic gave Arachne a high speed adaptation, both mentally , physically. " A summary is short description about something big or long."," That makes sense... You can if you want Al Saiduq," Arachne said.," Duq is fine," the AI remarked, " if we're going to work together, then you shouldn't need to keep repeating my name."," Duke?" Arachne asked, trying to pronounce the new name. The late hour was starting to get," Close enough," he sighed, " you should get some sleep Arachne. It's still late."," Alright," she finally mumbled sleepily. Placing the phone on one of her shelves, Arachne curled up to sleep. Al Saiduq decided to try making sure it was a good night for her by playing some angel songs. The angels were amazing singers when they got the chance. Their songs tended to invigorate humans when they were awake, and give sleeping humans pleasant dreams.

"Come on Sevy" Tilly said as Snape was sorting out potion ingredents, "No, Tilly." he said plainly "Why not Severus?" Tilly asked as she started to help out. Snape looked firmly at Tilly "Why are you so intament on having me chose her as an Apprentice?" Snape asked "Because Severus, she's the best of her house at potions, hell she's almost the best of her year next to Hermione." Severus rolled his eyes, "yes by that logic miss Granger should be my apprentice." Tilly sighed "yes but she has told me time and time again in counsaling sesions that she wants to be a poitions master like you." Snape scoffed "Severus i am Serious." Snape studied Tilly "You don't looked like Sirius black." "Really, Severus?" "Don't complain, you pull that joke on me all the time." "Thats not my point Severus." "Then what is you point?" "my point is that she ideailzes you! and I think she'll make a great apprentice for you!" the bell rang "I'll look over her skills when she's in class and maybe I'll consiter it" Tilly knodded.,The bell rang again as students walked into class. Snape looked over the class and saw the girl Tilly was talking about, she was a hufflepuff with messy yellow blonde hair, she wore a flower crown with one flower in the center of it. (Snape didn't think it counted as a flower crown though) she sat with three other girls, a mis-matched eyed Irken Girl named Mystery, a quiet, dirty blonde girl named Misty, and an ambered eyed, brown haired girl named Quinta, Snape saw a black haired red eyed ravenclaw child start talking to them her name was Angel, one Snape's and Tilly's children. Angel's twin brother, Angelo was a gryffindor which his father some what resented. "Zira, wanna join me and Angelo to the Quidditch match this weekend?" she asked looking towards the yellow blonde haired girl, "sure! I would love to go! gryffindor Vs slytherin is it?" Angel knodded "yep, first game of the seson!" "oh by the way" Quinta started "Did you hear of what Harry Potter and Ron Weasly did?" "Everyone! In your seats!" Tilly called out. The students sat down. Snape stood in front of the class "today will be brewing swelling solution and hopefully it will go better than it did earlyer" some students looked at each other, a few laughed, "So Tilly and I will observe you more closely" The sound of books opening filled the room as students started to light there cauldrons. Zira fliped through her book as she prepared her cauldron. "hey Zira, I thought you weren't a big fan of quidditch." Mystery said as her curled anntena flicked Zira shruged "well it's been awhile sense I seen Angelo so maybe I can catch up with him." "so you have a crush on him" Misty sqeaked Zira's cheeks started to tint red "no, I don't. he's nice and all but I don't like him like that." Myster shook her head as she added 2 scoops of dried nettle leaves to her mortar. Zira started to crush the combination of dried nettles and pufferfish eyes in her mortar to a medium-fine powder, Zira Looked through her book, reading the next step, Misty continued to crush her ingredents, she looked up at Zira, then jumping back Zira looked at Misty, "Misty? are you ok?" she didn't answer, she just went back to work, being a bit shooken Zira hesitently looked behind her. the black haired potions master stood there, observing Zira "Hello, sir." Zira said. He didn't say anything as he walked around the table. he exsamined Zira's mortar, containing the powder, then walked off, Zira, shruged and add 2 mesures of the crushed powder, a table spoon of water, and stired.,students chated as they waited for their potions to brew. Zira, Quinta, Mystery and, Misty where talking about classes and their recent transfiguation test. "Zira, how did you do on the test?" Quinta asked, Zira immiently quieted. "Not the best..." Zira said in a hushed tone "What did you get?" Mystery asked Zira shuffled through her bag pulling out a crumpled paper along with extra parchment, ink, and quill. Zira handed Mystery the crumpled paper. Quinta and Misty looked over Mystery's shoulder, looking at the paper. Zira started doodling on the parchment, looking disappointed. Quinta looked at Zira, "At least you passed..." "Barely," It's not that bad." "It's a 65." Zira buried her face in her sleeves. "At least you didn't fail." Misty said trying to cheer Zira up. "Alright everyone! your potions should be finish brewing, add the last ingredients and finish your potions." Tilly said "Professor snape and I will test one of your potions." Zira quickly added Rat spleen to her potion and stired anti-clockwise, Mystery put Zira's test face down on the table as her, Quinta, and Misty went back to thier potions. Zira took out the wand that her father gave her, it's handle was wraped in a lime green ribbon,,she finished her potion puting her wand next to her while in the prosses. droping her Transfiguration test on the floor with out her notice. Snape walked by again and picked up the droped test and looked at it. He looked at Zira slightly and walked to the front of the room, puting the test on his desk. "Your potions should be completed by now." Snape said, students looked up at him. He turned his attention to Zira. "Ms. Dumbledore, we will be testing you potion." Zira went stiff, she was able to anwser with a trembling "Yes, Sir." "everyone gather round!" Snape said as he went over to his desk. as if in a second the whole class was around Zira's table with Snape approching and carrying a plant. Students moved as Snape set the plant down, he took an eye droper out of his cloak and used it to take a bit of Zira's potion. Zira trembled , Zira thought in panic, Snape put a drop of potion on the plant leaf. It took a moment but the leaf started swelling up. Zira smiled almost proudly, students mummerd. Tilly smiled, Snape pulled out a potion bottle and poured a drop on the swelled leaf. "good job Ms. Dumbledore" Snape said as the leaf shrunk back to normal. "thank you, professor" Zira uttered cheerfully Tilly walked up next to Snape "very well done Ms.Dumbledore" "thank you Mrs.Mal.",Snape went on to test the other students potions on the plant. Quinta's potion work well, along with Mystery's potion, but Misty's potion made one of the plant's leaves exsplode. Snape took away 10 house points from hufflepuff for that and told Misty to clean up the plant goop from the exsploded leaf without magic and told Zira, Quinta, and Mystery not to help. Misty cleaned up the mess, whilst her friends kept saying that , Misty knodded, "Maybe he's busy tonight." "ya, with his wife." Quinta Whispered whilst motioning at Tilly and Winking. Mystery elbowed her "what ever the reason, it's his bisness not ours." Quinta shruged, Misty giggled, Zira shook her head. Snape continued testing the student's potions, "Very well job Ms. Snape." He said when he tested Angel's potion. kids mumured, Angel just read her Defence Agenst the Dark Art's Book. "of course she gets a pass, she's the professor's daughter." Whispered a Hufflepuff girl to her friend behind Mystery. Mystery's curled anntena flicked as she Growled Zira grabed on to Mystery's shoulder "don't, She's not worth it", "It's not like she's actually make the potion right, she just has an advantige." the girl continued. Mystery spun around to face the girl, " be quiet!" Mystery said in a low whispering tone. "Angel doesn't 'get a pass' because her father is the potions master! she actually worked to make her potion correctly!" Mystery wanted to lunge at the girl but Zira kept her back with Quinta and Misty ready to pull Mystery back to her seat. "And I have seen professor Snape be harder on his kids than to on Nevil Longbottom and Harry Potter and that's saying a good amount!" Zira sat Mystery back down Mystery spun back around towards the table. Misty, Quinta, and Zira knew what Mystery said was true. the four of them seen How Snape acted with is kids, once when Misty and Angel had a Defence Agenst The Dark Arts class with him, Angel messed up on a question she was asked because she was to destracted by her herbology book, Snape walked over to Angel and took her book, she didn't get it back for a week, and Angelo, when he was making a potion (a subject where he was not good at) his cauldron lit on fire, it was put out after a while but he had to serve detention for 3 months and he was grounded and not allowed to leave the griffindor common room.,Mystery calmed down covering her face with her hands. "you all right?" Misty asked "ya..." Mystery sighed Zira started bottleing her potion, Quinta followed along with Mystery. Misty went to dispose her potion. "Hurry up everyone! bottle your potions, or dispose of them if you messed them up. Class is almost over!" Tilly said as she stood next to Snape. Zira went to. clean her cauldron, she didn't know why but she always profered to clean them by hand, ,Zira thought as she hummed "hurry up, Zira" one of the students behind her uttered, "we have to clean our cauldrons too!" "oh sorry," Zira said backing away with her cauldron, she quickly dried it before puting it away. as the students finished the bell rang, "Alright everyone! Come on! Go on to your next class students left in groups, Zira, Misty, Quinta and Mystery where usaly the last ones to leave. as they started to head to the door, Snape walked over "Ms. Dumbledore I need to have a word with you." the four girls looked at him "ok sir." Zira said the other three girls stood there. "what are you three doing? go on to your next class" Snape said Bitterly "see you at Defence Against the Dark Arts, Zira." Misty said Zira knodded, they left. Tilly went out to the hall to monidor the kids and go the the next class that she needed to assist. It was just Snape and Zira alone in the potions room. "sir? don't you have another class coming in?" Zira said anxiously "No Ms. Dumbledore, this is my free peirod." Snape replied in his cold almost low whisper of a voice. Zira knodded as she down at looked at the ground "come, sit down." Snape said standing near his desk Zira Hesitated but accede. Snape sat at his desk but before he could say anything... "Did i mess up on my potion? I knew I did something wrong! i'm so sorry I thought it correctly! I was foolish enough to think-" "You are foolish enough to not let me speak Ms.Dumbledore!" Snape raised his voice almost to a yell "I know I'm a horrible student Sir! you would know! you the Potions master and I'm barly a beginner!" "Ms.Dumbledore!" Snape bellowed "If you would be quite and let me speak you would know that I wasn't going to say anything about your potion you dunderhead!" Zira piped down, and sank in her chair. she squeaked out a "Sorry sir..." Snape sighed "I pitty you father, dealing with you all day," Zira looked up. "running around the house, making a racket." Snape continued Zira giggled "What's so funny Ms. Dumbledore?" Snape sneered Zira imedeny stoped "well, it's just that what you said was actually wrong..." Snape Rasied an eyebrow "Really?" his voice was a low grumble. Zira knoded "Dad makes me do all kinds of chores, cleans dishes, sweep, mop. things like that." "At least you're kept busy." "yep and sometimes Dad teaches me how to cook," Zira exclamed with a big smile on her face. Snape rolled his eye's, the bell rang again. Zira shot up out of her chair. "I'm late for class!" Snape took out a slip of paper "where are you going?" Zira looked up from checking her bag "what?" "what's your next class?" "Defence Agenst the Dark Arts" Snape wrote something down on the paper, "Here." Snape said. handing the paper to Zira, "Obviously I can't talk to you sensibly with out going off topic, and you won't pay attention while your worrying about being late." "but i'm already late." "take the bloody pass Ms. Dumbledore." Zira could tell that Snape's patiance was running low so she took the paper. "give, it to who ever is teaching Defense Agenst The Dark Arts," "I know how a Late pass works sir." "then get going, I'll talk to you after dinner" "yes Sir" Zira said running out of the room, "If I'm not in here wait at the door!" Snape yelled, Zira, barly listened as she ran to Defence Agenst the Dark Arts.,As she walked into the classroom, she grouned when she saw who was teaching today's lesson. "Ms. Dumbledore, how nice of you to join us." said a sickly sweet voice, "afternoon Proffesor Umbrige." Zira said with a fake smile the other students where looking at Zira. she saw her freinds in the front row and scurried over to them. Zira looked around, Mrs. Mal was sitting in a chair by the wall sketching, Umbrige never liked Tilly, and Tilly didn't like Umbrige. "Mind telling us way you are late Ms. Dumbledore?" "Professor Snape had to talk to me." Zira sat down at her desk "you wouldn't have any proof on you. wouldn't you?" Umbrge walked towards Zira's desk. Zira reached into her cloak pocket and pulled out the late pass Snape gave her "here." She examined it, ", Umbrige read out loud "well it seems you are telling the truth" Tilly walked over and looked over Umbrige's shoulder at the note. "But," she began "it is possible that you can forige his hand writing." a few kids whispered to each other Tilly steped back with a look of shock "I did not forige his handwriting!" Zira almost yelled "Why would Zira out of all people forige a professor's hand writting?" Tilly uttered "Nevertheless Snape's?" "well why wouldn't she dear?" "Because she respects him." Mystery replied as she stood up Tilly and Umbrige both looked at her "Mystery, sit down." Tilly said calmly "And where's your proof that Zira could even forige anyone's hand writting, or even there signature?" Umbrige put the pass infront of Zira. "copy this signature Ms. Dumbledore." Zira obeyed and pulled out parchment and her quill and started write. "Doloras, this is ludacris! I know my husband's hand writing, and that," Tilly pointed as the pass "right there is his handwriting and signature." "done." Zira said laying back in her chair. Umbrige examand the copyed signature "Now tell me Mrs.Mal," Umbrige said "do you still think that Zira couldn't of forged his his handwriting?" Umbrige showed Tilly the copied signature. "It's close," Tilly replied students mumbled "Back to your work please." Tilly hushed. Tilly placed the parchment back down. "close?" Umbrige asked "Yes, Close" Tilly rebutled "see, Snape's handwriting is neat and careful, Zira's is fast written and unorginized. Zira's copy seem's correct but when you look at it closer, you can see the difrence." Mystery Smirked, "but if you don't believe me." Tilly shruged "you can always ask Snape, he has a free period right now so you ask him, and I can hold down the fort here." "I guess you made your point Mrs. Mal," Umbrige's voice was still sickly sweet but had a hint of bitterness and malice to it. "Ms. Dumbledore you may start your book work now," Mystery sat back down feeling a bit smug. "As for you." Umbrige turned to Mystery "For your outburst and arguing with a teacher, You will have-" "A weeks worth of detention with me" Tilly interupted " "Next week with me. meet me at my office after dinner." Mystery knodded and went back to work Zira got her work out and started on it. Tilly and Umbrige walked away. Zira looked up for amoment and saw them Whispering aggressively to each other. Zira Shook her head. she knew Umbrige didn't like her or her father, Professor Carrow was the same.

This story was written for Hermione's Holiday Hideaway hosted by Hermione's Haven on Facebook. This collection is to spread the cheer of our favorite Gryffindor as well as the holiday season for the third year in a row!,My pairing was set to be Hermione Granger & Logan Huntzberger and my location was Love, Saschatwan as well as a holiday movie, Jack Frost. I choose to use the 1979 TV cartoon special. All of these make an appearance in this story in some way.,There is a quote adapted from the movie, Jack Frost towards the end of the story which I have no claim in.,I hope you enjoy this story as well as the rest of the stories in the collection. I know that many of these authors have worked very hard on all of their collection pieces for this group as well as a few other holiday-themed events going on this time of year.,If you enjoyed my story and would like to check out some of my other works, feel free to search up starrnobella on most social media and you will be able to find a way to contact me outside of FFN.,Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!,Love always,,~starr,Hermione stared out the window of their flat as she sipped her tea between pages of her novel. It was raining, but then again, that was typical weather for London this time of year. She was looking forward to the trip she and Logan had planned for the upcoming holiday where instead of rain, she'd be able to see snow. Once he got home from the office, the pair would be on their way to Heathrow Airport to fly to Vancouver, where they would be boarding a ten-day Alaskan cruise before heading to Hartford to celebrate Christmas with Logan's family.,She had met Mitchum at a work function a few months ago, but Hermoine had never had the pleasure of meeting Shira in person. The two had spoken on the phone a time or two, and pictures had been exchanged, but that was the extent of their communication. It wasn't for lack of trying on Logan and Hermione's part either. For some reason, Shira was uninterested in flying to London to see the life that Logan had built for himself after Yale.,Hermione rolled her eyes as she sent her teacup off to the kitchen with a simple spell, flipping to the next page in her book. The nook in their window was her favorite spot to curl up and read when she had the time, plus it had the best view of the city when rain wasn't pouring down instead.,"You know you might want to be careful with the floating teacups when we get to Hartford, love," Logan laughed, closing the door behind him and hung his coat up on the coat stand near the door.,Hermione stuck her tongue out as she tucked her bookmark in the book, placing it on the window sill and walking over to kiss him. She smacked him in the chest, playfully as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't worry; I wasn't planning on using magic around your parents. At least not any spells they would be able to see.",Logan raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she pressed up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his for a brief moment. As she pulled away, the question he was afraid to ask practically fell from his lips. "Do you use spells around me that I can't see?",A smirk pulled at the corners of her lips as Hermione shrugged and left Logan in the foyer to think about the possibilities. She walked into the kitchen to rinse out her teacup before putting it into the dishwasher.,Spinning around on her heel, she leaned up against the counter. "How much more do you need to pack? Our flight leaves at ten, and we need to be at Heathrow at eight, which means we need to leave here in an hour.","We won't miss our flight," Logan replied, chuckling to himself as he made his way toward their bedroom. "I just need to pack the last of my clothes, and then I'll be ready to go.","Your carry on's all packed?" Hermione asked, raising her brow in suspicion. When she was packing up the last of the items she needed into hers, she noticed that his phone charger was still plugged into the wall, and the new adaptor he had purchased was still in the bag on the coffee table.,"I promise, Mom," Logan said, popping his head out of the bedroom door to stick his tongue out at her, "I'll be ready to leave on time.","I'll hold you to that," Hermione laughed, rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back to the small pile of dishes that had gathered in the sink. Rinsing them off quickly, she placed them in the dishwasher and added some soap. She made some adjustments to the settings on the machine and then powered it on. "At least this way, we'll have clean dishes to come home to.",She looked down the hall at the bedroom and contemplated making her way down there to help Logan finish off the rest of his packing, but she knew that she would just be yet another distraction for him in getting out the door. She opted to return to her window sill. Maybe if she pretended that they didn't have somewhere to be, then he'd surprise her, and they'd be out the door with plenty of time to spare.,Hermione picked up her novel off the bench and sighed as curled up on it. It was time to return to the life of Kimberly Rossi in The Mistletoe Inn to see what awaited her on the retreat she had signed up for. Thinking quietly to herself, Hermione sighed as she thought about how nice it would be to retreat to the woods for a few days just to hideaway from the real world. She could just enjoy the peace of nature surrounding her.,Just as Hermione opened up her book, Logan emerged from the bedroom with a broad smile on his face and his luggage in hand with a smaller bag draped over his shoulder. "Told you I'd be ready to leave on time.",. . . . . . . . .,Hermione hung her head as she and Logan exited the plane into the Nipawin Airport. Halfway into their journey across Canada to Vancouver, the aircraft started to have engine trouble and needed to make an emergency landing for the safety of their passengers. Apparently, the plane wasn't equipped to deal with the cold front that had blown in just as they started to fly over Canada. It was as though Jack Frost himself arrived in town at the same time. She was grateful that they were considering safety, but at the same time, she was looking forward to getting on the boat and making the journey to Ketchikan.,"Don't worry, Hermione. Even if we can't start our vacation on the cruise, I'll find a way to make it still a memorable experience," Logan said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. He placed a gentle kiss on her temples, guiding them towards Airport Services. He wanted to get some recommendations.,Even though the airlines had offered them a free night in the hotel across the street, Logan was ready for an adventure to start. He had noticed a map on their way to the service desk and saw the name of a town that sounded interesting, or at least as a great photo opportunity with a town sign.,"Hello, welcome to Nipawin. How can I help you this evening?" the woman handling the desk asked with a broad smile on her face. It looked like she was well into her shift and was just ready to go home, but kept that smile on her face just to get through the day.,"Hello," Logan paused to read her name tag, "Holly. That's a pretty name.",Hermione rolled her eyes as Logan tried to make the woman at the counter blush. Typical Huntzberger behavior, but she couldn't complain because his harmless flirting had gotten them some of the best offers on hotel rooms when they went on trips.,"Can you tell me how far it is to Love, Saskatchewan?",With a few clicks on the computer, soon Holly was handing Logan a set of directions as well as the keys to a rental car. "It'll take you about twenty minutes to get there, but I'm not sure what you're hoping to find. I can call ahead to the main office and let them know you'll be arriving shortly. Hopefully, they'll have a cabin available. I know a lot of people spend the holidays as a chance to get away when Jack Frost nips at your nose.","As long as there's a cabin with a fireplace to curl up in front of, we'll be fine for the short amount of time we'll be in town," Logan replied, flashing her his signature smile with a wink. "Thank you so much for all your help.","You're welcome. Enjoy your stay!" she called after them as they walked away from the counter.,Once they were settled into the rental car, Hermione exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes. "You know, if you would just get over your fear of apparating, we could have been in Vancouver by now.","It's not that I'm afraid of apparating," Logan replied, reaching over and squeezing the top of her thigh. "I'm just not fond of the ill-feeling that I get after traveling that way. Besides, the flight wasn't that bad.","But we could have been on the boat by now and started with our vacation," Hermione huffed, collapsing against the car seat. She didn't mean to sound like a child, but she had been looking forward to this cruise, and now she was missing it.,"I think that our vacation is off to a wonderful start," he replied, winking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Check out that sign.",Hermione looked out the window and spotted the sign he was referring to. As she read it aloud, she fought the urge to roll her eyes at the corniness of it. "You're now in Love. Welcome to Love, Saskatchewan.",A few moments later, the pair had stopped by the town center and were on their way to a small cabin on the outskirts of town. The idea of peace and quiet brought a smile to Hermione's face as she took in the sights of the tiny little village. Maybe their overnight stay wouldn't be so bad. They pulled into the parking lot designated for their cabin and made their way inside.,Hermione took a moment to look around the small cabin. The decorations inside were simple, but it added to the coziness that she felt as they crossed the threshold. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and a small decorated Christmas tree in the corner. She walked over to stand in front of the fire in an attempt to warm up her hands from being outside for a brief moment.,"What do you think, love?" Logan asked, placing their suitcases on the bed. He walked over to wrap his arms around Hermione's waist and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.,"If I can't be on a boat along the coast of Alaska enjoying the sunset, then I think I'd rather be here with you," she smiled, spinning around in his arms and pressing her lips to his softly. "We should make ourselves comfortable for the night. Our next flight is bright and early tomorrow morning.","And if we miss that flight, would it really be all that bad?" Logan asked, kissing her cheek once more before taking a few giant steps back to avoid her playful smack. He removed his coat and tossed it on the couch. "Why don't you go get a shower, and I'll find a movie for us to watch for the night?","If we miss that flight, then we are apparating from here to Hartford for an early visit with your parents," Hermione replied, sticking her tongue out at him as she made her way towards the bathroom. A hot shower would definitely feel good after a long day of traveling. Hopefully, he'd be able to find something good for them to watch.,Fifteen minutes later, Hermione emerged from the bathroom to find Logan sprawled out across the bed, starting to drift off. Rolling her eyes, she walked over and picked up one of the pillows he wasn't leaning on and tossed it at him. "I wasn't gone for that long.","It felt like forever," Logan laughed, reaching out to grab her hand and pulled her onto the bed with him. "So, I found a movie.","Is it a good one?" she asked, readjusting herself on the bed to rest her head against the pillows, while still being able to curl up with Logan.,"Well, it was the only VHS tape that I could find in the cabin because they don't have a DVD player, and it happens to be one of my favorites from my childhood. Every Christmas season, they used to air all of these great cartoons in the days leading up to Christmas," he replied.,"Well, I love a good Christmas movie," she said, snuggling down into the bed. "And besides, I'd love to know what Logan Huntzberger's favorite Christmas movie is. Let's watch it.","Just remember, this was my favorite movie when I was like six, so don't judge me harshly," Logan replied, pushing himself up off the bed and pressing play on the VHS in the old TV near the bed. Quickly, he returned to the bed and wrapped his arm around Hermione as they snuggled in, the soothing voice of Pardon-Me Pete coming from the television.,"Jack Frost?" Hermione asked, glancing up at Logan out of the corner of her eye as she laid against his chest.,Logan shrugged. "I fell in love with Elisa. I always used to pretend that I was Jack Frost, and it was my job to save her from Kubla Klaus. I even had my whistle perfected.","I think I love you, even more, Magician," Hermione said, propping herself up on her elbow and pressing her lips to his. She smirked at the smile that pulled at his lips at the simple reference to Jack Frost.,"I love you too, Elisa," Logan replied as she pulled away from the kiss. He wrapped his arm snuggly around her shoulders and pulled her up against him. Getting the chance to share a part of his childhood with the love of his life made this layover trip even more special than it had begun.,. . . . . . . . .,As the Huntzberger family gathered around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, Hermione was reminded of her favorite scene from the movie she and Logan had enjoyed in their cabin in Love.,The gift that she opened from Logan was a gorgeous diamond necklace, something more decadent than she would typically wear out in public. The only way that she could think to thank him for the gift was to burst out in song.,"It's I just want I always wanted, it's perfectly right. It's just what I always wanted, a Christmas delight," Hermione sang as she wrapped her arms around Logan's neck and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.,Logan fought the urge to roll his eyes as he laughed at her bursting into song. However, as he opened the gift that she had given him, he found himself echoing her song. It was the new laptop he had been eyeing to make working from their apartment much more manageable.,"Thank you for making this a Christmas to remember, even if we didn't get to see the Alaskan coastline," Logan said, pulling Hermione into his lap after he helped her clasp the necklace around her neck.,"You have your friend Jack Frost to thank for that," Hermione replied. "It's just what I always wanted, a Christmas delight with the man I love most."

Draco sat at the head of the boardroom table, looking down at the various heads of the different companies that operated under the umbrella of the White Wing Artificers name. To his left, his mother sat making notes on the newest version of the Tanuki Tools Datascreen, a computer pad which included inbuilt video and audio recording systems as well as the ability to transfer data to and from the more common work-desks while behind him, Pansy Parkinson stood clad in what appeared at first glance to be a high-quality muggle business suit and cap, but which boasted an integrated flight set and protective runes.,Upon deciding to take advantage of the work-desks to make his job easier, Draco had managed to poach several people from Evans Enterprises who had the skills and knowledge required to check the items in question to ensure that they did not contain any form of monitoring spells (or similar) which could be used by their former employer to spy on him. The checks had all come up clean, but Draco still only used them for his fully-legitimate operations.,"…and so we are beginning to recruit for the planned expansion." The Chief Manager of Eagle's Platter concluded. "The Lily's Rest Hotels have proven that there is a very large market in the Muggle World which can be tapped and although we will have to rely mainly on non-magical staff and procedures once the expansion starts, we have recruited several half-bloods and muggleborn who have experience in the muggle world to help us bridge the cultural differences.","Very good." Draco nodded with an approving smile and the Wizard sat down with a self-satisfied expression. "However, I must advise caution. How many new Platters were you planning on opening?","Ummm… four in London set within walking distance of the Leaky Cauldron in each cardinal direction.",Draco shook his head. "Spread it out more. I would recommend seven or so, one per city.","But… I looked out of the Leaky Cauldron and…" The Wizard shrunk under Draco's gimlet stare. "…yes, sir. Which cities would you suggest?","The seven largest." Draco glanced at his mother, who nodded and tapped at her pad, turning it so that he could see the result. "London, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol. Put three in London, spread out to avoid accidently competing with each other, so at , five miles apart, preferably more. Get a Muggleborn to research the best locations for them.","Yes sir… um, muggleborn?","Muggleborn." Draco confirmed."You need someone who does , then peep out of a door at the crowds.","…yes, sir.",Draco gave the Wizard a firm look to drive his point home, then turned to the next manager. "And how is Dragonguard Warding doing?","Profits are up five-thousand percent." The Witch responded. "The new line of reactive Wards, while still less capable than those that Lord Potter has deployed, is a marked improvement on the previous setup. I took the liberty of promoting the wizard who came up with the idea of connecting all the counterstrike spell arrays to a single power reservoir with a special array which selects one of the response-spells at random.","Impressive." Draco mused. "And approved.","He also came up with a way to make the wardstones modular, so that the spell arrays can be swapped out." The witch added. "I have forwarded details to your private message pad should you wish to upgrade the Wards of Malfoy Manor.","I shall make certain to read it fully." Draco replied. "How has Gringotts reacted to the new line?","They insist that their Wards are strong enough not to need replacing, but they have ordered Ward Arrays for their newer branches.","Make certain that they get their money's worth." Draco ordered. "Word will leak that Gringotts trusts , to supply Wards…","…and demand will soar even further as a result." The Witch finished. "Understood.",.,"Well, I do believe that most of today's business has been dealt with." Draco sighed as the last of the managers filed out of the door. "Is anything important happening tonight?",Pansy looked at the small display set on the inside of her left sleeve. "Your schedule is clear, sir. Did you have anything in mind?","I think I'll have a private dinner at the Peacock's Platter." Draco mused. "Contact Nott, I need to discuss a few things with him.","He still holds a grudge over the Stadium, sir." Pansy reminded him and Draco shrugged.,"I know, but he also knows which side his Galleons are gilded on. No, he will come, if only to see what I want of him and how he can profit from it.","Very good, sir." Pansy's fingers seemed to flicker as she typed and sent the message for him, then they stepped through the doors. Crabbe and Goyle, also clad in muggle-style suits but carrying umbrellas that were reinforced to the point that it would take an Unforgivable to penetrate their fabric, stopped leaning against the wall and fell into position behind them. Draco spared them a nod of acknowledgement and the duo brightened up at the indication that their boss appreciated their presence, even if they were little more than mobile shields in combat terms. "Nott has acknowledged the message and will be there in half an hour unless you wish differently.","That's fine." Draco shrugged. "It'll be a private dinner, so put your meals on the standard expense account. My treat.",The hulking duo brightened even more and Draco hid a sigh at the proof of their lack of intelligence. It was an open secret that while the Peacock's Platter did also provide food for servants, there were several different levels of menus available. Greg and Goyle's expense accounts were the basic sort, limited to having the lowest-quality menu which was about equal to that served at the Eagle's Platter, whereas Pansy was listed as having access to the highest level of menu, one that matched that available to the regular clientele, although she generally went for the menu several steps below. The one time he had asked her why, she said it was so that when she , have the best food, it was a proper treat.,Reaching the lift-shaft, Draco and his entourage stepped into it and began to descend to the level which had the Arch linking his headquarters to his private (and highly secure) room at the Peacocks Nest, from which it would only be a quick walk down a couple of hallways before they reached the Peacock's Platter and the glorious meals available within.,.,Clad in his finest robes and meticulously groomed so that not even a single hair was out of place, Theodore Nott strode into the Peacock's Platter and came to a stop by the Greeter's podium.,"Theodore Nott. I believe that I am expected.","Of course, sir." The Veela behind the desk smiled as a second Veela, so similar to her that they could have been sisters, stepped up. "Lord Malfoy is in the Merlin's Chamber.","This war, sir." Marietta curtsyed, then she turned and led the way through the lavishly-decorated dining hall. Theodore followed, his eyes dropping her her shapely behind barely hidden by her gauzy robes. Marietta almost seemed to glide as she led him up the flight of stairs and to the gold-and-jewel-decorated doors set in the center of the balcony that held the various private dining rooms. Knocking once on the door, she stepped through and sank into a curtsy so deep that Nott was surprised that she had not fallen through the carpet.,"Lord Malfoy, Mister Nott has arrived.","Theo, come in!" Draco called and Nott forced the scowl off his face as he stepped past the Veela. "Thank you, Marietta, we will call when we are ready to order.","Very good, Lord Malfoy.",Theodore managed to hold the polite smile on his face until he heard the doors close behind him, then he glowered at the fellow Slytherin.,"Driving home how much money you've made at my expense?" He growled and Draco laughed.,"Be reasonable, Nott. You are making plenty of money yourself as a consultant for Dragonguard Warding.",Nott growled at the pointed reminder of how his current lifestyle was dependent on Malfoy's continued largess, then he dropped into the chair opposite Malfoy and glanced down at the menu.,"So, why did you want to speak to me , rather than summoning me to your office? And where's that killer of yours?","You still haven't forgiven her for pinning you to the floor that time you lost your temper with me, have you?" Draco chuckled as he finished emptying the bottle of Old Abe's Butterbeer into his goblet.,"She didn't even have the politeness to use magic." Theo grumbled as he picked up the goblet that had been waiting for him and took a sip. "Dirigible Plum cordial, nicely chilled too.","You always order it, so I thought I may as well save some time." Draco shrugged. "I got you a carafe of it.",Theo glanced at the jug in question, noting the condensation beading on the sides. "…thanks.","You're welcome." Draco chuckled, then he lowered his goblet. I have already placed my order, so make your choice, then we can talk.",.,"So, what did you want me for?" Theo asked once the door had shut behind Marietta once again.,"I wanted to consult with you about Warding." Draco said, his levity vanishing. "I need to know if an idea I have is… possible.","What, , Wardstones?" Theo snorted, then he froze as he saw Draco's expression. "Wearable Wardstones? ,?","Really." Draco confirmed. "Explain why it cannot be done.",Theo took a sip of his cordial as he arranged his thoughts. "Well, first of all, you need to define the area of a Ward. How far it stretches, its shape… it's why most Wards are generally spherical or ovoid. It's easier to calculate where the Wardstone should be with those shapes…","What about cylindrical?","…doable, but you'd leave the upper and lower ends open." Theo mused. "You'd need extra projection definition arrays to close off the ends and the flat bit at the top would be the weak point, but… it's possible. Planning on doing a close-in Ward on a tower? Come to think of it, you could probably put a hemisphere at the top, that would work…","And can you blend Wards?" Draco pressed. "Have it so that when they intersect, they , rather than clash?","You'd need to tune them." Theo shook his head. "I mean, sure, it's possible and Gatehouse Wards use just that, but… that's tricky stuff.","What about Absorption Arrays?","As Wards?" Theo scoffed. "Hell, no. Not possible. Absorption Arrays have limited range measured in ,. They're put onto Wardstones to help protect them against direct magical attack and to boost the rate of charge, but as a protective Ward in their own right? Not unless you have a whole chain of Wardstones around your property and even then, people could just fire spells over the top.","I see." Draco mused. "Are they directional?","…yes." Theo finally answered. "What are you getting at here, Draco?","If I wanted a gauntlet that could fire a Banishing spell, how would I be best doing that?","A gem engraved with the runic spell matrix would be best and if you put it in the middle of your palm, you should be able to aim it easily." Theo paused. "Huh, put an Absorption Array on a gauntlet along with a magic reservoir and you'd be able to not only block spells, but use the energy to counter-attack with minimal cost. That's cunning… the Aurors would love that.","It's certainly an interesting concept." Draco agreed, keeping his annoyance out of his expression and voice. "I'll make sure you get part of the profits of it.","Huh. Thanks." Theo managed. "So, what else did you wish to ask about?",.,.,The secret door to Draco's hidden lab closed and he snarled.,"I underestimated him! He got too close to figuring out my plan and I'm going to have to give the Aurors a weapon that they may be able to use against me!",Stamping through the hidden workshop, he came to a stop by the partially-assembled suit of armor hanging on a stand. "At least he confirmed that my idea will work. Once I apply the absorption arrays on the outside, any magical spell fired at me will simply power my own attacks.",A thought struck him and Draco grinned almost mirthlessly. "And if I apply the same thing to my minions umbrellas, they'll be able to shoot back even as they shield me. Their inability to do complex casting won't matter. Give those gloves that Theodore suggested to Pansy and I will be able to hide my own skills should we be attacked since all attention will be diverted to my bodyguards.",Stepping back, Draco gave the armor a long, satisfied look.,"Soon I will finally be a match for Potter, and then I will exceed him!"

Harriet Potter gasped in pain from where she was tied to the stone angel. In front of her, the fat, snuffling form of Peter Pettigrew, her parents' betrayer could be seen enacting some sort of ritual. Harriet wasn't paying attention to that, however. She was focusing on the white hot, searing pain she was receiving from her scar, an angry red lightning bolt on the girl's forehead. Her arm was bleeding sluggishly, as Pettigrew had cut her arm for some blood. As she was focusing on the pain of her scar, she heard a high, cold voice say, "Robe me." She opened her eyes a sliver to see that her worst nightmare had come true. The Dark Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle, had returned, and she had no doubt as to who his first victim would be; her!,Voldemort started monologue to the followers that he had called to the graveyard they were in. While they were all distracted, Harriet started to wiggle about in her ropes, looking for a weakness. It took her precious seconds to find a weakness on the ropes holding her arm, as Pettigrew had accidentally nicked the ropes while he was cutting her arm. She put all her strength behind the rope and pushed, and as expected, the weakened rope snapped quietly. She glanced up nervously; no one had noticed her. She carefully undid the ropes tying her to the statue, so that when she ran, she wouldn't trip over them. Then, as Voldemort started to turn towards her, she ran to Cedric, who had come with her to the graveyard, but was now nothing more than a cooling corpse. She summoned the Portkey that brought them here, the ornate Triwizard Cup. She could hear Voldemort shout an unknown spell at her, and it hit just as her hand closed on the Portkey. She vanished in a whirl of iridescent colors, to Voldemort's frustration.,It would be a long time before she returned to Earth.

The group of refugees cross the threshold between the Wizarding world and the Kingdom of Valdemar. The Longbottoms, Hermione Granger, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin looked around and were amazed and wide open space, they were standing.,Corina, Jerven, the two Companions, and Harry were the last ones through the Gate. Harry turned away and watched and the Gate closed in on itself.,Harry breathed a sigh of relief to be back in Valdemar, his chosen home.,Hermione looked at the older woman, at the two Heralds that were so relaxed in her presence, Corina walked up to the woman.,"It feels good to sense your aura again, Corina. We must get together when I have a Candlemark or two of free time." the older woman greets, embracing her former student. The women released each other, and the woman looked at the others. "I am Queen's Own; Herald Talia." Talia was dressed in the working Whites of any regular Herald, not the Formal Whites, as if she were going to a Council meeting or acting as bodyguard during Audiences. The highest ranking Herald in the Kingdom save for the Queen, and Prince-Consort looked at the motley assort of people. She was trying to figure out where to place everyone for the night. "If you wouldn't mind, there is a place to house you right here in Companion's Field, it was the home of an ally of ours, however, he's been called away to Errold's Grove.","Right now, we would settle for a tent and a slab of stone for bedding." Severus spoke up, he was the only one to have his wits still intact.,"Then follow me." Talia replies, she looked at the two Heralds.,"We'll join you later, after we tend to our Companions." Harry ventured, he and Corina took Moran and Dasher respectfully towards the tack shed, while Talia took the group of people toward Firesong's ,.,The building was made of glass and part sculpted by magic*,The group explored this place, each found rooms, Hermione and Alice was given a single room, which looked a tent, while the males of the group decided to share a room.,Talia waited until they came back down from the treehouse portion, and looked at each of them. "I can't stay long but I will arrange for a few servants to bring out food for tonight and a change of clothes, might be from the stores, you're roughly the size of Kris and Lyra, and I'm sure they won't mind donating their castoffs." she told them that the hot springs could be used for bathing as well as just soaking, and yes, it was used by both genders. She turned on her heel and left shortly after to return to her duty.,Harry and Corina after releasing Morgan and Dasher back into Companion's Field, they decided to visit the House of Healing, to see if they can't get a few Healers to check out their friends and themselves. One Full Healer and three final year Healers joined them on the pathway towards the ,.,Sirius looked up from siting at the edge of the hot spring, as the two white clad Heralds and four green clad people came up. He recognized Corina and Harry. As they entered the place.,"These four are here to check over you, just to see if there isn't anything wrong internally." Corina explains, "They are our Healers, like Madam Pomfrey.",The Healers each took a group and used Trance to go over them, they reported to the Heralds that there wasn't anything psychically wrong with the guests, however, to send Frank and Alice to the MindHealers as time permitted.,Corina nods. "Tomorrow, we're deal with more permanent housing.","You going to be okay?" Harry questions,"Fine, I assume that no one can get to us here?" Remus questions,"No, the Companions don't allow just anyone into their Field." Corina answers.,"Then we will see you tomorrow. Hopefully, we're have answers from a more higher authority then you can give us?" Severus questions,"Maybe." Harry answers as he and Corina turned and went back to the Palace complex and to their suite of rooms.,DarkPriestess66: This is a re-write of The Chosen Light a New beginning, and if you have read Storm Warning...well you know what Firesong's Vale looks like...

The Karasuno boys volleyball team were practicing as usual in their school gym.,It was a Friday evening and the gym was warm as they were ending their gruelling training.,After the loss at the Interhigh match with Aobajousai, everyone's spirits were high as they were determined to do better.,Their training match with the Tokyo schools was in less than two weeks, focusing on both the troublesome four's training and study so the Karasuno team would be able to go together.,It was why none noticed the extra pair of socked feet enter the gym, making its way to the coach's bench.,It was only when Ukai let out a large yelp as his blonde hair was tugged, tilting his head back as he nearly toppled from the bench.,The group of boys all faltered in their play at the sound, looking over to see what the fuss was.,They hadn't been expecting a foreigner dressed in a dark button up shirt, a silver tie done up as a windsor knot around his neck, tight black slacks on that accentuated long legs.,Messy hair was styled, undercut around his ears while the curls and waves on top were kept long and swept over his forehead and tickled the tops of his ears. The most startling were his eyes, bright like the forests surrounding Karasuno.,"Harry…" Ukai said softly, smiling up at the face above his own.,"Hi Love," Harry replied with a grin, leaning down to steal a quick kiss from his boyfriend.,The room erupted in gasps, chokes and the girls both blushed like mad.,Harry pulled back, releasing Ukai's hair as he straightened up to look at the gaping mouthed boys.,"Oh. Hey Sho-chan," Harry said, noticing a familiar face.,"Hiya Harry!" Shoyo ran over, practically jumping to hug the tall male.,Ukai raised a brow.,"What?" Harry said with a grin as he hugged the energetic boy back.,"Really?" Ukai said.,"How do you know that guy?" Kageyama asked, eying the person who had just kissed their coach.,"Right, everyone this is Harry," Ukai said, standing as he gestured to the Englishman. "My Boyfriend.",Harry took a respectful bow, smiling at the group.,"Sorry about that before, I haven't seen Kei in a while and I just lost myself there for a bit." Harry said as he rose, making Ukai roll his eyes. His Japanese was perfect although it sounded off with his accent.,"Yes, well you and your brazen European ways," Ukai replied sarcastically.,Some of the guys in the team nodded. They had never even thought their coach would have a life outside the walls of their gym, let alone a romantic one with a handsome Englishman.,"How do you know Hinata?" Tanaka asked, seeing as that small bit of information was still unknown.,"Oh, he used to be my neighbour," Harry grinned, ruffling Hinata's hair.,"Yeah, while his house was being fixed! And now he lives in this massive big house on all this land up in the mountains! He's a Tono! Tono I tell you!" Hinata said with a grin.,Harry laughed as the group looked at him wide eyed.,Ukai rubbed his temples as he realised that his private life and work life was beginning to merge.,"When did you get back?" Ukai asked.,"Just before. I thought to come pick you up since I thought you'd be finished by now but it seems you guys are still going for it." Harry said as he looked at the group. "Kei's told me all about you guys, it's great to see you guys playing. You really are good.",They all said their thanks, although many were still confused. Who was this guy?,"Anyway, if you're finishing up soon how about dinner on me?" Harry said.,"You don't need to do that." Ukai said as Harry waved it off. "These boys eat a lot.","Nonsense. It's my treat. As long as all their parents know. Should I book Yakiniku?" Harry asked.,The boys all brightened at that and bowed to their coach's boyfriend who also seemed to be some rich foreigner who was willing to foot the bill for their food. "Arigatougozaimasu!",Harry smiled and fished his phone out of his pocket. "Alright, I'll call a bus in too. I'll just be outside.",Harry kissed Ukai's cheek, leaving for the door.,"I didn't know Coach was Harry's boyfriend!" Hinata said as he grinned up at the taller man.,"Well it's never come up. I don't need you brats knowing about my private life," Ukai grunted back.,"Or have us tease you for it," Tsukishima said behind a hand, his glasses glinting.,"Is that why you have blonde hair? To attract Harry?" Hinata added as the other boys all snorted and laughed.,Nishinoya grasped his hair. "Does that mean I might get an American Lady?","American!" Tanaka said wide eyed. "Maybe I should dye my hair too!",It seemed to set all the boys off before Sawamura finally took control and ordered them all back to warming down.,By the time they had all packed up, changed, there was indeed a small black bus awaiting the group by the front of the school.,What they were surprised at seeing was Harry leaning against a sleek black motorbike, looking well out of place in front of a school.,"Come on guys, all of you in." Harry said with a grin.,"You leaving the bike?" Ukai asked.,"We are going to meet you boys and girls there. Bus is being driven," Harry said as he pulled on a helmet. He threw another one to Ukai. "Come on.",Ukai grinned, pulling it over his blonde hair as he waved to the boys who were all gaping. "See you at the restaurant.",With a roar of the bike they were speeding off down the street, tyres squealing as it took the sharp bend.,"I think I love Harry-san too," Nishinoya said dreamily.,"He's so damn cool!" Hinata said with a grin.,"He's certainly got style," Azumane replied as the other seniors nodded.,"I wonder how old he is, he seems really young," said Yamaguchi.,"Harry is 35 I think!" Hinata said as they all began to climb into the bus. "At least that's what I remember him saying…",The teens eyes all buldged at the thought.,"35!","He looks so young!","But Coach is just in his twenties!","Patoron!","He's like the hot older sempai in an office that the young girls swoon over," Tanaka said.,Hinata, Kageyama and Nishinoya all nodded along.,"That's a very specific description," Tsukishima said.,"But Harry's so rich he wouldn't have to work!" Hinata said. "So he's more like the young hot boss that the secretary would fall for.","Coach would be a terrible secretary," Kageyama added.,"No customer service skills.",There was a few nods at that. They'd all been served by him at his other day job at the market.,"It's just so weird to think of Coach having sex!",There was many coughs from the older seniors as the younger boys all blushed brightly.,"How do two men even do it!?" Hinata yelled out as his face was bright and he looked to be doing clenching fists like a perverted old man.,"Baka! They do it like!" Kageyama yelled as he began to mash his hands together in a crude attempt at mimicking two people.,"That doesn't make sense!" Hinata said as he looked almost faint at the thought of what Kageyama's hands were doing.,Sugawara and Azumane just looked amused, Sawamura just sighed.,"Well actually it's more like this." Came a soft voice from the front as hands were raised and suddenly shown some crude movements.,The boys all choked.,"Shimizu-sempai!",The boys all began to babble about Shimizu knowing about what gay men do and about their otherwise Yankee coach doing said things with a handsome Englishman boyfriend.,"What?" Shimizu said as she turned to the bright red Yacchi next to her.,"How do you know about that!" Yacchi said as she tried to cover her eyes and ears at the same time.,"It's just logic isn't it? Men have certain anatomy and should two men love each other…",Yacchi started to sing out loud as she stuck her fingers in her ears.,Nishinoya and Tanaka seemed to have died and their souls had gone to heaven.,"Oh dear," Sugawara said with a sly grin. "I think our dear Shimizu has broken the boys.",Shimizu just lifted her glasses higher on her face as the boys continued to flail about.,The driver all the while smiled to himself. He had been parked out the front of the restaurant for the past 10 minutes while this had all been going down. He didn't want to disturb the boys and their very enlightening conversation about his employer.,A throat clearing at the front of the bus had all the boys turning to see their Coach standing there, pink tinging his cheeks.,"If you lot are done imagining what Harry and I do behind closed doors, we are waiting on you," Ukai said as he coughed awkwardly before he turned and walked off the bus.,It seemed being caught made the boys flounder even more.,"I can't!","Baka! Hinata no Baka!","Ahhhhhh!",Sugawara, Azumane and Sawamura all chuckled to themselves as they stood up and left the bus, leaving the second years to deal with the first year boys.,Inside the restaurant Harry had ordered large mixed platters of all types of cuts of meat. Bowls of rice and miso were scattered around the long table that sat on the tatami mats.,Under the table the foot wells meant Harry was able to stretch his legs. No matter how long he had lived in Japan, sitting seiza for long periods of time made his old war injury on his hip play up.,Ukai came back in grumbling to himself.,"Everything alright?" Harry said as he perused the menu for anything else that the boys may want.,"It seems the boys are all very curious about you and me," Ukai said as he dropped his head into his hands.,"Well it seems simple enough to me," Harry said with a grin. "You saw me as a first year university student and couldn't help but fall for your English Sensei. Of course we couldn't break any faculty rules so you chased me for 3 years straight until you graduated and then you somehow were able to whittle away at my resolve until you finally won a date.",Ukai groaned at Harry's sly smirk.,Yes, he had definitely been more than dedicated in pursuing Harry. He had been glad that his Jijii had made him go to University, even if just to study English which he did quite alright in back in high school. If he didn't he wouldn't have ever been able to meet Harry.,"You should still call me Sensei you know," Harry flirted as he threw an arm around his younger lover, pulling him close. His lips were a breath away from the other, words ghosting over his skin. "You know how I love to punish bad students.",A thud to their right showed the group of boys standing there watching them.,"Yacchi-san!",It seemed poor Yacchi had fainted, her face bright red.,"Oh dear," Harry remarked.,"I think we need to keep things G rated for the younger ones in the room," Sugawara said, his tone serious although the curl of his lips showed his amusement.,"Yes, I do agree," Harry said as he stood, grabbing one of the wet hand cloth to give to Yacchi who was finally coming around again.,"Engurishu!" Yacchi said with an eep as Harry was right before her face.,Harry smiled and helped her to sit at the table. "Just sit for a bit and I'll order some drinks. It's best to give you lemonade or so, for the sugar.",Harry waved down the waiter and the boys all took their seats after they had confirmed their young new manager really was alright.,Soon enough two waiters came carrying large trays of soft drinks and two beers for the adults.,The boys were immediately lulled to the scent of the fires being lit by the waiters after they distributed an array of lemonade, fanta and coca cola. Bottle of Pocari-Sweat were also given to each boy at the table.,As everyone began to dig in, Harry smiled to himself, reminiscing about his own times at a long Hogwarts table surrounded by boisterous boys who fought over the last roast chicken leg.,Now though, all of his old Hogwarts friends had children of their own and had all moved on in.,Harry had struggled for years, feeling the effect of the stifling media and papers who would hound him. He worked as an auror and then as the Head of the department for a few years at the insistence of Kingsley to take over his old position and help him reform the overall running of the ministry.,At the time it had seemed like his duty and he had done as was asked at his own expense. He had been tired, never sleeping fully and was constantly paranoid about another dark wizard or witch popping up to ruin the peace the Wizarding World had finally gained.,It has only been after a rather bad breakdown which had landed Harry in Mungos for Dreamless Sleep potion dependency that Hermione had finally stepped in. She had watched him slowly lose his way over the years and had convinced him that he had done enough. It was time for him.,So that was how Harry has packed his life into a suitcase and had begun to travel the world. Seeing new places and meeting new people had opened his eyes to just how vast the world was and how exciting and beautiful it was. Despite the bad, despite the evil he still saw it was always beautiful. The people, the scenery, the food, all of it.,Eventually, he made his way to Japan, leaving behind China and Russia where he had spent the last few years trekking through unexplored forests and across snow-capped mountains.,It was Japan Harry had fallen in love with and decided to make his home. The politeness and quirkiness of the sub-cultures had interested him.,After travelling around for a few years and immersing himself in the culture and learning the language (with a few spells to help), he had finally decided to buy up a relatively modest house on Watanha which was a small island in Miyagi accessible by a small road over water, and had taken up a teaching position at Tohoku-Daigaku, one of the areas only universities.,He had picked the small town north of Tokyo due to its relative quiet, small town sleepy feel. It wasn't like Surrey and Privet Drive, instead there was a lot of fishing and people out in their small boats every morning, and the old ladies were out doing their morning stretches down by the shoreline.,It had been as peaceful and quiet as Harry could have ever hoped for.,Until he met Keishin.,The Yankee, tough boy had shown up to his class with his spiked hair, still black at this stage, and freshly out of high school. He had scared most of the other students at first, until he had shown he had surprisingly good grasp on English, mostly the spoken than the grammar and analysis side, but it had surprised Harry.,Little had he known then just how enamoured Keishin had become with the easy-going Sensei, but it had been a whirlwind of a relationship. Now four years on they were still happily together (they'd known each other for 7 years - mind you).,His friends back home hadn't understood the appeal of a much younger man who was 9 years his junior. Ron was baffled but Hermione had just told him if he was happy, she was happy.,And he was happy. Being introduced to Keishin family and Ikki-chan, the hard loving Grandfather who was a Volleyball nut, had become one of Harry's favourite people. He was sarcastic and grumpy but he loved so wholeheartedly, it always lifted Harry's spirits to see him.,"Ne, Harry," Hinata said around a mouthful of meat.,Hinata and Kageyama were seated across the table from Harry and Ukai, with the seniors sitting on their left and the other second years and first years on their right.,"Hm?","So does that mean Coach lives with you?","Yes he does.","So that means if we wanted to come play at your place on the weekend we would see Coach?" Hinata asked.,"I suppose so," Harry said as he drank from his pint.,"So we could get more training?" Hinata asked again.,Harry grinned. "Oh, I think I'll take that on and make you run a hundred laps of the fenceline as punishment.","Noooo." Hinata whined.,"Do you have volleyball courts?" Kageyama said with a glint in his eyes.,Harry grinned. "Of course. Ikki-chan would kick me if I didn't have any.","Ikki-chan?" Hinata echoed.,"My Jijii," Ukai grunted out around a mouthful of rice and meat.,The older boys all blanched at the thought of the demon coach. The nickname and the image in their head didn't match up at all.,Ukai seemed to cotton on to their thoughts as he grunted again. "Oh yeah. Jijii loves Harry. More so than me sometimes.",Harry laughed. "Only because I bring him sweets.",Ukai rolled his eyes. "That too.","So is it an indoor court or outdoor?","It's indoors," Harry replied to Kageyama again.,"Where is it? It wasn't there last time we came." Hinata asked.,"Behind the pool," Harry replied as he began to cook another round of meat for them.,"Pool!" Yamaguchi said around a mouthful of food.,"It's so cool," Hinata said.,"I especially loved it when you and Natsu were wearing those cute little bunn-," Harry's voice was muffled as Hinata lunged across the table, his hands clasped over the Englishman's lips as his face blushed bright red.,"Did Harry just say bunnies?" Ukai said amused as Hinata somehow blushed even a darker shade of red.,"N-n-no!" Hinata stammered. "You heard wrong!",Harry pulled back from Hinata with a grin, turning to Ukai.,"I'll show you photos later," Harry said with a wink as Hinata groaned in dismay.,Turning back to the table Harry smiled at the boys. "Well I know you guys have been training heaps but if you ever need more time or some place to relax, Kei can take you all to my place.","Won't you be there?" Azumane asked.,"No, I'm just home for the night and tomorrow I have to go to England. It's my godsons birthday coming up so I am going there for a while then picking him up and bringing him to Japan for a bit.",Ukai knew about Teddy, had even met him. The thought of Teddy staying with them for a few months was going to be terrifying. His abilities to change his looks always freaked Ukai out as all of a sudden he would be looking at a Beat Takeshi who Teddy would see on the TV game shows. The best (scariest) time has been when Teddy had become Gackt.,"We will be back towards the end of your Tokyo training so I'll most likely come watch a few matches. Our flight lands in Narita." Harry said with a grin.,"I'll introduce you to Kenma!" Hinata said happily. "He's a bit shy but he's a good guy!",Harry smiled. "I look forward to it.",He knew that now his Kei would be hating the fact the boys had all met him now but honestly Harry was happy. He wanted to be involved more for Ukai in his coaching if he could. Maybe a donation or two to the school for their sporting facilities could go a long way.,By the time the restaurant was beginning to close up, the boys were all stuffed and feeling the drain of their training, with some of the rowdier boys asleep in their seats, quietly snoring.,Harry fished out his phone, taking a few photos with a smile.,"Alright, up, home time for you all," Kei said. "You can sleep at home.",Harry got up and went to pay the bill, getting a few boxes of gyoza to take home for lunch tomorrow.,By the time the boys were back on the bus with the driver instructed to drop them each home, despite the seniors protests that they could manage getting the younger boys home.,Harry and Kei waved the bus off before they too mounted the bike and were speeding off out the city to the mountains where Harry's house was.,It was a modest two story house surrounded by gardens and forest around the border of the property, a large stone wall running around what was once feudal land.,Harry has seen the ad for the place a few years ago after he started dating Kei. He had thought it would be nice to be closer to Kei and Ikki-chan. He would either ride or apparate back to his apartment for work every day but this was where he wanted to live.,The house was nothing fancy by the Potter or Black standards, but to any Japanese person the place seemed to be a massive European mansion.,The driveway lead from the large wooden gates up to the house, winding through trees. The gardens on either side were tended to by Harry in his spare time, growing an assortment of veggies as well as flowers of all colours. The times gardening at the Dursley's had been some of the better times of his childhood being able to escape Vernon and Dudley (Harry didn't like to think about it being an order or he wouldn't be fed).,Harry touched the door, his presence unlocking the place magically.,Soon he and Kei were locked at the lips. Hands were soon pulling off clothing and lips were pressed together, both releasing what had been building up all night. Pressing up against the closed front door they took their time becoming familiar with one another after the few days apart.,"Welcome home." Kei mumbled against his lips, his hands fisting in Harry's shirt.,Harry just smiled. "Yeah. I'm home."

It was a usual day at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in their first DADA class with Professor Lupin. For their first class the Professor would teach them the ,spell. He'd brought in a boggart that was stuck inside a small closet. All they needed to do was stand behind the line the Professor had marked on the ground and cast the spell once the boggart came out. If they couldn't do that then the Professor would step in and offer them a piece of chocolate. For the next few minutes Harry watched the other students get up once their name was called and attempt to best the boggart. Some of the students failed while others passed with ease, eventually Professor Lupin called out Hermione's name.,Once Hermione got up, Harry couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Lately Hermione hadn't been doing well in school, which was a first for her. One time she was supposed to cast a simple levitation charm on a feather in Charms for a quick review, but she somehow ended up causing every single one of the desks in the classroom to levitate. Her transfiguration skills were suffering as well, and he noticed that Hermione had begun to fall asleep during their History and Potion classes. He and Ron had tried asking her if anything was wrong, but she'd usually smile and claim that everything was fine.,Hermione stood behind the line and took a deep breath as Professor Lupin opened the door, letting the boggart out.,"Well this is new.",Harry saw Hermione's eyes grow wide as she stared at the boggart that had transformed into a man in garish garb. The way the man's face was painted and the wide smile on his face reminded Harry of a clown or a jester. The boggart curiously looked around the room, staring at Lupin and everyone else in the room. Eventually his gaze landed on Hermione, causing her to flinch.,"I didn't expect to see , here." the man said. "Though you look a bit different...did you dye your hair?",The man took a step forward, causing Hermione to take a step back in fright.,"No that's not quite it, is it?" the man asked, "You're her, but you aren't her at the same time... interesting.",The man then let out a loud laugh that sent shivers down Harry's spine. Hermione took another step back and accidentally tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground.,",",The boggart was slammed back into the closet once it was hit by the spell. Professor Lupin lowered his wand and helped Hermione up to her feet.,"Are you alright Ms. Granger?" Professor Lupin asked.,Hermione nodded, and Professor Lupin handed her a piece of chocolate. Everyone's eyes were on Hermione as she slowly made her way back to her seat next to Harry. Professor Lupin then called for the next person to come up as Hermione rested her head against the desk.,',Harry thought as he stared at his friend, ,.,.,.,"Well that was...something else." Harry said as he, Ron, and Hermione left Professor Lupin's classroom. Hermione was trailing behind Harry and Ron; her gaze was firmly focused on the ground as they made their way back to the classroom.,Ron nodded in agreement. "I wasn't expecting that at all.",The two of them turned to look at Hermione, who was barely paying any attention to them.,"She looks out of sorts." Ron said. "I don't think we can ask her who that guy was until we get to the common room.","First she needs to get enough sleep, we'll ask her who he was after she's rested." Harry said. "We don't want to overwhelm her.","That makes sense." Ron said as he shot another worried look at Hermione. He turned around and let out a loud groan. Harry looked away from Hermione to see that Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were heading straight towards them. There was a vicious smirk on Draco's face, which caused Harry to clench his fist in anger.,"Here comes Malfoy." Ron grumbled. "I've got a good guess as to why he's coming this way...",Draco sauntered past Harry and Ron and cleared his throat. "So, you're scared of clowns Granger?","Leave me alone Malfoy." Hermione said. "I don't want to deal with you right now, I don't feel well.","' Leave me alone Malfoy I don't want to deal with you right now, I don't feel well.'" Draco mocked. "That's a shame, I certainly want to deal with you Granger.","Knock it off Malfoy." Harry said as he roughly grabbed Malfoy's shoulder. "You heard her; she isn't feeling well, so leave her alone.","I don't have to do anything you tell me, Potter." Malfoy said as he jerked away from Harry. "I can do what I want, and there's nothing you can do about it.","Do you want to bet on that?" Harry asked as he drew his wand. Ron did the same thing and the two of them glared at Draco. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle drew their own wands as well and the five of them found themselves in a tense standoff. The students around them began to gather as they realized that a fight was going to break out. Harry was prepared to fire a spell at Draco when suddenly-,"Just stop." Hermione said. "Fighting him isn't worth it, let's just go back to the common room.","But...Hermione, Draco isn't going to let this go!" Ron shouted, "He'll keep bringing up the clown just to embarrass you!","I don't care Ron." Hermione said, "He's an insecure brat, you don't need to waste your time with him.","W-what was that!?" Draco growled, "Where the hell do you get off on talking to me like that!?",Hermione turned to leave, but Draco grabbed onto her shoulder. What followed was something that Harry didn't expect. Hermione shoved Draco away from her, and a gust of wind slammed into Draco's chest, sending him soaring through the air. He slammed against the wall and fell to the ground. The other students who had been gathered around them stopped talking and stared at Hermione with wide eyes. Hermione looked down at her hands, then back to the crumpled form of Draco. She whirled around and pushed through the crowd of people as she ran away.,"I'll go after Hermione, Ron!" Harry shouted, "You should make sure that Malfoy's alright!",Ron started to say something, but Harry ignored him and rushed after Hermione...,.,.,.,Hermione had already gotten a head start, which made it difficult for Harry to keep up. But given the specific paths Hermione was taking, Harry was sure that she was heading for the Library.,"Hermione?" Harry asked. "Are you in here?",A small sniffle was his only response. Harry stepped into the library and gently closed the library door, after that he searched for Hermione. He didn't have to search for long, she was tucked into a small corner of the library that was close to the bookshelf.,"Hey Harry." Hermione said as she rubbed her eyes. "Is Draco alright?","I don't know." Harry said as he sat next to Hermione. "I didn't get the chance to check on him, Ron's doing that.","Oh." Hermione said.,The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Harry decided to ask the question that had been burning in his mind.,"Hermione, what's going on with you?" Harry asked.,Hermione sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "To be honest, I don't really know.","It all started a few months ago, I started having these strange dreams about people and places I've never seen before." Hermione said.,"Was the clown one of those people?" Harry asked.,Hermione nodded. "I don't know what his name is, but whenever I see him I just...feel like I want to run away.","Anyway, after I started getting my dreams my magic hasn't been working right." Hermione said, "I'm sure that you noticed that during the past few weeks.","Well, did you think about asking Madame Pomfrey for help?" Harry asked.,"I-I'm not-","Look Hermione, you can't keep everything to yourself." Harry said as he stood up, "I'm sure that everything will be fine if you ask for help, maybe she can figure out what's going on with your dreams.","You have a point." Hermione said as she got up from the floor, "Maybe I-",Suddenly, Harry heard what sounded like broken glass once Hermione got up, which caused her face to pale.,"What was that?" Harry asked.,Hermione reached into her pocket and pulled out looked like a charm. Before he could ask her what it was, she dropped it onto the ground, which caused a blue portal to appear.,"Harry!" Hermione screamed as she was sucked into the portal.,Throwing caution to the wind, Harry leapt into the portal so he could save Hermione. Once he entered, the portal shut with a ,and the library fell silent once more...

This year, 1995, would be Harry Potter's fifth year of school. It was summer, and it was also the first year Hogwarts would accept transfer students from other magic schools. This year, they were inviting two schools, and the lucky fifth years would hopefully be learning at the other two schools for their sixth and seventh years.,It was a good thing that Harry Potter managed to defeat Voldemort after he figured out the Triwizard Tournament Cup was actually a Portkey. According to Harry, after Voldemort killed Harry, he had somehow come back alive, and his desire to protect his friends and anger at Voldemort for killing his parents allowed him to use the Killing Curse.,Apparently, Harry himself had been a Horcrux, and when he had supposedly killed Harry, Voldemort had in fact been removing his own Horcrux from Harry.,The summer of 1995 was spent celebrating the defeat of the greatest Dark Wizard of all time, but there were many rumors about secret dark organizations that were still around. It didn't matter, yet; after such a large war, there weren't many that opposed the government.,Perhaps this was also why Hogwarts decided to begin accepting transfers.

A/N: Hey guys I am back with another Pitch Perfect one-shot, I'll be updating my other stories so if you follow them be sure to be on the look out for them.,Third POV:,Beca has a really big secret, a secret that if anyone in the Bellas find out it could potentially harm them, Beca was afraid that one day it will all come spilling out.,Beca isn't normal as in she has powers that she inherited from her mother, and like everyone in her family she was force to go to Hogwarts when she was 11, but fortunately for her Beca kept her head down to not be notice, in fact if you asked her she will tell you that probably those in her year won't even know who she was and would asked who you were talking about, and that is just how Beca likes it, but it will all change when they have gotten a invitation in their mail asking them to perform for a Yule ball, which Beca swear should have never been possible but ever since she left the wizarding world she doesn't know how much it has change.,"Hey Bellas we have a new gig for a Yule ball that's happening at a school in Scotland so, Beca could you do something Chrismasy?" Chloe asked the younger women,"Sure Chlo, any idea what's the school name?"Beca asked fearing for the worst,"Yep, it's a weird name though" her eyebrows raising at the name on the letter,"It wouldn't by any chance be from 'Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry'?" Beca whispered looking like she just saw a ghost, the rest of the Bellas was so confused as to why Beca was acting this way but Aubrey on the other hand also looks somewhat pale,"Oh no Beca is that where I think it is?" Aubrey said to her girlfriend, seeing Beca nod Aubrey sat down on the sofa and pulled Beca towards her on her lap,"Wait what is going on?" Chloe asked both her best friend,"How about all of us sit down first and Beca can explain what is going on" Aubrey told all the Bellas and they all sat around Beca who looked liked she was about to faint,"Where do I even start, I'm guessing since they are calling muggles to perform for them in the Yule ball that I am allowed to tell you guys" Beca said to Aubrey making the already confused Bellas more confused then ever before,"I have been keeping a secret from all of you and even at some point Aubrey, but I was born special, not like I'm a genius special but I have magical power special" Beca stopped as all the Bellas started laughing, after a few minutes the have yet to stopped and both Beca and Aubrey was getting kind of annoyed,"QUIET" Beca screamed and accidentally silencing all of the Bellas, the Bellas were trying to get sound out from coming out of their mouth but to their surprise none came out,"Finite Incantatem" Beca said waving her hand in the air, releasing the Bellas from the silencing charm,"What the actual hell was that" Chloe asked shocked,"That my friend is magic" Aubrey said smirking "I didn't believe Beca at first as well" she continued, all the Bellas sat in rapid attention at Beca after that as she recounted why she decided to leave the magical world,"What is your real name?" Chloe asked as Beca mention that she had her mother last name,"Rebecca Beatrix Caritas Ravenclaw" Beca said, saying her full name for the first time in a really long time,"Wow that's a mouthful" Chloe replied,"Anyway if this is the first time you are going to go back to the magical world let's do it with a bang" Chloe said and the rest of the Bellas nodded as they got to work,All the Bellas were doing last minute changes to their set-list in the kitchen when there was a knock on the front door; Chloe got up from the table and went to open the door,"How can I help you?" Chloe asked seeing an old woman in front of their doorstep,"Are you the Barden Bellas leader?" the women asked,"No, I'm the Co-Captain who's asking?" Chloe asked getting suspicious,"Oh dear me, I apologize I'm Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry" the Professor said,"Oh nice to meet you I'm Chloe Beale I'm the Co-Captain of the Barden Bellas" Chloe introduced herself, as soon as does there was a bunch of footsteps behind her,"Chlo what's taking you so lo…" Beca stopped half way as she saw her old Professor standing in front of her,"Rebecca? Is that you" Professor McGonagall asked, eyes watering,"Professor McGonagall?" Beca said her eyes widening, as Aubrey placed her arms tightly around Beca the action did not escape Professor McGonagall,"How about we go to the living room?" Chloe said breaking the tense silence, the Bellas knowing that this was not a conversation that they need to be in so all of them except Chloe and Aubrey made an excuse and leave to go upstairs, once they settled on the couch Professor McGonagall turned to looked at Beca,"I'm looking for the Barden Bellas Captain" Professor McGonagall said to her once favorite student,"You are looking at her" Beca said sassily to her old Professor, Professor McGonagall was shocked because she never knew that her talented student was musically talented,"I'm just here to inform the group that the place they will be performing at is…" Beca cut off Professor McGonagall,"Magical?" Don't worry about it, I already told them since you invited muggles to perform at the school something must have happened during the war" Beca said blandly,"War? You never said anything about a war babe?" Aubrey said her eyes glaring at Beca making Beca curse at herself for letting that slip, Professor McGonagall was shocked at the term of endearment,"If you don't mind me asking what are the both of your relationship?","I'm her girlfriend Aubrey Posen, ex-Captain of the Barden Bellas" Aubrey introduced herself to the Professor,"Nice to see you have a great relationship Rebecca" Professor McGonagall said smiling to Beca,"Beca please" Beca said annoyed at having to listen to her full name,"Oh I'm sorry dear and I'm guessing that since you partner asked about the war, you never told her about how you helped in it did you?" Professor McGonagall said her eyes twinkling,"No I never and I didn't planned on it" Beca said through gritted teeth,"Well too bad" Aubrey said concern, Beca looked hesitant but spilled nonetheless,"I had went back to help them when I received a letter from them, I helped by claiming Hogwarts castle so that the dark lord who the magical world was having a war with couldn't claim it and get in, both of us could claim it was because Hogwarts was created by the four founder Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff and because I was the descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw I could claim it and the dark lord could was because he was the descendent of Salazar Slytherin" Beca explained,"Was that why you missed the one Bellas rehearsal, and I went off on you because of it" Aubrey said feeling extremely guilty,"Yes but I didn't really mind it as my mind was a bit pre-occupied by how the war was going when you were screaming at me" Beca revealed,"Since all of you already know what's going on, this is a portkey that will get you to Hogwarts on the 14th of December at 6 pm on the dot, on and also it will be a masquerade Yule ball be sure to wear masks" McGonagall continues, Chloe offered to walk her to the door which the Professor kindly agreed.,"Ok aca-bitches let's get this show on the road, everyone grab on to me" Beca shouted to the Bellas, as they felt the pull at the bottom of their stomach they were transported to another place,"Ok Bellas we are outside of the great hall so according to Professor McGonagall the staff table is cleared off to have more room for us so we will be entering by the staff door" Beca finished just as they turned a corner and bumped into someone,"Re?" the boy with shaggy jet black hair ask,"Harry?" Beca said in recognition,"Bloody hell it's actually you, how are you?" Harry asked Beca,"Great" looking at her watch and up again "we can catch up later I'm behind time" Beca walked off with the Bellas trailing behind her,"Who was that?" Chloe asked reaching a room to store their things,"That was the destroyer of the dark lord, how he remembered me is a miracle to me" Beca says like it meant nothing, Chloe was about to ask more question when they heard a loud voice from outside,"Good evening everybody I hope you had un, we have a wonderful treat for all of you today, ever since the ministry called of the vow there has been a lot of changes so today I gladly announce the Barden Bellas" someone said who Beca knew just had to be Professor Dumbledore, the Bellas all walked out wearing their masks and getting into their position as Beca blew the starting notes on the pitch pipe and they burst into the mash up of Winter Wonderland and Here Comes Santa Claus at the end of the performance Professor Dumbledore came up and casted a spell,"Let's once again give it up to the Barden Bellas" as the entire great hall clapped loudly,"Are you excited on finding out who exactly are they?" Dumbledore said eyes having a twinkle in them; Beca started panicking forgetting that they will be removing their mask on stage,"Would the Captain and Co-Captain please step out," Dumbledore said happily, Beca and Chloe stood out with Chloe holding Beca's hand tightly behind them and Aubrey in front of them giving Beca a reassuring look,"Please remove your masks and the remaining of you please remove your masks after you Captain and Co-Captain remove theirs" the Bellas looked to their Captains for instruction and Beca nodded, Beca and Chloe pulled off their masks and there was a lot of gasp and even Dumbledore was shock at who he was seeing right in front of him, as he cancelled the charm he had,"Rebecca?" Dumbledore asked making sure that he is not wrong,"Nice to see you again Professor Dumbledore" Beca said but walked off the stage through the staff door again her entire posture tense but exuding with leadership as the Bellas walked off with her glaring at anyone that dare come close to their leader.,Once inside the safety of the room Beca collapse on a chair as Beca sat beside her and tried to comfort her the best waiting for Aubrey to make her way over here, seeing Aubrey walked in Chloe gesture to Aubrey to sit on the other side of Beca,"I'm fine guys, but we might not be if no one open the door and see who has been knocking continuously on the door for 5 minutes" Beca said looking at Fat Amy, Fat Amy rolled her eyes and went to open the door,"Who is it?" the Aussie asks,"Harry, Hermione and Ron" a voice from the other side said, Fat Amy look back to her leader and saw her nodding her head indicating to let them in, 3 people walked into the room one of them were the guy the Bellas had seen before the other two was a girl and another guy, the girl had curly brown wavy hair and the guy was a ginger,"Hey guys how have you been?" Beca asked still being held by her girlfriend and best friend,"How have we been? How have we been? Really Re after all this time? Expelliarmus!" the girl said but then shouted, all the Bellas saw was a red color spell came rushing towards their Captains and Ex-Captain,"HERMIONE!" the boys shouted,"CAPTAINS!" all the Bellas shouted, but Beca seemingly not caring waved her hand and the spell was absorbed into a translucent shield, the girl that was called Hermione gasp,"How did you learn to wandless and wordless casting?" the Hermione say, Beca stared at her eyes flashing,"I think the question here is why the fuck did you fire a spell at two muggles, both of which is the MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO ME" Beca shouted at the end, Beca stood up and waved her hand causing Hermione to daggle upside down,"If you ever do that again I swear you wouldn't be able to ever touch your wand" Beca said in a deadly serious tone, she waved her hand and Hermione dropped from the air to the ground,"What time is it?" Beca asked Aubrey while going over to hugger her,"8:45, babe" Aubrey said hugging Beca back,"Looks like the port key is activating in 15 minutes, Bellas pack up we have rehearsal tomorrow and I am very tempted to cancel it but your Ex-Captain and my girlfriend is still here so, check the group chat later" Beca said the last phrase softly but Aubrey still caught it but pretend not to, Beca turned to the trio who was standing at the doorway,"As for you congratulations on defeating Voldemort but I don't want to have any contact with you so, goodbye and I hope to never see you again" Beca said and that was the last phrase ever spoken by Beca in the magical world.,A/N: Hey guys sorry for the curse words hope you guys enjoyed this one-short but for now,PEACE OUT

A/N this random idea came to me as i was working on the rewrite for Eighth King. If you like it review. The more reviews I receive the faster it updates.,Wolf's POV,They had done it. They had destroyed the Slates. What the other kings didn't know was that to destroy them it required the sacrifice of a king. Wolf had decided to become that sacrifice. After the second Wizarding war had killed most of who he cared about he had gone to Shiro.,Flashback,Two weeks prior,He waited for the kings to exit. Reisi looked back at him in question but he shook his head. His captain couldn't find out what he planned to do. He knew the man would stop him if he knew.,Shiro looked up at him when he walked over. He asked carefully," What are you think Wolf?",Wolf said with a sigh," The plan requires a sacrificial king. That's what you didn't tell everyone.",He watched as the surprise filled the much older kings eyes. The last thing Shiro had expected was for someone to figure it out. Wolf brought forth his courage as he took a deep breath.,He said," I will be the sacrificial king. Dont," he held up a hand to stop the other's protest," Hear me out. I lost everyone I cared about in the Wizarding war. I have little left to live for now. You on the other hand you have friends that care about you. If you were to die what would Kuroh and Neko think? They would die on the inside. Losing your king is the worst experience any clansman can have. I would know...",Shiro asked looking at him in saddness," Are you sure? Once you start down this you can't back out?",Wolf nodded. He was 100 percent sure about it. He should have died in the previous war it was only thanks to his friends that he didn't. He just wanted peace and he would never find that here.,End of flashback,Wolf hoped that Reisi would live though the Slates destruction. That man had been the closest thing to a father he had ever known. He could only hope as well that the breaking of their bond would not send him into insanity.,He was surprised when instead of fading to the darkness like he expected he landed on his back hard. He groaned in pain and realized that he felt pain! He wasn't dead! Did their plan fail?!,He tried to open his eyes but the light was too bright. His head felt like someone was banging on it with a hammer. What was happening to him? He blacked out from the pain before he could even consider trying to answer the question.,Hibari's POV,He sat in his office glancing through his clansmen's recent reports. So far it had been an uneventful week. Even the normally active boisterous Red Clan was strangely silent. He had to wonder if it was the prelude for trouble.,Scepter 4 his creation when he became the Fourth and Blue King. His goal was to help strains and kings that couldn't control their powers. It wasn't unheard of either. Many kings died before they learned to control their abilities. From his understanding the previous Blue King had been the same way.,His attention was drawn to outside his office door at hearing a subdued argument. :Well there goes my quiet week.: he thought with a sigh. He stood and opened the door surprising his Lieutenant and one of his medics. It surprised him that the two would be standing out there together. Usually the two men couldn't stand each other.,His Lieutenant jumped to an attention as he said," Sorry to bother you, sir. But you see...",It seemed as if the younger man was struggling to find his words. This day couldn't get any strange. Goki Zenjo was an easy going member of Scepter 4 but rarely was he unable to explain something.,The medic said," Captain there is something you must see. If you would please come with us to the infirmary.",Normally he wouldn't be called to the infirmary over anything less than a dying clansman. That sent a bout of worry through his heart. The thought of losing anyone of his subordinates hurt. His Lieutenant followed them as they made their way to the infirmary stoic. What was going on?,When they arrived at the infirmary only one bed was occupied. A boy no older than seventeen lay on the bed in a white dress shirt and blue pants. He blinked in surprise those pants were almost exactly like Scepter 4's uniform pants.,The medic said when Jin looked at him," One of the rapid response squads responded to an unusual Weissman levels. By the time they arrived the levels returned to normal and this boy was there. I have healed most of his injuries but he has yet to wake.",Zenjo said glaring at the medic," That's not all he found either Captain. Look at his right wrist.",What was this about? He made his way over to the bed where the child lay. Jin pushed up the sleeve to the boy's right wrist and froze in shock. That was his clansman symbol. Who was this child?,Wolf's POV,He woke but kept his breathing even like he was still asleep. He didn't know where he was and he didn't want to take a chance. He was laying on a soft bed and the air smelled of disinfectant. He was in an infirmary. Did their plan fail? Reisi?!,He opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He almost lost consciousness when his head exploded in pain. He laid back on the bed willing the pain to leave. He looked around and the room was strangely familiar.,His attention was drawn to the door as it opened and quickly pretended to be asleep again. He heard an unfamiliar voice say," One of the rapid response squads responded to an unusual Weissman levels. By the time they arrived the levels returned to normal and this boy was there. I have healed most of his injuries but he has yet to wake.",He heard another voice that was familiar but he couldn't place it say," That's not all he found either Captain. Look at his right wrist.",His right wrist? Isn't that where his Scepter 4 clansman mark was? If the Slates were destroyed his clansman marks should be destroyed. He felt a warm hand grab his wrist and push up the sleeve to his dress shirt. He heard a sharp intake of breathe. Then he remembered what the second person had said. Captain? That would mean Reisi. Then again he couldn't be sure.,A familiar feeling of blue aura passing over his chest. While the aura was familiar the person using it wasn't. He opened his eyes blinking several times to clear his vision. When it cleared he saw the face of the man from his nightmares. Someone he thought he would never see again. The reason why he was the Eighth and Black King. Jin Hibari. No that isn't possible. He's been dead for ten years!

Tomohisa Kaname was an ordinary man. He lived with his wife, the beautiful and intelligent Junko Kaname, and they planned to have a child soon, though Junko wanted to wait a bit. They lived in Japan and were no-nonsense kind of people, but loving and kind. Junko worked in business, and Tomohisa worked from home on his latest novel.,The weather was stormy, and Junko winced as she sipped down the last dregs of coffee in her cup. Tomohisa, the only one who knew how to cook, stood over the stove, cooking bacon.,"More coffee, dear?" he asked, flipping the pancakes for himself. Junko looked up at the yellow clock adorning their walls and shook her head.,"Better not. I don't want to be late." She stood, patting down her hair, and grasped her briefcase tightly. "Bye, darling!" Whistling a tune, she exited their house, nearly skipping. Despite the accumulation of grey storm clouds, Junko was certain it was going to be a fine day.,An owl swooped past, nearly knocking into Junko. Its tawny feathers glittered in the light, and it seemed to glare at Junko.,"Odd," muttered the woman, but she kept on walking. Then, she saw the cat reading a map.,With closer observation, she saw the cat wasn't ,the map, but merely looking at it. The cat raised one black paw and scampered up to Junko. Sighing, the woman put down her briefcase and petted it softly. "Okay, I have to go now." The woman left, casting one worried glance back at the cat which watched her with serene eyes. "Bye, black cat.",The train was unsurprisingly crowded, as it ,rush hour. However, half of the people wore long, rough cloaks and large hoods concealing their faces.,"Cosplayers," Junko muttered. She really hated anyone who cosplayed. She thought it unbusinesslike. They chatted excitedly, and when one of the girls removed her hood, she was revealed to be in her twenties or so, with short, black hair and a red ribbon.,"Excuse me?" One of the women, though this one was really a child, maybe three, tugged on Junko's sleeve. On closer inspection, the girl was blonde with golden eyes and a flowered hairpin. "Ah, my name is Mami.","Mami!" yelled one of the women, the brunette one. "Watcha doing?","Kiki…" whined the girl, trudging back. Kiki hugged Mami, grinning.,"You'll have to excuse her," she apologized to Junko. "Mami is a really high-spirited child." Junko waved her hands nervously.,"It's fine!" she exclaimed. "Sweet girl. Is she yours?","No," replied a bashful Kiki. "I'm just babysitting." The doors slid open, and Junko jumped out. "Bye!" yelled the brunette. Outside, Junko shook her head to reorganize her thoughts. Just because the morning was slightly odd, Junko shouldn't rush out and do badly at work. She needed to become business-like again.,"Kaname," greeted Junko's coworker, a pretty young woman with auburn hair and purple eyes. ,"Hoshinomiya," replied Junko. Chie Hoshinomiya had originally been a teacher in the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School but worked here during the summer months. The woman wasn't mean or horrible, but Junko didn't care for her.,"Hey, Junko!" Junko gritted her teeth as she walked into her room. A familiar figure sat in her chair, twiddling his fingers and grinning.,"Spirit," she groaned. Spirit's former wife, Kami, was a friend of Junko, but ever since the divorce, Junko, and Spirit rarely met. That changed a month ago when they began to work together. "Get out.","Aw," muttered Spirit, but he left, downcast. Junko slammed the door in his face, catching a glimpse of his crimson hair as he left. Junko sighed and sat down, back to the huge window in her office.,At midday, Junko heard a tapping on her window. She quickly spun to see a white owl's beak retract from her window.,"Shoo!" she yelled, annoyed. "SPIRIT!" The man sheepishly entered.,"Yes, Junko?" Spirit stood at attention, and Junko sighed. Spirit was a womanizer and judging from the lipstick on his suit, he was with Chie for a bit.,"Owl," she simply replied, pointing at the window. Spirit shuffled forward, hands in pockets.,"Don't see anything," he mumbled, and Junko nearly screamed.,"Look!" She pointed at the owl, furious, and let out her breath as she realized the owl had flown off. "Where…","You need rest," said Spirit and left. "Leave early.","H-hey, wait," called out Junko. "I should tell you that! I'm your boss! Idiot!" Spirit left without another word, and Junko sighed.,"Maybe he's right," she muttered. So for the first time in some time, Junko left work early.,The train still had some hooded folk, but Junko decided to ignore them. She was just too stressed, that was it. She kept her purple eyes down for the entire ride.,On the way home, she spotted the same cat. Next to it was a black haired, violet-eyed girl.,"Oh, I'm sorry!" said Junko. "I didn't realize this was your cat! What's her name?" The girl stared at her coldly before the two vanished. Junko was stunned, and she remained staring at the spot until she managed to stand. This was just stress. People don't vanish into thin air.,"Junko!" exclaimed Tomohisa at home. He rushed over to his wife, who was mumbling under her breath.,"People in cloaks… magic cats… all those owls… vanish…" Tomohisa helped Junko out of her clothes and smiled sympathetically at her.,"Rough day?" he asked.,"You can't imagine," she replied. "Something really weird's been happening all day." Tomohisa entered the kitchen and closely listened as he began to cook.,"-and it was like the girl vanished!" finished Junko. "Hah, thank you for the meal, dear." She took a sip of her soup, pushing her purple hair from her face. Tomohisa sat down beside her and began to dig in.,"Well, get some rest, and I'm sure it will be better," murmured Tomohisa. "Let's get some rest." They stumbled to bed and collapsed within. The light outside faded, and the moon came up, but the two didn't notice.,'Maybe they were right,' thought Junko. 'I'll feel better tomorrow.' She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow.,"Hey, Lord Death." Spirit casually strode down past Junko and Tomohisa's home to an odd person. He had a long black coat and a skull mask on.,"Spirit," replied Lord Death. "Did you get the child?","No," muttered the man. ",sent out one of her best agents. The Kiki girl.","I suppose this means we can do nothing," murmured the Shinigami regretfully. "The child is in Kyubey's grasp.","Unfortunately," Spirit testily added. "Ugh, Kiki made sure to whack me with her broom. But she really is a nice person, just taken in by Kyubey.","She never contracted," murmured Lord Death. "I suppose that is proof. She said she would grant her own wishes. Mind you, she never visited Shibusen, either.","It really is a shame Madoka, with so much potential, will be a puella magi. Of course, we must honor the pact. She will go to the school for magical girls, and she can contract or not contract. I dearly hope she doesn't." Spirit and Lord Death lapsed into silence, broken only by the sounds of a small, white creature approaching, its red eyes glowing in the darkness.,"Kyubey," hissed Spirit. "Show your true form." The creature turned into a pretty young girl wearing a tight white suit. Her eyes were crimson, and her white hair turned into 'ears' which turned pink at the ends. Golden rings floated around them. Actual, wolf-like ears sprouted from the top of her head, but she was emotionless.,"Do you prefer this, Spirit?" asked the girl. As the redhead prepared to lash out, Lord Death intervened.,"Kyubey," he asked. "What are you doing here on this fine evening?","Kiki will be delivering the child," Kyubey responded. She obviously didn't want Lord Death or Spirit there.,"Oh really?" asked Spirit. "Do you plan to contract with Madoka, too?" Kyubey nodded and turned away, leaving Spirit fuming.,"Ah, Kiki." The black haired witch flew down, a pink haired child in her arms. "Is that Madoka?","Yes, Madam Kyubey," replied Kiki. "Should we leave her? with them?","If they will honor the truce," airily replied Kyubey, "they will leave her alone." Kiki placed a note next to the baby and placed her on the doorstep. "Goodbye, Spirit, Shinigami. We will see each other soon, I have no doubt." With that, Kyubey mounted Kiki's broom and they flew off.,"That little scheming rat," muttered Spirit. "But… she's right.","The most we can do," said Lord Death quietly, "is watch over the Kaname's. I give that task to you, Spirit. And I will put my trust in Maka and Soul. I have no doubt they will help train our army. Until then, goodbye, Spirit.","Bye, Lord Death," muttered Spirit. He walked off, back home. Lord Death shook his head and left, but not before adding another note to the one already clutched in little Madoka's hand.,If need be, come find Shibusen.,~Lord Death, Shinigami, God of Absolute Order, and Headmaster of Shibusen,Then he, too, left.,But far away, not in a place affiliated with Shibusen or Kyubey, in a desolate church, empty save for two men, glasses were raised. A ringing sound rang through the building before the black haired man cut it short.,"Long live the child of potential," he whispered. The other man haughtily grinned and took a swig.,"Yes, indeed."

I Don't own any characters from harry potter, Huntik and the Royal Family (duh). I'm not trying to make money off of this so yea

It was a dark night on Friday the 13th. I was eleven and school was soon over, and I was wondering if any of my friends would be present during the summer vacation. At this particular night I was home alone, I was listening to my favourite music while writing my poems. It was quite a relaxing night, but suddenly I heard a noise. It sounded like bird wings but I couldn't be completely sure. The sound terrified me for some reason; it might have been because the sound of birds wasn't quite usual in the area where I lived. I slowly approached the window clutching my poems close to my chest, a peculiar sight met me as I glanced out. There, perched in the tree outside was an owl.I almost jumped out of my skin by the sight and I squealed a little.,"Fuck you bird, how dare you scare me like that?" The owl just looked at me and I saw a letter hanging from one of its feet. This confused me, why would an owl be carrying a letter?,I slowly opened the window and the bird flew right in, it stood at my nightstand and put its leg out. Hesitantly I reached out and removed the letter from its leg, it made a sound before it flew back out and disappeared in the night. I looked at the letter and saw my name and full address written out on the envelope; I opened the letter and saw what the letter said.,"Welcome to Hogwarts, you are hereby invited to a semester to Hogwarts school of wizards and wizardry. If you accept your place her, you will start your first schoolyear and learn all the magic you can imagine. We hope you will attend and if so we will see you this autumn. Have a wonderful summer vacation. Well met." There was a signature at the bottom, but I couldn't make it out,,I was dumbfounded and couldn't believe what I was seeing, but somehow I knew that I would accept this school place. At the moment there was really nothing I could do seeing that my parents was gone and all, so I just put the letter down at my nightstand and sat back down and continued writing. The next time I noticed time it was very late. I could hear my parents at the door and grabbed the letter and ran down stairs. I pushed the letter to my mom and said. "An owl gave it to me" my mom looked weirdly at me, I'm sure she though "what did I do to deserve this? I never asked for a crazy daughter" I could see in her eyes that she doubted my story but she accepted the letter and started reading, I could instantly see something in my mom's eyes that this was a serious letter. She looked at my dad and said "how is this possible?" I was confused. I didn't realize my mom was so insane as she obviously was. My dad looked at her and said "it's about time we told her".,My mom looked back at my dad and said "I guess you're right". She then sighed and turned to me. "Your dad and I are wizards. We have gone to the same school that you have gotten that letter from, but the school ended up having too many mudbloods so we ended up leaving. That is why your father and I wishes that you wouldn't go. We don't want our perfect daughter to be tainted by dirty mudbloods." Confused as I was, I looked at them. I wasn't sure I wanted to ask what a mudblood was. So I just stood there for a moment before asking; "So can I go?" My mom and dad just looked at each other for a while before replying. "We have to think about it for a moment. Now be a good girl and go back to sleep.",As I walked back up to my room I started wondering what my parents meant when they said mudbloods, but I decided not to think too much about it.

In a somewhat dark and dusty attic, two children explore their surroundings. One child, Esmeralda, with black hair and shinning green eyes like the stone she was named for, waved over the other child, a boy called Jasper.,"Come look and see what I've found, Jazz," she said.,"It's a little too dark to see much, what did you find?","A book," she said happily, and Jasper went over to open the blind, so that his sister might read it for them both.,A shaft of golden light fell across the entire room, but Esmeralda was only interested in the book.,It lay on a dark blue velvet sheet, and the cover was golden in colour. In the two top corners were little birds, and in the bottom corners were little mice.,The title of this beautiful book was Sapphire And Armitista.,Both children looked at each other with gleeful excitement. Sapphire and Armitista were their ancestors, princesses and later on, queens of Hogwarts Castle. (Not a school in this story),"Go on, sis. Read the story of our ancestors," Jasper urged her.,"Okay," she said happily, and began to read.,"Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom- peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Here, in a stately chateau, there lived a widowed gentleman and his little daughter, Sapphire. Her cousin, Armitista, lived with them, too, having been orphaned at a young age.,Although he was a kind and devoted father, and gave his beloved daughter and niece every luxury and comfort, still, he felt they needed a mother's care." Here, Esme showed her twin brother an image of two young girls. One was wearing a dark blue dress with little bows, and her black hair was tied back with a red ribbon. She was running her hand along the back of a brown horse, as it drank from a biggish pond.,"That's Sapphire," Esme smiled.,The other girl in the picture was wearing a light purple dress with a white ribbon, and her black hair was pulled back in a pink ribbon. She was patting a little brown dog, and beside her, her uncle smiled as he watched them both.,"That's Armitista," Jasper said.,Esme nodded, and carried on with the story.,"And so, he married again, choosing for his second wife a woman of good family, with two daughters just his own children's age, by name, Pansy and Millicent.,It was upon the untimely death of this good man, however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed. Cold, cruel, and bitterly jealous of her stepdaughters charm and beauty, she was grimly determined to forward the interests of her own two awkward daughters.,Thus, as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair. For the family fortunes were squandered upon the vain and selfish stepsisters, while Sapphire and Armitista were abused, humiliated, and finally forced to become servants in their own house. And yet, through it all, they remained ever gentle and kind. For with each dawn, they found new hope that someday their dreams of happiness would come true.",One early morning, four bluebirds fly around a tower, landing on a balcony. They open little green curtains with their beaks, illuminating the attic, which was now a bedroom for Sapphire and Armitista.,They lay in bed, covering their faces with one arm, whilst lying on the other. Amy wore a nightgown of faded lavender, whilst Sapphire wore one of faded light blue.,The birds land, and whistle a little tune in order to wake the two girls up.,The girls groaned slightly, and rolled over, covering their heads slightly with their pillows.,Two bluebirds flew to Armitista, and the other two flew to Sapphire. One lifted up their plait, and the other whistled again. It sounded melodious and pretty.,In response to this, however, the two girls grabbed their pillows again, covering their heads completely, and their faces were planted into the mattress. (Yes, they share a bed, but only because their stepmother won't get them another one),The birds all whistle at each other, confused. Two shrug their shoulders as they sit on the faded maroon duvet. One of the other birds hops along to Sapphire and ducks under her pillow, causing her to giggle. Armitista sees this, and as one of the birds whistles, she crawls her dainty fingers up to it, and flicks it gently. The bird jumps into the air, flies over to the bedpost at the foot of the bed, and glares at her. Sapphire and Armitista laugh together.,"Well, it serves you right, spoiling people's best dreams," Sapphire chuckles as she sits up. The birds fly back to the window, indicating the pink hued sky.,"Yes, it is a lovely morning,' says Armitista with a smile. After many years of living in Scotland, her Italian accent had faded a considerable deal, but it was still noticeable when she was excited or upset.,"But it was a lovely dream, too," Sapphire smiles, as she pulls her hair out of it's plaits.,The bluebirds come back, and perch on her knees.,"What kind of a dream?" She asks, and when they nod, she shakes her head. "Mmm-mmm. Can't tell.","Why?" asks her cousin.,"Because, Amy" she says, using the name that was less of a mouthful, "If you tell a wish, it won't come true.",Amy smiles, knowing where Sapphire is going with this.,"And after all:,A Dream is a wish your heart makes," she sang and the birds sat down.,Other birds listened as Amy sang "When you're fast asleep.","In dreams you will lose your heartaches," one of the birds let out a trilled note, and another covered its mouth with a glare. "Shh," it said.,"Whatever you wish for you keep," the bird that had trilled a note, flew back inside and trilled another on one of the posts of the bed.,The two smiled.,"Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through,","Shall we finish off together, Amy?" Sapphire asked, and she nodded.,As they brushed their hair, they sang, "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish, will come true." Aside from birds, the two young ladies also kept pet mice, who also came to listen to the song.,BONG!,It was the clock from Hogwarts castle, chiming out the hour, and making everybody jump violently.,"Oh, that clock!" Amy said, as she sat up, and swung her legs over the side of the bed, before Sapphire followed suit.,"Old Killjoy." Sapphire mumbled.,I hear you. "Come on, get up," you say." Amy told it.,"Time to start another day," Sapphire finished for her.,"Even he orders us around. Well, there's one thing, they can't order us to stop dreaming." Amy said, and Sapphire grinned.,"And perhaps someday... the dreams that we wish will come true." she said.,Much happier than before, the two begin to dance around the small room, getting ready for another day. The birds assist with the making of the bed and fluff up the pillows, as the two girls duck behind a large screen and undress. A female mouse shoos the others away.,Meanwhile, on the night stand, birds and mice pour cold water into a bowl. Two birds hold a sponge, which they then place into the bowl. However, because wet things are heavy, it takes six birds to carry it. They soak Amy and Sapphire, as other birds hang up their nightgowns.,They set out the old dresses and black aprons, and pull out ribbons to tie the girls' hair back with. A few mice sew up some holes, and even polish their black shoes, which the girls slip their feet into, and face the mirror.,"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true," they sang as they finished tidying up.,On the other side of the town, in Hogwarts Castle, two young boys face an elderly man with a sweeping beard, hair, and the oddest taste in clothes they had ever seen on someone. King Dumbledore had taken the two boys in at an early age, when there was a revolution in their home countries of Russia and Japan. They had grown up in safety, not wanting for much. Their names were Kein and Kambi, and King Dumbledore, patient though he was, was concerned about marrying them off.,"Well, my boys," he said. "As you are aware, tonight is our Summer Solstice Ball, and you know what that means.","That we're celebrating the arrival of summer, Sir?" Kein asked, and King Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled.,With a laugh, he nodded. "Well, there is that, but there is also the matter of your future. You two are quite old enough to marry, and so tonight, I want you two to find a girl who can be a suitable wife and mother.",The two boys flushed darkly, but nodded.,"You may go," he said, "But first, would either of you care for a lemon drop?" He asked, and the two politely declined.,Once out of his hearing, Kein rolled his eyes.,"Honestly. Every single girl in the kingdom will be throwing themselves at our feet," he said.,"I know. I want a girl that's down-to-earth, pretty, and with sparkling eyes that I can compare to a beautiful gemstone. Also, I'd like her to have a European accent, like French or Italian. Not German, that's far too guttural and harsh," said Kambi.,Kein lifted an eyebrow, and nodded. "Impressive. I wouldn't mind a girl like that, either. Although, I'd prefer her accent be more English. Not American or Australian, but British or Kiwi." Kein said.,"Sounds good. But, of course, we probably won't find girls like that," Kambi said.,"Oh, you never know. Somebody, like say, Hermione, might be able to help."

Magic. It surrounded him in an embrace. He sank into its welcoming arms, seeking comfort from the ever-present energy - comfort that those meant to protect him had not bothered giving - and forgot. Floating on his back, unaware that his body was being healed from not just the bruises and cuts he had recently received from his misadventure in the sea but also from the years of neglect and abuse he suffered throughout his childhood, the little wizard let go of his worries, of the little niggle of longing he always had to be loved by someone, of his fear of how he'd get back to his relatives' home (if he would not drown first), of his doubt of if he would ever survive long enough in the world to ever enjoy a day as his own person, free of others' expectations of him to be a freak, a saviour, a slave, an idiot, a tool. Instead, Harry Potter simply floated on his back, staring unfocused as his eyes trailed the droplets of water floating upwards, turning golden in the moonlight as they ascended towards the full moon that shone down into the dormant volcano crater he was in.,Magic. The one thing that had never truly let Harry down. It had been there in the form of accidental outbursts, saving Harry when he was chased by his cousin and childhood bullies, when Aunt Petunia forgot to feed him every week or so, when Harry was lying in his cupboard-under-the-stairs bruised and battered. It had been there in the form of his mother's sacrifice and love, and in the form of Hogwarts' sorting hat and the mystical creature – Fawkes, the phoenix – when he had faced Voldemort, the man whom Harry had no idea why was after his life. With or without him knowing, magic had always been there to help Harry. And floating there, with dried tear-tracked cheeks and not an inkling of where and how he had got there, Harry stared unseeingly at the moon and let the gratitude he had for magic through. At least magic never abandoned him. Even with his cousin pushing him off into the sea, knowing Harry could not swim, and Harry being dragged away by undercurrents, falling unconscious after failing to reach the surface in time, Magic had ensured he survived. Magic had brought him here and though Harry still had not a clue as to where here was, he was content to trust the Magic that brought him here. After all, if Magic had wanted to abandon him too, it already had plenty of opportunities before. Therefore Harry simply floated, drinking in the warmth he felt Magic feeding him despite being in cold water and thanked it with his heart for being there, for accepting him. The slight pressure that surrounded him, strangely similar to a hug, was all Harry needed to know Magic heard, that Magic cared. Harry hummed in contentment.,Harry Potter awoke to find himself in the second bedroom in Number 4 Private Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. As the remnants of sleep cleared from his mind, Harry gradually remembered the events of the previous two days.,Harry frowned, looking around. How did he end up back here? He did not remember being rescued, though anything could have happened while he had been unconscious. Yet, Harry found it hard to believe he was rescued by his relatives if his presence back in Private Drive indicated as such. They would rather that he be dead. Harry was sure of it. Something niggled at the back of his mind. What had happened after he blacked out?,A sudden hoot startled Harry out of his thoughts. He turned to see Hedwig swooping through the open window to his bedroom, her white feathers a stark contrast to the dark night sky outside. Something stirred within Harry's memories. The colour strangely reminded Harry of the moonlight,Moonlight…,With a sudden jolt, memories rushed to Harry with startling clarity.,The pool, the moon, the glowing waters, the Magic, the sense of belonging he had felt – it all rushed back. A small smile lit up Harry's face at the memory.,Magic. Harry was sure it had something to do with Magic that he was back in Private Drive. There was no other explanation. He could not have ended back here miles away from the beach resort otherwise. And if he was correct, Harry was all alone in the house since he was sure the Dursleys would not abandon their vacation to look for him. They were probably celebrating his death as of now.,Sighing Harry turned to look at the clock in his room. It was an old clock, with its glass face cracked. Broken like most of the things he owned but still working. That was enough for him.,A quarter to three in the morning.,No wonder it was still dark. He was sure he had been pushed into the water around evening the previous day and had spent the better part of the night at the moon-pool (It seemed wrong to think of the place as a mere pool. Besides Harry was certain the water only started to glow after the moon appeared and shone into the place.). Making a decision, Harry snuggled into his bed, pulling the thin blanket around him. He would ponder about how to spend his Dursley free days later in the morning when the sun was up and he was well-rested. Besides, the bed was too comfortable after sleeping on the floor at the resort (Vernon did not believe in spending money unnecessarily on Harry). He drifted off to sleep...,He should have expected it. Honestly, he was surprised that he was shocked. Twelve-year-old Harry Potter stared in silence at what used to be his legs as he sat in the tub. It was a good thing he had decided to indulge in the bathtub since the Dursleys were absent. He was not sure how it would have turned out if he had been in the shower instead. Probably would have fallen and broken his nose in less than a minute.,It had been surreal. A moment he had been basking in the warmth of the water, reminiscing at how it came close to the feel of magic at the moon-pool. Then he had been overcome by a sudden rush of power as his magic uncoiled from his core and flooded his entire being. A moment – just a moment – he had even become water. The power in him had intensified. Then he was back to human or at least partially.,He shifted his tail, feeling more than a little ridiculous. A merman. Nothing else fit. The golden-orange scaled tail that he sported waist down could mean nothing else.,Harry sighed. Really, he should not have been surprised. Things kept happening to him most of the time anyway.

Hi. My name is Amy Cahill. You might be thinking: "Hi Amy" or "Why do I care who you are? You're just a regular person just like me." Well trust me: I wish I had grown up a normal little girl. But I'm not. I am a Cahill, one of history's most powerful families, and with us, and I mean, me, my brother, Dan, our babysitter (we prefer Au Pair) Nellie Gomez, and some other random people we meet along the way will be taking you, the reader, on a never ending roller coaster, so buckle up and hold on tight! (Just please, don't get sick). Anyways, enjoy the ride!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Total Drama series, both franchises belong to their respected owners. Please support official and fan releases.,Summary: When Harry gets sent to a camp for the summer he never imagined it would be in Canada nor that it would be airing all around the world for people to see. The question remains whether he will survive until the end or will he be eliminated before the challenge even begins? TrentxHarry.,Warnings: Violence, swearing, slash, canon divergent, mentions of abuse and mentions of character death.,Chapter One: Camp Wawanakwa!,How did this happen?,Scratch that. How in the world did Harry allow this to happen? Standing upon the shining white glamorous boat that headed towards the destination, and glanced at the pamphlet with minor annoyance. Somehow in some twisted sort of way his aunt managed to strike up a deal with a producer in Canada. The plus? He'd leave the house for the entire summer and neither group would see one another until September. Quite frankly, Harry did not know whether to be surprised at her deviousness or praising her cunning. Regardless it allowed him to get as far away from the Dursleys as possible and having some time to himself. And, apparently several others, from what the print said. Not that it particularly mattered.,What did matter had been the method in which his aunt Petunia managed to succeed. Recalling something about an audition tape needed, though, Harry never sent one in. His stomach began to curdle slightly knowing that there had been some ulterior motive behind it all, but what? Harry did not know. And whether he truly desired to know.,In the distance Harry could see an older looking guy with a blue short sleeved button up shirt with khaki pants, black yet almost greyish hair sitting upon his head as his arms stretched out widely and flashed a bright smile. However just behind him had been an number of campers which were already standing behind him; none of them looked to be too bad. Except for the guy with the green mohawk and the long taller dark haired girl that seemed to be glaring daggers at everyone that surrounded her; making a mental note to avoid contact her at each chance available. As his boat began to dock near the edge Harry knew that this had been a sign for him to get off. Grabbing his small trunk and proceeded to join on the dock. The man waved. "And here comes our next camper, with the nearly late entry! Harry! Thanks for coming man!","Oh. Um, thanks for the invite." Harry commented, uncertain as how to proceeded properly.,Before anymore could be said a girl with brunette hair tied in a small pigtail walked up to him. Excited energy rolling off of her as she held out her hand towards him. "Hi there. My name's Beth!","Nice to meet you, Beth." He responded in kindly, wearing a kind and gentle smile.,"You're British?" The rather big blonde remarked, surprised and staring openly at him.,In fact everyone bar Chris appeared surprised by the revelation gaining him a few odd looks and stares. Normally, Harry had been able to shake such unwanted eyes off of him however this had been different from the other time due to the nature of their staring. Shifting rather uncomfortably as their eyes remained glued to his presence. His eyes averted to the sea trying his best to ignore them. Just what exactly was he supposed to say, let alone even respond?,Before anything could be done one of the guys with the black hair and green shirt with the hand print walked over. "Hey. Name's Trent, welcome.","Thanks, Trent." Harry gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and a brief smile.,The goth girl gave a nod, and a slight smile. "Gwen.","And I'm Owen! Totally awesome to metchya!" The big blonde greeted enthusiastically with a bright large smile waving his hand.,The long haired girl gave him a look. "Looks like you'll be stuck with us for the next eight weeks. Fun.","There are worse alternatives," the boy with the brown hair pointed out before smiling widely. "Oh hey I'm Cody!",The girl with the earrings gave a short wave. "Hey there baby, name's Leshawna.","Great we got another dweeb." The guy with the mohawk commented, arms crossed and rolling eyes with a sneer.,Before a retort could even be mustered another girl strolled onto the dock. Relatively tall with brown hair and a tan, with a white blouse beneath a grey sweater and moss green pants stretching just above her ankles. The way she moved revealed a side of gentleness as she paused with her step introducing herself to them. Owen had been the first to react to her practically grabbing her hand and shaking it roughly, her shock had been quickly overrode, however as another person had arrived that gained the attention of every single person there except himself. A rather muscular looking guy appeared with wild brunet hair smiling widely as he stood near the edge of the boat that steadily began to align with the dock. Nearly all of the girls around him were instantly smitten by his suddenly appearance gazing up at him with hearts dancing in their eyes where the guys seemed torn between disbelief, silently appreciation and wariness.,Harry, however, had been unimpressed. "Is that really what girls like?","Well," Trent murmured. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, and shrugged his shoulders. "Each to their own.","Pft. Pretty boy's just that ,." The mohawk teen remarked flatly. "Bet ya he won't last long.","Going to agree on that one." Harry stated, with a sharp nod.,The dock rocked slightly as another girl managed to appear with curly red hair wearing an green dress wrapped around her body. The brunette haired girl, Courtney, rushed towards her aiding in getting the girl out of the water before the redhead began to launch immediately into talking going so fast that he honestly wondered if Hermione would have been offended. At the mentioning of lunch everyone managed to pique up with curiosity at the thought of eating, Harry himself felt a bit hungry. His aunt practically shoved him upon the ship without anything to eat seemingly hurried to send him off without a moment's hitch. However, the guy, Chris, shook his head smiling brightly.,"Sorry Izzy, but we still have one final member joining us!" He announced, and smiled brightly just as another boat appeared. Turning his body and clapped. "Everyone welcome our last entry, Li Sue!",The girl appeared from the boat ignoring Chris completely as her eyes seemed to zero in on him. Her lips pressed thinly together and frowned, walking past the bewildered man as she pushed past the rest of the group ending up standing before Harry. The two of them remained in complete silence staring back at one another.,"Potter." Sue began, without breaking eye contact.,"Li.",A moment passed. And then, Sue smirked. "If you're here. Things are , to be interesting. Do try and survive alone enough.",Harry arched a brow silently.,"Ok,y." Chris said, resting his hands upon his hips. "Seems two of our campers have history together. Anyway, everyone down to the docks. Gotta take a picture for the promos!",The group moved together huddling close to one another forming for the group photo. Harry seemingly had been forced in between the tall model guy; Justin, and beside the other brunet whose been in a headlock via from Owen as his eyes glanced over toward where Li had been standing with the blonde girl with the bandana and Leshawana. Everyone apparently had been content smiling. Ever since Colin began to take to following him around during second year, his aversion to photos increased steadily. Managing to keep himself fairly relaxed as they waited for Chris to finally take the photo after commenting on the lens cape. Irritation started to flow through them all. Each of them wanted to the photo taken and done with already. Everyone seemed to be getting antsy without close they were to one another and to get onto the island. Something felt a bit odd about the entire thing with the way Chris had deliberately jumped onto the boat coaching everyone to the end of the dock.,And there it was, the wood beneath them broke as they poured straight into the water.,Thank ,for Owen's big body.,Drying off? Not so bad.,Chris had each of them gathered around the camping grounds either standing, or sitting upon the logs. Harry ended up hanging near the back with the girl wearing blue and Justin, along with Cody. Their attention had been given towards Chris, though, none of them had entirely forgiven him for allowing them to be dumped into the water. Some less than others. Harry counted himself lucky that he ended up gripping onto Owen once it broke. He had been one of the only ones that managed to remain dry where everyone else ended up getting wet. Quite frankly he felt grateful for small favours before tuning into what the man began to say.,"This is Camp Wawanakwa your home. For the next eight weeks the campers sitting around you will be your cabinmates, your competition and maybe even your friends. You dig? The camper that manages to remain on Total Drama Island without getting voted off will win $1, 000, 000.00!" Chris announced, pleasantly. Tension already seeped into air. Eyes switched from one to another mixed with different moods and emotions some being unreadable to others and some were. It had been obvious that all of them came to the island for one thing, and one thing only; for the money. Judging by the look that the man wore it had been the exact reaction that he had been hoping for. Frankly, long as he managed to remain until September, the others could fight over the money as long and hard as they desired. Not that Harry really needed the money having plenty for the coming school year to cover the necessary expenses.,His mind did wonder as to why Li of all people came to the Island in the first place?,"Excuse me," The mohawk guy, now revealed as Duncan, strolled up to the front smirking. "What will the sleeping arrangements be? Because I'd like to request a , under ,." Jabbing his thumb towards long haired girl's direction.,She stared horrified. "They aren't co-ed, are they?","No." Chris confirmed, shaking his head. "Girls are on one side and dudes are on the other.","Excuse me," the blonde, Lindsay, held up her hand. "Kyle? Can I have a cabin with the lake view since I'm the prettiest?",Harry stared, and felt his eyes twitch. "She isn't serious, is she?","Well," Cody whispered back. "She is pretty hot.","Right." Harry was not even going to touch that button barely hearing how irritate Chris sounded as he corrected Lindsay. Unfortunately, things began to go downhill from there as Katie and Sadie began to make an argument about being apart, while the moment of friendship had been touching the excuses that they made nearly made him gag. Were they really that serious?,Gwen stared just as deadpanned as him. "This can, be happening.",Glad to see that someone shared his sentiments.,"Alright that's enough everyone." Chris held up a sheet. "I'll going to be reading out the teams. When your name is said go over there." Pointing with his finger as his eyes flickered onto the page. "Gwen. Trent. Heather. Cody. Lindsay. Beth. Katie. Owen. Leshawna. Justin. Noah, and Harry. From this moment on you will officially be known as," tossing the group a rolled up green sheet. "The Screaming Gophers!",Owen's eyes light brightly. "I'm a Gopher? AWESOME!","Wait!" The tall girl with pink, Katie, glanced around worriedly over towards her friend. "What about Sadie?",Chris raised his arm gesturing to the other side. "The rest of you over here. Geoff. Bridgette." The guy with cowboy hat and the surfer girl glanced at each other with smiles. "DJ. Tyler. Sadie. Izzy. Courtney. Ezekiel. Duncan. Eva. Harold and Sue. Your group will be known as the Killer Bass!" Tossing over a red cloth with the symbol of the animal upon it. Harold reached out to grab it before Sue's arm extended pass his allowing the sheet wo unweave. A hint of approval shinned within her brown eyes casting a look towards their competition.,"Hear that, Potter? We're the , Bass.",Harry paused glancing back. "You do realize that as Gophers that we naturally have the advantage of being predators and the land. Right?","Do you two have something going on or something? Geoff inquired, glancing back bemused.,Sue snorted. "No. After all," She smirked. "He likes , girls.","You were just waiting to use that one, weren't you?" Harry's face flamed instantly shooting daggers. At her.,"For awhile. Yes." She responded, truthfully and then smiled. "Cho sends her , by the way.",Harry groaned. "I'm sure that she does.","Older girls, huh?" Cody zipped right to him, and nudged him in the ribs grinning. "Nice man!",All that he desired right now was for the ground to swallow him whole. Right then, and there. His cheeks burned brightly trying to suppress the utter embarrassment that coursed through his veins forcing himself to stare at the ground and ignoring the words that she used to taunt him, not even on the island for a full day and Harry already desired to bury himself into a bed. His ears simply tuned into Chris directing them towards the necessary cabins and bringing up the part about the cameras; making a mental note to memorize just encase, and about the confessional recorder in the bathroom. Not that he planned on using it. After all, venting to a bunch of people that he did not know nor cared about knowing about his own thoughts. Internalizing everything inside. That's how Harry survived for so long unless they were Ron and Hermione, there would be no way anyone on the island would be able to force him in using the confessional.,As the girls began to disburse towards their respected cabins the rest of the guys stood giving him looks. Leering quietly with different stares and mixed expressions ranging from curiosity to impressive and to mere amusement.,"So." Ducan began, smirking. "Older girls?",Cody copied the smirk. "Was she hot?","What kind of girl was she?" DJ inquired, politely.,"Was she pretty?" Owen added.,"I sincerely hope for your sakes she ended up being the intellectual type." Noah drawled, flatly and crossed his arms gazing forwards deadpanned. It had been fairly obvious from his comment to whom he had been referring.,Cody rolled his eyes a bit. "Ah, c'mon Noah. The girls here are pretty awesome and smart!","I'm going to have to reserve the right to say no comment." He retorted, flatly with a sharp look.,Tyler grinned, stroking his chin. "But still an OLDER girl?",Harry felt very uncomfortable with the praise they had been given him. To say that Cho's and his relationships had been anything other than complicated would have been a complete and utter lie; to say the least neither of them should have taken a chance at trying to be together. No after what happened. Not that fast. There had been nothing that could be done now; what happened, happened. There was no changing that. All they could do was move forward and try to salvage a friendship. If there even was one to salvage. After Marietta turned and ratted the DA out; she had lost considerable favor with the rest of the Ravenclaws along with the rest of the DA members for siding with her friend, not that Harry could possibly blame her. One of the traits that he had admired about Cho had been her sense of loyal and friendship, despite his own misgivings about those that broke trust and betrayed. Personally, the spell that Hermione had cast upon the snatch had been a wee bit too harsh for words, not that he had any way of reserving it. Too much had really happened during the previous year for anything to really form between them. Maybe, one day, the two would end up being able to become friends.,One day.,"C'mon guys." Geoff intervened. "Give the dude a little space would ya? The little guy's turning red!",His eyebrow twitched. "I'm not little.","You barely reach my height." Cody pointed out. "You're short. And speaking of short, excuse me gentlemen I think I see some lovely ladies that are in need of major assistance.",Justin shook his head, disappointed. "Poor guy's dead meat.","I reckon he won't last an minute before they throw him out." Harry commented.,Trent nodded in agreement. "We'll have to arrange a small funeral for him.","I might be gorgeous but I'm no fool to take up that bet." The model commented, running his hand through his hair.,Duncan crossed his arms, snorting. "Kid's persistent. I'll give him that.","Speaking of persistent. Hey Chris!" Geoff called, gaining the host's attention whom had been speaking with Gwen and Lindsay utterly ignoring the fact that Cody came flying out of the room and drove straight into the ground. "Are there any chaperon's around this facility?",Chris stared. "You're all sixteen, most of you anyway, Harry's the only one that's fifteen and most of you are around the age where a counsellor in training for a normal summer camp is. So for the reminder of the eight weeks it's just going to be all of you, myself and Chef on this island. So feel free to go nuts! Oh. Meet up in the main lodge in a half hour starting now!","Nice!" Geoff grinned, eyes flickering towards his cabin.,"The shortest and the youngest." Duncan smirked, sliding his arm upon Harry's head. "Sucks to be you.",Harry shot a glare. "The taller and older they are, the harder they fall as they say.","Bring it on shorty." The punk smirked reaching over and smothering his hair. "I'll be waiting for a real challenge.",Before anymore could be said a sharp scream echoed from the Gopher ladies' lodging causing everyone's head to snap towards the source as they rushed towards the doorway to see what all the fuss had been about. Just for them to stare upon seeing Lindsay backed up with her leg in the air shrinking back in fear of a coach roaches that skidded across the floor. Harry did not see what all the fuss had been all about as Harold rushed in with DJ screaming and jumped into the air crushing Gwen's bunk ("That was going to be my bed.") Even as a child, bugs had never bothered him. Having been forced to sleep with a bunch of spiders during his youth, seeing roaches had been nothing short of anything and did not see why they were frightened of the insect. Suppressing the urge to sigh, Harry entered the room ignoring the looks of disgust that crossed many of their faces as he bent down scooping up the insect straight into his palm and ignored the stares received.,"I can't believe that you're touching it!" Lindsay cried, backing away with fright.,Harry pinned a stare. "It's a bug. It isn't going to kill you.","It's still a roach," Leshawna pointed out. "It's disgusting.",Gwen wrinkled her nose. "Even I can barely stand touching one. And I'm a goth.","Just get it the hell out of here already!" Heather demanded.,"Right, right. Whatever you say your majesty." His eyes rolled slightly walking out of the room. "It's a bug, yesch. There you are time for you to go." Dropping the insect onto the fence watching it descend onto the ground vanishing from sight, and proceeded to ignore the noise that came from the girl's room.,Trent, Noah and Owen's head peered from the doorway.,"They were freaking out over a roach on the floor." Harry informed, blandly strolling towards them.,Noah snorted. "Riveting.","Kinda glad that I'm rooming with guys instead of the girls." Owen remarked throwing a look of squeamishness.,Harry glanced up at him. "As someone whom attends a boarding school and shares a dormitory with the boys and girls, none of you have any idea how true of a statement that is.","Boarding school? Ouch." Trent winced. "That's rough, man.","Even my parents never stooped to sending me to one of those!" Owen remarked, horrified. "A boarding school? Uniforms!","Sounds boring." Noah responded lazily. "And undull.",Harry pressed his lips together. "It's…. different from a normal school, I'll give you that. Not sure how things work here in Canada and home but I'd wager that there are a few similarities and such? Though my school is a castle opposed to a building.","A castle?" Trent's eyes widened. "That sounds sick!",Owen practically glowed. "What about the food? Is it delicious?","I guess?" Harry felt himself a bit at a loss, though Trent's reaction made sense. Talking about home made his heart beginning to twist focusing his attention back onto the bunks that were lined up against the walls, while the room had not been the most glamours it had been fine with him. "Erm guessing you guys have already chosen your bed?","I'm already bunking with Owen." Noah jabbed his thumb over towards Owen. "Makes things easier for us.","Justin's with Cody." Trent pipped up. "So, I was waiting for you to see if you wanted the top or the bottom bunk.","I'm fine with either. Not too picky," Harry had dealt with the worst as far as he had been concerned back at Hogwarts with Neville and Ron's snoring and Seamus's complaining.,Trent nodded. "Then I'll take the bottom bunk. Easier to get to my guitar.","Hurry up you guys!" Chris's voice carried over through the field. "Ten minutes left to get to the main lodgings!",Noah rolled his eyes. "Joy. I can't waist to see what awaits us in this dump.","I hope that there will be food!" Owen began, stars lightening up in his eyes. "I haven't eaten since leaving early this morning I'm hungry.",And true to Owen's wishes there had, indeed been food, as the campers each lined up waiting with their trays in hand. Upon receiving their food from Chef each wore a look of perplexed confusion and wariness eyeing the brown slop that laid upon their plates the stench carried over from one end of the room to the next, stinking up the place considerably. By the time that it had finally reached him, nearly everyone else had already gotten their meal for the day. The stare which the man gave him said enough, and placed a smaller portion upon his plate. It had been at that moment when Harry realized that Chef knew. That he had been aware of the starvation which Harry had been forced to endure that had been why he received such a smaller meal compared to the others never having had much to eat in the first place and that his stomach could not handle large portions of food like a normal teenager, could not handle larger portions. Avoiding the look that Tent and DJ wore upon their faces shooting glares at the man, whom crossed his arms refusing to budge from his position. Rather than arguing Harry gave his thanks then hurried over towards the Gopher's table not wanting to gain any more attention than he already had.,"I'll snag you a muffin later," Trent murmured under his breath strolling beside him. "That ain't right.",Harry shrugged. "It is what it is, no use complaining.","Are we sure this stuff is even editable?" Cody pipped, eyeing his sandwich.,Gwen grimaced. "I saw mine move. When I talked to Chef, he took out a hammer and smashed it. I don't think complaining is going to get us anywhere.","They aren't going to starve us." Beth stated, and then paused glancing at her plate. "… are they?","With this?" Trent held his sandwich up warily. "It's possible.","Welcome to the main lodge!" Chris strolled in smiling brightly.,Geoff looked up. "Yo, my man. Can we get a pizza here?" The axe flew past him nearly skinning him as it hit the doorway causing him to recoil in fear. "Whoa! It's cool G! Brown slop is cool! Right guys?" A mixture of nervous laughter and nodding heads were shared all around as Cody sunk straight under the table petrified with fear.,"Your first challenge beings in one hour!",Katie glanced at DJ. "What do you think they'll make us do?","It's our first challenge," DJ assured. "How hard can it be?",Famous last words.,Chapter One end.,Please leave constructive criticism in your comments/reviews please! And whether or not you'd like confessionals to appear in the fic.

Battlestar Fleur,A Harry Potter story in Outer Space,By Sheila Welkar,This is only a fanfiction, written just for fun and based on the characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling- Inspired by the Battlestar Galactica reimagined series!,Chapter 1: Qaprica,So the infamous year 2012 had come with the unexplained disaster, terrible fire and shockwaves causing mayhem and death the world over...,All of the Muggles were exterminated within a few days, while the Wizards and Witches of the world, counting with Magic to protect them, were able to survive after suffering casualties that took over ninety percent of them all.,When they came out of their refuges they found nothing but fire and ruins everywhere, and so very soon the Wizards and Witches had no choice but to forsake the shattered planet... and venture out to space where no Muggle had gone before.,After travelling a few weeks they discovered a group of planets where they could live together in peace, and so the Wizards and Witches created the Twelve Colonies of Qavel and decided to start a new way of life and forget the horrors of the past.,Twelve enormous and powerful starships called Battlestars were built to protect these new worlds, one for each of the planets, and so begins our greatest story of all...,Qaprica was a very beautiful planet with forests and mountains, weather was nice all year and the famous McGonagall City, built beside a giant lake and surrounded by the forests, boasted a population of seven million happy and proud Wizards and Witches!,So one day of November Fleur opened the window and she could see the lake and forests in the distance, the super tall skyscrapers of McGonagall City shining with the happy morning light coming from the twin suns...,"Good morning, my sweetheart!" came Bill's voice all of a sudden from the kitchen- "Victoire has made pancakes for us, come quick before they are cold!",Fleur was wearing a beautiful silvery dress with blue gloves, and then she closed the window of her bedroom and hurried up to have breakfast with her beloved husband Bill Weasley and their little daughter Victoire.,"I'm coming!" she said- "Save some maple syrup for me please!",Fleur closed the wooden door, dashed to the bathroom and proceeded to wash her face and her hair before having her breakfast of that day.,Fleur and Bill lived in a fantastic apartment in one of McGonagall City's tallest skyscrapers, like three hundred stories up in the sky and always with the best view of the city that they could imagine!,Their place was cozy and sophisticated with all the wonders that the new Wizarding Technology had to offer, and little Victoire was happy with her new life in the strange but otherwise attractive planet of Qaprica.,The rest of the Weasley family lived in McGonagall City as well (even though Molly had died in the unexplained disaster back in Earth) and so life was prosperous and happy, as the Wizards and Witches were free of Muggles and had twelve worlds all of their own.,Bill worked in the Space Wizarding Armada (SWA) where he was Captain of the new and dazzling Battlestar William, named in his honour and also larger and more powerful than all the other Battlestars! Meanwhile Fleur took care of little Victoire and worked in the New Hogwarts of Qaprica, where she was the professor of Qaprican Magic and Skills.,Soon, however, Fleur would be Captain of her own Battlestar Fleur of Qaprica...,Life was happy for Fleur, Bill and Victoire (who was, by the way, a freakish veela-werewolf hybrid with fangs, tail, silvery-blonde-red hair and the ability to throw balls of fire, but her parents loved her anyway!) but they did not know, they had no idea that very soon something terrible would change their lives forever...,"Hello Mommy!" said little Victoire, enjoying her pancakes- "I can't wait for my first day at New Hogwarts of Qaprica!",Victoire was already wearing her black Hogwarts robes, itching to finally attend the famous Wizarding school for her first year! Fleur was going to take her to the castle that day (which was nearby McGonagall city between forests and the giant lake) while Bill would go to outer space to have yet another day of usual work in the Battlestar William.,The dining room of their apartment was spacious and cute, with wooden floor, white marble walls, a crystal table and wrought iron chairs, apart from Bill's collection of wine bottles and a huge window that gave them a superb view of the city!,"Hello sweetheart!" Fleur replied- "Thanks for making breakfast!","Good morning, my precious flower!" Bill said- "I trust you slept well?","Perfectly" Fleur said, sitting down- "I love these peaceful nights of Qaprica","Battlestar William is receiving new Crew and improvements!" Bill commented- "Sorry, that means that I have to depart early today, but I shall be back tonight anyway! By the way, Harry, Ron and Hermione are coming to have dinner with us","That's fine!" Fleur replied- "Can't wait to see Harry again",Bill Weasley was one of the most respected Captains in the Space Wizarding Armada, and that morning, as usual, he looked so cool wearing his black robes of Captain and his official heavy boots that were given to all Crew of the Battlestars! Fleur loved those cool, dark SWA uniforms and she couldn't wait to be a Captain herself.,"I'll take Victoire with me and later we want to visit the Mall and Central Park" Fleur told her husband happily- "I think that pizza would be great for dinner!",Victoire finished her breakfast in a hurry and dashed off to her bedroom, getting her owl and all her stuff ready for her first day at Hogwarts! Meanwhile Fleur and Bill kept chatting quite casually that morning, the pancakes were delicious and nothing seemed out of order in the peaceful world of Qaprica...,Central Park was a place that everyone loved, hidden between super tall skyscrapers and cute malls in the very heart of McGonagall City.,It was very green with grass, trees and bushes everywhere, apart from lakes, meadows, ice rinks to skate all day and trails to have a walk! You could always find a silvery bench to sit down and rest a while, the birds would sing and there was a giant statue of Minerva McGonagall in the middle of the park.,Fleur was sitting on a bench just before the fifty-foot tall statue, admiring the violet sky of Qaprica after reading the plaque that was part of that most beautiful monument: "To Minerva McGonagall, who discovered Qaprica and founded the Twelve Colonies of Qavel for us all. We owe you our Peaceful worlds. Rest in Peace",It was a perfect day in Central Park with many wizards and witches walking around in their everyday lives, and Fleur, who had finally quitted her job at Hogwarts so she could become a Battlestar Captain in a few weeks, had decided to chill out for the rest of the day. Victoire had disappeared somewhere playing with little Teddy Lupin, and Fleur, wearing that day her best silvery dress, had been shopping for hours at the best mall of McGonagall City!,"Bill is sure telling me that I have spent too much!" she thought, taking a look at her large collection of shopping bags around her- "Who cares, now I shall be a Battlestar Captain as well and we can pay it all",A blonde young girl passed by handing leaflets, and when Fleur asked curiously for one, the girl beamed and walked straight for her.,"It's coming!" the girl said- "Very soon! Just wait...",Fleur took the large, white leaflet with blue and silvery letters and she saw the words that were written on it:,"SYLON: Life was never Easier!","What's a Sylon?" Fleur asked herself as the girl disappeared- "Life was never easier?","Hello Fleur!" said a familiar voice, and a red-haired woman had appeared all of a sudden!,"Hello Ginny" Fleur replied as she was sitting down beside her- "What a pleasant surprise! How is your work at the Armada so far?",Ginny was wearing her black SWA robes and looked so cool with her long and fiery red hair, seeming to be very happy and proud that particular day.,"Fantastic!" she replied- "You know that we shall work together on Battlestar Fleur, but today I was granted a tour of the William and it's superb","I know, six thousand feet long" Fleur said- "The best armor of all Battlestars!",Battlestar William was indeed the joy and pride of the Space Wizarding Armada, everyone wanted to serve on it and Bill was already a very famous Captain! Meanwhile, Battlestar Fleur was five thousand feet long and its armor and artillery batteries were rather outdated for the new standards of Qaprica...,"The William's artillery is the most powerful that I have seen!" Ginny continued- "It has over three hundred batteries and twelve missile tubes, but I have no idea how many warheads are part of its reserves these days",Fleur was not very happy to hear about artillery firepower and nuclear warheads, as actually her personal goal as a Battlestar Captain was to make the Fleur a guardian starship and keep peace without attacking anyone.,"We don't need all of that anyway" Fleur said- "Life is perfect! What could possibly happen in the Twelve Colonies of Qavel to affect us?","You know, we can never be sure!" Ginny replied- "Luna has joined the Armada as well, maybe she will be on the Fleur with us","Wonderful!" Fleur said- "Just three more weeks","I have to go now" Ginny said, standing up in a hurry- "I have to plan my wedding day, Harry says that he wants it simple but I'm getting everything ready for the full blast!","See you other day!" Fleur said, and Ginny disappeared in the distance flying with her new Qaprican Firefly Broomstick.,Fleur looked up at the sky and the stars that were always visible in the violet sky of Qaprica, and she thought, she tried to imagine what could possibly go wrong in the perfect life of these twelve perfect worlds...,The Twelve monstrous Battlestars were the greatest power that the wizards and witches had ever created, but even with them they could not feel really safe after the unexplained disaster that had almost wiped out all life back in Earth.,"What if something happens?" Fleur asked herself- "What if someday we have to leave Qaprica and seek a new world somewhere up there?",The stars were twinkling in the violet sky, and Fleur sighed as she stared peacefully at their magic and their beauty.,To Be Continued!

I had vowed to never ever prank anyone ever again. Since my classmates beat me up five years ago, ever since, I had not pranked anyone else.,Not that anyone knew about it in the first place, I had always managed to keep in check most of the time, if it wasn't for the potions that Snape had given me, hoping that I would survive the War in the end. True that I did survive, but I had done it with a cost.,The only way for me to return back home, is if I were to move on, forcing myself to forget all about my family, all about Fred Weasley.,I was on my way to my apartment, when I heard a male call out, "Spencer!",I turned to see Freddie walking up to me, he had a letter in his hands, but as he grew closer to me, I also saw someone who I hadn't seen in a long time, someone who would always be there for me when I needed someone to talk to.,Freddie said, "Spencer, meet my friend from college, George. George, this is Spencer Shay.",I nodded numbly at George, who only nodded in return, both of us not wanting to say anything in front of Freddie, who said a moment later, "Do we have everything set up for Carly's Welcome Home party, Spencer?",I said while leading the way back to my apartment, trying to force back those memories, "Of course, I have everything set up for the party.","Spencer!",I was caught off guard by a slime, dark haired woman, I said a moment later, "Pan, what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be back until tonight.",My wife, Panay, smiled at me, and she said, "I wanted to surprise you, love. Whose this?",I said, "This is my friend Freddie and his friend George... This is my wife, Pan-",Just the, George suddenly said for the first time, "What brings you here, Parkinson? Wouldn't you have brought shame onto your family name?",Pansy glared at George, who glared back, and she said, her voice low, "Why you here, blood traitor? Shouldn't you be back home with your blood traitors of a family?",I forced myself to keep walking, my brows furrowed, hands clenched into fists, they were just too much for me to handle.,I made my way up to my apartment using the elevator, I could still hear them arguing out in the hall, once the doors were shut, I rubbed my face, it had been years since I had last seen or heard from that place, I didn't think that they would show up here, or in Seattle to begin with.,It wasn't like me to hide anything from my friends, especially Carly, who was coming back home tomorrow, I didn't think that Freddie would bring the very person who I so desperately missed the most, next to mum, that is.,I should have known from the very beginning, if it hadn't been for Pansy, I may have just had a slightly somewhat normal day.,The elevator doors opened, and as I stepped out, I quickly noticed someone sitting on the couch.,Someone who I hadn't seen in five years.,Sam Pucket!

: Insanity Awakened 18,"Wait a bloody fucking minute. This has to be some kind of a joke." Mason said, staring at Rube in disbelief. They couldn't possibly be going after Harry Potter characters. These people weren't real! Then again, reapers weren't suppose to be real either. That was a totally different story for a different time though.,"No joke Mason, turns out the both of them are real people. As are the rest of them in that...Harry Potter mumbo jumbo." Rube said, waving his hands in the air dramaticaly. Which is something you'd figure Mason would be doing. However, Mason seemed to be a little preoccupied glaring at the post it that was just given to him.,"I don't even know this Luner Lovesomething.","Luna Lovegood.","Close enough." Mason said, crossing his arms in front of himself, glaring at the breakfast he had just ordered. He was finding all of this very hard to believe. Not to mention he had to do this reap with someone that would possibly shot him on the way to doing said job. Roxy. All of this Harry Potter business was really starting to piss him off. That was until he was struck with a certain idea. An idea that he was sure would get him off the hook and possibly have one of the others going with Roxy instead of himself.,"You know, Roxy isn't going to be too happy about all of this.","Oh, no need to worry about that. She already knows whats going on.","WHAT?!?" Mason shouted, now kind of glaring at Rube. He did this on purpose! He had to have done this on purpose. Why would he end up telling Roxy about this reap before telling him?!?,"Probably ended up shooting you when she found out too." Mason mumbled to himself before shoving a forkful of hashbrowns into his mouth. This was definately not his day, not by a longshot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Tales of Symphonia,If you have not beaten Tales of Symphonia than don't read this. I am not even going to try to write how Hagrid talks. Also I am a American so don't yell at me if I don't use British phases.,-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------,In the remains of the Potter's residence a dimensional rift opened up and three people came out of it. The first was a man with brown hair with a red shirt, pants, and boots carrying a huge sword. Next was a woman with blonde hair wearing white clothes with a blue trim with chakrams on her waist. Last was a woman with white hair wearing orange clothes with a black trim carrying a staff. Finally the man spoke up and said "Colette you go find the baby","Alright" said Colette walking away,"Raine do you think you could revive them" asked Lloyd,"They just died, so I think I can revive them" said Raine,"Alright go ahead and do it and make so they don't wake up when you do" said Lloyd,"Alright" said Raine,With Colette, using her angelic hearing, she heard a baby crying in a crib that looked undamaged in the remains of the house. She walked over to the crib and picked up baby Harry who fell asleep in her arms and walked back to Lloyd and Raine.,Back with Lloyd and Raine, she was holding her staff perpendicular with her body chanting "Bring their souls back from purgatory, RESURRECTION",Life came back into Lily and James's bodies but stayed asleep as Colette came back saying "I found him Lloyd","That's good; Raine was able to resurrect them as well. Let's head home" said Lloyd,"Alright" said Colette as she walked into the dimensional rift with baby Harry,Next was Raine carrying Lily and James. After they both left, Lloyd called out "Origin","Yes" said Origin when he appeared,"Can you get rid of all the evidence here" asked Lloyd,"Of course" said Origin,"Thanks" said Lloyd as he entered the dimension rift it closing behind him,After Lloyd left, Origin erased all the evidence about what happened on that fateful night and disappeared himself as Hagrid arrived.,"What happened here" asked Hagrid looking around,Hagrid came busting into Professor Dumbledore with Dumbledore asking "What are you doing here Hagrid; I thought I sent you to get young Harry Potter? I was just about to leave to head to Privet Drive myself","When I got there was nothing there" exclaimed Hagrid,"What do you mean" asked Dumbledore,"It was like there was nothing ever there" said Hagrid,"It appears that the backlash was more powerful than I thought" said Dumbledore as he sank back into his chair,"What do you mean" asked Hagrid,"It means that the savior of the magical world, Harry Potter, is dead" he said grimly,Lily was the first to stir as she sleepily opened her eyes and sat up looking around saying "James",Hearing his name called woke him up and said "Lily","Are we alive" he asked,"I see you finally woke up and yes you both are alive" said Lloyd,"Who are you" asked James,"And where's Harry" asked Lily,"My name is Lloyd" said Lloyd,"And Harry is right here" said Colette carrying Harry into the bedroom,"HARRY" screamed Lily who ran over and took Harry in her arms and started hugging and kissing him,"What is going on here" asked James who has joined Lily by her side,"Follow us to the living room and we will explain everything" said Lloyd,Once everyone was settled in the living room Lloyd spoke up saying "Let me introduce myself, my name is Lloyd Irving the Eternal Swordsman and this is my wife Colette","Hello" said Colette,"Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions so asked away" said Lloyd,"How are we alive" asked James,"I know there is no spell that can revive the dead" said Lily,"I know there is no spell in your world but there is in ours" said Lloyd,"You mean we are in a different world" exclaimed James,"Yes, you're in Symphonia" said Colette,"Why did you do this" asked Lily,"I think it would be better for Origin to explain why" said Lloyd,"Who's Origin" asked James,"I am" said Origin who just appeared,"Whoa" they both exclaimed,"I am Origin, King of the Summon Spirits and master of time and space" proclaimed Origin,"Summon Spirits" asked Lily,"There are beings that protect our world and keep it in order" said Colette,"What does that have to do with us" asked James,"I observed what would happened if I let fate take its course in your world. Your son would be sent to live with your sister and would be abused and not know of his heritage until his eleventh birthday" said Origin,"WHAT! My son was sent to live with my hateful sister" yelled Lily,"What happened to Sirius and Remus" asked James,"Well when Sirius found out what happened he went after Peter. But when he caught up with him he made the public believe that Sirius is the traitor and proceeded to blow up the street killing twelve muggles and blame that on him too. Because of this he was sent to Azkaban without a trial. Also they wouldn't trust the savior of the magical world to a werewolf" said Origin,"Damn you Peter. I still can't believe he betrayed us and then set up Sirius to take the fall. We have to go back and help him" said James,"You can't do that now. Right now you have to focus on raising Harry and training him for when you return when he is eleven. Everyone thinks all three of you are dead and that will work to your favor when you return" said Origin,"Alright" said Lily,"What is this training you are talking about" asked James,"Well that is the reason you are here in Symphonia. You will learn our way of magic and so will Harry when he is old enough. You will also learn swordsmanship, but you two will be taught by Lloyd's father to wield one sword and Harry will be taught by Lloyd to wield two" said Origin,"Sounds fun" said James,"I thought so. Now there is one more thing we have to discuss but it will be easier to show you than tell you" said Origin,Turning to Lloyd he said "Lloyd, I want you to show yours and Colette's memories of your journey","Alright" Lloyd sighed,Lloyd unsheathed Flamberge and Vorpal and formed the Eternal Sword. "What is that" exclaimed James,"You will understand shortly" said Origin,"Eternal Sword, show them our memories of our Journey of Reunification" chanted Lloyd,All of Lloyd's and Colette's memories of their journey were showed to Lily and James like a movie. From Colette receiving the Oracle, to the destruction Luin, to Kratos' betrayal, to their journey to Tethealla, to Colette's kidnapping, to the Giant Tree going out of control, to their trip up the Tower of Salvation, to the truth about Lloyd's father, to their confrontation with Mithos, to the release of Origin's seal, to the final battle with Mithos, and ending with the replanting of the Giant Tree.,"Wow you guys went though a lot" said James,"Why are you showing us these memories" asked Lily,"Well I am offering to give you Cruxis Crystals" said Origin,"WHAT" screamed Lloyd and Colette,"Calm down, these crystals are made by me at no cost to human life" said Origin,"Alright" said Lloyd calming back down,"It also applies to Harry as well" said Origin,"So you want us to become angels" asked James,"Yes, I believe it will help all of you when you return to your world" said Origin,"I don't know, we will have to think about it" said James,"Take as time as you need" said Origin,"Thank you" said Lily,Some time later they came to a decision. "Alright Origin we accept your offer" said James,"Excellent" said Origin,Origin made two orbs of light come out of his palms with one connected with James's wrist and the other with Lily's neck. They instantly felt a difference and James had to take his glasses off to see. "You know James, you look much cuter with them off" giggled Lily,"Now then tomorrow you will start training with Lloyd's father Kratos and when Harry turns six we will start his training" said Origin,Harry was six years old today and it was the day to start his swordsman training. James and Lily had finished their training. When they finished, James was given Excalibur and Lily was given Last Fencer.,To surprise him they gave him wooden swords as his last birthday gift. "Here is your last gift Harry" said James,Harry tore though the wrapping paper and saw two wooden swords. "Wooden swords" asked Harry,"Yep" said James,"What are they for" asked Harry,"They are for you so we can start your training today" said Lloyd,"Really" asked Harry,Lloyd nodded,"Yippee" cheered Harry,"Your swordsman training is complete and this is my gift to you for completing it" said Lloyd handing Harry the Kusanagi Blade,"Wow they are beautiful" said Harry accepting the blades,"They are yours now so take good care of them" said Lloyd,"I will" said Harry sheathing them,"Now that you are eight years old and completed your swordsman training, you are ready to accept your Cruxis Crystal" said Origin,"I'm ready" said Harry,An orb of light came out of Origin's hand and connected with Harry's wrist. "Now you will begin your magic training. You will learn elemental magic from Genis, angel magic from Colette, and healing magic from Raine" said Origin,"As your final test you have to defeat each of the eight summon spirits one at a time before you return to your world" said Lloyd,"I accept this task" said Harry,"Alright then, first up is Efreet" said Lloyd,After Shadow falls Lloyd congratulates Harry "Congratulations Harry. You did it","Thank you" panted Harry,All eight summon spirits appear in front of Harry with Efreet saying "Harry Potter as a sign of your victories we offer our power to you as our new master","Thank you for this honor" said Harry,"With that your training is complete. Now your can return and face your destiny. You also have eight friends you can call upon anytime you need help" said Lloyd,Lloyd with the Eternal Sword out made a dimension rift and said "Well it is time you went back home","Thank you for all your help" said James,"We are going to miss you" said Lily,"Anytime you want to talk to us you can just let Origin know and we can come" said Colette,"Now then before you go there is one thing I have to tell you. When you past though the rift your Cruxis Crystals will give each a disguise that no one and no thing can see though. To keep confusion down you can still use your first names but you will be using my father's last name, Aurion" said Lloyd,"Alright" said James,"Well then good luck and stay safe" said Lloyd,"Thank you" said Lily,With that James, Lily, and Harry walked though the rift and it closed behind them.

Misuto, HP&HBP and Chrestomanci, about a month before Conrad's Fate., Based on the works of J.K Rowling and Diana Wynne Jones.,5 chapters,This is one of a 3 part series titled ,. but I warn you it will be a while before the other parts are finished and this one is by far the most light-hearted of them all. I'd also like to point out how incredibly difficult Christopher is to write. I just don't have the wit and sarcasm that Jones is capable of to do him justice but I tried.,I did my best at catching spelling and grammar mistakes but if I missed any, please let me know!,PROLOGUE,Christopher stood in the snow on the edge of the property and contemplated the ruins with a critical eye. The place was so heavily laden with misdirection spells that he could actually ,them. It was a wonder they didn't squash the place flat.,The gypsies had stopped just outside of a small village., The bearded man had told him roughly.,At least, that's what he , the man had said. To be honest, Christopher was still getting a grasp on their language. He knew right away that Millie wasn't here and had never been here and was eager to move on but they were not travelling by , schedule so he just had to wait. But waiting was boring.,So he went exploring instead.,Despite being worried for his friend, he was loving every minute of his new found freedom. He felt like a kid again, when he used to go explore the Anywheres at night. It was great to do the things he wanted to do without dry, old enchanters breathing down his neck. He made a face at the thought of his mentor.,He spotted the ruins from the village and just , to check it out.,Now, standing by a pile of stones he guessed had once been a gate house, he could see that it wasn't really a ruin at all. That was just an illusion and a rather weak one at that.,He figured most of the security came from the misdirection spells. They were woven together into a sort of blanket in quite a masterful way and he could see bits of other spells worked in as well. Suggestive spells, displacement spells, memory spells and others that he couldn't quite tell what they were for. He knew one thing with certainty, though. They were very old spells. And decently powerful as well.,Still, he put his hands out cautiously and taking a handful of the spell blanket in both hands, ripped it gently with ease. Once the tear was big enough, he slipped through and stitched it back up from the inside. Christopher made a face at his crude stitching and hoped that nobody would notice.,WEDNESDAY,The Hufflepuff Boy,They stood in a huddled half circle in the snow and watched as Professor Hagrid explained to them the proper way to treat an injured thestral's wing. Luna paid close attention, even if she was only sketching the animal instead of writing notes. She remembered things better that way anyway.,Her classmates, on the other hand, were less than impressed. Less than half of them could actually , the thestral and those that could looked repulsed at what they , see. She tried to ignore the mean things the students behind her were whispering to one another. She knew that most of them were thinking of the warmth of the Great Hall and their dinner, which would be served in an hour.,Professor Hagrid was slowly losing coherence as his students looked back at him with blank faces and bored expressions. She felt sorry for him, a little. She knew he was a good caretaker. He loved animals and was always very gentle with them. He was very knowledgeable of the subject of care of magical creatures but not especially good at teaching.,"Right then!" he said clapping his massive hands together. "Who wants ter volunteer?" he asked. No one moved. He scanned their faces desperately and his eyes landed on Luna.,"Luna, why don't you come up here and give me a hand!",The students parted to let her pass, giggling behind her back. Hagrid often chose her for this sort of thing because she was easily the best student in this class. She smiled kindly at him and did what he asked. As he continued his lecture, she scanned the faces of her classmates dreamily.,There was one Slytherin and a couple each of Ravenclaws (not including herself) and Gryffindors with Hufflepuffs making up the bulk of the class. The four houses were scheduled together this year because, Care of Magical Creatures being an elective, there were less students taking it. It was a small group overall, maybe a dozen.,Her eyes swept over their familiar faces and one face that was not so familiar. She locked eyes with a tall, dark haired boy at the very back of the class and for a second, she could have sworn that he was wearing an expensive looking pale blue coat with a soft ivory scarf and matching mittens. But when she looked again, the boy was wearing the black and yellow robes of his house.,And she wondered why she had ever thought he was anything ,a Hufflepuff.,When the lesson was over, the group began trudging their way back to the castle, eager to get out of the cold. Her eyes found the tall boy, who was sticking close to the group of Hufflepuffs, watching them closely. She shook her head. Surely she had imagined the look on his face that made him seem as if he had no idea what he was doing there.,He sat with them at dinner, chatting amiably and Luna watched him thinking there was something off about that boy. But then her thoughts wandered away again. She noticed that the Headmaster was absent again and wondered if he was ill.,She ate her dinner lost in her own thoughts and no one spoke to her. She had potions after dinner with the Gryffindors. She actually liked potions this year, now that Professor Slughorn was teaching it. By the time she made her way up to the Ravenclaw common room that night, Luna had quite forgotten about the boy entirely.

Summary: There was another reason that Nick was so protective of kids – his goddaughter. Adaline Potter had been missing since her parents' murder, 8 years ago. When an abuse case comes across Greg's desk, there is more than meets the eye.,Bring Her Home,Chapter 1,The Missing Child,Les Miserables,The evidence room's light seemed to bare down on the back of Nick's neck. Tiredly he rubbed his eyes as he shifted through various photos, papers, and bags of evidence. With a groan, he dropped down into a nearby chair. His head popped up when he heard a knock on the door. A weary smile spread across his face when he spotted Greg in the doorway.,"Hey Greggo, you need something?" Nick asked. Greg shook his head as he walked into the room. He was quiet as he studied the contents spread out.,"This is a missing child's case," Greg noted. "Occurred about 8 years ago it looks like." Nick sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Did new evidence come up?" Nick shook his head and picked up a sheet of paper. Greg took it from him.,"Her parents were murdered!" Greg exclaimed in shock as his eyes widened. He continued to read the report. "You're listed as her godfather.","Yeah," Nick said. "They were visiting me in Las Vegas when they were murdered and Adaline was kidnapped. There were no signs that Adaline was killed with them. In fact it seemed like her parents were murdered so that she could be taken.","Why did it go cold?" Greg wondered.,"There wasn't much evidence to go on," Nick explained. "From what the CSI was able to determine at the time, it is believed that whoever did this was a professional.","Were friends and family looked at?" Greg asked. Nick nodded.,"Everyone but Lily's sister and husband were examined and cleared," Nick told him. "Seeing as they are from England jurisdiction fell to the FBI and they were able to clear them with no problem." Greg gave him a curious look.,"Why weren't her sister and her husband examined and cleared?" Greg wondered. Nick sighed and ran a hand through his hair.,"Around the time of the murders the entire family went missing," Nick disclosed. "According to friends and neighbors of the Dursley family, they had been acting strangely up until the day they went missing. When their house was examined, it was empty and sterile as a hospital.","Do you have their financials?" Greg asked as he began to sort through the papers. Nick nodded and pulled out a file. He handed the file to Greg and he began to flip through it. "Hey Nick I think whatever happened to the Potter's, the Dursley's were involved." Nick's head jerked toward him in surprise. Greg handed him the file. "If you look, you'll notice a pattern. Once a month for 27 months, they were being paid $50,000. From what I can tell, it is not income for either of them. They earned a total of $1,350,000. They end the same month that the Potter's were killed.","I think we need to find out who was paying them," Nick said.,"So your warrant came through," Brass said without any preamble. He handed over a stack of papers. Nick began thumbing through the financials. He stopped when he landed on the page he was looking for.,"They were being paid by Riddle Incorporation," Nick discovered. "What do we know about Riddle Incorporation?" Brass grinned.,"I figured you might ask that," Brass said. "Check the third folder." Nick began to go through the folder.,"It's owned and operated by Tom Marvalo Riddle," Nick read. "They are business competitors with Marauder's Incorporation which is owned and operated by James and Lily Potter." Nick looked up. "This was about a business feud? Why did they take Adaline?" Nick began to pace back and forth as he processed the information. "Wait a second the payments to the Dursley's were for 27 months. Adaline was 18 months old when she was taken. Add in 9 months – the gestation period – and you have 27 months. The Dursley's were probably feeding him information during that time. Is it possible that Riddle had her kidnapped so that he could "become" her guardian and have everything the Potter's owned in his hands?" Brass sighed.,"It is possible," Brass agreed. "That may be why he was paying the Dursley's. They were Adaline's closest relatives. He probably figured that once the Dursleys had custody they would sign her over to him. However, Adaline would not have gone to them anyway. The Potters changed their will two months before their deaths. She was supposed to go to you. We are trying to track down the Dursley's. I'm sorry Nick." Nick nodded as he felt tears streak down his face.,"Last I knew they had a son," Nick told Brass. "Dudley – he was born about a month before Adaline. I don't know if that'll help or not." Brass nodded and patted Nick's arm.,"Get some sleep, Nick," Brass advised. "You look like you need it." Nick nodded and Brass left. Once he was out of sight, Nick sank down on to the floor, as the damn, holding back tears, seemed to break.,"Nick, can I see you in my office?" Grissom asked. Nick sighed. Although it was a question, the tone conveyed that it was more of a demand. Nick nodded and followed Grissom to his office. Grissom shut the office door behind him and Nick took a seat. Once Grissom was seated as well, he studied Nick for a moment. Nick simply sat there. "How is your case going?" Nick raised an eyebrow.,"Grissom, you know how my case is going," Nick stated with a raised eyebrow. "I've been keeping you up to date the whole time. Why am I really in here?" Grissom sighed.,"Brass filled me in on Adaline," Grissom admitted. "How are you doing?","Lily and James called me a couple days after they found out that she was pregnant," Nick admitted. "They were thrilled. In that same call, they asked me to be godfather. I was ecstatic. I was there when she was born and at her Christening." Nick shook his head and placed his head in hands. "I convinced them to come visit me. I wanted to see her for more than a couple of hours, you know. They were going to be here for two weeks, maybe longer.,"James was looking into expanding his business into the states. They had been only here for a couple of days when they were murdered." Nick forcibly dried a few tears as he pushed on. "I called their hotel but there was no answer. I figured they could not hear the phone for some reason. I went up and knocked on the door, it just came open. Lily was near the door – she had been shot twice. James shot once – he was next to the crib. Adaline was missing. It has been 8 years and we still have no idea where she is. How do you think I am Grissom?"

"Tell me, boy. What. Do. You. See?" The Possessed Professor said, his trademark stutter gone.,"I-I see myself, Dumbledore's handing me the Quidditch Cup." Harry lied quickly. In truth, Harry saw his mirror-self wink and put the stone into his mirror-pocket, and felt the weight of the stone in his own pocket. More disturbing he saw a pale, dark haired woman put her hand on his shoulder, and also felt that but only for a moment.,"He lies." A voice hissed.,"My lord?" Quirral asked.,'Oh, bloody hell.' Harry thought., A female voice said.,Harry complied. He closed his eyes as he ran through the fire. 'Please don't let me burn.' He prayed., The voice said again.,"Crucio!" The professor cursed the young boy.,Harry screamed before the pain stopped. He heard the man scream and the female voice laugh.,Harry scrambled to his feet before an emerald green curse rebounded off of a moonlight barrier.,The boy heard the female voice scream before darkness took him.,* * Later * *,Harry woke up to the antiseptic smell of the Hospital Wing. He looked around the white washed walls and saw the mountain of get well presents. He thought back to the encounter. That last spell, it looked like the light from his dreams.,Dumbledore came in and spoke to Harry about the encounter and what had happened.,Harry thought it was best to not mention the woman in the mirror.,* * Later * *,After Dumbledore announced that Slytherin had won the House Cup he told the school about the events several weeks prior and awarded enough points to allow Gryffindor to steal the win.,Harry returned to the Dursley's with said event on his mind.

En ce début du mois d'août, au 4 Privet Drive, un jeune sorcier de seize ans, connu dans tout l'Angleterre pour avoir terrassé un terrible mage noir à l'âge d'un an, était entrain de faire ça valise. Mais pour une fois, Harry Potter, ne faisait pas ça valise pour se rendre chez son meilleur ami, Ron Weasley. Non, il faisait ça valise pour quitter ce pays ainsi que cette guerre qui ne lui avait causé trop de malheur. Depuis la mort de son parrain, le jeune brun ne cessait d'être ronger pas la culpabilité d'être tombé dans le piège de savait que c'était lâche de partir. Mais il n'avait pas trouvé d'autre solution. Surtout qu'il s'était rendu du compte qu'il était tombé amoureux de la personne qui le détesté le plus au monde, après Voldemort. Et qu'Harry savait que cet amour ne serait jamais réciproque.,C'est pour cela qu'il avait décidé de partir. Où ? Il ne savait pas. Il prendrait le premier avion qui quitté le pays. Peu importe ! Il s'en fichait si on le prenait pour un lâche. Car il voulait seulement pouvoir vivre une vivre une vie normal. Et lui cela lui était devenu impossible d'avoir cette vie en Angleterre. Il n'était pas encore majeur, mais il savait que si il partait de chez son oncle et sa tante, ceux-ci ne le remarquerai même pas. Et même si ils s'en rendent compte, le Survivant était persuadé qu'on lieux d'appeler la police pour signaler sa disparition, les derniers membres encore vivant de sa famille organiserai un fête.,Mais comme il venait de passer ces BUSE, il était maintenant un sorcier de second cycle et donc il pouvait utiliser sa baguette en dehors de Poudlard. Ne pas retourner à cette école que le brun considéra comme sa maison était difficile, mais il ne voulait pas revenir sur sa décision. Elle avait déjà été trop difficile à prendre pour qu'il change encore d'avis.,Il avait donc un mois devant lui avant que le monde sorcier soit au courant de sa ''disparition'',Après avoir finit sa valise, le brun quitta la maison de son enfance sans un au revoir à sa famille puis il se rendit à Gringotts., où il retira tout l'argent de son compte, pour ensuite le convertir en argent moldu. Il voulait rompre tout lien avec le monde magique, pour que personne ne puis le retrouver. Même pas ses meilleurs amis. Harry espérait que Ron et Hermione, lui pardonneraient sa lâcheté s'il les revoyait un jour. Que les deux griffindor comprendraient qu'il avait déjà beaucoup donné pour cette guerre. Et qu'il voulait simplement vivre une vie normale.,Il ne devait pas être loin de minuit et il faisait nuit noir, ce qui permettait au brun de mieux se cacher en cas d'attaque de mangemort. Il traversa plusieurs rues avant d'appeler un taxi d'une cabine téléphonique. Quinze minutes plus tard, le griffindor monta dans le taxi et demanda à ce qu'on le conduise à l'aéroport. Pendant tout le trajet, Harry regarda le paysage défiler à travers la fenêtre. Une fois arrivait Harry paya le chauffeur. Il se rendit alors à un guichet libre.,Bonsoir. Que puis-je pour vous ? Demanda en souriant l'hôtesse.,Bonsoir je voudrais un billet pour le prochain vol quittant le pays s'il vous plait.,Vous n'êtes pas un peu jeune pour partir seul ?,Je ne crois pas qu'il y'a de lois interdisant à un mineur de prendre l'avion seul, répondit calment le rouge et or.,Non mais...,Alors je rétiaire ma demande. Je voudrais un billet pour le prochain vol quittant le pays s'il vous plait.,L'hôtesse, après un moment d'hésitation, tapa sur le clavier de son ordinateur. A peine deux minutes plus tard, elle dit,Le prochain vol est pour Tokyo. Il nous reste encore des places disponibles. Cela vous convient-il ?,C'est parfait. Merci.,Harry enregistra ses bagages, puis se dirigea vers la salle d'embarquements.,« Tokyo, pensa-t-il, c'est parfait. Personne ne pensera à venir me chercher au Japon. Après tout je n'ai aucune attache là-bas. Et avec les douze heures de vol, je vais pouvoir facilement apprendre la langue grâce au dictionnaire que j'ai acheté à l'aéroport. Heureusement que la trace est retiré. »,Voilà comment commença la nouvelle vie d'Harry Potter, loin de la guerre.

: Nonsensical idea that's been brewing for a while. It's an old, old piece and any recognizable parts are from A Wizard Alone.,: ha ha ha ha ha,: pillars,890,: "Your husband is different," said Tom as his partner showed Ginny a passage in his book. Antiquing leads to some strange revelations for the Potter family that brings them across universes. [Crossover],"The sobriquet "Pillars" refers to the immense supportive strength inherent in these beings wherever they appear. The physical and spiritual structure of the Universe and its contents is strengthened against the assaults of evil by the Pillars' presence, and weakened by their loss. While they occasionally may also be wizards, [Pillars] display no unusual aptitude for the Art: their value lies elsewhere. Their status comes from direct endowment by the One; their power is derived strictly from the incorrupt nature of their personality. ","The moon?" said Ginny as Carl ended his phone call. She calmly sipped her water, hoping that part of the conversation was a strange turn of phrase in a universe where antique wardrobes were doorways to high hedges that brought them to a very different America.,The complaining koi fish had been the first clue.,Now she was sitting on the back porch that belonged to two wizards, watching her husband being shaken down for dog biscuits by a loud sheepdog as a wizard was arguing with a girl on the phone about her pet projects and how she should return from the moon.,Carl, one of the owners of the property she and Harry had appeared in, gave her a weary smile. They were used to people randomly appearing through their hedges, as they had explained earlier. Carl set his mobile phone down and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Oh, it's far too real here.",His partner, Tom, looking up from the pile of books he was consulting about their situation. He snorted. "Leave it to Dairine. We keep telling her to close the door after she leaves…","I'm just thankful it wasn't Darth Vader," Carl said. He looked over where the dogs bounded in circles around Harry, asking him a series of terrifying questions in hopes of getting treats to shut them up.,"Do they do this often?" Ginny asked.,"Only when they think someone is a good enough target." Carl leaned back in his seat. He sighed. "The other month, they were asking about the meaning of life. Gave them a biscuit and told them it was an allegory.",Tom chimed in, "And then they told the other dogs in the neighborhood about their tricks. ,"Funny," said Ginny. "I had the same issue with the kids about Santa.",Out in the yard, the sheepdog asked Harry where babies came from.,Tom looked up at the sky, hands raised in parental defeat. "Great, now she's harassing fictional characters.",Ginny felt a pang of sympathy for Harry. She waved cheerfully at him.,Harry made a rude gesture just as the dog pounced and knocked him to the ground. The other one leaned over Harry's face and drooled.,"An incorruptible nature," Tom commented, his tone light. He watched the scene with a distant expression. He shared a quick glance with his partner, a look Ginny instantly recognized from whenever she and Harry had to be discrete around their kids.,Carl raised his eyebrows. He cleared his throat, pulling a piece of chalk from thin air. "In the meantime, we'll just need to gather some data to prepare the spell. Things like your birth date, the last book you read—","And any weird fun facts about your husband," Tom interjected, startling Ginny., Carl made a sharp gesture to where Harry was being smothered by the dogs' love. There was a blast of wind, throwing a wayward broken branch in the air. Distracted, the dogs bolted for it, dragging an unwilling Harry with them. "We've talked about this.","How often do any of us get to prove a fun theory?" Tom turned back to Ginny. "As you can tell, we're familiar with inter-dimensional travel, and sometimes we develop…,. Another occupational hazard. Wizards here are often avid readers and it becomes a fun exercise to see what theories might be true if we're given a chance to prove it.",Ginny blinked. She stared at the two wizards. "What?","Your husband is different," said Tom as his partner showed Ginny a passage in his book. "Even by our standards. Keep in mind that this is all purely theoretical.",Ginny looked at the page. She read it over. "My husband is a…column?","Pillar," Carl corrected. "To be honest, Tom has the same theory about Luke Skywalker.",Ginny read it again. She looked over to where Harry was giving one of the dogs a belly rub. ,Was Harry truly incorruptible? Yes, there were jokes about his personality, his shining goodness, and righteous moral compass. But this was also Harry, the father who built pillow and blanket forts in their living room with the kids, the man who often went to sleep with his glasses still on his face. He was simply ,.,As if reading her thoughts, Carl said lightly, "It tends not to be obvious. Sainthood nowadays looks old-fashioned, unattainable… even repellent. Actually, you can see it all around, once you learn to spot it. Like with Harry. He has this aura of virtue all around him.","He's a person," Ginny insisted. "Not a saint.","What matters at the end is that he's a good person," Tom said. "And that my theory is looking right so far. Carl, you so owe me."

Amalthea: Ok this is something a little different than usual...This is going to be good Yamamoto, Good Aizen, Good Espada, Good Soul Society but Bad Ministry, C46 and Mayuri. In this story, the one who gets transformed is a certain head captain but the connection is not a romantic one with his new "Owner". This is inspired by the author Eradona's little plot idea in her Bleach/HP series of who Yamamoto really is to Isshin and Ichigo. So if you have NOT read her stories yet, WTF? GO READ THEM! Now...KON HIT IT!,Kon: Amalthea does not own Bleach, Harry Potter or any songs that appear. All she owns is the family connections, the pairing, her version of Female harry and the idea for this story! Please Review her stories and Vote in her Poll! Now on to the Story!,Ch.1,Isshin sighed as he looked at the picture of his eldest daughter that he and Masaki had given to Masaki's cousin Lily when her own daughter turned out to be a still born, neither he nor Masaki had been ready to care for a child and they had still been in Collage when their little girl had been born on July 31st just like Lily's daughter. They had gotten pictures from Lily all through their daughter's first year then suddenly they stopped soon after Halloween when their daughter had been 15 months, Masaki then found out Lily and her husband had died and their daughter was nowhere to be found. Isshin sighed and decided Ichigo needed to know about his elder sister due to a gut feeling he had...,Meanwhile...,Yamamoto cursed his current situation when he heard the shop door open from the cage he had been placed in, he thought about how two days ago, Mayuri had attacked him after he had sent His grandson and his friends back home to the human world. The other captains managed to subdue the insane clown and threw him into the maggot's nest; Unohana had realized something was wrong as they both realized he had been fading into thin air. Yamamoto then blacked out and found himself in a cage about two hours later, in the shape of a small western Fire elemental dragon that was a pure white color.,He then noticed a familiar looking Teen and thought "What's Ichigo doing here in England?!",The teen then noticed his cage and walked over as Yamamoto realized it was a young girl who looked exactly like Ichigo except her eyes were Amber with emerald flecks and she had slightly longer hair then Ichigo. She gently stuck her fingers in the cage as Yamamoto gently sniffed them and got the scent of Isshin and Masaki mixed with two others marking the two scents he didn't know as Blood adopted parents, he gently licked her fingers as he purred up at what had to be his granddaughter. The girl smiled and then called over the clerk as she asked how much the adorable Dragon was, the clerk greedily named a price but the girl raised an eyebrow and haggled him down to half of the amount of what the man had named. The clerk nodded and watched as the girl gently opened the cage and picked the small dragon up, she then paid the money and walked out of the store to head to the bank.,19 year old Akemi Potter adored her new familiar as he crawled up to her shoulder and curled around her neck, she gently scratched behind the dragon's crest of horns which got her a very loud purr and nuzzle on her cheek. Akemi giggled then walked into the bank as she approached a teller and asked to speak to her account manager, the teller nodded and said "Right this way, Miss Potter...",Akemi followed the goblin to a well decorated office and was asked to sit down, The goblin then left as her Account manager came in and asked "Miss Potter...I've been expecting you.","Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Sharpclaw. I'm afraid the minister of magic has given me the order to have me banished from England and I have only a day to get my affairs in order.","The minister is a fool, so I'm guessing you need an inheritance test?",Akemi nodded and said "I know I was blood adopted by the Potters but I want to find my real family...but the only clue I have is my name which is Japanese...",Sharpclaw nodded in understanding then quickly grabbed the parchment he needed for the test and the Dagger, he brought them over and said "I believe you know what to do?",Akemi nodded then gently took the dagger and cut her Palm to drip the six drops of blood on to the parchment, the two then looked at the paper as the family tree began to form. Needless to say, Akemi was shocked to see her test which read,: ,: , ,Akemi smiled as tears came to her eyes at finding out she had siblings then looked up at Sharpclaw, he smiled at her then said "Shall we get you ready to leave the country?",Akemi smirked and nodded as she and Sharpclaw quickly got her Account transferred to Japan and all of the Money would be transferred to the Gringotts Bank in Karakura Town, they also got her affairs in order as she was given a debit card that worked in both the muggle and Wizarding world and was also given a passport. She smiled and thanked Sharpclaw for helping her then shook his hand as she said "It was good doing Business with you.","Likewise, Akemi...be safe and may you fly on wings above the sun.",Akemi nodded then turned and walked out of the bank as she still had about 6 hours left in England, she quickly crossed over into Muggle London and went shopping for new clothes, some Electronics and some drawing supplies. She was soon done as Yamamoto stayed curled around her neck under a strong notice me not charm, she gently scratched his head then headed for the airport to get a plane to Japan. She boarded the plane and was soon in her seat as the plane took off to Japan...,Meanwhile...,Ichigo was shocked; his dad had just dropped a major bomb on them by telling him and his twin Sisters that they had an older Sister that his parents had given to a cousin of their mother's because they hadn't been ready for children at that time. Ichigo didn't know what to think and quickly excused himself to go to his room to think. Isshin sighed as he watched Ichigo leave the room, he then told the girls that if they wanted to leave the room, that they could. Karin and Yuzu nodded then left the room as Isshin stood and walked over to the Kitchen window to think...,The next day...,Akemi sighed as she disembarked off the plane and headed to a rather expensive hotel for the night since it was about 11 at night, she was soon checked in and placed her new familiar on the bed before going into the bathroom to shower and change. Yamamoto looked at the door his granddaughter had disappeared through and sighed as he tried to figure out how to get to Soul Society or at least get them to figure out where he was, he racked his brain franticly but couldn't come up with any ideas. Akemi then came into the room with a sleepy smile and gently patted his head before lying down on the bed and getting under the covers, Yamamoto watched as she fell asleep then walked over to cuddle up to her neck.,The two then slept through the night until morning when they had a wakeup call from the front desk, Akemi thanked them then got ready to leave and meet her real family for the first time. Yamamoto looked at her as she gently picked him up with trembling hands and placed him on her shoulder; he could tell how nervous she was then he nuzzled her cheek to give her some comfort. Akemi then smiled shakily and grabbed her bag before exiting the room and heading down to the lobby, she then paid for the room and left the hotel as she looked at the Piece of paper Sharpclaw had given her after he had quickly found out where her family lived. Akemi was glad that she had study Japanese which included Reading and Writing the language; she headed down the street and quickly found her way to the Kurosaki medical Clinic.,She was almost there when a group of boys surrounded her and the leader whose hair was bleached to a similar shade of her hair then said in a rude tone "Hello Ichigo!",Akemi blinked in surprise and said while making her British accent clear, "Ichigo? My name is Akemi Potter.",The lead male blinked in surprise then growled as he said "Looks like we got us a Foreigner, Boys!",Akemi sighed as the boys tried moving in closer then said "Hello officer!",All the boys quickly turned and backed up when Akemi shot past once they saw there was no Police officer, they quickly gave chase but she soon lost them as she had never been gladder for Dudley chasing her since she could be as fast as the wind when she wanted to be. She slowed to a walk while Yamamoto relaxed his grip on her shirt that he had grabbed to keep from falling off; she sighed then smiled as she rubbed his head in apology as she kept walking. They soon found the clinic and Akemi took a deep breath before walking up the pathway to the front door, Yamamoto nuzzled her encouragingly and Akemi raised her hand and knocked on the door...,Isshin had just finished opening the clinic and had come back into the house just in time to hear the knock on the door; he opened the door and froze at seeing an older female version of Ichigo standing on the doorstep looking highly nervous. Isshin then shook his head quickly and smiled as he asked with hope in his chest "May I help you, young lady?",Akemi smiled nervously and asked "Is this the home of Isshin Kurosaki?",Isshin smiled and nodded as he said "Why don't you come in and we can talk.",He noticed her breathing a sigh of relief then she stepped inside and took off her shoes before following Isshin into the kitchen, Isshin and her sat down after he got the kettle going and he point blank asked "How did you find us, Akemi?",Akemi's eyes went wide as she then said "I found you through the goblins...my godfathers, Sirius and Remus told me that I was blood adopted before they died.",Isshin smiled softly and said "I'm sure you have questions about why we gave you to Lily...",Akemi nodded and they began to talk, Isshin told her everything about why they had given her up to Lily and then told her that she was supposed to be returned to them when Lily died but it was never carried through. Akemi then sighed and smiled up at her father as she said "I was placed with Mama Lily's sister, Petunia Dursley and her family.",Isshin went wide-eyed at that and said "You were to never go there though!",Akemi nodded and then explained everything she had been through and how the ministry of magic had taken to manipulating where she stayed by sealing James and Lily's will. By the end of her tale, Isshin was in a cold fury and Akemi watched him worriedly as Isshin took a few breaths to calm himself down. He then stood and walked over to her side of the table to give her a hug; Akemi was surprised but smiled as she returned the hug happily. Isshin then pulled away and said "Why don't I show you to your room?",Akemi smiled and nodded happily as he led her upstairs and down the hall to an empty room with a bed, desk and a couple dressers in it, Isshin then told her "It isn't much for now...",Akemi just smiled and shyly hugged him as she said "It's perfect for me...",Isshin smiled and then softly said "Welcome home Akemi...",Two hours later...,Yamamoto sighed as he watched his granddaughter meet her siblings for the first time, he then watched as Ichigo looked ready to break down when Akemi pulled him into a hug and whispered something softly into his ear...,Akemi just hugged Ichigo as he clung to her while shaking with Silent tears, Akemi then hummed a soft song as she got Ichigo to sit with her while Isshin watched on from the kitchen door. Isshin then noticed the small white dragon watching his two oldest with proud yet sad, familiar eyes...,Isshin gently walked over and scooped up the dragon without the kids noticing then headed upstairs to his room, Isshin gently placed Yamamoto on his bed before closing the door and said "So...How did you end up a dragon, Dad?"

Note: Written for Marvelously Magical Fanfiction's Enchanted Wonders19! Any mistakes are my own.,Prompts: Luna/T'Challa, Nutcracker, Dragon Fang,Luna hummed to herself as she stacked the Quibbler magazines in a crisscrossed fashion on top of her desk. It kept the Manglers away from distracting her and messing with the ink on the paper. The ghastly little things couldn't get enough of the stuff, always causing pages to dry out and appear more worn out than they actually were. It was a shame no one took heed to her knowledge on the creatures.,Nevertheless, the Manglers wouldn't come bothering her anytime soon. She had a lot of important work to do if she was going to aid Santa in his quest to make deliveries and spread magic across the world.,Every year Luna took it upon herself in her tiny workshop to create objects that would hinder all the horrid things that could take away the essence of Christmas. Any creature, spell, or object wouldn't be undetected, and the witch would attempt to handle the threats—within her reach—to Christmas. She could proudly say that she was 5 years successful, though last year a Grinched Gnome was more trouble than his minuscule size shown. She knew asking for help would have been easier, but the others didn't understand. Not really. No one ever understood as her parents had—Hermione could only stretch her logic so far.,There ,one person she'd met a year or so ago that wasn't like the others. He was royalty and came from another world—another life—entirely, and Luna was in awe by his culture and the technology produced through their soil. It even went beyond the glowing magic the Photowraglers used to brighten lightbulbs.,Luna crossed paths with him when the leaves first fell from the trees; she was on an expedition to acquire all the ingredients she needed to protect Christmas in the following month. The next ingredient was a rare dragon fang that neither Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley had in stock, leading the witch to the Romanian mountains—courtesy of Charlie Weasley's advice.,She was setting up camp when an opening in the sky formed a short distance away. The lithe, black figure shot through the opening, and Luna couldn't contain her curiosity as the figure landed.,He landed on his feet and stood tall. Luna thought it was a large panther until she noted the claw necklace and the figure tapping the side of his head where an ear would be.,The blonde leaned over the boulder near her camp for a closer look, and he faced her in an instant. She couldn't see his eyes directly, but she was sure they were peering at her.,Thinking on that day, Luna was amused at her first words to the hero.,Luna giggled to herself because she was certain he blushed.,He was on a reconnaissance mission of some sort for his colleagues, but he didn't divulge all the information for obvious reasons. He did, however, connect with his own history once his helmet dematerialized.,Despite being lost in her thoughts, Luna saw the shadow of a figure coming into her workshop. Her eyes flickered towards the shadow, and she smiled. 'Quite the timing,' she thought.,"Your highness," she said, tipping her head towards the object of your thoughts.,His chuckle was deep as he grinned and approached the desk in the workshop. "Please, Luna, I've told you to call me T'Challa.",She folded her hands on her desk and nodded again. "You did," she said. "It's the Nargles affecting my brain.",T'Challa clasped his hands behind his back with a wider grin. "I have no doubt.",The flutter in her stomach increased greatly when she saw the shine in T'Challa's eyes. No one had looked at her that way before. Harry did once many years ago, but they were teenagers then. The one standing before her was a man.,She assessed his attire quickly. He didn't sport his panther suit, but the claw necklace was draped around his neck atop his navy blue sweater shirt. Accompanying his shirt was a dark blue and gold jacket stitched with black fur. His slacks were simply black, but that didn't take away the natural swag and grace the king had.,Luna finished her assessment on his face. He raised a brow, amusement coloring his cheeks.,"I see you're dressed for the occasion," T'Challa commented.,Luna had gotten so comfortable in her attire that she forgot she was in her 'Rescue Uniform'. This year she resembled the Nutcracker, wild pale curls and all. A sugar plum fairy would attract too much attention with the fairy dust she would need to use.,"I have a duty to Santa as you know," Luna replied, tilting her head slightly with her smile intact.,"I'm aware," he said. "Which is why I'm here tonight. I wanted to offer you some assistance this year if you'd allow it.","Of course. What are you offering?",T'Challa reached into his coat and pulled out an intricate blade. It resembled the fang she obtained from their first encounter but the jolt of the blade was etched in glowing purple lines like the ones that appeared in his suit.,"I wish to offer this as an apology as well," he said. "I wanted to see you sooner, but my people needed me vastly this year.",Luna shook her head. "No need to apologize, T'Challa. I know the woes and efforts to keep the world intact.",He gave her a grateful head tilt and held the weapons out to Luna. "Great warriors in the galaxy use weapons like this, and after the object you acquired last year in the mountains, I thought that one with more heightened abilities could come in handy. ",Luna shook her head once more. "A dragon fang isn't necessary for my potion this year," she said honestly. "However I would never turn down a gift nor some assistance like this.",She took hold of the fang and watched the lines begin to move towards her skin.,"Magnificent," she whispered. "Vibranium is truly a wonder.","You're welcome to join Shuri in her lab for further research," he said.,Luna's eyes met his once more and took T'Challa's hand on hers. She felt bold enough to do so because she was sure the king felt something in order to bring her such a gift.,"I will if you join me in my quest to protect the essence of Christmas this year.",T'Challa brought her hand to his lips, and she felt lighter than she did from her garden dance in the spring.,"It would be my honor, Luna," T'Challa said.,He hadn't released her hand, and Luna took that as a sign that this year the essence of Christmas would be most glorious.

Sir Harry Potter, Knight of the Thistle, member of the Traditional Royal Household of Great Britain, contemplated current circumstances. He was on the bridge of his diplomatic yacht, the BSS Bruce, with the BSS Griffon, another ship he owned, carrying the captured Jem'Hadar fighters that had been captured during the invasion of New Bajor in the Gamma Quadrant.,The Griffon would soon be on its way back to Sol carrying the two ships and the Bruce on top. With the trip limited in speed due to the extra ships attached, they were limited to a slower speed, Warp 8, and the 55 light years would take 19 days.,With Odyssey no longer on a mission, Harry retrieved the imaging unit which would allow his ships to be seen. He installed it on the Bruce, to allow him to see Griffon despite the wards.,Benjamin Sisko was scheduled to travel to Sol on Griffon to deliver the ships and coordinate preparations for an incursion through the wormhole. During the trip, he would check in regularly with his crew and also have some meetings with Federation personnel via mirror relay. The mirror he had enchanted for Odyssey had been transported to Deep Space 9 and a mirror relay was being set up.,The Federation had been forced to admit, by King Charles, that Sir Harry Potter was owed a bill which kept rising. His retrieval of the Jem'Hadar ships and his insistence on turning them over to the Federation and not the Empires as well as his mirror system which allowed instant and secure communications within the quadrant had a value that was hard to determine but significant.,Initial talks regarding the success of the Griffon had led to a the Federation deciding to build at least two Griffon-class ships. They would require the dual-drive system. As a result, Selene Lovegwood was being paid a significant amount for her work. The Royal Engineers would receive material support for having perfected the rail-gun mechanisms as well. Harry and Lars would receive compensation for the neutronium slugs that would be produced for them.,King Charles was amused that the Federation was seriously considering giving him a planet as compensation because they did not want the repayment of the debts owed to him to cause a restart of a money-based economy. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to own and run a planet – two ships already required too much record keeping.,If he ever found a planet that had a magical field, he would change his mind. Thinking about the idea of ley lines and magical environments gave him an idea. "Dobby!",The elf popped in almost immediately. "Master Harry called?" Dobby asked almost sardonically.,Harry grinned. "Yes, Master Harry did. I want to ask something. Elves sense magic better than us wizards. How magical is the garden on Griffon?",Dobby considered the question. "Magic does seem to grow stronger day by day on Griffon, better than Bruce. Maybe because of wards. Perhaps garden is more magical.","If it's more magical, try taking those seeds that didn't grow on the Bruce and planting them on the Griffon. Just make sure we make arrangements through the ship's botanist.,"Yes, Master Harry.",They were not in a rush and so Harry left Dobby to work on that.,Harry took time to meet Griffon's crew. This included many Humans and would also now include quite a number of survivors from New Bajor. Krim had brought many on board who wanted to serve on the ship that had saved their people. Each signed or would sign the contract.,Griffon's departure had been delayed four days. Harry finally received the Bajoran award for Valor, only outranked by the Star of Bajor. Only Bajoran citizens could win that and despite his receiving citizenship, he was not a citizen during the rescue of New Bajor. Krim received an award slightly less important but not by much.,Harry did have an interesting conversation before the Galor-class Cardassian ship left. Gul Lumek made it a point to come and see him.,"Sir Harry Potter. Perhaps I could prevail upon you to have a discussion.",Harry considered that. "Certainly. How about we use my quarters? I no longer use them regularly but I do maintain them and they are checked regularly for interference so I am reasonably certain of their security.",Lumek replied, "That will be acceptable.",As they walked Harry asked, "What would you like to drink?",Lumek answered, "Kanar if you have it, but anything will be fine.",Harry nodded. "Dobby.",Lumek was startled by a voice almost tripped when he looked back and saw the short being walking behind them. "Master Harry called?","Please set up kanar for my guest and kanar and guava juice for myself in my quarters here.","Of course, Master Harry.",Lumek looked at Harry, looked away a moment to gather himself, and then looked back. He stopped. "Where did he go?",Harry said casually, "He's preparing our drinks of course. This way." He started walking again.,"How did he come and go?" Lumek asked.,"Magic?" Harry replied as though it were obvious.,The Cardassian considered that. "When I saw you do that, you made a small sound.",Harry chuckled. "Dobby is more powerful than I, and better at some magic. He's also proud of that ability and so likes to show off.","He's more powerful? And yet he calls you Master," Lumek observed.,"I saved his life. House Elves are symbiotic to my people, though I have given Dobby and Winky, his wife, more freedom than any other House Elf in history has enjoyed since that relationship started. The two are , loyal to me, almost embarrassingly so.",The two arrived outside Harry's door. Lumek asked, "And how do you view ,?",Harry looked at Lumek intently and said, "I've given them my name – they are known as Dobby and Winky ,." The door opened. "Please come in.",The two men did not sit down. Harry served the kanar, mixing his own with juice, and Lumek accepted it. "What are these paintings?",Harry replied, "Most are historical recreations using a replicator. Two were commissioned by me. Feel free.",There are two sets of paintings, both leading to the middle. "This one?" the Cardassian asked, pointing the the painting in question.,"Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and her other realms and territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. It was she who awarded me my knighthood. This was as she was when she knighted me." He raised his glass to the painting. "God save the Queen." He took a drink,Lumek looked at his host a long moment. He walked to another painting. "James VII?","He officially established the Order of the Thistle, a Knighthood of Scotland. That is a part of Great Britain. James VII of Scotland, James II of England, James, Lord of Ireland; he was one of the final holders of three crowns before they were legally joined into one by the Acts of Union. When he created the Order of the Thistle, which is the order I belong to, he claimed he was recreating an ancient order, commissioned by Achaius, according to the fragmented history, King of Scotland from a thousand years earlier than his rule, and near 1800 years ago from now. That's a rendition of what he might have looked like. Another story said that Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland about 1000 years ago right now, created the order on the battlefield of the Battle of Bannockburn. That painting is the one next to Achaius. Both are fanciful tails but appeal to my vanity.","And the other set of paintings?","Kings of England from the same time periods." Harry had a small smile as he said, "I remain an Englishman. Edward I, from Robert the Bruce's time, King Offa is from the time of Achaius. Scotland's Historical Kings go back a thousand years before, Coinneach mac Ailpein – or Kenneth the First – who is the first King of Scotland that could be proven by records. He actually is an ancestor of all Kings of England and Scotland, each a part of greater Britain. That's his picture. He ruled almost 1400 years ago now.",Harry looked around. "I mostly live on the Bruce now. These are my former sleeping quarters and I set them up for diplomatic and business meetings. And this seems one of those. " He turned to speak to the man directly. "What would you like to speak of, Gul Lumek of the Cardassian Third Order?",Lumek took a sip of his drink and then carefully placed it on a convenient table. "During my report to the Central Command, a few items were noted as regards you and your abilities. I was asked to talk to you as regards those matters.","And those matters are …?" Harry asked conversationally.,"At two different times since you took ownership of BSS Bruce …" he turned and looked at the painting. "Named after this man?" He pointed toward the painting of Robert giving an award surrounded by the chaos and muck to be found in the aftermath of a battle.,"Yes. Good catch.","Yes. Well. Since your ship arrived to this space, , prisoners of the Cardassian Empire have disappeared. The first time was the Hutet labor camp, which was an unfortunate oversight by the Empire. It should have been shut down per the agreements made when we left Bajor. But a second incident also occurred: Four prisoners disappeared from a prison facility. All were Bajoran. We have no information as to their location, but a report from a citizen nearby who was subjected to some form of attack set us in mind of , demonstrated abilities.","Is that all?" Harry asked in an almost bored tone.,"It was also noted that your wording as regards the infiltration of the various governments was telling. I believe your words were: I will support the Federation and Bajor and, with their blessing, the Klingon and Romulan Empires. You said nothing about the Cardassian Empire, despite us being just as threatened and, according to the interrogation, just as subject to infiltration. My superiors were startled at your seeming disdain, or even lack of concern, for , people.",Harry nodded. He took a sip of his drink. He then looked at his glass. "Kanar is an interesting drink. Most non-Cardassians find it too thick and cloying, and so have a hard time stomaching it. It's a deceptive drink – it has a lot more kick than it appears to have on the surface. Commander Sisko actually taught me how to enjoy it: Guava juice, an Earth juice and one that is slightly exotic but also somewhat familiar to our palate, can cut the sticky sweetness to a palatable level.",Harry took a large drink and set his own cup down. "I'm sure there's a metaphor somewhere in there. Cardassians seem to , their metaphors when they don't want to be direct. Since you won't ask directly, I won't answer directly or refuse as you have no right to demand such answers." He smirked. "But I might offer supposition?",The Cardassian considered that and nodded that such would be acceptable.,Harry considered his words. "The first disappearance of your prisoners was, ,, instigated by someone – likely a Cardassian – sending a token back to Bajor as regards the existence of the camp in contravention to the earlier agreement. Once the Cardassian Empire admitted to that mistake and assured the Bajorans that no more such camps existed, that matter was settled.,"The , disappearance … well, I don't know." Harry decided to stop dissembling. "Gul Dukat had some knowledge of certain a certain prisoner that he was abusing though he isn't aware that he told anyone about her. She had been made to , Bajoran by the Obsidian Order as a spy but was actually Cardassian.,"Now, during that whole Maquis matter, I was forced to save Gul Dukat. Commander Sisko wanted him alive because subversives in the Cardassian government wanted him dead. And my King had ordered me to assist Sisko if asked. I had to save him despite personal animus. I did my duty.",Lumek asked, "What reason would you have for personal animus against Gul Dukat?",Harry replied, "According to rumors, he was the one who tried to get Lursa and B'etor of the Klingon House of Duras to kidnap my elves. Those making that request changed their mind when it failed, but Dukat is still owed payback.",Lumek asked, "What kind of payback?",Harry said calmly, "He will die. When the Cardassian Empire no longer finds him useful and marks him a traitor, when he knows that everyone who might have supported him or whom he could turn to has turned away in disgust, when he is at the deepest part of despair and searching fruitlessly for hope, he will die in a way that will cause his spirit to cry out in suffering in the afterlife. I am a Knight of the Thistle. ,.",Lumek seemed shocked at Harry's implacable tone. He stared for a long moment, much in the same way a snake stared at a stalking mongoose. Finally he asked, "And so the four prisoners …","Yes. The , prisoners were likely rescued as payback. The target was just the one he was abusing, the Cardassian woman. There is talk that she is currently receiving care and treatment and will be returned to her people when she is healthy. But assistance was needed from others and the price was saving the other four. There is a reason I had ready access to truth serum: Once it was verified they weren't in prison for murdering Cardassians or Bajoran civilians and were only political prisoners, the other four were retrieved as well.",Lumek nodded. He then asked curiously, "And if their crime was murdering a Cardassian?",Harry replied, "An innocent Cardassian? Not killed in conflict?" Lumek nodded. "They would have been left to rot. Murder is murder, whether the victim is an ally or enemy. If the colony I saved had been New Cardassia, I would have acted the same way as I did to save New Bajor. Rapists and baby killers receive no quarter from me or mine ... even if the babies are Cardassian.","I see." Lumek looked thoughtful for a long moment. "I should return to my ship. My government is waiting for my report." He walked over to the door. Before he left he turned. "Would you consider the Cardassian government more positively if we served up Gul Dukat to you?",Harry chuckled. "No. I will do unto him when it's appropriate. If you wish my good will, ensure he is not warned of my attitude. But assure you superiors that I will only act when I know that the Cardassian Empire declared him traitor.",Lumek asked, "And what if he remains in good standing?","He won't. He's a scorpion." Harry's tone was certain.,"I'm not familiar with that term. The translation comes through as poisonous relations to spiders?",Harry replied, "Ask Commander Sisko to tell you the fable of the Scorpion and the Frog. I think he'd likely enjoy telling it as Ben seems to like teaching people things.",Lumek asked with a slightly amused tone, "A fable?",Harry smirked. "Just as Cardassians , metaphors, Humans , parables and fables. Our holy books are full of parables but the things our parents teach us are usually fables. The Scorpion and the Frog has many variations – the one I'm referring to is the Russian version. The Indian, Babylonian, and Sufi parables and fables with the Scorpion all teach different truths. The Indian is closest. Aesop, I think, told his own version.",Lumek asked, "Who is Aesop?",Harry considered how to answer that. "A storyteller and slave from Ancient Greece, about three thousand years ago. His tales have been used to teach Human morality since that time.",Harry went to the back room and transferred the collected Aesop's Fables from his timeline and the current one. He put this on a data chip. He brought that back out. "Something to help you understand Humans. But still: Ask Sisko about the Scorpion and the Frog.",Lumek accepted the chip and left. Harry hoped that getting the Cardassians to understand Humans better might cause the Maquis issue to become less poisonous. It was unlikely, but Harry had hope.,Harry vanished the glasses and left the remaining kanar for the elves to gather. Harry decided to talk to his Vulcan counselor and ask for a collection of Vulcan parables and fables if they had a comparable collection. He would also ask for a Vulcan's take on the morals demonstrated in Aesop's stories.,Harry was amused as he considered giving the same tales to a Klingon and a Romulan as well as a Bajoran. It would be interesting to correlate the morals each race took from those tales. In fact, it would be an amusing diversion for Harry to work on outside of magical and logistical matters.,Harry amused himself with the idea of writing a book: ,.,In due time, Harry endured the awards ceremony and, once he verified details, visightd the Paqu to go over the change in pricing due to Harry's new tax-free status.,It would make butterbeer cheaper but Harry still planned on paying some duties to the Bajoran government. He didn't need people getting annoyed and lost revenue eventually annoyed a government.,Finally, the Griffon took on the BSS Bruce and, with the Jem'Hadar vessels attached at the bottom, transitioned into unplottability and then into warp.

Taking a few liberties with timelines here to make this work, i apologise if the characters are off, its my first time writing some of them. This was an idea i had that really wouldnt go away so I decided to start writing it as i couldn't find anything like what i had in mind on here.,When Dumbledore left Harry Potter on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive he was not to know that little Harry would not stay at his Aunts house for the duration he had in mind. How was he to predict the series of events that were to transpire and put all his carefully laid plans to waste. For Harry Potter was really no Potter at all at least not by blood, Lily Evans had not loved James, in fact they had split the year after they left school and Lily had had a whirlwind romance with a man named Jason who was unlike anyone she had ever met, charming and kind he swept her off her feet. She never knew his real name or his real goal in romancing her, she knew only that he was from far away and that he said he would return to her as often as he could. What she didn't know was that 'Jason' had been to Earth before and had used Meredith Quill much like he was using her, in fact the reason he had returned to Earth was to see if he could locate his son Peter and upon finding he was gone had decided to try with another Earth woman in case his Earth spawn was lost. Lily Evans was an ends to a means and the result of their coupling would result in a prophecy which would target her unborn child and see her married to James Potter for safety.,When Peter Quill had been fighting Ego he had been surprised by his fathers admission that he had a sibling on Earth that might also be able to use the light. The thought that his father had killed so many children sickened him and he was thankful for his family and their support that kept him going especially after losing Yondu so soon after finding out the truth of his genetics. It would be a few months before he would get a likely hit in the Terra Database, but the last match they got was definitely the Lily they were looking for. She was the only one to have a child in the time frame Ego had indicated, after all he had told Peter the child would be about 5 or 6 now and the picture of the child was like looking at an old picture of Peter himself. The information that turned up would change his and his families lives.,Harry Potter was sleeping off a punishment from his 'Uncle' in the cupboard under the stairs on an old cot mattress when the knock at the door came that would change his whole life. Petunia Dursley opened the door to a leather jacket clad man with dirty blonde hair and piercing green eyes much like her nephew.,"May I help you?" She asked politely, wondering what a man such as the one on her doorstep could want.,"Are you Petunia Dursley nee Evans, sister of Lily Potter nee Evans" he asked keeping his voice steady, he had felt an ache in his chest upon learning that he did indeed have a little brother and that his little brother had been orphaned four years previous when a magical being had tried to kill him. His crew had speculated that he had most likely survived due to his unique heritage. It hadn't taken long to track down his little brother one Harry James Potter to his maternal Aunts house in Surrey, England. He and his crew had agreed to a trip to Terra to make sure Harry was secure in his new home with the small possibility that he may leave with them as Gamora had said they were already raising Groot what was one more child. Besides Peter knew that deep down Yondu would want him to check on the kid and do right by him.,Petunia's face pinched slightly as she contemplated the man in front of her, he didn't seem to be magical and Dumbledore's letter had insisted that no one with ill intent to anyone in her household could get to the front door. "Yes I am, who wants to know?",Peter smiled, "could we speak inside this is a delicate matter?" He had found his brother and it seemed to be a good neighbourhood too, he let himself hope that he would be okay.,Petunia frowned slightly before nodding, she was intrigued now and so she stepped back and allowed him entry and led him into the living room.,Peter took a seat on the sofa and taking a deep breath began to explain. "Your sister Lily had a ... relationship with my father... her son Harry is my little brother. I recently found this out and looked her up to check she and any child she had were ok and discovered she had been killed. I guess I just want to ensure that Harry is happy and see if you need any support.",Petunia looked at the man in front of her in shock. He was telling her that his father had a relationship with her sister, his father must have been at least fifty and some how she highly doubted this to be the case. "I don't understand how your father could have been seeing my sister, she was only 19 when she caught for Harry and no offence but your father must be about the fifty mark?",Peter sighed as he contemplated how best to explain this, "My father could ... change his appearance, he wasn't like other people, damn to be honest he wasn't even from Earth",Petunia gasped, "You mean Harry is part alien as well as having ... magic?" Part of her was freaking out and another part of her was thinking hard about how this could be the perfect solution, here was a man looking into his 'brother' she could let him take the boy and that way she could go back to her normal life.,Peter scrubbed his face with his hands, this was frustrating to say the least. "Yes Harry is part alien, like me",Petunia nodded, "would you take him, I cant keep him, its too much for my husband, if he finds out it wont be good and well I didn't get a choice with having him." She finished in a rush, she neglected to mention that Vernon had become violent with the child and she feared for his safety.,Pete bowed his head, well there went the idea that his brother would grow up with a family on Terra. "I can take him yes, you would need to sign him over to my custody, I have the papers here?" He was glad Gamora had thought to check out all possible avenues. He pulled the papers out of his pocket and handed them over.

By Taylor Huff,The atomic bomb.,The culmination of decades of research into radioactive isotopes. The ability of science, used for warfare. A force that had wiped out entire cities in mere minutes, whose atomic payload vaporized bodies, leaving only charred shadows on the surface of the walls. A parody of everything life is, creating destruction, sickness, and much death.,Something whose effects on super viruses was unknown.,What if the military had looked into viral warfare a bit earlier? What if patient zero had been found quite a bit.. Before?,What if Alex Mercer had been just a little bit slow?,A single minute more radiation exposure was enough. Zeus felt pain beyond pain, tearing through his blackened soul..,A single minute, and his memories of Everything were forfeit.,Only a primal intellect remained in the subject known as Zeus, and with everything he was, he wanted escape. Thoughts, if they could be classified as such, echoes through the Web of Intrigue connected to him.,'Move. Move! MOVE!',He had consumed enough physicists to know the basics of quantum mechanics. ...And he had acquired enough intellect to make use of the theories of beings of lesser ability.,A single black blade materialized in the middle of the nuclear fallout. It was the sharpest blade ever forged by physical, or biological means. The smoke of Blacklight's composite mass lifted the blade, and tore a hole in the fabric of reality.,The virus gathered itself together in the haze of great pain it was in, and thrust itself through the tear, which healed closed behind it.,Wisps of black smoke materialized in a suburban district close to London. The town was called Little Whinging. The Blacklight virus, knowing it wouldn't survive long without physical form, searched for the closest body, preferably of the deceased.,It found the form of Harry James Potter, a freezing babe on a doorstep.,The babies' life force wasn't entirely extinguished, but it being November, it was close enough not to matter. The black smoke flew forward, quickly engulfing the small bundle of thin blankets.,And thus, in this manner, the Primary viral strain of Blacklight.. Returned., I found most stories on this crossover too simplistic, and not enough.. Epic. Review please.

The 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy had been spending a fair portion of the year learning English. Some, such as Mondo Oowada and Yasuriho Hagakure, struggled with the language, while others, such as Byakuya Togami, Sayaka Maizono and Chihiro Fujisaki, excelled at the classes, even managing to expertly hide their accents.,And Kyoko Kirigiri was fortunate enough to fall into the latter category.,As the final step in their lessons, the class was put on a class trip to London, to interact with people who were born with the language.,The class was in high spirits, most of the students had spent their whole lives in Japan, so traveling to somewhere else was exciting, and traveling to London really excited some of them. They had heard about the food and sights, and how London was very much a thriving country, but also was quaint and quiet at times, which would make for a nice change.,As soon as they had arrived in the foreign country, the class quickly split up to do their own thing. Sayaka found herself meeting some English speaking fans and chatting it up with them. Mondo, Taka and Leon decided to hit a restaurant. Celestia and Hifumi went to look at a tea shop. Sakura and Hina had gone for a jog.,As for Kyoko? She had opted for just exploring the town. She didn't find much that truly caught her interest, however. At least until she stumbled upon a newspaper..,Raising a brow, she picked it up and skimmed over it. What was written was... disturbing, to say the least.,"Young boy in coma. Cause unknown." She muttered, reading the headline. She felt a mix of shock and disgust swell up deep down, but she quickly suppressed it. Reading the rest of the article, she frowned at how... downright incompetent the officers seemed to be.,From what she was reading, it seemed quite clear that the officers were either idiots or paid off to keep silent. The girl's lavender eyes narrowed. Without missing a beat, she turned to make her way back to the hotel. She needed to talk with her father...,"So...you want me to get you on board this investigation?" Jin Kirigiri asked with a raised brow. "Are you...certain that's how you want to spend your trip?","Father, I won't sit by idly and let whoever hurt this boy get off without so much as a slap on the wrist. I mean, just read what kinds of injuries he had! Broken limbs, burns, cuts, infected wounds, and that's not even the worst of it! Justice is my job, and I will make sure that justice is served. But I can't do that without your help.",Jin went quiet thinking it over. He knew what his daughter had said was true, but more importantly, he knew there was no way he was going to talk his daughter out of doing this. He loved her more than anything, but she could be very strong headed sometimes... He guessed he got that from him if he was honest.,"Alright." He nodded. "I'll ask around and see what I can find. What are you going to do?",She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm...going to try and get myself a permit... I hate to say it, but I can't do anything at all if I don't have legal permission." Jin looked thoughtful. He felt confident he could convince the English police department to help his daughter out... He was very persuasive.,"Now you just leave that to your old man." He said, messing up his daughter's hair.,"Daaaad!" Kyoko protested, shielding her hair with her hands.,"What?" He asked with a smirk. "I'm just offering to help.",Kyoko huffed, annoyed, and left, deciding she needed to do two things, she needed to meet this Harry... Potter, and she needed to find any and all information she could about him and where he had been living. It should have been obvious that this wasn't an accident, but she needed proof.,She looked at the newspaper again to find what hospital the boy was staying at, then left the building and made her way over...,Kyoko entered the large building with a purpose and approached the front desk, where the worker waited patiently for someone to aid. "Excuse me." Kyoko greeted. "I'm here to see a Harry Potter." The worker looked surprised at those words. Kyoko tilted her head with a small frown.,"You're the first one to visit that boy... His own family hasn't even come to see him...",THAT was a red flag if she'd ever seen one.,"Hm." She said, keeping her calm composure and lack of emotion. "Well, I guess I'll be the first then.","Er. Right..." the worker muttered.,Shaking her head slightly, Kyoto made her way to the room where the tiniest boy she had ever seen was currently hooked up to several machines.,She found it difficult to maintain her composure... It was one thing to hear about it, but to see it with her own eyes...,His tiny frame, the many bruises and cuts, the odd angle his tiny arm was bent at...It was heartwrenching.,The detective stepped up to the boy, a rare expression of sadness on her features, and studied him carefully. He was clearly not well fed...One could count his ribs he was so malnourished. And it was plain to see that his injuries were caused by human hands...,She exhaled angrily through her nostrils, how could ANYONE do such a thing? Let alone allow someone to knowingly do this? She felt her fists trembling and she had to calm herself, this was not the time or place to lose her cool. She needed to remain calm. She slowly approached the bed and looked at the small boy. His shaggy black hair was covering his face partially.,Reaching over with her gloved hand, she carefully moved the hair out of the boy's eyes to get a better look at him. Even she had to admit that this boy was completely and utterly adorable... and that fact just made the entire situation even more infuriating. Gently, she reached over and grabbed one of his tiny hands, giving it a gentle squeeze.,"Don't fret little one, I'll make sure whoever did this to you faces justice..." She whispered. Harry didn't respond, not that she expected him to.,Examining the little boy now, she saw OBVIOUS signs of physical abuse, marks where he had clearly been hit and burned. She quietly took a few pictures to use as evidence. She felt like that alone could be enough, but to her, it wasn't. She wanted to make sure whoever did this didn't just go down, but that they never got back up.,Giving the boy one last glance, she turned and left the room. What she didn't notice, however, was the slight twitching of the boy's hand, or the way his arm seemed to put itself back into place...,Kyoko entered the hotel to see her classmates having a lively chat with one another. Ordinarily, she would have joined them. However, at the moment, she was a woman on a mission... And that mission was the complete and utter destruction of the one who had hurt little Harry Potter. So focused was she, that she didn't even notice her approaching friend.,"Hey Kirigiri!" Makoto called. "How was your walk?",When he received no response, the luckster frowned, but also understood that the detective could be quiet and antisocial sometimes, and chalked this up to just that. But he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that more was going on.,Kyoko made her way to the room she shared with Celeste to plan out her next move. The ultimate gambler happened to already be there, sipping a cup of tea. Noticing her classmates' demeanour, Celeste smiled wryly.,"Oh? It seems you've stumbled upon something interesting. Might I be so bold as to assume you've stumbled upon a case?" The goth asked with vague interest.,"Yes." The detective answered simply, not saying anything else.,"Might I ask what the case is about?","Do you want to know? Or are you just trying to be friendly?","I assume you already know the answer.",Kyoko rolled her eyes in exasperation. Honestly, Celestia was downright impossible to deal with sometimes. "You're sure you want to know? It's a pretty graphic case.","Oh, Kyoko, you know my profession very well. Gambling can be far more graphic than you realize. I've even managed to successfully win Russian Roulette." Kyoko looked at her classmate.,"That concerns me greatly. But if you really must know, someone beat a littke boy into a coma, and I want him brought to justice.,Celestia fell silent, her smile fading away into an unreadable expression. "...I see. Well then... Is there anything I can do to help?",Kyoko was a bit taken aback by the question, but finally answered.,"What do you mean?","I want to help in any way I can.","Sure." Kyoko replied flatly. She had made a habit of not believing much of that the gambler said, especially in a case like this. "And why would you want to help?",Celestia frowned at the detective. "Kyoko, do you believe me to be completely heartless? A child is in a coma. It's only natural I would want to do something to assist.",Kyoko looked at the gambler. Thr fact that she had briefly slipped out of her persona seemed to be a clear sign that she was genuinely concerned for the boy...,"There's not much we can do at this time. My father is trying to get me a search permit so that I can get to the investigation.","Ah yes, I see. Well, your father will no doubt come through for you." She said this with a nod of her head and a smile.,"I agree...I just hope it happens quickly...","So do I Kyoko... for that little boy's sake..." She sighed. "Speaking of him, did you see him?","Yes." The detective nodded. "While he was still in a coma, I did see him. It's obvious what's happened, and it's sickening knowing no one has done anything about it.","Hmm, you seem rather attached to him." Celestia smirked, making Kyoko's eyes widen in slight shock and embarrassment.,"How can I be attached to a boy I only met once?" She asked. "An encounter he wasn't even awake for?",Celeste smirked with a raised brow. "That, my dear Kirigiri, is called maternal instincts. All women have them, whether they realize it or not.",Kyoko frowned at the goth's words. "Maternal instincts? Are you implying...","I imagine you would make a fine mother, don't you?" Celeste took a sip of her tea.,Kyoko didn't say anything, but felt her face turning red as Celeste smirked at that.,"Well?" The gambler asked.,Kyoko stormed off, trying to hide her embaressemt. She could hear Celeste laughing as she left, how she hated her somedays...,But was she right? Was she getting attached-,No. She was helping an abused boy. That was all. Wasn't it?,She was deep in thought when she bumped into someone. "S-Sorry..." She mumbled.,"Oh, hi, Kirigiri!" Kyoko looked to see Makoto standing before her.,"Naegi. Hello. How was your time in the city?" Kyoko asked, searching for any excuse she could possibly find to get that embarrassing conversation with Celestia out of her head.,"It was pretty interesting, actually. Sayaka and I got to have our first date in public! Can you believe they don't have a problem with idols dating here?! But anyway, how was your day?","It was...very eventful. Long story short, I'll very likely be working during our stay.","Ooh, did someone rob a store and they can't find out who did it?" Naegi asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.,"No, as much as I wish it was that simple, I'm afraid this is far more... excessive." The detective frowned. "I'm looking into the abuse of a small boy...",Naegi's face fell when he heard that. "Aw man... That's terrible..." He said. "Don't think you've ever had to cover anything that intense before...",Kyoko nodded her head. "It's my first really major case... Luckily it's an easy one... The transition from robberies to abuse will be much smoother..." Naegi bit his lip at that but nodded regardless.,"Well, I think that If anyone can bring the kid's abusers to justice, it's you." He nodded.,Kyoko allowed a small smile to grace her features. "Thank you." She replied.,Naegi rubbed the back of his head, and Kyoko caught on. "You wanna know how bad it is." Naegi was startled.,"Wha-How-" He froze at the smirk on his friend's face. "Right, right, ultimate detective... Sorry... I wasn't sure how to go about saying it...","It's fine, your concern is valid. It's...Well, he's..." She sighed. "He was beaten into a coma..." At that, Naegi's eyes widened in shock.,"Oh God..." He muttered.,"And I have reason to believe that he was hurt by his own family. I also believe that they paid off police to remain silent about it.","I... Oh God...",Kyoko nodded her head in response. "I know...I know... It's why I have to step up... If the law here can't do their jobs properly, then I'll do it myself." She all but spat.,"Yeah, no kidding... Man, this is unbelievable..." Kyoko noticed her friend looked about ready to cry.,"It's all right, Naegi..." She said, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm gonna put this case to a close...","I...I sure hope so... Do you want me to keep it secret?","It doesn't matter. It's no skin off my teeth if the others find out.","Alright, I'll keep it on the down low for now. But if you need anything, let me know.","Of course." Kyoko smiled.,"Oh, and if the others find out... I'll try and keep them from 'helping'. Unless you need it.",Kyoko nodded her head in affirmation. "Thank you, Makoto.",And with that, the two ultimates went their separate ways.,Kyoko threw open the door to her room, and froze when she saw it on her bed. A smirk found it's way onto her face.,A search permit.,Time to get to work.,Kyoko wrote down what she knew, noting the obvious abuse the boy had suffered, and noting that she needed to talk with the boy's guardians.,Looking to the newspaper she'd found, she read through it again, hoping to find a passage mentioning the boy's relatives. A Mr. Vernon Dursley... She would need to ask around, ask if anyone in town knew the man...,According to the paper, Harry was found unconscious in a place called Privet Drive. That seemed as good a place as any to begin her investigation.,It took her about twenty minutes of walking, which the detective didn't mind, to get to the small neighbourhood Harry supposedly lived in. She leaned against a telephone pole and scanned the area. It was quite... dull. Sure, it at least looked decent and livable, but it seemed almost gray and dreary.,She looked around, then settled on asking at the first house she saw. As she approached, she saw a cat curiously walking up to her. Smiling slightly, she took a kneeling position before the cat and scratched behind it's ears, her fondness for felines shining through. Then, she knocked on the door, and an old woman opened it up.,"Oh, hello there." The old woman said kindly. "Is there something I can help you with?","Possibly." Kyoko nodded in reply. "I was wondering if you knew anything about the boy who is currently in a coma. A young Harry Potter.",The old woman visibly frowned and seemed saddened when asked the question. Kyoko made a mental note that this woman clearly knew something.,"Yes, I know the poor dear." She said, sadness clear in her voice. "May I ask who you are?",Kyoko held up her search permit. "My name is Kyoko Kirigiri. Ultimate detective of Hope's Peak Academy. I've taken it upon myself to handle this case, seeing as how the police are doing a...less than stellar job.","Oh yes, I would say it's quite obvious who's responsible...My name is Arabella Figg. Please come in, I just made a pot of tea." Kyoko graciously accepted the offer and took a seat at the table. She heard the sound of multiple meows and smiled as she looked around at all the cats. From adults to kittens, it was clear this woman loved her kitties very much.,One of the kittens jumped into her lap, and she scratched it's chin gently. It reminded her of her own kitty back in her dorm, watched over by the...eccentric ultimate breeder.,Miss Figg set down some tea and a plate of cookies. "Now...My first question is, do you have any connection with Harry prior to his unfortunate condition?","Yes, I used to babysit him. The boy really seemed to love being around the cats." Kyoko smiled at that.,"While you did, was there anything off about him? Any signs that he may not be safe in his current home?",Miss Figg sighed deeply and nodded.,"Yes, he always seemed to small, he was afraid to take any food I offered him. He never said why, but he seemed to be in a constant state of terror. The only time I ever really saw him happy was when he was playing with the kittens.",Kyoko felt an aggressive knot in her gut upon hearing that.,"Okay, did he say anything about why he was so frightened? Anything that would give you pause?","He seemed very set on keeping these issues to himself...Though he did have a tendency to get rather panicked when I told him it was time to go home...","I see... And where is his home, may I ask?","Right next door. Number Four Privet Drive. ...Oh dear...You don't think...","I think I have every reason to think." Kyoko replied. "The evidence is piling up... And I have every intention of bringing who's responsible to justice.","I never did like those Dursleys, nosey, unplesant lot...And I can certainly see them doing something like this...They never seemed happy around the poor boy, I can't think of why though. He was the kindest, most well-mannered little boy you'd ever meet.","I don't much care for why they did what they did. But more if they were responsible, then to bring them to justice." Kyoko replied firmly.,"I understand." Miss Figg nodded. "If what you say is true, then I will do anything I can to help the poor dear.","That's good to know." Kyoko nodded. "apparently not even his relatives came to visit him in the hospital, so if he wakes up, it may be good to have a comforting presence.",Miss Figg nodded her head slowly, quietly thinking to herself about how completely and utterly she'd failed in her mission. Kyoko, on the other hand, was deep in thought about the impending success of her own.,"...It's time I took this investigation to the next level." She rose to her feet. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I think it's time I paid the Dursleys a visit.","Best of luck, dear. But do be careful. Vernon is a very large man, you know." Kyoko smirked slightly at the woman's words.,"Lucky for me I've trained with the ultimate martial artist, so I've picked up a few things.",Miss Figg seemed a bit confused, but recognized the determination in the woman's voice.,"May she succeed where we have all failed..." She thought. "Damn you Albus...",Leaving the warm home, Kyoko thought about her plan of attack. One the one hand, she figured she could walk right up and demand answers, but if they had gotten this far without getting caught, they'd be smart enough to hide it (or so she thought). There was that odd feeling again when she thought about what Harry must have gone through at their hands that made her want to smash the door down and drag them to the police station and leave them there, but she knew that wouldn't work.,She decided to take the professional route and knock on the door politely, clenching her fists at her sides as she heard foosteps approaching the door. It threw open to reveal a large walrus of a man.,Junko never believed she could hate anyone as immediately as she hated this man. He looked downright unpleasan, from his grotesque appearance to his constant sneer.,"What do you want?" He demanded, prompting Kyoko to narrow her eyes and show off her permit.,"I want you to stand aside and let me in.","On who's authority?" He scowled.,"London Police Department. Now I'll ask again, stand aside and let me enter. If you don't comply, you'll be held in contempt of an officer's work.",The door was immediately slammed in her face.,"Well, I think I can retire all worries about intelligence..." She muttered.,She decided to opt for the simple response: pulling out her phone and informing the department that the man was obstructing justice.,Ten minutes later, a squad car pulled up outside the house, and two officers stepped out to assist her. Kyoko had some choice words, but she opted not to antagonize them.,"It's about time someone took this case seriously..." One of the officers muttered.,"Oh? What do you mean by that?" She asked, trying to keep a lid on her anger. The officer frowned and shook his head.,"Well, a few of the guys on the force..." he began, but trailed off, Kyoko got the message loud and clear.,"Ah, do you know who those are?" She asked, her eye twitching slightly.,"Yes." The officer nodded. "Believe me, I'm more than willing to give you some 'helpful information' if you know what I mean.","Thank you." Kyoko sighed.,"Would have done something myself, but the higher ups decided 'case closed'. Seriously, we're glad you stepped in. You Hope's Peak kids have a lot of influence all over.",Kyoko allowed a small smirk to cross her face. "I'm very pleased to hear that." One of the officers put a hand on her shoulder.,"Seriously, you're gonna be a great assett to the force back in Japan.",Kyoko blushed ever so slightly as she and the officers approached the door. The office banged on the door, waiting for it to be opened.,"WE ALREADY PAID YOU!" The man's voice yelled from inside. Kyoko and the Officer stared dumbfounded at one another.,"Please tell me you were recording." Was all Kyoko could think to say.,"Of course I was." The officer replied, amazed. "How dumb is this man?",Kyoko rolled her eyes in response. "Dumb enough to slam the door in the face of the detective that came to investigate...","Right, dumb question... Sir, this is your one and only warning. Open up or we will be forced to use force.","You have no right-","You're gonna say the police have no right to try to uphold the law?",Silence...then the door opened grudgingly.,"Yes?" The man asked begrudgingly.,"Kyoko Kirigiri, Detective from Hope's Peak Academy." Kyoko introduced herself. "I'm here concerning a Harry Potter.","Who?" The man asked, feigning knowledge.,"The child who lived here who is now in a coma." She replied flatly.,Vernon's face turned purple. "That was not my fault! You have no proof! None! What happened to the freak was all on him, and that is final!",Kyoko narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmm. I think you're protesting a bit too much, Mr. Dursley. Quite suspicious if you ask me.","Shut up, girl! I had nothing to do with what happened to the brat! All he ever did was put us through hell and back with his constant mischief and shenanigans!","Is that a fact?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Because your next door neighbour told a very different story about Harry. She said he was a shy, quiet boy.",Vernon stumbled over his words and scolded again.,"That old hag is senile! She doesn't know a thing!","What kind of monster was Harry living with?" Kyoko mentally frowned.,"Well, regardless, we're coming in." The officer said matter-of-facty. Pushing past the large man aside and entering the home. Kyoko smirked as she entered, seeing the angered look on the man's face.,Kyoko decided to start the investigation in the most obvious place: His bedroom. She turned to look at Vernon. "Tell us where to find Harry's room.",Vernon scowled. "He didn't have one. Not enough space." He said gruffly. One look around the house was enough to tell Kyoko that that was a flat-out lie.,Sighing and rubbing her temples, the young female detectivd gave Vernon a pointed glare. "Fine then. Where did he sleep? And don't you dare try to lie to me.",Vernon didn't want to reply, but when he saw the look the officer was giving him, he addressed him.,"Listen, can I talk with your commander? I'm sure this is just a misun-","Don't give me that crap." The officer cut him off, his eyes narrowing. "Everything you've done, it ends. Now.","But I've done nothing!" Vernon protested. "I'm innocent, I tell you! Haven't done one single thing wrong, there's no reason for you to be here!",Kyoko glared at the man. "If you're finished with your suspicious protests, then tell us where he slept. And trust me, I know very well when you're lying.",Vernon still didn't seem to want to talk, so Kyoko sighed annoyed, and set to looking for herself.,There were pictures on the wall of a family, but Harry wasn't in any of them. Kyoko's scowl seeping by the second, it was becoming abundantly clear what had happened. Finally, she smelled something... disgusting from under the stairs and approached the small door.,Kyoko was desensitized to violent crime scenes. She had no choice but to be. It came with the line of work. She'd seen corpses, assault victims and kidnappings, all without losing an ounce of composure.,But this cupboard... Oh, this cupboard... Perhaps it was the knowledge that this was where a child was kept, perhaps it was the sheer brutality of the sight, but even Kyoko Kirigiri could not maintain her composure.,"How could you..." She trembled, her voice rising. "HOW COULD YOU!?",Whiting around with fury in her eyes the officer with her looked at Kyoko then to Vernon, then back to the detective.,"Well, you're screwed." He remarked, before suddenly handcuffing the large man. "C'mon, you're under arrest, you have the right to remain silent-","GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" The man roared, shoving the officer to the ground before trying to make a run for it. However, Kyoko proved to be faster, and before he had the chance to get anywhere, she caught up and delivered a kick to his ribs that knocked him into a wall.,Breathing heavily to regain her composure, Kyoko scowled hatefully at the obese man. No...Man was not the right word. She was face to face with a complete monster!,Clenching her fists, the detective took one final deep breath, then searched for more information. She noticed something on each wall of the house... Security cameras.,Finding a laptop, she didn't hesitate inyanking it out and stuffing it into her bag, leaving the room behind her, still fuming.,"Harry... I'll make these monsters pay..." she mentally promised.,Storming to the police officers, she presented them with the laptop and the cameras. "This should be more than enough to find out what IT did to Harry.","Whoa, she's furious." One of the officers whispered to her partner out of the corner of his mouth. Kyoko heard him and huffed in response. Who WOULDN'T be?!,"Fair." The officer coughed. As if by a Godsend, her father entered, seeming equal parts angered and disgusted.,"Kyoko, I-" He began but stopped when he saw Vernon in cuffs. "Never mind then.","What did you find dad?" Kyoko sighed, trying to regain her composure.,"Well, a few of them men have... opened up, so to say, about several illegitimate choices made recently. It's all been sent to the higher ups, and I'll say this. They're gonna need to hire a few new people.",Kyoko nodded her head curtly and sighed softly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Good...I'm glad that everyone is getting what they deserve...",Jin approached his daughter and pulled her into a hug. "I'm very proud of you, Kyoko... You've successfully stopped these criminals from getting away with their crimes.",Kyoko hugged back, smiling softly. "I'm glad to help... Just doing my job..." She said softly.,"Now listen, I think I can handle everything down here, maybe you should either get back to your 'squadmates' as you kids are calling one another-","Dad!" Kyoko exclaimed suddenly. "No one calls each other that!","But in all seriousness, you may want to go back to the hospital, or wherever everyone else is.",Kyoko thought it over. She could go see Harry again then again, he was still in a coma. Or she could call it quits for the night and return to the hotel where everyone was. The choice was harder than she expected, she was still trying to figure out why she felt such a pull towards Harry. Sure, he had been abused horrifically, but... there was something besides her drive for justice, Kyoko shook her head to clear it.,"I guess I'll go and see him." Kyoko finally decided. Nodding to her father and the officers, she set foot out the door, her destination being the hospital.,As she made her way to the hospital, she felt herself thinking about what she had seen in that house, and she began thinking of all the pain, fear and sadness that boy had felt...,It hurt. There was no way to get around it. She felt genuine sadness and pain for the small boy. Sure maybe he was an obnoxious kid, maybe he was a troublemaker, but nothing he could do short of attempted criminal activity could-,"What are you thinking?!" Kyoko scolded herself. "NOTHING could justify what they did.",She sighed heavily, stopping by a vending machine and getting a drink. She usually didn't drink pop, but tonight wasn't a usual night. When she finally arrived at the hospital she looked around for a doctor or a nurse, finally walking up to the receptionists' desk.,She rested her hand on the desk to get the receptionist's attention. "Hello... I'm here to visit Harry Potter?" The receptionist nodded her head.,"Do you remember the room number?" Kyoko nodded her head and thanked the receptionist before making her way to the sleeping boy's room.,There he was...Still not moving, still in his coma, still stitched up and injured, still just a tiny little toothpick... Kyoko clenched her fists and stepped forward to take a seat next to him.,She sighed deeply, before finally taking his tiny hand in hers once again. She wasn't sure why she did it, but it felt nice. Suddenly, she felt Harry's hand move. Giving a surprised gasp, she saw the tiny boy begin to move, clearly in pain and confusion.,"Wh..where am I...?" She heard the tiniest voice she had ever heard squeak. She saw two beautiful emerald eyes flutter partially open, and fear quickly fill them at the unknown surroundings.,Kyoko tightened her hold on the boy's hand to try and comfort him. "It's okay. You're in a hospital." She said as softly as she could. "Your uncle...put you to sleep for a long time. You're here to get better." Harry looked over at her nervously.,"Uncle Vernon...? But...But he's gonna be mad that I'm here... He'll take me home and he'll..." The boy gasped and tried to clap his hands over his mouth, only to cry out in pain as pain shot through his injured arm.,"Hey, hey there." Kyoko said calmly, trying to seem non-threatening. "It's okay, you're going to be okay, just please lie back down and try not to move too much.",Harry let out several pained breaths, but slowly laid back down on the hospital bed. He looked over at the new woman sitting next to him, his eyes conveyed confusion, pain and fear. Kyoko gave a gentle smile to try and defuse any tension in the air.,"Hi, Harry... My name is Kyoko Kirigiri. I'm the detective that brought your uncle to justice." Harry looked confused. "I made sure he got punished for hurting you.","Buf miss...Um...Miss K...Miss Koko...?" She couldn't help but let a small smile form, she hadn't expected him to pronounce his name properly, but she hadn't expected his attempt to be so cute...,"Yes Harry?" She spoke calmly, trying to remain as non-threatening as possible.,"Wh-Why is Uncle Vernon getting punished...? He...He didn't do anything wrong..." Kyoko stared at him sadly for several moments before sighing softly.,"No, Harry, that's wrong." She explained. "That man has done nothing but wrong. He had no right to hurt you at all, much less the way he did.","Bu...but..." Harry tried to stammer out. "He had to... he...he...he was doi-" Harry tried to movie, and yelped in pain, Kyoko sighed sadly and helped him lay back down. "He was doing the right thing...","Why on earth would you ever say such a thing?" Kyoko asked puzzled. "There's no possible scenario where what he did was the right thing.","But... I'm a freak." Harry mumbled, looking down the best he could, trying not to move so he wouldn't hurt himself more. "And I needed to..." He trailed off and didn't finish his sentence.,Kyoko's gaze hardened very slightly, to the point where it was difficult to notice. Reaching over, she grabbed Harry's tiny hand once again.,"Listen to me, Harry... I see absolutely nothing wrong with you. When I look at you, all I see is a little boy, who's been hurt for no good reason whatsoever. There's nothing wrong with you. You're perfectly normal.","But... I do freaky things." Harry protested weakly. "I've made things fly... and I've heard snakes talk to me... and...","Shh..." Kyoko said calmly, gently placing a finger to his tiny lips. "Calm down Harry. Please, just take a few breaths.",It took longer than the detective would've liked, but eventually Harry did seem to calm himself, now whimpering slightly as he looked up at the woman he still didn't know too well. Kyoko frowned slightly at his terrified expression and body language, she didn't know what to do...,She began to think about what he'd just told her. Making things fly? Talking to snakes? Surely that was just the imagination of a child...right?,Shaking her head, she squeezed the boy's hand again. "I'm sure it was all just coincidence. Or your uncle orchestrating things so he'd have an excuse to hurt you.",Harry bit his lip. He knew she was wrong, but didn't want to argue. "I...I guess maybe you're right..." He mumbled softly.,"Well your Uncle is going away for a long time, so he'll never hurt you again." Kyoko said reassuringly.,"But... what's gonna happen to me?" Harry asked.,'Good question.' Kyoko thought. What WAS going to happen to him? There was no way in hell he'd go back to his family, not after what they had put him through... Come to think of it, where were his parents? If they were... gone, than maybe Miss Figg could take care of him, or maybe he'd end up in an orphanage.,Finally, Kyoko let out a deep sigh and smiled at him. "For now, you'll stay here at the hospital until they've figured something out for you.","Oh... I hope they put me somewhere nice..." Harry said softly, prompting Kyoko to pat his head.,"They will. I know they will." She assured him gently, smiling lightly as the boy leaned closer into her touch. It kind of reminded her of a cat. It was actually kind of...cute. After a few minutes, she rose to her feet. "I'm afraid I have to go now, Harry." The boy looked upset.,"Forever?","No dear, I need to go for a few hours and meet with some people." She replied, then without even noticing what she was saying, she added: "I can come back later if you'd like.","Yes please." Harry replied, very timidly. Kyoko was surprised at her offer but now knew she didn't have much choice. Sure, she could be seen as 'cold' by some of the other students, but this wasn't someone her age, this was a little boy. She mentally sighed, knowing it wouldn't hurt too much to visit him again, and she could gather more information when he was feeling better.,"Well, then I'll be back very soon.." She replied with a nod. She saw Harry try and wave one of his bandaged hands and she waved back, finding it adorable. Then left the room.,She took a look back at the room for a moment before shaking her head and walking away. Putting her hands in her skirt pocket, the young woman made her way back to her hotel.,Gratefully, she noticed Makoto had kept his promise to keep Harry's situation under wraps, and it seemed Celestia hadn't felt the need to tell anyone either. Kyoko was able to make it to her room with no hassle. Upon arrival, she wasn't surprised to see Hifumi Yamada serving the gambler her evening tea.,"Ah, Kyoko, welcome back." Celeste greeted with a nod of acknowledgement. "Might I interest you in a cup of tea?" Kyoko shrugged and figured she might as well.,"Sure, I guess.",Sitting down next to the gambler, Kyoko looked at the drink silently until Celeste cleared her throat.,"So... I don't mean to pry, but...","You want to know what happened, don't you?" Kyoko said flatly.,"Oh my god yes!" Celeste said in an over exaggerated tone mixed with a groan. "I feel my heart bleed for the poor dear! Is he okay?",Kyoko nodded her head. "I found all the evidence I need against the creature thaf did it.",Celeste nodded her head and sipped her tea. "Very good. And what of his coma?",Kyoko smiled slightly in response. "He's awake now...","Thank heavens...Poor thing, put into a coma at such a young age...","Indeed, and he seems to believe he deserved everything that happened.",Out of the corner of her eye, Kyoko saw Celeste's eye twitch angrily. She saw the girl begin breathing aggressively to try and calm herself.,"I'll be going back to talk to him later.",Suddenly, the gambler's eyes widened and seemed to sparkle with an idea.,"Well then, might I come along?" She asked.,Kyoko quirked a brow at her classmate. "You want to come? Why?",Celestia smirked wryly and took a sip from her tea. "Because I believe it would be interesting to see this boy with my own eyes." She explained.,"I see. And you have no ulterior motives?" Celeste frowned.,"Honestly, have faith in me, won't you?",Kyoko smirked. "Kind of difficult after you convinced the entire class to play strip poker.","And I must say, you have quite the lovely figure." Kyoko blushed and rolled her eyes.,"Regardless, I don't know if it's the best idea for Harry to meet new people right now." The detective reasoned.,"But don't you need to get more information from him?" Celeste asked. "Wouldn't it be easier if he had a few people he felt like he could talk with?",Kyoko narrowed her eyes in thought. The gambler did have a point...,"...Fine. But don't make me regret it." She said coolly. The gothic gambler gave the detective a smile and sipped her tea once again before setting it down.,"Kirigiri, you have my word.","Normally, That means something." Kyoko muttered, making Celeste pout.,"Now that's just unfair.","And?",The two gave each other flat looks before going back to their tea. It was clear there was a lot on the detective's mind right now.,She was thinking about Harry. Little damaged Harry, alone in the hospital...,Little damaged Harry, thinking no one loved him...,Little damaged Harry, thinking he deserved to be beaten and abused...,Kyoko felt a pain in her chest. She was often called an ice queen...But she had a heart.,This didn't go unnoticed by Celeste, who tilted her head before speaking.,"You really care for the little one, don't you?","Well..." Kyoko shook her head almost immediately. "I just feel... hurt. But who wouldn't? Harry's an innocent child, and he was subjected to such abhorrent treatment, all because they didn't like him.",Celeste remained silent, Kyoko noticed that the gambler seemed far more... real, currently. As if she wasn't trying to predict the detectives next move, but just listening, and clearly hurt as well.,"Yes, it's truly vile..." She agreed. "I certainly hope the man gets placed in a cell with a rather large fellow, if you know what I mean.","I have a vague idea." Kyoko replied, rolling her eyes.,Celeste giggled in response. "Yes, a fitting punishment, is it not? The man who took pleasure in harming someone much smaller and weaker than himself, receiving similar treatment. True poetic justice.","I guess that's one way to look at it." Kyoko shrugged. "One can only hope." Both girls sipped at their tea and Kyoko sighed softly. "I'm just glad I got it done quickly...,"True." The gambler nodded. "So, what's your plan now?","Well, I think I need some time to rest, after everything that's happened, I don't want to burn myself out." Kyoko reasoned.,"That's fair.","And later... if you really do want to come see Harry, you can accompany me when I go to see him later. The only condition is you can't scare him, you can't ask him about his past, and I swear if you so much as mention Gambling ONCE I will-","Temper, temper, Kirigiri.." Celeste frowned. "I understand. He's not even your son and your acting like a mother.",Kyoko simply huffed in response.,The two girls finished their tea, then Kyoko looked at the clock. "Huh...Later than I thought...I think it's time to turn in for the night." She said coolly.,"Indeed, I'm rather worn out myself.",The two girls changed into their nightwear and crawled into their respective beds. Kyoko was tired, yet for whatever reason, she did not fall asleep right away, staring at the ceiling above her.,No, not for whatever reason...She knew the reason... She was thinking of Harry...,She sighed, still trying to figure out why this boy had made such an impact on her. Was it because of his age? Was it because of what he had been through?,"Or is it because he's adorable..." a thought danced in the back of her mind.,She frowned softly. Where in the world had that come from? Then she thought back to her first conversation with Celeste about the whole situation, and remembered the goth's words...,"That, my dear Kirigiri, is what is known as maternal instincts. Every female has them, whether they're aware or not.","Does that mean... no, no. I'm not his mother." Kyoko shook he head to clear her thoughts. "He's just an abuse victim, who wouldn't feel bad for someone who went through that?",However, that wasn't a good enough answer for her mind it seemed, as the thoughts didn't go away.,She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take over. As she succumbed to her exhausted state, she thought of Harry as slumber took over...,She had to protect him...,One way or another, she would.,Waking the next morning, Kyoko yawned as she looked at her case file for Harry. She sighed and blew some hair out from in front of her eyes. She knew today would be a better day, but was also nervous about what she had to do. She needed Harry's story if his Uncle was going to be locked away for a long time, and that meant she'd have to get him to talk about it...,She looked out the window, and sighed softly. Perhaps not today, but someday soon...First, she needed him to trust her...

She was twenty-five years old and she was already tired of living, how pathetic was that?,Even sadder was the fact that she wanted to die but she couldn't. Ever since the final battle against Voldemort her body had changed. She had healed of every scar she had ever received, every damage inflicted on her body because of the Dursleys. It was all gone, and with that every scar she would ever receive.,Since then, every time she hurt herself in someway, the wound would heal instantly. She had even stopped ageing. She looked the same as she did that night. And it was all the fault of those damn Hallows. Even if she had gotten rid of two of them, she still became the Master of Death and therefore immortal.,It was a curse, plain and simple. She wasn't Voldemort, she had never sought to live forever. But she was Hanna Potter, the girl-who-lived, so of course something like that had to happen to her.,The worst thing was that she had nothing left to live for. Her family was gone, all her friends were dead and the Wizarding World was worse than ever.,If she had thought the prejudices would stop with Voldemort's death, she had been dead wrong. Now there were those who were prejudiced against purebloods and dark families in general and those that still were prejudiced against muggleborns and halfbloods. Nothing had changed. Actually, it had gotten worse.,The fact that she had become the 'Saviour of the Wizarding World' then, had made her life a living hell. She couldn't go anywhere without a glamour and she was constantly stalked by fans and reporters alike. The dream of a normal life that she had had such a long time ago had been abandoned forever.,Her time nowadays was spent locked inside Grimmauld Place, alone. She didn't even go outside to buy groceries anymore, preferring to send Kreacher instead.,She was depressed and she knew it but she didn't know how to change that, how to make things better.,She didn't see a way out beside death and even that seemed impossible to achieve. She had tried numerous times to kill herself but every time she had healed. Not even the Avada Kedavra had worked.,There was only one thing she had left, one last thing yet to try. The veil. If that didn't work, nothing would.,It had been on the back of her mind for months now, but the truth was, she was afraid. It was an irrational fear, since she was not afraid of death but actually seeking it. She couldn't tell exactly what was that frighten her but the idea of being back in that room scared her like nothing else could these days. It was all because of Sirius. That room was the last room she had seen Sirius, the room where she had lost him. Saying that she was reluctant to be back there was an understatement.,Yet, she had no other choice left. It was that or keep trying to find more futile, ingenuous ways to kill herself.,She hoped it worked because otherwise she didn't know what she would do.,Entering the department of mysteries was surprisingly easy. No security to guard the doors, nothing to stop her. She was under her invisibility cloak just in case but she didn't seem to have the need for it.,Once again she found herself in the circular room with the red doors. They spun around her as soon as she had closed the door she had used to enter and then they stopped. After three attempts, she finally found the right one. The arch was the same as it ever was. Big, made of rock and creepy. She could hear the whispers coming from it, attracting her towards the veil of death. This time she didn't fight them. She shrugged the cloak off of her and kept walking.,She came closer, one foot in front of the other, until she was standing on the platform right in front of it. She took a deep breath before losing the grip on the wand, her beloved holly wand. It fell to the ground, abandoned just like her cloak.,She raised her right hand until she felt something smooth under her fingertips. Another few steps and she felt the strange, silky, insubstantial material enveloping her form. She closed her eyes, welcoming it. A moment later, she felt like a tear deep inside her, and a pain so strong like she had never experienced before. It lasted only for a second and then, there was only darkness.

Luna « Kohaku » Potter n'avait pas eu une bonne journée. Tout a commencé avec le départ de Privet Drive directement vers les bras de Sirius Black, son parrain trop longtemps attendu.,Cela n'aurait pas été mauvais, mais ils avaient été attaqués par des Mangemorts et elle avait été prise au milieu d'un sort où charme. L'instant suivant, le portoloin l'a emmenée à un endroit qu'elle n'avait jamais vu auparavant.,Cela avait été il y a deux ans, elle avait récemment eu dix-sept ans. Elle avait essayé d'entrer en contact avec le ministère, mais à part éviter la sorcière du roi (une femme du nom de Sullivan) qui avait détecté sa magie, il n'y avait personne.,Ce qui a vraiment rendu sa journée mauvaise était le fait qu'en raison de son aversion pour les grandes foules, elle avait pris une route reculée et qu'elle était maintenant coincée face à l'un des soldats essayant de flirter avec elle.,Tout ce qu'elle avait essayé de faire était de trouver la boulangerie, bordel! Était-ce trop demander?,Luna n'était même pas intéressé à distance par les soldats. Elle essaya de reculer, mais se retrouva piégée. L'idiot ne captait pas même les discrets signe qu'elle faisant montrant qu'il la mettait très mal à l'aise!,Tout à coup, elle fut capturée par une poitrine ferme, un homme de par la sensation.,-Salut. Désolé, je suis en retard, s'est exclamé la personne derrière elle.,Considérant combien les deux autres étaient stupides, elle a préférer choisir le nouveau venu.,-Où étais-tu? Lui demanda t'elle,Elle se retourna et découvrit un blond aux yeux bleu portant des vêtements un peu farfelu et un pendentif d'un bleu soutenu autour de son cou.,-Qui es-tu? Ordonna l'un des soldats.,-Je suis avec elle. Pourquoi ne feriez vous pas tout deux une petite promenade, fit-il, en agitant ses doigts noblement.,Les deux soldats ont été pris par le charme et furent forcés de quitter.,-Beau sort de marionnette, commenta t-elle.,Ses yeux pétillaient d'un plaisir surpris.,-Comment saviez-vous que c'était un sort?,-Parce qu'ils étaient trop stupides pour comprendre que je ne voulais rien à voir avec eux au bout de cinq secondes où j'essayais de reculer. Proposa t-elle sèchement.,Il se mit à rire, et le son sonnait comme des cloches tinter.,-Ne les blâmez pas. Les choses sont assez tendues. Alors où allez-vous? Je serai votre escorte. a t-il dit.,Elle lui a donné un coup d'œil. Elle avait ce sentiment trop familier de quelque chose sur le point de surgir furtivement.,-Qui est à votre poursuite? s'enquit-elle,-Comment saviez-vous que j'étais poursuivi? demanda t'il en marchant,-Je connais le sentiment de quelqu'un qui me poursuit, mais le fait que les poils sur le dos de mon cou ne se sont pas encore redressés signifie qu'ils ne sont pas intéressés par moi. Et votre timing est beaucoup trop commode, répondit t-elle.,-La Sorcière des déchets, admit-il.,-Cette vieille mégère? demanda Luna incrédule, qu'as-tu fait pour l'agacer?,-J'ai découvert son côté cruel et l'ai larguée, lui répondit-il avec un haussement d'épaules.,Ils se sont tout à coup mis à flotter dans les airs alors qu'ils avaient été encerclés. Luna n'agissait pas du tout mal à l'aise, elle avait l'habitude de voler après tout, bien que la méthode était nouvelle.,-Vous êtes une naturelle, l'a complimenta t'il.,-Je suis habituée à voler... mais pas sans quelque chose à quoi me tenir, reconnu t'elle.,Il la déposa sur le balcon à l'étage de la boulangerie qu'elle avait essayé de trouver.,-Je vais les éloigner. Jusqu'à ce que nous rencontrons à nouveau ma belle dame, dit-il avec un arc grandiose.,-Le spectacle est inutile, dit-elle.,-Luna! Tu vas bien? J'ai entendu que vous aviez eu une course avec un sorcier! lui dit Sophie inquiète. Sa sœur travaillait à la boulangerie.,-Je vais bien Sophie. En fait, il m'a aidé à trouver cet endroit lui dit Luna.,-Il faut être plus prudente. Et si ça avait été Hauru?,-Le jour où quelqu'un comme Hauru réussit à gagner mon cœur est le jour où j'aurais un petit ami, répondit-elle en roulant les yeux.,Il était bien connu que Luna n'avait aucun intérêt en l'un des garçons de la ville.,-Pourquoi ne resteriez-vous pas à la boutique ce soir? La dernière chose que je voudrais est que mon amie soit capturée par cet horrible Hauru. proposa Sophie.,-Bien sûr. Je dois rattraper un peu de travail de toute façon, dit Luna.,Luna travaillait à temps partiel chez les Chapeliers, surtout parce qu'ils étaient les seuls à l'engager sans aucune référence ou même preuve qu'elle était une citoyenne du pays. D'ailleurs, qui s'attendait à ce qu'une puissante sorcière travaillent dans un magasin de chapeau?,Luna ferma la porte. Sophie était allé au lit il y a une heure, lui laissant le magasin jusqu'à la fermeture. Elle a entendu la cloche sonner... et elle savait qu'elle était en difficulté. Elle avait bien verrouillé la porte il y a moins d'une minute.,-Quel petit magasin de chapeau... et vous êtes la chose vendant le tout, dit la vieille femme,Luna s'empêcha de grogner. Elle savait qu'elle allait avoir des ennuis après qu'Hauru ait trébuché sur elle tout en étant poursuivi. Elle allait lui donner un œil au beurre noir pour ça!,-La Sorcière des déchets, je présume, dit-elle en se retournant.,-Vous n'êtes pas aussi stupide que vous en avez l'air. Quelle surprise, répondit-elle malicieusement.,-J'aurais deviné que vous vous montrerez après que cet idiot d'Hauru soit tombé sur moi. Je n'ai aucun intérêt dans votre querelle avec votre amant. commenta Luna platement.,-Et quelle langue pour commencer! Dommage que vous n'ayez pas de magie... j'aurais aimé enseigner à quelqu'un aussi étincelant que vous. dit la sorcière.,Luna ne se sentait pas d'humeur à lui dire que Sullivan avait essayé de l'attraper pour sa magie, mais qu'elle avait décliné. Si elle voulait être formée, elle aurait accepté l'offre de devenir l'apprenti de Sullivan deux mois après être tombé à cet endroit!,La sorcière ricana méchamment. Luna est retombée dans une position défensive quand elle sentit quelque chose parcourir son corps. Cette garce venait juste de lui jeter une malédiction!,-La meilleure partie est que vous ne pourrez pas dire à quiconque au sujet de cette malédiction. Mes salutations à Hauru, fit-elle d'un air suffisant.,Luna regarda dans le miroir à la première occasion qu'elle avait.,-Cette... Cette sorcière! Cria t'elle presque,Elle ressemblait à quelque chose tout droit sorti d'un film d'horreur! Ses yeux avaient la forme de ceux d'un chat, ses cheveux avaient tourné à l'argent, elle avait des crocs qui sortaient de sa bouche et ses ongles avaient été recourbés en griffes. En voyant les bosses jumelles sur la tête, elle les touchait soigneusement pour trouver des cornes.,C'était un désastre!,Luna grogna. Alors, cette sorcière pensait que c'était drôle de la maudire, hein? La prochaine fois qu'elle voyait cette femme, elle lui donnerait un morceau de son esprit!,Entendant Sophie descendre les escaliers, probablement après avoir entendu son cri perçant un peu plus tôt, elle lança rapidement un sort de glamour.,Il ne tiendrait pas à l'examen d'un autre utilisateur de magie, mais il empêcherait un Moldu comme Sophie de réaliser que quelque chose avait changé.,-Luna? Tu vas bien?,-C'est bon, je viens d'avoir un client vraiment irritant. Je devais la chasser et elle n'était pas satisfaite de mes manières, menti Luna.,-Oh. D'accord. Allons dormir nous commencerons demain très tôt, a déclaré Sophie.,-A ce propos... Sophie, il serait peut-être mieux si je prenais un congé. Après le stress de rencontrer ce sorcier plus tôt, je ne pense pas que je pourrais faire de mon mieux. dit Luna.,-Vrai... tu pourrais prendre des vacances. Lorsque tu seras prête à revenir au travail fait le moi savoir, lui dit Sophie.,-Merci. Je vais terminer la fermeture et prendre un peu de sommeil, dit Luna.,Luna a réussi à partir sans trop alarmer Sophie, elle a attrapé un déjeuner d'un fournisseur à proximité.,Tout d'abord, elle devait expliquer à Hauru son point de vue sur l'entrainer dans leur dispute entre lui et son amante la sorcière des déchets. Puis elle allait jeter un sort sur cette garce jusqu'à ce qu'elle retire la malédiction qu'elle avait mis sur elle!,Il lui a fallu une bonne partie de la journée pour se rendre au château ambulant. Elle commençait à se lasser de tant de marche en haut de la colline.,Trouvant un bâton à portée de main, elle a essayé de l'enlever.,Elle a découvert au bout le plus étrange épouvantail qu'elle avait jamais vu de toute sa vie. Sa tête pouvait tourner et ses vêtements étaient tout miteux.,-Aïe. Qui a mis cette malédiction sur vous? demanda t-elle.,Elle pouvait dire au vu de la quantité de magie présente sur lui que ce n'était pas du tout un épouvantail.,La magie sentait familière, mais elle ne savait pas d'où elle provenait. Ce n'était pas le travail d'une bonne sorcière.,-Croyiez-vous que vous pourriez me trouver un endroit pour me reposer pendant la nuit pendant que je chasse les deux idiots responsables de me transformer en cela ? lui demanda t-elle.,Le son de l'épouvantail rebondissant en partant, lui rappelait un bâton de pogo.,Quelques minutes plus tard, il revint suivit d'un château familier.,Elle rayonnait auprès de lui.,-Je vous remercier beaucoup! C'est la maison de l'une des personnes que je recherchais!,Elle voulait avoir... une discussion avec un certain sorcier.

Darkness...,That was all that was known to the diclonius when the soldiers opened fire on her...That, and the pain of having a chunk of her horn blown off. As soon as the bullets made contact, she staggered back. Her eyes closed. She didn't even notice as she fell over the bridge and into the ocean. There was a splash as she hit the water.,The armed men looked down into the vast sea.,"Is it over?" One of them asked.,"Oh yeah. There's no possible way she could've survived that." Another replied.,"I didn't see any blood when we shot her..." One man said, unsure.,"The bullets may not have killed her...here's hoping the fall did." A different man replied.,"Well...there's nothing more we can do here. We're returning.",The waves splashed against the sandy shores, leaving behind various souvenirs on the beach. Sticks, seaweed, even some sea life, such as starfish. However, one of them contained something a little out of the ordinary... The unconscious form of a young woman with shortly cut pink hair, wearing a torn outfit consisting of a black dress, a pink undershirt, and black and grey striped stockings. Her most defining feature, however, were the pair of horns on her head, one of which had a large chunk missing. It was the dangerous diclonius that went by the name of Lucy.,After a while, her eyes slowly opened, and she became aware of her surroundings. She blinked in confusion, then pulled herself into a sitting position. She took in her surroundings and adopted a shocked expression on her face.,"I...I survived..." She breathed. "How..." She realized she had subconsciously shielded herself with her vectors. Lucy sighed and hugged her knees. She had been hoping the soldiers would have killed her...Still, a part of her was glad she survived the encounter...Maybe she could find Kouta, and...,No.,Lucy shook her head and pulled herself to her feet., She thought. She had killed his entire family...While he had forgiven her...She still felt she didn't deserve him.,He was better off without her.,Lucy let a few tears flow down her face and onto the soft sand below her feet. Then she thought about what she would do next... Her tormentors of many years would more than likely be looking for her eventually. It would likely be in her best interest to get as far away from the city as she could...,She remembered seeing a harbour when she was living with Kouta. She quickly hatched an idea that would at the very least get some distance between her and her inevitable pursuers...,It was rather easy for Lucy to sneak aboard the large ship. All she had to do was knock a few crates over with her vectors [aside from the one she was hiding behind, of course] to get the crew members attention, and then she quickly, yet silently, climbed aboard the ship and hid in the cargo area.,Lucy watched out the window forlornly as the city she had met her childhood friend once more in grew further and further away. She was leaving behind her tormentors...,And Kouta...,Lucy gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as she let her tear drops fly.,Number 4 Privet Drive was a small, average looking house. It had a normal looking garden filled with various types of flowers, a few lawn gnomes here and there, a car parked in the driveway...It was an average house in every way, just like its neighbours.,But this house contained a dark secret. The inhabitants, the Dursleys, liked to think of themselves as a perfectly average, everyday family. But if there's one thing that average, everyday families don't do, it's violently and psychologically abuse children for being different.,Case in point? A young five year old child named Harry James Potter, silently sitting in his cupboard, a deep pit of dread in his stomach as he waited for his uncle to come home. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad this time...Maybe he'd only get a few bruises... Harry hugged his knees and whimpered. He felt tears threatening to come out of his eyes, but he blinked them away.,If there's one thing Vernon wouldn't tolerate from him, it's crying...

Sum: Tournaments, politics crossdressing, weapons and too many cousins. The TriWizard Tournament at Hogwarts, because they can't have a peaceful year. Yoai, yuri, het, language, violence, etc.,Authors note: There is more! At long, long last their is more! And have I mentioned that I hate authors block? And on another note, hello duckies, the maddness begins again.,"MOOOOONEEY! Help!",Remus Lupin lowered his book slightly and gazed pensively into the partially organised clutter of the library of 13 Grimwald Place. Naturally the mayhem would reach breaking point just as he had found a book that was both interesting and still legible, and he couldn't help but wonder, just a little, if he couldn't just leave them too it.,Harry had a remarkable aptitude for deflecting the chaos before any major damage was done.,"WOTHLESS CUR! YOU SHAME MY BLOOD!",Ah well, that changed matters. There could be no reading once Arabella and the painting entered one of their screaming matches.,The scene in the hall was, interesting. Arabella was swearing at the painting with her usual intensity, a tear in the shoulder of her shirt and her wand stuck in her hair. Sirius was sitting at the base of the stairs, head in his hands and wearing a pale pink ball gown. The portrait of Walpurger Black was in full voice and Kercher was hugging himself, wide eyed and swaying in a way that implied cannabis.,Remus sighed deeply and dragged his fingernails down the chalk board that was left in the hall for just this reason. Even the painting tried to cover her ears before she slammed her curtain shut.,A month ago she would simply have started shouting again, but being doused with paint thinner had done wonders for her manners and Remus turned his attention to his companions without waiting for a resurgence.,"What have you two been doing?","Choosing clothes for Perce wedding!" cooed Arabella, sighing in happy woe. "Ma boo, 'ee es leaven' me…","A dress?","'Ah like dresses.","I don't want to wear a dress!" squawked Sirius. "Only girls wear dresses! And these shoes are too small!",Remus looked at the pink shoes, and couldn't help but consider the implications of Sirius's failure to complain about the heels.,They were interesting implications, alright?,"I, see." However was he supposed to deal with this? "Sirius, there is absolutely nothing wrong with men wearing dresses and the implication that it is wrong is simply sexism. That said, Arabella it is extremely bad manners to force anyone to cross dress against their will, particularly in such an unsuitable dress.",Dark eyes narrowed and Arabella folded her arms in the way that pushed up her breasts to reveal a threatening amount of cleavage. Remus still wasn't sure just how an exposed bust could seem dangerous, but Arabella had, somehow, made it possible.,"That 'es ma' dress, Remas.",His really name, abet incorrectly pronounced, rather than the nickname of 'husky that she had bestowed upon him. And he had just inadvertently insulted the Black Widows dress sense. Oh dear.,"I am sure that it looks lovely on you." Said Harry from the door he had, somehow, opened without anyone noticing. "However Sirius does not have the skin tone to pull that shade off. Perhaps a deeper colour?",Oh thank goodness, back up. At this point Remus didn't actually care that his male adolescent ward was encouraging cross dressing.,"Mm…" Arabella paused to consider Sirius, her gaze intent. "You mee' 'ave ah point. Per'aps plum? Or red? Tch! Ah do not 'ave ze' colours!","I have no doubt that you will work something out." Said Harry comfortingly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I find myself in need of a bucket.",Naturally the three adults were peering though the doorway the moment that Harry was out of sight, and it was slightly alarming to see that a clear licquid was peering from a widening hole in the base of the caldron and the, seemingly, vanishing. It took them a moment to work out that it was eating though the stone floor.,"What is under this room?","Er… Torture chamber, nothing explosive in it." Sirius tipped his head and frowned at the scene. "What good is a bucket going to do here?","'oo can say? Ah am not prepared to ask.",Slytherin sensibilities were strange and mysterious things, but Remus could not take issue with her instincts in the slightest. The way that Harry fled from a mass of foam shortly after returning with a full bucket of what looked like chalk down after the potion only reinforced the fact that he Did Not Want To Know.,Xxxxxxxx,The long term ward always seemed to be quiet when they came to visit, like some bright church of non or barely responsive worshipers, disturbed only sometimes by the hushed footsteps of the medic-preists. Visitors were alien outsiders in this quiet realm, and sometimes Neville wondered if that was why the sedate long term patients received so few visitors.,The noisy ones, who screamed and raged and cursed always, seemed to have people around. His mother was rarely without a medic, but here the only activity came at meal times, and sometimes Neville wondered if his father ever left his vacant state long enough to get lonely.,Frank Longbottom was slowly playing solitaire on his small table when they arrived. His collage of old photos, newspaper cuttings and sweet wrappers had expanded again, and the collection of potted plants that Neville had painstakingly taught his father how to care for had all survived another year at St Mungos.,For a moment Neville hugged the miniature rose he carried, wishing it well and stealing himself for what was to come.,It took two and a half hours. Time enough for Augusta to end a visit to Alice and trust Neville to make his own way home. Time enough for the medi-wizzard to go though once. Time enough that Neville couldn't help but run from his father's terrible slowness as soon as the lesson was finished.,He kinda hated himself for doing that, but it was never enough to stop him from doing it the next time they came here.,"You look like shit.,Neville raised his head just enough to squint at the speaker.,"Ron? What are you doing here?" He frowned slightly. "You've grown.","I have inherited the tall genes." Ron beamed, absurdly pleased by Neville's disapproval. "Soon I will be as tall as Percy! Or taller! Your gran turned up and made pointy comments. And have I mentioned that you look like shit?","Ya did.","Well, do something about it them. Where's your brother? Isn't this sort of thing supposed to be his job?",Neville took a moment to try an work out what Ron was talking about and then gave up.,"He's unconscious. There was an explosion a couple of days ago.","…He blew himself up?","Well, yeah, but only a little bit.",Ron cackled insanely for a little while, and Neville couldn't help but smile.,Xxxxxxxxxx,Luna peered at her cousin thoughtfully, ensuring that whatever potions had been administered held him deeply asleep before she carefully wound the necklace of butterbeer corks around the fingers of one limp hand. Not only would it ward of the nargles that she suspected were responsible for Indigos little accident, it would also help to deter any comparisons to fairytale princesses that might be made. It couldn't be helped really, Indigo was just to pretty, and his long hair did nothing to dispel the slight femininity of his features. But, if he had to be a fairytale princess he could at least be a princess untroubled by nargle induced muddle headedness.,Fairytale princesses were particularly vulnerable to nargles, it was why they were all so hopelessly silly and Luna would not permit Indigo to fall victim to such a thing.,"Er, Luna? What's with the necklace?","It will ward off nargles.",Luna blinked mistily at Jackie, and he hovered in the doorway like a perplexed could for a moment, before shrugging and coming in.,"Well, okay then. Is he showing any signs of waking up?","No. Why is he still asleep anyway?","Hm? Oh, Ma put him in a healing trance after he blew up his lab." Jackie huffed softly as he checked Indigo's pulse. "Daft boy. But it was bound to happen sooner or later.",Luna hummed a little in answer and slipped silently from the room, leaving Jackie and the sleeper behind.,The workroom, scorched and scuffed and half coated in ashes, it's heavy and heavily warded door resting apologetically against the opposite door, a few tools stuck in the surviving furniture at strange angles, though that could have been Indigo's doing rather than an effect of the blast. But did Indigo really need to make his tendency towards over kill so obvious? The burns on the ceiling would have been quite sufficient.,The scabbard was where she had known it would be, the dragon hide gloves ill fitting but serviceable and the sword, which lay oh so casually upon a suspiciously clean patch of the stone floor, buzzed with the barely trapped strength of a hurricane. Being too close to it made her shiver as an unfelt wind stole the warmth from her flesh.,Sheaving it, an act of supreme care, performed without actually touching the blade, helped, but Luna wrapped the weapon in damp towels before leaving anyway, just to be sure.,It was a perilous thing she carried, after all.,Xxxxxxxxx,Bill Weasley lounged in the garden, watched the clouds go past and pondered upon the general confusion of his family.,Percy was getting married, which was unexpected but nice, and Mum was less then happy about it, despite how much she wanted then all to sit down and that she seemed to sort of approve of Penelope Clearwater. The entire wedding was being paid for by Ron's group of crazy purebloods, who were also the Twins and Percy's but mostly Ron's. Also the Twins were, as far as he could tell, dating a half fey boy in between conducting mysterious experiments in their room. It was all a bit strange, sure they all seemed fairly happy with the situation but it was still pretty damn weird.,"Good afternoon, William.",He manfully didn't squeak, but it was a near run thing.,"Luna would you please not sneak up on me like that.",She gave him one of those endless stares she was so good at.,"My apologies, I did not intend to sneak.",Somehow the fact that she sounded like she meant that made it worse. Fortunately she was carrying a distraction, and Bill nodded gratefully towards the buddle that was leaving damp patches on her dress.,"What's that?","It belongs to Ronald, I must take it to him. Do you know where he might be found?","Er, I think he's by the pond with Neville.","Thank you William. Good day.","Good day Luna.",She drifted off in the general direction of the pond, and left Bill shaking his head at her back. Luna was weird and misty and talked about all sorts of bizarre things, but she was harmless and hard not to like.,It was then that he realised that she had avoided his question.,Xxxxxxxxxx,The sun was high, the air was still and Neville was crouched next to the pond with a few gnomes, annoying the tadpoles, which were probably froglets or toadlets by now but whatever. Considering how the day had started Ron though it was a pretty decent state of affairs.,"Good day Ronald.","Hey Luna.","Hi Luna!",Neville gave her a huge smile, and Luna gave him a small but intense smile in return, sweet and secretive.,Ohhh. Ron had no clue what was going on with them but he wanted in.,"This is yours." stated Luna firmly, dislodging one of her towels from her long bundle as she held it out to him. "You must take it and keep it and permit no other to wield it.",Ron opened his mouth to question her, and then shut it again on see the way she was looking at him. Luna was normally about as focused as a happy stoner, but the normal dreamyness had hardened and sharpened into something you would expect to see in the politicians' who were just tough enough to be really good at their jobs and it seemed best not to argue with her at this point.,The damp towels seemed to buzz under his hands, and fell off the pacage weirdly easily for bits of soggy material.,The scabbard was beautiful, in its way, gleaming red enamel and a delicate tracery of gold symbols, but the buzzing was stronger now, and he didn't spend too much time examining it before drawing the sword.,The grip was long enough for a double handed swing, there were stones he didn't recognise in the pommel and guard, the blade straight and double edged in the European fashion but it had an edge that looked like it would make a katana cry, and the metal had a curious, incandescent sheen.,He could feel the magic in it, a wild note, clear and sharp and as dangerous as a tsunami in a box, ready to break free and tear into him, but then it stilled for a moment and curled about him instead as his magic meshed with that of the sword.,It was dangerous and beautiful and his. And Neville took one look at Ron's grin and backed up a bit.,A careful flick of the wrist sent a ripple along the blade and Ron's grin widen to previously unknown levels of manic as an unseen arch of air snapped from the tip and cleanly sliced a dozen tendrils from the weeping willow at the other end of the pond.,Bill moved slowly to look over Ron's shoulder at the leaves drifting on the water and the sword that had put them there.,"Mum is going to , me.",Next chapter (probably) : Special occasions ( and reasons to hate them)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in the Harry Potter books or movies. I do not own Tomb Raider or any of the characters in the franchise.,Author's Note: This story is set in an Alternate Universe and is a sequel to "Petunia Evans, Tomb Raider". Therefore, a number of canon events didn't happen. The society of Wizarding Britain and the rest of the magical world are a bit different and a number of characters will act differently as well. Squibs are able to see magic and are unaffected by Muggle-Repelling Charms.,I'd like to thank fredfred for beta-reading.,',- ,"...'most isolationist', 'most hostile' - yeah, right," Harry Potter muttered as he closed the atlas and put it on the table in the living room of their wizarding tent.,"Hm?" Hermione looked up from her own, substantially larger, tome. "What did you say?","I was just remarking on the quality of the information to be found in this book," he replied.,Instead of agreeing with him, she laughed. "You know Ron - he probably would have an affair with an Aboriginal witch in Australia, should we ever visit.","Which we won't," Harry said. He was a Curse-Breaker, and danger was part of the job, as Bill always said, but there was a difference between braving cursed ruins and tombs full of traps and finding out first hand whether the Australians deserved their reputation or not. Besides, there was no treasure to be found there, as far as he knew. He sighed. "I'm just jealous.","Jealous?" Hermione looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Of Ron?",He winced. "Not like that!" he hastily assured his girlfriend. "But his girlfriend taught us about blood leeches and ghost frogs while so far all I've managed to find out on this expedition is how wrong our sources are." Of course, Harry had been the one to find the clue that led them to the ruins they were currently exploring, but that had been weeks ago. And it had been Hermione who had made the connection to an account by a Conquistador.,She didn't look mollified, though - quite the contrary. "You're jealous that his girlfriend is more useful in the jungle than yours?",Meaning, her. "No, no. I didn't mean it like that. I love you.",Not even that helped. She scoffed. "But you'd prefer it if I went around in a loincloth and nothing else?",He shook his head. Hermione's working clothes were styled after Aunt Petunia's, anyway.,"Or would you prefer it if I could change into a jaguar, like Ari?",He jumped on the opportunity. "That wouldn't be very useful for exploring tombs," he said. "Now, a house cat, or rat, or another small animal, would be different, but, as we know, we cannot predict our forms should we learn how to become animagi like Ari…","She's not an animagus," Hermione replied.,"She certainly isn't a lycanthrope, despite her name," Harry said. He refrained from smiling - nothing defused Hermione's temper, frayed by their expedition's lack of progress, better than the opportunity to lecture.,She sniffed. "Of course she isn't a lycanthrope! But she's not an animagus - the animagus transformation includes your clothes.","She could have learned a different variation," Harry pointed out.,"The basic principles of magic are the same across all magical traditions," she replied. "It is very unlikely that her tribe wouldn't have made any progress in that area either, if they had discovered a more limited version of the animagus transformation - the reports of 'jaguar shapeshifters' go back to the time of the Conquistadores, after all.","Her people don't wear many clothes to start with," Harry said.,"But they learned to use wands after encountering the Spanish and Portuguese," Hermione countered. "They would have learned a more advanced form of the animagus transformation as well.","There might be a cultural bias among her people that prevents them from adapting their transformations," Harry pointed out.,Hermione frowned, then nodded. "That is possible," she admitted. "Not very likely, but possible.","We could ask Ari," Harry said. "Ron's taught her enough English.",Hermione snorted. "That isn't the only thing he's taught her.",Harry shrugged. As long as Ron's latest affair didn't cause any trouble for them - he really wanted to avoid another incident like the one in Tunis or the one in Constantinople - he didn't care about his friend's love life.,She sighed. "Ah, well. I'm a little frustrated myself - I'm certain that these ruins are an old Atlantean outpost, but until we can crack the protections, that cannot be verified.",And the protections had been proven to be among the strongest they had encountered so far in their careers. However… "Ari said that this was one of the Conquistadores' forts, destroyed by her ancestors.",She shook her head. "The spells on the foundations of the ruins are all wrong for that - none of the Spanish forts or outposts of which we're aware used such wards. And the ruins are too old for that as well.","Perhaps the Spanish or Portuguese built a fort on top of the ruins," Harry said. "It would explain the remains we found.","Or someone planted them here," Hermione replied. "They were a little too obvious, I think. But if that's true...",Harry smiled. "... then that means there's something worth hiding - and protecting - here.","Something protected by wards that were too powerful to let anyone destroy the ruins. Like what would be expected of old Atlantean wards?" Hermione smiled as well. And with good reason, of course - the Atlanteans hadn't left many magical artefacts, and none of their outposts discovered so far had had anything magical left in them at all. If they had found a still active Atlantean ward, then that would be the discovery of the decade. Perhaps even of the century.,"Exactly," Harry said. "If we can crack this…",The tent's entrance being pushed open interrupted him. Ron stood there, panting.,"Harry! Hermione! We've got trouble!",Harry muttered a curse and drew his wand.,"Ron! What happened?" Hermione asked as she left the tent and took up a position next to Harry. It was so dark that the cone of light that briefly shone through the tent's entrance didn't even reach the dense jungle surrounding their camp.,"It wasn't my fault!" Ron Weasley said quickly. It wasn't as if he expected his two best friends to hex him, but it never hurt to make sure, as Bill had taught him. His brother had been talking about curses, but both Harry and Hermione had their wands out and didn't look too happy or understanding. "Ari said that there's a Boiúna in the area that has taken offence at our presence.",Harry frowned. "A Boiúna?","Shapeshifting sapient snake," Hermione told him. Of course she'd know that. "Very territorial - but usually limited to rivers.","And the closest river is a dozen miles away," Harry said.,Ari stepped up behind Ron - fortunately, she was in human form; after mistaking a real jaguar for her a week ago, Harry was a little jumpy around big cats. "Boiúna live in jungle, not just river.",Ron saw Hermione frown at that; his friend hated to be proven wrong. But she knew better than to start an argument with a local expert. "Well, I guess Pedro Teixeira did stick mainly to rivers, so it would make sense that he thought the creatures lived there.","I don't think this is the time to discuss Magizoology," Harry said.,"Right." Hermione nodded. "How do we kill it?" she asked Ari.,"Kill it?" Ron's girlfriend gaped. "It's Boiúna! Strongest creature in jungle!",Harry frowned, Ron noticed. "There's no need to kill it. I can talk to it.","Boiúna don't talk," Ari said. "Must flee before arrive! Not much time left!","I can talk to any snake," Harry insisted.,"And we won't let a beast drive us away from a tomb," Hermione added. "Petunia wouldn't let that happen, either.","Snakes aren't beasts," Harry replied.,Ron cut in before they could start another discussion about serpent sapience - his friends sometimes had rather impractical priorities. "How about we plan how to deal with this snake before it arrives? For a change?" he added with more than a little sarcasm; Bill always said a Curse-Breaker was either prepared or soon dead.,"I'll talk to it," Harry said.,"You need flee!" Ari insisted. "Cannot fight Boiúna!" For a witch who hadn't spoken a single word of English until two months ago, she had made great progress, in Ron's opinion.,"We won't let a snake drive us away no matter its size," Hermione said. "We've dealt with worse.","Boiúna has powerful magic!" Ari insisted.,"So do jinns - and we dealt with them," Ron said. He smiled reassuringly at her. "Trust us, we know what we are doing." Most of the time. But he couldn't help feeling a little doubt as he saw just how nervous his girlfriend was - usually, she was brave enough for two Gryffindors.,She shook her head. "Need flee! Cannot fight Boiúna!","We certainly can fight it," Hermione retorted. "And I am quite certain that we can beat it, too - provided we can come up with a decent plan. According to Teixeira, Boiúnas rely on frightening their enemies with shapeshifting and possibly illusions as well.","Like a Boggart?" Harry asked.,"I doubt they share the same vulnerabilities," Hermione replied.,"So a Boggart-Banishing Spell probably won't work," Ron said. "We should try it anyway.","Need flee!" Ari insisted. "Cannot...",A roar louder than a dragon's - Ron knew the difference from a visit to Charlie's workplace - interrupted her. "No, too late!" she yelled, her expression turning desperate.,"Stay back!" Ron snapped, pushing past her - he didn't know how good her Shield Charm was. "Lighting up!" he yelled as he pulled out a 'Noonball', as the twins called their invention. A flick of his wand lit the modified firework, and it shot up into the sky, bursting in a bright flare thirty yards up and illuminating the entire clearing.,Then he cursed - the biggest snake he had ever seen was slithering towards them. It had to measure thirty yards from its mouth to the tip of its tail, and the black scales seemed to swallow the light from the floating firework. It looked like a limbless dragon.,And Harry was walking towards it, hissing - talking in Parseltongue. Ron moved a little to the side - slowly, so as not to spook the creature - until he had a decent flanking position. On the other side of Harry, Hermione was doing the same, as expected - this wasn't the first time they had faced a monster, after all.,"What he doing?" Ari asked. She had followed him. "Boiúna don't talk!","Harry can talk to any snake," Ron replied as he kept his wand trained on the creature. Harry was far too close, damn him! That snake was large enough to swallow him whole!,"He half-snake?","No," Ron said. "Magic." That was safer than joking about Harry being a tenth snake - as Tunis had proven, not everyone understood his jokes. And not many, other than Hagrid, shared Harry's rather rose-coloured views on snakes.,Now the snake was talking. Ron didn't relax - just because a creature could talk didn't mean it was not dangerous any more. But Harry looked less tense than when he had started hissing. That was a good sign - Ron's friend usually had good instincts. Usually - if Harry turned out to be wrong, it tended to be spectacular. And not in the good way.,But the snake was settling down. Ron checked the firework. Guaranteed to float for five minutes. That meant they had about two minutes of light left.,When there was a minute left, Ron yelled: "Harry, tell it that I'll be sending up another firework.","She's not an it!" Harry yelled back - but he turned back to the snake and hissed again. They went back and forth, and the firework started to sputter out. But no sooner had they all been plunged into darkness - it was really dark out here in the jungle - when Harry yelled: "Alright, send one up!",Ron sighed with relief and did so - then did a double-take. The snake was gone. And Harry was smiling.,"But… but…" Ari was shaking her head.,"Don't worry!" Harry said as they gathered in front of the tent's entrance again. "It was all a misunderstanding - Amana thought another of her people had taken up residence here." He frowned. "She did smell them, though, and since they aren't here, she's now looking for them." He smiled at Hermione. "You were right - they are very territorial. But this is not her territory - she said the ruins are taboo.",Hermione grinned. "Another sign that this could be an Atlantean outpost!","Indeed." Harry nodded.,Both were eyeing the ruins nearby. Ron shook his head - he knew what they were thinking. "Let's rest before we tackle possibly Atlantean wards, shall we?" he said. Impatient Curse-Breakers were dead Curse-Breakers, after all, as Bill had taught them, and both his friends looked far too excited right now to be cautious enough to deal with wards that had been laid down millennia ago.,Not to mention that Ron had to calm down his girlfriend - Ari was still trembling and gaping. There would be no 'watching the stars on your back' tonight, he was fairly certain. Just cuddling.,Hermione Granger yawned as she sat up, the silk sheets sliding off her body, and stretched her arms over her head. Their wizarding tent wasn't as comfortable as Petunia and Sirius's enchanted Range Rover, but it was much better than a muggle tent - or even a muggle caravan. She still reminded herself that they really needed to take the time to enchant a car of their own one day, no matter what 'promising lead' Harry found next. Although if they had actually found an Atlantean ruin with active spells, then properly exploring their discovery would certainly take months, and, absent the need to rush their expedition so no one else could steal their thunder and claim it first, they could spare the time for such an undertaking afterwards.,And since Petunia would certainly come and help with the dig, Sirius might be pressed into helping with the enchanting. Harry's godfather and step-uncle might not be much of an archaeologist and only a fair Curse-Breaker, but he was certainly a very skilled wizard when it came to enchanting. And fighting, of course.,She felt Harry stir next to her, then heard him groan, and smiled. "Good morning, Harry. And happy birthday!",He rolled on to his back, blinked, then turned his head towards her. "Good morning. And thank you." She saw his eyes flicker to the clock on the nightstand. "It's early, but we've got a long day ahead of us. An important day.",She knew what he meant. "Perhaps the most important day of our careers - so far," she agreed. "But, you know Ron - he won't be up for another hour at least." She grinned at him.,He returned her grin. "And it would be inconsiderate to start without him.","Terribly." She nodded.,"But that leaves us with an hour to fill," he said.,Hermione pursed her lips as if she were considering this. "Well… it wouldn't hurt to read up on the latest Arithmancy discoveries and theories." He narrowed his eyes at her, and she chuckled. "But I take it you've got something else in mind?","Yes, I do." He nodded and reached out, pulling her on top of him, then kissed her.,"So, how's Ari doing?" Harry asked an hour later at breakfast.,"And why isn't she with us?" Hermione Granger asked. If the shapeshifter and Ron had had a break-up last night, and this caused trouble with Ari's tribe, then Hermione would be very cross. They were about to make the discovery that would make them famous! Even though Atlantis's existence was a historical fact, almost nothing was known about its actual culture and history - not even the exact reason for its sinking was known. They couldn't afford another Tunis.,Ron shrugged, frowning. "She went out hunting at dawn," he said. Which meant as a jaguar, Hermione knew. Ron sighed before continuing. "She's still upset. That encounter with the Boiúna must have shaken her worse than I thought.",Hermione frowned. The native witch hadn't been fazed when Harry had almost cursed her by mistake after his encounter with a real jaguar. "That creature didn't seem as dangerous or violent as would justify such a reaction," she said. She was tempted to blame the superstitions of the native tribe for that - but that would be foolish. Local witches and wizards tended to know far more about the wildlife of their homes than even accomplished Magizoologists like Luna and Ginny. It was possible, of course, that the Boiúnas were overrated due to cultural reasons. Possible, but not overly likely.,Harry shrugged. "She was very reasonable when we talked. More polite than Ari," he added with a glance at Ron.,"Ari didn't speak our language when we met her, and her tribe had had bad encounters with foreigners in the past." Ron frowned at Harry. "Threatening her with your wand wasn't exactly polite, either.","How was I to know she wasn't a jaguar?" Harry defended himself. "Anyone would have made that mistake!","She was carrying her wand in her mouth," Ron pointed out before Hermione could.,"It looked like a twig!",Ron coughed. "Anyway, Ari didn't know anything about Parselmouths, not even that there is such a talent. Her people can't communicate with the Boiúnas.","Unless they transform into a woman," Hermione said.,"Probably not even then," Ron said. They might not speak each other's languages. "But she'll calm down.",Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. That was what her friend had said after his row with the jinn in Tunis. And that jinn certainly hadn't calmed down - quite the contrary.,"Really - she wasn't angry," Ron insisted. "Upset, but not angry.",Hermione hoped that her friend was correct. Cracking millennia-old wards was difficult enough without having to deal with his romantic entanglements causing trouble.,Hermione Granger wiped sweat from her brow with her free hand while she kept her wand trained on the smooth face of the massive stone in front of her - or, rather, on the spells covering the stone. This stone was the key to disarming the wards, she was certain. Of all the stones forming the foundations of the ruins, this one didn't show any signs of weathering, And that was, as Petunia had taught her, a sign of strong magic.,She bit her lower lip as she twisted her wand, then stabbed it towards the left corner of the stone, taking a deep, shuddering breath as she saw the spells anchored on the stone shift. Another protection dealt with. The spells weren't particularly complex or difficult, once you had their measure - they were cast millennia ago, after all, and wards had advanced a great deal since - but they were exotic and backed by power accumulated over said millennia. One mistake would be fatal - though that was usually the case for a Curse-Breaker raiding tombs anyway.,"Here.",She looked up and saw that Harry was holding a bottle out towards her. "Regular cola?" she asked as she took it.,"You can use the sugar," he answered.,She wasn't about to disagree. "Thanks," she said as she twisted the cap off, then took a large gulp. "Ah.","How are you doing?" he asked.,She sighed. "As well as could be expected, I guess. The protections aren't particularly complex - probably on a par with late fourteenth dynasty wards, I guess. But the power…" She shook her head. Wards grew in power with age, and those protecting the ruins here were the oldest she had ever seen.,Harry nodded. He knew better than to tell her to be careful. "I've dismantled the traps on the northern wing.",She felt a little jealous, for a moment. She knew she was the better Curse-Breaker, and she was dealing with the core protection array, not the secondary arrays, but still… "Good," she said. "I should be through with this soon.","We've got time," he said.,"I'm not rushing it." She wasn't - but she had taken long enough to analyse the spells. "Where's Ron?","He's standing guard," Harry said.,"You mean he's looking for Ari," Hermione said.,Harry didn't answer, but his expression told her enough.,She sighed. If she were honest, the apparent break-up made things easier - unless Ron planned to invite Ari to join their group, and the native witch agreed, then they'd have to separate anyway once they were done with the ruins. Curse-Breakers travelled a lot, after all, and the middle of the Amazon rainforest wasn't easy to reach even with magic. And - she tried not to frown at the thought - Ron would likely fall in love with another woman at their next location.,She finished the bottle, then vanished it. "Alright, let's get on with this!" History waited for them.,Finally! Hermione Granger bared her teeth in fierce satisfaction as the final spell that had been protecting the foundations of the ruins was disarmed at last! "Yes!" she exclaimed, then stabbed her wand at the stones next to the one which had frustrated her for so many days. She was tempted to blow a hole in them, but refrained from doing so - that might damage wall paintings or carvings.,Instead, she shrunk the stones - and revealed not packed earth, but a passage behind them.,"Yes!" She stood and started to approach the opening when someone suddenly grabbed her arm. Ron.,"Leave that to us," he told her. "You're in no shape to take point on entering the tomb.","It's unlikely to be a tomb," she argued. "We've found no sign that anyone might be interred here.","That doesn't mean that there won't be any traps," he retorted.,She clenched her teeth. He was correct, but…,"He's right. We'll take point here." Harry had joined them.,She frowned but nodded. They were correct, of course - she should have known better than to rush into a ruin. Especially after having just spent more than three days dealing with the wards on the place. Petunia would be so disappointed at her lapse, should the woman ever hear of this.,"Alright.",Harry Potter loved Hermione, and he would be the first to admit she was the best Curse-Breaker in their group, but sometimes she was too stubborn for her own good. Trying to tackle a new tomb - regardless of whether or not it was an actual tomb - when you weren't on top of your game was a recipe for disaster. Not to mention that while she was the best when it came to dealing with wards, Harry had her beaten when it came to traps. Especially traps that combined magic and mundane means.,As Auntie put it, dealing with traps was as much an art as it was a science. Hermione had the skills, and she certainly had the body, but she wasn't quite as good at thinking on her feet - or at reacting without thinking when a moment's hesitation would see you flattened beneath a ton of polished stone.,But that why they were a team. He smiled at her, squeezing her arm briefly, before approaching the opening she had created. He cast a Bubble-Head Charm, just in case - Auntie had almost died to poisoned air, once, and he still had to suppress a shiver when he thought about that fungal spore incident he'd heard about from Ulbrich during their visit to the Curse-Breaker Camp in Egypt a few months ago. Danger was part of a Curse-Breaker's job, but to die slowly as your body was consumed by mushrooms…,Well, they were prepared for that - Hermione had read all the expedition reports and explorer's accounts she could find while Ron had asked Ginny and Luna about dangerous animals native to the Amazon and Harry had talked to every Curse-Breaker they knew who had been to the area - small as that number had been. But Harry's spells didn't show any spores or Burrowing Wasp Nests in the vicinity. The air at the entrance actually felt rather dry - compared to the humidity of the jungle, of course.,He flicked his wand - no spells either. Which didn't mean that there were no traps, of course. He crouched down and studied the ground. No patterns in the dust. No tell-tales of triggers, magical or mechanical. The walls had inscriptions on them, unfamiliar ones. But he couldn't detect any spells other than preservation charms nor did he spot any minuscule gaps that might propel poisoned blades at anyone passing by.,Taking a deep breath, he entered the tunnel - or hallway, since this looked like part of a building. No traps went off for the first few yards. "Smooth stone," he reported. "Covered with runes and charms. No curses so far.","Oh… those are entirely unknown runes. If we can call them runes - it might actually be a new language!",Harry didn't have to turn around to know Hermione was gushing over the inscriptions. A moment later, she started taking pictures. "Watch the flash," he snapped. It wouldn't do to be blinded at an inopportune moment.,"If this was the entrance, then there should be a trap. There's always one at the entrance," Ron, bringing up the rear, commented.,"Not always," Harry corrected him.,"The wards would certainly qualify," Hermione added. "And this seems to be the entrance - there is only one way to go, and there's nothing here. Of course, the Atlanteans might have built dead ends for various purposes, but common sense would suggest that this was the entrance.","Damned sloppy of them to forget the red carpet," Ron said.,"Not even a welcome mat." Harry wouldn't be outdone by his friend when it came to nonchalance.,"That would certainly be trapped," Ron replied. "Can you make anything of these runes?",Hermione scoffed. "Nothing so far. There are some faint similarities to cuneiform, but that might merely be a shared ancestry." He heard her tap the wall with her wand. "But this… It looks very similar to an Ancient Greek symbol for curses.","Great," Harry said, looking down the corridor. "Let's hope it means 'do not cast curses in the hallways'!",Ron laughed, but Hermione merely snorted. "Unfortunately, I don't think that this was a school - I doubt that the Atlanteans built schools outside their island. They were said to be rather isolationist according to the Greek and Egyptian sources we have.","They had an empire," Harry pointed out as he scanned the rest of the corridor for curses.,"Outposts, mostly. Or so we assume," Hermione replied. "Possibly colonies - but they might well have centralised magical education to better protect their secrets.",Harry nodded. For such an old and legendary culture, there was very little known about them. Which he considered rather suspicious. He shook his head and focused on his task. There was the slightest… He held up his hand.,His friends grew quiet at once.,"Trouble?" Ron asked.,"The dust here looks… different," Harry replied. He bent down. There was a line crossing the hallway where the dust was just a little elevated. Slightly off-colour, too. Pit trap. "Pig time," he said as he stood.,"Alright.",They retreated to the opening - or entrance - and Harry conjured a pig in the hallway, right behind the suspicious line. A moment later, the entire section of the floor there fell away, taking the pig with it. And then the animal's panicked squeals were abruptly cut off.,"Spike pit. A classic," Ron said, leaning back as the trap swung closed.,"They didn't add an enchantment to cover the trap with dust again," Hermione said, pointing at the now revealed trapdoor. "That might indicate that this wasn't meant to last after the Atlanteans left, but was meant to protect the area behind it in a manned outpost.",Harry nodded. He knew what that meant. "It's a vault." He grinned.,"Probably," Hermione amended. But Harry saw that she shared his optimism.,"A vault? Merlin's beard, that means even more traps," Ron said.,Harry nodded. The best things always had the most traps. "Now let's get past this one!",He slowly approached it. They could easily jump past the trap - but the Atlanteans would have anticipated that. Cascading traps - get past the first and trigger the next - were not uncommon. Most also accounted for brooms and carpets. He looked up and smiled. Few, though, remembered to trap the ceiling.,Twenty minutes later, he was upside down, hanging from ropes stuck to hooks hammered into the ceiling - there were Anti-Sticking Charm spells on it - and staring at the floor behind the trap. As he had expected - there was another line a few yards back. And the walls had more spells on them, too - and less dust. Probably something to deal with brooms - if Atlanteans had had brooms.,Best not to chance it. "Time for pigs to fly," he said as he climbed back to his friends.,"The Atlanteans definitely knew about levitation charms," Hermione said a minute later.,"And they weren't playing around," Ron added.,Staring at the smear left on the ground and the stain on the ceiling - the floor hadn't fallen away, but had shot up, crushing the pig against the ceiling - Harry had to agree. He turned to Hermione. "Any chance you found the key to pass through the traps yet?",She shook her head. "Without knowing the language or the exact spells used, it's pretty much impossible.",Harry nodded. He had expected that. "So now we'll have to test if climbing across the walls is safe." That would take a few more conjured animals.,"We'll have to skip that part when telling Ginny and Luna about this," Ron said, shaking his head. But he was already pulling out climbing gear.,This wasn't the first time they had to resort to muggle methods, after all. There was a reason why all of them wore muggle clothes for their work - well, other than Hermione following Auntie's example. Not that Harry was complaining about that - his girlfriend looked very attractive in a tank top and short-shorts.,It still took them longer than Harry liked to get past the trapped area since they had to hammer a lot of hooks into the stone - which was harder than granite - and the walls provided no hand- or footholds.,But they did reach the other end of the hallway, where stairs leading down awaited them.,Stairs that looked rather suspiciously clean, in Harry's opinion. He studied the ceiling. No spells, but… He narrowed his eyes, then used the enchantment on his glasses to zoom in. Yes. Another trapdoor - in the ceiling this time.,"Poison or rocks?" Ron asked, looking up as well. "What do you think?","The stairs are magically reinforced," Hermione told them. "Structurally - that wouldn't be needed if it were a liquid of some sort that would cover the stairs when the trap goes off.","It's a spiral staircase," Harry said. "Giant boulder is my bet.","That sounds overly complicated," Hermione remarked. "And not as effective as other methods.","Probably backed up by magic," Harry said. "Let's stand back. I'll send another pig in.","The ALF will come after us if they ever find out," Hermione muttered.,Harry sent the pig down the stairs. Half a minute later, a giant boulder did indeed fall from the ceiling and roll down the stairs. Once more, the pig's squeals were cut off by a squelching noise. Harry clenched his teeth. "Wait for it…" A moment later, he heard a crash - the boulder must have reached the bottom. And then fire filled the stairs, rushing up towards them. Cursing, he flung himself against Hermione, pushing her to the ground moments before the flames reached the top of the stairs. Most of the fire shot past them, scorching the ceiling, and their charms handled the rest. Mostly.,"Blimey! They're really not kidding around," Ron said as he put out a smouldering spot on his trousers.,"Almost got the ropes," Harry said, patting himself down.,"Almost got you," Hermione snapped as she pulled out her medkit. "Turn around!","I'm fine!" Harry retorted. He was, too - he was barely singed. Nothing more serious than a Floo travel mishap.,But, of course, Hermione wouldn't believe him until she had personally verified his state of health.,He sighed as her wand moved over his body. Just because he had been a little overly optimistic once or twice after a crash in a Quidditch match…,Ron Weasley shook his head, chuckling, as Hermione both treated Harry's minor burns and verbally tore him a new one. Harry probably would never learn not to downplay his injuries. Some girls were impressed by that; Hermione wasn't among them. Ari probably wasn't either.,He clenched his teeth. He hadn't seen her since the morning after Harry had talked to the snake. As far as break-ups went, this was far from the worst - she hadn't tried to kill him or curse him, after all - but he couldn't understand why she had run away. They had been good together.,Sighing, he studied the stairs while Harry got treated. The trapdoor in the ceiling had swung closed again - that could have been done by a counter-weight, but Ron would bet it was a spell. A quick detection spell confirmed it. Which meant that the boulder could easily be conjured. And that meant that the trap had probably already been reloaded, so to speak.,Ron shook his head. "Unless we want to climb down along the walls of the staircase, we'll have to disable the trap." He studied the ceiling. "Conjured pillars should do it, if we use enough of them. Probably a metal plate as well.",Hermione frowned as she finished treating Harry's wounds. "Unless they've got spells ready to deal with that. So far, the Atlanteans have been quite well prepared for magical workarounds.","Conjured pigs worked well," Harry pointed out.,That made Hermione frown, of course - she hated being proven wrong. Ron spoke up before she could defend her thesis - they were in a tomb, or vault, not at school: "Let's just test it.",As it turned out, the Atlanteans hadn't prepared a counter to his idea. The pig they sent in reached the bottom of the stairs safely - or so it seemed. Ron still felt the urge to keep looking over his shoulder, wand ready to conjure enough stone to stop the boulder, as they descended the stairs.,But they reached the room at the bottom - a hallway - without trouble. And a massive door at the end of it. Ron would have cheered - if not for the fact that the pig they had sent ahead was nowhere to be seen. "Another trap.","Another trap," Harry confirmed. "We've had trapdoors in the floor and trapdoors in the ceiling. Guess this time, it's the walls.",As yet another conjured pig proved a minute later, it wasn't the walls - it was magic. The pig had barely reached the middle of the hallway when it was hit by a green curse from the ceiling that killed it, followed by what looked like a Vanishing Charm. "Efficient," Ron commented to hide how much the sight had shaken him.,"Someone managed to use the Killing Curse in a trap?" Hermione voiced his thoughts. "But the emotional component needed to cast the curse can't be replicated like that…","The Atlanteans might not have been aware of that." Ron's quip earned him a glare from her.,"Let's focus on how we can bypass or disarm that trap," Harry said.,"If it's a Killing Curse, it can be blocked by a solid object - which will usually be destroyed by the curse, though," Ron said. "We'll have to disarm the trigger." He looked at Hermione. She was their expert for such things.,"It'll take some time to analyse it," Hermione said.,"And it's late already," Harry added. "We'd better rest so we can tackle the trap and the door tomorrow.",Hermione looked like she wanted to object, but nodded after a moment.,She had to be really tired, Ron thought.,Ari hadn't returned. And, after five days, Ron Weasley doubted that she ever would. He sighed as he followed Harry and Hermione to the site. They hadn't spent the night apart but looked well-rested anyway.,He wasn't jealous - he simply missed Ari. And he had yet to understand why she had left - she wasn't a coward; he knew that well enough. So why had she run away?,He was still pondering this as they reached the vault door. Over the last two days, they had installed conjured catwalks to bypass the trapdoors in there, once they knew there were no special countermeasures waiting at the other end of the hallway. And, of course, they replaced the conjured pillars that blocked the boulder trap every day before taking the stairs - it was better to cast one more spell than you needed than one less, as Bill used to say.,He sighed, then told himself to focus on the job at hand - Hermione was almost done with the vault's protections. It had taken her close to two days - impressive, given her lack of familiarity with Atlantean magic.,He sighed again. Ron knew he was a good wizard - he had the N.E.W.T.s and the experience to prove it - but, sometimes, he felt a little superfluous. Hermione was the best Curse-Breaker among them, and Harry was the better wizard overall - and also knew more about muggle methods than Ron. Between the two of them, they made a perfect team. Like Petunia and Sirius, or Bill and Fleur.,They didn't need him. Of course, there had been moments - quite a lot, actually - where Ron had pulled his weight, and then some. He wasn't holding them back or weighing them down. But it would be nice to be the best at something.,"Done!",He looked up. Hermione was standing, wiping some sweat from her face, and beaming as if Harry had proposed to her.,"It's still locked," Harry said.,Hermione snorted and flicked her wand. A moment later, the door started to slide into the wall, small specks of dust being shaken loose and falling to the floor as a circular opening was revealed.,And behind it, shelves loaded with…,"Scrolls! And tablets!" Hermione exclaimed. At least she managed to restrain herself from rushing into the vault until Harry had checked for traps and Ron had blocked the door from closing again.,"Ripclaw will be furious," Ron said as he followed them into the vault. "There's no treasure.",Hermione scoffed and glared at him as though Ron shared that view. "This is the greatest treasure of them all! Atlantean documents! Even the Library of Alexandria doesn't have as much written material from Atlantis as we've found here!",Ron nodded. "I know." How could he not, with Hermione lecturing them for weeks about Atlantis? "But you know goblins - if it's not precious metal they don't care.","Short-sighted," Harry said. "So this is a field library? Kind of small for that." The vault was about four by four yards. With a large pillar in its centre.,Hermione bit her lower lip. "I can't tell without further research. It could be an archive. These could be records. Or perhaps orders.",Ron narrowed his eyes. That pillar… It made no sense, structurally - he knew enough about construction thanks to having helped his parents with The Burrow. And it didn't look like it was part of the room either. He circled the pillar, then whistled. "Look at this! There's a crystal ball!","A crystal ball?" Hermione was frowning as she joined him, followed by Harry.,"Not the kind used for Divination, I think," Ron said. He had seen more crystal balls than he had ever wanted to during his short-lived relationship with Lavender at Hogwarts, and this didn't look like those.,"You're right," Hermione said. "There's a sort of mist inside. I wonder…",Harry interrupted her. "Someone's coming. My Alarm Charm just went off.",Ron muttered a curse under his breath as he moved to the vault's entrance. "We need to get outside, or they can trap us here by vanishing the pillars.","Yes," Harry agreed. "Hermione…",But their friend was already summoning scrolls into her backpack. "Go ahead - I'll be right there.",Harry looked like he was about to argue, but Ron pulled him away. "Let's go!" In a lower voice, he added: "She won't be in the line of fire that way.",They sprinted up the stairs, wands out. If they reached the hallway above before the intruder, then they would be fine.,"If this is Lena Kraft…" Ron heard Harry mutter.,"Can't be her - she's usually bothering Petunia," Ron replied. Almost there...,"Ron?",His eyes widened. He knew that voice! "Ari?","Ron!",He reached the top of the stairs. There she was. "Ari!",But she was staring at him, trembling. And panting. "Ron! You must flee!","What? Is there another Boiúna?" Harry asked. "We can deal with them.",Ari shook her head, almost violently. "No can deal! Must flee! My tribe coming!","What?" Ron asked.,She was crying. "My tribe guardians here. No one allowed. You no flee Boiúna, you enter, they know. Now they coming. To kill.","How many are coming?" Harry asked.,She sniffled.,"All.",Except her, Ron thought.

Ella solo podía ver sus manos con temor, bañadas en sangre viscosa que goteaba paulatinamente sobre el cuerpo de su amada hija. Su garganta se cerraba, impidiéndole la salida de sus gritos lastimeros, conformándose con las lágrimas que se derramaban desde sus ojos blancos mientras caía de rodillas al suelo, sin importarle que terminase manchada con el tinte carmesí al mismo tiempo que sostenía la figura sin vida de su hermosa princesa.,Odiaba ser débil, incapaz de resistir el embrujo que aquel monstruo puso sobre ella, susurrándole voces al oído para que entrase en una furia ciega y asesinase a todos los presentes en la recámara. Sus blancos dientes rechinaban sonoramente, en conjunto con la aparición de un pronuncia ceño fruncido, el cual transformaba su delicada faz en una notable máscara de desprecio para aquel que invadió su reino, mató a su esposo y, tuvo el tupé de intentar criar a su bebé como propia en un lugar que solo conocía la guerra, bajo su mando.,-Veo que has logrado librarte de la brujería de Shao Kahn, aunque fuese un poco tarde…- una voz sonó a la diestra de la mujer con cabellos canos y un mechón negro.,-Requieres algo en particular, dios del trueno? – sin dejar de acariciar el rostro dormido de la joven fallecida, respondió.,-Lamento su pérdida, majestad- logró expresarse el hombre, observando con pena las caídas de su valientes guerreros.,-Por qué? – rotas, salieron las palabras de los labios púrpuras.,-A qué se refiere, su majestad? – confundido, cuestionó el sujeto con sombrero de paja.,-Por qué pasa todo esto? Por qué los Dioses Antiguos no hacen nada? Por qué tengo que perder a mi hija, mi esposo y mi reino? Por qué sigo con vida, Raiden? – abrumada por todo lo sucedido a lo largo de los siglos, se desahogó la fémina.,-Yo…no poseo una respuesta clara para sus dudas, Reina Sindel. Tan solo podemos tener fe en que Earthrealm saldrá victorioso y que la tiranía de Shao Kahn perecerá- intentó consolar a la mujer el hombre de vestimentas blancas, pero fallando cuando esta lo miró con odio.,-Pero eso no traerá de nuevo a mi hija! Solo aplacará tu anhelo de ver muerto a ese monstruo! – exclamó llena de rabia la bella y mortal Edeniana.,Habiendo dicho todo lo que acumuló en su interior, Sindel depositó con cariño y cuidado el cuerpo de su primogénita en el suelo, acomodando el traje azul que ella portaba y ubicando el par de abanicos sobre su abdomen, para finalmente besar su frente y alejarse. Las grandes puertas de la recámara se abrieron a un balcón que revelaba el desolador paisaje de Outworld, con una brisa sofocante que traía consigo la ronca risa del emperador, haciendo que la dama refriegue sus ojos con el fin de borrar las lágrimas, corriendo en el proceso la pintura púrpura que delineaban sus párpados.,El delgado brazo de la dama se movió perezosamente, generando una vía de transporte que sorprendió al dios que estaba de pie detrás de ella, ya que revelaba un templo deshabitado de Earthrealm. El intentó acercarse más, pero una mirada por encima del hombro izquierdo por parte de ella lo detuvo en su lugar.,-Qué piensa hacer, Reina Sindel? – con cuidado, preguntó Raiden.,-Ya no tengo nada que me una a este lugar. Lo único que puedo hacer antes de unirme a mi esposo e hija, es darle algo a tu dimensión para que las hordas de Outworld no puedan acceder. Buena fortuna en tu propósito, dios del trueno. Quizás los Dioses Antiguos si escuchen tu voz…- declaró la mujer, dejando atrás al dios mientras ella caminaba a su destino sin remordimientos.,Los ojos esmeraldas se abrieron abruptamente por cuarta vez en la noche, recorriendo vagamente los contornos que se delineaban bajo la luz de la luna que entraba por la venta. Un cansino movimiento de la mano derecha del joven recostado, eliminó el sudor que perlaba su frente, obligándolo a levantarse e ir al tocador para enjuagar su pálido y ojeroso rostro. Desde el fallecimiento de su padrino, la revelación de la profecía y la falta de comunicación con sus allegados, él estaba aislado en una penumbrosa casa que lentamente iba remodelando junto a aquel elfo que liberó en su segundo año tras ordenarle el suicidio al que cuidaba previamente este hogar, debido a su fallida lealtad.,Sus pasos provocaban ecos infinitos en los angostos pasillos alfombrados, hallando una manera de distraerse al deslizar la yema de sus dedos sobre el yeso que recubría las antiguas paredes marrones, percibiendo la leve rugosidad que le provocaban cosquillas. En la chimenea reposaban unas apagadas brasas que emanaban un letárgico calor, logrando que, de alguna manera, la gran sala no fuese una tundra.,Se mantuvo de pie en medio de la habitación sin hacer nada en particular, mirando fijamente el vago humo que se desprendía del trozo negro de madera combustionada. Su mente estaba calma, sin ningún pensamiento rondando, solo un gran espacio en negro que abarcaba todo, formando un escudo que le hubiese servido tiempo atrás cuando era atacado constantemente por el Señor Oscuro.,Un estruendo símil a un rayo golpeando el suelo se oyó en el patio de la casa, despabilando de su inmutable situación al mago de orbes verdes. Su rostro viró en dirección al lugar de impacto, desenfundando su varita de la bandolera que colgaba de su cintura, dando silenciosos pasos lentos hasta la puerta. Giró la perilla de bronce luego de haber quitado el cerrojo, provocando una leve abertura entre el marco y la puerta, dejando entrar un gélido soplo nocturno.,El cielo estaba despejado, siendo los únicos puntos brillantes en medio del paisaje oscuro la luna y las estrellas. Nieve había caído más temprano, abarcando cada centímetro con una capa blanca todo el suelo, revelando una mancha negra que descansaba en medio del patio.,Con cada paso que el pelinegro daba, más definida era la imagen de la persona que estaba inconsciente en el patio de su casa. Una casa que estaba fuertemente protegida con salas anti daño y aparición, así como también una sala que repelía cualquier persona que no fuese invitada por él mismo.,La varita que su mano derecha sostenía aún no dejaba de apuntar a la figura femenina que se hallaba tirada sobre la nieve, siendo lo suficientemente austero como para empujarla con el pie y ver si reaccionaba de alguna manera, pero sin recibir respuesta. Su mirada verde recorría sorprendido por la vestimenta que la fémina poseía, creyendo que era un poco inapropiado que luciese algo símil a un traje de baño purpura en invierno.,Tras esperar dos minutos en el helado clima, el pelinegro decidió guardar la varita en la funda y proceder a agacharse para alzar en sus brazos el cuerpo femenino, el cual estaba completamente helado. Al parecer no importaba cuando ruido hiciese al cerrar las puertas o prender las luces, la mujer no despertaba de su sueño.,Un rastro de lágrimas secas podía verse sobre sus mejillas, así como también la pintura corrida y el largo cabello totalmente despeinado. El ojiverde la posicionó con premeditación en la mullida cama de una habitación que estaba frente a la suya, procurando quitarle las largas botas negras y depositándolas al costado de una mesa. Cubrió su cuerpo con un juego de sábanas y una frazada, para finalmente tomar asiento en una silla al costado de la puerta, tratando de develar el misterio que irrumpió en medio de la noche, siendo la primera persona que veía desde que terminó su año en Hogwarts.,El sol se asomaba a través del vidrio que separaba el interior del exterior, iluminando y calentando lentamente la habitación, despertando al ojiverde que tronó su cuello y vio que un par de ojos blancos lo miraban impasibles desde la cama. Sintió su boca resecarse por un instante, al mismo tiempo que sus pulsaciones se detuvieron ante la visión de tan expresivos ojos.,Tanto dolor y pérdida. Tanta miseria acumulada. Tanta experiencia que sobrepasaría inclusive lo sobrenatural.,-Veo que se ha despertado…- dijo el ojiverde, poniéndose de pie y acercándose al borde de la cama, percatándose que ella no se había movido ni un centímetro.,No recibió contestación alguna. El aspecto de la mujer con cabellos canos y un mechón negro era como si estuviese hueca por dentro, completamente vacía de toda emoción y reacción.,-Mi nombre es Harry Potter, y anoche la encontré inconsciente en el patio de mi casa. Acaso tuvo un accidente? – cuestionó el mago luego de presentarse.,La mujer giró pausadamente la cabeza en su dirección, observándolo en silencio, sin generar ningún gesto fácil que revelase una mera emoción que le afecte.,-Está enferma? Puede hablar? Al menos me escucha? – interrogó el pelinegro, intrigado por el hecho de que la dama parecía estar a punto de llorar nuevamente.,Y su suposición no le falló, ya que segundos después, un diminuto rastro de lágrimas empezó a humedecer las sábanas que cubrían sus piernas, sin siquiera intentar hacer algún movimiento para ocultar su cara.,-Se siente bien? Necesita algo? Por favor, deje de llorar. Estoy seguro que todo mejorará! – nervioso, dijo él, incapaz de saber cómo reaccionar en una situación así.,En su apuro, Harry rebuscó en los interiores de los muebles, tratando de hallar un pañuelo. Cuando finalmente lo logró, intentó dárselo a la mujer de labios púrpuras, pero fallando en el instante que ella no se movía de su lugar, atinando a llorar únicamente sin hacer ruido alguno. Por causa de ella, su mano se acercó atrevidamente hasta los pómulos altos, que denotaban un signo de realeza, utilizando la sedosa tela para absorber las saladas gotas que brotaban de los nacarados ojos femeninos.,-Ya, ya…tranquilícese, por favor. Yo…usted…si no tiene un lugar al cual regresar…puede quedarse aquí por unos días…- farfulló el ojiverde sin saber verdaderamente qué decir.,Una vez más, sus preguntas cayeron en oídos sordos, ya que la fémina no respondió o reaccionó al trato que el Potter le brindaba. Debido a ello, Harry decidió correr hasta la cocina y llenar un vaso con agua, para posteriormente regresar a la habitación e intentar dárselo a la mujer, pero siendo un acto infructuoso.,El borde del vaso se posó en los carnosos labios, alzándose lentamente para dejar que el agua se deslice hasta el interior de la boca mientras Harry sostenía la cabeza de su invitada para que no se ahogue y beba el líquido cristalino. Gotas se derramaban desde las comisuras, por lo que, pacientemente, el mago se dedicó a secarle el mentón para que por último, la recueste y tape con las frazadas, aguardando por el sueño que la atrapó minutos posteriores.,Dicho nuevo dueño del hogar solo pudo mantenerse sentado a su lado, sosteniendo su agachada cabeza entre sus manos mientras sus codos reposaban en sus piernas, tratando de resolver el enorme acertijo que cayó, literalmente, en el patio de su casa en medio de la noche. Si al menos una persona que lo conocía se dignase a comunicarse con él, o responder sus llamadas, todo estaría mucho mejor, pero en vistas a las nulas posibilidades de que eso ocurra, tendrá que valerse por sí mismo y Dobby.,-Dobby- llamó en un susurró el joven.,-Amo Harry ha llamado. Necesita algo? – tras aparecerse en la habitación, dijo el pequeño elfo inquieto.,-Sí, Dobby. Verás, esta mujer apareció anoche en el patio trasero y está en un estado catatónico. No responde a ningún estímulo, por lo que simplemente le di agua y luego la recosté. Quiero que me avises si llega a despertarse de nuevo. Yo, por mi parte, iré a bañarme y a preparar algo para comer, vale? – habló el adolescente, llevando una mano a la cabeza del ser mágico y acariciándolo afectuosamente.,-Sí, Amo Harry. Dobby le avisará cuando la señorita se despierte- replicó el elfo, asintiendo fervientemente, dejando que su maestro se retire de la recámara.,Sus dedos trazaban perezosamente las letras impresas del libro que tomó de la biblioteca mientras esperaba a que la comida se terminase de cocinar, leyendo sobre temas relacionados a maldiciones y contra-maldiciones oscuras. El aroma a pollo envolvía la cocina, asegurándole que incluso su invitada podía olfatear el agradable aroma en el interior del dormitorio.,El sonido de unas burbujas explotando lo despabiló, teniendo que apagar la hornalla del horno y revolver una vez más la cocción, degustándola y asintiendo levemente con la cabeza, como si estuviese orgulloso de su trabajo.,Un estallido a su derecha hizo que girase su cabeza para ver al pequeño amigo que, tácitamente, le daba la noticia de que la mujer en el cuarto de arriba, estaba despierta.,-Dobby, ayúdame a llevar dos bandejas con comida a la habitación de nuestra invitada, sí? – dijo el ojiverde, tomando de las manijas la olla con ayuda de dos retazos para no quemarse, yéndose cuesta arriba.,Harry se vio en la necesidad de utilizar su codo con el fin de abrir la puerta, lográndolo luego de dos intentos, ingresando a la silenciosa habitación donde la mujer que trajo seguía en la misma posición que cuando se despertó esta mañana. Un nuevo rastro de lágrimas se volvió a trazar desde los ojos blancos, por lo que el pelinegro tuvo que dejar la olla sobre una mesa y correr rápidamente hasta la cama para poder secarle las mejillas luego de ver que no volvía a moverse para hacerlo por cuenta propia.,-Oiga, tranquila! Todo está bien! Mire, traje comida. Tiene hambre? – desesperado, habló velozmente sin respirar entre frases, dejándolo agitado.,Esperó por, lo que parecía, un largo minuto antes de soltar un suspiro contenido y ver que Dobby traía consigo una bandeja con platos, servilletas, cubiertos, vasos y una jarra con agua. Disculpándose por su atrevimiento, el Potter tomó a la mujer y la reacomodó contra el respaldar de la cama, con su espalda recostada en la almohada que fue puesta perpendicularmente con respecto al colchón, y la bandeja sobre su regazo.,-Puede comer? Necesita que la ayude con eso? – cuestionó el adolescente al ver que el tiempo corría y la fémina no daba señal alguna de querer reproducir una simple acción.,El mago podía sentir la mirada del elfo en un rincón, pero eso no lo detuvo de tomar la cuchara y alzarla una porción de la comida hasta los labios de la mujer, quien tentativamente abrió la boca, permitiendo que Harry pudiese depositar su contenido y dejarla que mastique, teniendo que limpiar sus labios cuando terminó su plato para finalmente darle un poco de agua.,-Espero que la comida le haya gustado…no le molesta que coma aquí con usted? Después de todo, tengo que estar atento si usted necesita algo más…- comentó él, resignándose nuevamente al silencio y dedicándose a comer tranquilamente su tibio plato.,Entre bocados, el ojiverde miraba de reojo a la hermosa mujer que no mostraba signo de vida más que llorar y respirar, sin contar obviamente cuando él la alimentaba. Preguntas se formulaban en su mente, acumulándose imparablemente sobre un imaginario escritorio que no dejaba ver lo que había del otro lado. De alguna manera, esto le pareció gracioso, ya que estaba formando un escudo en caso de que Snape o Voldemort intentasen inmiscuirse en su cabeza.,El elfo doméstico tomó su bandeja junto a las demás cosas que trajo desde la cocina y desapareció en un suave estallido, dejándolo a solas con la dama de cabello largo, lo cual hizo que un clic resonase en la mente del joven como si recordase algo importante.,-Necesita ir al tocador? Usted sabe…bañarse, hacer sus necesidades…o lo que sea que tenga que hacer allí dentro? – interrogó el último Potter, inclinándose hacia delante en su silla, esperando hallar una respuesta.,La mirada perdida que sus orbes reflejaban solo intimidaba por momentos al mago, quien se resignó por completo a la esperanza de que la mujer pudiese hablar, por lo que tomó el asunto en sus propias manos y decidió que al menos ella podría recibir un trato normal de cuidados.,Hubiese sido un tanto difícil para él, el tener que explicar a los hospitales o policías sobre la aparición de una extraña en medio de la noche en su jardín, así como también el decirles sobre sus datos personales y las posibles consecuencias de verse obligado a regresar con los Dursley.,Le quitó las sábanas y frazadas que cubrían sus piernas, dándose cuenta por primera vez las manchas carmesíes que ensuciaban sus largas piernas color crema. Rápidamente se fijó en las telas, tratando de hallar alguna marca de sangrado, solo para relajarse cuando vio que no había nada, llevándolo a la suposición que algo relacionado a esa sangre tenía que ver con el estado actual de la mujer.,Sus brazos se deslizaron por debajo de las rodillas y la espalda de la fémina, teniendo que maniobrar el peso adicional contra su pecho para poder dar pasos sin tropezarse en dirección al baño de la habitación, pateando la puerta con el fin de abrirla ya que no quería perturbar a Dobby con su tarea de aseo. Una vez adentro de la habitación recubierta con baldosas celestes oscuras y azulejos blancos, se quedó como una estatua de mármol, tratando de decidir que hacer a continuación, sentándola sobre la tapa del inodoro a la espera de que ella hiciese algo por cuenta propia.,-Merlín…creo que voy a envejecer cien años con lo que estoy a punto de hacer…- murmuró Harry, revolviéndose el desprolijo cabello azabache mientras se mordía el labio inferior.,Se quitó los anteojos y refregó sus ojos con fuerza, tratando de lidiar con la inminente migraña que sufría por la situación en la que se hallaba. Estaba solo en una maldita casa gigante, con un elfo y una mujer hermosa que parecía ser un vegetal, sin comunicación ni contacto humano más que el que estuvo experimentando desde que se despertó en la madrugada.,Sus manos sudaban profusamente al mismo tiempo que las acercó a los hombros de la mujer cuando se dio cuenta que el vestido que llevaba no poseía cierres o botones, teniendo que quitarlo con cuidado mientras miraba hacia otro lado para no atentar contra la privacidad de su "paciente". Una vez que logró dejar expuesto la parte superior de su cuerpo, tuvo que alzar sus piernas con el fin de quitarle la prenda por completo, para así poder alzarla una vez más y levantar la tapa del inodoro, sentándola con cuidado una vez más.,-Yo…Emmm…esperaré afuera unos minutos para darle privacidad, regreso en cinco- dijo con apuro el adolescente, retirándose como si hubiese un incendio.,Su pie derecho golpeteaba el suelo alfombrado repetidas veces, provocando un ronco sonido apagado que se esparcía por toda la habitación mientras su mente divagaba en el aspecto infeliz que la dama sin nombre poseía. Uno pensaría que alguien como ella, que parecía ser de la nobleza, nunca sufriría percance alguno como para dejarla en tal estado. Que sería cuidada y amada por todos sus allegados, como una reina. Pero en su lugar, estaba muerta por dentro, como aquellas personas que han perdido todo motivo para sonreír, esbozando una vida que solo se separa en blanco y negro.,Una extraña sensación recorrió la espina dorsal del mago, como si algo estuviese fuera de lugar con respecto a la mujer que ocupaba el baño de la antigua casa de su padrino. Deseaba poder al menos oír su voz y su nombre, para dejar de tratarla con tanta extrañeza, y también resolver uno de los tantos acertijos que liaban con su mente.,El muchacho tomó varias respiraciones profundas con el propósito de controlar sus pulsaciones cardíacas, aferrándose a la perilla de la puerta y girándola lentamente mientras la abría. Nada en su interior había cambiado, por lo que rápidamente se apuró a tocar a tirar de la cadena mientras alzaba a la mujer y la llevaba al bidet, accionando las llaves de agua para lavar la región inferior de la mujer. Sin perder más tiempo, se aproximó a la regadera y encendió la lluvia, aclimatando el agua a un punto cálido pero sin llegar a escocer la piel.,Su mirada verde iba de un lado al otro, tratando de buscar algo que lo ayude a sentar a la mujer que iba a bañar, solo para rezongar sonoramente y tomar un botella vacía de shampoo, transfigurándola en un taburete de plástico como los que solía haber en el número cuatro de Privet Drive. Se quitó la camiseta que llevaba encima y las zapatillas que calzaba, arrojándolas fuera del baño para luego acercarse a la mujer y llevarla hasta la banqueta bajo el agua cálida.,-La voy a bañar para quitarle las manchas de sangre que tiene encima, sabe? Además, le servirá para templar su cuerpo y no resfriarse debido al frío que sufrió anoche cuando cayó sobre la nieve…- avisó Harry, concentrándose en el largo pelo que le pareció creer que se movía.,Sus dedos trazaban los largos mechones grises, llegando a la deducción que su fortuna se iría al garete con solo comprar shampoo y acondicionadores, lo que le provocó una suave risita divertida. Perdió la cuenta del tiempo que llevaba en el interior de la ducha tratando de lavar por completo la cabellera, llegando al punto en que sus pantalones estaban repletamente mojados así como el resto de su cuerpo.,-Me pregunto si esto es lo que siente los enfermeros cuando tienen que cuidar a sus pacientes en los hospitales u hogares…Debo admitir que su cabello gris presta para la confusión, cualquiera pensaría que usted es una anciana, pero su cara dice todo lo contrario…- monologó el Potter, corriendo todo el pelo hacia delante por encima del pequeño hombro derecho, exponiendo la espalda de la "paciente".,La espuma del jabón, con fragancia a lavanda, se deslizaba sobre las pronunciadas curvas femeninas mientras el mago tallaba suavemente sobre la línea que remarcaban las vértebras. Enjabonó los delgados brazos, encargándose de eliminar toda marca bermellón que teñía su piel pálida, sorprendiéndose al ver que su tez se tornaba rosácea al contacto con el agua. Cuando tuvo que tratar con la parte anterior de su cuerpo, los ojos esmeraldas se cerraron momentáneamente mientras procedía a arrodillarse y tantear con el jabón en la mano alguna zona que tratar.,Era embarazoso para él, y se imaginaba que para ella también si algún pensamiento transitaba por su cerebro. Deseaba que al menos ella dijese algo, que lo acuse o lo golpee, pero tenía que contentarse con el silencio que le regalaba, así como la miraba perdida. Sus manos jabonosas trabajaban en conjunto con una esponja, lavando su torso para luego bajar hasta sus pies. Una parte del joven quería reaccionar hormonalmente, mientras que la otra solo se enfocaba en su tarea, como si de ello dependiese su vida.,Nunca antes había estado más nervioso. No cuando casi fue asfixiado en su primer año, no cuando casi muere envenenado por un basilisco en el segundo ciclo lectivo, tampoco en el tercer período cuando su alma fue atentada por un centenar de dementores, y mucho menos cuando tuvo que enfrentarse dos veces a un Voldemort revivido.,-De haber sabido que estaría haciendo esto, no me habría bañado más temprano. Creo que estoy más saneado que la enfermería de Hogwarts…- habló para sí mismo el pelinegro, obligando a la mujer a que cierre sus ojos para poder lavar su rostro, eliminando la pintura que delineaban sus párpados y labios.,El templado diluvio que caía sobre la cabeza de ambos terminó por enjuagar sus cuerpos, esperando hasta que toda la espuma se vaya diluida por el drenaje. Harry cerró las llaves, mirando como la regadera soltaba sus últimas gotas en su frente, para posteriormente correr la cortina y movilizarse hasta un gabinete que se ubicaba debajo del lavabo, tomando un par de toallas y regresando a donde su acompañante aguardaba silenciosamente.,La tela afelpada se pegó al menudo cuerpo de la mujer, lo que salvó al Potter de sufrir un nuevo sonrojo al tener que sostener su cuerpo desnudo contra su pecho, cargándola hasta la cama y sentándola en el colchón para poder secar cada centímetro con diligencia.,-Dobby, ven por favor- llamó el ojiverde, al mismo tiempo que trataba de secar el largo cabello lacio.,-Amo Harry? – cuestionó confundido el elfo al ver la situación que se desarrollaba, a lo que el mago trató de controlar su rubor.,-Serías capaz de ver si puedes conseguir algunas prendas femeninas que sean de su talla? No creo que le agrade vestir siempre sus ropas sucias…- pidió él, dirigiendo una miraba escueta a la prenda de baño hecha de cuero y las altas botas negras.,-Por supuesto que puedo, Amo Harry! Dobby conseguirá todo para que la nueva Ama pueda estar feliz en la casa del Amo Harry! – proclamó el duendecillo, desapareciendo de la misma forma que llegó.,El algodón de la toalla absorbía la humedad del cabello, así lo hizo previamente con el resto del cuerpo lleno de curvas que hacían temblar como gelatina al mago. No importaba cuan molestas se pongan sus hormonas, él era un caballero y no pensaba en aprovecharse del estado lamentable que presentaba su "paciente", por lo que simplemente empujó al rincón más oscuro de su mente aquella necesidad de sucumbir ante el placer de la carne que cualquier adolescente sufría.,Tan abstraído estaba el pelinegro en su tarea de secar la cabellera gris, que se percató unos minutos más tarde que una pila de vestidos se ubicaban a su izquierda sobre una silla. Asegurándose de que la mujer estuviese con una sábana sobre sus hombros para que no tome frío, Harry se acercó hasta el asiento de madera caoba y revisó lo que el elfo doméstico había conseguido. Los colores variaban desde el rojo al verde, por la tonalidad de los hilos siempre era la misma, oscura. Algunas prendas eran tan suaves que parecían resbalarse de sus dedos, mientras que algunas otras parecían estar hechas de arena por lo rasposas que eran.,Miró de reojo a la mujer con sus orbes esmeraldas, debatiéndose que color le sentaría mejor, así como también el estilo. Púrpura. Esa fue la conclusión a la que llegó, moviéndose hasta ella con un simple vestido largo que carecía de aberturas innecesarias en su pecho o espalda, pero teniendo en su lugar un par de mangas que la ayudarían a cubrir del clima frío de la temporada.,Antes de ponérselo, notó que algo faltaba desde el principio. Tras controlar el rubor que abrumó sus mejillas, regresó hasta la silla y tomó un juego de ropa interior, demorándose varios minutos para poder encastrar los ganchos que el sostén poseía, asegurándose que no se desprendiesen o soltasen los breteles. Luego, colocó la prenda inferior y terminó de vestirla con la simple prenda púrpura, el cual combinaba a la perfección con la extensa cabellera.,-Juro que si Voldemort no me mata un día de estos, usted lo logrará…- lúdicamente pronunció Harry, estornudando segundos después de decir eso, por lo que tuvo que proceder a cambiarse en su habitación rápidamente.,-Puede decirme cómo se llama? …Olvide esa pregunta, me entiendo lo que digo al menos? Habla mi idioma? – interrogó el Potter a la mujer.,El mago la había cargado hasta el salón donde la chimenea se hallaba, sentándola junto al fuego y encendiendo posteriormente una pequeña radio, sintonizando un emisora musical mientras él se disponía a sentarse frente a ella con un libro en su regazo.,Los ojos blancos parecían moverse imperceptiblemente, pero tras cinco años de perseguir y atrapar una Snitch él pudo percatarse que ella lo entendía. Lo que eliminaba una pregunta en cuestión. Sabía de antemano que ella solo replicaría con silencio, por lo que decidió leer uno de los tantos libros que ocupaban los estantes de la biblioteca Black.,Las brasas crepitaban al compás de la canciones que sonaban en la radio, la cabeza de la fémina se giró en dirección a las llamas, como si fuese absorbida por las lenguas rojas que brotaban de los leños negros. Dobby traía una bandeja con dos tazas y una tetera, acompañado por un plato con galletas, despidiéndose luego con un suave gesto que Harry imitó.,Agregó dos terrones de azúcar y revolvió lentamente las dos tazas, tomando una de ellas con cuidado desde la asa y acercándola hasta los labios de la mujer, soplando previamente la infusión para que ella no se queme.,Pequeños sorbos fueron bebidos, intercalando el té con un par de galletas. Un sonido confundió momentáneamente al mago, sin saber si fue un murmullo de apreciación o un simple quejido. En el instante que se agachó para dejar la taza y el plato de galletas sobre la bandeja, fue sorprendido al oír una melodiosa pero triste voz que produjo un escalofrío en su espalda.,-Sindel…- dijo la mujer, apenas moviendo sus labios rosáceos luego de perder su delineado púrpura.,-Sindel? Ese es su nombre? – cuestionó Harry tras voltear para verla.,-Sindel…- repitió la dama, empezando a llorar de nuevo, lo que obligó al mago a sacar un pañuelo de su bolsillo y repetir el accionar que ya hizo dos veces en el día.,-Es un hermoso nombre, lo sabía? Por qué llora, me lo puede decir? Acaso le hicieron algo? – preguntó con suavidad el ojiverde, eliminando el rastro de humedad que mancillaban las mejillas cremosas.,-Kitana…Kitana…Kita…- dijo Sindel, dejando de lado el llanto tranquilo que tenía para reemplazarlo con uno completamente desconsolador, el cual hizo que Harry se sintiese mal también.,-Shhh…Ya, ya…Tranquila, tranquila…- replicó el pelinegro, sin saber en verdad qué decirle para auxiliarla.,No obstante, él no se alejó de ella, sino que llevó su cabeza contra su pecho y acarició su espalda con lentitud en forma de círculos, tarareando al son de la música que la radioemisora daba. La alejó unos centímetros de su pecho para así limpiar su cara con el retazo de tela blanca, percatándose que Sindel había retomado su actitud previa de muerta en vida, generándolo un suspiro cansino.,-Puede quedarse aquí, Sindel. Esta casa es demasiado grande para mí, y tampoco es como si una multitud de gente viniese a visitarme a toda hora…Así que, hasta que pueda subsistir por cuenta propia, la cuidaré- alzándolo en sus brazos y caminando hasta la habitación que le había dado para poder recostarla, dijo el mago.,La rutina del primer día se repitió cotidianamente a lo largo de una semana, llegando a convertirse en algo común para el joven mago que dedicaba su tiempo a cuidar de la mujer con belleza inconmensurable y a leer todos los libros posibles de la biblioteca mientras oían música o se sentaban en el patio trasero por un rato.,Harry había dejado atrás sus ansias de recibir respuesta alguna por parte de sus amigos o allegados, conformándose con platicarle a Dobby cuando este no estaba ocupado o, dando un monólogo a una catatónica Sindel que estaba bajo sus cuidados. El tiempo para que comience el nuevo ciclo lectivo de Hogwarts estaba más que cerca a la fecha actual, y la soledad que había tenido todo este tiempo hizo mella en su interior, dándose cuenta que no iba a aprender nada si malgastaba otro año más en esa escuela donde solo era vapuleado y denigrado por un profesor mientras los demás ignoraban ese notable factor.,Además, también estaba el hecho de que Sindel vivía junto a él, por lo que no podía dejarla sola en una enorme casa ya que temía por su bienestar. Puede que hubiese pequeños momentos de lucidez donde la mujer murmuraba aquel otro nombre para luego ponerse a llorar, pero eso solo remarcaba el fáctico hecho de que no le importaba estar ausente en Hogwarts para su sexto año.,Hablando de ella, Harry estaba relatándole las últimas noticias que se publicaban en El Profeta, donde la gente finalmente aceptó que Voldemort estaba de vuelta y que él no mintió en ningún momento.,-No me sorprendería que ahora viniesen a rogarme que los salve una vez más…Juro que si tengo que elegir entre tener que soportarlos o cuidar de ti, siempre optaría por estar contigo Sindel- confesó el último Potter, doblando el periódico y depositándolo junto a la radio, para que a continuación se recueste a la derecha de la mujer que se hallaba sentada en un sofá.,Él la miró con el rabillo del ojo, notando que su cabello parecía pulsar cada cierto tiempo determinado, llevándolo a pensar que de alguna manera, este era sintiente. No era que lo sorprendiese demasiado a estas alturas, luego de ver como Ron era prácticamente asfixiado por un par de cerebros voladores. Pero aun así, era divertido sentir como la larga cabellera gris temblaba cada vez que él la lavaba o peinaba.,Un chirrido en la chimenea hizo que Harry se pusiese de pie perezosamente, rezongando al hecho de que tuviese que dejar la comodidad tácita que su compañera le brindaba. Un rostro anciano se formaba en las llamas, mirándolo condescendientemente para luego empezar a hablar cuando el ojiverde reposó su frente sobre un estante de mármol que había arriba de la hoguera.,-Harry, mi niño…- comenzó a decir el mago anciano con su voz de abuelo.,-…Qué necesita, Profesor Dumbledore? – luego de un largo silencio, respondió el Potter.,-Mi muchacho, necesito que me ayudes en una misión…- entabló la conversación Albus, solo para ser frenado a mitad de su oración.,-No me interesa, estoy ocupado con otras cosas- tajante, dijo Harry mientras veía con tentación el florero que sus dedos rozaban a su derecha.,-Pero mi niño, esto es de suma importancia para nuestra victoria contra Voldemort. Necesito que confíes en mí- con un tono amalgamado en enojo y desesperación, comentó el mago anciano.,-Profesor…alguna vez se detuvo a pensar que, tal vez, estaba más ocupado con otros temas? El hecho de que usted o cualquiera de los demás no se dignasen a responder ningún mensaje mío, no significa que he estado de ocio en mi casa- respondió el pelinegro, sin prestarle demasiada atención a las muecas que el líder de la Orden del Fénix hacía, ya que estaba pensando en qué hacer para la cena.,-Harry, precisamos hallar a cierta persona para que pueda ayudarnos a saber qué fue lo que Tom hizo y así poder derrotarlo. Y para ello, te necesito a mi lado- reveló Dumbledore.,-Me necesita a mí, Harry James Potter? O al Niño-Que-Vivió? – divertido, interrogó el muchacho, conociendo perfectamente que solo querían ver su dichosa fama.,-Eso es irrelevante, mi muchacho. Esta es una misión que requiere de tu presencia, de otra manera será imposible llevarla a cabo- intentó razonar el director de Hogwarts.,-Entonces no la lleve a cabo, es fácil la solución. Por qué no utiliza su fama para conseguirlo? – descaradamente refutó el joven.,Un suave chasquido hizo que la cabeza del Potter virase hacia su izquierda, descubriendo que Dobby había dejado sobre la mesa una bandeja con el té y las galletas que disfrutaba en la tarde, por lo que simplemente se alejó de la chimenea y procedió a tomar una taza para alimentar a Sindel.,-Mi niño? Estás ahí? – cuestionó Albus al percatarse que Harry se había ido.,-Siga hablando, estoy tomando mi té! – exclamó con desinterés, limpiando la comisura de los labios rosas que la mujer tenía, para luego darle una galleta.,Harry notó desde hace varios que el pelo de la mujer se aferraba a sus piernas cada vez que estaban cerca, mientras que en otras ocasiones eran sus manos las que buscaban sus brazos para tomarlos con fuerza sobrehumana.,-Estás dándome a entender que un té es mucho más importante que la misión para poder hacer caer la tiranía de Tom? – estupefacto, quiso saber el anciano con vestimentas estrafalarias.,-Hmm…no lo había pensado de esa manera, pero por el momento sí- sin cuidado, respondió el ojiverde, para luego quitar las migajas que se habían pegado al mentón y labios de Sindel.,-Hablo en serio, Harry. El futuro de nuestra sociedad depende de que podamos traer a este hombre a Hogwarts. Te prometo que luego de hacer esto te llevaré con los Weasley, donde te recibirán con los brazos abierto junto a la Srta. Granger. Solo confía en mí, mi niño- rogó desesperadamente el hombre adulto, deseando poder estar en la mansión Black para hablar cara a cara con el Potter.,Cansado de la llamada que recibió a mitad de su momento de descanso, el adolescente se puso de pie, dejando la taza en la mesa y acercándose una vez más a la chimenea, mirando en silencio la cara arrugada de su director. Mucha información había sido ocultada de él, aun cuando debía de haber sido el primero en ser notificado. Estaba harto, cansado de ser tratado como si fuese de cristal o un estúpido que no puede comprender las cosas como son.,Sus ojos esmeraldas se cerraron al asentar su cabeza en la repisa de mármol, inspirando hondamente mientras trataba de ordenar sus pensamientos. Qué ganaba él con ir junto a Dumbledore? Más conocimientos para hacer frente a Voldemort? Básicamente se ha enfrentado a él con solo lo que aprendió en clases y salió con vida debido a que había tenido una suerte excepcional. El estar aislado, o acompañado de Dobby y Sindel, le ayudó al Potter. Utilizó todo ese tiempo a solas en la biblioteca, incorporando años de conocimientos en simples días, ya sean de hechizos, maldiciones, o incluso cómo hacer debidamente pociones.,-Quiere saber algo curioso, Profesor Dumbledore? – cuestionó el joven, abriendo lentamente su visión, fulminando el rostro plasmado en las llamas rojas.,-De qué hablas, mi niño? – intentó saber la cara conformada por el fuego.,-La última vez que un Potter confió en usted, terminé huérfano y abandonado en medio de la noche en el pórtico de una casa sin amor…Lo siento Profesor, pero rechazaré su pedido. Si ha podido estar tanto tiempo guardando secretos, un poco más no le hará daño- declaró el mago de orbes verdes, tomando un atizador y revolviendo las brasas, desfigurando el rostro del anciano que, incluso en las llamas, parecía haber palidecido.,-Aguarda, Harry! No termines la llam…! – trató de hablar Albus, pero fallando estrepitosamente cuando las brasas crepitaron con más fuerzas al ser cambiadas de lugar por el dueño del hogar.,Satisfecho con su trabajo, él dejó la herramienta en su respectivo gancho a la derecha de las llamas, donde una pala y unas pinzas eran sostenidas tranquilamente. Las manos se dirigieron a su cabeza, revolviendo el enmarañado cabello azabache con fuerza mientras gemía sonoramente en disgusto y cansancio, acercándose a la mesa donde aún reposaba su taza de té frío, el cual bebió rápidamente para que Dobby pudiese llevarse la bandeja.,-Harry…- los oídos del muchacho captaron una melodiosa voz, lo que casi logra que se desnuque al girar la cabeza velozmente.,Sindel había estirado su brazo diestro en su dirección, esbozando una leve mueca alegre, como si estuviese llamándolo para sentarse a su lado. Harry miró atónito la situación, completamente desconcertado por escucharla decir otra palabra que no sea su propio nombre y aquel otro que sonaba femenino.,Trató de ocultar su trémulo andar, aproximándose a donde la canosa estaba sentada con su vestido violeta claro. Tomó la mano suave en la suya, percibiendo que era apretada con fuerza para luego ser atraído a un raro abrazo que lo dejó mudo y tieso como una estatua de mármol.,Los delgados brazos se enroscaron alrededor de su cintura, al mismo tiempo que la mejilla izquierda se apretaba contra su abdomen, humedeciendo su camiseta verde con las lágrimas que nuevamente comenzó a derramar. El Potter no dudó dos veces en poner sus manos sobre la cabeza de la dama, hundiendo sus falanges entre los mechones grises y negros, masajeando el cuero cabelludo con serenidad mientras murmuraba para tranquilizarla.,-Ya no llores, Sindel. No me iré a ningún lado. Me quedaré aquí a cuidarte mientras aprendo todo lo que puedo de la biblioteca. Haré las cosas a mi manera, y te prometo que todo saldrá bien- susurró el joven a la mujer, oyendo como el llanto amainaba para luego ser reemplazado por un ronquido.,Las cartas que Hedwig traía se iban acumulando sobre la mesa, provenientes de diversas personas que se habían negado a intercambiar mensajes con Harry el resto del tiempo que pasó en la mansión Black. El dúo de personas y un elfo miraban fijamente dicha montaña mientras descansaban en el sofá junto al calor que la hoguera emanaba, debatiéndose si darle la oportunidad y leerlas o simplemente arrojarlas al fuego y alimentar la chimenea.,-Dobby- llamó el ojiverde, sosteniendo la mano femenina que lo buscó.,-Sí, Amo Harry? Necesita que traiga algo para la Ama Sindel? – cuestionó el elfo doméstico, mirando con sus enormes ojos como pelotas de tenis al dúo.,-Cuántos vociferadores de la Sra. Weasley hay allí? – quiso saber el mago, sorprendiéndose cuando vio que la canosa había adoptado una mirada enojada que habría sido capaz de prender fuego las cartas si pudiese.,-Ocho, Amo Harry. Dobby también contó diez de la Srta. Granger, seis del Sr. Lupin, siete del Sr. Ron, dos de la Srta. Ginny y cinco de los Sres. Fred y George- recontó el pequeño ser mágico, chasqueando sus dedos y formando grupos según el emisor.,-Geez! Mejor dejemos que se acumules un poco más y luego veo si las leo o no…Eso les recordará que no soy fanático de ser abandonado por pedido de alguien. Dime Dobby, necesitas que te compre algo? – habló el pelinegro, dándose cuenta que Sindel había girado su cabeza y lo miraba impasible.,-Por qué pregunta eso, Amo Harry? – curioso, dijo el cuestionado.,-Debido a que pensaba salir un rato al mercado para reponer los víveres. Sin contar que voy a tratar de comprarle otra ropa a Sindel para que esté más cómoda. Por eso te pregunto, necesitas más ovillos de lana? – preguntó Harry, poniéndose de pie y cargando a la mujer en sus brazos para sentarla más cerca de la chimenea, quitándole los zapatos que llevaba y subiendo sus pies sobre el almohadón.,-Eso no es necesario Amo Harry Potter! Dobby no necesita eso! – exclamó el elfo, alzando sus orejas puntiagudas en dirección al techo.,-Dobby…ayudas con los quehaceres del hogar y procuras que coma cuando me olvido. Solo quiero que tú también tengas tu tiempo propio y puedas tejer con tranquilidad- suavemente se hizo saber el ojiverde, reacomodando el largo pelo de la fémina para descubrir su bello rostro que se iluminaba con el fulgor de la hoguera.,-Amo Harry es muy bueno con Dobby! Dobby es un elfo realmente orgulloso de ser amigo de un mago poderoso! – feliz, replicó el elfo con los ojos llorosos, abrazando con ímpetu las piernas del adolescente.,-Harry…- dijo la mujer catatónica, mirando el fuego relamer los leños.,-Solo me iré por una hora, Sindel. Necesito comprar comida para nosotros y ver si los goblins pueden ayudarme con algo que encontré en el cuarto de Regulus hace unos días- le dijo el Potter, enseñándole un relicario son filigranas verdes y negras.,-Sucio…- en una poco común muestra de consciencia, se explayó Sindel.,-…A veces deseo que pudieses hablar con normalidad. Sé que eres muy inteligente, incluso en tu estado, pero es un poco decepcionante el hecho de que no pueda saber más de ti a menos que intente hacerte lo que Snape me hizo el año pasado…-confesó Harry, tentado por querer leerle los pensamientos a su "paciente" pero dándose cuenta que no era muy agradable tener a un intruso husmeando lo que no le interesaba.,-Kitana…- tristemente susurró la ojiblanca, derramando unas lágrimas que Harry se encargó de secar antes de taparla con una manta para que descanse, recibiendo un beso en su frente antes de sucumbir al sueño.,-Descansa, Sindel. Te prometo que volveré y traeré muchas cosas- en un tono bajo, habló Harry, mirando a la mujer adulta relajarse con su trato.,Una de las ventajas de vivir actualmente en Londres, era que Harry solo tenía que caminar tan solo unas calles para llegar al Leaky Cauldron e ingresar a Diagon Alley. Las calles parecían estar más vacías, tanto mágicas como muggles, así como el cielo tenía una tonalidad rojiza que le hizo alzar una ceja al mago, para luego encogerse de hombros y continuar caminando bajo su capa de invisibilidad en dirección a Gringotts, donde descubrió su cuerpo al llegar frente a los centinelas que le permitieron el paso.,-Saludos Griphook, que tus ánforas rebosen de oro siempre- saludó cordialmente el mago, sorprendiendo no solo al goblin, sino también a sus hermanos.,-Saludos Sr. Potter, que tu espada termine con la mala sangre. Qué puedo hacer por usted hoy? – replicó el contador tras recuperarse de la sorpresa.,-Quisiera saber si puedo convertir algunos galeones en libras aquí. Así como preguntarles sobre un objeto que encontré en mi casa y ha estado poniéndome los nervios de punta- reveló sus intenciones el último Potter.,-Has traído un objeto maldito a suelo goblin, mago? – un contador que se hallaba a la izquierda de Griphook gruñó.,-Lo siento, pero no sabía a quién más preguntarle. Además, ustedes poseen magos expertos en contra-maldiciones y lo que trago me recuerda mucho a un diario que destruí en mi segundo año, el cual tenía un alma alojada en el interior- cansado, dijo Harry.,Sus ojos verdes vieron como ellos se miraban y discutían tácitamente, dándose gruñidos y uno que otro sonido inentendible para el mago. Sacando provecho que el banco estaba vacío de clientes a excepción de él, los guardias cerraron las puertas principales y las sellaron con magia sin varita ni encantamiento.,-Por favor, Sr. Potter. Aléjese del centro de la sala y arroje dicho objeto que cree maldito- un duende que parecía más anciano y rudo que los demás dijo tras aparecer por unas grandes puertas blancas con dibujos dorados.,Un serie de gritos furiosos y maldiciones se produjeron en el instante que Harry acató el pedido, llevándolo a pensar que Sindel tenía razón cuando dijo que estaba sucio. Los centinelas, que tenían sus lanzas, rodearon la alhaja rápidamente, como si temiesen que les hiciese algo.,-Usted saber qué es eso, Sr. Potter? – cuestionó quien parecía ser el líder de los seres mágicos.,-Por favor, no me diga que esa cosa tiene un fantasma de Voldemort como aquel diario que apuñalé…- inquirió el pelinegro, sonando agotado, lo cual sorprendió a todos los presentes, quienes volvieron a gruñir ferozmente.,-De hecho, sí lo es. Pero lo más terrorífico y estúpido, es que eso implica que se hicieron más de uno- complementó Griphook.,-Qué son esas cosas en verdad? – interrogó el mago.,-Son Horrocrux, y son el máximo logro de la magia oscura para conseguir la inmortalidad matando gente y fraccionando el alma de uno para esconderlos en objetos como este- replicó el líder.,-Hay alguna forma de saber si hay más de ellos y dónde están? – ansioso por conocer el punto débil de su némesis, el Potter indagó.,-Podemos hacerlo, Sr. Potter. Pero le saldrá caro, le aviso- el líder goblin advirtió, estirando sus manos en dirección al colgante, aguardando la confirmación del ojiverde.,-Yo…bueno, acepto. Ya estoy cansado de que trate de matarme todos los años- hizo el trato, Harry.,-Muy bien, Sr. Pott…Sucio mago bastardo! Sr. Potter, olvide el pago! Esto es ahora incumbencia de la Nación Goblin! – gritó enojado el líder de los duendes.,-Lord Ragnok! Qué ocurre? – uno de los centinelas preguntó.,-Han osado mancillar nuestro territorio. Quiero que confisquen todo lo que la familia Lestrange tienes y tráiganme la copa que hay en el interior, ahora! Los demás divídanse en dos grupos y vayan en dirección a la casa Gaunt y a Hogwarts para recuperar el anillo de la familia Perverell y la diadema de Lady Ravenclaw! Sr. Potter, le voy a pedir que se acueste en el suelo para quitarle el trozo de alma que tiene en su frente, ya que le dolerá- dio órdenes rápidamente el goblin, por lo que todos obedecieron sin chistar.,Harry no sabía cuánto tiempo estuvo inconsciente, pero si tenía conocimiento que sentía como si lo hubiesen rociado con gasolina y encendido fuego mientras lo torturaban con un centenar de ,Cuando logró sentarse, divisó a todos los goblins del banco a su alrededor y un par de objetos a su lado, siendo una tiara con un zafiro, una copa dorada con el dibujo de un tejón, y un anillo rústico que tenía una roca negra engarzada.,-Esos objetos son suyos ahora, Sr. Potter. Nunca había visto a un mago soportar tanto dolor sin desmayarse en el instante- respetuosamente declaró Ragnok.,-Ehhh…Gracias? Eso es todo? Acabamos con Tom? – preguntó Harry, solo para callarse cuando se puso serio nuevamente el líder.,-Aún no. Falta el familiar del Señor Oscuro y él mismo para que todo termine. El problema es que no podemos traspasar territorios de familias activas sin advertir al Ministerio y que nos acusen de querer iniciar una rebelión- explicó Griphook a su cliente.,-Dónde están? – quiso saber el pelinegro.,-Actualmente están en la mansión de la familia Malfoy- le contestó el contador.,-Hmm…Creo saber cómo ayudar con eso. Dobby! – llamó Harry, siendo contestado con una sonora aparición frente a él.,-Amo Harry! Dobby y la Ama Sindel estaban preocupados por usted! Amo Harry dijo que regresaría en una hora y han pasado cinco! – exclamó el elfo doméstico, con un semblante iracundo que dibujó en un comienzo una sonrisa en la cara de Harry, para luego ser reemplazada por una de sorpresa al oír el tiempo que pasó.,-Lo siento Dobby, pero Sindel tenía razón. Ese relicario era sucio y la Nación Goblin me está ayudando a eliminarlo. Verás, eran partes del alma de Voldemort y ahora quedan dos últimos trozos para acabarlo. Puedes aparecerte en la mansión Malfoy para traer a la serpiente y al Señor Oscuro hasta aquí? – dijo el último Potter a su amigo, quien asintió con la cabeza, lo que puso en guardia a todos.,Un par de explosiones reveló la desaparición solitario de Dobby, y su regreso acompañado de un par de serpientes. Antes de que estos pudiesen reaccionar, los centinelas dejaron caer sus filosas armas sobre el familiar, cercenándolo en decenas de trozos. Esa acción hizo retorcer de dolor al Señor Oscuro, donde Harry no perdió el tiempo e hizo volar la varita de su mano para luego comenzar a lazar hechizo tras otro, formando una cadena con estos.,-, gritó el joven, maniatando al mago adulto y quitándole las extremidades, destruyéndolas e incendiándolas, para finalmente hacer retroceder el cuerpo maltrecho hasta las puertas del banco.,-Volveré, Potter! Mataré a todos los traidores y sangre sucia que conoces! Los torturaré y te haré verlo! – exclamó Riddle, forzando su núcleo mágico a recuperar toda su magia esparcida, sin saber que estaba drenando por completo a sus mortífagos, matándolos.,-Y cómo volverás, Tom? La Nación Goblin se enojó cuando descubrió que Lestrange guardó un Horrocrux en su territorio, por lo que destruyeron todos los demás…No les molesta que lo lleve a la calle para que todos vean su caída? – cuestionó el ojiverde a los banquero, quienes sonrieron torcidamente y abrieron sus puertas, pateando el cuerpo malherido de Voldemort delante de un grupo de magos que aguardaban afuera.,Flashes de cámaras y gente gritando no se hicieron esperar cuando vieron a Harry salir acompañado de Ragnok, mirando despectivamente al mago oscuro, percatándose apenas de la llegada de los Aurores, la Ministra Bones y la Orden del Fénix.,-Alguna última palabra, Tom? – dijo burlón, Harry.,Riddle solo balbuceó en el suelo, ahogándose en su propio charco de sangre que parecía brea.,-Eso pensé. , gritó el pelinegro, haciendo explotar el torso de Voldemort, dejando únicamente su cabeza rodando mientras el público comenzó a clamar y aplaudir felices.,-Harry, mi niño! Qué hiciste!? – Dumbledore gritó.,-Terminé una guerra que él comenzó? – cuestionó Harry, recibiendo dos bolsas por parte de Griphook, una con la transacción donde convirtió los galeones en libras, y otra con los objetos utilizados como anclajes de alma.,-Voldemort no ha muerto! Él volverá! – el director de Hogwarts exclamó.,-No lo hará. Sus juguetes ya no existen…y antes de que siga, el de mi cicatriz tampoco existe más- reveló el adolescente de ojos esmeraldas, tratando de sonreír con suavidad cuando la gente sacudió su mano o lo besaban agradecidos.,-Sus seguidores murieron, mi muchacho! Gente que pudo haber tenido otra oportunidad! – volvió a clamar el anciano.,-Suficiente, Dumbledore! El Sr. Potter hizo un favor a nuestra sociedad! – la Ministra Bones ladró, tomando la mano de Harry y dándole las gracias honestamente.,-El niño hizo lo correcto, Albus. Déjalo en paz, ha ganado una guerra que nosotros no pudimos. Además, esos mortífagos eran torturadores, secuestradores, violadores y asesinos. Nadie los extrañará- Moody le dijo, palmeando la espalda de Harry, desestabilizándolo.,-Tantas vidas perdidas…Si tan solo hubieses confiado en mí, Harry- con un tono triste, dijo el mago anciano.,-Ya le dije, Profesor Dumbledore. La última vez que un Potter confió en usted, terminé huérfano. No me iba a arriesgar morir por darle mi confianza, aún quiero vivir y tener una familia- dijo el ojiverde, acordándose por un segundo de Sindel, por lo que miró a Dobby y le pidió la mano.,-Harry, qué estás haciendo? – Remus preguntó desde el fondo.,-Vuelvo a casa, aún tengo que hacer la cena…fue algo bueno el que haya comprado todo antes de venir aquí por más dinero. Dobby, por favor llévanos, no quiero preocupar más a Sindel- habló el muchacho que salvó Inglaterra, desapareciendo en un estallido mientras fotógrafos, periodistas, amigos y el resto del público se preguntaba quién era "Sindel".,Lo primero que las orbes verdes vieron en la penumbra de la sala, fueron un par de ojos blancos que derramaban lágrimas, rompiendo algo en su interior al saber que él era el causante de dicho estado. Dejando caer sus bolsas en el suelo alfombrado, Harry se acercó velozmente hasta la canosa, solo para ser abrazado con fuerza extraordinaria que cortó su respiración.,-Harry…Harry…Sola…Miedo…- murmuró llorosa Sindel, retrocediendo un poco al sentir una viscosidad que conocía a la perfección.,-Estoy aquí, Sindel. Lo siento si te hice sentir sola o tuviste miedo. Qué? Qué ocurre? – comentó el mago al ver la cara pálida de la mujer.,-Sangre!...Sangre!...Herido!...Curar!...Rápido!...- gritó la ojiblanca, mostrando por primera vez autonomía propia e intentando quitarle la ropa ensangrentada que llevaba encima el mago.,-Esta sangre no es mía. Es de mi antiguo enemigo. Lo ves? Sin heridas, pero con cansancio- tomando las pequeñas manos femeninas, dijo Harry, enseñándole que la sangre no provenía de ninguna herida.,-Sangre…Sucio…Baño…Juntos?...- volvió a hablar la dama, haciendo reir al joven adulto.,-Veo que te has vuelto aficionada a los baños, no? -Está bien, vamos a bañarnos. De paso, podrás probarte las ropas que te compré…Sabes, estoy realmente asombrado que puedas moverte ahora, sin contar que deberías hablar más, tienes una voz muy bonita- dijo el ojiverde, cargándola contra su pecho y llevándosela al cuarto que utilizaba ella, dejando que Dobby haga la cena con una sonrisa en su cara.,Hace muchos días había perdido la vergüenza el pelinegro. Pudiendo lidiar sin problemas el ver o ser visto sin ropas, ya que no tenía sentido bañarse dos veces cuando simplemente podía compartir la ducha con Sindel. El agua cálida caía sobre su cabeza, haciendo deslizar la sangre oscura que se le había pegado cuando masacró a su némesis, tiñendo de rojo oscuro la espuma del jabón.,Harry solo se quedó sentado sobre la banqueta cuando la canoso se negó a hacerlo y le obligó a ocupar su lugar. No sabía si reir co abrazarla al ver que ella, a pesar de no hablar fluidamente, estaba moviéndose y realizando acciones por motus propio. Los delgados dedos se hundieron en la cabellera negra, refregando con fuerza para quitar las pedazos de sangre, siendo Harry testigo de un suave tarareo que reconoció como una de las tantas canciones que sonaban en la radio.,-Hay algo que nunca te he preguntado. De dónde eres, Sindel? – dijo él, haciendo para atrás su cabeza y verle la cara.,-Edenia…- comunicó con simpleza la fémina.,-Edenia? Cómo el lugar que te leí de los libros de la biblioteca?...Espera un momento…Ese libro decía que había una mujer llamada Sindel…eso quiere decir que tú? – girándose en la banqueta para enfrentarla, habló él.,-Sí…Yo…Reina…- con una mueca alegre relató ella, sentándose en el regazo de Harry y sorprendiéndolo al todo.,La boca del mago estaba por el suelo con la revelación, dándose cuenta que la mitad de las preguntas que tenía en su cabeza se esfumaron inmediatamente, siendo traído a la realidad cuando los brazos y pelo de Sindel se hicieron de su cuerpo.,-Y si tú eres la Reina, eso quiere decir que Kitana es tu hija, no? – uniendo los puntos, preguntó el Potter.,-Kitana…Princesa…Hija…- triste y sollozando, respondió ella.,-Qué pasó, Sindel? Qué le ocurrió? – limpiando sus mejillas, cuestionó Harry.,-Muerta…Yo…Embrujada…Shao Kahn…- con enojo se expresó la Reina.,-Fuiste controlada y te hicieron matarla, no? A tu propia hija…- furioso, la magia del ojiverde se mostró involuntariamente al hacer volar todas las cosas del baño, creando un caos.,-Harry?...Tranquilo…Estoy…Bien…- logró formar, entrecortadamente, un oración la mujer, tomando la cara del joven entre sus manos.,-Lo siento, Sindel. No puedo imaginarme cómo alguien controlaría a una persona como tú para realizar tal acto. Pero eso todavía no explica como llegaste hasta aquí…- mirándola fijamente mientras tomaba el jabón y continuaba bañándola, interrogó él.,-Shao Kahn…Invadir…Earthrealm…Sacrificarme…Formar…Escudo…Proteger…- pausadamente dijo la canosa, llevando sus manos a la cabeza del mago y enjuagándole el pelo.,-Okay. Veamos si entendí. Shao Kahn, quien según los libros era un dictador de Outworld, quería invadir Earthrealm, o sea este lugar, por lo que te sacrificaste para hacer un escudo que nos protegiese de sus ataques, no? – recapituló todo él.,-Correcto…- alegre, por hacerse entender, se expresó la Reina de Edenia.,-Pero al parecer, sacrificaste tu capacidad de hablar y moverte en lugar de tu vida. Y de alguna manera, apareciste en el patio trasero de mi casa- dedujo Harry, parándose con Sindel en sus brazos para que el agua caiga sobre ella.,-Sí!...Enojado…Por…Cuidarme?...- cuestionó ella.,-Estás loca? Si no fuese por ti, me hubiese vuelto loco en esta casa. Me hubiese ido con el Profesor Dumbledore y nunca hubiese acabado con Voldemort y sus seguidores como lo hice hoy! Tú eres mi salvación! – confesó el ojiverde remarcando con sus dedos los hechos, logrando que su "paciente" se riese.,-Me…Alegro…Gracias…Cuidarme…Harry…- habló la hermosa Edeniana, viendo como él se agachaba para lavar sus piernas cremosas.,-Me gusta cuidar de ti, Sindel. Admito que fue incómodo los primeros días, pero luego fue fácil el darte de comer, bañarte, vestirte o ayudarte a ir al baño- se mofó con la última parte el Potter, soltado una carcajada al ver que se ponían rojas la mejillas de la mujer.,-Tonto…- masculló la dama, moviendo su pelo para golpear con suavidad en la cabeza al mago.,-Hey! No todos tenemos el pelo de Rapunzel para golpear a la gente! – se quejó infantilmente Harry, parándose mientras apagaba la ducha y cargaba a Sindel en dirección al cuarto.,-Rapunzel?...- cuestionó la canosa.,-Oh, cierto! Aún no te leo esa historia, esta noche lo haré, vale? – prometió el Potter, utilizando las toallas de algodón para secar su cuerpo y el de ella, vistiéndola con un suéter púrpura y unos pantalones negros, calzándola con un par de botas de cuero azabache.,-Lindo…Me…Toca…- con lentitud, se hizo entender la ojiblanca, tomando la ropa del muchacho y tratando de vestirlo.,-Realmente me pone feliz que puedas moverte y expresarte, Sindel. Sería una lástima que todos se perdiesen como eres en verdad- murmuró Harry, ayudándola a subir el cierre de la campera y luego ponerse de pie, incitándola a que camine, lográndolo poco a poco hasta que quedaron frente a frente.,-Reina…Sindel…Rey…Harry…- comentó la Edeniana, besando la mejilla del mago, quien solo atinó a mirarla fijamente como si hubiese perdido la cabeza para luego alzarla contra su pecho y llevarla a cenar.,En el día de ayer a las veintitrés horas con catorce minutos, el cuerpo maltrecho del mago oscuro, con origen mestizo, fue expulsado en pésimas condiciones del interior del Banco Mágico Gringotts por los centinelas goblins mientras que Harry Potter y el líder de la Nación Goblin, Ragnok, observaban desde la puerta. Con sus extremidades eliminados de su cuerpo, y el drenaje de magia oscura de sus mortífagos, Tom Marvolo Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort, fue asesinado de una vez por todas por el último heredero Potter. Poniendo fin, de esa manera, a una larga guerra que había traído miedo en toda la población de Gran Bretaña.,Luego de la muerte de Lord Voldemort, el actual director del Colegio Hogwarts de Magia y Hechicería, Albus Dumbledore, recriminó al héroe mágico sobre el hecho de haber asesinado al Señor Oscuro, alegando que regresaría de nuevo, solo para ser respondido de manera negativa por Potter al mostrarle una serie de objetos y su propia cicatriz. Como si eso no hubiese sido suficiente, Dumbledore apeló a la situación donde cientos de mortífagos perecieron, a lo que la Ministra Bones y el ex Auror Alastor Moody apoyaron la visión de nuestro salvador, cuando dijeron que solo era un grupo que no merecía la redención por todo el daño que causaron a los ciudadanos de nuestra comunidad.,Las últimas palabras de Harry Potter antes de irse junto a un elfo doméstico, fueron que debía apurarse para no preocupar más a dicha mujer. Quién es ella? Qué relación tiene con nuestro héroe? Harry Potter está fuera del mercado? Informantes anónimos implican que nuestro salvador se habría negado a reunirse con Albus Dumbledore e ir donde la familia Weasley se aloja, decidiendo que era mejor estar en su casa debido a que estaba ocupado con "cosas más importantes". Será acaso que esta mujer fue el motivo por el cual Harry Potter ha cambiado tanto en este breve tiempo? Será una muggle o una bruja sangre pura la que ha ganado el corazón de nuestro héroe? Nosotros solo podemos esperar ansiosos que un día de estos, dicha pareja se muestre en las calles de Diagon Alley para poder descubrir la identidad de Sindel.,El ojiverde solo soltó un suspiro de cansancio antes de doblar el periódico por la mitad y dejarlo sobre la mesa, concentrándose primariamente en darle de comer unas galletas a la fémina canosa quien de a poco practicaba con mover su cuerpo sin fatigarse. Dicha ojiblanca solo sonreía al oír las noticias, dejando que sus largos mechones grises se enreden alrededor de la cintura del mago, apretándolo levemente como señal de comprensión, cosa que él agradeció antes de proceder a limpiarle los labios de las migajas que tenía pegadas.,-Veo que te divierten las noticias, al menos tú no eres quien tiene que soportar verlos revolotear como buitres sobre mí. Y como si no fuese suficiente, estoy seguro que esos cinco nuevos aulladores de la Sra. Weasley son para interrogarme sobre ti o rectificar mi forma de hablar con el Profesor Dumbledore…- se quejó el adolescente.,-Brujas…Quieren…Harry?...- dijo ella, mirándolo seriamente.,-No me sorprende. Pero ellas no quieren a Harry- corrigió el mago, dándole unos sorbos a su propio té.,-Quieren…Héroe…No?...- logró dar su idea la Reina de Edenia.,-Exacto, nunca se esforzaron por conocerme y solo quieren tenerme por mi fama- reveló el último Potter, dejando su taza sobre la bandeja para llevarla rápidamente a la cocina, para luego regresar y cargar a la mujer al mismo lugar, sentándola sobre una silla mientras él procedía a lavar la vajilla.,-Yo…Quiero…Harry…No…Héroe…- confesó con su voz melodiosa, la Edeniana, haciendo que el ojiverde casi tire una taza al suelo.,Antes de que él pudiese voltearse, sintió las lentas pisadas pequeñas aproximándose a su espalda, por lo que simplemente aguarda hasta que un par de delgados brazos envolvieron su abdomen, dejando que ella vuelva a hablar con dificultad.,-Rey…Harry…Edenia…O…Earthrealm…Mi…Rey…- dejó en claro su posición Sindel, habiendo hallado a una persona que cuide de ella con el mismo amor que Jerrod lo hizo hace mucho tiempo atrás, antes de ser asesinado.,-Estás segura de lo que dices, Sindel? Eres una Reina, podrías tener a cualquier persona a tus pies! Y no lo digo por tu título, sino también por tu actitud y belleza! – exclamó el mago, poniendo a secar la vajilla para luego voltearse y enfrentar a la dama de púrpura.,-No…Cualquiera…Solo…Harry…Tú…Quererme?...- cuestionó ella al alzar su vista, debido a la pequeña diferencia de alturas, para mirar sus orbes esmeraldas.,-Yo…Eh…Sí, te quiero. Pero debemos esperar un poco más, ya que todavía soy menor de edad- admitió sus propias emociones, Harry.,-Tener…Tiempo…Más…Diez…Mil…Años…Kitana…- con una sonrisa suave dijo ella.,-Qué!? Kitana tenía más de diez mil años!? Eso quiere decir que tú…- sorprendido hasta la médula, señaló el pelinegro.,-Sí…Más…Treinta…Mil…- se mofó a su manera, Sindel.,-Sabes que si la Sra. Weasley se llega a enterar de esto, nos querrá separar, no? – le dijo preocupado el ojiverde, solo para alejarse un poco cuando ella lo soltó y se encaminó, muy lentamente, hasta la mesa donde estaban las cartas.,Una bola de fuego violeta salió de la boca de Sindel, viajando a altas velocidades hasta la pila de vociferadores que Molly Weasley había enviado todo este tiempo, destruyéndolas por completo y dejando únicamente un cúmulo de cenizas. Harry y Dobby, quien estaba tejiendo, se pegaron a la pared mientras se miraban de manera cómplice, llegando a un acuerdo tácito de nunca hacerla enojar. Mientras, la Reina de Edenia se acercó pausadamente al Potter, para ser cargada como de costumbre hasta el sofá cerca de la chimenea.,-Eres…Mío…Entendido?...- dio a entender la Reina al mismo tiempo que veía al ojiverde quitarle su calzado para que la calidez de la hoguera lamiese sus extremidades.,-Estamos en posesiva, no? Quién lo hubiese pensado? – lúdicamente comentó Harry, agachándose para eludir el mechó de pelo que quiso golpearlo.,-Pon…Música…- pidió la mujer luego de controlar su rubor.,-Por supuesto, Ama Sindel. Harry hará lo que Ama Sindel le ordene- imitando a Dobby, respondió el pelinegro, siendo abofeteado levemente por un mechón gris cuando se inclinó.,-Harry…Elfo…Malo…Castigo…- dijo la Edeniana, estirando su mano luego de que él encendiese la radio, tomándolo e incitándolo a que se ponga junto a ella.,-Me castigarás? Wow…creo que estoy empezando a entender la razón del por qué todas tus ropas eran de cuero cuando te encontré- descaradamente, se burló el mago, acercando su cara junto a la de ella para besar su mejilla.,En el instante que ella iba a replicar, un sonoro estruendo se hizo eco en la mansión, enviando recuerdos al Potter del momento en que encontró a la mujer que se abrió paso en su corazón con el correr de las semanas, por lo que simplemente se puso de pie con su varita en mano mientras trataba de convencer a Sindel para que se tranquilice ya que se había puesto nerviosa.,-Shhh…Todo va a estar bien, Sindel. Quiero que te relajes, Dobby se encargará de cuidarte- tomando el rostro sin maquilla de la bella dama, dijo Harry.,-Ten…Cuidado…Harry…- con temor, le pidió ella.,Luego de asentir, él se movilizó en dirección a la puerta que daba al patio trasero, silenciando sus pasos y las bisagras de la apretura que tenía delante. Lentamente la empujó, dejando que una brisa helada ingresase e hiciese castañear los dientes de la canosa por un segundo antes de acostumbrase. El par de orbes esmeraldas divisaron agudamente las figuras que se hallaban de pie sobre el césped bañado en un fino rocío, resaltando por lo dispares que lucían incluso si algunos de ellos poseían semejanzas físicas o ropas similares. Preocupado, principalmente, por el estado de la Edeniana en el interior de la mansión, Harry chasqueó su varita y pronunció un hechizo sobre el grupo de invitados inesperados.,-, el encantamiento hizo efecto inmediatamente sobre todos, paralizándolos en el lugar mientras él abría por completo la puerta.,Solo uno de los presentes pudo deshacerse del hechizo, dirigiéndole una mirada molesta al adolescente con sus ojos centellando peligrosamente bajo su sombrero de paja. Ninguno de los dos se movió, hallando suficiente el mirarse en un mudo enfrentamiento de voluntades al cual Harry estaba acostumbrado desde niño.,-Puedo saber por qué nos embrujaste, niño? – peligrosamente interrogó el hombre.,-Hmm…no lo sé. Quizás se deba a que se aparecieron en el patio de mi casa sin avisar? O quizás porque la mitad e ustedes tienen cara de pertenecer a una prisión? – replicó mordazmente el joven, entornando su mirada mientras pensaba en el bienestar de quienes esperaban en el interior de la casa.,Los gestos del hombre vestido de blanco parecieron tranquilizarse al oír las razones, soltando un suspiro mientras miraba a sus acompañantes para luego regresar al adolescente que lo enfrentaba aún sin saber quién era.,-Prometo en los Dioses Antiguos que no hemos venido con la intención de pelear, joven brujo- habló el adulto.,-Mago. Soy un mago no un brujo. Yo no embrujo a la gente para que haga daño a otros- corrigió el último Potter, ofendiéndose al ser comparado con aquel que manipuló a Sindel.,-Pido disculpas por mi error, joven mago. Pero puede liberarlos? Necesitamos preguntarle algo- volvió a decir el hombre, dándole una mirada agradecida al joven cuando este canceló el hechizo, solo para ver con asombro cuando su acompañante blonda avanzó peligrosamente contra el ojiverde.,-Por qué tú, moc…AGHHH! – la rubia tomó de la campera a Harry con la intención de golpearlo, solo para caer de bruces al suelo en el instante que recibió un rodillazo en la entrepierna.,-Veo que no es muy bueno cumpliendo sus promesas, señor- señaló Harry, apuntando con su varita a la caída.,-Niña estúpida. Hemos venido a buscar a la Reina Sindel, no a pelear- gruñó el adulto, soltando rayos de sus manos, sin darse cuenta que sus palabras solo advirtieron más al mago.,-Quién es esa Reina Sindel de la que hablan? Ustedes son los primeros extraños que vinieron a mi casa de manera poco convencional- sospechosamente dijo Harry, sin dejar de apuntarle a la rubia vestida de militar que amamantaba su dolor.,-Muestra respeto a la hora de hablar, niño! No sabes quién es él? – un asiático con el torso descubierto le reclamó al pelinegro.,-Por supuesto que lo conozco. No ves que lo trato como un extraño porque somos viejos amigos? – sardónico, le respondió Harry, haciendo reir a varios de los demás.,-Es imposible que digas que somos los primeros que venimos aquí! El portal se abrió debido a que anteriormente hubo uno en este lugar! Dime niño, dónde está mi madre!? – una joven mujer de azul le reclamó al mago, lo que rápidamente le valió ser el objetivo principal de la varita que el dueño del hogar tenía.,-Madre?...Quién eres tú!? – gritó el adolescente, volviendo a patear a la rubia cuando esta quiso barrer sus piernas.,-Soy Kitana, hija del Rey Jerrod y la Reina Sindel, princesa de Edenia! – se presentó la morena, esquivando a duras penas un rayo rojo que voló en su dirección.,-Kitana está muerta! Sindel fue embrujada por Shao Kahn, y la obligó a matarla! QUIÉN. ERES. TÚ!? – gruñó el mago, oyendo como la canosa caminaba detrás de él mientras Dobby protestaba.,-Kitana?...Hija…Viva?...- dijo trémulamente la ojiblanca al llegar junto al ojiverde, sosteniéndose en su brazo izquierdo.,-Detente, Sindel. Aún no sabemos si realmente es ella- forzándola a que se pare detrás de él, se encargó de protegerla.,-Raiden…Cómo…Ella…Vive?...- logró formar su pregunta la Reina de Edenia al hombre de blancas ropas.,-Luego de su sacrificio, majestad, fui en busca de Shao Kahn y terminé de una vez por todas con su tiranía. Hecho eso, logré liberar las almas de todos ellos de Netherrealm y revivirlos, para después explicarles lo que realmente había sucedido con usted- se explayó el dios del trueno, sorprendiendo al dúo que vivía en la mansión.,-Está seguro que están en sus cabales? Lo dio porque no tengo una buena experiencia con gente resucitada- entornando la mirada esmeralda, cuestionó el mago.,-Harry…Por Favor…- le rogó la canoso, agarrándole la parte posterior de la campera.,-Solo quiero asegurarme, Sindel. No voy a dejar que te hagan daño de nuevo- le dijo él, sin quitar la vista de sus objetivos.,-Le promet…- comenzó a decir Raiden.,-Sin promesas, señor. Me he dado cuenta que no es muy bueno para cumplirlas- interrumpió el Potter, avergonzando un poco al dios.,-Joven mago, le aseguro que ellos están en sus cabales. El tiempo que estuvieron en Netherrealm fue muy corto como para que sus almas se ensuciasen con su corrupción- habló el hombre adulto, lo que hizo que Harry deje pararse a su lado a la Edeniana.,Bajando su varita, el pelinegro ofreció su brazo a la bella dama, llevándola lentamente hasta donde Kitana estaba de pie. Las dos se miraron a los ojos, comenzando a sollozar en silencio para finalmente abrazarse. Harry se agachó para pedirle a Dobby que prepare algo para los invitados, a lo que el elfo doméstico asintió, perdiéndose las miradas de sorpresa que algunos de los luchadores tenían, siendo la rubia tirada en el suelo la principal.,-Hija…Lo…Siento…No…Quise…Hacerlo…- con dificultad, logró decir Sindel.,-Está bien, madre. Sé que no lo harías nunca- tranquilizó la princesa, poniéndose de pie y viendo como el mago cargaba en sus brazos a la ojiblanca.,-Qué crees que estás haciendo con mi Reina, mago!? – una joven mujer de ropas verdes exclamó, tomando con fuerza su bastón violeta.,-Ella se sacrificó para alzar un escudo en Earthrealm, pero en lugar de dar su vida, dio su capacidad de hablar y moverse. Recientemente, Sindel ha sido capaz de formar oraciones y caminar un poco, por lo que he estado ayudándola desde que llegó aquí- replicó el ojiverde, permitiéndoles entrar a la mansión mientras él acomodaba en el sofá a la canosa.,-Gracias…Mi…Rey…- inconscientemente dijo la Reina, paralizando a todos.,-Qué dijiste, madre? – Kitana cuestionó, mirando al dúo.,-Geez…tenías que decir eso, Sindel? Solo reivindicas mi creencia sobre tu fetichismo con las ropas de cuero- buscando venganza, refutó el Potter, recibiendo una bofetada en la nuca mediante un mechón.,-Esta plática solo se pone más interesante con cada segundo- feliz, comentó un hombre con gafas oscuras.,-Admito que es divertido el niño- otro asiático, vestido de monje, aportó.,-Es un bastardo…- la blonda con vestimenta militar gruñó.,-Por qué? Por defenderse? El joven tuvo honor en dejarte con vida cuando fácilmente podría haberte enviado de nuevo a Netherrealm con un movimiento- una mujer con cuatro brazos señaló.,-Debes empezar a trabajar en tu actitud, Sonya- un afroamericano le llamó la atención a la susodicha.,Kitana y Jade, la guardaespaldas, solo observaban mudas la relación que Harry y Sindel tenían, sorprendidas por cómo ella sonreía y se ruborizaba. Por otro lado, la mandataria de Edenia trataba de explicar, con lentitud, cómo fue que había pasado todo. Desde su función como títere de Shao Kahn, hasta la llegada de ellos, pasando por cómo había estado bajo el atento cuidado del inglés. Las dos jóvenes y la fémina de cuarto brazos, luego de digerir todo lo oído, dieron las gracias al ojiverde y, reticentemente, aceptaron la idea de que Reina en convertir al mago en su pareja.,-Si Shao Kahn está muerto, quién lo ha reemplazado? – preocupado, indagó el británico.,-Es…Mileena?...- complementó Sindel, tomando la mano de su pareja.,-Así es, madre. Pude convencerla de que yo no la odiaba, sino a Shang Tsung por intentar manipularla y a Shao Kahn por todo el daño que nos hizo- la princesa respondió.,-Skarlet va a ser su guardaespaldas mientras que nosotras la visitaremos para enseñarle sobre etiqueta y política- Jade continuó.,-Con esperanza, podemos llegar a esperar que Outworld redima sus pecados al tener a alguien con sangre Edeniana en su trono- Raiden comentó, saboreando el té que Dobby les dio a todos.,-Quién es Mileena? En los libros no salía nada sobre ella- el último heredero Potter le preguntó a la canosa.,-Mileena…Clon…Kitana…Hija…- replicó la Reina.,-Es un clon de Kitana y la ves como una hija también, no? – rearmando la idea, comunicó Harry.,-Correcto…Mitad…Edeniana…Mitad…Tarkatan…- volvió a hablar Sindel ganándose una mirada de confusión por parte de él.,-Cómo fue que lograron eso? Es como meter en una caja un Nundu y un fénix, y esperar a que salga algo después de un tiempo- sorprendido ante la idea, expresó el mago.,-Brujería…- refutó con simpleza, la ojiblanca.,Esa palabra sacó un gruñido gutural al héroe de Inglaterra, quien había creado un odio hacia la palabra ya que recordaba que era el causante de las lágrimas que había derramado durante muchos días la dirigente de Edenia.,-Aunque comparada con otros seres que hemos visto, Mileena luce como alguien normal…claro, si no señalamos sus ojos amarillos y colmillos como dentadura- dijo Johnny Cage.,-Hmm…toda una británica- con sorna, habló Harry.,-Eso no te incluye? – el monje preguntó.,-Mi magia corrige la mayoría de mis defectos. Solo mi visión sigue afectada- Harry les dijo.,-Tus ojos y tus modales- Sonya comentó mordaz.,-De qué hablas? Solo te saludé amistosamente como tú ibas a hacerlo conmigo- con una sonrisa inocente, replicó el adolescente.,-Qué…Hiciste?...- quiso saber la Reina.,-Quiso golpearme y la pateé en su entrepierna…dos veces- confesó el pelinegro inglés.,-Mi…Saludo…Amistoso…- con una mueca alegre, dijo ella, haciendo reir a su hija y súbditas.,-Y yo pensaba que el "cascanueces" era solo mío…- amargado, comentó el actor de cine, haciendo bufar al asiático con dragones impresos en su pantalón.,-Y…Ahora?...- luego de un largo silencio, cuestionó la hermosa mujer de pelo cano.,-Habíamos venido con la intención de regresarla a su propio reino, su majestad. Pero en presencia de su estado…- dijo Raiden, mirando seriamente a la dama.,-Me…Quedaré…Aquí…- con lentitud, se hizo saber Sindel.,-Madre! Edenia te necesita! – proclamó Kitana, siendo apoyada por Jade y Sheeva.,-No…Condiciones…Reinar…Edenia…Aún…- explicó la dirigente lesionada.,-Tú tienes algo que ver son su decisión? – la Shokan le preguntó a Harry, quien negó con la cabeza.,-Ella es una mujer adulta, por lo que puede tomar sus propias elecciones. De hecho, yo no sabía que era una Reina hasta el día de ayer- explicó el ojiverde, apretando el agarre de Sindel con su mano izquierda.,-Harry…Me…Cuidó…Alimentó…Bañó…- comentó la Edeniana una vez más, utilizando un tono amoroso.,-Por qué no esperan a que ella recupere un poco más su salud y luego vamos a Edenia? Después de todo, si ella pudo volver a hablar y caminar en unas semanas, estoy seguro que podrá volver a tener plena salud- trató de mediar el mago, disgustado con la idea de volver a quedarse solo.,-De ser así, quién dirigiría Edenia? – Jade cuestionó.,-Kitana…- al unísono, respondieron Harry y Sindel.,-Pero…yo no sé cómo hacerlo! – atónita, la princesa se quejó.,-Mileena…Puede…Tú…También…Mis…Hijas…Y…Harry…- comenzó a decir seria la mujer, solo para avergonzar al final al pelinegro.,-Sigue bromeando, y en lugar de esperar dos años serán cinco, Sindel…- protestó el inglés.,-Sí…Amo…Harry…Sindel…Obedece…Amo…Harry…- se burló ella.,-Ahora quién imita a Dobby? – cuestionó el dueño de la mansión.,-Su majestad, si usted se queda en Earthrealm, quiero seguir a su lado como lo prometí en un principio- Sheeva rogó, queriendo cumplir su papel como guardiana.,-Sheeva…No…Necesario…- Sindel replicó.,-Insisto, mi Reina- volvió a decir la fémina de cuatro brazos.,-Harry…Qué…Dices?...Tu…Casa…- la mandataria le preguntó a quien eligió como pareja.,-Hmm…Tendría que dar muchas, muchas respuestas con respecto a su aspecto, tanto en el mundo mágico como mundano, pero no tengo inconvenientes en que se quede siempre y cuando siga las reglas de la casa- luego de pensarlo un rato, comentó el mago.,-Reglas? – confundida, se expresó la Shokan.,-Dobby hace la limpieza, yo cuido a Sindel y tú cooperaras con la comida, vale? – simplemente detalló el ojiverde, indicando con su dedo al elfo, a sí mismo y luego a la semi dragón.,-Mi Reina? – mirando a la canosa, Sheeva intentó saber su opinión.,-Me…Parece…Justo…Sheeva…Pero…Tú…Decides…- replicó la ojiblanca.,-Intentaré hacer algo para que la Shokan pueda ser aceptada como embajadora de su tribu. La integración en su sociedad, joven mago, depende de usted- aportó Raiden, tratando de ayudar a la gente que debió hace tiempo.,-Puedo encargarme de ello ahora que todo se ha tranquilizado. Pero aun así, ella tiene que elegir si quedarse o no- Harry dijo, mirando a la mujer de cuatro brazos.,-Sheeva?...Qué…Eliges?...- Sindel dijo.,-Yo ya lo dije, su majestad. Me quedaré a su lado y acataré el pedido de su prometido- poniéndose de pie y dando una reverencia, respondió la Shokan, sin ver el rubor que atacó los pómulos del inglés.,-Bueno, entonces creo que todo ha quedado muy claro. Es momento de marcharnos, Edenia necesita de su nueva Reina temporal para que reconstruya sobre los cimientos que Shao Kahn dejó y trate de entablar nuevas alianzas con Outworld. Su majestad, joven mago, fue un placer volver a verlos- Raiden se expresó al mismo tiempo que se ponía de pie, siendo seguido por sus guerreros y las Edenianas, abriendo un portal en medio de la sala.,-Cuídate…Mucho…Mi…Hija…Te…Amo…- la canosa proclamó cariñosamente, permitiendo que su primogénita y la súbdita de vestimenta verde la abrazasen, para luego inclinarse cordialmente ante Harry.,-Por favor, trata bien a mi madre. Ella te ha elegido por una razón, detestaría ver que te conviertas en un nuevo tirano como lo fue su antiguo instigador- pidió la princesa de traje azul, retirándose a través del portal, el cual se cerró y dejó la sala como si nada hubiese pasado allí.,Una vez más, en el silencio que se produjo en la habitación, un suave sollozo se hizo eco entre el crepitar de las brasas, siendo Sindel quien lentamente se apoyaba en el hombro del mago mientras este besaba su frente con cuidado y secaba sus lágrimas con un pañuelo. Sheeva miraba desde un costado todo lo que pasaba, hallándose asombrada por lo diferente que era la actitud que su dirigente tenía a comparación con la época donde vivía en Outworld bajo la dictadura de Shao Kahn.,-Dobby- llamó el inglés a su elfo doméstico, quien apareció a su lado.,-Sí, Amo Harry? Ama Sindel necesita algo? – preguntó el pequeño ser, viendo con asombro a la Shokan.,-Sheeva vivirá con nosotros a partir de ahora. Ella es la guardaespaldas de Sindel y ha decidido mantener sus votos de fidelidad para con ella. Podrías darle una habitación? Decórala como ella lo requiera, no quiero que se sienta disconforme después de todo- le dijo el ojiverde, sonriendo levemente al verlo sacudir fervientemente la cabeza y tomar una de las manos de la fémina de cuatro brazos, llevándosela a las escaleras en contra de su voluntad.,-Ve…Sheeva…Estoy…Bien…Harry…Me…Cuidará…- la Reina de Edenia la tranquilizó, depositando un beso en la mejilla del varón mientras su súbdita acataba el pedido y se marchaba.,La pareja quedó a solas frente a la chimenea, donde el Potter se recostó en el sofá tras quitarse su calzado y arrojarlos sobre la alfombra. Con cuidado, tomó el estilizado cuerpo de la dama, apoyándola contra su pecho al mismo tiempo que su larga cabellera se enredaba en sus piernas, impidiéndoles la separación. La mano derecha del mago se deslizaba tranquilamente por la espalda de la mujer que le dejó en claro su cariño, percibiendo el calor de las llamas amarillentas, viendo los ojos blancos revolotear con un dejo de nostalgia y alegría, como si recordase a su hija y luego se distrajese con los besos que él le daba en su frente.,-Creo que tendríamos que haber pensado mejor con respecto a lo de Sheeva…- susurró el pelinegro, captando la atención de la mujer en sus brazos.,-Qué…Dices?...- curiosa, preguntó lentamente ella.,-No solo tendremos que explicar cómo nos conocimos…Sino que también tendré que conseguirle ropa. Tienes alguna idea de lo difícil que será? – sonando exagerado, para recibir un golpe de un mechón, protestó el joven.,-Todo…Saldrá…Bien…Mi…Rey…- Sindel respondió, dejando en claro que tenían mucho tiempo por delante y nadie que se les interpusiese en el camino.,-Confío en que así será, mi Reina- apretando el abrazo y buscando sus labios, declaró el inglés, apreciando el brillo alegre que las orbes de su "paciente" tomaron.

Welcome to my story!,Summary: She was broken, she was tired, she had been saved. How will a broken little girl handle a digital world? Well, it might just be the very thing that will save her along with a certain NetNavi.,I had a thought while watching the subbed version of Megaman NT warrior, what if had been created not long after Pharaohman was sealed away? What if a bit of the Solo Navi's Data escaped but Dr. Light (Netto/Lan's grandfather) used the data to create Bass? Just my personal twist on the series.,This is going to be with the Japanese subbed series, wish me luck!,Update: As you guys know I have been going through my stories and updating them, this is one of them. After going through it I have decided to change Megumi's age, also a little side note for you guys she was born a year after her parents left Hogwarts.,Also, regarding the timeline, I've moved the years forward so Megumi was born in the 2000's zone instead of the 1980's or 90's. She was also born a full,I do NOT own Megaman/Rockman or Harry Potter! I only own my Oc's and story idea.,Chapter 1: Prologue,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...,Beep...Beep...,"Oi! Don't give up!","You shouldn't be giving up! Only those who take the easy route do this!" The voice yelled.,"Come on, don't leave there's so much to see and do, you don't want to miss out do ya?" The voice said almost softly this time.,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,"That's it, you're not a quitter, come on! Show me that fighting spirit!" The voice said.,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep!,It was busy around the SciLab as many people rushed about, the reason why everyone was in such an uproar? Well, a few hours ago a worker at SciLab this morning had gone out back for a quick smoke when he discovered a little black haired 7-year-old girl lying face down on the ground covered in bruises on her arms and legs.,The man had quickly called the security in before picking the girl up and bringing her inside, she was imminently taken to the medical wing of SciLab where her clothing or more like rags was removed by the female worker on the medical staff.,It almost made the nurse throw up at what was discovered under the rags, the little girl's arms all the way down from her shoulders were covered in bruises! The same was said for her legs from the knees down. Her bare feet were cracked and had dirt and stones stuck in them, her waist had faint marks in the shape of a fist a large adult fist. Her back was a different story though.,It was covered in whip markings! From her shoulders all the waist down to the top of her lower back, some were scars while others were fresh or just starting to scab over. The nurse taking note of some infected wounds quickly called in more help and the child was rushed into surgery, after a few hours the little girl was bandaged up as the police were called in to help.,The police after hearing of the little girl became both grim and angered at the state of the little girl, an investigation was soon launched to find the girls family and arrest them for child abuse.,Now, the little girl lay on her bed with a heart monitor hooked up along with an IV drip and blood bag. She had been cleaned up as well, her once matted black hair was now a soft raven black.,One scientist who was working with Dr. Hikari had arrived to grab a report, with him was a NetNavi that had been living at SciLab since his creation.,This Netnavi was called Forte . EXE , he was quiet most of the time and only listened to Dr. Hikari it seems. The NetNavi was only with the assistant because Dr. Hikari asked him to make sure the assistant didn't mess up or forget which report to grab.,Only he got caught up in the chaos and was now resting on the table next to the little girl who was in a healing coma it seems, Forte was grumbling under his breath at how bored he was when a beep got his attention.,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,It was the heart monitor, it had a steady beep showing the girl was alive. He looked over at the girl, she was small and look so fragile lying there on the bed. He kept watching her when he noticed the heart monitor slowing down making his eyes widen.,He didn't know what compelled him but he spoke up saying "Oi! Don't give up!",He heard the heart monitor stop at a slow beat but it wasn't dropping any lower, he then spotted her right pinky finger twitch ever so slightly.,',' Forte thought before speaking again.,"You shouldn't be giving up! Only those who take the easy route do this!" He said as her eyes twitched a bit he was doing something.,Whatever it was, she could hear him. Which meant he could talk some sense into her, besides she was too young to give up now.,He decided to try something different, he was just glad no-one else was in the room to hear him.,"Come on, don't leave there's so much to see and do, you don't want to miss out do ya?" Forte asked his voice a bit softer now trying to encourage the girl.,Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...Beep...,Her heart rate was back up to normal, and it had increased which was good. She was out of the danger zone and it made him...happy for some reason.,"That's it, you're not a quitter, come on! Show me that fighting spirit!" Forte yelled as the heart monitor beeped more before a soft noise reached his ears.,Forte looked at the girls face as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around, he felt a gasp leave his lips as those blank green eyes landed on him. It made his chest twist for some reason, those eyes they had seen so much pain the joy had been sucked out of them.,"Hey there, glad to see you awake," Forte said making the girl blink.,She said nothing a first just stared at him before she spoke.,"W-who are you?" Her voice was weak and rough but Forte was not surprised by that.,"Forte. EXE, just call me Forte," Forte said as he crossed his arms.,"Forte, nice voice, Forte," She said making Forte pause a small warmth he was unfamiliar with entered his chest.,',' Forte thought as he watched her.,He jumped a bit as the little girl sat up with a grunt of pain before reaching over and grabbing his PET.,"Hey! What are you doing? You should be resting," Forte said only to go silent as she lay back down on her side this time holding his PET close almost hugging it to her chest.,"Forte," She said as he stared up at her the best he could.,"What's your name?" He asked.,She tensed up her arms tightening around his PET.,"They...They called me girl or freak," She said quietly, Forte could tell she was having trouble speaking about it.,',' Forte thought with a frown.,"Those aren't names," Forte said before an idea hit him.,"How about I tell you some names and you pick which one you want?" Forte said making her pull his PET back just enough for her to look down at him.,"I get to pick?" She asked as her eyes light up for a moment but just enough for Forte to know she was happy.,"Yeah, let's see there's Hinata, Hitomi, Ayana, Kyoko, Megumi, Fumika, or Chika," Forte listed off as she watched him.,"Megumi, I like Megumi," She said her eyes going from blank to a bright emerald green.,Forte felt his breath get caught in his throat at the sight, he had never seen anyone with that shade of green eyes before. The way her eyes lit up with happiness and looked so , from just simply being given a name made the warmth in his chest grow, she then gave a small smile.,"Thank you, Forte," Megumi said before yawning as she slowly fell asleep.,Forte let a rare smile grace his lips as he quickly linked up with the security system of the medical wing, he would keep watch over Megumi. There was something about her that he liked, something he wanted to keep safe.,It was an hour later when Dr. Hikari arrived to pick up Forte, only to be surprised when he found Forte showing pictures of various places on Earth to Megumi.,He chuckled saying "I see you've made a friend Forte,",This made Forte stop and look over at him with a faint glare, one that Dr. Hikari noticed held a hint of warning. A look he has seen many times in the past when it came to protective NetNavi's.,Megumi looked up at Dr. Hikari with a wary look her little body tensing up, she looked as if she was debating if he was a danger to her or not. Being a father himself, Dr. Hikari felt his parental side kick in.,"Hello there, I'm Dr. Hikari," He said slowly walking over and sitting at the end of the bed, this puts plenty of space between them.,"M-Megumi," The little girl said her voice was not as rough now and was cute yet soft with a slight accent to it that was fading.,"That's a nice name, I can hear an accent in your voice where are you from Megumi?" Dr. Hikari asked.,"England," She said before shuddering and holding Forte's PET close as the netnavi shot him another warning glare.,"I see, that's far away, but your Japanese is brilliant! Who taught you?" Dr. Hikari asked trying to stay away from certain subjects as to not trigger Megumi.,"I, I listened to others talking it just sounds like English to me," Megumi said a small smile on her face as she talked with the nice man.,',' Dr. Hikari thought while saying "That impressive Megumi, it seems you have a talent with languages,","Really?" Megumi asked her eyes lighting up at the praise.,"Really, it's a hard talent most people have trouble mastering," Dr. Hikari said his heartstrings pulled at the sight.,This little girl had been abused to the point where she was starved of loving and positive attention, it was a miracle she was not lashing out or completely shut the world out. Dr. Hikari was sure of one fact however, he was gonna make sure whoever the girl lived with was going to be in jail for a long time.,After a few more minutes of small talk Dr. Hikari stood up saying "I have to go now Megumi, Forte also needs to do some work,","Does he?" Megumi asked looking a tiny bit upset but mostly worried.,"He does but after he is done he can come right back here," Dr. Hikari said making Megumi nod and hand him the PET.,"Look after him," Megumi said making the scientist nod as she lay back down to sleep.,Quietly Dr. Yuichiro Hikari left the room, once out in the hallway, he leaned on the wall and sighed.,"Dr. Hikari, I want in on finding them," Forte said making the doctor pull the PET up to eye level.,"That bad?" He asked making Forte growl.,"Worse! She thought her name was just girl or-or freak! She had no life in her eyes Hikari, she was just so happy at being given a name!" Forte growled clenching his fists.,"You've grown attached to her, alright you can help out," Yuichiro said before pushing away from the wall and headed to his office.,Once in his office, he jacked Forte into the system.,"First off, I need you to find out who has arrived from England in the last few weeks or so then get as many details about them as you can but be discreet," Yuichiro said.,"Right, no getting caught," Forte said and turned to leave.,"But when you find them, you have my permission to mess with them and make sure they stay in Japan to face justice," Dr. Hikari said a hard edge to his voice making Forte smirk.,"Will do, Dr. Hikari," Forte said before leaving the SciLab server to do some searching and hunting.,Once Forte left Yuichiro leaned back in his chair, thoughts rushing around in his head.,"I wonder, Megumi will be needing a Netnavi after all this," He said before smiling at the idea one that he hoped Forte would agree with.,It was hours before Forte returned looking smug about something, he had been in and out of all the airports of DenTech city and after a lot of searching, he struck gold.,He followed the info up and had a little payback of his own, he would not feel any regret for the sorry excuses of human beings after what he dug up on them.,"Ah, your back how did it go?" Dr. Hikari asked.,"I found them, the Dursley family they arrived in Japan two weeks ago on a business trip. They arrived with a little girl fitting Megumi's description, but I found out something else about them," Forte said making Dr. Hikari curious.,"What was that?" He asked turning to Forte on his screen.,"You really wanna know?" Forte asked even he was a little disturbed by what he found.,"Yes, we need all the evidence we can get to send them to jail," Dr. Hikari said pushing his glasses up.,"Okay, first off the son is called Dudely and he is the most spoiled and fat child I have ever seen a right piece of work I can see growing up to be a criminal," Forte said bringing up a picture of Dudely.,"Next is Petunia the wife, she is thin but a real shrew, nosy and cruel woman under her act, she had a sister who dropped off the grid turns out Megumi is her niece, she has a real hatred of Megumi," Forte said displaying Petunia's info.,"I watched them for a few hours, turns out Petunia had Megumi do all the work and chores around the house or hotel room," Forte said his eyes hard.,"Lastly is Vernon, he is the worst one, he carries out the physical harm and I also found on his personal computer that he has multiple contracts with people for when Megumi is older to use her as a," He paused shaking his head trying to hold back his rage.,"As a what?" Dr. Hikari asked dread building in his gut.,"As a sex slave," Forte growled out showing the info before walking off screen where the sound of breaking stuff and virus's getting deleted was heard.,Dr. Hikari's face went hard as he looked the info over, rage clear in his own eyes as he stood up and picked his phone up.,After a quick call and secure transfer of data, the evidence was with the police as an arrest warrant was sent out for the Dursley family.,Forte and Dr. Hikari watched from a hacked security camera as the police found the Dursley family eating in a restaurant only for the meal to be cut short as the police stormed the building and arrested them, the other people eating and the employees watched on with shock only for it to turn to disgust as the police read off why they were being arrested.,It took more police officers to hold back the enraged families from the Dursleys as they were lead out and to the police cars, while Dudley was taken to a separate car.,"Job done, Megumi can rest easy now," Forte said.,"Speaking of Megumi I did promise to take you back to her," Dr. Hikari said standing up as Forte went into his PET.,"Forte!" Megumi's voice rang out as the two entered the wing.,Forte looked over to see Megumi sitting up as the nurse checked her IV and blood bags.,"Hey Megumi, how are you feeling?" Forte asked as Dr. Hikari arrived at her bed.,"Better, I feel less heavy now," Megumi said reaching up for him.,Forte smiles at hearing it, he was glad a weight was gone. She must have sensed something changed, she would not be hurt now.,Dr. Hikari passed Forte's PET to her which she quickly held close, her eyes brighter now almost shining.,"They won't hurt you anymore, I made sure of it," Forte said making Megumi look at him.,"Really? They won't?" Megumi asked making Forte nod.,"Really," He said making Megumi relax looking relieved.,"Thank you, Forte," She said nearly in tears making the nurse smile and gently pat her shoulder.,Dr. Hikari smiled at the scene, he knelt down saying "Megumi? I have a question for you,","Yes?" She asked looking at him with Forte.,"How would you like Forte to be your Netnavi?" Dr. Hikari asked making Forte's eyes widen.,"Netnavi? You mean like the other people? Like Miss Kairi?" Megumi asked glancing at her nurse who nods and pulled out her own PET showing her nurse Navi.,"Dr. Hikari are you sure?" Forte asked still in shock but happy at the thought of being Megumi's Navi, he could keep her safe.,"Yes, the both of you need each other, both of you have a bond," Dr. Hikari said with a smile.,"Forte? Can you?" Megumi asked making Forte look at her.,"I'd be happy to your netnavi, Megumi," Forte said with a grin making Megumi tear up.,She then hugged his PET crying tears of joy as small giggles escaped her, her first friend was staying with her! She was so happy!,Dr. Hikari watched on glad knowing both Forte and Megumi were in good hands, the nurse watched on close to tears herself as her netnavi shed a few tears at the touching scene.,Unknown to Forte and Megumi but this was the start of their adventures together and one big adventure that would bring joy, pain, sadness, and love to them both.,But for now, they were just happy to have each other.,Done!,Sorry if Forte/Bass is a little OCC but he won't be a human hatter in my story, he'll be protective of Megumi that's for sure though.,The next chapter, we have a time skip and we see how Megumi has coped with life so far with Forte.,Until then, SaberbladePrime signing out!

It was a dawn of a new age of wizardkind, ten years after the Muggle-Minbari war. In a desperate hope for peace, the muggles have built a spinning space station on the outskirts of the Nova system. The year is 2257. The place It Babylon 5.,The shuttle was going to land any minute. It was her first flight, and hopefully one of her last. The Hyperspace was terrifying, but as they pulled out of the Hyperloop and into space again, all was fine. The gentle rocking of the ship swaying from side to side, coming into the spaceport. There was the high pitched screech of metal, and suddenly all was quiet.,"Babylon 5, please disembark from your vessel and proceed through security",The soft voice of the intercom repeated over and over on the ship. Grasping her card tightly, she descended into the cargo bay to retrieve her luggage, a crate with a snake-like dog in it, and a small trunk. She made her way to the front of the ship, the crush of beings sweeping her along. Her green hand was extended, sweeping her clearance card under a series of scanners. Her other hand holding the crate tightly, her trunk floating behind her, emitting a soft dinging noise every few seconds as if to tell her it was still there. Passing the last gate, a red glow stopped her, creating a stasis field around her, making it impossible to move. A man in a brown uniform sighed and got up from his chair, PPG at the ready.,"Miss, are you aware you are bringing a class one animal onto the station?",She nodded. "Yes, Sir".,"You are aware it will be confiscated, and ejected from the station unless deemed safe within an hour?","Yes, Sir. Jax will give you no trouble",The guard moved to release her from the stasis field, taking the crate from her at the same time. She moved into the station, catching her trunk as she did so, anchoring it once again to the ground. She killed an hour in a nearby cafe, before proceeding to security to fetch Jax.,"Security, how can we be of assistance?","Yes, I'm here to pick up my Canguis","You're the Idiot who brought one of those on board?" He leaned across the desk a little and lowered his voice. "You have the friendliest pet I ever met. How'd you train it? I've met dogs more hostile than him, and HE'S the class one?","So, I take it he is cleared for departure?","Yes, Ma'am, here he is.",The snake-dog bounded down the hall, its flexible legs giving it enough spring to jump on top of her head, where it decided to nest and fall asleep. She reached up and pulled him off her head, clipping a leash over its head. She thanked the officer and proceeded down the hall and into a bathroom.,Hidden inside her black button-down, high collared dress was her wand. Pulling it out from the folds of her dress, the green stick seemed to emit a purple glow. Waving it over herself, her appearance transfigured to that of a thirteen-year old girl and her clothes resized to fit. Her mother had placed an aging charm over her before she left so she would have no trouble entering the station. Exiting her hiding place, she looked at the sea of faces and Aliens. There were a few she recognized from school, the Narn and Minbari in particular. Proceeding to deck three, she entered a funny looking observatory, pushed through a cloud of muggles, and tapped the third window to the right. The triangular pane slid out, expanding into a tunnel. She crawled into the tunnel, and watched as the pane sealed around her. It seemed like she was floating in space in a triangular prism. Slowly, a small speck came into view. It was a dome on a moon that was orbiting the nearby planet. The shuttle banked, and she stepped off. A small Wizard, one presumably of Narn origin, was holding a tablet and rushed out to meet her.,"Name?","Akarin, Fayar","Race?","Human of Darkness","Do you mean soldier of darkness?","No, My mother was a victim of a Soldier and survived. They developed a Psychic link to each other and things grew from there. My father is a Solder, my mother a Human.","School?","Mornacer","Wand?","Eve, 11 ¾ inches, Jay feather core."The Narn looked puzzled.,"I don't think I have ever come across that combination, or those materials before","They were a gift from my father. I don't get to see him, but he sends gifts from time to time. On my 8th birthday he sent me wand materials and told me to take them to Frex Garybalding","Go on in. Babylon welcomes you, fellow Wizard"

Chapter One: A New World:,Bethesda Maryland May 7, 1998:,Melissa Scully was many things, graduate of Salem Academy for Witches and Wizards. She had masters in magical defense, transfiguration, healing and microbiology and could, like most magical people in America cross from the magical to muggle, or mundane world (depends on who you were talking to) with ease. She was a hidden hero of the war against the rather stupid, evil and hard to kill so called lord Voldemort. While young Harry Potter had gone after the soul anchors of said dark lord (and only a brain donor really would do something as stupid as make one of those) she had been called by the magical branch of the CIA to help stomp Voldemort and his followers out. After her "death" in the muggle world she had devoted her life to the magical, for the time being. Oh her family knew she was alive but other than that? No-one in the muggle world did, and that was because of certain evil people that called themselves the Syndicate.,Back to magical Great Britain, she had been called over by the magical branch of the CIA to help out the magical branch of MI-5 and the muggleborn of that nation as the ICW was clearly having problems with controlling magical England. When Voldemort declared war on the muggleborn they had not taken it well at all, in fact most, had ended up in hiding and had started to fight back. Another reason Voldemort was so stupid? Who in their right mind put a taboo on their own name in this day and age? All one had to do was call out said name, have his snatchers come and poof a few gun shots and they were dead. Magic was not always good in a fight, as many of the witches and wizards on the run were no match for a death eater magic wise. However a gun or rifle did level the playing field and now, well now on this May day there were no death eaters left alive that had not surrendered at the battle of Hogwarts. Blood superiority had died on the second day of May 1998 and a new day had risen.,She tucked a lock of her strawberry blond hair back behind her ear and turned to the bed where the hero of the hour slept on. She looked him over with her dark blue eyes and saw a tall lean pale man with long black hair, he had a large nose, thin lipped mouth and was covered in blankets. He was clad in a pair of gray sleep pants and he should wake soon, the anti-venom she had pumped into him had saved him, that and the potions he had taken. She had found him in a shack near Hogwarts, had evacuated him to a plane and when Harry spoke and told the truth about this man, this Severus Snape he had been brought to America where he could be kept in safety. She walked over to him, the skirts of her long very modest green dress swished around her ankles and took a seat by him. She looked up to see that the monitors, magical and muggle side by side showed he was about to wake. Well the magical ones did. She brushed a lock of his hair away from his neck and saw that the bandages were no longer soaked with blood.,"If you are going to keep poking at it at least tell me where I am." Severus said with a rich deep baritone with a cultured British accent, "and who you are?","I am healer Melissa Scully, Voldemort lost the war and the death eaters are dead." Melissa said, "you are in America, Bethesda, the magical part.","Why?","You are a hero, and you deserve to be known as such." Melissa said, "and not just for what Harry Potter said but we have watched you.","Potter survived?" Severus said, "of course he did.","Yes, and it seems he was allowing himself to be used as a red herring." Melissa said, "knowing Voldemort was after him he led him on quite the chase last year. Oh he knew where the soul anchors were but he had to act as if he did not, even the goblins helped him.","I seem to recall a dragon and Potter destroyed half of Gringotts." Severus shot back.,"Oh no, not at all, the goblins let him go, and they stated they had to per the latest treaty, they even apologized for the soul anchor in that Lestrange woman's vault." Melissa replied, "anyway, you sir are really a hero, all you did as a spy.","Which was not enough." Severus said bitterly. "Too many died.","Yes people did die, but you helped save so many, the purebloods will never hold power like they did in the past. England was their last greatest stronghold.","It was?" Severus said looking a bit shocked.,"Oh yes, it was, now purebloods and blood status can go the way of the dinosaur." Melissa replied, "you are safe here, now I need to check you neck, it should be healed now.",She got up and walked to where there were latex gloves, one more thing the pureblood magical society had shunned. Magical Britain was so backwards due to them, and maybe that was why Dumbledore wanted out the way he did. Severus had not killed him, no traces of Cyanide had been found in the elderly wizard. He knew Severus could not kill him and everything was arranged, to save the soul of one Draco Malfoy who had played his part in protecting his fellow students, Severus had given him the Cyanide capsule, and that did satisfy the vow he had made. That and what Pansy Parkinson was really doing with full support of McGonagall, acting as if she supported the dark lord, to get kicked out of Hogwarts to "join him" instead she had killed as many death eaters as she and her band of Slytherins could. Now the purebloods would never have so much power again and magical Britain could catch up with the rest of the world. They would learn about blood born pathogens, the need to protect one's self and other things too.,Magical America had been formed mainly by one great man, that man was Ben Franklin. He was a powerful muggleborn wizard, like Melissa he had gone to the Salem institute camps to learn his magic in the summer. She, like him did her essays by mail and learned most of the magic at the camps and was just as good at magic as any child who went to a magic school. Then again she started the magical histories, potions and Arithmancy at eight as these required little magic and once her core stabilized she started on her wand studies. Magical America, like most of the new world could move between muggle and magical world with ease. Most of the magical world lived in little villages or apartment blocks in the large cities. They kept themselves a secret by living in both worlds and this helped keep them safe. The muggles could not track what they could not find, and all large magical districts, sporting arenas (excluding the few magical brick and mortar schools) were underground. While Hogwarts was the best Magical school in the world for those eleven to seventeen (save for their defense classes) that was all England could boast about.,"What are you doing?" Severus asked as she came up with latex gloves on her hands.,"Well you are going to find that the muggle and magical world are closer most of the world over. Your purebloods kept you so far behind it is a wonder the ICW did not destroy you all." Melissa replied, "it was a near thing, if not for Hogwarts then we would not be speaking at all, I would have had a shoot to kill order on any witch or wizard in England.","I can believe that, after Grindlewald…","No Grindlewald was tame compared to Voldemort." Melissa said, "in fact he did oppress the people in Europe but not the muggles, those he just left to Hitler and Stalin to kill off. Voldemort was attacking muggles and was very close to having a whole nation of magical wiped out.","I see, what is to be done with me?" Severus asked.,"Nothing bad I promise," Melissa said carefully removing the bandages and waving her wand over the wound, "first though I am sure you will want to shower, your clothes have been washed and mended and the shower is through that door, soap and shampoo are in the plastic containers on the wall.","Thank you." Severus said.,He sat up carefully and stood up, he was a bit dizzy but that passed and he walked to the bathroom. Melissa saw the very faint scars on his back and wondered if Voldemort had used a whip on him. Sounded like something he would do, she had read what evil things he did and really did not like the man, thing at all. Well he was dead, and Harry Potter, well he proved to be far smarter than any had believed. His fifth year he had willingly drawn the wrath of Umbridge onto him, thus letting the rest of the school learn defense not just Dumbledore's Army. No he taught them and they in turn went back to their common rooms and taught those there. Another reason that Voldemort could not win, Harry had done what he could and had to deal with pain and suffering because of it. She left the room to let Severus have privacy and waited for him outside the room.,He came out half a hour later clean, shaved and clad in his clothes, all black. He was clad in a high collared black frock coat, a pair of black pants, heavy buckled dragonskin boots (she knew this as she had seen them and was impressed, even she did not own a pair though few did outside Aurors, potions masters and curse breakers did) and his billowing black masters robes over all. His hair was clean but a bit greasy but something she did not mind and she realized he was watching her checking him out. She looked up and met his eyes, careful to shield her mind as she knew he was a good Legulimans but she, like nearly , magical the world over was good at Occulumency. It was part of every magical course here in America (the cold war required that as Soviet witches and wizards were very loyal to the USSR) and was spreading the world over. She was not going to let this rather intimidating man intimidate her, no sir!,"I am sure you are hungry, it's lunch time, there is a Whites Chicken here, you will like it, it's fried chicken and biscuits." Melissa said.,"That sounds interesting." Severus said wondering how biscuits, a dessert treat could go well with chicken. "What kind of biscuits go with Chicken?","Oh, um what we Americans call biscuits are far different, they are doughty more like little bits of bread, oh you will like them, they are addictive!",He followed her to an elevator and down to the ground floor with her explaining that they were really underground. It was hard to believe this as there was a magical "ceiling" that looked like sky above that showed the weather outside, cloudy and rainy to day. They walked across the street and into the Whites Chicken. Severus smelled the good food and let Melissa order for him as he was not sure what to order. They got a table and once their number was called Melissa brought the food over. She told Severus the small round fried things were actually fried okra and helped him pick out his chicken and biscuits from the paper containers. He sniffed at the chicken and then took his first bite and was in love, who cared the meal was eaten with one's hands? He loved every bit of it and ate most of the chicken, found the biscuits light and very tasty and even liked the fried okra. Melissa had ordered a lot of food and was delighted he was able to eat so well, he did need it, he had four pieces of chicken, three biscuits and nearly all the fried okra.,"Let's get you home." Melissa said after he had finished eating. "Well it's a safe house, a small three bedroom two and a half bath, but it is private.","Why are you helping me?" Severus asked.,"Well let's just say a few people have watched you over the years and were vindicated in their trust in you." Melissa replied.,"I see, well then you know I am a selfish wicked and not nice man." Severus shot back.,"Selfish no, wicked no, and not nice, well you had your reasons." Melissa said, "we will go by floo.",Severus followed her out of the restaurant and down the street to a public floo that was guarded by dwarves. They allowed them use of the floo and Severus found himself coming out of a fireplace into a charming family room connected to a large kitchen/dining room. The family room as Melissa called it had a large L shaped sectional in black and a green and tan hand made rug on the floor. Empty floor to ceiling bookshelves were on one wall opposite the windows with the sectional facing the fireplace. Melissa showed him what she called the powder room, a laundry on this floor, a parlor and upstairs a master suite with it's own bathroom and two large bedrooms with their own walk in closets and another bathroom. Severus found his trunks here with all his worldly goods. His books were packed neatly in one and his potions ingredients, cauldrons, beakers and other tools in another and finally his personal trunk. The master bedroom was large and had a large king sized four poster bed with a large green quilt with a black dragon on it. He was left here to settle in, and saw he had a house elf, he was told before Melissa left he was a servant and not a slave and to treat him with respect or she would be very unhappy. With that he was left on his own to settle in and wonder what was to become of him.

Quidditch, generally very popular with both the students and faculty of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but Maki Nishikino had never really paid much attention. This year though the mood of the Slytherin Common Room had been too often full of grumpy mutters about and curses directed at the Hufflepuff team for Maki not to notice. She wasn't even sure when she'd learned Nico Yazawa's name, but the sixth year Hufflepuff prefect had kept crossing her path this year. Maki chuckled a little at the times she'd nearly stumbled over Nico on her way to the Infirmary. Or the time Nico swooped down to save her from a stray Bludger when Maki had wandered by the Quidditch field on her way to meet Hanayo to discuss medicinal animals with the now retired Hagrid. Nico had winked at Maki, while the fourth year Slytherin had glared at the impunity, startled and out of breath. Ebony black hair bouncing in the wind, robes sweeping behind her, ruby eyes sparkling in the sun, Nico had pulled up and was hovering next to Maki.,"You okay, Nishikino?" Nico was a little out of breath. When did Nico learn her name?,"Fine." Maki crossed her arms over her chest, "Maybe you should practice more so you don't threaten passersby.","She's fine, Umi. Kotori won't be upset." Nico called over her shoulder, then looked back at Maki, ruby eyes serious, lips quirked at the corner, Maki had a flash of a gallant courtier before the edge in Nico's voice slashed her pride. "Watch where you're going. It's dangerous.",Maki knew exactly how dangerous Quidditch was. She'd bandaged and splinted and healed more than her fair share of damaged players. "You watch where you're going.",Nico snorted, "Nico always does. But thanks for caring." The broad grin flipped Maki's stomach and the young Slytherin hurried away from the field before she was called on to treat an injury. As she turned onto the path to the Gamekeepers hut, she wondered why Nico had mentioned Kotori, Maki's senior in Slytherin by a year. Did Nico know her? Maki couldn't remember seeing the Hufflepuff interact with anyone from Slytherin. Kotori, now Kotori was friends with that very serious Hufflepuff, but Maki had never seen Nico approach her. Not that Maki was watching Nico.,####,At dinner, Maki couldn't stop thinking about that afternoon. She kept staring at the Hufflepuff table, getting a raised eyebrow from Yazawa at which point, Maki pivoted and started concentrating on her dessert.,"Is something wrong, Maki?" Kotori's sugar sweet voice whisped concern.,Attention from Nico having made her nervous, Maki just blurted what she was thinking, "Do you know that Hufflepuff Quidditch player?",Maki was still choosing between puddings so she didn't catch Kotori's blush.,"Maki, you know Kotori is…" Nozomi slid into the seat next to Maki, "quite taken with Ms. Sonoda's charms.",Maki shook her head. "Not that one...the Seeker. She mentioned you.","Nico?" Nozomi laughed and she and Kotori exchanged a glance, which Maki also missed, "Why do you ask?","She nearly let a Bludger hit me when I walked by the Quidditch pitch." Maki knew that wasn't exactly the truth but why would her friends ever….,Kotori shook her head, "I'm sure that's not true...Nico would never…",Maki shrugged, "Don't really care. So you do know her?","She stops by when I meet Umi in the library to talk. Why?","Just curious." Maki had decided. Butterscotch. With ground pecans on top.,Kotori smiled. "She's the sweetest person.",Nozomi's roar of laughter had the entire room staring at their table. Maki stared. Nozomi, leaning back and hugging herself, managed to get out a sentence, "That wouldn't be the first thing I'd say to describe Nico-chi.",But Maki heard real affection in Nozomi's voice, which only made her more curious. But the topic was obviously drawing too much attention from these two so she'd have to find less obvious ways to figure out why Nico seemed so concerned about what Kotori thought.,###,Maki usually studied in the library or the Hospital Wing, but tonight, tonight, the cool, dark stones of the Slytherin Common Room were calling to her...She had a favorite niche, with a chair she'd gotten reupholstered discreetly that would make anyone sitting in it feel itchy if Maki were in the room. Tonight, in advance of the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin Quidditch match, most of the House was sneaking in food and drink for the post game parties, and Maki sat curled up, reading a mystery with a side of romance, the two rival detective sparring over magical cues, the cover enchanted to look like a medical textbook. Then the Quidditch team spilled in from practice, loud and brawling.,"So tomorrow, we take out Yazawa, first thing, right?" One of the Beaters croaked.,"Well, we need to make it look like an accident." The team captain snarled.,Maki slunk behind her book, whispering a charm to obscure herself if anyone looked this way. Neither Nozomi nor Kotori had returned to the Common Room for the evening and the Quidditch team were among the Slytherins who resented Maki's vocal stance against anyone whose family had associated with Voldemort or the Death Eaters.,A player Maki couldn't see grumbled. "And we need to win. If we don't those yellow pills will probably win the House Cup.","Yellow like puke. Like I'm going to do on Yazawa's face when she hits the ground.",Maki's fists clenched. She quickly reviewed the damaging spells she knew, considering if she could cast any of them without giving away her location.,The captain seemed suddenly suspicious and glanced around the room, "Let's go upstairs. We shouldn't be talking about this here.",They shouldn't be talking about this anywhere, Maki thought, wondering if reporting them to Slytherin Head of House Higgs or Headmistress McGonagall would do any good. When the last of them went followed the captain up to her room, Maki counted to three and then bolted for the door. If she could find Kotori, maybe Kotori could tell Umi and Umi could get Nico to sit out. Madame Hooch, maybe Madame Hooch could do something.,###,Maki usually didn't serve as part of the Quidditch First Aid squad, but she'd decided to tag along rather than volunteer in the Hospital Wing or spend her time studying. Rin Hoshizora, her Quidditch crazed best friend surprised her with a crushing hug when Maki got to the pitch.,"MAKI MAKI MAKI!" And the air went out, then Rin let go and sounded puzzled, "Did you lose a bet? You always say Quidditch is for people who want to lose IQ points.",Maki muttered something and Rin cocked her head, puzzled, so Maki cleared her throat, "I decided to see how the injuries happen first hand. Understanding the game better will enable me to treat players more efficiently.",Rin looked skeptical and pulled Maki's head down, forcing the taller redhead to look her in the eye. "You did you lose a bet. Or..." Rin's face lit up with the stunning brilliance of her next thought, "Are you crushing on one of the players?" Rin turned around, raising her hands to her mouth to make a megaphone, "HEY KAYO-CHIN, MAKI'S CRUSHING ON…",Maki pulled Rin's cloak over her open mouth, silencing the ginger. Hanayo Koizumi rushed up to them, out of breath and a little too loud, "Maki, you never come to games…",Rolling her eyes and trying not to shout at her friends, as the Hufflepuff bench was starting to pay attention to what was turning into a scene, Maki kept her voice at the private conversation level. "I'm just here to help and work on my triage skills.",Hanayo seemed doubtful, but nodded supportively, while Rin checked out the players, evaluating their potential draw for Maki. "I thought you and the Slytherin team didn't get along.",Maki shrugged, "Most of Slytherin ignores me.",Rin and Hanayo shared a glance and Hanayo squeaked, "That's not what…",But before anything else could be said, a huge roar came from the stands as the Slytherin and Hufflepuff teams flew in on their brooms to be introduced. Maki expected Nico to be safely on the bench, because surely the very serious Umi Sonoda would have intervened when Kotori told her what Maki had heard. But no, there was Nico, her hair up in a ponytail tied with a yellow ribbon flying bravely in the wind, confident grin on her face, disrespectful hand gesture flashed at the Slytherin captain. Had Madame Hooch not gotten the note Maki had left? Didn't anyone remember all the damage Slytherins bent on revenge could do? Maki wondered what Nico had done to tick them off. And then the Snitch was released and Nico upended the first Slytherin Beater with a clever feint, followed by a solid side charge. And the Beater was twice her size. Maki winced and moved to where the student med team was working on the Slytherin, who seemed to have fractured an arm. That would require a substitute and evac to the hospital wing, but the Beater was refusing, demanding to be allowed to sit on the bench.,"We can take care of that quickly, if you'll just cooperate." Maki snapped.,"Nah, I'm not going to miss Yazawa getting her reward." The boy stared at Maki, his blue eyes cold, "And what'll you do when Yazawa's not dragging us off to protect you. Ha! You should start running back home to 'Papa' now.",Maki froze. "What do you mean? I don't even know her.",The Slytherin shrugged and turned back to the pitch, where Nico was dodging both Bludgers and all three Chasers determined to herd her somewhere. Maki's breath caught as Nico's broom dropped straight to the ground, but six inches before contact, Nico zoomed off toward Umi, the Hufflepuff keeper. Maki headed toward the stands. Maybe Kotori could help her make sense of this.,Maki slid next to Kotori who had found a seat close to where Umi was stationed as Keeper.,"Umi's so serious." Kotori said, in a swoony voice that Maki couldn't think of as anything but silly.,"Why did Grovsk say that "Yazawa was dragging people off to protect you." Maki couldn't make herself sound any nicer. Anything she had heard out of another Slytherin's mouth today had just made her more and more confused and angry. And the way they were pressuring Nico was surely illegal. Maki was going to have to get Rin to give her a quick lesson on Quidditch rules. Plus, Madame Hooch wasn't refereeing, it was only some student, a seventh year former Ravenclaw captain studying for NEWTS.,"Oh," Maki was pulled back into the conversation by the hesitation she could hear in Kotori's voice. "Nico just hates bullies, that's all. Don't worry about it." Then Kotori stood, yelling "Great catch, Umi!",Maki turned back to the field, just in time to see Umi, holding the Quaffle, turn to smile at Kotori, while the Slytherin Beaters grabbed a momentarily distracted Nico's arms and yank her off her broom, letting her drop from at least 20 feet off the ground. Someone must have used a spell to confuse the Hufflepuff seeker because she wasn't reacting at all, just plummeting. Maki was on her feet, sprinting to the pitch.,###,It had taken too long, but Nico's eyes were open. And she was sitting up. Gingerly. Maki didn't like how unfocused her eyes were. Umi Sonoda was still insisting that the Slytherins be penalized with the forfeiture of the game, but the Ravenclaw referee was looking cowed by the much larger Slytherin captain. Umi stepped forward, taking her argument to the Slytherin.,"Hey, Nishikino. Let Nico up." Nico sounded irritated.,Maki glanced down. Her arm was across Nico's torso, in an attempt to prevent the injured player from gettting to her feet before Maki was satisfied she wasn't concussed.,"Don't move or I'll leg lock you." Maki ordered.,Nico's eyes narrowed, "Nico is fine. The fall winded me. That's all.","I am required to complete the concussion protocol BEFORE you can return to the game." Maki pushed down on Nico's shoulder, but the other girl refused to return to the prone position.,"Let Nico up. Her fans will worry." Nico smiled and waved at the crowd behind Maki. On the field, Umi took a swing at the Slytherin captain as the ref jogged to where Nico and Maki were.,"How's Yazawa?",Maki had let Nico up, but her glare held the Seeker in place, "Concussed. She'll have to be replaced.","Gotcha! Hang in there, Yazawa." He put a quick hand on Nico's shoulder, then turned back to the field. "Hey, Sonoda. You need a substitute seeker. And let Ravendark go. People want to see a Quidditch game not a wrestling match.",The crowd cheered their agreement.,"She's lying. Nico is fine!" Nico shouted after the ref, but no one paid any attention. Maki relaxed. Nico wasn't going back out there, no one would make her fall 50 feet this time, and maybe Maki could figure out what was going on.,Nico knocked Maki's hand from where it was resting on her robe, "You didn't give Nico the test. I know Slytherins like to lie…",Maki snarled…"Which team are you playing?","Yours, duh.","Have a headache?",Nico winced as a roar went up from the crowd with the restart of the game, "Maybe a little. But I've had worse.","That's not good." Maki was leaning in, to look into Nico's eyes, see how they were focusing, "Head injuries are cumulative.",Nico blinked, long eyelashes fluttering as she took slow breaths, "Madame Pomfrey always fixes me up fine.",Maki knew she had an important point to make but staring into the shadows of Nico's infinitely faceted jewel eyes, she had trouble recalling it. And then a cheer for Slytherin broke the spell. "Didn't Umi warn you? I told Kotori…","I told Kotori not to worry. Nico can take care of herself." Nico squared her shoulders, "Me and Umi are going to make sure those losers get what they deserve.","Not all Slytherins are awful." Maki snapped, upset at Nico's tone.,Nico's chuckle was harsh, "They're not losers 'cause they're Slytherins, they're losers 'cause they can't keep out of trouble.",Maki sat back on her heels, Nico was shaking her head, then wincing. Maki had a sudden panic thought that she should have immobilized Nico, "Does your neck hurt?","No, no pain. It just seems bright now that the sun's out and everyone's so noisy." Nico sounded like she was forcing her words through a cloth, her hand going to her ponytail.,Maki glanced up at the clouds, "You're grounded. Let's get you to the Infirmary.",Nico giggled, "Does Nico get a personal escort.",Maki let Nico get herself to her feet, but when she slid her arm around Nico's shoulder, the shorter girl just let Maki take some of her weight without complaint for once, "Just until you tell me why the whole Slytherin Quidditch team put a target on you.","Nico's just that charming." Another giggle, but weaker, and a yawn. But with Nico currently cooperating, Maki didn't want to push her back to argumentative. The castle was getting closer with every step.,"One of them said you were…" Maki felt herself flush and was glad neither she nor Nico could see her face, "you were protecting me.",Nico stumbled as she hesitated, "Um...me and Umi just hate to see bullies pick on people...Nozomi was telling me how some Slytherins don't like you standing up for non..." Maki could imagine the near feral snarl carved on Nico's lips from the sharpness in her tone, "purebloods. So Nico has a talk with them when our paths cross.",Maki stopped, her arm dropping and Nico nearly falling as a result, "Is that why I keep running into you, Nico? Because you're watching out for me? You could be hurt.",Nico looked unsteady, but her voice was granite. "So could you. I've seen some nasty Dark tricks.","You don't even know me." Maki wanted to sound less peevish but her voice refused to cooperate.,"Nico is chivalrous.","Nico is reckless.",Nico's grin got back some of the gallant and all of the daredevil, "Every day. What's the fun of magic if Nico can't impress cute girls.","I'm not impressed." Maki stated flatly, but felt herself blushing again when Nico raised an amused eyebrow. Then Nico went pale and Maki had to help ease her to the ground.,"Right." Maki said, pulling out her wand. A hover charm would be a good place to start. She hoped the paleness wasn't nausea related.,"Hexing Nico won't…",Maki closed her eyes, willing patience into her voice. She needed to get Nico safely to the hospital wing, let Madame Pomfrey treat her, and then get answers to all the questions crowding out common sense, "Helping Nico, not hexing." Maki smiled, wondering if she looked desperate or winning, "If you let me get inside, I might admit to…","Being impressed by Nico?" Nico's brashness tweaked Maki's mood, slamming the door before any flicker of curiosity could gleam.,With a snort, Maki cast the Hover charm, "Needing a refresher on the rules of Quidditch.",Nico relaxed as they started towards the Castle again, "Nico has a new fan.",Maki didn't disagree.

I do not own the characters of this work of fiction, and am making no profit, monetary or otherwise, through the writing of this., An AU and a crossover with Hawaii Five-0 set in modern times. Please forgive any errors. I'm trying not to obsess.,Fulfills the following prompts on the challenge that I tackled for the Winter Fic Fest (One Shot Season by JAWorley): 10) Severus sees Harry break down in one fashion or another (exploding or crying or something) 1) Your choice – chosen family and crossover 15) Angst to the max,Dumbfounded and overwhelmed, Harry looked from Snape to Dumbledore as they argued with each other about what was best for him. It was a situation that, had it been suggested by any of his classmates as little as a month ago, he'd have laughed it off as a joke. Snape going toe-to-toe with Dumbledore on his behalf? Laughable, at best. Cause for concern and a possible trip to St. Mungo's Ward, much more likely.,"Fine." Dumbledore's voice was even, almost calm, in an eerie sort of way. Harry could detect no evidence of anger in it, but he could see evidence of it in the way that the old wizard's eyes seemed to give off blue sparks instead of twinkle.,"I will transfer Harry's guardianship to that of his distant cousin, Steve McGarrett, provided that you act as Harry's tutor, and protect him during the summer months, while he's in Hawaii." Dumbledore's voice was now dripping with honey, but Harry thought he detected more than a hint of venom in the Headmaster's words. The old wizard's lips upturned in the facsimile of a smile, his long beard twitching with the movement.,Snape's lips twisted into a snarl that reminded Harry of Ripper when the dog was after him. It made him shiver, and he looked down at his clasped hands, trying not to give away just how freaked out he was about all of this. He'd never known that he had family outside of the Dursleys.,"I'm fine at the Dursley's," Harry said, heart hammering so hard that he could barely hear his own voice over the sound of it.,He wished that he could rewind time, like Hermione had done just a couple of weeks ago, and undo the event that had caused all of this. Not make his uncle angry enough to grab him roughly and shake him before they'd even made it out of the station.,If Snape hadn't seen what had happened, Harry would be locked away in his upstairs bedroom right now, waiting for his long list of chores from his aunt and uncle. Instead, he was sitting in Dumbledore's office, holding an ice pack to his bruised cheek, watching Snape and Dumbledore battle it out over him. He hated not having a say in his own life. Hated that Snape would not give him a balm for the bruise until after photos proving abuse had been taken.,Snape snorted, and Harry raised his head to glare at the nosy Potions Master, a number of nose-related puns popping into his head as he eyed his Professor. Puns that, if he valued his life, which he did, he would never utter, and would stop thinking about before the Professor realized he was thinking them.,Sometimes Harry got the distinct impression that Snape could read his mind. Dumbledore too. He was uncomfortable with the idea of either man being able to read his mind, so he looked away and continued seething on the inside.,"You're not fine with the Dursleys, Harry," Dumbledore said. His voice was solemn, and Harry looked at the elder wizard, who, up until a minute ago had been telling Snape that Harry had to stay with the Dursleys because of some blood magic thing.,Snape had countered him in every single argument, apparently having looked into Harry's genealogy prior to meeting with the Headmaster. Apparently Steve McGarrett was a distant cousin on his mother's side, a cousin that not even the Headmaster had known existed until Snape had shoved the obscure document in his face.,"It's just a matter of transferring the blood wards from the Dursley home to that of McGarrett's home," Snape had pointed out early on in the heated debate.,All in all, it was a rather impressive argument to witness, though Harry felt like a third wheel throughout it, which bothered him, because it was his life they were arguing about, and he didn't have a say in any of it. If he was allowed to speak on his behalf, he would have argued for staying with his newly discovered godfather, Sirius Black, though he knew that, because the man was still wanted for a crime he didn't commit, it was a moot point. Until Sirius Black's name was cleared, Harry had been forbidden to speak his name, let alone live with the wizard.,None of it was fair. His life, as a general rule, wasn't fair. He doubted that life with a distant cousin of his mother's would be any better than life at the Dursley's had been. He'd probably be exchanging one bad situation for another. Maybe Steve McGarrett would be worse than the Dursleys had been. After all, Harry hadn't had much luck with cousins. Dudley had been picking and beating on him since they were in diapers.,Dumbledore sighed and tugged at the corners of his beard. He frowned thoughtfully at Harry and nodded as though Harry had spoken.,"Hawaii has a small wizarding community." Dumbledore's voice had taken on a thoughtful tone. "As a matter of fact, I believe that Mage Chin Ho Kelly works for a Steve McGarrett. I wonder if they're one and the same.","Is the Steve McGarrett who works with Mage Kelly a wizard as well?" Snape asked, and Harry felt like he'd been forgotten, left to witness his own life from outside of it.,Dumbledore shook his head and offered Harry a smile. Harry scowled in return. He could play their little game too.,"No, he's a muggle, though an impressive one if even half of what Mage Kelly shares with me is true. If this is the same McGarrett that is Harry's cousin, then I have no problem with transferring the wards from the Dursleys to McGarrett's, and providing the Dursleys with another form of protection until Voldemort is vanquished for good," Dumbledore stated, eyes twinkling once again.,Snape winced at Dumbledore's mention of Voldemort's name, though he didn't scold the elder wizard as he'd have scolded Harry had he done the same.,"Why don't you bring Harry down to see Madam Pomfrey while I look into the particulars of transferring Harry's guardianship to Mr. McGarrett?" Dumbledore's tone was dismissive.,Snape seemed to bristle at Dumbledore's dismissal, but he didn't say anything, instead, he nodded and gestured for Harry to stand and follow him. Without a word, Harry complied, knowing that if he opened his mouth nothing good would come out of it, and he'd just get himself into trouble with the dour Professor. Something he wasn't eager to do if Dumbledore hadn't been kidding about Snape being his summer tutor.,He hated this. Hated how he was being moved like one of Ron's chess pieces, and not even a very important one. He was a pawn, and Snape and Dumbledore, while not exactly on opposite sides, were playing with his life, moving him along the board one square at a time.,"Don't dawdle, Potter." Snape's voice was as silky as ever even though he had snapped the words. His nostrils were flaring and he was practically flying through the corridors, walking at a clipped pace that Harry found difficult to keep up with.,"I haven't got all day to pander to your needs, you know." Snape's robes were billowing behind him as he continued to speed toward the Hospital Wing.,Harry had never wanted to hex someone more than he wanted to hex Snape right now. The wizard was arrogant and rude, and treating Harry like a child. And what was worse was that Snape seemed to think that this was what he wanted, though it couldn't be further from the truth.,Harry wanted to return to his aunt and uncle's home. He didn't mind being roughed up by Dudley; most of the time he could outrun or outsmart his cousin slow, dimwitted cousin.,He didn't mind doing chores, or getting an occasional backhand or frying pan to the head from his aunt. Uncle Vernon's sporadic punishments involving a belt, or his fists, or whatever was handy, were hardly anything to get worked up about. Being denied food, or locked in his room for days at a time was nothing that Harry couldn't handle.,Harry had been dealing with all of that for as long as he could remember. None of this was new, none of it alarming. He'd survived living with his family for this long, what was a few more years?,"Sorry to inconvenience you, ," Harry muttered, hand tightening around his wand. He bit off the rest of his would-be retort when Snape stopped walking and turned to face him, something indefinable glittering within the depths of his dark eyes.,Harry took a step back and fought to maintain eye contact. When Snape looked away and resumed his march down the hallway, Harry sighed in relief, and hurried to catch up. Whatever had just happened, Harry had the feeling that he'd just escaped the lecture of a lifetime, or maybe a lifetime of disgusting detentions.,One thing was for sure, it was going to be a very long summer, whether or not the McGarrett that Snape had uncovered as Harry's long lost cousin was the same McGarrett that worked with Mage Kelly.,Having Snape as a tutor was going to be downright torturous, especially if the wizard refused to see him as anything other than a nuisance or some stupid pawn on a bigger than life chessboard, not unlike the one that Harry had seen in his first year at Hogwarts.,Ron had been brilliant then; his personal sacrifice allowing Harry to venture further into the labyrinth that had led Harry to the first confrontation with Voldemort that he could remember. He had no recollection of what had happened when the evil wizard had killed his parents, other than a piercing scream and a nauseating green light that seemed to haunt his dreams.,Harry nearly walked into Snape when the man stopped in front of the doors to the Hospital Wing, and the Professor glared at him. Harry felt a very juvenile urge to stick his tongue out at Snape, but resisted it. He valued breathing way too much to do something like that, and he liked his tongue right where it was. There was no doubt in his mind that Snape was able to perform some kind of spell which would relocate it somewhere on his person that a tongue should never go, and Harry wouldn't put it past his Professor not to be vindictive.,"I'll leave you in Madam Pomfrey's care. I trust you can find your way inside the Hospital Wing all by yourself." Snape raised a single eyebrow, and Harry bit his tongue to keep from venting just a small portion of the anger that he felt toward the wizard. He nodded, and pushed past Snape, cursing beneath his breath as soon as the door had shut behind him.,Madam Pomfrey tsked and fretted over him, took photographs of his bruise, which looked far worse than it felt, Harry assured her, and then tended to it. She waved her wand over him in an intricate series of flicks and swishes that left him reeling, explaining that she was conducting an exam that would give her a medical history detailing every bruise, break, and ailment that Harry had encountered since birth.,A fine mist-like substance filled the air between them, and Harry, without his glasses (Madam Pomfrey had removed them before tending to his bruise, and hadn't yet returned them) couldn't quite make out the images that seemed to form within the mist. Whatever she'd learned caused the Mediwitch to frown and narrow her eyes dangerously. She used the tip of her wand to capture all of the mist and then bottle it up in a couple of empty vials which she pocketed before Harry could really get a good look at them.,She patted him on the head, and handed Harry his glasses. She gave Harry a look that was a cross between anger and pity. It didn't sit well with him at all, and he found himself wishing that Snape had stayed with him. If there was anything he hated more than being treated like a third wheel in his own life, it was being pitied, and he knew that Snape would not pity him. Snape might hate, belittle, and scold him, but he'd never pity him.,"Here, drink this." Madam Pomfrey handed him a vial, and Harry peered at the contents with no small amount of trepidation. It looked thick and greasy.,"What is it?" Harry trusted the Mediwitch, but he didn't trust potions. They almost never tasted good, and this one looked like it would taste much worse than any other potion he'd taken thus far. Maybe even worse than the castor oil his aunt had given him when he'd been younger and had an upset stomach, or when she was punishing him for some minor offense that didn't require Uncle Vernon's heavy hand.,"It's a nutritive potion," Pomfrey said, gesturing for him to uncap the vial and drink it down. "As soon as you've finished that, I'll have the house elves bring you something from the kitchens. You'll be staying in the Hospital Wing tonight, Professor Dumbledore's orders.",Grimacing, Harry uncapped the vial. Plugging his nose, he drank the foul looking potion in a single swallow, and tried not to gag. Surprisingly, though, it tasted a little like a combination of pumpkin juice and butter beer. It wasn't awful at all, which definitely made it his new favorite potion, in spite of its off-putting looks.,"It only looks like it tastes like sweaty socks," Madam Pomfrey said with a conspiratorial wink. "Why don't you get settled in, and I'll have a dinner tray brought to you." With that she bustled off and left Harry alone.,Truth was, it had been a very long, trying day. He'd left Hogwarts early that morning, expecting to be nestled away in his stuffy, dusty room well before now. Instead, he was sitting in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts, eating a dinner that he'd never have gotten had he been at the Dursley's, waiting to hear what the rest of the summer held for him.,He knew that, thanks to Snape, he wouldn't be returning to the Dursleys, but he didn't know when he'd be going to his cousin's, if his cousin even wanted him. He wondered what would happen to him if his cousin refused to take him in, and what it would be like to have Snape as a live in tutor.,It was enough to give him a headache, and to make him want to run away from it all, but he was no coward, and would face whatever the future held with his head high, even if his insides were quivering. He would take whatever life tossed his way and deal with it in the best way that he could, because he knew no other way to handle any of this.,After dinner, he fell asleep with no answers for what the future held for him as neither Dumbledore nor Snape had come to see him at all. Madam Pomfrey had tucked him in, which was awkward, but nice at the same time, and had promised him a hearty breakfast, as well as more of the nutritive potion, come morning.,Morning came and went. Breakfast was almost tasteless, he was so anxious about what awaited him - the decision that Dumbledore had come to without his input.,By the time that lunch rolled around, Harry was pacing the corridor outside of the Hospital Wing, anxious for word about what Dumbledore had learned about Steve McGarrett, and whether he'd be spending the summer months in Hawaii or somewhere else.,Harry didn't know much about Hawaii, though he'd heard his aunt and uncle mention it a couple of times, and he might have learned a little about it in elementary school. He knew it was an island, but knew little else about it.,"Severus, you look fine." Dumbledore's voice alerted Harry to the approach of his Professors, and he hurried to return to his temporary 'room' in the Hospital Wing before he was caught out in the corridor. Though he was anxious, he didn't want his Professors to catch him at it. He had to maintain some kind of dignity, whether it was faked or not.,"I still do not see why I have to accompany the Potter brat to Hawaii for the summer," Snape complained, reminding Harry of his cousin Dudley whenever Aunt Petunia asked him to do something that might benefit Harry. "I've got things to do besides babysit young miscreants.",Harry tamped down on his anger. It was going to be impossible living with Snape for the summer, even if his cousin did turn out to be decent enough. He quickly sat on the chair that Madam Pomfrey had provided for him during his brief stay, and pretended to be engrossed in his third year Charms text, hoping that he wouldn't be questioned about what he'd read.,"Come now, Severus. It won't be , bad." Dumbledore's voice sounded much too cheerful, even to Harry, and he could only imagine the look on Snape's face. It almost made him laugh, but he pushed that insane urge aside, and reread the title of the chapter that he'd opened the book to. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, and wondered if Professor Flitwick had covered that particular chapter in class.,"You'll have your own place on the beach, near McGarrett's. You'll be there to keep an eye on things, and will have plenty of time to work on your groundbreaking potions, and whatever else it is that you do with your spare time in the summer months," Dumbledore said in an overly jovial voice that made Harry wince in sympathy for Snape, which was completely absurd.,Harry snorted and turned the page on the book he was only pretending to read. Either he'd missed a lot in Charms class last year, or Flitwick hadn't covered half of the material in the textbook. Harry doubted that it was the latter.,"I hate the ocean and the beach," Snape complained, and Harry almost lost his place on the page. Not that any of what he was looking at made any sense anyway.,, he thought, and tried to concentrate on words that simply did not want to stay put, which usually only happened when he was tired or stressed. Something that he'd never told anyone, not even Hermione or Ron. He was fairly certain that seeing words moving around on the page was as abnormal as hearing voices. The last thing that Harry needed was something that set him even more apart from others.,"You'll grow to love the beach, and all of that sun. You could take up surfing," Dumbledore was using a voice that Aunt Petunia used when she was trying to get Dudley to eat his vegetables.,"I see that you've got it all worked out for me, Albus," Snape replied sarcastically, and the door to the Hospital Wing opened.,Harry felt like his heart was in his throat, and he gave up on trying to make the words stay put on the page as the Professors' footsteps echoed in the nearly empty space. He ran a hand through his hair, and gave up the ruse of reading when the footsteps stopped, and he saw the shadows of his professors fall over him.,"Harry." Dumbledore's voice was pitched in a tone that was meant to soothe, but it grated on Harry's nerves, because he knew what was coming, and no amount of trying to soften the blow of the wizard's words was going to make it any easier for Harry to accept them. His life, once again, was going to change, and he had no say in it, which was nothing new. It didn't make it any easier, though.,Dumbledore conjured a plush, purple chair and sat down across from Harry. Snape, dressed in ruffled looking muggle clothing, hair tied back in a ponytail, stood beside Dumbledore's chair, looking everywhere but at Harry and Dumbledore. He wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and what appeared to be snakeskin boots. Though his clothing was rumpled, it wasn't half bad. Snape would easily pass as a muggle in the dark jeans, black tee-shirt and dark brown leather jacket that he wore.,Harry was dressed in the best pair of hand-me-down jeans that he owned. There were only a few holes in this pair, one in the right knee, and the other a couple of inches below that. They were faded, and a couple of sizes too big, so he had them cinched around the waist with a belt that was a little on the large size as well. His tee-shirt was another castoff of Dudley's, and had too many holes (thankfully small) to count.,In past summer months, Harry hadn't cared about what he'd worn, because no one who'd mattered would see him, but now, even though it was just Dumbledore and Snape, he felt the heat of shame creep up the back of his neck and warm his cheeks. He avoided making eye contact with Dumbledore and picked at a loose thread on the gigantic tee-shirt that dwarfed him. Maybe, if he concentrated hard enough, he, and the shirt, could disappear.,"Harry, I understand that this must all be coming as quite a shock to you.",Harry looked up from the thread he'd been working loose, and saw that the Headmaster's eyes were shining, and, in the place of a smile, he wore a sad, thoughtful look. A look that Harry didn't like one bit.,Harry shrugged in lieu of speaking. Nothing he had to say on the matter would be taken into account anyway. Snape might think he was a spoiled, self-serving little brat, and maybe he was sulking and not acting his age right now, but he didn't care. His life was being rearranged, right before his eyes, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.,From what Harry could see of the way that Snape stood, leaned against Dumbledore's chair, Harry thought that the wizard looked equally as put out as he felt.,Another stab of sympathy for Snape caused Harry to regard the snarky wizard in a different light. He was no more in control of the pieces on the chessboard than Harry was. He, too, was a pawn, and Dumbledore was the player. Who he was playing against, other than Voldemort, was anyone's guess. It was a dizzying revelation, one that did not sit well with Harry at all.,Dumbledore gave him a sad smile, and placed a gnarled hand on his knee. Harry wanted to push it off, but didn't.,"I know this isn't easy for you, and I'm sorry that I didn't see what was happening at the Dursley's sooner.",Snape snorted and Harry met the wizard's eyes, found understanding in them before they both looked away.,"It's okay, Sir," Harry said, though it wasn't okay.,He'd told Dumbledore that he didn't like living at the Dursley's during his first year at Hogwarts, and nothing had happened. He'd given up hope that he'd ever be able to live somewhere else, have a family who loved him, when he'd learned that Sirius Black would not be able to take him in like he'd offered to. He'd given up, and now he was being told that the impossible had happened, and it was all through Snape, the snarky Professor who hated him, and would apparently be keeping an eye on him all summer long., Harry thought.,"No it's not," Dumbledore said, and Harry swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. He squeezed Harry's knee. "But, Steve McGarrett seems like a good man. Mage Kelly speaks highly of him, and has agreed to look out for you.',"But then why does Professor Snape have to come with me?" Harry asked, shooting a look at the Professor who was glaring at the top of Dumbledore's head.,Dumbledore took a deep breath and squeezed Harry's knee again. "Mage Kelly is very busy. Not only is he a magician of high standing in Hawaii, but he also works on Hawaii's top task force, along with your cousin. While Mage Kelly has assured me that the wards will be in place by the time that you and Professor Snape arrive later today, he has indicated that, often times you may be on your own, because of your cousin's busy schedule.","I don't need a babysitter," Harry grumbled, tacking on a, "," when Snape made a noise at the back of his throat. The last thing he needed was to vex the Professor before they'd even left for Hawaii.,Dumbledore smiled indulgently and patted Harry's knee. "I don't doubt that you've been taking care of yourself for quite awhile now, Harry." His smile faltered, which made Harry's stomach flip, and made him think that maybe the wizard really hadn't realized how bad things had been for him under the Dursley's roof.,"But that won't be the case from here on out," Dumbledore promised, moving his hand from Harry's knee. "I'm sending Professor Snape to make sure that the wards are strong enough to protect you, and your cousin, and to help keep an eye on you when your cousin isn't able to.","If he's so busy, then why aren't you sending me back to the Dursleys?" Harry wondered.,They might not be the best family in the world, but if his cousin was that busy that Dumbledore had to send Snape to help look after him, then maybe he was better off with them, and not inconveniencing anyone else, even if it was Snape.,"You'll return to the Dursley's inattentive care the minute I grow wings and fly," Snape said in a hiss. "I don't like this any better than you do, Potter. We'll have to make due with the arrangements that the Headmaster has made. You're not the only one who is being inconvenienced in all of this.","I know that, ," Harry couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. "I'm well aware of how , you and my cousin and Mage Kelly, like the Dursleys always were, will be with all of this. I just don't understand why I have to move when -","You selfish, insufferable little brat," Snape sneered, cutting Harry off and taking a step toward him. "After everything that's been done for you, the arrangements that have been made, this is how you repay the Headmaster, by throwing it all back in his face?",Harry's cheeks grew hot and he clenched his hands into fists. No way was he going anywhere with Snape, even if the wizard did have his own place to live, and was only looking in on him from time to time. They'd probably kill each other before the summer was out.,Harry opened his mouth to tell Snape just what he thought of him, but snapped it shut when Dumbledore raised his hands and stood between him and Snape.,"Enough! Harry, it's not an inconvenience for anyone." Dumbledore gave Snape a look over the top of his glasses that made the Potions Master back down and lean against the chair once again, before giving Harry a tired look that made him feel childish. He wondered if Dumbledore had given Snape a similar look, because the man was looking at his feet.,"Your cousin has expressed great interest in getting to know you, and Mage Kelly has assured me that you'll be well received by the man's partner, Mr. Williams. By the entire family unit that their team is comprised of. In a way, they are rather like our Aurors, though only two members of their team have magic on their side - Mage Kelly and his cousin, Mage Kalakaua," Dumbledore explained.,"They are the best law enforcement team that Hawaii has to offer in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, and work as liaisons between both worlds. There is no doubt in my mind that, with Professor Snape's help erecting and maintaining the blood wards, you'll be entirely safe there," Dumbledore said. "Maybe even safer than you were at the Dursley's.",Snape cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, Dumbledore held up his hand. "If things work out as I believe they will, you won't have to return to Hawaii with Harry the following summer.",Snape nodded. "Good, I hate the beach. Sand gets everywhere.",Harry almost laughed, but thought better of it. He felt on edge, and as though his nerves were on fire.,"Sir, when do we leave?" Harry looked anxiously at the big clock in the room. It had more hands than a muggle clock, less than the clock that the Weasleys had, and was nearly impossible for him to read at the moment.,"In a couple of hours. First, I think we need to transform that outfit of yours into something a little more suitable for traveling," Dumbledore said, and with a flick swish of his wand, Harry's clothes were transformed into clothes that actually fit. The holes were gone, except for the one at his knee, which was actually kind of cool and Harry wondered if Dumbledore was aware of that.,"I'm sure that your cousin will take care of the rest of your clothing needs once you've settled in. In the meantime, I think that you'll find that the clothes in your trunk have been similarly modified to fit you a little better," Dumbledore said. There was a definite twinkle in his eye and he paced the small space between them.,"Madam Pomfrey has informed me that, at least for the summer, you'll have to take a nutritive potion three times a week. You'll find that in your trunk as well. I trust that you will remember to take it?" Dumbledore looked at him over the tops of his glasses and Harry nodded.,"Yes, Sir." He felt an urge to blab that it was the one potion that didn't turn his stomach, and he ignored the look that Snape shot his way. If he wasn't mistaken, it was a look of alarm, maybe even concern. An unwelcome sentiment from Snape.,"Good." Dumbledore patted Harry's shoulder, and smile down at him. "Good. You'll carry your wand with you everywhere you go, and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. You will report to Professor Snape daily." Dumbledore gave Harry's shoulder a gentle squeeze to emphasize the importance of his words. "And you'll do everything that he tells you to, no questions asked. Do you understand?,"Yes," Harry said through gritted teeth. A look at Snape confirmed that the wizard's lip was curled in a haughty sneer. "I understand completely, Sir.","Professor Snape will be reporting back to me at least once a week, as will Mage Kelly," Dumbledore added, making Harry feel a little better, though not much. Having to answer to Snape, during the summer months, was not something that he was looking forward to. It was going to be a very long summer.,"Sir, can I write to Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked, the thought that he might not be able to communicate with his friends hitting him suddenly, and making his heart hammer in his chest. He'd thought that he'd been cut off from the wizarding world on Privet Drive, how much more would he be cut off when he was an ocean away?,Dumbledore smiled at him reassuringly. "Of course, though I don't think that Hedwig will be up for the long flight herself, there are other birds better suited to long distance travel. Mage Kelly or Mage Kalakaua will be able to help you with that. I'd wager that you'll even be able to call Hermione from time to time. Something that I don't think the Dursleys ever allowed you to do, if I'm not mistaken.",Harry blushed and nodded, his stomach sinking with the knowledge that Dumbledore knew more than he should about his life at the Dursleys, which could only mean one thing. The wizard had visited his relatives. A look at Snape confirmed his worst suspicions, that, not only had Dumbledore paid a visit to Privet Drive, but so had Snape.,"You need not worry yourself on your aunt and uncle's behalf," Dumbledore said, correctly interpreting Harry's silence, possibly reading his mind. "Though they did not take care of you the way that they should have, they will still be protected from Voldemort when the time comes.","They don't deserve it," Snape muttered and Harry saw that the wizard was gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles were white.,"It's what Harry's mother would have wanted," Dumbledore said in a quiet voice, and Snape's jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything else.,"Thank you, Sir," Harry said, knowing that, even though the Dursleys treated him terribly, he wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them. He'd wanted, truth be told, for them to love him. Something that he now knew would never happen.,"Rest up, Harry. You'll be leaving in a couple of hours. You'll be traveling by Floo to Honolulu's International Floo Port, which is directly beneath the airport. Mage Kelly will deliver you to your cousin, and will guide Professor Snape to his temporary beach home," Dumbledore said. "I suggest that you send letters to your friends now, explaining the situation and why they might not hear from you right away.","Thanks, Professor," Harry said, though the words weren't nearly enough for all that Dumbledore had orchestrated for him in the matter of less than twenty-four hours. He stiffened, and then relaxed when Dumbledore drew him into a hug.,"You're most welcome Harry. Take care. I'll see you in September." Dumbledore released him, and, after a nod to Snape, the wizard left the two of them alone.,Several awkward minutes of silence had Harry squirming in his seat, and finally raising his eyes to those of his Professor's. Snape was watching him, his dark eyes unreadable.,"In order for this to work, Potter," he said, and Harry bristled at the man's tone, but bit his tongue. "You are going to have to stop walking headlong into danger.",Harry opened his mouth and closed it. He didn't willingly walk into danger. Really, he didn't. He'd tried to get help first year, and then second year, and had been turned away or ignored by the adults, and sometimes the adults were the problem. He knew that Snape wouldn't understand any of that though.,"You may have Dumbledore and the others fooled," Snape said. "But not me. There'll be none of your usual attention seeking behavior this summer. I won't have it," he said, nostrils flaring.,"I don't need your attention, Sir," Harry threw back. "I don't go out of my way to find danger, it finds me." He wished he could take his words back as soon as they left his mouth, knowing how Snape would interpret them.,Their argument was cut short when Madam Pomfrey entered the room to deliver Harry's lunch and check on how well his bruise was healing. It had all but disappeared, and Harry silently thanked the Mediwitch for her timely intervention. If she'd been just a minute later, there's no doubt in Harry's mind that he and Snape would have been at each others' throats.,He picked at his food, the summer stretching out before him rather dismally as he thought about having to answer, not only to a cousin that he didn't know, but also to Snape. It might even be worse than he had it at the Dursley's.,He wrote a quick letter to Ron, informing him of his change in address, as well as his confrontation with Snape, knowing that Ron would sympathize with him. In his letter to Hermione, he told her about his new living arrangement and indicated that they might be able to talk on the phone sometime, which he knew she'd like. He left out his confrontation with Snape, already knowing what she'd say to him. He didn't need a double lecture, thank you very much.,When it was time to leave, Harry wasn't ready, but he doubted that he ever would be, even if he'd had days to prepare for it. He wondered if he'd feel the same longing for Hogwarts that he felt every summer he had to return to Privet Drive.,Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey hugged him, and he promised to behave himself and listen to his cousin and Snape, promised to drink the nutritive potion. It was far more emotional than he'd thought it would be.,The Floo trip was much longer, and more dizzying than the few trips he'd taken with the Weasleys. When he arrived, he was sick to his stomach, but strong arms steadied him, and no one laughed. He felt like he was swimming through a thick fog. It was hot and humid, and there were strange scents in the air.,"Easy, I've got you," a voice Harry did not recognize said. "Professor Snape is right over there." Harry followed a pointing finger and nodded his understanding when he saw Snape standing a few feet away, scowling at everything around him.,"My name's Chin Ho Kelly," the man said. "I believe that your Headmaster told you about me?","Yes," Harry replied, when he could get his mouth to work once again. "You're Mage Kelly?',The man smiled at him, making Harry feel welcome and oddly safe. "You can call me Chin if you'd like.","Hey, cuz, no hogging Steve's baby cousin," a woman with long, dark hair and an impish smile said. She elbowed Chin out of the way and pulled Harry into a rib crushing hug, kissing him on the cheek, and saying, "Aloha. Welcome to Hawaii, Harry. You're going to love it here. Even if Mr. Grouchy over there," she whispered, "doesn't.",Harry giggled in spite of himself. The woman winked at him, and then held him at arm's length. She frowned and poked him in the ribs. "A couple of weeks with Danny's cooking, and you'll have some meat on those bones.","And that whirling dervish is Kono Kalakaua," Chin said, shaking his head at his cousin's antics.,"You can call me, Kono," she said, and she pulled Harry along behind her. "Come on, Steve and Danny are upstairs. They're both dying to meet you.",She held a ring of flowers out to him, and not understanding what to do, Harry blinked at her. She gestured toward his head, and, a little self conscious, Harry ducked, allowing her to place the flowers around his neck.,"Aloha, now you've been officially welcomed to Hawaii. It's called a lei," Kono said, and a quick glance at Snape revealed that the wizard had a similar ring of flowers around his neck as well. He almost giggled, and pressed his lips tightly together to keep the sound from escaping them.,Harry felt like he'd been sucked into some kind of alternative universe. If it hadn't been for Kono's hand on his, he thought that he might just float away. Snape followed behind them, speaking in subdued tones to Chin. There was so much to take in that Harry couldn't be bothered to pay attention to what the two were talking about, though he had a sinking suspicion that it was him.,"Steve is a good guy, really, he is. He's just kind of...a little on the...stiff side? Though Danny's helped loosen him up a bit. He has a tendency to be a little overprotective, especially when it comes to his little girl, Grace, but that's understandable. She's his little girl, and Danny's, well, Danny's, Danny. You'll see. Just wait, you'll love them, and I just know that they're going to love you. Grace will too. She spends most weekends with her Dad and Steve, now that they're together..." Kono kept up a steady stream of chatter that Harry soon lost track of.,It was strangely comforting, though Harry couldn't follow everything she was saying. He hoped that she was right about Steve and Danny liking him. He hadn't had such a good track record with relatives.,It felt like they'd been walking forever, and in circles, all of the hallways twisted and turned, and looked the same to Harry.,"Almost there," Chin said, breaking through Kono's words. "Just up that flight of stairs and then we'll be in the airport. Your cousin and Danny will be waiting for us just outside.",Harry nodded. He was more tired than he should be.,"Traveling by international Floo really takes a lot out of you," Kono said, bumping shoulders. "Don't worry, once you get settled in at Steve and Danny's you can rest.",Harry blinked at Kono and smiled his thanks. He felt like he'd traveled, not only through space, but also through time, and he supposed that, in a way, he had.,"There's a ten hour difference," Chin explained. "It'll take about a week, maybe a little less for your body to acclimate to the time difference.","We've got everything set up for you, don't worry," Kono said.,Harry had no idea what he would worry about. His head felt like it was disconnected from his body, and he felt like he was dead on his feet.,"I think you'll really like the way that Steve's fixed up his sister's old room for you," Kono continued her nonstop monologue, apparently not needing any input from Harry, which was fine with him. She reminded him, in a way, of Hermione, who could really go on and on if given half the chance, or when talking about a book.,"I helped, and of course we asked your Headmaster what you liked," Kono said. "Or rather, I and Danny pestered Steve into asking the right questions.",Harry wondered just how long Dumbledore's conversation had been with the Hawaiians for them to have gathered all of this information. It was both a little unnerving, and heartwarming.,"And, here we are," Kono announced, jarring Harry from his state of half sleep.,He blinked at the space around him, trying, but failing to take everything in. Snape had moved to his other side, and Chin was now standing in front of them, leading the way. It would have been comical had it been happening to someone else, like Malfoy.,"There they are," Kono practically squealed, and Harry wondered if the witch was always this hyped. She squeezed his arm a little too hard and pulled him along.,Before it even registered what was happening, he was being enveloped in a strong pair of arms, surrounded by the scent of crisp, clean linen and aftershave. Instead of feeling awkward or forced, the hug felt a little like coming home, or what Harry imagined such a thing would feel like if he'd ever experienced it before. The Dursleys had never hugged him, that he could recall. Mrs. Weasley's hugs were a little like Kono's, so strong that he felt like his bones were going to crack. This one, though, was safe and comfortable, and a hug that Harry didn't want to give up anytime soon.,"Welcome home, kid," the man, who was only a foot or so taller than him, said, and Harry felt tears sting his eyes.,He felt foolish, and bit back a sob. He'd never gotten this from the Dursleys, and, though Mrs. Weasley hugged him and welcomed him into her home, he'd never felt more loved than he did right now, and the man was a complete stranger to him. Harry had no idea if the blonde haired man hugging him was his cousin, Steve, or Steve's partner, Danny. In a way, it didn't matter.,Harry was released from the hug, but only had a few seconds to ponder the loss of it before he was embraced again, this time by a man who was much taller than he was. The dark haired man smelled of something that Harry couldn't identify and sweat, but it wasn't overpowering.,This hug was shorter than the one he'd gotten from the blonde man, but it left him just as shaken by the amount of raw emotion that was behind it.,"Welcome to Hawaii,Harry," the man said as he pulled away from Harry. "I'm your cousin, Steve, and that's Danny." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the blonde man. Though Danny was smiling at him, Harry could see that there were tears glimmering in the man's eyes and it caused the tears in his own eyes to spill over.,He found himself pulled into another warm embrace, and wished that the tears would stop. He couldn't understand why he was behaving like such a baby, or why he felt so good and safe being held by a man, who, up until a few minutes ago, had been a complete stranger.,Danny didn't seem to mind that Harry was getting the front of his shirt wet with his tears, he just held him and rubbed his back, and told him that everything was going to be okay. Something that no one had ever done for him before.,"We should get him home," Steve's voice, though it was quiet, was no less commanding, and Harry shivered.,"Just give us a few seconds here, Steve," Danny said.,"I don't like being out in the open like this," Steve said.,Harry could hear the irritation in the man's voice, and stiffened. He tried to make his tears stop, but they only seemed to come harder. He would never, in a million years, live this down with Snape bearing witness to this.,"Sorry," Harry whispered, and he tried to push away from Danny's chest, only to be pressed back against it.,"Stop being such an overbearing Neanderthal and give us a minute." Danny's words were clipped. "So what if we don't leave at whatever-o-hundred? Didn't Chin tell us that the wards were already set up, that Harry would be safe as long as he was with us?" Danny's words were spoken whisper soft, and yet Harry could hear the cutting edge to them.,Harry could hear a loud sigh, felt another hand on his back. "Fine," Steve conceded. "But I don't like being out in the open like this, wards or not.","Your worry is duly noted," Danny quipped. "We'll leave when Harry's ready to leave, and not a minute sooner.",Harry wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, and prayed to Merlin that his tears would dry up so that they could leave the airport and so he could stop making a fool of himself in front of his new family, and Snape. He wondered if the wizard would include this in his weekly report to Dumbledore.,"You okay, hon?" Kono asked, and Harry felt her hand on his head. He nodded, though he wasn't sure if he was okay. If he'd ever be okay again, his heart felt like it had been shredded and his head felt like it was going to implode at a moment's notice.,"I, for one, am of the same mind as McGarrett," Snape said, though his voice lacked any of its usual venom. "The sooner we get Potter into the safety of your home, the better.","I thought that the wards would keep Harry safe as long as he was with one of us," Danny said.,"He is safer within the confines of your home," Snape explained, voice strained as though he was trying hard not to let any of his usual snark seep in. "Am I to understand that you and McGarrett are domestic partners?","We're married," Steve said, his voice a low growl. Harry almost wished that he could see Snape's face.,"I see," Snape said.,"Is that going to be a problem?" Steve asked.,Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle in response to his cousin's tone. It reminded Harry of Snape's tone when he'd first seen Sirius in the Shrieking Shack.,"Not at all," Snape replied smoothly, as though he hadn't felt the tension in the air. "I assume that you took that into account when you set up the wards around McGarrett's home, Mage Kelly?","Everything's set up. I hate to rush you or put a damper on things, but Steve's right, Danny, we really should get Harry home, where he'll be safe," Chin said.,Instead of releasing him, or pushing him away, Danny held him even tighter. "You okay, Harry? Ready to go home now?",Harry sniffed, and after a few seconds, he finally managed to get his tears under control. When he was sure that they wouldn't start afresh, he nodded and Danny let him move away from him, though he wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders, and, without saying a word, started walking away. Steve fell into step beside Danny and Kono placed herself on the other side of Danny. Chin and Snape followed behind them.,"Thanks," Harry said.,"Anytime," Danny assured him.,"I'm not usually...that is...I don't...uh, I don't typically cry like a baby," Harry was quick to explain.,He didn't usually cry at all. Hadn't cried much since he'd first started living with the Dursleys. It had been discouraged right out of him. He'd learned quickly that crying only led to more pain rather than comfort.,"It's okay," Danny said, shrugging it off as though it was a regular occurrence. "Even grown men cry.",He pursed his lips and glared at Steve when the man snorted. Steve held his hands up as though in surrender, and plastered a look of innocence on his face. Danny narrowed his eyes at his partner.,Sighing, Steve pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes, grown men cry, and it's nothing to be ashamed about.","Gee, Steven, that sounded sincere." Danny's voice rose a notch as he spoke, and Kono quickly slipped an arm around Harry's waist.,She whispered, "They fought like an old married couple, even before they were married.","Hey, I heard that." Danny pouted, and Steve looked like he'd been wounded by Kono's words.,She rolled her eyes and whispered, "They may fight a lot, but they love each other. Personally, I think their fighting is really -",Steve whistled, cutting off whatever it was that Kono had been about to say. He shot her a look that would've made Harry shake with nerves, but only made Kono laugh.,"Ixnay on that kind of talk in front of the kid," Danny said, covering Harry's ears with his hands.,Though he'd been crying minutes ago, Harry felt laughter bubbling up inside of him, and for the first time in a long time, he felt happy, and as though what he'd learned this past year wasn't going to weigh him down throughout the summer. The betrayal of his parents that had led to their death, the betrayal of Sirius, and the escape of the rat who'd sold all of them out, wasn't going to be the sole thought that occupied his mind. Not with the crazy family that Snape had somehow uncovered for him.,Danny released Harry's ears after Kono pretended to 'lock' her lips up with her fingers. She winked at Harry, and whispered, "You don't gotta worry about those two. They really do love each other. We cousins have to stick together, you know.",Her eyes were twinkling more than Dumbledore's ever had. When Harry chanced a look behind him, he saw that Snape was watching the three of them, an almost wistful look on his face, which he carefully schooled into a scowl when he caught Harry looking.,"Thank you, Sir," Harry mouthed, his heart filling with gratitude that he'd never thought he'd feel toward Snape of all people.,The man was as dour as ever, would probably make Harry's life miserable from time to time this summer, but, for the first time since this whole fiasco began, Harry was grateful for Snape.,Grateful that the man had seen what he'd seen, that he'd stopped Uncle Vernon from making good on his threat to lock Harry up for the entire summer. That he hadn't accepted Dumbledore's platitudes and excuses, but had pressed for Harry to be taken out of the Dursley's home, for good.,"Mind your step, Potter," Snape cautioned when Harry tripped over a loose stone on the sidewalk.,"You did a good thing, sending Harry to us," Chin said in a voice that was just above a whisper.,"You don't know the half of it," Snape confided.,"That bad, huh?" Chin asked, and Harry decided that he really didn't need to eavesdrop on the two wizards, not when Kono was teasing Steve and Danny, and whispering advice to him. Not when he knew how bad it was from personal experience, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it until just now, when he finally had a taste of what something good felt like. What a family felt like.,"Welcome to the 'ohana, Harry," Kono said, kissing him on the cheek as she helped him climb into Steve's truck. Snape had shrunk their trunks, and was carrying both of them. He hoped that the wizard would remember, or he'd be sleeping in the clothes he was wearing. Not that he minded, he had a feeling that he could fall asleep right now, before they even reached Steve's home.,"What's 'ohana?" Harry asked around a yawn.,"It's Hawaiian for family," Danny explained. "They're big on 'ohana here.","Thanks for taking me in.","No thanks necessary," Steve said, eyes on the road as he navigated his way through busy streets. "You're family, and, as Danny's taught me, family does for family.","Oh, you've taught me a thing or two about family, too, Steven." There's no mistaking the affection in Danny's voice.,"Is that so, Danno?" Harry can hear the pride in Steve's voice, and it warms his heart.,Harry fell asleep to the sound of Danny's and Steve's voices as they continued to banter with each other. He barely registered when the truck stopped and he was carried into the house like he was a little kid rather than a teenager capable of walking on his own two feet.,He stirred when he felt himself being tucked into bed.,"Shh, go back to sleep," Steve urged. "You're home now.",Danny was standing in the doorway, watching them with a look of fondness on his face. It was clear that the man loved Steve, and was happy with what he was witnessing.,"Thanks." Harry didn't know what else to say, and he felt like he was stuck on repeat. The word, thanks, wasn't big enough to encompass all that he felt, but it was the only word that he had.,"This is what family is for," Steve said. "Get some sleep, and we'll talk in the morning, okay?",Harry nodded, eyes already slipping closed. He wondered if this is what it felt like to be loved and cherished when he felt Steve remove the glasses he'd forgotten, and warm lips brush his forehead.,"Good night, Harry," Danny whispered.,"Night," Harry mumbled, and he knew that this summer would be different than any of the summers he'd spent with the Dursleys.,It wouldn't be a dull summer, or a summer filled with endless, backbreaking chores to keep him busy and in his place. For the first time in his life, Harry had a feeling that he would have a summer like Ron and Hermione had. And he had Snape to thank for all of it.,Suddenly the thought of answering to Snape, and spending some time with him over the course of the summer didn't feel like such an awful thing anymore. Maybe the Professor would even help him with his homework, and he wouldn't be scrambling at the last minute to get work done like he'd had to do with his other relatives who'd despised everything magical, particularly him.,Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to have Snape looking out for his best interests, after all, or have the man in his corner of the chessboard, guarding every move that he made, whether by his choice or not. Oh, Harry knew that Dumbledore cared about him, but, after meeting Steve and Danny, Chin and Kono, Harry now knew what family really was, and what love entailed, and he'd only had a taste of it. He had a whole summer of it to look forward to.,Snape may not love him, or even like him, but he'd done more for Harry in the past two days than those who'd claimed to love him up until this point in his life ever had, and that was saying something. No adult had stood in Harry's corner like that before.,Harry fell asleep picturing Snape standing beside him and Hermione and Ron on that large as life chessboard from his first year at Hogwarts. The man's crooked nose was bleeding and he was tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear, his dark eyes were sparkling like mad, but he held his ground as a black knight surged forward, sword held high, guarding Harry with his life. For the first time ever, Harry felt safe, and as though the future might not be so bleak after all. Not when he had Snape and an 'ohana that cared about him by his side.,Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Ch1: Harry,I ran my hand down a long cordor of Sirius's house, it's been a week since the battle with Voldemort. I was more famous than ever now. Ron finally got the attention, and Hermione didn't care either way. I looked longingly at the picture of Sirius and me, I was the boys with the round glasses, black messy hair, and the famous lighting bolt scar. Sirius was the one that had a comb mustache, and brown curly hair that went down to about his shoulders.,Ron had disappeared the next day after killing Voldemort. Hermione was in shock and hasn't talked to me since. So I was alone. I was still stuck in Private Drive until I got money. So basically my life sucks now. I smiled at the picture and cleaned my glasses with my shirt. I plopped on the sopha, and a hand covered my mouth, I tried to scream, but all came out was my muffled voice. I managed to turn around and yell,",A figure flew back into the wall and knocked over a lamp, breaking it.,"He's a wizard! Just like Dr. Paige said! I couldn't tell if she was joking or not! Stun him!" Another figure said. Before I could do anything, a gun fired.,It eleticuted me, my vision sent black, I tried to scream, but couldn't. I tried to move, but couldn't do that either. It was the most horrible 5 minutes in my life. I woke again, I was strapped to a bed. I tried to get up, but couldn't, the restraints held me down.,"Well well well… you must be Harry Potter. You don't know me, but I fought against Voldemort too. Don't fear me. See I'm a witch, and when you destroyed Voldemort and you're friends did too, I realized; your perfect." The woman in the lab coat chuckled.,"You must be Ava Paige, they talked about you." I gritted my teeth and pulled at the restraints again. A girl with black hair and freckles came up.,"Are you sure about this?" She turned to Dr. Paige. "I mean like, releasing a wizard into the maze-","It'll be fine. Newt and Alby'll take care of him, and so will Ron. It's all in the variables." She waved the girl off. She looked about 17. The girl walked up to me, holding a needle on my arm.,"This is going to pinch." I realized I didn't have my wand with me. The last thing I thought before I dozed off, was

Harry Potter,Ron Weasley, 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint., 'Ello, Miss?, What do you mean "miss"?, ,I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint!, We're closin' for lunch, Three Broomstick is having a two for one special., Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this owl that I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique., Oh yes, the, uh, the Great Grey...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?, I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!, No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting., Look, matey, I know a dead owl when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now., No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Great Grey, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!, The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead., Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!, All right then, if he's restin', I'll wake him up! , 'Ello, Mister Polly Parrot! , There, he moved!, No, he didn't, that was you hitting the cage!, I never!, Yes, you did!, I never, never did anything..., , 'ELLO POLLY! , This is your nine o'clock alarm call!, Now that's what I call a dead owl., No, no...No, 'e's stunned!, STUNNED?!, Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Great Grey stun easily., Um...now look...now look, mate, I've definitely 'ad enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not 'alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein' tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk., Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords., PININ' for the FJORDS?! What kind of talk is that?, look, why did he fall flat on his back the moment I got 'im home?, The Norwegian Blue prefers keepin' on it's back! Remarkable bird, id'nit, squire? Lovely plumage!, Look, I took the liberty of examining that parrot when I got it home, and I discovered the only reason that it had been sitting on its perch in the first place was that it had been spelled there with a sticky charm., Well, o'course it was spelled there! If I hadn't sticked that bird down, it would have nuzzled up to those bars, bent 'em apart with its beak, and VOOM! Feeweeweewee!, "VOOM"?! Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you set a dragon on it! 'E's bleedin' demised!, No no! 'E's pining!, 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible! I am the Master of Death and I know a dead parrot when I see one. THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!, Well, I'd better replace it, then. , Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of parrots., I see. I see, I get the picture., , I got a slug., Pray, does it talk?, Nnnnot really., WELL IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!, N-no, I guess not.

Chapter 1: The Job,—,Let's begin at the beginning, shall we?,Just kidding. That would be too easy. Flashbacks are nice and complicated, and they make an author's life , much easier.,The story of Wade and Dina Wilson is a long one.,But you don't care about them, do you? You came for one of two reasons: to hear why the #%$ Harry Potter carried a tomahawk, or to escape you homework.,To escape your homework, continue reading.,To find out why the #$% Potter carried a tomahawk, do the same.,For real this time, let's begin. Not at the beginning, like any sane person would like, but in the middle. Our story middles in 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England, the UK, Terra, Sol-2187, the Milky Way, the Universe. A universe, anyway. Let's listen in.,—,Privet drive was quiet at night. Its residents were right proud of it, too. No alien invasions here, thank you very much. No government officials, no terrorists, no freaks, no criminals, no burglars. No neighborhood watch, either. No dogs roamed the quiet black streets. No stray cats sang a ghastly chorus atop a fence. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened, ever, on Private Drive.,If you like that, stop now. You've been warned.,When a lone pedestrian turned a corner and crossed into the lane, no one stopped him to ask where he was going. No one unglued their eyes from their TV set and called the police. No one saw the bulges under his black hoodie and the holsters on his hips. Only fate saw, and only fate reacted. Fate sucker-punched himself in the stomach and did a somersault.,Deadpool strolled past 1 Privet drive, a troubled soul. Troubled for two reasons.,First, good burritos were hard to find in Surrey. Really hard, man. The last job had been in Mexico. The salsa was to die for. Now the one and only Deadpool was stuck in England, without a taco in sight. Can't get a #$% good job in this kind of economy.,Second, his employer. Apparently, the guy who handed him the money and the intel was a friend of a friend of some nut in Azkaban. Very confidence-inspiring. Couldn't even get the dude's name.,Aw, #$% it, dinero es dinero.,Deadpool walked past 4 Privet Drive, lost in thought. Suddenly, he stopped, spun on his heel, and walked directly toward the front door.,—,Harry awoke to a loud crash. He groaned. Dudley must have fallen down the stairs. Again. Harry's corpulent cousin had a fetish for his mother's chocolate brownies, such that the pig-boy often snuck downstairs in the night to gorge himself. Not that he needed to sneak; Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia never denied their Duddiekins.,Next would come Dudley's scream of agony from the landing below the staircase. Petunia would rush downstairs, as always, and comfort her darling. Pig-boy would probably get a giant slab of chocolate pastry to himself and the blame for the entire incident would somehow fall, once again, on Harry.,The scream came, but not from the landing. Dudley was in the kitchen already. Suddenly, Harry was fully awake. He sat up slowly in his cupboard and clutched his frayed blanket to his chest. Something was very, very wrong. Dudley couldn't possibly be at the door and in the kitchen at once. A stranger was in the house.,—,Petunia Dursley woke to the sound of Dudley's scream. Frantic, she leapt out of bed, pulling her pink silk bathrobe on over her starched white nightgown. Petunia Dursley hurried down the stairs and stopped in her tracks. She had all of three seconds to mourn her freshly-painted front door.,—,Harry heard the noise the gun made. He knew what silenced weapons sounded like; Aunt Petunia liked to watch crime dramas on TV while he washed up after the evening meals. Next came the thunk on the staircase, right above Harry's knees. It was a light noise. Aunt Petunia, then.,Harry started hyperventilating. He couldn't think. All he could do was shiver in the dark and stay quiet. He was good at that.,—,Vernon Dursley heard the noise downstairs. Now, Vernon Dursley was an interesting man. A bully? Certainly. A miser? Undoubtably. Ugly? Irreversibly. But stupid? Stupid he was not. So Vernon Dursley grabbed his shotgun and crept out of his room and toward the staircase.,—,Harry heard the same noise again, followed by a series of thunks from the top to the bottom of the staircase. The entire staircase shook with the weight of the body. Harry bit his lip so hard he nearly drew blood. He tried to move farther back against the wall, but leaned against a nail. He hissed in pain, then froze.,—,Deadpool was bored. So far, the job had been all too easy. He'd kicked in the door and seen first a pig in the kitchen, mouth covered in chocolate. The pig (or maybe boy) fainted straight away. Whatever. He wasn't the target. Wade heard a stirring upstairs and wasted no time. He slid over the countertop and went for that chocolate. Deadpool always, always stopped for chocolate.,Just as Mr. Pool was beginning his first brownie bar, he saw the primary target scurrying downstairs. Scurrying was the right word for it. She moved like an overeager squirrel, if that squirrel hadn't eaten in a month. One shot was all it took. Petunia Dursley was dead.,Really, all Deadpool wanted was to finish his brownie, but before he could continue, a walrus with a shotgun appeared upstairs.,"Shotgun," Deadpool muttered. "This whole gig would be easier if they'd just outlaw the #$% things." The mercenary fired his silenced pistol. "Freak with handgun beats walrus with shotgun." Easy enough.,The house was silent. Deadpool took a moment to contemplate his hate for shotguns. Not that they could kill him, but the cleanup could be , messy and he really hated digging pellets out.,That's when he heard the whimper. The red-clad man-for-hire swung around, gun ready, towards the unconscious pig (boy?) on the kitchen floor. Still fast asleep. Deadpool sighed. Must be another #$% kid in the house.,"Kids," Deadpool groaned. "Why is there always a kid? Now I have to find the thing and knock it out. If this one holds up a rainbow unicorn in my face I'll quit the #$% job.",The mercenary slid over the countertop again, hopped over the bodies by the door, and ran up the narrow stairway to check the bedrooms.,—,Harry heard the thuds above his cupboard room and guessed that the man was upstairs. Now might be his only chance to escape. Hands shaking, he crouched by the door, took a deep breath, and then he pushed hard.,It was locked.,—,Deadpool was reading the pig's copy of the Batman Begins comic adaptation when he heard the noise downstairs. He stuck his new favorite comic book into his backpack, ran out of the cluttered bedroom, and leapt over the banister and onto the first floor. He holstered his pistol and loaded a tranq dart into the blowgun. Finally, he unlocked the broom cupboard and fired the dart at the first thing that moved. It yelped once and then fell silent. Cramming the rarely-used blowgun into his backpack, the mercenary crouched by the kid and turned him over so he wouldn't suffocate in his blanket.,That's when Deadpool saw the kid's face.,"Aw, #$%."

Characters:,William Spiritvine -Life(Champion) Kookaburra Wysteria Villa dorms with Art,-Black hair, green eyes: goes by Will,Artemis Silvershade-Death(Champion) Phoenix Villa,-Curly black hair, gray eyes: goes by Art,Alexander Winterthorn-Ice(Prodigious) Shiverous Knight,-Curly white hair, blue eyes: Nickname is Alec,Nikolas Moonflame-Fire(Prodigious) Winged Catatrosphe Watchtower Hall,-Ginger hair, brown eyes, freckles, gets sunburned easily: Nik or Niko,Talia Ravenscale-Balance(Champion) Sabertooth Myth House shares with Kat,-Curly, long brown hair, brown eyes: goes by Tal,Rina Rainscar-Storm(Prodigious)↝ Phoenix Treetop getaway shares with Em,-Black hair, brown eyes, tan: Rinnie,Emilia Silverspeak-Myth(Champion)↝Dragon Treetop getaway,-Blonde, blue eyes, freckles: Emi or Em,All of them are about 18-19 range,Alexander Winterthorn; the Champion Ice mage and self-proclaimed genius was currently screaming multiple obscenities at Yevgney Nighcreeper. The Lord of Death Malistaire; who had astonishingly returned back from wherever he was banished to, had invoked the Law of Kan Davasi. Alexander, along with his usual dungeon raiding group had teleported to Darkmoor to challenge the undead necromancer the first chance they had gotten. But, alas, the Astral Knight charged with protecting the graveyard had proven too strong yet again; for the third time in a row.,"You think you've won, don't you? We'll be back, and I'll be taking Malistaire's staff with me!" shouted Alec to the amused and chuckling Yevgney.,"Yes, I've heard it before. You've said that twice already, tiny human mage of winter. When will you and your little friends learn that you are no match for me? Go back to your Wizard City and lick your wounds. I'm sure I will see you again for your fourth loss." Nightcreeper laughed out and shook his head smugly.,"Argh!" shouted the Ice mage, as he stomped his foot on the ground for emphasis. His robes were scorched at the ends, whereas other parts were still frosted from ice attacks. His usually immaculate curly white strands were matted with sweat and dirt and looked more brown than white.,"Come on, Alec. Let's go back to Ravenwood, we've had enough for today," said Talia, the Balance mage's brown eyes were ringed with exhaustion.,"Yes. Yes, run away with your tail between your legs, little mages!" guffawed the Astral Knight.,The thaumaturge growled as he took a menacing step towards the undead knight, until Will, the reliable Life mage and stalwart peacemaker that he was, grabbed the back of the Ice mage's robes, "Let's go, Winterthorn," in a colorful, showering burst of magic the trio was out of the graveyard and at the front of Castle Darkmoor. "By the Light, you're worse than Art with your temper!",Talia giggled exhaustedly as they walked through the portal to Nightside, "Let's just go home and replenish our mana.",The trio milled about in Nightside, by the lopsided Death School. Talia straightened out her robes and fixed her frazzled, curly, brown hair as Will patted away the dirt and scorch marks on his green robes. Alec was still too fuming and upset to care for the state of his dress.,"I wanted that staff," Alec said plaintively, voice whining and sorrowful.,Talia patted the thaumaturge's head and grimaced in disgust as her hand came back dirty, "You'll have the staff one day, Al. We just have to build on our strategy and tactics.","Yeah, Alec. We just gotta figure out a better strategy," Will agreed, "Ah, I just got a message from Art. He says Merle wants to talk to us about something." The Life mage looked down at the watch on his wrist as the holographic image popped up to show the message from Artemis for everyone to read.,"Merle is calling our seven? I wonder why." Talia questioned with a frown on her face and brown eyes concerned.,"It must be about Earth if he's asking to talk to our seven. Come on, let's just go to the Commons and see what the matter is. No point in standing around here and guessing," Alec said and walked towards the entrance that leads out of the dark, gloomy cavern.,The trio emerged from the cavern to stand under the torrent of water from the waterfall and blinked at the bright beams of sunlight that filtered past soft, fluffy clouds.,"The water is refreshing and all. But we really have to find another entrance to this place that doesn't have a waterfall right over it." Will commented as he spelled everyone dry.,"Or we could just try putting the Death School back where it belongs," Talia added with a chuckle, "Honestly, it's been a while, and I'm sick of seeing that gaping hole next to the Fire school building.","Yes. It's quite the eyesore." Will agreed as the trio walked to Merle's office.,The Headmaster of Ravenwood quickly ushered the trio to the adjoining room where the rest of the seven mages from Earth milled about while Gamma sat roosted on his perch.,"Ah, the last of the seven. We're all here now. My most recent alumni, it truly does my heart proud. So much to say, so much to say. Let's start from the beginning shall we?" Merle rambled, as he leafed through some papers in his hands.,"So what do you need to talk about Headmaster? Rina and I assumed it must be about Earth if you called our seven specifically to talk." Emilia questioned, the Myth mage stood near Gamma's perch and petted the wise old owl in greeting.,"Ah yes, exactly. It is most definitely as you have deduced. For you see, it has come to the Council's attention that there is indeed a magical society on Earth!" Headmaster Ambrose exclaimed excitedly to the other's confusion.,"What? What do you mean there's a magical society on Earth?" Artemis questioned, confusion and shock clear on his face, "I mean, the reason that mages who are born on Earth come straight to Ravenwood is because there is no large enough magical population.","Exactly." Will said, nodding along to the Death mage's statement, "Maybe there were small points in history where humans on Earth practiced magic, but currently, there is nothing. Which is why magically talented children come straight here.","Yeah. No magical population means no magical society, which means no educational institutions for the magical arts." Alec concluded.,"Are we to now understand that this fact isn't true anymore? There's honestly a magical society on Earth? And I'm not asking about some ramshackle little village of wizards but like an actual society. Like with governments, laws, cities, and such?" asked Nikolas, as he ran his hand through ginger locks and pinched the bridge of his nose in bewilderment.,"Yes, it had recently come to the attention of the Council that there indeed is a magical population on Earth and has been for quite some time. Magical governments completely separated from the mundane ones, their own laws, police forces, banks, and schools," Merle answered, with a frown on his wizened face, "We've discovered these societies on Earth have been hidden in every country right under the mundane populations' nose.","How long do you believe that these magical populations have existed on Earth? I'm shocked that the rest of the Spiral has remained unaware of this. I mean, for years mages from Earth have been attending Ravenwood. And to think that magic has been on Earth this whole time?" Rina questioned, the Storm mage fiddled with Emilia's cloak in agitation.,"Ah, excellent question. Some magical bloodlines of Earth go back to 382 BC." The Headmaster answered dropping the bombshell.,"You cannot be serious! That's insane! It's simply not possible that the entire Spiral and the goddamned Council of Light could have missed an entire magical population of a planet for that long!" Alec shouted.,"I agree with the snowman, Headmaster. It seems unreal that a population of magical people could have remained hidden for so long. That's extremely suspicious." Nikolas agreed.,"Shut it, gingerbread!","I just agreed with you, Frosty-" Nikolas sighed before he was hit in the face with a giant snowball, " -Ouch! Honestly, Popsicle?",Talia helped the Fire mage up from the floor and brushed off the ice he had become covered in and whispered, "Alec is a little irritable from Darkmoor Castle. I would recommend that you refrain from the adorable nicknames for the time being. It's cute, but I don't think he'll appreciate them today.","Yeah, I got that from the avalanche that just fell on me," Niko growled, melting the ice around his vicinity with a quick spell.,"Anyway, moving on," Alec continued, cleaning his nails on his robes as the others looked on in shock at his blase attitude, "How did the Council not notice the magical population on Earth for all this time? Honestly, it just doesn't seem possible.","Yes," Rina agreed, even as she and Emilia edged away from the volatile thaumaturge, "It does seem pretty suspicious. I have trouble believing that the magical populace of an entire planet could have hidden away for years without the knowledge of some of the best leaders of the Spiral.","I understand, and while it is somewhat suspicious, I don't see what type of motive the Council would have for hiding such information from the rest of the Spiral," Talia added.,"The only motive I can think of is so that there would be more mages coming to Ravenwood. But then our dear Headmaster's integrity would be in question," Artemis said, and looked at Merle, as his gray eyes danced with mirth.,Merle laughed nervously, "I would never-","We know you would never Headmaster. It's not like Ravenwood was ever in need of bolstering its student numbers. The only worthwhile explanation is that nobody ever questioned the claim that there was no large magical population to be found on Earth. Or that nobody ever truly looked close enough." Alec elaborated.,"I agree, snow cone." Nik continued on, "Even though throughout history small magical populations did form, they were quick to die out. Not to mention the witch trials and such. I think it was just assumed that there would never be a large enough magical society on Earth. So what would be the point to keep on looking.","Exactly," Emilia agreed, "And, for the rest of the Spiral the magical and the mundane were never separated. One never hid from the other. I think the witch hunts and trials, truly made a large impact on Earth's magical community.","I agree," Alec said excitedly, "Anyone not well versed on the planet's history would have given Earth a superficial look, and when they didn't find any magical population, they would have left claiming that there wasn't any magic on Earth.","Yes, exactly." Nikolas agreed, sending a small smile the Ice mage's way.,"You seven are very keen," Headmaster Ambrose said proudly, "My colleagues came to that exact same conclusion ourselves. We poured over many records of our observations on Earth throughout the years. Our researchers made numerous reports detailing Earth's technological abilities but never were there any notes or comments on magic.","I think a more thorough investigation of Earth might be in order." Talia murmured.,"I agree, my dear," Merle said with a nod, "Our researchers have truly failed in their observations. It is saddening to think the Spiral has missed an entire planet full of magical peoples.","Okay, while this is all very exciting and shocking. I'm sure you haven't just called us here to inform us about Earth. So what is it?" Emilia asked.,"Of course. I have called you seven here today for a reason. Now, since magic on Earth has been discovered, my colleagues and I have been in talks about sending some mages down to truly learn more about its magical population. Right now we know very little." Merle explained.,"Do you wish for us seven to go, Headmaster?" Rina asked, excitedly.,"Yes, exactly. I thought who better to study Earth than the ones from the world itself. The seven of you know more about its customs, traditions, and cultures than anyone else. And you are also more than qualified as well." Headmaster Ambrose said with a proud smile.,"I understand your reasoning Headmaster. However, although we may be from Earth; and I believe I speak for us all when I say, that I have never seen this hidden, magical side of it my entire life. I wouldn't even know where to start looking." Emilia said with a saddened expression.,"Ah, yes, I understand. I won't be sending the seven of you blindly onto Earth, of course. About three months ago, the Council of Light actually reached out to Earth's International Confederation of Wizards. Quite the grand name, is it not?" Merle said, chuckling.,"Sounds something equivalent to the United Nations." Nikolas murmured.,"Yes, Nikolas. We reached out in hopes of establishing contact after the evidence of there being magic on Earth had come to light. There was a bit of panic on both sides, I'm sure you can imagine. After many discussions, both sides reached the conclusion that we would slowly release to the public that Earth would join the rest of the Spiral. However, before that can happen the Council agreed that more information about Earth and specifically more information on its magical system would be needed." Headmaster Ambrose explained.,"I bet this news will make more of a shocking impact on Earth than for the rest of the Spiral." Artemis snickered to Will.,"Anyway, the British Minister of Magic and the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards reached out to the Council." Merle continued.,"Supreme Mugwump?" Alec questioned, incredulous at the odd title.,"Interesting name, isn't it?" Ambrose chuckled.,"Interesting is one word for it," Artemis muttered to Will who chuckled in amusement.,"The Supreme Mugwump is the individual who heads the International Confederation of Wizards. His name is Albus Dumbledore, and he's also the headmaster of a wizarding school called Hogwarts. The British Minister of Magic reached out to the Council as it seems that Hogwarts is holding a tournament for young wizards from schools all around Earth. In light of recent revelations, Ravenwood has also been invited." Headmaster Ambrose explained.,"Oh, I can see where this is going. It's Pigswick all over again. Another school, another tournament, more mysteries to solve, and nothing new." Rina sighed, disappointed.,Ambrose chuckled in amusement, "Yes, Rina has gotten to the crux of it. I have called you, seven, together to be Ravenwood's and the Council's representatives for this Triwizard Tournament that Hogwarts is hosting. You will also be able to join in on the classes at Hogwarts to learn more about the magic from your homeworld.","But Headmaster, all seven of us have graduated Ravenwood already. Wouldn't it be unfair, as we aren't students anymore?" Talia questioned.,"I understand your concern, Talia. However, you wouldn't be going as just students but also as representatives of the Council of Light. There is an age restriction for the tournament as well. No one under the age of seventeen will be allowed to enter. As all seven of you are eighteen and a bit older, you will be fine. You seven also have great battle experience under your belt. To be honest, I would be a little concerned sending a student into such an unknown society.","I see, Headmaster. That makes sense." Talia nodded.,"So this Hogwarts school, then? I wonder what it's like. It'll be interesting learning the magical practices of our home world for sure." Nikolas murmured.,"It'll be quite the experience, I'm already excited. I wonder how Earth's magical community has developed in such isolation. Think about the culture, the spells, and types of magic they've probably come up with. I mean, we might be from Earth, but it'll be like diving into a whole new world." Alec said breathlessly.,Nikolas chuckled at the Ice mage's excitement, and ruffled his white curls, "Calm down, frosty. Anymore excited and you might melt.",Alec growled in anger as he swatted the pyromancer's hand away, "Must you ruin every good mood I have?","It's practically my job at this point." Niko bantered back, pinching Alec's cheek.,"Sure it is. And mine must be to give you frostbite." The pyromancer yelped at the biting cold to his hand that came along with the response.,"Ah-ha ahem, moving on. I will not be accompanying the seven of you to Hogwarts, I'm afraid. With Bartleby so poorly, I cannot leave my station. I will trust you seven to have Ravenwood's and the Spiral's best interest at heart. I trust your decisions as representatives of the Council of Light and know you will be wise in the choices you make." Merle said with a proud smile on his face.,After a bit more discussion, Merle excused the seven wizards after notifying them of the date and time they needed to be at the Ministry of Magic for introductions with the Minister and Headmaster of Hogwarts.,The septet walked out of the Headmaster's office and into the Commons and rested around the large tree by the lake.,"So Art, what should we do first?" Nikolas asked as he took off his boots and dipped his feet into the cool waters of the lake.,"Why are you asking me?" Artemis asked with a flabbergasted look.,"Hello? Our dearly beloved unofficial leader? What's his name again?" Rina asked with a smirk.,"Hmm, doesn't it rhyme with cart or was it dart?" Emilia said.,"Haha, very funny guys. But you all know I never spent much time on Earth, I was always here. I don't think I should lead this one." Art said with a frown of uncertainty.,"You're our strategist, Art. We wouldn't have survived even half our battles without you, man. You gotta lead this one as well. We'll back you up. And you know we're not afraid of questioning your calls either." Niko said.,Everyone around their circle nodded with agreement and Artemis scratched the back of his head with embarrassment and a soft smile; touched by their confidence in him.,"We believe in you, Art. Don't sell yourself short. I mean you've gotten us this far, we're still alive surprisingly." Alec said with a chuckle.,"Yeah. There were so many times I thought we were goners. But; hey, we're still here!" Will said.,"Ok, ok. Let's all go home and pack up for the trip. Just bring your essentials with you. We can always teleport back for anything else we need. Let's all meet back up by Bartleby tomorrow, and then we'll travel to Earth from there.",The seven all teleported back to their homes in a bright, flashy array of colors.,Alec teleported back to his Arcanum apartment to pack up a few essential things. His apartment was sparsely decorated, mostly just containing his bed, desk, and crafting stations on the first level. The second carried his more important trophies like all the wands he'd bought, received, or had been awarded and also things like the Spiral Cup. The rest of his things resided either in his old dorm room for safe storage or at his parent's house on Earth.,His Shiverous Knight was running freely around the apartment, excited to know another adventure was close at hand. After everything was neatly packed into his backpack and spelled into a pocket dimension, Alec went to bed excited for the next day. The next morning consisted of a rushed morning routine, hastily teleporting to Ravenwood, and running to Bartleby where Nikolas was already waiting.,"So, Winterthorn? Excited about some weird, unknown magical school on Earth?" Nikolas asked, as the Fire and Ice mages waited for their colleagues to arrive,"Yeah, I guess. New magic is new magic, ya know? I'm always excited to learn new spells and stuff. How about yourself, Moonflame?" Alec replied.,"I'm more concerned as to how these people kept themselves hidden from the Spiral for so long, Snowcone," Niko replied.,"Again with the nicknames, Gingerbread?" Alec growled.,"I don't see the problem, Snowflake. Seems you got just as many for me." Nikolas said, smirking at the Ice mage.,"You're exhausting, you know that?"Alec said with an exasperated sigh.,"Just being my amazing self, as usual, Winterthorn.","I give up.",Artemis and Will traveled back to their Wysterian villa that they had bought together. It was a beautiful, sun-kissed piece of property right by the windy Wysterian coast. The grounds had an abundance of gorgeous cypress trees, a roaring waterfall, plenty of room to store treasures from their travels, and an absolutely amazing ocean view. Art loved waking up, grabbing a steaming mug of coffee, and taking it to enjoy out by the small pavilion past the waterfall and fountain. The refreshing sea breeze and piping hot coffee always did wonders for his morning grumpiness.,"Didn't Ambrose say something about a fancy ball? Should we pack suits? Or would dress robes be more appropriate?" Will asked, combing through the closet.,"I'm not entirely sure. I'm thinking maybe dress robes? If its something else, we call always port back and grab it." Art replied from where he was looking through his backpack.,"What else should we pack?" Came Will's question from inside the closet.,"Potions, an extra set of robes and casual clothes, and a map," Artemis listed out, "Honestly, we'll be porting back home every night, so we don't really need much. Let's just err on the side of caution.","I agree. Better to be safe than sorry.",Talia ported back to her house that resided on top of a cyclops' shoulder that she shared with her little sister. Her sister was a Myth mage and had only just recently started attending Ravenwood.,It was only the revelation that her sister would also be attending Ravenwood that had pushed Talia to attend. Their parents, themselves, were alumni of Ravenwood; both Balance mages from Earth. When they had married the decision was made to start a family on their homeworld instead of on another planet as they had missed the rest of their family too much during their schooling and travels. The decision was fairly simple and easy to make as the rest of the Spiral was just a teleport away.,And so Talia and Katelyn grew up on Earth with frequent trips out to the rest of the Spiral to visit friends and such. Talia had much liked Earth during her childhood and had grown deep roots through friends, school, and family. She hadn't enjoyed the thought of one-day throwing all that away to go off and study magic on another planet. At eight; just a year before her baby sister would be born, Talia's mind had been made up, and she had followed through.,For the next couple of years, she attended school on Earth, and a tutor was hired to help her study magic in the comfort of her home. She was also able to have one on one tutoring with the Ravenwood professors during the weekends on account of her amazing magical potential; something her parents loved bragging about. Talia still had to take exams and such at Ravenwood, but she enjoyed her life. Well until her sister came along and the entire fiasco with Malistaire had blown up. With her sister's manifested magic and her being so excited about attending Ravenwood, she had known that she had to do something to help out if she wanted her baby sister safe.,And so, she joined the fight. From Malistaire to Morganthe, and now to Grandfather Spider. Her life had been turned completely upside down, but, by the Light, was it an amazing experience. She made so many friends, learned so much, and had saved an entire galaxy many times over. Now when she looked back to her past and many experiences, there was nothing she regretted.,"So, Earth has some weird, hidden magical population in like every country that the rest of the mundane population has no idea about?","Yup," Talia answered while she packed a small bag with essentials.,"So, you're going to a magic school on Earth?","Yup.","For a competition?","Yup.","For how long?","I'm not sure, a couple of months maybe?" Talia answered.,"You'll be coming home every night, right?","Yup.","I don't like this. You're going in basically blind." Kat said with a worried frown.,"I know. We don't have much information, but we've gone into worlds just as blindly before. And this is our home world, at least this time we know the culture, traditions, geography and such. That's more than we've had for other worlds." Talia said.,"Still, this magical side of Earth that you're getting involved in could be totally different," Kat argued.,"Yes. However, Ambrose has said that they've been pretty forthcoming with information. Our group is just going to be attending school. We don't have a very dangerous assignment, I think. There are other mages being given more interesting missions for Earth.","I guess. But I still don't like it." Kat said.,"Hey, come on. I've done way more dangerous things than this. It's just a school. And we need more information if Earth is going to be joining the rest of the Spiral.","Well, I didn't like those other times either. You're gonna have to get back home every day and send lots of pictures." Kat replied, still with a worried frown on her face.,"Oh, Kat. I'll come back with tons of pictures of the place. And I'll make sure to get a bunch of souvenirs as well.","You better!" Kat laughed as she hugged her sister.,The next day, Talia's morning was filled with her sister's worried reminders and questions of whether she had packed everything she needed for the journey. After rushing around the house for an hour or so, the Balance mage was finally teleported to Ravenwood and hurried to Bartleby where the other six were waiting.,"Hey, Tal! Took you long enough." Emilia said as she hugged the Balance mage in greeting.,"Morning, Em. Yeah, you know how Kat gets. She had to look through my bag and double check everything herself." Talia explained, scratching the back of her head with a shrug.,Rina laughed in amusement, "Kat really watches over you, huh? Honestly, Tal, it's a good thing. Remember the time you ported to school without shoes on?","Forget shoes one damn time, and you jerks remind me every chance you get," Talia muttered in exasperation.,"The hilarious thing was that you didn't even realize you forgot them because you'd spelled on wings," Alec said with a laugh.,"At least my nails were done," Talia muttered, crossing her arms as the others laughed.,"Alright guys, let's get going to Earth now. Does everyone have their keys?" Artemis asked as he pulled his out.,"Yup. Let's get this show on the road." Alec said, as they all took out their keys to Earth and took a step toward their new journey.

Lord Voldemort smirked as he ascended the stairs, the prophecied boy who would beat him was through the next door. He would kill him and rule over the world for all eternity, he stopped and reveled in the victory for a few minutes, unfortunately for him he would never know why that bit him in the ass.,Lily was weeping, "I'm sorry Harry, but I know if we allow you to stay here then Dumbledore will shape you into a weapon to finish a war that adults should be fighting. Momma loves you Harry." She placed a silver locket on his shoulders, and a shrunken trunk around his wrist, this contained a portrait of her and James that he could talk to and all of her school books and creations this trunk would unshrink when he turned 17. Then she kissed his forehead. She drew the final rune she needed and closed her eyes, , she repeated this over and over in her head as she activated the ritual. It was then that Voldemort burst through the door.,"Stand aside girl. I am only here for the boy.","Not Harry, take me instead.","Very well." He smirked as she fell lifeless, "like I wouldnt kill the boy after you died." Then a massive burst of magic happened that destroyed the roof and Tore Voldemorts body apart. When the light cleared the child was gone.,An ancient being that the mortals referred to as the crimson dragon watched as the barely year old boy was sent away, ,He had marked five signers already but the head had chosen to purge his mark for the darkness. With a flash the child now had his mark on his very soul.,Martha was returning from shopping when she noticed a small wiggling package on her front door. She knelt down and found a little boy, no older than a single year old with a locket on around his neck, and a bracelet with a charm on his wrist. "Hello there little one. Where's your mommy." She pulled out the letter in the basket.,"well...if it was so dangerous that your mother had to send you away, I'm sure your in the right place. Come now, you'll share a room with little Yusei. Hopefully you two can get along." She picked the boy up, "we'll do something about that hair later as well. It's a mess." She opened the room and put Harry down with Yusei. Almost instantly the two liked eachother and began playing with the broken down toys she had. Martha smiled, "if only we weren't in the satellite, I may be able to get you brand new toys.",Harry had split from the orphanage quite often these days, digging through trash piles for discarded items for dueling cards. He had seen that Yusei had built his own deck, primarily a junk deck but had cards based on his favorite card stardust dragon. At first he didnt mind but then they met new friends named Jack atlas and Qrow.,Qrow had the beginnings of a black wing deck, and Jack used an archfiend power deck based around his favorite red dragon archfiend. He watched his almost brother drift away from him because he didnt have a deck so he decided to build one. The problem was...Harry didnt know what deck he wanted to build. The practice decks he and Yusei used when they were younger was fine, but they never felt quite right.,"Damnit. Why is it difficult for me to build a deck? Yusei is the only family I have other than Martha but he is turning into a duelist and I cant keep up without my own. Plus...turbo dueling sounds so cool." He spotted another card sticking out of the pile and smiled, "oh. A double summoning card. Nice." He stowed the card in his jacket pocket.,"What are you doing?",Harry jumped in surprise and looked up from the ground to see his new friend Jack. "H-hey Jack...I'm trying to build a deck. You all have one.","Hmph, Yusei did say you were almost capable of beating him with those training decks the orphanage has. You know what kinda deck you want? Or have a card you base your card around?",Harry shook his head, "no...I have tried archfiends like you and I didnt like them...but other than that I dont know.","Hmph." Jack walked off. "Cant help you if you dont know what you want.",Harry heard shifting and looked over to see Qrow and Yusei digging now, "hey guys.",Both boys smiled, "hey, if you dont know what kind of deck you want, then we will just collect all the cards we can find until a specific type calls out or you.",Harry smiled and saw a card near the docks precariously balanced on the edge of the ocean. He dived for it and grabbed it just before it was lost to the ocean. Turning it over Harry smiled, it was a synchro dragon like Yusei's stardust. "Hey guys look what I found!",Qrow and Yusei looked and smiled, "that's so cool! The beginnings to tour deck starts here yea?" Qrow smacked him on the back, and handed him a card he had just found. Harry stared at the card, it was a spellcaster, and it seemed to call to him in a way he had never felt before.,Harry grinned and held up the card, "I think I've decided on my deck type.",Harry squirmed in his seat, "hold still child. I know I cant tame your hair. Lord knows I've been trying for years now. However, I can use that to my advantage now. Now, what color do you want to add?",Harry tilted his head,"uh...red. like a fire. I have memories of a woman with fire red hair and the same eyes as me. That sounds like a good way to start." By the end of the session Harry had fire red highlights in his hair, the closer you got to the tip the brighter the color. The tips of his hair where a deep red. Harry smiled, "thanks Martha.",The old matron smiled, "well...you've reached the age where it's time for you to go, I had to do something for you. Now get going, I hear you still need to finish your deck.",Harry sighed, "yea. Maybe I'll have to see if old Blister can smuggle some cards from new Dominoe. Bye Martha."

Neville and Luna had settled down in Bristol after getting back together at the Highclere conference. Luna felt that the couple needed a break before Neville started work as the Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts. They were relaxing after a long day in the office one Monday evening in January. Their thoughts turned to holidays.,"I think it's about time we escaped from this country for a while." said Luna, "We haven't left England since we both came back here from Norway and started work. That's about three years now. We really do need a different holiday.","That's a good idea." said Neville, "What kind of holiday had you in mind?","Something quite exotic," suggested Luna, "But I don't want it to be too stressful.","What about a cruise?" suggested Neville.,"What!?" said Luna, somewhat startled at Neville's suggestion.,"I really enjoyed that trip up and down the Norwegian coast," said Neville, "Our bedroom moved with us and we didn't have to repack every morning.","I see your point." said Luna, "Would we have to fly anywhere?","Not if we sail from a British port." said Neville, "Some cruises sail from Avonmouth. That's not far away.","I can see you've been looking into this." observed Luna, "Had you anywhere particular in mind?","I would like to go somewhere warmer than Norway," said Neville, "Anyway, are you still worried about flying?","No, I'm not," said Luna, "But it would be less stressful if we could just go to a British port and board the ship. We wouldn't have all that fuss and bother getting through airports, and there would be less restrictions on luggage.","You're almost thinking like a muggle." remarked Neville, "Anyway, if they are in agreement, we could invite our friends,","Who had you in mind?" asked Luna.,"Sid and Cassie of course." said Neville, "I think they need a break as well. We'll mention it when they come round for dinner on Thursday evening.","That's a good idea," said Luna, "We can discuss it with them then and see how they feel.","We're both moving permanently to Scotland in September." said Neville, "It would be a nice way of spending some time with them before we say goodbye. After all, they did bring us back together again after we had 'lost' each other. Also, despite their muggle status, they are our closest friends.","Before you call them muggles," said Luna, "Don't forget that Cassie is at least three eighths magical, possibly even half-blood.","That's a good point." said Neville, "But for Cassie's reassurances and the 'good feeling' she said she had about the conference, I would have stayed away and we wouldn't have got back together.","Would you have married Cassie?" asked Luna.,"I think I would have," said Neville, "If I had convinced myself I was never going to see you again. She's a wonderful human being, so like you in so many ways, but she would have been 'second best' because she wasn't you. Did you feel the same way about Sid when you were with him.","If we hadn't gone to that conference," said Luna, "I would have pursued the relationship to its conclusion. Yes, I would have married him. I sensed he needed someone who could shine a bright light into his dark world. He'd lost his ideal girl and was caught in a downward spiral of depression when we literally ran into each other. Also, I needed someone solid and reliable - even 'ordinary' to help me keep my feet on the ground. At the time, Sid seemed to be that person.","How did he feel about the conference?" asked Neville.,"He was really looking forward to it," said Luna, "I think that was because I had given him a hint that he might meet Cassie again. I just had this feeling. Until the beginning of April, I was dreading it, because I would meet you with your new companion.","What happened at the beginning of April?" asked Neville.,"I had one of my 'prophetic' dreams." said Luna, "In it, I saw you with a girlfriend who looked just like the photos of Cassie Sid had showed me.","Did you tell him?" asked Neville.,"Not directly." said Luna, "I just hinted that I thought he would have a 'nice surprise'. He put two and two together and guessed that your conference partner would be his Cassie. After the dream, I was looking forward to the conference. He was like a dog with two tails!","Do you believe in fate?" asked Neville.,"Yes, I do." said Luna, "Even more so after the period leading up to that conference. I truly believe that I am destined to spend my life with you, and that Sid and Cassie are a couple made in heaven. They seem to have been created for each other - as we are.","Anyway, we'll broach the subject of holidays with them on Thursday evening." said Neville, "Then we can decide what kind of cruise we want.",After this discussion, Neville and Luna were both convinced that their next holiday would be a cruise. Both of them had thoroughly enjoyed their expedition by ship from Bergen to Kirkenes and back and liked the concept of their 'hotel' travelling with them from port to port. Both of them were comfortable with the idea that this year's holiday would be a cruise. No decision had been made about where they would sail. That could wait until they had discussed the possibilities with Sid and Cassie over dinner on Thursday evening.,"I'll drop into a travel agent tomorrow lunchtime and pick up a couple of brochures." said Luna, "Then we'll have some idea what we're talking about.","Good idea." said Neville, "We can have a quick look through them tomorrow evening.","Don't forget I'll be doing some of the preparation for the dinner." said Luna, "So you'll be doing most of the looking. After all, the cruise was your suggestion.","We won't know what Sid and Cassie's thoughts are until we meet them," said Neville, "But I suppose I'll have to second guess what their preferences would be. I think you're better at that.","I know." said Luna, "I suggest you look out some possibilities. Then we can discuss them later in the evening after I've done my cooking. Anyway, it's getting late, so I think it's time for bed. We've got a long day tomorrow.",That terminated any further discussion about holidays for the evening, as once they were in bed, Neville and Luna were more concerned with each other's physical and emotional needs to the exclusion of anything else.,oOo,At lunchtime the following day, as she had promised, Luna visited the Broadmead branch of Thomas Cook and came back to the office with four cruising brochures in her capacious handbag.,That evening, once Luna had done the advance cooking for the following night's dinner, Neville and Luna had a first look through the brochures. Their first impression was that there were at least three types of cruise. Some were just an excuse to do nothing but soak up the sun, while doing nothing very much, while others offered visits and shore excursions to interesting places. Their decision to go somewhere warmer than Norway caused them to reject Hurtigruten's Antarctic expedition, however much Luna would like to see the larger species of penguins.,"Why are you so fascinated by King and emperor penguins?" asked Neville.,"They are birds that fly under the water." said Luna, "Also, the king penguins walk incredible distances on tiny legs. They're almost as unbelievable as the fantastic creatures I study. Anyway, going to see them would mean going somewhere even colder than Kirkenes. I don't think our friends would enjoy that.","That's true." said Neville, "I do know that Cassie loves the sunshine. Not long after we met, she persuaded me to spend a fortnight with her at a naturist resort in the Canary Islands. Once I got used to being naked, I enjoyed it, but I would have liked a holiday with more visits to interesting places.","You didn't tell me about that one." said Luna, "How did that come about?","Some years previously," said Neville, "Cassie had a misunderstanding with Sid and they broke up. She was so depressed that her folks felt she needed a complete break. They took her to this place in the Canaries, but didn't tell her everything about it until they had checked in to the resort.","Why not?" asked Luna.,"They knew she would refuse to go if they told her she would have to strip completely naked on the beach." said Neville, "But by the end of the holiday, she didn't want to come back home. By that time, she really enjoyed being naked. She took me there to see if I liked it.","And did you?" asked Luna.,"I did after a couple of days." said Neville, "However, Cassie did say that she would have preferred a holiday with more time outside the resort seeing interesting places. We spent most of our time between the hotel and the beach.","I think Sid feels the same." said Luna, "On the day following my prophetic dream about the conference, he took me to the Gower. We did spend some time on the beach at Oxwich Bay. He wanted to make it a 'happy' place again. However, he was more interested in explaining the geology of the place.","Sid's interested in geology?" asked Neville.,"He seems to be interested in all sorts of science subjects." said Luna, "For instance, when I said I loved starlight, he said immediately that Exmoor was a 'dark sky' park, and that we should go there on a clear night. Astronomy fascinates him. What about Cassie? Is she interested in science?","Yes, she is interested in geology and astronomy," said Neville, "But she is more interested in people and the way they interact with each other. That enthrals her. I suppose that's because she spent so much time in and out of a psychiatric clinic.",Gradually, the couple came to the conclusion that the type of cruise that might be acceptable to Sid and Cassie would be the one that Neville and Luna would choose in any case. Obviously, they would still have to put this proposition to their friends, but they now felt that the task was now going to be easier. The only question left was 'Where in the world would they go?'. By this time, the evening was drawing on, so Neville and Luna decided to sleep on it and see how they felt in the morning. Once they were in bed, Luna couldn't resist the temptation to have a playful dig at Neville about his Canary Islands holiday with Cassie.,"I suppose," began Luna, "Spending hours and hours with a totally naked Cassie was a bonus.","It was," said Neville, "She was beautiful, but that doesn't matter when I'm about to spend about eight hours with a completely naked Luna.",As he said this, he embraced Luna, persuaded her out of her nightdress and her panties, and explored her slender naked body with his fingertips, totally enjoying its contours.,"I suppose I asked for that!" said a chuckling Luna, "I love you when you're this playful.","I know!" said Neville.,The couple spent the next half hour or so exploring each other before giving in to total intimacy. After which they slept naked, enfolded in each other's gentle arms.

. Malcolm Grimm plastered a smile to his shaggy features as the dysfunctional crowd at his back reunited on the edge of the Black Forest. This was the time to shine, the moment to lay it on thick after an hour of history that he might finally convince the unruly masses to part with a little of their less-than-precious silver and copper.,"If I could say a final word, my lads and lasses, encroachment is eating away at the very nature we have toured together." For a beat their feet slowed as they passed him by, heads craning about to face the elderly tour guide again. "Soon there will be no forest for our generation to behold, to say nothing of our children and grandchildren's. A small contribution-" and then the moment was gone, the muggles dispersing like the shadows of night at a cloudless dawn's approach.,Malcolm grit his teeth at their backs and swore to himself. ,! ,, ,! If he used just a little of the family magicks he could see them stricken with one of the good old ailments, oh how easily he could do it, his fingers already twitching with the urge to work up some long simmering spell...,, he reasoned moodily, and caught himself before he made a mistake.,And there could be no doubts that it , be a mistake. Muggle culture had advanced too far since those bygone days when a curse could be laid with indiscretion. They had ready access to too many and too knowledgeable doctors, who would just as soon exorcise with a snick of the scalpel as cure such maladies at his disposal.,He'd need to really invest in the cursing to get around all of their miraculous methods, and then like wildfire a rumor would spread about an illness in the forest, and soon he'd have the government poking even deeper in with every tour he processed, if they even allowed him to continue operating.,Those in power so adored threatening his legacy as it was.,At best, the folk would just stop coming, and where would that put him and his ancestors after six generations tethered to this forsaken forest? He grunted to himself at the injustice of it all. In his father's day information and sights cost more than just a pretty penny to the entrance fees... but such was the present state of affairs. Maybe the next tour in the evening hours would recoup his hassles, though he doubted it.,Just as Malcolm had written the latest affair off as a waste and began to work over in his head how better to voice his request, as even open , laced into his speech was denied him by the laws, there came a sudden , of coins. In a beat his hairy ears perked as the donation box next to his cabin rattled with the thick, heady clunk of true, precious ,, a rich cadence which warmed his greedy little heart after all of these years going without.,"Ah, I cannae thank ye enough," he began with a lapse into more comfortable speech, and when he turned he found the generous and lagging donor to be a boy of less than twenty seasons standing there with naught but a plain leather wallet in one hand and a coin the size of a ripe apple in the other.,?,Before Malcolm's glittering gaze that coin slid impossibly into the donation slot, meant for pocket change and at most folded dollars. A coin as large as what he had just seen had no right to violate the laws of nature as it had, and at once Malcolm felt the hairs on the back of his arms and his neck begin to stand upright.,He took a reluctant whiff of the air between them. Oh, he had already known that gold was real, yes, that had never been in doubt, but underneath that precious aroma came a scent more vague and aloof and altogether alien from the , which muggles kept.,The boy slid the last coin in with a resounding clatter and then he stepped back with a flourish, spun to face Malcolm, and extending his forward leg he bowed from the hip. Malcolm squinted at the antiquated greeting and reluctantly followed suit, as honor dictated that he must.,Then the boy said, "My thanks for the tour, Mister Grimm. I could almost say it was the same as my Headmaster spoke of, except that we could hardly stray off of the beaten path with so many other guests.",Malcolm lifted his head at the same time that the boy did, and their eyes locked. Such a piercing green stared back, like the Irish fields awash with stars instead of blades of grass. And , he knew what was so wrong about this scene before him, what had been tickling at the back of his mind.,Those were , eyes., Mab, His shoulders bunched up uncomfortably as he broke gaze and settled upon the faded scar just there above the round spectacles. "What do you want, boy?",The wizard smiled a genteel smile that offered no affront at Malcolm's sudden tone and said, "I'd like an extended tour. The kind your father Harwin once administered for my Headmaster during the great war.",Now Malcolm rubbed his fingers together, working up a quick sizzle. He waited until the last rumble of a diesel engine at his back had passed out of earshot, and then the glamour concealing his identity from the muggles rippled and regressed. Vibrant auburn hair replaced the patchy gray under his cap, his pale skin darkening, and if he'd had a mirror before him, he would have seen the aurora glowing within his eyes to wash out the cataracts.,Yet as he crouched down into a stance of defense, the years , most apparently on him, only made worse by a sickness from his childhood treated almost-too-late by a wizard alchemist, and his springy bones gave a dry creak to warn him off of any enthusiastic motions.,"And I want all the treasure stolen from us over the generations, boy. , tour is not for anyone, even if your governments hadn't forbidden some fun by the time that I took over.",The wizard gave no sign of discomfort at his true form, and then had the gall to laugh, as if Malcolm had been making a lighthearted jest. It was the most common thing, and Malcolm found no comfort in the noise. When the fit of odd humor had subsided the boy replaced his wallet into the pocket of his thin black jacket and held up the last coin concealed in the palm of his hand.,All it took was a glance to confirm every wariness was due this boy wizard, for on that coin served an ancient emblem of overlapping cloak, wand, and stone.,"I know what I am doing, Mister Grimm." And then the boy wizard chanted a peculiar phrase, Latin interspersed with heavier German, and the coin glowed like a hot coal in his grip as an answering phrase appeared in a twining loop across the surface, ,.,Malcolm hadn't heard nor thought of that that phrase in decades. He shivered as a memory of a far gone cool spring struck him all of a sudden, seeing a tall, cloaked man in midnight blue, a man with an auburn beard going to gray at the edges and a weighted gaze with all the worlds' concerns apparent on his mind, that very same coin carried in hand, yet still the wizard had had the time to spare for an ill fae child.,This boy wizard was worse than any government trouble. Far, far worse.,"Say that you do," the half-leprechaun stalled as he shook himself back to the present. "To what purpose would you walk amidst that path to ruin?",A glint of steel edged into those fierce eyes, though the wizard still smiled when he answered, "To return a gift passed into my care some time ago. It has never really suited my needs, and I find that old problems require older solutions.",Malcolm grimaced. Persuading the boy by words alone was futile, and for just a moment, he wondered about putting a , to leave the matter be.,But even as his fingers began to twitch for only the third time in several years, he suddenly remembered what his father had told him when he was still just a wee lad. ,. This boy looked like one who could beat his , readily.,While he worked through his thoughts, the wizard simply flicked the ancient token into the air and caught it again across the knuckles of his right hand, walking the glowing relic slowly back and forth, and repeated when it reached the beginning. The sight was just as unnerving as that out of place laugh had been.,"Put that away for now, wizard. I'll take you off of the beaten path, aye. Tonight. After the last of the muggles have their fill of disappointing me.",And like that the steel was gone from those unnatural eyes. "Of course. I just wanted to be sure you were capable of following through, given our , circumstances." And the token vanished back into his pocket the same as his wallet, and the wizard added, "I'll see you at nine, Mister Grimm." Then the wizard marched out past the edge of the forest over the tarmac, and with hardly a passing glance across the empty lot, he vanished with a startling ,! into thin air.,When the boy had gone a new, gruff voice spoke up for the first time. "Some kid, eh? Twisted you up in , and , like a damned lawyer.",Malcolm looked over into the woods, and just there lurking in the shadows he found one of the many irritations responsible for his playing nice with the muggles. He was suddenly in no mood for , distraction after the trip down memory lane. ,, he repeated his earlier condemnation by habit.,Yet nevertheless he gradually inclined his head in faux-respect toward the new voice. "Oh, aye, that he did." ,. "Now, laddie, if you can't be sure I won't go breaking my oaths after such a disservice as today has been, what more will it take? My father's father and kin have kept their word all the way down to me, and I have no intention to break such longstanding good faith, so how about a good word with your higher ups to lighten this noose we've worn tight for so many generations?",A hardy , preceded the click of a cigarette lighter igniting, and in the momentary pale glow yellow eyes glinted coolly above a cherry-red cigar tip.,"Yeah, sure, Grimm." A long drag, and on the exhale, "Soon as the old man gives the signal I'll hang this job out to dry like all the rest." Another puff, "'Till then get used to my presence hovering over your head like that old proverbial sword. Point of fact, why don't you get your surly ass over to your office and cuddle up with that gold while it's still in your possession. I'll put out a cancellation for the last public tour while I'm filing a report about your new riches and our guest.",The cigar and its owner wandered off into the forest, leaving Malcolm standing there like a fool. He ground his teeth and then swallowed his wounded pride for what felt the last time before he could suffer no more, and then he went to take care of business. There were actions to follow through on if he was to open up spiritual gates kept closed for several decades, and that bastard from the government apparently had no intention to stop him.,/END Chapter I.,A/N: This began as a one-shot concept for a crossover competition quite some time ago. The concept has gradually grown since then and I think I can swing it. I plan to incorporate something of the comics and the films together for this version of the Hellboy universe, which overlaps with the Potterverse.

-,The room was cold despite the soft cotton on their skin, or was it just them.,the light was flickering on and off.,they didn't see anything as everything was hazy.,their body was heavy, unresponsive, their thought scattered and slow.,The heavy smell of antisepics was overwhelming.,they were exhausted.,they were empty.,Empty.,They were born normal ,They weren't even surprised.,Their budding curiosity turned into indifference Immediately.,Huh.,If only death was the undefeatable end with no ,The first time they were reborn "muggle" or "mundane" it was a nightmare,Hell in it most basic form,No core to speak of.,The inner icy warmth under the skin they took for granted in all their lives was gone,That powerful buzz in their veins;,Comfort that was always, always, always there. no matter when, where or who they where.,it was there when they were locked in the cupboard under the stairs,,When they were at school,,When they were running away from bullies,,Against death eater against Voldemort,,when they were Lord potter,,when they died for the first time,,when they were reborn a French muggleborn activist who fought for equality,,when they were an Australian pureblood witch with a penchant for rituals; and thought of blood rituals as her guilty pleasure and one true weakness. Really,the rush of adrenaline and magic was addicting.,When they were born Italian and were killed by their father at thirteen for being moon cursed.,When they were heiress Lafey last heiress to the name, dark lady and self-proclaimed "evil queen", the necessary evil of the times who led magical Europe to a needed revolution into a new era "Golden Apple era", where they finished their French alter ego plans through an iron hand instead of pacifistic ideologies. United the scattered magical communities, be it human or being and died at age 184 leaving the magical under the careful rule of their inner circle, "The Nine's Council".,It was their more fulfilling life.,Their powers at their apex.,They were in complete control in that life.,They still had their magic.,Hell, even when they was born a squib, which by the way, happened a lot of times they still had the ever-present warmth in their chest; even if their pathways were damaged, blocked or simply inexistent. It was still there, still warm and still alive.,Now now they were so cut-off from their magic their heart that they could literally feel the hole in their soul, never had they felt so cold, so empty and so alone.,The void eating at they soul, rotting their inside out,The first time they were born a mundane was the first time they killed themselves, Jacob M. Palmer killed himself the night of his eleventh birthday. Drinking a bottle of bleach, painful but final.,Rose Raynham died when she was 5 jumped in front of a moving car.,Jeremiah Siggs O.D at his sweet sixteen's.,Vivian Grey hang herself a week before her wedding.,Lucas Chaher burned down his house with him in it after killing his wife and three daughters.,Guillaume Segal, Yumiko Ren, Demetri Chernov ,Nicholas Arden, Jules Travers, Ashley Curtis, Ayleen Barret, Eliot Archer, Nabila Saad, Kim Ye Yun and so many others…,it took a dozen lives or so to give up.,To stop dreaming of it.,To stop longing for it.,To forget that elusive feeling of warmth, of comfort, of love, of home…,Many other dull lives and self-ends.,Life for them was a game of endurance, a waiting game; it would threw everything it has at him while the whispers promised him the warm embrace of death.,It never lasted long; those stolen moments of utter and complete serenity, peace and just , seemed like seconds before they crashed back into life, into a new body, into a new destiny.,They, the master of death, cursed by death, had accepted death, understood that there was worse thing and now longed for it, regretted ever touching the artefacts, uniting them, mourned their, no ,s choice to come back, to finish his task, cursing them this to crushing cold eternity,They would try, going lethargically through their life until they suddenly snapped and just ended it.,Many times they would wake a day like many others eat breakfast, kiss their mother, father, grandma, sibling, lover, son, daughter, cat, dog or whoever they lived with in whoever's body they occupied , to go out and never come home.,The golden boy who used to be Hadrian James Potter was long gone, long forgotten, and with him his ideals, his black and white views and with time, his humanity.,Humans were ambiguous beings, instead of the black and white picture he once had of the world, humans were an array of grey, a sea of different shade, all grey, all undistinguishable. They were walking contradiction.,Past, present, future. Family, ideal, values, sexuality, identity, dreams, failure, success. Did it really matter?,They wanted , power but for what? They long for money, but why?,They wished to be free, autonomous in every aspect: soul, body and heart; yet they longed for others, they molded themselves into society, shackling themselves by rules and boundaries.,They wanted to be unique, yet they abandon their individuality to fit in, wearing masks, hiding behind practiced lied to conform to the idea of normalcy.,The sunnier the smile, the more shadows it veils.,They just choose, mirrors reflecting what you wanted to see in them, what you needed to see, erasing everything undesirable behind a pleasant illusion.,He, they never believed the sweet warm lies of security, affection, loyalty, love… not like they used to, if anything eternity gave them perspective. After all, how many times was he/she the picture of happiness, envied for their fortune when behind the façade there were only bitterness and contempt? How many lives did they give their all, all they had to give and more, so much more, destroying themselves in the way, to be stabbed in the back?,They always had their guards up, searching for the cracks, the barley-seen but always-there telltale to the lies;,Sweet lies,Blissful ignorance.,Humans were evil; a person shouldn't relax in the company of monsters.,They never felt safe around people, never secure. Scanning people, analyzing them, defining their motives, breaking through the lies was their only comfort; in lies, they shall grasp the truths.,Still, their view of the world was breaking. With each twisted picture unmade, a crack was made. With each smashed mask, a piece fell never to be mended.,While they grew, their collection of masks expanded.,With each year, they lost herself more.,The older they became, the better player they turned to be.,Then they became their lies and behind the lies, nothing was left.,Emptiness, a growing void, nothing to feel, nothing to enjoy, empty yet not peaceful; silent yet unrestful. Growing despair, longing to feel again, to feel when feeling were forgotten. forged for so long yet the genuine could not be remembered.,Hollowness was unbearable, heavy. Too heavy for them. they found solace in pain; pain was their anchor, a truth in the lies. A splash of color in their too grey world. Red was better a color, it was vibrant. It was warm. It was alive.,A proof they were real.,A proof that they were alive.,Red was their anchor to reality.,In various hues of red they went.,Everything started with red,Everything ended with red,And in circles it went,And here looking up at the ceiling of their hospital, out of their cribs, they did wonder; who were they this time? Where were they? What did fate have in store for them? Who did they need to be? What mask should they wear? And more importantly how long would it take them before they'll try to make the world vermilion again?

AN: I've wanted to read fanfiction of this crossover for a while. The ones I found were great but short and not the kind of plot I was wishing to read. This is just the first chapter and I plan to write another one soon. Please leave a review and share your thoughts. Every review would be greatly appreciated.,DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OR HAVE ANY RIGHTS TO THESE FRANCHISES,Hermione,She thought - no, she had hoped that a fresh start in a place where the sun doesn't stop shining would help her achieve some form of peace but she had been sorely mistaken. Los Angeles was a bloody nightmare! She had underestimated how scathingly hot it was. Perhaps it was her English upbringing speaking but she was convinced that she was breathing in hot soup for air.,The sun was unforgiving and had shown it so upon her skin. Angry, red, irritated skin had become a common annoyance in her day to day life. She had developed the habit of slathering several layers of sunscreen on just to avoid burning but the effort worked against her patience far too much and she has opted to stay indoors during the day and only venturing outside after sunset. Perhaps, it was a good thing that she was such a recluse.,The nightlife wasn't quite better though. There was always someone with questionable intent lurking about but that could just be her paranoia whispering in her ear. Its voice has seemed louder now that she didn't have anyone to curb its manipulations. She wasn't sure when that little voice had started to burrow its way into her psyche. Was it during the war or after? When they were on the run - scared and starving, not knowing when she would have her next meal or if she'll ever see everyone again? When she was being tortured? When the dust had settled and showed the devastation that has become of her world - her life? She suspects that it began when she had decided that a green-eyed boy with messy dark hair and a lightning bolt scar was worth loving and protecting. In this case, it started far before she truly understood what paranoia was.,Without Harry and Ron occupying her thoughts, she's had far too much time and mental capacity to overthink but she takes refuge in the noises at night and it was the only reason why she couldn't bring herself to leave the city. For all of its faults, it had been the only place she could find any comfort in.,It's far too loud for her tastes but it helps distract her. The residents of the sunny city had an unhealthy love for loud and dangerously fast vehicles. When night rolls around and the streets become eerily quiet is when the racers come out to play. The sounds of roaring engines, tires screeching, and party music could be heard for miles. After the racers had a bit of fun, the sounds of the night would be filled with sirens of every police vehicle nearby. No doubt trying to arrest people who were experts at driving and not getting caught.,Her usual nights started with her making a quick run to the grocery store to restock her fridge and cupboards. Once she hauled everything back to her seemingly crappy home, she would take a stroll to an equally crappy looking 7-Eleven two blocks away. Sadly, they never fixed their slushy machine, though the hormonal teen that worked there insisted that it will be fixed soon. Of course, she didn't believe him since he preferred to speak to her breasts and legs every time they made conversation.,There she would enjoy an unhealthy love of hers, cup ramen. As a person who appreciates efficiency, she adored the simplicity of cup ramen. It was a meal in a portable little cup. Once her little bowl of happiness was cooked, she would leave with it, ignoring the hormonal teen's eyes on her ass as she walked away.,She would usually climb a blank and rusted billboard to the top where she can look out at a beautifully glowing city on the horizon but if she was feeling lonely, she would go visit this grouchy stray white cat that claimed an area under the bench at the bus stop. When she would visit her, she made sure to buy some terrible canned tuna that she seemed to enjoy. Being with the disgruntled feline had made her feel less alone. She called her Q-Tip. It was rude but she thought it was funny at the time. A cute little dirty Q-Tip.,She's been living here for a year and yet she never ventured further than her perch on the billboard or the lair of Q-Tip. Everything she needed was a short walk away and she didn't need to work with all the money she had received after the war, so the need to go further was unnecessary. Tonight was different though, she was feeling oddly explorative tonight or is it that her curiosity is getting the best of her. She couldn't exactly call that a first. Unbidden memories of three inseparable friends sneaking through the dark halls of a castle, standing proud amongst Scotland's lush rolling fields, sneaking around and doing things they clearly weren't supposed to be doing. Memories of a young girl who's an insatiable thirst for knowledge has led her to go down dark and ethically challenged roads. She was so young and naive then and was not immune to the call of curiosity. Still not, apparently.,Instead of her usual, she headed in the direction of police sirens, echoing nearby. Looks like the racer's party was cut short. The sound of their scatter was louder than she had ever heard it before. The sirens seem to be approaching closer to where she was and a not so small worry began to make her skin crawl. It has been years since she has felt the warnings of her magic. After the war, without anything and anyone holding her back, she went to Australia to look for her parents, well away from the broken remains of a world that used to fill her with wonder. There she had made the heartbreaking discovery that her parents had died tragically in a robbery gone wrong. They were mugged and shot like animals in their own homes.,Grief and devastation had destroyed any illusions of normalcy and security that she had allowed herself to conjure up. She had lost everything to war and magic. She blamed magic. Magic led her to a world infested with prejudice, bigotry, and racism. A world that has made it known that she was not wanted. Magic led her to people that she had come to love and care so deeply for that she would do anything to protect them, only to have them snatched away and taken from her. Magic had broken her and she swore to never give in to its sirens call again and so she went back to her muggle roots and hid in plain sight.,Though she was done with magic, it wasn't done with her. The feeling of its warnings crawled over her skin and a chill trickled down her spine and the fine hairs on her arm and neck stood on end. Her fate was already spoken for and magic was giving her a warning to a life-changing event, ready to take place.,A sudden bright light pierced its way through the darkness and momentarily blinded her. She threw her hands up to shield her eyes and give her time to blink away the white spots flashing through her vision. "Freeze! LAPD! Put your hands behind your head and lower yourself to the ground!" The sound of a loud PA system had startled her in place. Surely, he wasn't talking to her. She hadn't done anything wrong. He must be talking to someone else. "Lady, get down on the ground, now!" was the loud answer to her thoughts. What the hell! He was talking to her!,"Sir, I think you have me mistaken with someone else," she called out, taking a single minute step forward. She hoped the accent at least threw him off and he will give her the benefit of the doubt. Americans loved a foreign accent and she wasn't beneath flirting her way out of a mess.,"I said freeze! Don't move!" he yelled even louder and she froze again. Looks like the accent didn't work. "Now put your hands behind your head and get down on the ground!" He wasn't even willing to listen to her. All her brilliance had suddenly boiled down to this one moment… and she turned and took off down the alley, ignoring the surprised call after her. Wow! So fucking brilliant! At least before she took off like a bat out of hell, she could've cleared things up but now she was actively resisting arrest! Why did she run?!,"The brightest witch of the age everyone." she huffed and puffed down the narrow alleyway. It has been far too long since she has had to run like this, with all this adrenaline. She wasn't by any means, unfit. After going incognito from the wizarding world she had taken up exercising to fill up her unproductive time. Books hadn't appealed to her like they used to. She had spent a good year of her life on the run, constantly having to look over her shoulders. Physical training had satisfied the need for constant movement in her. She took up all kinds of physical activities and classes: swimming, jogging, yoga, Zumba, pilates, gymnastics, boxing, kickboxing, and a variety of dance classes. If they didn't serve to settle her then they exhausted her enough for a night of dreamless sleep. It also had the added bonus of giving her a fantastic body.,She twisted and turned down the dark maze of narrow spaces. Taking such sharp turns, she nearly slipped and slammed into several corners and walls. These stupid ballet flats were not made for running nor was this blue floral sundress. Cute but not practical. Why did she dress up today?! She only ever went out at night! Who the hell was she trying to impress?!,Her curly hair, which she made the mistake of keeping down today, was flying into her face and mouth, blocking her vision. Before she can remove her cursed hair, she slammed into something firm and promptly fell flat on her ass. Uncomfortable vibrations rippled up her buttocks and spine and she let out the most unladylike groan. "Bloody hell, did I run into a wall?" she moaned, as she removed her hair out of her face.,"Shit. Are you okay?" a deep baritone voice asked her. With her vision now clear of bushy curls, she can see the strong and large hand of a man held out to assist her. Without thinking, she grasped the offered hand firmly and allowed the man to pull her up. How odd. That whispering paranoia was suspiciously quiet tonight.,She slowly took in the rest of the man. He wasn't a wall but he was close to one! Even with the darkness of the night and his equally dark clothing, she can see that he was very built under the layers and not to mention tall. She then looked up to his face and blatantly observed his features. War has jaded her and left her uncaring of others' thoughts and opinions, especially if those thoughts and opinions concerned her. She did her part in saving the world. She was pretty sure that earned her some kind of 'do - whatever - the - hell - she - wanted' kind of pass.,He had a rugged jaw with a light shadow of a recently shaved beard. His lips were plump and soft looking and they were currently quirked up on one side, revealing his amusement. She ignored it. His nose was a little wide but it was proportionate to his face and looked good for him. He had almond-shaped eyes with dark piercing irises that shone with an intensity that most would not be able to handle but she was a war heroine. Not much frightened her, so she continued with her perusal of him. He had beautiful lashes. She didn't think that a man as intimidating as this one could have such pretty lashes but he did and it added onto his naturally smoldering look. His eyebrows were clean and one was arched, showing his curiosity of her. His head was also devoid of any hair. As if his large frame wasn't already daunting enough but the bald look worked for him.,To summarize, she found him handsome in a rugged way but his attractiveness didn't appeal to her. Nobody has managed to appeal to her in a long time. She found that other things in her life had a higher priority than a relationship. Like hiding and staying hidden. She didn't want the wizarding world finding her and building her up on a pedestal, just for being the sole survivor of the golden trio, like they tried to do before she disappeared.,During her study of his face, he was also taking her in. She was sure she looked like a hot mess as of right now but with her current circumstances, she excused it. She wasn't sure what to make if his expression. He was just one of those people who were difficult to read. She decided to spare herself the headache and ignore his wandering eyes. A little voice reminded her that she shouldn't be so cavalier with her self preservation. This stranger has been staring at her just as long as she had been staring at him and yet, she ignored the voice too.,She must've zoned out because she startled a bit when she felt his thumb brush against her cheek. Her eyes flew up to his and she was not expecting to see worry. It was subtle but it was there in the way his lips were slightly pursed and the small frown that darkened his demeanor. That's when she felt something warm and wet trailing down her cheek. He then pulled his hand back and his thumb was smeared with something that shined ruby red.,Blood. Her blood. After her not so pleasant time with Bellatrix she had been too thankful for her sanity that she didn't think about the possible after-effects of the ,. Instead of losing her mind, she had lost the feeling of pain. It was a blessing and a curse. On one hand, she will never have to feel that pain or any other pain again, on the other hand, she wouldn't know if she ever got injured nor would she know how severe her wounds were.,Looking at his coat, she saw a bit of blood on his zipper, where she must've cut her face when she barreled into him. The stranger looked down at where she was staring and then he looked back up at her. Though he didn't outwardly show it, she sensed that he felt guilty for the cut, though it was clearly her fault for having a demon mane. Perhaps, he wasn't as difficult to read after all.,He opened his mouth to say something but the sound of a police siren interrupted him. "Toretto! Stop right there!" With that, he took off down the street and she wasn't too far behind him. In fact, she had gained her stride and was now running beside him and still gaining speed. She chanced a glance at him and saw his eyes widen, stunned. He reached out and caught her hand in his and it was suddenly her turn to gawk at him, nearly tripping in her surprise.,The police cruiser was just behind them when he pulled a sudden and sharp turn down an alleyway, nearly yanking her arm out of its socket. It didn't hurt but she felt one of the laws of physics at its finest. She couldn't think too much about it and she certainly didn't question his judgment when it comes to directions. She wouldn't know these streets even if someone smacked her in the face with a map, an atlas, and a globe.,The sound of an engine behind them had her ready to take off ahead of him and drag his ass behind her but a bright green car with blue fire designs abruptly cut them off with a loud screech. "Get in!", the faceless driver called out. He didn't question it and simply hopped in and before she could seriously wonder about her lack of paranoia, she was pulled into the car and bundled onto his lap.,Once the door was closed after them, the car jerked into motion and her head nearly collided into her new companions. Though he narrowly avoided getting a concussion, he couldn't avoid the cruel clutches of her demonic hair. It covered his face, tangled around his neck, and was attempting to crawl its way into his mouth. When he sputtered out an odd sound that was a combination of a startled squawk and a strangled cough, she burst out in uncontrollable laughter. The timing was inappropriate but for the life of her, she couldn't control herself.,He somehow managed to save himself from a terrible death and was now glaring at her but his exasperated look had only served to make her laugh harder. She wasn't quite sure if her sanity had survived, after all. Her cackle was cut short when the car drifted a sharp hairpin turn, forcing her body heavily against the car door. To avoid the slim possibility of tumbling out of the car she clutched onto the man who was currently a very comfortable passenger seat.,The deafening sound of the police cruiser crashing into a civilian car rang in her ears and she hoped whoever they were, was not seriously injured. When two more police cruisers showed up and came at them at full speed, she started to hope that they don't end up severely injured. She didn't survive a genocidal megalomaniac just to die on some random blokes lap! Their savior knew what he was doing though and did a weaving motion to fake the cops out and thread through a narrow gap. Only then did she release a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.,She hadn't felt a rush like this in a long time. This part of her was thought to be long dead. So, when the car went flying over a small incline, she didn't hold in her whoop of excitement nor her delighted giggles afterward. That tiny moment of being airborne had finally allowed her to understand Harry's love of the sky.

As usual, Harry Potter was wide awake, counting down the minutes until his birthday. He had been laying in the dark for the past hour and a half, since his aunt turned into bed and he turned off the light to avoid a lecture from either of his relatives. But Harry didn't let the usual dread of the Dursleys bring him down: he had so much to look forward to this year.,Sirius had made arrangements (with quite a lot of money from the Black vaults to grease the wheels of bureaucracy) so that once Harry was of age, they could have him legally emancipated from the muggles! Dumbledore still wouldn't hear of Harry moving permanently to Grimmauld Place due to the "protection of the blood wards," but this handily removed any say Dumbledore had in the matter of how or where Harry spent his own time.,With another glance at the clock, Harry felt a thrill. In less than twenty-two minutes he would be of age in the Wizarding World. He would be free.,Harry stretched just for the hell of it, raising his hands as far as he could reach (which was now pretty far, since his growth spurt finally hit) towards the ceiling before settling them across his chest. He didn't feel any different, but he imagined there was a tension in the air. As if the universe waited on the edge of its seat much as he was. Eighteen minutes and thirty-one seconds to go.,Like a bullet Harry was off his bed and his holly wand was aimed unerringly at the door to Dudley's second bedroom, which had just been slammed open. His entire body was tense as he aimed about chest height from where he was crouched on one knee, keeping the bed between him and the intruder. He squinted hard and scrambled with his free hand for his glasses on the bedside table, a number of curses on the tip of his tongue.,"Harry!" came a terrible stage whisper, carrying clearly across the distance to Harry and probably even to his aunt behind her bedroom door. "Harry?" tried the voice again, now at a true whisper.,For a second Harry scoured his mind to identify the voice in the dark, something holding his hand from issuing a challenge. When he realizedthe identity of the very familiar voice Harry yelped, "Neville!" He was surprised enough that he dropped his wand arm to fall the bed before realizing the mistake and whipping it up again. With his glasses finally on and settled properly, Harry was able to confirm that Neville Longbottom really was standing in his bedroom doorway. "Merlin, what you ,, Nev!?","Ow! Oops! Damn it—mate, don't you ever clean?" Neville demanded, ignoring the harshly whispered demand from Harry for the moment.,He'd stumbled into the room and found a minefield of discarded clothes and belongings as he tried to wade through the mess on the floor. Even through his boots, he felt it as he almost crushed something pointed yet delicate on the ground. Neville turned around after clearing a swath of floor space with his foot and closed the door, pressing his palm against it for a few seconds and leaning in with his head as if was muttering although Harry didn't hear a single word.,Harry sensed something change, but he had no idea what. Since when did Neville use wandless magic? Since when did Neville even know where he lived? By the time Harry's brain got over being severely boggled, Neville had turned away from the door and was facing Harry again.,"Sorry about all this, Harr." Neville apologized brightly, his voice remarkably chipper for a midnight intruder. "I meant to get here with more time to spare, but Dumbledore really did a number on those wards! Took twice as long as I'd planned. Anyway-" Neville broke off when he looked up from trying to navigate the piles of laundry, books, shoes, electronics, and children's toys to get closer to Harry's bed and found Harry looking hard at him, the familiar holly and phoenix wand aimed directly at Neville's heart.,"Tell me something only I would know." Harry asked, his voice calm and deadly serious.,"I..." Neville seemed briefly stunned but rallied once he latched onto something both personal and memorable enough, "You saw me visiting my parents three years ago; my mom gave me a gum wrapper..." Neville trailed off and they both acknowledged what neither had mentioned then and didn't bring up now, that Neville'd not only taken the token as pathetic as it might have seemed to someone else but secreted it away and treasured it even when his Gran demanded he dispose of it.,Slowly Harry bent his arm at the elbow, pointing his wand towards the ceiling, but still ready just in case. "Ok. Now, ask me something.","What's my boggart and how did I defeat it?","A whole room of people saw that, Ne-","Forget about it." Neville sounded much less amused and very matter-of-fact as he cut Harry off. "I already know you're you and I'm me.",Harry forced himself to visibly calm down and Neville took it as an ok to take a seat on the twin. He jumped up as soon as he had started to sit down, as if he'd been prodded sharply, and he shook off his coat. He handled the coat much more gently this time, spreading it out at the foot of the bed before taking a seat properly.,"Now, tell me why you're here. How'd you even get here? Ron w-","We don't have time for all that, Harry. Not right now." Neville held up a hand to forestall the objection Harry would have made, "After. After, I promise. But right now, I'm here to give you a bit of warning and prepare you for what's about to happen.","What's about-" Harry was only getting more worked up, as Neville continued to cut him off before he could finish any one of his questions.,"Harry. Seriously, mate. Just let me get through this in one go. We're pressed for time, as it is.",They both looked at the glowing readout on the digital clock next to Harry's bed and Harry finally sat down at his "desk" of mismatched crates and an old sideboard. Neville, meanwhile, rummaged through the pockets of his coat before taking out three unusual objects. First came a cup—well, really, it was more of a goblet. It looked like beaten silver and was old enough that it could have passed for pewter at a glance. Harry'd learned even more about metals and antiques than he ever did having to take care of his aunt's few prized pieces by living in an ancient, magically preserved castle ten months out the year. Then, Neville produced a long box that reminded Harry of the wand boxes at Ollivander's though this was wider enough to hold several wands. And, finally, a heavy stone bowl. The was decorated on the inside and the outside and was obviously ceremonial—Harry wondered if it was a particularly old pensieve that had yet to be filled.,"Ok. First things, first: We should switch seats.",Neville gave a slight grin and stacked the goblet and box on top of the bowl and stood up, motioning impatiently for Harry to come to the bed so Neville could sit at the desk. Once he did, Neville grabbed Harry's trunk and dragged it to the side of the bed so that he was facing Harry over the trunk.,"Lay down, Harry,",Neville said absentmindedly, opening the box to reveal four tapered candles and their holders—which looked like they were part of a set, with the goblet.,Looking up, Neville was surprised to see Harry still sitting up and repeated himself slowly, "Lay. Down. Harry.",The Boy-Who-Lived jerked, his eyes jumping guiltily from the objects Neville was setting up on his trunk and laid down. He stretched out upside down on the bed, so that his head was closer to whatever Neville was up to, and he could keep an eye on him.,Neville was silent for the next few moments, placing the yellow, green, purple, and brown candles in their holders before moving everything off the trunk again. He pulled a gray silk square out of one of the obviously charmed pockets of his coat and positioned it like a diamond over the trunk, so all the corners were left bare, before replacing everything on top of the drunk and smoothing down the silk with his palms.,A candle at each corner, the bowl in the center, and the chalice before it, on Harry's side. Quite casually, Neville leaned over to his boot and pulled out a dagger half as long as his forearm. He hefted it confidently before turning the hilt until he was comfortable and moved towards Harry, who understandably, darted away and began raising his wand again.,"Neville," Harry croaked, "what do you think you're doing?","Oh. Right, sorry." Neville immediately relinquished the knife, placing it on the trunk next to the bowl. "I just wanted to be sure I didn't forget any of the steps, while they're still fresh...but you're still clueless.",Neville glanced over his shoulder at the clock and grimaced to see that there were only three minutes until the top of the hour.,"It goes like this: my mum and your mum were closer than you know. They weren't related, but they might as well have been sisters. They were different, Harry, they and a few other witches and wizards are different from the rest. We inherited the same...gifts they had. But it can be hidden or repressed for us until we reach sixteen. In about two minutes, you're going to undergo something we call the "Offering Ceremony." It's what will determine what jewels you're going to wear. I'm sorry, I know this is terribly rushed and really unfair, but my Gran and I were afraid your mom didn't have a chance to leave anything that would warn you about this. It's better to be as prepared as you can be, before it happens.","Before WHAT happens? Offering to what? Offering , what? Jewels? Nevile, you're not making sense." Harry was nearly frantic, obviously worried and more than a bit frustrated.,Neville looked apologetic and only said, "We're out of time. Here, give me your wrist." He grabbed Harry's left hand with a firm grip before Harry could answer and raised the dagger, bringing it down so quickly that blood had welled up before Harry even realized he was cut.,"AAAAAHHHHHH!",Harry screamed and his body went rigid as Neville leaned forward and fell to his knees in front of the trunk. The experience was not unlike being under the Cruciatus as far as overwhelming pain flooding his mind and seeming to course through every part of his body. Meanwhile the four candles seemingly lit themselves as Neville positioned Harry's arm over the bowl, palm facing downward so the free flowing blood pooled in the carvings marking the inside.,Neville's eyelids dropped down to half-lidded slits as he fell into a trance, chanting under his breath in a rhythm that matched the jerks and spasms as Harry's muscles seized and his body bucked in place on the bed. Several minutes passed and although his hands shook with fine tremors, Neville's voice was strong and determined as he began to trace sigils on Harry's skin going up to his shoulder.,At some point his shirt had disappeared and where Neville traced, blood beaded on the skin like sweat. Harry seemed to calm the further Nevile got in his designs and finally as Neville made the last arc over his shoulder joint, the pain receded and Harry was swept away in a fog also kind of similar to the Imperius. There was no battle of wills this time, though, and Harry couldn't have spared a thought to try to resist it like he did the mind control Unforgivable curse.,Turning his friend's arm over, Neville took up the dagger again and pressed it against the initial slice that fed Harry's lifeblood into the bowl. The skin knit itself back together until there wasn't even a scar. Neville gently placed Harry's arm back at on the bed and took his seat again.,There was no telling how long his vigil would be, so Neville had come prepared to wait a full day if he had to. Leaning back in his chair he summoned a book and a thin, dusty bottle of what looked to be red wine out of his coat. He set the bottle on the desk behind him and the book he opened on his lap. There was a new moon that night so no natural light but with a snap of his fingers Neville created a ball of witch-light to light the room as he turned the pages to his bookmark.

Title: Harry Potter; Sa'd al-bari of the Lamp,Author: Little Angel,Pairings: none right now….,Disclaimer: I own nothing!! NOTHING!! …not harry potter OR Aladdin.,Summary: What happens when Voldie decides to NOT duel Harry Potter in the grave yard, but instead invokes archaic magics that turn him into something that would bow to his every wish and command…. A genie.,Harry Potter/Aladdin Crossover….,/thoughts/, I seriously butchered chapters 32 and 33 of book four. I took some things here, summarized there…. Made stuff up randomly…. Most of the beginning of this will be from the book in some way shape or form. ,Prologue: The Graveyard., Harry felt his feet slam into the ground; his injured leg gave way, and he fell forward; his hand let go of the Triwizard Cup at last. He raised his head.,"Where are we?" he said.,Cedric shook his head. He got up, pulled Harry to his feet, and they looked around.,They had left Hogwarts grounds completely; they had obviously traveled miles - perhaps hundreds of miles - for even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone. They were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. Harry could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside.,Cedric looked down at the Triwizard Cup and then up at Harry.,"Did anyone tell , the cup was a portkey?" he asked…..,…..Someone was coming…. Harry lowered his wand slightly and glanced sideways at Cedric…. They both turned to watch the approaching figure….,...Without warning Harry's scar exploded with pain. It was agony such as he had never felt in all his life; his wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face; his knees buckled; he was on the ground and he could see nothing at all; his head was about to split open….,…"Kill the spare.","Avada Kedavra!"….. Cedric was lying spread-eagle on the ground beside him. He was dead.,For a second that contained an eternity, Harry stared into Cedric's face, at his open grey eyes, blank and expressionless as the windows of a deserted house, at his half-open mouth, which looked slightly surprised.,As he was trying to process what his eyes wouldn't believe they were seeing, he was grabbed and pulled to his feet. The man that had sent the spell at Cedric, was dragging him towards something….a grave stone… the grave of Tom Riddle.,Through the pain in his head, the denial of Cedric's death and the impossible truth of the situation, Harry dimly noted he was being tied rather tightly to the stone grave. He realized to late that his wand was not on him. He struggled briefly, but the man hit him...with a hand that was missing a finger.,THAT processed through Harry's pain fogged mind rather quickly.,Wormtail. "You!",The traitor didn't answer. He simply checked the chords surrounding Harry, with trembling fingers, pulled out some black cloth and stuffed it into Harry's mouth, before hurrying away.,The pain in his forehead was getting worse. He heard some hissing noises at his feet, and noticed a gigantic snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone he was tied to.,There was suddenly a large cauldron in his view. Wormtail pulled the bundle of robes to the cauldron, opened them and set the…. Creature... inside. "Hurry"…..,Bones from the grave below him forcibly shot out of the ground and into the cauldron….,Wormtail raised his right hand above the cauldron, and with trembling fingers, cut off his own hand. Blood and flesh oozed into the cauldron. Whimpering in agonizing pain, Wormtail continued...,Harry felt his arm being sliced open, blood poured down into a flask…. Wormtail brought it over to the cauldron and poured it in….,There was a blinding white light, Harry's pain from the scar intensified ten fold…. Slowly a man emerged from the cauldron….,"Robe me" …….,Lord Voldemort had risen again.,8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888,Voldemort ignored the world as he slowly inspected his new body. His snake circled his feet happy to have her master returned. Wormtail whimpered pathetically off to the side, cradling the stump of his hand to his body. Harry seemed to be stuck somewhere between panic, disbelief and agonizing pain from his scar.,/Good, the less coherent he is the better this will go…/ Voldemort walked over to Wormtail, "Hold out your arm.",Wormtail raised his right arm, all the while thanking his master…,"The , arm Wormtail." Voldemort was becoming impatient. He grabbed the arm barring the dark mark, pulled the sleeve down past the elbow, and Harry saw something black and red on the skin….,Voldemort pressed a long white forefinger to the brand on Wormtail's arm.,Harry's scar seared with excruciating pain. Dimly he heard, "How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?…. And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?",The three of them waited. Voldemort paced, Wormtail crying, and Harry in pain and tied to the grave stone. Voldemort turned to Harry, and smiled cruelly. He started telling about his family… how his mother loved a muggle and his father left her when he found out her heritage… about the orphanage… and his revenge….,"Ah! But look, Harry! My , family returns…",The air was full of Apparating wizards. They were all dressed the same… White skeleton masks and dark black cloaks and robes. Slowly they came forward, as if in disbelief of what they would find…,One Death Eater fell to his knees, crawled toward Voldemort, and kissed the hem of his black robes. "Master...Master…" he murmured.,The others all followed suite, when they finished they were all in a large circle surrounding Harry's grave, Voldemort and Wormtail. There were gaps in the circle, but Voldemort seemed to be expecting that.,He began addressing his Death Eaters…. Talking of guilt and of loyalty, of unfaithfulness to their cause, of pleading innocence once he had fallen…. Of his disappointment….,One asked for forgiveness… Voldemort gave him pain.,He looked to Wormtail, who was begging… pleading for something…. Voldemort spoke of his help, and his reward. Silver mist slipped from Voldemort's wand. It hung in the air for a moment then molded itself into a hand and fitted onto Wormtail's bleeding wrist.,The traitor stopped sobbing abruptly, and examined his new hand with disbelief. He tested it and coward before Voldemort, praising him and the new addition to his body. He kissed his master's robes then crawled his way over to the circle.,888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888,Voldemort approached the man to Wormtail's right, "Lucius, my slippery friend," he whispered, halting before him. "I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? You never did come to find me, Lucius…. Your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I dare say… however, when Wormtail came to you with news from your master and a task to be completed… I wonder how you faired with that?",It was spoken so smoothly, almost like a caress, but it hinted at unbelievable pain and torture if the task hadn't been fulfilled. Lucius took the hint and carefully unfolded a satchel from his robes.,"It is here, My Lord, all that you wished to be brought on the day of your rebirth." Lucius opened the satchel wide and raised to a level Voldemort could peer inside. The Dark Lord viewed the contents of the bag with a growing evil grin.,"And the other part of your task?" Voldemort seemed pleased with what he had achieved so far, so Lucius responded with, "You have but tell me where you would like me to set this up for you, My Lord.",Voldemort let out a hiss that sounded almost like a laugh. He gestured to the area right in front of the grave stone holding Harry, who had, to this point, been struggling to free himself and attempt to control the ongoing pain from his scar.,Malfoy didn't even glance at Harry as he quickly started carefully emptying the satchel and preparing the items inside. Harry was torn between watching was he was doing, with an deepening sense of dread and continuing to watch Voldemort circle around his Death Eaters.,"Well done Lucius. If you have done everything right, as I suspect, then you shall be greatly rewarded…. Greatly rewarded indeed." He glanced at Harry, with a terribly wicked smile that promised something very unpleasant for him in the very near future.,Voldemort continued walking around the circle, stopping occasionally to speak to a Death Eater or address one of the vacant spots. All the while he kept half an eye on what Lucius was doing.,As Voldemort finally returned to Wormtail, having completed his rotation of his Death Eaters, Lucius seemed to be finished setting up the items.,The Death Eaters were glancing at each other through their masks, all of them extremely confused by what they saw, but with enough sense not to make a big deal of it.,Lucius had poured odd looking dessert sand in a large circle, with black candles placed at seven points around it's diameter. Touching the inside of the circle where a series of lines, slashes, dots and squiggles that didn't make any sense to the Death Eaters or Harry. They were made with the blackest of sand and seemed to come alive in the light of the stars and wands, swirling like a dark ocean.,Lucius went over to Voldemort and kneeled in front of him. "I have finished My Lord.",Voldemort walked the outside of the circle, closely and carefully inspecting his servants work.,When Voldemort was satisfied by what he saw, he glanced at Lucius, "Well done Lucius. You have served me well. When we are finished with this, you will have your reward….",Lucius kissed the helm of his Master's robs and returned to his spot in the circle, "Thank you master… you are generous… thank you…",Voldemort took one more look at the circle and then looked toward Harry. "You. My greatest enemy. You delayed me when you were but a babe… all because of your mother's meaningless sacrifice. There was a time, that I couldn't touch you, because of it. It brought me great pain. It cost me a host…",Voldemort walked up to Harry, careful to not touch any part of the circle at his feet, nor step inside it. He moved his hand to Harry's face and gently touched him.,Harry's world exploded in excruciating pain. He tried to uselessly move away from Voldemort's hand, but it was to no avail. The touch just moved with him.,Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the hand was removed and Harry's pain lessened. "You, a child that was supposed to be my greatest enemy…. You will be my most faithful servant….",Overhead a storm seemed to be brewing.,Voldemort moved away from Harry completely, who was so warn out from it all that he just hung limply from the ropes. Blood loss, pain and exhaustion seemed to be getting the better of him.,The newly reborn Dark Lord summoned a strange looking dagger that seemed to have the same type of markings as Lucius had laid into the sand.,Voldemort went to the candle farthest away from the grave stone and knelt down. He began chanting in some archaic language unknown to any of the other people around him. When he finished, he pricked the edge of his finger with the dagger and let a drop of blood fall onto the candle.,The candle flashed up and burned a bright, blood red. The Dark Lord repeated the same process with the rest of the candles in the circle. Each one reacted exactly the same. By the time he had finished thunder was sounding and lightening was crashing in the sky. The wind had picked up, but not a single item of the circle even flickered in the storm.,"Lucius, levitate the boy away from the ropes and into the circle." Harry's eyes widened in fear. His throat dried up and his mouth felt like the cotton of the cloth still stuck there.,"Wait, remove the cloth from his mouth as well before you drop him…. I wish to hear his screams…." Voldemort had his eyes on Harry the whole time, grinning evilly as Harry struggled harder to get away.,The minute he was free from the ropes, Harry tried to get away. Unfortunately being levitated through the air, he couldn't get very far. He was shaking in fear as he was dropped into the circle. When he felt the ground beneath his side, he tried to stand.,He didn't get very far before Voldemort struck. "Now, now… there's no need for you to get up for this…." Voldemort began chanting in the same archaic language as before. The candles flared up around him in a strange dance, the odd marks of sand began to glow and Harry felt himself paralyzed on the ground.,The Boy Who Lived, whimpered, as that was the only thing he was capable of.,The candles stopped their dance and suddenly shot beams of red light straight at him. The sand began to swirl around him as well, blocking out the looming faces of the Death Eaters and Voldemort's maniac grin. However he could still hear the chanting.,Then the pain hit. Wave after excruciating wave….,The Boy Who Lived screamed and screamed. What he had felt before when Voldemort touched him was nothing compared to this. He felt like he was dying the most painful death a thousand times over. Every nerve, every bone, every bit of his being felt like it was being crushed and cracked and lit on fire.,He felt something wrap around his wrists, burning into his skin. He felt his legs twisting, swirling, attaching to something.,He felt himself being pulled somewhere. He dared not open his eyes to see what was happening….,Then finally, after what felt like an eternity of pain and impossible torture… He felt nothing.,Outside the circle, Voldemort had stopped his chanting. His Death Eaters looked on in fearful wonder. They had heard the screams of the child. And even the most cold hearted of them felt pity at the pain they had heard in his voice.,Voldemort felt nothing but happiness at his new creation. The candles had all gone out. The sand had settled. Everyone peered at where the boy had been laying moments before hand. But he wasn't there.,In the center of the circle was nothing but a golden lamp.,Voldemort's laughter rang through the night, piercing even the storm in it's intensity. He moved towards the lamp, as if to pick it up, transfixed on his creation.,"Master….?" Lucius' voice rang out… Unsure if he should be interrupting, but unable to hold back any longer.,"Silence." Voldemort stepped into the circle and knelt by the lamp. As he reached for it, a crash of lightening hit the lamp. Startled, and over powered by the force of the lightening Voldemort fell back from it and the lamp. The golden lamp began to rise off the ground and spin. The faster it went the harder it was to see.,In another blinding flash of light the lamp disappeared.,Voldemort and his followers were the only living beings left in the graveyard.,The Dark Lord's screams of fury could be heard near and far that night. They would haunt a very many people in the following nights. They promised unimaginable pain, torture, and the slowest of death's. No body would be safe from his wrath.,But, for everyone in the wizarding world, even for those who were there and witnessed the event, only one question remained….,"What in the world happened to Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived?",+End Part One +,Okay. That's the end of the first chapter. This story is stuck in my head, so I'll be getting out the next couple of chapters rather quickly… much, MUCH faster than my other two stories…. Honest!,Fishy, and Seeing seem to be giving me a bit of writer's block. So I'm going to go with what wants to be written…. :3

Serving the Balance,Two figures ran down a corridor, their hair streaming behind them one black and one white. The white-haired figure had bright blue eyes and the other a luminescent green. They both had black and grey armour decorated with small skulls and bones. In the distance the sound of battle could be heard with the odd explosion and unearthly scream. The blue-eyed figure stopped suddenly at a door and the other figure skidded to a stop besides him.,'Master, the battle is ahead, Maltheal must be stopped,' Blue eyes looked at him seemingly expressionless but with years of experience the younger man could see the sadness hidden within.,'That battle will be won elsewhere.' His master looked away and pushed open the door. 'I don't believe that you recognise this place do you, Harikesh?',Harikesh followed his master inside, he was right Harikesh didn't recognise the room itself but there was something in the that was drawing him in. In the centre of the room there was an arch, which contained a, Harikesh wasn't sure what it was. The best description that he could thing was a curtain caught in the wind and it was the darkest grey without being black that it could be. He could hear voices just on the edge of his hearing. It was like something was calling to his very soul.,Harikesh jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, and he suddenly realised that he was now standing directly in front of the arch, he hadn't been aware of moving, and the curtain seemed to be billowing out further as it was reaching for him.,'What is it?' he winced internally at the touch of awe that coloured his voice.,'No one knows.' Harikesh glanced at the Master Necromancer besides him, it made him a little nervous to hear that, as Master Nibaru always seemed to know everything. 'It's only appeared once before, ten years ago.' Harikesh glanced at him in surprise it was ten years ago that he'd came to Necropolis as an abused and staved child of five summers. Harkesh glance back at the arch, and the voices seemed to get louder but just as indistinguishable. He then looked at Master Nibaru, he can't possibly mean that…,'Yes, Harikesh you came from within. It has been speculated that it is a portal to somewhere far from Sanctuary, but nothing has been proven.' Harikesh blinked in surprise at this. Surely there was no other place than Sanctuary, The High Heavens and Hell. Brief flashes crossed his mind. A fat man with heavy fists coming at him, the shrill shrieking of a women's voice and a green flash with someone screaming into death. He shook his head at the memories of life long forgotten. 'The arch became active again this morning.' Master Nibaru continued seemingly not noticing Harikesh's remembering. 'and when the attack came, I knew that it was time for you to return.' Harikesh looked at him in shock it seemed that this day was just full of them, it was as if his whole understanding of the world was being destroyed in front of his eyes.,'No, Master I can't leave now. There is so much to do to restore the balance.','That is not your path to tread, Karnah will be the one to set thing right.' Hariesh sighed Master Nibaru's power of foresight was well known within the Priesthood. And in made sense that Ordan's apprentice would be the one to stop Maltheal, he had killed the Prime Evil after all. As Harikesh was thinking this Master Nibaru pulled two books from his pack and held them out. Harikesh recognised the books, one was the history of the Priests of Rathma and his teachings. The other was the book of learning, a book that would gradually teach the reader the spells of Necromancy as they were experienced enough to use them safely. 'You will need these, I think.' Master Nibaru said with a ghost of smile, as he forced Hairkesh to take the books by pressing them onto his chest. Harikesh absently placed them in his pack.,'But Master, I don't think…' He was interrupted by a loud explosion that was much closer to them than the previous sounds of the battle.,'We have run out of time. You need to go now.' Master Nibaru said as he faced the door and pulled his scythe off his back and five skeletons appeared in the room with them.,'It has been an honour to be your apprentice, Master Nibaru.' Harikesh said with a short bow. Master Nibaru glanced back at him.,'And to be your teacher…' If he was going to say anymore it was not to be, as there was another explosion just outside of the room that sent Harikesh stumbling backward. There was an icy feeling that washed over him before the world of Sanctuary faded away.

",",Trelawney's voice trailed off slowly as Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry frowned in thought as the seeress slowly came back to her senses. His mind raced in the possible consequences of the prophecy as he shoved a facade of pleasure onto his features and he grinned at the woman, blue eyes twinkling as they so often did.,"It pleases me to say you have the job, Ms. Trelawney, or should I say professor?",-TDR-,Lily Potter, previously Lily Evans, lay on a hospital bed, nurses bustling around her as she fought to give birth to her second child, having given birth to her firstborn, Charlus, hours earlier, on the cusp of midnight, but it was now August, and dawn was breaking out over the hospital, and as the rays shone through the window one of the nurses raised her arms, a small, bloodied bundle in her within, surprisingly quiet compared to the loud wailing of his older brother. As Lily looked at her youngest and smiled in pure joy, she slowly drifted off to sleep as she cradled her two children.,-TDR-,In a small shack near the town of Little Hangleton, an individual lay in bed due to an incurable sickness, and he was mad more oft than not. But it was at the same time as the birth of Harry Potter that his mad rambling stopped, and his voice took on a raspy quality.,",And with his prophecy given, his body gave out, and Marvolo Gaunt died.,-TDR-,It was funny, James Potter thought, that two twins could look so different. His firstborn and heir, Charlus, named after James' father, was already very similar to him in looks. A shock of black hair rested upon his head, although he had his mother's beautiful emerald eyes. And then there was Harry, the younger twin, smaller than his brother, and more pale by far, which made his red hair stand out all the more, but it was the boy's eyes that gained his attention. Piercing grey eyes that seemed to look inside his very soul took in everything with an almost lazy way of observation.,James Potter sat with his two boys, and looked upon his wife, resting upon the hospital bed she had given birth on, red hair framing her beautiful features, and smiled in happiness.,-TDR-,James' body lay broken and slumped on the floor, victim to a stunner from the dark lord after a valiant struggle. Voldemort was taking no chances with this night, the death of the one prophesied to end him would create his final horcrux and secure his immortality. Quite fitting, in his eyes. He strode up the stairs, robe billowing around him but not impairing him in any way, and as he crested the flight of stairs he encountered the mudblood that Severus was enamored with.,"Step aside woman, and I shall let you live, I am only here for the child of prophecy","You will not get either of my children while I am able to stop you",Voldemort sneered at that, his features twisting into a visage that showed how superior he believed himself to be. "Do you really think you could stop me? Lord Voldemort himself?" he scoffed at the perceived slight against his ego. "You couldn't defeat me on my worst day, now step aside","No",Voldemort sighed, and raised his wand of yew and phoenix feather.,",",He was a man of his word after all, and Severus was a most faithful servant. He walked over her body, careful not to step on the woman, and then he was in the nursery, two cots sat next to the far wall, names engraved on the side of each one.,The child named Harry was born in August, he had been informed, as opposed to Charlus' birth day of July 31st, but the boys eyes held ,within them, something entirely alien to him. He pushed the thought aside, there were more pressing issues to deal with, he decided. He raised the sword of Godric Gryffindor, his final horcrux, the final artifact of the founders, pointed his wand at the eldest Potter child, and unleashed the infamous killing curse.,",",And as green light jetted from the tip of his wand, Voldemort knew something had gone wrong. Unknown to him, the state of his splintered soul, combined with the protective magic provided by Lily's sacrifice, though not as powerful as if she had died, was enough to cause his soul to completely fracture, lowering the power of his killing curse, and resulting in the breakdown of his physical form as well. A small sliver of his soul was shaved off, and attached itself to the forehead of the young Charlus Potter. The piercing grey eyes of the redheaded child saw it all, and though he could not comprehend what happened, he saw it all.,AN: So here's the prologue to my new story, bit over the place, but it all takes place in the order that its written, with the second, third and fourth scene taking place at the same time. This will be a Wheel of Time crossover, but not too much, just a few things brought over. There will be some AU to both series so don't go in expecting everything to be the exact same. Anyway, cheers for reading, and I promise the next chapter will be more structured so to speak.

I am hereby issuing a challenge to all my readers, and anyone else interested, to write a Harry Potter and Slayers crossover.,The starting premise should be that Harry gets transported to the world of Slayers as a young boy, and is found by a young couple and gets adopted by them and renamed Zelgadis Greywords.,Where the story goes from there is up to you, whether Dumbledore and the others come for him, or the Goblet Fire summons him for the triwizard tournament or some other plot line that you can think of.,Pairings can be anything you want, my preference is either ZelxAmelia or ZelxLina or HarryxLuna or HarryxFleur. I hate HarryxGinny, it just screams Oedipus complex.,You are free to decide on the rest for yourselves.

- The Scene is Set,McGonagall stood nervously outside Dumbledore's office; she raised her trembling fist to knock on the wooden door. The kind-faced, sapphire-eyed elder answered, holding a bag of sherbet lemons.,"Surely you're not still eating those muggle sweets, Albus?" McGonagall asked distastefully, laughing anxiously.,"Well, ever since that atrocious earwax Bertie Bott's, I've rather lost my taste for our wizard candy." He said with a chuckle.,"Enough of this. I'm here to enquire about the Horcrux hidden inside of that lime green, reptilian beast." The ferociously feisty Minerva inquired, looking him in the eye. She stared at the ground, hopelessly pondering what the outcome of the horrid situation could be.,"Oh please, Minerva, you are too hard on our friend Yoshi of the mushroom kingdom! How was he to know that that blue shell was a Horcrux? Besides; you know just as well as anyone how to extract the relic from within the dino's insides; slice him open with a quick separation charm!" He observed McGonagall's horrified expression. "Oh, no more than a joke, Minerva. We both know there are other ways." He added quickly.,"You lie." Cried the female warrior, her legs collapsing beneath her. "You lie and I hate you for it, I know that it's the only way." She sank down to the floor and cried out so many tears you'd have expected her to become a lifeless, dehydrated husk. But, alas, she was quick to preserve herself and would, unbeknownst to her, live a good long life.,"Take the timension (time and dimension) turner;" Dumbledore yelled calmly, his eyes narrowed, thrusting what looked like a slightly smaller platinum time turner into her hands, "I trust you know what to do with it",McGonagall took it and crawled out of the room, back to her exquisite abode, also known as her office.,"What's a girl to do?" The emerald eyed goddess of wisdom cried to herself sadly. She knew she had to do it. She put the timension (time and dimension) turner around her ankle and hopped joyfully around the room five times. Dumbledore had made it function this way to prevent any dark wizards from using it, as no dark wizard would ever be capable of hopping joyfully. Another one of his genius ideas, just like the philosopher's stone only being available to those who wouldn't possibly dream of being rich and living forever.,The room around McGonagall started turning, faster and faster, before she was spat violently out of the time/space vortex into a world she couldn't recognise...,I hope you liked my first fanfiction! Chatper 2 will be coming soon, in wich Minerva finds herself inside the Mushroom Kingdom and meets a mysterius charactar, before revealing her third form as an animagus, where we find out that she had the three forms! Please write any constructive criticism in the comments, but no hate cos don't read if you don't lik it.

Prolouge: Goodbye, Riunire,A cloaked shadow ran through the night silently as he held a precious bundle close to him.,As he arrived at his destination, he pulled back the hood of his cloak, as he stared down at the child, his daughter, that he knew he may never see again.,Michelangelo smiled at the forms of two women, who stepped out of the shadows.,"Hello, Shinigami and Karai. Thank you for doing this" he told them. He was unusually serious, because of what he was about to do.,Karai nodded and held her hands out silently. Mikey whispered something in Riunire's ear, before he kissed her forehead and handed her over.,A tear rolled down his face, as Karai and Shinigami turned around and walked off, carrying his daughter with them. He watched them get in the car then drive off until they disappeared from sight, then, finally, he broke down as he burst out crying.,"RIUNIRE! " he wailed, as the fact he could possibly never see her again, hit him hard. He managed to send a text to his brothers, who found him crying devastated as he stared into the distance.,Raph looked at Leo and Donnie, before he sighed, stooping and picked Mikey up, who latched onto him, as he kept crying. They headed back home, never knowing what Mikey had lost this day, and they never would until Riunire returned to her rightful home, and to the father who will welcome her with open arms.,Meanwhile, Karai unwrapped the blanket from the baby, to reveal a redhead baby with the baby blue eyes of her little brother. "Hello, Riunire. I'm your aunt, Karai. " she told the baby, despite knowing she wouldn't remember her words.,"I hope, one day, you will know why Michelangelo had to give you up. Just know, we will keep an eye on you, I'll make sure of it" she told the unaware baby as they arrived at the hotel of James and Lily Potter, on vacation in America. Stepping out and approaching the holiday home, Karai set her niece down before she knocked, and fled after dropping a letter in the basket that contained her niece.,Karai watched from the shadows as Lily Potter opened the door and saw her smile, head her squeal and tell James Potter "James! Come look at this!" she told him happily. A man appeared at the door and as he saw the baby, he smiled and said "It appears someone did hear our wish. Wait, a letter?" he asked as he picked it up, and opening it, starting to read it out.,'Dear Sir/Madam,,My name is Hamato Michelangelo, and if you are reading this then you have found my daughter Hamato Riunire.,I had to give her up, as if I had kept her, she would be in extream danger, and though I haven't had her that long, I couldn't let that happen.,The truth is, you can't tell anyone this, is that she was made artifically, meant to be a weapon to destroy me and my brothers, by a organisation called the Foot and a group called the Kraang.,I put a stop to that however, when I rescued her. My only request, is that when she is older, can you tell her to look for a woman called Hamato Karai, her aunt.,Through her, hopefully I will be able to reunite with my baby Riunire again.,Yours sincerely,Michelangelo',James looked at Lily, who nodded "We have to, James, he is her birth father. For now however we have to pass Riunire off as ours. Whoever you are, Michelangelo, thank you for giving us a daughter.",With that they went back inaide, and Karai moved to the car, rejoining Shinigami who restarted the car and drove off, both hoping one day they can meet their niece for real.

(Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-1998),Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, Triwizard Champion, The Chosen one and the Boy-Who-Refuses-to-Die, along with his friends, Tekuya Vermilion, Brother of his arch-nemesis, Luna Lovegood, Sister of his Arch-Nemesis, Neville Longbottom, his Brother in all but blood and Hermione Granger, his Sister in all but blood, stood at one side of the Hogwarts Courtyard whilst Lord Voldemort, Tom Marvolo Riddle, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who, The Dark Lord, the Dork Lord, He-Who-Has-No-Nose and Lord Mouldyshorts stood with his loyal army of Death Eaters on the other.,"Its over Tom, Her Majesty and the Muggle Governments are all uniting to either reintroduce us or destroy us, this is what you have made me do" Voldemort growled with rage "No Harry Potter, it is far from over, we shall eradicate the muggles, Mudbloods, Half-Breeds and Half bloods that stand against us, the Wizarding World will be pure" Harry growled as Tek glared at Voldemort "Get over yourself you stupid, arrogant Hypocrite, you are a half blood, I am your freaking Brother" Voldemort grinned savagely "Not any more, now!" several Killing curses where fired, Luna knocked Harry out of the way at the same time that Neville knock Tekuya, Neville, Hermione and Luna fell to the earth with lifeless eyes.,Tekuya and Harry looked at the corpses of their friends before roaring in anger and pain, Voldemort continued to laugh until something smashed into the ground, he looked up and felt a surge of fear flash through him at the hatred in those eyes, those eyes that with the same as his own, Tekuya stood up leaving a crater where he had punched the ground, Harry followed his example, the earth started to shake as an aura of purple and black rose from Tekuya and a aura of , green and golden white rose from Harry, the two auras swirled around them like a hurricane "How? How could you?! She was your Sister".,The Death Eaters all moved back slightly as did the Hogwarts groups, Tek and Harry both opened their eyes only for Black and Golden white energy to flow from them as the spoke in unison "The Power he knows not, now face our wrath, Gods of both Good and Evil, heed our call, We beckon you, give us the power to remove this abomination from existence, we are willing to pay the price of the spell we must cast" a flash of light and darkness crashed down onto the two as it was absorbed into their bodies, they then began to chant ,.,Several ghost-like beings of tall elves floated out of the ground and looked at Harry and Tekuya , Harry and Tekuya nodded and bowed as the ghosts turned to Voldemort and his followers , Voldemort and his followers screamed in agony before exploding into Golden energy, Harry and Tek nodded to the ghosts as they disappeared. Harry and Tek then turned to the energy rift that was opening next to them "Its time" "Yep" "Goodbye everyone" "We are of to our next great adventure" and with that they were sucked through the portal.,(Starfleet Academy-2407),Harry and Tekuya had appeared several years before and had joined Starfleet Academy, this was their final morning as they were to be placed on a ship in an hour. Harry grinned at Tekuya "We've certainly come a long way" Tek grinned back "Yes we have, oh, here comes Camilla" Camilla Anders was one of the students in their class, she grinned when she noticed them "Hey guys" "Hi Camilla" "Hey Cam" "Are you ready for your assignments?" They both grinned "Aye" "We have both" "Been assigned to" "The newest cruiser class ship" "The U.S.S Phoenix" her smile widened "That's great, that's where I and T'vrell have been assigned" Harry chuckled "hear that Tekky? your Vulcan girlfriend is joining us" Tek rolled his eyes "Not my girlfriend, and good to hear, shall we go to the shuttles then?" "We shall" the three turned to see T'vrell stood watching them with a raised eyebrow.,Tek grinned at her "Ah, T'vrell, always on time, good to see you, you ready for this?" She nodded, her eyes slightly softer than normal when looking at him "Yes Tekuya, I am ready, and it is good to see you too" Tek nodded with a smile as the two began to walk and talk about the grades they got, Harry and Camilla walked behind the two and watched them with fond smiles until the reached the shuttle, the man in front of them put his hand up "Cadets Vermilion, Potter, T'vrell and Anders for the shuttle to the U.S.S Phoenix Sir" the man looked over his list and nodded, they entered the shuttle and set off.,(Earth Spacedock),The four looked out of the window at the ship, it was a mix between the Enterprise and a science class vessel, Tek just stared at the ship in awe "She is beautiful" the three rolled their eyes at his love for the ship design, as Harry smirked "Who's more beautiful, the ship? or T'vrell?" T'vrell rolled her eyes but seemed to wait for the answer as Camilla giggled, Tek absentmindedly answered "Well T'vrell of course but the ship is the second most beautiful I have seen" T'vrell's eyes widened and her cheeks turned slightly pink as Harry and Camilla grinned.,The shuttle pilot grinned as he heard the conversation and chuckled at the result "Alright kiddos, we'll be arriving in a couple of minutes, don't forget your equipment, and have fun, also Tekuya" Tek looked at him "Yes?" "You are correct, the ship is beautiful, but your class mate out beats it by a mile" T'vrell blinked as Tek grinned "Don't I know it, and the best part is, that can spend the entire day basking in her beauty whilst still working and learning" the pilot laughed as she blushed again.

En tant que créature - ou esprit, la classification n'était pas claire - originaire du Japon, un kitsune n'aurait pas dû se trouver sur la côte Ouest des États-Unis. Seulement, il s'agissait de San Fransokyo, ville construite en territoire américain et reconstruite par des ouvriers japonais, si bien que lorsque traditions et créatures nippones avaient décidé de s'enraciner dans le coin, la chose était passée sans trop de mal, et un yokai était tout aussi facile à y dénicher que ça l'était au Pays du Soleil Levant.,En temps normal, ce yokai-ci serait bien resté blotti dans son nid de vieux draps et de cartons si la fille n'était pas venue mourir dans sa ruelle.,Elle devait avoir huit ou sept ans, mais on lui en aurait donné cinq à peine tant elle était petite et maigre, les vêtements trop grands flottant sur sa charpente diminutive accentuant l'effet. Son t-shirt troué s'imbibait de rouge autour d'une entaille au couteau, un rouge aussi brillant que sa chevelure crasseuse et emmêlée.,Le kitsune adorait la couleur rouge. Et puis, un enfant restait un enfant. Gaspiller une vie si jeune, ce serait dommage.,Lorsque l'être se coula en elle, ce ne fut pas sans difficulté, car apparemment, il y avait déjà un locataire dans cette mignonne petite tête. Non, pas un locataire, un parasite. Hors de question de tolérer ça, mais le kitsune ne se sentait pas d'humeur à régler le problème aujourd'hui. C'était bien plus important de fusionner comme il fallait avec ce nouveau corps, l'inspecter en état et - oh, alors ça...,Décidément, cet hôte était de plus en plus intéressant.,Quand Viola Potter avait fermé ses yeux vert jade dans ce cul-de-sac qui empestait l'urine et la pizza moisie, elle ne savait pas ce qu'elle s'attendait à voir. Peut-être pas le Paradis - la tante Pétunia répétait toujours qu'une horrible petite fille comme elle finirait en Enfer et ce serait tant mieux - mais peut-être quelque chose comme la bibliothèque, où elle était à peu près certaine de ne pas être harcelée par Dudley et sa bande.,Elle se trouvait dans une forêt, de longs arbres élancés la cernant, leurs feuilles vertes rendues presque jaunes par la lumière radieuse qui les traversait. Des oiseaux pépiaient au-dessus de sa tête, et un gazouillis de rivière se glissait sous la mousse élastique qui recouvrait le sol.,Devant elle se tenait ,habillé d'une robe colorée aux manches amples, serrée à la taille par une large écharpe brodée de fils métalliques, ses longs cheveux noirs très raides encadrant un visage très pâle, à la bouche maquillée, aux yeux dorés fendus d'une pupille verticale surmontés de sourcils curieux, si épilés qu'ils en était réduits à deux gros points noirs.,La personne avait aussi deux oreilles pointues à la blancheur neigeuse, émergeant du casque élégant de sa chevelure, et trois queues touffues également blanches, pointant sous la robe colorée qu'elles soulevaient, laissant entrevoir plusieurs jupons superposés.,Constatant l'attention de la fillette sur elle, la créature eut un sourire rempli de dents très pointues - non, à ce stade, il s'agissait carrément de crocs. Viola aurait dû avoir peur, mais jusque là, cette étrange personne n'avait pas essayé de l'enfermer dans un placard ou de la pincer ou de la battre pour avoir été fainéante.,« Bonjour, ma chère petite » dit l'être, et sa voix ressemblait à la cloche de l'église quand le vicaire la faisait sonner, aussi grave, profonde et solennelle.,« Qui êtes-vous ? » demanda l'enfant, aussi hypnotisée par cette voix que par ce regard clairement inhumain.,La créature eut un rire très doux.,« Mais je suis toi, voyons. Tu es venue à moi, et désormais, nous ne faisons plus qu'un. »,Viola cligna des paupières. Elle s'était regardée dans le miroir à l'occasion, et elle savait qu'elle était loin de ressembler à cette personne en face d'elle - beaucoup trop petite, beaucoup trop laide, beaucoup trop... ,.,« Non, je n'étais pas là depuis le début » intervint la voix profonde, interrompant le fil de ses pensées. « Jusqu'à aujourd'hui, j'existais en dehors de toi, comme une personne différente. Et puis, j'ai décidé que je voulais être toi. »,Pour le coup, la petite en eut le souffle coupé. Cette créature si raffinée, si belle, si captivante voulait devenir comme Viola ? Viola le monstre, Viola le fardeau pour les honnêtes gens, Viola dont les propres parents n'avaient pas voulu ? Quoi ensuite, l'oncle Vernon allait la déménager dans la chambre d'amis et la laisser manger à tous les repas ?,« Tu es fâchée ? Tu ne veux pas de moi ? » demanda la créature, apparemment désolée.,« ...Pourquoi vous me voulez moi ? »,L'être pencha la tête sur le côté, son regard doré toujours fixé sur la petite.,« Pourquoi ne te voudrais-je pas ? Si tu savais ce que j'ai vu en posant les yeux sur ta personne... Aimerais-tu que je te le montre ? »,Viola hésitait. Peu importe combien elle travaillait dur, combien elle faisait d'efforts, combien elle essayait de s'effacer, tout le monde répétait qu'elle n'était bonne à rien, qu'elle n'avait aucune qualité, qu'elle ne serait jamais rien de bon. Après tout ce temps, entendre quelqu'un affirmer que vous étiez ,plutôt que rien, c'était difficile à croire.,Difficile et tellement attirant, tellement tentant. Viola avait vu les câlins que la tante Pétunia distribuait à Dudley, les compliments qu'elle faisait pleuvoir sur lui, l'admiration qu'elle lui vouait, et mille fois elle en avait convoité une moindre miette. Et maintenant que se présentait une occasion, c'était...,« Je peux te montrer » insista la créature. « Dis juste que je peux entrer. »,Viola ferma les yeux. Inspira profondément.,« Tu peux entrer. »,Si les kitsune étaient difficiles à classifier en tant que créature ou être, c'était à peu près pour la raison que, de même qu'un loup-garou est une créature dans son état maudit mais pas le reste du mois, un kitsune n'était une créature qu'en dehors d'un hôte approprié.,A l'état sauvage, le kitsune n'était ni plus ni moins qu'un renard doté de pouvoirs magiques - pratique pour fuir les chasseurs ou trouver de quoi se nourrir. Mais à l'occasion, il lui arrivait de posséder un humain, et comme on s'en doute, la créature résultant du mélange était aussi loin de l'animal qu'elle l'était de l'humain lambda.,Lorsque les yeux vert se rouvrirent dans l'allée, Viola Potter n'existait plus. Ayant cédé son corps et son âme à un kitsune, l'entité de sept ans ayant porté ce nom était purement et simplement morte, aussi morte qu'il était possible de l'être quand votre cœur continue de battre dans votre poitrine.,Le kitsune examina ses nouvelles mains avec attention tandis que sa psyché terminait de se réorganiser - mine de rien, rajouter sept ans de souvenirs à un siècle de mémoire, c'était loin d'être facile. Surtout quand une partie de cette mémoire se rapportait à une période animale. Un animal n'avait pas besoin d'une conscience de soi, ni même d'un nom.,Viola ne pouvait convenir, bien entendu. Viola était une fillette faible et craintive abandonnée à des esprits étroits qui se faisaient une joie de la malmener juste parce que. Il fallait autre chose, quelque chose de mieux.,Après une longue réflexion de dix bonnes minutes, le kitsune opta pour le choix de Kikyô. C'était aussi un nom de fleur, une jolie fleur aussi délicate qu'agréable à contempler. Et aussi un symbole du Japon. Mine de rien, un kitsune était chatouilleux concernant le statut de son pays d'origine.,Kikyô quitta le cul-de-sac où elle était morte et s'était relevée vivante d'une démarche nonchalante. Elle avait du travail à accomplir.

A/N I think Les Amis would definitely be in the DA... (Just a one shot from Grantaire's perspective.),warning for swearing further down. (It's Grantaire),Enjolras might be a bit ooc but he is in shock from having to write in his own blood for hours...,I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER OR LES MISERABLES. I JUST LIKE PLAYING IN THEIR UNIVERSES.,I don't know what I am doing as part of this group of school kids trying to change things and get rid of the pink toad and everything. Only that Courfeyrac promised me free illegal booze and a chance to wind Enjolras up if I went to Potter's meeting with him. I never got the booze but at least I got a chance to pass my NEWT in Defence. Actually my life is going okay for once.,But of course my beautiful idiot has gotten himself a detention for shouting his mouth off about the Lestrange brothers escaping Azkaban. And how corrupt and stupid the government is because they refused to listen to Dumbledore. And how are we supposed to defend ourselves in the outside world without any practical training?,And I get it. I do. It's true. It really is. But shouting his mouth off about it does nothing except get his stupid loyal to a fault Hufflepuff boyfriend (Yes! I know boyfriend!) trying not to get caught stood outside the toad's office at midnight waiting for him to come out.,He emerges and his hand is dripping with blood and I growl softly. So that was what he didn't want me to see was it? I sneak up behind him, making just enough noise for him to hear me and turn around.,"What are you doing R?","Waiting for you Apollo.",I take in his soft blond curls all mussed up from running his hand through them, the askew robes with their clear red lining, the bleeding hand cradled in his left. And I love him. And he needs me.,"Come on. Room of Requirement.",I found the room. Back in third year. It became our place. Us and our group of ragtag friends from every house. Because Hogwarts doesn't actively promote house unity. And by Odin I sound like THEM now. But it's the best place. The first place I can think of right now.,The fact that he lets me lead him gently by the wrist is testament to how messed up this woman is. How the corruption and disregard and disrespect have worn my Apollo down.,When we get to the room I see it has provided a couch, a table and a double bed. 'I need something to heal Enjolras.' I think desperately.,And the thing people forget is I actually pay attention sometimes. So when a bowl and a bottle labelled dittany appear on the table I know that the room has yet again furnished my every need.,I pour it in and make him take the bowl and put his hand inside. Instant relief. I can see it in his face.,Now he is healing I have room to be angry. A blood quill?! Seriously? A ministry official in charge of students using a blood quill?!,I am sat on his right and can easily see the words on his hand, scrawled in his own messy handwriting.,"I must show respect.",I say it quietly but he still turns to me with dead eyes. That bitch!,"Amelia Bones at the ministry...","Yes?","She has a niece in my house. Fifth year. Susan. She goes DA you've probably seen her.","What about her?","She lives with her. Miss Bones is very high up in the ministry and she is fair. Just to a fault.",Enjolras looks at me like...like I am the sun or something. The way I usually look at him.,"Don't look at me like that! I'm not saying I have a cause or anything! But well...blood quills are banned in all civilized communities you know. It might just be enough to get rid of the pink toad once and for all. I could talk to Susan. Ask her to mention it. Picture the evidence...",He's still looking at me like that!,"I love you!","Yeah yeah yeah...I want her gone as much as you lot. More now. Bitch."

Ends and begins,Jax/Fem Harry (Madison) Past femHarry and Tig,I don't own anything,Jax P.O.V,"Jackie boy there one other way out but it's final and after it you have no chance to coming back Charming." Chibs says quietly when we sits in club house.,I don't say anything else first, I just look around room and all those memories flouting in my head all those times with mother, Opie, Juice, kids, Piney, Clay and Tara, all those time with my family with my both families.,After sometime I realize that Chibs is staring at me.,"What is another option is?" I ask and there is not hint of emotion in my voice.,I just try to think what is best for my kids, even if lately it hasn't be best if kind.,"There is a woman... woman who can help you." Chibs starts and his voice is calm but quiet and I can feel he is hiding something.,"What are you hiding Chibs? I can tell when you aren't telling complete truth." I say calm manner but I don't feel anything anymore except when I'm with my children.,"She is... Tig's old ehem lady friend, but she has helped a lot old bikers get away from this life and she will help you if you want." Chibs says and for while I actually stare at him.,I think what Chibs has just said and everything feels strange and empty.,I just have to save remains of this family for Tara.,"Where is she?" I ask and Chibs gives me an address.,"I hope you realize once you leave there is no coming back in here." He says and I nod, we hug quickly and I leave to home.,When I'm back to place what used to be my home, I can feel all those nasty emotions rise my stomach and head, it burns and I feel anger.,I go to look my children they are sleeping and I just packing I must leave and after it there is no turning point no return, just final end.,I don't sleep much when I go to sleep... I just can't sleep anymore.,When sun hits in the window I know it's time to leave.,I take kids and I hit road, I drive and kids sleep most of time.,When we finally found her house it's nice and small sort of small farm house, it looks calm and peaceful place, in hide from rest of world.,Something I just need. I look sight for while and then dog golden retriever runs out of door.,"Sadie, stay!" Beautiful woman yells and I stare at her.,"Oh hello you must be Jax, Chibs told me about you and that I should except that you would arrive sooner or later.' She say and I nod. I offer my hand at she takes it.,"I'm Madison by the way" She says kind and calm manner, her emerald green eyes spark beautifully but even those eye are warm and kind there is pain and suffering.,When i look at her see has suffered many ways mentally and physically, even if she hides it very well but her eyes won't lie they have seen battles lost and pain.,She is way too beautiful with her long black hair, her tiny figure, her enchanting face and her mesmerizing eyes.,"I'm Jax and these are Thomas and Abel my sons." I say and I point them.,"Nice to meet you, these are my children Amaryllis and Matthew." She says while introduces are made.,Some months later...,Time passes and I should leave and start new life somewhere else than here, but truth is this place too peaceful, relaxing and far from everything and for once I Feel truly free.,One most greatest things is that she leaves me alone and let me be just me. Other great thing is that our kids get alone well.,We get alone well with Madison.,Then one night something happens that I didn't plan, kissed Madison.,I was surpised after all she was war hero, Tig's ex, witch and most closest female friend that I ever had.,She doesn't resist or neither says anything just gives me goofy smile but she seem happy but she can't hide her surprised look.,She pushes me away and say we both need more time, which is s true.,I love Tara and she still loves Tig but yet I love her and I feel she might love me.,Time goes by and there is quiet moment between us, we don't talk what happend but we talk kids, my club and her friends (mostly Luna, Fred, George, Daphne and Seamus who is part Belfast Samcrow).,Then one night accident happens and she kissed me and one thing lead another...,Next morning I was happy, confused and sort of fucked up. She just smiled me when she woke up.,I didn't know what to say or think but we ended up being some sort weird family, she told me about her family that she wouldn't try replace Tara.,Hell she even talk kids if this was okay which was truly great decision.,Soon thing turned better and I'm truly happy for long time.,Then she become pregnant all bad memories come back into head.,We are going to have baby girl for real.,But nothing can't last too long and one day when come back from town and in living room visitor Tig.

Hello tout le monde, je re update parce que là c'est n'importe quoi, je me ramène genre "salut, tu sauras pas ce que c'est, ni d'où ça vient, ni de quoi ça parle mais continue" ^^ Alors c'est un OS qui mélange les univers de Harry Potter, Junjou Romantica et Ouran High School Host Club. Aucun des trois ne m'appartient bien évidemment et je ne me fais aucun argent dessus :) Ce texte est pour Alicia qui a posté la 200ème review sur C'est Quoi, Ce Délire? Tout ça part d'un délire qu'on s'est tapé en allant manger: Et si le père de Kyouya était Hiroki? Parce que quand même niveau caractère on est pas loin du copier collé.. Donc voilà notre théorie sur la véritable origine de Kyouya Ootori.,J'espère que ce texte vous fera autant rire qu'il m'a fait rire en l'écrivant. Une allusion à un autre manga s'y cache. Saurez-vous me dire lequel? Bonne lecture :),La vérité sur Kyouya Ootori,Ou,La théorie selon laquelle tout est lié,Hiroki Kamijo était initialement venu en Angleterre pour rendre visite à sa famille. Il était alors étudiant au Japon, et s'apprêtait à commencer sa seconde année à l'université Teito, section littéraire, aux côté du déjà grand écrivain Akihiko Usami. Cette visite qui devait normalement être banale s'était révélée être une véritable torture lorsque le sujet d'Akihiko avait été abordé. Ses parents avaient bien entendu remarqués sa façon de parler de l'écrivain, qui dépassait la simple admiration. Ils avaient voulu lui faire entendre raison, Hiroki s'était énervé, et il avait fini par claquer la porte. Ses pas le menèrent rapidement dans les différentes rues de Carbone-les-Mines, qu'il connaissait par cœur depuis son enfance. La pluie tombait drue sur lui, le glaçant jusqu'aux os. Il finit par arriver à la rivière, lieu qu'il affectionnait particulièrement. Il s'assit sur l'herbe, sur la berge. Le débit de l'eau grossissait a vu d'œil. Hiroki était trempé, avait froid, et était plus que tout éreinté. Ses larmes se mirent à couler sans qu'il ne puisse rien y faire.,Il le savait bien pourtant, ce que tous lui répétait. C'était un amour à sens unique, et Akihiko ne l'aimerait jamais autrement que comme un ami. Il savait tout ça, mais l'espoir était plus fort et le détruisait à chaque instant. Accablé par son chagrin, il n'entendit pas les pas qui s'approchaient de lui.,- Vous allez bien ? l'interpella une voix derrière lui.,Hiroki sursauta et essuya précipitamment ses yeux avant de se retourner partiellement, toujours assis dans l'herbe. La nuit était tombée depuis longtemps, et il eut du mal à distinguer la silhouette de l'homme qui lui avait adressé la parole. Cette difficulté tenait surtout du fait que l'homme était entièrement vêtu de noir. C'est étrange, pensa Hiroki. On est pourtant au mois d'Août. Il fait tout de même chaud en cette saison, même en Angleterre.,- Ҫa va, merci, finit-il par répondre, lorsqu'il eut déterminé que cet homme ne représentait aucune menace.,Ils se regardèrent quelques instants. Hiroki remarque alors que l'homme tenait dans la main droite un parapluie, également noir. Lui n'avait même pas eu la présence d'esprit d'en attraper un avant de partir, et son corps grelotait de façon incontrôlable. L'homme avait dû le remarquer également, car il reprit la parole :,- Je n'habite pas très loin si vous voulez. Vous pourrez vous réchauffer et m'expliquer ce qui vous a mis dans cet état.,Hiroki n'était pas totalement convaincu par ce discours, et lança à l'inconnu un regard méfiant.,- Je m'appelle Severus Rogue, précisa-t-il en lui tendant la main.,Bon, à présent ce n'était plus un inconnu. Hiroki cligna bêtement des yeux, surpris que quelqu'un qu'il ne connaissait ni d'Eve ni d'Adam se préoccupe ainsi de son sort. Il attrapa cette main gracieusement offerte et se laissa relever. Le dénommé Severus le couvrit avec le parapluie et l'entraîna le long de la rivière, vers une rue qui possédait peu de maisons. Il le dirigea vers celle située en face d'eux et lui ouvrit la porte.,L'ambiance de la maison n'était pas froide, sans être particulièrement chaleureuse. Il n'y avait pas d'entrée, juste un grand salon meublé d'un canapé deux places et d'un fauteuil. Une bibliothèque couvrait un mur et une porte était visible dans un coin. Hiroki supposa qu'elle menait aux chambres. Severus lui proposa de s'asseoir et lui demanda ce qu'il voulait boire. Après avoir demandé quels alcools possédait l'autre homme, Hiroki se décida pour du whisky, et il patienta pendant que Severus le servait. Severus prit place sur le fauteuil face à lui. Hiroki remit ses idées en place en prenant une gorgée de whisky. Puis il se décida à prendre la parole :,- Je m'appelle Hiroki Kamijo. J'étais venu rendre visite à ma famille. Seulement, on s'est disputé et je suis parti…,La voix d'Hiroki s'était faite incertaine, et il prit une grande inspiration pour ne pas laisser de larmes couler.,- Quel était le sujet de votre dispute ?,Hiroki prit une autre gorgée de son verre, se demandant comment il allait formuler sa réponse. Il finit par reprendre la parole :,- Un ami de l'université, à Tokyo. Je suis amoureux de lui depuis… j'arrive même plus à me rappeler depuis quand. Le truc c'est que, pour lui, je suis uniquement un ami et… ma famille pense que je dois tourner la page pour éviter de souffrir. Seulement, c'est trop dur.,Un silence s'installa pendant quelques minutes. Severus était plongé dans une profonde réflexion. Hiroki eut le temps de finir son verre, se sentant étrangement réconforté par l'alcool. Il reporta son attention lorsque Severus poussa un soupir résigné :,- Je pense que je peux t'aider.,Hiroki reprit l'avion le lendemain, après avoir un peu froidement dit au-revoir à sa famille. Ses pensées étaient totalement occupées par les révélations de Severus Rogue, professeur de potion à l'école de sorcellerie Poudlard. Même après avoir eu la preuve directe (par l'apparition d'oiseaux dans la pièce) et avoir posé toutes les questions qui le tracassaient, Hiroki avait encore un peu de mal à croire tout ce qu'il avait vu. Lorsqu'il l'avait enfin accepté, Severus lui avait dit qu'il travaillerait sur une potion pour lui, mais qu'il ne pouvait pas garantir que les effets seraient stables, étant donné qu'elle serait utilisée par un moldu (une personne sans pouvoir magique). Il lui avait ensuite demandé son adresse, lui expliquant qu'il pourrait ainsi venir le voir en transplanant (une sorte de téléportation de ce qu'Hiroki avait compris). Lorsqu'il avait demandé à Severus comment il allait faire, lui, pour contacter le maître des potions, Severus lui avait tendu un miroir, lui expliquant qu'il avait exactement le même. Il lui suffirait de l'appeler pour prendre contact avec lui.,Depuis cette rencontre, quatre années avaient passées. Hiroki avait parfois eu des doutes. Etait-ce vraiment une bonne idée ? Ne devrait-il pas plutôt demander à Severus de tout arrêter, de stopper ses recherches ? Mais ses pensées revenaient alors à Akihiko, et à tous les efforts que faisait Severus pour lui.,Hiroki connaissait les rues de Tokyo par cœur, les ayant parcourues de nombreuses fois depuis qu'il y vivait. C'était ces rues qui avaient vues ses escapades dans les librairies avec Akihiko, ses tentatives pour oublier l'écrivain, ses matinées vers l'université, les yeux à peine ouverts. Le chemin de la supérette jusqu'à son appartement était toujours le même, tous les jours. Tellement familier qu'il en devenait automatique. Son sac de course dans la main gauche, Hiroki s'arrêta devant un spectacle inhabituel.,Sur le terrain de basket de l'autre côté de la rue, un groupe de jeune s'était rassemblé. Deux d'entre eux étaient en train de se battre. L'un d'eux avait les cheveux bleus foncés, l'autre rouge flamboyants. Un garçon plus petit aux cheveux bleu clairs se trouvait entre eux, tentant sans doute de les arrêter. D'autre garçon s'échauffait avec le panier. Un groupe de garçons aux cheveux noirs, dont l'un avec des lunettes parlait énergiquement aux autres. Le second groupe était composé d'un garçon aux cheveux verts, un autre garçon aux cheveux rouge, un garçon blond et enfin un garçon immense aux cheveux violets qui baillait aux corneilles en regardant son ballon. Deux filles assises sur un banc crièrent quelque chose, et les équipes se formèrent. Hiroki les regarda jouer un moment, s'extasiant mentalement sur leur technique (sans doute des élèves en sport-étude dans un lycée), puis se décida à reprendre sa route.,Il arriva assez rapidement à son appartement. Il en referma la porte, avant de retirer lentement ses chaussures, puis de se diriger vers le frigo pour ranger ses courses.,- T'en as mis du temps !,Hiroki sursauta. Il se retourna précipitamment, ne s'attendant absolument pas à trouver quelqu'un dans son appartement.,- Severus ! Qu'est-ce que tu fais là ?,- Viens t'asseoir. Je dois te parler.,- Quoi ?! Tu as fini la potion ?!,Severus lui fit signe de baisser d'un ton alors qu'il prenait une gorgée de bièraubeurre. Il reposa son verre et acquiesça, précisant tout de même les choses :,- Je ne te garantis pas les effets. Normalement, cette potion va agir comme un filtre d'amour, en beaucoup moins puissant. Le principe n'est pas de créer une attirance inexistante, mais d'exacerber les sentiments d'amitié déjà existant. Les choses pour lesquelles Akihiko t'apprécie seront accentuées à ses yeux. Pour que la potion fonctionne totalement, il va falloir que tu couches avec lui.,Cette fois, Hiroki s'étouffa avec sa propre gorgée.,- Attends, si je comprends bien, je dois boire cette potion, aller voir Akihiko, et trouver un moyen de coucher avec lui alors que nous sommes amis.,- Exactement. Tu comprends décidément très vite les choses Hiroki. Mais tu ferais mieux d'être sûr d'avoir l'occasion avant de boire la potion. Elle ne durera pas indéfiniment.,Severus l'avait laissé avec ces maigres explications, ainsi qu'une fiole de potion. Hiroki s'était remué les méninges pendant des jours, paraissant sans doute étrange aux yeux du jeune écrivain. Puis l'occasion s'était présentée.,Seul dans son appartement, Hiroki regrettait amèrement son geste. C'était sûr, à présent, Akihiko devait le détester ! Malgré les descriptions de Severus, Hiroki doutait fortement que la potion ait fonctionné, bien au contraire. Akihiko semblait profondément regretter d'avoir accepté. Il était parti, sans même jeter un regard à Hiroki. Pourtant, tout aurait dû bien se passer. Akihiko venait d'apprendre que la personne qu'il aimait avait une petite-amie, et que tous ses espoirs s'effondraient. Hiroki avait sauté sur l'occasion pour lui faire cette proposition, celle de remplacer son Takahiro qu'il aimait tant. Il avait bu la potion, avait pris ses affaires et avait rejoint l'appartement d'Akihiko. Il lui avait bandé les yeux pour parfaire la mise en scène, mais rien ne s'était passé comme prévu, et Hiroki avait pu lire le regret sur son visage.,Hiroki était effondré sur son lit, en pleurs. Trois jours avaient passés depuis l'incident, et Hiroki n'avait pas quitté son matelas, sauf pour satisfaire ses besoins les plus essentiels. Akihiko était passé, mais Hiroki n'avait pas répondu en entendant la voix inquiète de son ami qui lui demandait des nouvelles. Le seul effet qu'avait eu cette visite avait été d'augmenter les pleurs d'Hiroki, alors qu'il tentait de les retenir pour faire croire à son absence. Mais il était certain qu'Akihiko n'avait pas été dupe. La main droite d'Hiroki s'égara à la recherche de la boite de mouchoir, mais sa main ne rencontra que du vide. Il tâtonna quelques instants, mais ses doigts tombèrent sur une surface lisse. Il attrapa l'objet, et réalisa qu'il s'agissait du miroir donné par Severus en cas de problème S'il se souvenait bien, il suffisait de l'appeler. Hiroki se concentra, tentant de refouler ses pleurs, et appela Severus.,Il lui fallut plusieurs tentatives pour que sa voix soit audible, mais l'image de Severus apparut bientôt devant ses yeux.,- Qu'est-ce qui t'arrive ?,Mais Hiroki sembla incapable de mettre des mots sur ce qui était arrivé, et il se contenta de pleurer encore plus fort, si c'était possible. Severus comprit l'importance de la situation et transplana immédiatement, se retrouvant dans la chambre d'Hiroki.,L'explication fut longue et périlleuse. Cependant, Severus en comprit l'essentiel, et su rapidement quel avait été le problème. Et, malheureusement pour lui, il semblait que c'était entièrement sa faute. La potion avait sans doute mal compris lorsqu'il avait planifié la création du lien. Il s'était basé sur la recette de la potion d'Amortentia, ce qui aurait dû créer cette attirance très forte, mais l'avait quelque peu modifiée pour supprimer le côté obsessionnel et ajouter le lien dont il avait besoin, sans pour autant brider l'esprit de l'autre. Seulement le lien ne s'était pas créer. Ou plutôt il s'était créer, mais dans une autre forme.,Tout semblait s'emboiter alors qu'Hiroki terminait son explication, pleurant du fait qu'Akihiko ne voudrait plus jamais lui parler. Severus lui aurait bien fait la remarque que c'était faux, puisqu'il était venu prendre de ses nouvelles, mais cela risquait d'aggraver les choses. Il fallut encore une dizaine de minutes pour que Severus parvienne à calmer Hiroki.,- Je crois que je sais ce qui t'arrives.,Hiroki regarda Severus d'un air surpris alors qu'il essuyait ses dernières larmes. Ses yeux le prièrent de continuer, et Severus poussa un soupir, sachant parfaitement qu'il avait fait une grosse bourde :,- La potion n'a pas interprété comme il fallait la notion de lien. Au lieu que tu sois lié à Akihiko par vos sentiments, la potion a créé un lien…comment dire ? Un lien plus tangible, plus…logique en quelque sorte pour un couple.,Severus marqua une pause qui lui permit de remarquer l'incompréhension dans le regard d'Hiroki. Il prit alors une inspiration pour donner ses conclusions :,- La potion a totalement ignoré vos deux natures et t'as fait tomber enceint.,Un silence choqué sembla résonner à la suite de cette phrase. Puis Hiroki laissa échapper un grand rire, surprenant Severus. Des larmes d'hilarité se mirent à couler sur les joues d'Hiroki. Severus ne réagit pas, et Hiroki comprit, au bout de quelques minutes, que la phrase du maître des potions n'était en rien une blague. Son visage prit une expression désespérée. Il bafouilla quelques mots inaudibles avant de réussir à formuler une phrase complète:,- Mais, mais c'est impossible!,Severus secoua doucement la tête. Hiroki eut alors l'impression que son monde s'effondrait de nouveau autour de lui. Il laissa tomber sa tête dans ses bras, sur sa table, et lâcha un soupir résigné. Quelques minutes s'écoulèrent sans qu'un seul mot ne soit prononcé. Finalement, Hiroki releva sa tête et regarda Severus, une flamme de détermination brillant dans ses yeux :,- Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire ?,Le plan avait été on ne peut plus simple : on ne fait rien. Hiroki avait cru à une blague, mais Severus s'était très vite expliqué. La grossesse avait été provoquée par une potion. Il était alors trop risqué d'avoir recours à l'avortement. Severus avait donc pointé sa baguette sur le ventre d'Hiroki, affirmant qu'il existait une autre solution, et que Severus s'engageait jusqu'à la fin pour aider Hiroki s'il acceptait. Cela paraissait tellement simple qu'Hiroki n'y aurait jamais pensé de lui-même. Il suffisait de trouver une famille qui adopterait l'enfant à sa naissance. Severus lancerait des sortilèges permettant de cacher le ventre d'Hiroki jusqu'à la naissance, et un second sortilège permettrait à l'enfant de prendre les traits de ses futurs parents, en ignorant les gènes de ses parents biologiques. Ce sortilège n'était cependant possible que dans les premiers jours, puisque l'ADN était encore accessible pour le sort. Hiroki réfléchit plusieurs minutes, puis accepta.,Severus s'installa chez Hiroki après ce jour. Il contrôlait l'état d'Hiroki tous les jours avec des sorts de soins, et il commença les recherches d'une famille d'accueil. Cette routine fut cependant interrompue un mercredi, une heure après qu'Hiroki fut rentré des cours.,- On frappe, informa Hiroki depuis la cuisine.,- Va ouvrir, je suis en pleine recherche ! répondit Severus.,Hiroki grommela, abandonnant sa vaisselle pour se diriger vers l'entrée. Cela faisait un mois que Severus squattait chez lui pour surveillance médicale. Un mois qu'Hiroki était enceint. Un mois depuis qu'Akihiko était passé, après qu'Hiroki ait lâchement profité de lui. Hiroki bailla, ennuyé et fatigué par ses cours, et ouvrit la porte. Il se figea aussitôt. Derrière la porte, juste devant lui, se trouvait Akihiko, un sac plein de livres dans une main. Il portait, comme à son habitude, son manteau gris ainsi que son écharpe. Des cernes marquaient le dessous de ses yeux, rehaussés par ses lunettes qu'il ne quittait que rarement.,Hiroki avait pourtant fait tout son possible, mis toute son énergie pour éviter Akihiko dans l'enceinte même de l'université.,- Tout va bien ? s'enquit Akihiko. Je ne t'ai pas vu depuis un mois, je me demandais comment tu survivais.,Hiroki resta muet devant cette entrée en matière. Comment pouvait-il se comporter comme-ci rien ne c'était passé ? C'était incompréhensible. Son cerveau tournait à cent à l'heure, cherchant encore ce qu'il pourrait dire, comment il allait se justifier, ce qu'il devait dire. Mais, comme d'habitude, Akihiko prit les devants :,- Je peux entrer ?,Hiroki ne put qu'acquiescer. Il serait de toute façon malpolie de le laisser là, devant sa porte, alors qu'il s'inquiétait. Il referma la porte alors que son ami entrait dans le salon qui lui servait également de chambre et de salle à manger. Il posa son sac sur la table en dévisageant Severus.,- Qui c'est celui-là ?,- Un ami que j'ai rencontré en Angleterre et qui passe ses vacances ici, répondit Hiroki, une pointe de colère dans la voix. Akihiko pouvait se montrer très malpoli quand il le voulait.,- Enchanté, je m'appelle Severus Rogue, intervint le professeur de potion en tendant la main vers le fameux « Akihiko ».,Celui-ci observa l'autre homme de haut en bas, avant de finalement se décider à lui serrer la main et de lui rendre son salut :,- Akihiko Usami.,Un silence gêné qui ne semblât pas atteindre Severus s'installa dans la pièce. Hiroki fulminait intérieurement devant l'attitude de son « meilleur ami ». Finalement, Severus fut celui qui brisa le silence, un sourire aux lèvres :,- Je vais faire du thé. Vous pourrez parler comme ça.,Et sans un mot de plus, il quitta la pièce pour se diriger vers la petite cuisine de l'appartement.,Akihiko se tourna vers Hiroki, le toisant quelques instants. Puis son regard fit le tour de la pièce, un air pensif peint sur son visage.,- C'est vraiment petit chez toi, commenta-t-il.,- Tout le monde n'a pas l'argent du grand écrivain Akihiko Usami ! explosa Hiroki, énervé par ces constantes critiques.,Cependant, il n'osait pas regarder son camarade, ce que celui-ci avait très bien compris. Il préféra revenir à un sujet de conversation plus banal :,- Je t'ai apporté les dernières publications de Marukawa. Mon dernier livre est dedans.,- Tu n'étais pas obligé.,- Je m'inquiète Hiroki.,Hiroki resta quelques secondes silencieux après cette phrase. Il prit place sur une des chaises et se mit à fouiller dans le sac, se concentrant sur certaines couvertures ou certains résumés. Il compta mentalement les livres et avisa la place restante sur ses étagères, avant de décider qu'il devait en acheter une autre. Il stockerait ces livres à côté de son lit en attendant de les lire.,- Tu n'avais pas à t'inquiéter.,- Bien sûr que si ! s'énerva Akihiko en abattant ses mains sur la table. Quand je suis passé il y a un mois, tu as refusé de me voir. Et ne me dit pas que tu étais absent, je t'ai clairement entendu pleurer. Et depuis, tu m'évite, même à la fac !,Hiroki ne put que baisser les yeux devant ces accusations, parfaitement justifiées. Une de ses mains se posa instinctivement sur son ventre. Il n'avait jamais eu peur des coups d'éclat d'Akihiko, même s'ils étaient parfois impressionnants. Mais aujourd'hui, son corps réagissait tout seul, et la peur coulait dans ses veines. Il avait l'irrépressible envie de se cacher pour se protéger, mais il parvint à l'endiguer. Il déglutit lentement avant de prendre la parole :,- Désolé.,Akihiko sembla perplexe. Visiblement, il s'était attendu à tout sauf à des excuses.,- Désolé de quoi ?,Hiroki prit une grande inspiration pour trouver le courage d'exprimer ses remords.,- Désolé d'avoir organisé cette soirée, d'avoir profité de ta déception. Désolé d'avoir essayé de changer notre relation. Et désolé de t'avoir obligé à l'utiliser.,Hiroki retint presque son souffle après sa tirade. Cette fois-ci, c'était sûr, Akihiko devait le détester.,- C'est pour ça que tu m'as évité pendant tout un mois ?,Hiroki regarda enfin Akihiko. Il retenait des larmes qui menaçaient de couler, alors qu'Akihiko arborait un sourire apaisant. Hiroki acquiesça doucement. Soudain, une grande main froide ébouriffa ses cheveux et un éclat de rire emplit la pièce.,- Idiot ! C'est oublié depuis longtemps, Hiroki ! Et je ne t'en veux absolument pas. Je n'ai même jamais pensé que c'était ta faute. C'était juste un malheureux concours de circonstances.,Hiroki sourit doucement à son tour. Oui, un concours de circonstances. C'était une expression agréable après coup. Un peu moins lorsqu'Hiroki pensa aux circonstances de ce « concours de circonstances ».,- Le thé est prêt, indiqua Severus en réapparaissant dans la pièce.,Le reste de l'après-midi avait consisté en des anecdotes de Severus et d'Akihiko sur l'Angleterre, tous deux comparant leur expérience sur ce pays, pointant en riant ses défauts et grossissant ses clichés, mais ne tarissant au final pas d'éloge. Sauf peut-être sur la météo. Puis Akihiko avait aidé Hiroki avec ses devoirs, car il était loin d'être en avance. C'était même plutôt l'inverse.,- C'est un garçon, déclara Severus quelques mois plus tard.,Akihiko passait voir Hiroki environ deux fois par semaine, sans compter le week-end. Severus devait aussi prendre en compte le travail étudiant d'Hiroki, qui prenait presque tous ses après-midi. Il était le seul qui voyait l'évolution du ventre d'Hiroki, avec Hiroki lui-même, ce qui lui permettait de faire le suivi correctement. Mais il avait dû attendre qu'Hiroki soit libre pour faire cet examen.,- C'est certain ? questionna Hiroki.,- Plus que certain, rétorqua Severus. Le sort ne peut pas se tromper.,Hiroki lâcha un soupir soulagé. Ce n'était pas l'annonce du sexe qui le soulageait. A la vérité, il s'en fichait même royalement. Mais ça lui enlevait une épine du pied.,- Très bien, reprit Hiroki. On va pouvoir rayer de la liste tous ceux qui recherchent une fille spécifiquement.,Il restait cinq mois à Hiroki avant l'accouchement. Cinq mois pour trouver une famille, prendre contact avec elle, et faire adopter l'enfant. Et c'était la seule chose qui comptait pour Hiroki.,- Tu es sûr que tu veux aller jusqu'au bout ? questionna Severus pour la trois centième fois au moins depuis le début du suivi.,- J'en suis sûr, arrêtes de me demander ! s'énerva Hiroki, comme chaque fois qu'il abordait ce sujet. Tu imagines, comment expliquer la situation aux gens ? Et je me débrouillerais jamais, un étudiant père célibataire, j'imagine pas le tableau. Non, non et non ! Je veux que cet enfant ait une belle vie.,- Et tu as déjà une idée du genre de famille à qui tu veux le confier ? questionna Severus alors qu'il rayait de leur liste les familles voulant adopter une fille.,Hiroki réfléchit quelques minutes, le temps pour Severus d'utiliser un sort pour réorganiser leur liste.,- J'aimerais une famille où il soit vraiment désiré, où il puisse être heureux. Ce serait bien s'il pouvait avoir des frères, et des sœurs aussi. Ah, ajouta-t-il après réflexion, et j'aimerais que la famille soit, disons, plus riche que la moyenne.,- Définit « plus riche que la moyenne » s'il-te-plaît.,- Du genre, autant que la famille d'Akihiko.,- T'es à peine exigeant ! se plaignit Severus.,Il examina sa liste, suivant les critères d'Hiroki, et raya encore quelques noms.,- Je crois qu'on est bon. Il n'y aura plus qu'à prendre contact…avec cette personne, termina Severus en tendant le papier à Hiroki.,- La famille Ootori ? Ils ont l'air un peu, austère tu ne trouves pas ?,Severus haussa les épaules.,- Ils correspondent à ton profil. Ils sont riches, recherchent un garçon, et ils ont même d'autres enfants : deux garçons et une fille.,- Mais tu as vu leur annonce ? Monsieur et Madame Yoshio Ootori bla… bla… bla… ne peuvent plus avoir d'enfants bla… bla… recherchent un héritier pour assurer leur nom bla… bla… bla… Ҫa transparait pas vraiment l'amour tout ça…,- Aucun autre de la liste ne correspond à ton profil Hiroki.,Severus avait l'air agacé. Les critères d'Hiroki semblaient donner du fil à retordre à Severus. Mais ils avaient épluchés toutes les annonces, et celle-ci était la dernière à laquelle ils pouvaient encore répondre.,- Passe-moi ton téléphone, ordonna Severus. Je vais prendre rendez-vous avec eux. Ensuite j'arrangerais l'entretien avec toi.,Peut-être qu'Hiroki avait eu raison. Severus avait été accueilli de la plus étrange des façons. La famille Ootori n'avait pas semblé particulièrement heureuse de le voir arriver. Enfin, les parents, parce que d'après ce qu'avait compris Severus, les deux fils suivaient des cours en plus du lycée, tandis que leur fille était à ses cours d'après-midi de musique. Aucun doute, ils possédaient en effet beaucoup d'argent. Fait d'ailleurs confirmé par la taille conséquente de leur maison et des pièces la composant. Mr et Mme Ootori le conduisirent au salon, et demandèrent à l'un de leur domestique de leur servir le thé. Enfin, c'était un employé de maison, techniquement, mais Severus eut plutôt l'impression qu'il était traité comme un de leurs elfes de maison.,La mise en condition pour expliquer la situation avait pris une petite heure. Etonnamment, aucun des deux ne tressaillit aux explications de Severus. Ils étaient restés bizarrement froid devant la révélation qu'un autre monde, magique de surcroît, existait. Tout ce qui semblait leur importait était l'assurance que l'enfant leur reviendrait sans qu'un scandale éclate, ce que leur confirma rapidement Severus. Il les soumit, avec leur permission, à un sortilège de fidélitas puis leur demanda leur disponibilité pour un rendez-vous avec la future « mère ». Severus soupira avant de transplaner chez Hiroki. Beaucoup trop de personnes commençaient à être au courant pour leur monde, et il espérait qu'il n'aurait pas d'ennui avec le ministère avant la fin de cette histoire.,Hiroki était allé au rendez-vous à reculons. Après que Severus lui ait confié ses premières impressions, il avait eu envie de faire marche arrière, mais Severus avait su le convaincre de ne surtout pas renoncer. Akihiko n'était pas au courant de la condition d'Hiroki, grâce au sortilège de camouflage, même s'il passait tout son temps à l'université avec Hiroki et qu'il passait chez lui pour parler bouquins environ une fois par semaine. Severus menaça donc Hiroki de raconter toute cette histoire, depuis le début, à Akihiko si jamais Hiroki renonçait. Certes, c'était un coup bas, mais Severus n'avait jamais prétendu qu'il utiliserait des moyens équitables pour pousser Hiroki jusqu'au bout de cette aventure.,Hiroki avait non seulement rencontré les parents, mais il avait également demandé à rencontrer les enfants, seuls. Chacun d'eux lui avait assuré que, comme chez toutes les familles, leur foyer n'était pas parfait, que c'était impossible, mais qu'ils n'avaient jamais manqué d'amour ni de la meilleure éducation possible. Ils fréquentaient tous les trois le lycée Ouran depuis l'école maternelle, et le futur enfant y serait également envoyé. Hiroki avait demandé plus d'information sur l'école, puis sur leur enfance en général. Les réponses semblèrent le satisfaire, puisqu'il repartit avec un sourire et le numéro de téléphone de l'un des employé de maison, assigné à la mission de prendre les renseignements sur le bébé que pourrait communiquer Hiroki.,C'était loin d'être parfait pour l'enfant, songeait Hiroki, une main sur le ventre, mais la jeune fille avait raison. Aucune famille n'était parfaite. Il espérait simplement que son bébé vivrait une enfance relativement normale, et qu'il serait entouré d'amour d'une quelconque manière.,Hiroki était en plein cours de littérature, assis à côté d'Akihiko. C'était une sensation très étrange, à presque neuf mois de grossesse, d'être constamment gêné par un ventre qu'il était le seul à voir. Mais le sort était très impressionnant. Personne ne pouvait l'approcher à une distance qui aurait paru normale, étant donné que le sort repoussait les gens comme un aimant, protégeant son ventre pour les gens ne pouvant le voir.,Il ne restait qu'une demi-heure avant la fin de ce cours, et donc la fin de la journée. Il était presque dix-huit heures, et Hiroki enchaînait les cours depuis ce matin, à huit heures, sans aucun arrêt. Ah, si, il avait pu prendre dix minutes pour manger entre son cours de latin et celui de japonais ancien. La fatigue commençait à se faire ressentir, et Akihiko lui mettait régulièrement des coups de coude dans le bras pour éviter qu'il s'endorme. Il lui repasserait ses notes ce week-end, mais il ne voulait pas qu'il se fasse remarquer par le prof. Cela ne l'aurait pas vraiment aidé. Akihiko, même s'il ne lui avait pas fait la remarque, avait bien remarqué les cernes sous les yeux d'Hiroki.,Soudain, alors que la tête d'Hiroki commençait dangereusement à s'approcher de sa feuille, il se redressa, les muscles contractés et le souffle coupé. Une main se porta sur son ventre. Est-ce que c'était…une contraction ? Akihiko le regarda, surpris par son attitude soudaine. Mais Hiroki ignora son regard emplit de questions et se leva, sous le regard de toute la salle.,- Vous vous sentez bien jeune homme ? questionna le professeur, s'arrêtant en plein milieu de son cours.,Hiroki secoua rapidement la tête, le souffle encore trop court pour parler. Puis, difficilement, il articula :,- J'ai…mal…dois…sortir…,Akihiko se leva à son tour.,- Je l'accompagne à l'infirmerie !,Le professeur acquiesça, et la salle resta silencieuse jusqu'à ce qu'ils quittent la pièce. Puis le cours reprit.,À l'extérieur, Hiroki s'était déjà défait de la prise d'Akihiko et s'était précipité aux toilettes. Hiroki avait déjà rangé le miroir qui lui avait permis d'appeler Severus pour qu'il vienne le chercher. Les contractions étaient assez espacées, et Hiroki reprit une respiration normale alors qu'Akihiko commençait à tambouriner contre la porte.,- Hiroki ? Tout va bien ? Hiroki répond !,Avant qu'il n'ait eu le temps de décider s'il devait défoncer la porte, Hiroki la poussa. Son visage était pâle, et il était presque plié en deux sous la douleur.,- Je te ramène ? questionna Akihiko tandis qu'il regardait Hiroki se passer de l'eau sur le visage.,- Severus arrive, marmonna difficilement Hiroki.,Akihiko vit clairement ses dents se serrer sous un nouveau pic de douleur.,- Je t'accompagne quand même.,- Non ! cria presque Hiroki. Rentre chez toi, s'il-te-plait. Je suis persuadée que ce n'est rien.,Des pas raisonnèrent dans le couloir. Akihiko fut presque surpris de voir Severus entrer dans les toilettes. En quelques secondes il avait attrapé Hiroki, l'avait entraîné à sa suite et était parti. Lorsqu'Akihiko reprit ses esprits, et qu'il se précipita dans le couloir, ils avaient déjà disparu.,Hiroki était allongé sur son lit, depuis environ deux heures, essayant de contrôler sa respiration. Severus avait d'abord envoyé un hibou aux Ootori, les prévenant que la naissance était imminente et les informant de la suite des évènements. Ils avaient passé plusieurs mois à étudier la question, et le plus simple à leurs yeux était de déposer le bébé aux Ootori. Ceux-ci prétendraient avoir trouvé l'enfant devant leur porte. C'est ce qu'ils diraient à leur avocat. Pour la suite, ils avaient assez de relations pour que l'adoption soit rapide et l'affaire étouffée.,À présent, Severus lançait des sorts sur le ventre d'Hiroki, tout en lui ordonnant de respirer. Il espérait qu'Akihiko n'ait pas la bonne idée de venir voir l'état de son ami. Au cas où, Severus avait insonorisé la porte et l'avait fermée par un sort. S'il passait, Akihiko n'entendrait rien provenant de l'appartement et serait face à une porte close. Les sorts révélèrent bientôt à Severus l'avancement du travail. La potion avait même prévue, à ce qu'il pouvait voir, ce qu'il fallait pour que le bébé sorte. Parfois, la magie étonnait réellement Severus. Il abandonna Hiroki quelques secondes, le temps de trouver une fiole de potion contre la douleur, ainsi qu'une potion qui aiderait le passage de l'enfant. Soudain, Hiroki poussa un cri de douleur. Une contraction, plus forte que les autres, venait de le prendre en traitre. Severus l'encouragea à respirer, jusqu'à ce que la douleur passe, puis lui fit avaler les potions. Hiroki se trouva bien plus détendu par la suite. Les contractions étaient plus supportables, et le travail plus facile.,La nuit était tombée depuis une heure lorsque le cri du nourrisson résonna dans l'appartement. Severus voulu le donner à Hiroki, mais celui-ci refusa obstinément de le voir. Il préférait que Severus l'emmène le plus vite possible, pendant qu'il prenait un repos bien mérité.,- Comme tu voudras, avait soufflé Severus en emmenant le bébé dans la salle de bain, où il le laverait et vérifierait son état avant de transplaner.,La porte s'était refermée, et Hiroki avait senti des larmes couler le long de ses joues. Mais ce n'était pas des larmes de soulagement. Il se sentait plutôt triste, presque honteux de devoir abandonner son bébé, même s'il savait, au fond de lui, que c'était la meilleure décision de sa vie. Et puis, franchement, il ne se voyait pas arriver devant Akihiko, l'enfant dans les bras, et la bouche en cœur :,- Tout te souvient quand on a couché ensemble par ma faute ? C'est notre fils.,Non et définitivement non ! Même dans un monde parallèle où les chats domineraient le monde, cette scène serait impossible !,Hiroki sut que tout était fini lorsque Severus revint, plus tard dans la soirée. Toute trace de ces neufs derniers mois fut effacée, et Severus quitta l'appartement quelques jours plus tard, lorsqu'il fut certain qu'Hiroki se remettait correctement des derniers évènements. Il lui ordonna de le contacter par le miroir si quoi que ce soit n'allait pas. Hiroki accepta, et Severus rentra chez lui.,C'est comme ça qu'Hiroki se posa sur un banc, un après-midi ensoleillé, une semaine après que son ami soit parti. Hiroki repensait encore et toujours à cette soirée, cette énorme connerie qu'il avait faite, et qu'il regrettait à chaque seconde. De plus, il se sentait coupable d'avoir dû abandonner cet enfant, de n'avoir à lui offrir qu'une vie factice, une vie basée sur des mensonges, à commencer par son apparence, et ses véritables origines. Dans un coin de son esprit, il espérait que cet enfant soit touché par la magie qui lui avait permis de vivre, de quelque façon que ce soit. Ses sombres pensées et ses pleurs furent soudain interrompus par une bouteille, censée être une fusée, qui se planta à ses pieds. Un homme de grande taille, semblant indiquer sa direction à un groupe plus loin, l'approcha pour la récupérer. Il remarqua cependant les larmes d'Hiroki, que ce dernier n'avait pas pu effacer, et attrapa sa main pour l'entraîner vers ses amis.,Ainsi Hiroki Kamijo rencontra Nowaki Kusama.,De son côté, Kyouya Ootori avait bien grandi. Il avait maintenant seize ans, et avait, comme l'avait espéré Hiroki, été touché par la magie qui lui avait permis de naître. Deux ans auparavant, il avait rencontré Tamaki Suo. Et depuis, Kyouya avait vécu toutes sortes d'aventures avec ceux devenus ses meilleurs amis.,- Tamaki ! Combien de fois je t'ai dit de ne pas commencer un devoir à la dernière minute ! Organise-toi bon sang !,- Mais c'est trop dur maman ! pleurnicha Tamaki. Aide-moi !,Bien sûr, la vie n'était pas tous les jours joyeuse, et ses amis témoigneront du fait que Kyouya manquait parfois de patience. Anonymement bien sûr, pour éviter les représailles…,- Haruhi, si tu es à nouveau en retard au cercle, je me verrais dans l'obligation de vendre certaines de tes fournitures pour compenser la perte de gains occasionnée par ton absence, aussi minime soit-elle.,Et Haruhi vous dirait certainement qu'il était maladivement obsédé par l'argent, qu'il ne pensait qu'à son propre intérêt et qu'il se plaçait très facilement au-dessus des autres. Enfin, elle le dirait si elle ne savait pas qu'après de telles paroles, elle deviendrait sans doute son esclave jusqu'à la fin des temps…,Même si Kyouya ne connaîtrait jamais ses véritables parents, et qu'il était d'ailleurs totalement ignorant de son adoption, ne connaissant qu'une seule version donnée par sa famille, comme quoi il était véritablement leur fils, il possédait bel et bien une partie de leur caractère, au grand dam de ses amis du cercle d'hôte.,Voilà pour ce moment de pur délire ^^ J'espère que ça vous a plu, dites-le moi dans une review, ça me fera plaisir :D

Seeing the world in black and white,Nothing more and certainly not anything else,Our once strong so called armies will quiver,And our so called followers will slip through the cracks,Making our blood boil as we armed the cannons,And make sure we perfectly aim the killing curse,At our opponent and end this prophecy business once and for all

Jesus had just turned 17.,It was his last year at Hogwarts, and he was on the way to Madame Rosmerta's.,With all his might, he carefully turned the knob on the door –,"Granger!" said Jesus.,"Why," Hermione fluttered her eyelashes.,"I can't believe you're here, too!" he said.,"I just was on my way to the library, but I was so stressed at school that I had to have a butterbeer," she replied, breathlessly.,"I…" he frowned. "I can't believe it. You look peaked, actually," he frowned in concern.,"Well, it's terrible. I was studying divination all night, and I still don't know where I'm going after we graduate," she cried.,"Oh," said Jesus. "Well, is there anything I can do to help?","No, thank you," she said. "I've got this. I'm going to Trelawney for help.","Help? May I study with you?" he asked.,"Of course," said Hermione. "That sounds like so much fun." But inside, Hermione felt sad, because her hair was frizzy, and she'd always liked Jesus.,"Well," said Professor Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "I think that would be wise.","And remember," said Professor McGonagall, "no transfiguration in the hallways."

Summary: Maeve Potter thought that her life would return to normal after the end of the war, but that could not be further than the truth. With a hidden heritage comes new dangers, and Maeve soon finds herself entangled in the politics of a new world. Has she finished one war only to become involved in yet another?,This will be a crossover for both , and ,. I am going to use most of the events from the books, but with the addition of some characters from , Also I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors. I haven't written in ages and am out of practice.,Maeve Liliana Potter's green eyes widened in shock, and her breath came out in an audible whoosh. "I'm sorry. I must have misheard you. Could you repeat that one more time?",The look the goblin, Iron Jaw, gave The-Girl-Who-Lived was decidedly unimpressed.,"James Potter was not your biological father," he said once again.,"But...I don't—-how?","I assume the usual way such things occur." The goblin said delicately. "Surely this does not come as a complete surprise given the changes in your appearance. Was your...heritage...not one of the reasons you visited Gringotts today?",Maeve flushed in embarrassment. Her hands went involuntarily to one of said changes to her appearance: her pointed ear lobes. She woke up on the morning of her 17th birthday looking very different than she had the night before. Her ears were now pointed, and while the rest of her appearance remained similar to her original looks, there were significant changes. Her once deep red hair had lightened considerably, and her facial features had become more ethereal, her eyes larger and brighter, her lips fuller, her cheekbones more pronounced.,Ron had stated on more than one occasion that she looked remarkably similar to Fleur Delacour or her sister, Gabrielle, because she had the same sort of magnetic attraction the two part-veela had as well although Maeve wasn't sure she really believed that. Oh, she knew that she was pretty enough. She had been told so ever since she was a small child. In fact, she believed that the only reason Aunt Petunia paid any attention to her at all was due to her looks and the way that having a pretty little girl under her care had opened doors to Aunt Petunia that would not have been opened with only the obscenely large Dudley in her care.,She smoothed her red curls over her now pointed ears self-consciously. "Yes, I thought maybe there was some creature blood in the Potter line." She shrugged. "With the war, I haven't had time to think about it until now. I heard that Gringotts had methods of determining ancestral lines that wizards don't have, so I thought it was worth the visit.",There was also the question of how her parents had been able to hide her otherworldly attributes. Ron assumed that some Potter had married either a veela or a part-veela at some point given her resemblance to the Delacours. He thought they hid her true appearance because of how British wizards felt about those with creature blood. Hermione had not shared his opinion, but as they were soon swept up in the frenzy of fleeing for their lives, hunting horcruxes, and waging war, they didn't have the time or energy to devote to researching her possible inheritance. Now that the war was over, and everything had returned to normal, Maeve thought it was time to get some answers.,"Indeed. Unfortunately, Gringotts is not privy to the personal affairs of wizards, so while I am unsure of who your biological father is, I can tell you that although he was not your biological father, James Potter listed you as his heir. Now that you have reached your majority, you will have access to the main Potter fortune alongside your trust fund.",Maeve felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of her. With everyone dead who may have known the truth, how would she ever find out who her real father was?,"However," the goblin continued when Maeve opened her mouth to ask that very question, "per the final will and testament of Lily Evans, a copy of your family tree was to be provided to you upon your 17th birthday if she had not done so prior to said date. As requested, the family tree was sealed upon completion for security and privacy purposes.",The goblin snapped his fingers, and a rolled up scroll of parchment appeared out of thin air. He handed the scroll to Maeve.,The witch hesitated for a moment before unrolling the scroll. She gave a cursory glance at the portion of the family tree detailing her mother's side of the family before focusing on the side dedicated to her father's side.,She scrunched her nose in confusion. There was no death date listed for her father, which was comforting, but for some reason, the family tree said he was born a thousand years ago.,"This isn't right. Something is wrong with this.",Iron Jaw's offense was etched into his entire body. "I assure you that every Gringotts commissioned family tree is guaranteed to be one-hundred percent accurate.",Maeve quickly back pedaled. "I'm sure it's nothing Gringotts did, but this just can't be right. I mean, even with magic, wizards don't live this long, and according to this scroll, my biological father, Niall Brigant, is a thousand years old.",Now it was the goblin's turn to look shocked. "Your biological father is Niall Brigant?" He questioned in a strangled voice.,At Maeve's nod, Iron Jaw sighed deeply. He pressed a long spindly finger to a crystal on his desk and spoke a few words in a harsh guttural language. He then turned his attention back to Maeve.,"I take it you are familiar with my...father," she surmised.,The goblin's gaze was inscrutable. "Quite." A pause. "Niall Brigant is the prince of the Sky Fae, and he is still very much alive.",Hope and despair warred within Maeve. James Potter was not her biological father. Not only that, but her father was alive. She had given up hope on having a real family, but the fact that he was not in her life despite both her mother and James being dead since she was fifteen months old spoke great lengths to his willingness to be a part of her life. Unless...,"Do you think that he knows about me?",The goblin hesitated. "That remains to be seen.","Do you know of a way to get in contact with him?","Not as such. Fairies very rarely interact with goblins if they can help it, but I do have an associate who is in contact with the prince's son, Fintan. He may be willing to help you.",Another snap of the goblin's fingers and second scroll of parchment appeared. A moment later, he passed the parchment over to Maeve. The parchment contained the name and address of the person in question: Desmond Cataliades in New Orleans, Louisiana.,Maeve spent the next week attempting to learn everything about the fae and fairies that she could only to be thwarted at nearly every turn. Apparently the fae were even more secretive than wizards which was saying something. The only book she had found in the Black library had only general information about the different types of fae, of which there were many. The only information the book really had about fairies themselves was how attractive they were and how that attraction often drew other supernatural races to fairies like a moth to a flame often to the detriment of the fairy in question.,She had attempted to send letters to Niall Brigant, Fintan Brigant, and Desmond Cataliades unsuccessfully. When given the letters, her owl, Archimedes, would take off only to go around in circles before bringing the letters back to her which meant they were either behind heavy wards...or they were dead. She had contemplated reaching out to some of the other family members listed on the family tree, in particular, she had two distant cousins who were only a few years older than her, but the goblins had warned her to be wary of reaching out to them with magical means as they may not be aware of either their heritage or the magical world at all since they were Muggles.,It was fast becoming apparent that if Maeve wanted to uncover the mystery of her birth and meet her family members, then she was going to have to make a trip to the United States. More than that, she was going to have to make that trip alone as Ron and Hermione had left for Australia the previous week to find her parents and reverse the memory charm Hermione had placed on them for their safety. However, she was more than a little wary.,Vampires in particular seemed to be the main contributor of fairy deaths thanks to the intoxicating effect fae blood had to vampires. With the vampires coming out of the proverbial coffin only a few short years before, this was more than a little concerning. Maeve had spent the majority of her life in a bubble of assumed safety either behind the blood wards at No. 4 Privet Drive or the formidable wards of Hogwarts. Even now, she was living behind the Fidelius Charm at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. Venturing into the so-called mecca for vampires, New Orleans, was something she was hesitant to do.,Maeve dithered over the decision for another week before finally deciding to go. Gringotts had been more than willing to set up everything that Maeve could need for her trip. In fact, the goblins had been more accommodating than she had ever known them to be about any little thing Maeve could need since discovering she was the daughter of the Sky fae prince. Of course, the goblin race being fae themselves likely had something to do with that. It was definitely a little overwhelming. Still, they had helped her purchase a wardrobe more befitting of her station-their words, not hers-and helped her start exploring any abilities she may have picked up due to her inheritance. They also gave her a crash course in what she needed to know in order to navigate America's supernatural world making sure she was aware of the political structure involved with both the vampires and the so-called two-natured.,They provided her with a dossier of anyone she should be aware of including the local vampire and two-natured authorities in Louisiana. Not that Maeve intended to interact with any of the vampires or werewolves in the area while she was in the States, but the goblins wanted her to be aware just in case. If only they could have given her a dossier on the fairies she was looking for! They remained annoyingly tight lipped regarding that although their reasoning was sound. Apparently, most fairies spent very little time in the human world, and instead, lived primarily in their own world, Faery.,Still, despite all of her preparations, she felt wholly unprepared for the trip when she finally took the international Portkey from Gringotts' London Branch to their New Orleans branch on June 17th.,The first thing Maeve noticed upon arriving in New Orleans was that it was hot. Ridiculously, uncomfortably hot. The moment she stepped out of Gringotts it smacked her in the face, and she began sweating almost immediately despite the light sundress she was wearing and the cooling charm she had cast before leaving.,The second thing she noticed was that even though she was trying to fly under the radar so to speak she felt as if everyone's eyes were on her. She took a deep breath and tried not to let her paranoia get to her. The war had only been over for a matter of weeks, but all of the Death Eaters who had survived the war had been rounded up. Plus, no one knew who she was in the Muggle world which was why she had decided against staying in the magical district in the first place. Here she hoped she could be just another person. So long as she stayed clear of any vampires, she figured would be absolutely fine. Still, it didn't stop her from being cautious or from despairing over how much attention her changed appearance garnered.,It only took her a few minutes to walk from the magical district to the hotel she was staying at, and Maeve spent that time taking in the sprawling city of New Orleans. She had been concerned about not being able to find the hotel, but it had been ridiculously easy. The hotel, the Windsor Court Hotel, was not only one of the tallest buildings she had ever seen, but it was also one of the most beautiful. Paintings, sculptures, persian rugs, flowers, marble flooring, and elegant furniture filled every inch of the lobby.,Her room-or suite as it turned out as she was staying in the presidential suite-was even more luxurious. No wonder the clerk checking her in had seemed so surprised when she gave them her information especially as she had no visible luggage since her trunk had been shrunk and was tucked into the bottomless clutch that Hermione had given to her for her last birthday.,Maeve spent the next little while exploring the suite. There was a large jacuzzi bath that was practically calling her name. Had she not had an appointment with Mr. Cataliades already scheduled-again, thanks to the goblins-then she would have stripped bare right then and there and spent the rest of the afternoon in the tub. Her second favorite part of the suite were the large wall-to-wall windows that gave her a very generous view of the city. She imagined that she could spend hours just looking outside the window watching the city. She was almost tempted to order room service and do just that, but when she saw that one of the restaurants in the hotel offered a special Traditional English Tea service, she decided to check that out instead.,Before leaving, she cast a refreshing charm on her clothes, reinforced her cooling charm, and splashed some cool water on her face. Then, she frowned at the state of her hair. The humidity was playing havoc with her curls giving her an almost Hermione-esque look. She mentally flipped through the series of hair charms in the spell book that Lavender Brown had given to her for Christmas first year. Hermione had been given one as well, but she refused to use it on principle, something about not giving into society prescribed ideas of feminine beauty or some such rot. Maeve, on the other hand, thought the book, filled with useful beauty charms, was a lifesaver. If not for those charms, she would have cut off all of her hair years ago. Instead, she had allowed it to grow until it reached the bottom of her back.,Maeve sighed and performed the series of intricate twists and jabs of one of the charms with her wand. Her hair braided and arranged itself into what the book described as a flower braid updo. She left some curls free on either side of her face to hide her pointed earlobes. It was a little more dressy than she usual did but given that she was about to go to her appointment with Mr. Cataliades she thought it would do. It turned out that Mr. Cataliades was a demon who practiced law primarily in the supernatural world.,Once her hair was finished, Maeve tucked her wand back into her clutch and headed down to Le Salon for the afternoon tea service. She was a little nervous about eating alone, but her nerves went away as soon as she walked into the restaurant. Between the relaxing harp music and the tea itself—a delightful blend of Darjeeling—the service was just what she needed before her meeting. She could have done without some of the sandwiches and confections served but overall, she planned on going back as many times as she was able to. However, the moment she stepped out of the cab she took to Mr. Cataliades's office, her nerves returned full force. She took a deep breath and steeled herself before she entered the office. Was she a Gryffindor or not?,She walked resolutely into the office and up to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist was a no nonsense looking woman who reminded Maeve of Professor McGonagall with her pulled back into the same tight bun and the same pinched look on her face.,"May I help you?" she asked in a tone that clearly indicated she would rather be doing anything but helping Maeve.,"Yes, you may," she said coolly. "I believe Mr. Cataliades is expecting me.","Name?",Maeve hesitated. She assumed that Mr. Cataliades was aware of the Wizarding world, but she didn't know how widespread that knowledge was. The office was located in the Muggle side of New Orleans, but if Mr. Cataliades specialized in supernatural clients, then that really didn't mean much. Since the waiting area was empty save the receptionist, she finally gave her name quietly. "Maeve Potter.",The receptionist's eyes widened before they darted furtively to the lightning bolt scar on her forehead. "Oh! Yes, of course, Ms. Potter. Right this way," she said as she guided Maeve to one of the many offices in the building.,Desmond Cataliades looked nothing like Maeve expected. He was a large man with a very round belly. He had round black eyes and what little hair he has was black as well. By the time she had finished examining the lawyer, the receptionist was gone, and the door was closed leaving the two alone.,"How can I be of service to you, Ms. Potter? Iron Jaw was less than forthcoming about your need for a lawyer, and I confess I myself am confused as to why you would travel so far from home for one." The demon gave Maeve a penetrating look. He folded his hands together in front of him and waited for her to respond.,"I recently discovered that James Potter was not my biological father.","Oh?","Yes. I want to contact my biological father, and Iron Jaw thought you may be able to do so.",The demon hummed noncommittally. "I suppose that depends on who your father is. I do have many connections in the supernatural world.",She took a deep breath and pushed the hair covering her ears back revealing their tipped ends. "Niall Brigant is my father.",Mr. Cataliades's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open in shock. His eyes then searched her face, perhaps for some trace of the fairy in question. "I assume you have proof of your claim.",Maeve nodded and pulled the scroll containing the family tree out of her bag. She then handed it to the lawyer.,He took a minute or so to look over the scroll before giving it back to her. "Well, Ms. Potter, you are certainly full of surprises.",She gave the man a self-deprecating smile. "Story of my life. Now, you see my dilemma. I'm not even sure if my father knows I exist much less how to contact him. Iron Jaw mentioned that you were friends with my...brother, Fintan. I was hoping you might be willing to contact him for me and facilitate a meeting.",Mr. Cataliades heaved a heavy sigh. "I would be more than happy to help you, Ms. Potter, but I want you to to think about this." He paused before asking, "How familiar are you with fairy politics?","Not familiar at all. The books I found contained very little information, and the goblins were either unwilling or unable to tell me much. They seemed to think it wouldn't matter since most fairies lived in Faery and not in the human world anyway.",The demon nodded. "Yes, that is true. However, there is more to it than that. There are two opposing factions of fairies. Many fairies enjoy living in the human world. Your father is one example. In recent years, he has even taken advantage of technological advances to help fairies and other fae blend into the human world better, and then of course, there is the financial side to consider as many of the fairies who choose to live in the human world invest heavily in human businesses.,But there are some fairies who don't think there should be any mingling between humans and fairies, financial or otherwise, but in particular, they don't believe fairies should procreate with humans. They believe those of mixed blood dilute fairy magic and are the reason that the birthrate of fairies has fallen to an alarming level. Because of your father's beliefs, he has made many powerful enemies. Niall was much younger when Fintan and Dermot were born, and things were not as tense between the faction at the time. It is a different time now, and there is much unrest in Faery between the two groups. You have just ended a war. Are you willing to risk becoming involved in another one?",Silence prevailed while Maeve digested the new information. Was she fated to always be a half-blood? To always be hunted because of the circumstances of her birth?,"It's not that I'm eager to become involved in another war," she finally answered. "But what choice do I have? Whatever my mum and James did to hide the fact that I am part-fairy wore off with my magical majority, so now it is out there for everyone to see.",Mr. Cataliades frowned. "There is no mistaking your fairy heritage, that is true. Fintan himself always had difficulty blending into the human world. With your position in the Wizarding world, it is only a matter of time before someone discovers the truth.",She nodded. "Yes. The only reason they haven't done so already was because of the war. I haven't appeared in public since the final battle. I don't care if the Wizarding world knows who or what I am. I have done more than enough for that world, certainly more than they deserve given how they have treated me in the past. I've never been a part of a family, at least that I can remember, and I am willing to risk whatever I have to for the opportunity to be apart of one.",The demon's look was inscrutable. A long moment passed before he finally said, "Very well

Chapter One,Do you ever feel like the world is out to get you? I mean, everyone does sometimes, but I mean ,against you, and you can never catch a break, never take a breath. Even your calmest days are dedicated to overthinking and planning and plotting.,The universe has never liked me. And though they call me the Curse-Breaker, it seems my luck is one curse I just can't break. And today's struggle? The usual chaos that is a mountain of homework, O. to study for, and a completely unmotivated best friend.,"This is stupid," Merula Snyde hisses at my side, her quill laying long forgotten. "If I study for this any longer, my brains are going to explode.","Yes, and McGonagall will give you detention in your afterlife," I quip, smoothing out my parchment. I'm almost inclined to agree with Merula when I realize I still have quite a few inches left of my essay to write. I groan and grab my face. "She hates us. I'm convinced— she hates us.","You're telling me," she says. Her essay isn't nearly as full as mine. "She tolerates you, but I'm dirt under her feet.","," Madam Pince's face is bright red, a finger to her lips, and I remember suddenly that we're in the library. ,.,I drop my voice to a low whisper. "Maybe we should take this to the common room? Or our dorm?",Merula rolls her eyes. "Then we'll have to wake , lug up, and good luck with that." She gestures towards a softly snoring Barnaby Lee sitting across from us, and I wince. I had forgotten he had come with us— it's not like he did any studying. He's just nice to have around.,Merula is staring across the library, her fingers playing with the feather on her quill. I know better than to say anything about it, but I know exactly what she's looking at, and exactly why. Three girls are studying across from us, and, just like us, very little studying is actually going on. Despite the fact that a Ravenclaw is among them, the three have their heads together, whispering, and I can tell it's rather juicy gossip judging by the looks on their faces. I press my lips together. "You could go and talk to them, you know," I say.,Merula snarls, not meeting my eyes. "Shut up, Wisty, I don't ,to talk to them, or to her. What business would the greatest witch at Hogwarts have with a lousy, happy-go-lucky Hufflepuff?",I smirk, seeing right through her act. Merula loved to play tough, but I've known her too long to fall for it. "Strange, I didn't mention any specific girl, and yet you mentioned one," I tease her.,Her face heats up, and in a classic Merula rage, she starts packing up all of her things and shoving them into her school bag. "," She always likes to resort to calling me by my surname when she's upset, and it never ceases to make me giggle— it's as if we're old school enemies, all the way back to our first year of Hogwarts. "I don't like Haywood. She's likely an airhead. Too girly for my tastes. Very weak. You can deal with Lee, I'm going back to the dorms to find Ismelda.",I only shake my head as she stalks off, highly amused. Still, she can't help but look back at the table of girls before she goes, as if looking to see if they had noticed her. When the library door shuts again, the girls giggle, earning them a warning from Pince. Penny Haywood, blonde and perfect, flips a falling braid over her shoulder and blushes to her roots, before motioning to her friends to quiet down. I can watch Penny Haywood all day— anyone could, I'm sure, she isn't the most popular witch at Hogwarts for nothing.,I force myself to tear my eyes away from her and her friends, knowing that if they notice me, I would only be roped into their conversation. Penny is too sweet for her own good, and rather enjoys seeking me out, even if our Houses find the slight friendship rather strange. The green on my robes and the yellow on hers do not mix very prettily, a fact that Merula has been known to moan about every now and again.,No, now my problem is Barnaby Lee, looking softer than usual in sleep, his cheek squished against his arms. I sigh. I'm going to have to wake him up, hopefully without angering Madam Pince again. I poke his squished cheek, and he doesn't move. ,.,I move to sit in the seat next to him, pulling him close and shaking his shoulders. He grunts once, and an arm moves to rub his eyes, but they still remain shut. I'm not sure what else I expected, in all my years of him being my best friend, he has never been easy to wake.,I stare at him for a moment, contemplating ways to wake him up as quietly as possible, but none of them are worthwhile. One arm is now draped across the table, the sleeve of his sweater riding up his arms, and his green Slytherin tie is somehow lying across his arched back, not even tied right around a very loose shirt collar. No, there is only one way I'm going to get Barnaby up and walking, and though it isn't ideal, it seems I have no other choice. I move to sit across from him again to give myself some distance, and then position my foot under the table. I hesitate a moment too long, and then kick right into his ankle.,Barnaby jolts awake, arms slamming into the library table, knees against the wood underneath, and now he's yelling. "I'M UP! What's going on, where am I?",",",",I moan, hitting my head with my hands, before slapping Barnaby's shoulder. He instantly quiets down, but only in classic Barnaby fashion. That is to say, he's still tripping over himself. Madam Pince stares daggers at the two of us, and Penny Haywood and her friends giggle again. One more noise and I'm certain Madam Pince will explode.,"I'm sorry, Wist, didn't mean to fall asleep," Barnaby whispers, if you can even call it a whisper. His chestnut hair is sticking straight up, looking more disheveled than usual. I can't stay mad at him long, it's not like he means any harm. I've never known anyone as purely innocent as Barnaby.,I smile at him, and he seems to relax. "Don't be sorry," I whisper. "Just, ,." He understands, making a motion with his hands as if to zipper up his lips. I giggle, and the look in his eye as he searches mine is strangely unreadable, as I can usually always tell what Barnaby is thinking. His too-green eyes dilate, and I squint, taking him in. It takes me too long to realize his hand is on mine, as we both had reached for a book to pick up at the same time. A shudder runs down my spine.,, I think at my thoughts, as suddenly my insides are churning, and my hand where he touched me is burning. He hands me the book, which I quickly shove in my bag. He quietly helps me with my quill and parchment, rolling up my essays and placing them gently in my bag, too considerate to be true. Too considerate, or he is only helping me because his own supplies never once left his bag.,"Thank you," I breathe, oddly serious. He isn't catching on, and his goofy smile showcases his usual oblivion.,"Anything for my bestie," he giggles. He ,, like a little schoolgirl, high pitched and full of joy, and I understand very quickly. I push my thoughts away even quicker. Barnaby is very attractive, and very fun to be around. So fun, so soft, that I'm unsure he even understands what a , is. Does he even think long and hard enough to understand when he might like someone?,I snap out of my Barnaby-filled trance when the library becomes oddly silent, even more so than usual, and I realize Penny Haywood and her friends have stopped talking. A boy has walked into the library, and I wonder how I missed the doors opening to admit him. The strangest thing is, I don't think I've ever seen the boy at all. And yet, he looks to be a fifth year like I am, and he wears Ravenclaw blue and bronze.,He stops next to Penny, strange hazel hawk eyes avoiding the other girls, who start to open their books as if the boy isn't even there. He whispers something in Penny's ear, and the girl frowns. Their conversation is brief.,I nudge Barnaby. "Hey, who is that? I don't think I've ever seen him before.",Barnaby spins around, following my eyesight, and it takes him a minute to see who I'm talking about. It's almost amazing how easily the Ravenclaw boy falls under the radar— but of course Penny knows him. "The Ravenclaw with the slicked hair?" Barnaby asks. I nod. "I ,I've seen him. Out near the forest I think." He is straining to remember, I can tell, his face screwing up in concentration. I can almost see his brain struggling. "Oh, I dunno, Wist, you know I'm bad at this. I can remember the names of like… three people, max, and one of those is me.",It's too tempting, I have to test him. "What's my whole name?",He only hesitates for a moment, to his credit. "Wisteria Walker.",I beam at him, and he looks genuinely proud of himself. "D'you know Merula's?",He takes too long to answer. "Ah… er…" He scratches the back of his head, rubs his chin. "Merula… Does it start with an R?",I laugh, looping my arm through his. "Not even close." I push thoughts of the Ravenclaw boy out of my mind as Barnaby and I exit the library— why does some random boy matter anyway? Just because I don't know who he is? It's strange, I have to admit, as I've assumed I know just about everyone in my year, from all houses. How can I have managed to miss one?,It doesn't matter. Perhaps I'll ask Penny tomorrow, to satisfy my curiosity. It's nearly curfew now, as I give the password to the Slytherin common room that Barnaby couldn't remember. Safely inside the common room, Barnaby looks at me, his arm still wrapped around mine. Merlin knows he would have gotten lost on the way here if I hadn't been leading him.,"Thank you," he tells me, and I frown.,"What for?","For being nice to me," he says, and he's looking me right in the eye, as sincere as he can be. "You're always being nice to me, and doing nice things for me, and you're not a jerk because I'm slow sometimes. I really like that about you, Wist.",I have no idea where this all came from, but now my limbs are numb. "Oh," I say, and I curse myself for my lack of response. But what am I supposed to say? "Oh, Barnaby, I—","Wisteria! There you are." My words are cut short as fellow Slytherin Liz Tuttle comes running towards us from the girls dorms. I breathe a sigh of relief— I genuinely had no clue what I was going to say to Barnaby, too terrified of messing anything up with him.,"Hey Liz," I greet her, and Barnaby waves cheerfully. It's like he doesn't even understand what was just interrupted.,"I've been looking all over for you, and so was Charlie Weasley," Liz says.,I blink. "Charlie Weasley? What does he want?" I haven't spoken to Charlie Weasley since the beginning of the year, when we were both assigned Prefects. I had always rather enjoyed Charlie's presence, and he was always a great friend, but House pressure on both sides making talking to each other difficult sometimes. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor were not supposed to get along.,"He told me to give this to you, when he couldn't find you around. Reckoned you'd be with Merula somewhere." Liz holds up a black quill feather, and my heart drops in my chest. ,"He told me it's probably important, that he found it in that Artefact Room people like to hide in. He told me to tell you that, just in case.",With shaking fingers, I take the quill. "Thanks Liz," I whisper, and she walks off, likely back to the dorms. I'll have to talk to Charlie later. Tomorrow. But for now, the quill.,Barnaby remembers. As he should. He's almost died, dragged along with me on these past adventures. He frowns, touching my shoulder for comfort. "Is that…?","Yes," I confirm. "Yeah, I think it has to be. One way to find out.",I pull my wand from my robes and set the quill on a nearby table, whispering the spell under my breath. The quill begins to transform into torn parchment, and though I expected it, seeing the note still tears me apart, a wrench in my gut, and I'm reminded of my quest, of my brother, of my ,title all over again. Barnaby squeezes my hand as we both read the four letters written in clean ink on the transfigured note:,"

From his lofty realm of nothingness, Sirius Black watched the world die.,He kept vigil over his loved ones through the icy midnight sea separating him from them. A breath of the void, and familiar green eyes aged with knowledge, wisdom, and love. They aged until they clouded over gray, the pallor of the inescapable reducing his life to no more than the dust of a forgotten legend.,Sirius clung to every second, to every beat of his godson's heart, as that fulfilled life slipped through his fingers faster than finely ground sand. He bore witness to a twisted and mutilated world, a place bereft of green eyes and forever-mussed dark hair, the remnants of his past life.,It was a play he had no care for, waiting for the curtain to fall, for the dying note of the world's final goodbye.,Oblivion's bliss was denied to him, the painstaking turn of the planet marching onward even as everything he knew turned alien. Magic changed, wars waged and the very continents shifted with the ever-present wear of time. Sirius could imagine his own incredulous laughter reverberating, as he waited for that quicksilver flash of time. But time wasn't an accommodating master, so while the lives of every person Sirius cherished passed in the blink of an eye, the world's downfall turned into the sluggish flow of a lazy river.,Humanity tore itself apart, rebuilt, only to repeat the process. Magic turned into something unrecognizable, leaving scars in the ground as results from battles told over generations. The world didn't truly die, but there was nothing left of what Sirius knew—and for that alone, it might as well have died.,He couldn't count the years. The passage of time was meaningless in the realm beyond the Veil, years spanning the blink of his eyes, while the turning of the planet seemed to stretch for centuries.,Innumerable ages alone had made Sirius hyper-aware of the absence of everything, making the change as sudden and violent as shattered glass.,It was searing and white-hot, a palpable hatred that seemed to poison reality. Silence was torn asunder by wails and screams of torment, by unadulterated rage and murderous intent. The dead souls of thousands of people, innocent and not, trapped in the body of one wingless angel of death.,A brilliant crimson comet, the silhouette of a person, streaked through the maw of time and space. Sirius was a leaf trembling at the end of a deadened branch, weakly grasping onto nothing. He understood the malevolence of the spirits, their well-deserved yearning for revenge, before he was pulled from the fog of the Veil.,Sirius wished he could say he was regretful he escaped the Veil on the plucked wings of a murderer. But he wasn't. He really wasn't.,There was the scent of death among the musty leaves, the sift of a desert somewhere far in the distance, and the speckles of azure through the dark green canopy of the ancient tree. Sirius took pure joy in closing his eyes, opening them again to see the branches dancing along the same breeze.,Finally, his eyes were drawn to the slip of silver cradled in the branches, the lonely angel of death. It was a wonder he didn't bash his head on one of the branches coming down.,Silver hair to his godson's jet-black, indigo eyes to piercing green. The wild violet and blue plumage only served to separate them even farther. The only similarities were in their thin frames, the pinched looks that could be found in anyone who had suffered hardship.,It didn't matter—Sirius had been denied the life he wanted for too long. He wanted the chance he never had with his godson. Maybe he was driven to insanity in that timeless place. Looking into the angel's indigo eyes, hazy and sad and angry, Sirius thought he wouldn't be alone in his madness.,"Even now," came the boy's rasping words, "fate denies the simplest pleasure of solitude as I die. . . . It is only fitting, I suppose. It is far too late . . . and I've just learned what it means to live.",The boy had a lot of words, for one who was supposedly dying.,"It's strangely beautiful, the irony," said the boy, paled from blood loss. "How it's all so bright, before it's snuffed out. . . . Just as time is slowest, before it ends.","Are you always so melodramatic?" asked Sirius. The boy had enough energy to look annoyed, so Sirius quickly added, "What's your name?",There was a beat of silence, a moment of hesitation.,"Kuja," said the boy. "You may have heard of me.","Doesn't ring a bell," said Sirius. "I'm Sirius Black. You haven't heard of me.",And because Sirius wasn't nearly as dramatic as Kuja, nor prone to poetic monologue, he stooped down without another word. Magic was both a friend and an enemy. It was fresh in his mind, the years flown past in a single exhale, caused by the potent magic of the Veil. Magic flowed under his skin, thrummed in the air. If Sirius had learned anything, it was that magic was illogical. It had no meaning or restraints, so long as the wielder was the same.,Kuja was unconscious after the healing, his face cleared of emotion, doll-like in perfection. A silver-furred tail coiled around Sirius's wrist when he scooped Kuja off the ground—it took Sirius some time to drag his eyes from it.,They were two entirely different beings, not even sides to the same coin. If they were, the coin was taken and melted together on purpose. Sirius had lost all grasp of time in general. Kuja knew the unrelenting hand of time too well. Perhaps it was a fool's errand, but Sirius had no intention from watching from afar. He wouldn't take that graceful swan-dive from the realm of mortals again.,This time, Sirius would be there until the bitter end.,- Henry Van Dyke

Inspired by Brilliant Lady's story, "Harry Potter in the City of Angels",s/13359087/1/Harry-Potter-in-the-City-of-Angels,Chloe Decker dealt with homicides and did her best to give every victim justice. If anything it was her religion, and one she devoted herself to with all the gifts at her disposal.,Today was going to be a bad one. The Narco Unit had busted a drug ring and found much, much more. Dead children. The bust had been successful, but the Drugs unit needed help immediately. Children, 2 little bodies that had obviously been sexually used were found on site.,She rushed there with Lucifer her partner, her friend, her something else. This was the first time he'd have to see babies, and she steeled herself for his reaction. Because while a lot of people thought Lucifer was vapid and spoiled, she knew he was more, much more. She had failed him and misjudged him in the past and had sworn never to do it again. And this would be hard for him because she knew he had been an abused child.,Realizing that she hadn't briefed him, she pulled off the freeway and parked. Turning to her handsome partner, she put a hand on his hand, a signal to listen.,"Have I done something naughty, Detective?" he asked with his usual smirk.,She rolled her eyes, her usual reaction, and then looked into his beautiful face, "Lucifer, this one is going to be hard. It will be hard for me because I'm a Mom and it will be hard for you because of your childhood. The bodies are of children. They show signs of sexual trauma. I'm telling you now to prepare you and also to give you an out. This is one of the hardest things we have to do in homicide and I want you to know that you don't have to come with me. I can drop you off or take you back if you don't want to deal with this particular crime scene.",His expression changed slowly from one of mischief to a stern expression. "Thank you for your warning, Detective," he said grimly. "We shall provide punishment for those who harm the innocent.","I want to warn you that while I'll probably be over-professional at the scene," Chloe said slowly, "I will probably be upset personally, so please don't think I am mad at you. I just hate crimes against children.",He squeezed her hand, and she felt the warmth of his friendship. "I too am already angry, but I shall endeavor to be strictly on my best behavior" he promised.,They arrived and were quickly taken to where Ella was angrily doing her job.,Two little bodies were laying there, one was a boy with broken glasses held together with tape, the other a smaller boy who had curly brown hair. They had been tossed in a dumpster and the criminals in custody were claiming they knew nothing about the bodies.,Ella looked up at them, and Chloe saw rage in their usually chipper Forensic Technician's face.,"They have drug residue on their skin, and the dumpster is clean, so someone is lying." She announced, "I'm done with my preliminary samples, so we can take them out of this stupid hunk of metal".,Lucifer, who usually complained about ruining his suits, held out his arms and took the larger child, the one with the broken glasses and tousled black hair.,He looked down at the child's still face and froze.,"This child is not dead," he said with authority. "He's in a coma of some sort, perhaps from the,drugs.",Ella's eyes widened and she yelled for a medic. Lucifer ran to the ambulance, while doing children's CPR at the same time. Chloe raced after him, marveling at the strength in his arms.,Soon the child was under oxygen. The EMT was listening for a heartbeat and began to shake her head but then stopped. "Very slow heart beat, very faint," she said, "but alive. Good call.",The other child was also checked, and found responsive. The solemn scene suddenly had an air of hope as the EMT's work desperately on both children.,"Curare," said Lucifer, "The drug used in the eastern islands to make zombies. People were often buried alive, and then dug up and forced to be slaves.",Instead of gushing over new information, Ella swore rapidly in Spanish while Chloe wondered if the ME would have sliced the child open before finding the horror of a slowly beating heart.,Lucifer looked like he was made of stone. "They will not recover for a few days. It appears they may have been violated by a necrophiliac. Which means they were aware of their torture but unable to even move or cry out.",He looked at Chloe with rage-filled eyes. "I want to be present to interview all suspects".,There had been some nasty feedback about a few of the confessions Lucifer had gotten, but since he really didn't use physical violence, and their solve rate was through the roof, they'd been given a slap on the wrist.,Chloe smiled at him tightly, "Go for it," she said, "the entire department will cheer you on. "GIVE THEM HELL.",The nod he gave her had none of his usual joy of life, but she didn't waste a second of time feeling pity for their suspects.,Chloe sat with him during the interrogation. Lucifer did his usual mojo. The children had been found on the street, although why children of that age were on the streets was unusual. They had been "used" by the boss, who the suspects gave up everything on because of Lucifer. No one even screamed, they just spilled everything, desperate to get away from Lucifer.,Lucifer,Two days later the children started to come around. One child was identified, the littlest one with curly hair had disappeared on a shopping trip with his grandmother two weeks ago. The child didn't remember anything, a blessing that Doctor Linda Martin told them was a survival instinct – the child just wasn't able to handle the memory, but might act out later.,The older boy was examined and found to be a long-term abuse victim. He had old bone breaks that hadn't been set properly. He had damaged organs and massive malnutrition. They found no information on the child, but he did open his eyes and look around.,Chloe received a call.,"Lucifer, come with me; something weird is going on at the hospital," she said and he raced with her to her car.,Once they were on the road, siren going, he said softly, "Define weird.","The older boy – he appears to be keeping the door locked. They even tried using a fire department door breaker and they can't get in.","Hm," said Lucifer.,LUCIFER,Lucifer never told Chloe how he had actually gotten drunk that night after finding the children. When he had his great fall, the demons in hell had raped and abused his helpless burned body. He never told anyone. The remaining demons of hell just understood that anyone who laid hands on their king was burned alive from the inside out.,The thought of a child going through the same thing sickened him and brought up nightmares. Alcohol was a good friend.,When they arrived, he noted that even the door hinges had been removed. He pressed against the door and even the strength that a hand that twisted gun muzzles couldn't break. "Fascinating," he muttered.,"Okay, Mr. Spock," said Chloe, "Got an idea on how to get in?",But his detective never got his answer because he flash flew out of the building and through the boy's window. He stood there, his wings still visible and had a stare-down with a small much abused child who was sitting on his bed with a fierce and determined expression.,"You're magical, aren't you?" he said.,The boy gulped and nodded, "I'm a freak," he said flatly.,Lucifer gestured to his wings. "So am I then," he responded gently, fearing for this special child. He had incredibly strong magic. The urchin could bring down the hospital if he so desired.,"Are you an angel?" asked the child tentatively, still keeping the door locked and bolstered against entry.,"I'm a fallen angel," he said, not wanting to lie, but not wanting to frighten the child.,The boy's eyes widened, "The devil!" he exclaimed. Then his face fell, "Are you going to take me to hell?" he asked plaintively, "Uncle says I'm bad and worthless.",Lucifer knelt on the floor, his wings still gleaming majestically and held out his arms. The boy ran to him, and Lucifer held him close, gently and kissed the messy hair. "You are an innocent child and you don't deserve hell. You are also magical, which is not evil. Now why aren't you letting anyone in?","I'm scared," said the boy honestly. "Taddy is gone and they'll come for me next.","Taddy is now safe with his family," said Lucifer in calming tones.,"That's good." the boy nodded, but then fiercely, "I don't want to go to my family. They dumped me in an alley here and then those men chased me and bad things happened." The boy began to cry, broken sobs and Lucifer rocked him in his arms.,"Then stay with me," he whispered, "I don't take people to hell, and I live here on earth right now. Stay with me, child, and I promise to take good care of you. The bad men are already under arrest and going to jail.",The door unlocked and Lucifer's wings shot into place. Chloe and the hospital maintenance crew peaked in tentatively and then all smiled at the sight of the dapper playboy cuddling the little boy on the floor.,They were so relieved, they didn't ask questions, even his ever-curious detective.,She would later, though, and he had to be prepared because this time he was going to tell her all the truth,Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer,The man was an angel, an angry, beautiful, kind angel who loved him. It was the first time anyone cared about Harry and he barely knew what to do except trust him, his first time believing in a grownup. He told Harry that he really was the devil and Harry believed him but didn't care. At last someone was gentle and would protect him. The devil put the bad men in jail to protect him and all the other kids out there.,Harry told only him his true name, Harry Potter, and begged him not to share that with anyone; even the beautiful lady with the kind eyes. She was a policewoman and Harry knew grownups did things in such a way that he ended up at the Dursley's house in a small cupboard. He would rather stay on the streets, if he could only control the magic to protect himself from other bad people.,But Lucifer understood and took care of him. He got numerous shots, new wonderful clothing, food, glorious clean food that he picked out. He could even say no to food, imagine that. He spent time in the hospital having surgery on his bones and eating a lot of supplements and food. Lucifer would sneak in cheeseburgers that Harry just adored.,And Lucifer would hold him, gently, and tell him what a good brave boy he was. Harry wasn't sure he believed it except that well, Lucifer didn't really lie. He would leave things out and let people assume things, but that was it. He told the truth. So Harry sat in the hospital surrounded by books and toys and crayons and knew love for the first time in his life.,Lucifer,Chloe wondered a lot about the little miracle boys. If Lucifer hadn't noticed signs of life in them, it was very possible, they would have died on an autopsy table. Even now, it made her nauseous to think of. But what was really wonderful was the way Lucifer bonded with the older boy, Harry.,He had invited her to meet him for dinner at a diner they both loved, and wanted to talk. She wondered if Lucifer was going to adopt the boy. While many people would laugh at the very idea, Chloe knew he'd be a wonderful dad.,She walked into the diner and Lucifer rose and took her to their booth way in the back. He had ordered their favorite and had nice glasses of wine waiting with the appetizers. She smiled at him and dug in, letting the stress of the day dissolve in the wonder that is hot Italian cooking.,He ate too and watched her, smiling.,"I need to talk to you," he said gently, when she finally paused.,She smiled. "What's up, Lucifer?","You are my best friend," he said solemnly and she sat up, her heart pounding. "Really?" she asked breathless. She had considered herself a diversion, a new interest that would wane when he got bored with the police scene. She was glad for their relationship though and had felt a true sorrow at the thought he would leave eventually.,"Yes, Detective, and because of that I need to tell you something, well rather unbelievable.",She calmed down. One of his great eccentricities was his constant claim to be the devil. Was he going to talk about that again? It didn't matter, she cared about him anyway.,He popped an oddly scary looking coin out of his pocket and it began to float and spin over his hand. "This is not a trick" he said softly.,Lucifer never lied, she knew that. For a man who slept with half of Los Angeles, he had a strict moral code, and part of that included not really lying. He'd let you assume, but he never told untruths.,She stared at the coin, took it gently from his hand and looked at it carefully, then held it in her own hand quietly. It lay there. Then she gave it back to him and watched it dance.,"Oh Lucifer, this is hard.","Promise me you'll give me a chance," he said, and there was pain, real pain in his voice. She nodded, intent.,"No matter what, you are my best friend, and I would never hurt you or allow you to be hurt. Do you believe me?" he asked as though the world hung on her answer.,That was easy peasy – She smiled at him serene in her belief in him and nodded.,He closed his eyes for just a moment as though steeling himself against something painful and then, the booth was suddenly full of feathers, feather that were a part of wings coming out of his back, glorious white feathers like an angel's.,Chloe Decker didn't faint. She didn't scream or leave. She looked at Lucifer's stricken face and realized he had been telling more truth than she gave him credit for, and he was terrified at losing her.,She took a breath and reached out and touched his hand. "Fallen angel, right?" she asked shakily.,He nodded, obviously too terrified to talk for the moment.,She squeezed his hand, "Still my friend, my very best friend?" she asked and found herself crying.,He gave her a smile, "Oh yes, my dear Detective, yes.",They both heard the double doors to the kitchen flap and the wings disappeared behind his back.,"Nice trick," she whispered.,"I have another face, but I don't want to show you. It's bad and makes people go insane. I'm scared to hurt you," he whispered.,Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer,When Lucifer finally took Harry home from the hospital, he took him to the Lux. Harry looked around and wondered how much he would be expected to clean, because this place was big. But he knew Lucifer wouldn't beat him so that was okay. He knew he only had to do his best, not work to death.,The nice police lady was there with a little girl who smiled at him. She was nice, like the police lady and he figured she was her daughter. He wondered if he would be cleaning for them too.,But they were nice and didn't have that mean look Dudley would get.,Lucifer took him to a room and he gasped. It was a boy's room. It was filled with posters and toy and books. Lucifer looked down at him. "This is your room. I made it so you can lock it from the inside if you want, but no one can lock you in. You'll notice that there are no other lockable doors in my penthouse except we can lock down the elevator. I'll give you the keycode for that.,He took Harry in and showed him the closet full of nice new spiffy clothing and the chest of drawers had new socks with no holes in them, real pajamas that were his size, nice underwear.,Harry smiled up at Lucifer and said, "All of this for me?",Lucifer picked him up and gave him one of those hugs that made Harry feel loved. "It is all for you.",Trixie and Chloe were there looking at them from the door. "I helped pick out some of the colors. I hope you like the greens, they go with your eyes.",Harry blinked. "That was really nice of you, Miss Trixie. Thank you.",Trixie smiled but then says, with a little frown of concern, "You don't have to call me Miss, I'm just Trixie. I want to be friends, if that's ok?",Harry is delighted. No one ever wanted to be friends, especially with all the rumors and Dudley beating people up for being nice. "I've never had a friend before. I would really like that.",Chloe looked worried, a mom type of worried face, "Why couldn't you have friends?" she asks. Harry knows the face because it usually means someone is going to be forbidden to talk to him.,But Harry is stronger now with Lucifer and he can tell the truth because they don't know where he is from.,"My family didn't like it. My cousin would beat up people who were nice to me, so they all stopped. And my aunt told the neighbors I was a criminal and they believed her." Harry hung his head as the usual sense of shame swept over him. "It's okay if you don't want me to be friends with Trixie. She should have nice friends.","Harry," Chloe's voice is filled with love and her eyes swim with tears, "You are a nice friend. I want to be your friend. I am your friend right now and so is Trixie. We like you. We want you to be happy.",Harry hugged Chloe, and cried.,He looked up. Trixie was standing next to Lucifer and they both were smiling at him. This was going to be a home, a real home.,Life with Lucifer wasn't anything like life at the Dursleys. The next morning he got up to make breakfast and was surprised to see Lucifer there making chocolate chip pancakes and bacon.,Lucifer looked surprised to see him, but smiled. "You have time to take a shower if you feel strong enough.",Strong enough to get clean after of a life of using a sink or the garden hose? Harry raced to the bathroom and figured out the interesting shower components after some quick experimentation.,He came in to the kitchen area, clean and shiny, and Lucifer had given him a heap of pancakes and bacon, with milk and juice. It was amazing. After stuffing himself on wonderful food, he tried to do the dishes, and Lucifer stopped him.,"Harry," he said seriously, and for a moment Harry was afraid he had lost interest in him, "You are not here to be a servant. I want you to be able to play and learn and grow up strong and happy and loved. You can keep your room clean, and I will allow you to share some chores with me, but I have wonderful people who I pay to clean who need their jobs. I can do the dishes this morning and you can see where I put them away and maybe later I'll let you cook with me.",Harry grinned. Lucifer was so nice.,That day he went to a dentist and to get his eyes checked. The Ophthalmologist angrily told Lucifer that he should have been in years before and that he showed signs of cranial injuries.,Lucifer looked angry and then gave him the name of the doctor who he had hired specifically to take care of Harry's abused body and explained that Harry had been abandoned but that Lucifer was going to be his DAD. Harry felt like he could fly. Lucifer loved him for real.,The next week he went to school with Trixie. The first day Trixie beat up a much bigger boy for punching Harry. Watching Lucifer and Det. Chloe meet with the vice-principal and the bully's parents was the funniest thing Harry had ever seen. He thought he was going to be kicked out of school or that Trixie would be kicked out of school or that the grownups would think he was too much trouble.,He sat morosely in his new clothes and whispered to Trixie, "I'm sorry.","You don't need to be sorry, Harry. Fred is the one who is going to be sorry.",Then Lucifer and the Detective walked into the outer office, followed by a very smarmy man and his wife and Fred. They sniffed at Harry and Lucifer and walked into the Vice-Principal's office first, like they were in charge.,Lucifer ushered Harry and Trixie before him along with the Detective. She whispered fiercely, "Don't worry Harry, I'm not mad at you or Trixie.",Fred's dad was a bully too. He started out saying that his family was a nice family and that Trixie was a product of a broken home and that her mom should stay home with her daughter.,Harry had never seen anyone's eyes spark like the Detective's did at that moment.,Then Fred's Dad said that he understood that Harry was an orphan and lived with Lucifer who was a bad person and probably teaching Harry bad things.,The vice principal tried to speak but Lucifer smiled at him pleasantly and then turned to Fred's Dad.,"I understand now why Fred is such a brat. His father is a bully so young Fred is taking after dear old dad. Detective Chloe is my partner and friend and an excellent mother. If you say anything else derogatory about her life style or mothering, I will show you just how evil I am in a court of law. As for Harry, being an orphan doesn't mean that he is somehow evil, but it does mean that I can sue you for obviously encouraging your child to hit him. If he comes near Harry again, I will sue you and have the IRS audit your business.",The man's face grew red just like Uncle Vernon's would before he hit someone, usually Harry.,"Now see here," he started.,"No," said Lucifer, "You see here. Just because I own a club doesn't give you the right to look down on my business or life style. And because I love Harry and wanted him as my son is none of your business, Mr. Bully. So let's talk about improving your child's behavior instead of trying to make my family or Trixie's family look bad compared to yours.",And then his eyes glowed red for just a bit, but Harry saw it, and so did Fred's father.,It was absolutely wonderful. For years he had listened to Mr. Dursley defend Dudley, but now,someone was defending him, Harry, and was way scarier than Vernon.,Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer,Trixie and Harry made a pillow fort on the balcony one night and slept under the stars.,They gazed up at the twinkling lights and Trixie sighed. "Would you mind if my mom married your dad?" she said.,"That would be nice." Harry was thoughtful. "They love each other already. Why do you think they don't get married? She knows he's the devil and that I'm magic.",Trixie whispered, "I think he thinks he's not good enough because he's the Devil. Grownups can be stupid.","But he's wonderful," said Harry, "He's the bestest dad in the whole universe, and he loves you and her so much. How can he think he's evil? He's not.","I think it's because of his devil face," said Trixie with a disappointed sigh. "He thinks if she sees it, she'll be scared of him for like forever and run away.","I've seen it and it made me cry, not afraid," said Harry. "He's burned all over because they threw him away out of heaven like the Dursley's dumped me on the street on vacation because they hated me. It not evil, it's really awful burns that show he was in a lot of pain. They scare bad people, but they don't realize it's not because he's a monster, it's because they hurt him so bad.",Trixie snuggled next to him, "I've never seen his devil face, only the red eyes a few times.,They're really cool. I wish you were my brother, Harry. Maybe we can adopt each other and give the grownup the right idea.","I'd like that," Harry said sleepily "to be your brother. You're the best sister in the world already.",They fell asleep and never noticed Lucifer and Chloe just outside the balcony listening. Chloe grabbed Lucifer's arm and dragged him into his bedroom. Before he could say anything, she kissed him like there was no tomorrow.,They came up for air, and Lucifer tried to talk, but she put a finger on his lips and said, "You can show me your devil face every day, but I'm still going to love you, you dork." she admonished.,"No one could replace you in my life. If you want a single mom cop who buys underwears at Walmart that is madly in love with you, then I'm all yours.",Lucifer appeared to be speechless. Chloe looked worried and then said hesitatingly, "If I'm wrong, please forgive me. I don't want to lose…mrflg",Lucifer kissed her like he had no tomorrows nor any yesterdays, just an eternity of delicious now.,"I love you, Detective. I know I am not a human man, I'm just the Devil, but I love you with all of my being. If you desire me, I'm yours for as long as we are given.",Lucifer,The wedding was a quiet one with just the police department and Lux employees, even though it could have been an epic event. After all, LA's most eligible bachelor was getting married.,Harry was the ring bearer and Trixie was the flower girl. Ella and Dr. Linda were the maids of honor. Maze was part of Lucifer's party because she was his right hand.,Lucifer,Harry got a mysterious letter on parchment which Maze wouldn't let him read until she and Lucifer examined it. Maze could smell the magic and Lucifer could see it.,"Apparently there is a magic school looking to take you in as a student," said Lucifer.,They found an owl sitting on the balcony of Lucifer's penthouse waiting for the answer.,Lucifer instead of Harry wrote back and asked to interview someone from the school. He signed his letter Lucifer Morningstar, Fallen Archangel.,The man who came to the appointment was very interested in all of them. Lucifer greeted him in his office area, where he sometimes granted favors.,The man was older, but in good shape and had piercing eyes. Harry thought he looked like a good teacher, the type who was interested in things and made you interested in them as well.,He sat down before Lucifer, who had Maze on his left and Harry at his right.,"I am honored to meet you, Lord Lucifer," said the man.,"You believe me?" asked Lucifer with interest. Most people didn't and magicals tended to keep away from the Lux and Lucifer for some reason.,"You are known to have your own very power magic, my lord, and are also according to legend, the creator of all magic. Therefore our people do not fear you as the no-mags do, but revere you for giving us the gift of magic as fear you in hopes we never end in your domain, our magic stripped from us.",Lucifer frowned. Harry looked up at him, "Father, is something wrong?","I have no memory of creating magic, but I don't remember anyone else, including my father creating it. I wonder if the information was taken from me as part of the fall.",Harry didn't think much of the things done to Lucifer. He hugged him gently, and said, "I can feel magic from you, Father. It's much stronger that our guest's magic.",He looked at the visitor. "I'm sorry, Sir. We don't know your name.","Cletus Stormwhistle," said the man, nodding his head pleasantly. "I feel his power as well. It is leashed and tremendously powerful.",Cletus leaned forward. "Sir, we were unaware of your gift being taken from you. With your kind permission and my oath to never raise a hand or any negative magic against you and yours, will you allow me to try a few simple spells to see if this condition can be reversed?",Lucifer looked down at his son, and then smiled, "I would love to share all of my son's life. I will take your oath, since you seem to understand the ramifications of trying to hurt me or any of my extended family.",Cletus Stormwhistle looked amazed instead of surprised, "I do not give any oath lightly sir, and I swear to you now upon my magic that I mean no harm to Lord Lucifer Morningstar, his son Harry Morningstar, or any of his friends, family, and retainers and that I will never harm you, do harmful magic or even try to trick you. I reserve the right to protect myself if attacked by a demon unaware of this agreement. I also swear friendship to the house and domains of Lucifer and promise to lend him aid in the event he calls upon me. This I so swear by all my magic and with good intent.",A light shone in the room and then the man gently lit his wand. "As you can see, my magic remains with me. Magic itself would have taken her gift from me if I lied.",Lucifer smiled at the man. "I can tell you are a truthful man, a rare occurrence. You did me a favor without asking one in return, therefore, I declare you a friend and ally of my house, and you can come to me for aid if needed.",Cletus bowed, "I am greatly honored.","Now", said Lucifer, "Tell us about educating my beloved Harry in magic.",Stormwhistle looked very thoughtful, "I was not sure whom you were when you contacted me. I think sending your child away for a separate education may expose him to danger once everyone learns the truth. While I will not reveal your true identity, it will eventually come to light and I do not want Harry harmed or manipulated by those who desire deals and favors. Therefore I am going to suggest having him tutored. This will allow him to continue attending the no-mag school but also give him power over his magic. He can be independently tested to see how well it works for him and can go at his own pace. Also, tutors will swear a fealty oath as a matter of course.",Harry grinned. He would be able to stay with his family and still learn.,Cletus took out his wand, and put it in Maze's hands. "With your permission, I would like to see if I can remove this binding," he said, his eyes ablaze with interest.,Maze looked at the wand, and let Harry and Lucifer check it too. They both nodded to the older man who grinned.,He made a motion with the wand, and carefully intoned, "Finiti",Lucifer began to glow with power. He held out a hand and it lit on fire, a blue beautiful flame glowing, "I guess I can get rid of my lighter," he muttered.,Then he stood and held both hands out like a conductor commanding an orchestra. Flames rose from both out-held hands and shot up to the ceiling. Beautiful music played out of thin air that instantly reminded Harry of how much his Father loved him and his family. It made him want to dance and frolic and made him solemn as well.,"What is he doing?" asked Harry calmly. Nothing his Father did was ever frightening to the boy.,"Wards," said Maze. "I feel them, protective wards all over the Lux, all over all Lucifer's properties, protecting them. Hellfire level protection; very cool.",The lights suddenly seem to expand and fill all space but didn't burn anyone. Harry's skin tingled and then the lights were gone and the air felt clear and clean.,Lucifer Lucifer Harry Harry,Harry was tutored 3 evenings a week and kept up with his homework as well. Trixie was impressed and requested advanced classes and had fun challenging Harry to Grade Duels. The winner got ice cream and picked the flavors.,They were both very proud of their good grades without being stuck up about it, and still had tons of fun together and with their family. Maze taught them to fight dirty every Saturday morning if she wasn't bounty hunting. Harry learned to speak in several demon tongues and they found out he could speak to snakes. Trixie tried to learn to and could successfully repeat several set phrases, but Harry really shone at this. It was amazing how many snakes who were not lawyers lived in Los Angeles and visited Harry.,Lucifer Lucifer,The whole school got to go on an exciting trip to see a Shakespeare festival up in the San Bernardino Recreation area. It was outside, it had people in cool clothing, there was fake sword fighting, and Harry and Trixie were having a great time even though they had to sit with their classes. Harry used magic to send her notes in her pockets and no one could see them. She would write an answer and put it in her other pocket and Harry would wandlessly magic into his other pocket.,Trixie loved her brother to pieces and enjoyed his sense of humor and ideas. No one tried to bully them these days. Harry was popular with kids at the school because he was kind and because he had saved a little girl from being dragged away by a stranger during recess. Harry had kicked him in a very sensitive area, then pulled a fire alarm, and somehow managed to tie the man to a tree with a fire hose. The police and firemen decided Harry took after Lucifer for dealing with dangerous situations and the man had been arrested.,Trixie was waiting for their row to be dismissed for lunch, when she saw an old man that reminded her Gandalf in the movies. She wasn't magic, but she was sensitive and had her mother's instincts. She frowned. This man was dressed funny and had a long white beard, but it was the way he looked at Harry that raised the hair on the back of Trixie's neck. She stood up. She grabbed her teacher's arm and yanked hard. Miss Couffman looked down at her, startled, and Trixie pointed to the strange man. "That man is staring funny at my brother.",Unfortunately, it was just in time to see the man grab Harry and then disappear. Miss Couffman screamed and so did Trixie.,Trixie started to cry and then remembered what her Dad had told her, "Trixie, if you are in danger, you don't need a phone to call me. Just call me mentally and I'll come get you.",So she began to call her Father, tears blinding her, as her rattled teacher yelled at the Security guards and other teachers called the police and counted all the students.,And then she saw him, her tall handsome daddy walking into the chaos as cool as James Bond.,She ran into his arms and explained, thinking the picture of the mean Gandalf and explaining silently that he'd used magic to steal her brother.,He patted the now weeping Miss Couffman on the back and told the security people that he was leaving with his daughter and would look for his son. They tried to get them to stop, but Lucifer was firm and commanding. "Miss Couffman is capable of giving her eye-witness account. My daughter needs me.",They couldn't really argue with her Daddy when he acted so much like a grownup.,When they walked to the parking area, her still held in his strong arms, he whispered, "First I am taking you home. You are to call Maze and your Mother. I am going after Harry.",And for the first time, he flew in front of her with real wings and everything, beautiful white shining wings that made her feel safe and comforted as they sped away.,Then they were in the penthouse, and he sat her down with her phone. "Call Maze and then Mom," he said, "Tell her I am coming to get her to take with me. Magical people stole Harry and they must be punished.,Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer Harry Harry Harry,Harry tried very hard to get away from the old man, who kept trying to do spells on him. Harry could feel him like an itch trying to get into his head and blocked him easily. He tried to get the invisible bonds keeping him tied in place to disappear and the old man noticed and his wand spat fairly painful stings on him, until Harry fainted.,He woke up in a castle with a kindly woman looking over him. "Who punished this child?" she asked. The Gandalf guy said, "His parents. I have rescued him.",Harry opened his mouth to correct this blatant lie and found himself bound again.,"He has been turned against magic," said the old man sadly and kindly woman looked shocked.,"But soon he will be free of their influence and take his rightful place as part of our society.",Harry didn't think much of that but he couldn't say a thing. His mouth was stuck closed.,Later he was taken through the castle to a great hall that had long tables filled with children. Everyone was dressed funny and he wanted to scream, he was so angry.,Harry was forced to sit with first year children, although he was older, and zapped several times painfully for not complying.,Evil Gandalf smiled beatifically at the assembled children, "Today I have happy news. We have finally found Harry Potter and today he will be sorted.",The children erupted with applause, and Harry, who was glued in the chair, struggled. "I don't want to be sorted," he yelled only to have his mouth slam shut. He struggled and then concentrated on contacting his Father, "Dad they are going to sort me, whatever that means. I'm scared.",And joy of joys, his Father's voice whispered to him, "I'm coming, my son.",So he stopped struggling and listened to all the stupid things evil Gandalf said about how Harry was a hero responsible for keeping them all safe from some guy whose name meant, "Fly from death". Go figure.,Two of the teachers, the older woman and the vampire guy came and held his shoulders as the glue spell disappeared and kept their hands in place. The vampire guy whispered, in a voice that made goosebumps run up and down Harry's back, "Just try to escape and I'll see you scrubbing pots for the rest of your natural existence.",Harry had scrubbed pots for the beginning of his natural existence, and he immediately dumped these wizards and witches in the Dursley category of people, people who liked power and liked hurting the weak.,He was lead to a stool with an old wrinkled hat and the hat was plopped on his head, "Well said a new voice, you appear to already be enrolled in another education institution and you are unwilling to be here. Why is that?",Harry realized it was the hat, "The old man kidnapped me from my home.",Then both he and the hat heard his Father's voice, commanding and kind of scary, "Don't sort my child. You do not have my permission.",The hat responded, "Sir, I see that the old fool is up to his usual tricks. I shall not sort the boy.",Harry turned and smiled at Gandalf, not saying anything, but letting him know he was in trouble. That funny pinching in his head started and he knew the man was reading his thoughts. "My father is coming for me and he's going to kick your ass," he said.,Gandalf looked very disappointed in him, and Harry wanted to sneer at him, but remembered the pain of the last zap he'd been given.,"Hat, do your duty and sort this child," he commanded the hat.,"No," said the hat, "The child belongs to another school.",The old man looked so angry then, all his pretenses at being an amiable, kind fellow left as rage sparked in his eyes. He drew his wand and stood up, and everyone in the hall fell silent. The hat trembled.,Then the main doors, large enough to let in a dragon, flew open with a boom that made most of the children shrieked. Lucifer Morningstar walked in wearing an Armani suit with a Prada shirt, looking like a model for a fancy magazine. Harry's heart was filled with pride and relief. His dad had come. Besides him was Mazikeen, dressed in leather with hell-fired steel knives in her hands.,Lucifer looked at those assembled with scorn, and his angry eyes turned red when he saw his son being held in place by the two teachers before the hat.,"Let him go.",The old woman and the vampire dropped him and Harry ran into his Father's arms. Lucifer looked them all over.,The old man whipped his wand through the air and a whirl of black threatening smoke came near. Lucifer snapped his fingers and it disappeared like a soap bubble.,Now all the teachers seem to decide that Harry's father was a danger and all pulled their stupid wands. Harry tried to stand in front of his Father, but Lucifer held out one hand, which Harry's magic could feel forming a shield around them and his other hand tucked Harry next to him.,"Child stealers," he said flatly, "You stole my son.","Liar," said the vampire man, "His parents are dead and you stole him from his caretakers years ago.","Yes," said the old man, "You stole this child from his loving family, and poisoned him again us. We are his people and he belongs with us.",Lucifer smiled at them. He clapped his hands once and all the wands in the room flew to him and then formed a pentagram on the floor that glowed.,"Liar, am I?" he asked, "I found this boy dumped in the trash on the streets of Los Angeles, where his so-called loving family had abandoned him to be stolen by filthy pedophiles who used him and threw him away, left for dead. He was abused, sickly, starved, and had many, many broken bones. If this is your peoples' standard of child care, I may take all these children from your gentle school because no child should be treated this way.","What are you?" asked the old man, his rage changing his face into something frightening.,Harry grinned up at his Dad proudly, waiting for it.,"I am Lucifer Morningstar, King of Hell, Creator of Light, Magic and all Magical Creatures, and you have stolen my adopted son from me. You have tormented him and harmed him and for that there will be no forgiveness.",The response was instant. The teachers all froze and turned pale. The muggle born students screamed. The purebloods and those raised in the wizarding world regardless of whether their magic was light or dark, fell to their knees. A short teacher that Harry hadn't met yet who seemed to be only part human knelt the way one did before a king with his head bowed respectfully.,One teacher wearing a turban appeared to go into some kind of fit and Lucifer snapped his fingers at him, freezing him instantly.,Those still looking could plainly see Lucifer's red eyes glaring at the old man, who finally had the sense to look frightened.,His voice shook, but he hadn't given up whatever his plans were, "Can you prove this?" he asked. "Anyone can cast an illusion to make their eyes grow red.",Lucifer smiled at him. Harry recognized it as his Dad's "you are going to be so sorry you asked that" smile.,"Of course. I judge you have misused your magic to abuse a child and use him and all these children as pawns in your fight to rule the magical world. Therefore your gift is gone.",And Angry Gandalf fell to his knees with a horrible cry. He seemed to age before their eyes.,"No," he cried, "it was all for the greater good.",Lucifer looked at him with scorn, "The greater good?" he asked, "You mean your greater good. You stole money from this child, you paid those no-mag pieces of filth with his inheritance funding to abuse the boy so he would look up to you as a hero. And I see you have done this with other children as well.,The turbaned man screamed and a dark smoke seemed to boil from the back of his head. Now a man ghostly wraith of a man stood before them, "This one came to you as an innocent child and you decided he was evil and you decided to punish him, you refused to protect him and your persecution surely made him into an evil man who hated everyone.",The wraith smiled.,"You have imposed your judgements on an entire society and nearly destroyed it." The old man wept.,Lucifer looked at the wraith. "And you tried to flee from death, you a mortal man. And you already plan to kill my son and wonder if you can make me part of your death eaters. Well, your magic is found wanting as well." He snapped his fingers and the wraith wailed and slowly disappeared from sight.,Now Lucifer stared at the two teachers who had forced Harry before the Sorting Hat.,"You hate my son, an innocent child," he said to the vampire look-alike, "Therefore I give you the gift of innocence to teach you better," and the vampire shrunk and his skin cleared and he became a 3-year toddler, who started to wail.,The old woman teacher looked frightened but stood proudly before Lucifer, "And you believed that old manipulator and followed him, even though you knew he was wrong. You did better as a cat.",And she turned into a cat in a puff of smoke.,Lucifer turned to the small man who still knelt. "I see you have great honor and that you love truth," he said, "You are now the headmaster. I will leave the punishment of these two teachers and its release in your hands. Heal this school as best you can and call upon me if you need help.,Find out what children have been abused emotionally or physically, and teach them both dark and light magic since they both were created to be used in balance.",The little man looked astonished, but he smiled at Lucifer, "As my Lord commands," he said.,Then everyone gasped as Lucifer's beautiful white wings unfurled, glowing in the candle light.,"Come, Son, we're going home. Your Mother will be worried." Lucifer picked up Harry and,Harry wrapped his arms around his father with joy. "I love you, Dad." he whispered, "You're the best.",Maze came and wrapped her arms around Lucifer's waist and grinned at Harry,The great wings flapped and Lucifer Morningstar took his son home.,The end.

Luna se baladait tranquillement dans l'Overworld. Il faisait encore jour, pas un nuage dans le ciel et le soleil bien haut. Ce soleil était d'ailleurs l'une des bizarreries de ce monde. Ou bien était-ce le reste du monde qui était bizarre et le soleil l'une des seules choses normales ?,Tout était cubique, c'était ce qui faisait la beauté de ce monde. La blonde avait l'impression d'y avoir toujours vécue, seule. Enfin seule, elle y était la seule humaine. Sinon il y avait les squelettes, les endermans, les creepers, les araignées, les moutons, les poules et puis surtout … Les LAPINS ! Elle adorait les lapins, ils étaient les créatures les plus mignonnes qu'elle est jamais vue.,Luna connaissait par cœur la forêt dans laquelle elle vivait. C'était une forêt très bizarre, des champignons géants rouges à pois blancs et des champignons marrons y poussaient. Certains poussaient même dans le sol, ou dans des cavernes. Elle avait dans cette forêt une petite cabane, construire dans une des gros arbres, du chêne noir, si elle le souvenait bien. Elle avait installé une porte dans le tronc, qu'elle avait creusé pour y mettre une échelle en bois, et l'étage lui faisait une mignonne petite cabane. C'était petit mais discret. Et le plus important : atypique. Luna aimait ce qui était atypique.,Sa solitude ne la dérangeait pas, elle avait l'impression d'avoir toujours était seule. Elle avait un amour incommensurable pour les animaux qu'elle croisait, et ceux qu'elle avait adopté. Elle se promenait souvent avec son chat noir, Sirius. Elle ne savait pas d'où lui était venu ce prénom. Il s'était imposé à elle.,Luna s'était également construite une autre maison, à quelques jours de marche de sa forêt, dans un village. Elle aimait beaucoup les villageois, ils menaient une vie simple, sans arrière-pensée. Ils ne se posaient pas de question, ce contentant de mener leur vie dans leur coin. Il y avait aussi le gardien du village, le golem de fer. Il passait sa journée à faire des rondes dans le village, et il attaquait à vue le moindre envahisseur. Luna aimait beaucoup le golem.,Luna était aussi devenue amie avec un enderman, et un creeper rose avec un cœur rouge sur le torse. Ou bien était-ce une creeper rose ? Elle ne le savait pas trop. Ces deux amies vivaient avec elle dans la forêt. La blonde aimait sa vie. Elle avait ces deux maisons, ces amis, les animaux, une armure pour la protéger. Elle était en Nétherite, un matériaux qu'elle avait trouvé dans le Nether, une dimension parallèle infernale. Une belle armure rouge foncé, avec des grains orangés plus ou moins gros dessus, comme de la lave.,C'était sa vie et elle l'aimait ainsi.

He'd ended up spending around a year and a half with his sister, training to control his newfound powers. She'd given him a single challenge to prove that he'd become competent enough in his skills to stand on his own as a king. This challenge she'd set him had been simply to destroy a single one of her golden kings.,And it had taken him 19 months of constant training to achieve it. He'd learned how to harness his powers, how to defend himself from direct attacks. But most important, at least as far as Harry was concerned, was that he'd gained a sister in the process. She'd still be stern and proud, but after a while a degree of sisterly affection had entered her voice when she'd chided him. No longer were their interactions that of a teacher anxious to see if her student would grasp the wisdom which she'd imparted, instead it became more like a an older sibling looking proudly as their baby brother made their first steps, said their first word, learned their first spell and accidently killed their first league of cultists.,But after 19 months of continuous and driven effort Harry finally achieved a point where his sister felt him ready to face the world. So he did, They'd still regularly speak through Apollo's avian messenger, but for the remaining time Harry had wandered the world on his own. Or at least as "on-his-own" as a child accompanied by a legion of cows, bulls, wolves, sheep, boars, stags, cicada, locust, swans, ravens, guinea fowl, bears, snake-dragons, mice, hawks, griffins and dolphins could ever really be.,He'd had plenty of adventures over the years, fighting divine beasts. Meeting his older brother, fighting his older brother, fleeing from his older brother, killing all his older brother's wolves and ghost-slaves in a cloud of divine poison running away, meeting his younger-older sister, visiting the library of Alexandria, accidentally bumping into an oil-lamp while playing hide-and-go-seek with his dogs. Before returning to the future.,Truly Harry had a lot of adventures, some more chaotic then others and not all of which he'd gotten out of unscathed, but after all that time he'd returned to the land of his birth for a single mundane reason.,He wanted to go to school, At some point over the last 5 years he'd been told about his parents. And the origin of the scar he'd had before meeting Serqet. And he'd been told about the fate of the witches and the wizards of Britain.,He wanted to help them, to find a cure for the blindness they'd been struck with. Not much was known about the nature of the curse. But scholars suspected it to be caused by either the divine power of Poseidon or Discordia, though the strange sensory-depriving nature of the curse had proven to affect anyone who'd attempted to glean deeper. Speculation was abound though, just no concrete proof.,But as much as Harry would tell the world that he'd only gone to see if he could help them, really there was another reason. Harry wanted to know his legacy, to see the world his parent's new and figure out what had become of them.,And maybe just maybe he would get a break from this whole "being a king"-business. Getting recognised by everyone grew tiring after a while, and the expectations that he start ordering people around just didn't sit well with him. He'd met his brother and seen where that kind of power could lead him one day.,So he went, he knew when the letters would be sent out and had arrived in advance, but first he'd needed a place to stay. Luckily for Harry his pets were versatile. His cow's milk was highly sought after amongst the richer mages, something about "increasing fertility and stamina". The same went his wool, fabric warmer more comfortable then any mortal fabric that seemed to resist magical attacks and even stopped small calibre bullets, and don't ask how he'd found that out.,So after 5 years of milking the herd of Admetus and shearing the flock of Apollo Harry had managed to save up enough money to purchase a small but luxurious apartment in Downtown London. Manifesting an avatar to turn into a white raven Harry had flown over walls outside of the Leaky Cauldron and converted a not-insignificant amount of wizarding currency.,Harry had arrived in Britain ahead of time for only a single reason; Wands. Harry didn't know whether a regular wand would work for him, and even if it did he was fairly sure it would be practically useless to him in a fight. So he'd decided to order a custom job for himself, and seeing as Ollivanders would no doubt be busy during the summer with the influx of young wizards and wizards he'd decided it would only be polite to order it in advance.,And so Harry spent an uneventful spring in England, having given Garrick Ollivander some horn's and tusks his familiars had lost in various fights over the years.,His wand was crafted from his boar's tusk, with a handle made from the antlers of Artemis' stags, with a core made out of wolf-fur, divine wool and swan's feathers, amongst others.,Intricate carvings of the sun and moon graced its ivory length, it was light and swishy, but brimming with divine might.,At some point During the summer, the doorbell rang. Harry leapt up, running down the hall in anticipation, almost tripping over his own legs in his haste. Harry opened the door and revealed a bearded old man wearing a rainbow-coloured coat, carrying a parchment envelope embedded with a purple seal.,"Hello Mister Potter, My name's Albus Dumbledore…" the man said, a smile on his face and tears in his eyes "You've had us all worried for quite a while."

The Dimensional Witch,A Harry Potter and XxxHOLIC crossover,Chapter 1,Inevitable,"Watanuki, I need more sake!" A woman's voice called out through a strange shop in a Tokyo alley.,A young man's voice called back from the kitchen, "Yuuko, I'm very glad that you came back from the dead and all, but I worry that with all the sake that you drink that you're going to end up dead again. Please try to moderate how much you drink!","More sake," came a rasping, loud voice.,"Ahrgg! Mokona, let me finish with the food first! It'll be done in less than two minutes and I spent a long time learning this to surprise Yuuko!","Alright Watanuki, if it's that close to being done then just bring the sake with the rest," the woman's voice called. Not two minutes later, footsteps were heard on the wood floor of the house/shop and a wood and paper door slid open to a room that was floored with tatami mats and a low table in the center.,The person who entered was a tall young man, dressed in a black school uniform with an apron over it, with black hair, black glasses and one gold eye and one blue eye. This was Kimihiro Watanuki.,He was carrying a tray filled with food. Stew, sushi, vegetables and a very fancy dish of fish as well as a very large bottle of sake with a pill bottle of aspirin next to it.,Sitting in seiza at the low table was a tall, slender, pale skinned young woman appearing to be in her twenties with long black hair that when she stood up went down to the back of her knees with the front in a hime-style cut. Her irises were wine-red and she was dressed in a deep blue kimono with white clouds on the bottom and yellow trim as well as a light blue obi around her middle and golden accessories in her hair and around her neck.,As was traditional in Japan, she only had a pair of white socks on her feet. A black rabbit thing sat on the table next to her.,Watanuki spoke, "Here, all done. Try and remember to take that aspirin after dinner and drink plenty of water too. You don't need to get a hangover this soon after coming back, Yuuko.",The now identified Yuuko Ichihara simply glanced at the young man as he set the food down to get his own dinner, having learned that if he didn't make something simple, Yuuko and Mokona would eat it all.,Yuuko took a bite of fish and blushed with pleasure.,"Watanuki, this is excellent! Now I think that you've been holding out on me.",Watanuki reappeared with a pot of stew, knowing full well that both Yuuko and Mokona would eat everything if they could so he made sure to make their main course extra-large so that they wouldn't. He gestured towards the fish that Yuuko was eating, "That took several months to learn, Yuuko. Of course, it probably would have taken less time to learn if a certain furball hadn't kept trying to eat everything as I was working.",He quickly got himself a bowl of stew and lifted it away, seeing Mokona finishing up and edging closer to the pot.,Mokona sniffed deeply, then stopped and groaned, falling on his back saying, "I think I ate too much. You win the bet Watanuki.",The young man grinned as the Dimensional Witch looked at him curiously.,"Watanuki," she said ominously, causing him to shudder in fear, "What bet did you make?",The heterochromic eyed boy answered her nervously as he filled up his bowl for seconds, "Actually, Yuuko, Mokona made the initial bet. Maru and Moro can back me up on this when they wake up from their nap. They were present when it was made.",Yuuko's eyebrow twitched and her red eyes bored into Watanuki.,He quickly continued, "Several months back I had made a remark to Mokona one day as he was stuffing himself as usual telling him that he was going to give himself a stomachache one day with how much he was eating. He of course denied that was possible so I pointed out how much he ate and told him that it was inevitable.",Yuuko's mouth twitched in amusement as he went on, "Mokona then bet that if he ever ate too much to the point of illness, he would from then on eat smaller portions, drink less, and never annoy me again. If He won then I would have to cook whatever he wanted in the amounts that he wanted for the next year. Domeki wrote the bet up and we signed it with Maru and Moro as witnesses. He now has to abide by the terms of our bet and he knows it.","So, you won the bet Watanuki," a deep masculine voice was heard from the doorway.,Domeki stepped in, "Yuuko, good to see you're back," he nodded in greeting to the Witch.,"Domeki," she said in greeting as he turned to look at Mokona.,Maru and Moro came rushing in as they had heard Domeki mention the bet.,He quirked an eyebrow at the groaning creature, "Girls, you might want to take him the bathroom. He looks like he's going to be sick.",Maru and Moro rushed Mokona away as Yuuko burst out in laughter, "My goodness. All these years and I've never seen Mokona like that!",Sounds of heaving could be heard and Domeki took from Watanuki the offered bowl and spoon and got some of the oden.,Watanuki was grinning as Yuuko continued to laugh, happy that he had finally gotten one over the little rodent.,Domeki turned to his now friend and asked, "Is this normal for her," he said, referring to the laughing Yuuko.,Watanuki inclined his head, "Well, it can depend, but the last time she laughed like this was when I first met her and she said I looked like a drunken crab after she mentioned something about souls.",Both boys grinned knowing full well that Watanuki probably had deserved that comment from Yuuko. They cleared away the dishes as Yuuko poured herself some more sake.,Domeki was heard from the kitchen saying, "Hey, Watanuki, something's happened to this sake.","Huh, what's up?","Smell it.","There's no smell of alcohol, wait let me pour some. Hey, it's just water now.","That's strange.","Better tell Yuuko then.",Watanuki reentered the room. He spoke, "Yuuko, something happened with the bottle of sake in the kitchen, it-, Yuuko?",Yuuko had set her sake down and gained her demeanor that there was a customer.,"Maru, Moro we have a customer. Please bring them in.",The twins rushed off and Yuuko took a sip of her sake and then spat it out, and looked at the bottle and then at Watanuki.,"I was going to tell you, the sake in the kitchen just turned to water, Yuuko. I'm at a loss.","Watanuki," Domeki said entering the room, "All of the alcohol in the kitchen has turned to water.",Yuuko straightened up as her customer neared, her long hair flowing about her. Maru and Moro reappeared, "Mistress, the customers are here," they chorused.,Then, in the doorway, two young boys appeared. The one in front seemed to be around fifteen, with silver eyes and black hair and was rather tall and fit for his age and possessed a presence of hidden wisdom of ages past. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a strange amulet around his neck and surveyed the room with a calmness that was unique among any of Yuuko's customers.,The boy behind him was the odd one. Thirteen years old, skinny, small, with messy black hair and bright green eyes hidden behind black glasses, wearing baggy clothes with a strange black robe over it, this was only the beginning of the oddness. Next to him was a trunk (which wasn't too odd) and a birdcage with a Snowy Owl inside fast asleep. The owl was the odd thing.,The first boy's gaze landed on Yuuko and their eyes met. The Witch's red eyes widened and she stood up slowly as the boy rushed at her with a cry of "Yuuko!",He embraced her tightly, his sobs muffled in her kimono as surprisingly to Watanuki, who never saw Yuuko display such motherly tenderness to anyone, she whispered softly, "Doreiku," and hugged the boy closely, her eyes closed.,After a few minutes, they separated and Yuuko held the boy by the shoulders looking him dead in the eye.,"They said you were dead," Doreiku whispered, his eyes still full of tears.,"I was, for a time," Yuuko replied, "But no longer. Now," she took a handkerchief and wiped his eyes, "Dry those tears.",The Witch glanced over at the other young boy in the room, "And who is your friend?" she asked.,"Harry Potter, ma'am," the boy replied quietly.,Watanuki winced, knowing that this was likely to set Yuuko off on her never tell someone your name spiel.,Doreiku luckily interjected before Yuuko could say anything, "He's British, Yuuko, as well as a young wizard who hasn't had the best lot in life so don't pull the never tell your name thing. He won't understand.",This stopped the Witch as she looked longer at the green-eyed boy. There was fear in his posture. Yuuko beckoned Harry in saying, "Watanuki, can you… Ah, good you brought his things in.",She turned to the boys as she sat down. "Please, sit," she gestured to the mats. They sat. "Now explain." The two teens shared a look, and the younger one sighed. "Alright," he said after a while.,He began, "I was born fourteen years ago on July 31st, 1980 to a British wizard and witch, James Potter and his wife Lily. Both are now deceased However, that is not where my story begins. Four years ago, I found out that I was a wizard. On September 1st, 1991, I started my first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland….",Over the next several hours Harry told his tale, while the other gathered members sat and listened.,After two hours, Domeki left because he had to get home.,Harry didn't notice and just continued on into his second and third years. Yuuko's eyes widened when he spoke of the Basilisk and how he got bitten, and stiffened greatly, her brick red eyes narrowing at the mention of the Dementors.,After five hours, Harry stopped, his throat raw. Watanuki handed him a glass of water, which he quickly downed.,"Thanks," Harry muttered, and then tried to hold back a yawn.,"Bed," The Dimensional Witch said, "Watanuki?","I'll take him. Where do you want him, Yuuko?",Doreiku spoke quietly, "Put him in my room for now. It's right next to Yuuko's." Though his voice was level, there was an unmistakable undercurrent of anger in it.,Harry stood up and let his owl out of her cage. The bird flew up to his shoulder and he followed Watanuki out of the room.,Yuuko stood and walked outside to the veranda where she sat and gazed at the setting sun. Doreiku followed her, though he wasn't so relaxed. His anger weighed heavily on the air and after a time he cursed rapidly.,"Doreiku," the witch said sharply, and he stopped. "Why did you bring him here?" Yuuko asked in her usual tone.,The teen sighed, "I am his only magical relative left alive, Yuuko. Distantly related but close enough for it to count. However, I am not of age yet, so you being , guardian…," he smirked as Yuuko laughed softly, "I had no choice. As you would say it was inevitable.",She turned to the teen that she raised as if he was her own son, "There is something else isn't there, hmm?","Yes, Yuuko. He is in dire need of a guide and a proper teacher as well as a parental figure. His relatives were bad, to say the least.",Yuuko gazed upon the teen and he met her eyes as she reminded him, "Good and bad are human concepts.",The silver eyes narrowed, "Yuuko, they , human.",He paused and took a deep breath, "They abused him.",Yuuko gasped as Watanuki came outside to join them. The young man was surprised as he hadn't really seen Yuuko lose her cool all that often.,The Witch then hissed out, "He will never go back there again! This I swear!" A powerful aura of magic grew around her as her eyes gained more than a hint of the great power that she could wield.,The two males shared a looked and grinned. Yuuko was a sucker for children, especially those who needed help.,"So," Doreiku said, "He'll be staying then?" "Of course," Yuuko replied sharply.,Doreiku grinned at her, "So, tell me what has happened in the eighteen months I've been away with my tutors.",Watanuki groaned, he knew where this was going.,Yuuko laughed and the three began to talk as the night went on. Watanuki's trials with the supernatural as well as dealing with Yuuko's usual mysteriousness as well as alcoholism.,When the Monkey's Paw was mentioned, Doreiku whistled lowly. "That needs to be destroyed as soon as possible," he remarked, "Even sealed it's mere existence is dangerous.","No arguments from me," Watanuki replied.,Yuuko hmmed. "Even so," she softly said, in her almost musical voice, her eyes partially lidded, "The price of destroying it magically is too much for any of us to pay.",Watanuki groaned. That thing was no good and he avoided it when cleaning if he could.,Doreiku scoffed. "It's not that hard," he said scornfully, "Just throw it into an iron furnace. That'll take care of the problem. Iron usually does. Counteracts just about every curse except the European Unforgivables.",The other two looked at him in surprise. The solution made perfect sense and was surprisingly elegant in its simplicity. The silver eyed teen withdrew something from his pocket, pressed a button, and tossed it out into the yard.,When it landed there was a flash, and then a wave of intensive heat. In front of them was a large furnace and inside it, just visible was a mass of molten iron almost white hot.,"Is that…?" Watanuki asked.,"Yes," Doreiku replied, "An iron furnace. Don't ask how that little device works as I have no idea. It was given to me by a tutor who told me of different ways of destroying cursed artifacts.","Here," Yuuko said. The two turned around. The Witch was standing there holding the tube that contained the Monkey's Paw. She must have slipped out while the two were talking.,Doreiku gingerly picked up the object in question as Watanuki went into a rant when Yuuko mentioned that she wanted snacks.,The young teen walked over the furnace, not bothered in the slightest by the intense heat and effortlessly flicked the Monkey's Paw into the iron. He backed away quickly. Just then a bright blue-white flame burst out from where the Monkey's Paw had been thrown in as the smell of brimstone and sulfur filled the air. Then it vanished.,The air seemed clearer and the ominous presence of the Monkey's Paw was no more.,"It is done," Doreiku intoned. It felt like he was finishing a ritual. He tapped a part of the furnace and a shield sprung up as it folded itself away into the small object that he had thrown into the yard.,When it was done, he picked it up and moved back onto the veranda. The other two had gone inside, Watanuki to cook and Yuuko to check up on Harry.,Doreiku sat there on the veranda staring up at the night sky. Just then a flash of light streaked across the night sky and then another not long after. He then smiled. "Understood. I'll tell her when it is time.",Then the first star came out. Doreiku saw this and began reciting softly, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight," as Yuuko returned to the veranda, she stood there, listening quietly as Doreiku went through the most innocent and pure forms of wishing that every child around the world knows.,The witch smiled softly to herself and as Watanuki approached, held up a long, slender finger to her lips.,He looked outside as Doreiku started singing softly some childhood lullaby that he must have heard long ago. It was strange, in a language that Watanuki didn't understand, a haunting melody with lilting tunes that gently rose and fell.,When he finished, Yuuko stepped softly out onto the veranda. The boy didn't even move. He just sat there, staring up at the night sky. The Dimensional Witch sat on the porch with her feet together on one side, her kimono spread about her.,The moon rose into the night and no one present made a sound. An owl hooted nearby as the night grew even darker. Then a flash of light, a shooting star streaked across the sky.,Doreiku heaved a sigh and leaned back. Yuuko reached forward and gently took him by the shoulders and rested his head in her lap as Watanuki sat down.,The witch looked up and smiled mysteriously. "Look at that! We certainly have a beautiful moon tonight! And tomorrow is going to be a full, isn't it?" She asked out loud to no one in particular.,Mokona hopped over, "Moon-viewing party!" the little black rabbit/puffball thing shouted.,Yuuko grinned evilly, about to ask Watanuki to do more work when he cut her off. "Yes," he drawled, "And we must invite all of our friends over, don't we Yuuko?",She froze as he continued, "And you get to explain how you managed to come back. I dare say that a few of them will be quite upset after all the grief that happened after you vanished.",The witch growled, "Watanuki, it isn't funny.","I think it is extremely funny, Yuuko. It will be good to see that," Watanuki replied. Doreiku rolled his eyes, stood up and left. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day, no matter what.,In the nearby alleyway, a large creature took flight. ,The next day found Watanuki running around Tokyo delivering invites to the moon-viewing party. Due to the size of this gathering, they were having it in one of the larger parks near the Wish Granting Shop. Mentally, he ticked off the names thus far.,", he thought to himself. ,He snorted to himself as he turned a corner, "Yeah, knowing my luck I'll have to run all over town again. Will you get ,?!" This last was said to a rather persistent spirit that was clinging to him. The spirit in question blinked at him and just held on, causing the boy to growl, "Damn thing.",As Watanuki rounded the next turn, Domeki's shrine came into view. He could hear a girl's voice speaking happily, and the monotoned replies of Domeki.,The persistent spirit let go and floated off as he neared the shrine. With Domeki home, the shrine itself had an aura that repelled spirits. He entered the shrine, but didn't see anyone.,The seer called out, "Helloooo! Is anyone home?" Footsteps were heard coming from inside. The front door slid open and Domeki and Himawari stood there. Himawari beamed, "Watanuki, you've left the shop! I hear that Yuuko is back.",The raven nodded in affirmation and he walked up to them, pulling the invitations from his pocket. The two took them and quickly read.,"Need any help getting ready?" Himawari asked cheerfully. The brown-eyed girl was always ready to help if she could, even though her unnatural bad luck seemed to touch everything.,"Please," Watanuki begged. "I have to cook when I get back but I need Mokona, Maru and Moro distracted. We have company over so Yuuko won't be as much of a problem.",Domeki pulled on his shoes and handed Himawari hers. One she was ready, they quickly left the shrine and took off towards the shop. Watanuki could see spirits gathering but they were repelled by Domeki's aura. A Camaro drove by as they neared the shop, turning down a nearby drive and for some reason, the spirits scattered.,They entered the shop, a bit winded as they were greeted by Maru and Moro.,"The mistress is waiting for you," they said in unison, opening the front doors. The twins waited as the trio pulled off their shoes and then led them inside. Yuuko was laying upon her Throne of Laziness as Watanuki mentally called her couch, smoking her pipe, dressed in one of her revealing kimonos. The Witch opened her eyes.,"Watanuki, good you've finished. Domeki, Himawari, welcome. I take it the two of you are joining us tonight?" Watanuki vanished off to the kitchen as the other two greeted Yuuko and remarked that they were joining tonight.,The seer got started in the kitchen as he heard Domeki and Himawari pull Maru and Moro along with Mokona outside as Yuuko followed them. He heard a squeal and then rapid Japanese. He smiled to himself. Harry must be outside with his pet.,"Well, at least I have some peace to get this all done," he murmured to himself. Over the next several hours, many, many dishes were made and put into containers, bentos, and trays and the items that could be served at room temperature or warm were finished. Anything hot would be cooked there.,"And I'll probably have to do all of the cooking, again," he sighed to himself. He looked out the window, it was late in the day and the sun was setting. He finished cleaning and got changed. The others had come back in and were waiting.,"Good, we're all here," Yuuko smiled, 'Let's go." Watanuki grabbed some of the bags and Domeki and Harry carried the rest. The heterochromatic seer, as they left the fence of the shop behind asked, "Where's Doreiku?",Yuuko replied, "He'll be meeting us there. Don't worry, he can generally handle navigation easily." The Dimensional Witch led them to the park they were meeting at.,They entered and walked around, looking for the meeting place. Suddenly a shout caught their attention.,"Hey!" They all looked around, "Over here!" On top of a clear, treeless hill, Doreiku was waving at them. This hill was on the edge of the city and a road ran behind it into a vast hilly field. There were no gates on this part of the park as very few people ever came back here.,The group of six climbed the hill, Mokona chattering at Harry the entire way. When they reached the top, waiting with Doreiku were Kohane, Ame-Warashi, and Zashiki-Warashi. The rain sprite, ever in a mood when it came to most humans, snarked, "About time you got here.",Yuuko smiled widely as the blanket was set up, Watanuki digging out the food. Doreiku had set up the portable grill and meat was already cooking on it.,The moon slowly rose and the phantom birds came out and started singing. By now, the food had been eaten and put away magically into the shop by Watanuki, who had learned this not long after Yuuko's death. As they all sat there, those old enough drinking saké and admiring the moon, the question was finally asked by Kohane.,"Yuuko," the fortuneteller asked, "How did you come back? I mean, we all heard from Watanuki that you had died.",Ame-Warashi chimed in, "That's right. You were always going on about inevitability and whatnot and yet here you are.",Yuuko sighed, her eyes half-lidded as she leaned back a bit. "I don't know how I was able to return. I shouldn't have been, even with a powerful wish, not without upsetting the balance. Even the time that was stolen from me was returned.",Everyone picked up on the Witch's concern. Was Fei Wong Reed going to return and cause havoc? Doreiku broke the silence.,"I might be able to answer that," the silver eyed boy responded cautiously. Everyone turned to look at him as he continued, "My tutors, I guess you could call them, were on a higher level of power and authority than any of us here tonight. Lesser gods you might call them. They in turn serve the Kami of this land who in their turn obey the one Great God who rules over all things.",Ame-Warashi snapped, "Get on with it, the basic heavenly power structure is easily known to anyone!",Doreiku ignored the red-haired rain sprite, "I got a message late last night with what of the explanation I was allowed to give.",Here he looked Yuuko dead in the eye, gleaming silver into claret. "The Great God at the time of your death was weighing up all of the work you have done. When you died, he had not finished, your extended life causing it to take a year more. When he was finished, the news of my distress reached his ears and it tipped everything. That act of you taking me in all those years ago and my familial love for you added to a lifetime of good deeds allowed him to give you a gift.",He stopped, and took a drink. Everyone present was hanging onto his every word, Yuuko especially. They all wanted to know where this was going.,"Yuuko," he softly said, "Not only did he decide to return the time that was stolen from you and return you to life, he declared something that has not happened according to the Kami since the early days of man.",The Witch's eyes grew wide with wonder and her heart rate quickened as the teen spoke again.,"Yuuko, he gifted you with a most precious gift," Doreiku said, "He gave you immortality.",Complete and utter silence. No one dared to breath. They all were thinking it was some bad joke. That is until both sprites shared a glance and then Zashiki-Warashi spoke, "It is true. That is the news that nature is spreading from the Kami as we speak.",The group stared at Yuuko at this. The Witch's eyes were filling with tears and her breath was shuddering.,"Yuuko?" Watanuki asked, "Are you alright?",She spoke softly as she turned her head to stare at the moon, "I never would have thought; that I would be worthy of such a heavenly gift." The tears began to fall as Doreiku reached into a pocket and pulled out a small platinum ring with kanji etched on it.,The teen moved next to Yuuko and ran his hand through her long hair. The Witch turned to look at him. She was about to ask something when he handed her the ring and said, "Read it, aloud.",Yuuko raised a fine eyebrow at him and nevertheless did as he asked. She looked down at the small kanji etched on the surface of the ring and said, "Though you were not the one to give me life, you became the person I truly needed. Thank you for this Mom.",Yuuko looked up from the ring at Doreiku, who would not look her in the eye. "You truly mean this? That you view me as…...," She trailed off as tears filled her eyes again and Doreiku answered, "Yes, unless you don't-?",He was cut off as the Witch embraced him tightly.,"There is nothing else I would love more, Doreiku. My son." They parted briefly so Yuuko could put the ring on. "Of course, Mom," Doreiku smiled weakly.,Yuuko embraced the boy again and Harry handed Watanuki a camera he had been told to bring. The seer wasn't going to miss this opportunity. He snapped several good photos of this precious moment as the girls present cooed over the sweetness.,",Yuuko thought, ,Ending Notes: Alright everyone. Here's something new right before Christmas. Consider this an early present. From me to you all, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Wesołych Świąt, Joyeux Noël, Frohe Weihnachten, Vrolijk Kerstfeest, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Veselé Vánoce, Mele Kalikimaka, Веселого Різдва,,Rock Drake

Harry Potter and the Guardians of Kandrakar,As of Nov. 2017, I have gone through this fic and touched up some plot points that bothered me, as well as attempting to fix any errors I can find in general. Refurbished to the best of my ability, here is the new and improved story, which I hope to continue to completion.,Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling; W.I.T.C.H. was created by Elisabetta Gnone. I do not own either of these works, I'm just having some fun in their worlds for a while.,Author's Note at the end may answer some of your questions, but for now, enjoy!,Chapter One,As she tortured the Muggleborn woman, Bellatrix Lestrange felt a sort of sense of purpose swell in her bosom. It was glee to hear the screams produced from the Cruciatus curse, so much of it that Bellatrix let out a cackle of giddy laughter as the twitching body of the woman convulsed around her swollen stomach. She flicked her wand, and the woman was sent hurling towards the back wall, where her head smacked against the stone with a sharp crack.,"Filthy Muggle! That will teach you to breed, polluting the world with more of your dirty spawn!" she spat, and turned to her Lord seeking approval.,Her master gazed upon the face of his most devoted follower, but not with a look of pride. Bellatrix quickly turned her focus back to the blond woman who was struggling to move, whimpering in pain.,",Where is the book? Answer me, filth!" she cried, and a fresh sea of agonized screams were ripped from the woman's throat. Lord Voldemort shook his head in disgust.,"Come now, Bellatrix. You can do better than that," his high, cold voice spoke. Bellatrix quickly marched over to her victim and grabbed her by the hair.,"Tell us where it is, mudblood. Tell us, and I'll kill you quickly," she whispered venomously. The blond woman, desperate for her unborn child, pointed towards a desk.,"The... Under the floorboards..." she rasped out, before crumpling to the ground with another spasm of pain as Bellatrix released her and swiftly made her way to the desk. She used her wand to detect protective spells, and disabled the few she found.,", she breathed, and an ordinary, brown leather bound tome shot up, splintering through the floorboards and into her hand. She cackled in delight and turned to face her Lord. He was smiling coldly at her, his hand barely outstretched. She walked over to him, and placed the book in his hand. His spidery fingers closed around it, and he stared at it for a moment before turning his red gaze to the struggling woman on the floor.,"Dispose of her.",Bellatrix smiled, and destroyed what was left of Halinor Clarkson.,o.O.o.O.o,Cornelia Hale looked up from the flowers she was tending on her terrace as her little sister Lilian screamed, running at an almost inhuman speed out of Cornelia's own bedroom. She ran down the stairs, still screaming, until she reached her older sister.,"There's a vulture in your room!" she squealed. Cornelia paled a little at this, but kept a disapproving look on her face.,"And just what were you doing in my room?" she asked, and Lilian made a face.,"I was looking for Napoleon... and I found him! He's trying to kill a vulture in your room!" she said, growing more agitated by the second. Sure enough, the sounds of her beloved cat hissing could be heard coming down the stairs, and Cornelia then bolted through the door, up the stairs and into her room. It was not, in fact, a vulture, but a large black barn owl. It soared around Cornelia's ceiling, trying to escape Napoleon who was swatting at it from her vanity (and knocking her makeup all over the table in the process). She marched over to the cat, picked him up and handed him to Lilian.,"Take him and keep him in you room while I try to get this... thing out of my room," she ordered. Lilian lugged the squirming cat outside and Cornelia closed the door behind her. No sense in letting the bird fly all around the house. To her surprise, when she turned to face the thing it was perched quietly on one of her bedposts. Clutched in its beak was a letter. Approaching it cautiously, she held out her hand and the bird dropped the letter into her hand. Eyeing it suspiciously, she turned to look at the letter in her hand. It was addressed to her, but in a most peculiar way.,She turned the letter over, and found instead of a return address, a crest. It featured four animals grouped around a capital H. Opening it carefully, she pulled out two thick pieces of parchment. They were both written in emerald green ink, and Cornelia focused on the first page.,Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore,(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorceror, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards),Cornelia's brain went into overdrive. Did someone know her secret? Did the other girls get similar letters? Would they have to ask the Oracle to wipe someone's memory , She quickly looked at the second page. It held a list of curious, strange items that she assumed was the supply list.,If this was a joke, Cornelia gave props to the creator. It was very detailed, and that frightened her. It couldn't, perhaps, be real? She must have been in a daze, for suddenly the paper was ripped from her hands by her little sister.,"What's this? Ooh, a magic school! Corny, you didn't tell me you were magic! I wanna go too!" the little girl said, while Cornelia chased her around the room.,"Give it back! It's probably Irma's way of pranking me or something. Lilian, it's not real! Give it back!" she yelped, and finally tackled her sister onto her bed. Ripping the parchment from Lilian's hands, Cornelia got up and pulled out her mobile phone. She dialed Will.,"Corny? What's up?" Will answered, and Cornelia didn't fail to notice the waver in her voice.,"Did any barn owls drop off the mail by your place today?" she asked, while shooing Lilian out of her room. Lilian refused to budge, and was staring intently at the owl still perched on the bedpost. It had a rather bored look on its face, as if it had received this reaction plenty of times before.,"Uhh.. actually it was a screech owl... but the mail did come in a weird way today. Mom doesn't know about it yet, but I'm figuring that when she comes home from picking up William and hears..." she was interrupted by a loud screech.,"That," Will continued "then I'm sure I'll have some explaining to do." Cornelia sighed into the phone.,"Same here. But so... do you think it's a joke?" she continued, and was suddenly interrupted by a beeping noise. Taranee was trying to call. "Hold on, other line" she said, and pushed the middle button.,"Cornelia! There's a huge... owl in my room!" Taranee frantically whispered into the phone. "Peter's the only one here, but mom is going to be home any minute!","Just calm down; just get the stupid bird out and let's meet up with the others at the Golden in a few. I have a feathered companion sitting on my bedpost as we speak. And yes, he brought me a weird letter, before you ask." Taranee choked in a breath on the other end, and Cornelia sighed again.,"O...ok, I'll meet you there," Taranee finally managed to choke out, and hung up.,"Will? I told Taranee to meet us and the others at the Golden in a few minutes. Let's get the birds out of our rooms and get over there with these letters, ok?" the blond said, while throwing her keys and the letter into her pocket and grabbing her jacket.,"You and I think alike. I just told Irma and Hay Lin the exact same thing!" Will stated, and Cornelia could feel her friend smiling through the phone. They hung up, and Cornelia turned to look at the owl.,"Erm..." she began. It looked at her, expectant. Lilian observed the scene from the door. "Could... could you please, err... wait outside? On a tree branch or something?" she asked it, feeling silly. Surprisingly enough (yet not really... plenty of weirder things had happened to her before), the owl took flight out her open window into the summer heat. She watched as it settled in a tree right across from her complex. Shaking her head, she ran out of her room and straight downstairs. Her mother was coming in the door that very moment, and so Cornelia smiled and waved before attempting to escape unnoticed.,"Now just a minute! Where are you going, young lady?",Cringing, Cornelia turned to her mom. "Out to see the girls. I don't have to watch Lilian anymore, you're back! So... bye!" she said as convincingly as possible, while giving Lilian a warning look that clearly stated 'if you speak of the owl incident, you are SO getting it.',Her mother sighed (much like Cornelia had been doing for the past few minutes). With that, the blond Guardian bolted for the elevator.,o.O.o.O.o,Irma Lair was never one to freak out. Ok, well, maybe if there was a gigantic cockroach on her floor, or maybe if she had back talked a teacher and knew she had gone too far. But usually, Irma was pretty chill. Nothing much phased her, and she tried to keep it that way. However, giant white owls swooping into her room through her window and dropping a letter on her floor could be considered a great time to let out a holler. It was due to this incident that she and her four best friends were now grouped at their usual booth in the Golden, a local diner that the girls had been using as a meeting place for many important discussions. Sipping on her milkshake, Irma listened carefully to Will's account of her own, very similar owl incident.,"And it just swooped out and perched right above my window. Then I ran 'cause mom and William came home, and I didn't have time for babysitting duty," the redhead finished. The five Guardians had been through some odd situations, but this one was getting progressively odder.,"It seems that we all got these letters, and they were all delivered by owls, and they all seem... well, authentic if you ask me," Taranee put in, a crease furrowing her dark brow as she stared at her own letter. Hay Lin nodded, and twirled a bit of her glossy hair in between her fingers.,"I think it's real. The Oracle would be able to confirm it, and I'd kinda like to take a trip to Kandrakar and ask more about it all but... at the same time, I don't want to go bothering grandma about this if I don't have to. She has a lot on her mind, trying to track down all those magical kiddos for us," she spoke, and all the Guardians nodded in agreement.,"So what do we do about this, girls?" Cornelia asked, placing her clasped hands on the table. Irma shrugged.,"I say we go. Sounds like a way cooler school than ours. Plus, we could learn some new tricks for our magic," she stated, sneaking a french fry from Will's tray. Hay Lin nodded again.,"I agree. I say we send out replies to this place, via owl I'm guessing, and ask them how the heck we can get there, where to buy supplies and all that stuff." Irma grinned. Hay Lin was her best friend for a reason. Taranee looked skeptical, but after a while also nodded.,"It would be nice to get away, study abroad... and not have to hide our magic. In fact, we'd be improving it! It's so hard to control even now, even with the roots of our powers helping somewhat... I think this school could really benefit us," she finished. Irma's grin widened. She had though Taranee would have been the most difficult to convince that Hogwarts was a good idea, but she was pleasantly surprised to find the Fire Guardian on her side. Cornelia and Will didn't look too convinced, however.,"What about the kids? Who will teach them while we're gone?" Will asked, obviously thinking of her little brother William.,"There are plenty of older magicals who can keep an eye on them until we get back for the summer. They just need to wait for their own Hogwarts letter, I'm guessing, then we won't have to teach anymore. Being a teacher is tiring," Irma stated. Will looked more relaxed at this, but Cornelia still had a sour look on her face. Irma mentally facepalmed. 'Of course, Miss Lovey-Dovey Hale won't want to leave because of Peter. Crap.',"I don't think we should split up from our families and, er..." she began, but Irma cut her off.,"Corny, honey, think about it: a whole YEAR without Lilian! And if you honestly start to miss her, which I wouldn't understand, you could come back for the Christmas holidays or something. And you and Peter are on the rocks anyway, don't give me that look, so some time apart might do you good! Come on, Corny. Hogwarts sounds awesome! You know you want to go." Cornelia bit her lip, and after a moment or two's hesitation, she nodded. Irma fist pumped, and pulled out a pen.,"Hey, Hay Lin, do you have any paper? I'm writing this reply now, before any of you guys chicken out on me.",o.O.o.O.o,The morning after sending their respective replies (and questions) back with the owls, Will awoke to a tapping on her window. She groaned in frustration as she shuffled over to the latch, undid it, and had to bite back a scream as another owl flew in. It dropped another piece of parchment on her bed, and this time it flew off without a backward glance. Groggily, she picked up the parchment and read it.,With the letter also fell out a small, intricate golden key, as well as what looked like a packet for an International Gifted Students School that only hand picked the most select of students based on their abilities, and in Will's case, it specified on swimmers, with all expenses paid. Will, stunned, sat down on her bed softly. It was still surreal to her that such a place really existed. For some reason, that letter from Albus Dumbledore seemed to reassure her and dismiss all of her suspicions. This place could be somewhere she could get away from all those fears and uncertainties she felt while in Heatherfield; it could help distance her from Matt...,She stood up determinedly, and whirled around to look at the calendar. Grabbing a black marker, she circled August 28 and crossed out the current day, which was July 31. About a month from now, and she and her friends would be starting a new adventure she knew was going to be life altering.,o.O.o.O.o,The five Guardians crossed out the days on their respective calendars avidly, in anticipation of August 28th. They packed their suitcases and would occasionally unpack and then repack, just to find something to do. They would call each other constantly during these packing sessions, worrying about what to bring and what to leave behind, giving each other travel advice, and simply daydreaming about Hogwarts.,Finally, the day arrived. The girls said long goodbyes to their parents, who at first insisted upon driving them to the airport, but the girls brushed them off, telling them that they would take a taxi. Their parents, after some prodding and begging, agreed. They were all extremely proud of their daughters; living away from home for a year was a very big step in their lives, and to be accepted into such a prestigious school was quite an accomplishment. The Guardians therefore met in Heatherfield Park, lugging their respective suitcases to a park bench.,"Oof, I hope I don't have to carry these much longer!" Cornelia groaned, setting her two large pink suitcases and Napoleon's cage down on the bench. Irma snickered.,"And how many cosmetics are stashed in that bag, Corny? No wonder you're having a hard time!" she jibed, earning a glare from her blond friend.,"I'm just hoping that whoever comes to get us gets here soon! It's boiling hot today!" Will mumbled. Suddenly, a loud POP sounded out from directly in front of them, and all five girls let out little yelps as a young woman with bright green hair materialized out of thin air.,"Hey girls! You must be WITCH! Am I right?" she asked, her voice friendly and distinctly pleasant as she looked them over. They nodded their heads in sync.,"How did you..." Taranee managed, but this eccentric woman cut her off.,"Apparition, of course! You learn how your sixth year at Hogwarts! I'm Tonks, by the way. Are you ready to go?" she asked, surveying their pile of luggage and raising an eyebrow.,"Godric, that's a lot of stuff. I'll have to shrink it. Hold on, girls," she said, and then pulled a wand out of her waistband (she was wearing a purple robe over jeans and a white shirt). With a flick and a murmur, Tonks had reduced each bag into pocket size luggage. The girls gaped.,"I need to learn how to do that," Cornelia whispered.,"Ok, now get your stuff! The portkey will be leaving soon, we can't miss it!" she said.,"What's a portkey?" Hay Lin asked as she pocketed her bags, still a bit in awe of this awesome woman who stood before her.,"It's an object that can transport the person holding it to another location, so long as you have a finger or so on it by the appointed time. Ours should be... there!" she said, and pointed to an old, deflated soccer ball.,"That?" Cornelia had managed to find her voice again, holding on to Napoleon's cage as they made their way over to the ball. Tonks smiled and nodded.,"It'll take us straight to the Leaky Cauldron, and then we can go shopping for your stuff down Diagon Alley," the witch said. 'Shopping' was all Cornelia needed to hear, and she took hold of a bit of the soccer ball gingerly.,The rest of the girls followed suit, and heard Tonks murmur '3...2...1!' and they were jerked off the ground, as if something was tugging behind their navel, pulling them who knows where. They twisted and turned a few more seconds, before landing (Irma comically on top of Cornelia) in the middle of a dank old pub.,"Are we in London?" Taranee gasped as she picked herself up and adjusted her glasses.,"Muggle London, yes," Tonks stated, and continued explaining before Taranee could open her mouth again. "A muggle is a non-magic person. The Leaky Cauldron is a place where magic folk can go to access Diagon Alley... or a pint if they wanted one!" she finished.,Tonks then ushered the girls upstairs with a wave to the barman, who nodded and shouted 'Rooms 11 and 12!' which Tonks acknowledged with another wave. Will, Cornelia, and Taranee dropped their stuff off in one room, while Hay Lin and Irma shared the one across from it. Tonks excitedly pushed them back down the stairs.,"Let's go! We need all day to shop!" she exclaimed. "Plus, I want you to meet some friends of mine. And who knows how many cute boys you'll get to see! I love shopping trips!" she said, reminding Irma of a kid at Christmas.,"Cute boys? I'm all for it! Direct me to the boys, Tonks!" she joked. Tonks grinned and opened the back door, leading them out into a smallish courtyard. They were facing a brick wall.,"Umm... Tonks?" Will began, but Tonks shushed her, and began tapping certain bricks with her wand. Before the girls had time to gasp, the wall started to unfold before them, revealing the most spectacular sight they had ever seen.,"Boys this way, Irma. Welcome to Diagon Alley!",Chapter One: Complete!,Hopefully you guys enjoyed; please forgive any mistakes in grammar etc. as I am my own Beta for now.,Yes, a few minor changes will be occurring throughout this fic. It follows the canon plotline of HBP pretty much to the letter, with the added component of the Guardians and what they bring to the tale. Eventually we will deviate more as major events occur... For a start, Tonks is seen as being her normal self for now, but soon she and Lupin will get their respective missions and her 'depressive' state will become apparent. Also, if you have only seen the cartoon for WITCH, and are confused by some references I made (like Will's brother William, Yan Lin as the Oracle, or their magical teaching jobs) then I suggest you go to Wikipedia and read the articles on the comic series. That's how this story is mostly going to be written.,Review and let me know what you think!

Demons,Inception/Harry Potter,Paring: Arthur/oc ( Serafina) Harry/Eames,I don't own anything except oc,Eames P.o.V,It was over we were home Sato's mission was over and everything was fine.,Some odd reason Arthur decide spent night together, not that I had something against Arthur but we don't have much common he is too serious.,But there is looking at sky like stupid romantic.,When I go next to him he looks hurted and sort haunted.,I know we all have our demons.,"So dreamer what's is in your mind?" I ask boredly and he looks like he doesn't undestand what I said, he just slidely rises his left eye brow.,"Don't dare act like that I can see there something on your mind after sooner or later we will have demons inside our mind." I say and he takes couple deep breaths before speaks "There was a girl who I loved... Her name was Serafia, she was British lovely and charming as can be, then there was car accident and she ended up coma... I was driver in that accident.",Then there was silence his confession burns in my mind and then he shows picture and I see my Harry and his daughter Serafia, from his short marriage to Gabrielle Delacour.,"I know them, he is my Harry." I stutter.,"I'm sorry. What happend?" He says and I take beer and I give him one and I'm surprised he drinks it.,"Harry and I started date after his wife died in work accident she worked as chemist. After Serafia ended up coma Harry changed, he started spent time alone we are still together and he is getting better." I tell him calm manner and he nods.,Then we sit in the balcony listening silence.,I notice worried and sad look face and I look small garden that Arthur has built in here.,"You should go see her, I drive you in there." I say fastly.,Next morning we drive to the hospital. We don't talk much and when we arrive in there, I left Arthur alone with Serafia she looks like her mother with golden hair but she has her father's eyes.,Arthur tell is so sorry and that he would do anything to change this then something happens she wakes up.,"She woke up." I hear familiar voice and I turn around and I see Harry and hug him.,"Everything is going to be okay." He says weakly and hug him and I whisper "Yes it will be.",And I know it's true.

As the moon rose high the dark lord gathered all his followers to him.,"The shards of her line shall be restored as she carries the once hero's blood newly fleshed as evil. This in turn binds her to the first darkness and second darkness," said a heavy voice.,He smashed the crystal ball into his hand. "What Line!" he yelled now bleeding.,"She is just a muggle-born what is she needed for," asked Rudolphus murmuring to his wife. Unfortunately the dark lord heard him. "Lestrange-he cooed then smacked him with the broken pieces of the crystal causing Rudolphus' face to bleed- the girl could be useful in destroying Harry Potter.",He heaved a breath that was of fire. In so doing he called Nagini to him. He healed his hand, pulling out the crystal's pieces. She slithered towards her master. He held as if she was a precious child with his unnaturally long fingers stroking her head whilst she whispered disdainfully to her master three little words; Count Dracula; Valerious.,He patted her head meaningfully "Nagini has given me the last piece of the puzzle, we will resurrect Count Dracula tonight soon there will be no one to stop us from taking this world and the next. We will attack the Weasley and Delacour Wedding taking the girl. Severus do you have the book?" He hissed. "My lord and my fellow death eaters I give you the Book of Arcane," Snape said. "My most loyal servant you have done well," Voldemort smirked belittling Lucius' self-esteem. Narcissa looked from her husband to her sister and back to the dark lord. She was so scared for her son's life, her husband's and her own life.,A few moments later "I have only some of the materials we need my lord." Pettigrew said interrupting Narcissa's thoughts. "Crucio! Pettigrew this is the last time I'll tell you this we're at WAR! You only have some why not all!" he was about to strike Peter again when he saw Snape stand. "Do not waste your magic on him sire you'll need it when you kill the Potter boy and as you did not know I carry the rest of the materials indeed needed to bring this Dracula to life and flesh again." He raised a dark eyebrow. "Give me the Elder Wand Severus and the last of what we need." "Be obliged to do so my lord, but Draco is the one who killed Dumbledore not I so ask him to hand it to you." he shoved Draco into the arms of Lord Voldemort. "Here you are my lord." he said bestowing the Elder Wand to the dark lord.,Voldemort took it and glanced at its mastership he laughed. He took his new wand whisked and aimed it at Peter's chest. "Expelliamus!" Snape closed his eyes tightly but nothing came out of Elder Wand.,"Well I could use my old wand perhaps." He shrugged, "But I will need this wand ready when I face Harry Potter."

A/N Its been a long time coming but we are finally here. Welcome to Following a raven sequel to Following the scent of the lunar flower. Characters old and new return. Let's see what happens.,Kiba's POV,Months had passed since he abandoned his charge. Lykos had chosen the side of humans. Kiba chose the side of wolves as it should be.,He knew when he left that he should have never left Lykos alone. The younger wolf always had a weak spot for lower creatures. Wolves were supposed to be ablve humans. Not below them.,Wolves of all packs and clans had come. A high council meeting was called. It would be the proof his new pack needed to see that he was telling the truth.,The only way to see if the Okami clan still had an heir was to call another pack to take their seat. If magic and the Moon didnt accept the clan then an heir was still out there. If they did accept the new clan then Kiba's life would be forfeit.,Kiba put his life on the line for this because he knew he was right. When the rest of them knew then a hunt would begin. They would find Harrison before he could come into full strength.,There was a brief flare of guilt at what he was planning. Harrison had been like a brother to him. Then again he threw away his heritage and birthright for a human. His choice forced Kiba's hand.,Kiba was no longer the boy's protector. The brotherhood that had been built between them destroyed.,At one time Harrison hated the humans as much as he did. It all changed when he went to Hogwarts. Kiba should have dragged the younger with him on his journey. Just so that he could look after him. Regret filled him but he could not change it. Or change what he had to do in response.,The meeting ground was high in the Scottish mountains. If it wasn't for the pull in his heart most would have never have found it. There was little wonder why the wolf stronghold was never found by the humans who hunted them. Even for a wolf getting to the meeting was difficult.,Wolves of all ages and colors were scattered across the grounds. Some had tents pitched. Others simply built fires and lay next to them. The northern side of the grounds was cordoned off however. That was where the main part of the meeting would take place. Where the high council would decide what needed to happen from here on.,As a a former Okami clan member knew he wouldn't be accepted into the camps that were already made. To make it worse he was a protector who betrayer his heir. Magic would punish him but he didnt know how or when.,The fires were mainly for clans and major packs. He would have to set up his own camp on the outskirts.,As he walked towards an open spot of snowy ground he scented a familiar scent. One that sparked anger in his heart. The scent of the dark forest, Fenrir Greyback. It took all of his self control not to turn around and attack the other. This lunar wolf killed and turned children.,Kiba kept walking knowing if he stopped he would attack the older wolf. He was had been accepted by a pack temporarily. Tonight would determine if he would live to see another moon.,He was thankful when a few hours later he was still undisturbed. He had built a fire and put up the tent he brought with him. There was no telling how long he would be here for. Some meetings lasted a few hours. While others lasted several days to even a week or two. It all depended on what they were debating.,Given who's birthday was just a few weeks priors, it could take awhile. The Heir of the Okami clan lived and would be taking his journey by now. There wasn't a single wolf alive who didn't know the story of their downfall. It was passed down as a reminder and a warning. One did not disobey Inuzaka clan. It would only bring death and destruction down upon them.,Two days passed since his arrival to the mountain. Wolves came and went like the strays they were. Kiba for his part stuck around. He couldn't risk not hearing what the council had to say. If the wolves were going back to war he had to know. He was likely the only wolf that would alert regular humans to what was happening.,There was movement on the northern side of the grounds. It drew the attention of many weary wolves. The full moon had been the night before. Many of them wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away. Despite this they wanted to hear what was going on.,Five men and one woman came into the middle of the grounds. The six current members of the high council. This was the first time he had seen the council in its entirety.,A lead man with brown hair and hazel eyes lead them. It was the Head of the Inuzaka clan. All wolves despite their sleepiness was now on their feet. Head bowed respectively to the most dangerous wolf in their world.,The man said in a deep baritone voice, "Wolves I, welcome you all back to the meeting grounds. Some of you are new to the grounds. While others I have known for many years. Whether new or old I welcome you back. I am Tarren, leader of the Inuzaka clan. I am one of the six heads of the High Wolf Council.",That brought some mummurings out of the other wolves. Most of it came from the younger wolves. All it took was an angery look from the olders for them to quiet again.,Tarren said once it was quiet again, "You are all wondering why you are here. Why after so long a council meeting has been called. I am here to answer those questions.",He paused before continuing, "The last time we all gathered like this it was a dark time. One of our own betrayed us to the the humans. They went so far as to mate with the one the humans.",Those who had ties to the human world made their outrage known. Some still believed the humans would accept them. It was a fools hope.,Tarren said in a colder tone, "Another human came to us. A Noble," roars of outrage sounded louder now. Wolves young and old sounded their displeasure.,A human Noble. Even Kiba hated them for forcing wolves into hiding. It was because of the Nobles, wolves like Greyback existed. The same people kept him from living a normal life.,Another leader far older than Tarren roared in anger, "Silence! Hold your tongues until he is finished.",It was no normal command. It was a command of an alpha wolf. A command felt by every wolf not on the council. Silence quickly followed many of them looking like chastised children.,Tarren continued as if he was never interrupted, "This Noble left behind his weapon and came alone. He came knowing that his life was forfeit the moment he stepped on these sacred grounds. Despite this he showed us the trechary of the Okami Clan Head. It was with that information and an investigation of our own that we uncovered the truth. The Okami Clan would rather live amongst the humans than their own kind. That they were willing to kill fellow wolves to achieve their own goals. Wolves who did nothing wrong! So it was with this we made the attack on the clan grounds.",Anger rose up once more among the wolves. However this time they were able to keep it nearly silent. No one wanted to be reprimanded a second time. It made one feel smaller than an untried puppy.,Another took over for Tarren this time it was the old woman. She said her grey eyes looking out over them, "One of the children who was not accounted for during the war came to us. He told us of a story saying that the Okami clan heir still lives. As you know the Moon will not allow a new clan to take a seat on this council unless it is willingly given. Or we wait until the heir would have gone on their journey. A maximum of seventeen years. The Okami clan heir still lives this very day. A black spirit raven has been seen in the north.",Gasps sounded. There was only one clan that would have an heir old or young enough to make a journey. The Okami Clan heir lived.,Now he knew that the boy was alive and the general direction of travel. Following a black spirit raven. It seemed he would need to get a move on if he wanted to catch up. Wolves as a whole would be making their move. What was said next however made his blood run glacier cold.,Tarren spoke this time, "We believe a legend of old has been activated. If you all remember the Legend of the Book of the Moon," that wasn't just any legend. It was every bedtime story told to wolves since the beginning of time.,Legend of the Book of the Moon was better known as the Legend of Paradise. It was said if one followed the directions of the Book of the Moon they could find paradise. Even Kiba who grew up with humans had heard of it.,It was said there was a book given to each of the clans by the moon . The books however had been burned by humans during the war. The war killed more than half of the living wolves at the time. Both lunar and spirit wolves went in hiding after the war. Not a single Book of the Moon was recovered or saved after the war.,No one had seen the legend in more than a hundred years. Kiba knew that if they followed the legend things could get dicey.,A new war would start between the wolves and humans.

J. K. Rowling y Takao Aoki, son dueños de Harry Potter y Beyblade, respectivamente. Yo hago este fic sin ánimo de lucro, como medio de entretenimiento y ocio., Si no has leído los libros de Harry Potter a partir de ,, habrá spoilers. Al igual si no has visto Beyblade V-Force, puesto se desarrollan en dichas tramas argumentales (aunque, puedes imaginar a los chicos de Beyblade cómo la primera temporada). De éstas, se irá por línea alterna, al cruzarse ambos universos. Algunas de las muertes en el canon podrían respetarse en el caso de HP.,Beyblade y Harry Potter.,No hay ninguna por el momento y al menos en el Universo pottérrico, se respetarán las canon en su mayoría. No yaoi. Entre el , como los ,, sólo habrá amistad.,Era medianoche, en un poblado de Japón. Todo era tranquilo, en especial enfrente de un dojo. Una sombra surgió en un callejón cercano. No se podía apreciar su forma, sin embargo miraba expectante al lugar, queriendo ver el interior de esta construcción. De pronto en su mano brilló una especie de espejo en tono azur y con voz grave dijo:,—Aquí hay un espíritu. Pensé que sería más complicado obtenerla.,Entró al edificio sigilosamente, abrió la puerta sin complicación alguna para él, dada su condición sobrehumana. Encontró lo que buscaba en una espada hecha de jade, sin embargo no contó que dos personas se habían dado cuenta de su entrada.,—No te lo llevarás….,— ¡Ja! Si piensas que dos , como ustedes me detendrán están muy equivocados —al momento saco una varita, señalando a sus agresores—. ,Acto seguido uno de ellos, el más grande, quedo tendido en el suelo tan rígido como piedra. Mientras el otro, mucho más pequeño, miró horrorizado la escena. Después observó al intruso con una intensa mirada de odio.,—Si no quieres que te pase lo mismo niño, deja hacer mi trabajo.,—No te llevarás a ,—el pequeño trataba de ponerse en guardia, a pesar de lo sucedido con su padre.,Sin embargo, el enmascarado volvió a repetir el hechizo en el infante. Ahora nadie lo detendría. La espada emitía un brillo, como de cierta inconformidad, al ser despojado de la familia con que vivía y resguardaba. El extraño miró con asco a sus atacantes, desapareciendo al instante enfrente de sus ojos.,En ese mismo momento, en la entrada de una tienda, en Estados Unidos, sucedía algo similar. Otro ser encapuchado salía del establecimiento con un dije. Se alejaba de esta hasta llegar a la esquina, viendo con regocijo aquel objeto que había robado. Como a su compañero, una luminiscencia, pero de color morada surge entre sus manos.,—Vaya, no pensé que fuera tan sencillo obtener a ,. Esa familia ni siquiera fue un obstáculo para mí.,En otro sitio, también se halla una presencia oscura, sin embargo, sólo puede mirar de lejos, hacia una colina, en la cual se encuentra una gran mansión, en las frías tierras de la Unión Soviética. Ingresó del mismo modo que sus compañeros. Pero como al primero se encontró a un chico que poseía un arco y una flecha en sus manos.,— ¡No te llevarás al fénix de aquí! ¡No sin pasar sobre mi cadáver!,—Hum, por ahora no tengo tiempo, sin embargo puedo jugar contigo. ,El muchacho se retorcía en el suelo, con la sensación de que algo le estaba quemando el pecho. Terminó el castigo. Con un simple movimiento de su varita, quitó una medalla con un escudo de armas que se encontraba. Desapareció ante la vista del joven chico, aún adolorido por la maldición que el extraño le había lanzado.,—Perfecto, obtuve la bestia sagrada. Ahora por el tigre —un objeto brilló en sus manos, haciendo que él se desvanezca en el aire.,Aparece en otro lugar, pero no solo. Eran tres personas en total, sin excepción, vestidas con túnicas negras y con máscaras blancas. Murmuraban para sí. Se hallaban en un poblado de China. Se dirigieron en especial a una construcción grande de la aldea. Ingresaron con facilidad al sitio. Uno de ellos se acercó a la puerta, la cerró y roció en la entrada una sustancia verde. Los otros habían dormido a un guardia, se dirigían a un altar, donde se encontraba una pieza de metal.,—Está sellado, Nott, pero ¿Si el chico despierta?,—No te preocupes, Lestreage —expresó su compañero, con fastidio—. Crabbe le está administrando un poco de poción. No abrirá los ojos, por medio día, aproximadamente —tomó la pieza metálica de su sagrario—. Pensé que sería difícil conseguirlos, pero finalmente, el , las tendrá en su poder.,—Pero no son todas, aún faltan dos —expresó Lestrange, con pesadumbre—. El , no admite errores, y lo sabes Nott.,—Sin embargo no pudimos encontrarlas —Crabbe en ese momento se unía con ellos. —Debemos regresar a Inglaterra.,— ¿Por qué crees que nuestro amo quiera esto?,—Según él, son la llave para conquistar nuestro mundo… y el de los ,.,Se fueron de ahí. Aparecieron en un campo. Recogieron una piedra, sacaron una especie de varita, con la cual tocaron el objeto. Fueron llevados enfrente de una gran y vieja mansión europea. Cerca de esta construcción, había un panteón familiar. Se vislumbraba algunas tumbas rotas. Ingresaron a la casona, subieron las escaleras hasta llegar al ático. Se despedía luz de aquella habitación, un hombrecillo gordo, con apariencia de roedor les dio el paso.,— ¿Las consiguieron? —mencionó una voz fría y silbante.,—Sí, amo —contestaron al unísono.,—Excelente —mostró una pequeña sonrisa. Era un hombre alto, de piel albina, con ojos rojos, nariz parecida a las fosas nasales de una serpiente. Vestía una túnica negra con toques verde venenoso—. Por años las he buscado, sin embargo no pensé que , las poseyeran y las dominaran a la perfección. ,—Significa, amo que…,—Así es, ni Dumbledore podrá detenerme si las tengo en mi poder. Dénmelas.,Él tocó una espada de jade que uno de los enmascarados le había entregado. Sin embargo, él no contó que brillará con tal inmensidad que causara una ceguera temporal. Lo hicieron los demás objetos, la luz que emergía de cada uno de ellos, se convirtieron en centellas, cuatro para ser precisos.,— ¡No dejen que se escapen! —rugía a sus sirvientes, pero para su mala suerte, no tuvieron éxito, puesto aquellos entes, desaparecieron en el acto.,Lejos de la Mansión, reaparecieron los objetos en una especie de oficina, con avioncitos de papel volando de aquí a allá. Se hallaban sobre el escritorio de un joven pelirrojo, que empezaba a trabajar en ese departamento. Sorprendido miró con detalle esas entidades, empero con precaución.,Un libro apareció inmediatamente después de las cosas. Se abrió. El muchacho observaba con cierto temor el volumen. Sin embargo los entes no salieron de ahí. En su lugar, una nota apareció en sus primeras hojas:,Aquel hombre dudó por un instante. Pero por inexplicable que parezca, incluso para él mismo, confió en las palabras de aquel libro. Llegó a las manos de un anciano de barba larga. Sonrió al ver el ejemplar, entregado por el chico pelirrojo. Se encontraba en una habitación circular, con retratos de distintas personas colgadas en la pared.,Se dirigió al centro de su estudio con todas las cosas. Concentrándose, a la vez que hablaba en latín, blandía una varita, la cual emitía una tenue luz blanca. Debajo del hombre, un símbolo extraño se dibujó en el piso, iluminando la estancia.,Por su parte, los objetos brillaban intensamente con los colores que poseían los entes sagrados. Se trasportaron mágicamente a una mansión en la helada Rusia, en la estancia donde aquel niño arquero fue atacado. Las bestias sagradas, en forma de haces de luz, salieron de esa magnífica construcción.,Todos los entes habían retornado al lugar al que pertenecían, esperando el momento indicado para la llegada de su guardián y de su nuevo despertar. Excepto una, deseando quedarse con aquella familia de nueva cuenta. El Fénix regresó a aquel escudo de armas en que estaba situado, para dormir unas décadas más. Por lo menos, podría ocultar su esencia por algún tiempo.,–Heme aquí con otro fic,–Yo creo que no pertenece en esta sección –Comenta Kai, sentado desde un sillón,–Te equivocas hermano...,–Por lo menos termina los otros –me muestra varias hojas tachadas,–Hum... bueno es que... mi imaginación está algo atrofiada, además que este fic ya lo traía desde hace tiempo en mi cabeza. No esperen a que actualice pronto, debido a que me es difícil estar centrada en mis fics, con la escuela mi tiempo se invierte ahí. Es un cross-over de Harry Potter y Beyblade.,–Vaya Isis, muy común el tema ¿no pudiste ser más original?,–No te respondo. Bueno, nos vemos después.

I do not own nor will I ever own Series of Unfortunate Events or Harry Potter.,I do not have a beta reader yet so all mistakes you find are all mine. If anyone is interested in becoming a beta reader for this fanfic please ask in a PM or a review. This first chapter was written in response to a monthly fanfic challenge , this challenge was to write a family focused fic. I hope everyone likes this first chapter!, The Baudelaire children get sent to live with a new relative , a man who goes by the name of Harry Potter and who was a cousin of their father's. Harry , who is actually a wizard , does his best to protect his new family from the man who wants to steal their massive inheritance. ,The Baudelaire orphans Violet, Sunny and Klaus were all very quiet as Mr. Poe drove the car that would take the unfortunate siblings to their next guardian. The children were filled with a sort of quiet worry and fear inside of them, knowing that the horrible Count Olaf had once again escaped capture by means of trickery and a disguise.,The Banker Mr. Poe hummed a cheerful tune as he drove, coughing quite loudly into a handkerchief every now and then as he drove, and quite seemingly oblivious to the Baudelaire's depressing silence.,They had been driving for hours, and were only just entering a new city. The children wondered who their new guardian would be and what they would be like, hoping desperately that the person would be good and kind and would protect them from Olaf's evil schemes to steal their fortune.,"Mr. Poe who is this new guardian? Are they a good person?" asked Klaus suddenly, his voice a quiet tone.,Mr. Poe stopped his humming to answer the child, his voice suddenly took on a disapproving tone at Klaus's last words. "Klaus! What a thing to say! Of course, he's a good person after all he is your family and he volunteered to adopt you.","He's family?" asked Violet.,"Yes!" said Mr. Poe. "He is the cousin of your father, which I think makes him your first cousin once removed. His name is Harry Potter and when I talked with him he seemed very interested in meeting you Baudelaires and adopting you",Violet and Klaus both exchanged looks.,"I hope he's nice." murmured Klaus.,"I hope so too..." Violet said just as quietly back.,When the car finally came to a stop half an hour later the Baudelaire children saw where they would now be living at with their new guardian. It was a two story house that looked quite nice , the exterior made of brick and while it was not a large house from what they could see it didn't appear small either.,The Baudelaire orphans got out of the car, Klaus from the right side and Violet from the left carrying their younger sister Sunny in her arms. Mr. Poe helped the children with their luggage before walking with them to the front door, he then knocked quite firmly upon the door before waiting with the children for the children's new guardian to open the door.,The door soon opened minutes later and revealed to the Baudelaire children and the Banker Mr. Poe the orphan's new guardian.,In front of the young orphans and Mr. Poe stood a thin man of average height. He had short black messy hair that stuck up in every direction, wore a pair of round black glasses and behind those glasses the man had green eyes which was staring and focused on the children. The man also had a scar on his forehead which looked very unique and in the shape of a lightning bolt.,Klaus, Sunny and Violet stared at their new guardian, their uncle Harry, all feeling quite nervous and hoping that he would not be anything at all like the horrible Count Olaf.,After another moment or two the Baudelaire orphan's new guardian gave the children and Mr. Poe a smile before stepping forwards to them and shaking the Banker's hand.,"Hello Mr Poe thank you for bringing them here, I really appreciate it" said Harry.,"Not to worry it is part of my job to find these young orphans a suitable guardian" The Banker paused to cough rather loudly into a handkerchief for just a moment before introducing the Baudelaire children. "Now the boy is Klaus" said Mr. Poe gesturing towards the only boy Baudelaire child. "The young girl with the long hair is Violet and the baby is Sunny",Harry smiled at the children, "It's wonderful to meet you, all three of you. I'm Harry, I am your father's cousin which I guess makes me your uncle." Harry's smile turned sad for a moment as he then said "My condolences for the loss of your parents. Would you like to come inside? I'm sure you're all very tired from the trip here.","We are a bit..." admitted Violet.,Klaus and Sunny both gave nods of agreement.,"Well come in then and I'll show you around the house" said Harry. He then turned his attention back to Mr. Poe, "Mr. Poe would you like to stay for a cup of tea before you leave?",Mr. Poe gave a shook of his head, "No, thank you but I really shouldn't. I must get back to the bank, I will come visit again to check on the children in a weeks time.","Have a safe trip back then",Mr. Poe gave a short nod to Harry, said a quick goodbye to the children and then left leaving the young orphans alone with their new guardian.,After Mr. Poe left Harry led the children inside of the house, Sunny, Violet and Klaus were all very quiet as they followed.,As the Baudelaires followed their new guardian into the house the three children looked around them as they walked. The interior of the house looked like a normal house, it was bigger on the inside than they had expected and seemed very welcoming to them. Close to the entrance there was a lounge room which had a couch, arm chairs and in front of the couch there was a TV set up to a video player and the latest video game console. In between the couch and the TV there was a coffee table which had boxes full of puzzles and video games underneath. Not far from the lounge room there was a dining room with a table big enough for 4 people to comfortably sit at and chairs for them to sit on.,Harry told the children to put down their luggage for now and they did so obediently, their new guardian looked at the orphans, a warm and welcoming smile on his face.,"Okay so we've got the lounge room where you can watch movies , TV and play games if you want" Harry said before pointing over to the dining room , "Over there is the dining room where we will be eating our meals together and if you follow me I'll show you the kitchen next",They soon entered the kitchen, the kitchen was of a modest size with plenty of space to prepare food and plenty of cupboard space. The kitchen had everything that a person would need to cook and prepare food, fridge, stove, pantry, bench tops and dishwasher included.,"You are allowed to help yourself to whatever food you want whenever you are hungry and use the kitchen to cook and prepare food" Harry said before giving a thoughtful pause. He looked in Sunny's direction, a stern look suddenly appearing on his face "Sunny though until she is old enough is not to be cooking any food in the kitchen unsupervised.",Violet and Klaus gave understand nods of acknowledgement, Sunny as well gave a small nod of her own.,"We understand" said Violet.,"Good" said Harry. "I just don't want her to accidentally get hurt while cooking, that's all" explained Harry.,After leaving the kitchen Harry showed Violet, Sunny and Klaus the laundry and then took them upstairs. The children were soon shown the bathroom and walked past a locked room that Harry told them they weren't allowed to open, next to this room however there was a room that served as a mini library.,The bookcases were filled with a wide assortment of fiction and non fiction books of all kinds of genres, Klaus's bespectacled eyes lit up with excitement when he saw all the books.,"Will we be allowed to read all these books?" Klaus asked, hope and excitement in his tone of voice.,Their uncle gave a nod, "Yes, of course Klaus" he said. "Whenever you want" he added with a smile on his face.,Klaus smiled at his uncle's words and so did Violet.,"I'm glad you like it. Now would you like to see the bedrooms?" Harry said.,The children all nodded and they all still had smiles on their faces.,Sunny, Violet and Klaus were all relieved and happy to find out that they all had their own bedrooms. Sunny, Klaus and Violet all had their own beds, wardrobes to store their clothes and everything else a child could need for their bedroom, including some toys and a desk and chair for each bedroom.,Once Harry was finished showing Violet, Sunny and Klaus their new home he helped them take their luggage to their bedrooms and the children started to unpack their belongings.,Harry then left the children alone for a while during which time he started to prepare dinner as now it was very late in the afternoon.,Dinner was a bowl of raw carrots for Sunny and a serving each of Shepard's Pie for the rest of the family.,"Do you like it?" asked Harry as they started to eat.,"It's good, you're a wonderful cook" said Violet, a smile on her face.,Sunny smiled at her uncle and said a few words of baby talk that Harry didn't understand but Klaus quickly translated his sister's words.,"What Sunny means is thank you" said Klaus.,"Oh..." said Harry and he smiled back at the 1 year old. "Well you're very welcome Sunny.","How did you know Sunny prefers hard food? I don't think we've told you yet" asked Violet.,Harry looked to Violet, "I remembered your father mentioning it to me. He also told me that you, Violet like inventing, Sunny likes to bite things and Klaus likes to read",The Baudelaire children smiled and all gave nods, prompting Harry to ask more about their interests, their uncle interested in learning more about them.,Soon, after they had all finished eating dinner they discussed the situation of Count Olaf, Violet was the one who brought up the topic.,The girl had set down her knife and fork upon her plate and looked to her new guardian, who seemed to her so far very kind.,"Um…. Uncle Harry…Did Mr. Poe tell you about Count Olaf?" Violet asked, her voice filled with worry.,Harry didn't answer for a moment but when he did he spoke in a serious tone, "Yes, he did. Mr. Poe said that Count Olaf is a man who has been trying to steal your inheritance. He didn't seem very concerned about it though." A serious frown was on Harry's face, he gave a sigh before saying "Violet and Klaus can you tell me more about what you've been through because of Olaf? I promise you that you are safe here but just in case he does find you children again I need to know more so I can protect you",Violet and Klaus after a moment exchanged looks with each other before nodding and they started to tell their new guardian what they had experienced because of the despicable Count Olaf.,Harry listened intently to the Baudelaire's explanation, giving the children his complete attention. By the time the children were finished speaking it was late at night. Harry reassured them again, promising them again that they would be safe with him and that he would do his best to protect the three of them. He also thanked them for telling him and shortly after told them to get ready for bed.,That night as they tried to get to sleep even though they still felt worried about Count Olaf finding them again all three Baudelaire children couldn't help thinking that their new home was a wonderful place and they hoped sincerely that their new guardian really was as good and kind as he seemed to them so far.

Esta antología de one shot fue escrito en celebración al 1K de seguidores en Wattpad. Al inicio de cada one shot que se publicará semanalmente encontrarás las referencias sobre que pareja protagoniza cada historia.,Las historias y las parejas fueron elegidas mediante encuestas publicadas en la plataforma Wattpad. La encuesta estuvo abierta del lunes 22 de enero al viernes 26 de enero. Se contabilizaron en total 235 votos.,Los más votados fueron:,1. El hilo rojo (100 votos).,2. Mulán (96 votos).,3. Aladdin (80 votos).,1. Peter Pan (123 votos).,2. La sirenita (123 votos).,3. La cenicienta (118 votos).,1. Pocahontas (120 votos).,2. La bella y la bestia (98 votos).,3. Caperucita roja (80 votos).,1. Sirius x Snape (45 votos).,2. Fred x George (38 votos).,3. James x Tom (34 votos).,Gracias a todos los que participaron en la encuesta. Éste es un regalo de mi para ustedes. Estoy realmente sorprendida con el apoyo que he recibido. He llegado al 1K en menos de un año y eso me parece fantástico y extraordinario. Espero sinceramente que mi trabajo les siga gustando tanto como hasta ahora., Si tu pareja favorita o tu cuento favorito no entró en el top 3 no te preocupes, es probable que al terminar los one shot que si entraron en el top tres agregue unos cuantos más. Así que no se desanimen.,Aún no he decidido que historias voy a adaptar a las parejas de una sola mención así que probablemente voy a crear una encuesta más en la que también podrán participar mis lectores de la plataforma fanfiction., El nombre de la antología lo elegí en base a la famosa canción de la bella durmiente. Cuando se encuentra en el bosque con el príncipe Felipe. Sé que la conocen y si no, Lana del rey sacó una versión jaja.

Harry Potter and the Return of Castlevania,ESKK: Yo what's up everyone glad to see you all here for a new fanfic now then most of you have wondered why, I decided to give this fanfic a try. Well the main reason I decided to give this fic a try is because well close to no one has made the attempt at this fic outside of traveling back in time and being adopted. Now I know a lot of you have bashed Dumbledore, Ron, and Hermione but I have a response as to WHY?! I get that you may not like the characters but it just annoys me to no end why you would let this happen out of some petty rage of the false fact of "Dumbledore was a manipulative bastard," or "Ron and his family are just gold diggers," and Hell I even had to put up with "Hermione and Ginny annoy the Hell out of me." Now I get that some of you can be a major lover of Harry Potter but seriously it gets annoying that I can't go one story searches without finding a bashing of certain character. Now I won't stop you but come on bashing a character would scare away readers rather than attract them. Now then let us begin this story. Now then this is a prologue to see how it will be received so please enjoy this fanfic if I decide to continue it.,"Talking.",'Thinking.',",(Scene Break),*Music Insert,Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Castlevania,(Start Prologue),Albus was in Godrics Hollow in a more quiet area as he asked a few old friend to meet him here. He had found something troubling as of late with the two children who lived that night as he saw that the girl had an odd mark on her back which was arcane in origin. He knew of two people who would tell him its tale at best but before he could call them he had received a letter from an old ally of his for a time. Soon he saw a bat fly in before it transformed into a man in a black suit with black hair as he knew who this pale man was.,"Alucard I must confess I was troubled when I received a letter from you before I could contact you." Albus said as Alucard looked.,"My apologies but recent events have come to my attention that I need to inform you of, me and my friend here Richard Belmont." Alucard said as the Vampire Prince gestured to Richard who had somehow got passed Albus senses and was leaning on a tree.,"Yes I had asked Hagrid to wait before he takes them to where they need to be but something has troubled me." Albus said as Alucard looked to the two sleeping children with Albus.,"Yes I know the boy, he has more than that would be Dark Lords soul fragment within him." Alucard said as he walked over to the boy who lived. "I see it the Power of Dominance that my Father once wielded rests within him." Alucard said as the word 'father,' left his mouth with venom.,"The Count himself but it was to my knowledge that Dracula was vanquished forever." Albus said as Richard looked.,"If that were the case then the Belmont's would no longer be needed and the rage within the Vampire Killer would have vanished as well." Richard said as he gestured to the whip on his side of his coat.,"So you say Dracula would still come back." Albus said as Alucard nodded.,"So long as darkness and evil exists within the hearts of men Dracula will never truly vanish. Tom did something at the grounds where Dracula's castle last stood he took something hoping to gain the Counts Power instead he all but ensured his resurrection." Alucard said as Albus looked.,"How long till the Count returns?" Albus asked as Richard looked.,"Hard to tell it can be days, weeks, months, even years before Dracula can return but I do know Death is planning something and it involves those Deathly Hollows he gave out." Richard said as Death was Dracula's most loyal of servants it would be a fools though to think that Death would serve the one who gathers the hollows because Death only serves the King who wields the Crimson Stone.,"I also believe it involves the day Voldemort would revive no doubt Death may use it and the Horcruxes as part of his own ritual to revive his master." Alucard said as Albus knew that. "But the girl… she has something within her does she not?" Alucard asked as Albus looked.,"Yes." Albus said as Alucard picked the girl up and looked upon her back and saw the symbol upon it.,"The Order of Ecclesia's Glyph Magic." Alucard said as he looked at the seal before placing the girl back in the stroller.,"Ecclesia it still exists?" Albus said as Alucard nodded.,"Yes the girl is the only one left who has it now, it's even more shocking the first Glyph was already upon her body." Alucard said as Albus looked. "Putting her with her relatives would be a fool's decision because she is a threat to Deaths ambition to reviving Dracula. In fact if the two stay together the Wards you intend to place would prove useless because the Glyph Magic was created using an offshoot of Dracula's power and the fact that Harry Potter holds a small piece of that power himself the two would be a basic beacon to all of Dracula's followers Death especially since they are the descendants of the Cloaks first holder." Alucard said as he looked upon the two.,"Are you suggesting we separate them?" Albus asked as that was something he did not wish to do. He knew that the Dursley family would treat the two poorly but they are all the family they have left. To separate them would be forcing a family apart and Albus did not wish for that.,"I am sorry but having them this close even now can attract Dracula's followers and the cults who still worship him." Alucard said as Richard sighed.,"This is becoming one big mess." Richard said knowing that if the Wizarding World learns Dracula was coming back just after Voldemort was slayed they would all be fearful of that thought "The Vatican can watch over the girl seeing as the Order of Ecclesia serves the Vatican with the Belmont's in the eternal battle against Dracula's forces she will be the safest there amongst the strongest of Wizard and Priests." Richard said knowing that there were Witches and Wizards amongst the Vatican who served in the background to combat Dracula regardless of the past Witch Hunts.,As long as she is able to call it home the seals there will be far stronger than anywhere but only so long as they are kept separated." Alucard said as he hated this option but they didn't have a choice in the matter.,"When will they be reunited?" Albus asked as Alucard looked.,"Any Witches or Wizards and children with magic under the Vatican's watch would all be home schooled by them in the mystic arts so the Italian Ministry won't have the girl join the school there but I hold no illusion that Voldemort will want both of them here thinking at least one of them is destined to defeat him, the fool." Alucard said as his Vampire half that came from his father would have gladly challenged any foe who comes to him instead of running and hiding like a coward from Death.,"Very well, then I shall entrust Rose Lily Potter to the Church and the Order of Ecclesia." Albus said as Alucard nodded and picked up Rose Potter and held her carefully.,"I have a son of my own she will not be alone that much is for certain." Richard said knowing his own son would be the next in line to wield the Vampire Killer.,"Very well." Albus said as he hoped Rose would grow up happily. 'To think the Prophesy may in fact had been referring to Dracula this whole time.' Albus said as he knew the Prince of Darkness was a being even Grindelwald and Voldemort feared.,Alucard passed Rose to Richard who rocked her no doubt with experience with his own son as the girl was kept calm by it. "We promise you by the time young Harry here is in his third year Rose will return." Alucard said as he looked to him. "For now though I will keep a close eye on Harry with the Dursely's if they go too far I will step in." Alucard said as Albus understood as this would keep Dracula' forces off of the both of them. Keep them separated and protected so Dracula's forces won't think twice to try and take them by force.,(Scene Break Vatican a week later),Richard arrived at the Vatican as he was lucky he didn't bump into any foes as he opened the door and entered the hidden room beyond the Chapel. As he entered he was met with many nuns and priests as they carried about their business as he walked over to another room before opening it and was met with a nun who had the mark of the Order of Ecclesia on her clothing as she was looking after some children as she saw him and was surprised to see Richard Belmont.,"Sir Belmont I didn't expect you to arrive so soon." She said as Richard looked.,"It's no problem but is this little ones room prepared?" He asked the young nun as she nodded.,"Yes it is Sir-Belmont." She said as he then nodded. "Then I leave young Rose Lily Potter here in your and the Order of Ecclesia's capable hands." Richard said as he passed the sleeping Rose to the nun who simply nodded and rocked the girl to keep her calm as she began to squirm a bit.,The young woman saw the young Rose as the girl was asleep as she saw the young infant as other children began to surround her. "Who's she?" One of them asked as the nun looked.,"An orphaned Child God had put in my path." The woman said as she looked at young Rose and could already tell this child fate was with the Order but for what purpose she didn't know. "She will be raised amongst us so please do treat her fairly for all of her gifts." The woman said as the children understood as it would be fun to have another little one running about. "Rose Lily Potter the one with the lost Glyph Magic of the Order of Ecclesia, May God forever shine his light upon you little one." The nun said as she held Rose who squirmed a bit before getting comfortable.,(TBC),ESKK: Now before any of you ask yes this is an OC story and yes this chapter was the prologue. Mainly because I'm personally not sure if I will continue this story or not but hey that's life for you right there. Now then here are the OC that will appear.,Name: Rose Lily Potter,Age: 14,Occupation: Glyph Magic user and Vampire Hunter of the Order of Ecclesia's Nunnery.,Appearance: Red hair with blue eyes so she looks very much like her mother but with her father's eyes.,Name: Ferron Orin,Age: 14,Occupation: Pack Leader of the Cornell Tribe of Lycans as direct descendants of Cornell the first Werewolf to make peace with the Beast inside which he taught to his children and in turn taught to his descendants.,Origin: Current head of the Pack and has been told of Dracula's possible revival by the Centaurs who then prepare Ferron for the inevitable confrontation and to aid their ally the Belmont Clan of Vampire Hunters to destroy Dracula forever. He is the Youngest Tribe Head as his father was struck down by the Werewolf Fenrir Greyback after they refused to side with Lord Voldemort or aid in seeking him out. Fenrir was outsmarted that day when the pack left only acknowledging the ones who made peace with the beast inside as there alpha. Ferron now aids the Potter Twins and Gabriel Belmont in their battle against the Dark Lord Dracula.,Gabriel Belmont,Age: 14,Occupation: Vampire Hunter of the Vatican,Origin: Gabriel seeks one goal to destroy Dracula forever as entrusted to him by his father Richard Belmont. This duty is one he intends to fulfil that her cuts his ties to his past and looks torts a future without the Dark Lord Dracula tainting it. He aids Harry, Rose, and Ferron in the hopes of freeing his family of the duty to hunt down Dracula and all those who reside in the night.,Name: Vincent Darkwind,Age: 14,Occupation: Devil Forgemaster,Origin: He is the last Devil Forgemaster in the world as it was agreed many years ago that there would only be two at any given time until the art can be used for good without corruption. Vincent is the last master and intends to forge the Ultimate Spell that would forever banish Dracula from the world forever.,ESKK: Ok so since we all have this out of the way and the OC's to appear I hope to see you all soon so leave a review before you leave and as always ja ne.

S.O.S,Se trouver au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment, encore une fois. Voila comment Harry Potter rencontra le Joker.,L'univers de Harry Potter ou même Suicide Squad ne m'appartiennent pas. Dommage j'aurai bien épousé le Joker -_-,Harry Potter/Joker,K+/T,Je pressais le pas en tentant d'ignorer les sirènes de police qui résonnaient dans toute la ville depuis près de deux heures. Je ne savais pas vraiment ce qu'il se passait, même si l'explosion qui avait eu lieu au sommet d'un immense building devait y être pour quelque chose. En fait, je m'en fichais pas mal. Pour le moment tout ce qui m'intéressait c'était de retournais à ma chambre d'hôtel avant qu'Oncle Vernon ne s'aperçoive de mon absence. Je savais que si tel était le cas je risquais de le regretter amèrement. Et je ne pensais pas que ma journée d'errance dans cette trop grande ville valait une correction. J'avais été idiot de penser que je pourrais m'amuser alors que je n'avais même pas de quoi me payer plus qu'une canette de coca.,Je m'arrêtais devant un nouvel embranchement de ruelles, peu sûr de la direction à prendre. Il y a une quinzaine de minutes j'avais décidé de couper par les petites rues en ayant l'impression de reconnaître celles que j'avais emprunté pour m'éloigner discrètement de l'hôtel mais j'avais plutôt l'impression de me perdre un peu plus.,Bon sang, il était presque dix-huit heure, les Dursley allaient bientôt rejoindre leurs chambres et vérifier si j'étais toujours dans la mienne. Ce qui n'était pas le cas. Oncle Vernon avait été clair quand nous sommes arrivés il y a six jours J'étais ici uniquement parce que je voyage était pour quatre et qu'ils ne voulaient pas me laisser seul chez eux. Je n'avais pas le droit de sortir, de me montrer aux repas autre que le diner, pour éviter les questions, de plus la porte était fermée de l'extérieur par Oncle Vernon. La marque qui était resté près de trois jours sur mon poignet avait bien mit en lumière la menace.,Je soupirais alors que mon regard descendait vers ma montre qui égrainait inlassablement les minutes sans considération pour la panique que je commençais à ressentir.,Pitié, ne pouvais-je pas avoir ne serait-ce qu'un soupçon de chance pour une fois dans ma vie ?,Je levais les yeux pour tenter d'apercevoir un morceau de l'enseigne de l'hôtel qui était très haut perché dans mes souvenirs. Et là je le vis entre deux bâtiments.,Je m'empressais de reprendre mon chemin, gardant le nez en l'air pour ne surtout pas perdre l'enseigne de vue et m'égarer à nouveau. Ce n'était pas très sécuritaire pour mes doigts de pieds mais peu m'importait. Il valait mieux des orteils un peu amochés contre un quelconque obstacle qu'une correction d'Oncle Vernon.,Je courrais presque vers l'hôtel quand je butais contre quelque chose. Emporté par la vitesse et mon poids, j'eu beau battre des mains je ne réussis pas à me retenir et je m'étalais de tout mon long sur l'obstacle. Je pris une profonde respiration pour lâcher un chapelet de juron tout en rouvrant les yeux que j'avais fermé, quand l'odeur du sang me pris au nez. Devant moi une mare de sang, mon nez était à quelques centimètres du liquide poisseux et j'avais mes mains en plein dedans.,Je restais immobile devant le sang, incapable de ne pas repenser à ce qui avait marqué ma fin d'année, au Ministère, à Sirius. Soudainement, je me repris, me rejetant sur mes fesses pour reculer jusqu'au mur en face le souffle court. Je me mis à essuyer frénétiquement mes mains sur mon t-shirt et mon jean, la gorge sèche, un cri coincé dans celle-ci.,Le corps tremblant, je me forçais à relever les yeux pour observer ce qu'il y avait devant moi.,Un humain, un corps entourait par une flaque de sang qui était plutôt conséquente, prouvant que le corps était là depuis un long moment. Même lorsque je me plaquais contre le mur et recroquevillais mes pieds le sang n'était pas loin de moi. J'aurai pu difficilement l'éviter.,-Hummm… Monsieur ? Murmurais-je d'un filet de voix peu sûr. Monsieur ? Répétais-je à peine plus fort sans qu'il n'y ait la moindre réaction.,Que devais-je faire ?,Devais-je appeler les secours ?,Je n'avais pas de portable, je ne savais pas où j'étais exactement.,Il fallait peut-être que je vérifie si la personne était en vie.,Et si je m'en allais comme si je n'avais rien vu ?,Non je ne pouvais pas faire ça. C'était non-assistance à personne en danger. Je ne pouvais pas fuir comme un lâche.,Je me relevais en utilisant le mur comme d'un appuie. Je m'approchais à petits pas, essayant d'éviter de marcher au maximum dans le sang, mais franchement c'était compliqué. A chaque fois que je soulevais un pied cela faisait un petit bruit de succion, absolument dégueu.,Enfin, je fus juste à côté de la personne. Celle-ci était face contre terre, je ne voyais que ses cheveux verts, sa chemise aussi rouge que le sang, des bretelles noires, le pantalon en tissu noir et les chaussures de ville. J'allais devoir retourner la victime pour vérifier si elle était en vie.,Prenant mon courage à deux mains j'attrapais une épaule et je fis basculer avec difficulté la personne.,Ce que je vis me figea sur place. Je sentis tout mon sang quitter mon visage alors que je faisais face à la victime… à l'homme à terre. La peur me prit au tripe alors même que l'autre ne manifestait pas le moindre signe de vie. Mais je ne savais pas vraiment si c'était un bon signe pour moi.,Je déglutis, regardais à droite puis à gauche qu'il n'y avait bien que moi dans la ruelle avant que mon regard ne retomber sur le visage du Joker, un Maître du Crime qui faisait couler autant de sang que d'encre à New York. Il était comme sur toutes les photos qui étaient diffusaient un peu partout, je ne pouvais pas ne pas le reconnaître. Le mot « Damaged » tatoué sur son front était aussi une bonne indication sur qui me faisait face. Les deux holsters avec les flingues à l'intérieurs, ce que j'avais pris pour des bretelles de dos, n'étaient pas pour me rassurer.,Pourtant, je ne pouvais rester planter là. J'avais fait le plus gros, il ne manquait plus que je me penche et pose deux doigts sur sa gorge pour vérifier s'il était vivant. Je pouvais le faire.,Prenant de profondes respirations je finis par me retrouver accroupit, écoutant, sentant le pouls faible mais régulier du tueur. En fait, d'aussi près je pouvais voir le très léger mouvement de sa respiration.,Je m'écartais rapidement après m'être assuré qu'il était en vie. Contemplant le corps à quelques mètres, distance de sécurité, ne sait-on jamais. Ce type était un vrai monstre quand on écoutait ses exploits à la télévision ou les lisait dans le journal. Il pouvait tout aussi bien soudainement se lever et me tirer une balle dans la tête.,Bien, je faisais-je à présent ?,Il était vivant, devais-je trouver un téléphone et prévenir la police ? Au vu de l'agitation et de l'état du Joker il ne fallait pas aller loin pour deviner qu'il était au moins lié à l'explosion.,Mais en même temps le Joker avait des risques de mourir le temps que je réussisse à prévenir quelqu'un. Me croira-t-on au moins ?,Ces amis allaient bien finir par le retrouver si je laissais là non ? Même si la flaque de sang me semblait franchement inquiétante. N'allait-il pas y passer si je le laissais là ?,Purée, j'avais laissé mes empreintes partout dans le sang en plus !,Non, il valait mieux que je me casse en vitesse. J'avais déjà assez de soucis, je n'avais pas besoin d'en ajouter plus.,Je pris un peu de temps pour tout de même recouvrir au mieux mes pas par du sang encore frais, grimaçant en sentant le liquide sur mes mains. Puis je me retournais pour reprendre mon chemin d'un pas pressé. Mais je fus bien incapable de faire plus de quelques pas avant de me retourner et de contempler le corps toujours au même endroit.,Je me sentais mal de le laisser ainsi, crever comme un chien. Mais si Oncle Vernon avait vent de tout ça, si jamais je me retrouvais embarqué dans une quelconque affaire j'allais le regretter. Et le tueur me fichait les jetons.,Je repris ma marche et m'arrêtais à nouveau, soupirant profondément.,Je ne pouvais vraiment pas le laisser pour mort.,J'en était absolument incapable.,Je fis demi-tour, sachant parfaitement que j'allais m'en vouloir par la suite.,Je sursautais, manquant de lâcher brutalement le Joker que je venais juste de faire passer par la fenêtre de la salle de bain, accès par lequel j'étais sorti le matin même. J'entendais le pas lourd d'Oncle Vernon qui arrivait plutôt rapidement jusqu'à ma porte.,Le cœur palpitant à cent à l'heure suite à l'effort que je venais de fournir et à la peur qui commençait à submerger, je me déshabillé le plus vite possible pour me débarrasser de mes vêtements couverts de sang. Puis, j'attrapais ceux de la veille que j'enfilais tout aussi vite.,J'entendis la clef tourner dans la porte alors que je m'empressais de me laver soigneusement les mains. Pas le temps de les essuyer ou même vérifier l'état du criminel que je me jetais dans la chambre, refermant soigneusement la porte, me frottant les mains sur mon jean alors même qu'Oncle Vernon entrait.,Il avait son visage rouge de fureur, le souffle encore plus court que moi, alors qu'il refermait brusquement la porte derrière lui.,-Garçon ! Ne t'avais-je pas dit de rester dans cette chambre jusqu'à notre départ ?,-Oui Oncle Vernon, c'est ce… Tentais-je en espérant qu'il voulait juste une excuse pour m'en mettre une.,Mal m'en prit.,Il m'attrapa par l'encolure de mon t-shirt, me colla violement contre le mur alors qu'il approchait son visage de moi. Je pouvais sentir son haleine chargé d'alcool tandis qu'il reprenait.,-Ne joue pas au plus malin avec moi Garçon. Nous sommes rentrés depuis près d'une heure parce que Dudley était fatigué. Pensais-tu pouvoir nous tromper en rentrant tout juste à l'heure à laquelle nous étions censés arriver ?,A ces paroles j'en oublié totalement le Joker qui pouvait parfaitement se décider à se réveiller et venir participer à la scène. Oncle Vernon avait bu, il était absolument furieux et j'avais réussi à lui donner une excellente raison de se défouler sur moi.,A peine avais-je pensé cela que je me pris un coup de poing dans le ventre me faisant me plier en deux pour récupérer un peu d'air et adoucir la douleur. Un autre coup suivit en pleine face avant que je ne m'effondre sonné.,Alors que j'essayais de me reprendre j'entendis la ceinture d'Oncle Vernon coulisser tandis qu'il l'enlevait. Je pus tout juste reprendre mon souffle qu'il m'assenait le premier coup dans le dos.,-Pas un mot Garçon, ou ce sera dix coups en plus.,Je me mordis les lèvres, la langue pour retenir les gémissements.,Les coups s'égrainaient, jamais au même rythme, sur mes épaules, mon dos, le haut de mes fesses, me coupant le souffle à chaque fois. J'entendais le souffle irrégulier d'Oncle Vernon alors qu'il me les assenait, un bref coup d'œil vers lui me permis de voir un sourire sur son visage. Je m'empressais de détourner le regard au coup suivant.,Cela dura longtemps, à certains moments je cru même que j'allais m'évanouir, et à d'autre que des cris allaient s'échapper de mes lèvres. Mais je tins bon, aussi silencieux que possible pour éviter tout coups supplémentaires. Mon visage me brulait du côté gauche, et je devinais qu'un bleu y faisait son apparition.,-Bien, j'espère que cela te servira de leçon Garçon. Et ne t'avise pas de descendre manger.,Tu devras être prêt à midi pour descendre nos valises et prendre l'avion.,Et il sortit enfin de la chambre, me laissant au bord de l'inconscience sur le sol de la chambre.,Je l'entendis à nouveau tourner la clef de la porte puis s'éloigner tout en saluant une quelconque personne.,Je serais les poings pour me donner du courage mais surtout garder le cri de rage que j'avais en travers de la gorge. Je devais rester le plus calme possible. Cela ne servait à rien de faire quoi que ce soit, je n'aurai pas gain cause.,Me relevant difficilement je grimaçais un sourire à Edwidge qui hulula doucement dans ma direction.,-Tout va bien ma fille. Murmurais-je tout en rejoignant ma malle, me souvenant parfaitement que j'avais un criminel dans ma salle de bain.,J'attrapais ma malle que je trainais lentement vers la salle de bain, ouvrant la porte avec l'estomac serait de peur de me retrouver face à un cadavre. Je ne savais pas trop combien de temps s'était passé et j'espérais vraiment que l'homme était toujours en vie.,Un bref soupir m'échappa alors que j'aperçus le très léger mouvement de respiration du Joker.,Laissant tomber ma malle près de lui en évitant la flaque de sang qui recommençait à se former, refermant la porte derrière-moi, je m'asseyais, tombant presque au sol.,Les bras tremblant, la tête un peu flou suite à la correction que je venais de me prendre, je me mis à fouiller dans mes affaires scolaires qui m'avaient suivies jusqu'ici.,Je mis la main sur la moitié d'une Potion de Régénération Sanguine que j'avais volé chez Snape avant mon départ de Poudlard. N'hésitant qu'un bref instant j'ouvris la bouche de l'homme pour le forcer à boire la décoction infâme. Il en avait bien plus besoin que moi à cet instant. Je n'avais qu'à prier que son statut de Moldu n'empêche pas la Potion de faire effet. Je me débrouillerai bien pour les deux semaines qui me restaient avant la rentrée.,Une fois sûr que l'homme avait bien avalé et qu'il n'allait pas s'étouffer, je pris mon courage à deux main pour lui enlever son holster et sa chemise. Cela me prit un temps fou, bien plus que si j'avais été en forme pour le faire. Surtout que je m'arrêtais à chaque geste pour surveiller la respiration du Joker et m'assurer qu'il restait dans les vapes.,Je fis soigneusement glisser les armes hors de portée du criminel, sait-on jamais, avant de me pencher sur le torse pâle de l'homme. Je m'attardais à peine sur les tatouages pour le moins originaux et nombreux qui parcouraient sa peau, me concentrant sur les trois trous qui ornaient son corps.,On lui avait tiré dessus et ce n'était pas pour jouer.,Une balle l'avait touché à l'épaule droite, heureusement il me suffit de soulever un peu le criminel pour voir qu'elle était ressortie. Deux autres balles l'avaient cueilli en plein ventre et semblaient toujours à l'intérieur. Et après je m'étonnais qu'il saignait comme un porc.,Que pouvais-je bien faire ?,J'étais un gros crétin de croire que j'allais pouvoir soigner ce type.,Je n'avais jamais soigné quelqu'un d'autre que moi-même après le Quiditch.,Je n'avais pas le moindre brevet, et voilà que j'avais un blessé par balle devant moi.,Comment devais-je extraire ces balles ?,Je me penchais une nouvelle fois sur l'homme, observant du mieux possible les deux trous béants, dans l'espoir de voir les balles, sans que celui-ci ne se réalise.,Allais-je devoir y mettre les doigts au risque de les enfoncer encore plus loin ?,A moins que… dans mon matériel de Potion j'avais une pince à disséquer pour certain ingrédient. Le criminel n'en saura jamais rien. Je m'assurais que ce soit le cas en tout cas.,Sortant toute ma trousse liée aux Potions je sortis les pinces, puis une épine de Chardon Sorcier qui me servira d'aiguille et de la soie d'araignée qui fera office de fils.,Si jamais Snape ou le Joker apprenaient ce que je trafiquais j'étais mort.,La peur au ventre de faire pire que mieux, j'enfonçais précautionneusement la pince dans la plaie, fermant les yeux pour écouter les sons peu ragoutants et surtout sentir la moindre pression.,La première vint, diront-nous, toute seule.,La deuxième, je crois que je dû toucher quelque chose, en tout cas le débit de sang augmenta brutalement alors que j'extrayais la balle. En pleine panique je me jetais sur le fond de Potion de Soin Mineur que j'avais aussi piqué à Snape et je forçais le Joker à le boire sans cérémonie. Je restais longuement à compresser la blessure avant de voir que le sang ne coulait plus, bien que les blessures n'étaient pas refermées.,Avec un peu de chance la Potion avait fait son office à l'intérieur mais la quantité et sa puissance n'étaient pas suffisantes pour faire plus.,Grimaçant, je me mis à la difficile tâche de recoudre mon patient, souhaitant plus que tout de pouvoir fermer les yeux pour ne pas voir mon aiguille improviser transpercer la peau à chaque point.,Cela me prit un bon moment pour recoudre le Joker. En plus les points étaient un véritable massacre, surement très mal fait, et dénaturant un peu les tatouages. J'étais sûr que cela allait laisser des cicatrices. Mais le Joker était vivant non ? N'était-ce pas le principal ? Puis qui avait idée de se tatouer, plusieurs fois, « Ahahahaaha ». Franchement très original ce criminel.,Je terminais par recouvrir le tous des bandages qui me servaient normalement pour le Quiditch.,Je me relevais pour me laver les mains avant de me rebaisser pour soulever au mieux l'homme.,Au moins le sang au sol avait fini par sécher et j'arrêtais enfin d'en mettre partout. Soutenant le criminel d'un côté, ouvrant la porte de l'autre, je le trainais vers mon lit pour l'y laisser tomber un peu brusquement.,Le corps tremblant de fatigue j'installais l'homme au mieux sous les draps avant de repartir nettoyer la salle de bain. J'avais mal partout mais je ne pouvais pas laisser la pièce dans cet état.,Aussi je rassemblais tous les vêtements souillés par le sang et je les enfournais dans un sac que je larguerais dans l'incinérateur de l'hôtel dès que possible. Je rangeais mon matériel dans ma malle une fois que je les eux nettoyé, et je me mis à essuyer le sang qui se trouvait un peu partout sur le carrelage. Ce fut facile mais éreintant.,Une fois que je me fus assuré qu'il ne restait plus trace de sang j'attrapais les armes du Joker avec un frisson d'angoisse et je ramenais le tout dans la chambre. Je me baissais pour dissimuler les armes sous le lit, hors de portée du Joker ou du regard des autres. C'est là que j'aperçus les menottes et les clefs qui étaient sagement attachées au holster, de tel façon qu'au premier regard une personne lambda pouvait penser que cela faisait partie intégrante du holster.,Je n'eus qu'une seconde d'hésitation avant de me relever les menottes en main.,Il valait mieux rendre un peu plus furieux le Joker en l'attachant et en restant en vie que de me faire surprendre et de mourir sans avoir rien put dire.,J'attachais son poignet gauche au cadre du lit, le laissant dans une position certes inconfortable mais sécuritaire pour moi.,Je plaçais la clef sous la garde d'Edwidge qui gonfla ses plumes d'importance face à ma confiance. Il y en avait au moins une d'heureuse de la situation.,Et enfin, enfin, je pu me laisser tomber contre le mur un peu plus loin pour dormir.,Je prenais doucement le pouls du Joker, les yeux vissés sur ma montre afin de compter les battements de cœur de celui-ci. J'avais été presque surpris de voir que l'homme respirait toujours à mon réveil et que sa peau, bien que toujours très blanche, ne l'était plus de façon maladive.,Peut-être n'étais-je pas si mauvais fin…,Je glapis de surprise alors qu'une poigne de fer se refermait brusquement sur mon poignet, me maintenant dans sa position alors que dans un réflexe idiot de tirais dessus pour le récupérer. Incapable de reculer ou de faire le moindre mouvement, je relevais lentement les yeux pour tomber dans un regard encore plus vert que le mien.,De nombreuses personnes disaient que mes yeux étaient hypnotiques, déstabilisant, ils n'avaient jamais dû croiser ceux du Joker. Je sentis le sang quitter mon visage tandis que je déglutissais péniblement. Le regard était perçant, comme s'il voyait bien plus loin que ce qu'un Moldu pouvait voir.,Le rictus que je voyais se dessiner sur les lèvres trop rouges du Joker ne m'aida pas à garder la tête froide.,Le Joker était réveillé, et il était encore plus flippant qu'à la télévision, ou inconscient.,-Qui es-tu ? Susurra-t-il d'une voix particulièrement menaçante, sautant toutes les étapes de présentations.,Je compris pourquoi les Moldus avaient si peur de lui.,J'avais déjà vu Voldemort plusieurs fois, je lui avais fait face.,Bien sûr j'avais eu peur, c'était tout de même un sorcier puissant et fou.,Mais lui, lui c'était pire.,Il me regardait, me scrutait comme si j'étais une mouche particulièrement agaçante dont il pouvait se débarrasser d'un seul geste. Il était calme alors que je savais qu'il ne pouvait avoir manqué les menottes que je lui avais passé.,Pire, il me regardait moi et uniquement moi, pas Le Survivant, pas Le Sauveur, ni même Harry Potter, non il voyait le jeune adolescent paumé que j'étais. Celui qui l'avait trainé et soigné sans même savoir pourquoi.,-Harrry Po…Potter. Bafouillais-je rien que pour qu'il arrête de me fixer ainsi.,Il cligna enfin des yeux, me relâchant de leur emprise.,Je poussais un bref soupir de soulagement, mais il n'en avait pas fini avec moi.,-Libère-moi. Me dit-il.,Pas de demande, pas de question, juste un ordre comme s'il s'attendait à être obéit dans l'instant.,Je dû me reprendre à deux fois avant de répondre :,-Non.,Ce fut tout ce que je fus capable de dire, mais cela suffit à ce qu'il m'accorde à nouveau toute son attention, ce dont je me serais passé. Ses doigts se resserrèrent davantage sur mon poignet. Je devais me mordre les lèvres pour ne pas gémir de douleur. S'il continuait il allait me le casser.,Mais pourquoi l'avais-je aidé ?,-Je dois finir de vous examiner. Continuais-je d'une voix faible, tirant à nouveau sur mon poignet pour tenter de le libérer.,Son sourire s'élargit davantage si cela était possible, je m'attendais à ce qu'il argumente, mais d'un seul coup il m'avait libéré, reposant sa main sur le lit.,C'était tellement étrange par rapport à toutes les personnes que j'avais croisé jusqu'à présent. Lâchait-il l'affaire aussi facilement ? Son sourire me disait que non, ses mouvements le contraire.,Prenant mon courage à deux mains je finis de repousser la couverture pour dévoiler son torse jusqu'à la ceinture de son pantalon que je n'avais pas enlevé la veille. Surveillant le Joker, je me baissais tout de même pour retirer les bandes et observer les points de sutures. Une main sur le lit pour me stabiliser, je posais l'autre juste à côté des plaies, appuyant par endroit pour vérifier la solidité de mon travail mais aussi si la peau avait retrouvé une température normale.,Je voyais ses muscles se raidirent sous mes gestes, roulant sous sa peau sans que le moindre gémissement ne me parvienne. Ces simples gestes me donnaient l'impression que le sourire sur son ventre bougeait.,Je fis glisser mon regard et mes mains un peu plus haut pour vérifier également la blessure par balle à l'épaule, détournant le visage au maximum pour ne pas le regarder dans les yeux.,-Je pense qu'il y aura des cicatrices, je suis désolé. Murmurais-je.,Aussi vive qu'un serpent sa main droit m'attrapa le menton alors que je commençais à m'éloigner, baissant ma garde. Il ne semblait sincèrement pas faire grand cas de la blessure qu'il avait à l'épaule alors qu'il me forçait à monter sur le lit, le surplombant, mon visage au-dessus du sien. Pourtant en aucun cas j'avais le dessus. Sa main droite comprimait fortement ma mâchoire, et seul mes mains posées de part en part de sa tête m'empêchaient de tomber sur lui.,Il ne dit mot. Il continuait de m'observer, je ne savais pas ce qu'il voyait, ce qu'il pouvait penser de moi, la seule réaction était ce sourire un peu fou qui ne l'avait pas quitté depuis son réveil.,Etait-ce mon côté gauche du visage qui devait avoir pris une teinte jaune qui l'intriguait ?,J'aurai aimé qu'il s'exprime avec des mots et non avec ces actions si étranges. Cette position tirait sur mon dos, me rappelant la correction que j'avais eu la veille. Je faisais tout pour ne pas bouger, espérant qu'il me libèrerait sans que je n'ai à me débattre.,Soudain, il m'attira un peu plus à lui, collant sa bouche à la mienne.,J'en fus si surpris que j'en oublié d'en profiter quand il me lâcha la mâchoire, sa main allant se loger dans ma nuque m'empêchant à nouveau toute retraite.,Je sentis un vague sourire sur ses lèvres avant qu'il ne les entrouvrent, sa langue venant lécher les miennes. Je les gardais serrées, essayant de lui faire comprendre par mes simples yeux qu'il devait me lâcher, mais cela ne sembla pas le toucher.,Une jambe vint s'inviter dans la danse, glissa le long des miennes et avant que je ne comprenne, il la passa au-dessus de mes fesses me bloquant tous mouvements.,Il me laissa d'un seul coup juste assez de moue pour que j'écarte mon visage de quelques centimètres du sien, nullement troublé par notre position.,-Que faites-vous ? Chuchotais-je clairement apeuré de la tournure que prenaient les évènements.,-Une compensation pour les cicatrices voyons. Me répondit-il le plus naturellement du monde.,-Qu…,Je me fis prendre au piège, alors que ma tête était à nouveau attirée vers la sienne, profitant de mes paroles pour entrer sa langue dans ma bouche. Je fis tout pour reculer, je me laissais même tomber sur lui, et donc tout mon poids, sur ses blessures mais rien ne me libéra. Bien que je sentis un bref raidissement de ses muscles, signe que je lui avais fait mal, cela ne l'empêcha pas de continuer.,Sa langue glissa le long de mes dents sans se presser, puis vint titiller la mienne. Quelque peu dégoutté, mon premier baisé ne fut pas des plus réussis, je bougeais ma langue pour l'éviter au maximum. Je sentis un nouveau sourire fleurir sur ses lèvres alors qu'il la suivait, jouant avec moi.,Il réussit par la coincer, la toucher, m'emporter dans son jeu, son ballet qui n'avait rien à voir avec celui de Cho.,Alors que je commençais à perdre mon souffle il me laissa assez de place pour que je m'écarte. Là, il s'éloigna, sa langue léchant mes lèvres alors qu'elle regagnait sa bouche.,Les yeux écarquillés je l'observais tout en cherchant mon souffle. Allait-il se foutre de moi ?,Non, il restait toujours aussi neutre si ce n'est ce fichu sourire qui avait repris sa place sur ses lèvres.,Je me laissais une nouvelle fois tenté alors qu'il m'embrassait encore une fois, bien plus dominateur dans le baisé sans que cela ne me gêne réellement.,Mes yeux se fermèrent pour apprécier le baiser. Jamais je n'aurai crû que cela pouvait être aussi bon.,Son bassin vint se coller contre le mien, m'électrisant, me faisant frissonner des pieds à la tête…avant que je ne me fige. Redressant la tête qu'il ne maintenait plus, ses doigts ayant glissé sous mon t-shirt dans mon dos, je repris mes esprits. Sans qu'il ne me retienne davantage je sortis rapidement du lit, me tenant à distance raisonnable.,Je pouvais voir son désire malgré son pantalon, et je n'avais pas besoin de baisser la tête pour voir le mien.,J'ouvris la bouche le pointant du doigt, la refermé incapable de dire quoi que ce soit face à son éternel sourire.,Des pas m'empêchèrent d'aller plus loin et fit s'enfuir toute libido alors que je me précipitais vers la porte, bloquant la vue d'Oncle Vernon dans le cas où il l'ouvrait.,-Garçon, nous partons dans une heure. Si tu n'es pas prêt…,-Oui Oncle Vernon, je monte chercher les valises. M'empressais-je de répondre afin qu'il n'entre pas.,Je m'assurais qu'il était bien parti avant de me retourner.,-Je… je vais donner l'adresse de l'hôtel à tes… amis ? Ils pourront te récupérer en toute discrétion. Marmonnais-je en m'activant soudainement.,Pas une réponse de la part du Joker, juste ses yeux qui continuaient à m'observer.,Tentant d'en faire abstraction, et aussi d'oublier ce qui avait manqué de se passer, j'ouvris la cage d'Edwidge.,-Edwidge, trouves les « amis » du Joker. Remet-leur ceci. N'attends pas de réponse.,Reviens ici ensuite et donne la clef pour les menottes.,Ensuite rejoins-moi à Poudlard. Fait attention à toi et surtout ne fait pas le voyage d'une traite.,Tout en donnant les instructions je griffonnais l'adresse et l'attachais à la patte d'Edwidge.,Celle-ci hulula comme pour me confirmer qu'elle avait compris, et s'envola par la fenêtre de la chambre.,Aussitôt je commençais à rassembler mes affaires que j'avais à peine déballées. Je faisais tout pour ne pas regarder le criminel, mais je sentais son regard sur moi. Pas lourd ou accusateur, juste scrutateur.,Je fuyais clairement et pourtant il ne disait toujours rien. C'était peut-être encore plus horrible que s'il m'avait abreuvé d'injures ou s'il avait utilisé son fameux rire de fou furieux.,Enfin, quand j'eus terminer de m'activer, je me rapprochais du lit pour déposer le sac où se trouvaient tous les habits tâchés par le sang.,-Je n'aurai pas l'occasion de faire disparaître les preuves. Je suppose que vous êtes expert pour ce genre de chose.,D'un pied habille j'attirai les armes pour les mettre bien en vue du Joker mais toujours hors de sa portée.,-Vous pourrez les récupérer quand Edwidge vous apportera la clef là-bas.,Elle ne devrait plus tarder.,J'attrapais ma malle, la cage vide d'Edwidge, et ouvrit la porte.,-Je suis désolé. Ajoutais-je. Désolé de quoi ? Je ne savais pas vraiment, mais je n'avais pu partir sans le dire.,Alors que je refermais la porte je cru entendre le Joker dire « Intéressant » sans que je ne sache vraiment si j'avais bien entendu. Je ne pouvais revenir en arrière pour lui poser la question. Avais-je envie de savoir si tel avait été sa réponse ?,Je sentis comme un poids qui me tombait sur le dos alors qu'Oncle Vernon apparaissait au coin du couloir me faisant comprendre que je devais me dépêcher.,De toute façon je ne le reverrais plus.,C'était le chao ici.,Des Mangemorts parcouraient les couloirs en lançant des sorts dans tous les sens, les élèves hurlaient, certain tentait de s'aider mutuellement.,Il y avait du sang, des cris mais surtout Voldemort qui faisait face à Dumbledore devant l'entrée, bloquant la seule porte de sortie.,Derrière le Directeur je cherchais ce qui avait encore foiré dans cette année scolaire qui avait pourtant semblait tout à fait normale. Seul Malfoy avait agis un peu étrangement, mais nous n'y avions pas prêté attention. Voilà ce qui avait engendré les évènements actuels.,Alors que demain était le dernier jour de l'année scolaire les Mangemorts étaient arrivés d'un seul coup dans le château, et Voldy avait pensé à couper toute retraite.,Tout le monde pouvait voir qu'il savourait sa victoire.,Les Professeurs étaient déjà attrapés, seul Dumbledore lui tenait encore tête, me gardant à l'abri derrière lui.,Voldemort s'était lancé dans un discours sur sa suprématie, dévoilant un peu plus sa folie.,Je ne voyais rien en lui qui me fasse peur. Il n'avait rien de la superbe du Joker. Cela faisait presque un an et pourtant je n'arrivais toujours pas à oublier son regard, son calme face à la situation. Cette aura d'assurance qu'il avait alors que Voldemort semblait vouloir convaincre le monde entier qu'il était le meilleur sans l'être réellement.,Il était terne.,Comment le monde sorcier pouvait avoir peur de lui ?,Il me faisait presque pitié en cet instant.,Un bruit soudain interrompit tous les combats.,Le bruit se répéta une seconde puis une troisième fois alors que le ciel se parait de rouge et d'orange.,Le sol semblait trembler sous mes pieds.,Même Voldemort regardait le ciel la bouche ouverte, comme incapable de savoir ce qui se passait.,Une nouvelle fois le bruit se fit entendre, bien plus proche.,A la cinquième fois j'eus l'impression que le ciel explosait en mille morceaux alors que le vrombissement, caractéristique pour tout né Moldu, d'un hélicoptère se fit brutalement entendre.,J'entendis Dumbledore s'exclamer à propos du sort repousse Moldu qui avait disparu de même que le bouclier apposé sur l'île où se trouvait Poudlard. Je vis Voldemort ouvrir encore plus grand la bouche en s'apercevant que nous étions à présent tous visible pour les Moldus, que l'île existait soudainement pour eux.,Mais je ne pus détacher très longtemps mes yeux du ciel où un hélicoptère approchait à toute vitesse. J'apercevais une personne à demi sortit de celui-ci un quelconque engin en main pointé dans notre direction. Et j'entendis le rire presque couvert par le bruit de l'hélico. Ce rire que je n'avais entendu qu'à la télévision ou à la radio.,Un rire dément.,Un rire de fou furieux.,-Non…Murmurais-je attirant le regard de Dumbledore et Voldemort alors que je me redressais.,Et pourtant si. Il sauta au sol dès qu'il le put, marchant avec toute sa superbe vers la porte de Poudlard, vers nous, vers moi. L'hélico s'éleva juste de quelques mètres, restant en vole stationnaire. Le Joker semblait totalement décalé avec sa chemise noire impeccablement repassée, son pantalon vert et ses chaussures vernis. Décalé mais redoutable, et ce rire qui continuait, dévoilant sa dentition étrange, attirant encore plus les regards.,Voldemort pointa sa baguette vers lui et d'un simple mouvement le Joker lui fit exploser la tête. Il y eut des hurlements choqués, horrifiés, un mouvement de recul de la part des Mangemorts. Pour la première fois ils voyaient une arme Moldu en action, l'intelligence de ceux-ci. Mais cela ne parut pas émouvoir le criminel.,-Nous nous retrouvons. Dit-il simplement en s'arrêtant devant Dumbledore, me regardant comme si le Directeur n'existait pas. Même le fait de marcher sur le cadavre de Voldemort ne semblait pas l'émouvoir.,Voilà ce que j'appelais faire peur.,Pas besoin de grand discours, d'explications sur le pourquoi du comment.,Non, juste de l'action et juste le nombre de mots qui fallait. Pas plus, pas moins.,Cette fois encore je sentais mes poils se dresser de peur, mon ventre se serrer alors que ce même regard m'observait, m'évaluait.,Tous autour de nous semblaient s'être figés.,-Tu me dois du temps ma petite souris, beaucoup de temps. Dix mois.,Beaucoup d'argent également, quelques milliards pour trouver l'existence de cette île.,Des hommes, certains n'ont pas survécut.,Je pense marcher sur ton souci aussi.,Et, il releva sa chemise me dévoila son ventre et deux cicatrices qui faisaient tâches, c'était vraiment du sale boulot.,-Comment…,-Qui êtes-vous ? Intervint le Directeur, bien qu'il ne pointa pas le Joker de sa baguette, se souvenant certainement de ce qui était arrivé à Voldemort un peu plus tôt.,Le Joker lui accorda à peine un regard avant de reporter celui-ci sur moi.,Que me voulait-il ? Pourquoi était-il là ?,Il laissa tomber sa chemise, tendit la main vers moi. Pas de mots, pas de menaces, rien, une simple main tendue. Vers moi.,Pas vers Le Survivant ou le Sauveur. Pas non plus vers Harry Potter.,Non, juste vers moi, la petite souris comme il disait, un ado un peu paumé qui avait sauvé un criminel sur un simple coup de tête.,J'avançais de quelques pas mais Dumbledore me retint par le bras.,-Tu ne seras pas en sécurité avec ce Moldu mon enfant.,Voldemort peut encore ressusciter, souviens-toi de ce dont nous avons parlé cette année.,Tu dois continuer à vivre avec ta famille.,-Oh, news ! Une roquette a, par accident je vous l'assure, vaporisé le quartier où habitaient ces immondes personnes. Hier. S'exclama tout naturellement le Joker sans baisser sa main.,Je relevais les yeux vers lui en l'entendant.,Il avait quoi ?,Pourquoi ?,Je vis sa main tenant toujours son arme essuyer une trace invisible sur son visage.,J'avais peur de comprendre.,Incapable de détourner mon regard, je m'avançais petit à petit, attrapant sa main sans trop y croire.,En un instant j'étais tiré contre un torse musclé, aussi fort que dans mes souvenirs. Rassurant.,-Vous ne pouvez pas ! S'écria Dumbledore en me voyant accepter.,-Ne vous en faites pas, je prends tous les droits vieillard.,Cette souris m'appartient depuis le jour où je l'ai vu.,Venez donc tenter de me le prendre, nous verrons qui rira le dernier.,Et le Joker éclata de rire, de ce rire fou qui résonnait dans sa poitrine.,Il me serra plus fort, à m'en couper le souffle alors que je nous sentais nous élever.,Je partais, partais loin du monde sorcier, loin du monde que je connaissais avec un criminel totalement fou qui avait réussi l'impossible en trouvant Poudlard.,Je savais enfin pourquoi je l'avais ramassé dans cette ruelle.,Je comprenais pourquoi je l'avais aidé en sachant ce que je risquais.,Ce n'était pas un geste anodin.,Ce n'était pas de la pitié ou le complexe du héros.,Non, c'était un appel de détresse.,Un appel à l'aide à la personne qui n'aurait jamais dû s'y arrêter, s'y intéresser.,Pourtant…,Le Joker était dangereux, terriblement dangereux.,Le Joker était fou, plus que fou, dément.,Le Joker me faisait peur, me terrifiait.,Le Joker me fascinait.,Le Joker m'avait attiré dans son monde en me sauvant, et je savais que j'allais certainement le regretter à un moment ou à un autre.,Mais pour l'instant, pour l'instant je répondais au baiser qu'il m'offrait sans plus me poser de question.,Voila un couple qui me faisait très envie depuis que j'ai vu Suicid Squad,J'espère vous apporter de beaux rêves avec ce Oneshot !

challenge: between angels and magicians.,From the creator of the challenger "between gods and magicians",This is a cross challenge of Harry Potter and Mortal Instruments.,Summary: When Dumbledore was about to send Harry with his uncles, he somehow ended up with the baby in a world where there are no wizards but Warlocks, and not only that, there are also nephilims, werewolves and vampires very different from what did i know,What will Dumbledore do in this new world? How will the other factions act upon learning that there are mundanes who can use magic?,Will the circle try to take advantage of them and cross them with their children for a new generation of much more powerful shadowhunters?,What interest do the Seelies have in them as unique beings and as ephemeral as a normal mundane?,What will warlocks think of them, what will the Spiral Labyrinth do as scholars of the magic they are?,Clarification: The reason he sent Dumbledore, instead of someone like Sirius or Remus with Harry, is because I consider him the source of the greatest magical knowledge in his world with which he can teach Harry. In addition, it seems much more prudent than many of the characters in the saga and someone who can raise a baby.,Necessary:,Dumbledore and Harry must arrive 12 years before the start of the books.,At no time can they return to their homeworld or bring someone by accident.,Because you are in another world, most potion ingredients do not exist, but Dumbledore found substitutes for these, (you can be creative at this point),Harry must learn magic without a wand, but he will still use one.,It must also be animagus. (Simply on a whim, and because in the rest of the Mortal instrument saga there are no characters that transform into animals, apart from werewolves).,Fawkes must go with them. (The phoenix appears in Christian mythology as a bird of Eden, it can lend itself to the confusion and misunderstanding of shadowhunters),The patronus can seriously harm the demons but not kill him.,Prohibited:,couples can't change: seriously, don't even think about doing them, if they touch Magnus or Chase, they will suffer.,The characters of Mortal's instruments cannot discover that they come from another world, they must remain secret, even for Harry, Dumbledore must take him to the grave.,As soon as Dumbledore arrives, don't alienate with a group, you can (if you wish) remain as a known figure in the underworld.,Harry fights with something other than sea magic. I also put this on my first challenge, if you are a wizard, use magic, not a sword!,Optional:,They can take someone with Dumbledore and Harry, it could be Tonks for being a metamorphomaga, Lupine for being a werewolf very different from that of that world, or crazy eye simply because I love the character.,Sexual orientation and sexual issues, do what you want, I don't care.,They raise a basilisk, I don't know why, but here is the option.,Let Harry learn nonverbal magic.,Harry being a metamorphomago (although I would prefer it not to be)

She didn't react when he wrapped his arms around her. She knew he was there of course. They were always aware of the other. She turned her head and kissed him passionately. His eyes always shinned with love that was only for her. Well, for her and their little girl.,Eliot Spencer was the best thing to happen to her life. They had met by accident a few years back in Portland Oregon. Neither knew anything about the other except what they used as their covers. It wasn't until she fell pregnant that Eliot finally let her into his life. All of his life. Seeing the kind of man he was she made a snap decision and informed him of whom she was before they were ever married.,In the end it all worked out for the best. He provides insight into how she could improve their overall safety with magic and she keeps him safe with her magic as best she can. They have never been happier than the moment they married, both times. Once with his family, his team, and once in secret with her family in a magical ceremony.,Lyra Athena Spencer was the light of their lives. Both took every precaution in raising their little girl. Hermione and Lyra tend to travel back and forth between their homes in the U.S. and the U.K. to see their families. Hermione loved the team. Alec had the patience of a saint to sit down with her and keep her up to date on the latest tech. Parker was able to get her over her fear of heights but she would never, NEVER, go scaling up and down a sky scraper with her. No matter how much she begged. Sophie was like a sister to her. Through her she found the older sister she wished she had growing up. She learned to walk in heels and dress with style. She also learned how to have a 'Slytherin' mask to put others to shame. Sophie's ability to simply become whomever she wished was something she wished she could emulate and with time she had gotten good. Never as good as Sophie but she like to think she had evolved into a better version of herself. Nate, well Nate was complicated. He was a man hurt by the death of his son and the loss of his marriage. Thankfully he turned it all into something good. He now helped those who couldn't fight against the system.,He was also the one who helped them. He knew she had a secret. She did not deny that. She was as truthful as she could be. She told him she was hiding her true identity and 'Hermione' was a name she chose since her mother had loved Shakespeare. He now believed she was in hiding so any and all pictures or information of her was to be kept confidential. Alec helped immensely there. Nate doted in little Lyra as soon as she came into the world. She liked to think her daughter helped heal a part of him.,No one in the magical community knew much about her husband. They knew he was a muggle since it would be hard to hide that but not much else. Harry and Kingsley had helped her immensely with the drafting of laws that would allow someone to get justice if dishonest, libel or defamation occurred in the media. Rita Skeeter was enjoying a 20 year sentence now after she had tried to illegally enter her home.,They had many homes around the world. Most of them crash houses in case a job went south. The Spencer's however mostly used the homes in Oregon and England. They wouldn't settle down do a single location until it was time for Lyra to go to school and they were leaving that up to her choosing.,For now the little family enjoyed their time together. Using glamour's to go anywhere anonymously was a godsend to Spencer. He loved to freely go out with his wife without having to worry about an enemy at his back, much.,While they both hate to not be able to live their lives more openly they still are very happy with what they have. Spencer has the family he always feared he would never have with a partner he fully trusts. Hermione gets a loving and trusting partner to share a beautiful little girl with all away from the judging gaze of the fickle magical community.,Overall they loved their lives. They can still help people and then come home to their family and live safely in peace. Yes, the Spencer's were blissfully happy with the little world they had created for themselves.

Harry's POV,I woke up a normal morning. But everything was different. I was in a forest with tall trees and yellow flowers. On my right side I saw an lake. It was magical. A few steps away I saw Hermione and Ron.,-Where at Merlin's beard are we?! Ron asked.,-I have no idea. Hermione replied shortly. I was too confused to answer.,~Moments later~,Alyss POV,I sat at Paulines office drinking my tee.,-So. Pauline said. I know it's early but I have a report from the south in the fief. About three mystical people walking around asking where they are and how to come back to london.,-What at Gorlog's beard is London? I asked.,-I don't know. But i want you to go and check this.,Third Person POV,Harry walked to another person asking where they are. Same answer: Araluen, Redmont fief. The sun was almost right over there heads when a woman with snow white dress walked forward to Harry, Ron and Hermione.,-Hey! She called.,-Um hi. Hermione replied.,-Who are you? And what are you doing here? The girl asked.,To be continued….

Hermione Granger was many things. She was the smartest student in her class, she was one of the best students in her year at using magic, and she was rather... outspoken. But she wasn't the most popular student in Hogwarts, she didn't have many friends, and she was very, very lonely.,She didn't understand how to make people like her. Back at home, she'd been bullied day in and day out for how she looked, how she acted, and how she dressed. Her former classmates had thought that she was stupid for wanting to study, and they made fun of her for being a 'teacher's pet'. And while she hadn't had anyone bully her in Hogwarts, no one wanted to talk to her either. It was weird to her, she had gotten them so many house points, but...,She sighed and stared up at the ceiling as she laid in her bed.,"I wish that I could be different," Hermione muttered under her breath, "Then I could finally make a friend...", She thought to herself,,And with that, Hermione fell into a dreamless sleep...,…,An alarm went off, causing Hermione and the other girls in the dorm to wake up.,"Alright, get up you lazy lot!" The Gryffindor Prefect, who's name Hermione had forgotten, shouted. "You can't sleep forever!",Hermione rubbed her eyes as she pulled her comforter off her bed. She was getting ready to make her bed, when something on her pillow caught her attention. Three eggs were on her pillow, one of the eggs was gold with red flames spread out across the egg, one of them was silver and green rings were wrapped around the egg, and the other was black with yellow flowers.,"What the..." Hermione simply stared at the eggs, and she blinked again, and at first, she thought she was seeing things. But when she opened her eyes, the eggs were still on her pillow. Then, she figured that one of the girls had put the eggs on her pillow as some kind of prank, but when she asked everyone she could, they seemed just as confused as her.,"No, I wouldn't put eggs on your pillow for some kind of joke," Lavender said when Hermione showed her the eggs, "That sounds like something Ron's brothers would do.","I don't know Lavender," Padma said, "Those eggs just seem...rather tame compared to their usual pranks.","Well, I guess you're right." Lavender said to Padma, before she turned back to Hermione, "Those eggs look really pretty by the way.","I-","What are you three standing around for?!" The prefect shouted as she marched over to Hermione, Lavender, and Padma. "Hurry up we have to- what's with those eggs Granger?",Hermione told the prefect everything she had told the other girls.,"Well if it's supposed to be a prank, I don't see how it's funny," The prefect said, "But I'll let Professor McGonagall about it, anyway you three should get going!",…,Hermione rushed to get to the great hall so she could grab a quick bite before she headed to class. The eggs she had found earlier today were in a small bag she was carrying with her. She was planning on showing the eggs to Professor McGonagall, she figured that her Head of House would do something about the eggs. She rounded the corner and accidentally ran into someone. They both fell to the ground, Hermione landed on top of the person and the two of them laid on the ground in a heap.,Hermione blushed as she found her face inches away from the person she had landed on. If she leaned in, she would be seconds away from kissing the person.,…Where had that come from? Hermione wasn't the type to think about romance, and a time like this wasn't the best way to, 'make a move' on someone she barely knew. Where had that weird thought suddenly come from?,"Uh...",Hermione blinked as the person she fell on top of began to speak.,"Could you please get off of me?" The boy asked, "You're kind of heavy...","Oh I'm sor-" Hermione blinked as she realized that she was lying on top of Harry Potter, the savior of the wizarding world., Hermione thought to herself, ,"Sorry about that," Hermione found herself saying as she got off of Harry, an orange beanie shaped hairpin appeared in her hair, she yanked him to his feet and smiled at him, "I'm really clumsy sometimes.","It's alright," Harry said, "You looked like you were in a rush.","Yeah I'm running a bit late for class," Hermione said as she bent down and picked something up from the ground, "Here are your glasses.","Thank you," Harry said as he adjusted his glasses.,"You know, you look really cute without your glasses," Hermione said, "Have you ever considered getting contact lenses?",'What did I say that?!' Hermione mentally shouted in her mind.,"U-um, thank you?" Harry said, though it sounded more like a confused question, "Are you okay?","Yeah," Hermione grinned and flashed him a peace sign, "I've never felt better!","...",Harry simply stared as he watched Hermione run off towards the great hall.,"What's with her?" Ron asked as he caught up to Harry, "She's acting kind of weird...","I have no idea..." Harry said.,….,"W-what was that?!" Hermione asked herself as she stopped running. She had reached the Great Hall, and no one was there, meaning that she had just missed breakfast. "I've never done anything like that before!",Suddenly, her bag opened, and the gold and orange egg floated out of it. It hatched, and a tiny girl with short blond hair floated into the air. She was wearing a red hat, a red and orange hoodie with a flower clip, and bright red boots.,"Well, that's because I had something to do with it," The girl said, "It's nice to meet you Hermione, my name is Amitie and I'm your guardian character!"

It was a great morning in Harry's opinion. The summer had just started, which meant the temperature wasn't very high, but it was still hot enough for him to sit outside of Florean Fortescue's and enjoy a big chocolate ice cream.,"When I said I would let you pick the meeting place, I didn't expect...this," from the seat across the table, Neville Longbottom said. His hand was holding a vanilla ice cream of his own.,"What did you expect then?" Harry asked as he took in the sight of Diagon Alley. Two years had passed since the end of the second war with Voldemort, and the wounds it inflicted upon their world had started to heal. The Alley was filled with people, each with a smile on their face, a complete contrast with how they were during Voldemort's reign. There was no longer any boarded up, abandoned shop. The owners who fled during the war had returned to start anew, and the ones who 'went missing', such as Fortescue, were replaced by their relatives. The quality of their goods suffered a little, but nobody seemed to mind.,"I don't know," Neville shrugged. "Maybe a cup of Firewhiskey in the Leaky Cauldron?","Please. I'll pass on that," Harry laughed. "Do you know how us Aurors bond with each when we're off duty? A hint: It isn't over ice cream or butterbeer.","So… Pumpkin juice?",Harry merely arched an eyebrow.,"Alright, you got me," Neville joined into his laughter. "Though I have to admit that I was surprised when you agreed to meet. It's been awhile since I last met anyone from the old group, moving into Hogwarts doesn't exactly give me a lot of free time.","Yeah, congratulation on that, by the way," Harry nodded and took a bite off of his ice cream cone. "I thought it would still be years until Professor Sprout steps down. I don't remember ever seeing a Hogwarts teacher as young as you.","Says the youngest to become a Seeker in the last century," Neville grinned. "I was surprised too when she came to me. Apparently I really impressed her during my school years.","Good for you, mate," Harry said. "How's work?","Tired, but fun. Being the youngest teacher makes it a little harder for the students to take me seriously, but being a war hero helps. It's taking care of the greenhouses and plan the lessons that take up most of my time, and that's when I still have Sprout's notes to help me. Now I barely have any break to practice fencing anymore.","You still do that?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "I mean, the way you got Nagini back then was bloody beautiful, but none of us expects you to actually stick with the sword.","It's a good sport as any," Neville shrugged. "Unlike you, I'm rubbish on a broom, and our world doesn't offer a wide range of physical activities to choose from. But that's enough about me? How are you?","Decent," Harry said. "I also haven't had many chances to see the others. Ron and Hermione are busy with their upcoming wedding, so are the Weasleys. I only met them a few times when I came over to help, and that isn't much, considering my training, Auror 'bonding', and other projects.","Somehow I don't like the sound of that," Neville frowned. That expression quickly changed into a smile though, when some people went past them, recognized who they were and waved.,"Of what? My project?" Harry laughed when he saw his friend's face. "It's nothing dangerous. I'm just collaborating with the Unspeakables to look into the Veil. You remember the whispers that I heard when we were near it during our fifth year? Apparently I'm the only one who can hear it now.","And how is that not dangerous?" Neville sighed and hid his face into his free hand.,"As long as I don't fall through it? Completely safe," Harry shrugged. "There's another reason that I agreed to help them though.","Your Godfather.","Exactly," Harry nodded. "I know that he came back when I used the Resurrection Stone, but… I can't really explain it. You can say that I'm not satisfied with him just dying off like that. I need to know the exact answer.","Well, it's not like I can make you change your mind." Neville sighed again. "You've always been stubborn like that.","Thanks.","It's not exactly a complement," he rolled his eyes. "But… The Veil, huh? Sounds interesting.","Am I hearing things now?" To say Harry was surprised was an understatement. "You consider something like that interesting?","Git. You sound like I don't know how to have fun," Neville swatted Harry's shoulder. "It's just… The Veil is such an interesting artifact, so are many other things down in the Department of Mystery. But it's the only thing that I've been close to.","Want to see it again?","Can I?" Neville's eyes widened, but it soon changed into a frown. "Or not. I can't just go in there and look at it.","I can take you in," said Harry.,"I don't think it's that simple," Neville shook his head. "I don't want to get you into trouble.","It's up to you," Harry smiled. "Actually, I've had a theory about that Veil for awhile now, and I'm planning to test it today.","Damn it," Neville swore under his breath as he and Harry stood in front of the Veil.,"You're tempted after all," Harry couldn't help but laugh, as he had been doing a few times on the way here, and his side was hurting.,"Well yeah," Neville glared at him. "You planning to test something out is never a good sign. As your friend, I know better than to let you do… whatever you will do alone.","Excuse, excuse," Harry grinned and waved his hand in a dismissive manner.,"Whatever you say," Neville rolled his eyes. He then stepped up onto the Veil's petesdal, before slowing circling it.,"Just like the last time I saw it," he said. "Does Hermione know? I bet she would do anything for a chance to study an artifact like this.","She doesn't know. Haven't told her yet," Harry shook his head. "She has enough things on her plate right now. I don't want her to worry about me.","You will have to tell her someday," Neville shook his head. "Where are all the Unspeakables?","They won't come here for at least another hour," Harry said. He then paused and looked around to make sure that no one else was around, before putting up a ,. "You see, the fact that I'm the owner of all three Deathly Hallows is a secret only a trusted few know about.","Yes, and?" Neville turned to look at him. "You threw the stone away and left the wand with Dumbledore, right? So that shouldn't matter anymore.","Ah, yes, I haven't told you this part yet," Harry shrugged. "Apparently, I can't get rid of them. Two days after Dumbledore's funeral, the wand and the stone came back to me.","Came back? How?" Neville's eyes narrowed.,"No idea. They just appeared on top of my bed," said Harry. "I tried to throw them away, breaking the wand, burning it. Nothing helped. They always return the next day.","How about I disarming you right here?","Hermione tried that too," he shook his head. "Didn't work. Apparently once you possessed all three Hallows, they are bound to you until the day you die. So unless you're going to kill me…","Don't you even joke about that.","Just a possibility. I'm not looking forward to die now that a normal life is within my grasp," Harry laughed. "Anyway, that's where my new idea for the Veil comes from. When we were here before during our fifth year. I could only hear whispers since the invisibility cloak was the only thing I owned back then. However, when I returned here for the first time with the Unspeakables, I could hear those voices much clearer.","And you think the Hallows are somehow connected to this Veil?" Neville asked. "So, what does those voices say?","Gibberish, mostly," Harry sighed and stepped up the petesdal himself. Just a couple of steps up, and the Runes on the Veil's arc was starting to shine faintly.,"You…" Neville's eyes darted between Harry and the Veil. "You're having them on your person right now.","Yes," Harry nodded. "I've never brought the wand and the stone out of my house except for getting rid of them. Looks like it's worth a try.",As he walked closer to the Veil, the Runes kept shining brighter and brighter.,"Should I call the Unspeakables?" Neville frowned and took a step away.,"Later," said Harry. "I don't want them to know about the Hallows. If they do, I'll become a test subject myself.","But…","As long as I don't fall through, it's safe," he shook his head. He was directly in front of the Veil now. The Runes' light was almost blinding, and the voices were no longer a faint whisper. It felt like there were hundreds of people talking around him now. Some even shouting.,However, nothing happened until Harry raised his hand and touched the arc. Neville tried to stop him, but Harry couldn't hear it. It was getting too loud.,The moment his finger laid on one of the Runes, a deafening scream came from outside, replacing all the gibberish chatter. Before Harry could cover his ears, he saw the space inside the Veil changed. Where it was a layer of mist before, now appeared an oddly glowing surface. Before he was able to ask if Neville was seeing the same thing, Harry felt himself being sucked toward the Veil and tried to escape, but wasn't able to. The arc's surface was too big for any stable grip. Harry could feel his fingers slipping off one by one.,"Crap," he murmured as the Veil's pull got stronger. Just before he was completely sucked inside, a pair of firm hands grabbed his wrist and yanked. Not that it did much except for making Harry feel like his shoulder just got dislocated. Through the tear, he could see Neville gritting his teeth. One of his feet were on the ground, the other placed on the arc itself, while trying to pull Harry out using both of his hands.,"This is… exactly why… I can't leave you alone," Neville shouted between his panting.,"Thanks," said Harry. "But I don't think it's working. Go get the Unspeakables.","And let you… go in there? Never." Neville grunted.,"I...I think I will be fine," said Harry hesitantly. "I still can control my legs and my other arm. So maybe I won't die.","Like I could trust your definition of 'safety' any more!","But if you don't let go you will be pulled in too," Harry shouted at his friend. All of a sudden, the pull got much stronger. Neville's foothold on the arc slipped and both of them pummeled into the Veil. Neville's shocked face was the last thing Harry saw before darkness claimed him.,When Harry opened his eyes, he almost expected to see the familiar white ceiling of Hogwarts' infirmary or a room at St. Mungo. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his body was aching all over. Instead, he found himself staring at the blurry image of a wooden ceiling. It was more like the sight inside Hagrid's hut, but there wasn't any animal skin or dried meat hanging anywhere.,"Neville?" Harry croaked, recalling his last moment before passing out.,"Here, mate," came a reply from somewhere on his left. Harry let out a relieved sigh.,"How are you?" He asked.,"Feeling like crap," Neville answered. "My head hurts, and my body was aching all over. You?","Same," Harry said. "Where the hell are we?","No idea. I've just woken up myself.",Harry blinked his eyes a few times before using all of his remaining strength to push himself up. It looked like he was still wearing his robe, but when he reached into its inner pocket, both of his wands were gone. The stone and the cloak were inside of a charmed bag that was attached to his hip, and at least it was still there.,Harry was starting to panic. However, he quickly calmed down after seeing both wands on the nightstand next to his bed, together with his glasses.,"Thanks Merlin," he murmured while putting on the glasses and pocketing the wands. Now he could see clearly. The room he and Neville were in was made entirely of wood. It was a little bigger, and much cleaner than Hagrid's hut. Harry's bed was in a corner, and Neville's was only a few steps away. On the opposite wall was a wooden cabinet with some kind of herbs inside, together with a couple of potion bottles, and there was a big campfire right in the middle of the room.,Neville also just pushed himself into a sitting position, and the two traded a confused glance. However, before either of them could voice their question, the only door in the room opened, and they heard a surprised gasp, followed by a dry 'Clang' noise of something hitting the floor.,Harry and Neville turned to the source of the commotion and their eyes widened. Standing there was a young girl around their age with long ,hair tied up into a ponytail. At her feet was a piece of cloth and a large metal bowl that she just dropped. The water inside was splashing everywhere, but the girl didn't seem to notice. She was too busy staring back at the two men in shock.,"Uhm… Hello?" Harry tried to break the ice. Hearing his voice, the girl instantly snapped out of her daze.,At this point, Harry was expecting her to greet him back, and not getting even more panicked and got down on her knees.,"I'm so sorry, sir," she stammered while hastily wiping the floor with the cloth. "I… I didn't know that you two were awake and barged into the room. Please don't punish me.","What are you saying?" Harry frowned slightly as he stood up and walked toward the girl. However, he stopped after a few steps, seeing how the girl shrunk away from him..,"Please return to your bed," she said. "I will get this cleaned up right away.","There's no need," said Harry. "Please stand up. I think we are having a big misunderstanding here.",The girl looked confused for a moment before standing up. She was still holding the wet cloth, and was shaking slightly. Harry sighed and pulled out his wand - the Phoenix one - before pointing at the puddle on the ground, all the while trying to ignore the girl's reaction toward him. She was terrified after seeing the wand.,",All of the water disappeared. Harry then put his wand away.,"There, all done," he said. "Now can you ,explain what is going on here? Why are you so scared of us?","Because… you two are Nobles and I just disrupted your privacy," the girl answered. Her eyes were still wide open, staring at the floor where the water was a few seconds ago. However, seeing that she wasn't going to be 'punished' seemed to calm her down a little.,"Us? Nobles?" Harry raised an eyebrow.,"Yes," the girl answered.,"Me? And Neville over there?" Couldn't believe in his ear, Harry asked again, this time pointing at himself, and then Neville, just to be sure.,The girl nodded.,"How did you come to that conclusion anyway?" he folded his arms in front of his chest.,"Because you two are able to use magic," she said, tilting her head slightly and blinked as if she couldn't be sure whether Harry was testing her or not.,"I still don't get it," he shook his head. "What's your name?","I'm Tania, sir.","Alright, Tania. I don't know if using magic and nobility have anything to do with each other, but let us clear up something here," Harry said. "My name is Harry Potter, and the bloke over there is Neville Longbottom...","Nice to meet you," Neville's voice came from behind.,"...And we are ,Nobles," Harry finished.,"But… your wands… and magic…" Tania stuttered. She still wasn't looking at him.,"Well, sure, we can use magic, as you can see," Harry glanced at his wand. "But how does that make us Nobles?","You just are. Oh... You two aren't some disgraced Nobles, right?" Finally, Tania looked up from her feet. She was now looking at him with skeptical eyes, but Harry was cheering. Having a girl cowered before him just because he could use magic felt so awkward.,"No," Harry said. "I don't even know what the hell 'disgraced Noble' means.","So… I won't get punished?" Tania asked.,"What's with you and punishment?","Because when the Noble who rules this land come to collect the tax, if we can't gather enough money or give him a satisfying service, he punishes us," Tania said quickly and shrank a little at Harry's tone. He didn't mean to scare her though.,Hearing her words, Harry looked at Neville and saw his friend sharing his expression - a deep frown. Looked like being a Noble here was more than just a fancy title, and from the way Tania acted when she thought she was going to be punished, it didn't seem like the Noble's punishment would end with a slap on the wrists either.,"Look, Tania, we aren't going to punish you," finally Neville said as Harry took a step back. Maybe that would help her relax. "We're just two regular blokes who somehow ended up here. Though that reminds me, where are we?","This is our infirmary," Tania said. "Yesterday, my brother found you two unconscious just outside of our village and brought you in.",Harry and Neville shared another glance.,"This may sound a little odd, but what's the name of this village?" Harry asked. His training as an Auror had brought him to many places within Britain, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember a place with this kind of wooden house like the one they were in, except for Hagrid's hut. The plain clothing Tania was wearing didn't make much sense either. It was too old fashioned, even the folks in the countryside didn't dress like that anymore.,"This is Asburg," Tania said. "You two really aren't from around here, are you?","That's what we've been saying," Harry sighed. He didn't recognize the name, and from the puzzled look on his face, Neville wasn't faring any better. "How far are we from London?","Is that what they call Londinium these days?" Tania looked confused. "Our village is in Tristain, so if you want to travel there, it will take days to go to La Rochelle, then took a ship from its port...","Eh… I will have to stop you there," Neville raised his hand. "We want to go to London, not Londinium, wherever that is.","You haven't heard of Albion's capital city?" Tania gasped. "Where are you two from?","London, England," Harry frowned. The name Albion didn't escape him. It was like they were talking about the same place, just in two very, very different period. Though he also had to admit that there wasn't any country named Tristain around the time the Great Britain was still called Albion, so maybe they didn't travel through time after all.,Everything was just so bizzare.,"I've never heard of them. Sorry," Tania shook her head.,"It's alright," Harry gave her a small smile. "I hate to be more of a bother, but do you have any world map?","Alright, this doesn't make any sense. This can't be everything," Neville frowned at the map on his bed. Tania had brought it to them before taking her leave to prepare supper.,"Yet it is," Harry gritted his teeth. He was leaning against Neville's nightstand. "We asked for a world map, and this is it.","But… Albion is a bloody floating island, how is that possible? And Germania can't be this small." Neville groaned. "Well, the shape is kinda right, but…","Don't forget the names that we don't recognize," Harry said. "Tristain, Gallia. And there's Romalia.","So time travel is out?" Neville sighed.,"That's what I think too," Harry nodded. "Though I don't know if we should feel happy about that. Sorry, I should have listened to you and called the Unspeakables or something…","You should," Neville shook his head. "But it was partially my fault for not stopping you earlier. Don't get me wrong. I ,mad, but there are more pressing matters, like what in the world should we do now?","Searching for a way back should be our top priority, though I don't have a clue where to begin," Harry sighed. "Maybe I'll ask Tania. She appears to be a muggle, but knows about magic. At least she can give us a direction.","Right," Neville folded up the map and put it on the nightstand, before casting a troubled glance at the door. "Speaking of Tania, I'm a little concerned about her reaction when she thought we were Nobles.","Same here," said Harry. "Magic is not a secret. Using magic makes you a Noble, and a Noble apparently has a higher standing than a muggle, enough to dish out punishments. This place is a Death Eaters' paradise.","Let's hope it isn't like this everywhere," Neville shivered. "I can't imagine living in a world like this, even temporarily.","You speak my mind," Harry agreed before pushing himself up. "I'm feeling better, so I'll go look for Tania, you can rest more if you want.","Nah," Neville shook his head and stood up. "I'm thinking of taking a look around this village, see what I can find.","Suit yourself," Harry shrugged.,The infirmary turned out to be smaller than Harry thought. It was only consisted of a small lobby area at the front, and the patient's room at the back. The loo was a small hut separated from the main building, and there was no kitchen. Tania wasn't anywhere to be found in the vicinity, but the fact that she took care of the patients told Harry that she had to be living nearby, so he went to check out the house next door. Neville went off to the opposite direction after telling Harry that he would be back in an hour.,Harry approached the house and was about to knock on the door when he heard some noise coming from behind. Feeling a little curious, he walked around, and saw Tania there, chopping wood into smaller pieces with an axe. At first, Harry almost couldn't believe in his own eyes. Tania was a petite girl, and the axe she was holding looked far too big for someone like her to wield. Yet she was swinging it up and down like it was nothing.,Still, the large pile of unchopped wood next to her would take a long time to be done.,"Need any help?" He asked and stepped out from the corner he was standing. Unfortunately, his sudden appearance startled the poor girl.,"AH!" Tania jumped and the axe almost flew out of her grip. She turned around, panting heavily while putting a hand over her chest.,"Wh...What are you doing out here?" She asked and wiped the sweat from her forehead.,"Looking for you, actually," Harry said. "I'm feeling better and have some more questions. Sorry for that, by the way.","It's… alright, just don't sneak up on me next time," Tania nodded. "But I'm a little busy at the moment. I have to prepare supper for us, as well as your friend and my brother. Can you wait until I'm done?","I don't mind, but do you mind me lending a hand?" He glanced at the pile of wood. "We can get it done faster. You've been helping me and Neville out, so…","But you've just woke up," Tania said. "Chopping wood is hard work. I can't make my patient do something like that.","It's not that hard with this," Harry pulled out his Phoenix wand. He felt bad immediately though, when Tania took a step back after he did so.,"Sorry," he said quickly. "Maybe it's not such a good idea. Do you… hate magic or something?","Not really, but the spell you used earlier was the first one I saw that wasn't used to punish us commoners," Tania sighed, shivering slightly. "But maybe I can use some help here after all. My brother is going hunting and he should be back soon. As long as you don't exert yourself, of course.","Just leave it to me," Harry grinned and raised his wand again. For someone who took down dark wizards for a living, a pile of wood wasn't even a challenge. He made short work of it, piling everything back up neatly before helping Tania to transport whatever she needed into the kitchen and bathroom. Everything was finished in around twenty minutes.,"Thank you, Harry," Tania beamed as she put down the last pile of wood she was carrying. The girl absolutely refused to let Harry do everything by himself, even with magic. "I've never seen magic like that before. The Nobles who frequents this place uses fire all the time.","Well I know a thing or two about fire myself, so maybe I can help you light the fire for the kitchen and the bath," Harry shrugged.,"Thanks again, but it's alright," she shook her head. "You said you have some questions? You can ask while I prepare the meal. There's no axe come flying if I'm distracted now.",Harry felt like it would be impolite to keep pushing, so he accepted her offer. The two of them then moved to the kitchen, which was only a place on the side of the house with a roof over it and no wall. Harry sat down on an old wooden chair and wait for Tania to start the fire before resuming the conversation.,Having nothing to do, he glanced around and took in the surrounding. The sun hadn't set yet, so he could see everything clearly. Once again, the scenery reminded Harry of Hagrid's hut, with a forest not far away. The dirt road that was in front of the house, which Harry guessed also ran the length of the village itself, led deep into the darkness of the wood. Looking at the way the trees swayed with the afternoon's breeze, while the last warm light from the Sun illuminate everything, sent a calming sensation through him. It was the exact opposite of the Forbidden Forest.,Harry felt an ache at the thought that the memories of his own world brought. Even in the Auror Corp, he was notorious for his recklessness and tendency to take risk while on the field. But all of that wasn't enough of an excuse for him not to listen to Neville's warning.,closing his eyes, Harry sighed and leaned back against the chair, making it groan under his weight. He would feel so bad if they ended up dropping everything to start searching for him, and they definitely would, knowing those two. The only thing he could do now is to find out how to get back as soon as possible, or at least sending something back, to let his friends know that he and Neville were safe.,"You should go back and take a rest if you're tired," came Tania's voice. Harry snapped out of his daze, shaking his head to clear out the depressing thought before saying.,"It's okay, just thinking about home.","I can see that they weren't happy thoughts," said Tania while chopping the vegetable. The way her hands moved told Harry that she had been doing that for a long time. Not that it was a surprise.,"Not exactly," he said. "I was brooding, wasn't I?",It wasn't even that hard to spot whenever Harry was brooding, as Hermione always reminded him.,"Yes," Tania nodded. "Do you mind if I ask you something?","That should be my question, but sure, go ahead.",Tania didn't speak right away, but continuing to work as if she was having a second thought about the question, and Harry didn't rush her. Once she was done with the vegetable and dropped them all into a boiling pot, Tania turned back to face him.,"How did you and Neville come here? It's not common to find strangers lying unconscious around the village, you know," she said. "And while we're at that. Are you sure that I can call you and your friend by name like that?","I don't see any problem with that. Why?" Harry raised an eyebrow, though he already knew the answer.,"It's just… strange," Tania smiled. "All the Nobles that I know wouldn't allow us commoners to address them like that.","I'm not a Noble," Harry said.,"So you say, but you can still use magic," she shook her head. "So… about my other question…","Honestly? I'm not too sure," Harry scratched his head. "Long story short, I didn't take enough precaution when dealing with unknown magic, and got transported here. Neville was pulled along.","Fair enough, I guess," she blinked after a few seconds. "What do you want to ask me then?","Do you know much about magic?" Ask Harry. He decided that there was no point in beating around the bush.,"No," Tania shook her head, much to his disappointment. "Generally, magic knowledge is off limit for us commoners. I only know what I've seen before, which isn't all that much, and a little bit about magical herbs around here, thanks to my grandma. Why do you ask?","Like I said, we got here through unknown magic," Harry sighed.,"So you want to find a way back home?","Yes," Harry nodded.,"I'm afraid that I can't be of much help in that case," Tania looked a little sad. "Though if it's magic knowledge, then maybe it's luck that you appeared here in Tristain.","What do you mean?","Tristain is the only country in Halkegenia with a magic academy," she said. "I've never been there, obviously, but if you're searching for knowledge, I think that's your best bet.","That sounds interesting," Harry admitted. The image of Hogwarts flashed through his mind. If this 'academy' was anything like his old school, then there was still hope yet. "How far is it from here?","Around one week if you go by horse. Unfortunately, our village is close to Gallia's border, while the academy is on the other side of the country," Tania's smile then returned in full force. "Though if you decide to go, the road will take you through our Capital city. My grandma is there at the moment. I've always wanted to visit it.","Why haven't you though?" Harry asked.,"I can't," Tania sighed before casting a longing look into the forest. "With my grandma gone, I'm the only one with medical knowledge left in the village. Besides, she is only there on the order of a high ranking Noble. A chance like that doesn't come often to people like us.","Sorry," Harry mumbled.,"Don't you worry about that," she waved his apologize away. "I'm happy with the life here. I still have my brother and grandma, and everybody is friendly. The only downside is…","The ruling Noble," Harry said, and Tania nodded. Before he could ask more question, however, an all too familiar 'Pop!' noise came from the road's direction. Tania yelped and almost knocked down the pot near her, while Harry reacted on instinct, springing up from his seat. His wand was out in an instant and pointed at the newcomers, who turned out to be Neville and another man with short green hair, the same shade as Tania's. The latter appeared to be sick from the apparate trip that Neville just took him through.,"Wh… What in Brimir's name was that?" He had to used his longbow as a place to lean on, since his knees were still shaking. In order to do so, he had to drop the rather large leather bag he was holding, together with what looked like a dead boar.,"Yes, Neville. What was ,?" Harry frowned. He only had one eye on his friend though, as the other was busy looking at the content of the dropped bag, which turned out to be some hares that had been trapped. By now, he already had a good guess about who the man was.,"It's apparition, why do you ask?" Neville raised an eyebrow, but quickly grinned and held up his hand. "Just kidding. I met Remy here on my way back. He twisted his ankle and was having a hard time hauling all those goods. Once I found out he was Tania's brother, I decided to lend him a hand.","Just... Just warn me next time... Please, Sir Noble. Thanks, Tania," said Remy as he accepted a cup of water from his sister, whom rushed over and helped him sitting down on the nearest chair. He refused, however.,"I can't sit while they're standing. Are you mad?",Hearing his words, Neville and Harry traded a resigned look and sighed. Tania, on the other hand, just giggled.,"What? What did I miss?" Remy frowned.

EPISODE 1,"I'm sorry, Yang. There's nothing we can do. If we want him to survive we're going to need somebody extraordinary," Miranda Baily told Christina Yang, examining the patients stats.,"I am extraordinary! Just give me more time! I can figure something out!" Christina promised.,"Out of this world, extraordinary, Yang. I'm sorry, we have to release the patient. We wouldn't want him staying his last days in a hospital because you want to get a claim to fame, now would we?" Baily asked sternly.,"Well…." Yang started, but was quickly cut off by a disturbance in the ER.,"We need a doctor!" Hermione came rushing into the Seattle Grace hospital. Hanging onto her for dear life was her best friend, Ronald Weasly. He was clutching his heart and blood was running from his hand. Ron's black suit had blood on the white button up shirt, and Hermione's white formal dress had lost its shiny touch with the stains of Ron's blood.,Baily dropped the clipboard and quickly ran over to the needy. "We need a bed! Quickly! Yang, get over here! Help me get him on here," Ron was successfully moved to the bed. "Yang stay here and get the details. Come find me immediately after! I'm going to try to stop the bleeding and get him bandaged up! Quick!" Baily and a team of nurses rushed to a room to take care of Ron.,Typical trauma, nothing exciting to Cristina, she did work in a hospital after all. Now, if the man would of walked in with his heart half exposed, then maybe she would be more interested. But this just looked more like a typical battle wound. She picked up her pen and started to questioning, "So what brings you here?","Uhm, we were….Well you see…" It wasn't like Hermione to not be able to talk. Maybe it was the fact that her best friend was inches from death. Somehow she had to tell the doctors without exposing the wizarding world. She knew what needed to be done to save him, but first she needed Harry to help her. She had sent an owl to him just moments after Ron had been attacked, so he should be able to be at the hospital very quickly. Ron had a few more days until he became in critical condition, which should have been plenty of times, but for once, Hermione was thinking of all the worst situations.,Cristina, very unaware of the situations was growing impatient. "Come on, we don't have all day." By this time, Baily probably already knew what was wrong.,"Well you see, we were just at a ball and.." Wait, muggles don't call them balls anymore, do they? Why was she being so brainless right now! "I mean, formal event, and.." she paused for a moment, "Somebody shattered an ice sculpture…with a gun…and it…hit….him.." This wasn't like Hermione. ,Cristina, extremely confused looked at her with puzzlement, "So you're saying…a gun shot him?","…Maybe?" Trying to gather herself, she saw Harry step through the elevator. "Oh, Harry!" She ran over to hug him.,Cristina wasn't for warm fuzzy moments, especially warm British fuzzy moments. "Can somebody please just tell me what happened?","Can I go talk to my friend in a room…a private room, please? Just for a second, and I swear we can tell you everything you need to know," Hermione pleaded.,"Look, we really don't have the time.." Harry cut Cristina off.,"Please? It'll only be a moment, you have my word. It's critical if you want to get the facts," His green eyes seemed to stare right into Cristina.,"Fine, but make it quick, I really don't have time for this. Tell one of the nurses to page me once you're done with your secret little British meeting," and she wandered off to go tell somebody about this bizarre moment.,Harry and Hermione went into an empty room and closed the door. "What the hell happened?" Harry asked.,"Ron and I got word that some of the death eaters would be at the Seattle Ball. Apparently, somebody has something they want. I'm not really sure what though. Merlin, I can't believe all of this. When you told us we had to come to the states for a bit, because you got word of something occurring, I thought you were mad! But now, I have proof, they really are here and after something!" Hermione finished.,"When have I ever been wrong?" Harry looked at her, "Never mind, don't answer that. Anyway, what happened to Ron?","Well, you see Harry, the ball wasn't thrown by muggles either, it was definitely wizard. But the problem is I can't decide whether it was a good one, or a bad one. The ice sculpture was cursed for protection, I think. I think whoever the Death Eaters are after knew they would be coming and had protection set all around the hall. Anyway, somewhere a wand went off. But I think it was accidental, because the person's wand that went off looked surprised. But this caused a series of events," Hermione explained.,"Wait, so you say there was countless wizards at this ball?" Harry asked.,"Yes, I would bet at least one-third of them all had wands on them. Creepy, right? To not know wizards are with you?" Hermione asked.,Harry had an uncomfortable look in his eye, "Then what happened?","I suppose somebody else saw the wand go off and thought it was an attack. Spells were flying everywhere and one broke the ice sculpture and went into Ron," Hermione continued, "So at first I thought it was no big deal, right, it was just ice. But the way it went into Ron, I knew something was wrong. He fell to the floor and I ran over to help. The piece of the ice had turned to a black shard and no spell I tried could remove it!","So you think a hospital could?" Harry questioned.,"No, listen Harry! I read about this before. It's called a Joytel curse. It turns something into a shard of black glass when it hits the human flesh and then infects the blood with the venom of the serpent that was used in the curse. If the reports are true that I've read, Ron only has 3 days left until he…" she couldn't speak the last part.,"It still doesn't explain why in the hell you brought him to a human hospital! You should of apparated to St. Mungos! You work at the bloody place! " Harry told her, starting to get a bit angry.,"You're not letting me finish Harry! Once the black ice is in the skin to stay, the body becomes like a muggle hot spot. No magic can be done on or around him. Our only hope is a human hospital!" Hermione explains.,"A human hospital can't fix magic, Hermione, are you mad? Did something hit you too?" Harry asked.,"Harry! Shut up for Merlin's sake! If no magical procedure can help him, that means we have to use muggle procedures. There's traces of their procedures in ours, we're just going to have to go back to the roots and see how they would of fixed this. I haven't even begun extensive research yet! Don't worry, Harry, I've got a plan. We just have to make sure they let me operate on him," Hermione said the last point a little quietly.,"What do you expect to tell them, Hermione? 'Here's my wizarding degree in medicine! Let me operate!' You've never even operated before without magic! Their operations are lot more dangerous, you can't just fix a mess up with the wave of a wand!" Harry was practically yelling.,"Harry! I understand you're scared, but would you rather have somebody you don't know operate on him? " She asked.,Harry took a breath, "I suppose not. But that still doesn't explain how you're going to be allowed to just walk in a Hospital and operate.","I just need to forge a few papers, please Harry? I know it breaks tons of rules, but you're Prime Minister, Harry! I just need you to bend a few rules for me. No, not for me. I need it done for Ron." Hermione pleaded.,Harry's facial expression reflected the fact he was considering all the possibilities and finally, he came to a decision, "Fine. But you owe me." They then discussed what needed to be done for this to go through.,"So listen, I was just talking to Baily about trying to find another way to cure that patient," Cristina used the time her two very strange British encounters to chat with Meredith Grey.,"Oh, you mean Mr. Noncurable?" Meredith asked.,"Yeah, him. And then this British couple just walks in and starts screaming how her boyfriend or whatever needs a doctor. So Baily rushes off with him, and leaves me to talk to this crazy girl about what happened. She doesn't give me an answer, so then this other guy comes in and they go have some secret meeting, crazy right?" Cristina explains.,"And you just let them?" Meredith asked.,"Well what else was I supposed to do? They're not my problem, it's Baily's. My problem is trying to figure out a cure for that patient," Cristina said.,"Have you even checked to see how he's doing?" asked Meredith.,"I will, once they page me," Cristina said.,"Cristina! How do you know they didn't just run away!" Meredith was a bit concerned.,"They were British, and the guy gave me his word. That means something in Britain, right?" Cristina explained.,Meredith rolled her eyes as Cristina pager went off, "Oh, that's them! Wish me luck!" Cristina scurried off to the British folks.,Harry and Hermione had devised a plan to allow Hermione to join the system. Harry stressed they needed to follow every step on quo if they wanted the plan to work. In this plan, Harry was the one that needed to act first. "Hello, Doctor..?","Yang. Dr. Yang," Cristina nodded.,"Ah, Dr. Yang. Hello, I'm Dr. Potter. I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Harry smiled.,Cristina wasn't one to fall for charm and decided to move to the point, "So you're a doctor and this lady called you here? Did she not think our team was capable?" Cristina questioned.,"No, no. Not at all. You see, I'm from St. Mungo's a hospital in England, it's a very small hospital, you probably haven't heard of it. And so is my colleague, Hermione Granger. I don't think you two have met properly yet. Dr. Yang, this is Dr. Granger," the two of them shook hands, "Anyway, on to the matter of business. Dr. Granger is a very skilled doctor, and you see, the mate we brought in earlier is one of our very close friends, and Dr. Granger knows a lot about his medical past so I was wandering if I could talk to who I need to talk to, to get Dr. Granger admitted to help as much as possible.",Cristina was completely perplexed. Did these two really think they could walk into a hospital and expect to work, all dandy, just like that? Obviously they weren't aware of how American hospital work.,Baily was probably wandering where Cristina was, and was probably expecting a full report by now. But she hadn't been paged yet, so nothing major must of happened yet. "Okay, well, can you give me any information on your friend? I'll take you to the chief as soon as possible, but we really need to know what happened before anything serious happens.","Certainly. There was a slight incident involving a window and a mirror. Never let a cat lose when there's seafood afoot, that's for sure! Long story short, a couple windows may have shattered, and perhaps a mirror was involved. Dr. Granger seems to believe shards may be in his flesh," Hermione had noticed that Harry had gained a Dumbledore sense of humor through the years.,Cristina, not to sure what to say, took it for what it was worth and lead the two to the chief without another word.,Chief Webber was found in his office catching up on paper work before Cristina knocked.

A faint and eerie light could be seen bleeding throughout the room and through the doorway where you stood. It gave everything that rests within a thin illuminated outline. Just enough to give someone an idea of what was around the room. Closer to the light, the shape of a cloaked man could be seen standing. He looks up and addresses a tall figure that the light couldn't touch. All that could be seen was this towering, black, form.,Nothing could be heard, but there was a sense of excitement from the man the longer he spoke to the dark, unmoving figure. A closer look at the two showed the man to be thin and very pale. Sickly. Familiar. The tall shadow was just that, a shadow. It rippled with each movement, and the edges of its form seem to be faded. It moved what could be assumed to be its arms. Crossing them in front of its body. No definite form but it was implied. Moving closer didn't give you any more detail. Just more an idea of what the outline of the figure could be doing.,The room suddenly got very cold. The dark corners of the room started to ripple, and the began to crawl toward the shadowed figure. As the last of it bled into the figure, it suddenly turned toward the door. Looking straight at you. The shadows started to pool around it. Getting bigger and bigger. It raised an arm, pointed right at you. The shadows gathered together in the middle of the room and began to rise into a shapeless form. As soon as it reached its peak, it rushed to the door, toward you, engulfing you in pitch black.,With a gasp, Harry wakes up. Frantically looking around, afraid for a moment that the shadows followed him back from his dream.,"What was that?" He whispered.,After taking a few deep breaths, Harry looked to see if his episode woke the others. Seeing everyone still asleep, Harry laid down, closed his eyes, and tried not to think of the shadows until morning.,.,.,.,.,.,Well. This was long overdue. There are still things I'm not happy with and that's mostly due to my writing ability and indecisiveness. Fortunately, I have my brother who helps me get things done. Look forward to seeing what is the same and what changed haha. I'm excited.

The young boy lying on the doorstep looked up at the fanged pale man standing above him above him. The boy felt no fear as he looked at him, simply a childish sense of curiosity, the same as he did with the snowflakes fluttering through the harsh November breeze. The Vampire swept aside his hair and revealed his lightning shaped scar. His burning red eyes brightened for a moment. A deep but kind voice could be heard from his voice, which is very different from what it should have been, yet fit him somehow. Even though Lazarus had only been in this world for three months, he had already discovered a great deal about the English war, including the fact that this child was at the core of it.,"I see. So you are the one year old saviour of this world, and the bane of this 'Voldemort'. Lazarus looked at the house Harry was in front of and found it scarily easy to believe the data he had on the nature of the family, and how they would most likely treat the child they were sent. [Greater Break Curse]. Harry suddenly felt a searing pain in his forehead as the horcrux was broken before feeling a calm sense of happiness and relief, as if a weight he never knew was there had been taken off of his mind. "Albedo, bring the child with us, I have a feeling that this boy will be very useful." "Yes Lord Blood." "Albedo, just calling me Lazarus is fine." "How could I dare use such an informal name Lord Blood?!" "-Sigh- ok just take the child." A moment later Harry found himself staring at a being which many would have a goddess. However, Harry, who had the mind of a baby, saw only motherly potential and reached out towards her. The woman hesitated for a moment, then allowed herself to be touched by Harry's delicate hands. She smiled gently, surprising herself with her tenderness towards towards the child. As Harry drifted off to sleep she giggled a bit and walked through the dark purple hole in reality. She thought for a moment, 'boy, you may turn out to be very, , interesting.',"-And that is how I came to learn of this child, his past, his situation and his fate, and seek him out." Lazarus threw out his arms in 'arrogant king' pose 2. The guardians and Pleiades looked at him in awe and compressed their loyalty further into their souls.,Demiurge spoke before the others, "Truly we are blessed to be fortunate enough to serve such a wise and compassionate ruler that he would take care of even a small child. Lazarus just looked at Demiurge before speaking, "Thank you Demiurge, but about the child, I would like to leave him in the care of Albedo and Shalltear, but the Pleiades and maids may help put in their spare time if they wish to, or if the boy needs anything that Albedo and Shalltear may not have the skills to do completely. All present except Albedo and Shalltear are dismissed " He spoke out the last line with a regal sweep of his arm.,He waited until the door was closed to look down at the tiny child on his lap sleeping soundly. His messy black hair made quite the adorable sight along with the faint sounds of breathing which Lazarus's vampiric senses could quite easily pick up. The two floor guardians knelt perfectly still, waiting for their lord to speak. Lazarus raised his head after a few seconds.,"As I said before, you two will be in charge of Harry and will raise him as one of your own. Albedo, you can consider Harry your son, and Shalltear you can consider him your brother. As I am adopting him as well, so you will technically be raising my child, so I expect for you to do a good job." Albedo and Shalltear looked up in surprise at this statement. Albedo decided to state their acceptance… and drew up the courage to ask for a request, "Yes Lord Blood, we understand, but I have a question." "Yes Albedo what is it?" "Well… as it is a child could you be so generous as to give me permission to rename him?",Shalltear looked Albedo in shock. She normally hated humans, but for once the vulture had a decent idea, so why not allow her to name him? Lazarus just smiled to himself, while on the inside he was confused at the fact that Albedo had taken interest in a human. "Granted, though I am curious about what you wish to name him.",Albedo smiled brightly. "My Lord, I wish to name him Ash, first name: Ash, last name: Blood.",Albus Dumbledore had begun to stroll through the street that was privet drive to try to check up on how Harry was doing when a huge shock struck his system. He had just come into sight of the Dursley household when to his horror the magic security system hadn't been activated. It ran off of Harry's magic to keep in check and defend to kill two birds with one stone, so something must have gone very wrong. He rushed towards it thinking that something must be wrong but no matter how many times he checked it didn't change the fact that it hadn't been activated as it should have been. He quickly spread out his magic to check for any magical beings and there were none within the Dursley house. Muggles didn't have any magic of any kind, so it was quite easy to tell that Harry wasn't there by attempting to make his own magic collide with other sources of magic.,Dumbledore ran towards the Dursley house and frantically smashed the knocker against the door over and over again. A loud stomping came from the inside of the house. A few seconds later the door flew open violently an overly large man with an angry red face came into view and screamed in Dumbledore's face. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" Dumbledore forced himself to calm remembering what kind of people these muggles are and began to speak slowly to make himself heard over his heavy panting… and Vernon Dursley's audible rage.,Dumbledore began telling the man the lie he had told everyone else, "You were meant to receive your wife's sister's son as she has been murdered, did you receive him or not?." Vernon's face raised itself in a wolfish grin. "Petunia will be pleased to know that her sister is gone, but besides the good news we haven't received any orphan that you were planning to dump on us." Dumbledore's eyes widened in horror, what the hell happened to Harry? He spoke out a stammered thank you and then began to walk away quickly as the door slammed behind him, causing a nearby cat to yelp and scramble away. Unbeknownst to Dumbledore a humanoid creature with 8 spider-like legs watched him and his 'conversation' unfold. It quickly scampered back to Nazarick to report while another one of the creatures took over watching the old man.,Ash sprinted through the halls of Nazarick on all fours with the speed of 70 miles per hour while Albedo chased after him. Of course was going easy on him in this game of tag, but isn't all about victory. Albedo loved seeing Ash be happy as he sprinted away from her with his ever loving abyss wolf running at his side. The abyss wolf Shira was a present Lazarus had given Ash on 6th birthday after he saw how dedicated he was to getting stronger. As an abyss wolf, Shira could change her shape into things she had seen before and mimic their behaviour. Ever since Demiurge replaced his body with a far more powerful one when he had just turned five, he loved running through the halls, flying through the artificial skies of the sixth floor with his wings, honing his fighting skills with Sebas and Uncle Cocytus, and practicing magic. A year ago, even though he was only six, he could cast fourth tier magic and couple of fifth tier spells.,After seeing how eager he was to get more powerful, Uncle Demiurge had developed a method that could allow him to forcefully inject magical power into him that would increase his affinity for magic, allowing to get up to the seventh tier in a few days. Ash had gladly agreed, and he had begun to learn some performance enhancing spells as well as his usual destruction magic, that Lord Lazarus could use as well after learning that could level up further, becoming level 155 and taking ten levels in the job class, even if it wasn't his specialty. Ash knew the whole story of his own past as he had been told when he was around six and a half, but he didn't really seem to mind and argued that he doesn't remember his true parents anyway, and besides, Nazarick is his family in all ways including blood seeing as he got a brand body from them.,Ash doesn't remember when he wasn't treated well by the denizens of Nazarick. He knows there was a time when he first came to Nazarick as a human, then having his body replaced with a combination of a pure vampire, a demon of destruction and a few other things. The only person that Ash is a bit scared of is the eight armed, two legged psychopathic ghoul, Horror. He works as Demiurge's assistant and the area guardian of the maggot spawning grounds and is completely insane. Ash has often seen him on the seventh floor, dragging screaming humans with grotesque mutations and augmentations, or broken ones with multiple holes on their bodies filled with maggots. He is completely silent unless spoken to and has a rasping voice. In the place his mouth should be is a curved cut which stretches from ear to ear like a smile. Inside the cut are rows upon rows of teeth. He likes to crawl up into hidden cracks in the wall or into caves and crawls across ceilings like an insect. He acts more like a spider than a sentient creature. He is just generally just freaky.,Although he does call Lord Blood 'dad', that might be because he is the only major male father figure in his life that he doesn't consider an uncle. He considers the Pleiades, Shalltear, Aura and Mare siblings, considers Albedo a mother, and considers the other floor guardians uncles. When he learned that his father Lazarus Blood was originally known by the name Momonga and changed his name, he asked why. Albedo told him that his father is the most powerful of all vampires and was the first ever vampire in existence. He held the title of Lord Blood as a result, so he decided to change his name into something that made it more obvious of what he is. Also this is the reason why Shalltear calls him Father instead of Lord Blood. Ash felt a surge of pride at this fact. He became a little misanthropic after that and began to believe that humans are lower creatures, as a result he had become a regular visitor to Neutronist to get his demonic habits out of his system. He gained a hatred of the fact that he was once a human, and if he hadn't been rescued by his father, he would have grown up with the same boring life that all other humans take so much pride in for some reason.,When he developed the Prince Of Death class, he began to be called the Prince Of Nazarick, and when Ash told his father of his success, Lazarus laughed happily and told him that he expects great things from Ash. He told him that his only limitation is his skill, not his talent, and that he will stop time for him to study and train for long periods of time if he wishes to, it won't be a problem as Ash is now immortal and can change his appearance at will due to being partly made out of a doppelgänger. Lazarus said he might try it out on himself to save time and gain more time to research and train. As a result 50 years passed for Ash, 300 years passed for Lazarus, while 2 years actually passed for everyone else. Due to this Lazarus has levelled up to 285, has the skill to cast 17th tier spells, and could theoretically get up to the stage of 24th tier, so he has been focusing on training instead of levelling grinding at the moment, he also now has far surpassed the strength of a level 100 party after learning some buffing skills and taking more levels in combat classes, magic classes, and racial classes. Ash has the skill currently to cast tenth tier spells, On Ash's 10th birthday, a year before Ash was due to go to the local Wizarding School 'Hogwarts', Lazarus decided it would be best if Ash would meet some human wizarding children, and make some friends. ,Ash's Stats at age 9(There will be no difference for Ash at age 11, apart from gaining the Wand Mage class of level 20. Seeing as Ash started training at the age of 5, he is incredibly strong.)(Harry Ash gained a whole load of racial classes naturally without him levelling them up, so only the total of his job levels shows his overall level and exp needed to get to the next level.,Racial Classes:,Level 40 Demon Of Destruction,Level 30 True Vampire,Level 15 Doppelgänger,Level 10 Living Unstable Mana (due to the whole demon of destruction thing combining itself with the pure mana injected into Ash's system),Level 10 Demon Of Apocalypse,Level 5 Beast Of Oblivion,Level 5 Intellect Devourer (Makes Ash a whole lot smarter),Level 2 Human,Job Classes:,Level 35 Demonic Mage,Level 30 Berserker,Level 20 Draconic Mage,Level 20 Destruction Mage,Level 15 Brawler,Level 10 Avatar Of Destruction,Level 5 Collapsing Star (This just means that Ash has the energy of a Collapsing Star, and can use black hole skills and the like.),Level 5 Prince Of Death,Passive Skills (can be deactivated and cost no mana):,Father Of All Vampires:,As the first ever player to choose vampire as a character, non-player vampires who are weaker than you will automatically obey you. You have a near obsessive hatred for humans and love slaughtering humans in mass. You are very well versed in physiological and physical warfare against humans. You are very protective over your vampiric children and other allies. Gain title: Father Blood/The Blood-Father. Gain active skill: Wrath Of The Blood Father.,Nature of the Vampire God:,You have an unmatched sense of ambition, you will do anything to achieve your goals, and see mortals as below you in every way. You are extremely misanthropic and have no care whatsoever about mortal's death. You are very intelligent(four hundred IQ to be exact) and arrogant, yet prefer to get to the point instead of basking in your own glory. You are merciless, and will never forgive someone if they betray you. You take pleasure in killing, but take more pleasure in torturing and feeding on living humanoids. You are very sadistic but are protective of friends and allies, especially those who you acknowledge as your children(the denizens of Nazarick, especially Ash).,World Class Enemy:,You have been acknowledged by reality itself that you are something that should not be messed with, after getting maximum negative karma, you have used a world item that Is considered one of the twenty to unlock the limits of your power. You must have a mix of Physical and Magical job classes. Stats all gain +25. Mana +500%, Mana Cost -75%, Spell Power +500%, Physical Power +500%, Physic Power +500%.,Passive Skill Gain: Weapon Master:,You can use any weapon will the skill of a master, with no limitations. You may wield two weapons of the same type with no drawbacks.,Active Skill Gain: Mana Burn:,Create a single spell which burns 50% of your remaining mana. This can be combined with 'affinity combining' and 'spell combining'. This is not affected by 'infinite mana'.,Unholy Presence:,The air itself seems to shiver when you walk into a room with this active. Weakens good aligned enemies, and strengthens evil aligned allies.,Aura of Fear I-IV,Steal identity:,Disguise yourself as someone who you drank blood from. You look like them, talk like them, act like them, and even have the same habits as them. Combination of illusion and knowledge magic.,Hive King Of The Dead:,Undead nearby will automatically fall under your control if they are not being controlled already, or their master is at least forty levels below you. You share an almost hive mind like bond with your undead, and can send a 'message' to them instantly without spending mana. You can share all of one your undead's senses at will, and can take over their body for a short amount of time without damaging your own. Your undead act like a hive mind protecting their queen, and have an inbuilt 'kill switch' which becomes one of the undead's abilities when you take control of them. The kill switch, when activated by the undead that the kill switch is embedded in or the master of the undead, will explode releasing hundreds of parasitic worms which will burrow into the nearest living thing, infecting them with a parasitic disease which will take control of the creatures brain, and march them towards a designated location where they will be secured and readied for 'processing'.,Undead Hive Breeding:,The parasite moves down from the brain into other parts of the body, allowing the host to regain control, not that they can move anymore. The parasite begins the 'processing', as the user has regained control of their body, this is extraordinarily painful. The mouth is cut out and replaced with a tube which forcefully propelled nutrients, oxygen and an anti-aging potion into the host to keep them alive, permanently. The heart is turned into a den for the parasite, allowing it to spread the appropriate drugs throughout the bloodstream to prevent illness and spread nutrients throughout the body, the kidneys, bladder and digestive system are removed, any waste is recycled. The reproductive organs are converted into an asexual breeding ground for maggots. At this point the host is now a 'spawner', a slave with no gender, in constant agony and constantly produces a maggot every fewminuites. Maggots are different from normal maggots, and are undead creatures that hatch from eggs inside of humanoids, they spawn inside of corpses and are produced by hive parasites, they are about the size of a thumb. Maggots are very weak by themselves, but have the unique ability of being able to combine themselves to create stronger undead like death knights or lichs(the size of the creature doesn't matter, only the power and level does). The strongest known undead was 'Fleshzilla'. A player combined thirty billion maggots into an amalgamation which he wasn't strong enough to control, as he wasn't level one hundred. It took over two hundred level one hundreds players to kill that thing. Needless to say, after Momonga played for so long, he gained over ten million breeders(enough to auto-make five death knights a second), and has enough stored maggots to make over a thousand Flesh Zillas, and keeping control over them.,Infinite Mana(Stage three only),Active Skills:,Create undead(uses corpse),Reform Maggots,Destruction Magic,Blood Magic,Death Magic,Negation Magic,Unholy Magic,Soul Magic,Illusion Magic,Reality Magic,Time Magic,Space Magic,Elemental Magic,Biology Magic,Creation Magic,Knowledge Magic,Enchanting,Spell Combining,Affinity Combining(two affinities can be combined),Spell Creating,Full Magic Control(basically can change if someone can use magic, and can make magical energies pick stuff up and throw it around, and other stuff depending on what affinity Lucifer is commanding). Can be used like telekinesis or utilising the raw energy of the affinity that the user is bestowing the nearby mana with.,Alchemy,Create Vampire(uses living humanoid),Create Unholy(uses alive or dead sentient holy creature),Create Vampire Bride(uses dead female humanoid),Amalgamate(uses two or more corpses),Mind Control,Infest(creates a maggot inside the target),Make Slave(changes target's loyalty to user permanently),Bloodlust(stage two only),Intimidation(stage two only),Adrenaline(stage two only),(Once Per Two Hundred Hours)Wrath Of The Blood Father(Stage three only),True Form Conversion.(basically imagine a midnight black, humanoid Cthulhu with Dark Young tentacles.,Stage One: Voice turns into true form, senses increases tenfold and stats double.,Stage two: Body becomes that of the true form, active skills Bloodlust, Intimidation and Adrenaline are activated at no cost. All stats double again.,(Once Per Two Days)Stage three: All skills, except Steal Identity, are made active at maximum power at no cost with an AoE effect. For example being in the vicinity of a graveyard will fill that graveyard with undead servants, Vampire brides and amalgamations. Infinite Mana is active: All spells can be combined and cast with no cost. Wrath Of The Blood Father can be used if not on cool down, this skill casts every spell you know instantly in a single mass of carnage, then replenishes your mana to maximum. It doesn't matter what spell it is, it casts it. The skill however will only cast offensive spells, and none of these spells will affect vampires, or those who have been marked as allies. Stats double again.,These two swords were forged from the seed that created The Universe: [The Singularity], the strongest material in the universe, and sharp enough to cut atoms . This seed could only be obtained by finding the first fruit of Yggdrasil, which fell from the world tree at the dawn of time. Each sword has two halves with a Strip made of a [Soul Of The Death God]. The Death God has two souls, and each one was used in the creation of the swords. The hilt is made of the children of the god of poison. The sixteen children were captured alive and turned into [The Gold Of Life]. The material which the god of life uses to fill worlds with life and prosperity. However, these snakes were subjected to a direct cut by a sword made of this material. [The Gold Of Life]'s purpose is to create life, not heal things. So the snakes absorbed the gold, and were revived over and over and over. Until they turned into statues of [The Gold Of Life] and suffer eternal torment, forever stuck on the bridge between life and death. This agony is used to power the swords, and they were forever known as the strongest blades in existence.

His life was torture.,Every day, the machines came and tried something new on him. They took out his bone and replaced it with metal. One day, they chopped off his arm and attached a robotic one its place. The pain was unbearable. And every time, every blasted time, his body healed up again, ready for the next round. Betraying his thoughts. Betraying his greatest wish, which was now to die.,That was the one thing he could not do. Ever since he picked up the Deathly Hallows, gathered them as one. No matter what happened, he always regenerated. It didn't matter if he was burned or exploded or stabbed. It took a long time, and that long time was just agony. The only thing that he, Harry Potter, knew now was pain, despair and a burning desire to escape the Hell he was trapped in.,Even if he escaped, he didn't know what he would do. Didn't know where he would go. Whether he would survive the war waging outside, between the humans and the machines. Whatever was out there, though, was better than than where he was currently, even if it was just by a tiny margin.,Now, Harry lay on the table, his eyes closed, breathing deeply and blocking out the pain. No matter how much they changed him, nor how much his body adapted to the metal now inside it, the pain never became any better. The machines had just done the worst experiment yet. Most of his insides were replaced by metal now. He was more machine than human. It seemed that Skynet had finally happened upon a design where Harry would be used as a base for other humans who were captured.,His magic had been all but stripped from his body, stolen and used as a power source for something. It was so weak that Harry couldn't even produce a spark of light. Harry screamed out in anguish, still mourning for his friends and family, who were slaughtered in front of him so many years ago. His arms lashed out, the chains that held him rattling fruitlessly. They were made of some super strong metal, so strong it was hopeless to even try breaking it. And, oh boy, had he tried.,Suddenly, the door slid open with a hiss. Two terminators marched in, red eyes training on him. Harry stared defiantly back. In silence, they snapped the chains and escorted him out of the room, through the familiar hallways, terminators patrolling with massive plasma weapons.,To his left, there was a door, slightly ajar, with a blue light blazing inside. His curiosity was peaked. Maybe it was a way out. He would have to make a break for it right now, if that was the case.,Without warning, Harry rammed himself into the terminator on the left. Due to the changes forced upon him, he was now a lot stronger than previously. That was one upside, even though he would rather be completely human right now. The terminator staggered, which was enough of a window for Harry to slip past into the room and jam the door shut. It would take them a minute or so to get through. That minute could be the difference between life and...not death.,What Harry saw in front of his was the most glorious sight he'd seen in all his life. It was the time machine that he'd managed to catch wind of. With no idea how it worked, Harry rushed up to the control console thing and began mashing buttons, hyper aware of the terminators banging on the door. Thirty seconds left.,To his great surprise, the machine began to fire up. With inhuman speed, Harry sprinted over and put himself in the middle of it, hoping against hope that he was doing it right. If he wasn't, he was as good as dead, considering that he couldn't die. Skynet wasn't exactly lenient.,The blue light intensified, and just as the terminators burst through the door, Harry was gone, leaving nothing but a sparking machine behind.

Part I,"Shit," the pale, dark-robed man muttered under his breath. "Shit shit SHIT. Potter and his friends have scrambled. How am I supposed to find them now?",The man's name was Tom Riddle, but he was better known to most of the wizarding world as Voldemort. The Dark Lord. He Who Must Not Be Named. They claim he is a dark wizard. They say he wants to overthrow wizard society. They say he hates Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic. They say he is a pureblood supremacist. And they say he is insane.,They would be right, except for the last two parts.,Voldemort may practice what some wizards would call dark magic. He may wish to overthrow wizarding society. He is, however, quite the opposite of a pureblood supremacist, and he is emphatically NOT insane. In fact, he is among the few wizards alive who knows the truth. His pureblood supremacist trappings are nothing but an act, part of what Muggles would call a "long con." Voldemort's "Death Eaters," much misunderstood by the wizarding world at large, are a death cult, based not upon some absurd concept of "pureblood supremacy," but instead upon the wholesale elimination of magic from the Earth. Many of them work against magic from within wizarding society, sabotaging the Ministry's dark experiments and trying their best to shut down or disrupt the operation of the indoctrination facilities which the Ministry has the gall to call "schools." All these and more are the goals of the man the wizarding world knows and fears as Lord Voldemort.,More immediately, however, his goal was to track down the scion of the New Aeon. Most know him as Harry Potter.,Years ago, Voldemort tried to break the spell of protection placed upon the young scion by his Ministry stooge parents. His intention was to eliminate the scion before that protective magic became a problem. He was only partially successful: he'd managed to weaken Harry's protective ward, but at the cost of his own physical form, and despite his prodigious power, he was only one jagged forehead scar closer to the scion's death. Languishing in the horrid semi-undeath of astral projection, he'd managed to make contact with a follower of his by the name of Quirrel, and through him return at least partially to life. Through Quirrel, he made yet another attempt to kill Harry, but was thwarted yet again by Lily Potter's insidious protective charm (which that demented old fool Dumbledore had always claimed was the "power of love" or some other such insipid nonsense, when in all actuality it was, as any dark wizard worth his salt could tell you, simple blood magic). Once again forced into his astral form, Voldemort made several more successive attacks (once even resorting to possessing an old diary of his he'd enchanted as practice whilst still attending Hogwarts), before finally managing to return himself to life with the help of Peter Pettigrew. Picked on and given the role of designated punching bag by his so-called "friends" at Hogwarts, kindly, quiet Peter was at heart a humanist, and among the loyalest servants the Dark Lord ever had. Voldemort came to love Peter as a son, and deeply regretted that he could not save his Animagus friend from having to spend years as a common house pet. To Peter, as to all Death Eaters, he revealed the horrible, alien truth behind wizardkind, and Peter came to hate himself and the threat that wizards posed to those who truly deserved to be the masters of this planet, the Muggles. Returning to life, Voldemort once again tried to kill Potter, and though he'd come close, the scion once again managed to escape with his life. Reminiscing on his repeated failure, Voldemort finally decided upon a new course of action: if he could not kill young Harry, he would reveal to him the truth. This was made all the more difficult by the fact that a splinter group of Death Eaters had recently taken clandestine control of the Ministry and was actively working against him.,, thought Voldemort, , ,"That's it." Voldemort said aloud. "Nagini. That's it! I sent her to Godric's Hollow weeks ago. Perhaps the Potter party has passed through there recently.",Voldemort closed his eyes, focusing upon the thought of Nagini. Astral energy gathered in his mind before exploding skywards. In a split second, Voldemort had gone from the middle of the Forest of Dean to a rather comfortable house in Godric's Hollow. Voldemort opened his eyes again.,He was face-to-face with Harry Potter.,Before he even had time to react, a frizzy-haired girl emerged from the stairs behind Harry and blasted Nagini against a wall. Recoiling with pain, Voldemort was thrust back into his own body. Without taking time even to think, Voldemort retrieved his wand from an inner pocket of his cloak, waved it in the air, and disappeared.

AN: Hey all! I'm Ignis18, and this would be my first story here on FFN! If you come from Ao3, you may know me better as Ignis16 and may be wondering why I'm starting with this story instead of the , series. the answer is that, it's a lot easier for me to keep the stories of that series chronologically organized over there. Once that series is finished, or I don't have anything to add in between other stories or chapters, I'll start uploading them here.,I'm sorry if this AN is too long, but it's the only one that will be as much, I promise!,Thanks to tyrannicpuppy for betaing this, and if you like this, thank him for convincing me to write it!,Another thing, as I said back in Ao3 I'm a Harmony, a Jily and a Gency shipper, so if you were expecting other ships for those characters, I'm sorry but you won't get them from me. I'm also changing a lot of the timeline for both HP and OW, so that's that too.,Anyway, standard disclaimer: apart from some OCs, I own nothing in this story. Harry Potter is owned by J. K. Rowling and Overwatch is owned by Blizzard.,So, with nothing more to add...ON WITH THE STORY,It was the night of Halloween, 1981, and just hours ago James and Lily Potter had been murdered in their own home. The only survivor being their baby son, Harry.,Hagrid, on Dumbledore's orders, had gone to the cottage in Godric's Hollow and, thanks to Sirius Black lending him his motorbike, had quickly flown baby Harry to London, where he would meet with the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall.,Once all three were outside the agreed house, McGonagall spoke.,"Can't you do something about the scar on his forehead, Dumbledore?" She asked him dubiously, "surely there must be a way to heal it?","Even if I could, I wouldn't," he said. He had tried to heal it, but already had a suspicion of , was inside that mark. "Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground","Well," she started, weirded out by the unnecessary revelation, ', she thought to herself irritated, "it could be a lot worse, I guess. At least he will grow up happy, these two seem like good people.","Aye," agreed Hagrid, "Lily's cousin was always kind the few times I met 'er",Dumbledore frowned internally, he had wanted to leave Harry with Petunia, Lily's sister, but knew that if he tried that with Minerva knowing about the woman's resentment towards magic, not to mention Lily's good relationship with her cousin, his plans would fall apart too easily. No, he would just hope this would not affect them too badly.,The old man was about to leave Harry on the doorstep when a very unamused redheaded woman opened the door of the flat.,"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" She asked him, glaring at the way he was leaning down with the bundle in his arms, "you can't just leave a child like that out in the cold! Come on inside!",Dumbledore was rankled, who was this woman to talk to him that way? But having been discovered, he had no option but to follow her orders. Minerva and Hagrid shared a sad but amused glance at the resemblance of the woman to her cousin before following the headmaster inside the house.,"Now, why don't you tell me just why you were leaving my cousin's child on my doorstep?" She asked them seriously.,"Miss Evans, I'm sad to have to tell you this, but young Lily and James have been… they were murdered earlier tonight in their home, I'm so sorry." Said McGonagall, almost in tears.,The woman's face paled, but she quickly got a hopeful glint in her eyes.,"Lena!" She called to the house, "could you come here a second luv?",Soon, a young woman with spiky brown hair came through one of the doors.,"What's wrong luv?" She said, concerned at seeing her girlfriend's face so pale, "and who are you?" She asked to the other three occupants of the room.,"Do you think Winston and Dr. Ziegler could take a look at my cousin and her husband, they-" The redhead caught her girlfriend's attention, her voice breaking, "they were murdered earlier today, Lena.",The brunette became serious in a moment, "wait here, I'll call them," she said, and before any of the three magicals in the house were able to ask anything, the woman disappeared in a flash of blue light.,Soon, and in the same blue glow, she was back.,"Mercy is on her way to our nearest branch right now," she told the redhead, "Noctus and his family were with Winston when I called, he said he knew where they lived and went to recover their bodies," she added, "said he had the needed authority to recover them without people asking too many questions. Don't worry, Emily, we will have James and Lily back in no time." She finished with a reassuring smile.,"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Emily said, "let's get moving.","Before going anywhere," started McGonagall dubiously, "could you tell us just what you're talking about?","We will explain on the way professor!" Said the now livelier woman, "it's too long to explain before Noctus gets them to the London HQ.",-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-,While this talk was taking place, Noctus Ignis, a young man with long black hair kept up in a ponytail, was arriving at the cottage in Godric's Hollow.,', He thought to himself.,Just as he stopped his car just outside the Potters' place, he saw Sirius pulling James' body out of the ruins.,"Padfoot!" He called getting off the car, "get James in the backseat and help me get Lily, quickly!","Noctus?" Asked the young Black heir, "what are you doing here? And where would we be taking them? Th-They are gone, Noctus!" At this, Sirius broke down sobbing, what he had just lost catching up to him.,Noctus brotherly hugged the younger man, "don't worry Sirius," he told him, "we have a way to truly bring them back. It's only because of Wizarding Britain's obsession with being secretive that we haven't been able to revive others with the same method." He reassured his friend. "Now come on," he added after a pause, "let's get Lily and put these two in the backseat.","What are you talking about? There's no way to bring someone back from the dead, is there?" Sirius asked dubiously as they made their way inside the house.,"The answer, my friend," started Noctus, a smirk on his face, "is Overwatch, an organization both Lily and James, along with some friends and myself, were a part of. They took leave when Harry was born, but they still are considered agents.","And this group has a way to bring people back?" Asked Sirius in wonder.,Noctus just chuckled, "yes, Padfoot, we have a way. Or better said, one of our numbers has a way, she invented the method after all." He said with a soft smile.,They quickly but carefully grabbed Lily's body and wand, and got her in Noctus' car, before getting themselves inside and speeding towards the London Overwatch HQ, they had a couple of friends to return to their son.,-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-,Just as Emily and Lena got to Overwatch London, Noctus and Sirius were arriving in the car with James and Lily's bodies in tow.,"Come inside, quickly!" Shouted a deep voice from the doorway.,The Hogwarts group and Sirius looked gobsmacked at the talking ape standing there, but neither Noctus, Lena or Emily seemed to mind and just quickly got inside the building with their precious charge. Noctus with James and Lily, Emily with baby Harry asleep in her arms.,Soon, the group was looking at their friends' bodies laid on beds, when a young, blonde woman came through the door of the room, carrying a long, technological staff.,"Thank goodness, It's not too late!" She said, a soft Swiss accent to her voice, "Winston! Help me up here!",Soon after she said this, and once the ape, apparently named Winston, had grabbed a hold of both of the bodies shoulders, they saw how the woman's staff came to life, emitting a golden light that entered the Potters, who both jolted awake.,Sirius and Emily made a mad dash towards the resurrected Potters, Harry still in the redhead's arms, while Minerva and Hagrid broke down with tears of joy at seeing their friends alive and well, it was a miracle!,Dumbledore wasn't looking at it with the same eyes as the rest. If the Potters were back, he wouldn't have the control over young Harry he needed to finally destroy Voldemort. No, for the Greater Good, they would have to go. He started to stealthily move his hand towards his wand.,"I'm sorry, but I can't allow this," he said, to the incredulous and enraged looks of everyone else in the room, ",He didn't manage to finish the incantation before someone interrupted him.,",Screamed a female voice from the door, her powerful spell slamming against Dumbledore's hand, sending his wand flying in James' direction, who quickly snatched it out of the air, frowning when he felt it warm up in his hand.,At the door, stood a young woman with long, flowing brown hair. Her eyes, normally a bright green, were a blood red, with the white of her eyes having turned the darkest black.,"What do you think you're doing?!" She asked, her voice now coming distorted, "and don't give me that , bullshit! You were about to erase everyone's memories of James and Lily coming back, weren't you?! You want them out of they way, DON'T YOU?!" She snarled, her magic lashing out, binding and levitating the old man.,"YES!" Cried the ancient wizard against his will, "Yes, I , to have control over young Harry, only , can lead him on the path he must go so Voldemort can finally be destroyed!","Tenebrae," said Noctus almost in a whisper, his deep voice icy with contained rage, "is the old man under our truth spell?",The woman could only nod, shaking in anger.,"Well," said Noctus, a vindictive, almost , smirk on his face, making the old man gulp on sight, "let's start the questioning, then.",Dumbledore knew he was doomed.,-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-,The amount of stuff they managed to get out of Dumbledore during the impromptu interrogation, not to mention how twisted and, frankly, ,, his plans had been, was appalling.,When he was forced to reveal his suspicions about Harry's scar, the faces of James, Sirius and Noctus paled, the latter quickly moving to Lily's and Emily's side and casting a spell over the baby, taking a calming breath when he saw the results.,They decided to put Dumbledore under a magic suppressing field in one of the building's cells while they decided what to do with the information they'd uncovered.,Once the old man had been taken away by Winston and Noctus, and said two were back in the infirmary where James and Lily were, the whole group started discussing what they should do.,"James?" Lily asked, after a little moment of silence, "why did you pale when Dumbledore mentioned that Harry may be one of Voldemort's 'Horcrux'?" She asked uncertainly, just what were 'Horcrux'?,"Darling," started James, taking a calming breath, "a Horcrux is one of the most vile, disgusting pieces of dark magic there is. Having made a Horcrux means that you have killed at least one innocent, splitting your soul and putting part of it in an object or another living being." He told them, to the horror of those who hadn't known about the existence of such magic, "while just one of these things remains, be it alive or an object," he continued after a pause, "Voldemort will never truly die." He finished, hugging Lily and his son closely to himself. Harry had almost lost both of them today, and would have been left to an uncertain future because of the old man, now he would make sure nothing like that could happen.,"The bad news," started Noctus after letting James' explanation sink in, "is that there , a sliver of the bastard's soul lodged inside Harry's scar.",Lily's face paled at this, tears sliding down her face.,"The good news," said Tenebrae, "is that from the results of the spell Noctus casted earlier, it isn't truly a Horcrux, but a soul leech. It won't be difficult to take it out of him without hurting him, don't worry, it's my family's speciality after all!" She told the group with a reassuring smile, "we also should be able to use it to trace the others he has made, a soul leech wouldn't have dislodged itself from his soul if it wasn't already in tatters." She added seriously.,"What should we do about Dumbledore?" Asked Minerva, she didn't like what she had found out about the old man tonight, but didn't think they would be able to get him imprisoned, at least not in Britain.,"Tenebrae and I are members of Revered and Most Noble houses," started Noctus seriously, neither of them liked using their positions, but for times like this they came in handy, "James and Sirius, for their part, are members of two Most Ancient and Noble houses, just among us four we already have a lot of weight. To that add Frank and Alice once we reveal to them what we found out tonight, and we should have enough weight in the Wizengamot to at least get him on trial with Veritaserum, the Pureblood Exclusion law wouldn't apply to him, as a half-blood." He finished,"I hope 'e rots in Azkaban if we can't get 'im the Kiss." Hagrid stated darkly. He was sad, but most of all angry at the headmaster for trying to use him in his plans for Harry. Now, he would do everything in his limited power to help young Harry, the same resolution being made by everyone in the room.,-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-,The ritual to rid little Harry of the leech had been fairly simple and almost harmless, so much so that the baby didn't even wake up during the short process.,Well, "ritual", it was just Tenebrae prickling the scar with a special needle and then pulling out the black ichor with her wand, and then storing it within a rune-covered crystal.,"This," the woman said, holding up the crystal, "is our Horcrux-compass. It should be able to roughly tell us where the bastard's Soul Jars are, once I learn how to build a map out of it, that is.","Well, now that that's done," said Winston, looking from Tenebrae to the three "civilians" in the room, "let me tell you, about the Overwatch organization…",AN: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Let me know in the reviews! Also, if you spot any mistakes that neither Puppy or me noticed, don't hesitate to tell me! It's the only way I'll get better after all!,For this story I have another 4 chapters ready that I'll be posting soon after this one to catch this story up to its Ao3 counterpart.,I have nothing more to say for now, so I'll see you in my next chapter or story! Or in the reviews of other stories, who knows?!

Kapitola 1-zmizení,Před 4 Privet Drive se objevily tři záblesky světla a když ty záblesky zmizely tak se tam objevily tři postavy. První postava měla velký klobouk, dlouhý bílý vous a fialový oblečení, vypadal tak na sto čtyřicet let. Druhý muž byl mladý muž s černýma vlasama, brýlema který ukrývali černé oči, na sobě měl černý kabat, černé kalhoty a černé boty, vypadá asi na dvacet šest let. Třeří byla žena s červenýma vlasy a zelenýma očima, měla na sobě šedou bundu a bílé kalhoty a krásné boty, vypadá asi na dvacet sedm let. V ženině náručí byl modrý balík s dětskou tváří.,„Albusi jste si jistí že tohle je správně. Nemůžeme ho dát magické rodině ?" zeptala se žena.,„Ne Lily, to nejde. V magickém světě ho budou smrtijedi který budou prahnout po pomstě hledat ale v mudlolvské světě ne a navíc se musíme soustředit na vašeho nejmladšího syna který porazil Lorda Voldemorta, ale neboj, až bude mít jedenáct let tak ho získáte spátky" řekl Albus ženě která byla idenfikována jako Lily.,„Ale proč ho máme dát na prah dveří ?" zeptal se ten mladý muž.,„Neboj se Jamesy. Dám na něj kouzlo tepla a bude zabelený do deky" řekl Albus muži který byl identifikoval jako James. „Tak Lily, dej Harryho na prah a jdeme zpátky domu".,Lily příkývla a ona a James jdou ke dveřím do domu 4 Privet Drive a položily Harryho Jamese Pottera, dědice rodiny Potter ke prahům dveři s dopisem uvnitř který to všechno vystvětlí a pak odešli zpátky k Albusovy a všichni zmizely v záblesku světla. Ale ještě před tím než zmizeli tak James řekl: „Jestli se mu něco stane, tak si mě nepřej".,Po několika sekund když zmizeli se na ulici začal materizovat postava. Postava byla modrá a byla přes něj vidět, měla pekelně žluté oči a dlouhé hnědé vlasy. Žena byla první nejsilnější sithá lady, Darth Obcorus. Darth Obcorus přistoupila k Harrymu a zvedla ho do náruče a řekla: „Budeš silný sithský císař můj Sith'ari, ale ne v tom to času". Pak zvedla ruku a začala jí točit dokola až se neotevřela modrá díra a pak do něj Darth Obcorus dala Harry. Když Harry v modré díre zmizela tak se díra zavřela a Darth Obcorus zmizela.,Díra se otevřela a vyplivla Harryho na podlahu obýváku na bytu na Dromunda kaas, když pročel Harry tak se modrá díra zavřela. Po pár sekundách se otevřely dveře do obýváku a do místnosti vešel muž a žena a šli k Harrymu. Muž a žena byli oba ty nejodanější sithové, muž se jmenoval Darth Abracas a žena se jmenovala Darth Avaritia, ale předtím než získali jména Darth, tak se jmenovali Mortus a Andie Cardifer.,„Kdo je to ?",„Nevím" řekl předtím než si všiml dopisu který rozložil a přečetl. „Jmenuje se Harry Potter a je hodně silný na sílů".,„Co s ním uděláme ?",„Necháme si ho a vychováme ho jako vlastního, taková citlivost na sílu nesmí být pomartěno" řekl.,„Jak ho pojmenujeme",„Pojmenujeme ho Harry Cardifer".

A/N: This story is a sequel that follows on some time after the events of , which itself is a sequel to, This will be the final installment of that series. As the series was started before Pottermore and even parts of this fic were written prior to a lot of its Word of God about international wizardry being posted, consider it to be automatically AU for any conflicts. ,Few wizards went in for the crazy, convoluted schemes some muggles came up with to murder each other. That was one of the most enduring truths Harry had learned from working with Detective Kate Beckett and the rest of her homicide team from the 12th Precinct. He wasn't quite sure why, still.,It wasn't that murders were exceptionally rare in the wizarding world, nor that wizards were innately more stupid or less creative than muggles. Even if plenty of wizarding murders were ridiculously easy to solve, since you just arrested the person standing over the body with a wand, the blabbermouth bragging about poisons to their neighbor, or found the latest evil megalomaniac trying to take over the world. It was clear enough those happened in the muggle world, too, from the stories the detectives told.,He suspected it might be because there was so much less cause to have to try and avoid detection in the wizarding world. Not only had muggles progressed so much further ahead in terms of techniques for investigating crimes, but the general public was at least generally aware of those advances. Even the dumbest muggle criminal had some basic knowledge of the existence of things like DNA and fingerprints and had an increased fear of being caught. Wizards, by contrast? Few of them ever bothered to learn much about anything that didn't directly concern them after they finished their basic course of schooling and took the NEWTs. They also didn't have things like TV and the Internet to put such information easily into everyone's hands as entertainment, either.,Unfortunately, the lack of savvy in the general population of wizarding criminals was still often reflected in the techniques of the auror's office. For the most part, their investigations were no more sophisticated than they had to be to handle the average day-to-day cases crossing their desks. Which meant that when some unusually clever wizard committed a crime and had the bright idea to cover it up in an unusual way, they were more likely to get away with it than a muggle counterpart would be. Fortunately, although the wizarding world as a whole tended to hate change and live centuries in the past, someone in the New York Auror's Office had seen this handicap for what it was. Which was how Harry's team had ended up working with the team of detectives in the first place.,Before they'd been forced together, the Auror department had already begun to pull in a few experts in muggle investigative science from a number of disciplines and specialties. Then a series of serial murders of wizards and witches living among muggles had brought the two homicide investigations together and lead to Beckett's team being read in on the existence of magic.,The first two cases they'd worked with Beckett's team had been the most awkward. There had been a lot of adjusting by both teams to understand and accommodate how the other half operated. There were tensions, but all of them genuinely wanting to catch the murders more than anything else had definitely helped smooth the way. Ultimately, the homicide team had clearly been a very solid addition to the muggle expert program, and they worked particularly well in conjunction with Harry's team. It had been an easy decision to keep in contact with them after those first cases. They were just so very good at coming up with new ideas and new ways of looking at things that could open up otherwise stalled investigations, even despite the considerable hurdle of knowing very little about magic.,It didn't hurt that the more they'd worked together, the better they had all gotten along on a personal level, either. Over the year following their initial meeting, Harry's team made it a habit to check in with their counterparts at the 12th on a regular basis. Sometimes they got together to work on cases, sometimes to only complain about cases they were working on separately, and every now and then, they gathered in the same place just to spend time and catch up on each others lives. Castle, for one, had bought an owl and sent messages on a pretty regular basis, which sometimes had letters from the others tucked inside.,The program overall was still fairly small and the number of muggles invited in kept purposefully limited. Despite that, already there had been a noticeable downswing in cases being left unresolved according to McAdams, the NYAO's senior liaison officer. Harry and his friends were some of the most open about embracing the unorthodox help, but they weren't the only ones taking advantage of the new resources from the muggle world. They also weren't the only ones that had favorite muggle counterparts. Although aurors tended to be more general purpose investigators than the muggle experts they were working with, fairly early in the program it became clear things ran more smoothly when the same muggles worked with the same aurors repeatedly. After joint cases had become a regular occurrence, the Head of the Auror Department had seen most of the muggles were far more comfortable working with wizards they had already gotten to know personally. Harry didn't really figure that Detective Beckett would be intimidated by anyone, but some of the other muggle experts he had met in passing seemed fairly nervous around unfamiliar wizards.,Ideally, all of their experts would be comfortable with any of the aurors, but there didn't seem much point in fighting it that things went faster and smoother when they paired experts and aurors who had previously worked together. Of course, as always with wizards, there were a couple of teams who refused to work with muggles on their cases at all, but Harry had actually been surprised at how few refused to come around. As to the rest, Harry knew Peterson's team had spent as much time with a pair of robbery detectives as his had with the group from the 12th. Winston Smith, who tended to work alone or with whoever needed an extra team member on a given case, was spending a great deal of time learning about profiling from a retired FBI agent. One of the other auror teams Harry's worked with fairly frequently on the largest cases was headed by a very competent witch named Millicent Marr. She and her partner had started up a working relationship with a medical examiner. As he had with most of the other experts in question, Harry had seen the man in passing a few times when they'd been working cases and Marr's team had brought him by the Auror's Office. Therefore when Harry's team was summoned to Lumos Avenue at an uncomfortably early morning hour before even false dawn was brightening the horizon because someone had found a body, it only took him a few seconds to recognize the face of the victim, Todd Summers.,It wasn't a pretty scene, even beyond the usual. The body had been partially torn apart by a blasting curse and then posed in a grotesquely splayed fashion. Its not-entirely-attached-limbs stretched out right in the middle of the grand staircase fronting the Ministry building where it faced onto the main magical street. The exaggerated way the body was prominently posed to make it as visible as possible was only underlined by the foot-tall writing across the steps above the corpse, scrawled in what appeared to be the victim's blood, "MUGGLE TRASH DOESN'T BELONG HERE".,His first visceral reaction, a product of both the recognition of the victim and the ugliness of the scene, was a wash of cold anger. After that Harry just felt vaguely sick. The war with Voldemort had already left him with too many memories of seeing familiar faces frozen in unpleasant deaths, but he had thought that a thing safely relegated to the past. Not that being an auror didn't involve some ugly scenes. Overall, though, being able to help bring killers to justice and the victims being strangers was enough to keep the cases they regularly handled from affecting him too much. It was a different thing when you knew the person, even in such a glancing way as he'd known this man.,It took him longer than he would have liked to be able to finally draw his eyes away from the grisly scene, and he swallowed hard, getting a grip on his thoughts and emotions, turning to the rest of the wizards who had been called in to deal with the case. Harry worried for a moment that he had perhaps stalled too long in taking charge, but a scan of the grim faces surrounding him showed he wasn't the only one that had needed some extra time to regain his composure.,"Ron, go give the detectives from the homicide team a call, we're going to need them on this one and they should see the scene as fresh as possible," Harry directs his teammate. Ron nods in response and heads off with purpose.,"Hermione, can you send a patronus to get Marr's team to come out? We're going to need to talk to them about what Summers was working on and why he was here this morning." He turns away from her serious face as she mentally composes the best message to send.,Harry addresses the rest of the gathered aurors next. "Let's get some actual barriers set up around this scene to keep people out. It's still early, but we're pretty exposed here and the last thing we need is anybody contaminating the scene. The rest of you lot that aren't keeping people out, start asking around. See if you can find any witnesses who might have seen or heard anything suspicious.",With the obvious next steps underway, Harry takes a moment to worry. It's not a certainty the man's controversial position with the Auror Department is related to his murder, but considering how and where the body had been positioned, and the ominous, hateful message? Those alone were damning enough, but the specific timing of this event is also another factor. The , had run an article just last week about the Auror Department's slowly expanding policy of pulling in muggles on some of their cases instead of obliviating them. The writer had been no Rita Skeeter, and had been perfectly willing to be completely vague about the identities and specialties of the muggle representatives working with the Department, but there was still an inherent danger in drawing attention to the program. The number of angry howlers that had been making their way to both the paper and the Ministry since were clear evidence of that. No matter how much Harry had wanted things to be different here to what they'd been back home with Head-In-The-Sand Fudge in office, the wizarding world as a whole was still a hidebound group that did not deal well with change.,Beckett's team had taught him not to jump to conclusions, but they do have a very obvious place to start looking here. Therefore when Ron returns after finishing his call, Harry sends him off again to get a listing of everyone who would have had access to the records of the Auror Department regarding their hiring of muggle experts. Meanwhile, he and Hermione run through all the routine magic tracing spells they normally use at a major magical crime scene as they wait for Beckett's team to arrive. Unfortunately, the choice of the middle of wizarding New York's main district as the location left a great deal of their spells hopelessly muddled by the background traces of magic.,.,.,.,A/N: I think I'm falling back into bad habits of sitting on things long past the time they should be considered done, so I'm gonna put this out now even if there's that one bit I'm not quite... Aside from a final editing run made during posting, this story is finished and will be eight chapters total. As always I appreciate feedback and am interested in hearing what people think, good, bad, or indifferent - though at this point the story is unlikely to be changed much bar minor grammar mishaps.

So, hi. Hopefully you're reading this. The idea just came to me today and I'd really like to know what you think. Next chapter, (Harry's) should be up soon if I can figure out how I should write it. Also, I'd love suggestions on different songs and characters. So...review?,Voldy!,He's a semi-horcruxic snake-like wizard of action...,He's a bald little psycho who'll never hesitaaaaaaaaate (to kill),He's got more than a split soul!,He's got his snake under control,And Bellatrix swoons whenever she hears him saaaaay...,He's Voldy!,Voldy afraid of death!,Voldy afraid of death!

"'Enrí, come you to bed anon?" Catherine called from the bed chamber. Henry couldn't help but smile. Since their wedding a year before, Catherine's English had improved a lot, but the r's yet trilled off her tongue, and she never quite managed to sound out the h's. His nickname had never sounded as sweet.,"Hastily, my love. I merely must read through these," he called back and flipped through the pages in his hands. Something that Mr. Foxe and Mr. Warham had given him regarding France – it was always something about France. Nothing interesting, though; he'd much rather be in bed with Catherine. "Oh, s'wounds!" he muttered to himself. "It can wait". He had the servants undress him and then sent them away.,His wife was a creature most beautiful. Eyes blue as heaven's own tint, her nose a precious pearl, and, for once, her red-and-golden hair was freed from the covering head cloth, falling in waves over her ivory shoulders. He crawled in under the duvet and embraced her. The last few months she had spent most nights in her own private chambers, and he had missed her dearly.,"Your foots are like ice, my king," Catherine said as he kissed her on the lips.,"Pray forgive me," he said and moved his legs thence.,"Nay, it feels good." She sneaked closer, warming his feet with her own. "I was warm all day.",Henry placed a hand on her forehead. "I can tell," he said. "Called you on the physician?",Catherine removed his hand and held it in her own. "Nay. You need not worry, I am well.","I cannot risk it. On the morrow, I shall bring the physician to you straight.","Should you think it necessary." She place her head on his chest to rest.,"I do," he said, twisting a piece of her copper-golden locks around his finger. "Might be some illness has taken its hold of ...?" He didn't finish the question, but they both looked at her bulging stomach. "I cannot risk it," he repeated.,Catherine crossed her heart before she answered. "You must not think such foul thoughts. God 'as made this one strong and 'ealthy. I can sense 'is movements now as we speak.","… it moves?",Catherine nodded. She placed his trembling hand on her stomach. Henry laughed as something nudged the palm of his hand.,"Fie! I can sense it," he said, with a tone of surprise.,"'im," Catherine corrected.,He smiled. "Him. I can sense him.",",," she said. "," Our son. Prince of England.,... ... ...,Hermione took notes even though she'd already read about the event several times before. Although, when the teachers at Woodlands Junior School had mentioned Henry VIII, or her eight-year-old self had read about him before going to bed, she never would have thought he'd have such an immediate impact on her life. It was rather interesting how someone who had lived almost five hundred years earlier still could influence the magic society so much.,Harry and Ron didn't seem to agree. Ron was snoring with his faced pressed against his palms and Harry looked out through the window, absolutely oblivious to the world around him. They probably expected her to lend them her notes again. She was seriously considering turning them down for once, just to see how they'd react. And maybe to get them to pay attention in class now and then.,"'T'is forbidden to conjure of Sprites witchcraft enchantments or sorceries to intent to find money or treasure, or to waste consume or destroy any person in his body, or to provoke any person to unlawful love, or for any other unlawful intent or purpose ...'",Hermione ignored the monotony in Professor Binns' voice and wrote down his monologue word for word.,"The penalty," he continued, "to break the Witchcraft acts was death, by axe or fire. In 1944, a Helen Duncan was jailed under the Witchcraft Act on the grounds that she had claimed to summon spirits. Obviously only a muggle would try to summon spirits, since it is a perfect waste of time. Therefore the episode demanded no intrusion by the Ministry of Magic. Later that year, although, a Ms. Yorke was also convicted, and she was indeed a witch, suffering from permanent memory loss due to a miscalculation when using the ,charm, which lead to quite a lot of publicity in muggle newspapers.",When the class finished, Harry and Ron yawned and rubbed their fists in their eyes.,"Anything worth knowing?" Harry said as he grabbed his books and shoved them into his bag.,"You'd know if you had listened," Hermione said and walked out of the classroom.,"Hermione, you know we never listen. That's why we have you," Ron said as he hit a second grader in the head with his history book. "Make some room," he said and passed by.,"Ron, ,"A prefect, I know. And who are you, my Mum?",She looked at Harry to get some backup, but he was busy staring at Ginny. She wasn't sure when he'd realised that his best friend's little sister was, in fact, a very attractive girl, but she knew nothing good would come from it. Not only had it taken Ginny forever to get over Harry in the first place, but she also happened to be dating Dean Thomas.,"In a school with over five hundred girls, you couldn't have chosen ,else?" she groaned.,"Huh?" Harry said, pulled out of whatever fantasy he was having.,"Oh, never mind," she said. "Boys!","What's with her?" Ron asked Harry as Hermione disappeared up the stairs.,"Probably nervous about the NEWT's," one of the twins said – Hermione could never tell them apart. Before she could hear their answers she'd closed the door behind her.,She sighed as she saw the mess Lavender and Parvati had left behind: make-up and beauty products and clothes all over the floor. She could just lift her wand and the tidy the place up, but what good would that do? The next morning it would just look the same. They were just like Ron and Harry – they always expected ,to clean up ,mess.,"Oh, Crookshanks," she said when she heard a soft purring. "At least you're on my side, aren't you?" She let go of her book bag and sat down on the bed. "What have you got there?" she asked as Crookshanks jumped up next to her and she scratched him behind the ear. "You could really use a good scrubbing cha…," she started, before she saw the glittering object in Crookshanks' mouth.,She wasn't sure why she hadn't handed the time turner in after she'd saved it in the Department of Mysteries the year before. She probably wouldn't have been punished too severely, since the rest of the stock had been permanently destroyed and this was the last one in all of the United Kingdom. Then it was the fact that breaking into and destroying Ministry Property made everything else seem rather meek. Still, for some reason she'd put the time turner in a closed box sealed with several locking spells and placed it at the bottom of her trunk, thinking it might come in handy. Being friends with the Boy Who Lived, one could never know.,"Crookshanks, give that to me," she said cautiously. "That's not a toy!" She reached out her hand to catch the small hourglass hanging on its golden chain, but the furry animal was too fast. He jumped onto her nightstand, took a leap for the red and golden canopy and then disappeared into her trunk.,Bullocks. Ron better never find out about this, or she'd never hear the end of it. ,"Crookshanks, come here!" she lured, but no cat appeared. "Fine!" she said. "Colloportus," she murmured at the door, and the lock clicked – she wouldn't need Lavender or Parvati in here either before she'd sorted this all out. "One last chance, Crookie." Still no cat. "Alright, suit yourself. Stupify!" she said and pointed at the trunk. The cat ,still be in there. She reached down the trunk, and … bullocks.,The world started spinning around her.,:

"Hurry up Dad!" Miley yelled out to her father. "We're going to be late!" The brunette was currently standing in a train station in Britain with her two best friends Lilly and Oliver and her obnoxious older brother Jackson. They all had their suitcases and were currently lost as they had no idea how to get onto platform nine and three quarters.,"Hold your horses Miles," Mr. Stewart said to his daughter as he jogged back over to her. "I just thought that muggle worker might know where it is.","Dad, how would a muggle know where a magical train is?" Jackson asked his father. "That's dumb, even for me.",Meanwhile Lilly looked at her watch, "Guys, Miley is right. The train is going to leave in five minutes.","Well then we better hurry," Oliver said looking around. "Should we split up?","No there's no time for that," Miley replied. "Then even if one of us found it the others would be lost.","Well what about that girl?" Robbie Ray asked pointing an index finger ahead of them. "That girl looks like she knows what she's doing." The teenagers looked to see a young blonde girl skipping along straight into what seemed to be a wall until she passed right through it.,"Where'd she go?" Jackson asked.,Miley grabbed her suitcases and started walking over. "That's good enough for me," She said. "Little girl walking through walls practically screams 'magical school'.","Be careful Miley!" Lilly called out to her best friend. The girl hadn't heard it though as she rolled her suitcase in front of her and picked up speed. She almost got scared and slowed down but she didn't and found herself passing through the wall and past it.,Opening her eyes Miley found herself in a completely different train station filled with wizards and a big train that said "Hogwarts Express" on the front of it. Miley sighed in relief and moved over to make room. The place was so crowded she had to push past a few people to make room.,About thirty seconds later her brother Jackson came running through the platform with his luggage. Looking around he cheered but was then knocked down as Oliver and Lilly came through right after him.,"Oops," Lilly said noticing Jackson lying on the ground. "Sorry Jackson.","Ouch," He cringed as Oliver tried to give him a hand up. Five seconds later Robbie Ray ran through the platform after them.,"Nice job Miles you found it," He said congratulating his daughter. "But there's no time left so put up your luggage and get on the train!" He then noticed Jackson on the ground. "Jackson there's no time to sleep now son, get up!",The Stewart family and friends quickly put their stuff on the train post haste. Lilly, Oliver and Jackson had already jumped on the ledge of the train and Miley was the only one still not on the train. She was facing her father knowing she wouldn't see him again for a whole school year.,"Love you daddy," She said giving her father a big hug. "I'll miss you!","Me too Miles," He said returning the hug. "Now make sure to take care of yourself, make some friends and don't get any of the teachers mad at you.",Miley let go and the hug ended. "Okay dad, don't worry, but I got to go now!" She said grabbing Lilly's hand and stepping onto the platform of the train.,"And for God sakes, take care of your brother for me!" Robbie Ray called out to her as the trainer started to leave the station.,Miley, Jackson, Lilly and Oliver all waved goodbye as the train left with them onboard. Jackson stopped waving first and said, "Alright I'm out of here. You losers find your own place to sit. I'm going to go find some ladies" He said with a laugh before walking off down the train.,"So much for sticking together," Oliver muttered.,Miley waved it off, "Don't worry Oliver we don't need Jackson. I'm sure the three of us won't have any problem handling a British school." She said pretending to chuckle.,"Little scared there Miley?" Lilly asked.,The brunette grabbed the blonde by the shirt, "Terrified!","Well let's go find a seat," Oliver suggested. "That old lady over there is giving us a weird look." The other two nodded and went to find a seat.,Meanwhile Harry, Ron and Hermione were all sitting in their own compartment. They had heard Draco Malfoy bragging to his friends about almost getting sent to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts and were discussing the location of the school.,"But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms.","Ah think of the possibilities," Ron said dreamily. "It would've been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident…shame his mother likes him…",And just as the three were thinking of the merits of a dead Malfoy the door to their compartment was opened. A girl with long brown hair stuck her head inside. "Excuse me," She asked the three. "Is it okay if me and my friends sit here with you three? There aren't any empty compartments left and we can hardly walk down this hall with all the people.",Ron looked as if he was about to say something when Hermione nodded, "Sure, come inside.",The girl smiled, "Thanks.",Pulling the door all the way open she walked in followed by her two friends, another girl and a boy. They all seemed to be about the golden trio's age, the first girl was about Harry's height dressed in muggle clothes with blue eyes. The second girl had blonde hair and was dressed in more boyish clothes while the boy had dark brown hair and was smiling.,As they came in Hermione moved over next to Harry and Ron so the three could sit opposite each other. Now all six seats were filled and it definitely seemed a bit comfy. Coughing the second girl spoke up.,"Thanks for letting us sit here," She said. "I'm Lilly Truscott, nice to meet you." She said sticking out her hand which because of the small room ended up right in Ron's face. Frowning Ron slouched down in his seat before giving the hand a small shake.,"I'm Ron Weasley," he said uncertainly.,"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione informed them.,"And I'm Harry Potter," Harry told them.,"Oh hey I think I've heard of you," The first girl said speaking up. "Your famous right? I think you were in one of our history books right Lilly?" The blonde nodded.,"Are you not from around here?" Ron asked confused. "Of course Harry's famous! He defeated you-know-who when he was only a baby!","Actually we're not from around here," The first girl answered looking straight at Harry. "My name is Miley Stewart. This donut over here," She said pointing to the boy. "Is Oliver—","Hey I can't even introduce myself?" He interrupted. "I'm Oliver Oken, but the ladies call me smoking Oken!","No they don't," Lilly said rolling her eyes.,"Hey can I finish my sentence anytime soon?" Miley asked angrily. "Anyway the three of us are some of the transfer students from America. You guys knew about that right?","America?" Harry asked. "I don't know about any transfer students from America. Maybe that's what your brothers were talking about earlier Ron.",But Ron shook his head, "I don't think so Harry. What they were talking about seemed much bigger.","America?" Hermione asked sitting across from Oliver. "That's so exciting! What's it like there? Where do you live? Oh, you must tell me everything!","We're from California," Miley informed her. "Well I'm actually from Tennessee but I moved to California a few years ago.",Despite the bored voice Miley was answering in, Hermione seemed generally excited. "And what year are you three in?","We're fourteen so that must be in fourth year," Oliver said. "Right?","Yeah, and my older brother Jackson is here too and he's a sixth year." Miley said.,"That's great; the three of us are fourth years too!" Hermione smiled. "I wonder what house you'll be in.","You should be in Gryffindor," Ron spoke up.,"Oh Ron, they don't have to be in Gryffindor. They'll decide for themselves.",And with that the entered a whole other conversation where the three explained what the houses were and what qualities they stood for. They each gave a few random tips for this and that but it was really the kind of thing that had to be seen to understand. Then they moved on when Ron brought up the World Cup and Oliver and Lilly wished they had gone but were still in America at the time.,"Mr. Stewart couldn't get us to England in time," Oliver said sourly. "But it sounded amazing.","It was," Said Ron. "We were sitting in the top box—","For the first and last time in your life Weasley." Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle behind him.,"Don't remember asking you to join us Malfoy," Harry said coolly.,Draco had been smirking at Harry until he noticed Miley, Lilly and Oliver sitting opposite them. "And who are you three? More of Potter's fan girls or something?" He asked rudely.,"Hey, I'm not a fan girl." Oliver said looking offended.,"They're the transfer students from America," Hermione explained. "Or did you not know?",At that Draco's face turned an ugly color as he frowned deeply. "Of course I knew you filthy mudblood. I just expected the students from America to look…less repulsive.","Excuse me?" Miley said standing up along with Lilly. They all had their wands pulled out. "What did you just call me?","You better take that back!" Lilly said prodding Draco in the chest with her finger.,Draco pushed the finger aside, "Whatever!" He said nervously. Desperately trying to change the subject he turned back to Ron. "So…going to enter Weasley? Going to try to bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know…you'd be able to afford to eat if you won.","What are you talking about?" snapped Ron.,"Are you going to enter?" He repeated. "I suppose you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?","Either explain what you're on about or go away, Malfoy," Said Hermione testily.,"Don't tell me you don't know?" He said delighted. "My father told me about it ages ago. But then, father's always associated with top people at the ministry…they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of your father Weasley." Laughing once more Draco beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle and the three of them left.,"Who the hell was that?" Miley asked when they were gone. "And what's his problem?","That's Draco Malfoy," Harry answered. "He's an evil bastard from Slytherin who thinks he's better than everyone else.","Man, what a dick!" Oliver commented.,"I hate that guy," Ron told them. "One day I'm going to…","No time for that now Ron," Hermione interrupted. "We should be arriving at Hogwarts in ten minutes. We need to get changed.","Changed?" Lilly asked.,"Into our school uniforms," Hermione explained. "We have to change before we reach the school. You do have some, don't you?" She asked and the three Americans informed her they did.,As they changed into their robes Miley noticed how heavily it was raining outside. It was hard to make out the castle with so much rain in the way. By the time they had changed they were just about there.,"Once we get off the train you can leave your luggage outside," Hermione explained. "It'll get taken up to the castle for you. Just follow us and we'll make it inside.","Sounds good," Miley said suddenly nervous again about having to go up to the new school. She glanced at Oliver and Lilly and they each gave her a reassuring smile. Their new friends seemed nice and Miley hoped this would be a good year even if it was at Hogwarts.,"I guess it's time…" Oliver said. The two girls nodded and they headed outside the train.

James leaned back in his chair. So magic was real. Why the fuck not? Remnant had had magic, more or less, despite everyone there insisting that Aura and Semblances weren't magic. So talking paintings, ghosts, competitive sports on broomsticks, giant spiders in the forest that had made him go through a few dozen shotgun shells and a trio of grenades, half horsemen, and a school for young wizards and witches? Why the fuck not?,He didn't know how he had gotten here, he didn't even remember what he had been doing before, but one day he had woken up in a massive office that looked more like a storage place for antiques. It was all in shockingly pristine condition. When he had gotten to his feet, he had found that an elderly man in a flowing robe and half-moon spectacles had been looking back at him, more curious than shocked that a heavily armed man was now sharing his working space. "Good afternoon," he had said, smiling warmly.,The conversation that had followed had been long and awkward, though mainly just for James. The man, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (James had been badly tempted to both fall back on just calling him Brian and ask how someone's parents could be that pretentious) had done a lot to fill him in. Dumbledore, or Professor Dumbledore as he liked to be called, was Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Great Britain, along with countless other things about the "wizarding world.",Once again, James's life was flipped upside down and everything he thought he had understood about the world was thrown merrily out the window. He was back on Earth but on the wrong continent. And then, just to make his life even more of a living Hell, Dumbledore had offhandedly revealed the date. 1997. So he was back on the right planet but had somehow missed the mark by nearly 300 years. He was starting to rethink his position on God. It seemed that there was one, and he was fucking with James for giggles.,Dumbledore had noticed James tense at this point. His smile had been a little more knowing than James was comfortable with. "You're in a rather difficult situation, aren't you?" he asked. That didn't even begin to describe it. James had talked to him as much as he had felt comfortable with, deciding to keep to the basics about the nuclear war and the state of life on the west coast. He had left out Remnant, no need to make things more absurd than they already were, there was always a chance that he could still be checked into a mental hospital.,For some reason, Dumbledore had not seemed to doubt a thing he said. Maybe it said something about a school for wizards and witches that they didn't blink when time traveling Americans popped up on their doorstep. He couldn't say the same thing applied to him when Dumbledore informed him that the Cold War had ended around a decade ago. He hadn't so much as blinked as he had babble incoherently for a few seconds. The Soviet Union had collapsed, China was communist in name only, though still fairly tyrannical in nature, and nuclear war was no longer hanging over the human race. He had actually let out a nervous laugh of relief.,After that, things had moved onto what would happen to him. The way things had developed after that rang familiar for him. Once again, he had not been viewed as an insane person. Once again, the headmaster of a local school made a job offer to him as a way to give him a place to stay. Though this one was a bit more up his alley, security. As Dumbledore had explained to him, he could use an extra set of eyes. A wizard named Voldemort, who apparently headed some sort of magical supremacy hate group, was a threat concern. Voldemort had, and James had wondered if he had been talking to an insane person this whole time when this topic had come up, come back from being a barely alive husk. And he had an obsession with killing a student at the school, Harry Potter. Dumbledore headed a group designed to counter Voldemort called the Order of the Phoenix, and they could use James's help in keeping Harry and the students safe at school.,"So keep a homicidal madman and his fanatical bigots from murdering a teenager," James said to no one in particular. "Is my life on repeat?" He sighed and then got up. "Wonder how long until I end up in the land of the lizard people." He took a quick glance at this Pip-Boy. Then remembered that, whatever was going on with this school, it had it on the fritz. Garbled static was all he could get out of it anymore. Grumbling, he turned it off.,He was in the Hogwarts staff room. An empty plate on a table in front of him had held his breakfast not too long ago. It had honestly been some of the best food he had ever had. Toast, sausage, eggs, something called a kipper, they just didn't have anything like it in the Mojave. He got up, stretching as he did. He was supposed to patrol the hallways and the grounds, acting as a halfway point between a security guard and a truant officer. The guns wouldn't be of much help for the latter half of the job, he doubted anyone would approve of him bean bagging students.,"Good morning, Mr. Walker." An elderly woman with a noticeably thick accent, wearing dark green clothing and a pointed hat had entered the room, giving him a polite nod before crossing to a cabinet on the far side. "Pardon me, I need a few supplies for my next class." Reaching in, she pulled out a rather large box. Peeking at it, James was surprised to see a dozen or so live iguanas scurrying around inside. "Fifth year at Hogwarts is O.W.L. year," the woman said, noticing him looking. "A time where we test students to see whether they are qualified to enter the more advanced stages of a course. Vanishing spells will most likely be covered, and more complex beings will be needed for my students to test on.","Gotcha," James said. The idea of magic users having standardized testing was, ironically, one of the things he had a harder time wrapping his head around. Wouldn't they gather around in a candle-lit room with hoods and have judgment passed on them by an elder? Then again, what were tests except for a more refined version of that? "Sorry, I don't think I got your name. I've only been here a few days.","Oh, my apologies," she said, putting the box down on the table and holding her hand out. "Professor McGonagall. Head of Gryffindor House, and transfiguration teacher." James took her hand. For a person her age, she had quite a firm grip. "I trust Albus filled you in on the houses, and the unique relationships they have with each other?","Yup," James said, nodding as he mentally scrambled to remember all the bizarre names. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin." He internally sighed with relief as she gave a confirmatory nod. Nothing made you look more like a fool than forgetting what you were told yesterday. "And they've got a few friendly competitions going on between them?",McGonagall pursed her lips, a sign that told James that he had gone and stuck his nose into a situation that was fairly complicated. "I'm not one to speak ill of other houses," she said, leading James to start counting down until other houses were spoken ill of. "Most of the time the competition between the four houses is civil, if passionate. However, I must admit, the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin boils over at points. It gets rather nasty." She grimaced. "Just our last Quidditch match, there was a chorus of taunts organized to target Gryffindor's new Keeper. Tensions grew even higher when Gryffindor won and the Slytherin team Seeker goaded on Gryffindor players, insulting their families.",Her eyes narrowed in disgust. "They stupidly rose to the bait. Attacked him. Got themselves a lifetime ban from the sport. More pride than brains sometimes.",James felt taken aback. "I get there are certain behaviors you want to encourage and some you want to discourage, but isn't a lifetime ban a bit much? Wouldn't suspension from a game or two be more in line?" Once again, James found himself injecting his opinion into a situation where he was very firmly an outsider. Well, he had gotten to the 50-year milestone in his life acting this way and he was somehow still alive. Not much point in changing it now.,"Frankly, I agree, but it's out of my hands," McGonagall said. "Hogwarts's new High Inquisitor was the final arbitrator on the matter." James nodded. Then he frowned. He wasn't certain that he had heard right. High Inquisitor? Most of his knowledge of the Pre-War world came from the thousand and one questions he pelted Arcade with on a regular basis, be he was certain that an Inquisitor was a religious position. Hogwarts had not struck him as that sort of institution.,"I'm sorry, High Inquisitor?" he asked. Professor McGonagall's brow furrowed to an impressive degree. James half expected something to snap.,"Our latest addition to staff, Professor Umbridge, holds the position of High Inquisitor and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," McGonagall said. She sounded as if she was attempting to stay calm, but despite that, there was so much concentrated venom in her voice that James half expected her to start growling. "She was appointed by the Ministry of Magic after Albus was unable to find a candidate to fill the vacancy. The Ministry also created the Inquisitor position to...ensure the quality of education of the school." James might have bought that line if McGonagall wasn't making a face that was usually reserved for finding out you had just stepped in dogshit.,"And she thought that a lifetime ban for these students ensures education quality how now?" James asked. Something was going on here, he would've had to be blind to not notice it.,"Oh I'm certain she has her reasons," McGonagall said, in a tone that made it very clear she believed nothing of the sort. "Just as I'm certain she has a reason from banning me and all other teachers from giving information to students that isn't related to our subject.","You're fucking with me.",Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed so viciously and quickly that James had to suppress an urge to take a step back. "Mr. Walker, I can assume that I will not have to remind you that that kind of language will be unacceptable around our students?" James gave a hasty nod. He wasn't entirely sure what McGonagall was capable of, only that he was fairly certain that being locked in a room with ten feral Deathclaws was preferable to being locked in a room with her when she was irate.,"Good," she said tersely. "But no, I am not. That was educational decree number twenty-six. All teachers are banned from giving any information that isn't related to their subject matter." She paused, looking down at her box of iguanas. Then she looked back at James, scrutinizing him. Her eyes widened in realization. "But...you're not a teacher, are you?" she said. "Nor are you a student.",James could already see where this is going. "Need me to run a message?" As far as jobs went, it was hard to get more basic than that. Not when there wasn't even a letter. And there certainly wouldn't be if they were exploiting legal loopholes, no one wanted a paper trail here.,"Not at the moment, but I may need you to do so in the near future," McGonagall said. "Some of the students here are in very delicate situations. But they're young and impulsive, they may need help to be kept safe." She looked very concerned now, taking a quick glance at the entrance to ensure that no one was there before she continued. "Can I count on you for that, Mr. Walker?",James nodded. "Is this some Order of the Phoenix related stuff?" That got a very interesting reaction out of McGonagall. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took a quick look around the classroom.,"Albus must trust you a good deal if he told you about the Order," McGonagall said. "Though it makes sense. You are a Muggle, after all, you would never willingly pass information to You-Know-Who." James blinked, puzzled at her cryptic remark, only to remember something Dumbledore had told him. Voldemort had apparently conducted a years-long campaign of terror before he had finally fallen. It had been so traumatizing that many, even those who hadn't been alive at the time, were terrified to even speak the man's name. Privately, he didn't understand this. Caesar had done more terrible things than he could count, yet he would still say Caesar's name. Often after saying the phrase "that little prick." Still, poking open wounds wouldn't get him anything except enemies.,"He doesn't like...what was it again?" he asked. Too many proper nouns had been thrown at him in the past year of his life.,"Muggles, non-magic users," McGonagall said. "You-Know-Who and his followers view them as lesser beings, and feel it is unjust that we have to hide from them." She shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "Speaking of which, I do hope you realize that Albus is bending quite a few rules for you to be here. Normally, when a Muggle discovers evidence of the wizarding world, their memories are modified. Obliviate is a relatively simple charm that can remove all memories of magic, particularly on Muggles." She glanced at him sadly. "But in your case, you don't have anywhere to go, do you?","Not unless you have a spell that can send me to an irradiated wasteland a few hundred years in the future," James said, surprising even himself with how matter of factly he said it.,She shook her head. "Time travel is something magic can accomplish, but it is heavily regulated. Even then, one can only travel backward by a number of hours. Not forward, and certainly not into alternate realities." She gave him an apologetic look, which he nodded at. For some reason, this didn't bother James as he thought it might have. Apparently, your first dimensional hop was the worst one. At least this place didn't have giant demonic wolves running around.,"Well, thank you anyway. And please, let me know if you need anything passed along," he said. He checked his Pip-Boy, remembered it wasn't working, fought back a curse, then checked the walls for a clock. A grandfather clock in the corner read 9:30. "Well, better hit the hallways, gotta make sure everyone was in class." He wasn't sure what to think of Dumbledore not asking him to help in class, but to act as security. Sadly, this probably meant that his skillset had been judged fairly accurately.,McGonagall nodded. "Mr. Walker, please do keep quiet about the Order. It's a secret society meant to oppose You-Know-Who, and the Ministry of Magic is fervently denying that he has returned." Her mouth curled into a snarl that James deeply hoped would never be aimed in his direction. "The current Prime Minister was behind the appointment of Professor Umbridge to her current positions. She, above all others, must not know." James was starting to connect a lot of dots now, and they weren't painting a pretty picture.,"Of course, not a word to anyone," he said.,"Mr. Potter and his two close friends, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley all know of it. In fact, half of the Weasley family is in the Order, but none of the other students know of the Order. Keep that in mind." Nodding to McGonagall, he stepped out of the staff room and into the school as a whole.,Breakfast had ended an hour ago, meaning the students had gone off to their first class. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a makeshift map of the school that Dumbledore had drawn for him. His instructions were simple. Make a circuit of each floor, go up one, repeat. Once he had hit the top floor, he would begin the process again until he hit the bottom and then loop until lunch. James had asked if he should patrol the grounds too, only to be told that someone called Hagrid, who was apparently the groundskeeper, would be able to take care of that. There was a sub-level he had to check before he started, however. Apparently, this school had dungeons, a side effect of being a thousand-year-old castle.,Deciding to get that out of the way, he followed the map through the marble-encrusted front hall. He had to admit, it was nothing short of gorgeous. Shining, towering above him, a whole part of a whole world. He grinned. Whatever Voldemort could pull, at least this place didn't have to worry about nuclear armageddon. Sadly, the welcome feeling that had started to crawl over him faded as he found himself at the entrance to the dungeons. At least, he assumed it was. He was concerned if there was another dark and dingey passage leading downward. Wondering if he should don his helmet and night-vision, he took a step down.,"Hem! Hem!",He paused, someone was coughing behind him. A cough that could only be described as obnoxious. Frowning, he turned around. Upon seeing the noise, the first thing that came to mind was the image of a malnourished Mirelurk King stuffed into a pink dress. The person standing before him clearly was human, but at the same time looked as if she had hatched from an egg, with a squashed and wrinkled face that was stretched into a smile. A smile that was far too big. "Hello," she said, in the same tone of voice James would adopt for a shy five-year-old. Frankly, he felt a little insulted at it. "I don't believe we've met. You're a new hire by Albus?","Yes," James said slowly. This woman's smile had an insincere sincerity to it, a kind of condescending kindness, but her eyes told a much different story. Narrow and beady, slowly moving up and down. She was sizing him up. "James Walker, security. Forgive me if I'm jumping to conclusions, but are you Professor Umbridge?",The woman let out a giggle. James fought back the urge to cringe. He couldn't put it into words, but that little laugh had a forced innocent quality that made James feel like a hot poker was being shoved in his ears. "Oh, I see I'm quite well known," she said. "Yes. Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and High Inquisitor. A pleasure to meet you, you Mr. Walker.","Well, if you're teaching defense, I have a few tricks that I wouldn't mind sharing," James said. "Things that are good at knocking your opponent off balance." He highly doubted that this school taught much that wasn't related to bright colors and magic incantations, but there was nothing wrong with going over the basics. If a wizard supremacist was attacking you, sweeping the leg would be just as effective as a spell to the face. Anyway, it would be best to extend an olive branch to this woman, even if it was turned away. If anything, he was expecting that.,What he was not expecting was for Umbridge's face to twist even further into her smile. Even if he hadn't been given a warning about this woman, this still would've caused him to take a step back. Umbridge's thought process seemed to be that the happier you looked, the more welcoming or agreeable you appeared. It didn't work. The mutant like facial features didn't help, but Umbridge looked more like a serial killer than anything else. "That may have been the more archaic subject matter taught by previous teachers, but there have been improvements made. I use Defensive Magical Theory to teach my students. We focus on appeasement and negotiation to end the confrontation in non-violent, not barbaric curses and spells far above the appropriate level for students. Which my predecessors unwisely did.",James frowned. He wasn't about to knock stopping a fight before it started, him using his words had gotten the NCR out of unnecessary fights with the Kings and Great Khans, but diplomacy was one of the tools in the arsenal. Going around with it being the only arrow to your bow was the happy place where optimism met suicidal overconfidence. But there was something more to this. Something about the air of this woman suggested that while she was all too happy to teach non-violent solutions, she wouldn't actually practice them herself. "And if your students ever find themselves in a position with someone who can't be reasoned with?",Umbridge's smile never faltered for a second. "Well. I imagine that this might be difficult for a Muggle to understand. Meaning no disrespect, your kind is exceedingly violent compared to that of wizarding kind. Of course, Wizards and Witches born from Muggles do show excellent potential at integrating into our society, we must make sure that they are held to a higher standard that you, sadly, are not. After all, it-" James decided he had had enough. Without a word, he turned and began to walk into the dungeons. Even though he wasn't looking at Umbridge any longer, he could tell that her smile had faltered for the first time. "And where exactly do you think you're going?","To go do my job," James called back, a bit of a sour note slipping into his voice. "Not all of us can afford to stand around pontificating all day when there's work to be done. I mean really, two jobs and you've got that much free time on your hands?","Mr. Walker, may remind you that as Hogwarts High Inquisitor I possess the authority to observe and dismiss those who perform those who are less than satisfactory?" she said, her forced cutesy nature sounding as if it was at its breaking point.,"Last time that checked, that was for teachers," James replied as he continued to descend.,There was a sharp intake of breath behind him, only for it to be replaced with the same hollow sweetness that Umbridge had first spoken to him with. "For now, Mr. Walker. For now.","Get back to me when it's a little less hypothetical," James replied, finally reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning the corner. Thankfully, taking him out of her sight. So, that was Umbridge. He hated her already.,"Making enemies already?" James paused. A man was standing in the middle of a doorway, looking as if he had been leaving when he had stopped to listen in on the conversation that had just happened. If Umbridge looked like something that had hatched, this man looked like something that would be found living under a rock. His hair was greasy, a common enough sight in the Wasteland where no one could afford to wash but an odd sight here, a sharp nose, yellow teeth, and skin that suggested he didn't see much daylight. Frankly, James was surprised that this man wasn't from the wasteland too.,James shrugged. "It's a gift. James Walker.",The man nodded, not taking his eyes off of James. "Severus Snape. Potions Master." James vaguely recalled Snape being the head of one of the houses. "I must admit, I was uncertain on how to react to Dumbledore bringing you into Hogwarts. I don't know how much he told you, but our world places great emphasis on secrecy." He gave an ugly frown. "I doubt the Ministry will approve of what he's doing very much.","Kind of sounds like they already don't like him that much," James said. He briefly wounded if he would ever go anywhere and not get instantly caught up in local politics. "Can't exactly get much worse when someone already hates you.",Snape gave a noncommittal shrug. "You're not entirely incorrect. Still, needlessly provoking them at this stage would be unwise. I trust that you will keep that in mind.","I've already gotten this lecture once today, you don't need to repeat it," James said. "I know what's expected of me. Keep the students in line, don't blab about more than I should, keep Harry Potter safe." The moment he said the boy's name, a look of unfiltered disgust.,"But of course," Snape said. "Though I must warn you Mr. Walker, your attempts to protect Potter, no matter how valiant, will not be respected. Potter considers himself above such things and views all precautions, precautions taken for his benefits, to be burdens put upon him. He and his friends take delight in rule-bending and breaking, regardless of how much it puts them in danger. Just like his father.",James was more than a little alarmed at Snape. There was nothing short of pure disdain in the man's voice, and while he was talking about a student. Concerning was a word that came to mind. Along with, fuck, the, and what. "Being a bit harsh on a fifteen-year-old kid, aren't you? And how does his dad come into the equation?",Snape's eyes narrowed. "I knew his father quite well. Arrogant, self-centered, and egotistical. The moment I met the boy I knew that he was nothing more than his father. He lets sloth keep him from performing vital duties that are put in place to keep him alive." James was openly frowning now. Dumbledore hadn't given him a whole lot to go on in regards to Potter, but he was certain that he would've been told if he was that much of a problem student. It wasn't that simple. And the way Snape was ranting about the boy's father gave him a firm suspicion.,"Are you sure you aren't turning this into a sins of the father situation?' he asked briskly. He was fairly certain he had doomed the conversation to at least some level of tension. Sure enough, Snape's lip curled upon hearing the question.,"Mr. Walker, I have been the boy's Potions teacher for five years," Snape said in an icy voice. "Five years of suffering his petulance and disrespect. I have been charged with saving his miserable skin from horrors you could not even begin to imagine. Do not presume to tell me that I do not know the boy.",James clenched his jaw. In for a penny, in for a pound. "Ok. First of all, let's stress test that idea, shall we? I pretty vivid imagination, it's a side effect of fighting warlords, mutant, apex predators, and pretty much everything else the world threw at me. So feel free to try and actually surprise me. As for presuming, I know someone who doesn't know how to let go of a grudge when I see it. Potter's parents died when he was a baby, right? That's well over a decade. So tell me, did his dad kill someone you know? Because that's the only way I can see you acting like this and not being emotionally stunted.",Snape didn't seem deterred by James's retort if anything he rose to the challenge. "The Dark Lord has powers and forces far beyond anything you have ever seen, regardless of what little adventures you have been on. He magical talents are enough to breach the inner sanctum of your mind, to cause you agony beyond what you could possibly imagine, to bend your will to his own." Snape's voice, despite the disdain that now filled it, was still surprisingly low. "A Muggle with a sharp stick and one of your guns does not compare to the power he has amassed. Only the most skilled witches and wizards are able to withstand his abilities. I am acting on the Headmaster's orders to prepare him for the assault that awaits him, and he is pitifully lacking in effort.",A cruel smile spread across Snape's face. "As for your accusation, James Potter didn't kill anyone. Luckily for him. Had his best friend been a little quicker and he a little slower to save his own skin, I might not be here talking to you right now.",James gave a dismissive snort. "You think we don't have mind readers where I come from? Psykers, mutants, some of them get the read and control powers in one package." James had never actually met anyone like this, though the Master of the Super Mutant army had been like this. No need to let Snape know that. "And I want you to imagine a ten foot tall monster with talons the size of your head, enough force to take it clean off, and the ability to not make a peep while running flat out. Now imagine an entire nest of them. I'd like very much to see Voldemort survive in-","Do not say his name," Snape hissed, recoiling as if he had been struck.,"Oh what, all that piss and vinegar gone because I said the bad man's name?" James said, letting a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "Fine. Even Voldekins wouldn't be walking out of that one with all of his limbs. That's the kind of crap I deal with. And in regards to James, sounds like he wasn't the one who didn't anything to you, more like his friend. So pardon me if this comes off like you throwing a tantrum.",Snape stiffened. He recovered quickly and strode forward until his face was an inch from James's. James had to give the potions master credit, he radiated an intense feeling of unease. The urge to step back was hard to resist. "You have the same boastful arrogance that both Potters did," Snape whispered, his voice so low that James could barely hear him. "The Dark Lord has personally attacked some of the most skill witches and wizards of our age and beaten them. Soundly. His forces can move undetected, Dementors and giants are his servants, and the only one he truly fears is Albus Dumbledore. Continue to underestimate him, pretend that your Muggle weapons scare him, and you will be the latest in a very long list of victims.","Brave claims," James said, doing his best to keep his cool. He was starting to understand why Snape was considered a good pick to be a teacher. There was an aura around him that demanded respect, accompanied by a whispered "or else." "I've heard braver." There was a sneaking feeling in the back of his mind that he was pissing off more people than he was comfortable with. He hadn't been lying to Snape earlier, it truly was a gift.,"Then I imagine you'll join Potter's father quite soon," Snape shot back. "Bullheaded pride only gets you so far. Potter has his hand to show for that.",James had started to turn to leave, but he stopped. "I beg your pardon?" he said, not turning around. He didn't like anything about this.,"Potter was warned, time and time again, to keep his head down and his temper under control," Snape said. "Hogwarts is in a very delicate position right now, the Ministry suspects Dumbledore of conspiracy. Umbridge is keeping a close eye on him. He chose to fight a pointless battle in her classroom, and she chose to practice...rather severe disciplinary methods in her classroom." James turned to look at Snape and caught a look of disgust on the man's face. Snape disgusted over something happening to a person he hated. Oh. Oh no.,"What happened?" Snape hesitated. Then he spoke. Rage boiled through James as he took in every last word, to the point where he was barely paying attention to Snape anymore. But he understood the core of what was being said all too well. Umbridge was forcing Potter to cut open his own hand and write with his own blood. He had no idea who Harry Potter was, but frankly, he didn't care very much about that. Anyone doing to anyone else was bad enough, but the fact that she was doing it to a fifteen-year-old made it even worse. Seconds ticked by and James realized, with a jolt, that Snape was still talking to him. He ignored the incessant droning and weighed his options. "Does Dumbledore know this?" James asked.,"Of course he is aware," Snape said. "He has been having all of us keep very close tabs on-","Right, that's all I needed to hear," James said, abruptly interrupting Snape before spinning on his heel. "Nice to meet you professor, but I don't think you'll be seeing a whole lot more of me anytime soon." With that, he strode off. Forcing a student to write with his own blood. Something so depraved and barbaric that it sounded like the most demented of warlords would come up with it. James pictured Umbridge in his head and imagined her doing that. Sitting and watching with a smile on her face as a helpless victim was forced to torture themselves in front of her. It wasn't hard to picture.,He produced the map that had been given to him and scanned it for Umbridge's office. Spotting it on the second floor, he made for the stairs, taking them two at a time. He didn't have a plan. He had no idea what he was going to do when he actually reached Umbridge. All he knew was that no one else was doing anything about this and he would sooner blow his own brains out than fall in line.,Leaving the dungeons, he took the main staircase up one floor before sprinting down a side hallway. Coming to a halt on a corresponding place on a map, he found himself in front of a door that looked like the right place. He grabbed the knob and turned it, only for it to barely budge. "Professor? I need a word," he said, knocking sharply on the door. No one answer. "Umbridge! You in there!" he yelled, hammering now. Silence. "Ok. If we have to," he said. Taking a step back, he reached into his rucksack and produced a hairpin and a screwdriver. Kneeling down, he went to work on the lock.,It was a higher quality lock than what he was used to. He had barely started to turn it than his hairpin snapped, sending him scrounging back into his bag for another. This happened another six or seven times before he finally got a feel for the lock, pushing the screwdriver over and earning a gentle click. The door slid open and James slipped inside, closing it behind him.,The office inside was, to be blunt, an eyesore. Everything was pink, far too much pink. James struggled to think of any color that could be used that much without it being gaudy, but the pink was exceptionally garish for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on. The plates with cats painted on them almost looked like an afterthought. Aside from the desk at the far side of the room, it looked more like a Pre-War shop designed by someone with too much time on their hands. The kind that you were almost glad had gotten nuked. "Right," James said. Since Umbridge wasn't here, now was a good time for reconnaissance. Best to see just how deep this rabbit hole went before he went off looking for her again.,Crossing to the desk, he started pulling open drawers. None of them were locked. Apparently, Umbridge had thought that the door would be the only line of defense that she would need. James certainly wasn't complaining. He began flicking through them, skimming each one before moving onto the next. He quickly gave up on the first few drawers when he realized that they had nothing but graded papers and handouts in them. The drawer after those had what appeared to be some wizarding catalog for sundries. But as he started moving towards the lower drawers, he found something more useful.,Letters and official documents, emblazoned with an M with a wand through it. James pilfered through them, one by one. His anger had died down a bit with the catharsis that had come with breaking and entering. Reading Umbridge's mail caused them to flare right back up. A magazine had been banned from the school for speaking positively of Potter and Potter had been given a week's detention for giving the interview. Potter's pet owl had been attacked in order to intercept his mail. But what truly sent James's fury to new heights was the document on the bottom of the pile.,"Proposal. Approval for Whipping. Mr. Filch has proven to be a helpful assistant. Enabling his more preferred form of punishment may prove to improve discipline and further maintain his loyalty." James couldn't stop himself, he let out a laugh. A bitter, sardonic laugh. What was this? What the fuck even was this? In the middle of his strangled laughter, he heard something. A squeak. At once, he dropped the files and reached for his shotgun, gripping it but not drawing it. "Anyone there?" The squeak had come from the far corner of the room, but it was well empty.,Reminding himself that he was dealing with magic, he approached the corner, one hand still on the stock of his shotgun. Maybe Umbridge had had more defenses than a locked door after all. Maybe one of the stones was enchanted to watch the room or something to that effect. Reaching the corner he stopped, just short of the wall. Slowly, half expecting something to jump out at him, he drew his shotgun and poked the wall with the barrel. Nothing happened.,James snorted. He was being paranoid. Holstering his weapon, he turned and made for the door. And promptly walked right into something. James let out a yelp of pain, one that was being shared by three other distinct cries. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, half entangled in a silvery cloth. Three teenagers were on the ground now as well, two boys and a girl. A bushy haired girl who was looking at him with utter fear, a redheaded boy who was scrambling to his feet as if he was expecting a fight, and a black haired boy with an oddly shaped scar on his forehead. Wait a minute, a scar? "Potter?" James vaguely recalled Dumbledore mentioning something about a scar.,Extricating himself from the mess on the ground, James got to his feet and sized up the three of them. He had no idea who the other two were, but they both seemed to be sticking close to Potter as they recovered, Potter, scooping up the silvery cloth that had come out of nowhere, just as they had. "What are you doing here? How are you even here?" James asked, his rage temporarily replaced with confusion.,"Could ask you the same question, couldn't we," the red-haired boy said, giving James a distrustful glance. "Who are you supposed to be, anyway?","Ron!" the bushy-haired girl snapped, shooting Ron a glare before nodding apologetically. "We're sorry. We heard a noise and we got curious.","Hermione," Ron said, sounding flabbergasted. "He's the one who blew the doorknob off, we haven't done anything he hasn't done. In fact, he's done more." James had to admit, the kid wasn't wrong. "Besides, who is he?","He's the new security guard that Dumbledore hired," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at Ron. "Honestly, it'd save you some trouble if you paid attention every once in a while.","Ron, Hermione, now's a bad time," Potter said. He took a step forward, uncertainty heavy on his face. "We came here because we wanted to know what was going on. So. Do you mind telling us what's going on?",James's eyes traveled down. Potter had one hand around the cloth he was holding, while the other was firmly grasped around a stick of wood sticking out of his pocket. There were scars just below the knuckles in the shape of writing. "I must not tell lies." A growl escaped James's lips. "I'm looking for the woman who did that," he said, pointing at the scars. "I've got a few choice words for her.",Ron blinked. "Oh. Well, that sounds all right then, doesn't it?" He glanced at Harry. "Doesn't it?","Mr. Walker, you need to be careful," Hermione said, her voice rising with concern. "Umbridge knows the Minister of Magic personally, she can-","Shh," Harry said, holding his hand up. Everyone fell silent. There were footsteps in the hallway. "Under here, quickly," he said, unfolding the cloth and draping it over him and the other two. James's eyes widened as bits and pieces of the three disappeared into thin air whenever the cloth covered them. Potter stopped just long enough for his head to be floating without any visible support. "It'll be a tight fit, you may need to double over, but maybe you can fit," he said.,"You stay out of sight, I need a face to face for this," James said darkly. Holding his shotgun firmly, he faced the doorway. Potter glanced at something James couldn't see before his head popped out of existence. Umbridge walked through the doorway, her smile stretched to the point where it looked like it was causing her physical pain.,"Mr. Walker?" she said. "I saw that my office door was ajar. Why are you in here? Why has the door been forced?" Her sweet tone had an uncurrent of venom to it. She was angry. Good. Let her be.,"I was wondering what kind of shitshow of a circus you were running here," he said, glaring at her. "So I decided to take a look." He stuck his thumb over his shoulder at the papers he had not bothered to put away. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Half the shit you've got over there is goddamn torture.","I told you, Mr. Walker, wizarding society must be held to a higher standard," she said, gradually approaching him with that insufferable smile of hers. "Mr. Potter is proving to be a very difficult case, I'm not certain he's ready to properly integrate into wizarding society. I think the death of a student last year in a tragic accident has caused him some deal of mental trauma. I believe that, if this continues, I may need to advocate for a permanent stay in-" James didn't know when he did it. He didn't remember raising his shotgun, nor did he remember his finger tightening around the trigger. All he really did remember was Umbridge cocking her head in confusion at the weapon. After that, she didn't have much of a head left.,James had loaded slugs earlier that day, and the effect was very pronounced. The most intact portion was her neck. Nothing was attached to it anymore. The rest was splattered all over the walls, ceiling, and corridor outside. James watched coldly as the headless body toppled to the ground. He didn't regret making the choice, yet, even as he watched, he found it hard to enjoy. There was no relief. Simply an absence of the anger that had been tearing away at him from the inside.,Hermione screaming behind him. "Oh, God!" Ron bellowed, sounding as if he was about to throw up. There was a rustle of movement and the three students were visible again. "I-did you really-oh god." Ron looked away, starting to dry heave, while Hermione's hands were clamped over her mouth in horror. Harry simply looked stunned.,There were more footsteps in the hallway, and Professor McGonagall entered the classroom at a run. She took one look around and then focused on James. "You bloody idiot," she swore. Crossing the room to a fireplace by the back wall, she pointed her wand into it. At once, a fire ignited it in. Reaching into a pot beside the hearth, McGonagall took out a handful of powder and tossed it into the fire. The fire flared and turned bright green. "Albus wanted me to give this to you," McGonagall said, turning back and handing James a piece of paper. "Read it, quickly!",Uncertain as to what was going on, (and sadly most likely having seen too much death to be reacting with the same panic as McGonagall clearly was) he took the paper and glanced at it. "The headquarters of Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld place." He looked up, confused. "What the hell does Number 12 Grimmauld Place have to do with-" but before he could finish, McGonagall had drawn and flicked her wand. James was sent flying across the room and directly into the fireplace.,For a horrifying second, James thought that maybe McGonagall was planning on roasting him alive. But when he hit the fire, it didn't burn. Instead, he found himself in some sort of whirling vortex of green with flashes of light all around him. He was falling through it all, and just when he thought that he was going to puke, it was over. His back hit a hard surface, skidding a few feet before coming to a halt. "What the-Minerva?" Eyes watering, James looked up. An unshaven man who smelled like he had just gotten through a few bottles of cheap beer was standing by a chair that looked recently vacated. In fact, James realized that they were in a dingy looking house in front of a fire.,McGonagall's head was sticking out a fireplace in front of the two of them, green flames licking around them. "Sirius, I need you to keep an eye on him. Albus hired him, but he may have just made everything worse.","I wasn't going to just do nothing," James growled. "Do you know what they were doing to Potter?" She shot him a stern look, but James couldn't help but notice that she didn't give him a no. "Ask him.",She didn't reply to him. "I need to take care of things on this end Sirius," she said, before pulling her head back into the fire. It vanished, and the fires turned a more mundane orange.,"What? Who are you? What's going on? What happened to Harry?" the man called Sirius asked. James wondered exactly where this road of his would end.,XXXXX,Author's Note: I bent the rules on Hogwarts messing with electricity just a little bit. Just enough so that James's heart and spine wouldn't crap out on him. Honestly, though, this has got to be the most fun I've ever had with writing one of these one-shots. I was constantly brainstorming ideas on my writing Discord. I just took awhile to get it done because personal problems hit my life at full force. Frankly I'm still reeling from some of them.,Frankly I wanted to get in a lot more, James meeting Hagrid, meeting the twins, a lot of fun stuff, but this was only ever meant to be a one-shot. And sadly that has limitations. Also, my mind took what initially started as fairly light hearted down a...dark road. Fairly dark road. This quickly turned into a case of "I didn't come up with it, I just wrote it." You know, when you have certain ways your characters act, and you can't see any other logical way of them getting out of a certain situation. Honestly I'm not sure how I feel about this story, (I wrote a lot of it at two in the morning) so I need a few days to sleep on it, but it's super late and I can't put it off any longer. I hope you enjoyed it.

The Summoning,It started as the sound of soft chanting and gently ringing bells.,"Do you hear that?" Himura Kenshin, also known as the Hitokiri Battousai, asked of his colleagues.,"No…" Katsura Kogorou replied slowly. The others in the room peered carefully at Kenshin, as if to make sure that he was still sane. As accustomed to unwanted attention as he was, Kenshin took no heed of the looks.,"Please be quiet." he asked of the group. With slight fear and worry, they complied. Afterall, when Hitokiri Battousai asks for silence, you give it. It might just save your life - not to mention he could suddenly turn as scary as a north wind in but an instant.,Kenshin cocked his head slightly to the side as the chanting that only he could seem to hear grew louder. Slowly, he started to make out some phrases.,"Revertatur ad nos… Venerunt as nos… Et magicae docebit vas…",Subconsciously, Kenshin began to repeat the words to the best of his ability.,"Does anyone know what that means?",No one could answer that question.,"Someone write it down! We can work on translating it later.",There was a mad scramble for a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Kenshin repeated what he could hear and pronounce of the chant twice as everyone jotted it down roughly.,"It sounds a bit like English!",There was a bright flash and a banging noise. All activity ceased as everyone gaped in shock at the circular scorch mark where the great and terrible Hitokiri Battousai had once stood. The damning silence was broken by demands for a translation and a rapid flurry of papers.,:-:-:-:,"Albus," a harried Minerva McGonagall called called quietly within the confines of the dilapidated Shrieking Shack, "are you quite sure that this is going to work?","Calm down, Minerva," Dumbledore soothed, "I have complete faith in this method. I have pondered this from every angle. It is quite alright. Poor Harry will no doubt be glad to be home. Additionally, for our safety, I have laid both a magical shield and a physical shield into the original ritual and warding scheme.","Very well then," she agreed and visibly gathered herself together.,Dumbledore gently guided the Transfiguration Professor onto a point on the summoning circle. "Let us begin.",Carefully, starting softly but gradually growing louder, the five gathered wizards chanted.,"Revertatur ad nos a sanguine.",Each summoner cut themselves lightly with an athame and in tandem drew a circle anti-clockwise within the chalk ward-runes on the floor, careful not to smudge or otherwise negate the runes. The summoners were wary of being trapped within the circle and only closed it once everyone was on the outside of it.,"Venerunt ad nos per nomina.",The summoners shouted their True Name then, as one, shouted the Name of the one that they intended to summon. A stray thought about all the noise that they were likely to be making passed through Nymphadora Tonk's head, and she was suddenly glad for all the silencing and notice-me-not charms that had been insisted upon.,"Et magicae docebit vos.",Starting at the peak and then in a clockwise direction, the summoners conjured their patroni one by one. An ethereal phoenix, cat, weasel, jack rabbit, and shaggy dog glided lazily through the air.,"Harry James Potter! Harry James Potter! Harry James Potter!" they chanted, "Ter vocaverit vos, eit in nomine tuo verum est, accersam te. Nomen tuum super nos magnus,... obligamus sanguine!",A violent bang reverberated around the Shack followed by a bright light that, if anyone cared to see, shine briefly through the curtains and lit up the night. Of course, due to the thick layer of notice-me-not charms, no one even glanced in the direction of the Shack, much less registered the light that seemed to be emitting from it.,Inside the 'haunted' building, the five summoners were blinded. As the light cleared, however, they were suddenly glad for all of Alastor Moody's paranoia. There is nothing more scary - and relieving - than seeing a golden-eyed maniac trying to kill them… safely contained by multiple magical and physical wards layered on top of each other.,After it became clear that no amount to hacking at the mysteriously solid air was going to help him escape, the boy finally slowed down enough so that the wizards could observe him properly.,He was short for his age, only about 4ft 9", and slender. The awaited Saviour was quite feminine and appeared years younger than his expected (and carefully calculated) age. His red hair - more auburn than red, as undoubtedly Severus would have noticed had he been there - went down to mid-back and was tied into a high ponytail. His eyes were not the expected emerald green, but rather a cold, hard gold that did not belong in such a youthful face. His bangs fluttered in the aftermath of the violent summoning and consequent maniac attack to reveal only the curiously cross-shaped scar on his cheek. He also wore some strange foreign clothing that appeared to be of a vague Asian origin.,Finally he spoke. "なぜ俺はここにいるの?",Everyone blinked in confusion at the strange language that the supposed Boy-Who-Lived spoke.,"あの... 俺は... This one is… 英語... English no good?",Dumbledore nodded. "Ahh… Yes, of course. Minerva, a translation charm, if you please.",:-:-:-:,Kenshin was very confused.,He had just come out of the swirly colourful place and the nauseating jerking behind his navel had stopped, but the strangeness of the scene had him stumped.,Kenshin was in a run-down room with all of the debris and the wooden objects masquerading as furniture moved against the walls. Strange symbols were scrawled in white (chalk?) in a circle two lines deep. Inside those two lines was another line (this time an actual line) that looked to be made of blood. Human blood if those blinded figures were any indication, he thought as his eyes caught sight of some droplets of blood on the sleeves of the figures' robes. His mind screeched to a halt. Robes?! Blinded figures? Blinded figures!,Despite his lack of eyesight as he was also slightly blinded by the flash his entrance had caused, or perhaps because of it, Kenshin charged in a random direction in a bid to escape, only to run into an invisible barrier.,"しまった!" he snarled. It wasn't so much a barrier or wall as it was solid air. It was like the air itself had suddenly become immovable. Eyes flashing golden, Battousai sped up to the limits of his god-like speed and attacked the barrier with all his might. His discoveries were disturbing.,Not only could he not so much as scratch the solidly immovable air, the barrier itself went up to the floor of the next storey up and the ceiling of the storey below. Simply put, he was imprisoned in some sort of bizarre cylinder until one of the odd robe-wearing people decided to release him.,"なぜ俺はここにいるの?" Battousai demanded.,Confused and blank faces surrounded him and he panicked briefly. Was he no longer in Japan? No, panic later. Concentrate. All of the strange people before him had a Western look about them. Even the scarred man with a big chunk of his nose missing. Maybe he should try to speak English?,"あの... 拙者... This one is… 英語は... English no good?" Kenshin winced at the overly hopeful, questioning lilt to his voice.,His efforts were payed off, however, when the old man seemed to come to a realisation. He turned to a severe and imposing woman next to him and said something. 'Yes' was a good thing, right? She pointed her stick at him and chanted something. A white light shot towards him from the stick and rather reluctantly, Kenshin allowed it to hit him.,"Was that supposed to do anything?" He asked irritably. Kenshin slapped a hand to his mouth. "This… 拙者は英語を話しました!",The old man stepped forward with a twinkle in his eyes. "Minerva has simply made it so that we could all understand each other.,Kenshin bowed briefly. "ありがとうございました. This one thanks you for the unique opportunity to learn English.","No worries, my boy." He replied. Kenshin remained silent about the patronising lilt when the man said 'my boy'. "I am Albus Dumbledore. These are Minerva McGonagall, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, and Arthur Weasley.",Kenshin bowed again. "初めまして、みなさん. This one is Kenshin Himura. Perhaps you may have heard of me?",The English people looked at each other then shook their heads.,"Then maybe you have heard of this one as the Hitokiri Battousai or Himura Battousai?",Again, they gave a negative response.,"This one will explain later, then. それから、could you please let this one out?",Moody-san looked at Kenshin suspiciously. "Oh, I don't know laddie.",Tonks-san stepped up to the plate. "Maybe a promise then. Do you promise not to attack us?","はい." Kenshin's inner Battousai almost snorted at the weak promise, but kept silent. It made his job easier if he had to take action.,Thusly assured, Dumbledore-dono, it was clear that everyone looked up to him for guidance and orders, whipped out his stick and waved it around. Some quick chanting later, he was done and returned it to his sleeve. Cautiously, Kenshin pressed a hand to where the air had formed a barrier before. To his surprise, it passed through. He silently swore to be more wary of the sticks and lights from then on.,"Now if you'll come with me?" Dumbledore-dono asked. "The others will remain behind to clean up and there are some people we need to meet. Not to mention, we need to talk about what has happened.",Kenshin weighed his options. He could attempt to strike out on his own, but without knowing how long he would be able to speak English, or how to get into contact with his allies, he would be hard-pressed to function in this place. And the sorcerers probably had a way to track him down anyways. Besides, they didn't seem like they wanted to hurt him. Quite the opposite actually. Kenshin already knew what he was going to pick, and by his expression, so did Dumbledore-dono.,"Take this one away." He said, grasping the offered arm.

Toulon,El cielo estaba cubierto de oscuras nubes, pesadas con la tormenta pronta a descargarse. El aire de verano se había vuelto espeso y pegajoso como melaza, sin una sola ráfaga de brisa, siquiera caliente, para cortar la pesadez. En el horizonte se difuminaban el mar y el cielo, en un gris casi negro que prometía tempestades y sin embargo, en lugar de refugiarse en sus casas, parecía que todo el pueblo había decidido tomar las calles. Los tenderos colocaron sus puestos en claro desafío al mal tiempo; las mujeres formaban corros por doquier, cuchicheando entre sí; los hombres bebían cerveza y los niños correteaban entre las faldas y las perneras de los pantalones de los adultos sin ningún miramiento a los empellones y las caídas. Había una algarabía en el ambiente propia de un día de fiesta, aunque faltaban las banderas y las guirnaldas colgadas de los balcones, la música y el baile. En cambio, en el centro de la plaza principal se alzaba una improvisada tarima de madera y sobre ella, destellando con los escasos rayos anaranjados que lograban atravesar las nubes, se hallaba la reluciente guillotina, muy recientemente traída desde París.,Ahorcamientos en el patíbulo esta gente probablemente hubiese presenciado muchos, no ya así quemas en la hoguera, que pertenecían más bien al relato oral y a los libros de historia. Pero la guillotina era una completa novedad por aquellos lares, y sobre todo una como aquella, cuyo acero impoluto refulgía en la escasa luz, un metal tan brillante como pocos de ellos habían visto nunca. Casi era una pena, comentaban algunos, que tal flamante invento de la técnica moderna fuera a ser utilizado para un fin tan bajo. Pero eran los menos: la mayoría era presa de una corriente de entusiasmo ante la oportunidad de ser testigos de un hecho inédito.,Cuando el magistrado, con sus pesadas y solemnes ropas negras, subió los escalones de la tarima, un silencio repentino y absoluto cundió por la plaza. Se detuvieron las risas, los cuchicheos, las murmuraciones. Hasta los niños se detuvieron en sus juegos, alzando la vista para contemplar al hombre que ahora sostenía en alto una proclama. Casi no necesitó alzar la voz para que todos escuchasen su orden de hacer comparecer a la condenada y la multitud contuvo el aliento cuando dos guardias corpulentos subieron a la tarima arrastrando a una mujer de rostro cetrino, cabellos oscuros apelmazados y un cuerpo de aspecto frágil y encorvado. Con sus ropas harapientas y sus gemidos lastimeros, no se veía diferente a cualquier otra mendiga o gitana que recorriera la plaza o los caminos por un poco de limosna. Y sin embargo, todos los ojos estaban fijos en ella, con la misma atención y cautela que habría ameritado un tigre. Imperturbable, el magistrado comenzó a leer la lista de cargos. Era la cantinela habitual: mendicidad, vagabundeo, desorden público, robo. Exactamente lo que cualquiera esperaría de una gitana tiradora de cartas que se dedicaba a embaucar a los tontos, una ratera de tres al cuarto como tantas otras que llenaban las cárceles. Pero esta mujer había sido extraída de la prisión en la que había vivido sus últimos años por una razón muy particular.,Brujería.,Una exhalación colectiva se produjo en la plaza al escuchar este último cargo, el más grave de todos. El único que ameritaba la pena capital inmediata. Todos se volvieron a contemplar a la mujer, con temor y curiosidad. Para desilusión de muchos, la frágil mujercita empezó a chillar y a retorcerse como un animalito herido, clamando por su inocencia, ella no era una bruja, era una cristiana, sólo una pobre mujer que tiraba cartasdecía, mientras intentaba zafarse de los guardias sin éxito. Era un espectáculo lamentable y aquellos que esperaban ver a una bruja temible como las de las historias se llevaron una gran decepción. Hasta los niños se veían poco amedrentados por la bruja.,Pero la brujería era brujería, sin importar qué tan patéticos pudieran resultar algunos de sus practicantes y todos sentían la gravedad de la ocasión. Hoy sería castigada una pobre tiradora de cartas con poca magia que lucir, pero el próximo en subir a aquella tarima podría ser alguien lo bastante poderoso para cambiar el curso de las mareas y matar pronunciando unas palabras a todo el ganado.,El espectáculo en sí fue breve. Los guardias arrastraron hacia el cadalso a la mujer, quien seguía retorciéndose y chillando su inocencia, gruesas lágrimas rodando por sus mejillas mugrientas. Uno de ellos la empujó para que se arrodillara; el otro la tomó de los cabellos y colocó la cabeza en su sitio. El filo de la cuchilla rasgó el aire con un suspiro; luego, un golpe seco y la cabeza de la mujer rodó sobre la tarima, hasta golpear el pie del magistrado, quien se apartó con una mueca. Uno de los guardias tomó la cabeza y la exhibió en alto para jolgorio de la multitud, la cual una vez más podía sentir el alivio de haberse librado de una amenaza.,Poco a poco la plaza se fue vaciando cuando se comprendió que ya no quedaba nada más para ver, un éxodo que se volvió más apremiante cuando empezaron a caer las primeras gotas y a destellar los relámpagos. La plaza se halló desierta mucho antes de que descargase toda su furia la tormenta, la guillotina fue llevada a un sitio seguro y sólo la tarima quedó allí como prueba de lo sucedido.,Sólo un niño de edad indeterminable permaneció allí. Uno de esos tantos chiquillos harapientos de mejillas hundidas, brazos y piernas huesudas y cabellos mugrientos que se veían correr de aquí para allá, sin casa ni familia que los resguardasen. Este niño tenía cabellos oscuros, una gran nariz para su rostro y por toda vestimenta una camisa gastada de hombre, con una cinta en la cintura para darle algo de forma. Observaba con los ojos entrecerrados y el rostro impávido el punto exacto en el que el guardia se había parado para exhibir en alto la cabeza de su madre muerta, hasta que la ferocidad de la tormenta de verano lo ahuyentó a él también de la plaza.,Versalles,Las últimas décadas del siglo anterior habían sido testigos de tumultuosos cambios, entre ellos las posturas frente a la brujería. De las cazas de bruja generalizadas en toda Europa se había pasado al escepticismo cada vez más creciente ante lo sobrenatural. Los fenómenos del mundo podían ser explicados y dominados por el hombre, las luces del siglo ahuyentarían las tinieblas de la superstición. Y entonces, en el punto culminante de las ideas de L'Encyclopédie, un dragón arrasó con la mitad de Londres, casi al mismo tiempo que varios pueblos en Suecia eran subyugados por el encantamiento de una poderosa hechicera. El mundo despertó a la cruda realidad: los hombres, tal y como Dios los había creado, no estaban solos en esta tierra. Existían también los otros, aquellos con poderes contra natura, seres de aspecto humano pero capaces de realizar prodigios. Y también de desatar las peores maldiciones.,La hoguera demostró ser un método ineficaz para lidiar con tales seres, quienes se comprobó que eran capaces de pronunciar encantamientos que les protegían de las llamas. Fue un cirujano llamado Joseph Ignace Guillotin quien sugirió la utilización del mecanismo que luego llevaría su nombre. Pese a la tradición folclórica, se descubrió que el acero y no el hierro era capaz de inhibir la habilidad mágica, y cortarles la cabeza resultó un método mucho más efectivo y práctico de lidiar con esas criaturas.,Hubo intentos de negociación y propuestas de una coexistencia pacífica por parte de aquella gente, hombres y mujeres que se llamaban a sí mismos Ministros de la Magia se declaraban cabecillas de un gobierno organizado, propio de una comunidad racional.,Pero los tratados y convenciones resultaban infructuosos cuando tantos otros magos y brujas no mostraban miramientos en utilizar sus maleficios en contra de aquellos a quienes llamaban muggles. El pánico crecía entre los pueblos y con él la ferocidad de sus reacciones. Si bien los magos y brujas eran individualmente mucho más poderosos, estaban en clara desventaja numérica. Además, fue un gran revés para ellos cuando se descubrió que la mayoría no podía realizar magia sin la ayuda de su varita de madera, por no hablar de las dificultades que suponía al echar un hechizo tener los dos brazos rotos o la lengua cortada.,El Ministro de la Magia francés en particular vivió terribles dificultades porque, como trataba de explicarle a sus votantes, era muy difícil mantener un acuerdo cuando el mandatario muggle con quien lo había firmado perdía literalmente la cabeza unos pocos días más tarde.,Toulon,Lo más difícil de acostumbrarse era quizás el olor. Al familiar salitre del mar que recordaba de su infancia se sumaba el olor de la madera y de herrumbre proveniente de los barcos en reconstrucción; la brea y la pintura, pero por sobre todas las cosas, la concentración hedionda de las largas hileras de presidiarios encadenados, con sus uniformes harapientos, las capas de mugre recubriéndoles la piel y el sudor que les corría por el cuerpo aún en el frío del invierno. Si a eso se le sumaba el desagüe de la ciudad, no demasiado alejado, era una combinación capaz de provocar un desmayo en alguien de sensibilidad delicada.,Él no era persona de sensibilidad ni delicadeza de ninguna clase y su infancia le había preparado con creces para contemplar el lamentable espectáculo de los condenados a trabajo forzado en las galeras con el desprecio que se merecía. Cualquiera de aquellos hombres – si a semejantes despojos les podía corresponder tal nombre – de rostro demacrado y mirada torva podría haber sido su propio padre, pero lejos de moverlo a la compasión el pensamiento, las raras veces en que se le cruzaba por la cabeza, le hacía sostener el látigo con mayor firmeza.,No que como flamante ayudante de guardia tuviese muchas oportunidades de emplearlo: aquel parecía ser un extraño privilegio de guardias más veteranos. De momento, su trabajo parecía ser una mezcla de observador y de mandadero, pero no le importaba demasiado: era un escalón más en las fuerzas del orden, igual de necesario si bien algo insignificante.,Aquella mañana los trabajos parecían marchar sin mayores tropiezos, a excepción del anciano convicto que había caído al suelo, entorpeciendo toda la fila, y a quien hubo que reanimar a latigazos. Los demás prisioneros conservaban aún el entendimiento suficiente para mantener la cabeza gacha y la boca cerrada; no siempre era así.,El sol estaba alcanzando su cenit y la reparación del buque de guerra avanzaba a ritmo constante, cuando se escuchó un crujido que retumbó por todo el estuario cuando una de las patas del trípode que conformaba la cabria se partió en dos. Toda la estructura se vino abajo en un parpadeo; la cadena se desenganchó de la polea dejando caer el pesado mástil que estaba alzando sobre la cubierta del barco. El estrépito que hizo al hundirse en la cubierta fue seguido de inmediato por los chillidos de dolor del marinero que quedó atrapado bajo su peso.,Por un momento, el tiempo pareció suspenderse, mientras nadie atinaba a reaccionar. Su mirada se apartó rápidamente del buque para dirigirse a las hileras de prisioneros encadenados. Cuando algunos de ellos hicieron amague de querer aprovechar la distracción, hizo restallar el látigo en el aire como advertencia y volvieron todos la mirada al suelo. Algunos de los guardias corrieron a ayudar a los marineros que intentaban levantar el mástil, en medio de los aullidos de su compañero. Pero por el peso y la posición en que había quedado encallado iba a ser muy difícil. No quedaba espacio para que más de un hombre pudiera colocarse bajo el mástil y levantarlo. Los intentos por alzarlo haciendo palanca estaban resultando infructuosos. Necesitarían otra cabria si no podían reparar ésta, pero que él supiera la más próxima quedaba en el puerto y traerla llevaría tiempo. Si el marinero estaba mal herido, probablemente no hubiese nada que hacer. Se dirigió al guardia más cercano.,—Señor, podría correr hacia el puerto para pedirles que traigan su cabria, aunque no creo que—,El guardia, llamado Verrou, parpadeó varias veces, apartando su mirada de fascinado horror del desastre. Frunció el ceño.,—Javert, nunca llegarían a tiempo. Olvídate de la cabria y tráeme a 24.601.,Esta vez fue su turno de pestañear.,—¿Quiere… quiere que le traiga a un prisionero?,Jamás sería capaz de contradecir a un superior, pero debía haber escuchado mal.,Verrou hizo un gesto de impaciencia.,—Pues sí, hombre, muévete. Si no está aquí, debe estar en el taller, pregúntale a Gouix. Es el alto escuálido con pelo de paja.,Sin hacérselo repetir, Javert se fue a la carrera al taller, donde el guardia Gouix le señaló al presidiario en cuestión. A primera vista, no se veía diferente a los otros. El mismo pelo cortado al rape, las mismas mejillas hundidas, la misma mirada apagada y las mismas cicatrices de todos aquellos que llevaban los suficientes años encerrados. Era grande, de hombros anchos, pero no más que algunos de los marineros y guardias que ya estaban lidiando con el mástil. Sin embargo, el respeto inquebrantable a la autoridad le impedía expresar sus dudas, y llevó a 24.601 al estuario. Allí el convicto levantó la vista para contemplar el desastre y Verrou le dirigió una mirada fría.,—Ya sabes lo que tienes que hacer.,El reo no asintió ni dio ninguna señal de entendimiento, pero aún con las manos encadenadas logró trepar con agilidad a la cubierta, se deslizó como una rata bajo el mástil y se colocó en cuatro patas. Empezó, poco a poco, a levantarse haciendo fuerza con las manos y las rodillas, y el mástil cargado sobre su espalda comenzó a alzarse. Su rostro enrojeció y las venas sobresalían de su cuello, pero no se tambaleó ni una vez, hasta que finalmente logró levantar el mástil lo suficiente para que los demás marineros y guardias pudieran sostenerlo y alguien sacase al herido de abajo. Javert lo contemplaba con incredulidad, Verrou parecía casi aburrido.,—Para qué se necesitan máquinas, cuando tienes bestias como ésta —fue su único comentario, antes de llamar al orden para reanudar el trabajo.,Desde ese momento, Javert comenzó a prestarle más atención a 24.601. Llevaba allí ya algunos años, por un robo con allanamiento agravado por intento de fuga. Era un bruto con los ojos llenos de odio y los puños siempre apretados, como tantos otros allí, una bestia que en nada se distinguía del resto de su ralea. Y sin embargo, lo del mástil no fue un incidente aislado. En más de una ocasión, 24.601 dio muestras de una fuerza casi sobrehumana. Una fuerza que no debería haber poseído, no con su alimentación y su estado físico; ni siquiera su tamaño, aunque considerable, se correspondía con las proezas que era capaz de realizar.,No era natural.,Sin embargo, no era tan sencillo. Cuando él era chico, el uso de la guillotina era harto común y no se necesitaban demasiadas pruebas para conseguir una condena por brujería. Pero en los últimos años, diversos tratados se habían firmado de manera tentativa con la llamada comunidad mágica en un intento por reducir las muertes de uno y otro bando, y había que manejarse con mayor cautela. Javert jamás se había interesado en política, pero hasta él comprendía que había ciertas líneas que no debían cruzarse si no se quería hacer tambalear todo el sistema.,Después de meses de observación, empero, se atrevió por fin a compartir sus sospechas con Verrou.,Quien prontamente se le rio en la cara.,—¿El preso 24.601… un mago? —Su vientre abultado se sacudía espasmódicamente con sus carcajadas y su rostro se volvió casi tan rojo como sus ralos cabellos—. Ya me lo imagino, un hechicero poderoso y temible, que ya fracasó tres veces en fugarse… ¡Menudo inútil tiene que ser!,Ningún gesto de contrariedad turbó la expresión de Javert. Si apretó los puños, se cuidó de hacerlo detrás de la espalda.,—Nunca dije que fuera poderoso —contestó con calma —. Recordará, señor, que la mayoría de ellos resultan inútiles si se les quitan sus varas.,Le llevó un rato más a Verrou contener las carcajadas el tiempo suficiente para que su respiración se volviera más o menos normal.,—Mira, Javert. Entiendo que te aburras aquí, es un puesto bastante tedioso… es fácil ver cosas donde no las hay cuando no se tiene nada mejor en que ocupar la cabeza, pero nadie con una pizca de magia habría sido atrapado por un crimen tan idiota como lo fue este tipo, ni sería tan torpe para escaparse. Es fuerte porque es una bestia, ni más ni menos. ¿Sabes una cosa? Creo que necesitas airearte la cabeza un poco. Si esta noche no te toca guardia deberías ir a la taberna a tomarte algo, te hará bien.,Javert declinó la invitación, como ya lo había hecho con otras similares en el pasado, lo cual le dio rienda suelta a Verrou para contar la anécdota a los demás guardias en la taberna, para gran diversión de todo el mundo. A partir de entonces empezaron a llamarle el Cazador de Brujas, pero como raras veces se juntaba con sus compañeros le fue fácil de ignorar, y cuando poco tiempo después fue destinado, esta vez como guardia, a una cárcel en la región del Mediodía, dejó el apodo y las burlas atrás.,De vez en cuando seguía preguntándose si sus sospechas no habrían sido acertadas, pero hasta eso se volvió un recuerdo distante con los años.,Montreuil-sur-Mer,—...y entonces, de su propio bolsillo puso diez camas nuevas en el hospital, y abrió el asilo para los ancianos y los obreros enfermos. Dijo que era lo menos que podía hacer por ellos, después de todos sus años de trabajo. También escuché de la Girardot, ya sabe, la verdulera de la Rue Saint Germain, que él fue quien—,Y sin duda a aquellas palabras siguió el resto del panegírico enumerando las buenas obras del señor Madeleine. Javert siguió tomando el mejunje que su casera hacía pasar por café en silencio: la mujer no necesitaba ningún gesto o comentario de su parte para proseguir con su monólogo.,Javert no llevaba demasiado tiempo en la ciudad, pero ya toda persona con la que había entablado conversación había decidido que era su deber cantar las loas del señor Madeleine. Incluso el prefecto de policía de París, al destinarlo a Montreuil-sur-Mer, le había hablado sobre él. Si bien él mismo nunca lo conoció, se sintió obligado a contarle la historia del hombre que salvó a toda una región de una ruina segura al encontrar un material más barato para fabricar los abalorios sobre los que se sostenía casi toda la economía del lugar. Sin duda sería un honor para Javert tratar con un hombre semejante.,Él había asentido, nunca propenso a contradecir a un superior, pero por su experiencia personal sabía que difícilmente un personaje importante querría tratar demasiado con un inspector de policía. Lo que el prefecto le había dicho a continuación le había resultado mucho más importante:,—Con las nuevas fábricas la ciudad ha crecido mucho en poco tiempo, y los dos sabemos la clase de ralea que eso atrae. Ocúpese de limpiar los puertos y la ciudad de Montreuil-sur-Mer y quién sabe, quizá antes de lo que se dé cuenta estará de regreso en París.,París era sin duda el destino señalado para un policía, aún uno tan carente de ambiciones políticas como Javert. En el ínterin, empero, se encargaría de cumplir con su deber allí donde hiciera falta y en Montreuil-sur-Mer no estuvo falto de oportunidades. El puerto, adonde constantemente llegaban y partían barcos comerciantes, era el punto de reunión predilecto de rateros, estafadores, prostitutas y demás ejemplos de la peor calaña que aseguraban que Javert siempre tuviera algo que hacer. Y aún en las raras noches en que el puerto se hallaba tranquilo, bastaba con recorrer las callejuelas de la ciudad para encontrar algún crimen en curso. Pronto los bajos fondos aprendieron a reconocer el perfil del inspector y a evitarlo a toda costa.,Del señor Madeleine al principio sólo escuchó historias. Como se había imaginado, un hombre ocupado en dirigir las principales fábricas de la región no tenía ni el tiempo ni el deseo de tratar con un inspector de policía si no tenía que hacerlo. Fue finalmente el capitán de la gendarmería quien insistió en presentárselo. Al igual que casi todos en ese lugar, el capitán tenía su propia historia sobre el señor Madeleine: el primer día de su llegada, mucho antes de convertirse en el hombre más rico y poderoso de la región, Madeleine se arrojó sin titubear en un edificio en llamas para rescatar a los dos niños del capitán. No se le llenaron los ojos de lágrimas al contarle la historia pero estuvo cerca. Javert escuchó el relato con su impavidez habitual.,—Entonces, ¿nunca le pidió sus papeles?,El capitán pestañeó, como si la pregunta le resultase inconcebible a un agente de la ley, cuyo principal deber era pedir la documentación de todo recién llegado.,—¿Para qué? Demostró ser un hombre de bien, ¿qué más necesitábamos saber de él?,A Javert se le ocurrían unas cuantas cosas que le habrían interesado saber sobre un forastero que llegó un buen día Dios sabía de dónde con ropas de obrero y unos pocos cientos de francos encima para convertirse en un señor cuya influencia era mayor que la del magistrado.,El señor Madeleine los recibió con una amabilidad algo ausente: estaba ocupado con el diseño de las reformas de la escuela, los oficiales sabrían disculpar. Su aspecto era exactamente el que había esperado de un hombre de su posición: ropas elegantes aunque no ostentosas, de buena hechura, cabellos grises cuidadosamente cortados, un tono de voz educado y firme, de quien está acostumbrado a mandar sin ser contradicho. Sus manos eran más propias de un trabajador que de un patrón pero dados sus orígenes modestos era de esperarse. A simple vista, aparentaba ser todo aquello que le habían contado sobre él.,Y sin embargo, un feo estremecimiento le recorrió la espalda la primera vez que posó ojos en Madeleine. No fue reconocimiento, no en ese momento, pero su instinto reaccionó contra aquel hombre de modales cuidados y ropas prolijas: había algo allí que no encajaba. No habría sido capaz de explicárselo ni siquiera a sí mismo: sólo sabía que Madeleine le producía un recelo visceral e inmediato.,La entrevista duró poco y tras ella Javert se encontró dividido entre dos impulsos enfrentados. Una parte de él deseaba rehuir a Madeleine a toda costa; la otra, vigilarlo bien de cerca hasta descubrir qué era aquello que le perturbaba de aquel hombre. Javert no estaba acostumbrado a sentirse indeciso entre dos cursos de acción y le fastidiaba. Por último decidió reducir toda interacción con Madeleine al mínimo indispensable y en cambio, observarlo con atención a una distancia prudente. Así descubrió que todo el tiempo que no lo dedicaba al manejo de sus fábricas lo ocupaba en obras de caridad y reformas, que estaba dispuesto a recibir y ofrecer ayuda a todo mendigo y vagabundo de los alrededores, que era prácticamente el único sostén de la escuela y del hospital. Le gustaba dar largas caminatas por los campos de los alrededores, siempre con un fusil al hombro. Su puntería era prodigiosa: Javert fue capaz de comprobarlo cuando mató de un solo disparo a un perro rabioso desde una distancia que hacía parecer imposible semejante tiro. Los niños siempre lo seguían a todas partes porque solía fabricarles juguetes y chucherías con sus propias manos; los campesinos le adoraban porque su conocimiento sobre el cuidado y aprovechamiento de las plantas parecía ilimitado.,Hacía parecer todo tan fácil.,Cuando el rey lo nombró el nuevo alcalde de Montreuil-sur-Mer, se propagó la alegría entre sus habitantes como una fiebre.,—Se hizo justicia—declaró su casera. A Javert le corrió un escalofrío por la espalda.,Alguien debe estar caminando sobre tu tumba resonó en su memoria la voz de su madre, en la cual no había pensado en años.,Se esforzó más que nunca por evitar a Madeleine.,Desafortunadamente, no era tan sencillo para un inspector de policía evitar a la autoridad máxima del pueblo. Más de una vez se encontró en el despacho de Madeleine para discutir algún asunto oficial, aún más a menudo el alcalde se acercaba hasta la jefatura de policía para interceder a favor del último mendigo arrestado por vagabundeo.,—Estas personas no son criminales, sólo desafortunados —le gustaba decir al alcalde—. Son más dignos de lástima que de castigo.,—Con todo respeto, señor alcalde, usted y yo sabemos que la fortuna se la construye uno mismo. Y este hombre ha infringido la contravención n°…,Madeleine siempre encontraba respuesta para todo. Javert tenía la sospecha que repasaba los códigos todas las noches antes de dormir sólo para poder ganarle estas discusiones.,(El propio Javert lo hacía. Nunca olvidaría la humillación del día en que Madeleine le saltó con el inciso de un artículo del cual nunca había siquiera escuchado nombrar).,Javert invariablemente terminaba estas sesiones con un dolor de cabeza insoportable. Muchas veces Madeleine se salía con la suya en su eterna cruzada por los pobres y ausentes, pero otras el inspector se mantenía en sus trece. Era un tira y afloje que le irritaba sobremanera. La bondad le ponía de los nervios. La gente no necesitaba palmaditas en la cabeza, necesitaba orden.,Esta vez no estaba dispuesto a dar el brazo a torcer.,—Si tan sólo me facilitase su firma, señor alcalde, sería capaz de seguir con los procedimientos necesarios…,Mantuvo su tono tan cortés como fue capaz. Sin importar los sentimientos que el hombre pudiera provocarle, estaba investido por la autoridad real, irreprochable y absoluta.,Cuando Madeleine se tomó un tiempo decididamente largo en leer y releer cada una de las páginas, empero, Javert tuvo que contenerse para no soltar un resoplido o empezar a golpear el suelo con el pie. El alcalde frunció el ceño, acentuando las arrugas de su frente – sería, tal vez, unos diez años mayor que él mismo, pero solía mostrar tal energía que no lo aparentaba – y dio un golpecito en la última hoja. Recién entonces levantó la mirada para encontrarse con la suya.,—¿Brujería? ¿De veras quiere procesar a estas personas por brujería?,Javert apretó los labios y descartó las primeras tres respuestas que le vinieron a la mente.,—Hay testigos, señor alcalde. Testigos fiables.,—Sí, pero… —revolvió los papeles—¿Vamos a procesar a la señora Lévèque por lograr que sus rosas florezcan en invierno? ¿O al viejo Dollé por curar la pata de su mula? Aun si utilizaron magia, ¿realmente desea mandarlos a la cárcel por ello?,—La magia sigue siendo ilegal, señor alcalde. Es mi deber.,Los sucesivos tratados firmados y quebrantados durante los tumultuosos tiempos del Directorio, finalmente vueltos nulos con las guerras napoleónicas, habían recobrado cierto grado de validez y estabilidad con la Restauración. Se había consolidado, por así decirlo, un pacto de no agresión con la comunidad de hechiceros. Difícilmente se los enviase a la guillotina, al menos no con la facilidad de otros tiempos.,Pero practicar la magia entre personas comunes – no mágicas – seguía siendo considerado ilegal y punible por la ley no mágica. A veces el Ministerio de Magia se sentía inclinado a intervenir en favor de sus ciudadanos, pero a menudo parecían considerar que si habían sido lo suficientemente incautos para ser descubiertos utilizando magia entre los muggles, entonces probablemente se merecieran los castigos que éstos quisieran infligirles.,El alcalde se masajeó la frente. Aparentemente Javert no era el único al que la exposición prolongada le producía dolores de cabeza.,—Inspector, su compromiso con su deber es admirable —dijo, en un tono que parecía decir exactamente lo contrario—. Pero también quiere procesar al pequeño de los Gadebois, ¿Michel? Tiene diez años, inspector. No podemos mandarlo a la cárcel por pelearse con otro niño en el patio de la escuela y provocarle un sarpullido.,—Pústulas, señor alcalde. Bastante dolorosas por lo que atestiguaron la madre de la víctima y sus vecinos. Que tenga diez años no disminuye su crimen. Lo arrestaría lo mismo si se robara un pan en la panadería. Un delito es un delito.,Madeleine dio un respingo y fue como si viese a Javert por vez primera. Perdió momentáneamente el aplomo de su investidura como alcalde para quedárselo mirando de hito en hito.,—Verdaderamente lo haría—musitó, quizá para sí mismo—. Realmente sería capaz de hacerlo.,—Por supuesto—respondió Javert aunque no hubiese sido una pregunta—. Ya le dije: es mi deber.,El rostro de Madeleine se endureció. Toda aquella beatitud que les dedicaba siempre a los niños y a los pobres desapareció tras una máscara de granito.,—Ya veo, inspector. Como le dije: su dedicación es loable. Pero me temo que no puedo facilitarle la firma que necesita para el proceso. No se ha podido probar de forma concluyente que estas personas hayan ocasionado daño alguno. Que tenga un buen día.,Y sin más, Javert se vio ignominiosamente en la puerta, con sus papeles sin firmar y el peor dolor de cabeza de todos.,¿Era posible? Lo había visto con sus propios ojos y aun así le costaba creerlo. Un hombre de la edad de Madeleine jamás podría haber tenido la fuerza necesaria para levantar el carro del viejo Fauchelevent. Hombres con la mitad de la edad habrían sido incapaces. Se habría necesitado a una cabria…,O al prisionero 24.601.,Jean Valjean.,Pero, ¿cómo había llegado de la prisión de Toulon a convertirse en alcalde de Montreuil-sur-Mer? Entonces, recordó las historias sobre Madeleine. Cómo llegó a la región sin nada más que ropas viejas y algunos cuantos francos. Que parecía conocer todo lo que había para saber de las propiedades y usos de cualquier planta. Su descubrimiento de un material barato para reemplazar el ónix en el que nadie había pensado antes. Su valeroso rescate de los hijos del capitán de gendarmería: atravesó las llamas sin titubear, decía la gente.,Quizá porque no tenía razón alguna para temerles.,Recordó entonces el rostro rechoncho y rojizo de Verrou, riéndose a carcajadas cuando le dijo que el prisionero 24.601 podía ser un mago.,Necesitaba más evidencias.,La casera lo esperaba levantada.,—¿Cómo le ha ido, inspector?¬¬—Levantó el brazo que sostenía la vela, dándole con la luz en el rostro—. Parece que hubiese visto un fantasma.,En cierto modo pensó, recordando la figura espectral que había visto en el juzgado de Arras. Aquel hombre de rostro demacrado y mirada torva sólo podía ser Jean Valjean, atrapado al fin tras robarse una rama cargada de manzanas de un huerto. La gente en definitiva no podía cambiar. Otros prisioneros lo habían reconocido, pero Javert no podía dar crédito a las palabras del fiscal hasta que no lo hubiese comprobado con sus propios ojos.,—Hice lo que tenía que hacer. Si no le importa, señora, me retiraré a descansar.,El sueño, sin embargo, se negaba a venir. Javert había decidido no quedarse a escuchar el veredicto, optando por regresar a Montreuil-sur-Mer inmediatamente después de prestar declaración, pero sabía que el hombre sería hallado culpable y enviado de vuelta a prisión, a donde pertenecía. No importaba que el infeliz siguiera insistiendo que su nombre era Champmathieu, no cabían dudas ya de su verdadera identidad. El pensamiento tendría que haberle reconfortado, pero…,Había estado tan seguro. En cuanto lo vio alzar el carro de Fauchelevent sin ayuda alguna lo supo, pero decidió ser prudente y esperar. La prudencia y la paciencia fueron arrojadas por la ventana después del episodio con la prostituta. Nunca en toda su vida Javert se había sentido tan insultado y herido en su amor propio. Normalmente se consideraba por encima de cualquier tipo de emoción, incluido el orgullo. Los sentimientos no tenían lugar alguno en el cumplimiento de la ley; por ende, debían ser dejados de lado. Pero aquel día era incapaz de acallar el torbellino en su cabeza. El señor Madeleine lo había insultado, había socavado su autoridad para proteger a esa prostituta que había tenido el descaro de golpear a un ciudadano decente. Bamatabois pagaba sus impuestos y era propietario de una casa de dos plantas en la calle principal, la ley estaba para proteger a gente como él, no a las mujeres públicas del puerto. Cualquiera habría comprendido esto, cualquier menos Madeleine, por supuesto.,La casera había llamado a su puerta dos veces para preguntar si le pasaba algo, porque el golpe de sus botas contra el suelo resonaba por toda la casa mientras caminaba de un lado para el otro por su habitación. Él la ignoró. La sola idea de que Madeleine, quien acababa de pisotear su jurisdicción tan irrespetuosamente, pudiera no ser quien decía le repugnaba en lo más íntimo. Al final, el sentido común no pudo contra su furia y en un arrebato extraño en él, escribió a París con sus acusaciones infundadas. A último momento se contuvo para no consignar en el papel sus sospechas de brujería: el cargo por una falsa acusación de esa clase era particularmente grave.,Su único momento de impulsividad le costó caro cuando llegó desde Arras la noticia de que habían atrapado a Jean Valjean con las manos en la masa, otra vez.,Recordaba haber sostenido en la mano la carta del magistrado, sin atinar a comprender. Había estado absolutamente convencido, se había jugado su honor profesional – el único que significaba algo para él – y todo por nada.,Sólo quedaba una cosa por hacer. Javert se colocó su uniforme, revisando cuidadosamente que cada botón estuviese en su sitio, por la que sería con toda seguridad la última vez. Se presentó en el despacho del señor Madeleine y esperó de pie en el umbral, mientras el alcalde revisaba unos papeles o quizá sencillamente lo ignoraba. En todo caso, estaba en su derecho. Él sólo era un inspector y pronto ni siquiera eso. Le diría al alcalde toda la verdad antes que alguien pudiera comunicárselo y le pediría que lo despidiese. No se merecía el derecho a presentar su dimisión, no después del modo atroz en que había faltado a la autoridad de un superior. Se había ganado la humillación de la destitución deshonrosa y después… Y después había un gran espacio en blanco, porque nunca consideró en su vida ser otra cosa que policía. Pero si no podía estar a la altura del uniforme, se negaría a llevarlo.,Cuando finalmente el señor Madeleine se dirigió a él, el hombre parecía irritado. No furioso – no debía haberse enterado de las acusaciones infundadas, entonces. Su irritación se trastocó en absoluta estupefacción al escucharlo. Pero entonces el señor Madeleine, con su manera enloquecedora de contradecir todas sus expectativas, rechazó su destitución. Una falta menor lo calificó. No puedo quitarle su puesto por el celo que pone en él. Fue sólo un error. Y para indignación de Javert, quería enviarlo a tomar una denuncia, a continuar con su trabajo como si no hubiese sucedido nada. Quizás otros habrían dicho que debería haberse sentido agradecido, pero Javert no quería la fastidiosa bondad del señor Madeleine, quería justicia. Y lo justo era que recibiera su castigo, como él mismo se lo hubiese infligido a un subordinado en circunstancias similares.,Pero Madeleine persistió con su compasión exasperante y cuando Javert insistió, lo echó otra vez sin más miramientos. Se encontró a sí mismo tomándole declaración a una mujer que había sufrido un robo, como si nada hubiese sucedido, y más tarde en la diligencia que lo llevaría hasta Arras para presentar declaración contra Jean Valjean.,Y todo el tiempo no podía dejar de pensar en Madeleine. Había algo en aquel hombre que le había repelido desde el primer día y, al mismo tiempo, algo que atraía constantemente su atención. Incluso muchas horas después, tendido en el lecho, el sueño le eludía porque no podía dejar de darle vueltas a la cuestión de Madeleine. ¿Qué tenía aquel hombre que le intrigaba tanto? Lo repasaba todo una y otra vez y no lograba encontrarle el sentido. Si hubiese sido realmente Jean Valjean, si toda su reserva y sus buenas acciones no hubiesen sido más que una fachada, entonces se habría resuelto el misterio. Pero si Madeleine realmente no era más que lo que decía ser, un hombre de negocios filantrópico sin nada que ocultar, ¿por qué Javert no podía dejar de pensar en él? Nunca su instinto le había fallado tanto.,A menos que el secreto de Madeleine que Javert podía presentir fuese de una naturaleza diferente. A menos que sus sospechas iniciales fuesen correctas, y la sencillez con la que Madeleine parecía lograr el éxito en todo tuviese una explicación…,Apartó el pensamiento de su mente. Ya había errado en elucubraciones fantásticas, no volvería a cometer el mismo error.,Estaba a punto de dormirse al fin cuando lo despertaron violentos golpes en la puerta de entrada. En las escaleras se encontró con la casera, que mascullaba por lo bajo. Vestido sólo a medias, se encontró con un joven en la puerta que afirmó ser un enviado del fiscal de Arras.,—Inspector, señora, les pido mis más sinceras disculpas, pero he sido enviado con un encargo urgente. Inspector Javert, es necesario que arreste de inmediato al hombre que se hace llamar Madeleine.,La casera soltó una exclamación que Javert ignoró. Se estaba aferrando al dintel de la puerta con tanta fuerza que sus nudillos se volvieron blancos, pero ni siquiera lo notó.,—¿Bajo qué cargos?,Pero aún antes de que el joven respondiera, ya lo sabía, y fue como si lo hubiese tocado un rayo.,Jean Valjean, en sus garras, al fin.,Montfermeil,Una vez más, llegaba demasiado tarde. El posadero, Thénardier, sacudía la cabeza con gesto apesadumbrado.,—Dijo ser el abuelo de la niña, tenía una carta de Fantine… ¿cómo no íbamos a dejar que se la llevara? Nosotros no hemos hecho nada ilegal, inspector, sólo nuestro deber como buenos cristianos…,Javert estaba seguro que con sólo mirar un poco podría encontrar unas cuantas cosas ilegales y poco cristianas bajo el techo de los Thénardiers, pero no era su preocupación más acuciante. Jean Valjean se le había escapado otra vez de entre los dedos. Estaba tan seguro que lo tenía, en el hospital de Montreuil-sur-Mer, pero logró darle el esquinazo a Javert y a toda su escolta. No perdió tiempo buscándolo por la ciudad, tenía el presentimiento que vendría aquí a buscar a la niña de la ramera, tal como le había pedido que le dejara hacer. Javert no se detuvo a preguntarse por qué un fugitivo de la ley, un reincidente nada menos, se preocuparía por mantener su promesa a una prostituta muerta aún a costa de arriesgarse a ser capturado. Jean Valjean parecía tener el don de desvanecerse en el aire, necesitaba todas sus energías para adelantarse a sus movimientos.,No fue hasta que se estaba subiendo a su caballo que escuchó hablar a la señora Thénardier, quien no se dirigió a él sino a la niña bien vestida que llevaba de la mano.,—Menos mal que nos hemos librado de esa pequeña peste de Cosette. Esa niña está maldita, escúchame lo que te digo, mal le va a aprovechar al viejo ése llevársela.,París,El prefecto le diría que no fue culpa suya. Que después de todo, él había sido el único capaz de ver a través de la fachada del señor Madeleine para descubrir al criminal debajo, su trabajo como policía en Montreuil-sur-Mer había sido excelente y sin duda pronto podría contar con un destino permanente en París.,Las palabras del prefecto sonarían a sus oídos demasiado similares en su tono a la compasión mortificante de Madeleine para que pudiera apreciarlas.,Jean Valjean desapareció una vez más, esta vez con la niña. Javert y sus hombres tenían la manzana rodeada, era un laberinto de callejones sin salida vigilado por los cuatro costados, y Jean Valjean sencillamente se desvaneció en el aire, como si nunca hubiese estado allí.,Vigiló por un mes entero aquel barrio, colocó espías por doquier, pero ni un murmullo de Valjean o la niña llegó a sus oídos.,Se habían esfumado.,¿Por arte de magia?,Barrio de Saint-Michel,París era un caleidoscopio que mutaba de calle en calle, un retrato siempre cambiante y escurridizo. No había dos personas en París que pudiesen contemplar la misma ciudad que ofrecía un rostro diferente a cada transeúnte. Corazón de Europa, foco de luz del mundo; la Atenas del siglo XIX ofrecía el mayor refinamiento y la peor miseria en sus callejuelas, palacios y plazas, en dos ciudades paralelas. Era trabajo de la policía cuidar que esas dos ciudades no chocasen entre sí, que los habitantes de una no se rozaran con los de la otra. En ello, el trabajo de policía en la capital no se distinguía de cualquier otra ciudad, tan sólo en la escala. La buena sociedad no debía ser importunada por la más baja estofa y para eso era necesario mantener los límites bien demarcados. Los bulevares y plazas para algunos; los arrabales para los otros.,Si se hubiese molestado en reflexionar sobre este tema, Javert habría tenido que confesarse que, a pesar de considerar su deber máximo la protección de la buena sociedad, jamás se sintió cómodo en las zonas de la ciudad que les correspondían a la aristocracia y la alta burguesía. Cada vez que debía recorrer los amplios bulevares con sus cuidadas hileras de árboles tenía la incómoda sensación de estar pisando por donde no debía o que había algo fuera de lugar en su aspecto, como una horrible mancha en su uniforme que no podía ver.,Su paso era mucho más seguro en los callejones oscuros y los arrabales. Allí donde los ciudadanos respetables no se atrevían a pisar, Javert avanzaba con la cabeza en alto. Conocía cada recoveco y las idas y venidas de los barrios pobres, y aún más importante, ellos lo conocían a él. Desde el pilluelo hasta el criminal experto, todos reconocían el nombre del inspector Javert y le temían. Allí donde iba el inspector no había artimaña ni intento de soborno que valieran. Con otros policías podían ingeniárselas apelando a su ingenuidad o a su codicia; con Javert, la única opción era evitarlo. Raras veces ninguno de ellos se atrevía a interpelarlo, ni siquiera el descarado chiquillo del Bulevar del Temple que se entretenía recitándoles coplas burlonas a los policías.,Estaba en medio del arresto de un ratero, dándole instrucciones a un joven policía para que lo llevase a la comisaría más cercana, cuando se rompió la monotonía de sus recorridos vespertinos por lo más bajo del barrio de Saint Michel, desagüe de todo París. Una voz llamó su nombre, una voz como hojas marchitas resquebrajándose. Al volverse se puso en guardia, pero su mirada se topó con la de una anciana decrépita acurrucada en el umbral de una casa tambaleante. Sus ropas, de color indescriptible, eran más retazos y remiendos que tela, sus cabellos blancos y grises le caían en greñas sobre el rostro enjuto y arrugado. De no haber sido por el brillo de sus ojos oscuros, podría haber sido confundida con una momia.,—¿Siempre por acá, inspector? ¿Nada en su casa que le dé ganas de volverse allí?,Las palabras eran insolentes. El tono… el tono era algo más difícil de precisar.,Javert avanzó hasta que las puntas de sus botas relucientes estuvieron a punto de rozar los faldones de su falda, utilizando su considerable altura para mirarla desde arriba.,—¿Quieres acompañar al ratero éste a la comisaría? ¿Una celda te parece más acogedora que tu umbral?,La mujer inclinó la cabeza a un lado, con las cejas, aún oscuras, alzadas ligeramente.,—No, señor inspector. Gracias por preguntar, pero me hallo muy a gusto. Una se acostumbra al frío y la humedad, a mi edad.,Podría haberla arrestado, llevársela a la rastra de ser necesario y Chabrier, el joven policía que lo acompañaba, no habría emitido un suspiro de protesta. Pero no tenía tiempo para cada vieja chocha de los bajos fondos.,—Procura no ganarte un arresto por vagabundeo, entonces —le espetó y giró sobre sus talones, pisando el borde de su falda de harapos. Sólo había avanzado un par de pasos hacia Chabrier y el ratero esposado cuando ella lo llamó de nuevo.,Con impaciencia, sólo giró la cabeza para ver cómo ella sacaba de su falda una carta y la arrojaba a sus pies. Chabrier no pudo contener su exclamación ahogada al reconocerla. Javert no se molestó en evitar poner los ojos en blanco. El chico era un idiota.,—¿La Muerte? Supongo que es suficiente para asustar a los más ingenuos —no tuvo que mirar a Chabrier para saber que el joven policía había dado un respingo culpable —pero conmigo no funcionan esas cosas. Ahora, si quieres evitar sumar un cargo de brujería al de vagabundeo—,No terminó porque la anciana, impertérrita, arrojó otra carta sobre la primera. Contra el fondo oscuro se destacaba el color anaranjado de las llamas y el rayo blanco golpeando la torre quebrada en dos. Levantó la vista y al encontrarse nuevamente con los ojos oscuros de la vieja, descubrió que no veía en su mirada rastros de insolencia, sino tan sólo lástima.,Café Musain,La metralla se había acallado. El primer ataque fue repelido por los insurgentes, pero no temió. Confiaba en la superioridad, tanto en número como en armamento, de la guardia nacional y del ejército. La rebelión no podía triunfar.,Escuchó voces agitadas del otro lado de la puerta, imposible distinguir las palabras a tanta distancia. El tiempo se le hacía interminable, todos sus músculos se encontraban doloridos después de pasar buena parte de la noche atado a un poste y su garganta ardía con la sed. Lo primero que hizo cuando el líder de los rebeldes se le acercó para ver si precisaba algo fue preguntarle cuándo lo matarían. Si la muerte tenía que llegarle antes del amanecer, prefería que lo hiciera de una buena vez.,Por supuesto, los insurgentes debían cuidar cada preciosa bala y no podrían matarlo hasta que se hubiese decidido ya el destino del enfrentamiento. Al menos, accedió a darle de beber cuando Javert se lo pidió. El joven – porque a pesar de ser claramente el líder del grupo, era uno de los más jóvenes – no le mostraba el respeto de llamarlo de usted. Pero aunque fuese un traidor a la Corona, un rebelde y por ende un criminal, Javert no podía tratarlo de tú. Algo en su porte y su mirada penetrante impelía al trato de usted.,Pero eso no le impidió reclamarle que lo hubiese dejado toda la noche atado un poste, cuando bien podía amarrarlo a la mesa en una posición mucho menos tortuosa. El joven reflexionó un momento antes de acceder, y llamó a cuatro fornidos rebeldes para la tarea, mientras él vigilaba con atención, una mano sobre su carabina. Javert no se resistió: habría sido fútil.,Sintió un cosquilleo en la nuca, la sensación de saberse vigilado; podría haberlo descartado de no haber sido por la larga sombra que se proyectaba sobre él y que no pertenecía a ninguno de los hombres que lo estaban amarrando a la mesa. Logró girar la cabeza sin provocar que le pegasen un tiro, y allí vio la figura de un hombre en mangas de camisa recargado contra el dintel de la puerta. Sus cabellos eran más blancos que grises ahora; su rostro lucía más arrugas, visibles aún a la tenue luz de un candelabro.,Lo habría reconocido en cualquier parte.,—Es natural —declaró en tono monocorde, apartando la mirada del ex convicto con altivez. No le daría el mérito de una mayor reacción por su parte y de todos modos, no podía decir que se sintiese sorprendido. En cierto modo perverso, tenía hasta sentido que el último rostro familiar que viera antes de morir fuera el de Jean Valjean.,Rue Mondetour,Estaba invadido por una extraña calma. Nunca fue un hombre caracterizado por sus emociones violentas; encaminarse hacia su propia muerte, empero, podría haber hecho tambalear un temple de acero. Pero no había histeria, ni miedo, ni angustia: sólo una especie de amarga satisfacción. Quizá los mártires de antaño habían caminado hacia la fosa de los leones con el mismo paso seguro; quizá la idea del cumplimiento del deber hasta las últimas consecuencias era el único sostén que precisaba.,No le mintió al líder de los insurrectos cuando le dijo que le parecía justo que fuese aquel hombre quien lo matase, tal y como se lo había pedido. ¿Cuánto tiempo de su vida había invertido en perseguir a Jean Valjean de un modo u otro? Quizá hasta los criminales tenían derecho a cierto tipo de venganza.,La impasibilidad de Javert no menguó cuando sacó un cuchillo. Por cierto, sería mucho más apropiado: había algo terriblemente impersonal en un disparo a distancia. Cualquiera de los otros insurgentes habría podido hacer lo mismo.,Javert no era un hombre inclinado a las emociones violentas. Poseía un centro de granito difícil de conmocionar. Cuando Valjean cortó la soga que lo amarraba, sin embargo, se quedó petrificado, mirándolo sin comprender.,Eres libre.,¿Lo era, realmente? Si se marchaba ahora y dejaba a Jean Valjean atrás para enfrentarse a una muerte casi segura en aquella barricada, si permitía que aquel criminal le salvase la vida, ¿sería libre alguna vez de su fantasma?,Sus pasos se frenaron en seco en la boca del callejón y se volvió para gritarle:,—Me fastidias. Mejor sería que me mates.,—Vete.,Y una bala rebotó contra la pared del callejón, su estruendo resonando en las calles desiertas. Javert se marchó, una parte de él convencido de que sería la última vez que vería a aquel hombre. La otra no dejaba de repetirse para sus adentros: Rue Homme-Armé, nº7, seguro que aquella historia no podría acabarse allí.,Si alguien podía rehuir un destino que parecía sellado por la Parca, ése era Jean Valjean.,No podría haberse respondido a sí mismo si lo pensaba con resignación o fe.,Puente de Notre-Dame,Javert contempló el remolino que formaban bajo sus pies las aguas del Sena, el lago cuadrado que formaban los dos puentes y los dos muelles se había consolidado como el punto más mortífero de todo el río. Nunca se había detenido a pensar demasiado en ello y ahora tampoco lo hacía. Pensaba, en cambio, en rue Mondetour y cómo había salido de allí, primero a paso lento, dubitativo, como si esperase el tiro de gracia por la espalda. Luego aceleró el paso cuando recordó su deber: aún estaba a tiempo de llegar hasta la prefectura e informar de todo lo que había visto y oído esa noche en la barricada. No se preguntó si haría una diferencia, cuando los insurrectos ya se hallaban con un paso en el sepulcro: eran las órdenes que había recibido y hasta el último momento se aferraría a ellas.,El prefecto en persona recibió su informe, dictó a otros sus órdenes y a él lo envió a la ribera izquierda del Sena, un poco más allá del puente de los Inválidos. Aun en medio de los acontecimientos políticos más trascendentales, el crimen corriente continuaba y florecía, y era tarea de Javert atrapar al sospechoso de una serie de robos que se ocultaba en aquellos parajes.,Siguiendo los pasos del ladrón, volvió a meterse en el rol familiar del perseguidor, y ahora que llevaba de vuelta su uniforme, se sentía más como el policía que era. La noche anterior parecía desdibujarse con la luz grisácea del amanecer y también lo hacían sus dudas.,Al llegar cerca de la boca de las cloacas, el ladrón pareció desvanecerse en el aire. Javert probó la reja pero no cedió, posiblemente estuviera trabada desde adentro. No quedaba más que esperar y así lo hizo, con su paciencia imperturbable.,Su paciencia no tuvo la recompensa esperada.,En lugar del ladrón que con toda seguridad se había colado por allí, salió de la cloaca una figura encorvada, cubierta de lodo e inmundicia, que llevaba a otra sobre los hombros y luego la apoyaba en el suelo. Javert lo contemplaba desde lo alto del terraplén, con una curiosidad que no se reflejaba en su rostro de piedra. Aun con todos sus años de servicio, ciertas cosas podían seguir resultándole peculiares.,El hombre – al cabo de un momento, llegó a la conclusión que eso era – levantó la vista y sus ojos se clavaron en los suyos. Un estremecimiento inexplicable recorrió a Javert. Alzó la porra, preparándose para asestar el golpe. La figura no se inmutó.,—Javert, soy yo.,Aquella voz…,No podía ser. Lo había dejado en la barricada, debía haber muerto allí con todos los demás. Hizo la porra a un lado e ignoró la inmundicia al agarrarlo con fuerza por los hombros para acercarlo hacia sí. Sí, él conocía aquellos ojos y la mirada testaruda en ellos.,Maldita sea, tendría que haberse muerto. O haberse desvanecido en el aire como tantas otras veces en el pasado. En cualquier caso no tendría que haber estado allí antes sus ojos, una aparición infernal convocada para atormentarlo.,Tantos años persiguiendo a Jean Valjean y en ese momento lo que más deseaba era que desapareciera de su vista para siempre.,Con la misma terquedad de sus días como alcalde defendiendo a los pobres, le pidió que le dejara llevar a aquel muchacho hasta la casa de su abuelo y le dio su palabra que se entregaría luego. Años, siglos atrás, le rogó que le dejase tres días de ventaja para ir a buscar la hija de una prostituta antes de entregarse a la policía. Javert no le había creído entonces, pero…,Miró al muchacho, reconociéndolo vagamente de la barricada. Estaba muerto, con toda seguridad.,Sin decir palabra, detuvo a un cochero, a quien el uniforme inhibió de protestar por el aspecto de Valjean y el herido. Dejaron al cadáver en casa del señor Gillenormand, rue Filles-du-Cavalier, nº6. No se quedó a escuchar los gritos de angustia del anciano y los sirvientes. Cuando Valjean le preguntó si podría pasar primero por su casa antes de ir a la comisaría, Javert se limitó a darle la dirección al cochero. Una vez allí le pagó y lo despidió. Valjean pareció algo extrañado, pero no parecía dispuesto a tentar a su suerte con preguntas. Cuando le dijo que podía subir a su apartamento él solo, que Javert le esperaría en la calle, dudó.,Era natural: una vida entera le había enseñado que el inspector no era de los que cedían un solo ápice y Valjean había probado ser particularmente escurridizo a la menor oportunidad. Pero algo en el rostro impasible de Javert le debió servir de respuesta porque entró al edificio sin mirar atrás, y la puerta aún no se había cerrado antes de que el inspector se alejase a paso apretado de allí, sin mirar siquiera a dónde se dirigía.,Sus pensamientos eran un torbellino más feroz que las aguas revueltas del Sena: por primera vez en su vida, no podía comprenderse a sí mismo. La brújula que había guiado toda su vida estaba irremisiblemente rota, todos los fundamentos de su existencia habían sido resquebrajados hasta los cimientos.,Permaneció largo tiempo allí, los brazos sobre el parapeto, la mirada clavada en las aguas, sus pensamientos confusos entrechocándose entre sí. Todas las certezas de su universo habían desaparecido. Si un criminal podía hacer lo correcto, si la ley podía equivocarse, ¿qué le quedaba?,Si había estado equivocado toda su vida, si con su persecución implacable de la Justicia no había hecho más que inclinar la balanza hacia el lado equivocado, si…,Un mundo en que Jean Valjean era el héroe, ¿dónde lo dejaba a él? No podía existir en un mundo así. No había lugar para él.,La figura que se trepó al parapeto, si alguien la hubiese visto, habría presentado el rostro calmo de las estatuas de los sepulcros. No cerró los ojos al saltar: esperaba con impaciencia el frío abrazo de las aguas.,Rue Homme-Armé, nº7,No había esperado despertar.,Mucho menos en una habitación cálida, con rayos de sol filtrándose por entre las cortinas de muselina y dibujando contrastes en las flores del empapelado.,De ser el Cielo, habría sido muy prosaico y habría creído que los huesos le dolerían menos. Para ser el Infierno o incluso el Purgatorio se veía demasiado hogareño.,—¡Oh, ya se despertó! —exclamó una voz femenina, con una nota de alivio. Hizo el intento de mover el cuello para volverse hacia ella pero fue un error, a juzgar por el dolor punzante que pareció recorrerlo hasta las puntas del cabello.,—No, no, por favor no se mueva, inspector, todavía la poción no ha terminado de hacer efecto. Le daría algo más fuerte para el dolor, pero si me paso con la belladona va a ser un desastre.,La voz se acercó hasta que ante los ojos de Javert apareció el rostro de una joven de ojos y cabellos claros que lo miraba con atención. Para ser un ángel, tenía la nariz algo chata y una mancha de tinta en una mejilla.,—Tengo… sed —logró musitar, demasiado estupefacto para hacer preguntas. La muchacha se apresuró a conseguirle un vaso de agua y le dio de beber, con cuidado de no moverle demasiado la cabeza. Poco después, la neblina volvió a capturar su mente y se durmió.,Cuando volvió a abrir los ojos, el sol estaba más bajo, su mente más clara y el cuerpo le dolía menos. Esta vez pudo girar la cabeza en la almohada y alcanzó a ver algo de la habitación en que se encontraba. Había pocos muebles, sencillos por lo que podía ver desde su limitada perspectiva. Junto al hogar encendido estaba la muchacha sentada en un taburete. Llevaba un delantal de percal sobre un vestido que parecía caro, y estaba desmenuzando unas hierbas y arrojándolas al caldero que se calentaba en el fuego.,Un caldero.,Pestañeó mientras la muchacha tomaba frascos de distintos tamaños, vaciaba el contenido de algunos sobre una pequeña balanza de peltre a la que observaba con atención, para luego echar las cantidades necesarias al caldero. Luego sacó del bolsillo de su delantal una varita de madera y empezó a revolver la mezcla. Pareció sentir que la observaban porque se volvió a mirarlo y, lejos de mostrarse cohibida, le sonrió.,—¿Se siente mejor, inspector? Sus huesos ya deben estar casi soldados del todo.,Javert abrió la boca y la cerró, tragándose las primeras tres cosas que le vinieron a la mente. Asintió finalmente, y comprobó que el movimiento no le provocada casi dolor. La chica asintió.,—Todavía va a tener que quedarse quieto un tiempo más, hasta que estemos seguros que la poción curó cualquier herida interna, ¿sabe? ¿Desea beber más agua?,Cuando volvió a asentir le llevó un vaso de agua a los labios de nuevo, pero esta vez Javert pudo beber por sí mismo.,—Gracias, señorita…,Dejó caer el apelativo en el aire y la joven comprendió.,—¡Oh, disculpe! Con todo lo que pasó, tengo la cabeza en cualquier lado. Yo soy Cosette Fauchelevent… a mi padre ya lo conoce, por supuesto.,Por supuesto.,¿Alguna vez acabaría de conocer a aquel hombre?,—Señorita Fauchelevent. Si no le importa, ¿podría preguntarle cómo llegué aquí?,Ella frunció el ceño.,—Papá lo trajo. Dijo que usted había tenido una fea caída del puente mientras perseguía a un ladrón. Estaba muy malherido, no creo que habría sobrevivido en un hospital muggle.,Muggle. Si se podían albergar dudas, aquella palabra las despejaba todas.,—Es usted una bruja —dijo, sin inflexión alguna.,Ella lo miró y en su rostro amable apareció una veta algo más calculadora.,—Bueno, sería muy tonto de mi parte negarlo a estas alturas, ¿verdad? —Abarcó con un gesto de la mano el caldero y los demás utensilios incriminadores—. Parece estar tomándoselo con mucha mayor calma que la mayoría de la gente.,Javert consideró que encogerse de hombros suponía un esfuerzo que no valía la pena.,—Supongo que no estoy en posición de quejarme al respecto, ¿verdad?,En el transcurso de la tarde Javert conoció también a la criada, Toussaint, una provinciana tartamuda que parecía desprovista de curiosidad alguna. No era de extrañar que Valjean la hubiese contratado. La mujer ayudaba a la señorita Facuhelevent en todo lo que ésta le mandaba, incluso a sostener a Javert por los hombros cuando la joven lo forzó a beber un mejunje que pareció encenderle las entrañas en carne viva.,—Lo sé, lo sé, es horrible —murmuraba ella mientras seguía metiéndole aquella atrocidad por la garganta, la misma compasión enloquecedora de Valjean en su voz—. Pero cuanto antes se lo beba, antes pasará.,No tengo cinco años, por el amor de Dios… Pero el dolor pasó, también, y al cabo de un rato ya pudo sentarse en la cama con la ayuda de unas cuantas almohadas. Mientras tanto, la muchacha seguía trabajando, ya fuera echando cosas en el caldero, ya fuera moviendo su varita para enrollar en el aire largas tiras de vendas blancas. Cada tanto le dirigía alguna pregunta o comentario, pero parecía distraída y el propio Javert tenía demasiado con sus propios pensamientos como para entablar conversación, aun cuando era una oportunidad irrepetible para un interrogatorio.,Se escuchó una llave girando en la cerradura y la joven tiró al suelo el taburete con el salto para levantarse. Antes de que pudiera enderezarlo ya estaba allí Valjean en el umbral.,—¡Papá!,La chica se arrojó a los brazos del hombre, quien la rodeó con ellos y le acarició los cabellos con ternura. Javert apartó la mirada.,—El inspector ya se encuentra bastante mejor. Todavía tendrá que hacer reposo algunos días, creo, sabes que no es mi especialidad pero… bueno, hice lo mejor que pude.,—Lo sé, Cosette, y te lo agradezco de veras.,A Javert le hubiese gustado en ese momento la habilidad para desmaterializarse, pero cuando Valjean se acercó a preguntarle cómo se encontraba, le sostuvo la mirada y le respondió sin que temblase su voz. Había un millar de preguntas en su cabeza, pero por una vez en su vida optó por el tacto de no realizarlas delante de la joven, quien parecía estar vibrando en el lugar por una emoción contenida que amenazaba con sobrepasarla. Valjean también lo notó porque inmediatamente se volvió a ella y la tomó del brazo.,—He ido a la casa del señor Gillenormand y lo he visto – sí, Cosette, ya te dije que él vivía. Pero está muy mal y el médico está preocupado por la infección —. El rostro de la muchacha adquirió una palidez cadavérica y su padre se apresuró a añadir —. Tú tienes muchas más chances de hacer algo por él que todos los médicos y cirujanos franceses juntos. Hablé con su abuelo y está los bastante deses—quiero decir, está dispuesto a darte una oportunidad de ayudarlo.,Ella soltó un suspiro de alivio y algo de color retornó a sus mejillas.,—¿Podemos ir ya? Tengo todo preparado, estuve toda la tarde con las vendas y pociones porque sabía que tú lo encontrarías, papá.,—Toma tu capa y tus cosas y partiremos enseguida. Quítate el delantal —agregó, cuando la muchacha ya hubo salido corriendo por la puerta.,Se quedaron solos en la habitación, cuyo aire parecía haberse vuelto mucho más pesado.,—Así que por eso te llevaste a aquel muchacho de la barricada —comentó, porque parecía el tema menos espinoso de todos. Valjean se encogió de hombros con aire de derrota.,—Cosette lo ama. ¿Qué más podía hacer?,Antes que pudiera responder, Cosette regresó abrochándose la capa, Toussaint pisándole los talones para empezar a levantar frascos y rollos de vendas de los estantes. En un vendaval de actividad furiosa Valjean volvió a marcharse con la muchacha, dejándolo solo con un libro y la sirvienta, para atenderlo o vigilarlo, vaya uno a saber.,No que pudiera marcharse muy lejos.,Para cuando regresaron Valjean y la muchacha, era ya noche cerrada y Javert habría considerado seriamente arrojarse por la ventana por el aburrimiento, sino fuera porque aún le dolían todos los músculos tras su primer salto al vacío. Tuvo ocasión de recordar que jamás había disfrutado leer y sólo se obligaba a hacerlo porque consideraba parte de su deber no ser completamente inculto; y la conversación titubeante de Toussaint no era mucho más estimulante. Nunca se había alegrado tanto de ver a Valjean sin la perspectiva de poder ponerle un par de esposas en las muñecas.,La joven parecía exangüe por el agotamiento, apenas musitó un "buenas noches, que descanse bien" en su dirección antes de retirarse a descansar. Valjean llevó aparte a Toussaint para darle algunas instrucciones y la criada también salió de la habitación, dejándolos solos.,Javert tenía un millar de preguntas bulléndole en la cabeza. Valjean debió presentirlo, porque aproximó el taburete y se dejó caer en él, como esperando un interrogatorio. Había tantas cosas que necesitaba saber, pero decidió empezar por lo más acuciante:,—¿Qué hago aquí? ¿Cómo llegué? ¿Me siguió hasta el puente?,Tan preocupado estaba con su torrente de preguntas que en un primer momento ni siquiera notó que había dejado de tutearlo. Su interlocutor, si se percató, no dio señales de ello. Se frotó la frente en un gesto familiar.,—Pues, sí, lo seguí. Me había quedado preocupado.,Javert se lo quedó mirando, sin comprender.,—¿Preocupado? ¡Lo dejé en su casa! Era libre, lo dejé marchar de una vez, ¿y estaba preocupado?,—Precisamente. No era… bueno, no era propio de usted. Y su expresión… —Calló, mordiéndose el labio—. Era la expresión de alguien que va a hacer algo drástico, ¿sabe? Aunque nunca pensé… Creí que iba a hacer algo estúpido, como entregarse o pedir que lo echaran, otra vez. Evidentemente, subestimé su estupidez —concluyó con una mueca.,Javert apretó los dientes. No era estupidez, era una cuestión de honor. Había fallado, toda su vida lo había hecho, no merecía el perdón de nadie, ni siquiera el de Dios.,Pero alguien como Valjean, quien creía genuinamente que la gente podía pasar página sin importar la oscuridad en su pasado, quien siempre predicaba el perdón y la compasión por sobre la justicia y el castigo, sería incapaz de comprenderlo.,—Tuve suerte —continuó al cabo de un momento—. Si hubiese caído directamente en el remolino, nunca habría podido sacarlo de allí, pero chocó contra los pilares del puente y se quedó enganchado allí. Fue algo… complicado, y usted estaba bastante mal herido, pero en fin, aquí estamos.,Javert se lo quedó mirando boquiabierto, hasta que se dio cuenta y cerró la boca con fuerza. Sólo Valjean podía hablar tan tranquilamente de una proeza semejante, porque tuvo que haberse descolgado del puente para luego volver a treparlo sosteniendo a un hombre de considerable estatura y peso. Y eso tras pasarse una noche luchando en una barricada y sobrevivir a ella sólo para después arrastrar un cuerpo inerte por medio París a través de las alcantarillas.,Pero Jean Valjean siempre había sido capaz de lo imposible.,—¿Y por qué me trajo aquí, a su propia casa, con su familia?,Con el esfuerzo que el hombre había hecho a lo largo de los años por proteger su hogar junto a aquella muchacha, y luego traía a Javert, nada menos que su peor enemigo. Se sentía como un lobo al que un pastor distraído había dejado mezclarse con los corderos. Decidió no detenerse a pensar en qué significaba que en aquella casa de criminales y brujos hubiese empezado a considerarse a sí mismo como peligroso para otros.,—Ya le dije: estaba muy mal herido. Se había roto la clavícula y la mitad de los huesos, sangraba profusamente, no sabía si no tendría heridas internas… No creí que un hospital le fuera a ser de mucha ayuda. Necesitaría medios menos… —Dudó, quizá a causa de una vida entera dedicada al secreto, pero hasta él debía darse cuenta que no había forma de meter al gato de vuelta dentro de la bolsa—. Bueno, menos normales.,Lo miró entonces con una intensidad inusitada y Javert puso los ojos en blanco.,—No voy a arrestar a la muchacha, Valjean.,No agregó si no lo arresté a usted pero ambos lo oyeron. Un peso inconmensurable pareció librar el cuerpo de aquel hombre.,—No podría, de todos modos. Ella no ha quebrado ninguna ley, no de acuerdo con el último tratado de—,—Valjean, si me vuelve a repetir todos los incisos y los artículos que se sabe, como solía hacer en Montreuil-sur-Mer, estoy dispuesto a arrojarle la bacineta por la cabeza aunque me disloque el hombro.,Algo que no llegó a ser una sonrisa curvó las comisuras de los labios del hombre.,—Se lo dejaré pasar esta vez, inspector, porque sé que está convaleciente.,Javert resopló pero no lo contradijo. Incluso estar sentado mucho rato se le dificultaba. Debía resultar evidente, porque Valjean acabó por desearle las buenas noches. Al llegar al umbral se detuvo un momento.,—Cosette dice que le llevará algunos días aún recuperarse del todo. Procuraremos que esté tan cómodo como sea posible, inspector.,Y lo dejó solo con sus pensamientos, enfrascado una vez más en el enigma irresoluble que era Jean Valjean hasta que lo venció el sueño.,Alcanzaron una especie de rutina. Por las mañanas, la señorita Fauchelevent le preguntaba cómo se sentía y en base a sus respuestas le daba a beber tal o cual mejunje; a Dios gracias ninguno tan espantoso como el del primer día. Aunque solícita y deseosa de ayudar, era evidente que la joven aguardaba con impaciencia la hora para marcharse a rue Filles-du-Cavalier para atender a su paciente predilecto. Javert no podía juzgarla por eso, pero Valjean siempre la acompañaba y los días en compañía de Toussaint se hacían muy largos, aunque el hombre le buscaba diarios y libros que creía que podrían interesarle para que se entretuviera.,Por las noches, la señorita Fauchelevent procuraba entretenerlo narrándole su día o hablándole de su tema favorito, el señor Marius Pontmercy. Su infección era lo bastante grave para que aun los métodos mágicos no fueran efectivos de inmediato. Javert la escuchaba en silencio porque tampoco tenía nada mejor que hacer y era evidente que para ella era un alivio: ya debía haber agotado el tema hasta el hartazgo con Valjean y Toussaint.,Sorpresivamente Valjean también parecía interesado en pasar parte de su día junto a su lecho, preguntándole sobre sus lecturas. Se parecía sospechosamente a que le estuviese tomando la lección y era difícil encontrar un tema de conversación poco espinoso cuando casi de lo único que hablaban los periódicos era de la persecución de los traidores a la Corona que habían sobrevivido al 6 de junio. Se había decretado que cualquiera que tuviese heridas sospechosas debía ser denunciado, pero afortunadamente para el joven Pontmercy, sus médicos parecían dispuestos a ignorar tal decreto.,Él mismo debería haber estado allí fuera, tras la pista de los traidores, pero en ese momento se le hacía una realidad muy lejana.,La situación se le hizo más tolerable cuando pudo levantarse y empezar a andar por el apartamento con ayuda de un bastón, sus músculos recomponiéndose lentamente. También Valjean pareció cobrarle cierta confianza al señor Gillenormand, la suficiente para ser capaz de dejar a Cosette sola en su casa por un rato y volverse más temprano a rue Homme-Armé. A veces, cuando hablaban de las noticias en los periódicos no podían evitar caer en las antiguas discusiones de sus días de Montreuil-sur-Mer sobre derechos de los desposeídos y responsabilidades del Estado. Javert seguía creyendo que el hombre era ridículamente ingenuo para alguien que había permanecido diecinueve años en prisión y que había conocido a gente como los Thénardiers, pero ya no sentía el mismo veneno al responderle.,Al cabo de una semana, Javert ya se sentía lo bastante recuperado para reconocerse a sí mismo que se estaba sobrepasando con su permanencia allí. Valjean nunca se lo diría, pero era un abuso de su hospitalidad. La perspectiva de regresar a la habitación que alquilaba era lúgubre, pensamiento que le tomó por sorpresa porque nunca se había preocupado por darle un toque hogareño: era un sitio donde dormir y ya. Comparado con la habitación en la que estaba, sin embargo, la suya propia le parecía una celda.,Cuando la señorita Fauchelevent lo vio preparándose para irse, se alarmó.,—Pero, inspector, ¿qué está haciendo?,—Señorita, créame que le agradezco sinceramente todo lo que ha hecho por mí. Pero ya he abusado de su hospitalidad y debo volverme a mi casa.,Si es que aún tenía una. La nota al prefecto con ciertas disposiciones que había dejado en la gendarmería antes de saltar se parecía sospechosamente a una carta de suicidio, y no creía que Valjean precisamente se hubiese acercado a la comisaría para comunicarles que vivía. Probablemente tendría que haber escrito al prefecto aclarándole que aún respiraba o al menos al casero para que no se deshiciera de sus cosas.,La muchacha se quedó momentáneamente boquiabierta, como si no se le hubiese ocurrido antes la posibilidad de que él tuviese algún hogar al que volver.,En realidad no lo tenía, pero ella no tenía modo de saberlo.,Se recuperó lo suficiente para decir:,—¡Oh, es una lástima! Me alegró mucho conocer a un amigo de papá, él está normalmente tan solo, sobre todo ahora que yo… bueno, en fin. Vendrá a visitarnos, ¿verdad? Papá no tendrá con quién hablar del código penal si no.,Siguiendo un momento de impulsividad inexplicable (pero desde la madrugada del 7 de junio, cada vez estaba más y más acostumbrado a que su propia comportamiento le resultase inexplicable), le prometió que así lo haría, si a su padre le parecía bien. Y por extraño que pudiera parecer, Valjean pareció casi aliviado con su promesa.,Prefectura de policía,El inspector Javert regresó a sus funciones, para estupefacción del prefecto quien sin embargo le dio la bienvenida: agentes así de capaces y así de desinteresados en quitarle el cargo eran difíciles de encontrar. Si su historia sobre su enfermedad y permanencia en un hospital le sonaron extrañas, no hizo preguntas incómodas al respecto.,Pronto, sin embargo, tanto el prefecto como los demás agentes de la ley notaron un cambio en Javert. Seguía siendo uno de los inspectores más competentes y dedicados a su trabajo, pero de repente tenía la preocupación inaudita porque a los prisioneros no se les tratase con crueldad excesiva, ante una denuncia se detenía a escuchar qué tenía para decir la parte acusada, era menos proclive a sacar la porra de su cinto. Las murmuraciones se propagaban por los pasillos de la prefectura, pero ninguno se atrevió a decir palabra al respecto en su presencia. Quizá su rigidez característica se hubiese suavizado un poco, no lo suficiente para perder su capacidad para intimidar aun a sus propios compañeros.,Si hubiesen escuchado que cada vez más a menudo se dejaba caer por el apartamento de un ex convicto para conversar o que paseaba con él por el Jardín del Luxemburgo cuando su hija se hallaba demasiado ocupada con su prometido, ninguno de ellos lo habría creído.,Menos que menos cuando meses más tarde, el inspector decidió abandonar la pensión donde alquilaba desde su llegada a París para mudarse a la habitación libre del apartamento en rue Homme-Armé.,Hospital de Saint-Médard.,Chabrier era un agente de policía joven y que se reconocía a sí mismo como inexperto, por lo que no discutió cuando el inspector Javert decidió no castigar al pilluelo que se había robado un par de manzanas y en cambio, detenerse a preguntarle su edad y si vivía solo. Aunque aterrado, el niño no bajó la vista al responder que tenía siete años y que vivía debajo de un puente con su hermanito de cinco, para quien había robado las manzanas porque estaba enfermo. Historias así se escuchaban a montones todos los días y la mayoría de los policías no tenían tiempo para ellas, pero el inspector lo sorprendió una vez más al pedirle que lo llevara junto a su hermano, y luego al ordenarle a Chabrier que tomase al pequeño en brazos para llevarlo al hospital. Aunque atónito, tuvo el buen tino de no discutir.,Junto a la iglesia de Saint-Médard funcionaba una pequeña sala de hospital del mismo nombre, probablemente financiada al menos en parte por Jean Valjean, donde Cosette Fauchelevent solía ayudar ahora que su prometido se había restablecido del todo. Ella recibió a los niños, acomodó al más pequeño en una cama y le dio comida y lo que Javert estaba seguro que era una poción aunque se disimulaba en el frasco bastante bien; al más grande lo acomodó en una silla junto al lecho de su hermano, le dio algo de comer y uno de esos juguetes artesanales que el antiguo alcalde de Montreuil-Sur-Mer gustaba de obsequiarle a los niños.,Javert la observaba preparar unas hierbas en silencio hasta que en un momento, cuando se hubo asegurado que no había oídos indiscretos prestándoles atención, le comentó al pasar:,—Veo que su padre le ha enseñado bien sus artes.,—Oh, ¿los juguetes? En realidad los hace él porque intentó enseñarme, pero no soy muy ducha con ese tipo de manualidades.,Javert frunció el ceño.,—Me refería a sus conocimientos sobre hierbas.,Ella se encogió de hombros.,—Bueno, sí, de eso me enseñó algo, pero más que nada fueron las Hermanas de la Orden.,—¿Las monjas?,—No… no realmente. Es una Orden de brujas sanadoras en realidad. Ellas me enseñaron mucho de hierbas; papá sabe bastante, pero es muggle, ¿vio? Sus conocimientos son limitados. Sin ofender —agregó rápidamente con una sonrisa.,—Oh, no es ofensa en absoluto —musitó y ella se marchó a atender a los pacientes, dejándolo helado en el lugar.,El inspector no había leído Hamlet, pero ciertamente habría compartido la impresión de que el mundo se había salido de su eje.,Jardín del Luxemburgo,—Es un idiota.,—¿Marius? Él sólo quiere hacer lo mejor para Cosette y si eso significa alejarme para siempre de ella, entonces—,—No, no Pontmercy – bueno, él también – yo hablaba de usted. No puedo creer que sea yo el que tenga que decirle esto. Usted crio a esa niña, la protegió cuando nadie más lo hubiese hecho, no sé a qué me viene a decir ahora que su presencia en su vida es algo malo para ella o cualquiera sea la estupidez que haya dicho Pontmercy.,Pontmercy, por el amor de Dios. Ese chico tenía la cabeza tan en las nubes que Javert no sabía cómo no iba por la vida llevándose puestos los árboles.,Jean Valjean frunció el ceño y reconoció las señales de un ataque de testarudez inminente.,—Si alguien supiese de mi pasado, si se hiciera público, el estigma de un padre convicto pesaría por siempre sobre Cosette—,—Yo tuve no un padre, sino dos en prisión. Nací allí. Y a mi madre la guillotinaron por bruja. Nunca lo oculté, y ya ve que mi vida no se truncó por eso.,El hombre dio un respingo al escuchar estas palabras aunque no fuesen noticia alguna para él a estas alturas. Abrió la boca y la cerró, dividido probablemente entre pedirle disculpas por su falta de tacto y espetarle un precisamente, punto a mi favor. De acuerdo, Javert estaba dispuesto a admitir que no resentía que Valjean deseara algo mejor para su hija y la burguesía a la que por matrimonio ahora pertenecía sería mucho más severa que la policía.,Irónico, pero cierto.,Cuando todo intento por razonar con Valjean falló (sus cabellos serían más blancos pero su terquedad y martirologio permanecían incólumes), Javert se marchó directamente a la casa de rue Filles-du-Cavalier para aclararle unas cuantas verdades al señor Pontmercy. El joven ya no daba un respingo cada vez que lo veía como si permanentemente se olvidase de que no, Valjean no le había pegado un tiro aquella noche en la barricada, pero seguía sin parecer demasiado cómodo en su presencia. A Javert le daba bastante igual: estaba acostumbrado y en este caso, su facilidad para intimidar le venía como anillo al dedo.,Del mismo modo en que años, siglos, atrás el señor Madeleine había ignorado su pedido de despido, Javert decidió ignorar la orden de Valjean de jamás contarle a su yerno quién exactamente le había salvado la vida aquella fatídica noche. Los ojos del abogado se abrieron como platos.,—Pero entonces ese hombre es un héroe; qué héroe, ¡un santo!,Pontmercy proseguía con el panegírico a Jean Valjean cuando Javert le dejó hablando solo. Valjean no se lo agradeció, por supuesto, pero no le retiró el saludo tampoco así que decidió considerarlo un triunfo.,Barrio de Saint-Michel,Aquella anciana seguía acomodada en el recoveco de un umbral, unos cuantos remiendos más en sus ropas, unos cuantos cabellos blancos ganándole la batalla al gris. Sus dedos artríticos recorrían el ajado mazo de cartas, sus ojos oscuros como brasas encendidas en el cielo nocturno. Instintivamente, los pilluelos y los transeúntes daban un rodeo para no pasarle demasiado cerca.,Una moneda de cinco francos cayó entonces en su falda. Nunca había visto moneda semejante y examinó al león grabado con curiosidad. Levantó la vista y sus labios se curvaron en una sonrisa desdentada.,—Gracias, inspector.,El hombre asintió en reconocimiento, la misma levita perfectamente abrochada, las mismas patillas cuidadosamente recortadas, pero una mirada muy diferente en sus ojos.,—Buenas tardes, señora.,Y se alejó por la callejuela hasta desaparecer detrás de uno de sus tantos recovecos.

Harry (Potter) watches the new exchange students get sorted, and something seems off.,Harry smiled contentedly, looking from Ron to Hermione as they bantered. The candles were lit, and the room bustled with an exited energy. Dumbledore was chattering merrily with Sprout, in fact, all the teachers were merry but Snape., he thought, ,Eventually, the first years began to bustle in, trailed by McGonagall. In front of her were a few older students he didn't recognize. He studied them in surprise, Hogwarts rarely got exchanges.,"Hey, Hermione, Ron. Look." He gestured towards the group. Nine students, all looking to be around the same age looked out towards the hat. The girl at the front, a redhead with shoulder length hair and fair skin, had a confident disposition that it seemed like the rest were defaulting too.,The redhead whispered something to the group, and they nodded in acknowledgement. She seemed to be the leader of some sort.,Ron's eyes were wide. "Look at her." He was staring directly at the blonde in the group, who's beauty was obviously stunning. Though it wasn't her face he seemed to be focused on, which Hermione noted and promptly punched him in the arm.,"Ow." He said, shaking it off.,Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Welcome all! I will give a better speech after the sorting, but I'd also like to announce the presence of nine transfer students. They'll be joining the fifth years in their classes. I know you'll welcome them with open arms. With that brief interlude, let the sorting now commence!","Calcifer, Drew…,","Haywood, Parker…,",Name after name was called, but it was soon apparent that the transfers were going to be sorted last. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the first years were all sorted. It was the transfer students turn.,"Janeway, Kathryn!" The hat was placed on top of the redhead's skull, and determination filled her eyes. Seeing that look, he was almost positive she was going to be a Gryffindor. She gave a slight smile to the rest of them, which a tall boy with a tattoo on his forehead returned.,So he was very surprised when the hat called out: ",She cocked an eyebrow at the rest of her group, then went over to sit down at the table, looking content.,"She didn't look evil…" Her heard Ron mutter under his breath. An undecipherable noise from Seamus told him that he concurred.,"Chakotay!",Hmm, that's odd. Only one name. Maybe it's a family thing? Harry pondered.,",",He saw one of the exchange students, a blonde and blue eyed boy, snort and grin to the girl standing next to him. She smirked back, clearly amused by the name of the badger house.,"Torres, B'Elanna!","That's an interesting name." Hermione noted.,"I like it." Ginny agreed.,",",The table started cheering. She walked over and smirked at the blue eyed boy.,"Paris, Tom!",The blue eyed boy glanced towards her one last time before stepping to the stool and putting on the hat.,",",Tom grinned and came over to sit by B'Elanna. He put an arm around her shoulder.,"Watch it flyboy." She muttered, smirking. He gave a mock-hurt expression and retracted his hand.,"Hansen, Annika!",The girl in question glowered, but moved to put the hat over her head. It seemed to stall for a second, before shouting ",","Who would've guessed." B'Elanna said, watching the girl walking to the table.,"Did you go to the same school before this?" Hermione asked her.,"You could say that." Tom answered cryptically.,"Zimmerman, Joe!",B'Elanna and Tom looked at each other before bursting out laughing, as if in on some kind of inside joke.,"Joe?!" She hissed through her fit of laughter.,Tom was shaking with laughter, and when Harry turned her swore he could see Kathryn Janeway's lips quirking.,"What's so funny?" Hermione asked, frowning.,This only sent them into another fit of Laughter.,",","Tuvok!",Oh, I'll wonder what this'll be." Paris said, grinning.,",",B'Elanna frowned. "Huh, that's unexpected.",Tom thought about it for a second. "I mean, it makes sense. He's a good liar, and though he's smart it's not really what he pursues. He's not brash like a Gryffindor, and definitely not in the…kind house.","You mean Hufflepuff?" Ron asked.,"That's the one." Paris shot him a finger gun.,"That leaves-","Kim, Harry!",The hat rested on top of his head for half of a second, before shouting ",",Harry walked over to the Hufflepuff table, and sat by Chakotay.,"Ah! How wonderful! Now, before we begin the feast I'd like to introduce somebody. This is Delores Umbridge, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Delores, wouldn't you like to say something?",Umbridge stood up, basking in her pink glory. A fake, all-too-sweet smile was plastered on her face. "Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. And how lovely to see all your bright happy faces smiling up at me.",No one had smiled.,"I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends.",Fred and George chimed in together. "That's likely.",Umbridge continued. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizard of vital importance. Although each Headmaster has brought something new to this historic school.","Progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be prohibited.",That remark was met with awkward applause.,"Thank you Professor Umbridge, that really was most illuminating." Dumbledore smiled, letting her sit back down.,"Illuminating? What a load of waffle!" Ron muttered.,Harry sighed. It was going to be a long year.,Tom Paris,B'Elanna Torres,Seven of Nine (Annika Hansen),The Doctor,Kathryn Janeway,Tuvok,Chakotay,Harry Kim,Questions as to how the voyagers got there will be answered in the next chapter...,If you like it, please leave a review! It keeps me motivated and more likely to give out a new chapter.

Author Note:,Taking this statement into account, this story uses the video game inheriting the storyline concept. after all, everything began from the machines taking over the world. What if the video games are just a ploy to disguise the Matrix trying to take over again?,"Expelliarmus!","Avada Kedavra!","Lord Voldemort wins this match," announced an electronic voice.,"Take that, you smug blond!" Tom shouted into his mic as he pumped his fist, his avatar on the screen doing the same.,"Shut up, you bloodthirsty cur! You may have won the war but you still need Lucius Freaking Malfoy to win this war! This was just a practice match!" shouted his rival of the match, Lucius.,Tom laughed as he removed his VR headset. "It's okay. No need to be a sore loser!","Screw you. Life is a pain," Lucius spat without heat.,"And anyone saying otherwise is selling something," Tom quoted.,Lucius smiled. He looked at his wristwatch and added in a softer voice, "Dude, I got to go. I have an early morning lecture tomorrow. So, we are still on for the raiding the Ministry tomorrow night though, right?,"Yeah, buddy," Tom replied removing his VR headset. He looked at his newest device and smiled.,Tom Marvolo Riddle had recently got his first VR video game and he couldn't get enough of it. He played this multiplayer game in the game room of his dorm along with other players. He is one of the best players in the Matrix Reloaded: Hogwarts Edition game. He had only been playing for a couple weeks but it felt like he was already a part of the Matrix.,Damn, wasn't he loving it?,"The One has now logged off, Mione," Harry replied removing his headphones.,"It's the best time to lock onto him now," Ron added.,"Tomorrow, everyone. It's D-Day tomorrow," Hermione replied.,Tom was running ragged. His team and he had finally reached the inner sanctum of The Ministry after pulling an all-nighter. He had finally broken the wards and was about to overthrow the government! Soon, the British Ministry of Magic would be under his team's control. Next stop, world annihilation. His Death Eaters and he were fighting the meager force of Order of Phoenix members and some foolhardy students level players.,But he couldn't help but notice how often his teammates acted more and more like their characters of this game. Lucius was a cautious player but as every level progressed he's becoming a scaredy cat, Bella becoming crueler with her targets, Antonin- more cold and indifferent than usual, Snape becoming more mysterious and Greyback acting like a damn animal with his targets. Once he made his werewolf character eat a child. What was , with ,?!,This level was turning out to be harder than usual. The 'enemies' were formidable and this wasn't even the boss fight. Tom wondered for a moment how hard fight the boss would be.,"Holy Xbox! The boss is here," his Russian friend, Antonin cursed.,"Already? The boss fight isn't supposed to happen until we go attack Hogwarts school," Bellatrix, their only female gamer whispered.,Tom looked pissed. It had taken him a really long time to get to this point and he wasn't going to get his team get thrown out of the game just because the boss fight happened almost fifteen levels early.,He already had some recurring opponents team in this story —Harry Potter and his merry band of righteous warriors— who always managed to stop his progress to the next levels. He couldn't afford to fight the boss and lose just now.,He had his wand raised when a bushy-haired, bloodied and bruised brunette came in front of him. Tom rolled his eyes. Righteous, , warrior of the Golden Trio, Hermione Granger, ready to spoil everything again. His avatar raised his wand to shoot Granger down when she spoke, "This isn't just a game, Tom. For everyone else, this is a matter of life and death.","Get out of my way! I'm almost at the end of this level, girl!","Remember, Tom. You kill someone here, they die. They really die," she looked straight into his eye as she said it.,"What do you mean?","Open your eyes, Tom.","What?","Open your eyes," she whispered.,Tom woke up with a gasp, his heart pounding as if it was trying to burst out of his chest. He wiped his sweat drenched face and fumbled to get his glass of water by the bedside.,As he gulped down his water, he couldn't help but wonder when he had gone to bed. He had been playing his game! How did he get to his bed? Where were his friends? Where was his VR headset?,He switched on the bedside light only to see a note, attached to his wall, fluttering lightly in the breeze that came through the open window.,One minute! Who had opened his window?! It had been closed! He , kept that creaky window closed!,He jumped out of bed and rushed to look out but found the coast was clear in the middle of the night.,Did he dream it all then? And so vividly?,He shook his head as if it could dispel the erratic thoughts in his head and went towards the note. He ripped it off the nail that fixed it to the wall and read,,Tom slapped the card against his palm wondering about the offer. But there were only a couple questions prevalent on his mind. How in the world had Hermione Granger found out where he lived? And most importantly, how had she entered his dorm?,Tom raised his coffee to his lips as the three people sitting before him on the grass looked at his face expectantly. They had explained their theories and were taking in how ,was taking in their theories. He took a deep gulp of his coffee, only to find that it was so hot it almost liquefied his mouth off. Somehow he managed not to make a noise. He coughed a little and spoke hoarsely, "You mean , killed your parents? I? As in, I, Tom Marvolo Riddle?","Yes," the raven haired young man sitting before him answered tiredly.,"Let me get this straight. I , your parents using a , that everyone plays?" Tom asked incredulously.,"Yes, Tom," the brunette replied.,Tom dropped his now empty cup near him and threw his hands in the air and huffed out, "I don't , believe you.",The ginger headed guy placed a couple newspapers in his hand and pointed his chin towards them. Tom angrily opened the newspaper only for the front page headline to tell him that a family of newly turned parents in Godric's Hollow were murdered in their house on the eve of Halloween under suspicious circumstances. Luckily, the baby boy survived with only a scar to mark his survival. Harry Potter.,Tom looked up from the newspaper only to have the raven-haired guy to move his bangs from his face and expose a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.,"You are Harry Potter?" Tom stated disbelievingly.,"Yes," Harry replied.,"Huh… I imagined you would a little taller," Tom said nonchalantly.,Harry merely rolled his eyes at Tom's comment.,"If you are Harry Potter, then that makes you," Tom pointed towards the brunette, "Hermione Granger and you," Tom pointed towards the ginger headed guy, "Ronald Weasley.","Just Ron works too, okay?" Ron replied resignedly.,Tom nodded and handed over the newspapers. "I still don't believe you.",Hermione pulled out another newspaper and opened a specific page for him to read.,"A family in Little Hangleton found dead in mysterious condition," Tom read out. "Yeah, so? What's that got to do with me?" Tom asked Hermione.,She pointed out to a certain paragraph.,"The Riddles of Little Hangleton were found dead this morning under—" Tom again read out before he spotted abruptly. "Yeah, so they share the same name with me. So what?","Your mission…sorry, Voldemort's level 3 mission killed this family," Harry explained.,Tom pursed his lips. "Naah. You guys are bluffing me." Tom started to get up when Hermione placed her hand on his wrist and a current ran through him.,"What the fuck!" Tom cursed as he shook his numb hand to get rid of the pins and needle feeling. "What did you do to me?","My hand is bare, Tom," the brunette showed him her bare hands. "I know this seems like a big, fat lie to you but tell me one thing. Don't you sometimes feel like there's something wrong with everything here? With , here? As if there's something you are forgetting, that's at the corner of your mind but it always eludes you?" the brunette asked him.,"Too many video games does that to you," Tom countered.,"Have you ever had a dream, Tom, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream-world and the real-world?" Ron spoke for the first time.,"Sleep deprivation," Tom answered flatly.,"Do you ever feel an undercurrent running through your skin only to get exhausted and go to bed despite waking up just moments ago?" Hermione implored.,"All-nighter side effects," Tom snapped without even paying attention to what she was saying. "Alright, look, if you guys are video game , or something please, you are wasting everyone's time. I have to grind some more to get enough points to face the boss," Tom said as he got up dusting his track pants.,"We are trying to free your mind, Tom. But we can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it," Hermione told him. For a moment, it felt like a déjà vu. As if he had heard that before. But he didn't pay it any attention.,"Toodles. Hope to see you never." And he walked off towards his dorm.,"What do we do now, Hermione?" Harry asked Hermione who was watching Tom's figure get smaller and smaller as he walked further away.,"Never forget that for every problem there is one solution which is simple, neat, and wrong," Hermione quoted.,"Which means?" Harry enquired.,"Plan C, aka Rock-His-World.",The next day, Tom had started grinding to up his already high game points even higher to get upgrades. His yew wand was supposed to turn into the Elder Wand before he had to fight the Boss, Albus Dumbledore. He knew it was just a computer generated 'enemy' but something about the long bearded 'wizard' gave him chills.,It had been a couple days since the freaky Trio incident. He hadn't been able to completely shake off the brunette's words either. As a result, he had even started seeing things too. His dorm wall once flickered! And last night when he was working on an assignment, his computer seemed to be melting into itself. But when he poked his pen at it, it went back to its previous self — complete with dust stains in the corner of the display to the regularly abused Q, W, A, S, navigation and Shift with faded tags.,Those three had planted such a doubt in his mind that he was questioning his whole existence! It was one reason why he had gained a mere 20 points in the past two hours of grinding. Tom huffed and was about to remove his VR headset when he saw a familiar head full of bushy brown hair out of the corner of his eye.,He thought better and chased after her, abandoning his team in the beautiful parlour of Malfoy Manor. He had thought it was a huge coincidence that his friend shared his last name with a full family of avatars. Yet now, it all seemed like pieces of the puzzle falling into place. No, he still didn't believe what those three had sprouted at him but that nagging voice at the back of head made him look twice at everything. He had poked his cat, Nagini, in the morning too when she did her usual 'feed-me-my-world-is-ending' dance. That had ended with a nasty glare along with a hiss thrown at him. He had apologised, but cats…,He was running down the labyrinth of hedges when he came face to face with Hermione.,"Wake up, Tom. This is the last time I can meet you like this. Please, wake-up. Hundreds of lives are at stake," Hermione pleaded him.,"How can I wake up when I am already awake?" Tom snapped at her irrational request.,"Wish for it, Tom! Are you a wizard or not?" Hermione replied cryptically and somehow her avatar dissolved into nothing.,He opened his mouth to question her when Bellatrix huffed at him.,"Tom, we are at a very important point of this game. We need to win.","Why?","What do you mean why, My Lor—" Greyback, their reserve player for Snape — who was apparently having a lie-in that day — began when Bellatrix jabbed her elbow into his ribs to stop him from saying something.,"He gets a little into the depth of the character, , Voldemort," Bellatrix explained for him.,Suddenly, a red light hit Tom making him fly across the Atrium and hit the wall. He groaned, falling into a heap. It didn't hurt much but his back was surely going to bruise later. That was one hell of a fall. He knew what a VR game could do and what it , do. And getting a player to slam the wall and get hurt is definitely something it couldn't do.,"I'm getting outta here.","What you mean?","I'm done. This game is getting into my head," Tom explained as he tried to get the VR headset off. But he couldn't do it now.,"What the hell?" Tom cursed.,"Tom, why are quitting now of all times?" Antonin asked him.,"Don't you get it? This game is sick! I can't wake up. I can't! This game has merged with my reality! I'm done with this," Tom shouted frustrated throwing away his 'wand' on the floor.,"He's right, you know," Lucius told Bellatrix who was staring at Tom in disbelief. "I can't make out what's real and what isn't either. This game has taken over my life. It has made Narcissa...made Narcissa disappear!","What utter bull!" Bellatrix cursed. She raised her 'wand' and cast a spell at Tom.,Tom looked in disbelief as he took in his teammate cursing his avatar. But the curse never reached him; instead, it bounced off a transparent shield.,"Started showing your true colours already, Bellatrix?",Tom watched Hermione taunt Bellatrix. She snarled and ripped off the headset. Much to Tom's surprise, Bellatrix's avatar still remained in the gaming area. She did not log off. Tom watched through his headset as his friends one by one removed their headsets yet remained in the gaming area.,Somehow, his own had dissolved away and Tom watched as the walls of the game room rippled like a stone dropped in still water. And then in the blink of an eye, he found himself standing in the halls of the Ministry of Magic.,He looked and found himself wearing the clothes of his avatar. He quickly checked his face with his hands. He knew his avatar was...horrible, but there was something undeniably nauseating about being able to feel that reptilian flesh with his hands. Had he always been so vain about his good looks? If so, he was sure that was his only vanity. Well...one of the top five.,While he was lost in his musings, Hermione and her friends faced off against some of his friends. Lucius had given up fighting and was hiding behind a statue. Antonin seemed to be sparring with Ron of the freaky Trios whereas Greyback and the Lestrange brothers seemed to be fighting a battle to the death with, Tom guessed, the members of the Order of the Phoenix.,Then he heard Hermione's voice right next to his ear, despite the fact that she was quite far away dueling with Bellatrix.,"Remember how freaking good you are at dueling, Tom? It's time for you to do that again.",Tom concentrated and willed his wand to come to him. As soon as his yew wand came into his palm, Tom was a sight to see. Tom fought every offensive dueller, who were ironically his own team mates- The Death Eaters, with the grace of a dancer. He never stayed in one place more than a couple minutes. And when he left, his opponent was found bound in ropes and unconscious.,After every opponent was incapacitated, Tom the storm took a breather.,"What…ju-just happened?" He panted out the question.,Hermione handed him a towel and a glass of cold water, "You have jumped down the Rabbit Hole, Alice. Now follow the white rabbit," Hermione told him cryptically which seemed like a habit that Hermione had.,"Easy for you to say," Tom wheezed out as he sat on the floor resting his sore legs.,"Tom, today you chose a side. You chose to save lives. You really did a good job," Hermione told him with a warm smile.,"Can you just tell me what actually happened? What happened to Bellatrix? What happened to everybody? It's like they forgot who they were and turned to be their avatars!","Long story short, you are The One, Tom. Only you can show people what they can do. Only you can show us a world without the Matrix controlling us. Only you can show us a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible.",Tom blushed. "So…uh…ahem…can you tell me where are we exactly?" Tom fumbled a bit not being used to such glowing praises that too from a girl…a beautiful girl…no...warrior.,Hermione smirked. "Welcome to the Matrix."

Varian was sick and tired of everyone saying he was "some kind of wizard" and him having to reply, "Its alchemy!",He thought, ,thing ,Little did he know, his thought was ,.,It started one day when an owl swarmed into his house. "Is this Cassandra's owl?" He thought out loud, but it wasn't. It was an all brown owl with a letter in its beak. He carefully took the letter out and opened it.,Varian yelled. "This place ,to be fake! It just can,be real!!",His dad walked in. "What has to be fake?" He asked.,"THIS!" He shouted, shoving the note into his dad's face. "Oops, Sorry.","Why- ,! Um... ok... you can go..." his dad said finally.,"Well, ok. I'll see if this 'magic' stuff is real," Varian murmured.,He looked at the note for directions, and when he finally got to Hogwarts, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Wow... ,, alchemy is better," he said.,"Second years over here!" A giant exclaimed, then looked at Varian. "Oh, yer the new kid!",He sighed. "Yup..." he said, then sighed again. "I,mean— I never thought magic was real... well, until I got here. I saw people making things levitate and people using wands as flashlights... I-I mean, it's kinda cool to see magic for the first time... plus I got here late, aren't there first years?","Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Yer going to be takin' first year lessons, so you'll be an older first year, basically," the giant said.,Varian entered the building, and it seemed all his interest in alchemy had spilled out of him. He was a wizard now— but what house? , he thought. When he was called up by the Sorting Hat, he sorted Varian into Hufflepuff.,And everything was amazing. Nothing could be better. Except...,He had an idea. "Hey! Hey! Sir, I need your help," he exclaimed to Dumbledore (this is before he died).,"What do you need help with?" Dumbledore asked. "I need my friends here! They have to be here!" He exclaimed.,"Oh... I'm sorry. They're muggles, except for Rapunzel," Dumbledore said sadly.,"Just invite Rapunzel! Please!" Varian pleaded.,"She ,be an adult first year... are you sure you want an eighteen year old in a class full of twelve year olds and one fourteen year old?" Dumbledore asked.,"Oh. I never thought about that..." Varian looked to the ground. He wrote to his friends every week. Monday for Rapunzel, Wednesday for Eugene, and Friday for Cassandra.,And when he came back home for summer, Rapunzel was so excited she squealed as loud as a lion roaring (not ,loud), Eugene welcomed him, and Cassandra, well, she just let Varian hug her and did absolutely nothing.,And he would be coming back in a few months.

Written for the ,Square: G2 - Prompt: Fairy Tale Creatures,"What the hell is that thing?" Agent May asked as she peered at the object on the table. It looked like a cross between a large avocado and an artichoke and could have passed for some weird fruit or vegetable variety… if it were not for the fact that it also pulsated and occasionally sparked. "Is it a 0-8-4?","I'm not exactly sure. I've never seen anything like it before," Coulson replied uncertainly as he poked it gently with the eraser tip of a pencil. "Fitz Simmons have examined it, though, and are almost positive that it is some sort of egg. Whether it is alien or something originating from Earth remains to be seen, however.","Do you want me to , it a little to see if it will respond?" Daisy asked. She was the one who had found the strange object on her last mission at one of the Hydra holdouts base of operations. She had brought it back to Zephyr One because if all the crazy stuff she had seen since joining SHIELD had taught her anything, it was that you did not want to ignore anything out of the ordinary – especially if Hydra wanted it, too!,"No, we don't want to harm what's inside of it until we know what it is…and if it is dangerous or not." Phil answered with his typical pragmatism. "Eggs need heat, though, right? Maybe we should put it under a lamp or something?","Coulson, we don't know what that thing is!" May reminded him sternly. "If it , extraterrestrial…or even something that Hydra engineered…we may not want for it to , hatch. From someone who has almost been eaten by an alien before…I am in no hurry to repeat the experience." May shook her head firmly just as the "egg" released a little shoot of steam and the three people who surrounded it jumped backwards in surprise.,Coulson looked at the object quizzically for a moment before his brow unfurrowed and he looked up at the other two while the building excitement in his eyes became evident. "What if it is not alien ,engineered? What if it does come from this world…just not , part of, world?",May caught on quickly. "Oh…you mean you think it might be one of ,He nodded. "There's only one way to find out for sure, though," he stated. "We do know one of the experts, after all.",May looked around the Zephyr skeptically. "Where are we going to get an owl around here to send a message, though?" she asked, but Coulson just laughed as he pulled out a cell phone.,"No owl needed…, is quite modern, you know. Plus, it's a good thing that we are already in European airspace right now. That should make it easier for her…um…transport," he explained as he quickly speed-dialed a number. Just a moment later a clear female voice answered with a delighted-sounding "Phil!" and the man walked away as he returned the greeting with enthusiasm.,"What's going on?" Daisy asked as she stared after him in confusion.,May had looked back down at the "egg," but glanced over at Daisy with surprise before she answered. "Oh…I forgot that you don't know about ,, yet. I think I better let Coulson explain it to you, though. There are certain rules that must be followed, after all.","Great…another secret…that's just what I need!" Daisy muttered.,"Oh, you have no idea!" exclaimed May. "Just wait until you meet Hermione…",...,May, Daisy, and Fitz Simmons stood outside of the lab and watched in on the consultation that was happening within it.,"Is she really a witch?" Daisy asked, still a bit surprised by the woman who had appeared out of thin air in the middle of the Zephyr – while it was still in flight! She had not had any time to talk to her, though, because Coulson had swooped in and hugged her. Then he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off to the lab, barely giving the lively-haired woman a chance to send a little hello wave to May and the pair of scientists. "I mean she looks so…normal.","Oh yes, she is most definitely a witch!" May replied. "Hermione is our go-to resource when we need information on anything magical…especially creatures. That's her area of expertise.","Coulson sure seems to like her," Daisy replied as she watched the two of them carefully. She noticed that the man had been smiling almost non-stop since the mysterious woman arrived.,"He is absolutely besotted," Simmons chimed in. "He is like that every time Hermione is around. I think it's , adorable!","He has tried unsuccessfully to recruit her ever since the moment Director Fury introduced them," May explained with a rare smile. "What's even more interesting than that is that she was one of the first people that he contacted when he came back from…well…,","Really?" Daisy replied with wonder since she understood the reference. In fact, she knew that Coulson's continued existence was , a secret from most of his former friends. "She is that important to him?" May nodded. "Why aren't they together then?",May just shrugged. "Well, they were both with other people when they first met…but now that they are both single? Who knows? It's probably sheer stubbornness on Coulson's part. You know how he is.",Daisy nodded in agreement. She knew very well that Phil was all about self-sacrifice if he felt that it was for the greater good of his team, his country, or just mankind in general.,…,The two people on the other side of the glass were so intent on each other and their work, however, that they were completely unaware of the conversation going on about them. "You were right to call me when you did, Phil." Hermione explained with confidence as she examined the mysterious object on the table in front of them. "It's a dragon's egg!","Really? A dragon? No kidding?" Coulson enthused, as he pulled his eyes away from her in order to look upon the egg with renewed wonder.,"You know that I wouldn't lie to you!" she replied cheerfully and paused for a moment to pat his cheek affectionately before she turned back to the egg. "Judging by the color of the shell, I believe that it might be a Welsh Green…and because of the sparks, I also think that it is probably close to hatching. However, I am not a dragon expert." At the mention of a rare gap in her knowledge base, Phil looked at the witch with skepticism. He was used to Hermione having all of the answers when it came to the magical world. Even if she did not know right off of the bat, she would research until she figured it out. That was just the kind of tenacious scholar she was.,"However, I do know somebody who is," she added with a knowing smile as she guessed the topic of his thoughts.,"Of course you do," Phil replied with renewed confidence and a warm look which Hermione returned.,"Unfortunately, however, he doesn't know how to use a mobile…and he can't apparate worth shite," she continued with quite a bit of amusement. "He even failed his test when he came of age. You obviously don't have a floo here, either. Therefore, I will just have to go and fetch him myself. Would you mind terribly setting a course towards Romania? I would like to be a bit closer before I apparate down.","Absolutely, if that would make it easier for you!" Phil agreed without hesitation.,"It would….and trust me…you don't want to be near a hatching dragon without an expert nearby. Since Charlie runs a dragon sanctuary, he will know exactly what to do…and he will be able to take it off of your hands and care for it properly, afterwards, as well. Meanwhile, keep the egg as warm as possible…I was once told that their mothers breathe on them while they are still in their shell. Of course, that was by the same man who actually hatched a baby dragon on his own and then tried to raise it in his , hut." She laughed and the delightful sound made Phil's smile grow even wider. "Let's just say that Charlie eventually had to intervene with that situation, too." She suddenly looked up and saw their audience through the glass and sent them all a friendly wave.,"Now I think it would be polite to join the others, don't you agree?" Then she laughed again at the face he made at the thought of sharing her company. "We have plenty of time since we are still quite a bit away from Romania, so why don't we all have a cuppa and a bit of a chat while we wait?" Then she raised her voice slightly so that she could be overheard by the group on the other side of the glass, "I know that Fitz Simmons must have some decent tea hidden around this bird somewhere." Then she smiled again as Fitz nodded cheerfully and gave her a double thumbs up in acknowledgment as he and Simmons left to go to the galley and prepare some for their guest. After all, they always enjoyed the visits from their fellow homelander…and he personally could not wait to hear about dragons. They were probably even more awesome than monkeys!,The woman turned back to Phil. "Oh, come on, then," she cajoled. "Please join us. You know that it is past time for a cup of that sludge that you like to call coffee.",Phil agreed and the sour look on his face disappeared completely and was replaced by a genuine smile when Hermione slipped her hand into the nook of his arm. "Lead on, Director," she said mischievously. "The tea and sludge await!",…,"So you're Charlie," Phil greeted the newcomer with a firm handshake before he looked back over at Hermione who had just side-apparated in with the visitor. "He looks a lot like that Weasel guy that you were once engaged to, doesn't he?",Hermione bit her bottom lip in an effort not to laugh at his unintentional faux pas, but Charlie had no such reservations and let out a hearty guffaw. "Well, I do have to admit that ickle Ronniekins can be a bit of a tosser and was never worthy of our fair Hermione. However, calling my brother a weasel is a bit harsh, don't you think? After all, Mione was the one who actually broke things off, not Ron.",The rest of the group had a good laugh at Phil's consternation at his mistake – especially when Charlie Weasley would not accept his apology. Just a cheerful "No worries, mate!" was the dragon expert's response before he asked to be taken to the egg.,"I'll show you to the lab," Daisy offered, already intrigued by the well-built redheaded wizard. Charlie returned her look of interest with one of his own – and the two of them headed in that direction with Phil and Hermione close behind.,While Daisy gave Charlie a tour of Zephyr One on the way to the lab, Phil looked over at Hermione intently. "You didn't tell me that you were the one who broke off the engagement," he said in a quiet, but slightly accusatory voice that could not be heard over the other couple's conversation. He had always assumed that she had been heartbroken over the end of her long term romance. In fact, it was one of the reasons why he had never tried to move their own relationship further - even though he wanted to very much.,Hermione looked up at him sharply as she wondered at the tone. "You didn't ask," she informed him just as quietly. "However, Ron and I both knew that we were better off as friends and that the war had basically forced us into a relationship that was not really healthy for either of us. We just weren't right for each other. That's why we had never actually set a wedding date - even though we had been engaged for years. I was just the one who finally came out and said the words that we both thought - so that we could finally move on with our lives." Her matter-of-fact answer left him speechless and thoughtful for a moment until they reached the lab again and saw the egg. It was rocking wildly in the little makeshift nest that Hermione had magically constructed for it earlier.,"You've got a good eye, Mione!" Charlie exclaimed, unintentionally breaking into their personal moment, as he gently stroked the egg and cast a stronger heating charm on its nest. "It , a Welsh Green…and I really hope that it's a female since we already have a young male at the sanctuary. Unfortunately, you can't tell by just looking at the egg so I'll have to examine the dragonet after it's born. At any rate, we will find out soon." He turned his attention to Phil. "Do you have any raw meat on this metal bird, mate? That baby's going to be wickedly hungry when it breaks out of its prison.","I'll go check the fridge," Daisy offered and both Phil and Charlie looked at her appreciatively…albeit for different reasons. Hermione just grinned, though, as her redheaded friend continued to gawk at the attractive brunette in the formfitting black SHIELD jumpsuit as she walked away. She had just met the agent, but she could already tell that Daisy was special…not only because she was an Inhuman and Phil obviously trusted her completely…but also because it definitely took somebody extraordinary to catch Charlie's eye. He may have been good-looking and muscular, but back home and on the dragon reserve, he was well-known, much to Molly's constant disappointment, for being impervious to the charms of most females…unless they had scales and could breathe fire, of course.,Daisy returned just a few minutes later with a package of hot dogs. "This was all that I could find," she explained sheepishly.,Charlie grinned reassuringly at her. "Don't worry. The little bugger will be so hungry at first that it won't even register what we push down its gullet…as long as it's meat, of course. However, I wouldn't recommend trying to feed it dodgy nosh like that again once its initial hunger is soothed. You are more likely to have a finger taken off instead. Dragons like their meat fresh. Even though the babies aren't too particular about the delivery system, the adults prefer to have their meals still on the hoof, so to speak. They are quick and efficient hunters…and usually leave no trace of their meal behind. It's actually quite fascinating to watch…if you aren't the squeamish sort.","I'm not," Daisy replied almost breathlessly as she shook her head for emphasis. She was a bit dazzled by the man's charisma and his passion for his work. "It's kind of hard to not learn how to compartmentalize in this line of work," she continued and he looked at her with even more interest.,"And what kind of work is that?" he prompted as he looked around their flying accommodations, the high-tech lab that they were in, at the dragon's egg that they had acquired, and then back at the witch who specialized in magical creatures and beings whom they somehow knew how to contact. "Even I can tell that you lot are no ordinary muggles.",At the question, Daisy turned to look at Phil for guidance. For his part, Phil glanced at Hermione – especially since he had no idea how much she had told her , brother-in-law. Hermione just shrugged, though. She had always kept Phil's secrets on a need-to-know basis, just like he did hers. It was what close friends in their position did. Therefore, she was the one who clarified the situation for Charlie.,"Let's put it this way," she explained cautiously. "Do you remember that James Bond movie that I took you and Ron to see at the cinema a couple of years ago?","The one with the explosions and villains and hot women? Yeah!" the man replied enthusiastically.,"Well, combine 007 with the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries, and you pretty much get Phil and his team. They do for the entire world what we did for Wizarding Britain against Voldemort and the Death Eaters…and sometimes they need a little magical help.","Bloody hell!" Charlie murmured, suitably impressed. "Does Ron know?",Hermione shook her head. Ron had never really been that interested in anything outside of his own circle…and that included her work…and those select few people outside of Harry and the Weasleys whom she considered to be friends. It was just another reason why things had not worked out between them. Therefore, she simply requested. "I would appreciate it if it stayed that way.",Charlie gave the witch a long look before he nodded. He had known Hermione for years and he thought of her as both a little sister and a good friend. Therefore, he trusted her completely - even though it was clear that she was no longer interested in marrying his brother. He could not really blame her for that, however. After all, he knew that Ron was the least open-minded of all his siblings…except for Percy, of course! Consequently, Charlie knew that his little brother would not have reacted very well to the knowledge that Hermione was involved in something of such scale and world-wide importance without him.,However, Charlie was not Ron. He was proud of the little witch and was happy that she trusted him enough to share such an important secret with him. Therefore, he relaxed, cracked a big grin, and set out to embarrass her in the way a good big brother should treat his little sister in front of a potential suitor. After all, he had easily seen the obvious interest in Phil's eyes when he looked at Hermione. ,he thought enthusiastically. ,"You got it, Mione!" he therefore answered with that cheerful Weasley appeal. "You know that you are my favorite not-quite-sister, right?","Save your charm for the dragons, Charles Prewett Weasley.","Ah! So you're bringing out the big guns…all three names…are you? Well, two can play that game, Hermione Jean Granger." He smirked mischievously before he turned back towards Phil. "Speaking of dragons, did Mione ever tell you about the time that she robbed…","Charlie!" Hermione quickly interrupted and she was clearly alarmed about what he was planning to say.,"I guess that's a big fat , then," the redhead grinned again at her obvious embarrassment as Phil turned towards her with a quirked eyebrow.,Since she knew what he wanted, she just sighed. "I'm , going to hex you for this," she muttered to Charlie before she reluctantly faced Phil and started to explain while the others listened in the background. "It's not my proudest moment…but it was during the war…and we really did think that it was necessary at the time. The truth was that we were desperate to find and destroy an extremely dark magical item that we had finally discovered was located in a high-security vault in the depths of Gringotts.","That's a wizarding bank run by goblins. You don't want to mess with goblins!" Charlie interjected seriously, as he looked at Daisy who had started in surprise at the mention of what she had previously thought to be just fairy tale creatures. "My older brother works as a curse-breaker for them. They are vicious about protecting their gold and will stop at nothing to prevent theft.",Hermione nodded. "In hindsight, we should have just asked for their help. However, at the time we were young and on the run. I was still recovering my…well…from the events of my capture. Plus, we didn't know whom we could trust because the Death Eaters had infiltrated everywhere…much like Hydra did with SHIELD. Therefore, we were desperate." Phil certainly understood making rash decisions in moments of desperation, so he reached over and patted her hand comfortingly. That small action seemed to fortify her and she gave him a small smile in thanks. Then Phil was both surprised and rather gratified when she took his lingering hand with her own and held it while she told them the rest of the story.,"At any rate, the part of the story that Charlie likes best," Hermione explained at the end, "is that we ended up setting their guard dragon free and escaped on the back of it. It went rather mad with its new freedom, however, and we ended up bailing out over a lake." She finished her tale with a half-smile for that part of the memory.,"Wow! Here I thought that we were the only ones to get into uber-crazy kinds of trouble!" Daisy exclaimed as she glanced playfully at Phil before her look then turned into one of concern. "Do you know what happened to the dragon, though? Was it alright?" she asked.,At her words, Charlie looked over at the woman in a kind of pleased disbelief for her show of concern for a creature that many considered to be just a dangerous beast. He found that he could not stop the smile that spread across his handsome face before he nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. Mione is not the Ministry Head of the Department of Magical Creatures and Beings for nothing, you know. She is concerned about the well-being of every living being, whether they are human, magical, or not. It's just one of the many things we love about her. In fact, as soon as everything settled down, I was honored when she asked me to help her find the former guard dragon to see if it was able to successfully readapt to the wild after so many years in captivity. Therefore, we mounted a little expedition with a couple of my brothers and were finally able to track it down. Even though we were prepared to bring it back to the sanctuary, if necessary, we were extremely pleased to see that even though she was older and almost blind, she had found a mate who helped her to hunt. He was of a different species, so they would not have been able to breed - even if she had not been past that time in her life - but they seemed to be quite content together anyway…and so we left them in peace.","Aww…that's so lovely," Simmons cooed from the side of the lab where she and Fitz stood out of the way of the small group around the egg, but still close enough to assist, if necessary. Fitz still had a look of awe on his face that Hermione had actually ridden a dragon, but Simmons was all about the romance. "It's nice to think that there truly is a perfect somebody out there for everyone – even if they are a bit different," she said as she shared a smile with her partner.,"It certainly is." At his words, Hermione also smiled up at Phil and he squeezed the hand that was still in his own. Across the table, Charlie and Daisy's eyes met again in appreciation, as well. The spell was suddenly broken, however, and all attention was diverted to the rocking egg in the center of the table again when it began to crack.,"It's showtime!" Charlie exclaimed gleefully and clapped his hands together with enthusiasm as he winked at Daisy before he had to look away again in order to move closer to the egg. Everyone else gathered around, as well, not willing to miss the once in a lifetime sight that was about to happen in front of them.,The egg sparked again a few times before the shell split cleanly into halves…and a dark green dragonet tumbled out. "Ooh!" and "Aww!" were the almost collective responses from those gathered around the table at the amazing and adorable sight. Even the normally implacable Agent May had a soft smile on her face when the baby dragon mewed piteously for the first time. After just a moment, though, it started to spark dangerously.,"Quick, everyone!" Charlie commanded. "Before it gets angry, grab one of those meat sticks and we can all take turns feeding it, one after another, until its belly is nice and full. Then it will sleep like…well…a baby!" After a quick laugh at his own joke, Charlie proceeded to demonstrate a good dragonet feeding technique when he held a wiener right in front of the tiny dragon's snout. When the hungry little beast caught a whiff of the scent, it clamped down on the end of the tube of meat and practically inhaled the whole thing lengthwise. In fact, the incredible process reminded the SHIELD team and the muggleborn witch of a log disappearing into a wood chipper.,"Next!" Charlie called, though, bringing them all back to attention. "Watch your fingers!" he added in a warning tone.,Daisy fed the baby next under the dragon keeper's watchful eye. "Perfect!" he told her and her eyes lit up at both his praise…and his admiring smile…as she moved out of the way for the following person to offer a meal to the seemingly bottomless pit. One-by-one they each fed the little creature until Charlie took the last turn again. When the package of hot dogs was empty, the dragonet belched and a small stream of fire shot out. It then sighed, curled up in its nest with its full belly, and promptly fell asleep. The little thing was so exhausted that it did not even wake as Charlie gave it a quick, but expert, examination.,"Oh, thank Merlin! It's a girl," he proclaimed happily. "Hopefully, she will grow up to like Verdano, and then we will be able to release the two of them back into the wild as a mated pair.","Verdano?" Hermione asked with a smirk at the amusing name.,Charlie just shrugged, but his eyes sparkled in amusement, as well. "His keeper has a thing for Italian wizards…and she thought it would be a good name for a green dragon. Speaking of names, though, what should we call this little lass?",They all thought about it for a moment. Surprisingly, though, it was Fitz who spoke up first. "How about ,he asked. "It's a traditional girl's name in Scotland that means ,"Oh, that's perfect." Daisy declared and a chorus of agreement sounded from the group…and Simmons gave Fitz a kiss as his reward for such a nice answer.,"Aileana it is then," Charlie proclaimed with a smile in the dragonet's direction. As if she heard her name, the little dragon whimpered in her sleep and rolled up into a tighter circle, nose to tail, as she melted the hearts of the onlookers.,…,After some discussion on the matter, Phil decided that the quinjet, piloted by May, would be dispatched to safely deliver Charlie and his precious cargo back to the dragon sanctuary – especially after Hermione explained that it was not a good idea to apparate with a newborn of any species. Charlie then surprised the rest of the group with an invitation to accompany him there.,"The sanctuary itself is warded against being seen and accessed by most Muggles for obvious reasons. However, Mione here has informed me that she has been given approval from the Minister of Magic himself to work with Phil…and consequently this team…since apparently both of them go way back with some guy named , of all things." He paused as a couple members of the team, minus Phil and May (who already knew), gasped in surprise at the connection. "I guess you've heard of the bloke," Charlie continued with a trace of humor evident in his tone. "At any rate, you are all welcome to join me for a VIP tour of the Balaur* Dragon Reserve and Sanctuary, if you would like. Mione's been there before, of course, but I'm sure that the rest of you would like some reassurance that little Aileana is going to be safe and happy with us there, as well." Even though he included the whole group in the invitation, Hermione could not help but to smile knowingly when she noticed that his eyes had been focused mainly on Daisy the entire time.,She was distracted from her observation, however, when Fitz gave an almost girlish shriek of excitement at the offer to see real full-sized dragons. After they all laughed at the eager scientist for a moment, Phil cheerfully accepted on behalf of the team. Then the group of muggle agents watched with interest as Charlie cast an , and had his dragon patronus deliver a message to the sanctuary in order to let them know that he was returning with some visitors.,"Can you do that, too?" Fitz asked Hermione, keen to see more magic. She just smiled knowingly at his enthusiasm again as she pulled out her own wand and summoned her faithful otter. Even though it was not as impressive in size as Charlie's dragon, it proceeded to charm them all anyway by , in happy little circles around each of them before being dismissed.,"You always have to be the insufferable know-it-all show off," Charlie murmured good-naturedly to his friend.,"Hush it, you fireheaded dragon bait!" she responded in kind…and everyone laughed at the obvious comfortable camaraderie between the two Magicals.,…,After leaving Zephyr One in the care of Mack and YoYo (who had been working on one of Mack's pet mechanical projects down in the garage area the entire time), the others piled into the quinjet. After putting a , on the dragonet to make sure that it stayed asleep for the duration of the trip, Charlie took the time to look around the small, but extremely sophisticated, aircraft. This time , was the one who was amazed - especially since he had never flown by muggle means before. All of his previous experience had either been by broom or dragon back. However, he seemed to be equally intrigued by Daisy when the woman strapped herself into the seat next to him and began to explain the functions of all the gauges and gadgets around them.,Phil and Hermione sat close together in the seats opposite them as they watched their flirtatious interactions with amusement for the duration of the trip. However, since they were already near Romanian airspace, the flight…and the entertainment provided by their friends…was cut short as they quickly reached their destination.,…,When it came time to disembark, Charlie was the first to head towards the exit. Nevertheless, he suddenly paused and turned to Daisy in the process. He had the little sleeping dragon wrapped up securely in the crook of one arm, but he presented the other one to the Inhuman.,"M'lady." Along with his arm, he offered a charming smile and a little careful half bow in order not to disturb his sleeping passenger. Daisy returned his silly grin as she accepted with obvious pleasure…and with the faintest of uncharacteristic blushes, as well. The two of them then led the rest of the group down the ramp and towards the mountainside that Charlie assured them was really the disillusioned entrance to Balaur.,"An Inhuman earth shaker and a magical dragon keeper," Phil whispered to Hermione and shook his head at the couple as they followed them from a short distance. "Could you think of a more unconventional romance than that?","Well, not all of us can be as obviously compatible as Fitz Simmons," she answered playfully as she gestured towards the always adorable pair who walked hand-in-hand right behind Charlie and Daisy. She then paused on her way down the ramp and looked at him thoughtfully…as she wondered if it was finally the right time to bring up her own feelings. After all, they had danced around each other and their strong attraction ever since they had first met on a combined mission for Fury years earlier. However, what was between them had always gone unspoken – especially since she had been engaged to Ron and Phil was involved with a cellist back in the States at the time. After that was no longer the case, though, it had just never seemed to be the right moment – especially with Phil's , and the fall of SHIELD soon afterwards.,Hermione was not one to back down from a challenge, though, and the right time for this particular one had taken entirely too long to manifest. She was simply tired of waiting for it. Therefore, she just took a deep breath and jumped right off the deep end of the more-than-just-friends pool.,"However," she started to say with a sparkle in her eye at her own daring. "I think that a magical creatures expert slash sentient beings liaison and the leader of a renegade secret organization out to save the world might just be a close second. What about you, though, Phil? What do , think?" She then paused again with bated breath in order to gauge his reaction to her question.,For his part, Phil stopped dead in his tracks at her obvious meaning and looked into Hermione's warm eyes with pleased surprise as it dawned on him also that their long-awaited moment had finally come. "I think…" he started to say until he was interrupted by a low intense rumble in the background. He paused at the disconcerting sound and was concerned for just a moment that it actually might be Charlie's dragons on the loose. However, then he realized that the ground was shaking, as well. He looked knowingly over at the other group to confirm his suspicion that it was indeed the work of Daisy - while Fitz Simmons cheered her on. Judging from their overheard conversation, the Inhuman had sent some small shockwaves into the apparently blank mountainside when Charlie had goaded her into a little demonstration with the challenge to try and dispel the disillusionment spell there with her powers. It had not worked, of course, but Charlie still looked impressed by her abilities, all the same.,Phil just shook his head in amusement at their antics and looked back at Hermione. "Well, I think…" he continued his interrupted answer, "that one needs to tread carefully where there be dragons." He then nodded at his own sage-sounding words.,"What in Merlin's name is that even supposed to mean, Phil?" Hermione asked him with exasperation since she was torn between uncertainty and amusement at his unconventional answer.,"The hell if I know," he admitted and he grinned sheepishly at her as he threw his hands up in the air before he confessed. "Apparently, I'm just making up shit as I go along. That tends to happen to me when I'm nervous...and you usually make me feel , nervous." A light giggle escaped Hermione at his declaration. It faded away, though, as their eyes met again. The intensity that they each saw there made them move, almost subconsciously, closer together. Then Phil suddenly remembered that actions speak louder than words, and he just stopped talking altogether in order to pull her into his arms and kiss her thoroughly instead. It must have been the right move because Hermione melted into his embrace immediately and returned the attention with enthusiasm. In fact, they were so intent on each other that they had completely forgotten that they were not alone.,"It's about damn time," May proclaimed in her usual deadpan tone as she left the cockpit and walked unconcernedly past them on her way down the ramp. "However, it's been , Therefore, it won't hurt you to wait a couple more hours. Now break it the hell up because we came to see the dragons…not you two attached to each other's faces…remember?",At the sound of her voice so close to them, Hermione and Phil quickly pulled apart in surprise - only to finally notice that the rest of the group had all stopped to stare and grin at them, as well.,"Bollocks!" Hermione whispered in embarrassment at the reminder that they had an audience. Charlie's subsequent wolf-whistle did not help matters at all, either.,Hermione smiled up at Phil a little sheepishly while the others laughed. The sparkle was still in her eyes, though, as she firmly gripped his hand in her own and moved to his side. Then she glared at the group. "Don't you lot have anything better to do?" she asked pointedly. There was no heat behind her words, though, and everyone knew it. The entire group's attention was diverted at that moment, however, by the giant gate that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the side of the mountain.,"Told you so," Charlie gloated and Daisy playfully socked him in the arm that did not carry Aileana. When the gate was fully open, they all filed through it in order to introduce the dragonet to her new home…and quite possibly to have a few adventures themselves in the process. However, Hermione and Phil, the last two to enter the sanctuary, had eyes only for each other…and while they both thought that dragons were amazing, they were already looking forward to a time when they could be alone long enough to have a completely different kind of adventure of their own.,Note:,*Balaur is the name of a legendary dragon from Romanian folklore as well as a species of dinosaur from the Cretaceous period whose fossils were found in the same region.

House of Anubis et Harry Potter appartiennent à leurs créateurs respectifs., Un petit geste a toujours de grandes conséquences., Ceci est une réponse au défi d'écriture n°32 de la page Facebook « Bibliothèque de fictions ». Les conditions étaient : cent mots minimum, écrire sur : « Alors qu'il est plongé dans une lecture diverse, votre personnage voit s'animer devant lui le héros du livre en question! Ce héros va convaincre votre personnage de changer quelque chose dans sa vie pour cette nouvelle année (scolaire ou professionnelle) »,,Allongé sur son lit, confortablement installé, Jerome relisait les aventures d'Harry Potter. La saga de J.K Rowling était l'une de ses préférées. Il était même ce que l'on appelait un Potterhead : un fan inconditionnelle de la série. Mais il le cachait. On ne lui reprocherait pas de lire Harry Potter. On lui reprocherait ce côté fanboy. Jerome Clarke était connu pour être quelqu'un d'extraverti, d'un brin je m'en foutiste avec un soupçon d'arrogance, un manipulateur égoïste. En tout cas, c'était la façade qu'il donnait au monde, aussi ses petits secrets comme ce côté un peu excessif ne pouvaient pas être utilisés contre lui. Il relisait le second tome : Harry Potter et la chambre des secrets. C'était l'un de ses tomes favoris car son personnage préféré commençait à avoir une importance : Ginny Weasley.,Ah, Ginny, comme Jerome l'adorait !,Une petite fille tout mignonne et timide mais qui pouvait rugir en lionne pour protéger ceux qu'elle aimait.,Une jeune femme aussi flamboyante que sa chevelure.,Une femme qui savait ce qu'elle voulait.,Intelligente, courageuse, loyale.,Il osait presque dire son type de femme, même si là, c'était assez malsain, étant donné que la demoiselle avait onze ans, dans les lignes qu'il relisait pour la énième fois.,Il fut pris d'un soudain mal de crâne, qui l'obligea à poser son livre et à fermer les yeux. Il tomba dans une espèce de sommeil qui dura un certain temps et quand il se réveilla, il eut un sursaut et manqua de se cogner contre le mur derrière lui. Ginny Weasley se tenait devant lui.,- Mon dieu, je rêve ! S'exclama-t-il,Il se pinça la joue, eut mal et comprit qu'il était bien réveillé.,- Je peux savoir pourquoi tu m'as invoquée ? Demanda la jeune étudiante,- Invoquée ?!,- Comme si tu ne le savais pas ! Répliqua-t-elle les bras sur les hanches. Je suis comme Bloody Mary, tu dis trois fois mon nom, j'arrive.,- Je l'ai juste pensé !,- Très fort alors. Bon, tu me veux quoi ? A moins que c'était un accident.,C'en était un, en effet, mais la voyant serrer un livre familier, une idée lui traversa l'esprit.,- Tu es en première année ?,- Oui.,- Et ce livre, c'est Malefoy père qui te l'a donné.,- Oui. Comment tu le sais ?,Il lui tendit son livre, qu'elle feuilleta. Elle pâlit.,- Ce livre est un objet de magie noire. Si tu t'en es déjà servi, ne t'en sers plus. Donne-le à Dumbledore. Cet objet va te mener à ta perte.,Elle continua à lire le livre et pâlit de plus belle, constatant la véracité des propos de Jerome.,- Je te le promets. Je ne m'en servirai plus.,A peine le remercia-t-elle qu'il fut pris d'une autre migraine et retomba dans le sommeil. A son réveil, Ginny avait disparu et son livre était ouvert sur un chapitre inédit, alors que son ouvrage était déjà abîmé par les nombreuses relectures. Ginny donnait le journal de Jedusor à Dumbledore. Les mystères de la chambre stoppèrent suite à ce don. Néanmoins, s'il avait sauvé Ginny, Jerome se demanda si c'était une bonne chose. Car s'il l'avait sauvé, comment détruire les horcruxes cachés à Poudlard, sans le crochet du Basilic ? Il continua à lire. Hermione et ses amis continuaient leur enquête, ils purent rendre Justice à Mimi Geignarde et les professeurs, aidés par le fourchelangue d'Harry, descendirent dans la chambre afin de tuer la bête. Après quelques recherches sur internet, il découvrit que cette version était la version canon pour tous. Il se demanda comment un tel miracle avait pu se produire avant de se rappeler qu'il était dans la maison d'Anubis.,Et depuis l'arrivée de Nina, cette américaine, la maison d'Anubis était synonyme d'étrangeté inexplicable.

Footsteps echoed in a dark corridor as a figure walked through it, the body consumed by the shadows, passing by portraits of various beings clad in armor with glowing eyes.,"My, this place has definitely seen better days." The being mused stopping to stroke a gray goatee on his face before he came across a door.,Pushing it open with some difficulty, the being walked in and made his way to a battered table where a book laid open with a quill next to it.,"Now how did it go?" The being frowned in thought, a smile soon made his way across his face before he dipped the quill into a jar of ink and began to write. "Ah yes, there it goes.",'Once upon a time, there was a… Beginning that was followed by quite the Ending. Many, many generations ago there was a man of absolute power that was feared for his might. This man was called the Black Baron and is the creator of powerful weapons, spells and armor unlike any others.' The being stopped writing, scratching the side of his head while his long ear began to twitch. 'Through such power, he created a new race known simply as Minions and bounded us to the will of him and his successors. In all but name he was the first true Overlord.',The creature chuckled darkly, no doubt remembering all the 'fun' he had in those admittedly simpler times.,'Creating an artifact called the Tower Heart, the Baron started a lineage that has carried on to modern days with his nephew the Young Lord of Castle Gromgard, being the first one to use the title 'Overlord'.' The figure sighed at those better times. 'But after three more Overlords and many failures of ones we had to go into hiding and now those legends of power are nothing more than fairy-tale myths that nobody listens to. And us once powerful Minions are reduced to doing nothing but scavenging.',"Stupid, arrogant creatures." The figure muttered, letting his dislike for the modern world known. "Bah in the old days they would've been slaughtered quite easily.",The figure went to write more only to pause, a pulsation of power emanating in the room, flowing through him.,A familiar one.,"Could it be?" The figure muttered turning around with a wide grin.,That pulse of power could only mean one thing.,The Tower Heart, despite not being in the building has chosen a new master.,"We have to act quickly," The figure began to move quickly, his old age preventing him from running a light shining on him to show a grey gremlin like creature in tattered clothing. "Giblet! Quaver! Moldy! Gubbin!",Sounds of a loud crash was heard as four other gremlin-like creatures ran in, these ones brown with yellow eyes.,"Gnarl calls?" One of them asked while a fourth brown stayed a bit away, wearing a jester hat and one of his eyes replaced by a diamond. "Have something to break?","Break! Break!" The other two chanted stupidly with grins on their faces.,"Calm down you lot, we have to move quickly if we're to get our new Master." Gnarl said causing for them to quiet down in awe.,"We getting new Master?" The smallest Brown asked, his voice quivering in excitement.,"That's what I just said Moldy," Gnarl said a bit impatient. "Now come on before something happens to this one and Giblet fetch the Gauntlet, if this is really our new Master this will prove it.",If they could, he would have Giblet prepare a helmet and armor for their Master but due to their Smelter being stolen in their absence they had nothing but the Gauntlet.,"March forth Minions and find out Master," The Jester one said with a laugh. "Once we do we shall surely cause disaster!","Indeed Quaver it's been far too long," Gnarl gave a chuckle with Mouldy, Gubbin and Giblet running ahead with cheers. "Evil always finds a way.","Boy, get up." A nine year old child with dark, messy hair gave a sigh at that order, not opening his eyes as of yet while he was in the dark while a light rapping on the door followed the shrill voice.,Instead he was suppressing the urge to groan at another day of being treated like this.,Opening his green eyes, not noticing that they gave a slight glow when he did so, the boy had to close them when the light came on, showing an extremely cramped room with coats inside of it with small spiders crawling on the walls.,"Now Boy!" The same voice repeated, causing for Harry James Potter to sigh and open the door after grabbing his glasses to show that his room was the cupboard under the stairs where he saw a tall skinny woman giving him a look. "You better not be slacking.",Harry just looked down. "Yes Aunt Petunia." He muttered, knowing better than to speak back at this point.,"You have a whole list of chores to do." Petunia Dursley said to him in a no-nonsense tone. "Your Uncle and I are taking Duddy out and we want everything perfect for when we get back.",On hearing that, Harry bit back another groan.,"You want to say something?" Petunia asked a bit icily.,Harry shook his head.,Dudley's birthday, how could he have forgotten? That overweight cousin of his has only been bragging about it every minute for the last month or so.,'Maybe he'll have a heart attack from all the movement today.' Harry thought before shaking his head wondering where that thought came from as that was a bit dark.,Hearing loud footsteps coming his way, Harry barely had time to move when another boy his age shoved him back into the cupboard with a grin on his fat face, looking very much like a pig in a blonde wig.,'Huh he ran.' Harry only thought that while pushing himself up. 'I'm actually impressed.',Dudley hated exercising, no he despised it as evidence pointed towards his weight, unless it involved punching someone.,His favorite punching target just happened to be Harry himself.,Harry sighed and walked back out of the cupboard, taking time to push his bangs down on his lightning bolt scar.,"Comb your hair." Harry heard a voice bark as soon as he entered the room to see a man who looked like an older version of Dudley, with more weight added.,'Morning to you too, Uncle Vernon.' Harry thought turning on the stove to cook the eggs and bacon, while looking at the thirty-seven presents on the table that Dudley received for his birthday.,Harry tried not to watch as Dudley tore into his presents, but it was hard not to feel some jealousy at the great gifts his cousin got while he just got hand-me downs or socks and a clothes hanger for his birthday, if they even remember it.,"Don't burn the bacon!" Vernon snapped making Harry jump and he quickly took the pan off the stove, nearly crying out when the grease burned his arm. "Careful, if you drop that you have to clean it up.",Harry resisted the urge to glare at the man, instead he just opted for imagining the man getting hit by the grease instead of him before he blinked again.,Man he was really being dark today.,An hour later, Harry was in the back gardens weeding while the Dursley's were gone, heading towards the Amusement Park after Vernon gave a warning that if anything remotely interesting happened, one that would make the neighbor's talk, he would be sorry.,'If I hurry up, I might be able to watch what I want on the television, or have a go at Dudley's computer.' Harry told himself, wanting to have a little fun after he was done-.,The garden exploded as a small, spiky platform shot up, the sudden appearance, sent Harry on his back a foot or two away from it with a startled yelp while he sat up with an astonished look, wondering what just happened.,"I just know Uncle Vernon is going to blame me for this." Harry muttered at seeing this, his plan to have fun practically shot before some brown creatures popped out with laughs, making his jaw drop a bit.,What was going on?,Their laughter stopped when they saw him and for a fearful moment, Harry tensed up, ready to run in case they went to attack him.,"Master!" One of them said in a joyful tone, the three were now bowing to him.,Needles to say, Harry was extremely confused by this turn of events and that was before a fourth creature appeared, this one with grey skin who looked a bit puzzled at seeing him. "This is our new Overlord?" He questioned stroking his goatee. "A little on the short side isn't he?",'Overlord?' Harry thought not sure what to think at that.,"Oh well, beggars can't be choosers." Gnarl gave a shrug, not caring anymore, especially when he looked closer and realized that this young sir looked like a younger version of Lord Gromgard, he'll have to look into that. "Tis good to see you Master, we've been searching for you for a very long time.","W-What are you talking about?" Harry asked a bit fearfully while being glad that the fence was hiding what was going on so the neighbors weren't able to see this.,Gnarl gave a frown at the stuttering and made a mental note to work on that if this was going to be their new Overlord. "I see you need a bit of an explanation sire, but first what is your name?","Uh Harry Potter?" Harry answered now realizing that these guys may be weird but they seem to mean him no harm-if the way the three others were bowing to him was any indication, so he pushed himself up. "Excuse me, but can I ask why you're here calling me Master, sir?",Gnarl flinched as if he was slapped at both the manners and being called sir although Harry assumed it was because he asked a question, something that he was taught not to do by the Dursley's. "Tis worse than I thought," He muttered turning away to pace. "We really have our work cut out for us.",Shaking his head, Gnarl looked at him.,"There's no need to call any of us sir or to be polite to us Master, you are our Overlord after all," Gnarl explained before giving a bow. "Ah but I'm getting ahead of myself, I am Gnarl, Minion Master and Devoted Servant to Darkness.",Harry had to admit that just made more questions than answers and while he was a bit uneasy about this whole thing-especially the last part, he had to ask. "You said you were searching for me?","Yes for too long we've been without an Overlord, we just about gave up hope before we found you sire," Gnarl said before grimacing when he looked around the area they were at. "Ugh, how can you stand this verdant, lush abomination? Seriously, it's making my feet itch just being here.",Harry really didn't know what to say about that before his eyes widened. "Look you need to go, I have chores to do-.","Chores?!" Gnarl looked at him like he was crazy before seeing the dirt, burn marks and blisters on his hands the sight made him give a snarl. "Who dares use the Overlord as a mere servant?!",Instead of waiting for Harry to answer, Gnarl looked at Giblet.,"Give him the Gauntlet, it's time to show these peasants what happens when you mess with the Overlord.",Giblet grinned and pulled a metal gauntlet and handed it to Harry who hesitantly took it. "For you.","Uh thanks?" Harry tried seeing them looking at him expectantly showing that they wanted him to put it on despite the fact that it seemed to be bigger than his whole arm.,So he decided to humor them and placed the Gauntlet on only for a gem on it to glow yellow and the Gauntlet shrunk to fit his arm a lot better, leaving the Minions to cheer.,"H-How?" Harry looked at the Gauntlet in shock considering it was bigger than him a second ago.,"Magic has many uses sire," Gnarl began only to frown when Harry flinch at the 'M-Word' as he called it. "Sire?","There's no such thing as magic." Harry muttered on instinct.,"Another thing we'll have to work on," Gnarl sighed before getting to the finer points of the Gauntlet deciding deciding that he'll save the explanations until they were back in the Overlord's domain. "This bonds the Minions to you and will until we can find the Tower Heart once more, but for now you can control up to five Minions at once without the Heart, although we currently only have three until we can find the Brown Minion Hive.",Harry had a confused look at the explanation before Gnarl snapped his fingers.,"Minions are your own personal soldiers sire, feel free to use them how you wish." Gnarl looked around with a frown. "Not much for them to fight and kill here, but for now have them break down the door to the house.",Harry felt his eyes widen at the idea, knowing that he would be in a lot of trouble if the Dursley's come home to that mess-.,"Come on Master, the sooner we do this the sooner we can head home to your new dark domain." Gnarl said surprising Harry before he allowed a small smile.,A new home? Away from the Dursleys?,That was something Harry thought would never happen.,He went to give a vocal order, but then something weird happened.,The Gauntlet glowed when he pointed and the three Minions rushed to the door, breaking it down in a matter of seconds while crashes could be heard inside.,"You'll have to forgive their excitement Lord, they're really happy to finally have an Overlord again," Gnarl said walking forward with Harry following, giving a confused look when he saw one of the Minions wield a ladle as a weapon and wearing a pan for a helmet, the sight making Gnarl place a hand on his face in slight embarrassment. "Minions are able to use any item they find as weapons and armor which can either be very effective or *groan* extremely useless.","Okay?" Harry asked not sure what to say while they ransacked just about everything, even Dudley's new presents that were left for him on the table.,"Alright go ahead and call them back." Gnarl said when they practically destroyed the kitchen and living room.,With a raised brow, Harry lifted his arm and focused, remembering how they shot off without a word and just as he thought they came back, one of them wearing what looked to be Dudley's trousers on his head for some odd reason.,"Ah it warms my cold, black heart to see them ripping the place apart." Gnarl said with a chuckle. "Do you wish to tear the place apart further sire or head to your new domain?",Harry blinked at the question before giving it some thought.,It would be more than the Dursley's deserve if he didn't tear this place apart, but he really wants to know just what was going on here, especially with everything this 'Gnarl' has been saying.,"I'd like to go to the Domain," Harry said, not missing how the three Brown Minions looked a bit saddened by the idea but they brightened up quickly. "Just let me get some things from my room.","Very well Sire, once you get what you need we'll use the portal that brought us here to head back, might as well seal it too so no one can invade us," Gnarl mused that last part silently, while watching Harry head toward the stairs. "We are quite vulnerable in your current state after all.",Now the Minion Master was thinking that Harry would go up the stairs so imagine his surprise when Harry opened the cupboard and he saw a small mattress in there causing for his eyes to widen before they narrowed at the thought of the treatment of their Overlord.,"This does explain a few things though," Gnarl muttered while Harry just grabbed his school bag that he placed some stuff in. "This boy needs a proper evil upbringing to fix the damage done. Far too polite and submissive for his own good.",And that kind of combination could get him killed quite easily.,"Alright, I'm ready to go si-er Gnarl." Harry said catching himself in time as he remembered how Gnarl reacted to being called sir.,'It's a start.' Gnarl decided and lead Harry to the portal.,"Step on here Sire and you'll see your new Domain," Gnarl said leaving Harry to give a nod, following the order but as he disappeared, some sparks coming off of him in the process, Gnarl whirled around to the other Minions. "Destroy this place and pillage any valuables to bring back to the Domain, these peasants will suffer for what they've done to our Overlord.","For the Master!" The Minions cheered as they got to work while Gnarl stepped on the portal to head back, making a note to find something to pummel to get his spirits back up.,Harry blinked when he ended up in some cavernous place that looked like it was on its last legs, with piles of debris everywhere and rats running around.,The only light he could see were from the torches that gave a faint glow.,This kind of creeped him out-.,"Hello Overlord sir!" A fifth Minion popped out of nowhere, hanging upside down in his face, eliciting a surprised cry from Harry while he fell over. "Quite jumpy aren't you?",Quaver gave a chuckle while Harry looked at him in surprise.,"I feel a song coming to commemorate this event," Quaver began to hop around, the hat and staff he had were ringing due to the bells. "For too long we have been left to the rats, now our new Master shall make the world go splat.",That was what Gnarl came back to, making him groan. "Quaver quit bothering the Master," He ordered making the Jester give a chuckle before looking at the obviously confused Harry. "Apologies sire, nothing we do can shut him up, believe me we've tried.","Um it's fine, I actually liked that." Harry lied not wanting any trouble, but that made Quaver brighten up.,"See? See? Somebody likes my songs," Quaver gloated to Gnarl who rolled his eyes and pushed him away without looking. "Oof.","Right, now welcome to your new domain my Lord." Gnarl said with Harry looking around. "It's a bit on the cavernous side but give it a few dark deeds with artifacts and riches to match-maybe a Mistress or two and you'll truly have a domain worthy of your name.","Right." Harry sounded very unsure about this, but he wasn't complaining about the place or the inhabitants.,Not only was this bigger than his cupboard, but these guys were treating him better than anyone has his whole life.,"I know it's not what you probably were expecting but due to the Great Cataclysm that destroyed our Dark Tower along with the Netherworld currently being occupied, we have to make due with this," Gnarl explained confusing Harry even more by what he was talking about. "Of course once your power grows we might be able to take both back given time.","Powers?" Harry shook his head, at that. "Wait-wait-wait. What is going on? What do you mean? What's this Overlord deal?!",Gnarl sighed, shaking his head at the questions. "Right, sometimes I get ahead of myself, it seems you'll need a little history lesson before we start your Overlording duties sire," He said before snapping his fingers. "But first let's go to your Throne Room.",Harry gave a blank stare. "I have a throne?",Harry stared at the huge cavern with a stone throne carved at the end, a few pillows on it for comfort while he followed Gnarl. Quaver doing cartwheels behind him.,"Best make yourself comfortable sire, this is a very long story," Gnarl explained, gesturing for Harry to sit on the throne. "Although I'll shorten it enough for you to understand without confusing you further.",Harry gave a nod while Gnarl stood in front of him.,"Alright, I've told you that I am the Minion Master but now let me explain to you about Minionkind, we are the servants and warriors of the Overlord, created many years ago by the Black Baron-who you can say was the first Overlord in all but name," Gnarl had a far-off look in his eyes. "We were designed for very menial tasks, me being the Minion Master for example followed by Giblet, he was the Minion who gave you your Gauntlet and is the Forge Master, do you understand so far?","Yes." Harry looked pretty interested in this story.,"Good-good." Gnarl continued from there. "Now there are up to four different kind of Minions each with their own strengths and weaknesses-we'll get into that later. Now almost every Minion except for a select few are created from the will of the current Overlord, thus making them obedient to you alone.","They're created from me?" Harry asked in surprise, now looking at the Gauntlet intently.,Did that make them his family?,"Very much so sire, however until we can get the Hives back you'll be unable to create any Minions so you'll have to be careful." Gnarl warned him, making sure that Harry was listening. "Luckily the five of us are very resourceful and durable, even more so due to our age, so we'll last for quite a bit.","Hives?","The birthplace of Minions and where they live when they aren't out there with you." Gnarl explained to him. "We lost all four of them when the Netherworld was invaded by Trigon the Terrible-I'll get to who he is later so don't worry. Now the four Minion hives are scattered throughout the world along with the Artifacts that both the Tower and the Netherworld had. Artifacts that are rightfully yours.",Gnarl then snapped his fingers to have the three brown Minions who just came back scamper off with Quaver and pretty soon they came back with four portraits before Quaver ran off to fetch a fifth one.,"Now for the Overlords, but I'll only explain the five who have truly made an impact." Gnarl said the first one being carried by Giblet. "The Baron wasn't only our creator but he has made many feats in the field of magic from spells to impenetrable armor to the Tower Heart which allowed for him to teleport to any place of his own choosing, provided he's seen it once. He conquered the land around him and brought all of the surrounding villages under his rule, they liked him pretty well despite the hostile takeover.",Harry looked confused while a bit horrified.,"While the Baron was very vicious to his enemies-ooh how I miss that, he was protective of his kingdom and protected them, in fact while he was the 'shamed' name of the Gromgard family, he was the most successful and revered one," Gnarl sighed. "Sadly he spent so much time tinkering and creating artifacts to bind to his will that he never made an heir to inherit his creations, so he spied on his brother's family to choose the youngest of three to become the Overlord and our second master.",By that point, Giblet approached with the portrait showing a hooded figure in armor.,"Lord Gromgard was sixteen when he received the Gauntlet-a contingency by the Baron for when his family sealed away his creations upon his death to never be seen again-.","Why?" Harry asked engrossed with the story while hiding some fear at seeing the portraits of the Overlords who look a lot more impressive then he does. "If he was so successful wouldn't his family like him?","His family was jealous of him sire and since they couldn't control us they locked us away, now when Lord Gromgard was about to become the Overlord things for the Kingdom wasn't good due to how the Elves, Dwarves and Halflings ransacked everything leaving for his father to go out in search of riches and a new wife-mind you he failed terribly before attempting do so again leaving his kingdom in the care of his three children, although the two older children hated Lord Gromgard and made it well known that they wished for him to die.",Harry went quiet at hearing that feeling some sympathy for Gromgard due to how the Dursley's treated him the exact same all his life.,"Lord Gromgard was by himself as his brother left to live with the Elves and the sister went for the Dwarves thereby abandoning their Kingdom." Gnarl spat at the mention of the two. "Upon gaining the Gauntlet, the young Master found the room where we were hidden, found the Tower Heart, showed no mercy to the Halflings that dared attacked him, murdered the Wolf Queen who had been devouring the children in the neighboring town disguised as a girl who called herself Red Riding Hood, stopped a witch who had one of the Minion Hives while she had been forcing children to give her teeth to sell to the Tooth Fairy and finally the stroke of brilliance defeated the Dwarf and Elf leaders, framing each other for the defeat to start a war between the two races, one that would last for generations while his siblings were caught up with it.",Gnarl looked practically giddy by the end while Harry could scarcely believe what he was hearing.,Red Riding Hood was real and a wolf? So was the Tooth Fairy? Halflings, Elves and Dwarves were real?,And while he was still fearful of what the Overlords before him have done he will admit this Gromgard had very good reasons because he was treated just like him and he basically got back at everyone.,Just like how Harry wished he could-.,'I can.' Harry realized now looking at his Gauntlet. 'I have the exact same power that Gromgard gained.',Harry didn't know if he could be evil though-in fact he was a little certain that these guys messed up and got the wrong person, but does one have to be evil to get back at the people who caused him so much grief?,"Eventually the two siblings grew tired of the war and came back to the Kingdom, thinking that they would become the new ruler," Gnarl laughed at the audacity of that, regaining Harry's attention. "What they got instead was seeing their younger brother who grew in power and might over the years, they became slaves while he continued the Baron's work of protecting his kingdom-.","Hold on you said that they protected their Kingdoms?" Harry asked to be sure with a confused look when Gnarl gave a nod. "But you said you were a Servant of Darkness.","Dark generally doesn't mean evil-not that we aren't because we can be but the Baron created us to serve him and any who would be our master-we didn't start out evil we just choose to be," Gnarl explained to him with a shrug. "Besides we're honest about it unlike those hypocrites who claim to be light and pure.","I-I see." Harry said not sure how to take this, but he wanted to hear more of this story.,"After Gromgard I've seen many master's fall before they became Overlord's and eventually one came in the form of the true second Overlord-never got a name from him as his past was a mystery to himself but he was pure evil," Gnarl shuddered in enjoyment, no doubt remembering every little detail of that Overlord. "So evil that it took eight 'Heroes' teaming up to finally end him and he still survived.",Seeing as how he spat out 'Heroes' Harry figured that he shouldn't mention that word around Gnarl.,"Not even when the Eighth hero tackled the Second Overlord off of the Tower, an act that should've killed them both but the hero survived-abandoned by his comrades who looted the Tower and well, we needed an Overlord," Gnarl grinned impishly, giving Harry an idea on who the third Overlord was, especially when the third Portrait was pulled forward showing a figure that looked like he was that Sauron character from one of those movies Harry managed to sneak into. "After many years of slumber for his injuries to heal and for the land to get calm for the new reign of terror, we woke him up and showed him the ropes, although he was still a bit of a 'Hero' despite our best efforts.",Gnarl then walked past the portrait with a grin.,"Now this Overlord got revenge on his friends who have fallen to the deadly seven sins over his slumber. He stuck Melvin Underbelly like the fat pig of a Halfling he was, placed Oberon Greenhorn into an unending sleep, slayed the disgraced Sir William the Black, overran Goldo Golderson and stealing his wealth, outwitted Jewel the Thief and outclassed Khan the Warrior," Gnarl held his fists up at the thoughts of those corrupted heroes. "Not knowing he was doing the bidding of the second Overlord who took over the body of the Wizard in his last moments, enticing a battle of the ages between the two for dominance, one that the former 'Hero' won by slaying the Wizard once and for all. Oddly enough people celebrated him as a better Hero than the supposed group he killed.",Harry didn't care about that, he was very absorbed in the story-no doubt knowing that Gnarl didn't tell him everything but he was learning a form of history that he found truly interesting, especially with the supposed myths being real.,"Unfortunately he got trapped in the Infernal Abyss-or as the modern world calls it 'Hell' and ended up taking over, I think he's trapped there to this day." Gnarl commented making Harry stare in disbelief that one of the Overlords before him is technically the devil from how he's hearing this. "And with him gone, we needed one and as luck would have it one his Mistress Rose who was ironically the daughter of the second Overlord was pregnant with his child.",Gnarl snapped his fingers and the final portrait was pulled up showing the fourth Overlord.,"Sadly a power-hungry Elf decided to try and steal the power of the Tower Heart, causing the Great Cataclysm that destroyed the Dark Tower and caused a call of extermination to any and all Magical Creatures the end result being the Magical World going into hiding, Mistress Rose escaping and leaving her child in the town of Nordberg to keep him safe only for him to be tormented by the local populace for most of his life.",At that, Harry felt pity for most of the Overlords before him.,None of them seemed to be born evil or dark-they were forced to become so in order to survive. It was pretty easy to see why Gnarl calls these 'light's' hypocrites from what he's heard.,"In fact they called him Witch-Boy because the Cataclysm actually allowed for him to have a better control of Magic than anyone in his family-he actually grew to enjoy that name and have it spoken in fear later on," Gnarl mused, stroking his goatee once more. "Only one person actually stood up for him and that child later became his first mistress but I'll get into that later. Nordberg was then attacked by the growing Empire that was beginning to appear after the Cataclysm due to them eradicating all magical beings-including the Witch Boy who the town threw to the Empire to die. We helped him get out-although there was a Yeti involved for some odd reason.","What happened then?" Harry asked like a little kid earning a look from Gnarl who had to remind himself that their new Overlord was nine at the moment.,'Times like this I remember why we usually wait until our Masters are in their late teens before finding them.' Gnarl thought getting back to the story.,"We brought him to the Netherworld where we made our home and trained him to use his magic and how to become the Overlord," Gnarl then gave a dark chuckle. "And much like the second Overlord this one truly lashed out for the pain they caused him either destroying or dominating everything underneath his thumb and unlike his father he had three Mistresses.",Harry blinked at the weird face Gnarl seemed to be making as he wasn't sure what a 'Mistress' was. "Uh Gnarl?",That snapped the Minion Master out of his perverted thoughts. "Right, right anyways he laid waste to the Empire and restored the Tower Heart-although he was forced to destroy it once more to finish the Empire," Gnarl looked a bit sad by that. "After him we never did find a replacement Overlord.",Gnarl then turned right at Harry.,"In fact we were beginning to lose hope of ever finding an Overlord until the heart pulsed once more-the first time since it was destroyed and the trail lead us right to you sire." Gnarl said finishing his tale while Harry just sat in the throne.,"But I'm not evil," Harry began before he hastily corrected himself. "I'm not even dark, don't you think this Tower Heart made a mistake?",Gnarl just chuckled at what he said. "There's no mistake sire you're the new Overlord, maybe not the most ideal one at the moment but the Heart chose you," He explained gesturing towards the Gauntlet. "As for you not being dark there will be time to fix that eventually.",Harry wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that when Gnarl sighed.,"I think you should get some rest as I work to locate the Brown Minion Hive and the Tower Heart along with a few of our objects, there's a lot of work to do if we're going to expand your Dark Domain." Gnarl looked towards the other Minions. "Show the master to his Private Quarters.",While the Minions led Harry out of the Throne Room with a lot of excitement, Gnarl stroked his beard in thought. "Gnarl?" Quaver looked at him curiously not following the other Minions.,"He's the spitting image of Lord Gromgard at that age," Gnarl mused surprising Quaver.,"Do you think he's a descendant?" Quaver asked curiously earning a grunt from Gnarl.,"Perhaps, we'll know for sure when the Tower Heart is brought back." Gnarl decided looking at Quaver. "Do us a favor and locate the Brown Minion Hive while I look for the tower, once we have both we can truly start to expand the new Master's Dark Domain.",To Be Continued…,Bet you're surprised to see this backup and running? I decided to give this story another try, a lot of it has stayed the same despite some spelling and grammar-although I'm pretty sure the latter is a work in progress, I plan to change a few things as well and add a bit more in later chapters, I'm sorry for taking this story off as it was one of the first three I had.,Oh and the poll for the Mistress has been done for a bit but I'll introduce her to the story much later on.,Also Harry will use more than just his daggers, in fact he might gain powerful weapons and artifacts much like Link or Kratos did in their respective games, just to add to his abilities.

So lately I have been having a taste for Cheshire cats... the mysterious, amazing felines who don't have a lick of understanding for any of the world's laws; human or otherwise. I've seen stories where Harry Potter becomes a Cheshire cat, so I decided to try my hand at a Cheshire Cat story... Enjoy! ^^,Cheshire Cats have been cropping up through the ages, whether through being born as a Cheshire or becoming one, they have always caused chaos wherever they appear. Whenever an area becomes too calm, or there is a drawn out stand still between warring sides a Cheshire cat will make an appearance. Either way they will set in motion a chain reaction toward a chaotic future.,Cheshire cats have been known to both inspire and destroy ideas through the ages. Yet, the only true recorded account of a Cheshire Cat was "Alice in wonderland" and its many adaptations. Cheshire cats can either be from humans or cats. Either can be born a Cheshire, but only a human can become one. The most powerful Cheshires are humans who became a Cheshire though.,Now you may wondering , ,Right? Well it's quite boring just TELLING you don't you think? And we Cheshires can't stand a dull moment! So let me tell you my tale, and maybe some more if you like!,I am Xiao, a Cheshire Cat!,Where to begin though... I guess the beginning will do!,It all started when I was about a year and a half old... A madman tried to kill me and my family. He nearly succeeded too! If it hadn't been for my mother's skills, I would have died then and there! Although I don't know what she did, it set me on the path to a family that was really rather unpleasant... although I hated living with those , I wouldn't have become what I am today without going to ,place if I hadn't.,When I was about five or six I was kicked out of the house like usual to do the yard work. I had just received a mild beating, so I couldn't move my arms how I would have liked nor could I stand... after some time of pulling out weeds, I saw a light shine out of the corner of my eye. When I looked up, I saw a crimson ribbon hanging of a branch just barely within my reach. Hanging off the ribbon was a large golden bell. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the bell. I reached out for the bell, yet couldn't actually grab it. I batted at like how I saw miss Figs cats do when they tried getting things off the table. After a few swats the bell fell right next to me.,I then picked up the ribbon that the bell was on, and tied it around my neck. I have no idea where my need to put on the collar came from, but I don't regret it... Although, it was VERY painful after I tied it around my neck! It felt like I took several kicks to the head from Vernon along with a severe spanking. To top it of was the feeling of my arms being crushed. The combined feelings made me pass out quickly at least...,When I next awoke, I saw that I was in a room with mirrors lining the walls and pillars separating the mirrors. My body felt better than it had ever felt! I felt like I could stand so with the help of a pillar I pulled myself up to a standing position.,I couldn't help but notice how my hands looked different though... My fingers all ended with white claws. When I was at my full height, I looked at my reflection. The first thing I noticed was that my right eye was a bright crimson color, while the left was its natural emerald color. Then I looked at the hair, which looked almost entirely different. Rather than the messy curled mess it was before it was now in straight spikes pointing in nearly every direction. It was black with red highlights and was topped with CAT ears. I was awed by the change but not too much to NOT look at the rest of my reflection. The tail black swishing behind me did help to grab my attention. The white tip was ( And still is) hypnotic. After I lost interest, I looked up to see someone else in the mirror.

Harry and the Pirates, a Harry Potter/Black Lagoon crossover,by Technomad,Chapter 1: The Little Friends of All the World,Two boys darted down the street, expertly weaving their way through the crowds. One of them, in the lead, stuck out from the people surrounding them, with his blond hair bleached nearly white by the tropic sun. His black-haired companion looked quite a bit more usual, until you got close enough to see his bright green eyes, an uncommon sight in Asia.,They ducked into a door above which hung the sign ",." Inside, a slender woman was sitting at a reception desk.,"Hi, Mum!","Hi, Aunt Petunia! Does Herself have any errands for us?",Petunia Dursley smiled at her two boys. "Let me buzz her and see." She turned on the intercom, and asked: "Ma'am, the boys are here. Have you any work for them?",A warm contralto, slightly tinged with a Russian accent, answered her. "Yes, I do, Petunia. Send them on in, will you?" With the go-ahead given, Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley went on into the inner sanctum of Balalaika, the president of Bougainvillea Trading, and also the head of the Roanapur branch of the Russian Mafiya, "Hotel Moscow.",OOO,Not long after Harry Potter had come to live at Number Four, Privet Drive, Vernon Dursley had been killed in the street. It was a pure accident, with an out-of-control lorry running him down, but there had been a huge insurance payout by the lorry's owners, desperate to avoid a lawsuit and bad publicity. With the money, Petunia Dursley had decided to live the way , wanted to. Away from England and sad memories. Dealing with Marge Dursley, who had moved on in for a nice long visit, spurred her decision.,She had had a good education and soon found a job overseas, in the Singapore branch of a British bank. With the money she made, she had no trouble engaging household help, and with that, the burden of a second active toddler was much less on her shoulders. She found herself warming to her engaging nephew, and the maids she hired, while very tolerant of childish behavior, did not encourage Dudley's more over-the-top actions. Before too long, she was the proud mother of a well-behaved little blond boy and the equally-proud aunt of an appealing black-haired boy with big green eyes. When she took her boys out for a walk, other women gathered around and cooed over them most gratifyingly.,After her five-year contract with the Singapore bank expired, she looked around for further work in the area. She had no desire to go back to cold, cramped, damp, expensive England, particularly not to dreary Surrey suburbia, after having experienced the life of an expat in Asia. When a job offer had come from a Thailand-based import-export company, she had interviewed and been accepted.,She had been very surprised to find that her new employers were Russians, and even more startled by her new boss. She hadn't expected a beautiful, scarred Russian woman, but she had apparently impressed "Balalaika," as everybody called the Russian, for she had been accepted for employment. She now ran the office at Bougainvillea Trading, handling a lot of the company's legitimate business. She knew about the illegal side of things, but kept her mouth shut. For the kind of pay she was earning, she'd have kept her mouth shut about a lot worse, even without knowing what Balalaika would do to her if she squealed.,Both boys had been all but adopted by Balalaika's men. The Russians were all suckers for children, and treated the two English boys like favorite nephews. The boys did have regular school to go to; Balalaika insisted on that, and with the money she was paid, Petunia could afford the best Roanapur had to offer; but their real education came from Hotel Moscow. They ran errands eagerly, and were completely familiar with and at home in Roanapur's streets. By this time, they were fluent in Russian and Thai, and could get along in Chinese. Both boys could also shoot, and knew more than enough martial arts to make sure they could get away from anybody trying to grab them.,OOO,Balalaika was sitting behind her desk, and smiled to see the two eager boys lining up in front of her. Both Harry and Dudley were in awe of her. The boys both thought she was the most beautiful person in the whole world, and knew everything. This flattered her, and rather to her own surprise, she had found she had a real flair for teaching. Watching the two boys growing up was a pleasure; she was unable to ever bear children of her own due to her injuries, which was one of the great secret sorrows of her life. Harry and Dudley served as substitutes.,"So, boys, what did Rowan have to say to you?","He gave us this envelope with his payment, and told us that he wants the same delivery next time." Dudley lay the envelope on Balalaika's desk, his face full of pride at having completed another errand for her successfully.,"Excellent. You've done well. Would you like to do another errand for me?" Their eager looks and rapid nods were all the answer she needed. "Could you go down the Yellowflag and tell Dutch that I'll be wanting to hire the , later this week?" The boys nodded again, turned, and ran out of the office at top speed. Balalaika sighed. Once, , had had all that excess energy…where had it gone? There were times when she felt old.,OOO,The interior of the Yellowflag was dark after the sun-drenched streets, and Harry and Dudley paused at the door, letting their eyes adjust. The air was thick with smoke, and thunderous music roared from the jukebox. The boys were reassured. This meant that the Yellowflag was normal; they had been witnesses to it being torn apart by brawls before, and although nobody local would deliberately target them…not only were they known to be under the protection of Hotel Moscow, but odd things had happened when they felt threatened in the past…it still was no fun.,After a few minutes, they saw the man they were looking for. Dutch, the captain and owner of the ,, was sitting at a table with Benny, his electronics expert. The Lagoon's chief gunsel, Revy Two-Hands, was up at the bar, sitting and drinking with her friend "Sister" Eda of the Rip-Off Church. Other than the , crew and Eda, the place was nearly deserted. A few of Chang's men were in a corner playing mah-jongg, and a drunk or two were sitting about, but that was it.,"Dutch?" Harry and Dudley went up to the PT boat's captain. "Balalaika sent us with a message.","Well, let me hear it." Dutch gestured them up closer. Messages from Balalaika were important, and Dutch knew that they wouldn't want to tell him in a way that the whole bar could hear. Once they were close enough to speak to him with the music masking their words, he gestured for them to go ahead.,"Balalaika said she wants to hire the , later this week. Will that be okay?" Harry looked around the bar. Revy saw him and gave him a wink, and Eda made kissy-kissy faces at him. Harry blushed, hating the way that those two could embarrass him so easily. He was almost a man…he'd just turned eleven, just like Dudley…and he , like being treated like a dumb little kid!,Dudley didn't notice the byplay. In their partnership, Dudley provided the muscle, while Harry was usually the brains of the operation. Dutch nodded, rumbling: "Of course. You know that Miss Balalaika's always welcome to hire the ,. I don't have any other charters already scheduled, so I'll just pencil her in for the rest of the week, at the usual rates.",OOO,When they got back to the Bougainvillea Trading offices, Harry and Dudley both noticed that Petunia looked perturbed. When she saw them, she said: "I'm to send you right in, directly you get back. Now, go on in, and be sure to be very polite." Mystified,…the boys went on in to her office.,Their employer lit up when she saw them, and turned to a woman that neither boy had ever seen before. "Good. You're back, and very promptly, too. While you were out, this woman appeared here, and told me that she wishes to speak with you both.",",here?" Harry was mystified. "Didn't Aunt Petunia quiz her before letting her on in?" Besides Petunia Dursley, whose innocuous-looking desk concealed several nasty surprises for intruders, the outer office was discreetly guarded by Balalaika's soldiers, and was designed to be able to hold off an attack.,"Yes. Appeared here. Out of thin air, by my desk. As you can imagine, this startled me, and I pulled my sidearm. However, Ms. McGonagall took countermeasures, and then explained the situation.",This startled both Harry and Dudley. While she usually left the rough stuff to her subordinates, Balalaika was no slouch in a fight in her own right, and was still one of the fastest guns in Asia. They looked carefully at the newcomer, curious as to who could do such things to their idolized employer.,The strange woman was old, but carried herself like a much younger woman. Her iron-grey hair was tied in a bun at the nape of her neck, and she was dressed in conservative, but expensive clothing; both boys could tell the difference in an instant. Seeing them looking at her, she spoke.,"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter, Mr. Dursley. My name is Minerva McGonagall, Professor and Assistant Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am here to deliver your letters of acceptance to Hogwarts, and to escort you to where you may purchase your supplies for the coming school year.",Both Harry and Dudley were street-wise veterans of years in Roanapur, but this was, to say the least, unexpected. They stared and stared. Ms. McGonagall…, McGonagall…gave them a triumphant smile. "Yes, magic is real. Would you like to see some?" Suddenly a strange stick was in her hand, and she waved it, muttering some words in a language neither boy knew.,Balalaika let out a startled squawk, which was unheard of; she was normally one of the most self-possessed people in all Roanapur. However, nobody had ever seen her reacting to having her desk suddenly become a pig. With another wave of Professor McGonagall's wand, it was a desk again.,Balalaika spoke up: "Boys, I will say that I never believed that magic is real, before today. Now that I've seen it demonstrated, I want you to take Professor McGonagall up on her offer. Such an opportunity is not to be wasted." She pressed a button on her desk, and said, into the intercom: "Petunia, will you come in here, please?",When Petunia Dursley came in, she took one look at Professor McGonagall and started crying. "Oh, I had so hoped this day wouldn't come! I lost my sister, Harry's mother, to the magical world! She went off to that school and she was never the same sister to me again…and then she ,!" She broke down completely, sobbing into her hands. "Those people killed her! They killed my sister!" Dudley and Harry instinctively moved to comfort Petunia, giving Professor McGonagall hard looks.,Harry was very curious. He had always, as far back as he could remember, lived with Aunt Petunia, and save for calling her "Aunt" instead of "Mother," there was no difference between the treatment he and Dudley got. He did know, though, that his mother had been Aunt Petunia's sister. Had his mother been some sort of magical person?,Balalaika cleared her throat, and Petunia got a grip on herself. "Mrs. Dursley, while I cannot command it, I would be very grateful if you allowed both boys to accept this offer. Education is not ever to be despised, and their schooling in Roanapur cannot go on for much longer." Both boys were at the top of their class, and beyond their school, there was little education on tap in Roanapur.,"I can assure you, Mrs. Dursley, that every effort will be made to ensure your son's, and Mr. Potter's, safety. You may not know it, but Mr. Potter is regarded as a hero. He is thought to have destroyed the man who killed his birth parents, although nobody is sure just how. That is how he came by his scar.",Reminded, Harry rubbed his forehead. Unlike Dudley, he had a scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt. Aunt Petunia wouldn't tell him how he'd come by it, just saying that it had been there when he came to live with her.,Aunt Petunia wiped her eyes. "Yes…I know…Lily, rest her soul, said that not training people with magical talent was more dangerous than training them. The talent comes out unexpectedly, and weird things happen." Before either boy could stop her, she folded them both into a convulsive hug. "But I'm going to miss them so much!",(,)

A Harry Potter/Bioshock Infinite crossover.,Summary: Avoiding Dudley's gang, Harry stumbles across something he never thought he would find. What changes will it make to his destiny.,Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own Bioshock Infinite, each belongs to their respective owners.,Harry sat in an abandoned house, the owners had disappeared a long time ago, word was that they had moved home but there had been no signs of a moving company and their car had just been left out front but no signs of foul play and the people of Privet Drive, intent to have a 'normal' life had pretty much just ignored it. From this it remained abandoned with warnings to never come into the house. The curtains were closed, the garden overgrown and the condition of the house deteriorating from neglect.,It was by chance that he was here. He was going to stay away from the house but it had been his only escape, his only reprieve from the daily dose of Harry Hunt that Dudley and his gang had started so long ago. Chase the 'freak' and if you can catch him then you get to beat him up. But Harry was quicker than his cousin and his friends and had managed to avoid them and now he sat in the dusty room, he had looped around the house into the garden and was surprised to find the back door was unlocked. Entering he had called out but no response came, no one had been home. Walking in slowly, he looked at the dust covered floor and the tracks that he made in it as he moved, looking around there had been no signs that anyone else had been here in a very long time. With a sigh of relief, he pushed the door shut and walked through the house, looking at the faded furniture, running a hand across the surfaces wiping away some of the dust as he made his way to the living room, brushing the dust off of his hand as he did.,A TV, a bookcase, a sofa and a couple of chairs. Idly he walked forwards to the TV, pressing the button to turn it on not expecting much of anything and the idea that it wouldn't work was confirmed as the TV remained off. He sat on the floor, he could have taken any of the seats but he found himself sitting in the middle of the room, eyes shut and breathing deeply as he tried to focus. It was from a book that he had picked up from the library, one on meditation to help calm the soul and focus himself. He had recieved a few strange looks from the Librarian when he had been seen reading it btu she didn't say anything. Recent Days had been hectic for Harry. Letters addressed to him had appeared almost from out of nowhere. At first it was just one, a single letter through the post addressed to him with the details of where he slept written in ink. It had been heavy a didn't feel like paper.,* Harry thought bitterly before stopping that train of thought and letting it slide away into the blackness of nothingness. It didn't do to dwell on what couldn't be changed. He was stuck with them and he would be for years to come. His parents dead and no other living relatives that he was aware of, not including Marge and her hellish hounds. But he'd rather live on the streets than put up with her for any prolonged time period. More letters turned up over the next couple of days, first two, then four, then eight, they doubled every day, appearing in more and more unique places, tied to milk bottles, under the wipers on his Uncles car and even wrapped around the eggs inside the carton that contained them. All the while he had been unable to claim even one of them. His Uncle had taken to making sure Harry was either unable to get out of his new room, having been concerned about people knowing he had lived in the cupboard under the stairs for the better part of ten years, he now had the smallest bedroom in the house. It had amused Harry at the glimpse of a letter that they were now addressed there as well.,He was curious as to who was so desperate to get in touch with him and if they were that desperate why didn't they just try to get in touch themselves? they knew enough about him to know where he slept and they had enough time to write so many letters and deliver them and yet they couldn't think to turn up themselves if they were that eager to get a reply.,A creak of a floorboard and Harry opened his eyes, it was possible it was just the sounds of the house that hadn't been maintained but he didn't take any chances, standing up he brushed the dust off of himself and walked over quietly to the doorway he had come through.,"And you're definitely sure he's in here?" A woman's voice asked, it was one he hadn't heard before, she sounded older than him but still relatively young.,"It's what the tracker shows, Number 30 Privet Drive." Another voice, another woman's voice, stricter and more seasoned. Harry shrunk back away from the door and into the room, glancing for another way out. "He had to have come here recently look at the floor." She added and Harry cursed the dust, his location would be easy to find. A door at the back of the room caught his attention... strange, he hadn't noticed it when he came in.,Unease settled in, the mysterious two that were apparently looking for him and trying to track him. Or the door that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.,"Harry Potter?" The younger voice called out and Harry flinched and darted to the door. They knew his name, they could track him and now they were actively looking for him. he gripped the door handle and pulled it open, stairs leading down and he took them shutting the door as he moved. He heard the two voices on the other side of the door but couldn't quite clearly hear what they wanted as he moved quickly down the stairs. Below him was a blue glow, something strange was down here. he slowed down, being careful to not disturb anything, something wasn't right here.,Etched into the walls, the ceiling and the floor were symbols, symbols he didn't recognize, strange devices littered the room and Harry glanced around in confusion. What had been going on in this house? He walked forwards, there was something in the centre of the room, something hidden under a cover. Curiosity called his name, he took a step forward, slowly.,"Harry don't move!" The younger voice called, almost from directly behind him and he froze. "You're in danger." She said and Harry resisted the urge to run. there was panic in her voice. "That symbol you just stepped on was an activation rune." She explained with something that didn't make any sense to Harry, what was a rune and what was an activation rune?,"What does that even mean!?" Harry couldn't resist the panicked question as he looked down at the symbol that he had stepped onto.,"Runes, they're an alternate way to perform magic, or a very outdated way to write, each rune is a symbol and has a meaning. see how they're all over the room?" She commented slowly and Harry took full notice of the symbols, having seen them before but not knowing what they had been. "That Rune you're standing on means start or activate. It's not fully powered with you standing on it but I'd bet any number of Galleons that the moment you move your foot something will happen.,"Something bad?" He asked slowly, it sounded strange, a lot stranger than a prank could possibly be and the deadly seriousness in which she was speaking made him believe her all the more.,"Possibly, or it could just be a light switch. Whoever built this room liked their flashy appearances." She muttered the last part to herself more than Harry.,"Who are you anyway?" Harry questioned as she continued to study the runes.,"So that doesn't feed into the protection rune over there." She muttered missing the question as she traced the connection of runes. "Hmm? Oh sorry, I'm Professor Babbling." She said still distracted by the runes. "I teach ancient runes at Hogwarts." She explained calmly as if it meant something to him.,"Hogwarts?" Harry asked in confusion, the name had popped up before, on the seal of the letter but he didn't know much more than that.,"The School for Witchcraft and Wizardry?" She asked and Harry looked even more confused. "The place where your parents went?" She tried again and the blank look, alongside a look of surprise at the information about his parents made her pause, taking a deep breath as she tried to keep calm. "They didn't tell you did they?" She asked quietly. "They didn't tell you anything about your parents did they." She questioned and Harry went to speak but she held her hand up to stop him. "I'm sorry Harry, don't answer that just yet, I have a feeling I'm not going to like the outcome of this conversation and I don't want to screw this up because I'm angry." She explained and he slowly nodded. "The Activation rune loops around, the connection goes by the defensive rune, looking like it'd trigger the trap but there's a tiny gap in the connection." She muttered tapping her chin thoughtfully. It's not tied to the light or it would have been dark down here before you arrived." She continued to trace out the runic array. "It leads to the area under that cover." She muttered and stood up, carefully stepping around the runes. "The person who designed this was flashy and there is a lot of dangerous and deadly runes here but the connection is so basic. No interlocking runes that will trigger a chain reaction. No booby traps. Flash and no Substance, I'm almost disappointed.","Does that mean I can move?" Harry asked and she shook her head.,"Not yet, there's still the unknown tied to the end of that rune, I don't want you moving until I know what it is.","Is everything okay down there?" The elder voice spoke and Babbling stopped and cursed.,"Almost forgot about yet, Yes Minerva, we should be all OK in a minute or two," she called back.,"Who's that?" Harry asked as he tried to remain calm.,"Another Professor at the school, to you she's Professor McGonagall," Professor Babbling explained. "She teaches Transfiguration. An interesting class, I was terrible at it." She mused as she reached the cover. "Right, whatever that Rune activates or doesn't activate is underneath this cover. I'm going to vanish it; I don't want to risk the cloth disturbing any of the other runes as it moves away." She explained as she drew something that to Harry looked like a stick. She flicked her wrist, muttering something and the cover vanished with a small pop. "Huh, didn't expect that." She muttered as she looked down at what could only be described as a glass coffin. Inside a woman lay, dressed in a long blue skirt and white shirt, her hands clasped on her stomach as she looked to be resting peacefully. "I might be a few more minutes." She called up to Professor McGonagall as she frowned. "The Rune leads to a waking rune linked to this. Does that mean she's in some form of suspended animation?" She muttered, kneeling by the rune, "Wait, no it doesn't link to that rune. I may have underestimated whoever did this, that's impressively close." She spoke tracing the line from the activation rune as it passed mere millimetres from the awakening rune. "Harry, what do you know about the people that lived here?","Nothing." Harry replied slowly, still confused as to what was going on. "From what my Uncle ranted about they disappeared out of the blue years ago. They kept to themselves, My Aunt didn't like them because they were unusual." Harry explained hesitantly. "I didn't know where they worked. I don't think anyone did. They just appeared almost overnight and then disappeared in the same way." He explained and she frowned more, glancing up at him and then back at the rune array around the room.,"They just happen to move onto your street... That doesn't seem right." She knelt there, stationary, looking at Harry as she tried to piece the puzzle together , the thought cut off as she realized what they had done. "Oh you magnificent bastards." She said aloud, standing up again and moving away from the Glass Coffin and moved away, looking up to the runes. "Deception, draining, cloaking, shadow, the runes on the wall are disguised to look like light runes on their own but taken in context. They were piggybacking off the wards. they managed to pierce them somehow and then use it to shroud themselves.","Does that mean I can move again?" Harry asked, his leg starting to cramp up. He was used to standing quietly and not moving much but that was at the time when he knew he could move around at pretty much any time, now he was forced to stand still and he was trying to make sure he kept the same pressure on the rune which was starting to make his knee ache. It was amazing how much difference having to focus on doing nothing actually caused more pain and annoyance than just aimlessly doing nothing.,"Oh goddess! I'm so sorry Harry, it's the runes, I keep finding something interesting about them and getting side-tracked." She pulled herself away, a slight tint of red on her cheeks showing her embarrassment as she moved back to where she had been tracking the rune. She paused again as she heard footsteps from behind Harry and looked up to see Professor McGonagall walk into view. "Minerva, be careful where you step, the room is quite impressively set up." She called out and the woman in question nodded her head slightly, her stern features falling on Harry who had turned his head to look at the new arrival.,"I did not expect you to get into trouble before you started at Hogwarts Mr Potter, it seems your families habit of ending up in the worst possible place has passed on to you." She said bluntly a hint of amusement behind the statement.,"You knew my family?" Harry asked and she nodded her head.,"I had the distinct pleasure of teaching both of your parents for seven years." She explained and Professor Babbling called out to her.,"That's not a conversation we want to start now." She warned stopping at another run that ran under one of the legs of the table the glass coffin sat on. "Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy for you to continue talking but I've just found out what the rune is linked to.","Is it dangerous?" McGonagall asked.,"Dangerous depends on how it works. It's a transference rune, I can't see what the final part of it is, it could be the transference of life, of power, of soul. It's linked to the woman in the casket and I can't tell which way the transference will happen. It could drain from Harry or it could be from the woman in the tube here.","Does that mean she's alive?" McGonagall asked in shock, she had seen the woman as she had walked down but her primary concern had been Harry. "Is there some kind of stasis spell on her?","Yep, tied to the rune on at the base of the table. Perfectly preserved and held there, I wonder how long she's been there." She wondered as she looked at Harry who was looking ready to both bolt and ask a dozen or so questions. "This isn't the way the introduction to magic was supposed to happen, you get a letter and one of the Professors was meant to turn up and explain it to you fully and take you to get your stuff.","But we received no response from you and came to find out why you were not responding to the letters." McGonagall explained and Harry glanced between the two of them.,"The letters were sent by you? What are they? I never got the chance to read them, my Uncle kept taking them away and destroying them." He said and he saw the start of a glare forming on McGonagall's features.,"That is why we came. Dumbledore wanted to send Hagrid who is a great person, but ask him to fully explain something and you'd still lose half the information." Babbling said as she finished with the rune. "Right, I think I can work with this. It's a Power Transference spell, but not away from you. We can't just deactivate the runes without activating them at least not without you standing there for god knows how long." She explained as she stood, dusting off her trousers. "The fun part is that it's also tied to the awakening rune, it doubles back on itself and passes through it. So the Power Transference will start and she'll wake.","Will it hurt her?" Harry asked quietly. This was his fault, he shouldn't have run into the house, he shouldn't have hidden from the two when they had arrived.,"It's possible, there's interlocking runes all over the room, it would take months of standing there stationary to make sure everything would be deactivated and disabled." She explained and Harry nodded his head, hating this situation that he had gotten himself into.,Couldn't we activate the waking rune and get her out of there?" McGonagall asked in concern looking at the woman in the coffin. "If we can wake her and take her from the table then we could break the link half way." She suggested but a shake of the head was the response given.,"This connection is tenuous at best, disrupting it could cause a magical backlash and kill everyone here at this stage.","So we just let a rune drain the life of this woman?","No, I have an idea." She said as she gestured at the runes around them. "All of the runes seem to be intertwined, they link back to her in some way shape or form. The power drain and the awakening are the earliest step. We could start the chain and hopefully sever the connection almost immediately. There will probably be some transference of power, who knows how that will shape up but we could break it before any permanent damage was done to either of them. In theory that is.","In theory?","In Reality, I don't know what is going to solve the problem, the rune is half concealed so I'm only getting a hint at what is going to happen, not to mention there are probably others that are linked. Whatever sick bastard did this to the girl is to put it bluntly messed up." She said with finality.,"So how do we stop the transference.","We apparate him out, to the street or perhaps even the garden, it should be far enough to break the connection.","Apparate?" Harry chimed in and the two looked at him.,"Think teleporting, instant travel between locations.","Won't there be a greater risk of splinching with the connection?" McGonagall questioned and Babbling nodded.,"The risk is there, but it's a guaranteed way to break the connection. I can do it if you want," She offered and McGonagall shook her head.,"No, I can do it. I just needed to confirm the risks.","Risks?" Harry asked in disbelief. What the heck was going to go wrong now? It was bad enough that he was trapped in some kind of basement, it was bad enough that he was almost figuratively bound to someone, his foot on a switch that could possibly kill someone he'd never met before and now he heard that the way to break it was risky.,"It's a risk that can be fixed quickly and painlessly, there will be just a weird numbness if splinching occurs. Nothing to be concerned about." Babbling said quickly without actually explaining what Splinching was. "Are you ready Minerva?" She asked and McGonagall nodded her head. "OK, on the count of three, Harry I want you to step off the rune.","Right.","One." She started slowly, glancing between Harry and the girl. "Two." She looked to McGonagall who was already in position to get Harry and vanish. "THREE!" She called out and Harry stepped off the rune. Her eyes darted to his feet and widened as she saw an addition to the rune. "Oh... crap." She muttered as a blue dome formed over Harry and the glass tank. "Don't touch him!" She called out as McGonagall went to grab him to apparate out. "There was another part to the rune under his foot, it's a shield rune, it'll block practically anything." She explained as the lines connecting the runes started to glow. "Power Transfer in two." She whispered in defeat looking down as the line hit the power transfer. A white beam formed between Harry and the girl, energy shifting towards him. "Awakening rune in three." She said and like clockwork the woman's eyes snapped open, she gasped for breath, her hands snapping up and pressing against the glass, pressing against it trying to push it open. Professor Babbling had left the lid on, not so much to trap the girl but to prevent activating any booby traps. But it was sealed, looking at it properly she saw it was sealed with no way to get oxygen in. She was going to suffocate.,If she ever found out what sick person created this Runic Array she probably would horribly murder them in a set of Runes just to see how they would feel. She moved her wand and banished the glass, the woman pushing away, off of the table, dropping to the floor as Harry cried out in pain. She looked around the room, the lighting runes flickering which shouldn't have happened. as she glanced up she saw the area that was getting darker wasn't because the lights were dimming. There was something blocking them, lines of what appeared to be energy were forming and opening up revealing objects and places. Water started to fall through one of the tears from another she could hear the sound of rock music, another the scene of a well maintained Garden. What power did this girl have? What was going on? She scanned across the runic array, there were more containment runes, stabilization runes, everything seemed to lead towards her being kept in here specifically for someone to walk in and have this happen. Who was She!?,"Bathsheda! Get her out of here!" McGonagall snapped her out of her thoughts and she could have kicked herself for this. She wanted to help Harry and here she was dallying with the Runes instead of taking advantage that the girl was not contained in a barrier. She turned, moved quickly and grabbed the girls arm, picturing the location of the garden outside and apparating with a deafening crack.,The two fell into the garden, dropping to the overgrown grass with a soft thud. the woman panting as she caught her breath, dealing with the connection severing. Professor Babbling gave herself a pat down to make sure she was still in one piece and smiled as she realized that she was fine. "Are you okay?" She asked looking across at the woman.,"Who... who are you?" The woman asked weakly, struggling to catch her breath as she sat up, hesitance and confusion on her features, a hand pressed against the ground to steady herself.,"I am Bathsheda Babbling, I'm a teacher," She said, not knowing if the woman knew of magic. "And yourself?","Elizabeth," She said slowly reaching up and brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "Where am I?","Part of me was hoping you'd already know, what's the last thing you remember?" Babbling asked and Elizabeth frowned.,"I was looking for someone, trying to fix a mistake. I remember checking a house and then nothing." Elizabeth explained, rubbing the back of her head, feeling a phantom pain. "I think I was knocked out by something." She whispered. "What happened to me?","This is going to sound strange, you were put into stasis, placed in that glass tube and left there, we don't know what happened after that until Harry stumbled across you." Bathsheda started to explain, "It was purely by chance that we even found you. If Harry hadn't gone down there we never would have known you were there.","By Chance?" A male voice asked.,"Or by Fate?" A female voice asked and the two jumped at the sudden intrusion of voices. Bathsheda quickly grabbing her wand and pointing it at the two new comers who stood in older style clothing, the man in a brown suit and the other in a white blouse and long brown skirt.,"I should have known you two would somehow be involved in this." Elizabeth said tiredly as she pulled herself to her feet, brushing off the dirt that had stuck to her dress. "Where am i this time?","It's less of a question of where and more of a question of when." The woman spoke up calmly, glancing around at the overgrown garden and tutted, "terrible house keeping this place has." She said with disinterest before turning back to Elizabeth.,"But at this time the where is just as important." The man added chidingly to the woman.,"I suppose it does, doesn't it.""Where did you come from? i didn't hear any apparation sounds." Bathsheda questioned, keeping her wand pointed at the two newcomers, they seemed to know something about what was going on,"Are you two going to talk in half statements again?" Elizabeth added the question in frustration and Bathsheda looked to her in confusion.,"You know these two?" She asked and Elizabeth nodded.,"In a way, they are the Lutece Twins, Rosalind and Robert." She introduced gesturing to the two in turn.,"She remembers us." Robert spoke glancing at his twin.,"That's good, it would be terribly embarassing if she didn't but who could blame her after her ordeal?" Rosalind asked curiously.,"What are you doing here? Why was I brought here?" Elizabeth asked loudly trying to get them to focus.,"We are where we're needed." Rosalind explained calmly.,"And needed where we are." Robert concluded. "You know how this works Elizabeth.","Constants and Variables." She muttered, "then who or what is the constant in this situation?" She asked and Rosalind smiled.,"She knows." Robert stated looking at Bathsheda,"She will know." Rosalind continued.,"She does know." Robert finished and Elizabeth sighed in frustration, a straight answer from these two was the equivalent of trying to pull teeth. Even when they were being a bit more helpful than this they were still confusing to focus on but at this point they seemed to want to avoid talking fully around her. Perhpas it was because of the woman that had helped her. The Twins definitely thought that she had some clue as to who was involved in all of this.,"There is someone you know or know of that is a focus of all of this." Elizabeth explained and Bathsheda looked confused at this.,"How am I supposed to know who that is? I know a lot of people." She said in confusion having been quickly lost by the double talk and tense changes by the Lutece Twins, she had spent years dealing with the illogical nature of Wizards and Witches and had started to properly understand how their society worked but this was a whole different game.,"They appeared now, what happened now and who is here that you know? Besides myself of course." Elizabeth asked and Bathsheda's eyes widened, the realisation of what had just happened down in the basement kicking in.,"Harry!" She replied in surprise and turned, bolting into the house.,"She knows." Rosalind commented simply.,"She did know." Robert added and Elizabeth sighed again.,"So I am Variable in this." Elizabeth questioned. "This Harry is a focus of everything that is going on here.","Perhaps.","Perhaps not. One does not explain an experiment for fear of tainting the results." Robert explained.,"You told myself and Booker lots of things while dealing with Columbia!" Elizabeth protested. "Songbird, accessing the rifts to enter a different Columbia, you guided me into Rapture!" Elizabeth snapped and paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "How did I get here?" She asked slowly, "I remember Rapture, i remember Atlas and I... I remember dying.","You remember dying because in a different dimension at a different time you did die. However my Dear Brother pointed out that everything we did do and everything that had happened was our responsibility, our mess to clean up. Our device and abilities and yours as well are all connected through out." Rosalind explained calmly, a small smile on her lips as she studied Elizabeth.,"So you saved me?","We just opened the door for your escape, you stepped through." Robert paused, sharing a glance with Rosalind and a slight nod before continuing. "With your wounds healed, we went on our way. An infinite number of realities to see and explore.","As we travelled these infinite rifts we found that the rules were not as consistant as we first believed. There were still constants but they changed.","How can they be constants if they changed?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, for it to be a constant meant that it was unable to change. Always a Lighthouse always a City and always a man.,"Because if there are an infinite of dimensions than there are obviously an infinite number of variations, to have anything less would not be Infinite, it would indeed be finite." Robert explained calmly and Elizabeth still looked at him in confusion, she was starting to see where he was going with this but at this time she still wanted him or his sister to flat out state it. "What if there was no City and no Man?","And no Lighthouse?" Elizabeth continued thoughtfully, though it came out more like a question though they both nodded.,"A different time with a different set of actions that create a different constant." Rosalind simply said.,"Then what are these new constants? and how did I get here?" Elizabeth questioned again, cursing her inability to fully remember what had happened.,"You came here because you chose to, if you can't remember it, what good would us telling you do?" Rosalind dismissed, "in time you will no doubt remember, i do hope it isn't too late by that point though.","As for the new constants, you know of one now, but it is not our place to tell you. Time has a way of revealing all in the end.","Because it already has revealed it." Elizabeth said in understanding, to the twins, time had no concept, they were where they needed to be when they needed to be, "the only constant that i know of is the boy who woke me up, this time, these realities here link to him. He is, he was and he always will be, his circumstances may change but he is always there in one shape or form." She said in understanding about this pocket of time and dimension that they had come to. "How do i play into this?" Elizabeth asked, trying to see if she could get an answer from the two of them but they just smiled that enigmatic smile and Rosalind waved the question off.,"We've told you and we will tell you. You know how this works Elizabeth, one does not explain an experiment for fear of tainting the results.","But you've already told me so much, what does al ittle bit more hurt?","Have we? This is all things that you already know, we just wanted to make sure you were okay," Rosalind said warmly, the two had been there to care for her in this situation even if they were so detached.,"We almost feel responsible, like a relative.","Perhaps a distant absent minded relative." Elizabeth muttered in frustration but said her farewell and turned and walked away, back into the house after the woman that had woken her up. She reached the doorway and glanced back, sure enough the twins were gone. "It seems there is at least one other constant." She said and closed the door walking through the house, following where the others had gone thanks to the footsteps in the dust. "I don't know where I am, I don't know when I am, I don't know what's going on." She came to the door that led to the basement and froze. it was silly really, she had been trapped but now she was free, there should be no danger but at the same time, she had been shut in there. Trapped in a glass box until by chance someone had come down here. , She mentally questioned and shook her head. She couldn't dwell on it now. She took the stairs slowly, her boots clicking against the wooden steps as she walked down. below she could hear voices, calmness and confusion mingling together, not knowing what had happened but trying to understand what had just happened.,"But what was the power? what were those things that appeared all around us?" An older woman's voice questioned and Elizabeth realized what had happened.,"They're called tears." She said as she hit the bottom of the stairs. "They're windows into what could be, what may be, what has been." She explained in the hopes of keeping it simple for the people.,"Are you talking about Alternate Dimensions?" Bathsheda spoke, there were theories, there were beliefs that they existed but nothing had ever happened to prove that they were there, they did make for some interesting stories though. "How is something like that possible?","To explain would take a long, long time and I'm still not sure that I would be able to explain it. It is something I've been able to do since I was a child.","Alternate Dimensions?" McGonagall asked, having lived in the magical world for all her life, she had not heard anything regarding them before so this was all new to her. Elizabeth looked at her, thinking of a simple way to explain what it was to the sterner looking woman.,"Picture yourself walking along a street that ends in a crossroads, two directions a left turn and a right turn, Pick a direction." Elizabeth ordered and McGonagall looked pensive for a moment.,"Left.","You take the left turn, you move on and never look back and the turn is all but forgotten about, but what if you had turned right? what differences could that have made? what events could you have encountered if you had gone that way instead of left. Every time you make a decision like that, you create a... branch, a new pathway that could have been. The tears are windows to these situation." She explained, not wanting to give the full information that she could in fact travel those paths or that this was just a very basic aspect of what her power was.,"So the power transfer to Harry would have given him the same abilities?" She questioned and Elizabeth shook her head.,"In theory it shouldn't, there is a specific reason why I can see them, why I can interact and pull things through these tears." She said and to demonstrate, she pulled open one that had appeared earlier, a window to a garden, she reached through, picking a flower from the windowsill before closing the rift again, holding the rose. It felt weird to show someone who wasn't Booker or from Columbia that was in the know the rift, but it felt right as well. To not show them would only cause doubt and this way she was able to control what they knew. She paused to sniff the rose before holding it out to the others. Bathsheda responded first, taking the rose studying it intently and coming quickly to the conclusion that it was a real rose. "It is not something that can be replicated easily without my assistance." She said with certainty before changing the subject away from the powers. "How is he?" She asked, turning the attention back to the unconscious boy still lying on the floor but a pillow had been placed under his head to make sure he was comfortable until they moved him. "You said his name was Harry, didn't you?" She asked as she studied the boy, he looked no older than ten, thin and possibly malnourished and he was pale.,"He seems fine, he's exhausted and needs rest if he's going to recover properly. Although the drain of power was from you, the shield that stopped us from getting him out was powered by his own magic. We were just about to move him to somewhere more comfortable. The people here apparently disappeared years ago but everything is still in a reasonably good enough condition so we should be able to put him in a bed upstairs, we can clean the dust off and he can rest there while we decide what to do with you." Bathsheda said and Elizabeth nodded her head absentmindedly as she thought about what the Lutece twins had said. Harry was the key point in this, he was the constant. There was something going to happen involving Harry that brought the attention of the Lutece Twins. Or was it that something had happened that had drawn their attention. she resisted the urge to hold her head and cry out in frustration, dealing with those two always resulted in a headache and always left more questions than answers. Bathsheda lifted her wand, flicking it and levitating the unconscious form into the air. Elizabeth frowned, it was similar to things she had seen before. Were they the same? it didn't look like a tonic and she seemed to be focusing it through that stick.,"While she takes care of him, perhaps we should take a seat and try to work out what is going on?" McGonagall suggested, gesturing to the stairs and back to the Living Room. Elizabeth took one last look around the room that had been her cell and nodded her head turning and walking back up the stairs, acutely aware that McGonagall had been watching her intently to make sure she wasn't a threat. They stepped into the living room and Elizabeth walked around the room studying it. Furniture in designs and shapes that were vastly different from what she remembered. When she had arrived here initially she had not stopped to study what had changed.,"So different now." She mused as she walked around looking at the Television in mild fascination. She glanced back at McGonagall who was watching her before she gestured at the seat with her stick and all traces of dust were gone and the colour had returned to it.,"Have a seat." She commanded with a simple yet very authoritative tone and Elizabeth walked over and sat down. "Who are you?" She asked and Elizabeth frowned, she was willing to answer questions but she was not going to be treated like she was in an interrogation.,"Shouldn't you offer your name first before you start interrogating me? It seems only polite." She countered and the intense look turned to a small glare that sent a chill down Elizabeth's spine. She could see that this woman was not someone to cross.,"Very well, I am professor Minerva McGonagall, I teach at Hogwarts and you are?" She introduced and repeated her initial question, very focused and very determined.,"My Name is Elizabeth... Elizabeth Com... no that's not right, Elizabeth DeWitt." She introduced, initially falling onto an old name before correcting herself, it would make no difference either way here, the man in question was a non-entity in this location and time, at least she thought he was. "Where am I?","You don't know?","If I did, I wouldn't be asking. I remember looking for someone, someone bad and getting knocked unconscious but not where I was.","You are in the town of Little Whinging in Surrey. Your accent isn't English, are you by any chance from the Colonies?" McGonagall asked, using the old term for Americans, Elizabeth frowned at the choice of words, they had formed into states by this point, in fact quite a long time ago, why wouldn't she refer to it as the states unless she was making a slight joke but the look from her face indicated it was no joke.,"I am from there." She said simply. It was technically true. Columbia had been part of the USA before it went on its own little path into the Sky. Though whether or not that happened here... She stopped the train of thought, she could worry about it later.,"And you came to England looking for someone.","In a roundabout way I did. I almost caught up to him before but missed him. it took months before I found out he was in England." She explained calmly.,"Why were you looking for him?" McGonagall asked wondering whether or not Elizabeth could be a danger to Harry with this action.,"That doesn't matter. I probably won't find him again." She said waving it off. "Now when am I?","When are you?","Yes, when am I? time, year, date. I don't know how long I was in that box. I Dont know how much time has passed since i first arrived" She responded and McGonagall drew her wand bringing up the time.,"It's 5 pm, Saturday August 4th 1991.","1991!" She asked in shock. glad she was sitting down. "I've been down there for so long." She muttered quietly. "Or was I moved there? I wish I could remember what happened before." She muttered, the last bit was quiet and more to herself than McGonagall.,"The latest you could have arrived was November 1st 1980. The runes were designed to take advantage of the wards that protected the street." Bathsheda said as she walked down the stairs. "In fact, if I had to hazard a guess the arrival was planned in progress with the wards going up. You'd have to be in here on the day the runes were set to fully take effect and not cause an impact to the protections that would be noticed." She explained as she continued to try and puzzle the runes that had been set up down there.,"That would take incredible timing, not to mention they'd have to know exactly when this was going to happen and what was going to happen." Elizabeth said, humming as she thought about the situation, there were few people who could manage to be that accurate with timing. "So, what do you plan to do with me now?","You're lost, out of place, out of time and have no resources to your name. We can't by all means just leave you to your own devices." Bathsheda explained. "Not to mention those people seem to think you'll have some impact on what is to happen.","Those People?","Sorry Minerva, I forgot that you weren't there when they appeared. two... visitors appeared after I apparated Elizabeth out." She said giving a pointed look at Elizabeth.,"They're known at the Lutece Twins, Rosalind and Robert, brilliant scientists, the best in their field, though a bit detached from reality." She chuckled at her own inside joke. "To them everything is an experiment, why, what, when, how. All of it is something that can be picked apart and studied." She looked between the two and saw the shared looks of doubt and knew where this was going to lead so spoke up first. "What I said about tears, that's a small aspect of it. The Lutece Twins found a way to harness it and actually enter different dimensions, different time lines." She paused as she let that sink in for a moment. Downplay her own powers and raise up the level of power the Lutece Twins had. "Something went wrong though. Something bad happened, I don't know what because I wasn't there but they were... killed for lack of a better word." More doubt and confusion, she could work with this. Of course she wasn't about to tell them it had happened because of the actions of someone she knew in a roundabout way. "They were killed with their own device but instead of destroying them it put them outside of existence. They are but they aren't. They exist but they don't." She explained. "Neither alive, nor dead." she concluded to the looks of disbelief on the faces of the two. "I've been trying to work it out for years but I still don't know for sure." She added, a little white lie but it didn't hurt to hide the extent of her powers for now. "Now I've got to ask a question myself," she said looking between the two, trying to keep up to keep them flat footed even though she knew she didn't really have to, they had been perfectly honest so far with their actions. Almost transparent but she had to keep it quiet for now. "What is all this that you've been doing? Floating the kid, teleporting from one location to another, what is it?",Looking back and forth between each other they had a silent war to see who would take the discussion of magic. It was one that was always interesting to deliver to people that were being introduced to it, they acted so differently. McGonagall eventually took the initiative. "What do you know about magic?","As in Sleight of hand? parlour tricks?" Elizabeth asked and McGonagall smiled before shaking her head.,"No, I mean actual magic, the ability to turn an object into another, the ability to disappear from one location only to reappear in another." She said giving two different examples.,"It's fake? they can be explained away." Elizabeth said though she wasn't entirely sure she believed it herself after all, to some, her ability would be believed to be magic.,"I assure you my dear, it is anything but an illusion, though there are several spells that could be used to create an illusion." She corrected and with her wand pointed it at the coffee table that sat to one side turning it into a small brown dog.,Elizabeth gasped in shock, a hand coming up to her mouth as the dog barked at her excitedly and jumped up at her. "It's a real dog." She whispered in amazement as she leant over and stroked its fur, amazed at how real it felt.,"To an extent, it breaths, it moves and acts like a dog but it's not truly alive, in a few minutes it will revert back to its initial state as a coffee table." McGonagall explained.,"This is amazing. there are more of you who can do things like this?" Elizabeth asked in excitement as she continued to fuss the dog.,"There's an entire hidden community that runs parallel to the non-magical world." McGonagall explained and Bathsheda snorted.,"Runs parallel in many things except evolution, we're still stuck in the past while the muggle world continues to evolve in leaps and bounds." Bathsheda added sarcastically. "We're stagnating, refusing to change our ways because it worked in the past.","That doesn't sound so good." Elizabeth spoke up quietly.,"Traditions and old upbringings are a hard thing to change, expecting people to become different overnight is not going to work.","Refusing to change can be worse though, it can bring disaster, war, destruction and pain." Elizabeth spoke, a haunted tone to her voice as she remembered what had happened to Columbia.,"The Division has already brought that to the community, we're still recovering from what happened and trying to prevent it from ever happening again. Hell, it's only because of one child that we're at this point to recuperate." Bathsheda told Elizabeth.,"Harry is the constant." Elizabeth said, repeating what the Lutece Twins had said before, it was starting to fall into place. Harry had to be the child that Bathsheda was talking about.,"Excuse me?" McGonagall asked and Elizabeth focused on her, looking intently at her as she stopped paying any attention to the dog by her feet.,"Who is Harry, why is he so important?" She asked.,TBC,It feels good to write again, I won't lie it's been a long time since I've done anything like this and I'm glad that I did. I picked up a program on Steam called Nimble Writer, don't ask me why it essentially has the same tools that Word does, less in fact but at the same time there is just something about it that kind of kicked the gears into action. This is one idea I've wanted to write for a very long time and now it's just flowing so damn easily. The start may feel a bit clichéd but I think it works.,I've got the first 10 chapter already written, i'm going to upload one a week i think. It'll allow me to keep the chapters to around the size i want and still keep a steady update.,Shout out to my friend Zaraelys Soulrage who has been a godsend to bounce ideas off of while i've been writing.,Another shout out to a Reviewer: rickyp01 who has helped me with his review, after i got it, the scene just clicked and the Lutece conversation has now been altered.

When America was first discovered by European Muggles, there was a very big fuss in the wizarding community about what should be done. Many of the Sacred 28 in England, especially, felt as if it was too dangerous to go to the Americas. One wizarding family in particular however began to discuss America within itself. Well, that could be said only if discuss was defined as a "family tearing apart argument with a lot of yelling". Two brothers, Lucius Malfoy I(however during this time, he was the only one) and his younger brother Armand Malfoy II (Named after one of his ancestors) constantly would argue about moving to America and muggles during their family dinners. Their parents and their spouses often tuned out their arguments, but most of them agreed with Lucias. After all, he was the heir. Armand knew this, and suspected his wife had only married him in the hopes that Lucius would die before he so that she could became Lady Malfoy. Unfortunately for her, Armand had different plans. After a few months of arguments between the two, they agreed to a duel(not a fatal one of course. Both of them knew the importance of continuing the bloodline).,It was a dark night when the brothers prepared for the duel. Armand had already packed his bags for America, ready to leave no matter the outcome of the duel, and Lucius sat in his room and had tea with his wife. When the clock struck midnight- the time they had agreed upon- the two left their rooms and went into a dark section of the garden. The two began to duel in a fierce manner. Neither of them hesitated to use dark curses, but they were all deflected. Eventually, Armand began to tire, not having the intense training of Lucius(as heir he had duties that his had deemed unnecessary for Armand). He began to become sloppy in his curses as they flew toward his brother and his shield fell right before Lucius sent one last curse towards him.,Armand let out a yelp and fell over, his face in the most intense pain. His left eye was a gaping red hole. His pain felt so sharp, he almost stopped breathing.,Lucius stopped, stopping for a moment to catch his breath before saying, "It's final, Armand. No use for more arguments. The Malfoy family will remain in England. It is time to give up your silly little dreams of America.",Armand frowned through his pain, unable to make coherent sentences through his pain but his brain was firing away, scheming of how to continue his plans for America. Armand knew that America was his ticket. However, he knew he was defeated. He simply could not bear the pain and Lucius had left him out in the gardens alone.,He struggled to stand before he grabbed his wand and trekked back towards the manor. He needed his own son. His wife needed to give him a son, and immediately. Armand began to plan intensively when he was back in his suite. The only thing he left it for was family dinners, important events, and to attempt for a son with his wife. None of his family mentioned his missing eye, but he would always catch his wife staring at it when she thought he was not paying attention. When his wife finally became pregnant, Armand withdraw more into himself. There was no reason for him to socialize for the rest of his plan to work. The only thing that gave Armand some struggle was that Lucius's wife was with child one month before Armand's. He did not want his son to grow up in the shadow of Lucius's son but life was that, he supposed. Eventually, after both of the brothers gave birth Armand's plan began to go into effect. His wife, a lesser known foreign pureblood, mysteriously died and Armend secretly snuck into Muggle society to buy tickets to America for him and his teenage son, Armand III. One night during the summer, Armand and his son left the malfoy manor. His son had no idea as he was asleep and Armand had drugged him with a potion at the dinner the previous night preventing him from waking until their ship had sailed. The father and son's relationship, already weak, cracked in the ship. The two could barely stand each other as Armand III resented his father from taking him away from his life. Armand II however felt as if his son was ignoring his sacrifices over the years for this new opportunity and the two never got over the bump in their relationship. When they reached America there was not a lot of opportunity in the wizarding community- seeing as there was none. Armand III changed his last name to his maternal side- Winston- to further himself from the Malfoy association. His father died soon afterwards and Armand III realized he was now the only wizard in his town. He began to adjust to muggle life and magic became a distant memory for him as he settled down, got married and had a big family. His desendencents moved all over what became the US. While Armand III's life had turned out much differently than his father had imagined, the rift between the Malfoy brothers tore apart their family and the Winstons never knew about their past. Many of the Winstons never realized they were wizards or witches and lived as muggles instead. One of the many Winstons' moved to Oklahoma in order to start his own family- but when his son's magic became noticeable, he was kicked out. However, Dallas Winston, his son, never knew why his parents didn't care about him. Just that they didn't. On the other side of the ocean, Lucius Malfoy II and his wife Narcissa, had just had their son, Draco Malfoy. If the two boys had been placed next to each other, it could have been said that they looked nearly identical. However, since Dallas was in the US and Draco in the UK, they didn't know of the other's existence.

My name was Arthur. I was a proud king, though I became a drunkard after Guinevere left me for Lancelot. I killed my , and my , for my stupid jealousy. But it didn't end there.,My name was Paris. A young, handsome count, I could have had my pick of girls. But there was only ever one girl for me, and she hated me so much, she died rather than choose marriage to me.,My name was Erik. Famous architect… more famous assassin. I kidnapped the love of my life, forced her to marry me only to lose her to Lancelot- ,.,My name is Draco. Snotty and selfish, yet merely the thought of her made me a better person. I lost her before I ever had her.,The worst part is, I can never remember until it was too late. Every life is like new, until I lose Guinevere again. , I remember.,I remembered being Arthur only the moment of Juliet's death. Christine's wedding.,Funnily enough, this life is the only one where losing her isn't directly related to ,. In this life, it's not my fault I remembered.,It seems to happen in slow motion. I hear my own voice cry out, but perhaps that's only in my head. Five words circle in my head: , ,Who is ,?,And the memories of dead men come rushing in.

-June 1899-,10-year-old Eric Cartman and his mother lived in a small, humble cabin at the top of a hill next to a willow tree. The tree was far from ordinary. Its leaves were so bright that they almost glowed in the moon's light whenever night fell. Fireflies would gather and dance around it and anything planted near it seemed to grow without fail no matter the weather.,Eric watched as snow fell outside, looking up at the twilight sky. There was a gentle knock on his door. When Eric opened the door, he was greeted by his slender blonde friend. The boy was ragged with a smudge of dirt on his nose.,"Eric!" He said. "Let's play in the snow.","...Naw, Ken." Eric said and walked away from the door, slumping against the wall. Kenny closed the door and watched him amusedly.,"What's wrong with you?","Ma ain't home.","So? She's always late." Kenny said. "Let's go play outside. She always lets you play with us.",Eric groaned under his breath, but gave in and went to get his coat. Kenny's face lit up.,"Yes!" He exclaimed. Eric fought a smile at his reaction.,"How abou' Stan?" He asked and opened the door. He was greeted with the sight of two other kids his age, already molding a snowman. Eric's eyebrows came down. Kenny draped an arm over his shoulder and pointed at the boy with a brown jacket.,"I brought Stan with me!" He said.,"An' HIM," Eric said, shooting a glare at the other boy who was wearing a green hat. He glared back.,"Well, I didn't want to play with you either, fat boy." He said and turned back to molding the snowman. Eric rolled his eyes and walked through the snow to his friends.,"Why'dja bring Kahl? All he does is shove his big nose in them stupid books." Eric said.,"You're stupid!" Kyle snapped, nose red. Eric quirked an eyebrow, but Kenny nudged him.,"It's snowing, so he can't read books." He said. Kyle pursed his lips and looked at the snow in his gloved hands.,"This is so trivial." He said under his breath. Stan looked at him encouragingly.,"Don't say that. Snow can be a lot of fun." He said.,"We don't have time for fun! We're going to school tomorrow and we have to study." Kyle said.,"But we got in already. We don't need to study." Kenny pointed out. He joined them, adding snow to the pile.,"Sure, if you want to be the most unprepared person in class!" Kyle retorted.,Eric crossed his arms.,"What's so special bout school, huh?" He asked. "It's the same school Y'all always been in.","No! Don't act dumb." Kyle said. "We're going to a *boarding* school. And you're going too.",Stan glanced at Kyle unsurely, his eyes flickering to Eric's face briefly, before looking away.,"...Me?" Eric asked and hesitated before joining the other three in the snow.,"Duh," Kyle replied. "We'll see you there.",The silence didn't last as Stan began talking about his favorite Quidditch team. Eric didn't know what kind of sport that was, but he never asked. His friends went to school in a town he had never been to, and he didn't even go to school at all, so he wasn't surprised whenever they said things he'd never heard of.,Eric met Kenny when he was walking around in his Mother's garden, right near the willow tree. Within the week Kenny had introduced him to Kyle and Stan. He'd never talked to anyone before that except his mother and Uncle since he wasn't allowed to go to town or talk to strangers.,In fact, whenever his mother had guests, he was told to hide in his room and not to make a sound until they had left in the morning. Eric wasn't aware that his mother was unmarried and promiscuous, so he didn't understand why she hid him from strangers. Eric was a child born out of wedlock. Whether she admitted it or not, he was her disgrace. Perhaps it was a good thing he wasn't able to realize this.,Eric's friends were fun to be around and visited him a few times a week, usually after school hours. Kyle, Stan, and Kenny enjoyed making up stories about magic and mythical creatures that Eric enjoyed hearing about. While he heard fairytales about Cinderella and Hercules, his friends would tell him stories about wands, cauldrons, wizards, and castles. He thought those stories were a lot more creative anyway.,"Eric, dear!",Eric looked up at the sound of his mother's voice. How long had he been out here? His mother waved at him from the door, calling him inside.,"Oh... You have to go?" Stan asked. "But we didn't finish the snowman. He doesn't even have a head!","We can make a better snowman in my yard." Kenny said with a smile, looking at Eric who stood up and dusted the snow off of his damp knees. He clenched and unclenched his fists, fingers numb.,"Get some gloves," Kyle said, eyes narrowing as he noticed how red Eric's skin was. "Unless you want your hands to fall off.","Nu-uh," Eric replied. "My hands ain't never fell off from touchin' no snow. Yer stupid.","You're fucking stupid!" Kyle snapped back.,"Eric! Dinner!" Liane shouted again.,Eric sighed and looked back at his friends with a sad smile.,"See ya." He said and headed back towards his house. He opened and closed the door behind him, smiling at the smell of his mother's cooking.,"Playing outside in the snow without gloves is bad for your skin, hon," Liane said as she took Eric's coat.,"Heh. Y'sound like Kahl." Eric replied, rolling his eyes.,"Who the hell is Kahl?" A voice asked. Eric looked over and pursed his lips, color draining from his face.,"...Yer here?" He asked his Uncle. The man was looking at Eric with clear annoyance, eating food from his plate like some sort of grotesque walrus.,"B'fore sundown." He said and took a noisy bite from his chicken leg. "You would'a saw, cept you was too busy playin with the snow an' talkin to yerself.","Hush, Jesse," Liane said quietly and touched Eric's head. Eric seemed annoyed by this but said nothing. "Get your dinner, sweetheart.",Eric made himself a plate of chicken and reluctantly sat at the small table next to his Uncle. Liane came over with two plates of food. Jesse sneered at her.,"Who that for?" He asked. Liane shrugged.,"I thought Kyle might be hungry." She said. Eric's eyebrows furrowed.,"He went home." Eric said.,"Liane, stop toleratin this shit!" Jesse snapped suddenly, making Eric flinch. Liane looked at her brother in reluctance.,"...He's a child. Leave him be, alright?" She asked. Jesse glared at Eric, who refused to meet his eyes.,"How many friends you got?","..." Eric hesitated. Jesse made a fist around his fork.,Eric squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what was coming. A fist connected with his face and he fell to the floor, his plate of food shattering and his chair toppling over. Eric gasped as he trembled on his knees, cupping his cheek which stung horribly. That was a lot harder than usual. He stared at his own tooth with wide eyes as it lay on the floor in front of him, his mouth filling with the foul taste of iron.,Liane stood by and watched silently. Eric felt his hair get yanked and his head was pulled back forcefully, his Uncle's cold and unfeeling stare piercing through him.,"You ain't got no friends, Eric. Y'hear me?" He said.,"..." Eric stared back at him, eyes hardened and teeth clenched. His hair was yanked harder and he yelped.,"Y'HEAR ME?!" Jesse screamed.,"Yeah!" Eric shouted, refusing to open his eyes.,"How many folks you know?! How many *friends* you got?!","No friends..! I got no friends!" Eric yelled, face burning with humiliation.,"Damn right! You ain't talkin to nobody all day. Yer just as crazy as yer fuckin whore mother!" He yelled and released him.,Eric stumbled away from him and ran into his small room, slamming the door. He leaned against it and held himself, a choked off sob escaping his throat. He barely held that in, mortified at the very idea of his Uncle ever seeing him cry. He could hear their voices from outside.,"...You didn't have to hurt him.","Who else is gon teach him to be a man? Yer just makin him crazier an crazier every damn day! Stupid bitch. Tellin him those delusions is real! If he's gonna work on my farm, he ain't gonna be talkin to himself like that! Y'hear me?! And close that damn door! Fuckin winds a bitch!",Eric sat on the floor, wiping his bloody mouth and staring into his lap. This wasn't the first he'd heard about working on his Uncle's farm, but his Uncle hadn't been around for months. He was sure that it wouldn't come up again, just hoping that his Uncle would never come back. His mother's voice was quieter, but he could still hear the conversation.,"...This is so stressful.","Stressful! Well, who's fault is it, woman? Spreadin yer damn legs for every Tom, Dick, an' Harry round this town. What'd you think would happen?","I need you to take him away soon. My friends are getting curious about my home and he can't be seen.",Eric's heart lurched, his skin going numb.,"You owe me money for feedin' him then. Every week. I ain't feedin' him unless I get the money.","Alright. Just take him.","Yeah, I'll take the bastard.","No..." Eric whispered under his breath, standing up and staring at the door. "Ma... Why...?",He didn't understand why she was talking about him like this, why she would act like he didn't matter to her anymore. Eric began to wonder if she was thinking like this the whole time, just waiting until his Uncle would come back and take him away.,Footsteps began approaching the door. Eric gasped and dove under his covers, trying to control his frantic breaths.,"...Dude?",Eric shot up in alarm, knowing that voice anywhere. Kyle stood in front of his door, eyes gentle and full of worry.,"Out." Eric said without hesitation.,Kyle took a step forward and said, "You're bleeding...","Stop," Eric said and covered his mouth, body tight with anger and adrenaline. "Get the hell out, Kahl.","Eric, you gotta come with me. That man is taking you away tomorrow, I heard him say so." He said. Eric threw off his blanket and got up, eyes burning with contempt as he towered over Kyle and grabbed him by the shirt collar.,"Yer. Not. Real." He growled, keeping his voice quiet. "None of Y'all are fuckin real!",Kyle scoffed, clearly not threatened at all.,"Of course I am you idiot. Don't you get it? You're just like us." He said. Eric looked him up and down.,"I ain't nothin like Y'all," He said. "Specially since Y'all ain't real! Now git b'fore they hear me talkin to m'self!","I can get you out of here, away from him!" Kyle insisted and pointed at the door. "They can't see me because they're nomajs.","Quit talkin' at me!" Eric demanded in a hushed tone. "Go away!","We're wizards, dude!" Kyle exclaimed. "We can do magic!",Eric stared at Kyle blankly.,"You can see me, Eric. That means you're a wizard!" Kyle continued. "There's a spell my village put on all the wizards and only other wizards can see us! You can see us, so you gotta be one too! Now we just gotta take you with us to London and get on the train to Hogwarts!","...I dun lost my fuckin mind." He concluded.,"You're not crazy!" Kyle said impatiently.,"Magic ain't real.","Is too!","Oh yeah? Then do it! Do magic, magic boy!" Eric challenged, releasing him. Kyle looked nervous.,"...I-I'm not good yet. Not on my own." Kyle admitted. "But only cuz I left my wand at home!","The hell is a wand? Yer tellin stories again!","They're not stories!" Kyle snapped.,"YER NOT REAL!" Eric yelled.,"AY!" Jesse boomed from the other side of the door.,Eric froze and backed away from the door, his knees buckling as he sat on the bed and clutched the sheets. Kyle didn't hesitate to sit beside him.,"Look, dude. I can't make you come with me. But if you stay here, that guy is gonna bring you to his farm. I heard him say that!" Kyle said and looked at the mark on Eric's face, fists clenching. "I don't want him to hurt you again.",Kyle's eyes went to Eric's window and he walked over to it, turning the latch and pushing it open, climbing out without hesitation. Eric stood up on the bed and his eyes darted from the window to the door. He stared at Kyle's outstretched hand.,"...I *think* you'll fit." Kyle teased with a gentle smile. Eric's heart fluttered, realizing this could actually be real. So many questions floated around in his head, his heart pounding as he took Kyle's hand.,"...Kahl, what if-","The fuck are you doin'?",Eric turned around, eyes wide as his Uncle stood before him. Jesse's eyes went to the window and he tensed up angrily.,"...You goin' somewhere?" He growled and stepped forward. Eric's legs shook and he felt frozen in time. He gasped as Kyle pulled, that motion springing his body into action. He turned and struggled to get outside. Eric's legs were grabbed and yanked hard, pulling him and Kyle both back into the room.,"Git-off-me!" Eric snapped and kicked at Jesse blindly as Kyle fell to the floor. It took the redhead a moment to stand, disoriented from the tumble.,He looked over and realized Jesse had Eric pinned against the wall. It was the sound of Eric's nose cracking and his scream that snapped Kyle out of his stupor. Kyle bared his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.,An oil lamp from the end table floated in mid-air and slammed into Jesse's head, breaking. Shards of glass and burning hot liquid attacked his face and he cried out, stumbling into the living room. Kyle stumbled over, helping Eric onto his feet and out the window as fast as he could.,Eric could barely see, his vision blurry and breath ragged as he ran through the bushes near his cabin. He felt Kyle propping him up somehow and panting beside him as they fled. The last thing Eric saw was his favorite willow tree before everything went black.,Ca-lack, ca-lack, ca-lack...,There was a steady sound that seemed to pulse from under Eric's body. Voices were muffled as well, but he could still kind of hear what was being said.,"What if he hears?","He won't. He's asleep.","You don't know that.","Yeah, I do. He's my Pa. He sleeps when I push him off the sofa.","Okay, fine.","So his Ma couldn't see you?","She never could. She just thinks he's crazy.","That... sucks.","I know.","So he was born a nomaj like me?","Must be, Ken.","Nice. We're even more alike now.","Well... don't get too attached. I don't think he's going to get into Gryffindor. He passed out. That's not very brave.","Stan, it wasn't like that. That man was like... the scariest nomaj I ever saw. He-",Kyle froze mid-sentence when he saw Eric's eyes staring back at him. He gave the boy a cautious smile.,"Uh...Hey. Are you feeling better?" Kyle asked.,Eric's eyebrows pulled and he struggled to sit up, beginning to take in the things around him. What kind of a question was that?,"No." He replied in a mumble. Kenny smiled wide.,"Are you excited?" He asked.,"Wha-?" Eric was struggling to keep his head up, not wanting to think about anything else yet.,"Going to Hogwarts, dude." Stan piped up.,"Who?","The *school* stupid." Kyle chuckled.,"Yer stu...pid." Eric's eyes widened and he finally took a good look around. He was in a carriage and there was a snoring man sitting next to Stan. Eric seemed to be a mixture between very alarmed and very excited.,"You should probably thank Kyle. I mean he-" Stan began, but Kyle put a hand on his shoulder.,"Give him a second." He said softly. Kenny glanced between Eric and Kyle. Eric looked torn, his hands gripping his bloodied shirt so hard his knuckles were white. He looked out the window behind him, eyes far away.,"...Hey.",Eric met eyes with Kenny.,"I was hit a lot too. By my nomaj folks." He said quietly. Stan and Kyle looked at Kenny with surprise. Kenny never opened up about his life before the orphanage.,Eric's face paled slightly, but he didn't look away, so Kenny decided to continue.,"It might not feel like it now, but... we're all going somewhere really safe with lots of food and we're gonna learn a bunch of stuff that's gonna help you protect yourself when you go back." He said and touched Eric's shoulder. "You want that, right?",Eric stared at Kenny's hand and swallowed the lump in his throat. These boys... his only friends, they cared about him more than he ever thought anyone could.,"But my Ma..." Eric trailed off, his heart pounding and stomach churning as he wondered if she'd even care. She wanted him gone, didn't she? No... She even said she was stressed. She didn't mean it, she couldn't have.,"When we see my Pa, he'll send someone from Hogwarts to tell her you're okay. I promise." Kyle reassured. Eric felt relieved at those words and nodded slowly.,Kyle looked at Stan.,"We're still an exception to the no magic outside of school rule, right?" He asked. Stan shrugged and looked at his Pa who was asleep.,"I think it should be okay." He said. Kyle turned to Eric and took out a wand he was hiding under his shirt.,It was a long wand, a little over ten inches in length. It was also a beautiful color, a combination of green and silver. The carvings were intricate and carefully woven into one another. Kenny and Eric looked at it in surprise.,"My Pa gave me this for my 10th birthday. He's a wandmaker. And I've been practicing spells with him for months!" Kyle boasted and pointed the wand. Eric's eyes went cross-eyed in confusion as he stared at the tip of the wand so close to his broken nose.,"Episky." Kyle said confidently, and Eric's nose glowed before readjusting itself and cracking back into place. Eric yelled out in intense sudden pain, holding his nose.,Stan's father shot up in awakened alarm. Kyle hid his wand.,"What?! What's happening?!" Randy looked around wildly.,"Pa. It's fine.","But I heard a-","You were dreaming. Again." Stan replied. Randy stared back at his son for a few moments before adjusting his bright blue robes and clearing his throat.,"...Well. I'm going back to sleep." He replied. "I had to wake up early to get you ready.","Yeah, I know. You said that three times." Stan said in annoyance. Randy leaned back against the wall, snoring again seconds later. Kenny, Stan, and Kyle turned to each other and began snickering.,"He wouldn't be so tired if he wasn't at the tavern all night." Stan muttered to Kenny. Eric blinked away pained tears, rubbing his now healed nose which no longer hurt.,"Feel better?" Kyle asked. Eric smiled a little at him.,"...Yeah.",The carriage ride was several hours long. Everyone fell asleep during it except Eric. He couldn't stop staring out the window at all of the scenery, amazed by the beauty of the nature around them. He'd never been away from his cabin, never mind on a tour of the countryside surrounded by friends.,The carriage seemed to move unrealistically fast, and only when Eric peered at the front did he see that the clacking of horse hooves made no sense. There were no horses at all! The cabin was... pulling itself. At first, Eric wondered how that was even possible, but nothing these last few hours should have been.,When they arrived at whatever their destination was to be, Randy irritably hurried them all out of the carriage mumbling about catching a boat. They walked at Randy's heels.,"How?" Eric asked.,"What?" Kyle said.,"How d'ya catch it? A boat? What's it do?" Eric tilted his head to the side. Stan laughed under his breath.,"You never heard of a boat?" He asked. Eric shook his head.,"...Wh... A boat. The wooden thing people ride in on top of the water to get from place to place? Boats!" Kyle explained in annoyance.,"Never seen one," Eric replied. "How d'ya catch it?","It's an expression, dude." Stan chuckled as Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's just a thing people say.","...Oh." Eric said, still very confused.,"How far is this school?" Kenny asked.,"Very far." Randy mumbled, clearly annoyed by the children.,"Maybe we'll be traveling forever." Kenny snickered.,"Shh, quiet." Randy approached a man near the pier. Kenny made a face to Randy's back, getting a laugh out of Eric and Kyle. Stan rubbed his own arm.,"Sorry about my Pa." He said.,"He ain't that fun," Eric said.,"He's just dumb and has a headache from too much whiskey," Kyle said. "He smells like it too.","I wanna taste whiskey!" Kenny said.,Eric walked over to the docks. The sound of waves crashing on the shoreline was all around them. It was very late in the afternoon, but there were no people around except Randy and the man he was speaking to. Kenny walked over to stand next to Eric and took a deep breath in and out.,"This is pretty nice." He said with a bright smile on his dirty face. "It smells salty.","That's because we're right in front of the ocean," Kyle said, joining them with Stan. "The salt from the water gets all mixed in the air. We're in New Jersey.","I... Never seen anythin' like it b'fore," Eric whispered, mesmerized. "It's so... Hah. I ain't seen nothin this nice.","Me neither." Kenny agreed. "It's so much better than home.","It's alright." Stan shrugged. "I'm already homesick.","Fuck that," Eric said and walked closer to the shoreline, looking down and watching the waves crash. A pleasant shiver went down his spine and he smiled to himself.,"What's up?" Kyle asked, approaching him.,"Never goin' back..." He said quietly. Kyle looked back over his shoulder, noticing that Stan and Kenny were walking back over to Randy. His gaze returned to Eric and he smiled.,"Well... Then let's keep going." He said and gently took Eric's hand. Eric looked down at their hands and then back to Kyle, his cheeks bright pink. Kyle was already walking away, Eric's hand tight in his while he pulled him along.,They all began to pack into a tiny fisher's boat as Randy took a swig from a flask in his robe. Stan shook his head disapprovingly at his father, sitting next to Kenny and watching Kyle pull Eric into the boat. He quirked an eyebrow.,"Why are you holding his hand?" He asked. Kyle looked over and let go immediately, pursing his lips.,"I was just making sure he wouldn't fall in the water." He said. Kenny snickered loudly.,"Yeah, that's pretty gay," Randy added. "Don't hold hands with other dudes like Kyle, Stan.","Pa!" Stan scolded. "Kyle's not gay.","I was just helping him!" Kyle insisted. Eric looked confused by this entire interaction.,"What's wrong?" He asked.,"Nothing!" Kyle snapped and crossed his arms, face burning red. Eric smirked a little bit.,"Hah... Yer face is lookin like yer hair now." He teased. Kyle glared at him and swatted Eric's hand away from his hair.,"Alrigh! H'lo first time riders!" The man spoke loudly and removed his brown hat, revealing his aged gold eyes and balding head. His voice was boisterous and scratchy, grabbing everyone's attention. "My name's Trevor Milligan! My Pops and his Pops has been sailin' wizards across these seas for generations! I learned everything I know from my Pops and boys, I hope yer ready to embark on a wondrous journey through miles and miles of ocean-","Yeah, hey, Millie?" Randy interrupted, his eyes hooded and cold. "How about we stop yabberin' and you just tap the boat?","...Hmph. Wiseguy." Trevor mumbled before turning and taking out his brown and crooked wand. Eric wondered to himself if every magic person had one of those sticks, vaguely remembering all of those stories Stan and Kyle would tell him about wizards.,Trevor tapped the front of the small rowboat and it began to move. Eric looked like he was in a state of constant bewilderment.,"All the things takin us places move emselves?" Eric asked.,"Yes." Kyle replied.,Kenny's eyebrows furrowed.,"Not the carriage." He said.,Kyle and Stan looked at him like he was crazy, both asking at the same exact time, "What?!","The carriages always move by themselves, Ken." Stan said with a soft laugh. Kenny shook his head, lips pursing as though he'd just been told the sky was green.,"No way guys!" He exclaimed. "It was pulled by a black horse that looked slimy. And its got wings like a bat!","Ha... You're not even trying, dude." Kyle said as he leaned on the boat with a smug smile. Kenny bristled.,"I'm serious." He said.,The others stared at each other, now feeling a bit uncomfortable. Kenny was always the person who cracked jokes and laughed things off. Why was he so angry?,"Are you sure?" Stan asked.,"Yes!" Kenny said. There was a pregnant silence.,"How bout if magic just look different to everyone." Eric suggested, all eyes now going to him. Kenny scowled.,"If that was it then other people should see it. I'm the only one." He said and crossed his arms.,"Maybe you ain't," Eric said. Kenny's eyes brightened.,"You could just be tired." Kyle suggested.,"I'm just crazy, Kyle?" Kenny demanded. "Eric could be right! What if other people see it too? I'm not crazy!","That's not what I said!" Kyle exclaimed. "People see things when they're sleepy! That's not crazy!","Boys!" Randy snapped, rubbing his temples. "Shut up. God. You sound like a bunch of girls.",They quieted. A few moments passed where all that could be heard was the gentle rocking of the boat. The boat then jutted forward, hitting something abruptly. The boys stumbled forward in their seats and looked alarmed.,"All ashore kids!" Trevor announced, once again animated as he smiled at the boys, clearly ignoring Randy who was already getting off the boat.,"Hold on, I thought we were traveling all the way to London!" Kyle said, bewildered. Trevor beamed.,"That's right! And here we are! A few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron, best dang hole in the wall I've ever been to," He advertised. Randy motioned the boys to follow him as they got up and off the boat. Trevor glared at him. "No tip?!","For tapping a boat?" Randy deadpanned. "Nope. Already paid for my tickets. Thanks though.","Wh..! Well, screw you too then! I just carried you folks halfway across the world! Magic ain't mean it ain't special! I'm one of the only wizards in the whole world who can-" Trevor started, but Randy was already walking away.,Kenny and Stan followed Randy down the road, but Kyle hesitated. Eric watched as Kyle looked back and frowned at the sight of Trevor who slumped against his boat and looked like he wanted to hit something. Kyle dug into his pockets, pulled out a shiny galleon and ran up to Trevor holding it out.,Trevor stared at Kyle in shock, not taking it.,"That's too much, kid. You're sweet but..." Trevor trailed off. Kyle put the galleon on Trevor's knee, balancing it.,"My Pa taught me all the stuff I know too. I thought your magic was really cool," He said and met Trevor's eyes giving him a kind smile. "Thanks for getting us here so fast.","...",Trevor smiled back, hand squeezing around the galleon.,"Kyle! Get over here!" Randy called. Kyle looked back and pulled his bag onto his shoulder, waving goodbye to Trevor. Trevor held his hand up in a silent goodbye, still unable to speak.,Eric was a little away from Kenny and Stan, staring at Kyle sort of blankly. Kyle slowed down when he met Eric's eyes and gave him a look, not able to ignore the fluttering in his chest.,"What?" Kyle asked with an awkward smile.,"...Nothin." Eric decided on, walking ahead. He didn't know why watching Kyle do that made him feel good, but it seemed weird to mention, so better that he didn't.,When they caught up to the group, Eric really started to take in his surroundings. There were tons of people around them now and they all looked intensely preoccupied. The alleyways seemed to thin out as they approached a shabby, dulled building. People that walked by seemed to pay it no mind and Eric suspected that maybe they just couldn't see it.,Eric followed as Randy opened the door, and his mouth dropped open. People in pointed hats and colorful robes were boisterously talking with one another at tables with huge mugs full of glowing liquid in their hands. One man was singing a song to his friend drunkenly, another pointing their wand at a notebook as their pen wrote on the paper by itself!,Eric was ripped out of his stupor when his shoulder was nudged roughly. He looked up at Randy who looked down at him in annoyance.,"Close your mouth, kid. You look like a fish.",Eric pursed his lips self consciously but took comfort in the fact that Kyle, Kenny, and Stan seemed equally amazed at all that was around them. The bartender nodded over at Randy.,"Oi! It's the Americans!" He announced in an accent that Eric found very strange. Suddenly the bar was considerably quieter, and many eyes were on them.,"Yeah, uh... Where's Dagwon alley?" Randy asked, fidgeting a little. Everyone burst out into obnoxious laughter with random strangers making comments.,"Here what he said, mate? Dagwon!","What the bloody hell is a Dagwon?","Dagwon?!" The bartender mocked, climbing out from under the bar. He put an arm around Randy's shoulders. "Where's yer cowboy hat partner? Yer in the wrong saloon!",There was even more laughter. Randy scowled and shrugged the man off trying not to grind his teeth.,"Very fuckin funny." He growled.,"Oi, don't curse in front of the children mate." The bartender nudged Randy teasingly. "Isn't it quite hard to raise them with your sister?",Randy shoved the guy angrily amid the laughter. He stumbled and waved him off wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.,"Ahh... I'm only joking. Can't have some fun with the American wizards?" He said.,"Hey! We're just as good as the wizards here!" Stan snapped.,"Don't talk to em, Stan," Randy said while putting a protective hand on his shoulder. "We'll find where we gotta go.","It's through the back door," A voice piped up. Randy looked over and met the eyes of a robed older woman. She stood up. "Shall I show you the way, dear?",Randy didn't hesitate to walk towards her with the kids right behind him. The rest of the people in the bar seemed to slowly lose interest and return to their own groups.,"My name is Ferine. Sorry about my husband." The woman apologized. "He's quite the comedian when he's had one too many.","He's a fucking asshole." Randy grumbled.,"I'd appreciate it if you watched your language. You aren't making a very good example for Americans." She said sternly. "George and I have been expecting you for a while. The travel must have been just awful for the children, so painfully slow indeed.","Uh... Not really." Randy deadpanned. "It was like a five-minute boat ride.","*Five minutes?*" She scoffed. "What a nuisance.",The children exchanged strange looks.,"Is that a long time to wait here?" Kenny asked. Ferine laughed in a chirpy sort of way.,"Oh, my little dears you have so much to learn. The wizarding world is the most progressive in London." She said. "Wait until you try the floo system for the first time! And going to Hogwarts, how exciting!","Floo?" Stan repeated. "Won't we get sick?",Ferine looked as though she'd just seen a little baby coo in a carriage. She reached over and pinched Stan's cheek.,"Aren't you precious?" She cooed and turned to Randy. "Well then, let's see you off. We wouldn't want you to be late on your way to the express train.",Stan rubbed his throbbing cheek as he followed Ferine and his father out the back door of the bar. They came to a stop in front of a brick wall.,"Do you know the sequence?" She asked Randy. He grunted as he took out his wand and studied the wall for a moment.,"...I think I remember what he told me," He said and began hitting the wall one brick at a time. Ferine covered her mouth as she watched him, trying not to laugh. Randy looked at her, pausing. "What?","Must you smack it with such cruelty?" She said, her eyes glinting with amusement as she took Randy's hand and began to help him tap the wall. "It's not a child in need of a spanking. Let each movement be guided by your wrist.",When the wall began to fall away, Ferine smiled at Randy.,"See?" She said.,"Yeah, I went to Ilvermonty lady. I don't need a lesson." Randy grumbled and walked through. Stan and Eric didn't look back, but Kenny and Kyle waved goodbye to Ferine who still had that smile on her face. Eric looked over his shoulder as the wall reformed behind them, a warmth filling his gut.,"Holy shit..." He mumbled to himself as if finally realizing he was no longer in a dream.,The world behind the brick wall was like nothing Eric had ever experienced before. He found out there was a lot of things that you need to go to a magic school. Several books, a cauldron, robes and a hat, an optional pet, and of course a wand.,Eric had no money, but neither did Kenny, so he didn't feel as left out when Kyle and Stan got pet owls. Kyle purchased a beautiful brown owl that was named Leyore. She had reddish spots on her wings, white feet, and green eyes like him. Stan's owl, Lemia, was apparently the sister of Kyle's owl and looked exactly the same, except her feet were light brown and her eyes were icy blue. Stan and Kyle were all excited about them, holding their cages tightly.,"Them birds gon poop a lot." Eric grumbled and Kenny nudged him with a chuckle. Stan rolled his eyes.,"Don't be jealous. Maybe one of you will find a rat in the street." Kyle said, petting Leyore through her cage. "They let you keep rats as pets too.","Fuck off, Kahl," Eric said. "Aint nobody wanna pet rat.","I might." Kenny said with a shrug.,"Fuckin gross." Eric replied, shuddering at the thought.,"It's probably for the best if you don't, Ken." Stan chuckled. "One of our owls will probably just eat it.","I guess you better teach those guys to have self-control then." Kenny pointed at the owls.,"They're girls." Kyle said. Eric and Kenny laughed loudly and Stan looked alarmed.,"What?!" He exclaimed. Kyle quirked an eyebrow at that.,"Didn't you read the label, dude?" He asked.,"I thought they were brothers!" Stan said.,"Girls!" Eric exclaimed through his laughter, leaning on Kenny for support. "Holy shit.","Girly owls with girly names for girly girls." Kenny added.,Their next stop was a place called Flourish and Blotts. It was a library of sorts, and Eric was immediately disinterested. Kyle, however, was beside himself.,"Look at this place!" He exclaimed while walking through the seemingly endless halls with thousands of books on either side with beautiful and intricately woven covers.,"Smells weird." Eric mumbled.,"No, it doesn't! It smells like knowledge." Kyle beamed hand gliding across the bindings stacked together. He turned to Stan with a chuckle. "How are we ever going to find the books we need? There's so many.","Pa preordered them I think." He replied. "And I'm glad, cuz it does smell a little weird.","See?" Eric said, leaning on a table.,"You're just mad because you can't buy any of it." Kyle taunted.,Eric got red in the face and he tensed up, shoulders coming together and hands balling into fists.,"I ain't even like books! Books gon get made bout me 'stead uh me sittin' round an' readin' em!" Eric said.,"Like anyone would write a book about you!" Kyle scoffed. "Maybe about how fat you are!","AY!" Eric said over Stan's laughter. "I ain't fat!","You're so fat, dude." Kyle said.,"We're done. C'mon." Randy said, dropping heavy bags into Stan and Kyle's hands that immediately crashed to the floor. He looked back and rolled his eyes. "I'm not carrying your books.",Kyle and Stan exchanged an annoyed glance while struggling to lift their bags. Eric watched them in amusement and sauntered over, pushing them away. Before Kyle could yell at him, Eric was lifting both of their bags over his shoulders with ease. There had to be ten thick textbooks in each. Kyle's eyes widened in shock as Eric walked out behind Randy, following close behind.,"How're you doing that, dude?" Kenny said in admiration. Eric beamed and glanced over his shoulder at Kyle in a cheeky sort of way before meeting Kenny's gaze.,"I do liftin' better than readin'." He said. Kyle's face burned red with irritation.,"I like being smart better than being stupid!" He retorted.,"Yer *real* smart, Kahl," Eric said. "An' weak like a girl.",Kyle blinked rapidly at the insult while Randy let out a laugh. Stan looked between Kyle's face and his Pa, before rushing forward and taking his bag back from Eric.,"I can lift mine." He mumbled. Kyle attempted to take his own bag from Eric as well, but he held it out of Kyle's reach. Kyle gritted his teeth and crossed his arms. He remained quiet, clearly embarrassed. Eric couldn't help but tease him the whole way.,Eric waited outside of the other couple stores because Randy was getting annoyed at his constant bickering with Kyle. It wasn't Eric's fault Kyle got so loud and mad from a little teasing. He just liked how short Kyle was, how easy it was to hold things out of his reach and how funny his expressions were. But it was all in good fun.,This wasn't fun though, just waiting for his friends to come out of some other cool store with new things that Eric couldn't get for himself. Kenny couldn't get much either, but Randy was definitely buying him some things for school. Eric wasn't exactly supposed to come along, so he wasn't getting anything he needed. Instead, Randy said he would have to use hand me downs and old books from the school.,But... Whatever. This was still way better than being at home.,"Hello.",Eric looked up, meeting eyes with a kid that was his age. He had a fancy blue hat on and steely brown eyes.,"Hi." Eric greeted. The kid walked over and stopped in front of him, looking him up and down.,"You're from the Americas." He observed.,"Yeah," Eric said, eyebrows coming down. "That a problem?",The boy shrugged.,"Only if you're a git about it." He said.,"The fucks a git?" Eric asked. The corner of the boy's lip upturned just a little bit.,"An annoying person. The kind that I don't like to talk to." He said. Eric paused, pursing his lips.,The boy offered his hand. "My name is Craig."

Help Needed,By Chibi Pyro Duo,February 10, 2013,Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Harry Potter.,She heard someone crying down the hallway. She shifted silently down the castle's ways, she wasn't suppose to be out of bed at this hour, but she was coming back from a mission. She wandered over to the empty classroom? Was it? She couldn't tell in this sort of light. She wondered who was there. No one else should be up this late, she didn't want to get herself caught or in trouble, but her curiosity got the better of her.,She slowly opened the door, staring in at a shuddering boy, man, almost a man, in a long black cloak covering up his features. He was pounding his fist against a wardrobe crying, "Stupid stupid. Work damn you, your suppose to work.",She stepped into the room "Hey", she said. He spun around wiping his eyes. She stared more, her eyes widening, it was Draco Malfoy.,"What do you want! Get out!" He shouted. Determining that no one will see his weakness.,He stalked over to the door about to shove her out, "Get out!" he repeated.,She grabbed his hand, looking at the bloody mess he had made of it against a broken wooden door, "Your hurt.",He grabbed his fist back, "Leave me alone." He rushed out of the room, clattering his shoes, shouting, and making a lot of noise.,The blonde-haired girl rushed out of the room after him. The urge to protect, "Shh…" she hissed.,Slowly her hyper sensitive hearing picked up the padding of paws and the meows of a cat. She grabbed the boy's arm with a strength he didn't realize the girl possessed. She pulled him into a corner behind a suit of armor. He was about to shout again, but was stopped by her hand covering his mouth, indicating a silence gesture.,He narrowed his eyes until he too went still as a board when he heard Argus Filch's slimy voice echoing down the hall, "Who is out of their Mrs. Norris?" He swooped down the hallway, "Some student out of bed? How I will punish them.",Draco squeezed his eyes shut, he couldn't afford to be caught out of bed and have the questions asked about what he was doing. As he was pondering about his fate, and the way to worm out of it once caught he heard the voice of the woman, girl, no woman, whispering a spell. A sharp rattling and clattering came down the opposite direction of the hall where they were.,Mrs. Norris and Filch quickly turned to where they heard the noise, "Come Mrs. Norris" he shouted. "The hunt is on." The cat stayed back and starred at the spot she knew the students were hiding, and then trotted after her master.,The girl grabbed the boy's arm and ran down the hallway away from Filch and his cat. They rounded the corner and she got out the hurried words, "My common room isn't near here." prompting him to wonder just what House she was in, and how she knew where the Slytherien's was.,He decided not to think too hard, and as naturally as running with a long time friend, grabbed her hand, and lead her into the direction of the dungeon. They slid to a stop in front of the Slytherien common room and he hissed the password to the wall hiding the dungeon. They rushed inside hearing the wall shift close behind them.,They both collapsed, out of breath, against the walls of the dungeon.,Draco finally took a good long look at the girl who had interrupted and saved him from being caught. She was wearing the weirdest outfit he had ever seen: a blue mini skirt and a white outfit with red bows and sailor color. "Who are you?" Never having seen someone likes this in the castle before.,The blonde looked at him confused, like he should recognize her and the realized what she was wearing. She rolled her eyes and plucked a brooch from the center of her outfit. The glamour she had been wearing dropped in a flash of light and she shrunk about two inches and aged down to about 16, her hair fell down from the ridiculous hair style it was in, her clothes melded from the weird outfit to a school uniform with the Hufflepuff crest on it, and the blurry effect her face had fell off.,His eyes widened, he recognized her now, "Bunny?" he asked confused.,"Hey" smiled Bunny running a hand through her tossed hair. Frowning as she pulled a twig out of it. He noticed a cut and burn marks running along her arm. He frowned.,Bunny sat up and then wobbled a little and sat back down. "Sorry," she said.,"What was that?" he asked indicating her brooch.,"Old family thing." she clipped at him. She limped herself to the door, "I'll leave you now. Sorry to bother you.",He grabbed her arm, the not injured one, "What happened to you?" indicating her injuries, "Why were you out so late?","Why were you crying?" she countered. "See you in Charms." she made for the door again.,He grabbed her as she almost fell again, "Come on Bunny. You're hurt, what's going on?","Your not the only one with family issues since Voldermort came back Draco." she put her head between her legs, tired. She looked so tired.,She tried and succeeded in getting up again, he grabbed her arm to help her stand, "Why won't you talk to me?","Why won't you talk to me?" She was trying to be mean, and failed, she tried to not care, but she couldn't. All of the tiredness of the evening washed over her as she started crying, "We don't talk anymore Draco. You spend all your time with Crabbe and Goyle. You shut yourself off from me." He backed off a little, realizing her words were true, he was so caught up in his own issues, that he had totally blocked his best friend (his secret best friend, but best friend none the less),"It hurts Draco, when I know you need me and you won't let me in," she pounded her small fists against his chest.,"Let me help you." he said indicating primarily about walking, but also referring to whatever it was that she was doing.,"Let me help you." she counted back again.,"You're too good for what I'm doing." Draco deflected.,"You're not good enough for what I'm doing." Bunny turned her eyes away from her friend, afraid to see what he saw in her face.,They hugged.,"Let me at least helped you back to the Hufflepuff basement.",She laughed, "You can't sneak around to save your lie." She activated her brooch, "My glamour helps me.",He watched her climb out of the entrance moving a little easier. He rushed to her side again before she left, "Please be safe Bunny. Please." he pleaded.,She turned to look behind her, her eyes almost breaking his heart, "You too." She gave him a small encouraging smile. How did she smile, when she was being broken to pieces by her family, just like him. "Don't go into the forest.",She took off down the hall, he watched her go, listening to her heeled boots on the stone floor.,He walked back into the common room, the green lights of the lake above shining through giving the room, and lonely feeling. He leaned up against a wall….alone. He silently wept, "Please help me. I need you.",AN: So…it's been a while. This is just an idea I had while sitting at work bored, and was able to actually just sit down and write it in my notebook.,I love being able to incorporate both worlds when doing a crossover, and I think I worked it out pretty well this time.,Duo,"Where did all the pretty flames go?",2/10/13

Harry Potter: This tale assumes events in Book 6 (and is consanguineous with them) up till Christmas. Naturally, the events depicted herein didn't occur, but nothing in this story directly contradicts Book 6, so while it's mildly AU, it's not entirely outside canon.,X-Men movies: It'd be good to have seen X-Men 2 and know what a mutant is; other comics knowledge optional. Events in X2 occurred five months before this story begins. Uses nothing from X-Men 3 (except a blue Beast).,ON TIMING: HBP takes place 1996/97; X-Men 2 early 2000s. Yet as the Wizarding World seems less tied to the mid-90s than X-Men 2 to post 9-11 events, I've moved the HP world forward in time to the early 2000s. Thus, some of the items discussed herein would not have existed in 1997. I'm well aware of that and ask readers to roll with it.,Notes: This is pure wish-fulfillment kink fic (no, not that kind of kink). I threw together two favorite characters from two very different fandoms to see what happened. There's no deeper motive than that, and no real excuse for this except my own entertainment. I'm well aware that electronics shouldn't work at Hogwarts, but I'm running with the assumption that Dumbledore is powerful enough - and skilled enough - to get around it. Other notes at end.,The first time Hermione Granger heard the word "mutant," it was spoken by her parents in hushed tones after her magical powers had first manifested. She'd been 10. She hadn't really known what the word meant, but listening at the crack of her parents' bedroom door while her mother had cried and her father had tried to be encouraging, she'd gathered that being a mutant was a Bad Thing. Shortly after, Professor Dumbledore had appeared on her family's front doorstep to acquaint them with the Wizarding World. Later that same night, her father had said to her mother, "Better a witch than a mutant, I suppose. At least there's some history and tradition there, and a place for her to learn to control it.",The second time Hermione heard the word "mutant," it was in her fourth year at Hogwarts. A Hufflepuff girl had suddenly begun evincing a unique and apparently non-magical ability with stone and crystal. She could feel the presence of any type of rock and even alter it. At her touch, coal might become diamond with no need either for alchemy or centuries of geological pressure. "Mutie" was whispered in the hallways, along with "mudblood freak." The girl had disappeared in late October only to reappear in late January - her special, geomorphic touch under control - ready to continue her magical education. Hermione had never talked to her, and though normally, she'd have been fascinated by such a manifestation, she'd had other things on her mind that year, Harry and the Tri-Wizard Tournament - not to mention Viktor Krum. By summer, the death of Cedric and the return of Voldemort had driven all recollection of a girl called Petra right out of Hermione's mind.,Until her sixth year, when she heard the word "mutant" for a third time.,"What do you mean I'm not , to take Muggle studies? I got an O in my OWLs!",Miss Granger looked primly indignant, as if she might resort to stamping her foot in frustration -which amused Minerva McGonagall perhaps more than it should. "That's what he said, Miss Granger. I don't make the rules for another professor's class.","But Professor Dumbledore . . . ","- will agree. It was Professor Dumbledore's idea to hire him on a temporary basis.","But why can't I take the class?" the girl cried.,"Because, Miss Granger, you are muggle-born. Our new professor was very specific - only students raised exclusively or almost exclusively in the Wizarding World may take the class - are, in fact, , to take it up until sixth year, at Professor Dumbledore's insistence.",Her lips pursed, but she wasn't about to reveal to a student her own thoughts on the matter - although she supposed that dealing with Hermione Granger wanting , a class was somewhat better than Professor Snape, who had to deal with students desperately trying to get , of the same class. She hoped their new professor fully appreciated what he'd got himself into.,Nor was she convinced that this proposed new approach was a good idea, even for a half-year stint, yet she trusted Dumbledore, and he seemed to think it was. So they were getting a temporary professor (with disturbingly revisionist ideas) while conducting a search for a permanent teacher of Muggle Studies. On the one hand, it solved their unexpected emergency as to who would teach the class, while on the other, Albus' old friend in New York was getting a thoroughly spell-protected house. One headmaster to another.,Professor McGonagall still couldn't quite reckon why Dumbledore had felt obliged to cross an ocean in order to set a few ordinary Obscurification spells for a Muggle, no matter how well he knew him. But Albus had explained quietly, "Children were at risk, Minerva." But couldn't Muggles take care of their own against Muggles? It wasn't that she disliked them, but she feared that mixing the magical and Muggle world would simply come to no good - and had said so.,"Oh, but this isn't mixing the magical and Muggle world, but the magical and mutant world.","There's a difference?" McGonagall had replied crossly.,"Quite," Dumbledore had replied, "as you'll see.",Scott Summers - better known as Cyclops when wearing black leather - hit the generator switch and held his breath. There was a brief stutter, then the lights all around the room went on. Real lights, not candles or lamps or torches or God knew what else they used in this archaic, cold-as-hell castle.,He'd been promised that this special room - located high in a west tower - had been spelled so as to shield out interference from magic. Otherwise, none of his equipment would work.,He snorted. ,Even if he'd seen spells performed with his very own eyes, he just couldn't quite bring himself to say the word without laughing, and it annoyed him that Xavier had sent him over here despite his own protests. "It'll be for just a few months," the professor had promised. "A chance for you to get some distance.",So he'd been offered up like a sacrificial lamb in exchange for spells set on the school to prevent another invasion like the one Stryker had mounted. While he might have been willing to do about anything to protect his students, he just couldn't take 'magic' seriously . . . even after meeting Albus Dumbledore. Yet, here he was in this drafty, old Scottish castle that had no electricity, phone, or cable lines, in order to teach a rather different sort of 'gifted' teenager.,Well, at least the generator worked, and that meant he could operate the rest of his equipment. He'd just sat down in front of his laptop (which required a satellite connection out here in the back of nowhere), when a sharp rap on the trapdoor to his classroom made him start. Rising, he strolled over to the door and lifted it, looking down the ladder into the face of a girl with bushy hair. "Hello?","Are you Professor Summers?","I'm Mr. Summers, yes." He didn't bother explaining that the title 'professor' was sacrosanct in his own mind, and belonged to Xavier.,"I need to speak with you, sir," she said, pulling herself up into the room, even though he hadn't invited her. Standing and brushing dust off her robes, she glanced around at the computer stations, movie posters, PSP stations, DVDs and iPods that he'd imported - but not with wide-eyed ignorance. She'd clearly seen all these things before. "Professor McGonagall told me that you're not allowing anyone Muggle-born to sign up for your class. I've come to . . . well - not to be rude - but to lodge a formal protest." She gave a little nod of her chin, as if satisfied with that phrasing. He resisted smiling. She reminded him of a strange cross between Kitty Pryde and Jubilee.,Instead of giving her a direct answer, he pulled his cell phone off its belt holder and handed it over. Baffled, she took it. "What is that?" he asked.,"A mobile," she told him. "But it won't work here. The magic at Hogwarts -","I've heard the lecture," he said, cutting her off. "But this phone won't work here because there are no cell towers anywhere close enough. Otherwise, in this room, it would." Then he crooked a finger at her and led her over to his laptop. "Turn it on," he ordered.,With a glance that told him she suspected his sanity, she bent over to open the top and hit the power button. When the blue lights came on and the screen lit up, she appeared startled, but said only, "It's on.","Name the Beatle who was shot.","John Lennon.","Who're John Steed and Emma Peel?","I assume you mean the characters from ,, not actual people?" Her expression was truly puzzled now.,"What's a Blue Peter?","A really long-running children's programme? But what does this - ?","What does James Bond drink?",She just blinked at him. "I've no idea. I detest James Bond films.",He grinned. "He drinks martinis; shaken, not stirred." And he crooked his finger again to cut off further questions, leading her over to his desk and pointing to a DVD there. "Seen that?","It's ,; I'd have to have lived in a cave not to.","Or lived in a different world - like most of your classmates. You don't need to take my class. You can handle all this equipment already and know pop culture.","That's what you're going to be teaching? How to turn on computers and, and" - she waved at one of the posters on the wall - "watch ,?","That's right. I'm teaching technology and a crash course in Western pop culture.",She blinked, almost owlishly, and stared around the room at the desks with their plethora of equipment. "But ,?","Because they're useful things to know.",She just blinked again. "But in the Wizarding World -","I'm not interested in the Wizarding World. I'm interested in teaching wizards and witches how to survive in my world if they somehow get stuck there. That means learning how to operate a phone, at the very least.",And that won an unexpectedly impish smile. "A friend of mind keeps calling it a 'fellytone' and ,into it, as if it were a tin can on a string.",He answered her smile. "By the end of my class, he should be able to text-message you instead of yell." He tilted his head then. "You asked my name but didn't give me yours.",She shook back her bushy hair and held out a hand, almost formally. "Hermione Granger, sixth year and Gryffindor Prefect. A pleasure.",He shook the hand, "Glad to meet you, Hermione.","You're a Muggle, right?","By your terms.","You do realize you're quite the controversy right now, with students and parents? There was an article about it in ,. No Muggle has ever been hired to teach at Hogwarts in the school's entire history - not even for Muggle Studies. How do you know about wizards? Is someone in your family . . . " She trailed off, jaw dropping.,While she'd chattered, Scott had pulled a quarter out of his pocket and tossed it into the air with one hand, while, with the other, he'd tilted his glasses down just a fraction so that a thin beam of red sliced out and through the center of the quarter, which he caught now and offered to her.,"I'm a mutant," he said. "In the current political climate, a lot of us are forced to hide our abilities, too.",The girl examined the quarter, holding it up to her eye to peer through at him. "That still doesn't explain how you know about wizards though.",He grinned. She was sharp. "My headmaster knows your headmaster.","He's a wizard?","No. He's a telepath. It's hard to hide much of anything from Professor Xavier - including supposedly concealed magical places. He met Professor Dumbledore when he was a student at Oxford back in the Forties right after the war - stumbled over your world by accident." Or that was the story Xavier had told him when he'd first introduced the elderly man with the ZZ Top beard, Merlin hat, and funky robes, sitting in Xavier's study and sipping tea. Scott had simply blinked in surprise when the man had pulled out a stick, waved it in the air and another teacup had appeared right in front of Scott's nose.,"You're a telekinetic?" Scott had asked.,"No, Mr. Summers. I am a wizard.",He'd gaped (privately wondering when Xavier had begun entertaining psychotics), and Xavier had launched into his story of how and when he'd first met Albus Dumbledore, and been introduced to the existence of another group of specially gifted human beings who also had to hide their gifts from the general populace.,Now, the girl Hermione appeared unexpectedly curious. "What sorts of mutant powers are there?","Probably more than you can imagine. We're still running into mutations we've never seen before. But they come in two basic types - physical and psionic, that is, changes to the body or to the mind. My mutation is physical. Professor Xavier's is psionic.","And at the school you come from, all the students are mutants?","That's right.","So why did you come here?",And Scott blinked, mouth shutting with a snap and throat too tight to speak. It hit him that way sometimes, the grief - as sharp as a blow, incapacitating, even after five months. He turned away and stared at his new desk, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "An exchange," he said finally. "It's a long story, but it boils down to the fact my school was attacked - trained black ops troops against teenage kids. Not exactly a fair match, even if the kids are mutants. They wanted to capture them.",There was little point in going into the whole mess with Cerebro and Stryker and his insane plot. "After the Blackout last spring, the number of hate crimes against mutants has gone through the roof, and my headmaster wants to be sure an attack doesn't happen again, so he called in a favor from your headmaster. Anyone who tries to invade the school now will face not just our security systems, but whatever your Professor Dumbledore set up." Scott turned back. The girl's eyes were wide.,"I'm afraid Professor Xavier didn't take well to my suggestion that we install razor wire and laser trip triggers," Scott went on. "He's afraid one of the students might accidentally get hurt. Whatever Dumbledore set up, it's apparently able to distinguish between mutants trying to sneak out after curfew and non-mutants trying to sneak in." He couldn't keep from snorting. "But I don't know that it'd do any good against a squadron of Apache helicopters and a full assault squad.",The girl's stunned expression turned sly. "You might be surprised," she said then, face serious, asked, "Did any of your students die? In the attack?",His throat tightened again, and he couldn't answer for five heartbeats. "No. No students died.",She was watching his face. "Did anyone else die?",He swallowed, unsure whether he should say anything. But if he didn't usually volunteer personal information, he'd never been an advocate of concealing the truth unless necessary - at least not if he were asked point blank. "Yes.","I'm sorry," she said with the kind of solemn seriousness that told him she'd said it before to someone who'd lost a friend or loved one. "Who?" He looked away, and she added, "Never mind. I'm prying. I'm rather bad about that sometimes -","My fiancée," he interrupted. "She sacrificed herself to save the rest of us." He had no intention of going into all the mixed feelings he had about that; it wasn't anyone else's business, least of all a student's.,"She sounds very brave," Hermione said.,"Yes, she was.",Hermione turned and headed back to the trapdoor. "Thank you for seeing me, Professor Summers, even if I can't take your class." She paused with the door open and herself halfway out. "Good luck. And please let me know if you, er, need anyone who grew up a Muggle to help tutor. There are some of us around.","I'll keep that in mind," he replied.,When she was gone, he collapsed in a wooden chair near one of the windows and stared out at the Black Lake whose waters reflected the setting sun - all red to him. He should go down to dinner, but didn't especially want to. He had a hard time, these days, bearing company or crowds that weren't entirely anonymous. The students would stare at him, he knew, and he didn't feel up to being stared at, so he stayed in the seat until long past sunset, his room a steady yellow with the glow of artificial light. At some point, he heard a noise behind him and turned, but there was no one there - just a plate and bowl and glass. Apparently around here, if one didn't come to supper, supper came to him. Rising, he walked over to see what his unseen guest had delivered.,"There is still the matter of the Weasley twins' , in the fifth floor, east wing corridor - " Severus was saying when the door to the staff room opened and all the instructors turned to look. The man standing there didn't appear to be much older than some of their students, and Minerva pursed her lips at the uncanny symmetry of his face. Gilderoy Lockhart had made her skeptical of anyone with looks like that.,"I apologize," he said as he approached and seated himself in the remaining empty chair, laying out a yellow legal pad in front of him, and twisting open a mechanical pencil. "Tardiness isn't typical for me. I need a map of this place.",Severus was glaring - perhaps at being interrupted, perhaps at the new teacher's inability to find his way to a meeting, or perhaps just because he was Severus and his face had frozen in that expression at some point ten years ago - but Dumbledore merely smiled at the newcomer and nodded. "Welcome, Scott. I believe myself the only one here to have had the pleasure of meeting you in person" - which was, Minerva thought, a gentle reprimand that their newest teacher hadn't bothered to attend either the Welcome banquet or last night's supper - "may I present your new, if temporary, colleagues." And he went around the table, introducing everyone, starting with Minerva herself on his right. The Muggle didn't blink at any of them, even professors Flitwick with his tiny size, Hagrid with his height, Hooch with her cat pupils, or (most of all) Firenze. Minerva gave him mental points for that.,Once the rest of them had been introduced, Albus said, "And may I present Mr. Scott Summers, lately of Westchester, New York, where he taught mathematics and . . . 'shop,' I believe you called it?" Summers nodded. "I trust the rest of you will make Professor Summers feel welcome." Most of the staff nodded politely or offered smiles, though a few seemed a bit skeptical (Minerva suspected her own expression might place her in that category), and Snape openly sneered.,"As I was saying," he went on in that sepulchral voice, "we seem to have a swamp - ","It's barely a yard square," Flitwick interrupted, "up against the wall where no one's likely to step in it. The magic it took to generate, not to mention the service rendered" - he grinned - "deserves a little tribute.","So you would , troublemakers, then? The departure of the Weasleys has already gained near apocryphal dimensions.","For now," Dumbledore interrupted, "the swamp may stay. Shall we turn our attention to more pressing matters, such as coordinating our end-of-term exam timetables before the Christmas holidays? I trust that all of you have brought your requests. We'll go around the table . . . ",Parchment rustled as timetables were withdrawn and smoothed out on the table. Summers just flipped pages, earning a few glances. Organizing exam schedules sometimes went smoothly . . . and sometimes didn't.,"I'll need the first, second, and third years for an afternoon," Summers said when the turn came around to him, "and fourth and fifth, plus any older students, for a 24-hour period - not on the same day. I'll need transportation for the older kids to London - a field trip. Does your school have buses?",Dead silence met that. "Buses?" Madam Hooch asked. "You mean like the Knight Bus?",And Madam Vector leaned forward to inquire, "Why are you taking our students to ,?" She glanced at Dumbledore. "Is that , - right now? With You-Know-Who . . . ?","It's for their exam. I can't give it to them here. And trust me, they'll be watched over.","Watched over? By ,?","By X-Men," Summers replied. "And this is a practical exam. I have to take them to London.",Before that could elicit more protest, Dumbledore said, "I'll see what can be arranged in the way of transportation, although -" he glanced down at the master timetable he was making - "this field trip may require us to move your exams slightly ahead of the others by a few days?","Fine with me.","Then let's move on.",When the meeting broke up, it was clear that Summers was in a hurry to gather his things and get to the door as if avoiding them all, but several of the teachers - apparently oblivious to his lack of interest in socializing - had collared him. All were female, including Hooch, Vector and Sinistra.,"I see that Professor Summers is already reaping the rewards of his good looks," Severus muttered softly - but loud enough that Minerva caught it.,"Thinking of Gilderoy?" she replied.,"Among other things, including how long a Muggle will survive his magical students." Severus' dark eyes had narrowed. "He's rather smug, isn't he?",Minerva raised an eyebrow. In fact, she hadn't found him particularly so. "A bit standoffish, perhaps, but not smug, Severus." Then she found herself adding (to her own surprise), "I believe he may feel out of his depth.","As well he should, if he can't even find the ,.","It usually takes our first years a while to learn their way around, too," said a voice behind them. Dumbledore, of course. "He was never a student here. Do not underestimate him, Severus, or his ability to survive magical students, as he survives ,students on a regular basis.",Snape's sneer was now more pronounced than ever. "One-trick ponies," he said. "Mutants are not wizards. And I do not see the point in the course of study he has proposed.","So you've said," Albus replied lightly. "Several times, I do believe. In any case, I wanted to forewarn both of you that I will be departing again tomorrow night and may not return for a while. Minerva, you remember how to contact me, in the event of an emergency?","Of course.","Then I shall leave you to your first-periods.","Wands out.",Ginny Weasley suppressed a start, but did as their new professor said, pulling her wand from her robes and wondering what on earth he wanted her to do with it. Wasn't he a Muggle? Certainly, he was dressed like one in street clothes, not proper robes. (And what was that on his ,? It appeared to be some bizarre, dark metal contraption with a single long slit in the front.) She traded a glance with Neville Longbottom - one of the few older students to have signed up for Muggle Studies voluntarily. She suspected that he, like her father, harbored a bit of a fancy for them.,Picking up a can from his desk, their teacher began to circle the room. Unlike most classrooms at Hogwarts, this one had tables around its circumference with . . . stuff on them. She was pretty sure that was a computer in front of her, given what she'd learned from Dean. Now, holding out the can to the four at the first table, their professor said, "Please deposit your wands in here. You can collect them at the end of class.",The four students appeared surprised, but did as instructed, and he moved on, collecting wands, and speaking as he went. "My name is Scott Summers, and while I know it's customary at Hogwarts to refer to your teachers as 'professor,' where I come from, that title's usually reserved for college-level instructors, so 'Mr. Summers' will do for me. You'll find that I'm hard, but fair, and I don't play favorites when it comes to grading. You'll get the grade that reflects your industry.","'Industry?' Demelza Robins whispered from across the table, "What does he mean 'industry'? Who talks like that - 'industry'?","He means if you work, you'll get an O," Ginny replied, sighing.,"I know," Summers continued now, "that about half of you - maybe more - don't want to be here, and don't see the point. You live in the Wizarding World, so why learn to use a computer or a cell phone? Hopefully, by Christmas break, you'll have decided that learning to work a computer is pretty easy, and worth your time.",He'd reached a table full of Slytherins now. All four were slouched in their seats, arms crossed, wands , held out to go in the jar. He stopped in front of them, can still outstretched. "Your wands, gentlemen.","Didn't anyone tell you, ,, that you don't try to take a wizard's wand?" Adrian Pucey asked. His chin was up and he wore a snide expression that came near-perfect to copying Draco Malfoy, his hero. Ginny wasn't impressed; Pucey was a follower who wanted to be a leader.,Summers didn't look impressed, either - or worried. Ginny could see his expression side-on from where she was sitting. "I have special permission," he told Pucey. "If you don't like the rule, take it up with Professor Dumbledore.","Ooo!" said the kids at that table and the one behind, adding a few hisses. "Why don't you try taking it?" Pucey taunted Summers.,Ginny glanced at Demelza and rolled her eyes - but she had to admit, someone had been bound to challenge Summers eventually. He just continued to smile, can held out. "Last chance to play nice," he warned.,"You have , to be kidding me," Pucey replied.,"I was afraid you'd say that. Dumbledore warned me it might come to this.",Turning, he walked back to his desk, where he set down the can. Assuming victory, the Slytherins laughed and clapped, and Pucey actually stood up, wand drawn and raised. Ginny (among others) gasped. He wouldn't actually attack a ,, even a Muggle teacher, would he?,Summers turned so fast, Ginny barely credited it. His hand rose to the side of his head and a red light arced out from the front of that odd face-screen, catching Pucey's wand and knocking it from his grasp. "Ow!" Pucey shouted, shocked and frightened at once.,"Now what are you going to do?" Summers asked him, calmly. Abruptly two more boys from the table leapt up . . . and the scene just repeated itself. Two more rapid blasts of red, like automatic fire, and their wands went flying, too.,No one else stood, and the students who still had wands hastily tossed them on the table, whether Slytherin or not.,"Now, I ask again, Mr. . . ." he raised his eyebrows at Pucey in query.,"Pucey. Adrian Pucey.","Well, Adrian Pucey, you have no wand. What are you going to do next?",Pucey's mouth dropped open a little as Summers advanced on him, hand still at the metal contraption on his face. If Ginny had initially been gleeful to see Pucey put in his place, now she was starting to worry. Summers looked . . . menacing. When he reached Pucey, he abruptly grabbed the boy by one arm and spun him around, twisting the arm up behind Pucey's back and bracing his other across Pucey's neck in a choke hold. Students gasped and a few glanced towards the door, apparently weighing the possibility of escape while their lunatic Muggle professor was busy with Pucey.,But from where she was sitting, Ginny could see that he wasn't holding Pucey that tightly; there was sunlight between their bodies. She relaxed back into her seat.,"Now," Summers said again, "What are you going to do?","I . . . I . . . if I were a real wizard, you wouldn't have had a chance!","Maybe. Maybe not. I'm a pretty quick shot. But you're a fifteen-year-old boy without his wand and I'm your almost-thirty-year-old attacker. If this were a back alley of London instead of a Hogwarts classroom, would you know what to do next?",It was starting to dawn on the rest of the students that Pucey wasn't in any real danger, and Pucey's face flushed from scared white to humiliated red as he twisted in Summers' grip, trying to kick backwards. Summers just turned sideways a bit and yanked him more tightly. "That's not going to get you far. Now, let me tell you what you , do - and , listen. This is your first lesson in Muggle realities. First, you start shouting, got it? At least if there's anyone else around. Even if your attacker says he has a knife or gun and will kill you if you don't go quietly, that doesn't matter. Scream anyway. You may still wind up shot or stabbed, but the noise and the fear of being caught will upset him and possibly throw off his aim. You're likely to survive it. But the chances of you surviving if you do go with him are very low.,"Second, if you're not trained in martial arts throws - and you're not - instead of attempting to strike his body, which just puts you off balance - step on his foot. Especially if you're female and happen to be wearing heels. Come down hard on the foot, and start yelling at the same time. The combination of pain and surprise will confuse him and, hopefully, give you a chance to get away. If you do get free, run like hell. Do , try to play macho and pull your wand. You're not James Bond.","There's a lot of 'maybes' in there," said one student at the same time another asked, "Who's James Bond?",Summers let Pucey go. "Boy, do we need to do some pop culture education. And as for the comment about maybes - life offers few certainties beyond death and taxes, just bets that are better or worse. Life's a crap-shoot.",Sitting down, Pucey appeared nonplussed, and angry, but the rest of the class (even some of the Slytherins) seemed a bit more respectful as Summers walked back to the desk. Picking up the can again, he returned to collecting wands - and no one opposed him now. Demelza Robins even hopped up from her seat to fetch the three that had been blasted across the room. When Summers was done, he set the full can on his desk. "Every time you come into my classroom, I'll expect you to come up to the desk and deposit your wand in this can. As you leave, you can retrieve them. Oh - and by the way, the wands wouldn't do you any good even if you did keep them." He grinned at the table of resistant Slytherins. "The room's been spelled so that magic doesn't work here - which is why my generator and machines do. So you could have waved your wands till the cows came home and it wouldn't have mattered.","So why did you do . . . that?" Neville asked, then blushed at having drawn attention to himself.,"To prove a point. Without your wands, you're virtually helpless. I know all about that." He touched the contraption on his face. "You need to learn how to function, and maybe even fight, without the wands. Just like I had to learn Braille, and how to live blind, because without the visor, I have two choices - shut my eyes and get by without sight, or leave them open and destroy everything in the path of the beams. Shutting them usually seems like the better idea. So - ","Pardon me?" Ginny raised her hand, a little tentatively.,He stopped in mid-sentence and nodded to her. "Yes? And you are?","Ginny Weasley. But what - exactly - are those things you shoot out of your face?","They're called optic blasts. At full power, they pack the equivalent of ten tons of TNT." Even Ginny knew what TNT was, and sucked in her breath, impressed. "In short, I could level this entire castle in five minutes or less. There's a reason I keep the visor on." He tapped the black metal across his eyes.,"But my main point is that living with the visor 24-7, I'm all too aware of the vulnerability inherent in depending on an external aid. You're dependent on your wands - maybe a little too dependent. I think wizards tend to assume that if they're stranded outside the Wizarding World, all they need is their wand to be rescued. Maybe so. ,?",He straightened from where he'd been leaning back against his desk. "I'm here to teach you how to get by in my world without a wand. I'll also teach you some basic awareness of Muggle culture, so you can go out in public wearing clothes that were actually , to be worn together instead of pajama bottoms, a raincoat, and a lime-green bowler hat.",There were a few giggles at the glancing reference to Ex-Minister Fudge's famous hat.,"Now that the little pissing contest is over and I've proved to you that I'm not helpless" - which brought more giggles - "let's get to work. Your very first lesson for today is simple recognition . . . " And class began.,Ron caught up to Ginny later at lunch. "So," he said, plopping down beside her with a full plate, "how's the new teacher? And why haven't we seen him?","The new teacher is . . . interesting," Ginny replied as Hermione and Dean joined them. "Right now, class seems to be about recognizing and naming things correctly." She glanced at Dean. "I might need your help. I confess, I'm not sure I can tell the difference between a cell phone and an iPod.","He's got an iPod?" Dean asked, interest piqued.,"Well, at least , know what it is," Ginny retorted as Harry approached to join them as well, settling in quietly to eat his casserole. His mind seemed to be elsewhere and he was only half-listening to the conversation.,"I heard there was a fight in his class," Dean said now. "Or that's what Neville told me.","Not exactly a ,," Ginny replied, and she related what had happened. Dean and Ron seemed taken aback.,"Fellow's a bit , if you asked me," Ron said.,But Hermione was shaking her head. "He diffused a challenge to his authority , turned it into what's called a 'teaching moment.'" She gave a little, satisfied nod. "Given that, I'd say he's fairly qualified.",Ron was staring at her. "What's with the admiration society?","Not an admiration society," Hermione retorted, though her cheeks had flushed. "But yes, I think he knows what he's doing - whatever the , says about a Muggle teacher at Hogwarts.",Ginny took a sip of juice to conceal her grin. Hermione had certainly sounded admiring to her, and when the boys had departed for their next classes, leaving Ginny with Hermione in the Great Hall, Ginny leaned in to remark, "I didn't say in front of them, but he's rather attractive, too.",Hermione's flush returned. "Perhaps a bit.",And that cinched Ginny's suspicions. "So you've seen him, then?",The blush deepened. "I went up to talk to him - to protest," she added hastily, "when Professor McGonagall said I couldn't take his class." Ginny resisted laughing. Only Hermione would complain because she ,allowed to take a class. "I told him that I'd help tutor, though - if any students needed help.","Given how bad we all were this morning, I have a feeling he might take you up on that."

"This my shit, this my shit." Neville said breathless as he ripped his shirt off jumped on the table clearly drunk as the other party goers gave catcalls and laughs. "I ain't no hollaback girlll." he slurred completely off tune before gasping loudly and yelling, "Harry I'm drowning." He clutched his throat and fell to the ground dramatically as a man with messy black hair and slightly tanned skin ran towards him and pulled him up.,"Sorry, sorry. My friend here is," He chuckled, "a little drunk!" With that he dragged the other man off the table only to have Neville hug him as if his life depended it.,"I love you Harry, you're such a great friend, Ron would have laughed at me. Ron's a prick. I can't believe lavender chose Ron over me. At least Ron chose Hermione. Ron doesn't deserve Lavender. Hey, Harry?" he didn't wait for a reply, "Do you think that Lavender will choose me again. Because Ron didn't choose her. I think I'm going to go find Ron and ask him. Bye Harry." And then he was gone, tripping over his feet and leaning on every person he passed until he got to the bar where Ron was currently sitting.,Harry chuckled and turned around only to meet stormy grey eyes and a tilted smile which Harry returned in his own fashion, "I'm Vlad, dance with me.",Harry raised his brows but nonetheless complied following him to the crowd of bobbing people and soon the two were sitting at the bar, shot glasses lined up in front of them, "Okay," Harry started, "First one to give up loses, and I have to warn you I'm not a lightweight.","Well then you're in for some competition because neither am I.",Six shots each later they were both equally pissed and leaning against each other for support, Harry's arm around Vlad's waist to keep him up and Vlad's hand on Harry's thigh for support. Vlad took his shot and threw Harry what was supposed to be a challenging smirk but in his drunken disposition came off as a roguish grin. Harry picked up his shot glass and licked his lips, ready to down it when he felt something on his lips, something that was most definitely not the glass in his hand. Vlad's mouth was pressed onto his harsh a sloppy but in Harry's hazy state it felt like the most blissful thing to have ever occurred in his life and he pressed back enthusiastically, tightening his grip around the other man waist, yearning for support to stop himself from stumbling backwards. Then the softness was gone and he was being pulled away, away from the noise, away from the light, away from his friends but it was okay, it was better then okay, because he was being pulled by probably one of the most gorgeous men he had ever met.,They found a room that was empty and Vlad immediately pushed Harry against the door attacking his mouth once again as the younger of the two's hands wandered downwards to fiddle with his lover's belt, not long later both of them were lying on the ground, jeans and pants discarded and their shirts only half buttoned. They moved in sync but the motion was messy and grinding but neither of them cared instead they moaned and huffed against each other both begging for their climax and when they did finally end Vlad rolled over lying next to the gorgeous green-eyed stranger on the hard wooden floor suddenly feeling a lot less drunk.,"Fuck.",One week. That was how long it had been since he had a one night stand with a boy whilst being in a relationship with a girl. Nothing had changed. Sure, it was strange having sex with someone with a penis but Vlad didn't care much for figuring out his sexuality, he like who he liked that was all. It hadn't changed his feelings for Erin either, he was as in love with her as ever. The only thing that was different was the amount of time he spent thinking about those striking venomous green eyes and the joyous smirk that he had devoured a week before. All in all it was basically the same.,So when he walked into class that Monday morning he was surprised to realise that he recognised the boy who was standing at the teacher's desk from the back of his head. He gulped, persuading himself that he was probably wrong, and made his way to his seat. However his suspicions were confirmed when the boy turned and Vlad could feel himself tense. His spine went rigid and throughout the entire one hour lesson he sat in complete stony silence. The clock ticked excruciatingly slowly as the end of the lesson drew near and when they were finally allowed to leave class Vlad scooped up his belongings and rushed to talk to the boy.,He hadn't really planned what he was to say when he gained his attention so his first words were, "Don't tell anyone we had sex.",The boy's eyes grew large and his lips tilted upwards in mirth, "I think you have the wrong person.","No, it was definitely you, at the gay bar, with the drunk friend, last week remember?",The boy's mouth rounded into an 'O' and he nodded in understanding, "No, I can't say that I do remember, I had a shit tonne of tequila that night, but I do remember waking up in a closet by myself which was disappointing seeing how long it took me to finally get out of the closet in the first place.","Oh, I'm sorry I would've stayed but-","Lemme guess. Girlfriend?" Vlad nodded, "Don't worry I won't tell a soul." Harry paused, "Walk with me.",From then on the two were inseparable.

Meet harry James potter sixteen year old heart throb, best friend to Zoey redbird and one of the most powerful vampyre fledging's out there... wait a minute what how did that happen?!,Chapter 1,Zoey's pov,What the hell is that knocking noise I thought groggily getting out of bed and looking over to where the noise was coming from to see pebbles being thrown at my window. OK who in their right minds would throw things at peoples windows this early I said to myself walking over to the window and looking down to see my best friend Harry James potter standing under my window. "Harry what the hell are you doing throwing things at my window at like seven in the frigging morning!" I shouted down at him. "Z its like half nine and we got school in thirty." He shouted back up at me laughing "WHAT?!" I screamed running over to my clock before shouting back that I would be downstairs in ten. Ten minutes later i was running down the stairs like the hounds of hell were after me, "Bye mom see you after school!" I shouted leaving the house and running down the drive to where my bf was leaning against his BMW convertible waiting for me with a smirk on his face. "Yeah yeah laugh it up redbirds late again." I said sliding into the passenger side while he got in the drivers side before driving of to school. "Hey what do you mean laugh it up Z i ain't laughing at ya." said harry with a serious look on his face before saying "It's funny though that were now in 11th grade and you still can't wake up when your alarm clock does." while looking at her with a smile on his face. "Enough about me and my not waking up on time what was your holiday like?" I said before seeing him loose his smile and start frowning. "Basically the same as it's been since my dad got married to the female version of your step loser. I spent most of the holiday over at uncle Orion's place just so I wouldn't have to listen to her going on and on at me about how i should worship god and all that stupid stuff the people of the faith preach." He said sounding annoyed. "I know right how hard is it for them to understand that they can't force us to worship their stupid god like they do all the time." I said sympathizing with harry fully.,Twenty minutes later and we were finally pulling into Broken arrow high school car park and after parking legged it into school with five minutes to spare. "Made it." we both said at the same time outside of home room before laughing and going in. "Hey Zoey Harry come and sit over here." I heard two unfortunately familiar voices shout over to us and nudging Harry muttered "please don't tell me I just heard Heath and Kayla's voices." "Afraid so Z." replied Harry rolling his eyes at me before we both took a deep breath each like we were going to our deaths and turning around with fake smiles went and sat down next to them. "Hey Heath Kayla what's up?" I said seeing the look on their faces. "What's up?! What's up is the fact that neither of you have answered your phones since the beginning of the summer." ranted Kayla with Heath nodding his head in agreement, "Kayla shut up and let us explain!" I interrupted effectively ending her famous K rant. "You know what are families are like don't you?" I asked rhetorically to which they both nodded their heads "Well then you should both know we couldn't stand having to spend the entire summer with our families so I ended up staying over at grandma Redbirds and Harry ended up camping with his uncle Orion like usual and as you both know grandma Redbirds home barely ever has any phone signal up there and the same with were Harry is like every summer." I said exasperated and annoyed at how stupid Heath and Kayla were thankfully we were saved by the bell going off for lessons which not for the first time made Zoey and Harry relieved as it meant they could get away from Heath and Kayla until their last lesson.,"Hey guys wait up." I heard Kayla shout from where me and Harry were by the lockers after our last lesson. "Yeah K what is it." I said before going into a coughing fit and hearing Harry do the same "I was just wondering if I could hitch a ride with you guys today and also are you two alright you've been coughing like that since lunch?" Asked Kayla. As i was about to answer Harry nudged me in the ribs and after i turned around to see what he wanted i saw that he was pointing at some strange guy with weird tattoos on his face. Wait a minute tattoos on his face? I thought before suddenly realizing exactly what and who the guys was, he was a vampyre and not only but a tracker. "Guess you can see him to." said Harry looking at me, all I could do was nod my head in shock before hearing the words that would change both mine and Harry's lives forever. "Zoey Montgomery and Harry James Potter! Night has chosen thee, thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee, hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!" and with that he pointed at our foreheads causing our foreheads to explode in pain. Mere seconds later we were clearing the white spots from our vision when we spotted Heath and Kayla kneeling next to us mouths covered and eyes wide open in shock staring at our foreheads. "Guys why are you staring at us like that?" asked Harry once we were standing up albeit leaning against the wall, "He marked you." they both shouted at the same time. "You've both got that horrible crescent moon outline on your foreheads!" Said Kayla crying "Kayla please stop crying You know how I don't like you crying." I said reaching out to put my hand on her shoulder only to have them both step away from me and Harry like we were contagious or something. "Oh c'mon guys were still the same Zoey and Harry that you've both known since we were kids." Said Harry with a role of his eyes. "No your not your going to that place to become one of them a monster and a freak." snapped Heath still backing away with K. Once they left I turned to Harry and then and only then did i let the tears come "Harry what are we going to do?" I said quietly "We are going to walk out of school with our heads held high then were going to go to my car and go home OK Z." said Harry grabbing my hand and leaving the school to get into his car. As we drove past where Heath and K were standing with the football team I ducked down not wanting to see the looks on their faces. Before long we were pulling into my driveway. "Oh god what should we do Harry we can't go home with these on show?" I said looking at him "I just know that both of our parents will activate the prayer tree the second they see our marks." "Z calm down OK do you remember your concealer compact you left in my car after the party at the end of school before the summer?" He said before passing it to me "Yeah but how is that supposed to help?" I said looking from him to the compact in my hands "Hopefully it should cover up our marks until we can meet up in about an hour OK" He replied before grabbing my hand and telling me that it'll be alright.,Twenty minutes later saw me locked in my room listening my mom and step loser activating the prayer tree when i heard my phone going of and picked it up to see a message from Harry saying let me guess just like me your locked in your room listening to your 'parents' activate the prayer tree. You guessed right i replied sending him a fed up face. Fifteen minutes later i got another text through telling me to look out my window, so i did exactly that and there was my best friend with two massive bags most likely filled with his clothes and everything else. No sooner had i looked out did another text come through saying that if we wanted to escape we needed to escape now before they arrived so i immediately grabbed the biggest bags I had and emptying my drawers chucked all my clothes and everything else into them before throwing them out the window climbing down the drain pipe and grabbing my bags ran down the drive with Harry and into his car. "Harry where are we going?" i asked him "Were going to grandma Redbirds hopefully she can help us find a way to get to this house of night." he answered turning onto the road leading up to grandma Redbirds lavender farm and home and parking at the top of the road. "Grandma redbird." I said knocking on the door "It's Zoey and Harry we need to talk to you." I said but got no answer "Hey Z there's a note on the window." said Harry "What does it say?" I asked walking over to him "It says that she's up in the lavender field at the top and that she also knew we were coming hence the note." he replied "Well lets head on up there then." I said turning away from the house and walking up the path with Harry following me. We had just reached the top when I started hearing voices. "Harry can you hear that?" I asked "You mean the voices in the wind." He asked me back "Yeah those voices." I answered "Lets follow them just to see where they're coming from and anyway they might lead us to grandma Redbird." I said to which Harry agreed before we carried on walking while listening for the voices. We had just gotten up to the top end of the path when the voices suddenly got louder like they were calling out to us saying,u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya and u-we-tsi (daughter and son in Cherokee) almost like a chant getting louder and louder and quicker and quicker each time while the wind got faster "Harry what's going on." I shouted over the wind before going into another coughing fit along with Harry before he could answer but this time the coughs sounded wetter and i started feeling dizzy knowing that Harry was probably feeling the same I reached out and grabbed his arm before i fell down and cracked my head on a rock hearing the impact of Harry next to me before I lost consciousness. "Zoey" she could hear someone saying "Zoey wake up." OK I definitely heard Harry's voice then I'm sure of it she thought before opening her eyes and sitting up looked around seeing Harry next to her "Where are we" said Harry looking at me "I don't know Harry." I answered before seeing a women walking up to us. "Welcome Zoey welcome Harry." said the women "Sorry but who are you and how do you know our names?" asked Harry before I could. "I am Nyx goddess of night." she said "I've heard of you aren't you also the goddess the vampyres and fledging's worship." I said remembering where I had heard her name from. "I'm sorry if this seems rude but why are you here and where are we?" asked Harry "I'm here because you two are very special and will make powerful fledging's and eventually vampyres my children and as to where we are this is all happening in your subconscious." said Nyx with a gentle smile on her face. "It's time for you both to go back now my children." she said slowly fading away signifying that they were waking up.,Upon opening my eyes I realized that we weren't at Grandma Redbirds place anymore, and after sitting up from where I was lying down looked around for Harry before spotting him on the bed directly opposite me. "Harry?" I asked not knowing if he was awake or not. "Hey Z where are we?" he replied slowly sitting up and looking at me. "Zoeybird,Harry am I glad to see you two awake." Said grandma Redbird coming over to us from where she had been standing by the door along with another woman who was obviously a vampyre due to the crescent moon and the marks adorning her face. "Where are we?" I asked her still looking around "Your at the Tulsa house of night where i brought you both with high priestess Neferets help after I found you both unconscious with head wounds in the top field." "Oh umm OK did you bring Harry's car as well as it has all our things from home in there." I asked looking at Neferet. "Yes we did it's currently in our car park. Anyway enough talking young fledging's as you have now been healed and are once again healthy i think it's time i showed you both around the school and your new home." said Neferet before turning around and opening up the door for them. After we had both gotten of the infirmary beds, we looked at each other before taking a deep breath and following Neferet out to our new lives.,(so that's my first chapter done with I hope it's not to bad but any reviews good or bad would be much appreciated but please bear in mind that this is only my second ever story that I have written for this site)

On September 19 M.E. 735 the Empire celebrated the birth of Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt's first and only child. At sixty, he was old to be fathering his first child, but he had never shown any interest in producing an heir. The birth was an accident, the woman he had slept with had missed a dose of contraceptive. Once the pregnancy was known of she was elevated to the rank of Imperial Concubine, her every need seen too. The people rejoiced at the idea of a secure succession, especially when the next Lucian heir had been born a month before the Imperial birth.,Hermione Celestia Aldercapt was born at 3:19pm and her Mother, the Lady Clarissa, died at 5:37pm.,Iedolas accepted the small bundle, staring down at his daughter critically. He could already tell she had inherited her Mother's chestnut locks, but her eyes were blue like his own. He was disappointed, having decided that if he were to have an heir then a boy was definitely preferable. A daughter could still be useful, he could marry her off to someone one day, perhaps even the Lucian Prince. He passed her back to the nurse and returned to his office after giving instructions for a wet-nurse to be hired. He had more important things to do then look after some brat.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hermione was a quiet, contemplative, child. She was utterly content to sit and read, first picture books but she was quickly able to read, shocking her nurse with how quickly she mastered the skill. She attended all of her lessons without complaint and never had to be scolded for dirtying her dresses, especially considering they were all in Imperial white.,She had no friends, just tutors and her nurse, as there were no children in the Imperial Palace. She learnt fast, earning a lot of praise from her tutors, but she wasn't just learning what they wanted. She knew propaganda when she heard it after all. She had grown up being exposed to pureblood supremacy from the age of eleven to seventeen. By the age of six she was well aware that her Father was no better than Voldemort but there was nothing she could do.,Hermione Celestia Aldercapt may be her name now, but she was still Hermione Jean Granger, with all of the memories and powers that name implied. She had once worked for the Ministry's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where she played an important role in improving the quality of life for house-elves and other disenfranchised creatures. Later, she had worked for Department of Magical Law Enforcement where she worked to put an end to pro-pureblood laws that had been so entrenched in Wizarding society. It was the final position she had held that she believed had prepared her best for this strange new world…as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries.,She had no idea why she had come to this world that was so different to the one she had known, and yet shared some similarities. She did have one possibility but no way to prove or disprove it, though if she was right they would be having words one day. She had studied in the Death Chamber; she had kept that from Harry though considering what had happened to Sirius. She had heard Harry's account of what had happened after he died at Voldemort's hand as well. Then there was Harry's strange disappearance three years later, he hadn't been seen since, but the Potter invisibility cloak had vanished, as had the broken wand in Dumbledore's grave. That had driven her research, searching for her best friend, her brother. Nothing she had learnt had ever implied reincarnation was possible and yet that was obviously what had happened to her.,Thankfully, she had her memories and her magic. Her memories had come back slowly, she hadn't remembered anything as a baby, thankfully. She'd had them all back by the time she was five. Controlling her magic was not easy, as an Unspeakable she had been encouraged to hone her skills with wandless magic, but that control had vanished when she became a child. She had never been as good at it as Harry or Dumbledore, but she had been able to manage. Now she was forced to relearn that level of control all while working in secret since the only mentions of magic she could find in this world was that of the Lucis Caelum line and the Oracle who lived in Tenebrae. She knew better than to let someone as power hungry as her Father know she had magic.,Her Father was not a young man, but she had no doubt that he would not step down for her but would die while Emperor. From what she had read, he had once been a very different man and ruler but as he aged he had grown ruthless, determined to rule the whole world. She wished she could have known the man he was before, perhaps if she'd been born then she could have helped keep him from becoming what he was now. As it was, she rarely saw him. They would stand and sit together at the public celebrations for each of their birthdays as well as Solstice, other than that she occasionally passed him in the hall. She was the Imperial Princess, heir to the Throne…but she had no power. She was expected to be the perfect Princess, a doll, someone to be sold off in marriage when it was convenient for her Father. She played her part well, remembering the lessons Daphne had given her after the war. The ice Princess of Slytherin would have fit in well and so Hermione emulated her in public. Maybe when she was older she would be able to do more but for now all she could do was wait.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The news spread quickly, everyone proud of what had happened even while publicly denying any part in it. Personally, it made Hermione sick. She understood they were at war and had been for longer than she had lived in either world combined. What she did not understand was the targeting of a child, even the heir to the Throne. That was something she could never stand, especially considering Harry had been her best friend. Prince Noctis had almost been killed by a daemon, one that had been sent after him by her Father. Reports stated that King Regis had arrived in time to save his son, but that the boy was grievously wounded and now in a coma. She could not celebrate such an event, even if she had believed in the war, which she didn't. She wished she could help him, but they would never accept help from the Imperial Heir. What could she do, enchant something and send it? Apparate and hope to reach Insomnia before she was missed? No, all she could do was pray he recovered.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"Is it true?" Hermione demanded, walking into the room to find Aranea doing paperwork.,The eighteen year old sighed and straightened. "The attack on Tenebrae?" she asked, and Hermione nodded, sitting beside her, smoothing out her skirt automatically. "We just received conformation. We have officially annexed Tenebrae as part of the Empire, saving it from the influence of Lucis and King Regis who fled like a coward," she stated, and Hermione closed her eyes to remain calm. "Queen Sylva Via Fleuret was killed in the fight and her children have been named as wards of the Empire." Despite being double the Princess' age, Aranea liked the younger girl. She was smart, too smart really, she saw things others didn't want her to. If she had to choose who to follow, she would choose the Princess over the Emperor. Unfortunately, Hermione was far too young to rule an Empire.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hermione brushed her hair before braiding it, sometimes she missed the bushy mess she'd once had. The colour was almost the same, but her hair was sleek and soft, easy to style. The blue eyes still caught her by surprise at times, as did the slightly different facial features. After nine years she had thought she would be used to it. She was just glad to be out of the fancy gown she'd been forced to wear all evening to celebrate her ninth birthday. She had never been a girl for dresses and yet they were all she wore in this life. She also wasn't a big fan of the white, gold and red that her Father wore and insisted she did as well. She left her dressing room to find her nurse, Marianna, waiting with a young boy who looked her own age. Marianna curtsied while the boy bowed stiffly. "Marianna?","Your Highness, this is Prompto Argentum, previously attached to Verstael Besithia. His Radiance has named him your companion. He will be your bodyguard from now on." Marianna shifted nervously. "His Radiance has decided you are too old to need a nurse.","I see… you have been very good to me Marianna and I will miss you," she smiled at the woman who curtsied.,"Thank you, your Highness.","Hello Prompto," she greeted the boy as Marianna left, looking him over. He was dressed in a uniform, blonde hair cut short. He had bright blue/violet eyes that seemed to almost stare through her. His nose was dusted with freckles and they were basically the same height.,"Your Highness," he bowed stiffly again, his body didn't seem to relax at all which struck her as odd.,"Do you know where you are to sleep?","Yes, Your Highness, I am to stay in the nurses room.","There's no need to be so formal and stiff all of the time," she smiled at him, but he remained at attention. "I am going to bed; the party was rather exhausting. I will see you in the morning," she offered, and he bowed again, leaving the room for what had been Marianna's room.,Hermione retired to her bedroom and scrambled up into the massive bed, lying on her back to stare up at the canopy. She didn't like this at all. Why hadn't she been told Marianna was being let go? She'd been too old for a nurse for years, but she liked Marianna. This Prompto…there was something very off about him and it made her nervous. This had not been a good year at all and there were still a few months left.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hermione observed her new body guard even as she attended to her studies. The boy stood rigidly against the wall, blue eyes staring straight ahead, the same as he had been for the last week. She was no closer to working out what was wrong with him either. It felt unnatural, whatever it was. He was like someone under the Imperious or one of those science fiction androids. He would obey orders and answer questions but other than that showed no signs of life or personality. It went beyond training, no training could account for the way he stood unmoving for hour after hour, not only was he young but it was impossible for someone to stand still for that long.,When she was done she stood and walked from the room, Prompto trailing her. She headed for the enclosed garden and chose a bench in the sun, feeling him move to stan behind her as she tipped her head back to enjoy the light. "Do you like the sunlight Prompto?","No, your Highness," he answered flatly.,"Why not?" she turned to look at him.,"It burns, your Highness.",She had the feeling he didn't mean a sunburn. "Is it burning now?","Yes, your Highness.",At his answer she stood and went inside, going to the library. He may unnerve her, but she would not knowingly cause him pain. She choose a book and moved to a seat that was in the sun but that provided him a good spot in the shade to guard her from.,Later that night she slipped from her bed and went to his room, opening the door silently. She sent a quick stunning spell at the bed and then approached to find him lying on top of the covers, only his shoes missing. He was lying straight, hands down at his sides and she shook her head but moved to sit beside him on the bed. She put her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes, letting her magic flow into a diagnostic charm, letting it feed her information and then struggling not to throw up. He was nine years old, a child! How could anyone… a lot of magic was about willpower and intent and right then she had a lot of intent, the intent to heal the boy lying on the bed next to her. She poured everything she could into his broken and abused body. Even stunned, his body convulsed on the bed, muscles spasming as he choked, and she rolled him onto his side as he vomited out black sludge. She pulled up his shirt to see the scars and bits of metal embedded in his skin. How could anyone do this to a child?,When her magic could do no more she pulled it back and vanished all signs of the vomit and sweat on his body before undoing the stunning spell. She watched as his body relaxed more than she's seen the whole time he had been guarding her.,He shifted, mumbling in his sleep, before blue eyes slowly fluttered open. He blinked dazedly at her and then he was scrambling back and asway from her, an arm rising to protect his face. "P..pl…ease…","It's alright Prompto, I won't hurt you," she whispered, sitting still, hands in her lap.,He almost fell off the bed, clambering to his feet and cowering in the corner, pressing his back to the wall, blue eyes wide.,She slowly got off the bed and crawled across the floor to sit a few feet in front of him. She began humming softly, a tune she had heard Fleur humming to her children many times over the years. She waited as he slowly began breathing more steadily, the panic fading as he lowered his arms to watch her. "Hello Prompto," she greeted softly. "Do you know who I am?","H..hi..ghness..." he stammered, arms wrapping around his knees.,"And where you are?",He glanced around, gaze darting, never settling. "Room.","Your room, attached to my suite," she explained gently. "Would you like to move back to the bed? It's a lot more comfortable than the floor," she offered, slowly holding her hand out to him.,Prompto stared at her, obviously still terrified. "S..uite?" he frowned in confusion, shaking his head. "Bodyguard," he whispered, and she nodded. He stared at her hand, unsure what to do but then ever so slowly he lifted his hand.,She smiled at him as their hands brushed, gently interweaving their fingers before standing and gently tugging him up. She wrapped an arm around his waist, and he stiffened, waiting for the pain, but there was none. She slowly led him over to the bed and then up onto it, pulling back the covers and helping him under them. "There you go, much more comfortable," she gently ran her fingers through his short hair. "You're safe Prompto," she promised.,"Wh…what did you…do?" he asked carefully.,"I healed you as much as I could. You vomited up a lot of black sludge, sweated some out too. It looked like the Scourge," she told him, and he shivered, curling up under the nice warm covers.,"They…injected us, it hurt.","Us?" she asked, and he lifted his right arm, pushing down his glove to reveal his wrist and the black marks there.,A barcode…he had a barcode marked into his skin. She gently took his hand and inspected it, it looked like a tattoo at first, but the lines were too even, too clean. She ran a finger over it, and he shivered again. "Can you tell me about it? I want to help." She shifted to lean against the headboard, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders, listening as he shakily began to speak, gradually leaning into her as the night wore on until he fell asleep and she stayed to watch over him in case of nightmares. Everything he said had her fighting the urge to barge into her Father's rooms and curse him.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"What's happening?" Hermione called out as she spotted Aranea in the hallway, Prompto her ever faithful shadow. She'd thrown on a cloak normally only used in the depths of winter and she was still cold! She was wearing one of her heavier gowns as well, pure white edged in gold, the sleeves long and skirt full. Prompto had nothing more than a thin formal coat so she'd hit him with a warming charm before they had left her rooms.,Aranea slowed down to let them catch up. "Shiva woke up and wiped out a good portion of the army. Her corpse is outside, in Ghorovas Rift, which is why the temperature's plummeting," she quickly explained. "I have to go, stay safe and stay warm." She looked at them both, seeing the protectiveness flash in bright blue eyes. She had been sickened to hear what had been done to the kid and many others like him and that had put her even more firmly in the Princess' camp than ever. She commended him for staying, for being able to act as if nothing had changed, when she knew the Princess had offered to smuggle him to safety in Lucis.,Hermione nodded and continued walking towards her Father's Throne Room. She walked in and curtsied to the man before moving to stand in her place, below and to the side of the Throne, face composed as she listened to them celebrate the death of an Astral. She wasn't sure what she thought of that, how could you kill an actual god? What would it do to the balance of the world? She didn't think anything good would come of it, had they brought an unending winter upon their people? How could they celebrate? Were they all as mad as her Father? She could feel the fear from Prompto, standing loyally behind her and wished she could do or say something to help him. He'd come a long way from the terrified boy huddled in the corner almost six months before, but he was still only nine. When it was over she returned to her rooms and they sat on the couch together under a lot of blankets, huddling for warmth and comfort.,"What's going to happen?" he asked softly.,"I don't know," she admitted, as he burrowed closer to her. She hugged him close, unable to do anything else. How could anyone know what was going to happen next?

Remus followed Archie's wishes and did not go to Hogwarts to watch the third task. Instead, he found himself in the Lower Alleys, at the Dancing Phoenix, seeking after Rispah. After a brief discussion of why he was so stressed out, she dragged him out to Diagon Alley to watch Archie on the mirror, and dragged Leo along with them.,The task, as it happened, was a duel. Remus felt an anxious twist in his stomach at that; Harry was the duelist, not Archie. Which was of course why it was such a surprise when the teenager on the stage twisted deftly out of the way of the oncoming spell, moving into a fighter's stance. Next to him, Leo drew in a sharp breath.,Rigel Black won his duel, of course. Then Remus turned to meet Leo's hazel eyes, and saw his own inescapable conclusion written there.,"You go back to the Phoenix," said Leo. "I'll go. We can't go together; that would be far too odd. And I think a non-family-member might garner a better reaction just now.","All right," said Remus, though he burned to go storming up himself and demand to know just what the hell was going on.,He went back to the Phoenix with Rispah instead.,xxx,Leo waited in a corner of the Three Broomsticks, nursing a drink, until Hermione came in with another student he thought might have been a competitor. When she saw him, she came over to his table.,"Leo," she said. "What are you doing in Hogsmeade?","I need to speak to Rigel Black in person," said Leo. "It's somewhat urgent. Can you get a discreet message to him, and tell him I need to speak to him on his cousin's behalf?","All right," said Hermione, frowning. She turned and left the Three Broomsticks then, and within the hour had returned with Rigel, who seemed quite tense. Leo himself was calm on the surface, but deep down he was a roiling mess of emotions.,"Thank you," he said to Hermione. "Archie," he went on, for that was the name of the Black scion he'd met, "what I have to say isn't for prying ears. Walk with me?","All right," said Rigel, low and tense. He followed Leo out the door and into the alley behind the Three Broomsticks, whereupon Leo held out his arm.,"Leo," said Rigel, "are you sure this is necessary? I know Harry trusts you, but—","Do you ,want to have this conversation here?" asked Leo. "I know a hundred more secure places than this." Harry—for he was sure that this was Harry by now—swallowed.,"No," she said softly, and took hold of his arm. Leo Disapparated, and brought her to his place. It was as well warded as anything, and no one would think to look for her here.,He studied her; she was afraid, he knew. He studied her, and thought, and finally spoke.,"That's why you got the flat," he said. "As an alibi, if it came out that the student at AIM was Arcturus Black instead of Harry Potter. As a bolt hole, if you got caught out at Hogwarts." Harry said nothing, and he sighed. "Lass, I'm hardly going to hand you over," he said. "What do you take me for, a lawman? I'm the King of the Rogue. My lips are sealed, now and forever." Harry shuddered then, and before he knew it she was crying quietly. He'd never seen her cry before, he realized distantly, and he found he didn't quite know what to do now that she was.,"Three years," she mumbled, swiping futilely at her eyes. "Three and a half goddamn years, and it's a stupid bloody duel that catches me out.",Leo stepped towards her then, and carefully put his arms around her. She stiffened momentarily against him but didn't pull away, so he supposed he'd not done anything ,wrong.,After a time, her tears subsided. Harry sighed and pulled away then, rubbing her eyes.,"Why do it?" he asked.,"Archie didn't want to go to Hogwarts," she said. "He wanted a school that would let him get a Healing certificate at seventeen. And I wanted to study under Severus Snape, learn potions from him, more than anything. So we switched places. Archie went off to America as me, and I took his place at Hogwarts.",Archie had gone to America. Of course. It was little wonder, then, that Harry had rebuked him so strongly for sending Marek to her school. She wouldn't have wanted him to catch on to her ruse—a ruse he could already tell was growing increasingly complex as she grew older.,"And with every passing minute, the lies mount upon lies, so you can't so much as twitch without it crumbling down," said Leo. At Harry's surprise, he laughed. "I ,the Rogue, lass. I know a thing or two about lies." Here he paused, evaluating Harry's state; she was more stable than she had been before, he thought.,"There's something you ought to know," he continued. "I wasn't alone when I watched the mirror, though I daresay there's only one other person who would have recognized you as I did, and he was with me.",Harry froze. "Remus," she said, voice whisper-soft.,"Aye," said Leo. "He's at the Phoenix now. You can go see him now, or later, or not at all if you don't want to.","Will he say a word, do you think?" asked Harry, worrying the strap of her potions bag between her fingers.,"I'd be shocked if he did," said Leo. "More than shocked; I would even go so far as to nearly stake my life on his silence, unless it was wrested forcibly from him. He does want to talk to you, though, if you feel you're up to it.",He saw her swallow, saw her steel herself, and knew what her answer would be. Had always known, really.,"I'll go," she said, and her voice was soft but steady. "I—I owe him that much.",Leo frowned, but nodded. "Take my arm, then," he said. It wouldn't do, after all, to have Rigel Black seen wandering the Lower Alleys just then. Not when the youngest Champion ,have been at Hogwarts, celebrating his victory.,He Disapparated them to reappear in the courtyard behind the Phoenix, and saw Harry swallow.,"There are private rooms here," he said, "though they don't see much use. I can show you to one, then bring Remus up to you, if you want.","That would probably be best," said Harry stiffly, and so he led her up to the suite that had been ,rooms until the place had burned and he'd decided he needed a more secure place to stay.,"I can stay and listen, or I can leave you two alone," he said. "Your choice, or you can pass the choice off to Remus.","I think we'll be better off alone," she said, and he nodded.,"Then I'll be back in a minute.",He went down to the main room and saw Remus, looking far more scattered than he normally did, sitting by Rispah and having a whispered conversation.,"Rigel's upstairs," said Leo. "He's ready to talk to you. I can show you up." The common room was not quite as well warded as his old rooms, and he was hardly going to take his very first chance to betray Harry's trust: ,was in America, after all. Only Rigel Black could possibly be ,.,So he showed Remus up to his old rooms and reluctantly went down to sit with Rispah. Had it been nearly anyone else, he would have stayed to listen, but this wasn't anyone else. This was Harry, and he could not betray her trust.,He drank lemonade and waited in the tense silence. What he really wanted was ale—he knew he'd have some later, at least, or perhaps liquor; liquor would be good—but he had to stay sober for now.,Rispah did not try to speak to him, for which he was grateful; there was nothing to be said, not now at least. Not here.,Leo sat there for more than an hour, the silence and his worries becoming increasingly oppressive as the day wore on, until finally Harry appeared at the top of the stairs, Remus behind her, looking wan. Her hands, clenched around the strap of her potions bag, seemed to shake ever so slightly. He tilted his head at her, but she shook hers curtly in reply; he nodded, and said nothing.,"I think I'm ready to go back," said Harry, walking briskly to the courtyard behind the Phoenix. Leo, not quite following her yet, turned to Remus, who spoke without being prompted.,"There's nothing to discuss," he said, and Leo nodded again, then followed Harry.,He Apparated them to the alley behind the Three Broomsticks, and brought her around the side of the building before walking with her in a heavy silence to the school gates. Before she could make to enter, he placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.,"Rigel," he said, "I ought to have said this earlier—if you ever need my help, with anything at all, you need only to ask.","Thank you," said Harry, though she didn't quite sound sincere, at least not in any intent to ,ask him for aid, and that wouldn't quite do.,"I mean it," he said softly. ",you need my help for—your wish is my command.","All right," said Harry, and she seemed slightly more sincere. It was the best Leo would get from her, he knew.,"Best of luck, then," he said, and she nodded and gave him a slight smile.,Then she was gone, walking back into the lion's den, and he could only stand there and watch her go, and hope that she would not be consumed by it.,Once he could no longer see her, Leo turned on his heel and vanished.

Hermione meets the Sorcerer Supreme (or Another kind of HGSS),Summary: HGSS, or Hermione Granger meets the Sorcerer Supreme/Stephen Strange,A oneshot in another fandom than the one I have previously written in. And English is not my first language, so sorry if I mangle it sometimes.,Disclaimer: I own neither the worlds of Harry Potter or Dr. Strange/Marvel. Just playing around. Oh, and I absolutely refuse to try to write Fleur's accent.,x,There was a single time turner left in Britain after the debacle at the Department of Mysteries. Hermione should have given it back when she did not need it any more after she dropped Divination in her third year, but she had managed to sneak it away and given a broken replica to Professor McGonagall. She had put the functioning time turner in her beaded bag when she, Harry and Ron left to try to find the Horcruxes. Thanks to the time turner she had managed to save Dobby´s life.,Hermione was sitting at the beach near Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur Weasley's home, where they had fled from Malfoy Manor. The time turner was around her neck, and an irate redhead in front of her, who shouted that she should have used the time turner to save his brother from Fenrir Greyback, that she should have used the time turner to save Professor Dumbledore, that she should have used the time turner… She wasn't sure what other things she should have used it for according to Ron. She had not used it to save herself from torture, and now she felt kind of dizzy, and couldn't concentrate on what Ron was shouting at her.,Hermione was contemplating to just fall back on the sand and sleep when a portal opened in front of them at the beach. She desperately reached for the wand Harry had stolen from Bellatrix and given to Hermione, but really, she was more than tired, and the person coming out from the portal did not seem intent on hurting her. Ron on the other hand…,Ron had also reached for his wand, but found it in the hand of the man from the portal. He was tall and slim, had dark hair with some grey at his temples, , chiseled cheekbones, a goatee, a strange red cloak, and looked totally pissed off at Ron.,"Are you finished Mr. Weasley? If not I can help you keep your mouth closed and try to help the few brain cells you have left not escape together with your saliva. At least that substance you seem to have in abundance, seeing how you generously spray everything and everyone around you with it.",Ron just gaped at him, and did not say anything.,The man turned to Hermione.,"Come. I will help you with the aftereffects. If done without any more delay we can even take care of the scars.",Hermione looked at him, trying to focus, but her eyes would not let her.,"Hermione," the man said.,"Who are you?","My name is Stephen. I promise to tell you everything, but we really must be going to be able to heal you.","She won't be going , with you," Ron screamed. He was so loud that Harry, Luna and Bill came running from the cottage.,"Hermione," Stephen said. "We must hurry, or you'll never be healed from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus and the torture.",Hermione looked into his eyes, obviously he had moved closer to her, and now she could almost focus on his eyes. She couldn't really make out their colour, green, blue or something in between. He reached out his hands toward her, and she let him take her hands. When he helped her stand up she lost hold of consciousness, and fainted. The man managed to catch her, and rose with her in his arms, discarding Ron's wand in the sand. Bill Weasley and Harry both had their wands pointed in his direction, but neither of them threw any curses, and he left through the portal with Hermione in his arms. The portal closed behind them.,x,"What happened? Who was that?" Harry asked Ron.,"I don't know! We were talking and then the portal opened up and he came through. He was really rude, and then he told `Mione that he would be able to heal her from the torture and the aftereffects of the Cruciatus.","Are you telling me that Hermione was tortured and exposed to the Cruciatus?" Bill said. "What the hell were you doing down here? It is essential to get the treatment as soon as possible!","Well, I didn't know that!" Ron said petulantly. "And I really needed to talk to her about the time turner and why she didn't help you or Professor Dumbledore if she had it!",Luna came up to Ron and slapped him hard. Normally Harry would say that Luna was mellow and sort of spaced out. She hadn't even done anything towards her bullies in Ravenclaw when they stole her things and locked her out of the tower. But this Luna was totally in the here and now, and , angry.,"Hey, what did you do that for?" Ron whined.,"You, Ron Weasley are a sorry excuse for a wizard and friend," Luna spat. "Time travels are very difficult, and can only be done under very special circumstances. And since Hermione has had a time turner since she was in her third year, you can count on that she knew how and when it was safe to use it. Hell, she didn't even go back to stop the torture of herself.","She could have saved Sirius!" Ron said to Harry.,"Ron," Harry said. "I agree with Luna, Hermione has always known all the facts and then some. If she didn't deem it safe to use the time turner I am convinced that she had a good reason for it. And stop talking about yourself all the time! Where is Hermione? Who was that man?","He looked like the Sorcerer Supreme," Luna said.,"Who?","The Sorcerer Supreme," Luna said. "Dad wrote an article about him some years ago, when he compared different types of magic. And it looked like him, he even had his Cloak of Levitation.","Is he dark?" Harry asked.,"No, but his magic is not from inside himself like ours, it is said to come from a special book. Dad couldn't really get all facts, but I have never heard that the Sorcerer Supreme uses black or dark magic.",x,All of a sudden a portal opened up again. This time all of them pointed their wands at the portal, but the only one who came out of it was Hermione.,"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked.,"Yes, Harry. I have been healed and have been able to rest as well." She opened a bag she had over her shoulder. It was a small denim bag, it looked new, nothing like the beaded bag she had lost when the snatchers grabbed them. It was obviously charmed, because her arm seemed to disappear inside the small bag.,"Here," she said. She held out her hand towards Harry. In it were a small box. "I have shrunk it and its contents. But I think we'd better go inside before you open it.",Luna hugged Hermione fiercely.,"Next time you disappear with the Sorcerer Supreme," Luna said. "Can you please wait and say goodbye first?",Hermione hugged Luna back and laughed a little.,"I promise to do my best, Luna. But Stephen is sort of intense and often in a hurry.",Harry hugged Hermione.,"I agree with Luna, if you can, please let us know before you disappear. But I am so glad he could heal you. I'm sorry I didn't realize how hurt you were. I should have at least asked how you were before we treated Dobby.",Hermione hugged him back.,"Stephen could help me. I am not sure what we could do here would have worked as well. She crooked her arm around his and Luna's and led the way towards the cottage.,"Hey!" Ron said. "Is that all you're gonna say? Where were you? Why did you leave with a man you didn't know?",They could hear the sound of a slap behind them.,"Hey, Bill! What did you do that for?","Stop being an insensitive prat and be glad that Hermione could be healed. And shut up and wait for her to tell us all at the same time.",Even though Ron got quiet Harry could not help but think that even when he was quiet you could hear Ron sulking.,When they came up to the cottage Fleur had treated Dobby and Ollivander.,"Hermione," she said. "You disappeared just when I thought I should try to help you. How are you? I just now understood from Dobby that you were separated from them and all they could hear was your screams.","Thank you, Fleur," Hermione said. "I have gotten help and I am healed. But I wouldn't say no to some tea. I have something to show you all.",x,They sat down to tea, Ron still sulking but not enough not to eat more than anyone else.,When they had eaten, and just nursed some tea in their mugs, Hermione turned to Harry.,"Open the box," she said.,Harry put the box on the kitchen table. He enlarged the box and pulled off the magically fastened lid and looked down in the box. He didn't say anything, just looked at Hermione.,"It's all of them," she said. "All except one, and with your permission we will fix that later today.","What are you talking about? What's in the box?" Ron asked.,Instead of answering Harry fully pulled off the lid and angled the box so that all of them could see the contents. Inside was a goblet, a diadem and what looked like Dumbledore's wand.,"Nagini is also taken care of," Hermione said. "And the wand is not one of the horcruxes, but you will need it anyway.",Bill Weasley started to swear when Hermione said 'horcruxes'.,"Is that why he didn't die in 1981?","Yes," Hermione said. "He made several during his lifetime. Now he can't make more, he has so little soul left, he can't split it anymore.","And the last one?" Harry asked.,"It's your scar, Harry," Hermione said. "I'm sorry I have to tell you so abruptly, but the Sorcerer Supreme will be back in just a few minutes, and if you are willing to trust him and me, you can come with us and we will take care of it without hurting you.",Harry looked her in the eyes.,"I trust you with my life," he simply said.,Hermione´s smile lit up her face.,"Come then. It is easier to make a portal on the beach, since Stephen, I mean the Sorcerer Supreme already has been there.","Stephen, heh," Harry teased her.,Hermione blushed a little, and then smiled. "Stephen, yes. It took some time to heal me and find the horcruxes, so we got to know each other.","Wait a minute," said Ron. "Are you just gonna jump into a portal, Harry?","As I said, Ron. I trust Hermione with my life. She has always helped me.",x,Harry, Hermione and Bill went down to the beach. Ron had been told in no uncertain terms that he better stay in the cottage, and Luna stayed to, as she put it, 'keep an eye on him and his infestation of Nargles'.,"We will be back in a few minutes, Bill," Hermione said. It will be a lot longer than that where we go, but you can just stay here, we will soon be back.","Alright Hermione, Harry. Please be careful.",A portal once again opened up on the beach in front of them, and the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange, came out.,"Mr. Potter," he said.,"Stephen," Hermione said. "Please let me introduce you to Harry Potter and Bill Weasley. Bill, Harry, this is Doctor Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.",After some tentative handshakes Harry, Hermione and the Sorcerer Supreme went through the portal, which promptly disappeared. Bill stood waiting for a couple of minutes before a new portal opened up, and Harry and Hermione came through before it vanished again.,Bill could not help but notice that both Harry and Hermione looked less starved than when they arrived. And they had looked much worse for wear than his brother, whom had been at the Burrow for weeks without Hermione and Harry. Probably stuffing himself the whole time, he thought to himself.,"Harry, Hermione. Everything go according to plans?","Not really, it went a bit better than we could hope for. Besides taking care of the horcrux in my scar we got some help with Riddle. He is still around, but the Sorcerer Supreme managed to break the connection between him and the Death Eaters. He can no longer draw power from them. Oh, and Dr. Strange confirmed that Riddle really could use the Dark marks for that, we had only suspected it, not proved it before.","Really, what happens now?","Even though we're not really sure about the prophecy and it's validity, we have decided that it will be better if Harry really is the one to bring down Tom Riddle. But he will not go alone. And we better meet up with as many as possible of the Order of the Phoenix. Even if we hope to be able to take out Riddle, his supporters have managed to take control of both Hogwarts and the Ministry. We have to strike simultaneously.","There is something I really wonder about," Bill said. "How did the Sorcerer Supreme know when and where to open up that portal?",Hermione flushed a little.,"He had met my future self," she explained. "And since my torture and the Cruciatus curse had affected me so much, he and my future self decided to try to help us.","Won't that make a time paradox?","No," Hermione said. "Stephen has a lot more experience with time travel and time manipulation, and he also has different ways to work it, not just time turners. There will be no time rift, it is a single timeline from this point onwards.","Then we better go back to the cottage and try to arrange everything.","Yes. I have some plans with me from my future self and Stephen.","What will happen with future you?","As from this point in time there is only me. No future me with scars and Cruciatus after effects.","Oh, but what did the Sorcerer Supreme think of that?","I believe future me had to do some fast talking. But I also think that I was a lot more affected by the Cruciatus and the torture than what he was willing to let on, probably dying.",Harry gave her a look.,"I believe you're right. I don't think he would have risked it otherwise. And obviously there were a lot of parameters to work with, and they only worked for a very small window of time. Today.",x,They went in the cottage door, and could hear that Ron was still sulking and complaining about not being allowed to go with Harry and Hermione.,"We're back now," Harry said.,"I see that it worked," Luna said after a look at Harry's forehead. "Whatever shall Draco Malfoy call you now that you are not a Scarhead anymore?",Harry couldn't help but laugh and gave Luna a quick hug.,"Thank you, Luna. And I am sure you can help Malfoy.","Only if the Nargles has left him. He and Ron could both need some help.",x,An order meeting was called. Hermione gave them the facts and plans.,"Severus Snape is still on the side of the Order. Professor Dumbledore ordered him to kill him, he was dying, and the killing of him would get professor Snape a higher status among the Death Eaters. And he has been able to mostly protect the students at Hogwarts.","And can you prove this?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked.,"Not right now, but you will be able to speak to Professor Dumbledore's portrait later.","There is a lot of things you just expect us to take your word for," Dedalus Diggle said.,"Not just , words," Harry said. "Mine as well.",He let his gaze wander over the Order members.,Diggle fidgeted, but neither he nor anyone else said anything.,"And when is the best time for the plan?" Kingsley asked.,"In four days it is the day after the full moon," Hermione answered. "Then the werewolves on Riddle´s side will be tired after the transformation during the full moon.",She looked at Remus Lupin.,"Incidentally, I have a special mission for you Remus. We can talk about it afterwards. And also Tonks and Fred Weasley. If you please stay after the meeting.",x,At the evening four days later Harry, Hermione and Kingsley Shacklebolt sat exhausted in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. All of them had minor wounds, and Kingsley had a bandage over his left ear.,"So, Hermione," he said. "Did we do better than in the first timeline.",She looked at him.,"I won't make you a list," she said. "But more people survived this time around. And others did not…",A couple of tears fell when she thought of the dead - Professor Snape, who died trying to save Draco Malfoy from his crazy aunt Bellatrix, other casualties were Percy Weasley, Draco Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks. And Dobby and Winky had also perished in the fighting, trying to help wounded to safety. Considering the fact that it was her time travel using the time turner saving Dobby that had made it possible for Stephen to go back in time to help… She shook her head. Even not totally exhausted, time travels and their consequences made her head ache.,A portal opened up near the kitchen door.,"Stephen!" Hermione ran into his arms, and he and the cloak both enveloped her. Harry sat so he looked right at the Sorcerer Supreme's face, and could see the tension leave him when he held Hermione close. He said something in a low voice to Hermione, and Harry couldn´t hear what he said. He did see her answering smile though. As exhausted and battle fatigued as she was the smile was radiant. She turned around and faced Harry and Shacklebolt.,"Stephen, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, the interim Minister of magic. Kingsley, meet Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.",The men shook hands, and sized each other up. Thankfully they were too mature to start a handshake contest, Harry thought.,"Harry," Doctor Strange shook his hand as well. "Congratulations or whatever you say in these circumstances. I thank you for doing the job, as unwanted and unpleasant as it was for you." Harry looked into his eyes, and saw the sincerity there.,"Thank you, Stephen.","I´m taking Hermione with me. You have the number to her mobile phone and mine. Please let her know when the funerals will be.",Hermione looked at Kingsley.,"I would like to take my N.E.W.T:s as soon as possible.","You don´t want to go back to Hogwarts?","No. I was already older than all the other students thanks to the time turner, and me being born in September. I kept up with my studies even on the run, and feel prepared enough.","I´m sure you could get some honorary N.E.W.T:s…","I´m not interested in that. I want to earn my degrees. And I already have my non magical certificates done.","I promise to get back to you with a date as soon as possible.","Thank you.",Hermione turned to Harry.,"So you're leaving…" he said.,"Yes. I don't want to be either a war hero or the muggle born side kick or the pet mud blood. I want to be me, and not be recognized everywhere I go. And remember, I am only a portal away. If you want to get away from here, or just visit…","Oh Hermione, you'll always be my best friend. I'm staying for now, who knows what will happen in the future. And thanks for the offer of a refuge.",They hugged, and both were a little teary eyed.,"And remember, I want to be bridesmaid or best man or whatever," he teased.,He was convinced he would get her to blush and fidget, but she just gave Stephen a small smile, and laughed at Harry.,"I promise," she said.,"Gentlemen," Strange drawled, and then they both left and the portal closed behind them.,x,"So that was the Sorcerer Supreme," Kingsley said.,"Yes," Harry said. "He is a bit intense, especially until you´ve learned to read him better. He does have a sense of humor, even if he hides it well. And he has been involved in bigger fights than the one we had with Riddle.","And he and Hermione is…","They never said anything to me when they took care of the horcrux in my scar, or behaved like a couple around me, but it was pretty obvious anyway. Hermione never met the older future Hermione in person, to avoid a time paradox, but she read some letters from her. I don´t believe in soulmates or predestined love, but I know that Stephen and Hermione are very compatible - brilliant, resilient and hard working. Plus Hermione is able to keep him grounded. I just hope he will be able to tell the two Hermiones apart. But I do believe our Hermione has it all under control.","It will be a loss for magical Britain if she decides to leave for good.","The Sorcerer Supreme has a Sanctum in London as well as in New York and Hong Kong. But she was truthful about wanting to be able to just be Hermione, not being recognized and bothered by people. And Hermione and I have talked a lot about the blood prejudice in Magical Britain. I would say that you have a chance to root it out now, but if the Ministry and Wizengamot will let it all slide like after the last war, and not prosecute and clean house, you will lose both me and Hermione and a lot of other people, mainly muggleborns and half-bloods.",Harry gave the acting Minister a serious look.,"I know it is not totally up to you, Kingsley, but this is Magical Britain's last chance. The prejudice and frankly inbreeding will be the downfall. Even before the War and the laws to discriminate muggleborns people were leaving. Magical Britain is living in a time capsule, and will be gone within a century if you do not do something.","I promise to do everything I can, Harry," Shacklebolt said. "And on that note, I'd better be leaving for the Ministry.","Good luck, Kingsley. You'll need it.",Harry followed Kingsley to the floo, and when the Minister had left he shut it down and went to bed. He was not especially optimistic about Magical Britain's future, but he knew that he himself would have one now, and that had seemed impossible just a little while ago. And with Hermione and the Sorcerer Supreme on his side he felt like he had great back up.

"I wish we could do more." said the old man.,"We did all that was possible.",The old man fidgeted his reddish wand while taking in his surroundings. To one that did not know him, his posture might have come across as merely cautious, perhaps even bored and most surely calm. To one that , know him however, such gestures and stiffness meant only one thing. The man was,. And that was surely something none of his friends or acquaintances were used to seeing from him. Oh, sure, he has been worried before. He has been scared , before. But when faced with situations that would strike panic in most others, he merely let out a slew of curses (the more perilous the situation, the more languages he would use to curse in), take a deep breath, and then go into a careful planning mode, assessing his options. He never truly felt , before. Not in his youth, and most surely not in his later years. Between him and his brother in all but blood, there was nothing the world threw at him which they could not tackle. And to quote his brother, ,. He absently drew his finger over his right forearm, where even decades later, his skin did not fully recover from that dragon's fiery breath. One of the many such testaments to his adventures. He always smiled when tracing the figure of one of his scars, remembering the good old days when he and his brother would travel across Britannia and face evil Goblins, dragons, trolls, Witch hunters and other such perils. It was a testament of his current mood that he was not even aware that he was tracing his scar, his eyes remaining fixated upon the heavy darkness that seemed to spread as a veil only a few meters away from him and his companion. It was odd. He has traveled that forest many times before. Taken in its trees, its springs, its creatures, and many forgotten trails. He has always found it calming. Soothing. Beautiful. Now however, it seemed… ,. As if the darkness itself was not mere darkness, but a sinister demon, spreading itself like a veil over the trees. Seeping through their cracks and twisting them. Poisoning them. They all seemed ugly now. Tainted, and unnatural. The whole forest seemed like one malevolent being, whispering. Sometimes, he even had the feeling he caught glimpses of its words, and how malicious they seemed! As if the forest knew something they did not, and was laughing at how deeply into its grasp the two wizards were going.,As if reading his mind and wanting to prove just how real everything was, some branches let out a weird crackling noise, to which he immediately reacted by strengthening his grip on his wand and pointing it towards the source of the noise. If one asked him later, he could not, even through the most advanced methods of Occlumency, recall what spell he thought of, but what was clear was that a jet of orange light with feint, dark green inflections darted out of his wand, making a screeching sound into the complete silence of the night and disappearing once it hit the guilty branch, severing it from the tree and tearing it to shreds. When he saw his victim was but a simple branch, he lowered his wand and let out a breath, disappointed in his own lack of composure. A few steps ahead of him, his companion stopped and turned towards him.,"We must hurry. We should finish by midnight.",The old man turned towards him, wand still in his hand. Even though he knew this man for almost a year now, he still felt a small revulsion each time he looked at him. He was well traveled, and the gods allowed him to see more things in his life than any Wizard or Muggle of that time, but never has he felt more uncomfortable than when he was in… , presence. The wizard in front of him peered back at him, the white light from his Lumos spell making his eerie features even more uncomfortable. His large, white eyes felt dead, and made him look either blind, or like a very well glamored Inferius. His olive skin was smooth, with the exceptions of his eyes, where he had the beginnings of a few wrinkles. The man lacked eyebrows, which was perhaps what added the most to his bizarre look. In fact, he seemed to lack any kind of hair on his body. He had thin lips, and looked like a very frail man, even though, by outward appearance alone, he could not have been more than fifty years old. His wand was strange also. Like a square stick, with some strange runes the old man could not properly place, but which he was pretty sure were etched in blood. It was suspiciously short, and if he was to hazard a guess, the wood was cedar. The… , simply stood there, his large eyes fixated on his companion and waiting for him to regain his wits.,"We must hurry" he repeated in the same ethereal tone, as if his voice came from great distance.,The old man took one more look at the tall trees around him, before giving a short nod to his companion and signaling him to continue. They went on in silence, and he noticed yet another odd feature to their little midnight stroll. ,. This forest was usually filled with life! Even a few magical animals dwell here! Yet now, everything seemed… dead. He was no stranger to death. He has walked across plenty of battlefields, taking in the pools of blood, the butchered bodies and the barrenness of a scorched field. This forest did not feel like that. It felt… ,. Empty of all that was familiar and comforting. He has faced evil before. This felt so much more. Deeper. Hungry. Alien. Yes. It was fair to say that for the first time in his life, he was absolutely ,. And that fact alone made him almost as scared as the forest did so in the first place.,"Are you truly sure we could not do more?" he asked more to comfort himself with a noise, rather than wanting to engage his companion in conversation. If the other man realized that or not, he did not show it, rather he answered in his dead and apathetic tone.,"I have told you. Containing it was the most we could do.",He felt slightly irritated. Yes, he always, that actually destroying it was impossible, but never had the common decency to actually begin explaining why! But then again, it was a battle of quite some proportion to rip out even the most basic explanations out of the man in front of him, who surely appeared to be a believer in ,. The old man was not the most talkative of persons either, but this was just ridiculous! He straightened his dark, green robes, taking the brief moment to compose himself, before replying.,"I have yet to encounter anything that could not be destroyed if you blast enough power at it. We have it trapped! We should hold onto it and figure out a way to destroy it!",The man stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at his companion. His face betrays no emotion, and the old man was proud of himself that he did not flinch at the sight in front of him.,"You were supposed to be the most sensible one, Salazar. Even now, you are feeling it's evil. , is seeping in the trees. It is digging in the dirt. , is suffocating the air. , tries to release itself. Surely, you are sensing it.",Salazar Slytherin looked around at the impenetrable darkness which seemed to move ever bit so closer to him in the fractions of a second it took him to blink. With a lazy flick of his wand, he cast a silent Lumos as well, then turned towards his companion. Green eyes met white ones, and he gave a reproachful look, as if the mere questioning of his common sense was an affront. He enjoyed the playful banter with his brother, Godric Gryffindor, but he did not like the idea of accepting even the tiniest display of insolence from some eccentric… , this man was! Once more he made a mental note of the fact that he failed to place the strange accent his companion had.,"I am merely saying! , is clearly nothing Wizardkind has any proper knowledge on! I find the idea of dropping it off and leaving it to chance too much of a gamble! Someone will find it! Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or even the next century, but some day, someone will find it!,",The last sentence he spoke was in Parseltongue, the language of serpents. The language which so very few wizards and witches in Europe could speak. It was something he took great pride in, and even performed many rituals to ensure that he binds such a precious gift to his very blood, passing it down to any that will have him as his ancestor. It was not the first time he tried to test whether or not his companion also carried ,, or ,, as Parseltongue was sometimes referred as, but he never managed to get a conclusive answer to that question. The man never actually answered to it, but Salazar always had the impression that he, at the very least, understood it, if not fully spoke it. It was hard to tell, since he simply never seemed to display any emotion, either on his face, nor in his voice. What a mystery this man was! And one that put Salazar on edge, more than spur his curiosity.,"Even if that happens, and it is found, , won't know how to untangle the wards you and I placed on the cage. The only loss will be whoever is foolish enough to stare at , for long enough for their mind to be overtaken. And you placed no short amount of fail safes in Parseltongue. , would take another Speaker to untangle them. Given that there are less than one hundred carriers of your ability on the continent at any given time, it makes it quite a long shot for one to be ensnared by our little friend here.",Salazar looked at the black cloth that his companion held, and quickly averted his gaze. He knew it was silly, that it took direct contact for the blasted thing to pose any threat, but once he actually faced it, his faith in the skimpy cloth vanished.,"Well… I still don't like this. I think there are more remote places we could hide it. But fine, let's get this over with!",His companion tilted his head strangely, in what Slytherin only assumed was a nod, before turning his back to him and continuing his journey to the heart of the woods. Salazar silently let out a ,, a rather handy bit of Parselmagic that send a message to any nearby snake or serpent of any kind, calling it towards the caster. The spell was only visible as flashes of green ripples in the white orb of the Lumos spell he was holding on the tip of his wand. He kept the beacon up for over five minutes, his face growing increasingly concerned at the complete lack of response he got. He , that forest. He , there were quite a few snakes there, by the gods, he , to them! It was eerie enough that he had to deal with the pressing feeling that life itself had been ripped out of the forest, but seeing some actual evidence of it was outright alarming. His gaze fixated on the package his companion was carrying, then slowly moved on the rather bizarre ring he was wearing. He suspected there was more at play here than he knew, but the deed had to be done. As he felt a chill ran down his spine while contemplating the man in front of him, he tightened his grip on his wand. He may have been an old man now, but he was still the most skilled fighter in Europe. He felt a small smile cross his face when he imagined the indignant face Godric would have made if he heard his previous thought. He sure would have enjoyed his sword and dry humor next to him at the moment.,"The Beacon isn't working.","Animals sense , too. They must be too afraid to come near us at the moment.",Salazar let out a small curse in Parseltongue as he looked at the man in front of him, then spoke, annoyance clear in his voice.,"I hope we won't be turning this forest into a wasteland!","No… Though, I find it interesting that you would be offended by the sacrifice of one forest for the sake of finally getting rid of It.",Slytherin instinctively grasped his gold necklace in his hand. It had an emerald serpent on one side and a tree on the other. A gift from his father, one he received oh so many years ago, in his youth. When he first left his village and went on the road with Godric, at the behest of the King of Camelot.,"Idiot Muggles only see value in nature if they can exploit it. Wizards should know better.",The man let out a short sound, with no telling if he agreed or not, and for a while they continued their journey in silence.,"Your daughter married, didn't she?",Salazar was initially thrown off balance by seemingly random and casual question but then his thoughts quickly turned into annoyance when he remembered his new son-in-law.,"Yes" he said, trying to conceal his feelings. The slightly prolonged s at the end of the word was testament of his failure, as such a Parseltongue inflection in regular speech only took place when a Speaker experienced strong emotion. "Good boy, I suppose. ,. Decent enough family from Ireland. I just wish he took more heed of the ,." Salazar decided not to go into how he would wring the boy's neck when he started talking about the benefits of so-called Frankish ,, nor how he almost had an apoplexy when he found out the boy barely spoke Gaelic at all! At least his daughter loved him, and he clearly loved her in return.,In front of him, the man let out one of those bizarre sounds which Slytherin could only assume was supposed to be a laugh. An eerie, emotionless laugh which only send shivers down his spine.,"You may , have noticed Salazar, but the ways of the Druids have been on the outs for centuries now. I reckon you are the last of what's left of their ancient religion.",, he thought bitterly. Millennia of heritage, of hopes, dreams, accomplishments and failures, all that the old Celts accomplished, it was all ending with him. He tried teaching his children as much as he could, but his daughter never was all that interested in learning the beauty and intricacies of such ancient Magic. It broke his heart every time he thought about it. At least she was quite dedicated to learning Parselmagic, which she always found fascinating. If his own family was indicative of things, Salazar reckoned it would take about two generations before the Gaunts would use Parseltongue as a native language among themselves. Slytherins always did, and even in his old age, he still retained an accent. A weird mixture of Gaelic and Parseltongue accents riddled his Latin and Old English. He felt his chest tighten as these thoughts inevitably led him to his son. His beloved, of a son. The young boy that took to heart every lesson Salazar had to teach. The boy that looked with such wonder at every bit of Magic he saw, and whose wonder at seeing it never diminished even as he aged. He aged, and then he died. How ironic, the son of a man so known for his composure and common sense, dead because he could not handle his own emotions. ,. Poor young fool, ,. How much the boy loved learning of the old Druid ways, and how much he admired his father, wanting to grow up to be just like him. And yet he died so young, in his twenties. And to make his tragedy worse, he took with him the daughter of one of his best friends as well. Little ,. How fondly he remembered holding her on his knees while he summoned various birds and faeries made of pure light to dance around her. She would laugh for hours, stretching her little hands towards them. Neither he nor Rowena ever recovered when their two children died, one at the hand of another. And it was like all the joy and enthusiasm they had while building their beloved school died with those two. Both Godric and Helga saw this, and both struggled to support their friends as best they could. Godric was especially shaken himself, as the bond he had with Salazar was one stronger than most had even among their own family, and losing Itzal felt like losing his own son.,"I hear there is trouble in Britannia?",Salazar knew the man simply tried to redirect his thoughts. He tightened his Occlumency shields and looked up, rather suspiciously.,"Hogwarts business does not concern you! It's between me and Godric!",The man stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his white dead eyes peering right into Salazar. But for the first time that night, Slytherin did not flinch, nor fear. How dare this fool pry his abnormal nose into his disagreement with his brother?! In that silent forest, the old Celt looked every bit like the most renowned and feared wizard in Europe, his green eyes dripping with venom and wand pointed toward his companion. Companion which, remained silent and still for a moment, before slowly bowing his head and speaking.,"I meant no offence, Salazar. I was speaking of Avalon.",. Yet another element of great disturbance to the old wizard. Trouble was brewing in the old kingdom. The last kingdom ruled by Wizardkind where Muggles and Wizards lived together in the open, and were quite aware of one another. , , took great pride in being the last Magicals to rule in such manner. The succession crisis was imminent, and knowing that two of his best students and personal apprentices were poised to fight one another, unless things changed drastically and fast, was quite heartbreaking for Salazar. , and , were by far the best Magicals he ever saw, and was sure both were going to surpass him once they reached the peak of their lives. He was quite glad that Godric's abomination of a Hat declared both of them to become his students. He was never a fan of that whole sorting compromise. They did well without it, for a few years Hogwarts functioning perfectly fine without that foolish house system. And if Godric were not so stubborn and saw the benefits of Salazar's reasoning, it would have continued so. But alas, now was not the time for that.,"The king demoted Morgana from succession. Plans to leave the throne to that ,, Arthur.",The man pondered over that bit of information, before continuing his query.,"The estranged Squib son? I see the prodigal heir's return made quite a mess of things.","Quite indeed. Merlin has taken quite a liking to him. And he rounded up a small clique in Hogwarts that supports him. Mostly Gryffindor boys from important families. Some of my Serpents seem to be in on it as well. Morgana… she… We shall see what she will do next, I suppose.",How it pained him to see his beloved school turned into a recruiting ground for his two favorite students to smite against one another. If it was his call alone, he would have expelled all involved and locked them up in a tower until they sort out their petty squabbles. Pay a visit to that insolent Pendragon in Camelot too, show him what the true meaning of power was. But both Helga and Rowena thought it sets a bad precedent to expel them for their beliefs, as they technically did not break any school rules. And Godric's family name carried a lot of weight in Camelot, so drawing the ire of so many families by expelling their scions was not something we was eager to do.,"Is the boy… adequate?","I only met him briefly. Merlin likes him, as I said, so I assume he must be. I'd say he overcompensates a bit, trying to pander as much as he can to Magicals, so we forget he is but a ,.",He did not mention how he thought Morgana should have been the next Queen, as the entire kingdom thought, and the girl herself was told since birth. The man in front of him had no business in knowing Salazar's inner feelings.,The two walked a little more, until they reached a small clearing in the forest. The man turned around to face Salazar, whose heart was beating faster and faster, and tilted his head in his usual manner. Slytherin's green eyes narrowed on the concealed object, before taking a step back and pointing his wand at the ground and slowly turning his wrist clockwise. In that moment a large pile of dirt rose in the air and the wizard gently moved it to his side, leaving in its wake a deep hole in the ground. He pointed his wand towards it, increasing the power of his Lumos by a little bit, and yet still not seeing the bottom. He looked up at his companion and signaled him to proceed. He pointed his short wand at the package he was carrying with his other hand and levitated in the air above the new made pit, while Slytherin pointed his and cancelled the Shrinking Charm his companion placed on it. The moment the spell was gone they both felt a ripple in the air, as if someone punched the very fabric of reality so hard that everything around them vibrated and now needed some moments to rearrange itself back to normal. The wizards almost lost control of their spells, and took all their power and control to maintain control over themselves. Salazar felt like he wanted to vomit, and his knees started to shake. How he wanted to blast that damned thing to bits, but he knew it would have done no good. It was inside of it, not the actual object. Destroying it would have only set it free once more. The two wizards eyed the now large rectangle shape and nodded at one another. In the next moment, they both released their spells, and the lifeless object fell in the pit. The wizards quickly took a few steps back, as if expecting some great monster to drag itself out of the grave-like pit and attack them. Not waiting a second more, Salazar pointed his wand at the pile of dirt at his side and levitated it back into the hole, filling it right back up. He then conjured a thick layer of grass over it, to fully mask it, but much to his dismay, his conjuration , the second he released pushing out his magic. He frowned and tried again, but the same strange occurrence happened again. , Have their wards not been strong enough? He looked up at his companion, which seemed to share the same dilemma. For the first time since he met him, Slytherin finally read an emotion on him. And it was ,!,"Don't tell me It broke out!",The man paused and holstered his weird wand in a leather scabbard, before looking up.,"No… We… we definitely would have known if our wards fell. That , would have attacked us for sure. But it seems like his evil won't allow life to grow over the cage.",Salazar appeared thoughtful and kept his wand at a ready.,"That blasted mirror is one of the most dangerous magical artifacts in the world right now.",The companion tilted his head in agreement.,"It would be best if it remains lost forever. And may the Fates have mercy on whoever gazes into it for too long.","More like, may the Fates have mercy on us, for what will be released is pure evil!","It will show what one desires the most. Trust me, Salazar. He is nothing if not persuasive. Let us hope the mirror we trapped him in remains forever lost.",Slytherin nodded.,"Let us hope. And at the very least, I hope it will never worm its way into Hogwarts. Its lures would be all too easy a trap to fall in for a child.",The two remained silent for a moment, looking at the dead spot on the ground, and then the companion looked up once more.,"I am truly grateful to you, Salazar. Ridding the world of that fiend has been one of the very few failures me and my brothers have ever faced. It will be a great relief to them to hear the deed has been done.","Well, I am surely pleased I managed to help, though I wish we could have learned more about this whole thing.",And then, the man did something the wizard never seen him do before, nor thought him capable of doing. He shook his head in the most normal and human way possible. It was telling how bizarre he was if such a normal gesture made that much of an impression on Slytherin.,"No, Salazar. Some things are better off never known.",The wizard nodded tiredly, clearly not agreeing, but not wanting to go over that argument again.,"So, what now?" he asked.,"Now, we part ways. But rest assured, we shall meet before long. My brothers and I intend to travel once more. We have set our gaze towards Britannia. I trust we will find you in good health once we arrive. I know my brothers are eager to meet you after the tales I told them of the last of the Druids, Founder of Hogwarts and Speaker of the Noble Tongue.",Slytherin fixed the man with a stare that could have made flowers wither, while he spoke his next words with unhidden venom.,"I do wonder what will it be this time, ,.",The man by the name of Cadmus remained unresponsive, before speaking slowly.,"What do you mean?","Oh, I think you know what I mean, ,. Or should I call you ,? Or is it ,? ,? Tell me, ,, do you ever lose track of your own lies, or do they all come natural to you? I was merely wondering what name you will take this time. You seem to change them every few centuries or so.",Cadmus did not even need to display any emotion. Slytherin knew he surprised him. What he did not know was how the man will react. The Celt silently performed the Beacon Charm, and this time, the ripples of the spell's magic returned to him with more answers than he hoped for. He sensed through his wand the snakes of the forest hurrying to him, ready to aid him in battle. He pointed his reddish wand at Pevelrich, ready to fire a barrage of spells. But the eerie wizard remained unmoved, even as a small army of snakes started surrounding him, all hissing at once. Slytherin's wand started to glow a sickly, yellowish light at its tip, some powerful curse clearly ready to be fired the moment he so willed it. But Pevelrich only tilted his head in his annoyingly strange fashion and spoke.,"Always too smart for your own good, Salazar.",The wizard grinned and made a subtle gesture with his head.,"They'll put that on my tombstone. So, what will it be?",",. Cadmus Peverell. That is how we shall be named. I am not your enemy, Salazar. Nor are my brothers. We do not seek to stir any trouble in your home.","What do you want in Britannia then? , are you, Cadmus Peverell?! Why are there mentions of you and your creepy brothers dating more than , back?!",His Parseltongue started slipping more and more into his speech, while the man in front of him looked wholly unperturbed.,"We… simply ,, Salazar." Cadmus sighed, deep in thought. "We shall speak more on this once we meet again, in Britannia. You have… impressed me. I will have something for you, before it's over.","Speak plainly! Before what's over?! And whatever you want to give me, I want nothing from you!",Cadmus grinned, for the first time since Slytherin met him, he actually grinned!,", will need safekeeping before one of our blood regains them all. You , accept this gift, Salazar, trust me." He glanced at his ring, his gold ring with a strange, pitch black stone attached to it. "And speaking of safekeeping. Do not ward this place. Magic leaves traces. This place must be as unremarkable as possible. The mirror draws enough attention as it is. Let it get lost. We have done our part.",Slytherin had enough of idle chatter and was about to fire a restraining spell when Cadmus Apparated away from the forest with a loud noise. Salazar let out a few creative insults and lowered his wand, pinching the bridge of his nose, his thoughts alternating between Cadmus and that blasted mirror they buried. At least he found some solace in the irony of sealing Master Mirror in an actual mirror. He was not going to let this whole situation drop, however. Something was off about the Peverell Brothers, or whatever their name was. And he was going to discover it. With one last look around, Salazar Slytherin Apparated away from that accursed place, hoping that the mirror will forever remain lost.

"I , don't think we should be doing this Jade" Tori whispers, terrified of their surroundings "What if we get caught? Students aren't supposed to be out of their dormitories after hours!",The Goth girl rolled her eyes, exasperation evident as she let out an irritated groan.,"First of all Vega, we're , going to get caught! That's what the invisibility cloak is for!" Jade hissed angrily, as she roughly touched a piece of the garment in front of the other girl's eyes to make her point. "Second of all, who invited you?!","I saw you sneaking out!" Tori said worriedly "I didn't want you getting into trouble, plus I thought you might like some company on your trip to... Whenever it is you're going","Well you thought wrong!" Jade growled menacingly "I would walk your ass back to our damn tower but that would take time and energy I rather not waste!","What if I said that if you did that... I would... , Professor McGonagall on you?" The tanned girl challenged unsurely.,Jade on her part simply raised an eyebrow as she sharply glared upon her unwanted companion, her frown soon turned into a smug smirk "You would never do that to me ,, you may be paranoid, neurotic and a scardy cat but if there is one thing you've , is a squealer, so I , you wouldn't follow through with that half-ass threat",The Muggle born wizard blushed furiously,"Now shut up and follow my lead!" The Thespian ordered ominously as she inspected the crudely drawn map in her hands "Damn it" She swore under her breath "Last time I listen to Alex Russo... Next time I see her, I'm using the Anteoculatia spell on her!","I don't like that spell" Tori mumbles. "I don't think you should put Alex through that","Of course you wouldn't think so" Jade sneered "You don't have an adventurous bone in your body","Don't yell Vega!" The Goth hissed "We're trying , to get caught!","I do too!" Tori repeated quietly this time "But there's a difference between being adventurous and being a gank! I just don't think you should give people antlers! It's not nice!","You're only saying that because I gave you a nice set of those a week ago" Jade teased "They matched your eyes","Be that as it may" The Half-Latina said "It's still think you shouldn't do that again, I mean giving me antlers hurt my head... I don't want anyone else to go through that too! Geez, that was number five on the list of cruel pranks you done on me","What was number one?",Tori narrowed her eyes "Don't you remember? The time you used the Piertotum Locomotor spell to bring to life a douche","Oh yeah" Jade said with a satisfied grin "That was fun",Her moment of reminiscing was cut short as both girl saw said product running down the corridors literally screaming his head off.,"Aw bro! My nozzle! ,The broken douche yelled out "So not fair bro! So , fair!","Who goes there?!",Both teenagers ran as quickly as possible into the opposite direction of the bellowing feminine product, careful to ensure that they would remain under the cloak. Otherwise they would surely be seen by the caretaker of the school.,"I said who goes there?!" Filch shouted again "Show yourself!",As Jade and Tori continued to jog away from the Squib, they subconsciously held hands in order not to get separated, however they didn't exactly see where they were going (due to poor lighting" which of course led them straight into a set of huge wooden doors.,"Aw crap" Jade snapped "We're boned!","No necessarily" Tori said as she inspected the door,more accurately the lock "We may have a way out... In... You know what I mean","Just shut up and do something!","Ok! Ok! ,","What was ,?!","Nothing",The brunette quickly got her wand out of her bootie slipper, ready to use the Unlocking Charm.,"Ah-hem" She cleared her throat "Alohomora",The locked swiftly opened up.,Even thought Jade was impressed, she remained condescending towards the muggle.,"Well done Vega, your first breaking an entertaining" She taunted "There may be hope for you yet","How did you even get into the Gryffindor house in the first place?" Tori asked exasperatedly as they went through the wooden doors.,"Believe me, I been asking myself the same thing every day since that smug bastard of a sorting hat placed me there with you",She then noticed that they were still holding hands, ,Jade violently threw the other girl's arm.,"Hey! Ow!" Tori groaned in pain "You know you could've simply asked!","What's the fun in that then?" The Goth mocked using her valley voice.,"For the last time! I , talk like that!","Sure you don't" Jade teased "And maybe I'm...",But she never finished her sentence, the dark haired teen removed the cloak of invisibility from both of them, she slowly walked away from Tori, eyes twinkling her jaw dropping in shock.,Jade once again got the map out of her pocket, looking down on it then at the object in front of her several times. This was it; after months of searching they finally found it. By accident but they found it nonetheless.,"The Mirror Of Erised" Jade said in awe. "A mysterious item made two centuries ago, forged by magic in the spirit of fun, mostly to show the user what they truly desire. Barely any protection in this place for such an incredible piece of magic… Very strange.",Tori who also noticed the mirror looked at it in a shared awe, she walked around it, inspecting it like a scientist would to an ameba under a microscope.,", Tori read the inscriptions on the frame,She brushed her hand over the glass face of the mirror, wiping away the layer of dust.,The glass of the mirror shifted and rippled like the surface of a clean lake.,Said girl jumped away from the mirror in terror "How do you know my name?!"," The voiced replied,Indignant by such accusations Tori moved her arms around her chest "I do not! Hey... Wait a minute",She slowly turned around to see her suspicions confirmed, Jade had both hands over her mouth, trying (and failing) to keep a straight face.,"That's not funny!","I beg to differ!" Jade chortled "You should have seen your face! You were about to piss your pants!","You really are a gank","No surprise there Vega" She replied uncaringly "Now move it, I want to see the mirror","What's so special about an old mirror?" Tori asked curiously.,Jade met her eyes "This isn't just a regular old mirror Vega" She says seriously "This is the mirror of Erised and to answer your question, it shows the most desperate desire of a person's heart.","Really?" The brunette question "And what exactly is it you desire most?","Recognition" Jade said at once "Imagine getting praised from the people around you, knowing that you're earned it after so much hard work","That seems fine... But wouldn't you feel lonely at the top?" Tori mused.,"Oh let me think about it... I just did... ,!" Jade snaps sharply "I been by myself almost all my life, and I'll go to the top alone, another person in my life , define happiness",Tori frowned, it was comments like these that made her feel pity towards the Goth. "Nobody deserves to be alone","I'm glad I'm alone!" Jade shouted "People suck anyway!","Are you trying to fool me or you?","," The Thespian parroted in disgust I'm not trying to fool anyone! I'm telling you the truth! In fact I'm going look into that mirror and see everything I told you to be true!",Jade sharply turned to look herself in the mirror. "Come on, come on, show me what I want most!",On her part, Tori turned around to give her frenemy some privacy, she didn't know if she would actually be able to , whatever Jade really wanted, but if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to know.,For two main reasons: She felt it would be a huge disrespect of the Goth's privacy and more importantly she didn't think she could be able to handle if Jade's true desire was to be on top...,While the Half-Latina was thinking, Jade saw herself in the mirror... As she is now.,Suddenly she saw her reflection smile, waving happily at an unseen person, the real Jade turned around, hoping to see what her "other self" was waving back.,Jade's blue eyes once again met the mirror's reflection, she took a step back in horror.,She stared at the mirror, which had another person gazing out of the mirror at her.,Jade's eyebrows knitted together and she stepped closer, looking deep into the other girl's soft face. Mirror Tori lifted a hand against the glass, as though wanting to reach out to her. ",Something inside the purge-blood sparked at these words, these simple words he had craved to hear so desperately most of her lonely life. Finally they were being directly at her, sincerely and gently, there were no deceits., what Jade , wanted.,... A friend.,"Vega?" Jade croacked.,"Yeah?","Your turn","I'm sorry?",Tori jumps in surprise at such a powerful scream "Ok, ok.. Um, this is probably a stupid question, but did you managed to see your heart's desire?","Of course I did" Jade sneered "And it was what I said it would be, thank you very much!",The brunette frowned sadly.,Without a second thought she gave the pale wizard a hug from behind.,"Waaa.. What the hell do you think you're doing Vega?!","Just because you don't know how to act around affection, it doesn't mean you should be deprived of it","You have five seconds before I break your hands" Jade warned darkly. "5... 4... 3... 2... ,",The Half-Latina removed her arms from the Goth torso, not once did she view her in a negative light, if anything the pity she felt towards Jade intensified ten fold.,Tori never stopped staring sorrowfully at Jade, even as walked in front of the mirror.,"I wonder what my biggest desire would be?","Knowing you, probably something stupid" Jade sneered "Like having a box full of kitties",Instead of answering, Tori opted to be quiet as she looked into the mirror.,What she saw, made her heart melt.,"Awww" She cooed.,Within the mirror she saw herself, but she wasn't alone.,Tori could see her reflection giving Jade an affectionate visiting from the "tickle twins" but what she liked the most was seeing how carefree and happy the usually surly wizard was.,",?" Jade interrupted nastily "What poor fantasy is your biggest desire?","You... being happy" The tanned muggle admitted, not once did removed her eyes from the mirror. "It's quite a sight for sore eyes",The Goth"s eyes widened "Keeop me out of your deluded fantasies Vega!" She snarled "And don't lie to me! Because that's total crap!","I wouldn't dismiss your friend's words if I were you" A new voice says gently, surprising both teenagers.,The elderly Headmaster gave his pupils a warm smile as he went down the stairs "I see you finally found the mirror","You , I was looking for it?" Jade asked.,"Nothing within these walls are a secret from me" Dumbledore said "And I see you have taken someone along with you",Tori rubbed her arm nervously "Professor... I can explain!",Dumbledore gently lifted a hand "My child, no need to do so, neither of you are in trouble.",The tanned girl sighed in relief ,"I assume by now, you both realized what it does?" He asks, referring to the mirror. "Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is.",Tori gave it some thought then slowly spoke "So basically, it shows us what we want... Whatever we want?","Yes and no" Dumbledore replied quietly "It shows nothing more than what we truely want deep down",Jade felt uncomfortable by all of this.,Something Tori didn't miss "Professor... Does the mirror hold any truth?... I mean... what we see... can it become... ,?",The man gave her a kind smile, knowing why she asked such a thing "It hold no truth, but it also holds hope, what you see in the mirror does not mean it can be held only within you, it can be real but only if you want it to be, men have wasted away in front of it never achieving their deepest desires, take a lesson from the past. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.",Tori looked at the headmaster, then at Jade, remember how happy she was in the mirror.,",Jade meanwhile wondered if Dumbledore's words was his own subtle way of telling her not to be bitter, to let people in... To let , in.,"Now I believe you both need to go back to bed" He admonished quietly "You both have classes next morning and you need to rest.",Not about to argue with the greatest wizard of all time, Jade grabbed the cloak she had discarded earlier and wrapped it around herself.,"You got room for one more?" Tori asked unsurely.,The Goth grunted, but nonetheless opened up so both girls would be under the cloak of invisibility.,"Don't fall behind Tori",The Half-Latina gave her a huge grin ,Dumbledore stayed behind, observing as the door opened and closed,Tomorrow the mirror would be moved to a new place, but that didn't matter, he had the inkling that both his pupils would not come back looking for it again.,After all, he The wizard suspected Jade and Tori would be spending a lot more time together.,"Ah, to be young and with friends"

I don't know how this happened. You see Aunt Petunia sent me a letter telling me that I needed to come home for spring break. Which was very odd considering A) she never sends a letter and B) they never wanted me in their house in the first place. I asked Dumbledore if I should go or not and his response made me even more wary. He told me I needed to go as if it was something important that was going on, maybe more important than the fact that Voldemort was out there and Umbridge and the Ministry weren't doing anything to help.,After talking to Dumbledore, I went to the Gryffindor common room and headed to the dorms to pack what little I had. I walked back down to the common room and saw Hermione on the couch studying and Ron playing Wizards Chess and complaining to Dean about Snape. Can you blame him though, Snape is a total git. Walking over to Hermione I got Ron' attention, who got up and started walking towards us after giving Dean a muttered good-bye.,"Hermione," I said, catching her by surprise, "we need to talk, like right now." She looked up from her book, as Ron sat down beside her, looking confused probably wondering what exactly was going. Finally she responded "What's going Harry, you didn't get in trouble with Umbridge or Professor Snape again? Did you?" She asked. "Yea mate what's going on? You seem troubled and serious all of a sudden" Ron added looking a bit concerned.,I sat there trying to find a way to explain it to them, not knowing what their reaction would be. However I realized that no matter what that they would understand because that's just who they were. They were my mates, my brother and sister in all but blood. "No Hermione I'm not in trouble, at least I hope I'm not. Ron you're right, I am troubled right now, along with confused," I responded. Then I explained to them about the letter, Dumbledore's odd response, and my own confusion. They were confused at the end but also worried too. "So what are you going to do Harry?" 'Mione asked. "I guess I'm gonna just have to go Mione. Dumbledore thinks I should and something deep down is making me feel like I should. Maybe something bad happened, or maybe they're leaving for good and just want to say good-bye. Who knows but I'm gonna damn well find out" I said, with more confidence then I felt.,After that we dropped the conversation, and went to the dorms for bed. The next morning we said our good-byes at breakfast, before I headed down to the train with everyone else who was heading home for spring break. Next thing I knew I was asleep and having a weird dream. I was in this big round room with these tall ass people with animal heads ranging from falcons, to cats, alligators, hippos, and more. They seemed to be talking, but the thing is I couldn't understand what they were saying, it was like they were speaking another language. One thing seemed clear though, I was one of the topics they were talking about, if I were to go by their pointing.,Next thing I know I was up and off the train, waiting for the Dursleys on the other side of the platform. I remember the Dursleys picking me up from Kings Cross, and next thing I know I'm on a plane to New York, specifically Brooklyn. As soon as the plane touched down in Brooklyn I felt drawn to some place, and I had no clue as to why. Now I know why and I regret finding out why.,We were walking inside of Dudley's new school when I felt drawn to a locker. I don't know why exactly the Dursleys let me go with them, probably because they didn't trust me to stay home alone in their new house, but I don't plan on asking why. When I went to the locker I heard a voice in my head. " Turn the knob left to 13, then turn it right, skipping 0, and stop on 32, then turn left and stop on 33," The voice said, which had freaked me out considering it was a voice in my head. Which, considering my link to Voldemort, wasn't good at all, but for some reason I felt like I could trust the voice. I took a chance and did as the voice said. To my surprise the locker opened, and inside there was this weird amulet that looked like a tower or bone of some sort.,I picked it up to look at it, but after picking it up I passed out. I opened my eyes and saw four people from my earlier dream. They all had animal heads, a dog of some sort, some type of bird, frog, and a frog with a palm sticking up from it's head, and three of the four were male. They were talking about something, and from the sound of the voices there was only one girl.,"Um hullo, where am I and who the heck are you all?" I asked interrupting their conversation. They all turned their attention to me, which let me admit it freaked me out badly. The one with the jackal head, who I'm guessing was a man opened his mouth like he was going to answer however the bird headed one interrupted him. " Well first I guess we should introduce ourselves. Well I'm Isis," she said pointing at herself, "and that's Anubis, Kek, and Heh," she finished,pointing at the jackal guy, the frog dude, and the other frog dude with a palm sticking from his head.,"As for your other question. You're in a dream-like vision, and we're here so we can explain somethings to you," Anubis, the jackal headed man, said. "Things like what? Hmmm? Like why I'm in some bloody room that is supposedly in my head?"I asked after looking around and noticing that we were in a room of some sort and I was on a cot. "Like why you people are here when it's supposedly my head? And what exactly are you people? You look human but you have animal head, so what the heck are you?" I asked, finishing my stream of questions.,They looked back and forth, trying to figure out who was going to answer me, when in the end Kek stepped forward. "Well where to begin. What we are is Egyptian gods," he said answering my last question, " and as for why us four are here well that's simple. You see Hadrian, Heh and I are your parents, and Isis and Anubis have chosen you as their champion."

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, Warner Bros and Super Junior,Author's Note: I have changed the birth year of Super Junior members to match Harry Potter's timeline. I also changed the names of some Super Junior members.,Jungsoo Park: 1st July 1980, half-blood,,Hydrus Heechul Kim: 10th July 1980, pureblood,Jongwoon Lupus Kim-Malfoy: 24th August 1981, pureblood,Donghee Shin: 28th September 1981, pureblood,Hyukjae Lee: 4th April 1982, half-blood,Siwon Equus Choi: 7th April 1982, pureblood,Donghae Lee: 15th October 1982, muggle-born,Ryewook Kim: 21st June 1983, muggle-born,Kyuhyun Cho: 3rd February 1983, pureblood,This day was the day Heechul was looking forward to. Heechul had admired Hogwarts and wanted to experience it. Another reason why Heechul was so excited about Hogwarts was that he was finally able to be away from his family. Heechul never got along with his family. He never got why his family was obsessed with certain people and beliefs. The people his parents wanted him to be friends seemed so dumb or snobbish. Especially that Malfoy and his cronies. He could not bear the sight of them. The only people he could bear was Cho Kyuhyun and Kim Jongwoon. At least, they weren't as arrogant or idiotic as others. Heechul decided to let that matter rest and looked at the mirror. Heechul took pride in his looks and others would have understood why he did. His long black curly hair that came up to his shoulder, thin face and his rebellious eyes made him look stunning. After looking at a mirror for a while, Heechul started to look for an empty compartment until he found one with three boys and asked, "Is it ok if I join here? Other places are full.",The three boys looked at each other for a while before nodding to signal it was alright for him to come in. Heechul sat next to the boy with black hair and round glasses. Opposite them, a boy with light brown hair was talking to a boy with red hair and freckles.,The boy with a scar and glasses looked awkwardly and asked, "Hi. So what is your name? I am Harry Potter.",Heechul raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, so you are Harry Potter. I am Heechul, Kim. I have heard a lot about you." Heechul shook hands with Harry and looked at the other two. "And you are?",Jungsoo shook his hands with Heechul and said, "I am Jungsoo Park and this is Ron Weasley." Heechul tried to smile when he heard the name. A Weasley. His family would be mad if they knew about it. Still, Heechul kept quiet as he felt his family might be wrong about them.,Heechul listened to the boys talk about their family. Heechul did not really want to get involved as he did not want to talk about his family. Jungsoo's family was quite similar to his family except his mother was a muggle. Ron's family was indeed large as he had heard. Harry seemed to have some family dynamic as he did. Heechul was not deeply involved in the conversation until he heard Harry mention Voldemort's name. The name no one dared to speak.,"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and interested. "I thought you of all people…","I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry. "I just didn't know that. See what I mean? I got loads to learn... I bet," he added, "I bet I'm the worst in the class.","Oh, don't worry. It's not a forbidden thing. It's just due to their stupid fear. And you won't be worst. There are plenty of dumb people here." said Heechul as he though about Malfoy's croonies.,"You won't be. There are loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough," said Ron after he gave a look to Heechul.,"He is right. I am sure you will do well. Don't worry," reassured Jungsoo gently.,While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.,It was around half-past twelve when a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?",Harry was the first one to leap to his feet and go to the corridors followed by the other two boys except for Ron. Heechul just kept eating while the other three exchanged foods with each other. Then Harry asked as he looked at the picture of Albus Dumbledore. Heechul was surprised that there was so much Harry did not know about the wizarding world. Heechul watched as Ron was explaining about the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans then he decided to take one for himself. He frowned for a while before an idea came up to him. Then he grinned an evil smile and said, "Here try this out. That one isn't bad",The three looked nervously at Heechul before Harry tried it out. Harry decided to take a bite. Harry frowned immediately as he took a bite.,Heechul let out a giggle as he said, "Haha. I'm sorry. Actually, that is vomit flavoured.",Harry immediately grabbed a drink and started drinking it. Jungsoo just frowned and shook his head. "You have a similar humour sense like my brothers. I am sure you will get along well with him," said Ron frowning. Heechul just merely shrugged. Then there was a knock on the door and a round-faced boy came in crying. The boy left after wailing about not being able to find his toad.,"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk.","Maybe the toad might mean a lot to him. Just because you don't like your pet doesn't mean others don't," said Jungsoo. Jungsoo looked at Scabbers and asked, "By the way, is Scabbers ok? Isn't he very old?","I don't know. You wouldn't know the difference even if he died. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look...",Jungsoo looked sceptical while Heechul looked with interest as Ron was about to cast a spell. Then the toadless boy and a bushy brown haired girl turned up. Heechul looked at the girl unpleasantly as she asked about the toad then sat down to watch Ron's spell.,Ron cleared his throat.,"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.",That definitely did not sound like a spell and it really had no effect on the rat. Heechul tried hard to stop giggling but he could not hide a smile. Jungsoo looked apologetically at Ron and mentioned something that made Ron's ear go red. The girl arrogantly mentioned that she was from a muggle family and that her name was Hermione Granger. She did sound impressive by the fact she had managed to learn the books by heart but she sounded so snobbish. Hermione stopped talking to Harry and turned to Heechul and asked, "What about you? You haven't even mentioned your name. You are...?","Heechul. Though why do you need to know that?" Heechul retorted.,Hermione frowned and said, "Fine then. Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon.",And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.,Jungsoo looked at Heechul and said, "You didn't need to be that rude to her.","Well, she was rude first. She sounds so snobbish," said Heechul defensively.,"Yeah, I kinda agree. Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell - George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud.","What house is your family in?" asked Harry.,"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.","That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?","Yeah it is," said Ron as he flopped back to his seat looking depressed.,"I am sure it would turn out fine, Ron. I don't think you are Slytherin type," reassured Jungsoo.,"My families are mostly in Gryffindors but we do have some Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor but I am sure I wouldn't suit other houses," said Jungsoo,Heechul became uncomfortable as soon as Slytherin was mentioned. Slytherin did have many bad wizards but it did not mean all Slytherins were bad. Heechul hated how people assumed the worst out of Slytherin. It was why Heechul blurted out in a challenging tone, "I don't mind being in Slytherin. In fact, I might like it I have some family members that are from Slytherin.",Jungsoo broke the silence by saying, "Well, not all Slytherins are bad. I did meet a few Slytherins who are quite alright.","Yeah but everyone knows that most Slytherins turned out bad. Most of them sided with You-Know-Who during the first war. So I don't get why you want to be in Slytherin unless you support the same ideology. " stated Ron as he glared at Heechul suspiciously.,"Just because I want to be in Slytherin means I hate muggles. Not that I know anything about them. Well, it seems you are quite prejudiced like them," challenged Heechul.,Jungsoo tried to lighten the mood by changing the topic. The other boys were soon talking about other topic but Heechul did not join in because he was still unhappy about the fight. Then suddenly the door opened and three boys, who Heechul hated the most, entered the compartment. Heechul glared at the palest boy, Draco who was so fixed on Harry to notice Heechul.,"Is it true?" he said. "They are saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?","Yes," said Harry.,Heechul glared as he listened to Draco introducing his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Draco was snobbish and the other two were dumb. He wondered how they could even enter Hogwarts. A Muggle-born would be way better than them. As Draco started talking, the people in the room started to dislike him even more.,"As if your family is any better. I find it funny how you think you are above others just because of your status," Heechul spat.,"Hydrus, fancy seeing you here. I knew you always disagreed with your family but seeing you with these blood traitors. What would your family say about that?" said Draco.,Heechul clenched his fist as he said, "Don't call Hydrus. It's quite a pathetic name. At least I am not a father's pet like you.",A pink tinge appeared in Draco's pale cheeks. "I'd be careful if I were you," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys, Parks and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." Draco turned to Heechul and said, "And Hydrus. I will still call you Hydrus even if you want it or not. I am not a blood traitor like you. I knew you were the trouble the moment you came. You will regret it if you keep hanging around these lots.",Harry, Ron and Jungsoo stood up. Ron's face was as red as his hair. Even Jungsoo, the most polite person in the room, could not seem to hide his fury.,"Say that again," he said.,"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.,"Unless you get out now," said Harry.,"But we don't feel like leaving, do we boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some.",Goyle was reaching out for a Chocolate Frog when Scabbers bit Goyle. That had gotten Goyle and the others run away in fear. Heechul couldn't stop laughing even when Hermione came in and asked what had happened. Heechul laughed along with them until Ron started to talk about Draco's family.,"What about you? You seem more close to his family. Didn't he call you Hydra or something?" asked Harry.,"Hydrus. I hate that name. My mother is from the Black family. So we are kind of related to each other," said Heechul frowning.,"So you are from the Black family. They are similar to Malfoys. What are you doing here?" said Ron.,"Didn't you listen to what I have said? I don't agree with my family's ideology and I hate being related to Malfoy. You are not the only one who hates Malfoy," said Heechul.,Ron was about to retort when Jungsoo stepped in and said, "Stop it. We are almost here. We should just get ready to go out.",Fortunately, Heechul was able to stay with the boys because Jungsoo stopped Ron from chasing him away. Still, the boys seemed less willing to talk to Heechul after they found out about his family. At least it was only Ron who was hostile towards him. Heechul hoped things would not be so bad as they got into the castle.

Chapter One The Birth of A Demon,The moon was casting its light down onto the residents and inhabitants of Ikebukuro, most of whom were asleep at this hour. There were, of course, residents who tended to be night owls, the various people engaged in illicit occupations, smugglers, drug dealers, prostitutes, murderers, and the like.,One such person was perched atop a building, swinging his legs back and forth as he watched both the twinkling stars and the artificial lights of the city and its people. The young man let out a loud yawn as he ran a hand through his messy black hair.,"I wonder when my human will show up and then I can begin my game." He whispered, his eyes still on the wondrous sights of the people below, all so interesting, involved in their own little world and pursuits. In a way, you could almost call it...,The man pursed his lips and let out a new word, ",Grimacing briefly, he looked up at the sky and said, "You know, if I had more emotion, I would almost say I feel 'happy' looking at these stars, but I only feel bored. I wonder whose fault that is. Well, I'm glad I am the way I am, after all.",His crimson irises locked onto a few humans wandering below; and again his eyes lit up in fascination. These humans still had things he lacked, things he could never hope to possess ever again, things that had been stolen away from him. His eyebrows rose ever so slightly as he took in a happy family below; a mother pushing a baby carriage with their father playing with the young boy.,The very sight made his cold heart almost ache from nostalgia. But no longer could he feel anything but envy-and a slight bit of irritation-from the sight, as he disliked children and families significantly at this point in time. His adoptive family wasn't too bad, it was just that he didn't have the capacity to care about those little things anymore.,In a way, the night sky was like a god, but here he was, a god among humans, confessing his sins to the priest. "I wonder...sometimes I wonder how all of those...those idiots are faring. Well, I bear Hagrid no ill will, but the rest of those fools...they're probably all missing their beloved savior." The word savior was spat out with considerable venom as he took the piece of paper he was holding in his hands and stomped on it.,His eyes played over the paper again; it was a newspaper known as the Daily Prophet. It was not an ordinary newspaper by any means. Then again, neither was the person reading it, much to his annoyance.,"Harry Potter, wanted alive or dead. It has been nine years since the boy mysteriously vanished. Our society cannot survive-",At this, Izaya turned the page. "The next apocalypse? I dare them to try dealing with an outbreak of AIDs, ebola or regular diseases. They'd be wiped out before long. Wouldn't that be a grand day?" He chuckled at that joke.,He resigned himself to counting how many humans were fighting, then to counting how many humans were arguing, and then whenever he was bored with that, he decided to count all the constellations; some of the not so useless bullshit he was taught as a child.,There was Orion, there was Capricorn, there was the Little Dipper and the Big Dipper. But he didn't really give a damn about that stuff. He was so alone that he didn't care.,"This night reminds me too much of the old days..." He mumbled. Bored, he checked the time on his phone. It would not be much longer now until she showed up. What could he do in the meantime? Shizu-chan didn't seem to be around to pester.,The young man's eyes locked onto the picture of the boy listed in the newspaper, then he took out his switchblade and carved an X right onto the paper. "Too bad for them that Harry Potter died long, long ago. There is just me, Izaya Orihara." Humming a tune to himself, Izaya closed his eyes and thought about getting some sleep.,But then again, if he fell asleep, his mind would drift back into those memories. Izaya let out a sudden shudder. He wanted to stay awake. But his body was aching for sleep after another sleepless night helping an important client of Shiki's, so he needed to do it.,"To life as a Muggle!" He chirped, pretending to do an imaginary toast before he took his brief slumber; during which he was propelled into many, many unpleasant images of his past-the life he would never go back to willingly. The life of a child soldier and tool.,You see, Izaya Orihara was a wizard-a race of humans that could produce magic.,Hogwarts was one such school for young witches and wizards to go to learn how to practice their magic, how to utilize it and how to survive being in a world that knew nothing of magical people. The grand castle had stood for many centuries, educating many people, good and bad.,The school was known for its 'high' education, even though the school had a record for being poorly maintained and neglectful. During the past three years, a known serial killer had been let loose inside the building, a werewolf had been a teacher, a student had been attacked by a hippogriff, a couple of them had been petrified by a basilisk and a kid running loose, possessed by an evil overlord, had done the petrification.,There were dangerous traps and all sorts of dangers in the school. The worst part of all was the negligence on part of the teachers in the school and the students. When a girl named Hermione Granger had almost gotten killed by a troll when she was in the girls' bathroom after being insulted by another student, no teachers had arrived to console her on the trauma or punish the student who had led her to this event.,Some students were bullied by teachers like Severus Snape and no one seemed to care at all. That was the saddest thing. People were so enraptured by Hogwarts' grandeur that they forgot to see past the magic and treat the children like, well, children-human and deserving of care.,They looked down upon Muggles, people who had no magic-and thought of them as lesser creatures.,But there was no one who was more well-thought of and admired than the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. Once upon a time, the old man had been so kind and trusting that it hurt, but now things were different. Power had corrupted Albus Dumbledore and turned him into a monster.,Cornelius Fudge was right about not trusting Dumbledore, because as a matter of fact, he was more interested in one thing than anyone else. He didn't love his students; he cared about them, sure, but he was more than willing to use them if it meant doing good in the future.,The only thing that mattered to him was in keeping all of the Hogwarts students under his control. The most satisfying pawn was definitely Harry James Potter for Dumbledore. Harry was special.,Depending on who you spoke to, Harry Potter was either a heroic boy, the next Messiah Incarnate, or a sinful little devil that deserved to be put down for his existence, as some people would call him.,Cornelius Fudge saw him as a danger to wizardkind and often he would make political statements suggesting maybe they should send the boy away from Hogwarts and send him to another school, perhaps a place where he wouldn't cause so much grief and heartache.,The wizarding public wasn't very fond of the boy, not since he'd tried to weasel his way out of the grand Triwizard Tournament. Anyone who dared back out of something like that was a coward.,As a matter of fact, it wasn't ,Harry Potter's fault that he got all this hate. In fact, the blame could be put on said man, Albus Dumbledore, because even though Albus Dumbledore , to care about Harry Potter, he only cared about his welfare as long as it benefitted him. Harry Potter had been such a useful tool the day he had been born, after all.,It was most tragic that Lily and James had died, yes. He had not intended for that to happen.,But it was also...beneficial for him the day that James and Lily Potter had died at the hands of Voldemort.,It was the perfect chance for him to make a 'hero' out of an innocent young child, and the best way he could do that was to rid him of any arrogance or normal self-esteem he would normally possess.,What better way to do that, than by sending him to a home where no one would love him and mistreat him? Privet Drive was the ,home for Harry.,He would have no normal human contact, be hated perpetually, to the point where he would have no regard for his own life and be so , for attention and human companionship that he would throw himself away for the first person to show kindness to him, which was perfect.,He needed Harry to be the perfect pawn, and then once Voldemort was stopped, he would show the world what evil truly was.,In his second year, Harry had been accused of being the Heir of Slytherin for speaking Parseltongue, just because he had saved a student. The end result was that everyone at Hogwarts mistreated Harry and unfortunately, Dumbledore didn't care. The blood wards at his aunt and uncle's was a mere lie, it was just a lie to make Harry all the more submissive.,The boy was just an easily manipulated fool. Dumbledore's plans worked according to his calculations. The boy kept on returning to the place where he was abused, believing that he needed to be there, never once suspecting that everything was a lie. But it was.,Now, his name had been placed in the cup for the Triwizard Tournament. In fact, here was the boy again, whining about his problems to him. How irritating this was.,"Headmaster Dumbledore, sir, can't you prevent Malfoy from bad-mouthing my father? Nearly no one here seems to care about me anymore. No matter how many times I told him to stop, he wouldn't listen and Snape punished me even more!",", Snape, Harry. Well, we'll have to wait for a while.","But ,Harry insisted. His whining was becoming very irritating.,"Harry, the binding contract means you have to take part in this, regardless of how you think.","But why, headmaster?","It's for the good of the Wizarding World. I mean, you want to save everybody. What happens if your friends get in trouble?",Harry's eyes widened. "You're right, headmaster. I'm sorry for doubting in you.","Nonsense, you should have come to me from the start.","Sure. Thank you, headmaster." Harry said.,Dumbledore smirked.,What a , day this was turning out to be. Dumbledore didn't even realize that his actions would lead to the birth of a person darker and twisted than he could ever expect.,Harry returned to his friends, Ron and Hermione. He was surprised to see that they weren't waiting for him. Could it be that Hermione still believed in him? Suddenly, he heard their voices. He ran over to find them, eagerly smiling.,However, when he found them, he realized that they weren't smiling at all.,Apparently, they hadn't even realized he was there.,Rather, Hermione looked distressed.,"...I'm telling you, how much longer do we have to keep on doing this? I'm sick of pretending to like him. I've grown to genuinely like him and I , you would, too.","Mione, who gives a damn? We're only supposed to do this until our final year. Why do you keep on acting like it?","Because I'm tired of lying to him.",Hermione seemed angry, angry about ,, exactly? He couldn't pinpoint it. He ran toward them, but much to his surprise, they weren't looking at him with happiness. Instead, Ron looked irritated.,"So the traitor gets here after all," Ron sneered. "What, the fame of the Goblet didn't get you in over your head even more, so you've come here to gloat about it?","What?" Harry said, shocked at this change in Ron's behavior.,"Harry, there's something we need to tell you. From the start, we...","Shut up, Mione. I'll deal with , traitor on my own!","Ron, no. Let's not argue.",","It was all just a misunderstanding!" Harry cried. "You know full well I didn't mean any offense by it!",Before Harry or Hermione could react, Ron took out his wand...and hit Harry on the head with it. Blood streamed from his head as the young boy fell unconscious.,He almost thought he could hear a scornful voice whispering, ",Harry awoke to find himself in the hospital room with Madame Pomfrey standing over him in worry.,"Your head wound is pretty awful," she said. "I'm afraid you can't do any Quidditch for quite a while and work on recuperating from your injury. I don't think you should be in the Triwizard Tournament. It's not safe.","Thank you," Harry whispered. He decided to get some sleep.,He awoke, early, and heard some soft voices whispering. He didn't know who they belonged to, but they sounded oddly familiar. Why were they being so quiet? It was sort of strange. They sounded so close by, too. He strained his ears to listen.,"But we , just send him back to his relatives with an injury like this. You know full well that his relatives will misuse him-","You know as well as I that only his aunt can care for him. You know about the blood wards...","I won't hear such nonsense!" There was good old McGonagall, caring about him like always.,"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger have been asking to see Potter. I'll bring them in.",He could hear Ron and Hermione's footsteps. His heart lit up in excitement.,"What's his condition, Headmaster?","I'm afraid that the head injury Mr. Weasley gave him is pretty bad. He'll need to stay in there for quite a while.","Aw man, this sucks." Ron said. ",Harry's eyes widened. He had never heard Ron say something like this. He was sure it had to be a mistake.,"Honestly, wasn't the whole plan "we pretend to be his friends until he dies against Voldemort? Then we can become famous as his friends and get ahold of his money.","Mr. Weasley, you're not getting a hand on his money; that'll go to the Wizarding World public for letting us survive.",'Surely, Hermione won't betray me.',"Oh, I heard him whining about his injuries. He was whining about how people were mistreating him. It was so pathetic. ,, having the right to complain like this, when he's always dragging us into his personal adventures, and how many injuries have we sustained from him? I actually regret him saving me from that troll! I don't like being around someone as egotistical and childish as he is! Just the thought of that makes me sick. How much longer do we have to deal with this? And not only that, due to Ron, the whole plan is messed up. I do feel bad about what we did, but to think that he's sitting there acting like a bump on the log...he's worthless as he is now. Can't we just kill him already?","Now, now, the deal was we wait for him to destroy Voldemort and then you...can either get him to marry Ginny, ,, he can still make children and then die. Or else, we can obliviate him of his memories and make him live in St. Mungo's.","That sounds a little too harsh," Ron said, "But still, I just can't stand being around him. He put his name in the Goblet just so he could get all the money.","Now, now, Mr. Weasley, we're looking into that. ,"Oh, poor Ron, I know how badly you feel about this. But Harry has to be our savior. It's necessary for him. Poor, sweet little Ginny is asking about when Harry will stop being a vegetable and get married to him.",'What the hell's going on? This has to be a bad joke...',"What about the Dursleys? Should we keep on sending him there? They keep on hurting Harry," Molly said.,"It's all for the greater good, my dear. The reason we send him there is just so we can keep him in line and make him as good a pawn as possible.","It's so easy, you know. He believes everything we tell him. It's so fun." Ron added.,Harry could feel tears streaming out of his eyes, as pure betrayal and rage built up within him,The fury came over him in waves. Most of all, he felt hatred for the other wizards for using him. 'You know...I think I really hate wizards. Are they all this disgusting? If that's so, I don't wish to be a wizard anymore. Screw this magical world. I'm tired of it stealing everything from me, stealing my pride and dignity. I won't let them get away with this.',The next day, Harry Potter was nowhere to be found. What was even more frustrating to Dumbledore was that his wand was found ripped in half with a note attached to it. It read.,Upon reading the note, Dumbledore's rage intensified, to the point where he ripped the note in two. "We must find Mr. Potter at once!",They couldn't find him because in fact Harry had fled and done it so cleverly and effectively that no one could find him. Then he had taken a boat to Japan...and then he met the Awakusu-kai...and thus nine long years had passed...and Harry Potter was forgotten by the Wizarding World.,"Heh heh..." He chuckled darkly as he stared at his reflection in a puddle on the roof. "Time certainly does do a lot to people, doesn't it? Who would have ever thought I'd have this freedom?" He said before doing a little dance.,"Oh, she's here." He said before putting away his phone. "Here comes the melodrama.","I'm so glad you met with me, Kamine-san. I know full well you're the only person I can trust.","Uh-huh..." He mumbled, busy doing his nails.,"Kamine-san, are you paying attention to me? I was just telling you that my boyfriend ditched me, even after I worked so hard for him-not even my family understood me. But you understand me, right, Kamine-san? You already took time out of your day to meet with me, so obviously you must care about me, right?",He sighed. Time to end this little charade.,"HA? You, get real!","Huh?" She just looked at him like he was nuts.,"Seriously, you expect me, a complete and total stranger, to solve all of your problems? What you don't get is that this was just an elaborate game, played with you and you alone!","Eh? You've gotta be joking.","I'm not joking, I'm 100 percent serious. So let me get this straight. You've given up everything for this one guy-your family, your friends, your current boyfriend, you've given up everything to chase after this man, even though he already rejected you and ran off with another woman. And whenever he doesn't want you, you turn to a complete and utter stranger online about your problems. What an IDIOT you are!","Kamine-san...you...","So...since we agreed on it, why don't you...hurry up and die?","You...aren't planning...to die?","Of course not. Why would I want to throw away my life for a worthless woman like you? Ah, but I can help you. I have this camera here, see? And when you jump off, I'll record you and upload it to the Internet so that way everyone can see you die! Would that be preferable?","What's wrong with you, Kamine-","Kamine is not my real name. That's merely an alias. Did you honestly think that I'd be stupid enough to use my real name on the Internet?",Suddenly they were interrupted.,'Who could that be?' Izaya thought.,It was a rider wearing a yellow helmet.,"It's the headless rider!" The woman ran off in fear.,The boy once known as Harry Potter sighed and shook his head, running his hands through his messy black hair. "Looks like I won't be needing this anymore..." He said, before stowing the camera in his fur jacket. "You know...you really oughta stop ruining these things." He said in annoyance.,The rider said nothing and walked towards him. It noticed the camera in his pocket and then shook its helmet disapprovingly.,"Seriously, courier, do you , have to ruin my chances of having fun?",The rider shook its head, and then it whipped out a small phone and typed, ","Hmm...so apparently what you're telling me is I have no empathy. That's a mean thing to say.",The figure paused as it looked at the dark-haired man before writing again,"But still, you acted like everything there was a complete game. You were toying with that young woman like her life meant nothing-","Heh heh...","You told her she should die.","So what? In the end, she didn't do it, so it's pointless. And all because you had to come and ruin my fun.","You have no sense of humor, courier." The young man pouted, running his hands through his spiky black hair. "So what else are you gonna say?",'Why do you do this?', do I do this? I do it for many reasons, but you haven't told me anything about what makes you you. Anyway, if you hadn't performed your heroic stunt, that young woman would've died. And it's not like magic would have saved her or something.","So, what do you believe in? I mean, did your parents raise you to think this way?","Such a rude question. That could get you in trouble.","So, ,what does that make you?","Sorry, courier...you can try and guess who I am. That's really all there is to it." He said before childishly waving goodbye and then running off.,Celty shook her 'head.' 'That man acts like a child...a really sick, disgusting child...',He ran off to the other side of the roof. He noticed the air conditioner that was blowing there. He toyed around with the controls for a few moments before getting bored. "Hmm...look at all of those humans down there. Really...I love them...I love them all..." He said, his face turning more and more maniacal.,"Like I said before, it's been nine years, since that little boy known as the savior disappeared. How's that stupid little society faring without me? It's not like I'll ever go back there.","Heh heh heh heh heh...","Seriously, though...they're a bunch of fucking idiots. To think I would return to that place willingly...they're idiots!",He cried, ripping the piece of paper he was holding in two. He watched as the pieces of paper fell to the ground and then he stepped on them, laughing maniacally.,"That's right! I, Izaya Orihara, have replaced that stupid boy known as Harry Potter! These humans are so much better than those dim-witted wizards could ever dream of being. I love them all..." He said dementedly, grinning wickedly at the people down below. He noticed one person look up at him and then run away.,"That's right, my beloved humans...realize I'm superior to all of you. Hmm...what's this?",He tilted his head briefly, sensing someone was watching him. "Whoever's watching me, you'd better come out or else I'll make you." He said before whipping out a knife. He realized it was a dark-haired man he knew very well.,"What brings you to Japan, Severus-kun?" He said, casting his ruby-red eyes over to the cowering wizard, who was afraid of Izaya.,"Are you the one I seek?"

Idrissa Lyra Potter was bored and tired. She wanted a way out. It has been two thousand years since the Battle of Hogwarts, since the death of Fred, her Freddy. They were to be wed after the war. She was pregnant for goodness sake. Yes she was.,After the death of Voldemort, she found out she was 3 months into the pregnancy. So she hid in the Grimmauld Place, took her Ladyships of Potter, Black, Slytherin and Peverell houses and waited. She waited for the baby to be born. Winky told her she had a boy, a baby boy. Yes, he had Fred's blue eyes but her dark hair, her father's raven hair, but with her mother's soft curls. He was beautiful. So she named him Fredrick James.,After 20 years, Fredrick married, and had a son and a daughter. But she knew she had to run. She has noticed that she hasn't aged a day since 17. So she ran. But still checked on her family. And it has been two thousaund years and they are all dead. Now she is just a legend. Legend in the Wizarding World.,And as she stands here on a cliff looking at the ocean, she summons Death and asks him to die. She says her reasons, let's a few tears slip, cries for her family. And then she hears Death say: ',And she of course accepted. There was nothing here for her. She wants a fresh start. So Death then told her: ',Wait a minute soulmate, start anew again? What? ',and after some 'weird eye thing' Death did, he said: ',Idrissa was confused. She felt like she was stuck in some kind of wet and icky tube when she felt something hitting her. After, she remembered her conversation with Death. ',', new life, new world, family. Seconds have passed, when she felt like she couldn't breathe. 'Maybe it's time for my twin and I to be born' she thought. She briefly wondered if a toothpaste had feelings, would it be feeling this way. She felt like something was so wet and sticky and slimy and ugh. It was so squeezing and tight. So like any other new born baby, she started crying.,',', Idrissa heard someone say, as she felt she was being passed to someone. 'Oh, I hope it's my new mother' she thought. When she felt someone's hand on her cheek, she stopped crying and opened her eyes. ',Sister? I wanna see her, where is she? She turned her head around, well she tried, but she still couldn't see her. Oh baby vision sucks, when she felt like she was being passed to someone, so she started crying. 'Oh come on, I want my mother' she thought.,',Daddy? Idrissa slowly raised her hand and streched her baby muscles, so she doesn't accidentally slaps her father on his cheek, she raised her hand to touch his face but instead it put her little baby hand on his mouth. Her father's eyes widened and she really wanted to start laughing, but it sounded more like gurgling. She tried to grin and her father did the same, when she heard laughing from the side to see a man in a doctor uniform, a beautiful woman with dark hair next to him, and the woman she guessed is her mother and in her arms a baby, her sister. Her mother was beautiful, dark hair, young, probably 16, 17 years old, but still beautiful. She has a tired a smile on her face, her eyes alight with happiness and something else, something akin to sadness. 'Why would she be sad?' she thought.,', said the doctor. ',' said Isobel and John while holding the two babies. ',' said Isobel, ',' said John. 'Elena, my sister, a beautiful name. And Lyra, easy to remember, it was my middle name in my previous life. But I want to know who is older!' she thought. And as she was thinking about who is the older, she or her sister, she missed the important part of the conversation, where Isobel was crying about not being able to care for them because she is still in high school, and John for pretty much the same reason.,',' she heard someone say. And as she turned around she saw that she was in a bed with her sister next to her. She turned just a little bit more and saw that her twin is so cute, she just wanted to pinch her cheeks. She has olive skin tone, a bit of brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. ',' she heard her father ask, so she turned around and saw a doctor next to her father. ',' Wait a second, take us in? Are our parents abandoning us? Oh wow. 'Well than this Grayson will be our father now, I suppose, Miranda will be our mom, and John, our biological father, will be our uncle' newly named Lyra thought.,So as the new parents were basking in happiness at being given a chance to finally be parents to not one, but two little adorable baby girls, Lyra looked at her new family, from her sister, to her new parents, even if not biological, she promised to herself that she will protect them and love them with all of her self, she will do whatever it takes, family is always and forever. Little Lyra fell asleep dreaming of days, months and years to come and her beautiful, happy and lovely family.

« On doit aller les chercher ! » dit sombrement la jeune fille en mettant sa cape par dessus ses vêtements sombres. Elle portait un haut noir à manche longue ainsi qu'un jeans de la même couleur avec des bottes.,« Hermione... C'est dangereux pour toi d'y aller. Il pourrait te reconnaître ! » lui dit Ron en soupirant. « Si les mangemorts t'attrapent ! »,« On a certes pu arrêter beaucoup de mangemorts pendant la bataille de Poudlard mais encore beaucoup sont en liberté avec leur maître adoré ! » intervint Harry en croisant les bras.,« Aucun risque. Je suis Hermione Granger, vous vous souvenez ? » rappela la jeune fille. « Mya Black a disparu avec son père. Et je ne pense pas qu'elle ressortira. »,« Elle réapparaîtra avec eux, Mya. » dit Drago Malefoy en entrant dans la pièce. Il portait lui aussi des vêtements noirs. Après la bataille de Poudlard, lui et sa famille avaient changé de camps et s'étaient réfugiés avec l'Ordre. Enfin, ce qu'il en restait. Il avait alors appris qui était réellement Hermione Granger.,« Peut-être. Mais tant qu'ils ne seront pas en sécurité, ici, dans le monde magique, je ne serais pas tranquille. »,« Granger ! » cria Rogue d'en bas des escaliers du Square Grimmaurd. « Ramène-toi en bas si tu veux qu'on les ramène à temps ! »,« J'arrive. »,Elle descendit rapidement et avec un hochement de tête, elle transplana jusqu'au bureau du proviseur de Kadic.,« Mais qui êtes-vous ? » cria ce dernier en se levant brusquement.,« Tonton, calme-toi. C'est moi, Mya ! » lui dit froidement la jeune fille en croisant les bras. Son bras la démangeait mais elle ne dit rien.,« Vous mentez. Mya n'est pas comme vous.. »,« Tonton ! » s'écria la jeune fille pour le couper. Elle avait repris son apparence. « Je n'ai pas le temps pour ces bêtises ! » Le proviseur fut ébahi mais vint rapidement la prendre dans ses bras. Elle reprit l'apparence d'Hermione Granger.,« Que viens-tu faire ici ? Je croyais que tu ne reviendrais plus. »,« Je ne comptais pas revenir. Mais les événements récents m'y ont forcée. » expliqua la jeune fille.,« Granger. Bouges-toi. Ils peuvent débarquer d'une minute à l'autre. » grogna Rogue en croisant les bras.,« Tu dois faire amener Stern, Belpois, Stones, Ishyama , Della Robbia et Dumbar, ici. » ordonna Hermione Granger en s'asseyant sur une chaise. « On doit les emmener avec nous dans le monde magique. »,« Mais je ne peux tout simplement pas faire ça ! Ils sont sous ma responsabilité, si leurs parents apprennent que... » Il fut coupé par Mya qui sortit sa baguette et l'agita sous son nez.,« Voilà. Leurs parents savent qu'ils sont partis en voyage scolaire pendant toute l'année. »,« Mais... »,« Ecoutez-moi, Monsieur Delmas. » intervint Severus Rogue d'une voix doucereuse. « Avoir amené Granger ici il y a deux ans a entraîné une menace au dessus de votre collège. Encore plus au dessus des têtes des personnes avec qui elle s'entendait le plus. Ils sont en danger ! Donc faites les venir avant que vous ne retrouviez des cadavres ici ! »,Le proviseur comprit enfin et appela Jim qui les fit entrer dans le bureau, une dizaine de minutes plus tard.,« Monsieur le Proviseur. » dit doucement Jeremy.,« Il y a un problème ? » demanda à son tour Yumi,« Vous allez aller devoir faire vos bagages et... » commença le proviseur.,« Non, nous n'avons pas le temps. » grogna Hermione en lâchant la fenêtre du regard.,Elle posa son regard sur les six personnes devant elle, s'attardant le plus sur Ulrich. Ses anciens amis avaient grandi. Beaucoup. Aelita avait les cheveux plus longs que dans son souvenir, et semblait beaucoup plus sûre d'elle-même. Jeremy n'avait pas beaucoup changé. Il semblait légèrement plus grand et plus musclé. Mais sa manie de remonter ses lunettes sur son nez lorsqu'il était nerveux était toujours là. Elle tourna son regard vers Odd qui n'avait pas changé d'un poil. Elle se retint de ricaner et regarda Yumi et William. Les deux étaient ensembles, ça se voyait. Ils étaient très proche et se lançaient quelques fois des petits regards. Eux non plus n'avaient pas beaucoup changé. Elle se tourna enfin vers Ulrich. Son cœur manqua un battement et elle faillit pleurer. Ses sentiments pour lui étaient toujours présents. Elle déglutit et l'observa. Il était plus grand, avait un visage plus carré et moins enfantin et ses yeux étaient plus perçants qu'ils ne l'avaient jamais été.,« Qui êtes-vous ? » demanda Odd en fronçant les sourcils.,« Vous allez devoir nous suivre maintenant » dit Rogue en créant un portoloin discrètement,« Pourquoi on vous suivrez ? On ne vous connait même pas ! » grogna Ulrich en lançant un regard noir à Hermione,« Vous partez en voyage scolaire avec eux. Je vous présente Hermione Granger, elle a 18 ans et son professeur. » expliqua Delmas.,« Ecoutez.. » intervint Hermione, sachant que cela allait être difficile. « Nous n'avons pas beaucoup de temps. Mais je vous promets qu'une fois arrivés, on vous expliquera tout. »,« Vos parents ont été prévenus. » informa le proviseur en lançant un regard à la sorcière qui leva un sourcil. « Ils savent que vous partez en voyage scolaire pour l'année, en Angleterre, et que vous ne rentrerez qu'en juin. »,« C'est d'accord pour moi. » dit doucement William avec un hochement de tête. « Je vais vous suivre. Après tout, un voyage scolaire gratuit, ce n'est pas tous les jours. »,« Je viens aussi ! » continua Odd en hochant la tête. « J'ai toujours voulu aller en Angleterre. »,« Nous aussi. » finit par dire Jeremy en montrant Aelita et lui. « Après tout, ça ne peut qu'être instructif ! »,« Hum hum ! » acquiesça Aelita en lançant un regard à Hermione qui se grattait le bras.,« Très bien. » acquiesça Ulrich avec un froncement de sourcils. « On va vous suivre. »,« Super ! » Hermione eut un léger sourire. Elle salua d'un geste de la main son ancien proviseur, lança un clin d'œil à Jim qui lui sourit et ordonna à tout le monde de toucher le journal français que Rogue avait transformé en portoloin. « Square Grimmaurd. » et ils disparurent.

We were always incompetent,So what we are who we are,And that's never going to change anytime soon,As well as our both first names starting with R,So what if we are the laughing stalk,On our respective teams team Possible and team Potter,But always there despite being the third wheel,But yet we had a small group of friends,Who understood us oh and never push us away,And that includes a naked mole rat/ hand me down rat,Going on adventures of saving the world,From baddies who come and go,During a school day/night no less,Finding the clues and stopping the villians in their tracks,As well as balancing a superhero lifestyle,As well as finding out who we truly are and meant to be

-o-,The Weasley-Wonka Theory,The Weasley-Wonka theory states that George Weasley, one of the characters in the , world, and Willy Wonka, the eccentric proprietor of the chocolate factory in the story , are one and the same, I believe this to be true, or at least partly, and there are several proofs backing this theory up.,As fans of , may recall, George Weasley suffered the loss of his left ear in the ,. Similarly, Wonka tells Mike Teavee in the course of , that he is 'a little deaf in the left ear' and therefore could not hear what Mike is saying. One could argue that Wonka was making this up as Mike was simply being annoying, but I digress.,Additionally, both Fred and George Weasley express a penchant for creating sweets that affect the eater in some way- an example would be their Puking Pastilles, which causes uncontrollable vomiting, or Fainting Fancies, which will make the consumer faint. Willy Wonka, too, creates such candies. One need only look at the Rainbow Drops (suck them and you can spit in six different colors) and the infamous chewing-gum meal, which turned Violet Beauregarde into a blueberry.,When Charlie enters Wonka's office near the end of the movie, viewers notice that everything on the room is halved- the wallpaper, the clock, and even the foam head upon which Wonka's top hat rests. Advocates of the Weasley-Wonka theory state that because George Weasley lost his twin brother Fred in the Battle of Hogwarts, Wonka therefore does not feel a sense of completion, which is reflected in his choice of office design.,The Weasley-Wonka theory is an interesting one, yet fans of both worlds will either love it or hate it. I personally fell in love with it, which is why I chose it for the subject of this essay. I find it commendable that people can be so ardent on the subjects they are passionate about, which is of course where all theories, true or not, spring from.,-o-